Surefoot 88: Arcana

"Aye, Sir." There was a continued look of apprehension in Urad's eyes, but also gratitude, as he departed.

Hrelle turned away again. You did wonders for him, Kami. Like you did for me, when I was at my lowest. You'd better get better, because there's a whole Galaxy of similar broken souls needing your help.

*

Boladede pressed the teraplast patch, normally used for emergency sealing for hull or conduit breaches, against the side of his head until its borders activated and bound to his skin. It covered his left ear and restricted his jaw, but it would do until he acquired a first aid kit. That little animal of the Counselor's may have injured him, but at least now he would stop leaving a blood trail behind him until he effected an escape.

He continued his descent, past the Hangar Bay and the Auxiliary Command deck to the Storage Batteries, knowing the high-energy fields there would augment the sensor cover he was providing himself with the masking tool he'd furnished from a Security tricorder and an Engineering sensor wand.

Bastards. All of them. He had given of himself so much, had offered Starfleet so much potential. And they threw his offer back in his face, because of a minor, almost insignificant character flaw on his part.

What happened to that bitch Counselor was her own fault, really.

Well, that's fine. He'll escape, offer his services to whomever could appreciate him.

It was the escape itself that would be the trick... he accessed a nearby workstation, using codes of his own devising to break the higher encryptions and access the Security updates on their search for him, as well as the status of the vessels within or nearby the station. If one was close enough, he could beam over secretly, disguising the carrier wave using a subspace sensor sweep from the station's array-

A sound made him turn, raising his back-up phaser at the bottom of the vertical shaft he had just emerged from. Stupid fool! He should have taken the time to recharge his weapon while he was down here!

Cautiously he approached, listening carefully. The Security crew were following the standard sweep patterns, but someone must have dropped something from further up. If you were a cadet, you'd have been penalised heavily for such a blunder-

He leaned in, weapon arm first, aiming his phaser upwards as he peered up the long shaft - seeing nothing, hearing nothing.

He looked down, noticed a small round metal object - some mechanical spare part or connection-

An earring? Who would wear an earring down here, let alone lose one?

They wouldn't.

But if it was deliberately dropped, or thrown, as a distraction-

"Cadet."

Boladede spun, eyes wide, weapon raised again.

Lt Cmdr Hrelle, clad in civilian gear, faced him, using the side of a doorway for cover, her own phaser raised at him. Her eyes remained open, unblinking, fixed on him. "Drop it."

He froze, panic vying with anger, and humiliation... but he would not let himself look vulnerable. Not in front of her. "Well done, Lieutenant Commander. How did you know where to find me? And then get your earring to drop on its own and distract me while you made your way through from the other shaft?"

"Get rid of the weapon and I'll tell you."

He kept staring at her... remembering the images of her he had generated for his own pleasure, and his humiliation swelled up in him... and the taunts from the Counselor about Lt Cmdr Hrelle's reaction on hearing of it. "Lieutenant Commander- the files I had of you- no one else would have seen them, if Counselor Boone hadn't interfered-"

Her grip on her phaser tightened, as did her darkening expression. "Cadet... I don't care about that. I do care that you tried to kill a woman I consider a second mother.

I care about that a big fucking deal.

Why? Why would you do that? She has only ever tried to help others-"

"LIES!" Anger galvanised his limbs at the woman's lies. "Everyone says that about her! The Wise and Wonderful Counselor! But I saw the true woman tonight! Heard her taunts, her promises about how I would never be allowed to stay in Starfleet! About conspiring with you and your father to drive me out! It's not fair!"

She frowned at him, hesitating. "Wait- when did you see her tonight?"

"What does it matter?" he snarled through clenched teeth.

Then she lowered her weapon, if only slightly. "She stayed behind in her quarters with the cubs while the rest of us went to the opening of the new club. Then I saw her there, not acting like her usual self. She would never have left Misha and Sreen unattended." She held up her other hand, in a conciliatory gesture. "Cadet... Ange... Kami would never be cruel to anyone. Something's going on, and if you put down the phaser and come back with me-"

Both of them then reacted to noise behind Sasha, as Captain Weynik and several Security crewmen emerged from the nearby turbolift, the short Roylan startled by Sasha's presence. "Bloody Hemra-" Then he regained his composure. "Cadet Boladede, you're under arrest for the attempted murder of Counselor Kami Hrelle! Put down your weapon and surrender!"

Yes, there it was. He wouldn't escape, and their weapons were assuredly set on Stun. He would live, and suffer, and face his disgrace and humiliation, hour after hour, day after day, for the rest of a long and miserable life.

No.

Without hesitation, he brought the tip of his phaser under his chin.

"DON'T!" Sasha shouted at him, horror in her eyes.

It was the last thing he saw and heard, before darkness and pain enveloped him...

*

Deck 3 - Civilian Quarters Section:

Simon Latrelle sat cross-legged on the floor, trying to focus. He didn't want to use the device sitting beside him; it was too easy, too convenient, it was addiction-inducing, and he preferred to achieve what he wanted through tried and true methods. But this mission was too detailed, too exhausting. He couldn't enter into the desired state of mind so quickly or easily now.

Nearby, Billie Holliday crooned to him, attempting to soothe his spirit. She wasn't helping.

"Computer: Music Off."

He opened his eyes and reached out for the delta wave inducer, unfolded the wings on the device and lifted it up to his forehead, pressing the wings against his temples. The inducer came to life on contact with his skin, and he opened his mind-

"I never understood your love for that grating bitch, Simon."

"I know," he reminded her. "I know everything you know."

She smiled. "You know everything I let you know. We only exist simultaneously here. Otherwise, you sleep, I wake, and work my fingers to the bone, and make you lots of money-"

"Lots of chaos. Lots of trouble. You always have, from when I was a kid-"

"Brother, I've love to walk down Memory Lane, but I really do have work to do- we don't want to disappoint Bastien, do we?"

He shook his head. "It's too much- you're doing too much, taking too much of me- even when I'm sleeping, it's killing me- and I can't keep putting myself under with the inducer-"

He felt her hands on his shoulders - or at least, the mental equivalent of it. "Stop fighting me. Let me out just a few more times, and before you know it, we'll be away from here, with a rejuvenated account."

He turned to face her again, steeling himself. "I won't let you kill. I never have, and I never will."

Simone smirked. "You think I don't know that? You think I don't feel those shackles on me? Don't worry, Cherie, I don't have to kill. The right face, saying the right words, in the right places and at the right times, and they're more than happy to kill themselves, or each other..."

*

Hospital:

Sasha stood at Kami's bedside. Along the way, she had heard the conversations between Lt Salvo and her Security Team and Dr Masterson and his Medical Team, arguing over the security arrangements for Boladede, currently on a medical bed, his head encased with a cellular regenerative unit to repair the damage he inflicted on himself with his weapon.

Sasha didn't care about that.

Her head pounded, her body clenched in a tight dehydrated state that left her feeling like a fruit left in the sun for too long. She'd had that drink - no, two drinks - and nothing to eat, before things went to the Seven Hells, with the news of the attack on Kami, and Misha savagely driving away her would-be assassin. Good for you, Little Brother. She'd argued with Mru, ran off to find Boladede, watched the blue beam light up his head like a Jack O'Lantern as he tried and failed to commit suicide. Shock and fatigue suffused her.

Sasha didn't care about that, either.

She stayed focused on the Caitian female in this private room, lying on her side in the bed, the bioreadings overhead monitoring her lifesigns. This woman... this wonderful woman shouldn't be here. She should be at home, resting up after a long, rewarding day of helping people, with Dad taking care of her, the way he took care of Sasha's mother when they were married-

She started at the hypospray being pressed into her neck by Eydiir, the taciturn Capellan offering no explanation. Sasha felt her aches ease and her head clear, but still asked, "What the frick was in that?"

The Chief Nurse set the hypospray on a nearby tray. "Electrolytes, anaprovaline... and some detoxicants to counter your alcohol intake tonight. Your body will not be accustomed to it after so long without alcohol."

Sasha glared at her indignantly. "Does Doc Cowboy let you get away with making assumptions like that?"

"I don't know, I've never made assumptions." She faced Sasha directly. "You are my Sister, and I do not judge you. I know something happened tonight, even before the incident with the Counselor. I am available to you any time."

Sasha took in the offer, and nodded appreciatively, even if she couldn't voice it, and turned back to Kami. "She'll be okay?"

Eydiir nodded, resting a hand on Sasha's arm. "The damage was repaired, nothing we couldn't handle, but she'll need time to recover-"

The door behind them slid open, and Sasha turned to see her Dad walk in, drawing up to Kami, tentatively approaching as if careful not to wake her, Sasha watching him take in her scent, before delicately covering an exposed shoulder with her bedsheet, and stroking her short mane.

Sasha felt the gentle, powerful intimacy between the couple, without any words being spoken. She remembered her initial resentment years ago, after hearing of their wedding plans, Sasha believing that he was betraying the memory of Mom by remarrying. That seemed a lifetime ago now. Finally she offered, "We'll leave you two-"

"Eydiir," he growled, "Would you give my daughter and I some privacy, please?"

The Chief Nurse raised her chain, squeezing Sasha's arm supportively as she replied, "Yes, Sir."

Sasha watched her leave, before turning back to Dad. "Dad-"

He kept his back to her, his tail still, his voice taut and dangerous as a razor wire, one that sent an unaccustomed chill down her spine. "I left you in our quarters tonight to be with your brother and sister. To watch them. To comfort them. To protect them. You abandoned that duty. You abandoned them."

Sasha felt her face burn at the accusation... one that was completely inarguable. "Dad-"

"Your little brother," he continued, "Saw his mother lying in a pool of her own blood, and without hesitation attacked her would-be murderer, drawing blood himself. What if he wakes up, needing reassurance, support, with his parents absent?"

"Mru is there-"

"Mru is a fine officer, and a fine male, and I would trust him with much, including my cubs." Now he looked over his shoulder at her. "But I didn't ask him to stay. I asked you."

She swallowed, shame twisting her insides. "Dad-"

"The attack on Kami may have been part of a larger assault on us. They may have come back to deal with the cubs... and Mru would have been left alone to face them, without your experience, or training as either a Starfleet senior officer or a Kaetini warrior. So what happened? Were you too inebriated to think straight?"

Sasha's jaw tightened. "I wasn't- I wasn't drunk! Yes, I- I fell off the wagon- but that wasn't my fault-"

"'Own Your Responses'," he cut in sharply... baring his teeth, his eyes narrowing. "Isn't that what you were taught? That you may not be responsible for what drove you to be an addict... but you are responsible for how you react to it."

"I know!" she snapped, the emotions welling up inside her, threatening to burst forth. "It's just- Kami came to the club, told me that I should just go ahead and drink, because Mru would never accept my proposal-"

He started. "Wait, wait- you asked him to marry you?"

"No, Dad, I mean, being married in general- having his cubs- he's not-"

He drew up close to her, his eyes saucering. "YOU'RE HAVING HIS CUBS?" He began sniffing around her.

She drew back, stepping back and holding up her hands as she raised her voice. "Jesus, Dad, no, I'm not, so stop checking me for a change of hormones! I'm not marrying or having kids with anyone, ever! No one would be stupid enough to hook up with an emotional wreck like me!"

Her outburst drew him sharply, as if struck, any anger he had for her before transported instantly away. "Sasha... no, don't say that-"

"Why not? Kami said as much tonight!"

He raised a finger at her, his expression tightening. "No. No, Kami would never say that to you. You warned me yourself that she was at the club, and we both know she wouldn't have gone and left the cubs alone!"

"Yeah, well, regardless, maybe there was some truth to what was said? You want a skull bashed in or a head sliced off or a starship pulled out of the shit, you call me! But for something as serious as being a wife? A mother? What the fuck kind of mother could I be?"

"A damn good one," Kami whispered faintly.

Sasha and her father turned simultaneously. Kami lay there, still, eyes closed, Dad rushing up to her and taking her paw in his. "Kam? You're conscious? You're talking?"

Kami moved her muzzle about, as if moistening the inside of her mouth. "That's my Big Commode, always on the ball."

Sasha's heart was pounding now, and she rested a hand on the Caitian's hip. "Kam! Jeez, you scared the Hell out of us!"

Beneath her bedsheet, her tail began twitching anxiously. "The cubs- Boladede-"

"Misha and Sreen are fine," Dad assured her softly. "Sleeping in their beds, and Mru is cubsitting." Less softly he added, "Cadet Boladede is being taken care of. Don't worry about anything except getting some rest."

"I will," Kami promised with a weak murmur, "When you two stop arguing..."

*

Deck 1, Officers' Residential Section:

Zir entered her quarters, weary, wound up like a clockwork toy, her head pounding from the past several hours, compounding a dilemma she could tell no one about-

"Busy night?"

She spun in place, arms raised in a defensive pose, her heart triphammering. "You!"

Surinh Dag stood there, dressed in the leathers and furs of a stereotypical Pirate Lord of their people, the older Orion male smirked. "Me."

She swallowed, hoping she could keep her cool, any desperate hopes that her earlier encounter with him had just been a nightmare. No, no such luck. How did he know when she was in her quarters anyway? "Get out! Get out, or-"

"Or... what?" He stepped forward, reaching out to pass his ephemeral hand through her desktop. "I'm an isomorphic projection operating over a subspace channel undetectable by your station's sensors. You can't touch me, I can't touch you." His eyes narrowed. "I can, however, touch others here with me. So, who shall I touch? Your dear Mama? Or maybe beloved Papa? Or Little Brother?"

Mention of her family, and the memories of her last encounter with Surinh Dag in her quarters, froze her. "You've no right to kidnap them! Taking them into Federation jurisdiction is a violation-"

He snorted derisively. "'Right', 'jurisdiction', 'violation'... you talk like one of the kafirlir Starfleets." Now he leered over her. "Tell me, how is it, serving under my former slave Hrelle? He enjoyed getting sweet little things like you sent to him after a particularly profitable victory. Does he still indulge? Split your little cuksir in two while his wife stays home and takes care of the kids?"

Zir's stomach twisted at his taunts. "Don't you dare talk about him like that! You're not fit to lick his boots!"

He chuckled. "Such fire; save it to keep yourself warm later, Lieutenant. For now, let's talk about what we require from you on Salem One."

She steeled herself, Yes, she knew from the earlier visit from Counselor Hrelle that Surinh Dag's visits were already detected, that his attempts to obtain classified data were already being countered, and that Zir should play along with whatever the Orion pirate wanted. She trusted the Counselor, and of course the Commodore, but still, her family remained at risk. "No."

"No?" He chuckled. "You care so little for your family, now in our tender hands?"

"Assuming you're not trying to deceive me; I wouldn't put it past scum like you. I want proof, I want to confirm it's them, and not some holograms or other deception. So, either convince me, or get the fuck out of here, I have work to do."

The Orion male glowered... but then half-disappeared from view, returning to full view, and with someone else, another male, in more modest clothing, looking unsure, anxious - until he focused on her, his voice dry as dirt... but still recognisable. "Zir? Is that really you?"

She focused on him, ignoring Surinh Dag. He looked... he looked so much like Papa, and she had a million, million things to say to him, to Mama and her brother Haikv. It was all she could do to keep her composure, raise a hand to the image, as if she could touch him and pull him away from his abductors. "Papa... when I was nine, I read a book that was much too old for me, Tazzuc Fin's Death By the Dozen, and it scared me so much I wouldn't get out of bed to go the toilet-"

He frowned at her, shaking his head. "N-No, it wasn't Death By the Dozen, it was Tazzuc Fin's later novel, Fiend Without a Face! I was reading it at the time and you snuck it away when I was in the shop and you should have been studying!"

She nodded. "Yes... Mama was so mad when she heard I'd wet the bed-"

Now he breathed in, looking suspiciously at her. "She never found out; I made sure she took Haikv for his checkup with the paediatrician while you washed your bedsheets and clothes! How could you forget?"

"She didn't," Surinh Dag guessed, "She was testing to see if you were really her Papa." He looked at her now. "Well, Lieutenant? Are you convinced?"

Zir ignored him, focusing on her father. Yes, yes it was him; that embarrassing private moment in her life would hardly be in any records that Surinh Dag could exploit. "Papa, I'm so sorry about this, but I promise you, I'll get you all out of this and-"

Then Papa was rudely shoved out of view again, as Surinh Dag took prominence once more. "There, satisfied? Now, will you cooperate, or will I flush your family out of the nearest airlock to let one of your Starfleet find their corpsicles floating in the void?"

Zir glared at him. "What do you bastards want?"

"Mind the tone, Sprout. And we want Hrelle's Command Authorisation Codes."

Zir stared hard at him. "The Codes are only made available on a daily basis, at the start of Alpha Shift at 0800 Hours, from an algorithmic block generator in Commodore Hrelle's office, His Eyes Only. They can't be accessed beforehand. Believe me, it's true."

He nodded at that. "I believe you, Lieutenant, because you believe me when I tell you that if you betray me, I'll start by cutting off your little brother's balls, and then I'll get very cruel with the rest of your family. Now, each morning, after the Codes become available to you, you'll find an excuse to return to your quarters at 0815 Hours. If I appear, you'll provide me with the Codes. That doesn't necessarily mean that I'll be using them that day, because I don't want you to be tempted to warn the Caitian about our imminent action.