It Was A Quiet Conversation...

Posted on Mon Mar 17th, 2014 @ 6:42am by James Holbridge

SOLARIA GATEWAY STATION

Commander Norvil Kieran was a worried man. He was a man used to getting his own way. After several years in Starfleet, he had risen to a position of considerable power and had never failed to exercise that power if there was something he wanted done. Sometimes good people paid the price for his desires, but in the long run things worked out well for all concerned, or at least that’s what Kieran told himself in the beginning.

Jim Holbridge had seemed like an easy target. A chance meeting with the care-free pilot on Bajor had given Kieran the idea of having an agent-in-place in the Marine Fighter Corps, but a combination of unfortunate events caused a serious mental breakdown in his target. After eighteen months, Holbridge and a team of ex-Starfleet officers were seen in the Gamma Quadrant looking for Holbrdge’s brother Wyatt. It was a simple matter of manipulating some stock photos and giving him some DNA from the body to keep interest piqued.

After Jim was captured by Starfleet, the Corps was prepared to file charges against him. Kieran quietly stepped in and offered to take charge of the ne’er-do-well officer and train him to be an Intelligence specialist. Holbridge completed the training and asked to return to Starbase 900. As his old life coalesced around him, Kieran felt an intervention might be prudent in order to keep him on the leash. What was totally unexpected was Jim’s resignation from the Fleet. Although there was no formal agreement between Kieran and Holbridge, the former felt that the latter’s intransigence could not be overlooked.

Now, he had attracted the attention of Li Hawke, the exec of Holbridge’s base and daughter of the chief of Starfleet Intelligence. A minor annoyance. It was time to plan his escape with his prey. There was only so much time remaining before his plans would come unfurled.

DETENTION CELL

Holbridge had closed his eyes, letting the memories of his wife’s soft voice soothe his anger, frustration, and doubt that has plagued him since his arrest by Norvil Kieran. It was only a matter of time until he was captured or eliminated by this rogue, and Jim had gone over plan after plan with David and Quentin to make sure that Kieran would be caught and pay for what he had done to Wyatt and the rest of the people he had harmed.

Jim heard Kiriana snoring in the next cell. “Wake up, Kiriana!” Jim called.

“I haven’t heard from our jailers in awhile,” was the sleepy reply. “You think maybe they forgot us?”

“No, more than likely they are searching for Quentin. He may be big, but he is by no means an idiot.” Jim grinned at the thought of the wily Scotsman gleefully pummeling his way through a wall of Security forces. “Quentin is a different breed of cat, that’s for sure.”

“What does an Earth feline have to do with your man’s intelligence, or lack thereof?” Kiriana asked, a sneer in her voice.

“I would suggest you watch your tone, mister!” Jim sharply rebuked her, dusing the male descriptor. “Quentin Harrison may be ‘just a man’ in your eyes, but he is a valuable part of this team, as well as a senior officer in Nebula Gold. He has proven his mettle time and again! You are the one who needs to prove she belongs!”

“I meant no disrespect, sir,” Kiriana hastened to say. “On my world, we do not encounter men who are as...virile as your species’ males seem to be.”

“Could have fooled me by the way you and David hooked up!” Jim grinned in his cell.

“One of my lovers dared me to seduce a human male. At first I was going to seduce you, then Quentin, but found David to be the least objectionable, according to Archadian standards. Our sexual encounter was nothing more than that.”

“You would do well to curb your lust. Dave has had his heart broken by better women than you, and it took a miracle for him to come through from the last one. I am not losing my best friend because the temporary Archadian liaison can’t keep her pants up! Do we understand each other?”

“Yes,sir.” Kiriana shifted tracks. “When do you expect help from the base to arrive?”

“Fairly soon, but for now we will proceed as if we are on our own.” Jim tapped his wrist communicator,“Report, Quentin.”

The ship and crew are secure, sir. There was a communication between this station and 900, but the exact conversation is unknown. They know we’re here and in trouble.

“Thanks to our Archadian friend’s arrest, you can bet there’s gonna be an incident. Quentin, see if you can get a message to Tricia to get us some legal counsel….”

Way ahead of ye, Jimmy-Boy. Three shark-faced bastards have been retained,

“Holbridge out.” It was time to put phase two of the plan into action. This one was a touch more ticklish since the Security teams would not be in a good mood after being bested by Quentin. Jim hoped the covert transceivers implanted in each team member’s wrist, except for Kiriana, would remain functional. “David, see if you can find anything official on Kieran. Use my modes and codes if you have to. Aric, I want you working on Eddie’s systems, making sure nothing gets taken or input where it don’t belong. Also, get him ready to do a cold-start in case Kieran actually has enough juice in Command and gets the Ghost impounded. Kiriana and I will be okay for a little while longer. Out.”

“Who were you talking to?” demanded a guard who materialized by Holbridge’s cell.

“Admiral Whatzhiznutz!” Jim replied sarcastically. “He said to tell you your momma and he are having fun on Risa together and that the credits he paid are well worth all the weird shit she can do with her tongue!”

“You’re going to look real funny with no teeth!” the guard snarled, preparing to deactivate the forcefield.

“You touch him, little man, and I will personally rip your spine through your mouth and watch you choke on it!” Kiriana said in a low, deadly voice.

“It’s one of those Amazon bitches from the Delta!” the guard laughed. “Let me tell you something, sweetheart, maybe in your little corner of the galaxy you are a hot-shit bad-ass female warrior, but here in the Alpha Quadrant, you’re just another woman!” The guard grinned and made a series of rude gestures at Kiriana before jauntily swaggering away.

“I don’t care if I lose my standing with your team, James, nor do I give a good damn if you fire me or not; when I get out of this cell I am going to teach that bastard a lesson in female interaction etiquette,’” Kiriana growled in a low, savage voice, her teeth clenched.

“Just don’t cripple him, and I will be able to bail you out of detention,” Jim replied nonchalantly.

Kiriana stared at the exit the guard left through, a dark look on her face. “I will do my best, James.”

Jim smiled to himself, thinking that Kiriana would be a welcome addition to the team once she and David learned to coexist peacefully.

A POST BY

James Holbridge

Trapped Fly In The Ointment