The Morning Report

Posted on Sun Apr 19th, 2015 @ 4:22pm by Captain Li Hawke & Jackson Banning V & Commander Oralia Zeferino

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: Oz & Jackson's Quarters

* * * Oz/Jackson Quarters * * *

Jackson woke early and slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Oz. Moving stealthily, an easy thing for him, he crossed to the terminal in the living room, sat down and punching in a request. While he waited, he enjoyed a cup of coffee, taking the time to think back over the trip to Site 6. He was so insanely glad that business was wrapped up and hopefully would remain so for the next several decades. He checked the time and hurried over to the doors. He’d given instructions for the delivery guy not to ring the bell, so when he opened the doors, the young man was standing there waiting.

“Thanks!” Jackson whispered. Taking the load from the man’s hands, he locked the doors, left the delivery on the coffee table, and slipped back into bed.

Still mostly asleep, Oralia shifted in the bed and cuddled against Jackson. "Mmphf...," she moaned.

Jackson shifted and wrapped an arm around her, holding back a laugh. “Mornin’ sunshine,” he murmured. “You in there?”

"Mmhmm," she nodded and held him tighter. "Why're you up?"

“You woke me up. Not that I’m complainin’, though my stomach is.” He nudged her in the ribs playfully. “We skipped the dumplings last night, remember?”

"You did. I had plenty," she said smugly. "And they were delicious." She kissed his chest. "I suppose you'd like breakfast then, huh?"

“I would love breakfast in a way that I can’t even describe it’s so great. An’ remind me to kick Li’s ass for bringin’ the food to you first.” Jackson grinned at Oz. “This mean yer cookin’? Or replicatin’?”

"I'll cook. Eggs? Biscuits?" She sat up and straddled him. "Maybe bacon?"

“Definitely bacon. An’ can I just say how glad I am to have found a Southern woman who understands good food.” He kissed her forehead, then nudged her towards the edge of the bed. “That was a hint, by the way.”

"Food before sex?" She sounded surprised. "Oh, very well, I'll start on the biscuits." Sighing, she stood and grabbed her robe.

“I need to build my strength up.” He laughed as she slipped into her robe and moved towards the front rooms. Any minute now……

Oz walked right past the flowers on the coffee table and into the kitchen. A moment later, she peered around the corner at the flowers, eyeing them like they were a threat. Where had they come from? How'd they get here? She stared at them at moment longer then carefully paced off the distance to them and regarded them from up close. After determining there were no thorns, she attacked the flowers, rooting through them and finally chancing on a card. She ripped it open, and laughed. The card had one symbol on it - a J. She went back to the bedroom. "Just when did you manage this?"

“I am a wizard,” Jackson replied. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the headboard. “That and you were sleepin’ like the dead. I coulda moved a whole greenhouse in here without wakin’ you up.”

"Gosh, I wonder why I was sleeping like the dead...," she smiled and leaned in to kiss him. "That's sweet of you, J."

“Well, ya deserve them for puttin’ up with me an’ my antics, Oz. That get me outta the doghouse?”

"Sure. You know I don't hold grudges. At least not against you. Lemme go start breakfast." She was just about to get up again when the computer chirruped and a voice came over the comm, "Commander Zeferino, we're contacting you to alert you that there was a disturbance at Elba II. The prisoner known as Suresh is unaccounted for." Oz froze.

That got Jackson’s attention. “He what? How’s that possible?”

"Dunno. I've never been in a prison." She went out to the living room, talking to the voice on the comm, "Send me the report on that disturbance. How long ago was this?"

"Three days, Commander. Report sent."

"Three days! And I'm just now hearing about this?"

"There were a number of bodies to sort through and inmates to count. We are notifying you at the first opportunity possible."

"Fuck me," she muttered.

"Ah, that is not possible, Commander."

From behind her came Jackson’s muffled laughter.

Oz turned crimson. "No, thankfully." She reached over and closed the comm before pulling up the report from Elba II.

Jackson now appeared, wearing a pair of shorts. “How in the hell can he be unaccounted for? Elba II’s atmosphere is poisonous. An’ you know the security they have there, Oz.”

"Yeah, I do. Oh," she pointed to a sentence in the report, "Explosions inside the prison knocked out the power and backup generators. A ship in orbit... Gods, people on the inside and outside."

Jackson grumbled aloud. “Looks like it.” He paused, then spoke quietly. “We gotta tell Li. The Suresh here should know too.”

"Fuck that. I'll tell Li, but Suresh Number 2 I'll put in the brig. He's probably in on this prison break."

“That makes no sense, Oz. Why would he want the original one out? It would likely mean the old one comin’ back here and killin’ off the new one for takin’ over his business.”

"Think of the alibis those two could create for each other. Reasonable doubt all the way around." She went into the kitchen, replicated flour, lard, buttermilk, and started combining the ingredients. "Computer, forward the Elba II report to Captain Hawke and open a comm to her."

A moment later, the computer chirped, \Report sent. Comm open./

"Li, Oz here."

“Good morning Oz. How are things?” That was Li’s way of asking if the storm was over.

"Awful. And about to get worse, my friend. I've sent you a report that you need to read. Right now."

“Alright, let me get some coffee. Shall I read it while you are on here?” Li’s voice had lost its casual morning tone and shifted to work mode.

"Yes. It's about Suresh. The real one. He's no longer on Elba II, Li."

There was a long pause before Li answered and now Oz and Jackson could hear the strain in her voice. “That’s not possible. Is it? What happened?”

"Multiple explosions in the prison. The force field power generators and their backups were taken offline by them. At the same time, a ship in orbit attacked the prison facility. Looks like there's nearly a hundred dead, inmates and guards. The prison finished their count and Suresh is 'not accounted for'. The disturbance happened three days ago, Li. There's no way to know where Suresh is now."

“Certainly not on the planet,” Li answered, “or he’d be dead.” There was another silence as she scanned the report, then continued. “Its my guess that he might come this way eventually, but he would take a roundabout route, lingering over there to try and lose any retrieval teams.”

By this point, Oralia was rather viciously kneading the biscuits. "If he does, I'll kill him. I'm going to send Darwin to arrest Suresh Number 2."

“Why?” came Li’s voice. “Or is this a protective custody measure?”

"Oh please. I'd sooner kill him myself than protect him. I'll bet my rank that he's in on this, Li."

“I don’t think so, Oz. He stands to lose a lot if the other one reappears. I also have something you should see. Last night he brought me a chip has all the records of the old Suresh’s payoffs to the prosecutor. Apparently the old Suresh had someone remove them before you searched his quarters and that someone returned them yesterday.”

"Someone? Lazan? Seyla? Bullshit. That's it, I'm sending Darwin right now." She'd already cut and panned the biscuits; absently, she ran a hand through her hair, flouring herself.

“He didn’t say who,” Li answered. The channel was quiet once more, but finally Li spoke. “He will come for us won’t he Oz?” Gone was Li’s usual in-control tone, replaced by raw fear.

"If he's as stupid and crazy as I remember him to be, yeah, he will." And Oz knew that meant he'd try to kill her and steal Li. She glanced at Jackson.

Jackson’s expression was not a happy one. “So what are you two gonna do? Sit and wait for the axe to fall? Or go find it and put it back where it belongs?” He looked to Oz and mouthed silently, “I don’t like how she sounds.”

She nodded, agreeing with his assessment of Li. "Hey, Li, how about you and I meet up with SN2 in the brig? If he knows something, then you can keep me from killing him. If he doesn't, then.... Then we'll see."

“Alright. I’ll meet you there as soon as I am dressed. Li out.”

Jackson heard the channel beep closed and turned to Oz. “I don’t like this. Not one damn bit.”

"Preachin' to the choir, love," she flashed him a smile then realized the biscuits were about to burn.

*******
Commander Oralia Zeferino
Biscuit Love

Jackson Banning V
Owner & Bacon Lover
The Nexus Club

Captain Li Hawke
No Love For The Escapee