Of my Enemy...

Posted on Mon Jan 14th, 2019 @ 9:36pm by Second Mate Quinton Beck & MERCHANT RANKS Fala Gaz (NPC) & Master Steward Othor Jaxz Ghost of the Second Star

3,144 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: A good start...
Location: Second Star- Bridge

-Start-

{Bridge}

Quinton knew the game was almost over, knew that the hardest punch always came when you were the least ready for it. Starfleet threw in the towel legally, but this was not their only operation. He had armed escorts forcing upgrades to ships systems, turning it into a troop transport. N'tach's friend was injured and she was moreso furious. Christopher Callahan had already threatened to quit if anti-Borg materials and protocols were on his duty list.

They had fought off immeasurable odds, monolithic governments and the darkest of the criminal and black ops communities. They had seemed to win, but Fala, Fala of all the people involved had sold them out. The report from Quill and Akio was beyond doubt. It was a device to help stop the spread of assimilation in the event of a borg invasion. It had no place on a ship which had no place anywhere near the Borg.

Fala had betrayed all of them from the moment she licensed Starfleet Intelligence with a lease on the ship. Fifty thousand Gpl up front had solved many problems, Sheila's offer to fix up the ruined sections for her outfit had also been too good to be true. Quinton was in court all the damn time, he trusted his people to care for the ship. It was no happenstance, This Ms. Rohbards persona was placed in their path, and intent on reclaiming the ship as a Starfleet property. Brutal tampering from agents and operators across his network of contacts, endless resources, unstoppable will all so she was in the place and time to be hired. She was taking over the ship.

And Fala had signed at the bottom, thumbprint and all.

"...THEY ARE EQUIPPING US TO FIGHT THE BORG!? Fala are you serious, how in the hell did you agree to this?"

His neck was swollen in his flushed rage, he yelled, but immediately restrained his voice. Professionalism resumed but only on a thin ice.

Fala was ashamed and didn't even bridle against his tone. It was a good deal, and it only got better. They were not Starfleet per se, rather mercenaries created and hired out of Starfleet by Intelligence according to her contacts. They brought security and protection, and now it seemed more trouble than they had ever bargained for. They had lost people claiming this ship, made historical legal precedents, founded a prototype mercantile fleet, and now they were losing all of it to a black ops program.

Just as they had feared, had expected to happen all along.

The crew of the Second Star needed the help, the pressures mounting against them were winning through, Fala had to get help, and her resources though diverse and considerable, were insufficient.

"Quinton.. I can't... Do we really expect her to take over? I can try..." Her creative brain had not yet come up with a solution so she fell silent before finishing, "there has to be something."

"No. You tied my hands when you signed over those decks to her. Starfleet owns a portion of the ship under a lease we can't afford to violate. Judah isn't even able to go in there as they've disabled holo projectors, and the bill doubles if we have to pay for their restoration as well."

They stared at each other across her desk. The auspicious room and view from her Observation lounge deck was now a punchline for her failure to see past the Latinum thrown at her, all in all Rohbards brought a few thousand gpl worth of Latinum in parts, people, and equipment as a Trojan horse. Sold out, and they signed for it.

He set his jaw, determined. =0= Judah, secure line to the "Family"

Judah patched a secure line to those in the group called "the family". Othor, Kas, Avor, Akio, Vicente, were the ones not present and got the summons, a series of taps which was their pre-arranged signal to gather on the bridge.

Fala was near tears, but had already begun resuming her legal work, still clearing issues even forty hours from their proposed Launch. Any action on board would delay them from launching and keep them deeper in Starfleet's clutch, but that didnt mean they were totally without guns in the game.

=0= Talloc Suder to the bridge.

Already his devious mind concocted the plan, he needed to pit the one man Starfleet couldn't arrest against this army. He would need Talloc, it all depended on him.

The bridge fell silent, Fala was in her office, Kas sat in the Captains chair, issuing orders across the whole ship via console. Of those who were in the Family, the rest were on their way. The turbolift doors closed, as the man at tactical, one of Sheila's men, was relieved and left bridge. Once he was gone, Kas looked to Quinton who glowed in seething fury. She hadn't seen this much boundless rage in him ever, he was a new creature.

Kas snarled, "We have a problem Quinton!"

In equal repose he snarled in return, "I'm handling it!"

Talloc rushed to the bridge. He had his phasers ready. He had his type 2 always showing, but he had a type 1 hidden away. He arrived at the bridge and found the Captain and said, "Yes?"

"Mr. Suder, take over at Tactical please."

Talloc looked over the station and started configuring it to his liking. He was happy that he was trusted with tactical, it was about time. Security was far beneath his abilities, and he could gather precious intel to complete his mission. Though seeing the limited weaponry and working systems he remembered the lecture in engineering when Chris has soured his face. This ship was not meant for battle.

Talloc didnt know he was exposed, using that, Quinton had to ask for his help; and leave ambiguity enough to allow the man to serve two masters.

"Mr. Talloc... I know we all have our orders, and have pledged loyalties, but you need to decide where you stand now. Are you with us, are you ready to serve this ship and crew?"

Blinking, Talloc said, "I stand with the Second Star, Captain. I am with you."

Kas scoffed in her small way, Quinton agreed. Still he took the man at his word.

"You are the Security Administrator in charge of all aspects of ships safety. Sheila Rohbards is posing as a leased mercenary outfit under contract to provide services. She has so far drastically increased our ships profile without purview or permission, and is at present using her armed engineers to force upgrade portions of the ship to meet her needs for dangerous missions we never agreed to take part in. Her outfit now poses a mutinous threat to the ship's safety. I have evidence to support Rohbards is running a operation on behalf of Starfleet Intelligence which is in violation of our charter. Do you understand, consider these."

Judah had been monitoring and compiling an aggregate of Sheilas actions, the recent shanghai of the Captain off the ship had turned the family against her. Vicious attack dogs, anti-borg devices, nanites, plagues, and a detention center for the scum of the universe. All of it on their little tug here, and all of it dangerous to their lives. Rohbards wanted this ship for herself to pull nasty missions off the books.

"So I need my Security Chief, and any contacts you may have in Intel, to call off the dogs. And... I'm gonna need you to help me sell a small fib."

He knew the Captain was shrewd but it was almost like he had been discovered. Was the Captain asking him as a Security and Tactical head of this ship, or as the planted undercover Security Officer he actually was?

"I will use all means available that I have to assist you." Talloc said, hoping the answer satisfied Beck.

Just like that Quinton found his smile. "Easy enough. It pays to be precise however."

"So here is how it all will go down. Commander Douglas tried to arrest me, Rohbards tried to suborn me. Talloc, if I disappear or am killed, it was either of them ok? And Talloc, I will be disappearing in about half an hour. Arrest Rohbards, and report Douglas for malfeasance, data files will be made available with evidence."

The turbolift opened, Kas and Othor came out. Quinton indicated they take a seat and simply said, "we will wait for the others."

Moments passed before Vicente and Akio came up as well. They saw the mood on the bridge, its wasn't good. They stood at the front of the bridge or took seats wherever available. After everyone had arrived. Quinton stood from the center seat, and faced the room.

"You are my core crew, I have to trust you with what is going to happen... and Talloc I'll admit to relying on you as well so this is why you've gathered."

He stood with his back to the viewscreen, facing them all with a smile and confident swagger. He felt like his father probably did on the eve of a heist.

"When you all signed on with me, you joined a family company. Our old ship was a wondrous place for the time we had her, but before it was us, there was Fala, Othor, and my Father. He disappeared, I always presumed the worst as I had hoped he wouldn't just abandon me. Turns out he has a whole other life I never knew of. When he was legally dead, Fala handled his estate, I got his ship legally... Othor was his cook. Life now finds us here, and we have a threat to what we have built."

Kas blinked hard, "Sheila. What is going on with her private decks?" She had suspected something from the beginning, Starfleet was not to be trusted. They would lie and feel justified in their superiority, they managed to wield altruism like a guided missile.

The others nodded in affirmation, Kas only said what they all thought.

"Sheila has begun converting this ship into a transportation vessel for her mercenaries and agents, they intend on engaging the Borg among other threats. It wasn't even on the fine print of the contract, it's just a little surprise courtesy of our patron organization."

Othor shook his head slowly, he was angry. "The Borg? they were to come aboard this ship, with children aboard?"

Fala whimpered from her desk, she had been blind and it had brought them to the brink of disaster.

Vicente was angry, in that loyal white knight manner youth often are. He was ready to fight, not at all cognizant of the implications. "So we don't get any say in this? How do we stop them?"

Quinton held the floor, "I will be disappearing for a little while, I think whatever is about to happen is coming fast. Talloc will find Ilyce is responsible, and I expect Sheila to resist her arrest. I anticipate they will retreat to her hard point within the ship and prepare for violence. It is imperative we never actually engage her people. We pull this con off, They both get the boot and get the hell off our ship and back to the future where they belong."

"I've heard many of the crew griping about her people. They've pulled weapons on crew to get out their way when walking the halls." Vicente left out that he was held at knifepoint.

"Judah review logs, and report them to Talloc's office. We are officially going to process those as well. The name of this game is misinformation. Whisper, gossip, insinuate and any legitimately illegal action will be used to kick her people off."

Othor was ready, "your body, have you made arrangements?"

"Tiburon has a pattern buffer which uses a positronic network to retain signals. I'll not exist except for the pattern buffer there. I trust you Akio, to bring me back.

Akio had brought a small planted tree, and was busy hanging small ornaments on it. He frantically shook his head in agreement.

Kas recapped, "So you go missing, and Ilyce is found to be involved, is found cooperating with Intelligence bureau to replace you. We try to arrest Sheila if she resists."

"She will, but she also won't shoot first. Remember Starfleet can arrest us, but Talloc is certified Security, they can't arrest him for following the investigation to anybody."

Talloc was confused, "I am able to arrest, but this sounds like we are repelling an invading force. Any fire fight would result in Station security getting involved. I would recommend after your dissappearance, that we inform Station security seperately of your safe whereabouts. They will participate if they have legitimate grounds presented to them.

The man was a spy, but this is what he offered too. Quinton need Talloc to sell the lie, and he got it.

"When do you leave?" Kas loved these cons, they were too much fun. She smiled at the double agent game at play, Quinton was in his element again.

"After I call the department heads meeting for launch this evening...."

Quinton opened up comms,

=0= Second Star Staff, Department Heads assemble in Forward Lounge at 1800 hours. Thank you.

With a grin he turned to the crew, they had questions, and they all worked it out. Only a few minutes later saw the trap laid.

"That's that. Now to just to beam me to the Tiburon. Be ready, it will all happen at the same time. Judah... do it."

Quinton dissolved into component lights and vanished. Kas and Othor looked to Talloc, readying themselves for the conflict.

Judah just transported his captain into the Tiburon buffer like it was a normal thing to do. It was safe enough for a few days and would be impossible for anyone to find. The game was afoot. Talloc, Kas, Othor, Vicente, Akio, and Avor stood waiting for what happened next.

Judah explained, "We've been tracking her changes, trying to get as much out of it while holding her off from totally dominating ships systems. They dismantled my holo-emitters in her decks but The Exocomps are well hidden and reinstalled them. Her Anti Borg measures are crazy advanced we cant counter those so Fala and the Captain had me set up some contingencies in case she ever took over."

Kas knew it was a few different subroutines that had remained no matter how many times she purged them. Judah kept replacing them, and now it was time to use them.

She was in command now, "Judah initiate Captain Beck's protocols immediately, Talloc, I want to place Worker Ilyce under arrest immediately for conspiracy to commit mutiny. We will need a warrant, and then take a team, do not engage with her forces if they stop you at her decks. Othor, Avor, crowd control, Vicente, gatekeeping. No weapons or fighting, we cannot have a fire fight on board understood?

Kas looked back at Talloc, "So, are you ready to call Starfleet in a few moments?"

Talloc smiled and said,"I am ready!"

Kas looked at Othor who was steps ahead preparing the ship for the emergency operation they were thrust into. For him it was a matter of arranging believable evidence without breaking the law outright. Words, edits, public opinion, these were all his forte. Judah had a solid case against Sheila and Ilyce in particular. Ilyce had made a direct threat to the captain right to his face, and they had it on record.

Quinton Beck was never caught sleeping, he always recorded his surroundings, always spoke as though it would be read back to him in court. He carried a holographic decoy emitter and always assumed the worst in people. He said it meant he got to "live in suspense of a pleasant surprise."

Kas put on her game face, stern and unyielding, "Judah patch me through to 214, OPS."

Akio went into Fala's office, he was still a fugitive to the eyes of Starbase 214, Vicente ran to the turbolift, his part of the action came in two minutes when the Captains kidnapping protocols went into effect. Somebody had to tend to the crew, he and Othor would keep this from becoming true bedlam.

The viewscreen crackled partially then snapped into focus. Tor Savill, a Vulcan of many years and a veteran of many wars looked upon Kas with loft derision.

"This is Commander Savill, Starbase Security, I've gotten an urgent communique in regards to your captain being missing? Please explain."

Kas sterned herself against the glowering women's cruel visage, Ina had done worse by far.

"Affirmative Commander, Quinton Beck was reported missing about two minutes ago by ships computer, which mean one hour and two minutes have passed without him being on board. Our ships security officer has a report."

This was the point where Talloc could sink them or save them. If he did his job like Starfleet wanted, he would say this was all a bullshit game and Sheila would take over the ship with a puppet for Captain.

Or he could say the Captain was missing and Ice needed to be placed under arrest.

Kas stepped aside to let Talloc speak to the Commander, anxious for what came next.

Talloc stood up and said, "There are illegal activities abounding, I would recommend a lockdown be placed on this ship immediately, and our Security officers will provide a full report once this ship is searched thoroughly. As of present, the captain is missing, however we expect this was due to interference from the onboard mercenary outfit. The Captain has likely been attacked and gone to ground in self-defense, there have been threats against him made recently."

Tor Savill seemed like he didn't care about the Captain one bit, "Mooring control is still in station control, airlocks were released to authorized access as of fourteen hours ago. Your Captain, is on that ship."

"Scan for yourself sir, Quinton Beck is not here. Not long ago he mentioned in a report to me, that if something were to happen to him to consider this evidence as proof of malice."

Tor scanned the Second Star, and everyone held their breath. Fala nearly bit through her lip praying the sensor blinds showed an empty void where there forward vaults were."There are areas we can't scan effectively, I recommend your teams start there and search. As of now we will place a lockdown on the vessel, and seal airlocks. If we detect weapons fire we will come in to pacify the situation is that understood Mr Sudor? Make your arrests, and we will take them into custody from you. I expect the evidence to be sent to my office immediately for review, and a report every half hour on the progress of your search. Tor Savill out."

-End-

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