Tall Tale?

Posted on Mon Aug 3rd, 2015 @ 3:30pm by Ensign Six of Ten & Suresh & Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin & Senior Chief Petty Officer Edana

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Suresh's Quarters

As they walked, Darwin asked, "Tell me about Niro."

“Well, to start, he’s Enaran as you know,” Edana began. “His brother Nicolao is Intel and has just returned to duty. They are twins so if you’ve seen one you’ve seen the other and believe me, it’s difficult to tell the difference. In case you need a way, Nico has a scar on his chest and a Cardassian prison tattoo. If Niro’s mixed up in this, you will need to be able to tell the difference. Niro is about as bad as they come and by that I mean he could make the old Suresh look tame. That Suresh had emotions and could care about people to a degree. Niro isn’t burdened by that at all, which is what is frightening about him. His file is as long as my legs.”

Darwin leaned to one side to check out her legs, then nodded in appreciation. He worried about the description of the man as making the old Surie look tame. And Madhava was mixed up with him? "So, not one of Seyla's clients? Or do we know that?"

Edana laughed. “Niro? Pay for it? Please. A crook of his finger and women come running. Not me. We tangled once and he didn’t care for my method of operation. And I mean job-wise, not that way. We were on opposite sides you might say.”

"Why?" Darwin grimaced. He knew Nico, by sight, and couldn't imagine what women would like about those looks. "I mean, he's not that good looking, so why would women go running just because he beckons?"

Edana tapped the side of her head. “That’s why. It’s also why he’s on our watch list.” She looked over at Darwin as they walked. “There’s more but it’s a story I can’t get into. Let’s just say it left a lasting impression.”

"This is one of those reasons that makes folks like Oz hate telepaths," Darwin muttered. Not that he was a fan of invasive telepaths either. He frowned and was drawn into his own thoughts. Finally, they reached Suresh's quarters; Darwin leaned on the doorbell.

The doors opened almost immediately to reveal Six. Seeing them, the smiled and stepped aside. “Come on in.” Once the doors were closed, she motioned them to have a seat. “Can I get you anything?”

"No, thanks," Darwin said and glanced at Edana.

“I’m good.” Edana looked around briefly. “Where’s Suresh?”

“Here,” Suresh answered as he emerged from the kitchen. “What’s up?” He looked from Darwin to Edana, noting the serious expressions. Taking Six’s hand, he settled her down by him on the sofa as the other two sat.

“Well,” Edana, began, “something happened tonight that you need to know about.” She nodded to Darwin.

"Riley Sukotav has gone missing." Darwin let that sink in for a moment as he watched Six. "Six, there's the chance that your work, transferred to Riley, has something to do with his disappearance. So we need to know what you know about the Iconian tablets."

Six’s eyes widened and she clamped down hard enough on Suresh’s hand to make him wince. “Missing? My work?” She frowned as she considered it. “Well, it started when I was assigned to translate this stone slab down in the science center. I thought it was just busy work, you know? It was really something the computer could’ve done, I thought, but I got started. It was tedious work, honestly. I’d read it, enter the translation into the computer, then Lt. Rutheridge would read over the translations later. We dated the tablet at about 198,000 BC. Ensign Bren did that analysis.”

Darwin paused, wrapping his head around that many years. "So that's what Riley was now doing? Same thing? What was the message on the tablet?"

“I turned it over to him when I ‘resigned’,” Six answered. “Most of it was history but near the end it got really interesting. There was a passage that talked about an ancient tool. It was a little confusing since the same word could mean tool or weapon. I guess depending on how they used the thing. It was an instrument that was sacred and apparently guarded by a small, secret sect of the Iconians. It was their only job, to keep it hidden. What I could tell from the slab is that this thing was a...a time turner. Not for travel but to undo what had been done.” Six stopped and looked up at Suresh, who now looked as if he was hearing a ghost story.

“Undo time…,” he repeated. “Holy hell.”

Edana frowned. “Do you think it’s true?” She shook her head. “Never mind, I don’t think the ancient Iconians would preserve fables for entertainment.”

"Why not? Humans preserved fables for centuries - made statues and carvings and paintings. We all know Aesop, right? Or the various writings of religious people?" Darwin shrugged. "It could be a tall tale, an idea someone loved enough to write down for the ages. But, Six, the tablet mentioned a sect? People tasked with protecting this tool? Is there any other information about them?"

“Just that they were a small group that spent their lives watching over this thing. There was some description of the chamber built to house it but if it was so special, I don’t think they’d just make a building somewhere that could possibly be found. My last day in science, I was going over it with Riley. The slab had some coordinates on it that way back then, would map to Dendrian space. He was starting to work on tracking the location down, adjusted for the vast passage of time.” She frowned. “I’ve not spoken to him this week though, so I’m not sure what he found. Since it involved the colony area, though, I requested that Tess send the report on to the colony staff. Commander Gunnar is off station so I think Commander Antos received it.”

Suresh made the mental leap almost immediately. “Do you two think Riley’s disappearance is because of this? And if it is, what about Six?”

"Six has two guards and you watching her every move," Darwin said. He didn't mention Commander Winter's possibility of time shifts and such. No need to worry the two. "I'll check with Rutheridge, see how far Riley got with those coordinates." He made a note to check with Antos, too. "It's possible this is related. There's another possibility that we'll be following up on as well. Do either of you know Niro?"

“I’ve seen him down here, as has Six,” Suresh replied. “I hadn’t met him in my universe but those who know him here tend to steer clear.”

Six nodded. “I know Reva’s sort of made friends with him but I haven’t talked to him. He’s not exactly approachable, you know?”

Edana nodded. “I know very well. My advice to you, Six, is to stay away. Far away. If he does approach you, I want to know about it.”

“Sure,” Six answered. “What’s he got to do with this Darwin?”

"Reva told him to take a hike today. He showed up and upset Riley; I gathered that Reva didn't appreciate that. She's concerned that Niro may have done something to Riley." Darwin rubbed his forehead. "We'll see."

Six nodded slowly. “How could someone get Riley off the station without being noticed? If they transported, there would be logs. If he was put on a ship, surely the security feeds from the docking bay would see him.” A thought then occurred to her. “Reva! How is she?”

"She's a bit upset," Darwin replied. "I sent a message to Seyla to go see her - at Reva's request. Security feeds are only as good as the data they see. If Riley were disguised...," he shrugged, "the feed wouldn't have anything to work with."

“True. I should call her but...if Seyla’s there, I should probably wait.” Six looked back to Edana. “Does Vic know about all this?”

“I’m going to brief him since we seem to be done here. I am going to have him come down here, though. Given the circumstances, I want to stay close. We’ll talk outside so we won’t disturb you two, though.” Edana nodded to Darwin. “Ready?”

He nodded and stood. "If you think of anything else, give me a call." Taking a hold of Edana's arm, he headed for the door.

Once they were out in the hall and the door closed, Edana sighed. “This suddenly got all sorts of complicated, didn’t it?”

"It did." Darwin frowned. "I need to do some research, Ed. See you tomorrow?"

“You will. I’m going to get Vic down here, and I’ll likely be sleeping in Suresh’s spare room tonight, so you know where to find me if something comes up.” Edana stopped as they reached the turbolift and faced Darwin. “Good luck.”

"Thanks," he squeezed her hand and stepped into the lift. Once the doors closed, he sighed and let his shoulders slump.

****************
Lt. M. Darwin
More Concerned Than He Lets On

SCPO Edana
Not Liking The Look Of Things

Ensign Six of Ten
Fount Of Information

Suresh
On Watch