Payment for Trackers, Finale

Posted on Tue May 17th, 2016 @ 6:33pm by Isaura Panossian & Rafael Hernandez & Kaeli
Edited on on Tue May 17th, 2016 @ 6:43pm

Mission: Further Challenges

* Sickbay *

“And what if I demand you strip so that I can run this scan?” Patch held a tricorder in one hand; the other was on his hip as he glared at Kaeli. “C’mon, bare it.”

“Fine.” Kaeli shed the skirt and tank top she wore, leaving her only in her underwear. “Check closely. Inner thighs especially,” she ordered.

His grin turned into a leer. “Meticulously, mon capitan,” he said. He turned the tricorder on and, with an unnecessary amount of touching, began scanning her. “It’d help to know what I’m looking for here.”

“A Cardassian tracking chip,” she answered. “And watch your hands, hippie.”

“I see your Cardassian trusts you about as much as you warrant,” Patch said, alternating his gaze from the tricorder to her skin. After a moment, the device beeped. “Got one,” he said, marking the spot and moving on. “Where there’s one, there’s usually another. What about the Bajoran?”

Kaeli sighed, then spoke aloud. “Computer, open a channel to Isaura.”

Several muffled sounds came across the comm before Isa cursed and managed, “Wh...wha..? What the hell do you want, Kae?”

“Get to sickbay now, Isa. It’s important. Kae out.” She frowned as she looked back at Patch. “Any more in me?”

He nodded and put a finger on the first letter of Jarad’s name on her thigh. “Cute of him Maybe he thought you wouldn’t let anyone this close.”

“I see.” Kaeli’s voice was sharp enough to cut. “Keep checking. Can you remove that one without damaging the tat?”

“You sure you don’t want the tattoo removed altogether?” When he saw the glare she turned on him, he added, “He placed the tracker without damaging it, we can get it out.”

A moment later, as he was working to remove the easier placement, Isaura rushed in. “Kaeli? Are you hurt?” She blinked at Kae’s lack of clothing. “Ah... what’s going on?”

“Guess,” Kaeli answered from the biobed. “Remember those chips we had removed?”

“Well, shit. He said he wouldn’t do that again! Didn’t he?” Isa winced as she looked at Patch’s work. “Besides, I haven’t been around Drekkar enough that he could tag me without me knowing.”

“Well, he did. How many are we up to now Patch?” Kaeli asked. She was almost vibrating she was so angry but trying to keep still so Patch could work.

“Two. I’m removing the first right now,” he pulled a bloody chip out and tossed it aside. “We’ll scan you next, Bajoran,” he said dismissively.

“Don’t call me that,” Isa growled. “Give me the tricorder,” she swiped it from him and continued scanning Kaeli. “So they’ll know we’re not on Archadia like my message says. Well, shit.”

“We’ve been gone long enough he’d get worried and likely checked the tracker,” Kaeli agreed. “At least until we entered the wormhole. He’ll figure that out too. Which means he had likely called already.”

“We’ll deal with it when he catches up to us.” Isa paused then suggested, “Should we really do this, Kae? Rafe pointed out that this paves the way for Drekkar to have more power again. What happens then? It’s not like you could go back to Cardassia as Jarad’s kept woman.”

“I have no intentions of going back to Cardassia as anything,” Kaeli answered. “Rafael’s right though. It could out him in Boroca’s place but look at it this way - it will get him out of your hair. He’ll know what we did but his part in it would ruin him. He wants to start telling secrets, I have plenty so we should be safe. As I said to him earlier today, he and I both hold a sword over each other’s heads.”

“Fine,” Isa cursed as the tricorder beeped, indicating a third tracker. “Guess he wanted to make sure you didn’t get lost,” she commented.

Kaeli was silent for several seconds as Patch carefully removed the tracker from beneath her tattoo. “I am going to call him as soon as Patch is done here. I have no idea yet what I am going to say, Isa. At least what I can say that is polite.”

“Yeah, choice words,” Isa nodded. She finished scanning Kaeli then turned the device on herself. “If I find any on me, we’re going to head back so I can skin one of those two.”

Kaeli rolled over so Patch could remove the third chip. “Does he not trust me? Or is he that afraid of losing me to some danger or the other? I’m trying to see it from his point of view but not doing so well at that yet.”

Patch answered that: “Remember that Cardassians love their families. If he sees you two as his...,” he shrugged.

Isa shared a look with Kaeli but held her tongue.

“Maybe, but we had a discussion about this and he agreed…..” She fell silent, looking up at Patch.

He looked at her then back to his work, “He agreed?”

Isa sighed and put a hand on Kaeli’s arm. He agreed?

Kaeli nodded. “Yes,” she said to both. “He promised not to implant any more and he’s never broken a promise to me. Not ever.” She picked up on Isa’s sudden concern. “Why?”


“Oh, I thought you weren’t going to complete that statement because of the Cardassian in the room,” Isa said. “Who knows, maybe Drekkar did this.”

“When? Drekkar hasn’t been that close to me either that I know of except on the trip home from DS9. I need to talk to Jarad. How much longer Patch?” she asked.

“Couple of minutes. Are you tagged as well, Isa?”

“No, it seems I’m not. Just you, Kae; you’re special,” she smiled and patted her arm. “Just wait till I tell Jarad what a compromising position he put you in.”

“Oh, let me,” Kaeli replied. “I can’t wait to describe it. You want to watch Isa? The conversation I mean, not my compromising position.” She winked at Patch.

“Oh, definitely,” Isa smiled, nodding. “I can get him on the console in here.”

“Do it.” Kaeli smiled and Patch shot Isa a concerned look. “Don’t worry, Hippie. I’ll keep you out of it except for medical purposes.” She took the blanket that was folded beneath her head and covered her bare upper body. “Alright Isa, ready.”

Isa made the connection, smiling at Jarad as he answered. “Hey there! Just touching base with you. We’re doing good.”

Jarad did not look at all happy. “Where are you and where is Kaeli?”

“You mean you don’t know?” Kaeli piped up, still lying on the biobed. “I’m in a sickbay at the moment having three chips removed.”

He drew in a slow breath, his irritation radiating off of him. Isa had no doubt she’d want to leave the room if she were in the same room he was in at the moment. “I see,” Jarad said coldly. “Three. You were persistent. Tell me where the hell you’re off to.”

“So you did do it?” Kaeli snapped. “You promised Jarad. You’ve never broken a promise to me, ever. Why??” She didn’t answer his question however. “Tell me!”

Patch quietly finished his task and looked at the Cardassian on the console. They made eye contact. “Who is he?”, Jarad demanded, “Isaura! Give me answers.”

“Ah... no, not until you give us some answers,” Isa said.

He closed the comm in a fit of pique.

“Hey!” Isa shouted at the blank comm. “Shit,” she worked to reestablish the link.

It took a few minutes but then Jarad appeared back on the screen. “What?”

“Don’t do that!” Isa admonished him. “Now, why did you tag Kaeli again? Don’t trust us?”


He frowned. “I don’t trust Drekkar,” he looked past Isa at the Cardassian, “or other Cardassians. The trackers ensure that I can find you if someone were to send you away.”

Isa looked at Kaeli then stepped towards Patch. “If you’re done, get out.” He smirked but left sickbay.

“That makes two of us then. I don’t trust Drekkar either.” Kaeli muttered softly. “Who do you think would take me away? Him? Have you spoken to him today?”

“I have. He swore no involvement in your departure,” Jarad said. “Where are you? I have the feeling you’re headed for Cardassia.”

“Why would you think that?” she countered. “We just left there. And that Cardassian with his hands all over me is one of Suresh’s men. He’s a medic, just FYI. As for Drekkar, he’s already tried putting his hand on my thigh and sweet-talking me. Does he know we are gone?”

“Yes, he does. He’s gearing up the ship to head after you. He said you tried hitting on him.”

Isa lifted a brow and looked at Kaeli; her opinion didn’t need expression.

“Did you believe that? Please. I’d run off with Suresh before I’d hit on Drekkar.” But then the rest of what he’d said registered. “Wait. He’s getting the ship ready to pursue us? Oh shit. Isa, he cannot do that.”

“I know that!” Isa turned toward Jarad and said, “You have to stall him, please! We’re on a job. We’ll be fine, but it isn’t something you and Drekkar can interfere with.”

“Isa,” Jarad had a warning tone in his voice. “What are you doing?”

She sighed. “We’re off to see the wizard. Stay where you are.”

“Kaeli?” He looked past her. “Who is the wizard?”

“No one you need to worry about right now. I promise.” It was a flat out lie but it rolled easily off her tongue. “Suresh just offered us a decent amount to do a run for him but it was a last-minute thing, that’s all. We’ll be fine.” She frowned suddenly. “Keep Drekkar there. Tell him you found us and we’re just on a short run. Convince him. As for us, we have some things to hash out once I get home. Like you chipping me and not telling me.”

Jarad now had someone else to ask about this trip. He nodded. “I’ll keep him here, but we’ll all have a serious discussion once you get back. Isa, it’s on you to bring her back safely.”

“Don’t lay this on her,” Kaeli interjected. “We’ll talk when I get home.” Her voice was rough with emotion. “Rafael’s with us too so you have no need to worry.”

“Oh, yes, that’s terribly comforting,” he replied drolly.

“Hey! He’s good at what he does. Plus, Zarv is along, too,” Isa spoke up.

“That does give me more comfort. We’ll see you in a few days.” He closed the channel.

Kaeli sighed and turned to Isa. “Let’s hope he can keep Drekkar settled down. That’s the last thing we need. I have to calm down before we get home too so I don’t wring his neck.” She sat up and brushed back her hair. “Toss me my shirt?”

She did, once she found it. “So... tattoo, huh? Jarad’s name in Cardassian?”

“Yeah. He did it himself back just before I was taken off Cardassia.” Kaeli pulled her shirt on, then continued. “He wanted to make sure that whatever happened, anyone who saw it would know I belonged to….to the Butcher. It was a way of making sure that people kept their hands off.”

“Oh.” Isa nodded and looked away. She knew exactly what sort of protection that offered. “Okay, I’m off to finish what I started with Rafe. He does not appreciate sudden emergencies.”

“Apologize for me? I’m going to find Patch. I need to talk to him.”

“Yeah, I’ll give him a special apology,” Isa nodded and headed out.

Kaeli slipped off the biobed and was just pulling on her skirt when Patch re-entered. “Hey, I was about to come looking for you, Hippie.”

“Yeah? Want some payback on Jarad for him being an ass?”

A smile appeared briefly on Kaeli’s face “Later. First, we have to initiate the cloak on this ship. We may have a pursuer….possibly. It depends on whether Jarad can settle down Drekkar.” She rested her hands on Patch’s chest. “I wanted to say thank you for getting rid of the chips too. You did good.”

“I know a way you can thank me. Jarad never needs to know.” He moved to put his arms around her. “And then we’ll get the cloak put up.”

“We talked to Jarad. He says Drekkar is all in a frenzy and planning to pursue us because he still has this big thing for Isa and still fancies her as his. You get the idea. So, we're being careful and Jarad’s going to try and keep him on 900. As for Jarad? He will be lucky if I don’t strangle him when I get home. The chips were his.” She pressed closer to Patch. “So, he is going to suffer a little.”

Patch had the idea he was the one getting lucky. He grinned and pressed her back against the exam bed. “Suffer a little? I’m happy to be an instrument of his suffering.”

“Good. Computer lock the door.”

* Bridge *

Isa, feeling pretty relaxed, settled into the captain’s chair and turned to smile at Rafe. “I’ll sleep well tonight,” she yawned. “Now... let’s figure out how to set the cloaking device.”

Behind them the lift door opened to soft laughter and Kaeli stepped out, followed by Patch. She seemed a little breathless and her long curls were in disarray. “I can do that. The cloak I mean.” She moved to a console and began tapping the panel.

Isa caught a mental impression from the two of them; her jaw dropped. “Oh, well... good.” She looked at Rafe then Patch, catching him grinning like a fool. “Oh... you can not ever be around Jarad.”

“Jarad shouldn’t have pissed off his very beautiful woman,” Patch said. “But idiots will idiot. Right, human?” He slapped Rafe on the shoulder and took his place at the helm.

Rafael grumbled at him, then shook his head. “You should listen to Isa. Jarad’s not a telepath but he’d recognize your look a light year away. How long do you want to live?”

“He is a light year away, at least,” Patch waved away the concern. “By the time we’re back at the Station, this look will have faded.”

“Better have,” Isa muttered and looked over at Kaeli.

Kaeli raised her eyebrow at Isa. What? I’m supposed to be all prim and proper? Me? Besides, Patch won’t be around Jarad once we’re home anyway.

Isa laughed and shook her head. “Sorry, Kaeli. Guess I was ...ah... applying a double standard. You can be as wild as you like.”

That got a snicker from Patch, who appeared to welcome Isa’s words. “Good.”

Kaeli shot him a look before addressing the bridge at large. “Maybe I will be. Jarad doesn't own me after all.” She jabbed at the panel before her to adjust the ship’s cloak, then crossed her arms with a huff.

Rafael looked over to Isa, doing his best to hide a smile. “It may be a rough homecoming,” he murmured.

Grinning at him, Isa whispered, “Wanna be rough? We don’t have to wait. Our homecoming will be smooth and easy. It’s everything in between that worries me.”

“Me too. This is going to be some sort of record if we pull it off. If anything happens to her, he will go supernova,” Rafael muttered.

“I heard that,” Kaeli informed him from her console. “We’ll clear this wormhole in an hour, by the way. Anyone on sensors Hippie?”


“No, unless you’re worried about the slow-ass freighter coming our way from the Beta Quadrant,” Patch informed them.

“Scan it for Cardassian life forms,” Rafael instructed. “Just in case.”

“It’s a bunch of humans,” Patch replied. “Couple of other species, but humans are the majority. Non-Fleet; the transponder reads as ‘Siegfried Enterprises’.”

“Good.” Kaeli stood and smoothed her skirt. Isa, can we talk for a sec? Ready room?

“Hey, boys, we’ll be right back,” Isa stood and joined Kaeli in the ready room. “What?”

“Are you okay with this?” Kaeli asked. “Once we leave the wormhole, we’ll have just a few days to Cardassia. If Drekkar won’t stay home, he could catch up, given that ship he has.”

“So? Boroca needs to be dealt with, doesn’t he? I’m willing to let sleeping dogs lie and all that, even with what Suresh is paying us. Are you doubting this, Kae?”

“Only because of you. Patch still has friends there and I was right. You are on Boroca’s ‘to be eliminated’ list. If Drekkar even thinks we’re going there, he won’t wait. Do you think he’d warn Boroca?” Kaeli asked. “Not about you but about me to distract him?”

“Do you know how long I’ve been on his list?”, Isa rolled her eyes. “I’m not real concerned about that. Will Jarad tell Drekkar where we’re off to? If he doesn’t, then we’re good. But we’ll also still beat Drekkar to Cardassia, so he can’t stop us. Granted, he can call Boroca. He’d likely warn him about you, leaving me and Patch and Rafe to dispatch him.”

“Then we do it. Those beasts have taken Nyyar twice against her will and forced her into a life she never would have chosen. He won’t stop till he has her back and away from Eldren. You and I both know what that’s like. She was never meant for this sort of life. This has to end.”

“Killing Boroca will end it for Nyyar. What of the others like her?” Isa brooded on that a moment, looking at the viewport showing streaks of light flashing past. She looked over her shoulder at Kaeli. “Yeah, I know, that’s way beyond the scope of what we can do. Can’t save everyone, etc., etc.”

“Will killing Boroca end it for you?” Kaeli asked softly.

“Who says it hasn’t ended for me?” She sighed and shrugged.

Kaeli tapped the side of her head. “I know. This is sorta about Nyyar but you’re the real reason I agreed to do this. It’s stupid and dangerous and extremely risky but we’ll manage it. Are you going down to the planet with me when we get there?”

“Of course. Someone needs to watch your reckless back,” she smiled. “We could gain access by claiming you’re selling me to Boroca. Rift between friends, blah blah blah. He’d likely jump at that.”

Kaeli nodded. “I’m taking Patch down too. He’ll be out of sight with a very big weapon, just in case. As for Boroca, all I need to do is touch a spot of bare skin. He’ll be dead within two minutes. It will look like a heart attack, which will slow down any strikes back at anyone.”

“That’s a keen power,” Isa joked. “One touch, death follows. Don’t accidentally touch yourself. You know that Rafe will probably want to go; I’d rather he stayed here, ready to beam us out if there’s a problem. We could take Joe.”

“Joe yes. With him and Patch there, we can get you out without a scratch.” Kaelia laughed briefly. “As for that power, I’m not that good. I’ll be using a Felodesine chip. You know, the old tried-and-true Romulan poison. It will be out of his system long before they find him. We should be in and out in under ten minutes.”

“‘Kay,” Isa nodded. “Sounds like a plan. We have a couple of days till then... I’m sure you’ll enjoy your Patch during those days. I’m going to go haul Rafael off to take advantage of him multiple times.”

“We’ll cover the Bridge and I’ll wake up Joe in a bit to take over. We’ll call when it’s time for your shift. And….if Jarad calls? I’m not available.”

“No worries, I’ll handle him,” Isa smiled and headed out to the bridge. “Rafe,” she nodded towards the lift.

Rafael looked over the two women as they emerged from the ready room. He’d spent a lot of time at close quarters with them and had learned to read them both well. Both seemed a bit more settled to him and he nodded. “Later Kae.” He turned and followed Isa into the lift.

Kaeli watched them go, then moved down to settle in beside Patch where he sat in the captain’s chair. “Joe will relieve us in a couple of hours.”

“Wonderful,” Patch muttered, looking at his console. “That freighter passed us by without an issue. We’re twenty minutes out from leaving the wormhole.”

“Then it’s straight on to Cardassia. We’re sending Joe down to be the other backup with you. I want to get in out out, ten minutes tops. If all goes well, no one will ever know we were there.”

“Ambitious,” he commented. “I hope you’re right as well.” He turned to look at her. “We could just beam the Bajoran down, let him have her. You know that he tortured her? He tends to like to repeat his experiences.”

“I know exactly what he did to her,” Kaeli answered. “She’s a large part of the reason I’m going through with this, in addition to Nyyar’s situation. The one who tried to break me is gone, now Isa’s nightmare will be too.” She looked intently at Patch now. “I need to tell you one thing.” She reached out and slipped her hands in his. “Threaten Isa once more and it will be the last thing you do. That’s my one condition.”

“What is she to you? Half-sister? You’re awfully loyal to her,” he said.

“Not by blood, no, but she and I survived a time on Cardassia that would give you nightmares.” She stroked his hand gently. “I look out for her and I suppose I am a little over-protective but that’s how it is. I...I owe her a lot, something I have to make up for that I don’t want to go into.”

“Fine, whatever. It’s your thing and I won’t suggest leaving her behind again,” Patch said, turning back to his console. “I’m laying the course for after the wormhole. Your friend Joe will just need to sit here and not touch anything.”

“He’ll be fine, he’s a good flyer. Once he’s here we should get some sleep. Rafael’s taking over after Joe so we’ll have time. I’m not taking any calls for the foreseeable future.” She turned to look at the main viewer where the end of the wormhole was visible.

“Don’t worry, I can make the time without calls well worth it,” he smirked, confident in his own abilities.

***************
Cap’n Isaura Panossian
Kaeli
Patchouli
Jarad
Rafael Hernandez