No Longer a Good Guy

Posted on Sat May 23rd, 2015 @ 2:54am by Admiral Ricky Wegener & El'Shar Blackhorse & Admiral Lucius Hawke

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: Wegener's Quarters

* * * Deck 10 - Wegener’s Quarters * * *

Rick had finally been able to spend a night with El-Shar since this investigation debacle had started. And after his proposal, and her acceptance of said proposal, their time was not wasted on trivial things. The sex had been fantastic and he had gone well above and beyond with continuing to sweep her off of her feet with champagne, wine, fruits and cheeses, showers here and there--needless to say, they were practicing for their honeymoon and it was a resounding success.

He woke early and decided to continue his offerings of food with homemade crepes with fruit and juice in bed. She woke with a smile and, after their night, had no qualms sitting nude in the bed with him eating his morning offerings.

“I’m headed to the shower,” he said as he cleared out the plates. “Feel like joining me or do you want to take a lazy day and stay in bed?”

She chuckled and slid to the edge of the bed. “I think--”

=^= Lucius to Rick, I’m on my way over. I hope you’re awake. =^= he heard over his comm-badge.

Rick stood there with his eyes closed in frustration and sighed. He hugged El’s head to his stomach as he stood in front of her. “I guess the shower will wait.”

“Looks that way,” she replied kissing his stomach and standing to kiss him properly. “I guess we should get ready to receive a visitor.”

It didn’t take Lucius long to arrive giving both Rick and El time enough to slide into something more appropriate. Rick was in light grey, silk pajamas and El wore her own in a vibrant blue.

Rick opened the door and stood there a moment, his arm blocking the door. “Lucius, my good, very best and longest friend of all time--I hope you realize that you are interrupting what should have been one hell of a shower with my fiancee,” he said in a hushed tone.

Lucius sighed. “I interrupted more than that and I know...I know...I’m sorry. But all hell broke loose last night and you need to be updated. Otherwise, this is the last place I’d come. And fair warning, the eagle has landed. Last evening.”

“You know I love you, man, but seriously,” Rick continued to whine. “Come on in.” He closed the door after Lucius entered and announced in a sing-songy tone, “Honey, we have a visitor!”

El came in from the bathroom, having pulled her hair back into a long pony tail. “Yes, dear. I heard. Welcome, Lucius,” she added as she sat on the sofa. “Oh--wait, do I stay or do I go?”

Lucius’ first inclination was to keep this private but he shook that off. At this point, she was too close to Rick to be kept in the dark.

“Stay,” he said. “This will all be common knowledge soon anyway and FNN is going to have a field day with it once it goes public.”

Rick snuggled close to El on the sofa as Lucius took a chair across from them. “Okay, kemosabe, tell me about the hell that broke loose and then the eagle.”

“Eagle first as it’s quicker. Marianna is on station. I didn’t tell her your happy news, I wanted to spare El that much at least.” He smiled a moment. “And I already had my chops lightly busted for allowing Li and Oz to go to Romulan space.”

Rick groaned at the mention of Marianna. “I’ll fill you in later,” he said to El. Turning back to Lucius he added, “And I’ll be sure to keep a phaser on my person until she leaves. What next?”

Lucius mentally ran down his list before jumping in. He decided to start with the evidence. “The officers that Romas and Eria sent to Betazed are home. I got an update from Ray early this morning and I think my ears are still burning. You know how he can be.”

“I do,” Rick replied. “What did they find? Something to help us?”

“I think you’d better brace yourself,” Lucius replied. “They retrieved some isolinear chips, along with a set of ID papers that Intel is tracing now, at the home of a man who took some pot shots at them in a bar. Apparently, someone knew they were coming. Lt. Bajun was also lured away and held against her will. She sustained some injuries but Commander Nalas and Lt. Solis found her just in time. Someone did not want them coming home. The chips are video feeds from the main prison on Cardassia. Here.” Lucius pulled out the one Ray has passed to him. “Proof.”

Rick took the chip and went to his desk to watch. He made no comments but it was difficult to watch. After it was over he removed the chip and handed it back to Lucius. “Kinda’ wish I hadn’t seen that,” he said as he took his place back by El.

“I wish I hadn’t either. I mean we’ve heard the stories for decades but seeing it…” Lucius stopped and shook his head. “Most didn’t live through it. But this does support what Nicolao and the Counselor had to say. And there is more.”

“More? Than that?” Rick pointed to the chip.

Lucius rubbed his eyes, wishing he’d given in to the sleep he so desperately needed. “Yes. So in addition to that, and the attacks on the away team, there was an incident in Intel last night. I had asked Sakkath and Kai to retrieve something from my office. They did and when they were leaving, Kai was hit with a phaser. She’s in sickbay now. The assailant was taken down by Sakkath and turned out to be Lt. Benson’s paralegal. Sakkath said she wanted that item but he managed to prevent her taking it. Miss Bond is now in the loving arms of security.”

Rick was silent a few moments, his open mouthed gape doing all the talking for him. Finally he said, “What did Ray have to say about that? And what was so important that you needed from your office that would cause an attack like that?”

“Ray was on his way to security for her questioning when he left me this morning.” Lucius’ gaze as he looked back to Rick was intent. “As to what was in my office, that I cannot say. Sakkath and Intel are looking into who accessed those decks and how they accomplished it. I can tell you that it is related to the rest of this mess. Eria’s trying to tie up loose ends.”

“Can’t say, or don’t know?” Rick asked. “Because if you can’t say and it’s part of this case, I think I should be told. But, you know, that’s just me.” He added a wink so there was no misunderstanding.

Later, Lucius passed the thought to Rick and shrugged. “What concerns me is that Eria seems to be getting desperate. She doesn’t know what we know but I think she suspects it is all about to hit the fan, especially if she knows that her investigators are home in one piece. And gods help Nico if she figures out he remembers. That’s why he and Miss Dupree are guests of Intel at the moment.”

Rick nodded. “Probably the safest place for them,” he said.

“It sounds like there is quite a bit for you to catch me up on,” El remarked, squeezing Rick’s hand. “This is all making me a bit nervous for your safety--well, and everyone else involved.”

Commander Nalas requested a security detail for Lt. Bajun overnight. As for Dae, well, if he didn’t want to be found, no one was going to find that man.” Lucius smiled finally. “She should be in custody as soon as Starfleet acknowledges Ray’s request - which I had him send through my XO to be on the safe side.”

“Too bad we can’t just find her and kick her ass now,” Rick growled. “Putting us through this little show despite her being the one that did it. Hell, she probably has aspirations for more prestige and a higher position out of it! I mean, could you imagine going through all of this just to get a little promotion?”

“I think it’s personal, Rick. And maybe…” Lucius frowned. “When we wrapped up the Section 31 investigation, we took down a lot of people but none of them ever revealed who was leading the whole thing. That box Sakkath got from my office has some information I just got in before our suspension. You don’t think it….” He stopped and frowned once more as he turned it all over in his mind.

“You should know that I really hate it when you do that,” Rick said.

“I’m wondering if that’s what’s in that box - the man..or woman behind the curtain.” Lucius shrugged. “I’ll know once Sakkath finishes extracting it. Maybe that’s what this is all about….that and your station. Who wouldn’t want it?”

“Hmph. Me, sometimes,” Rick replied wryly. “Okay, though--I have to ask why the hell someone would send you a box with vital information about this bullshit and not let you open it? Why would they keep it from you? That seems somewhat idiotic.”

“Agreed,” El chimed in. “It seems a bit counter-productive if you ask me.”

“Beats me. I have no idea what’s in there. That was just a wild guess. Whatever it is, she wanted it. Not that it matters really, there’s plenty without it.” The door chime rang, momentarily interrupting Lucius. “But that’s all the latest. I expect that this will be done by tomorrow, if all goes according to plan.”

Rick started to get up but El stopped him. “I’ll get it,” she said and stood. Crossing the room she thumbed the panel to open the door.

Admiral Eria Azoulay stood just outside the door and quickly grabbed El-Shar’s arm and jabbed a phaser into her ribcage. The two moved inside and, as the door closed, both Rick and Lucius stood in alarm.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Rick screamed. “Unhand her immediately!”

“I’ll do no such thing,” Eria replied coolly. “Both of you, sit down. Now.”

“Eria..” There was warning in Lucius’ tone. “Put it down now!” He stood still as a statue, not wanting to surprise her into shooting El’Shar.

“I don’t think you quite understand what’s happening here, people,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “It doesn’t matter what setting this phaser is on. If I fire, it will destroy your little trophy,” she said with a sharp look at Rick. “In light of that, I will most certainly not put the phaser down.”

“And what, exactly, do you think you’re going to accomplish by that?” Rick asked. “Even if you took all of us out, they will know it was you who pulled the trigger.”

Eria squeezed El’s arm in an attempt to inflict pain. It didn’t work as planned, however, as El’s Vulcan physiology could easily allow her to withstand what few muscles the older woman had in her hands. It only reinforced her desire to get away from the phaser.

El-Shar tried to jerk away but Eria relocated the phaser up to El’s temple. “Try that again, gorgeous, and I’ll burn a hole through that lovely head of yours and won’t think a thing of it.”

With a sharp sigh, El finally stood still and looked to Rick and Lucius, hoping that there would be a way out of this.

Lucius watched them intently and very carefully reached out to touch Eria’s thoughts. It was a gamble, given the woman’s empathic abilities and Lucius was tentative, hoping to slip in unnoticed. He decided that perhaps getting her talking might distract her enough.

“So Eria, why? What’s the reason for all this? Assuming it had worked that is.”

“I don’t need to explain myself to any of you,” she spat back. “Just know that I am justified in my actions.”

“As what? A terrorist?” El asked.

“Shut your damn mouth!” Eria said, shoving the phaser harder against El’s head. After a beat she laughed. “I am not a terrorist. I am working for the betterment of the Federation. But it seems that things have not gone as planned from my end, so I’m having to take matters into my own hands. And I’m fine with that!” Her eyes were wide now, possibly from the adrenaline in her system or...because she was finally starting to break under the pressure and knowing that the end was in sight, but possibly not the end she had imagined.

Lucius glanced to Rick and then back to Eria. His tone was soft, hoping to settle her down even as he attempted a little subtle influence. “If you want to salvage anything of your life Eria, put it down.”

She stood silent for a moment until a strange smile crept across her face. She shook her head. “Do you want to see your friend’s fiancee dead, Lucius? If so, keep poking around in my head because that’s exactly what will happen.” She placed her finger closer to the trigger. “If you think I won’t be able to press this button before you try to stop me with your mental magic, you are mistaken.”

“Easy, Lucius,” Rick whispered, torn between taking her down and the sight of El being held at phaser point.

Another moment passed. “There,” Eria said. “That’s better. Besides, you know as well as I that it’s quite impolite to trespass uninvited.”

Relief flooded Lucius face. El’Shar wasn’t free but at least that one small crisis was past. As he watched the pair, he saw the doors begin to part and then came the familiar hiss as they slid fully open.

All at once everyone sprang into action. The opening of the doors was just enough distraction to turn Eria’s head and El-Shar took the opening to pull away and dive to the floor. It was close, though, as Eria’s initial reaction was to press the trigger on the phaser sending a red hot beam streaking through the air. It’s intended target was already gone and impacted with the bulkhead close to the kitchen.

As this happened, Rick and Lucius both stormed toward Azoulay. Rick had been first and as a solid fist flew through the air aimed directly at Eria’s face, she fired blindly. This time the beam found its way into Rick’s hip. It wasn’t a direct hit but enough to put him down. His arm was still out as he fell and it managed to knock the phaser from her hand…

...just in time for Tomas Cruzado to step inside the door and plant his own fist into Eria’s face. She fell backward in a slump, blood spurting from her mouth and nose.

Lucius scooped up the phaser and pointe it at Eria. “Don’t move, Eria or I will use it.” He looked to Tomas and smiled. “About time you showed up.”

“My pleasure.” Tomas tapped his comm badge to summon security, though the weapons fire alarm was already sounding. “Check on Rick. I’ll be glad to shoot her if she moves. Very glad.”

Lucius passed the phaser to Tomas, then knelt down to check Rick’s injuries. “El, you okay?” He spoke even as he gently rolled Rick off his injured side.

“I am,” she said, quickly pulling herself up and getting to Rick. “Are you okay? Where did she hit you?”

“Goddammit, this fucking hurts!” he said with a howl of pain. He took El’s hand and squeezed. “I don’t think it’s that bad, but she sizzled the shit out of my hip.” In a quick flash of anger he reached for a small pottery statue that El had on the table and threw it at Eria. It missed. “Give me something else to throw at that bitch!”

“Settle down Rick.” Lucius shot a look at El because despite Rick’s opinion to the contrary, the burn was bad. “Or I’ll cram your pajama shirt in your mouth.” He tapped his comm badge. “Hawke to sickbay. Two to beam directly there, Admiral Wegener’s coordinates.”

=^= Acknowledged =^=

“Enjoy the hospital gown Rick.” Lucius smiled. “I’ll be down there soon.”

“Don’t!” Rick yelled as he tried to scoot closer to Eria. He desperately wanted to beat her like a rented mule. El-Shar held him back, however, and moments later they disappeared in the shimmer of the transporter beam.

They could hear running feet out in the corridor now, heralding the arrival of security. Tomas stepped out of the way as they entered to take charge of Eria and moved over to Lucius. With a smile, he clapped Lucius on the back.

“Well, that’s that more or less. We’ll be tying up loose ends for a few days and getting official statements but I think the danger is over. Oh, and consider yourselves reinstated.”

“Thank you Tomas.” Lucius smiled and shook his head. “How screwed up is this?”

“You can say that again,” Tomas replied. “But the good news is, now it’s in the hands of security and Ray and that man is going to have a hell of a good time with this one. I, on the other hand, am staying over a little to relax and take some time off.”

Lucius turned to watch Security as they confined Eria. “That’s good. You know, Marianna arrived today and I mentioned you were here. I’m sure she’d like to say hello before you depart.”

Tomas nodded, giving Rick a pleased smile. “I look forward to it. You should go. I know you likely want to check on Kai and Rick. I’ll stay here and close things up once they are done.”

“Thanks. I’ll check in when I leave sickbay.” Lucius then stepped around the security team and strolled off down the corridor.

****************
Admiral Eria Azoulay
(Supposedly) Not a Terrorist

Admiral Ricky Wegener
El-Aurian Flambé

Captain El-Shar Blackhorse (ret.)
Lucky Hostage

Admiral Lucius Hawke
Back In The Saddle

Admiral Tomas Cruzado
In The Nick of Time