From: Jamie LeBlanc (plainsimplegarak_at_yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Jun 23 2008 - 01:42:42 PDT
"The Cute One" (Continued from "Departure")
~*~*~*~*~*~
Location: GS2
Stardate: 2.80623.0339
Scene: The Illogical Eatery
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Oh no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast."
~King Kong
~*~*~*~*~*~
Minding his own business. Zel so rarely did it, that when he actually decided to plant his butt and stay to himself, he considered it a special occasion. One would hope that with a special occasion such as this, others would be respectful and leave the celebrant in peace. But that never happened. Just as Zel decided to sit in John Doe’s Galactic Eatery ands pick at his food until Starfleet decided to grace all the civilians with the honor of opening up the airlocks to the passenger shuttles, so he could finally get the hell off this station; he was dragged out of his reverie, literally, by a man a foot taller than him.
“There you are. I need you to come with me.”
The tiny Cardassian blinked and straggled to his feet, being pulled out of the restaurant. “I highly doubt you’re going to give me any choice in the matter…”
“Come on, Rohan, you should love this.” His assailant dumped him into a booth in the darkened Irish pub across the hall and then took a seat himself. Drinks were already on the table.
“Love what?” He demanded before blinking at the man across from him. “And how the hell did you get tall again?”
Cade Foster grinned slowly. “Our esteemed Marine won a battle with Dark Lord what’s his butt, and I am once again my charming self.”
“You would have though his magic could have fixed your personality along with you size.” Zel groused.
“Funny, funny.” Cade rolled his eyes. “So does everyone else. But to business…”
“How can we have business? I’m leaving and you’re a Starfleet doctor…” the shopkeep protested.
The older human perked a brow. “You do know those two conditions don’t co-ordinate. And I’m a *retired* Starfleet doctor.”
“Yes they do.” Zel retorted crisply. “I’m a shady businessman. I do shady things. You were in Starfleet, they like to live in the happy smiley sunshine all the time. And once in Starfleet, always in Starfleet.”
Cade nearly choked on his drink. He almost disagreed with the Cardassian, but slowly nodded after thinking it over. “Alright, I give you that most Starfleet officer are naieve do-gooders, but you sure as hell don’t know me, kid.”
“I know.” Zel smirked. “If I did I probably wouldn’t be drinking with you right now.”
“Hey…” Cade’s eyes narrowed, getting the sinking feeling that the shopkeep had just snuck in an insult on him. “Anyways, let me start. You know the Chantico is arriving, and the senior staff is departing, right?”
“Cade, do I *look* like an OPS officer to you? No. I’m lucky they let me out of the brig, let alone tell me what their officers are doing.”
“OK. *Now* you know that the Chantico is arriving and the senior staff is leaving.” The doctor pressed on, in a whisper. “And I have fairly good information that they are chasing a clone of Daisy Davidson.”
“How the hell do you find all this out?” Zel muttered, not touching the drink in front of him.
“Being six inches tall has its advantages.”
The shopkeep shook his head at that. “Besides, why the hell should I care what Commander Davidson does or does not do?”
“Because she’s obsessed with this clone and she needs someone to watch over her.” Foster urged.
The Cardassian played idly with his shotglass. “She has an *entire staff* to watch out for her. The last thing she needs is a geriatric doctor and a criminal who could give a damn lending a hand.”
“Cade pounded a hand on the table hard enough to make Rohan jump. “I am not geriatric, and you would not believe the amount of trouble that woman can get herself into. She needs me, and I need you.”
“That may be, but you still haven’t given me a reason why I should give a damn. Unlike you, I don’t have a relationship with the Commander. In fact, despite the fact that I pulled her kids out of a pornography ring she seemed to care less and let me rot in the brig while her security staff twiddled about because obviously all Cardassians are liars.” Zel snapped back.
“That’s not fair. She was recovering from a major trauma.” Cade stabbed a finger at the smaller man.
“That information doesn’t trickle down to the ignorant masses.” Zel countered. “And I don’t see why I should help when I am scheduled to get the hell off this station as soon as they let me.”
Foster leaned back and smiled like a man who had an Ace in the hole. “Because Gavi tells me you’re nearly broke, hardly made any money from those dolls after the Orphan fund was paid, and you could probably use the cold, hard latinum.”
Zel tried his best to look unimpressed, and failed, miserably. “I suppose now you’re going to make me an offer I can’t refuse?”
Smirking, the older human nodded. “Besides, think of it as helping your favorite kids beloved mother.”
Zel reached out and downed the entire shot of whiskey in one go. “I know I’m going to regret this…”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Location: BFOV SHIV
Scene: Docking area
“We shouldn’t be moving.” Cade Foster bit his bottom lip, to keep himself from pacing. Normally the man would be trying to wear a hole in the floor, but being watched by the pallid blue eyes of an Andorian obsessed with sharpening knives made him think twice about his nervous behavior.
“But we are.” Arjan replied in a tone of disinterest. “We’re riding on a ship with a clinically insane Capitan. Are you really surprised?”
“It wasn’t on their itinerary. It wasn’t in our plans.” The human fretted a bit.
The older of the Andorian’s shrugged, brushing his hair back into place. “Are they knocking down our door? No. We’re fine and we stay put.”
Cade sucked in a long breath. “Something could be very wrong.” He muttered. He was about to elaborate on that when he got a glare from the knife sharpening younger brother and swallowed any further protest. And so the three men spent the next twenty minutes in a tense silence, punctuated only by the constant scrape of blade on whetstone as they were honed to a glimmering edge.
The door alarm gave a soft whine, not stark enough to warrant panic, but enough to make all three men jump to attention before the computer flashed an ‘admitted entry’ signal to them. “That had better be Sylvia because if its Jobila I will personally punch him in the face after that show he made in the mess hall.” Arjan growled.
“No, it’s my turn to punch someone.” Aerdan countered playfully.
The elder brother rolled his eyes a bit. “Riiight. I suppose next you’ll be telling me that you’re the cute one.”
The younger Jos smirked darkly. “I *am* the cute one.”
Cade swallowed his innate worry, trying to block out the banter between the two brothers, until finally a winded Sylvia Warren rushed into the room. As Arjan’s face fell in faint disappointment that neither of them would get to punch anyone, Cade rushed forward, catching the young woman as she tottered forward. She looked up to Cade, and sucked in a shattered breath. “Shh, it’s alright, Sylvia, what’s wrong?” He pet her hair back from her face.
“I…I saw him, Cade. I saw him.” She gripped his arm, cheeks turning bright red.
“Calm down… Take a breath.” The elder man’s voice was suddenly strong and fatherly. “Tell me who you saw.”
Sylvia looked up, moisture welling in her eyes. “Oh, Cade… it was Thomas! He’s in trouble! I saw him in the brig, and then that monster Doctor MacNeil came and dragged him away! He’s in trouble, I know it!”
Deep worry and compassion sunk into Cade’s face. “Where is he, Sylvia?”
“Wait a second.” The elder of the two Andorian pirates brought the conversation to a halt. “You can’t seriously thinking about going out there to play savior for some random kid…”
“He’s not just some random kid, he was like a son to me!” Cade snapped back, passionately. “I doubt if you two could even understand that sort of relationship.”
That brought a frown out from both blue men. “How little you know us, Mr. Foster.” Aerdan said in a dry, lisping whisper.
“I *have* to save him.” Cade pleaded in hoarse tone.
“No. You *have* to stay put so they don’t catch you.” Arjan countered with a tone of finality.
Voice rising, Foster threw his arms up in the air. “I won’t stand here and do nothing!”
“No. You’ll stand here and trust us. We’ll bring him back.” Arjan snapped. Slowly Cade let that sink in, his jaw dropping a bit. “And don’t think about following us, or all bets are off.”
The older man sighed and gave Sylvia one last hug before falling back in his chair to watch the two brothers trot off after the engineer.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Location: USS COMMENDATION
Scene: Docking Port 12
Zel didn’t know he felt more relieved or more paranoid at the degree of planning Cade Foster had put into his little act of smuggling. He had already lined up a job for Zel on the COMMENDATION as a bartender, and offered to teach the Cardassian the finer tricks of the trade. The human was pleasantly surprised to find that Zel had spent his youth doing damn near every job under the sun, including a stint as a bartender, so after drinks in O’Shaugnassy’s they went back to Cade’s quarters to share recipes and secrets. It ended faintly badly, with both men getting plastered, telling lewd jokes on the promenade and being dragged into sickbay to have an alcohol suppressant administered. As they recovered Cade regaled Zel with tales of how he had gotten his medical colleagues drunk, including getting his last partner thrown into the brig for starting a barfight. It was at that moment when Zel was starting to wonder about Dr. Foster and just
how the man became a Starfleet officer in the first place.
That was OK, Cade was wondering just how many places the little Cardassians had been, and how many time he had narrowly escaped death and for what reason. All in all they were pretty even in the wondering departments. Not the least of which was the calmness that Zel had when he said that yes, in fact he could jerry rig a docking door to open and bypass the security measures – providing, of course the ship was not on red alert or any other heightened security status.
And so as the door slid open and Cade Foster smuggled himself onboard, the two men were left staring at one another not asking the questions in their minds.
“We should go. I can’t guarantee they won’t detect us.” Zel muttered, heading away from the docking bay as the security field snapped back on.
“It’s not like I’m a criminal, you know.” Cade grumbled snappishly.
“You’ve been in Federation brigs almost as many times as I have” Rohan reminded him coldly. “And I have a feeling we’ll both be there again if they figure out what you just did, so let’s go.”
“What I did? I wasn’t the one who bypassed the security system.” The surgeon chided.
Zel flicked him a petulant glance. “Using access codes you provided me. Where did you get those, anyways?”
“I just… happened… to pick them up from a co-worker’s desk before I left from my last posting. Congratulations. You just admitted an extra medical doctor to the CHANTICO by the authorization of Lieutenant Commander Makena Kagiso.” He grinned in an arrogant manner.
“I don’t suppose he’s half Cardassian and half Bajoran, is he?”
Foster shook his head. “No, in fact she’s a human.”
“Great. Let’s hope they didn’t get any of that on tape.” Zel muttered, going back to his fast pace back to ten forward. “So, now that you have smuggled yourself on board, what will you do?”
“Just like I said, I’ll lie low in ten forward, help with the bar, and keep my eyes open.”
The former shopkeep sighed. “You can’t tend bar; what if they recognize you?”
The older man grinned a bit. “They won’t. This is a new ship… they don’t know me here.”
“And where will you go when you’re not in the bar? I’m the only registered passenger… I only have one berth.” Zel asked with a tone of imminent practicality.
Cade bit his lip and frowned. He supposed that sleeping with Daisy was rather out of the question. “I didn’t think of that.”
“You’re not sleeping in my bed.” Zel replied firmly. “Even with half a bottle of Aldeberan whiskey, you aren’t nearly attractive enough.”
Cade gave a mock-pout before settling his arms across his chest. “Don’t worry, you’re not my type.”
“Good.”
After a few moments pause, the doctor added “I don’t relish sleeping on the floor.”
“Your other option is to make a bunk in a cargo crate.” Rohan shot back.
Cade shook his head, ready to make a snide comment when he gauged the stare from the smaller man, and decided that in all likelihood Rohan probably *had* smuggled himself in a cargo crate (twice in fact, not that Cade knew) and decided not to press the issue. “Allright, then the floor it is. You had better not snore.”
“And you had better not sleepwalk. I sleep lightly and with a disruptor under my pillow.” Zel gave the human a faint grin before turning and heading back to work.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Location: BFOV SHIV
Scene: Corridors
Lestan Strumm turned from the conduit he was repairing to stare down the corridor at the same irritating scratching noise. “What the hell?” He turned to his inferior officer and stabbed a finger. “Go check that out, I thought we fixed that leak.”
The weedy Deltan gave a small nod and scurried down the corridor, while Strumm went back to work, laser welder in one hand, scratching his butt with the other. He had nearly finished the repairs when he decided that he needed a spanned instead and barked out “Kropt, get me the laser spanner.”
There was no reply from the Deltan.
“Kropt, where the hell did you go?” Strumm turned around, glaring down the corridor. He had forgotten all about the leak he had sent the man to repair. “Lazy bastard, probably trying to get a nip from that damn hipflask he keeps hiding.” He muttered to himself before yelling, “Kropt, you had better get your ass back here before I tan your hide!”
He smiled as he saw movement from the adjacent corridor, pleased that he could get the Deltan to hop to, which turned into a frown as the figure came into sight. “Research Specialist…” he stuttered, fishing for words to explain why the repairs were not yet completed. That’s when he noticed what has in Thomas Varn’s hand.
It was an arm. An arm that had once been attached to a body.
“Is…is that Kropt’s arm?” The engineer asked, his eyes going wide. Slowly he started to back up.
Thomas yelled wordlessly, a primal scream and gripped the arm at the wrist like a baseball bat. Bone impacted with Strumm’s jaw, sending the older engineer reeling as Deltan blood spattered across his cheek and soaked in to his collar. “I..I..I can explain!”
The words didn’t process in the brain of the science officer, they formed a screeching whine that was sending him towards overload. He was sweating so profusely that his skin was slick, leaving a streak of moisture as he slammed his fist through the panel, sending sparks flying. His nostrils flared, smelling what was becoming a familiar scent: offal and fear. Strumm had shat his pants. Reason centers turned off, the drugged man decided once again he didn’t like that scent and therefore Strumm had to die.
Dropping the bone in favor of his bare hands, Thomas leapt forwards like a winged cat, catching his prey between slender fingers. Strumm was a heavy man, and his eyes bulged in terror at the sudden strength he felt coursing through the digits. His cheeks turned red and then purple as the fingers continued their relentless path towards meeting one another halfway. Blood drained from where the nails dug in, and as his throat closed completely, the last thing he felt was his throat grating back against the bones that protected his spine.
Thin rivers of blood drained down Thomas’ hands and onto Strumm’s lifeless chest before he dropped the engineer, stooped and sniffed again. He took a few steps forward before clutching at the walls. His head was reeling and he waited for it to pass before moving forward.
Ahead in the next junction, Arjan tipped his antennae towards Sylvia and spat in disgust. “You’re telling me *that* is your beloved Thomas?!”
“He’s been drugged, he’s not himself!” she pleaded.
“Well he better go down easy. I’m not risking my tail to save that homicidal maniac.” The elder Jos muttered. He looked up and caught the gaze of his baby brother who stood, disruptor rifle at the ready. “I’m good, are you?”
Aerdan simply nodded, and pulled Sylvia back to a safe distance. Just before Arjan took off, he spoke, lightly, “I’m still the cute one.”
“Bullshit. I’m the cute one.”
The slightest hint of a smile broke out across the younger brother’s face. “Then you had better come back and prove it.”
“You had better believe I will.” And with that the Andoran ran down the corridor, on an intercept course with the insane winged human. He found Thomas ripping the control panels off the wall, stabbing at the soft whine the damage conduit was making with a chunk of scrapmetal. Sucking in a breath, he suddenly shouted, “Hey you! Birdboy!”
Thomas snapped his head up, more at the nose than the words… but words were staring to filter though. He had heard ‘birdboy’ before.
“Yeah, I’m talking to you… ugly! “
Furrowing his brow, Thomas got to his feet. He didn’t like the noise, and he didn’t like this blue thing making the noise either.
“You wanna make something of it?” Arjan taunted, waving his hands in the air. “Come and get me, birdbrain!”
Thomas grunted and shifted his weight for running. Enough was enough, the annoying blue thing was going to go away. He stumbled once as he got to his feet, as the drug lagged in his system, before pounding down the corridor at a sprint.
Arjan turned and immediately hit the fastest pace he could, swearing as his antennae told him what his eyes could not. This homicidal maniac was fast. Inhumanely fast. Turning around the corner at a burning pace, Thomas right on his heels he screamed “Holy hell is he fast! Shoot him! Shoot him now!”
The older Andorian went into a slide as a bright lance of blue energy cut through the air, slamming Thomas backwards into the opposite bulkhead. Slightly sluggish, the Venus drug beat off the worst effects of the stun beam and the Science Officer pulled himself to his feet again. Aerdan drew a second bead.
“Don’t! You can’t hurt him!” Sylvia pulled the disruptor away, sending the second shot careening wildly off the bulkhead.
“If I don’t shoot him, he’ll kill us.” Aerdan growled, pushing her back.
Thomas meanwhile had gotten his bearing and reached out for the blue thing on the ground getting a grip on the Andorian’s collar. Aerdan swore as he watched his brother get picked up like a ragdoll, trying to get a clear shot around him. “Don’t worry about me…” Arjan rasped.
“Like hell I won’t worry about you.” The younger retorted, moving far to the left as Thomas started to shake his prey.
“Thomas!” the word cut through the air like a knife and the crazed man heard it. Something familiar… something … kind…? He stumbled backwards again, as the drug started to be processed out of his system. When his vision cleared he could still hear that same voice. “Please… put him down! We’re trying to help you!”
The Science Officer squinted, trying to find the source of the voice, and ended up tossing the older Andorian brother to the side. Arjan hit the ground and rolled, coming to his knees, as Thomas walked forward. He was struggling for a word… a name, something his mouth didn’t want to form. It came out as an unintelligible moan.
“Yes… it’s me, Thomas…” Sylvia pleaded, reaching a hand out to him.
Slowly Thomas started to reach back, tripping once again in the corridor. He moaned again and looked up, trying to figure out where he was and what he was doing. He opened his mouth, and gave a harsh, wordless cry.”
“please, Thomas…”
Sylvia was cut off by another arch of blue light that slammed Thomas against the bulkhead. He howled in rage and clawed forward to grab the newest offender with every intention of ripping his spine out through his throat when a third beam hit him, and then a fourth. As Sylvia screamed out “what the hell are you doing?!” Thomas slumped against the floor, unconscious.
“Probably saving your life.” Aerdan replied, matter-of-factly. “Beside, we have company coming. I can hear them.” He flexed his one remaining antennae.
Tears running down her cheek, she ran up to Thomas. “Is he... is he dead?”
“If he is, I didn’t kill him. I hit him with heavy stun.” Aerdan said in his dry lisp, walking over and giving his brother a hand up.
Sylvia breathed a sigh of relief. “No… he’s OK. We have to take him with us.”
“Fine, then you carry him, because we’re getting out of here.” He gave her a dull smirk before looking at Arjan with a half smile. “You in one piece?”
The elder brushed himself off. “Yeah, I’m still kicking.”
“Good.” He walked over to where Sylvia was struggling to get Thomas up, and picked up the winged man like a sack of potatoes and started to drag him back towards the cargo area. “Because I’m still the cute one.”
~*~*~*~*~
Jamie LeBlanc
Civillian Zel Rohan
Bartender
USS CHANTICO/GS2
From HyperNews_at_youth.net
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Wed Nov 19 2008 - 03:10:53 PST