Betrayal Of A Loved One

Posted on Wed Jan 20th, 2016 @ 4:36pm by Captain Li Hawke & Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin & IKS Ning'Tao

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Zikar's Guest Quarters

* Zikar’s Quarters *

Jarad’s expression was grim as he left the turbolift and hurried along the corridor, checking the numbers on the doors. He was getting close to the quarters number Isaura had given him and that he’d passed along to Drekkar. He rounded the corner and saw Drekkar just ahead, moving in the same direction. He called out, then stepped up his pace to catch up.

“Are you armed?” was Jarad’s first question.

Drekkar paused to let Jarad come even with him. “No, I thought going in with no weapon would give me a better chance of surviving this encounter,” his tone was dripping with sarcasm. He turned and kept walking.

“Ass,” Jarad muttered, but he smiled briefly. Drekkar’s sarcasm meant he had his head in the game and not with the prostitute Isa had sent him. He quickly filled him in on the situation as he knew it and finally they reached Zikar’s door. Jarad banged on it, bypassing the chime.

“Open the damn door!”

Drekkar waited silently next to Jarad, but his jaw dropped when the door opened and Isaura hissed, “Shh! Quiet down or you’ll wake the dead! Get in here.” She motioned them in then looked down the hallway both directions.

Following her orders, Drekkar hurried in, then turned and grabbed her, checking her over quickly. “This is all Kaeli’s blood?”

She nodded, lips pressed tightly together. “She’s not good, Jarad. In the bedroom,” she hurried to the other room, where Farak quickly rose from the bed and stepped back.

Jarad looked him over, then narrowed his eyes. “Farak. It’s been a long time. You were just a gopher last time I saw you. Sucking up to Zikar seems to be working for you.” He stepped past him and bent down to begin checking Kaeli. The tight set of his jaw told Isa and Drekkar all they needed to know.

“Jarad, if you need help, let me know. Drekkar, Farak, let’s go into the other room,” Isaura said, herding the two Cardassians out of the room.

Farak shot a hard look at Jarad, but he did as Isaura asked and moved along to the living room. He closed the door to the bedroom, then turned back to Isaura. “That man never gets any more pleasant, or less frightening.”

“I don’t know,” she replied, “I think it depends on whether you’re on his good side or not. You’re not, so you’re right to be afraid of him. I would be.”

Drekkar chuckled and drew her near to him. “Indeed, Farak. You have quite a bit to be afraid of right now. Even more if Kaeli doesn’t survive.” Isa squirmed, trying to avoid his hands in places they shouldn’t be, but didn’t say anything to him.

“Tell him your plan, Farak,” she said.

“Then let’s hope Jarad’s as good at saving lives as he is at taking them,” Fark snapped. “Alright, here’s the deal. Zikar has reservations at the Nexus for the evening. He likely won’t be home till after the late set. Some singer there that has gained his favor. Whatever. That means that you and Jarad need to be here when he gets in. We’ll get Isa and Kaeli out before he gets home. They were only a means of getting you and Jarad here anyway, so he should leave them be.” Farak suspected that he might have to do a lot of persuading to keep Zikar from going after them again but if things went well, he’d have more important issues to worry about.

“Maybe I should take Kaeli to the medbay,” she looked from Drekkar to Farak then to the bedroom door. “She’s not looking good.”

“Wait... you expect Jarad and me to just stay here with you? I’m not keen on being handcuffed or drugged or anything else, nor am I keen on just handing myself over to you,” Drekkar protested.

“I’m not done,” Farak growled. “The idea is to have you two escape... after Zikar has informed the council he has you. Then he’ll be forced to go back to them and admit he lost you. I have my own reasons for that. The short version is, you’ll be out by tomorrow. As for Kaeli, wait for Jarad.”

Drekkar stared at Farak for a moment then turned Isaura away from the man and hissed at her, “Did you swallow the same crazy pill he did? You can’t really think he’ll honor this, Isa!”

“And why wouldn’t he? I thought Cardies -- um, Cardassians were all about honor and integrity,” she replied, pulling his hand off of her hip.

“Honor and integrity amongst Cardassians, yes! But there’s neither here: he’s talking about betraying his boss, a legate, Isa. There’s no honor in doing that! And you think he’ll keep his word to us, or to you?” He shot a glare over his shoulder at Farak.

“Drekkar, shush. He had me call you here, he’s going to let me and Kaeli go. You know that she and I will make certain he holds to the rest of the bargain. It’s not like we’d let him make off with Jarad.”

Drekkar frowned at her, letting her feel his hurt. “Make off with Jarad. And if it were just me he wanted to make off with?”

She couldn’t look him in the eye. “That’s not the case, though.” She shook off his grasp and moved back towards Farak.

Drekkar moved as well. “I can’t speak for Jarad, but I’ll stay in Isa’s place.”

“Good.” Farak spared a glance to Isaura, but it held mostly contempt. “I’m glad you see reason.” He waved a hand at Isa. “You may go and do whatever it is you do.”

“I’ll wait for Kaeli,” Isa said, ignoring the wave of hateful feelings from Farak. She stepped towards the bedroom, “I’m going to check on those two.”

In the bedroom, she quietly said, “Jarad? How is she? I could take her to the medbay.”

Jarad looked up as Isa entered, worry etched into his face. “I am going to find whoever did this and kill him,” he vowed. “This was no small thing, whoever it was knew exactly what he was about. Zikar wanted revenge on both of us pure and simple. Hold this clamp.” He passed her the handle of the clamp that held back Kaeli’s skin from the incision. The painstaking practice with needle and thread was serving him well as he began to stitch, his focus laser-sharp.

She held the clamp in place and avoided looking at the work Jarad was doing. Instead, she looked at Kaeli, who was pale and sweating. “But she’ll be okay?”, she asked, worriedly.

“I’ll let you know in a few minutes. I need to get this bleeding stopped, then we can get her moved to one of the medbays without killing her. I don’t have the tools for this much reconstruction. Can you read Farak? Find out who held the knife? And where he might be?” Jarad grunted as he tied off the thread. “Then you and I have a job to do once I get out of here.”

“I already know who did this,” she answered. “Farak doesn’t realize I’m part Betazoid, so he’s unguarded around me. He might think I’m an idiot because of my nose ridges, but at least i don’t discount people without knowing more about them.” She hesitated then added, “You know you’re staying here while I take her to the medbay, right?”

“I’m...what?” Jarad looked up at Isa only a second, then relieved her of the clamp. “How do you plan to convince me to do that?”

“If you don’t stay, I can’t take Kaeli out of here,” Isa said, picking up a small towel and gently wiping Kaeli’’s forehead. “Farak has a plan to discredit Zikar. The plan involves letting Zikar ‘capture’ you and Drekkar, let him report to the Council that he has you, then you two escape. By then, Kaeli will be fine; she and I will make sure that Farak holds up his end of this bargain.”

“What did Drekkar say?” he asked. As he spoke, he pulled two long strips of tape off a roll, then covered the wound with gauze. “This is going to hurt, my love,” he murmured, and began to wrap the tape around Kaeli. She moaned aloud as he lifted her slightly.

Isa concentrated on helping Kaeli for a long moment. “He.. uh... he’s going to stay here.” She didn’t look at Jarad as she answered him.

“Very well, though I’d rather be with Kae. However, if it will cause problems for Zikar, it will be worthwhile.” He lowered Kaeli back down to the bed. “Give me your padd Isa.”

“Hang on,” she hurried to the other room then came back, “Farak took it when he brought me here. Here it is.” She handed it over.

Jarad quickly recorded his diagnosis, the cause of the wound, and what steps he had taken to stabilize her. “Give this to the doctor, it will save time when you get there.” He leaned down to press a kiss to Kaeli’s forehead and murmured something softly at her ear. “When I get out there, have the computer do an emergency transport. Call me as soon as you know something.”

“Okay...,” Isa started to agree, but Farak spoke up. “They can’t beam out of here. That’ll lead security right back here. Isaura, two of our men will help you to the Sickbay. Others will be here to secure Drekkar and Jarad.”

Jarad growled, not happy with that news. “Very well. They will need to keep her torso as immobile as possible. She needs to go now. Call them.” When Farak turned away to summon his men, Jarad pressed a hypospray into Isa’s hand. “In case things get weird,” he whispered. “This’ll give you time to get away.”

“Press it against the skin?”, she asked.

“Yes, it will take down a Klingon in full rage.” He rested his hand on her shoulder. “Call me. Now get going.”

“I’ll get her there,” Isa assured Jarad as two men came in with a litter. She could see several others in the living room now. “Well.. you could put up a fight, now.” Impulsively, she kissed Drekkar’s cheek before she, the two men with the litter and Kaeli left the quarters.

**************
Jarad
Drekkar
Isaura Panossian
Kaeli

Farak