Un-snoopy Snooping

Posted on Wed Mar 19th, 2025 @ 1:41pm by Commodore Finchley Kerr & Commander Alec Hunter & Lieutenant Commander Isabelle Savette & Lieutenant Drevas

2,369 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Voices of the past
Location: Planet side/USS Blackeagle
Timeline: Current.

Drevas didn't much like working under the arbitrary 'as soon as possible'. That term meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people - from 'now' to 'at your discretion' to 'in ten minutes' (yes, he'd worked under someone like that before) - nonetheless, he'd taken the rest of the time from the moment Finchley had told him to start preparations to prepare and send out a meticulously organised mission packet for the other two he'd shortlisted as suitable, along with a brief explanation as to why they'd been selected. Drevas was nothing if not meticulous, and he of all people knew well that meticulousness and attention to detail were of utmost importance in ensuring the safety of everyone on this mission.

With that done, he'd found the time to take a quick shower before heading to the transporter room first, well ahead of time, after drawing a handheld phaser as he'd instructed the others to do.

Lieutenant Joshua "Dodger" Dark had received the meticulous briefing including him in the away team that was going to beam down to the planet. he was glad to be part of the team and saw no reason why the team wouldn't be able to perform its duties as expected. He headed for the armory to pick up a phaser and once done, he headed for the transporter room

Lieutenant Andrea Marcus had also received a message to report for away team duty, her speciality was archaeology and anthropology, though she was also a trained field medic. Picking up her shoulder bag with necessary equipment in, along with a phaser she headed for the transporter room.

Seeing them both come into the room after him Drevas put his PADD away and addressed them both: "Good evening, the two of you. Thank you for coming." He said with a slight smile. "As outlined in the file I sent to you both, we will be required to observe the local population and gather information - 'snoop around', I believe the Commodore might put it. As such, we'll need to be discreet, as much as we can be under the circumstances. Walk around, observe and interact if you can. Most importantly, listen. Report anything suspicious as discreetly as possible. Any questions?"

Josh nodded at Drevas and Andrea, "Hello Lt. Drevas and Andrea." He returned and listened as Drevas again outlined the mission parameters. "Not from me." He answered. His specialty was scout and infiltration. "Ready to get started."

Andrea nodded. “Won’t the population be somewhat dubious of us? Reading what we know so far, and Earth’s history of Augmentation, they’re not likely to be very trusting of us especially as we’re Starfleet Officers.”

"Good point Andrea and on that point, we will just have to be as nice and unassuming as possible with the locals. No threatening posture or questions. casual conversation." Josh replied.

Andrea nodded. “Fingers crossed they don’t just send us packing.”

"Nothing against wishful thinking." Josh replied with a smile.

"Let us approach this with cautious optimism. Allow me to remind you both, however, that we will not be remaining in contact with the Blackeagle for the duration of this mission, unless in emergencies. Should we need to communicate while split up, we will do so by PADD. Understood?" Drevas interjected as he stepped onto the transporter pad.

“Understood” Andrea nodded as she stepped up onto the pad.

Josh nodded, "Understood." as he stepped onto the pad, joining his shipmates.

It was at times like these that Drevas was reminded starkly that, having been placed in charge of this mission, he was therefore responsible for bringing these two officers back to the ship, safe and sound. He had tried to plan as far ahead as possible, of course, but he couldn't help but wonder if, well, what would happen if things went wrong, as they often did in their line of work. He pushed the thought aside, though, as he nodded to the transporter operator, signalling them to transport the team down to the planet.

-----------------------

Drevas found himself surprised to find them materialising in the middle of a modern-looking town - by his estimates, about 23rd century Earth standards, with brick and mortar buildings, paved roads and decently dressed people roaming the streets and going about their daily business. They seemed to have materialised outside of a busy marketplace of some sorts, bustling with activity even at this time of day. All in all, nothing terribly out of place for a human colony - but then again appearances could be dangerously deceptive.

"I believe we can start there." Drevas gestured at a nearby publike establishment christened 'Jim's Hearty Hoagies'. He had, admittedly, not had information as to the shops and buildings, but that sort of restaurant was a good place to start at all things considered. Patrons usually wanted to have a relaxed meal, free of worries for the moment - which was when things tended to slip out of their mouths, intentionally or not. "What do you both think?" He looked between both officers.

“I think it’s a very good idea, a good way to interact with people” Andrea smiled warmly.

"If we're looking for information, you can always find some by going into a bar. Someone is always willing to talk." Josh observed.

"Then we shall start there. Hopefully the locals will be receptive enough to not kill us." Drevas remarked, and started forward towards the pub with them.

Pushing open the door to the pub revealed the interior to be similar to an upmarket pub; people of a myriad of ethnicities chatted to each other and laughed as they were served drinks by waitresses, some of whom were visibly less dressed than one might expect. A sports match of some sort seemed to be playing on a wall-mounted screen; viewers clapped and cheered loudly whenever the players scored a goal. People didn't seem to pay the trio much mind when they walked through the door. All in all, the scene in the pub was very much within the realm of what one might expect.

That was what made Drevas' lips set in a thin line. For a colony of human augments who, by all counts, should not have had any contact with Starfleet for years, the patrons of the bar were strangely comfortable with their presence - yes, that applied to the handful of patrons who glanced over and looked, too. Drevas nodded to the two of them, signalling them to have a look around. He himself, meanwhile, parked himself at the presently empty bar counter, ordered a drink off the menu and pulled out his PADD to message the other two as the bartender mixed it for him:

This is far too easy.

Josh looked at his PaDD as Drevas's message appeared on it. He showed it to Andrea and motioned with his eyes for her to follow him. They went to a table and sat down. A few seconds a waiter appeared. His name tag bore the name Stan. "Hi," he greeted the pair. Do you know what you want or would you like a menu?"

"A menu if you please." Josh replied.

"Sure thing, be right back." As Stan left, he looked at Andrea, "Don't you think that was a bit odd?"

“It’s more than a little odd, I doubt they’ve had many visitors here and yet they’re acting like we’ve always been here.” Andrea looked around. “I think we need to be careful.”

Josh nodded, "I couldn't agree more. I think we need to be on high alert without it being obvious and look for anything out of the ordinary no matter how small or insignificant it may appear."

Drevas, meanwhile, took a moment to look around the bar. His drink was placed in front of him on the counter; he picked it up but refrained from taking a sip as he listened to people talk. Wedding next week, Nana's congee recipe, the nadion batteries operating within nominal levels... nadion batteries? He perked up instantly. Nadion batteries had been used in Starfleet phasers since... well, when these people were supposed to have originated from. If they were descended from the Ranger's crew, that is. He'd scanned the planet and found that the colonists had built - or perhaps co-opted - phaser-based planetary defenses; could that be what that group was referring to?

It was right about then that Drevas lifted the glass to his lips to drink - which was when something odd stung at his nostrils. A scent, sharp, tangy, almost metallic. Chemical-y, and definitely not what the non-alcoholic peach smoothie he ordered ought to smell like.

Drevas waited for the bartender's back to turn before typing swiftly into his PADD:

Drink smells off. Updates?

Josh's PaDD made a soft beep and he looked down and saw Drevas's message. He discreetly showed it to Andrea before he typed back. **Don't drink it, Spill it. Nothing out of the ordinary so far.**

Andrea typed in her response. **Observations are proving...nothing out of the oridinary at present**

Drevas glanced down at his PADD to look at the reply, and swiftly put the device away before anyone else could see. He took another moment to glance around the bar before reaching for a napkin on the counter - and, in doing so, spilling the drink all over the countertop as his hand brushed the glass.

Now, that by itself would probably not have been too large of a problem, but when Drevas saw and heard the contents hiss and sizzle as they made contact with the marble countertop, well, suffice to say that's quite enough of a sign that there was something deathly wrong with this bar.

"Whoa, now. Let me get you a fresh one. You sit tight now, okay, sonny?" The bartender drawled, having seen the entire incident happen from behind the counter. The tall, muscular Caucasian man turned away to mix another drink while one of the waitresses, a tall, buxom woman in a revealing outfit, placed a hand on Drevas' shoulder, squeezing with inhuman strength as she reached for the phaser on his hip.

Simultaneously, a group of four men, all seated at the same table, rose to their feet at the same time and approached Josh and Andrea at their table.

Yep, it really had been far too easy, alright...

Josh saw the group of men rise and approach Andrea and himself, He tensed but remain seated waiting to see just what the men were going to do. A quick glance at Andrea showed she was also ready to deal with whatever the men decided to start.

Andrea stood up ready, but it was obvious they were outnumbered. Right now they had no choice but to go along with whatever was about to happen.

"Easy Andrea." Josh cautioned his partner. "Let's see what these gentlemen want." His tone relaxed and easy. A direct opposite of his body which was coiled and ready to spring into action at the slightest provocation.

"What? No! No, no, no. Relax, we don't want to hurt anyone." One of the men drawled in a thick Irish accent. "We- look. We just want to go home. Okay? Please. We're all sick and tired of this shithole, the colony managment is nuts, they- they wanna- you know what, Bethanie, let the stringpole go, okay?" He said to the barmaid keeping Drevas 'prisoner', who let go with an apologetic smile.

"Why don't we all sit and talk. Nice and calm. The name's Anson. We heard you lot were coming, just couldn't believe it." The one speaking chuckled.

Josh nodded warily at the men. "I'm Josh, this is Andrea and over there is Drevas. Okay, let's talk. What's going on here? What's colony management doing?"

Andrea looked around for any possible avenue of escape if they needed it, right now they were surrounded.

Josh too was looking for an escape route if one was called for and needed. Right now, the men had made no threatening moves other than loosely surrounding them. it appeared they did wish to talk.

"They're-" No sooner had the word escaped the man's mouth did he receive a nasty blow to his jaw from one of his friends, knocking him out quite handily.

"Fuck you and your pretenses. They're supposed to die, not have a nice chitchat." The other man growled before turning his attention to Andrea and Josh. "Phasers, commbadges. Now. Give them, or we'll kill you and then take them. Choose."

Josh's finger tightened on the phaser he had under the table. he could easily take the group out.

Andrea looked at the others whatever happened next she’d follow suit.

Josh's outward appearance was still decidedly relaxed while inside he was coiled like a snake ready to take out the thugs surrounding him and Andrea.

Drevas acts first, disabling the barmaid standing over him with a punch to her nose while smacking his commbadge, "Away team two to the Blackeagle, we are in distress. Requesting immediate transport!"

As Drevas went into action, Josh followed. he kicked the table up and into the men, firing his phaser in rapid fashion at the men.

Andrea was putting up a fight too, but soon took a right hook to her face leaving her with a split lip.

['Eagle transporter room]

Lieutenant Aquin began his calculations, "I am having difficulty getting a lock on you Lieutenant, there is something blocking your signals......are there we are." looking at the pad expectantly as the figures of the away team materialized . Aquin smiled. "Having problems?"

"Not any more..." Andrea rubbed her chin feeling somewhat bruised from the lucky punch. Her lip was still bleeding.

"Thank for the assist." Josh replied as he moved to Andrea, "Hey, you okay?" His concern for her evident.

“I’m fine” Andrea winced as she smiled. “Just a sore lip and a bit bruised is all. You should see the other guy!”

Josh grinned broadly at Andrea's statement. " You sure showed him. You rock Andrea, way to go!"

 

RSS Feed