Round One Betazed

Posted on Sat May 2nd, 2015 @ 8:06pm by Commander Dae Nalas & Lieutenant Commander Solis & Lieutenant Bajun Julisa
Edited on on Sat May 2nd, 2015 @ 8:07pm

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: Betazed

was* * * Betazed * * *

They arrived without incident and once they docked and were processed through, a man in native dress had met them. Before long, the group arrived at a local watering hole. The bar was not the sort of place one went for a romantic evening out. The overall appearance of the crowd told them it was a place for serious drinkers or those meeting others, often without exchanging names in order to exchange information. Solis caught a few curious glances as they entered and settled in at a table in the back, the man facing the door.

“Welcome,” he said, once drinks were poured, and turned his attention to Julisa. “Dae tells me you are on a little treasure hunt.”

"Does he?" Julisa replied. "If we are, do you know of any?"

“I might,” he answered, his tone casual. He waved at a server and soon, four glasses of whiskey were set before them. “He gave me a little background and I agree with him. Your face isn’t known in these parts, so you can move about without drawing attention.” The man looked at Solis and shook his head. “You, however, would. A Vulcan who smiles is pretty memorable. Then again...some might find that interesting.”

Solis laughed aloud. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

During the conversation, Dae had been silent, scanning the room, both with his eyes and with his mind. “All quiet right now. This is the part of town you and Onno here should start, Julisa. If it’s known, someone here will know it.”

"Okay. Looks like it's you and me, bucko," Julisa grumbled at the stranger.

“We’ll finish this round, then make a convincing exit.” Onno drained his glass, then lowered it to the table. “And don’t worry.” This last was directed to Solis. “I’ll keep her in one piece, to answer your question.”

“You better,” Solis replied.

Julisa, who, like many attorneys, tended to overthink everything, was doing just that. What would be a convincing exit? What question had Solis asked? When had he asked it? Where were they going to start? When were they going to start? Would she know when they had started? She took a cautious sip of the whiskey and choked. The stuff was awful, even for whiskey. Her role as counsel hadn't prepared her for a role as ...what was she doing? Spy? Intel? Oh, investigator. That's what she was doing. In her nervousness, she forgot. She tossed the whiskey into in her mouth, hoping to avoid getting it on her tongue. That almost worked, though it made her throat burn. Glancing at Solis, she set her glass down.

Solis snickered at her expression in spite of his attempt to keep a straight face. “It gets easier after the first one, Jules. And numbers three and four will be positively delicious. Or so I’m to--”

“Get down!” Dae hissed. Even as the words left his mouth, he grabbed Julisa’s shoulder, pushing her down under the table. The beam from a disruptor scorched a line in the chair where she had been sitting moments before. Solis ducked under and took hold of her as Dae fired back.

"Woo!" Julisa couldn't help blurting then she noticed a warm stickiness to her left. Where Onno's chest had been, there was now a large hole, spilling blood onto the floor. She grabbed at Solis a little more tightly. "Sol!", she said, panicked, as if he might not have noticed the dead man yet.

Solis reached over to check Onno’s throat and nodded. “He’s gone.”

Above them the firing continued another few moments, then there was silence, followed by Dae’s voice.

“Who sent you??” No answer came and now a string of curses came. Finally, Dae looked under the table. “Julisa? You okay? If so, we have to get out of here now!”

She nodded, though she hadn't let go of Solis's shirt. When he gently pried at her fingers, she remembered them and let him loose. "Right. We're going now." She scrambled from under the table. "Any idea who that was?"

“Talk after,” Dae muttered. He Took her other arm and the three of them hurried out the back door. They were in an alley and Dae led the way down, around the corner and to the tram. Once they were safely on the move, Dae spoke.

“Alrighty then, that certainly puts a new spin on things.”

“Did you get anything from the shooter?” Solis asked.

“Nothing other than that they wanted you dead Julisa. I suspect it was a blind hire. The question is, who besides us and the brass knew you would be here?”

"Me? Well, I didn't tell anyone we would be here," she answered. Something else was troubling her. "We just left him there, Dae. We should have called the authorities, stayed and explained what happened!"

“They’ll take care of him.” Dae shot a glance to Solis. “Sorry. This life isn’t pretty. BUt I am concerned. Somebody knows your face and that means whoever it is doesn’t want you finding out anything. We’ll have to work fast. A friend of mine back there knows the guy with the disrupter...well knew. We’re going to check his place now.”

Solis wrapped an arm around Julisa’s shoulders and pressed his lips to her temple. He could feel how shaky she was inside, and he murmured some words of comfort. “Don’t worry, we’ll keep you covered.”

"I know," she leaned into him. "I'm not worried about that. I've just never seen such a ....fresh body before."

“You get used to it,” Solis responded. “At least in my line of work.”

“And mine,” Dae added, then frowned. “Sorry. Hopefully we’ll get what we need and get out of here quick. Something smells.”

****************
Lt. Bajun Julisa
JAG

Lt. Solis
Lt. Commander Dae Nalas
Shields