Beg, Steal or Borrow – There is always a Method to the Madness (pt. 3)
by Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Arrival Alexandria Marshall & Colonel James Darson & Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & Arrival Kaia
Post Details
OLD:
"My investigation has determined that the Pirates are operating out of a cloaked base within that region. The plan is for your vessel to lead us to this location," Gabriel said as he clicked to a different portion of the screen. "At that point, you and your marines will come into play Darson." Gabriel said. "You will lead a strike force into the base and completely disable and/or permanently incapacitate the base." he stated. "While Darson's men are handling that, Kaia will upload from the pirate base all the information that they possess on the Federation Transwarp Drive." He concluded.
"Any questions?" He asked.
NEW:
Darson didn’t say anything, but the one big thing he was worried about was the Drive that he suspected Kaia had. If they recovered everything from the pirates, and she was allowed to keep her technology, then that would be almost as bad as doing nothing at all. But so far, they had seen fit to ignore him, or maybe just forget he was there. He could always steal it from her later.
"Yes." Kaia said, her voice having lost its sarcastic tone as she raised her cuffed hands, "Let me just get this straight. We're here because you want our help?"
Natrina spoke, "Why not? Even though these gentlemen are the finest of Starfleet, they are bound by rules and protocol. No, they need someone who is not bound by such things. Someone who can fall in love with someone one moment, and slit their throats on command. They have something we want, and we have something they need. It's only mutually beneficial. But I have one small condition, you may keep whatever reward you have in store for me. The only thing I ask in return is my bar back, these outrageous accusations rescinded, and the locations of certain individuals."
Gabriel looked between the two women and contemplated the offer. "We'll see to those substantiated charges at the conclusion of this operation. As far as your second request . . .what is so damn important about locating people?" He asked.
"Let's just say, it is difficult to retire from my former profession." Natrina mentioned. "And in doing so, one must terminate their employers in the process. But alas, I seem to have lost track of my former bosses." She said with a grin. "As I said Mr. Gabriel, my desires are not material."
Jarred couldn't contain his anger "Let’s cut the crap" he tossed the PADDS with the still images in front of the two women "take your pick on who did what. I'm ready to demonstrate my methods of coercion to the two of you, and believe me it’s not pretty." Jarred’s eyes were burning with rage by this point.
Kaia looked up at the fuming officer and smiled broadly and darkly. "Strike me... Please... In front of everyone to show your contempt. Watch your hard earned investigation dissolve into thin air, along with any testimony of yours that might have been admissible. Put your hand to me and watch me slip through your fingers." She picked up one of the PADDs on the table, waving it at Wallace. "This... You guys are Intel... you should know just how fragile data is... so fragile... one little glitch and *blip* it’s gone..."
She set the PADD back down as she continued. "And these are merely images. Ones and zeros are only ones and zeros, and we are the ones who ascribe truth to them. Who knows? There could be images of you... I don't know... perhaps planting an explosive device on the ship of... oh what was his name... oh yes, Admiral Sorensen. It might find its way into the main security office by tomorrow morning-"
"Kaia, stop it!" Gabriel groaned inwardly, "Wallace! Stand down!" He ordered. The last thing he needed was for Darson's jarheads to get the wrong idea and open fire on everyone in the room. "I will handle this, Ensign." He stated.
Natrina spoke, "Now then, all that remains is to see whether or not my associate will agree to this. I'm sure there is something of value you can offer her."
Kaia's voice returned to its previous casual tone as she looked to her friend. "I don't know, Nat. A lot of people have thrown a lot of offers my way, and they all seem to hinge on various degrees of making my life miserable." She turned back to Dorian, "I'm not half as interested in what you threaten to do if I say no so much as what you promise to do if I say yes."
Gabriel was not fazed by the display of bravado. "You'll agree because I'm sure you've already performed a cost benefit analysis of the situation, " Gabriel said as he closed the display console.
"You assist us in this operation and *all charges* will be dropped along with the return of your establishment along with *all supplies* that were seized." Gabriel said as he glared at Darson.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Darson said brusquely, lying through his teeth, “Stealing from bars is below my station. Even if there is fine Romulan ale to be had.”
"Or you can continue to spend countless hours interacting with my department for the next several months as we prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law." He added. "Granted, you may beat all of these charges, but there would still be the time, energy and resources that will be expended by you in the process." He said as he sat back down.
"Now we can sit here bickering back and forth, or we can all get to the business of defending the Federation." He concluded with a smile. "The truth of the matter is that relying on your civilian vessel will allow us to perform this operation in an efficient manner with a minimum loss of life. I'm more concerned about these pirates than whatever plan you two have hatched. Now do we have a deal ladies?" He asked.
"Let me ask my question again." Kaia remarked calmly. "Are we here because you would like our help?"
Jarred had enough and left, his steps were stopped by the computer stating he had a message waiting in his office.
Gabriel stood and looked at the two women for several moments. "I'll leave you two to discuss the matter. I'll return in several minutes to find out what you two have decided." He said as he walked into the nearby hallway.
A Marine ran out of the secure room at the other end of the room, climbed the steps to Darson’s throne, and whispered to him. Darson nodded, and stood up. As he descended the steps, he said, “I’m sorry, this is a very important call…I must take it. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.” With that he disappeared into the Cage at the back of the room, and tinted the windows.
Kaia watched the Intel officer until he left before looking to Natrina. "I'll be a Targ's chew toy if this room has fewer bugs than a jungle planet. I'm not perfectly convinced that we shouldn't fight this."
"Still, these pirates are quite the threat to this base. Even if we weren't approached by these two, we would've had to address them sooner or later. It would be a shame if my customers were slaughtered by cutthroats." Natrina added.
"You have a point, I mean, this was the third time I've been attacked." Kaia rapped her fingers on the table top a few times as she stared off into space. "These aren't just feds, though, Nat. They're Intel. They're the type of Feds who are not only willing but eager to break the very laws they claim they uphold. That ensign will have a stroke or something before I trust any of them. I don't want to see your bar closed any more than you do, but I've got to see something up front to get at least some assurance that I'm not going to be stabbed in the back once our side of the deal is done. If they put it on public record that the indictment is being dropped before we leave, I'll be in 110%, you know that. But I've got to see it first."
Natrina spoke, "Agreed. Though I believe its Mr. Gabriel's young protégé that we must be concerned about. He is rash and unpredictable. While I do not believe that Mister Gabriel will jeopardize his standing with Starfleet Intelligence over arresting a Bartender and a Xenoarcheologist over theft of Federation Property, he looks better in his keeper's eyes by making sure he's competent. That’s the thing with Spies Ms. Kaia, we're only worth keeping around if we can do the dirty work. Mr. Gabriel is no exception."
Kaia sighed, running a hand through her short hair as she conceded the point. "Doesn't help that trying to live simply has proven to be the most frustrating task in my life..."
"Alright, I'll call them back in." Natrina motioned to the door and tapped a door chime.
Natrina spoke. "Alright Gentlemen, we'll do it. But we want payment up front. Drop the charges and we go take care of the cutthroat problem. Besides, we were thinking on dealing with them anyway. It would be a great inconvenience of us if our customers were slaughtered."
At that moment, Darson walked back out of the Cage, and strode back over to the group. When he was standing in front of them, he said in a voice filled with Dark humor that didn't sound quite sane, “What luck that you agreed to help us! I just finished talking with High Command on Earth, and Major General T’Sol has agreed to send a reinforced armored battalion to use in combating this threat.”
Darson climbed up to his chair again, but instead of sitting down, turned around, raised his arms and began to orate in a voice tinged with no small amount of insanity, “…I will kill them all, and I’ll enjoy it…because they are an impediment that the Universe itself can no longer abide. Nature itself cries out for their destruction, and I am its willing instrument! I will go, and pound their so called stronghold into dust…hammer it with my might until no stone lies atop another, and they crawl back to the dark and desperate pit from whence they came. They have seen their final days…THEY WILL KNOW THEIR PLACE!!!!”
Kaia rolled her eyes and looked to Natrina. "And people wonder why I've got such a chip on my shoulder for Feds..."
With that said, Darson began to cackle, a dark villainous cackle, which escalated and escalated until it was a full blown evil laugh which reverberated around the cavernous space. He stopped laughing just long enough to motion down to the shocked faces, “Laugh with me! LAUGH!! MWHAHAHAH!!!!”
Natrina laughed loudly and maniacally. "Aren't you a spirited one Major. I always enjoy a man that knows how to have a little fun with his job."
Kaia remained uncharacteristically quiet. She was accustomed to dealing with madmen, but madmen backed by armies triggered a different kind of instinct. She ignored the cackling and instead started memorizing the layout of the room, just in case. ~simplicity never is...~
Gabriel rolled his eyes at the display of insanity. "Natrina, your charges will be dealt with once the operation is under way. Until then, I suggest you gather whatever materials you need for the trip. Kaia, prepare your vessel with the sensor information from the last interaction you had with those pirates. I want to be able to track them without any getting lost in the middle of pirate space. Darson, we have a staff meeting in several hours. I want to be able to move out soon after the conclusion of our meeting with the new CO of the station." He said as he picked up his isolinear chip and began to exit the conference room.
"This should be interesting" He said to himself.
OFF:
Major James Darson
Marine Commanding Officer
Lieutenant J.G.
Dorian Gabriel
Chief Intelligence Officer
Jarred Wallace
ACIO Deep Space 5
Kaia
Civilian
Owner of Xenology Survey Services
Deep Space 5
"No plan, no technology, is so perfect as to truly be idiot proof."
Natrina Kerran
Bartender
Former Obsidian Order Spy
by Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Arrival Alexandria Marshall & Colonel James Darson & Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & Arrival Kaia
Post Details
| Title | There is always a Method to the Madness (pt. 3) | |
| Mission | Beg, Steal or Borrow | |
| Author(s) | Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Arrival Alexandria Marshall & Colonel James Darson & Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & Arrival Kaia | |
| Posted | Thu Feb 12, 2009 @ 3:58am | |
| Location | Deck 72 - Marine Complex | |
| Timeline | SD8: 08:50hrs |
"My investigation has determined that the Pirates are operating out of a cloaked base within that region. The plan is for your vessel to lead us to this location," Gabriel said as he clicked to a different portion of the screen. "At that point, you and your marines will come into play Darson." Gabriel said. "You will lead a strike force into the base and completely disable and/or permanently incapacitate the base." he stated. "While Darson's men are handling that, Kaia will upload from the pirate base all the information that they possess on the Federation Transwarp Drive." He concluded.
"Any questions?" He asked.
NEW:
Darson didn’t say anything, but the one big thing he was worried about was the Drive that he suspected Kaia had. If they recovered everything from the pirates, and she was allowed to keep her technology, then that would be almost as bad as doing nothing at all. But so far, they had seen fit to ignore him, or maybe just forget he was there. He could always steal it from her later.
"Yes." Kaia said, her voice having lost its sarcastic tone as she raised her cuffed hands, "Let me just get this straight. We're here because you want our help?"
Natrina spoke, "Why not? Even though these gentlemen are the finest of Starfleet, they are bound by rules and protocol. No, they need someone who is not bound by such things. Someone who can fall in love with someone one moment, and slit their throats on command. They have something we want, and we have something they need. It's only mutually beneficial. But I have one small condition, you may keep whatever reward you have in store for me. The only thing I ask in return is my bar back, these outrageous accusations rescinded, and the locations of certain individuals."
Gabriel looked between the two women and contemplated the offer. "We'll see to those substantiated charges at the conclusion of this operation. As far as your second request . . .what is so damn important about locating people?" He asked.
"Let's just say, it is difficult to retire from my former profession." Natrina mentioned. "And in doing so, one must terminate their employers in the process. But alas, I seem to have lost track of my former bosses." She said with a grin. "As I said Mr. Gabriel, my desires are not material."
Jarred couldn't contain his anger "Let’s cut the crap" he tossed the PADDS with the still images in front of the two women "take your pick on who did what. I'm ready to demonstrate my methods of coercion to the two of you, and believe me it’s not pretty." Jarred’s eyes were burning with rage by this point.
Kaia looked up at the fuming officer and smiled broadly and darkly. "Strike me... Please... In front of everyone to show your contempt. Watch your hard earned investigation dissolve into thin air, along with any testimony of yours that might have been admissible. Put your hand to me and watch me slip through your fingers." She picked up one of the PADDs on the table, waving it at Wallace. "This... You guys are Intel... you should know just how fragile data is... so fragile... one little glitch and *blip* it’s gone..."
She set the PADD back down as she continued. "And these are merely images. Ones and zeros are only ones and zeros, and we are the ones who ascribe truth to them. Who knows? There could be images of you... I don't know... perhaps planting an explosive device on the ship of... oh what was his name... oh yes, Admiral Sorensen. It might find its way into the main security office by tomorrow morning-"
"Kaia, stop it!" Gabriel groaned inwardly, "Wallace! Stand down!" He ordered. The last thing he needed was for Darson's jarheads to get the wrong idea and open fire on everyone in the room. "I will handle this, Ensign." He stated.
Natrina spoke, "Now then, all that remains is to see whether or not my associate will agree to this. I'm sure there is something of value you can offer her."
Kaia's voice returned to its previous casual tone as she looked to her friend. "I don't know, Nat. A lot of people have thrown a lot of offers my way, and they all seem to hinge on various degrees of making my life miserable." She turned back to Dorian, "I'm not half as interested in what you threaten to do if I say no so much as what you promise to do if I say yes."
Gabriel was not fazed by the display of bravado. "You'll agree because I'm sure you've already performed a cost benefit analysis of the situation, " Gabriel said as he closed the display console.
"You assist us in this operation and *all charges* will be dropped along with the return of your establishment along with *all supplies* that were seized." Gabriel said as he glared at Darson.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Darson said brusquely, lying through his teeth, “Stealing from bars is below my station. Even if there is fine Romulan ale to be had.”
"Or you can continue to spend countless hours interacting with my department for the next several months as we prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law." He added. "Granted, you may beat all of these charges, but there would still be the time, energy and resources that will be expended by you in the process." He said as he sat back down.
"Now we can sit here bickering back and forth, or we can all get to the business of defending the Federation." He concluded with a smile. "The truth of the matter is that relying on your civilian vessel will allow us to perform this operation in an efficient manner with a minimum loss of life. I'm more concerned about these pirates than whatever plan you two have hatched. Now do we have a deal ladies?" He asked.
"Let me ask my question again." Kaia remarked calmly. "Are we here because you would like our help?"
Jarred had enough and left, his steps were stopped by the computer stating he had a message waiting in his office.
Gabriel stood and looked at the two women for several moments. "I'll leave you two to discuss the matter. I'll return in several minutes to find out what you two have decided." He said as he walked into the nearby hallway.
A Marine ran out of the secure room at the other end of the room, climbed the steps to Darson’s throne, and whispered to him. Darson nodded, and stood up. As he descended the steps, he said, “I’m sorry, this is a very important call…I must take it. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.” With that he disappeared into the Cage at the back of the room, and tinted the windows.
Kaia watched the Intel officer until he left before looking to Natrina. "I'll be a Targ's chew toy if this room has fewer bugs than a jungle planet. I'm not perfectly convinced that we shouldn't fight this."
"Still, these pirates are quite the threat to this base. Even if we weren't approached by these two, we would've had to address them sooner or later. It would be a shame if my customers were slaughtered by cutthroats." Natrina added.
"You have a point, I mean, this was the third time I've been attacked." Kaia rapped her fingers on the table top a few times as she stared off into space. "These aren't just feds, though, Nat. They're Intel. They're the type of Feds who are not only willing but eager to break the very laws they claim they uphold. That ensign will have a stroke or something before I trust any of them. I don't want to see your bar closed any more than you do, but I've got to see something up front to get at least some assurance that I'm not going to be stabbed in the back once our side of the deal is done. If they put it on public record that the indictment is being dropped before we leave, I'll be in 110%, you know that. But I've got to see it first."
Natrina spoke, "Agreed. Though I believe its Mr. Gabriel's young protégé that we must be concerned about. He is rash and unpredictable. While I do not believe that Mister Gabriel will jeopardize his standing with Starfleet Intelligence over arresting a Bartender and a Xenoarcheologist over theft of Federation Property, he looks better in his keeper's eyes by making sure he's competent. That’s the thing with Spies Ms. Kaia, we're only worth keeping around if we can do the dirty work. Mr. Gabriel is no exception."
Kaia sighed, running a hand through her short hair as she conceded the point. "Doesn't help that trying to live simply has proven to be the most frustrating task in my life..."
"Alright, I'll call them back in." Natrina motioned to the door and tapped a door chime.
Natrina spoke. "Alright Gentlemen, we'll do it. But we want payment up front. Drop the charges and we go take care of the cutthroat problem. Besides, we were thinking on dealing with them anyway. It would be a great inconvenience of us if our customers were slaughtered."
At that moment, Darson walked back out of the Cage, and strode back over to the group. When he was standing in front of them, he said in a voice filled with Dark humor that didn't sound quite sane, “What luck that you agreed to help us! I just finished talking with High Command on Earth, and Major General T’Sol has agreed to send a reinforced armored battalion to use in combating this threat.”
Darson climbed up to his chair again, but instead of sitting down, turned around, raised his arms and began to orate in a voice tinged with no small amount of insanity, “…I will kill them all, and I’ll enjoy it…because they are an impediment that the Universe itself can no longer abide. Nature itself cries out for their destruction, and I am its willing instrument! I will go, and pound their so called stronghold into dust…hammer it with my might until no stone lies atop another, and they crawl back to the dark and desperate pit from whence they came. They have seen their final days…THEY WILL KNOW THEIR PLACE!!!!”
Kaia rolled her eyes and looked to Natrina. "And people wonder why I've got such a chip on my shoulder for Feds..."
With that said, Darson began to cackle, a dark villainous cackle, which escalated and escalated until it was a full blown evil laugh which reverberated around the cavernous space. He stopped laughing just long enough to motion down to the shocked faces, “Laugh with me! LAUGH!! MWHAHAHAH!!!!”
Natrina laughed loudly and maniacally. "Aren't you a spirited one Major. I always enjoy a man that knows how to have a little fun with his job."
Kaia remained uncharacteristically quiet. She was accustomed to dealing with madmen, but madmen backed by armies triggered a different kind of instinct. She ignored the cackling and instead started memorizing the layout of the room, just in case. ~simplicity never is...~
Gabriel rolled his eyes at the display of insanity. "Natrina, your charges will be dealt with once the operation is under way. Until then, I suggest you gather whatever materials you need for the trip. Kaia, prepare your vessel with the sensor information from the last interaction you had with those pirates. I want to be able to track them without any getting lost in the middle of pirate space. Darson, we have a staff meeting in several hours. I want to be able to move out soon after the conclusion of our meeting with the new CO of the station." He said as he picked up his isolinear chip and began to exit the conference room.
"This should be interesting" He said to himself.
OFF:
Major James Darson
Marine Commanding Officer
Lieutenant J.G.
Dorian Gabriel
Chief Intelligence Officer
Jarred Wallace
ACIO Deep Space 5
Kaia
Civilian
Owner of Xenology Survey Services
Deep Space 5
"No plan, no technology, is so perfect as to truly be idiot proof."
Natrina Kerran
Bartender
Former Obsidian Order Spy