A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma: Part 4

Posted on Thu Apr 6th, 2023 @ 4:39pm by Lieutenant Commander Isabelle Savette & Commodore Finchley Kerr
Edited on on Thu Apr 6th, 2023 @ 4:40pm

1,824 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Investigate the Chintoka Shipyard Buildup
Location: Chin'toka shipyard
Timeline: Current

[Old]

Isabelle had ‘zoned’ out as she had noticed a small strange coloured blemish on her hand, a peculiar shade of blue. She was about to mention it when she let out a pained cry. “What in the hell?...” She held up her hand which now also had what looked like a metallic implant on the back. “I think we have another problem...”

[New]

Finchley turned to see Isabelle staring at her hand. He moved closer to see what it was she was looking at, the let out a exclamation "That's nano technology! Lieutenant, what the hell is this?"

Isabelle shook her head. “It looks Borg, maybe I came into contact with something that had active nanites on it? I’m more worried about this...” she pointed to the blue tinge showing underneath. “Before that appeared I had a blue blemish on my skin, I can’t explain that at all.”

Shon took her hand and looked at it. “Did you touch any of the bones Lieutenant or anything in the chest cavity? I’m sorry but it might have been me. I disturbed a lot of dust with those bones and maybe there were nanites in the dust? We will keep an eye on it and try not to worry.” Shon looked towards the corridor where she heard the swish, swish. This time she forced it from her mind and replaced it by looking at Kerr. “Shall I lead the way Captain?”

"If you're up to it Commander" Finchley replied "The room is in the next section over, the doors are already open. Lead the way."

Isabelle looked to Shon offering a nod of her head, there wasn’t much point in worrying about what she couldn’t fix right now.

Shon drew her phaser and began her silent walk along the darkened corridor towards the next section a few hundred yards away ready for the possible return of the goons. She smiled at the pleasure she knew she would get by stunning their asses. There were flickering lights in this section which she found less than helpful and this part of the base seemed to creak and move or maybe it was just her imagination. The dust swirled and she realised that there must be a working air con somewhere to disrup the dust this much, she turned to see Kerr and the Lieutenant following her and then the swish, swish sound wormed it’s way into her ears once again. Then it turned into talking coming their way. She turned raising her fist for them to halt. An open doorway beckoned and she silently indicated for them to follow her inside.

Isabelle followed on quietly behind trying to ignore the fact that another implant had sprung up a little further up her arm. The blue blotch on her skin was also spreading, but fortunately at a slow pace.

Finchley crouched when Shon raise her fist. He listened carefully, wondering what had caused her caution. Seeing her move inside the room, he moved up and slowly entered the room he'd been in before. Nothing had changed as far as he could tell. Moving over to where Shon was, he asked "What did you see or hear?"

“Several pairs of footsteps coming this way.” She whispered. “Heavy tread” she pushed herself back against the door.

"We need to find out who it is" Finchley said, "but without them seeing us."

He turned to Isabelle "Can you get any sense of who it could be?" he asked.

Isabelle looked at Finchley. “I can try.” She let her senses do their job, looking back at Finchley and Shon. “I think it’s the men we sent off earlier, they feel... familiar.”

“Right” said Shon. “They re searching the rooms and will probably do the same with this one. Our safest bet is that I step out, they take me prisoner, I tell them where you are, say back in the lab. Once they are in front of you you step out and stun their asses Captain?”

"It's a brave plan Commander" Finchley replied "so long as you're confident it'll work, we'll be ready" he finished.

Shon nodded, if truth be told she was not sure it would work but it was a plan. They bent themselves back against the inside of the wall of the room. Shon gave her phaser to Kerr and stepped out of the room. She wanted to ensure that the goons would not think she had come from that room and decide to search it. She did not think they were that intelligent but would not even give them a chance to think it. They walked around the corner talking and did not even see her for a minute. She stood with her hands up waiting, they stopped and for a second looked as terrified as her. “I am unarmed” she called raising her hands. “Please, please do not shoot.” One of the three goons now silent walked up to her their side arm which she recognised as a Klingon disruptor aimed at her head.

“Who are you?” The Klingon snarled, you’re Federation. Where is your ship? What are you doing here?” The other human looking goon patted her, no felt her, up and down.

Shon noted they did not seem to have communicators with them and breathed an internal sigh of relief. “Mmmm our ship is docked near the infirmary, my companion is exploring inside there, pppplllease don’t kill me, I’m so scared, I will tell,you,everything.”

The goon with the disruptor looked strangely at her. “You are Vulcan?” He said, “they are not usually as frightened as you.”

“I’m only half Vulcan” she stuttered. “I’ll take you to her” she said. She knew the one with the disruptor was puzzled by her. The other two now had her in their grasp feeling her shake they laughed.

“Come 0n, let’s get the other woman then we can have a little party before we hand them over,” one of them licked his lips and she felt his rank breath on her cheek. The one with the disruptor gestured to her.

“Go ahead…..quietly, any false moves and I will kill you. I am holding a Varron T disruptor, your death will be particularly painful.”

They turned and Dex felt her hands bound behind her, pushing her forward in front of them they began to walk down the corridor passed the room where Isabelle and Finchley were. Once they were a discreet distance and before they rounded the corridor Dex moaned.

“I think I am going to pass out please help me?” She went down heavily and pretended to be unconscious. Immediately a squabble broke out between the three of them.

As the group passed by the doorway, Finchley waited a couple of seconds then stepped out inti the corridor. silently, he followed for another ten yards or so, then raised and levelled the two phasers he had.

"Knock, knock..." he said, the sound echoing a little.

The three captors began turning, and that's as far as they got before three phaser bursts in quick succession brought them down.

Walking over to Shon, he undid the binding around her wrists and helped her up "Good job Commander, good job."

She nodded, brushed herself down and placed her phaser back on her hip. Taking the disruptor from the downed Klingon she turned it over. “If this is truly a Varron T disruptor then it’s the only one I know of. I remember reading about Data the Android from the old Enterprise D. He was kidnapped by a ‘collector’ One Kivas Fajo. He had one of these in his collection. It’s a nasty way to die. Apparently it kills from the inside out, every cell is broken down within the body, where did he get this?” Lieutenant can you look around for something to bind and gag these..” she paused, “gentlemen, and then we can store them away.”

Isabelle nodded and started looking around, it didn’t take long to find something suitable amongst the items that were left lying around.

Finchley in the meantime was hunting through their pockets. A pouch was lying next to the Klingon, so he opened it and pulled out a sheaf of papers. Opening them up, he couldn't believe his eyes "Well, it's no wonder they have no communicators, it looks like 'Larry, Curly and Mo' here are scavengers, and they have a schematic...a paper schematic of all things...that have the original engineering tunnels and link routes, These won't be on the later versions, no wonder they seem to have been able to get back here so quickly from the wild goose chase. In fact, I think they were looking dupe the Dominion by the looks of things. Look here, they've marked off the main power reactor, it's mined!"

Shon trembled and felt cold then hot. The throbbing had returned to her head and the whispering had begun again. “I am having symptoms again Captain but I can carry on.” She breathed for a moment then continued, “this will prove useful to us, whomsoever mined the reactor may have done us a favor and we can used the tunnels to explore?”

Shon helped and the three of them were soon bound and gagged, they dragged them into the empty side room and shut the door. “They should be out a while,” Shon said. She looked at Isabelle. “How are you doing?” She asked softly aware that she must at least be a little scared at what was happening to her.

Isabelle looked at the growing blue mystery mark on her hand. “I think terrified says it nicely.” She offered Shon a weak smile. “We’re both infected with something and I’m sprouting what looks like Borg implants! Whatever you look at it, that’s not good. Though right now I don’t have time to worry about it.”

"Right, we need to get to that reactor and see what sort of explosives or detonation material has been set, figure out if it's those guys" he pointed to the trussed up captives "who set it or if it's the Dominion force, in case they were overrun."

Isabelle nodded. “Let’s get going, the sooner we..” She looked towards Shon. “get some medical assistance the better.”

Shon nodded, slipped the disruptor in her belt and looked at Kerr. “You have the map sir, which way do we go?”

"According to this, we're about three sections away from an inspection tunnel that leads to a main conduit tunnel after another two sections" Finchley said, showing them on the schematic "The only thing is we'd still be two sections away from the main reactor, and we don't know who's there."

He folded the schematic up and placed it in his tunic "There's only one way to find out, lets go."

 

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