Ambush!

Posted on Mon 1st Feb, 2021 @ 3:34am by Lieutenant Damion Ildaran
Edited on on Sun 28th Feb, 2021 @ 7:36am

1,503 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Business Not At All As Usual
Location: Durant Repair Shop, Deck 1548
Timeline: MD 2, 0900 hours

The Viera was leaning against the bulkhead by the shop's front door, one long and mostly bare leg bent so that her digitigrade foot was against the bulkhead and her weight rested on the other. The denim shorts she wore looked to have been cut off on both ends, and the only other garment she wore was a cotton lawn top, ruched above her breasts then falling loose to the bottom of her ribs. Already tall for a humanoid female, the lapine ears on her head came near to brushing the overhead when she stood upright.

"Oh, Mr. Durant," she said as he appeared. "I wanted to apologize that I couldn't be there when you fixed my personal electronics." She pushed off the wall and moved toward him, her hips swaying dangerously. "I also wanted to thank you personally, for taking such good care of... them."

Corin Durant--or Damion Ildaran, to be precise--blinked at the sight of the slender and scantily-clad woman with the long ears. He'd seen her before, not so terribly long ago, at Orchids & Jazz while trying to pump Zelda Alegari's alternate selves for information over an impromptu lunch. She was difficult to miss--or to forget.

"You look familiar," Corin said, "but I'm drawing a blank on your name. Why don't you come inside? Did you pick up your items already?" She had to have. He knew which devices and appliances were awaiting pick-up or delivery, and he was familiar with their owners. This woman wasn't any of them.

The shop was quiet today. Ensign Brennan was working on a programming project in the Intelligence main office, and the business was such that customers didn't usually come to the shop unless they lived near enough to drop things off. Usually, Corin and his people traveled to their customers' quarters or businesses to pick up and deliver items or do repairs.

The area he led his guest into was well kept but small, containing a couple of transparent-aluminum-fronted display cases and a counter where items could be examined, left, or picked up. He sold tools, a few of Lipford's DIY repair manuals, and some small parts needed for the most common repairs. "I'm afraid I don't have a seat to offer you; with most customers, it's just hi and bye."

The lapine woman glanced at the large turquoise ring on her thumb before twisting the golden bezel holding the stone. "That's all right, Lieutenant," she said, her voice losing its honeyed edge. "You don't actually have anything of mine. I'm Special Agent Daisy Pantoufle, Starfleet Criminal Investigative Service. I can't show you a badge at the moment, because I'm conducting an undercover op -- which means, by the bye, that you'll call me 'Margarite' if we meet again in public."

Damion studied 'Daisy Pantoufle' for a moment. He didn't think it extremely difficult to peg him for who he really was; any good facial recognition software could do it. He primarily relied on method acting, posture, hairstyle, accent, and the fact that people generally saw what they expected to see, to conceal his true identity in the shop. So while it was annoying that she'd discreetly blown his cover, it wasn't terribly surprising.

Damion nodded at her. "That being the case, Ma'am, why don't you come into the office with me, where I can at least offer you a chair and some coffee while we talk?"

The quiet, matter-of-fact way she had identified him and herself was what convinced him. Daisy Pantoufle was a professional at the very least. "Computer, dim the front lights, and turn them to normal lighting in the office," he said and led Special Agent Pantoufle to the back. Once the door closed, he glanced at her. "This office is shielded, so we can talk confidentially here."

Daisy followed, took the indicated chair. She crossed her legs at the ankle. "I work out of Starbase 185... or, rather, I did. There have been an increasing number of cases in this area requiring SCIS attention, and The Powers Which Is have decided to open an office here. After I complete my current assignment -- which should take no more than another day or two -- I will officially be the Special Agent in Charge of the Starbase 109 SCIS office."

"Congratulations," Damion said, still mystified but willing to let the story unfold in its own good time--an influence of Corin's personality, Damion thought. He himself was usually a bit more interested in getting immediate information, a mark of having once served as Intel Chief on the Hermes. However, most intelligence work depended on a person's ability to patiently listen and observe. "I saw you and a lunch companion at Orchids & Jazz not long ago. Can I get you anything to drink, or would that interfere with your op?"

"Nothing right now; thank you." Pantoufle nodded her acknowledgement of the offer. "SCIS is, relative to the area of our responsibilities, a small agency. And while Special Agents must be civilians, there are a fair number of liaison officers from Starfleet who work in support roles for the agency. You are one of a small number of officers already present at 109 who have been identified as appropriate candidates for such a position."

"Ah." Damion leaned back in his chair and thought a moment. "I can see benefits to having SCIS here and to working with you in a liaison capacity. I can see where being outside of Starfleet's direct purview could have distinct advantages and disadvantages. But if I do it, I'm warning you now, hell might follow me. How would this position work? Would I divide my time between Intelligence and SCIS or work entirely for SCIS for a set period of time?"

"It would be a permanent change of station," Daisy informed him. "Which, in this particular case, would mostly mean reporting to a different deck for your work shifts." She paused. "By hell following you, are you referencing the Dobbs investigation, or something else?"

Damion took a good, long look at Pantoufle when she mentioned that. "Yes, the Dobbs investigation," he said. "How did you learn of it?"

Daisy chuckled. "Dobbs is a disgraced Starfleet officer. He has abducted, experimented upon, tortured and murdered Starfleet personnel. That puts him, and his activities, squarely in the jurisdiction of SCIS. As it happens, however, I am one of the trustees of the sealed door you and Doctor Addams opened recently. In accordance with procedure, I was notified that the door had been opened, and later received the Doctor's report on why it had been opened."

Damion let out a sigh. "Well, that is a relief. I would frankly rather that SCIS work the case than Intelligence; it's not really our function." He considered Daisy for a moment. "I thought that perhaps you'd been talking to Captain Grax. Is the Dobbs investigation why you're tapping me?"

"It's part of the reason. Your full curriculum vitae is the rest. You've shown yourself to be intelligent, resourceful, and curious. If you look up the job requirements for SCIS... well, that list and your list pretty much match." Pantoufle smiled briefly. "If I could talk you into taking a leave of absence from Starfleet, or even resigning your commission to become a Special Agent, I'd be trying that. But I figure I'll hook you in as a liaison officer, first."

Damion had to laugh. "I'm from Turkana IV. I have a very difficult time imagining myself as any kind of law enforcement officer. I'm willing to work in a liaison capacity, definitely. Beyond that, we'll see. When would you want me to start, and what would my duties be?"

"Take tomorrow to send out feelers and be sure that I, and the job offer, are legit. I'll talk to you when my op is complete, and we'll get you orders cut. Your primary duty would be making sure that the SCIS office has a conduit into the Intel office here, and conducting investigations as required. You would not have arrest authority, so you would work in a support capacity only." Daisy stood and stretched, lifting the hem of her ruched top dangerously. "Just think on it, and I'll answer any other questions you have before you have to pull the trigger."

"Would I be working on the Dobbs case as part of the transfer?" Damion ask as he also stood.

"Would that be a deal breaker? Either way?"

Would it? Damion wondered. He thought about it. "No," Damion said after a moment. "I've invested a lot of myself in the case, and I'd dearly like to have a hand in bringing that blaggard to justice. But if Captain Grax told me this afternoon that I was being reassigned to a different case, I'd go work that other case without complaint--though probably with some regret. The Dobbs case is not the only problem out there."

 

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