Where Do We Go From Here?

Posted on Sat Nov 14th, 2015 @ 3:45pm by Lieutenant Commander Gilroy & Seyla & Suresh & Vic & Senior Chief Petty Officer Edana

Mission: Further Challenges

* The Cherry Pit *

“She what??” Edana had stepped into Suresh’s extra bedroom and closed the door when her comm badge chirped. “She didn’t!”

“She did,” Vic said, “So go see her and tell her to keep her mouth shut.”

Edana growled softly. “Just what I need on top of Six being gone and Darwin too. I’m not used to worry being so ..personal, Vic. It sucks.”

“I know, Ed. I’m sorry,” he agreed. “Just try not to bite her head off, though.”

“Can I rip her arm off and beat her with it?” There was a faint trace of humour in her tone now.
“Please?”

“Whose arm? Yours?” Vic’s tone matched her. “Just be careful and let me know if you need anything after.”

“What I need, Vic, is on that bastard Niro’s ship. I’ll call you when I finish though.”

“I’ll be waiting,” he replied and closed the commlink.

* Seyla’s Quarters *

With Solis distraught over Julisa’s situation, Will was working late, which, in turn, meant that Seyla could work late. She was in the process of reprimanding Marcus when her doorbell rang. Answering it, she saw the one person she never expected to see on her doorstep: the Orion Edana. “What brings you around?”

“We need to talk.” Edana’s tone was no-nonsense. “And not out here in the hall either.”

The madame sighed and stepped back to allow Edana to enter. “Marcus, get dressed and get out,” she told the man, who had turned to grin at Ed. His smile faded and he quickly followed Seyla’s order. When he was gone, Seyla offered, “A drink, Ed?”

“Sure, as long as you're pouring.” Edana moved towards the sofa, then turned and paced across the room. “I have several things to talk about actually.”

“Must you?” Seyla, pouring drinks for her and Ed, glanced at her as she paced. “If you can’t hold your tongue still, at least try to hold your feet still.”

“Sorry, not happening. Thanks.” She took the glass and had a sip. “First things first. Niro’s gone. He swiped Darwin, Six and a JAG officer and hit the trail. The Fleet is in pursuit, of course, but no news yet. Nothing.” She stopped pacing and turned to face Seyla.

On hearing that Darwin ...that Niro had ‘swiped’ Darwin, Seyla frowned heavily, wondering what Niro could possibly want with Darwin? A brief moment later, she knew: he likely didn’t want anything with Darwin and would dispose of the man as soon as possible. The women, though... he’d find purposes for them. She was glad Ed had been pacing; by the time Ed had turned to look at her, Seyla had recovered. She shrugged, almost nonchalantly, “And? He’s an idiot; we both know that, so why are you telling me?”

“I know you’ve always had a soft spot for Darwin, so I thought you might like to know. I know you’ve done some business here and there with Niro too, but his future prospects are looking grim when they find him.” Edana grumbled softly. “They better find them.”

“His prospects have been looking grim ever since he allowed Owain to walk off with Reva,” Seyla said. She wasn’t about to admit to Edana that she did have a soft spot for Darwin. It was none of Ed’s business, but also Seyla knew Ed was the one warming Darwin’s bed now. “Are you worried they won’t? Darwin’s a big boy. He can handle Niro. So long as Niro doesn’t wipe his brain clean.”

“That’s part of the worry, isn’t it? We both know Niro wouldn’t hesitate to do it either - to Darwin or to the women. If he does something to Six, he better hope he’s never found.” Edana placed her glass down on the coffee table and finally took a seat.

“Tsk... Six is part computer. Just plug her in and her backup will download.” She held up a hand to stop Ed from lecturing her about Borg, or saying anything else in Six’s favor. “Niro is a lost cause and I’m not going to be particularly sad about his loss. Same with the two women; wrong place, wrong time for them, perhaps. If Darwin is lost...,” she shrugged with one shoulder, a tell that belied her words, “...then perhaps I’ll be sad. Are you here looking for a shoulder to cry on, Orion? I know you and our handsome Security officer have been getting close.”

“Not from you.” Edana studied Seyla and frowned. “You don’t lie well enough to fool me either.” She reached out, turning her glass slowly. “Six and Lt. Bajun have people who care about them. I doubt they are shrugging and saying ‘wrong place, wrong time’.”

"Suresh is probably twisting his knickers into a wad over this. And Bajun? Isn't she dating or married to Solis in Piper? Perhaps I could send him someone to console him."

“I don’t think one of your women is what Solis wants.” Edana settled back into the sofa. “But Suresh is partly why I came. I heard in a roundabout way that someone who knows nothing about your little operation down here was discussing the fact that he’s not the original. They say they heard it from you.”

"Really? Who doesn't know about my operation? Is that even possible on this Station?" She rose to gracefully walk across the room to her bar. Choosing to ignore the message Edana was trying to impress upon her, Seyla gestured broadly and said, "Seyla! Provider of the base's classiest, most beautiful escorts! I think, my dear Fleetie, that there are few people who haven't heard of my operation down here."

“Don’t be daft, Seyla. I meant the operation with Suresh. Are you trying to get him killed? Or hoping to have this station erupt in violence? If so keep mentioning that he’s not the original Suresh. If it all goes to hell, you can bet you’ll be dragged along.” Edana’s voice had grown sharp. “Why tell two cadets?”

"Ah! And there it is: my little tattlers." Chuckling, Seyla refilled her drink then turned a calculating gaze on Edana. "Have you forgotten that Suresh's cover story is convoluted? For the Pit denizens, he's the big bad scary Suresh, a man quick to turn violent, who tolerates little bullshit. For his Fleet friends, he's the mild mannered extra-universe Suresh who dislikes taking lives or ordering underlings disciplined. The Pit denizens have heard rumors that the old Suresh is pretending to be that displaced Suresh and has to make nice with Fleet officers. Telling two cadets that he's the other universe's Suresh matches that storyline. Besides, who did they run and tell? Dar--" she cut herself off. "Captain Hawke?"

“It came up at the Nexus.” Edana considered Seyla’s words for a moment, then a sly smile appeared on her face. “They actually think the old Suresh is pretending to be the other in order to get on the Fleet’s good side?” She began to laugh out loud. “That’s rich.”

"Yes, which explains Darwin being around so much... Well, they also believe he's on the take. But it means that Suresh gets a pass if he's ever seen being friendly with Hawke or Zeferino - and explains why he no longer tries to kill them."

“Part of that rumour regarding Darwin is my doing, actually,” Ed admitted. “Never hurts to help things along.” She sighed aloud as she looked back at Seyla. “At least that’s covered and there’s no immediate danger...unless he loses Six. We figured out Xerena’s plot and prevented disaster so let’s hope we can do it again.”

"Niro's idea is probably just 'run as far and fast as he can'. Hopefully Reva didn't tinker with his engines too much."

“Yeah, but he’s had a bee in his bonnet about Six every since Reva gave him the boot. He’s been sniffing around and trying his best to stir up trouble. Looks like he’s finally managed it.” Ed was back on her feet and pacing. “I hate not knowing,” she admitted. “Normally, I'm a lot more objective about missing operatives, but Darwin’s not just...yeah... never mind.”

Seyla sat again, thinking that she could empathize with Ed about Darwin. Her worry nudged at her; in her own way, she adored Darwin. "Darwin isn't an operative. He's a friend, a good one, even when you haven't been the best to him."

“You mean you or me there?” Ed asked. “You’re right though. He’s not just an op...he’s….a lot more and I don’t know if he knows that.”

Holding her counsel, Seyla simply shrugged. "When he's back, it might be a good time for him to take a vacation." It was the most innocuous thing she could think of to say.

“I suspect when he gets back, he’ll be ready for one. Good idea. Now, I should be getting along. I need to check on Suresh and see how he’s holding up.”

"You know where the door is," Seyla commented, just barely refraining from adding something about not letting the door hit her. "Feel free to call before becoming by next time, Ed. That way, I can leave."

“I doubt I will.” Edana departed without clarifying what she meant.

* Suresh’s Quarters *

Ed arrived back at Suresh’s and rang the chime. Her mind was a little more at ease regarding his identity down here. Seyla had annoyed her but she let it go for now. There were far more important things to worry about. She wasn’t really expecting any good news but there was the hope Suresh had heard something while she was gone. She rang the chime again.

On the third ring, Suresh opened the door and gruffly greeted Edana, “Come on in.” He moved into the dimly lit living room and took a seat. “Pour yourself a drink and have a seat.”

“Sure.” Edana crossed to the bar, picking up his glass along the way. She poured herself a drink and refilled his, then carried them back and sat down. “How are you holding up?” He looked exhausted, and suddenly she realized she felt that way too.

“I’m getting numb,” he said, lifting his glass and taking a drink. “I can’t lose her. I don’t know what I’ll do without her.”

Edana watched him for a long moment, then reached over to take his hand. “Let’s not jump to conclusions just yet, hmm?” His words struck a chord with her though. She’d been so busy seeing to things she hadn’t really taken time to think about it from a more personal standpoint - at least until her visit with Seyla. “We’ll get them back.”

He regarded her for a long moment then nodded. “Darwin’s resourceful. He’ll get them back here; he’ll protect Six. You know, in the other universe... he had ...I mean his, um... the other universe’s Darwin had a wife and a child. I saw this Darwin with her; whoever she is in this world, she’s a fool - Darwin loves her in a way that consumes him. The other universe’s Darwin died in combat before Hawke and Wegener arrived there. Darwin could have stayed there, taken his place and been with the love of his life, raised his kid. But he did his duty instead.”

His words hit Edana like a sledgehammer. Her hand tightened on his and she fought to find some response that wasn’t something she really didn’t want to give voice to. It certainly explained Darwin’s tendency to avoid settling down or even sticking to one woman….at least before Edana herself. Finally, she spoke, managing to keep her voice even.

“I’m not exactly sure how to feel about that news, Suresh.”

“News? You didn’t know that?” He seemed surprised but then said, “Yeah, I suppose it isn’t something Darwin talks about. The woman in this universe is an Admiral. Anyway, he’ll get back here safe and sound.”

“Life changes for all of us, doesn’t it?” Edana asked. A face floated into her memory and she considered it briefly before pushing it away. “We all have pasts and we all move on, hopefully to better things.”

“We do. Six is the best thing I’ve ever had in my life,” he said. “Shouldn’t we have heard something by now? Shouldn’t the Fleet ship have caught up or reported in or something?”

“I could say the same about Darwin. He’s done a lot to soften my...hard edges,” Ed admitted. She pushed her untouched drink over to Suresh, then tapped her comm badge.

“Edana to Lt. Gilroy.”

=^=Gilroy here. What’s up, Ed?=^=

“All calm down here. Tell me you have some good news?” she asked.

There was a long pause then Gilroy asked, =^=Are you alone?=^=

Suresh frowned and nodded at Ed, silently urging to say yes.

“I’m in a good place to talk, yes. What’s up?” Edana wasn’t so sure she liked Gil’s question.

=^=It’s not looking good. The Takei was in pursuit when they came upon several life pods. There’s no debris from the ship, but... the warp signature ends right where the life pods were picked up. The crew said that the ship’s systems went haywire and Niro ordered them to abandon ship.=^=

Suresh leaned forward, “Then Six? Was she in one of those pods? Where is she?”

She held up her hand to silence Suresh. “The warp trail just ended? If there was no debris, then what? How does a ship just vanish? Who is on those life pods?”

=^=Ed! You said you were alone!=^= Gilroy growled. =^=The Takei is staying in the area, scanning for readings and trying to determine what happened. When they know more, they’ll set off in pursuit or return home. None of our people were in the life pods.=^=

“I see.” She let out a slow breath. “Have they done any subspace scans yet? When we had to send the Hammond after the Admiral and Captain Hawke, they left the same soft of vanishing trail when they crossed over. I don’t like entertaining such an idea but we may have to.”

Suresh, looking stricken, got up and began pacing the room.

=^=Ed...,=^= Gilroy’s tone had taken on a note of admonishment, =^=The Takei crew are experienced; they’re running every scan possible. If they’ve crossed over to another dimension... I’m going to nickname Darwin ‘Jinx’ when he gets back.=^=

Edana had to laugh at that. “Yeah, he’ll deserve it and I’ll be sure to tell him while we are on vacation. Consider that a formal request for a week off for him upon his return.” She appreciated Gil’s humor - it helped lighten her mood just a little.

=^=Don’t ever lie to me again, Ed,=^= Gilroy closed the commlink from his end.

“That’s it?” Suresh nearly shouted at her. “That can’t be it! Where is Six?”

“They don’t know yet, Suresh.” She kept her voice calm, hoping to prevent an explosion. “Try not to freak out yet please? If something weird has happened and they’ve crossed over or jumped time or something, we can get them back. We got you all back from an alternate universe, didn’t we? If it’s a time matter, we have one of the best here on the station. We should know more once they question Niro’s crew.”

“There’s a time agent on the Station? I thought those were just rumors.” The idea distracted him for just a moment. “Then let’s go get him and make him go back and stop Niro from taking Six and Darwin!”

“It’s a she, not a he and it doesn’t quite work that way.” He had a good point, however. She decided to check into that once she was away from Suresh. She stood and crossed over to Suresh, stopping him as he paced. “They’re doing everything they can and if they think she can help, they will pull her in. It’s late, Suresh. You’re exhausted and you need sleep. I’ll stay out here in case anything comes up. If it does, I’ll wake you, I promise.”

“I don’t think I can sleep,” he shook his head but caught the look she gave him. “Okay, I’ll go in, lie down and see if sleep comes.” He didn’t think it would, but headed for his and Six’s bedroom. He curled up on the bed with Six’s pillow crushed to his chest.

Ed leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, and watched. She hoped that his exhaustion, mixed with the whiskey, would take over. Several minutes later, his breathing grew shallow and regular as sleep took over. She covered him with the blanket that lay across the foot of the bed and returned to the living room. Tired or not, she knew that sleep was a long way off for her.

*******************
Vic
Seyla
Lt. Gilroy
Suresh
SCPO Edana