Printable View
Kylah watches the door close and then turns to the others. She starts to open her mouth to report, but pauses. Mr. Graham is the leader here, and before she speaks up, he may well have something to say--or wish to contact the ship as soon as he can. Her lips press together instead, biting back the words. But if it were not inappropriate for a Starfleet officer and undignified for a member of the royal family on Elas, she would be bouncing on her toes right now.
Graham listens to the door shut, and after a moment smiles slightly and says, "Alright: three things. One, any observations or insight? Two, we check in with the other team. Three, we report to Yorktown."
He looks up at the ceiling "Bear in mind we may be listened to. No offense intended, and none taken," he adds to the ceiling and walls.
Kylah looks up at the ceiling, as if the lengthy conversation with the president's right-hand man can be found up above her head. She must not discuss anything regarding Lt. Morris, of course. Except...
"First, Lt. Morris, I must thank you for mentioning Cledd Okmyx," she begins, giving the man a nod before returning to fairly beam at Mr. Graham. "It allowed me to pursue what I believe--or hope--is a promising line of inquiry. Mr. Kalo seemed to feel more...comfortable with me." Her left shoulder rises slightly in a modest shrug. "At least, I was able to lead him into revealing that President Okmyx's eldest son was indeed mentioned by two witnesses at the scene of the crime." She adds to Morris reassuringly, "I did not give away that you had witnessed this yourself, sir."
She rushes through the salient points of the discussion about the Okmyxes' father/son relationship, including Cledd's desire to live up to his father's expectations, his seeming estrangement from his siblings, and the fact that the younger man has his own gang willing to do his bidding. The fact that Cledd expressed high interest in Dr. McCoy's lost communicator also receives a mention.
"...I just thought that perhaps it found its way into the hands of whoever was behind stealing the CAG's computer. While Cledd is not skilled in technology himself," Kylah adds, thinking aloud, "he is an ambitious man, and a violent one as well. Perhaps he wanted control over people who did know about technology--such as the CAG crew."
Then Kylah unconsciously touches her sash and the hard outline of her communicator hidden beneath it. She lowers her voice and continues: "You mentioned getting in touch with the others. I... I should mention that I took advantage of my privacy in the restroom to contact them. I mean... Mr. Rangin," she blurts at last, switching her focus to Dr. T'Var so that she does not have to meet Mr. Graham's gaze.
She hurriedly gives a very brief description of what Mr. Rangin has graciously allowed her to reveal: that they are with Krako, who believes the President is to blame for the kidnapping. She stops, awkward, and feels her face turning warm yet again. It seems unconscionable to hide the fact that Mr. Rangin and the others might have the hostages even now. But orders are orders. "He told me--that is, I do not think we are to join them. Quite the opposite."
Kylah looks out the window, frustrated and a little angry. No, more than just a little angry. It strikes her again as extremely foolish to attempt a rescue without two of the best fighters on this strange team. All well and good to prohibit me from joining. He knows I am useless and weak in a fight. But the others...
She shakes her head irritably. "In any event, what do you think of Cledd Okmyx as a possible suspect, Mr. Graham? Dr. T'Var? If we wish to find him, Mr. Kalo says he is often at some sort of leisure club called the Paramount. Lt. Morris, have you heard of this place?"
"Good work, Ensign," Morris says. "Sure, I know the Paramount. It's one of the fancier nightclubs around. I've just been there once."
T'Var nods. "Especially given the reports of Cledd Okmyx's involvement in the kidnappings, it would be logical to seek him out."
"Don't take offence, sometimes, simplicity beats complexity," Rangin comments to Zabo. "It's a shame we are not right next door, it would make it easier, but we'll have to come up with something else." Rangin sits back down on the bed working through the possible angles. "All guns blazing won't help, could get someone injured. But time isn't something we really have on our side. We need a way to either split them off or work out which of the seven are our two kidnappers."
He turns and looks at Zabo, "If you were in this situation and someone knocked at the door, what would you do? Not saying you ever have been, but you would at least check on the door, wouldn't you? And any people you had in the room, you would want to make sure they are kept under supervision as a group, covered by someone else, right?"
"Of course, it only helps if you can see into the room and that we can. But the usual line is one at the door, one covering the group but with eyeline across. So they can act as a team if anything happens. Let's use that teamwork against them. We might even be lucky and have the group shuffled off into one room out of sight. Is that about right?"
"I'd still like to get a look at the group inside just to confirm it's the CAG." Rangin muses, wondering how best that could be done.
"There's always that 'drill a peep hole in the wall' idea," Collins offers.
"Yeah," says Zabo, nodding at Collins. "I might come to the door, or call out and see who it was, but probably not open it, if I were the guy who'd put the bag on some folks." He thinks. "Maybe you could use your fancy heaters through the door? Or use that sparkly people-moving gadget to move everybody somewhere where we could see them?"
Collins brightens noticeably. "Hey, now!" she says and nods, looking at Rangin and pointing to Zabo.
"What do you reckon, you're the expert?" Rangin asks Collins. "Are the doors thin enough to stun someone through?"
"Yes, indeed," Graham replies in a thoughtful tone to T'Var's comment.
"And a fancy nightclub sure beats some rat hole down by the docks." He shrugs. "I seem to remember from old Terran vids suspects always seemed to be holed up 'down by the docks.'"
He wishes he had a few minutes to think through Kylah's demeanor. On the one hand it seems drop-dead simple: give her some command guidance, which was a bit...wobbly...on that first mission when Collins was having her...difficulties. And keep her away from predatory assholes. And she thrives. But what's the deal with looking away reporting about Rangin...?
But he has neither the option to speak to her privately or stand there ruminating.
For a moment, he feels like he did wearing his Lt. Cmdr's rank.
The more fear, uncertainty and doubt there is, the more your people look to you. So when you have the least idea of what to do, that's exactly when it's most important to provide your people the confidence that somebody knows what the hell to do.
"It's excellent work all around, Mr. Kylah," Graham says with conviction, nodding toward the young ensign. "If this mission goes by the numbers, your communications skills will be the most valuable players. Me shooting someone or the Doc patching somebody up are just support in case something goes south. Keep at it and don't be shy," he adds--both his tone and his gaze soften involuntarily.
They walked out along the sandbar...
No matter what you will always be safe with me...
He mentally shakes his head clear of the memory.
Nothing anyone would notice, he thinks.
He clears his throat. "All right, if there are no other comments, we'll get to it and inform Yorktown enroute."
"I was thinking more finding an open space," Collins explains "and beaming the lot there. Sort 'em out in the open." She pauses. "But if we could, quietly, unobtrusively, make a hole in the door, no more than two centimeters, I could shoot a wide beam medium stun into the room." She looks at Rangin, leaving the decision making to him.
Your earlier tricorder scans and Collins's own familiarity with phaser capabilities suggest that, depending on how far away those in the apartment are from the hallway, a phaser set on heavy stun with a wide beam and fired through a simple wooden door might suffice to knock out, or at least slow down, all or most of the occupants.
"Were you going to have the Yorktown make that scan before we go, Ensign?" Morris asks Graham.
See post 690.
Graham nods. "Right...good call. Once I hail Yorktown, as the ah, local, can you advise them on the right part of town to focus on?"
He opens his communicator. "Graham to Yorktown. We're about to head out to investigate a lead on the CAG's kidnapping. The station's mainframe was taken. We're hoping that there is enough off-planet or rare metal in it to be detected. Lt. Morris can advise on the area--ah, Okmyx' territory--where we'd like to start."
Mr. Graham's warm praise of her work lifts Kylah's head in surprise and appreciation. She stands even straighter than usual but tries not to seem unduly proud over the actions he has complimented. It is, after all, the level of competence at which she should have been performing all along. Looking at him, she notices a faint change in his mood, which makes her curious--especially after that wave of sorrow she felt earlier, when he touched her hand--but she refrains from pressing further.
Perhaps I can get him to hang back with me so we can talk in private, she thinks. Even though she cannot share Mr. Rangin's news about the hostages, she can certainly disucss Mr. Kalo's thoughts about Lt. Morris.
Speaking of whom, she wonders what scan the CAG member means. Then Mr. Graham opens his communicator and dispels her confusion. Of course, why did she not think of it earlier once they knew the computer was gone? Foolish, she thinks with a scowl.
Morris thinks for a moment and says to Roble, "Try within Starfleet planetary survey grids 070A through 930A. That should cover most of the city."
"Stand by," says the Science Officer, high above on the Yorktown's Bridge. "Scanning now."
There is a knock at the door.
"I'm an idiot, should have thought about this sooner. We have seven people in the room, two people with weapons and five people without." Rangin shakes his head in amusement as a few details finally click together into something far more useful. "We can pinpoint exactly where we need to aim should we wish to. We have plenty of options, if we need them."
Rangin can feel himself begin to bounce up and down slightly on the balls of his feet as his mind begins to put together more ideas before settling on perhaps the simplest option of all. "If we know which five are the CAG because they are not carrying any weapons, why don't we just transport them up to the Yorktown. Our job then becomes apprehending the kidnappers before they leave."
"What do you think?"
Collins nods approvingly "Works for me! Shall I call the ship or would you like the honors?"
Graham's not terribly alarmed, but responds instinctively, just in case the love-fest is over.
He puts a finger in front of his lips to indicate silence. Then he points at T'Var, then to a 90 degree angle from the door, with his hand on his phaser indicating she should stand by.
there's no doubt in his mind the Vulcan doctor is his go-to on the team for back up if the shit hits the fan, violence wise. Although aside from his general knowledge of Vulcans he can't put his finger on why...
"Hello, we're about ready," he says after a moment in an amicable tone. "Sorry if we kept anyone waiting."
Zabo says, "I thought just four of your guys was kidnapped. Didn't one of 'em get away?"
T'Var nods at Graham and changes her stance slightly.
The conference room door opens and Kalo pokes his head around it. He sees Kylah, enters, closes the door behind him, walks over and hands her a large envelope. He says, "Here's that picture you wanted."
Kylah is a little embarrassed that her colleagues were on alert for no reason; she should have mentioned that she was expecting an image of Okmyx's eldest son. "Oh... yes, thank you very much, Mr. Kalo," she says with a brief smile. "I appreciate your continued assistance."
Her fingers carefully open the envelope, but she will wait until Kalo leaves before pulling out the picture and explaining it to the others.
Kalo smiles tightly and leaves. The door shuts again.
"I am sorry for alarming you," Kylah says quickly to Mr. Graham and Dr. T'Var. "I did not know Mr. Kalo would respond so quickly to my request." She turns a little toward Lt. Morris, curious if he has any unusual reaction to seeing Cledd's face, and tries to home in on his emotions.
Refining her focus seems harder than it used to be; not only is she unused to the effort, the nearness of the others is causing a static-like interference. T'Var's near-blankness and Mr. Graham's intensity are two extremes competing to draw her attention away from the other human in the room.
She shakes her head at herself and takes a deep steadying breath before slipping the image from the envelope. "To make sure we could identify him on sight, I asked for a picture of Cledd Okmyx," she says in a rush, tilting the photo slightly toward Lt. Morris. Even though she is ostensibly examining the image herself, she still concentrates on Morris. "You are the only one of us who has seen him before, Lieutenant. Is this an accurate representation of how he looks now?"
"Interesting point. Makes me wonder who person number five is then?" Rangin tries to consider who else would be along in there and begins to get a had feelling about it.
"Four CAG members, two muscle...who would you put your money on being our mystery person? Either they kidnapped the maid or it's someone moe important and in charge of the situation. I think firing into the apartment might not be so clever. Let's do the opposite and switch out our two gunmen instead. What do you reckon?"
Morris looks at the black and white photograph, which is about 25x15 cms. It shows the head and upper shoulders of a young man in an Old Chicago suit and tie. He has a definite resemblance to President Okmyx, although perhaps a harder expression. Morris says, "That's Cledd, definitely. A pretty recent photo, too, I'd say."
Graham's communicator beeps.
"Good work, Mr. Kylah," Graham says as he whips out his communicator "Graham here."
Lt. Cmdr. Roble reports from the Yorktown, "Sensors indicate a possible location for the computer stolen from the CAG's safe house, Ensign. The readings are not definite, due to being beneath a somewhat large structure and underground, but appear to be the most likely within the grid coordinates Mr. Morris provided."
Kylah watches Mr. Graham carefully while he listens to his communicator. The weight of keeping Ensign Rangin's secret presses down on her until, suddenly, she thinks she might have a way past it. She will not disobey orders, but why not help Graham and Dr. T'Var figure out on their own just how close the others are to the hostages?
Resting her fingers tentatively on Mr. Graham's sleeve, Kylah murmurs hastily to him, "If they have located the computer, perhaps they can see whether the rest of the team is anywhere nearby?"
Then she turns her attention to Lt. Morris. "Thank you for identifying Cledd, sir. How often have you seen him? Has he ever seemed hostile to you or the other CAG team members?"
"Of course," Graham replies to Kylah, nodding crisply. His brow furrows slightly as he wheels start turning as he starts to think about retrieval of the computer--and potentially the hostages.. "Good thinking as we're presumably all after the same bad guys..."
And we don't want the two teams stumbling and bumbling into a cluster fuck storming the same location...
He hopes Rangin would have enough sense to put Collins in charge during any kind of tactical operation, but wouldn't bet money it.
"Yorktown, where is the other team in relation to that location?" Graham asks.
Morris says, "I've seen him maybe a half-dozen times. He's not as outgoing as his dad. He's been brusque with me, and I've heard similar things from my teammates."
Roble says, "That's the strange thing, Mr. Graham. The computer appears to be in the basement or sub-basement of the same building where the rest of the landing party is now."
Kylah nods toward Morris in gratitude, keeping an eye on Mr. Graham. She wonders if her suspicion was right--and if so, whether she was correct to nudge Mr. Graham toward the truth. Mr. Rangin will not know how we 'learned' of their current position, she convinces herself.
Still, she is curious whether Mr. Graham will seek to join the others or seek out Cledd. It likely depends on whether he thinks the others are capable of freeing the hostages on their own. Which... is unlikely. His disdain for Mr. Rangin probably outweighs his obvious confidence in Lt. Collins. And he may remember what happened with Garcia leaving Kylah to face Mrs. Hsu alone back on OC3.
While waiting for the leader of this mini-team to make his decision, she decides there is no harm in having a private moment with T'Var. She gently moves to speak with the doctor away from the others.
"Dr. T'Var," she says softly, "Do you have any idea why I might have suddenly regained my..." She glances toward the others to ensure she is not being overheard, then lowers her voice further: "...My abilities? They feel stronger to me now, but perhaps that is just because I've never been without them before. The experience is almost painful."
Rangin looks back over the tricorder readings for the room and the people still in it. trying to work out which of the readings might be the odd man out. Man...out. This was a backwards planet where it seemed that certain societal norms were still being obeyed like the patriarchal culture it copied.
Casting an aside glance at Zabo he asks, "...were the kidnappers all men?" while scanning the room to check the gender of the participants. After all two of the CAG were female.
Dr. T'Var shakes her head. "I do not know. Have you had contact with another telepath or empath recently, Ensign? It might have been very recently, or you might be experiencing a delayed reaction. Have you suffered any form of psychological trauma?" She thinks. "I presume you were not exposed to any unusual radiation or neurological phenomenon since we beamed down...."
Zabo says, "Yeah, I think so. Okmyx don't use dames for his legwork."
Rangin's tricorder scan confirms that only two of those in the other apartment are female; the rest are male.
Kylah's lips turn into a thin line as she thinks. "Perhaps," she begins slowly, "it might have been the violence down in the lobby. It was so... visceral. And the victim seemed utterly helpless and scared, and because of... because of what happened to me on Anubis, I knew how he must have felt. Even before I literally sensed it. I was overwhelmed..."
She shakes her head, so distracted by the memories she hardly sees T'Var in front of her now. "I suppose it is hard to determine why my senses returned when I do not even know why they disappeared in the first place. I may never know." The idea of learning just what Zweller might have done to her--not to mention any examinations T'Var might wish her to undergo--suddenly makes her shudder. "Maybe it is better not to know," she murmurs hurriedly, looking back up at the doctor with hopeful eyes. "We--you do not need to follow up on this, do you?"
"Ok, that's good indeed. Let' see if we can split that group down any further," Rangin calls back to Zabo and Collins, "Two with guns, who will be the kidnappers, and two ladies who will certainly be in the CAG. So all we need to do is narrow down which of the three is not a member of the CAG and we can whisk the others away to safety."
Rangin looks across at Zabo, "Just out of curiousity, they weren't kidnapped in uniform were they?" He suddenly wonders if there is an easy way to tell them apart. Starfleet Uniform regualtion footwear are boots, not shoes, especially not the kind worn by the gangsters on this planet. But then why would anyone consider such a fashion statement to be so useful in telling them apart.
Rangin also goes back to scanning the occupants of the room, and tracks where the ladies are. He would be surprised if they were not in the group with the CAG with at least one, if not the other, member leaving the two goons to one side and who ever the extra person is.
T'Var looks at her closely. "If you feel capable of continuing to serve, then no. But if you have any difficulties in carrying out your duties, you will of course tell me as soon as possible. Agreed?"
Zabo says, "I dunno if they were in uniform, pally. I wasn't there."
Rangin's scan shows four people - whom he decides to designate as Group A - about five meters away in the apartment from three people, or Group B. The two women are among Group A. The two armed men are in Group B. It is a larger apartment than the one Rangin is in.
Graham unfortunately doesn't see any alternative than his hailing Rangin.
Yeah so T'Var you did a stand-up thing by delegating tactical command to me, but now could you handle this because I don't want to do it...
No, not cool.
Graham hails Rangin.
Rangin's communicator beeps.
Kylah nods at Dr. T'Var, grateful for the delay even as a little wave of alarm churns her stomach. "Thank you," she murmurs.
Her thoughts turn to that destroyed communicator still in her possession. She does not think she can personally avoid following up on the results from Mr. Delaney's examination of the device. The trouble is, neither her technical or biological knowledge are advanced enough to determine what might have melted the inside of a communicator while simultaneously causing her physical and mental damage that has not shown up on any cursory scan.
The only person who ever performed a complete, detailed physical scan on her was her childhood doctor, and he died not long after her parents. And Dr. Leenar's records had been lost, apparently... a fact she learned only when she applied to Starfleet and they asked for her medical history.
Of course, Kylah guessed that her uncle had something to do with the fortuitous chain of events that erased her lengthy history of anomalous brain scans, treatments and experiments Leenar had performed on her over the years. And just as Aldaan had convinced Starfleet to slip her into the Academy at an advanced pace before Elas officially joined the Federation, he managed to persuade them that a cursory medical examination would suffice. "Elasian royal tradition demands physical privacy," he insisted. Though Kylah herself required privacy, the idea that most Elasians were that modest was utterly absurd. Presumably they knew so little of Elasians that Aldaan could have spun the tale of some ancient religious ceremony involving insect-worship, and the Federation would likely have bought it.
But it was not just cultural ignorance. When Kylah asked him how he had pulled off such feats of persuasion, Aldaan had remarked dryly, "It was not difficult, my dear child; after all, a seemingly endless supply of Dilithium has bolstered our credibility with both the Klingons and the Federation."
This line of thought is diverted when she hears Mr. Graham suddenly contacting the other team. Though he has not informed the rest of them, Kylah suspects Lt. Roble gave Mr. Graham the news she was expecting about the mainframe. She takes a step closer to the security officer, tilting her head while trying to look innocently curious.
Graham grimaces slightly, waiting for a response.
"The other team is right on top of where the mainframe may be," he says quietly, forcing the concern out of his voice.
Why the hell is a botanist or whatever the hell he is in charge of a mission like this instead of Collins...
Rangin is still looking over the Tricorder data as his communicator beeps. Absent mindedly he flicks it open without looking and answers it while still trying to formulate the best strategies for the CAG. It looks like they can just beam the CAG out sfter all.
"Ensign Rangin here."
"This is Graham," he replies to Rangin, professionally if a bit tightly. "Be advised Yorktown's sensors picked up what might be the missing mainframe underneath the building you're in. You may be at ground zero for who did this, or where the hostages are being held."
After a moment's pause he adds "do you need assistance?"
Kylah unconsciously steps closer to Mr. Graham. His words are perfect--it sounds as if he is unsure that the hostages are there, which could erase any suspicions Mr. Rangin might have that Kylah disobeyed him. But she is concerned nonetheless; rather selfishly, she does not wish to join the others.
After a moment, Collins says quietly to Rangin, "Might be good to consolidate our forces."
Rangin tries not to grind his teeth down the communicator as he realises that it is Graham speaking and not T'Var or Roble. He thinks back over the conversations he has had with Collins and remembers her mentioning the mainframe earlier on. It looks like the other team had made some progress and without getting into further trouble, at least Rangin hopes it is the case.
"We haven't moved on the room where we believe the CAG to be, but I think we have worked out who to transport out leaving three others behind." Despite the fact Zabo us behind him, Rangin having turned away to take the call, his eyes flicker in that direction and finds himself not quite willing to mention anything further.
"Yes, your assistance would be appreciated to help clean up if needs be."
He turns and quietly says to Collins, "Might want to check on Garcis as well."
"Garcia?" Collins asks. "OK. In person or by communicator?"
"Stand by," Graham replies, "unless advised otherwise we'll request Yorktown to put us down in the room with your team."
Kylah blinks, not having expected such a response--and not looking forward to returning to Mr. Rangin's team. She looks down at the photograph in her hand. "Sir," she murmurs to Mr. Graham, "do you not think we will risk losing track of Cledd if we wait until after the hostages are released? Whereas if we see him while he thinks he has the upper hand, we might at least determine what he expects to gain from this stunt? Assuming he is indeed behind it," she adds under her breath.
Graham pauses, looking at Kylah for a moment and thinking.
He is forced to admit that she's certainly right that making that call is most definitely not up to him. It's up to the mission commander...
If anything he's proud of her for raising the issues - good officer maturity. Although his jaw tightens slightly as he returns to the communicator.
"Mr. Rangin," he states, trying to be as respectful as he can without conveying any.
"I would be remiss in not reporting that we have a lead on who might be behind this. It would be best to explain in a, ah, secure environment. But the lead is credible. It is your call whether we pursue that immediately." After a very brief pause he adds, "There is a risk that at the time or shortly after the hostages were rescued, our boy--uh, target--might learn about it and go to ground."
After a moments consideration Rangin replies quietly to Collins hoping to avoid Zabo hearing. "In person. Also if the mainframe is below us, scan and find it then the pair of you see who is holding it there." He nods to her hoping that this would, at least, be more along Collins' line of work.
He listens back to Ens. Graham's through the communicator and hears the question. Rangin's primary goal is the safety of his team and the CAG above all. Finding the culprit is a job for the locals and it would be typical of Graham to stick his nose in where it didn't belong. Then again they had a little time and it might be easier for Federation personnel to locate the person behind it and bring them to justice.
"Ok Graham. Follow your lead and don't take too long. First sign of trouble I'll be looking to pull the CAG out. Besides it's possible the person you're looking for is already here somewhere on the premises. If we can clear up all three things at the same time, that would be good. Rangin out."
Taking a few deep breaths, he tries to calm himself knowing he just let Graham off his leash and hoping that T'var will keep him under control.
After that he calls up to the Yorktown with the readings from his tricorder to see if it is possible to transport the team out.