7. Lera does her own investigation... and gets surprised
May 20, 2020 2:58:55 GMT
Post by Admin on May 20, 2020 2:58:55 GMT
LlewelPendragonToday at 4:01 PM
Lera was sitting on her couch and it was late. An hour or so into third shift. She had been hemming and hawing about this for hours.
RIsing up, she went to the console and sat down. She keyed the comms for Koll's room and prayed she wasn't waking the poor guy.
Her red hair was subtly streaked with a couple light hightlights of the lingering brunette coloring. But the inital wash out the previous night had been pretty thurough. <e>
RhinoToday at 4:06 PM
The comms opened and a visibly just awakened Koll scrambled into view. "Ensign Koll!" he almost yelled and a male voice from off screen yelled "Dude, shut up!" He looked and saw Lera and his eyes went slightly wide and he said "Y- y- yes, Lieutenant? Wha... h... what can I do for you, Ma'am?" <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 4:09 PM
Oh gods... she forgot Junior Officers shared berthing spaces. She bit her lip. "Sorry, I didn't realize you were sleeping. Go back to sleep. Just blame it on the crazy engineer..." She quickly thumbed off the comm. Good Job, El....wake up the whole room
She moved to get changed anyway. She would do this without him. <e>
RhinoToday at 4:18 PM
Her comms chirped and Koll was there. "Its ok, Lieutenant. Hello? Are you there?" <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 4:19 PM
She bit her lip and moved to sit on her bed, tugging her tshirt down. "I'm here Koll... call me Lera... please..." She tried to smile. "I need help with something. But I don't want to pull you from bed. I can manage." She smiled and nodded for him to go back to sleep. <e>
RhinoToday at 4:22 PM
"I'm up, Lieu... Lera. Seriously, it's fine. What can help you with? Want to grab a coffee and discuss?" he said with a eye-glance off camera. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 4:27 PM
She nodded. "I'll grab two. Can you meet me at holosuite 2 in about ten minutes?" <e>
RhinoToday at 4:44 PM
He nodded and logged off.
Ten minutes later, he was dressed and waiting at the door to the holosuite, pacing slightly. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 5:39 PM
She showed up and handed him a cup of coffee. "I peaked, it's fixed the way you ordered it this morning. Hope that's ok." She took a deep breath and leaned on the wall. Looking at her cup she sighed. "I have a problem. I need to look at a prgram someone else ran. But I need the view from the complete opposite side as the main recording view." She looked up at him. "And they can't know I looked." Her face was pale as if she feared being discovered.
"Look, I know you are security. And you don't have to help me. Just tell me how to do it. If anything happens, I'll say I just drew the pieces out of you over a couple days in what appeared to be idle conversation. I will take the blame for anything that comes of it. I give you my word!" She was trembling slightly and she took a sip of her own coffee so the ripples wouldn't show. <e>
RhinoToday at 5:51 PM
Koll looked at her. He was not anything like a Security officer normally. Instead of aggressive, he was reserved. Instead of proactive, he was quietly observant. Instead of assertive, he was passive. Here, dressed in sweatpants and a tshirt with hemp sandals on, he looked like a teenager who was sneaking out of his parents house... until he spoke.
"Not a problem. Keep watch. If you see someone, my safe word is 'Zanzabar'." and he pulled a small tool bag out of his sweats and deftly popped the memory module access panel.
"When was the program run, do you know? And did the... um...person running it delete it afterwards?" he asked in a low voice. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 5:54 PM
She smiled at herself. She had chosen right. She moved to the other side of the corridor to keep watch and out of his way. "Ummmm when it was made, the last 4 days. It's been made since I got the the ship." It occured to her she hadn't med Mardusk till her second day. "Make it 3 days. And I don't know if they deleted it." She bit her lip. "It belongs to the Chief..."
She let the statement hang and half expected the kid to pack up and beg off. "Tell me what to do and I'll do it Koll... you don't have to be part of this." She moved up behind him in case he wanted to leave, so she could see what he was doing. <e>
RhinoToday at 6:28 PM
The toolkit had produced a small holographic interface and a diagnostic coupler... both things that no Security officer was typically trained to utilize. "Keep watch. I'm almost done." he said. He keyed commands faster than most programmers in Engineering.
After a few more moments, he said "Done." and the interface ejected an optical disk. He snagged it, quickly shunted the tools back into the bag, which then disappeared into his sweats.
He handed the disk. "Here. I hope that shows you what else you need to see, Lieu-... uh... Lera." he said softly, not realizing he said 'else'. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 6:31 PM
She frowned. She was so concentrated on what he said and did she noticed. Normally, she wouldn't have. She put her hand on his as he closed the panel. "Koll.... what do you mean 'what else I needto see'?" She wasn't mad, merely curious. And her eyes were wide with something akin to fear. <e>
RhinoToday at 6:47 PM
He clenched his eyes together and cursed under his breath. He opened them and looked at her, redness rising as his embarrassment became evident. "Ler... uh, Lieutenant, look... I was just trying to help. I know you and the Chief got off to a rocky start, and he's not a bad guy, and when I heard that he was looking into something and he asked for help recreating a crime scene and then I saw it was you and I saw the Chief flip out I just thought that if you saw he wasn't just pissed but that he felt bad and wanted to see how he could -" and the babbling got faster and more incoherent. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 6:55 PM
"Whoa whoa.... easy Ensign." She smiled and picked up the cup he had set down then keyed the Holosuite and ushered him in. The scene was set and it didn't occur to her they would walk in at the beginning of it.
She shook herself, set the cups down and closed the door. "Ok, if you've seen this then you've seen this. I get it. But what do you mean? You are saying the Chief asked you to recreate this? Did he say why?" She sighed and shook her head taking a couple steps away, but she did it down the wall, not closer to the chaos already in the middle of the room.
She turned back to him. "Did he tell you why he wanted you to make this?" <e>
RhinoToday at 7:22 PM
Koll shrugged and said " Well... yeah... He said he read 'a report' -" and he made quote gestures with his fingers, "-... and that he couldn't wrap his head around something so he asked me to recreate the scene from the after action report. So I started, and then saw your name." and he looked at her for a moment and said b"Sorry I got the hair wrong. But that's more... you." and he shrugged before continuing. "I built the sim, handed it to Chief. I knew he ran it, but he took the rest of the shift off... which he never does. So I pulled the vid... and then I erased it from the computer core." he said as if that was an every day occurance. "But I thought..." and he sighed heavily, as if he had disappointed her.
"I just thought you might want to know." <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 7:26 PM
She nodded and smiled when he complimented her red hair. As he spoke of the Chief taking the day off, she frowned. Had what he seen troubled him that much that his rage at her made him want to avoid everyone?
She shook her head. "No, you are fine, Koll. You said you've seen it? Then I need you to help me. I need you to run it while I check something. Then," she moved up closer to him.
"Then I need you to erase it. Just like he told you, or did himself, or whatever. Noone can know we ran this. Understand?" She nodded to the side of where Mar and the 'rescue team' would arrive and nodded to him. "You 'can' play the sim with the recording of him actually in it? RIght?I need...." she glanced over her shoulder. "I need to see his face..." <e>
RhinoToday at 7:30 PM
Koll frowned and said "Well, sure. But you know, I dont have to run everything. I can just que up the shot you want. I mean, unless you want to see him go all Savage Dragon on these fuuucc.... funky guys." <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 7:33 PM
She exhaled. "No... no one needs to see it again. I want to see his face when he walks up to me. Time stamp about 3 minutes from when he stopped the sim." She walked around herself and was grateful she couldn't see her own face. She looks to Koll and nods. <e>
RhinoToday at 7:34 PM
Koll locked the door and the sim was motionless. The suddenly, the carnage was there. All the figures remained motionless, and Mardusk was standing in front of Lera. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 7:36 PM
She covered her mouth as she bit back a yelp and a jump. She still wasn't used to his sheer size and had miscalculated in her head by quite a bit... again.
She swallowed and stepped around the pole to see his face. She closed her eyes just as he came into view. She stopped and clenched her hands as she exhaled and opened her eyes to look at him.
She didn't follow his gaze. She knew that he was staring at her face... well the captured her. <e>
RhinoToday at 7:39 PM
Mardusk's face was tense, his jaw visibly clenched. His eyes were locked on her, specifically her eyes. And the look they held was not one of pity. Nor was he looking at her as a victim.
He looked at her with a mix of respect and admiration. His eyes held the look that he was, in some small way, proud of her. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 7:41 PM
She felt her legs wobble. She put her hand on the pillar and cried out with a jump as she realized what she was touched. "END IT!" she cried out and tried to back up as fast as she could.
If Koll waited to the count of ten, her back would bump one of the cages. <e>
RhinoToday at 7:44 PM
The sim ended immediately. Just gone. Koll rushed over to her and grabbed her arm and through it over his shoulder before she fell. "L-T, you okay?" he asked worriedly. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 7:53 PM
She leaned on him a long moment before she found her voice. "I had forgotten... forced myself to forget." She closed her eyes a moment.
"Do me a favor. Take me to Mike's Place... the new entertainment spot that's being constructed. Just tell Mike you found me in the hall and I said take me there. I'll cover the rest." If she went back to her own room, she'd stay up the rest of the night and never get over this. She had one idea. Something told her if she included Koll at the beginning, the poor kid would try and protect her.
She didn't need protection. She needed to get drunk. With it being this late, Mike was probably not there. She would be able to have a few shots, she'd get him more. And she'd tell him in the morning. <e>
RhinoToday at 8:00 PM
"You got it." he said. "And dont worry, I know a few back ways we can take where we wont run into anybody. But if we do, just say I have to be more careful. I'll cover the rest." and he grinned slightly.
'A few back ways' later, and the pair came down a utility hall to a blank door. Koll activated the key pad and the door opened... and music came pouring out. Someone at least was in there. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 8:02 PM
Lera froze. "Dammit..." She took her arm off his shoulder and shook her head. "You should go. I don't want you tied up in this more than you already are, Koll." She looked at him with entreaty. "Please... I won't forget this. And I owe you one. But please... go. Dump the files on the holosuite please. I can't let him know I saw it. Please..." <e>
RhinoToday at 8:06 PM
He looked at her in mock confusion. "Saw what? Far as the computer is concerned, you and I were watching 1956 World Series." and he stepped back and said "See ya around, Lieutenant. The Yankees still suck." and he walked off down the hall, whistling along with the song coming out of the bar. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 8:09 PM
She smiled. He may not be security material. But she had the feeling if he was sent to intel, he'd be worth a million of the intel specialists she already knew.
The door was open, so she went in. Her mind raced with what to say. She as still shaking, her arms crossed over her chest. She hollered over the din of the juke box, her voice carrying in the semi empty room as she watched her feet move across the floor. "MMIIKKEEE.... Hope you have an open bottle with that cacophony bellowing from the box." She tried to laugh but her stomach turned. Her dinner was threatening to come up and she stopped, hands on her knees, half bent over as she steadied her breath and tried to come up for a reason for being there. <e>
RhinoToday at 8:17 PM
A big arm wrapped itself around her waist and stood her up. "Easy, doll. You're okay. C'mon. Your seat's right over here." and Mike helped her to the bar. Once there, he poured shots and set the bottle between them.
"You wanna talk, you wanna drink? Or both?" <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 8:20 PM
She looked and was relieved to see him. She followed to the chair and sat down. "I'm sorry. I honestly didn't think you would be here." She laughed but it wasn't exactly a stable sound.
She took the shot and downed it, her hand tilting to cover her lips a moment right afterwards. "I was gonna steal a few shots then go. I'd have replaced it, I swear." She set the glass back on the table for a refill.
The answer to his question wasn't that easy to do. "All, both, none..." she managed along with another clipped sound that was supposed to be a laugh.
She inhaled and tried to sit up taller. "You can do this, El..." she half whispered to herself. She hadn't fallen apart since it happened. She wasn't gonna lose it now cause of 'Him'. <e>
RhinoToday at 8:24 PM
He filled her glass, downed his, and filled his. "Well... we'll do all, both, or none, then." and he looked at her. "Girl, I don't know whether you are in a positive or negative state... honestly, I have no clue. So spill... when you want, that is." <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 8:32 PM
She laughed at his observance and downed the drink. "To be honest, Mike... I don't know either." She looked at him and furrowed her brow slightly. "You haven't been here long. So you probably don't know, yet." She glanced around the room as if that would gather her thoughts. "You'll hear. It's no secret." She looked at him. "I was held captive for six months along with the away team on my last ship. I ummm... I gave myself up for the abuse they doled out because I knew, of us women, I would be able to survive pretty much anything they would dish out." She moved the shot glass back and forth in her fingers. "Anyway... sometimes I still... see things. And I guess this was a bad night."
She didn't want Mar included in this and she didn't think Mike needed to be burdened by it either. <e>
RhinoToday at 8:42 PM
Mike looked at her and put a hand on her shoulder and then patted her slightly. "It's okay, girl. You can tell me whats wrong when you want. Until then..." and he snatched the shot glass from her fingers and filled it, and his. "Let's do this..." and he threw back the shot. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 8:43 PM
"I'm supposed to work in the morning." She laughed, but didn't shrug off the pat as she then took the 3rd offered shot. <e>
RhinoToday at 8:52 PM
"You'll make it... if you want to. I have no doubt." he said and turned the glasses upside down. He retrieved two pint glasses and moved to the taps, one of which had a handle on it. "Chiller and Co2 are running. Here." and he slid the glass filled with a black liquid down to her. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 8:53 PM
She laughed. "I am trying, Mike... I'm a protector, now. I need to make sure no one falls to that again. But his look...." she didn't realize she had let out the thought as she took the glass and took a long draw from it. She came off it coughing and half laughing. "I forget you have the real thing." <e>
RhinoToday at 8:54 PM
"Nothing but, doll. Nothing but." and he poured a glass for himself. "What look are you talking about? By 'his', I assume you mean Gravel?" <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 8:55 PM
"At me..." came out before she could stop it. She suddenly sobered more than she wanted and looked up at him with wide eyes. "I didn't say it was the Chief!" She was covering, but it was a bad one. <e>
RhinoToday at 8:56 PM
"Yeah.. right. So we'll call him 'Bob', then." and he laughed. "So how did 'Bob' look at you?" <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 9:02 PM
She laughed but the sound wasn't steady. "With admiration...." She looked at him as if it made no sense. "I was on a whipping post, taking the blows for those I was with. And he looked at me with admiration..." Her head was shaking. "Why... it makes no sense that he would be enraged if he saw admiration.... would it? I don't understand..." <e>
RhinoToday at 9:03 PM
Mike looked at her for a long time, silently sipping his beer. "What the ever loving hell are you talking about? Are you saying Gravel was there when all this went down?" <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 9:05 PM
She downed the rest of her drink. It took her a moment and she almost choked on it before the glass went down and she coughed. "No no no... he... oh gods.. I can't say... he'll be furious I know..." She crossed her arms and laid her head down. "I should just get drunk and get myself thrown in the brig... then he wouldn't have to worry about running into me in the halls." <e>
RhinoToday at 9:15 PM
Mike chuckled. "Solid plan.. except doesn't he run the brig? So yeah... maybe rethink plan C." and he took a drink. "So you want to fill me in on what the hell is happening? Or do I have to keep playing dominoes in the freakin' dark?" <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 9:18 PM
She laughed slightly at his comment about the brig. "Yeah... I guess..." Turning her head to look at him she finally sat up and took a deep breath. "Guess it's better he kills me than goes insane on the ship, huh?"
She wiped her eyes and up forcing herself to try and fight the alcohol. She took a half step sideways before finally getting her balance. Taking another deep breath, she let it out slowly and look at Mike. She was tipsy, Mike would be able to tell from her eyes alone, if nothing else.
"There was a program... a holo... made from mission notes, my memories and a current picture of me. It's a recreation of the rescue."
She went on to tell him what she saw of the sim. From the coming in to the point he froze the program and looked at her.
She left Koll's name out of it and admitted to running the sim to see his face and his look of something... something she said looked like admiration.
"But why would he see that in me... then leave me hanging there and stalk off in a rage that, even on a viewscreen, crawled my skin?" She shook her head and walked over to the jukebox that had just fallen silent between songs. <e>
RhinoToday at 9:28 PM
Mike took a drink and shook his head. "Well, maybe he left you there because he knew it wasn't you. It was a sim, and a paused one at that. As far as why he saw that? Hell, I already told you that... he reads people. Really well. He sees what's there, even if folks can't see it themselves. Thats why I never threw him out of my bar when he just walked up and decked someone... I knew they deserved it." and he shrugged. He looked over at her and then said "You need to get the hell outta your head, dumbass." <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 9:35 PM
She closed her eyes a moment and laughed a quick one. Looking back at him she shook her head, the edge of her lip curling up slightly. "At least it wasn't 'jackass'." She walked back over and sat down, sliding the ale glass away from her.
She looked at him for a long moment. "They were Orion. The ones who held and ... used... us. It was also Orions who rescued us. So there is no phobia there. I know that for a fact." She looked at her hands. "I just don't know where I stand with him. I protect... that's what I know, it's what I'm good at. I do engineering because I didn't have the nerve to do security." She looked at Mike.
"But Chief... he doesn't need protecting. Hell," she laughed slightly, "I don't think I could protect him against something he feared even if I wanted to. So that leaves.... what?" She shrugged and shook her head like she had completely run out of every single idea in her mind. <e>
RhinoToday at 9:53 PM
Mike looked at her and finished the glass. He filled another one, took a sip. He walked over to the jukebox and thumbed through the holographic pages. He punched in a code and the music started. A single guitar, and then a raspy, nasally voice came through:
Who would've thought that the dreams come true?
And who would've thought I ended up with you?
And who would've thought what they said was true?
But it was and you are, light in darkness come through
He let the music play and walked over and sat down. "Well... theres one option. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 9:58 PM
She closed her eyes a moment and listened to the music. When he came back over and spoke, she smiled slightly and cocked her head. "If you ask me to dance, we're both doomed. I'm hopeless on the dance floor." She was starting to relax. And she was glad she came here. <e>
RhinoToday at 10:22 PM
Mike chuckled and said "Naw. I dont do that anymore." and he walked around behind the bar. "So... what's Plan D, then? You figure out how you're gonna deal with it?" <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 10:26 PM
"Sadly... yes. I'm going to go back my room before I can't go to work in the morning," she smiled and patted his hand, "And save the 'next round' for my next off cycle. And I'm gonna let Mar worry about protecting Mar." She wasn't sure exactly how that was gonna work. Because she couldn't ignore him anymore than she could ignore her own hand. But sometimes you just had to make it work.
"Just please... don't mention to him I know about the sim. I know you guys are friends. But whatever that look was... whatever I thought it was... it probably wasn't. And if he wants, he'll come to me in person. Right?"
Plan D was Defenses. Slam up the walls, and don't worry about it. Even ignore it if you could. Simple...
<e>
RhinoToday at 10:37 PM
Mike looked at her, again for a long moment, and finally just shook his head. "Couple of things before you go. I wont tell him anything unless he point blank asks me. I'll cover for ya, but I dont k ow you well enough to lie for ya yet. You ain't stupid. The 'look' was exactly what you thought it was, and stop trying to pretend it wasnt. And last? Gravel is a hell of a guy... never known better. But when it comes to women? Well... moron doesn't begin to cover it. You want him, go and get him. You're the one holding all the cards right now. And besides, you kinda backdoored him with the whole sim spying on him. So for that, you gotta generate some good karma with him." and he picked up the glasses and put then in the sink.
"I open in 3 days. You and he are gonna come here, together, on a date. Doesnt have to be the first one if you've got some balls between now and then. But if you don't..." and he shook his head again. "... Well, I guess you arent the badass I thought you were. Now go on, get outta here. You got some thinking to do." <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 10:43 PM
She frowned. "Mike... don't. Don't push either of us like that. I'm asking you. Please. I haven't even been here a week yet." She shook her head. It didn't matter what anyone else thought. She and Mar had things they had to work thru. And it wasn't gonna happen in three days.
Hell, probably not in three weeks. "I mean it, Mike... please. I will give you my word I won't avoid him and I won't go out of my way to be different with him than anyone else. All right?" She rose from the stool and glared at him. "But don't push this... I mean it. For both our sakes."
She was back to herself, minus the alcohol glazed eyes. She'd have a hell of a headache in the morning, to be sure. But she wasn't walking out of here sick like she had been when she walked in. <e>
RhinoToday at 10:47 PM
Mike looked at her and said " Tick tock. And if I dont push you, you'll just keep finding reasons to not do what you want to. And that's just stupid. And a huge waste of time...." and eyes glazed over slightly and he said "trust me. Dont waste a second. You'll regret the hell outta it if you do." and then his eyes focused again. "Go on. Get on out. I got... stuff to do." <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 10:48 PM
She growled but she left with a 'good night, and thanks' tossed over her shoulder. She believed him. He would push them both till they were dangling from the bow with nothing but space beneath their feet.
The question was... what was she gonna do about it? <e>
Lera was sitting on her couch and it was late. An hour or so into third shift. She had been hemming and hawing about this for hours.
RIsing up, she went to the console and sat down. She keyed the comms for Koll's room and prayed she wasn't waking the poor guy.
Her red hair was subtly streaked with a couple light hightlights of the lingering brunette coloring. But the inital wash out the previous night had been pretty thurough. <e>
RhinoToday at 4:06 PM
The comms opened and a visibly just awakened Koll scrambled into view. "Ensign Koll!" he almost yelled and a male voice from off screen yelled "Dude, shut up!" He looked and saw Lera and his eyes went slightly wide and he said "Y- y- yes, Lieutenant? Wha... h... what can I do for you, Ma'am?" <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 4:09 PM
Oh gods... she forgot Junior Officers shared berthing spaces. She bit her lip. "Sorry, I didn't realize you were sleeping. Go back to sleep. Just blame it on the crazy engineer..." She quickly thumbed off the comm. Good Job, El....wake up the whole room
She moved to get changed anyway. She would do this without him. <e>
RhinoToday at 4:18 PM
Her comms chirped and Koll was there. "Its ok, Lieutenant. Hello? Are you there?" <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 4:19 PM
She bit her lip and moved to sit on her bed, tugging her tshirt down. "I'm here Koll... call me Lera... please..." She tried to smile. "I need help with something. But I don't want to pull you from bed. I can manage." She smiled and nodded for him to go back to sleep. <e>
RhinoToday at 4:22 PM
"I'm up, Lieu... Lera. Seriously, it's fine. What can help you with? Want to grab a coffee and discuss?" he said with a eye-glance off camera. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 4:27 PM
She nodded. "I'll grab two. Can you meet me at holosuite 2 in about ten minutes?" <e>
RhinoToday at 4:44 PM
He nodded and logged off.
Ten minutes later, he was dressed and waiting at the door to the holosuite, pacing slightly. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 5:39 PM
She showed up and handed him a cup of coffee. "I peaked, it's fixed the way you ordered it this morning. Hope that's ok." She took a deep breath and leaned on the wall. Looking at her cup she sighed. "I have a problem. I need to look at a prgram someone else ran. But I need the view from the complete opposite side as the main recording view." She looked up at him. "And they can't know I looked." Her face was pale as if she feared being discovered.
"Look, I know you are security. And you don't have to help me. Just tell me how to do it. If anything happens, I'll say I just drew the pieces out of you over a couple days in what appeared to be idle conversation. I will take the blame for anything that comes of it. I give you my word!" She was trembling slightly and she took a sip of her own coffee so the ripples wouldn't show. <e>
RhinoToday at 5:51 PM
Koll looked at her. He was not anything like a Security officer normally. Instead of aggressive, he was reserved. Instead of proactive, he was quietly observant. Instead of assertive, he was passive. Here, dressed in sweatpants and a tshirt with hemp sandals on, he looked like a teenager who was sneaking out of his parents house... until he spoke.
"Not a problem. Keep watch. If you see someone, my safe word is 'Zanzabar'." and he pulled a small tool bag out of his sweats and deftly popped the memory module access panel.
"When was the program run, do you know? And did the... um...person running it delete it afterwards?" he asked in a low voice. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 5:54 PM
She smiled at herself. She had chosen right. She moved to the other side of the corridor to keep watch and out of his way. "Ummmm when it was made, the last 4 days. It's been made since I got the the ship." It occured to her she hadn't med Mardusk till her second day. "Make it 3 days. And I don't know if they deleted it." She bit her lip. "It belongs to the Chief..."
She let the statement hang and half expected the kid to pack up and beg off. "Tell me what to do and I'll do it Koll... you don't have to be part of this." She moved up behind him in case he wanted to leave, so she could see what he was doing. <e>
RhinoToday at 6:28 PM
The toolkit had produced a small holographic interface and a diagnostic coupler... both things that no Security officer was typically trained to utilize. "Keep watch. I'm almost done." he said. He keyed commands faster than most programmers in Engineering.
After a few more moments, he said "Done." and the interface ejected an optical disk. He snagged it, quickly shunted the tools back into the bag, which then disappeared into his sweats.
He handed the disk. "Here. I hope that shows you what else you need to see, Lieu-... uh... Lera." he said softly, not realizing he said 'else'. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 6:31 PM
She frowned. She was so concentrated on what he said and did she noticed. Normally, she wouldn't have. She put her hand on his as he closed the panel. "Koll.... what do you mean 'what else I needto see'?" She wasn't mad, merely curious. And her eyes were wide with something akin to fear. <e>
RhinoToday at 6:47 PM
He clenched his eyes together and cursed under his breath. He opened them and looked at her, redness rising as his embarrassment became evident. "Ler... uh, Lieutenant, look... I was just trying to help. I know you and the Chief got off to a rocky start, and he's not a bad guy, and when I heard that he was looking into something and he asked for help recreating a crime scene and then I saw it was you and I saw the Chief flip out I just thought that if you saw he wasn't just pissed but that he felt bad and wanted to see how he could -" and the babbling got faster and more incoherent. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 6:55 PM
"Whoa whoa.... easy Ensign." She smiled and picked up the cup he had set down then keyed the Holosuite and ushered him in. The scene was set and it didn't occur to her they would walk in at the beginning of it.
She shook herself, set the cups down and closed the door. "Ok, if you've seen this then you've seen this. I get it. But what do you mean? You are saying the Chief asked you to recreate this? Did he say why?" She sighed and shook her head taking a couple steps away, but she did it down the wall, not closer to the chaos already in the middle of the room.
She turned back to him. "Did he tell you why he wanted you to make this?" <e>
RhinoToday at 7:22 PM
Koll shrugged and said " Well... yeah... He said he read 'a report' -" and he made quote gestures with his fingers, "-... and that he couldn't wrap his head around something so he asked me to recreate the scene from the after action report. So I started, and then saw your name." and he looked at her for a moment and said b"Sorry I got the hair wrong. But that's more... you." and he shrugged before continuing. "I built the sim, handed it to Chief. I knew he ran it, but he took the rest of the shift off... which he never does. So I pulled the vid... and then I erased it from the computer core." he said as if that was an every day occurance. "But I thought..." and he sighed heavily, as if he had disappointed her.
"I just thought you might want to know." <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 7:26 PM
She nodded and smiled when he complimented her red hair. As he spoke of the Chief taking the day off, she frowned. Had what he seen troubled him that much that his rage at her made him want to avoid everyone?
She shook her head. "No, you are fine, Koll. You said you've seen it? Then I need you to help me. I need you to run it while I check something. Then," she moved up closer to him.
"Then I need you to erase it. Just like he told you, or did himself, or whatever. Noone can know we ran this. Understand?" She nodded to the side of where Mar and the 'rescue team' would arrive and nodded to him. "You 'can' play the sim with the recording of him actually in it? RIght?I need...." she glanced over her shoulder. "I need to see his face..." <e>
RhinoToday at 7:30 PM
Koll frowned and said "Well, sure. But you know, I dont have to run everything. I can just que up the shot you want. I mean, unless you want to see him go all Savage Dragon on these fuuucc.... funky guys." <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 7:33 PM
She exhaled. "No... no one needs to see it again. I want to see his face when he walks up to me. Time stamp about 3 minutes from when he stopped the sim." She walked around herself and was grateful she couldn't see her own face. She looks to Koll and nods. <e>
RhinoToday at 7:34 PM
Koll locked the door and the sim was motionless. The suddenly, the carnage was there. All the figures remained motionless, and Mardusk was standing in front of Lera. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 7:36 PM
She covered her mouth as she bit back a yelp and a jump. She still wasn't used to his sheer size and had miscalculated in her head by quite a bit... again.
She swallowed and stepped around the pole to see his face. She closed her eyes just as he came into view. She stopped and clenched her hands as she exhaled and opened her eyes to look at him.
She didn't follow his gaze. She knew that he was staring at her face... well the captured her. <e>
RhinoToday at 7:39 PM
Mardusk's face was tense, his jaw visibly clenched. His eyes were locked on her, specifically her eyes. And the look they held was not one of pity. Nor was he looking at her as a victim.
He looked at her with a mix of respect and admiration. His eyes held the look that he was, in some small way, proud of her. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 7:41 PM
She felt her legs wobble. She put her hand on the pillar and cried out with a jump as she realized what she was touched. "END IT!" she cried out and tried to back up as fast as she could.
If Koll waited to the count of ten, her back would bump one of the cages. <e>
RhinoToday at 7:44 PM
The sim ended immediately. Just gone. Koll rushed over to her and grabbed her arm and through it over his shoulder before she fell. "L-T, you okay?" he asked worriedly. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 7:53 PM
She leaned on him a long moment before she found her voice. "I had forgotten... forced myself to forget." She closed her eyes a moment.
"Do me a favor. Take me to Mike's Place... the new entertainment spot that's being constructed. Just tell Mike you found me in the hall and I said take me there. I'll cover the rest." If she went back to her own room, she'd stay up the rest of the night and never get over this. She had one idea. Something told her if she included Koll at the beginning, the poor kid would try and protect her.
She didn't need protection. She needed to get drunk. With it being this late, Mike was probably not there. She would be able to have a few shots, she'd get him more. And she'd tell him in the morning. <e>
RhinoToday at 8:00 PM
"You got it." he said. "And dont worry, I know a few back ways we can take where we wont run into anybody. But if we do, just say I have to be more careful. I'll cover the rest." and he grinned slightly.
'A few back ways' later, and the pair came down a utility hall to a blank door. Koll activated the key pad and the door opened... and music came pouring out. Someone at least was in there. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 8:02 PM
Lera froze. "Dammit..." She took her arm off his shoulder and shook her head. "You should go. I don't want you tied up in this more than you already are, Koll." She looked at him with entreaty. "Please... I won't forget this. And I owe you one. But please... go. Dump the files on the holosuite please. I can't let him know I saw it. Please..." <e>
RhinoToday at 8:06 PM
He looked at her in mock confusion. "Saw what? Far as the computer is concerned, you and I were watching 1956 World Series." and he stepped back and said "See ya around, Lieutenant. The Yankees still suck." and he walked off down the hall, whistling along with the song coming out of the bar. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 8:09 PM
She smiled. He may not be security material. But she had the feeling if he was sent to intel, he'd be worth a million of the intel specialists she already knew.
The door was open, so she went in. Her mind raced with what to say. She as still shaking, her arms crossed over her chest. She hollered over the din of the juke box, her voice carrying in the semi empty room as she watched her feet move across the floor. "MMIIKKEEE.... Hope you have an open bottle with that cacophony bellowing from the box." She tried to laugh but her stomach turned. Her dinner was threatening to come up and she stopped, hands on her knees, half bent over as she steadied her breath and tried to come up for a reason for being there. <e>
RhinoToday at 8:17 PM
A big arm wrapped itself around her waist and stood her up. "Easy, doll. You're okay. C'mon. Your seat's right over here." and Mike helped her to the bar. Once there, he poured shots and set the bottle between them.
"You wanna talk, you wanna drink? Or both?" <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 8:20 PM
She looked and was relieved to see him. She followed to the chair and sat down. "I'm sorry. I honestly didn't think you would be here." She laughed but it wasn't exactly a stable sound.
She took the shot and downed it, her hand tilting to cover her lips a moment right afterwards. "I was gonna steal a few shots then go. I'd have replaced it, I swear." She set the glass back on the table for a refill.
The answer to his question wasn't that easy to do. "All, both, none..." she managed along with another clipped sound that was supposed to be a laugh.
She inhaled and tried to sit up taller. "You can do this, El..." she half whispered to herself. She hadn't fallen apart since it happened. She wasn't gonna lose it now cause of 'Him'. <e>
RhinoToday at 8:24 PM
He filled her glass, downed his, and filled his. "Well... we'll do all, both, or none, then." and he looked at her. "Girl, I don't know whether you are in a positive or negative state... honestly, I have no clue. So spill... when you want, that is." <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 8:32 PM
She laughed at his observance and downed the drink. "To be honest, Mike... I don't know either." She looked at him and furrowed her brow slightly. "You haven't been here long. So you probably don't know, yet." She glanced around the room as if that would gather her thoughts. "You'll hear. It's no secret." She looked at him. "I was held captive for six months along with the away team on my last ship. I ummm... I gave myself up for the abuse they doled out because I knew, of us women, I would be able to survive pretty much anything they would dish out." She moved the shot glass back and forth in her fingers. "Anyway... sometimes I still... see things. And I guess this was a bad night."
She didn't want Mar included in this and she didn't think Mike needed to be burdened by it either. <e>
RhinoToday at 8:42 PM
Mike looked at her and put a hand on her shoulder and then patted her slightly. "It's okay, girl. You can tell me whats wrong when you want. Until then..." and he snatched the shot glass from her fingers and filled it, and his. "Let's do this..." and he threw back the shot. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 8:43 PM
"I'm supposed to work in the morning." She laughed, but didn't shrug off the pat as she then took the 3rd offered shot. <e>
RhinoToday at 8:52 PM
"You'll make it... if you want to. I have no doubt." he said and turned the glasses upside down. He retrieved two pint glasses and moved to the taps, one of which had a handle on it. "Chiller and Co2 are running. Here." and he slid the glass filled with a black liquid down to her. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 8:53 PM
She laughed. "I am trying, Mike... I'm a protector, now. I need to make sure no one falls to that again. But his look...." she didn't realize she had let out the thought as she took the glass and took a long draw from it. She came off it coughing and half laughing. "I forget you have the real thing." <e>
RhinoToday at 8:54 PM
"Nothing but, doll. Nothing but." and he poured a glass for himself. "What look are you talking about? By 'his', I assume you mean Gravel?" <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 8:55 PM
"At me..." came out before she could stop it. She suddenly sobered more than she wanted and looked up at him with wide eyes. "I didn't say it was the Chief!" She was covering, but it was a bad one. <e>
RhinoToday at 8:56 PM
"Yeah.. right. So we'll call him 'Bob', then." and he laughed. "So how did 'Bob' look at you?" <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 9:02 PM
She laughed but the sound wasn't steady. "With admiration...." She looked at him as if it made no sense. "I was on a whipping post, taking the blows for those I was with. And he looked at me with admiration..." Her head was shaking. "Why... it makes no sense that he would be enraged if he saw admiration.... would it? I don't understand..." <e>
RhinoToday at 9:03 PM
Mike looked at her for a long time, silently sipping his beer. "What the ever loving hell are you talking about? Are you saying Gravel was there when all this went down?" <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 9:05 PM
She downed the rest of her drink. It took her a moment and she almost choked on it before the glass went down and she coughed. "No no no... he... oh gods.. I can't say... he'll be furious I know..." She crossed her arms and laid her head down. "I should just get drunk and get myself thrown in the brig... then he wouldn't have to worry about running into me in the halls." <e>
RhinoToday at 9:15 PM
Mike chuckled. "Solid plan.. except doesn't he run the brig? So yeah... maybe rethink plan C." and he took a drink. "So you want to fill me in on what the hell is happening? Or do I have to keep playing dominoes in the freakin' dark?" <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 9:18 PM
She laughed slightly at his comment about the brig. "Yeah... I guess..." Turning her head to look at him she finally sat up and took a deep breath. "Guess it's better he kills me than goes insane on the ship, huh?"
She wiped her eyes and up forcing herself to try and fight the alcohol. She took a half step sideways before finally getting her balance. Taking another deep breath, she let it out slowly and look at Mike. She was tipsy, Mike would be able to tell from her eyes alone, if nothing else.
"There was a program... a holo... made from mission notes, my memories and a current picture of me. It's a recreation of the rescue."
She went on to tell him what she saw of the sim. From the coming in to the point he froze the program and looked at her.
She left Koll's name out of it and admitted to running the sim to see his face and his look of something... something she said looked like admiration.
"But why would he see that in me... then leave me hanging there and stalk off in a rage that, even on a viewscreen, crawled my skin?" She shook her head and walked over to the jukebox that had just fallen silent between songs. <e>
RhinoToday at 9:28 PM
Mike took a drink and shook his head. "Well, maybe he left you there because he knew it wasn't you. It was a sim, and a paused one at that. As far as why he saw that? Hell, I already told you that... he reads people. Really well. He sees what's there, even if folks can't see it themselves. Thats why I never threw him out of my bar when he just walked up and decked someone... I knew they deserved it." and he shrugged. He looked over at her and then said "You need to get the hell outta your head, dumbass." <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 9:35 PM
She closed her eyes a moment and laughed a quick one. Looking back at him she shook her head, the edge of her lip curling up slightly. "At least it wasn't 'jackass'." She walked back over and sat down, sliding the ale glass away from her.
She looked at him for a long moment. "They were Orion. The ones who held and ... used... us. It was also Orions who rescued us. So there is no phobia there. I know that for a fact." She looked at her hands. "I just don't know where I stand with him. I protect... that's what I know, it's what I'm good at. I do engineering because I didn't have the nerve to do security." She looked at Mike.
"But Chief... he doesn't need protecting. Hell," she laughed slightly, "I don't think I could protect him against something he feared even if I wanted to. So that leaves.... what?" She shrugged and shook her head like she had completely run out of every single idea in her mind. <e>
RhinoToday at 9:53 PM
Mike looked at her and finished the glass. He filled another one, took a sip. He walked over to the jukebox and thumbed through the holographic pages. He punched in a code and the music started. A single guitar, and then a raspy, nasally voice came through:
Who would've thought that the dreams come true?
And who would've thought I ended up with you?
And who would've thought what they said was true?
But it was and you are, light in darkness come through
He let the music play and walked over and sat down. "Well... theres one option. <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 9:58 PM
She closed her eyes a moment and listened to the music. When he came back over and spoke, she smiled slightly and cocked her head. "If you ask me to dance, we're both doomed. I'm hopeless on the dance floor." She was starting to relax. And she was glad she came here. <e>
RhinoToday at 10:22 PM
Mike chuckled and said "Naw. I dont do that anymore." and he walked around behind the bar. "So... what's Plan D, then? You figure out how you're gonna deal with it?" <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 10:26 PM
"Sadly... yes. I'm going to go back my room before I can't go to work in the morning," she smiled and patted his hand, "And save the 'next round' for my next off cycle. And I'm gonna let Mar worry about protecting Mar." She wasn't sure exactly how that was gonna work. Because she couldn't ignore him anymore than she could ignore her own hand. But sometimes you just had to make it work.
"Just please... don't mention to him I know about the sim. I know you guys are friends. But whatever that look was... whatever I thought it was... it probably wasn't. And if he wants, he'll come to me in person. Right?"
Plan D was Defenses. Slam up the walls, and don't worry about it. Even ignore it if you could. Simple...
<e>
RhinoToday at 10:37 PM
Mike looked at her, again for a long moment, and finally just shook his head. "Couple of things before you go. I wont tell him anything unless he point blank asks me. I'll cover for ya, but I dont k ow you well enough to lie for ya yet. You ain't stupid. The 'look' was exactly what you thought it was, and stop trying to pretend it wasnt. And last? Gravel is a hell of a guy... never known better. But when it comes to women? Well... moron doesn't begin to cover it. You want him, go and get him. You're the one holding all the cards right now. And besides, you kinda backdoored him with the whole sim spying on him. So for that, you gotta generate some good karma with him." and he picked up the glasses and put then in the sink.
"I open in 3 days. You and he are gonna come here, together, on a date. Doesnt have to be the first one if you've got some balls between now and then. But if you don't..." and he shook his head again. "... Well, I guess you arent the badass I thought you were. Now go on, get outta here. You got some thinking to do." <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 10:43 PM
She frowned. "Mike... don't. Don't push either of us like that. I'm asking you. Please. I haven't even been here a week yet." She shook her head. It didn't matter what anyone else thought. She and Mar had things they had to work thru. And it wasn't gonna happen in three days.
Hell, probably not in three weeks. "I mean it, Mike... please. I will give you my word I won't avoid him and I won't go out of my way to be different with him than anyone else. All right?" She rose from the stool and glared at him. "But don't push this... I mean it. For both our sakes."
She was back to herself, minus the alcohol glazed eyes. She'd have a hell of a headache in the morning, to be sure. But she wasn't walking out of here sick like she had been when she walked in. <e>
RhinoToday at 10:47 PM
Mike looked at her and said " Tick tock. And if I dont push you, you'll just keep finding reasons to not do what you want to. And that's just stupid. And a huge waste of time...." and eyes glazed over slightly and he said "trust me. Dont waste a second. You'll regret the hell outta it if you do." and then his eyes focused again. "Go on. Get on out. I got... stuff to do." <e>
LlewelPendragonToday at 10:48 PM
She growled but she left with a 'good night, and thanks' tossed over her shoulder. She believed him. He would push them both till they were dangling from the bow with nothing but space beneath their feet.
The question was... what was she gonna do about it? <e>