"Anything I can do to help or need any suggestions as to what to search for, Sir?" Rangin decides to find out what it is that Lt Delaney is actually doing to the tricorders, while waiting for Graham to give out the search orders for the other buildings.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Hsu chuckles a little ruefully. "I thought the same, but no, we confirmed it's recent and untampered-with footage. That's why it took me longer to get here. Sorry." Kylah's tricorder appears to be working fine other than sensor acuity dropping off sharply past a few dozen meters. There is no trace of Hardin.
"I don't think so," Delaney says distractedly to Rangin. From what little the Coridanite knows of tricorder innards, the young engineer seems to be acting appropriately.
Last edited by Elendil's Heir; 22 Nov 2014 at 04:30 PM.
Kylah is glad that the tricorder is working as expected--hopefully it will give her an alert, just as Velir assured her, if Hardin is nearby. She is also glad that Hsu confirms the footage is intact--although, his assurances are not necessarily to be believed. Her eyes try to read Hsu's mood. Meanwhile, still on with Graham--and not wanting Hsu to enter his wife's office to speak with her alone--she asks Hsu to wait a moment, lifting a hand to request his presence.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Graham," she says quickly. "Mr. Hsu has just arrived. Is there anything you wish me to impart to him before I go?"
Graham's not sure how to respond to Kylah's comments, but Hsu's arrival gives him an out. "Just have him make sure the perimeter of the facility is secure...let's not have Hardin warming his toes back in his room while we run around in the rain on a wild goose chase." He pauses a second. "Graham out."
He pulls up a map of the Sandoval buildings on his tricorder and moves to see how Delaney--and now, it looks like, Rangin as well--is progressing with his modifications.
Hsu says, "Short of posting a guard at every door, which I don't have the staff to do, yes, the perimeter is as secure as I can make it."
Delaney says, "Another few minutes and I think I can do this."
Lt. JG Haakon Kjaerstad comes on the open comm channel; all Yorktown personnel can hear him. "Mr. Graham, had you authorized use of the resort's transporter? The resort systems status board shows that it's being powered up."
Kylah's head whips around to Mr. Hsu and snaps, "I thought the transporter room was secure!" She then turns back to the communicator. "We're heading there now, Mr. Graham."
Her mind races. She does not want to leave Mrs. Hsu alone. "Russell, stay here as I suggested earlier. Kylah to Garcia," she adds over the communicator. You heard Kjaerstad? Meet me at the transporter room ASAP."
She shoves the device back on her belt and takes out her phaser. "Mr. Hsu. You can stay here and be guarded by Mr. Russell, or join me on the way to the transporter. You first," she adds, refusing to let him get behind her."
Graham's taken aback by Kjaerstad's report. "Hell no--"
Great. I'm worried about an unlocked door and somehow the bad guys have access to instant transport anywhere they want, while I sit here surrounded by Security while a cryptologist and my comms officer are the rapid response team...
"Override it from the security office," Graham replies. "If you can't specifically override it, kill the power. Take the resort's whole goddamned grid offline if you have too. My responsibility."
Last edited by general_urko; 24 Nov 2014 at 06:54 PM. Reason: typo
Hsu blanches. "Uh...."
Kjaerstad reports, "Trying to shut it down remotely... no luck. We're locked out of the transporter console system. I'll try to shut down the power grid. Stand by...."
Was I right they did have remote access to the transporter all along? Rangin thinks, and then realises that Kylah is heading that way. If it is Hardin, he hopes she made those modifications to the tricorder, but he can't help but worry about what could happen int he next few minutes. Given everything, he wonders if he could make a run back across in the rain
Rangin then quickly turns to Delaney, "Sir, we discussed someone having remote access to the transporter. If it is powering up the transporter, how do we find it if its active?"
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Mr. Hsu's slowness to react electrifies Kylah with anger and mounting alarm. She grabs Mr. Hsu's hand. "A Security Chief should react quickly to such a situation. That you are not doing so makes me wonder why. You are coming with me--now go!" She jerks at Hsu's arm to shove him in the direction of the fire exit--after hearing Graham's order to shut down the power grid, she does not want to be stuck in an elevator if everything goes black. A sudden instinct makes her glance back to Russell. "Take a quick look in Mrs. Hsu's office, make sure she is still there. Assuming she is, keep your phaser trained on him--if he makes a move against me, stun him."
Kylah starts off to the stairwell and the quickest route to the transporter room.
Last edited by choie; 24 Nov 2014 at 10:22 PM.
Delaney tells Rangin, "I can't tell from here. I don't have a tie-in to the resort control systems." Lightning flashes on the horizon, and there is another boom of thunder.
Hsu angrily snatches his hand back from Kylah, and pushes her back as she turns to go. "You're not my boss!" She keeps her footing, however, and races away. A few seconds later, her communicator beeps and Russell reports, "Mrs. Hsu is not in her office."
Kylah almost stumbles when she hears the news confirming her suspicion. "Do not let Mr. Hsu out of your sight," she says as she runs. "Hold him however you have to and ask him where she would go!"
When she reaches the stairs she gallops down, feeling the pressure on her left knee but ignoring it just as she has done for her headache over the past half-hour. "Kylah to Kjaerstad and Garcia--keep an eye out for Mrs. Hsu, she is missing and might be near the transporter room; Kjaerstad, you might find Mrs. Hsu on the cameras." Her voice is shaky both due to nerves and the stairs. "Kylah to Graham! Mrs. Hsu must have been the one to transport. I was outside her office the whole time after the interview but when I asked Russell to check, she was gone! I am sorry I did not stay with her, if I had just done so, I--I should have thought of the transporter, I should have scanned her or kept her with me--"
She nearly slams into the wall when taking a longer jump off the bottom two stairs and curses silently. Then she is through the door and continues racing to the transporter room.
"Don't beat yourself up about it," Graham replies calmly to Kylah. He wishes he had time to indulge in the long string of profanities that have come to mind, but the fact is that the situation has changed: there's nothing to be done but to adapt to it...
"Kjaerstad, if the train has left the station, obviously don't kill the power: alert resort security they hold detain Mrs. Hsu for Starfleet personnel--and not follow any of her instructions. As Mr. Kylah, suggested, look for the missus on the cams...Kylah will rendezvous with Garcia and take the transporter offline."
He glances around the room and grimaces. Two fugitives, no guarantee there isn't a third person involved--and now the team's poorly distributed..."
He quickly runs through a mental list:
Main compound has cameras, assuming sensors are still offline, here I need Delaney's tricorder wizardry...
Resort doc is a weirdo but not currently a suspect, so still counts as option if medical care is needed, so I'll keep T'Var at hand here...
But I want to shut this front down quickly and have done with it so we aren't split...
"Rangin, Harper, get ready to get wet again - assuming Yorktown still doesn't recommend transport, you'll hoof it back to the resort to back up Kylah."
"Delaney, T'Var, you'll secure this location. Friedman, you're with me, St. Croix and Gelil you're the second search team here."
"Any questions?" he says, with the communicator channel still open.
Last edited by Elendil's Heir; 25 Nov 2014 at 07:02 PM. Reason: spelling correction
Kjaerstad says over the open channel, "My board shows the transporter is still in its warmup sequence, not that it's been used yet. It looks like I don't have the ability to shut down the entire resort's power grid from here, and no one's answering from the power plant. Should I go there? I have Garcia checking the surveillance logs for the past ten minutes."
Russell replies to Kylah. "Acknowledged. Mr. Hsu has taken a seat and I'll keep him there."
St. Croix, Harper and the others are ready for Graham's next orders. They have no questions.
"Delaney," Graham asks, "How long does the transporter need to warm up?"
Rangin smiles ruefully, its seems he is destined to spend the afternoon soaked to the skin, he hasn't even fully warmed up as well since they got to these buildings.
"Whoever is trying to transport in this weather is going to have trouble, the storm isn't over. Hopefully safeties will cut in before someone regrets it.", he asides to Graham and Delaney
He checks the tricorder with the modifications and heads to the door. "Harper, front and centre. On Ens. Graham's mark." Looking outside at the still pouring rain, with the sunshine still so far away, Rangin wonders if he can get back in time to assist. At least going this way, they can go faster, instead of waiting to see if they would be fired upon by Hardin.
Rangin plots a faster course than the one coming in, skirting closer to the top of the hill and hoping the worst of the lightning has passed.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Kylah overhears Kjaerstad's news about the transporter and barely prevents herself from skidding to a halt. She forces herself forward.
"But--but she was gone!" she says aloud, her breathing now a bit labored. "I was outside her office the whole time, how else could she have disapp--Kylah to Russell!" The names are almost yelped when a thought strikes her. "See if there is a hidden door or anything in her office--be sure to take Hsu with you."
She sucks in air more deeply, approaching the corridor leading to the transporter room. It cannot be another secret door, this a resort, not some villain's lair in a melodrama, she thinks bitterly. Only a few more seconds pass before Kjaerstad's last words sink in. Garcia is checking the surveillance logs? That cannot be, I told him...
Alarm seizes her muscles, but she is now only a few yards from her destination. She slows down and finally stops, lifting her phaser and practically collapsing against the wall. Her gaze is riveted to what she can see of the transporter room doors in the distance.
"Kylah to Kjaer--Kjaerstad," she says as quietly as she can while catching her breath--not easy to do with fear and adrenaline rushing through her. She is careful to keep this off the open channel, aware that Hardin might be able to listen in. "Garcia was supposed to meet me here. Why did you change his orders, I am now all alone!"
Last edited by choie; 26 Nov 2014 at 03:25 AM.
Delaney looks off into the distance, thinking. "Uh... their model, let's see, it's a IGE 903A... from a cold start, maybe three, four minutes?"
Crewman Harper's expression is hardly cheery, but she's ready to go.
Kjaerstad replies to Kylah, "I can't both try to shut down the transporter or power grid and review surveillance footage, so I asked Garcia to do it. But I'll send him to the transporter room now."
Russell shortly replies, his voice echoing a little, "There's a maintenance crawlway above Mrs. Hsu's office's bathroom. It looks like she might have gone through it."
Last edited by Elendil's Heir; 26 Nov 2014 at 08:52 AM.
Kylah closes her eyes for three seconds to gather her emotions. He could not ask that hotel security person to help with the footage, instead of dragooning Garcia away from helping me? But why should this surprise her? It is clear that the Yorktown Security crew do not value the lives of their colleagues. And the idea of Mrs. Hsu somehow climbing up to the ceiling to scuttle through some crawlway like a spider is so absurd Kylah has to suppress hysterical laughter.
Of course she does not bother to ask why Russell did not investigate the office enough to notice this crawlway before; after all, he is Security and she in comms, so naturally it would be up to her to consider identifying a fugitive's escape route. Hardin may not be the only corrupt person in Starfleet. Vargas has peopled his staff with imbeciles.
Reluctantly she puts her phaser down and lifts up her tricorder. Having performed the adjustments Velir suggested--so that the tricorder will automatically warn her if Hardin is in the vicinity--Kylah scans the area for any life signs. "Kylah to Graham," she murmurs, trying to keep her voice from sounding as tense as she feels despite her bone-dry mouth and tight throat. "I am keeping this private as Hardin may be available to hear an open channel. Russell has just told me Mrs. Hsu escaped using a crawlway. Meanwhile I am within range of the transporter room and am scanning for life signs now."
She keeps her back against the wall and as noiselessly as possible sidles closer to the room. Her gaze shifts back and forth from the tricorder to the transporter room doors--and now and then looks up at the ceiling, half-expecting Mrs. Hsu to drop down on her head. Kylah swallows with difficulty. "Suggestions would be appreciated, sir."
Last edited by choie; 26 Nov 2014 at 09:36 AM.
Rangin looks at Harper and nods, "I know how you feel. If we go follow me."
"Mr Graham?" he calls further back into the building.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Graham can hear tension in Kylah's voice, and it commands his full attention: in point of fact, he doesn't feel great about sending two non-Security officers on this particular assignment, although he's determined to build their confidence rather than express any reservations.
He focuses intensely on visualizing the hallway and the door to the transporter room, closing his eyes in the process. "Don't worry," he says calmly and firmly. "I know you and Garcia probably didn't do a lot of training for things like this, but it's going to be fine. I'll talk you through how to conduct the entry..."
Kylah stops her forward movement and takes a slow, deep breath. Graham sounds so certain and encouraging. She vows to draw confidence from his words--but then her heart gives a flop when she realizes he is unaware of her situation.
"Garcia is not here," she says, soft and urgent. "I told him to meet me, but Kjaerstad needed him to look over the footage. I am alone."
Last edited by choie; 26 Nov 2014 at 08:05 PM.
Kylah remembers that Kjaerstad just said that he was sending Garcia. Her tricorder shows a single human female in the transporter room; there is still no sign of Hardin.
Noting the reading in her tricorder, Kylah adds in an exhale: "There is only a human woman in there. My tricorder does not sense Hardin. Kjaerstad did say he would send Garcia to me, but if the transporter has already begun..."
She swallows, thoughts tumbling in her mind. How long has it been since they first learned the transporter was powering up? Two or three minutes now, surely. She has no idea how much time they have, but it cannot be very long. Garcia might as well be back on the Yorktown.
"I think--I think I must stop her." Her hoarse voice is barely audible even to her. She starts moving toward the doors, eyes wide and fixed. "Please, sir," she says, suddenly feeling very small. "Tell me what to do."
Kylah can just barely hear a humming noise get louder from beyond the door. It does not sound like a Starfleet transporter.
Graham's eyes snap open when Kylah says "I am alone."
What the hell... is the first thing that leaps to his mind, but although his pulse is pounding in his forehead, he's detached from feeling angry about how his orders may have gotten fucked up and is instead almost ticking through things in slow motion:
I am alone. Bad answer.
A minute or two left to stop the transport, based on what Delaney said.
Forget it, or wait...you know that's a worse answer back to her, Booker.
Graham mutes his communicator briefly, looks up, and points to Rangin. "Resort's transporter room, go, now." He doesn't yell: yelling would do a disservice to the urgency he feels.
He knows they'll only arrive in time for relief...or first aid. But it's something.
He crouches down and closes his eyes, bending his head down toward the communicator, picturing the scene in front of Kylah, engaging his own muscles to mimic the motions he's going to describe.
He can feel her uncertainty: he puts every ounce of energy into conveying confidence in a maneuver he must have done a hundred times.
"Listen to me, Mr. Kylah, you're going to do just fine. When you're ready, the transporter room door is going to open by sliding left to right with a "whoosh." You've heard that sound a thousand times or more: picture every Federation standard door you've ever passed through, and feel the timing of it: one smooth motion, in the time it takes to breath "whoosh.""
"You remember how we entered the house the other day? Take your phaser in your right hand, arm bent, close in front of you. You're going to lock your eyes straight down the center line of that weapon: you shoot what you see. And you're going to lock your hips and your torso together too: you move as a single unit, hips-gun-eyes. This makes you faster than a bad guy waving his arms and waggling his head around. Try it once now: point, swivel from about 45 degrees left of center to 45 degrees right in the space of that whoosh."
"When you're ready, we're going to go "1-2-3, whoosh." Put yourself just to the right of the center of the door. Angle yourself about 45 degrees looking to the left: you're going to sweep the room from left to right, and that door is going to be your shield: as it opens, you're covered from the right side of the room, and you're moving with it, swinging during that whoosh from left to right, looking right down your phaser. This makes you faster than a bad guy waggling his head and swinging his arms around."
"It's not the most natural thing, but I know you can do it. It's...like a sport, or a dance... Check your settings, medium stun, maximum dispersal. You set yourself ready to move in one smooth motion across the "whoosh..." We know there's only one person in there, so you stop when you have her n your sights..and you fire in that same smooth unified motion if you see anything but hands in the air."
He pauses. "When--if--you're ready, keep your communicator channel open, count 1-2-3, move with triggering the door..."
What if this were Elizabeth on the other end of the line? enters Graham's mind. He pushes it back, because he can't coach Kylah if he's vomiting.
There's a nod from Rangin and he calls to Harper, "Double time." He bursts out into the rain for the third time, not looking up and across but shielding his eyes slightly and only looking a few feet ahead as he starts to put down a steady jog up the hill.
As the storm is passing and given the need for urgency, Rangin plots to go up and over near the crest of the hill, keeping a listen out for the sound of the tricorder buzzing. It's faster than the route they came in by and hopefully not quite as dangerous as it was ten minutes ago.
Rangin wonders what they are heading in to, Graham didn't exactly say much other than they were needed there. Why was he talking about Mrs Hsu vanishing, and not following her orders. Had she been Hardin's backup and accomplice. Surely she wasn't stupid enough to transport in or out given the weather.
All he knows is that Kylah is over there...and while he didn't want to lose any more friends as they tried to find Hardin, for pity's sake they needed his help to get here in one piece, when it comes down to it, she matters more than they do. After the last day when he had found out what she really meant to him, and him to her, how they had held each other close and kissed under the moonlight, Rangin's only focus was to get back to make sure she was safe and to do anything to be with her.
Rangin picks up his pace slightly, not wanting to think of what could be happening but only knowing that he had to get there as quickly as he can.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Kylah edges closer to the door but it does not open when it ordinarily would, given her proximity.
Rangin and Harper jog away from the farmhouse, towards the low hill that lies between the Sandoval Colony buildings and the resort. Harper easily keeps pace. The rainfall is not too heavy now. Soon they are at the base of the hill and heading up. There is a rumble of thunder in the distance, perhaps to the west, but Rangin's tricorder does not buzz.
Concentrating so hard on every word of Graham's instructions that they might as well be burned into her brain, Kylah nods to each point he brings up. Her heart is beating loudly--she cannot believe whoever is inside of the room cannot hear it.
She nods at each point he makes. When they searched the empty houses yesterday Kylah never dreamed she would be doing this alone. His precautions then had seemed unimportant since she had sensed the houses were empty, but now...
At one moment when he gives her time to respond, she answers quickly: "I am doing as you said, sir," she whispers, moving closer to the door. "But--but I cannot use both hands or I will not be able to keep in contact with you through my communicator."
Then his instructions continue and she memorizes them. Eventually the flow of his voice stops. While he spoke she was anchored and safe; now she feels adrift and lonely. Her tongue flicks over her dry lips, wanting to ask what the chances are that the door is locked--but when it does not seem to recognize her, the question is answered before she can utter it.
"The door..." She wants to laugh or cry, or both. After all this she is impotent. "The door is not opening! Can Kjaerstad open it for me?" Listening more carefully she adds: "This does not sound like our ship's transporters, or Elasian ones either. I do not know if it is beaming someone in or out. What should I do?"
Kjaerstad says over her communicator, "The door controls are locked out, too. The transporter warmup cycle should be nearly complete by now. If you can't force the lock, I think you'll have to blast the door open."
"Yes," says Graham. "Do it, Ensign."
Rangin stops thinking about what might be happening ahead and keep telling himself to focus on what he knows. And what he knows, at this point in time, could be written in large type across the back of his communicator.
One, two, one, two he concentrates on setting a steady pace up and across the hill, the beat in his head matching the steps, both for him and Harper although it would be quite likely that Harper is easily faster than Rangin.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Kylah hears the orders although she can hardly believe her ears. She whispers "Y-yes sir. Going off communicator. I do not feel comfortable aiming with just one hand. I--I will report if I am able." Feeling as if she is casting aside a life-jacket while drowning, she fumbles the device onto her belt.
With ice-cold and clumsy fingers, she adjusts her phaser setting so it is capable of what the men are asking her to do. She grips the weapon in her right hand while balancing her wrist with the left, stands back, and stars at the doors over the phaser's short body. Taking as slow a breath as her tightly knotted diaphragm muscles will allow, she then exhales and forces her mind to count, just the way Graham told her:
One.
Two.
Three.
Adrenaline surges through her, her fingers tighten, and she shoots.
Rangin and Harper crest the hill and head down the other side. They can easily see the lights of the resort ahead, through the rain and slight fog.
Knowing time is of the essence, Kylah quickly sets her phaser-1 to Disintegrate. As she depresses the firing contact, a blue-white beam leaps out of the small hand weapon's emitter, straight and true. The door and part of the wall to either side are at once melted through in a perfect circle a little over two meters across. Her eyes are a little dazzled.
Last edited by Elendil's Heir; 29 Nov 2014 at 11:19 PM.
Wincing and blinking to clear her vision, Kylah uses her thumb to lower her phaser's setting back down to medium stun while she dashes forward to the left edge of the newly formed entrance. The weapon is now beneath her chin, and she aims it in the same direction as her swiftly darting gaze, moving from left to right in an effort to see what is in front of her.
Her mind also blasts forward, trying to identify the emotions of the person inside--likely Mrs. Hsu, but at this point she cannot assume anything. Kylah's powers may be weak but she is desperate and hopes any inkling will be of help.
Graham's instructions for shielding herself with the door are, of course, no longer valid. Neither is any thought of stealth--that option disappeared along with the cavernous hole that was once the transporter room's door. Instead she protects her body with the edge of the opening and hopes the occupant is both blinded and shocked.
"Freeze!" she screams. "Drop anything you are holding and put your hands in the air!"
Last edited by choie; 30 Nov 2014 at 12:01 AM.
Kylah looks around the still-smoking edge of the doorway and sees Mrs. Hsu, looking very startled, by the transporter control console. She does not raise her hands.
Stepping out past the entrance, Kylah closes the gap between her and the older woman, phaser now aimed directly at Mrs. Hsu. "Last warning. Step away from the console, Mrs. Hsu. Now." She flicks a glance down at the panel, hoping to understand whether the machine is preparing for a beam-in or a beam-out, before returning her dark gaze to Hsu. "What are you doing with that transporter? Who are you allowing in here--or where are you going? Tell me!"
Graham stands, staring at the communicator in his hands, mentally timing how long things ought to take to happen--assuming all was going well, that is...
How many times have you given a "go order?" he thinks. He frowns. It's harder when you're giving the order than when you're carrying it out--I'm responsible. That's what you've been running from for a decade, isn't it, Booker? Taking responsibility for...
He blinks. One thing at a time, dammit.
Mrs. Hsu seems irresolute for just an instant, but then dives for the transporter controls.
Years ago at a feast back on Elas, a teenaged Kylah sat beside a particularly taciturn, suspicious Klingon. Though he was not Aldaan's guest of honor, he was an important advisor, and her assigned task was, as always, to win him over. Yet even getting Mek'tor to speak to her seemed impossible.
She only managed to engage him by crafty application of her empathic abilities as well as her knowledge of Klingon culture. It was an important victory, in part due to what Mek'tor taught her about the Klingons' view on defeat: that to survive such an indignity was honorable only when one learned and grew strong enough to win another day.
Now, many years and light years from that dinner, Kylah sees Mrs. Hsu hesitate instead of obey her command. In a flash, the realization of what the woman is about to do--despite all Kylah's warnings throughout the day--brings Mek'tor's lesson back to her, specifically the phrase he uttered without intending the young girl to understand.
She has only seconds to prepare with a sharp inhale. Just as Mrs. Hsu makes her move, Kylah also lunges at the console. Simultaneously she tracks Mrs. Hsu with the aimed phaser, slams her finger down to fire a stunning blast at her target, and spits out: "qaqmeH Hegh SuvwI' law' puS taH qoH!"*
* Idiomatically: Better to fall as a warrior than stand as a fool.
Last edited by choie; 01 Dec 2014 at 01:15 AM.
As they head down the far side, Rangin still breathes deeply as Harper and he move along and down. At least having crested the hill and heading down, Rangin thinks that at least one good thing has happened. They're unlikely to be hit by any lightning between the side of the hill and the resort, given the other higher things around them.
But still, if anything bad were to happen to Kylah, would he ever forgive himself...
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Hsu is caught in the nimbus of the stun effect and falls senseless to the floor.
Rangin and Harper are now in an open field and approaching the outermost extent of the resort's gardens. The rain seems to be diminishing a bit.
Once the stun hits its target, Kylah barely spares Mrs. Hsu a thought. She has gripped the side of the transporter console to help her balance after practically leaping over to it. Now she stares down and tries to make sense of the display, only shifting her gaze briefly to the transporter pads themselves to see if anything is happening. Suddenly she realizes she is trembling and dizzy--as if she has not taken in enough oxygen given the stress and exertion--and gulps down air to clear her head.
Now she has two issues to solve. First, is the transporter merely in the process of warming up, and Mrs. Hsu plan was to execute a timed beam-out to... somewhere? If so, Kylah must determine where that location is.
The more frightening alternative: Is someone attempting to beam in? If this is the case, who...from where...and how many? And most important, should she--can she--stop them?
Wide eyes scanning the console, Kylah remembers her communicator. She keeps her phaser aimed at the pads while at the same time yanking the communicator up and open.
"Kylah to Graham! I stunned her, I--I have stunned Mrs. Hsu. She disobeyed my orders and was trying to get to the transporter. I am now in control of the room, but I--" She desperately tries to understand the panel and mentally curses her relatively few hours of training regarding Engineering--most of which did not involve transporter technology. "--I am not sure what to do. If someone is beaming in, would it be better to confront them or stop the process without knowing where they are? Perhaps I can hold them in the buffer. I do not know!" Trying to contain her emotions, she asks in a calmer voice: "I do not suppose you were able to send any officers to me?"
Last edited by choie; 01 Dec 2014 at 09:32 AM.
Graham's relieved when the communicator comes back to life in what feels like only a few seconds longer than it would minimally take to clear the room. He chastises himself for not knowing enough about Kylah's service record to know how often--if ever--she's had to use force in the line of duty. But first things first...
"Good work, Ensign," Graham responds, not wanting to waste time but feeling absolutely certain some immediate acknowledgement and reinforcement is necessary. He continues--both to the communicator and his colleague in the house--"Lt. Delaney--urgently: get on the line and help Mr. Kylah freeze the transporter process, if possible." He adds "And yes, help is on the way."
While anticipating Delaney jumping in--Graham's reasonably familiar with transporter controls, but the guy apparently recognized its model number from eyeballing it, for god's sake--Graham adjusts his communicator to narrow band to Rangin and Harper and Garcia. "Back up Ens. Kylah in the transporter room--expedite."
While heading across, Rangin can feel the communicator go off. He slows slightly as he reaches back to grab it from its pouch and can just about hear Graham's words echoing through the rain.
He slows down slightly, sucking air into his lungs as he shifts gears and responds. "Two minutes to transporter room."
Flicking the communicator shut and putting it away, Rangin shouts to Harper, "Go, transporter room, fast as you can, I'll be right behind you," while picking up the pace to as fast as he can, while still leaving him able to respond to anything when he gets there.
One-twenty, one-nineteen, one-eighteen - he counts down in his head as he races towards the resort.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Kylah sees that the transporter is ready to energize. She does not recognize the coordinates it is set for, but can tell that it is not on the surface of Omicron Ceti III. She notices a small civilian-made phaser atop the console.
Garcia arrives in the transporter room seconds later, out of breath, his own phaser-1 in hand.
Delaney says via communicator, "Take a picture of the console, or describe it for me, please, Mr. Kylah."
Rangin and Harper arrive at the same exterior door to the resort from which they departed. It is locked, and for a maddening second or two the door control panel seems not to recognize Rangin's muddy and rain-slicked thumbprint, but eventually the door slides open. They race through the door and down a hallway, towards the transporter room.
Last edited by Elendil's Heir; 01 Dec 2014 at 02:19 PM.
Relieved to make the shelter of the resort, Rangin is not happy as the door initially refuses to budge. While jabbing his thumb to the control pad, he draws his phaser-1 swearing that if it doesn't open in the next two seconds, it is going to be opened whether it likes it or not.
Relieved to see it open, Rangin nods to Harper and, while keeping his phaser-1 drawn, the pair race down the corridors ready to assist.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Shocked to discover the weapon, Kylah stifles the emotion in order to get out her tricorder. "Here is the image, Lt. Delaney," she says, hating how weak her voice sounds, and submits the scan to Delaney. As she does she sees Garcia arrive, and she gives him a quick look of recognition before returning to the console. She is grateful to see him but resents that he left her to face this alone.
"Mr. Graham," she continues while waiting for Delaney to analyze the image, "the transporter is set to energize and the coordinates are off-world. The Yorktown should contact the Trimalchio--I have learned it is Fellim Palver's chartered yacht--to check their status. And they--I think they should also scan for any cloaked vessels in the vicinity."
Kylah darts a glance at Garcia. "Please search Mrs. Hsu and get her out of the way--and guard her. I wish we had restraints." With a swallow, she eyes the unfamiliar phaser again.
She was armed after all. She was probably reaching for the weapon. Kylah cannot suppress a shudder but keeps her focus on the transporter.
"Understood," Graham replies, starting to pace.
"Graham to Yorktown," he says, switching channels.* "We intercepted Wilson's deputy trying to use the resort's transporter. The coordinates are off-planet." He stands by Delaney, trying to look over his shoulder. "Be advised target may have been a ship in orbit--one of those known, or another cloaked. Still an unsecured scene but we may have coordinates in a minute. "
Off line, he addresses the others in the room. "We'll get after Hardin soon enough, but only after the transporter's secured. And..." He glances at T'Var and exhales. "Well, fortunately, unless Harper and Rangin pick up sniffles from the rain, we don't need your services for any of our folks again. Let's hope we can keep this up."
*I assume he has to do something and it's not smart enough to switch - although Cortana/Siri are both smart enough now
Delaney looks over the image Kylah sends him, and cross-references to a file on his own tricorder. "The transporter is set to beam out one person. It's locked onto the bridge of the Trimalchio, the yacht, as you guessed, Mr. Kylah. Good work."
Garcia gently pulls Mrs. Hsu away from the transporter console and lays her, arms and legs straight, along one wall. He searches her and says, "Nothing on her but a small datapad and stylus."
Rangin and Harper then arrive in the transporter room, having startled or scared several resort guests and WR&R staff in the corridors and plazas along the way.
After a few moments, Capt. Singh comes on the comm line. "Thank you, Mr. Graham, Mr. Kylah. I'll order both the Trimalchio and the Fastolfe's Chariot to raise shields to prevent unauthorized transport, and we'll do the same. We're beginning a scan for any cloaked vessels... but of course, not finding anything is no proof that there's nothing there."
Kylah is trying to take in all the new information when she sees the unbelievably welcome sight of Velir rushing in through the new entrance to the transporter room. Her breath catches in her throat when he arrives, but she can do no more than sweep her worried gaze over his soaking wet figure before the Captain's voice arrests her attention.
She waits until Singh finishes before acknowledging her words with thanks, after which she asks Delaney: "Please, sir, how do I shut the transporter down and return access to Lt. Kjaerstad?"
Then: "Mr. Graham, it is possible Mrs. Hsu was not unauthorized. These criminals must have had escape routes, particularly Hardin; the Trimalchio is convenient for that purpose. Not to mention that I already have some suspicions about Mr. Palver.
"Anyway, sir, I know getting to Hardin is essential, but I wanted to ask you: between Mrs. Hsu's attempt to flee after I unraveled her alibi, and Mr. Hsu's backing up her cover story--and he might have been responsible for locking out Kjaerstad's access to shutting down the transporter... both or either of them had means, motive and opportunity to kill Wilson. Russell is with Mr. Hsu now; I would feel safer with more than one security officer on him, and in fact I would like to bring both the Hsus somewhere secure for further questioning. Are we allowed to detain them based on what we currently know?"
Only as she finishes does she let herself turn to Velir again. She cannot speak her feelings aloud, but her eyes try to express just how achingly grateful she is to see him.
Last edited by choie; 02 Dec 2014 at 12:57 AM.
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