Where Oh Where Has the Scientist Gone (Part III)

Posted on Wed Aug 7th, 2024 @ 9:27am by Commodore Samantha York & Commander Joren Tal & Lieutenant Commander Damion Wolfe

1,294 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Broken Mirror

"No need." Alex said before Joran could respond. "Scientist is long gone. Can't say if he is even still in this universe, but I know he isn't here." He looked to Joran, than to Alora, as his thumb hit a button on his staff which retracted both sides to its hand held weapon mode. "I found their camp, avoiding the sensors they placed, and did some snooping when they ran here." He gestured behind them as he added. "You guys managed to trip one which is what alerted them to you." He shrugged slightly, looking around a bit, before focusing on Joran. "It happens. Regardless, they aren't part of the people we are looking for originally. They are hired guns."

Alex holstered his weapon and walked over to Joran, who still had the unknown man beneath him. As he crouched down, Alex placed his hand on the back of the man’s collar, before pulling it down to reveal a familiar tattoo. A tattoo both he, Alora, and his team have encountered before. "Look familiar, Alora?" He said looking over to her.

"Yeah." She nodded. "He's one of The Lost. "I ran into the group after you left. They were after someone I'd been working with and...let's just say my friend is fine and they didn't have a chance to report what they found."

"Anyway... They won't know anything but who hired them, their orders, and how much they were paid to do it." Alex said to Joran. "Some of it might be helpful, some of it might not." He stood up and looked to Alora. "I did, however, manage to get you a present." He reached behind him and pulled out a small PADD. "Found it in one of their tents. It's encrypted, so there might be some stuff you could pull that might be of use." Alex held it out to her before pulling it back a bit. "If you can't, then maybe, I can ask Lem to do it. You know... if you don't think you can, that is." He teased. He knew she could get into it no problem, maybe even faster than Lem or Dutch could, but he enjoyed the occasional tease to put a smile on her and possible challenge her to pull more than they expected.

She raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh." She took the PADD from him and smiled. "I'll get into it." In fact, she looked forward to the challenge. "I might even share the information with you," she teased.

"Sounds like we at least have a lead." Joren grunted, before pushing himself up, grabbing the man by the collar to haul him up as well. "Don't think we have met. Joren Tal. Executive Officer of the USS Calypso."

"Take your hands off me, Starfleet!" The man shouted angerly as he looked around at everyone in uniform. He scoffed before saying. "As your prisoner, I demand to be brought to my cell and given food."

Alex smirked slightly, his eyes locked with Joren, before giving him a subtle wink asking the XO to trust him. As the smirk faded, a stern look formed on his face, before he grabbed the man’s chin and turned his head to face him. "If you don't tell me what I want to know... that cell is going to be universe behind you."

The man laughed as he looked Alex up and down. "You can't threaten me. You're Starfleet. You goody goodies can't lay a finger on me."

"You miss understand me, friend." Alex replied calmly as he began to roll up the sleeve to his right arm. "I won't be touching you at all." He said before raising his arm to show him a particular tattoo on his forearm. "You see that mark?" He asked as he saw the man’s eyes widened slightly. "Oh yeah... you know the mark very well, don't you? I take it you and your Lost buddies have had some dealings with a few people with this mark."

The man's turned his head slightly toward Joren. "You... Jor... whatever it was. Get this man away from me."

"And why would I do that for someone who can't even introduce himself?" Joren chided, holding the man in front of Alex.

"Hey." Alex said as he grabbed the man by the back of his head, gripping tightly to his hair, before pressing his forearm to his nose. "Get a good look at that tattoo, because you'll be seeing a lot of it. I plan on delivering you.... personally to the man who gave it to me and he will deal with you. He will have you begging to tell me everything you know. You understand me?"

"You wouldn't do that to me." The man replied, some fear in his tone, as he looked from Alex. His eyes locked with Joren, before looking back to Alex again. "Now while you wear that uniform."

"I'm not from here. I'm from the other side. Just like you." Alex replied, his tone becoming a bit more irritated. "And I still have friends over there who will gladly take you off our hands and get whatever we want from you. Then... your fate is out of our hands."

The man looked over to Joren. "Stop him. Y-y-y-you Starfleet guys can't let him do that. They'll kill me."

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" While Joren had little sympathy for this common pirate, he was bound to at least try to live by the Starfleet code. "Why don't you tell me your name and what you know, and I'll put a good word in with this man not to take you to his friends. Alternatively," he pulled the man a little closer, "would be a darn shame if Starfleet lost you in these woods, wouldn't it?"

Alora stayed where she was, watching her husband and the Calypso's XO. They were doing a good job and there was nothing she could add. Yet. Hopefully she wouldn't have to.

"What if I don't give the XO here a choice?" Alex replied, smirking as he placed his hand on the pirate’s shoulder, easing a little closer. "Starfleet Protocol, Section 15, Paragraph A of the Planetary Security Act allows Starfleet Intelligence Officers with Alpha X Clearance authority to deal with prisoners from alternative universe organizations that are listed as potential Federation threats as I please." He tapped on the side of the pirate’s face and added. "And would you believe it? I happen to be a member of Starfleet Intelligence who has Alpha X Clearance who is dealing with a prisoner from an alternative universe organization."

As the man looked over to Joren, fear in his eyes, Alex just shrugged as he just pulled all of that from nowhere in order to confuse the pirate with rules and protocol he wouldn't know anything about.

"M-m-m-my name is Ethan Ross." He said, stumbling on his words. "You can't let him take me. There has to be something you can do?"

"Oh... once I use Section 15, Paragraph A of the Planetary Security Act, this is little he can do." Alex said quickly, turning Ethan's head to face him, as he continued. "Isn't that right, Commander? There is only one way to take Section 15, Paragraph A, off the table and you clearly don't know it."

Ethan looked back to Joren and pleaded with him. "What is it? You have to help me here?"

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant Commander Alexander (Alex) Knight
Commander
The Prowler

Commander Joran Tal
Executive Officer
USS Calypso

Lieutenant Commander Alora Knight
First Officer
The Prowler

Ethan Ross
"The Lost"

 

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