Nelvana =/= Nirvana

Posted on Wed May 27th, 2015 @ 10:21pm by Captain Li Hawke & Suresh & Commander Oralia Zeferino & Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: Nelvana III

* * * The cha’Do’’ * * *

"No, I'm fine, really," Oralia insisted. "We don't need to stop at Nelvana. Thish can wait another day."

"Two days, Oz. At least," Darwin answered. He'd have believed her, if she hadn't been slurring her words.

"Otay, a coupla days. Let'sh go home."

"Suresh?" Darwin turned toward the Romulan and mentally cursed. "Do we have a docking code yet?"

“We are cleared for docking and I already notified Jake. He said he’d make the arrangements. I’m expecting him any second now with directions.” Suresh looked back from the cockpit to Oz. “It’s more like three days and your husband was concerned there is internal bleeding.”

"So is her second lieutenant," muttered Darwin. He bent slightly to look out the front window. "Maybe, once we're docked, you should stay here."

“Me? You really think there might be an issue?” Suresh turned to look over to Darwin. “What if I take Li as a security card?”

"There might be. Never know." Maybe he was just being overprotective.

“I’ll be careful, and stay close to her and Jake and out of sight. We’re running low on provisions so I’ll take care of that. Or Jake and I can do it if Li wants to go with you.”

“I was thinking about that, actually.” Li appeared from her cabin and moved up front. "What do you think Darwin?”

Darwin glanced at Oz, who was sitting quietly. Weirdly quietly. "If you want to help get her to the station hospital, I'd appreciate it, Captain. That'll leave Suresh getting provisions with Jake." They'd already been through here once on this trip, so Darwin wasn't sure what had him worried. Probably just Oz and facing Jackson if she didn't get patched up right.

“So be it.” Li glanced at Suresh and gave him a nod, that he returned. “How soon will we be docked?”

“Another minute or two is all, so you two should get Oz ready to go,” Suresh answered. He turned his attention to the controls as they moved into position by the docking ring.

*** Nelvana III ***

"Really, I'm fine," Oralia insisted, again, as Darwin, Li and she approached the station's medical facility.

Darwin was having none of it, "Come on, you know Jackson would have my head if you're not okay when we get back home."

"I outrank him, you know," Oz muttered.

“He’d also have my ass,” Li said bluntly. “And love trumps rank. Trust me on that one.” She winked at Darwin. “So does size in this case. Pick her up Dar.”

He did, carrying her the final distance to the medical facility without trouble. "Good thing you're short," he laughed.

"Stuff it, Darwin," Oralia grumped.

* * *

Suresh beamed down to find the massive Klingon waiting for him.

“Hey Jake, thanks for getting all this set up. Oz swore she was fine but I don’t know that she’d have made it home.”

"Good that you were still near here, then," Jake grumbled, focusing on the little Romulan. "This way, there's a provisions shop down here. They have good prices." He turned to lead the way. "Tough trip?"

“You could say that, yes,” Suresh answered as he fell in step with Jake. Darwin and I left Eden with Oz doped up and Li….mentally frozen for lack of a better term. She seems better now.”

"Hmm, both are tough women. The other you must have been difficult to capture." He let a couple of smaller men go around them. "Are you transporting him to Elba II?"

“No, Oz wanted to take him back to 900 so that Starfleet can see the body. There are quite a few there that will appreciate the closure. Now that we’ve arrived here and out of Romulan space and the Zone, we’ll notify Elba II.” Suresh glanced around as they went, appreciating the warm sun. Just ahead, he could see the merchant where they could re-supply. He intended to see if they had some equivalent to hot chocolate, since the women seemed to like it so much.

"I'll wait outside, Suresh," he said when they reached the merchant's. "You go on, tell her Jake's got yer back."

“Thanks.” Suresh pushed the door open and vanished inside. The interior was cool after the heat of the Nelvana sun and he simply stood, enjoying it. A woman appeared and when she saw him, her expression shifted to one of surprise.

“May I help you?”

Suresh nodded, moving closer. “Jake sent me,” he informed her, then began to give her a list of what he needed.

A few moments passed while Suresh and the merchant discussed his list. The bell above the doorway chimed and several armed men stepped into the store. "Suresh!", one called out, "Surrender peaceably!"

Suresh and the woman stopped talking immediately, both turning to look at the new arrivals.

“What?” he asked. “Surrender for what? I wasn’t aware that shopping is illegal.”

"You're under arrest for escaping Elba II," the same man answered. Another approached Suresh from the opposite side, a pair of cuffs in hand.

“For escaping...now hold on. I am not that Suresh. I know who I look like but it’s a long story. I can prove it though. Contact Captain Li Hawke, she’s at the medical center right now. She can verify my identity.” Anger rose in Suresh but with it came a thread of deep fear. Elba II is the last place he wanted to end up.

"We'll check that out, once we get you in a cell," the man said, nodding at his officer, who moved forward and clipped the cuffs on Suresh's wrists.

Leading him back out, the man in charge said "Good work, Jake. Your reward will be waiting at Station Security."

Avoiding looking at Suresh, Jake said, "You should search the ship he came in on. He and his friends are up to something."

"We will."

* * *

Li paced outside the exam room as the doctors worked on Oz. When they saw the patched-up injuries, everyone began to move very fast and orders were shouted as more people hurried into the room. She paused to look over to Darwin.

“How long has she been in there?”

"Long enough to bitch at anyone who's touched her?" Darwin knew how much Oz hated doctors. "About twenty minutes."

“It just seems like forever, right?”

"Right." Darwin laughed suddenly. "You know she'll say when this is all done, right?"

“Threaten to kick our asses for bringing her in?” Li smiled. “Threaten to put you on transwarp conduit duty? Make me pay for dinner for the next year?”

Still laughing, he said, "Well, she might do that. But I was thinking she'll say she told us so, that she was just fine the whole time." He spied someone coming towards them who set off his security senses. "Something's up, Li."

Li turned, watching the man approach. He sent her inner alarm pinging as well. She nodded. “Official. Looking for me….not good Dar.”

"Captain Li Hawke? Lieutenant Michael Darwin?" The man approaching stopped a few feet from them, as did his entourage. "You'll need to come with us."

“For what reason?” Li’s voice was all business as she spoke. She looked up at Darwin briefly, suddenly not happy that they were in something besides uniforms.

"You are under arrest, both of you. We already have Suresh back in custody and the dead Romulan you had on your ship. You are under arrest for harboring a fugitive, aiding and abetting his escape, mutilation of a corpse, among other charges."

Darwin, his mouth hanging partly open, looked at Li. "It's a joke, right? Oz set this up from in there?" He jerked a thumb at the OR.

Li frowned and what she was getting from the man, she could tell he was serious. “No, Darwin, this is for real.” But something he said raised her ire. “Wait a moment. You searched our ship without notice? You realize you’ve made a big mistake, yes? And that’s just to start. The man you have in custody is not an escapee from anywhere except an alternate dimension and is not the Suresh from Elba II. The escapee is the body on the ship. If you bothered to look.”

"Sure he is," the man, a Doubting Thomas if there ever was one. "Come with us. Or is it necessary to handcuff you?"

"Ooh, no, no, no. We're not going and you're not cuffin' us!" Darwin stood now, looking even more imposing than usual thanks to his Klingon-inspired fashion.

Thomas hesitated. "Don't make this difficult."

“I think you did that when you violated our property,” Li answered. “We have an officer undergoing treatment and we will come to get Suresh once we are done. Then, we can sit down and clear this up.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked back at him. “And I am sure you don’t want to start a serious incident with the Fleet.”

"You didn't read the user service agreement, did you? Docking grants permission for any searches." He held up a hand, placating Li. "I will post men here. As soon as Commander Zeferino is cleared, they will bring you to Station Security."

“Only with probable cause,” Li shot back. “What was your cause?”

"Suresh. We were tipped off that he and his conspirators were coming through here. By a reliable source, too, so we had probable cause." He grinned.

Li didn’t like the sound of that. No one knew they had planned to stop here except….she glanced to Darwin. Jake.

Darwin rolled his eyes then looked at Li and quipped, "Oh, now she's really going to say she told us so."

********************
Lt. Commander Oralia Zeferino
Lt. Michael Darwin
Suresh
Captain Li Hawke
Screwed