Killing The Messenger

Posted on Mon Aug 17th, 2015 @ 6:02pm by Commander Ehlana Winter & Lieutenant Commander Antos Lev & Commander Adara Gunnar

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Temporal Affairs

* Temporal Affairs *

Lev and Adara arrived at the Temporal Affairs offices and were met by Ehlana.

“Welcome Commanders,” she greeted them.

"Commander Winter," Adara greeted the woman, trying to assess her age. She knew the woman as Earl's wife and Julian's mother, but still had no idea how old she was. "Thank you for letting us interview this Brother. Have you gotten any information from him?"

“Nothing yet. He absolutely refuses to speak at all,” Ehlana answered. “We have him in a containment field. Given his ability to time jump, and all those mysterious rifts on the station, we were taking no chances. I understand that one of the science officers is mixed up in this?”

Lev nodded. “The lieutenant working on translating the Iconian text. We’re seeing him next actually. Given this brother’s appearance here just before all the rifts, it’s a little too coincidental for my taste. I also don’t believe in coincidence.”

Ehlana laughed. “Good man. Come with me please.” She turned and led them down a corridor, through a force field and a locked door and into a smaller version of the brig that contained two cells. A young man was seated in one and they could see the occasional flicker of the containment field around him.

He sat calmly, seemingly in a meditative state. He was watching the trio as they entered, though.

Adara stepped close to the containment field and looked him over. "He looks harmless. Pretty stupid, too, with that bowl cut. You'd think that someone from the future would be able to get a better haircut." She saw his jaw muscle work. "Maybe he's just a low level lackey and really knows nothing important," she added, glancing at Lev, hoping he'd play along. "We should just push him out an airlock, if he has nothing for us."

“That’s what I was thinking, actually,” Lev agreed. He stepped closer and stood silent as he looked Adrian over. Lev had an uncanny ability to do that, observe in silence and unnerve whoever stood before his gaze. He took in every visible detail about the young man, finally meeting his eyes. What he saw there was more than a hint of nervousness. The quiet drew out and finally, he spoke.

“I see that you are afraid you’ve been abandoned here. From what we’ve learned of your order in the translation, I suppose that would be anathema for you.” Lev’s tone was soft and measured, almost soothing.

"Hmm. A secret cult, doing secret things, to protect a secret device. I can see them just abandoning those who fail." She looked at Lev and, keeping with Lev's soft, soothing cadence, said, "Can you imagine being trapped hundreds of years in the past?" She shuddered. "Imagine the technology you'd no longer have access to."

Adrian twitched and they could see that they’d struck a nerve. Lev glanced at Adara a moment before he spoke again.

“She’s right you know.” Lev smiled briefly. “You failed and it’s likely you are considered an acceptable loss. A shame that you belong to such a group that considers a life something to be written off. In your shoes? I would be outraged. Being trapped here, you have no way home and they won’t come get you. I’d want to get even. But that’s me - strike a blow where it would hurt the most. Otherwise, protecting them is just a futile and stupid gesture.”

"Even worse, what about when they do come for him? They're likely to just kill him here rather than take him back," Adara shook her head. "After all, one word from him could disrupt their entire cause."

“It could.” Lev crossed his arms and leveled his gaze on Adrian. “I should also remind you that you are here at the mercy of Commander Winter, whose son you tried to wipe from the time stream. You better believe I wouldn’t be as nice to you as she has been. I’d had brought in a telepath to strip your mind bare by now. That’s not off the table, by the way. All we want is why you thought it necessary to try to kill Dr. Crane. I don’t give a damn about your ancient secrets.” He did but one step at a time.

"We have Enarans on staff - they can strip a person's mind and implant memories." Adara went with Lev's stream of thought; she hazarded a guess: "Look, Adrian, we know Julian finds the device." She was rewarded with a sharp glance from Adrian; she, in turn, glanced at Lev.

“Interesting,” Lev replied. “”Given that is obviously the case, it would be better for you to tell us about it. Otherwise, since you failed, he will find it and we’ll be left to figure things out on our own. Perhaps we’ll do it correctly or perhaps we might accidentally set it off and wipe out something important.”

Adrian appeared suddenly conflicted and he looked to Adara. “Would he do that?”

"Julian? Accidentally set something off? You bet. He's a doctor, not an engineer, so if this device is mechanical... Yeah, he'd play with it and do something." Adara nodded; she'd known Julian for years and knew he liked pushing buttons.

“He might even undo your entire life.” Lev shrugged. “It’s possible. Or cause an even bigger disaster than us simply finding this thing and keeping it secure. If your order had approached this the right way, we’d be cooperating now instead of holding you in a containment field.”

“They don’t cooperate with anyone,” Adrian answered. He ran his hand over his face and looked now at Ehlana. “Can this field keep them out? Really?”

“Yes, from any current and future attempts.” Ehlana frowned, however. “It can’t prevent them from doing what you attempted to do to Julian. They could very well go back and kill you before you left or at any point until you arrived here.”

“I thought of that.” Adrian sat lost in thought for a moment. “I need a padd. I want to catch up on the news. I won’t talk until I get one.”

Lev looked to Adara and shrugged. “Why not?”

Adara shook her head and drew Lev and Ehlana aside. "Get a padd from the Brig. Those are intended for prisoners and are secure devices, so he can't hack his way out of this cell." Her years in Security were showing.

Ehlana tapped her comm badge and ordered that a padd be sent up from the brig. In the interests of time, she’d requested that it be transported and a few minutes later, she left the cells and returned with a padd in hand. Tapping the control, she undid the outer containment field and placed the padd on the floor. Once the field was back up, she lowered the inner one long enough to allow Adrian to grab the padd. He did so and began to scroll through the screen as they watched.

“At least he’s talking now,” Lev observed.

"Yeah. Good work." Adara watched the prisoner then nudged Lev when he turned the padd towards them.

Lev rested his hand on the the edge of the cell’s frame and leaned closer. The message on the padd was clear:

I’ll talk but we must make it appear that I have died.

Lev looked back to Adara, his silent question clear on his face.

Her jaw clenched. "Fine. You won't talk?" She went to the cell controls and made the Ensign there move out of the way. "I'm removing all oxygen from the cell, Brother Adrian. You have two minutes to give us something." She keyed in the commands for the cell. "You know, Julian is a dear friend of mine, as is his dad. He's always been a good guy. The idea that you went back in time and tried to deprive us of him boils my blood," she spoke harshly. "One minute, twenty. Anything to say?"

“No, nothing.” Adrian shook his head. He tapped the padd controls and erased the screen, then laid it on the bunk beside him. He looked from Adara to Lev and something caught his attention, making his eyes go wide. He started to speak, and then began to gasp for breath. Moments later, he slumped over and fell to the floor, remaining still.

Ehlana tapped her comm badge. “Winter to Sickbay. Four to transport, medical emergency. Notify Doctors Harding and Crane.” Moments later, she, Adara, Lev, and Adrian’s body disappeared in a swirl of transporter blue.

*****************
Commander Ehlana Winter-Crane
Gatekeeper

Commander Adara Gunnar
Good Cop... Not Really

Lt. Commander Antos Lev
Bad Cop

Brother Adrian
Dead