Catava Okal: *on* I was sitting on the floor watching Nu’Daq and Morgan leave the quarters of Lt. Taite Berggren. Everyone thought Nu’Daq, the irate Klingon, responsible in his murder. There were only a handful of us who were convinced of his innocence. But the one person who needed to know the truth was avoiding it at all costs. Xenia and I parted company on a rough note earlier that day when I had proclaimed my opinion on Nu’Daq’s wrongful imprisonment. I could only hope that with Morgan with him they would go to my friend and prove to her otherwise. I just hoped that any animosity felt between Xenia and Morgan could be left on the back burner. There was a murderer loose and he was posing as our ally. We needed to find him.
Leget was still breathing heavily, and a deeper purple tinge was forming across his neck in the distinct shape of a pair large, Klingon hands. He was laying on his back staring at the ceiling while catching his breath. The power had been cut, by the murderer I’m sure, and I had found myself in the midst of Leget, Morgan and Nu’Daq here in Taite’s quarters. We had all been looking for some sort of evidence to release Nu’Daq from the brig and impending court martial, and the fact that Cooper had attacked us while the power was out was a big indication that he was our man.
“If he had come here, that means there had been evidence left here after all,” I was thinking out loud.
Leget looked at me slowly. Perhaps Cooper didn’t have time to gather what he had come for? Perhaps the evidence he was seeking was still here.
“Do you think it might still be here? Whatever he was looking for?” Leget asked, slowly and cautiously.
I stood and carefully started to walk around in the darkness illuminated only by the stars. “Well, Leget,” I said, “there’s only one way to find out.”
He stood and we each started to rummage through the personal items of my former lover. Personal memories were set aside as I touched his clothing and various trinkets, some of which he had kept from the earlier stages of our relationship. There was no time for pain right now. We had a guiltless man to free and a ship of innocent people to protect.
“Ensign,” Leget called to me from the sleeping quarters. I left the dining area and made my way past the area our assailant found us, to the all too familiar room. It was small, and smelled of hair gels and cologne. On duty, perfuming agents were prohibited due to the sensitive olfactory senses of some of the species who served in Starfleet, but in your own quarters you could indulge how you wished.
“Leget,” I gathered his attention, “we’re all in this together. You can call me Catava.” I sat on the corner of the bed, facing him.
“Very well,” he said. “Here, look a this.”
He pulled out of the closet a small box. It wasn’t a Starfleet issue storage container, but it was easily attainable. Nothing strange there. He removed the lid which he had already unlocked and set back on the box lightly.
There were quite a few items in the box, most of which were personal items, none of which had belonged to Taite.
“Catava,” Leget said my name softly. He held up a small portable display device. It was Romulan.
“Turn it on,” I urged. There were a few beeps as he tried to get past the security code. The frustration was evident with each progressive failing entry. I sighed.
“Let me try,” I asked. He handed the HDU to me slowly. The image on the screen was the emblem for the Tal Shiar. As I tried my own set of combinations to gain acess to the information I was plagued by questions.
Was Taite an operative for the Tal Shiar? Was he being coerced? Was he benefiting from giving them information? What was this doing here? All of these uncertainties were sprinting through my head when I realized Leget had become uncharacteristically quiet. This time the technology in his hands was very familiar. A standard sized Starfleet issued PADD. I set down the Romulan equivalent I had been toying with and reached for the familiar piece of equipment. Leget’s eyes suddenly looked to join my gaze as he held fast to the PADD as I tried to pull it from his grasp. Immediately I knew that my dinner would soon make a second appearance as soon as I freed the PADD from his firm hold. His grip let go and instead of returning his attention to the box of evidence, his gaze remained fixed upon me. Confused and nervous, I turned the PADD to see the front panel. I was smashed, like it had been hit with an angry fist – there was a familiar circular cracking on the plastic face of the display screen. Virtually unmarred by the damage was a photo and personal history. Why was there all this information on Xenia here?
Why did Taite have information on my friend, the doctor? I was confused beyond belief, but if life as a Ktarian had taught me anything it was to trust your instincts. Xenia was still in danger whether or not Cooper was our man.
“We need to let Xenia know,” Leget said. He stood and pushed the box back into the closet. He retrieved the HDU from beside me on the bed. He was right. I turned off the PADD and stood. Taking the two pieces with us we left the quarters and made our way to the sickbay. We would hurry. Silently, I just hoped we weren’t too late.
*off*
Xenia Rafko *on*
I had retreated to my quarters, unable to deal with the dead body in my sickbay. I had asked my staff to put the body into stasis - I would deal with it in an hour or so. First, I needed some time to think.
I ordered some orange herbal tea from the replicator and sat down at my desk. I had plenty of scientific journals to read, plenty of material for distraction purposes, but all the words blurred in front of my eyes. I pressed my hand to my eyes, trying to massage some of the weariness out of them.
The door chimed and I figured it was Okal. I knew she was disappointed in me,but I hadn't figured out a way to explain to her how hard it was to deal with the ups and downs of being in a committed relationship with Nu'Daq. Much as I loved him, I couldn't possibly keep up with the messes he found himself in and honestly, sometimes it was next to impossible to understand what motivated him in the first place.
"Come!" I called.
The door opened and Ensign Cooper walked in. I didn't know Cooper well other than he was one of Nu'Daq's security officers. I also suspected that Cooper knew our chief science officer, Lieutenant Janor - and possibly not in a good way. But at this point, it was impossible to make any kind of assessment about anyone on this ship. The only person I trusted was myself. Everyone else had about 80 million secrets and motivations that they juggled and I simply could not keep up.
"Can I help you, Ensign?" I asked Cooper. Cooper was a big man and to my eye, he didn't seem well. He was swaying slightly. A case of space sickness, I thought, given how crazy things had been lately.
"I need to talk to you," he said dully. He took a step towards me. I indicated an empty chair.
"By all means. Have a seat."
He kept coming at me.
"Have a seat, *Ensign*," I said. "That's an order."
But Cooper didn't. I noticed his eyes were bloodshot. What the hell was going on? I backed up against the wall as Cooper advanced towards me.
"Doctor Rafko, you are accused of crimes against the Romulans..." he said.
"What?" I tried to furiously think of the last time I'd even been near a Romulan. I couldn't think of one.
"You must pay for your crimes against the Romulans..." his hands were outstretched. I pressed against the wall, trying to edge towards my nightstand where I kept a phaser. But Cooper was coming at me too quickly.
"Rafko to Security!"
"I have disabled all comm signals from your quarters," Cooper said. He smiled. "This will be very easy, Doctor." He held up a hypospray. "And very quick. Do not worry."
At that moment, the doors to my quarters flew open and Morgan and Nu'Daq came in. Cooper grabbed my arm as I struggled to get free. The hypospray hissed against my arm, but I knew that because of the material of my uniform, the dose of whatever it was probably was minimal at best, and probably hadn't penetrated the skin.
"Nu'Daq!" I yelled. I'd forgotten just how quickly Nu'Daq could move. He immediately had his hands around Cooper's neck. Cooper let go of me and I moved away quickly.
"Are you all right?" Morgan asked. I didn't really care for Morgan; I was suspicious of her motives towards Nu'Daq, but I was grateful now for her concern.
"I'm fine," I said. "But Cooper... there's something wrong with *him*."
"What do you think?"
I shook my head, recalling Cooper's vague, almost mechanical speech. Mind control, perhaps? By now, Nu'Daq had managed to subdued Cooper.
"I'd have to run some medical tests to confirm my theory," I said quietly. "But I think it's best to put him in the brig for now."
Nu'Daq heard me. "I will take him now." He marched Cooper past me and out into the corridor.
At that moment, Okal came running in, with that Cardassian Leget on her heels.
"Xenia!" Okal exclaimed. "What happened?"
"That's a good question," I said, rubbing my arm. It felt warm and I was pretty sure there'd be a bruise in the morning. "But I'd really like some answers."
"We may be of assistance," Leget said gravely. He held a PADD out to me. "The Tal Shiar has collected a great deal of data on you and we found it all in Cooper's quarters."
"Why?" I asked.
"We were hoping you could explain that," Okal said.
I shook my head. Unless it was something related to my days in the Maquis - which I couldn't talk about with them anyway - then there was absolutely nothing that the Romulans could possibly be angry at me. Obsidian Order, yes, definitely, but the Tal Shiar? I turned to Morgan. As much as I hated asking her for help, I knew that she was the best chance I had for getting some insight into what was going on here.
*off*
Nu'Daq *on* Nu’Daq and Morgan stood outside Xenia’s quarters. Nu’Daq’s heart was beating rapidly, his blood was rushing, his hunting instinct was running on maximum. He had to find and seize the real killer. And he was convinced, that he or she was inside Xenia’s quarters. Every fibre, every nerve in his body told him that. It was almost, if he had some Betazoid ability to *know*. Without looking at Morgan behind him, without knocking, without hesitation Nu’Daq entered the room. He saw Cooper grabbing Xenia by the arm, apparently trying to inject her with something using a hypospray. When Xenia saw him, she yelled out for help. For a fraction of a second Nu’Daq felt the anxiety of someone attacking his heart, his soul, his beloved. But even though it only took a glimpse, before Nu’Daq had crossed the room and freed Xenia, he had forgotten all about that feeling when he overcame Cooper. Nu’Daq was surprised, how easy it was. Although humans are inferior in physical strength to Klingons, Cooper was amazingly easy to handle. It seemed like all his will to fight or struggle had disappeared, when Nu’Daq had removed him from Xenia. Now he was as inanimate as a puppet. Nu’Daq heard Morgan and Xenia talking to eachother. Xenia wanted Cooper brought to the brig. “I’ll take him there”, Nu’Daq replied and left the quarters with Cooper. As he exited the room and the doors closed behind him, a strange feeling wavered his heart for a moment. Relief? Anxiety? Grief? He didn’t know, and the feeling lingered too short for him to think about it. When he and Cooper reached the brig, they bumped into Lt. Arsinoe. She seemed a bit surprised to see the two of them. She hesitated, but then raised her phaser. “Sorry, sir, but I need to place you under arrest.... again...”. Nu’Daq replied with a little smile. “That’s OK, ensign, but only if you put this pataq in the other brig – by orders of Dr. Rafko.” Arsinoe seemed a bit relieved, and escorted the two of them inside their respective brigs. Nu’Daq had been sitting there for almost two hours in solemn meditation. Only the low humming of the force fields could be heard. Nu’Daq was searching his soul trying to resolve the strange things of the last few days, trying to explore the feelings inside him, trying to make heads and tails of everything. But to no effect. His insides were a turmoil of emotions. And just when he thought he was making progress, he was interrupted by the opening of the doors. In stepped three women, three women who had had a marked influence on Nu’Daq’s life: Okal, Morgan and Xenia. *off*
Catava Okal *on*
"Leget, we have to hurry," I said as I quickened my pace down the hall. The Cardassian evened his pace to match mine.
We were half running through the halls when we nearly knocked over Lt. Katja, the Valjean's counsellor. Trying to balance my emotions as we walked past, I smiled meekly at her while she held her ground, back hugging the wall. Leget led the way to the turbolift. Lt. Katja's stare followed us the rest if the way.
Once the doors swooshed closed, my Cardassian companion risked conversation.
"Do you think Ensign Cooper is the assailant whom we seek?"
I stared at the blinking lights inside the lift. I didn't know Ensign Cooper well. I really didn't know him at all. But I knew that I was assigned to the Valjean based on my record - I really didn't think that Captain Worf and the rest of Starfleet for that matter, would assign someone to our ship with history linked to a volatile section of the Romulan government.
"Leget, I really don't know. I would like to say no, but I'm not sure. Not after that crate of evidence we found stowed away in Lt. Berggren's quarters. Perhaps Doctor Rafko will have some insight." I paused, trying desperately to think of an alternative, any alternative to having a shipmate be a cold blooded murderer. "Do you think that evidence could have been planted there? I knew Lt. Berggren for the better part of my adult life. We were very close. I knew nothing of any associations he may have had with the Romulans."
"Anything in this stage of the game is possible," Leget replied as the doors wooshed open. Immediately our gaze fell to the open door of Xenia's quarters down the hall. When Leget and I heard her yell Nu'Daq's name, we hurried our step and were there in seconds.
We neglected to announce our arrival and just walked in to see Nu'Daq walk by us with a very disheveled Ensign Cooper in tow. Briefly glancing their way, the ensign looked very tired and pasty. His forehead was beaded with sweat and his breathing was rigid. Leget walked with Nu'Daq to the door as I focused my attention to Xenia, who was half slumped on the floor, and to Morgan who was helping her stand.
"Xenia!" I cried, perhaps a little louder than was necessary. "What happened?"
"That's a good question," she said. She was rubbing her arm. "But I'd really like some answers."
"We may be of assistance," Leget said. He was alone at the door now. He walked over to Xenia and gave her the semi-smashed PADD we had found in Taite's quarters. "The Tal Shiar has collected a great deal of data on you and we found it all in Lt. Berggren's quarters."
"Why?" She seemed as puzzled as the rest of us.
"We were hoping you could explain that," I said. Another dead end. Why were we always running up against a wall? But something about Xenia's demeanor... 'No... she couldn't possibly have anything to hide, could she?' I shoved the thought aside. I sat down on her sofa.
"It appears that the only one who had any answers is now... dead." Leget paused on the last word, seemingly in an effort to spare my feelings about Lt. Berggren's passing. The word slid over me - I had spoken the truth. We had been close, but as of late the relationship was strained at best. I let it pass.
Xenia, now standing, was pacing the room.
"All of you are forgetting something," Morgan suddenly said. She had been quiet all of this time. "We still have Xenia's assailant in custody. He should be in the brig by now. And I think with that, we have enough evidence NOT against Nu'Daq that we can get him out of there so he can start a thorough investigation."
It was true. Xenia was fine now, and with speculation of the Tal Shiar suddenly wanting her for crimes she didn't even know she had committed, we had forgotten, albeit momentarily, about Ensign Cooper.
The rest of us stood to join Xenia in the centre of the room.
"Morgan's right," Xenia said. I cocked my head to the side. I never thought the day would come when Xenia would agree with Morgan. Xenia took off her blue coat and grabbed her med kit. She opened it and retrieved two hypo sprays and gave one to Morgan and the other to myself. I looked at her for a moment.
"What is this?" I asked, waving the hypo spray in the air.
"Merfadon," replied the doctor. "It's a sedative. It works almost instantaneously in larger doses." The doctor slipped into her sleeping quarters and returned with a Type II phaser strapped to her side.
Morgan gripped her hypo spray tightly.
Xenia looked at me squarely. "All of this is for our own safety. By the mechanic actions of Ensign Cooper when he attacked me and given the information you and Leget have given me on the Tal Shiar, I don't think he's the mastermind behind Lt. Berggren's murder. These," she motioned to the phaser and hypo sprays, "are just precautionary measures."
"Leget," I got the Cardassian's attention. He jumped to my side almost immediately. He was obviously uncomfortable in a room full of women. I handed him the PADD Xenia left on the coffee table and the Romulan HDU I still held in my other hand. "Take these to the Captain. Inform him of the situation and ask him to meet us in the brig."
Leget nodded and wordlessly slipped through the open door of Xenia's quarters.
The three of us wasted no time in getting to the brig. As it was, there was no present need to be armed - we met only a handful of crew members in the hallways. We stepped into the brig to see Nu'Daq stand as we entered.
"I see the force fields are back on," I mentioned casually.
"Yes, we noticed the breach quite some time ago. Lt. Lan had it repaired quite soon after that." The voice came from the far side of the room. We turned to see Ensign Arsinoe. "Will somebody please tell me what is going on? Why do we have two men in custody for the same crime?"
Ensign Cooper was laying on the floor in his cell. His breathing was very laboured and he was even more pale than when we had seen him last, less than half an hour ago.
"Well, that's what we're here to find out. I think Doctor Rafko would like to have a word with Ensign Cooper," I said to Ensign Arsinoe. Xenia stood squarely in front of Cooper's cell.
"Lower the force field," we heard her say. There was a bite to her words.
By touching a few buttons, Ensign Arsinoe lowered the force field and Xenia entered to stand next to Ensign Cooper. Morgan and I trailed her closely.
"Catava," she said, "hold his head. Morgan, hold this," Xenia handed the woman her phaser. I bent down to do as I was asked only to notice that while he was unconscious, Cooper was trembling all over. I placed my hands on his head and he was absolutely frigid to the touch. Xenia took a third hypo spray from her med kit and gently pressed it into the side of Cooper's neck. It gave its familiar hiss. Slowly his eyes started to open and his trembling worsened.
"Ensign Cooper," Xenia started to get his attention after he stirred a few moments.
He looked up weakly at Xenia and saw Morgan standing above her, phaser pointed towards him.
"You might want to start talking now," said Morgan, "because this thing isn't set on stun."
*off*
Back to WDFA
Back to JEWEL RPG