Don't Kill the Messenger
Posted on Wed Dec 12th, 2012 @ 10:23pm by El'Shar Blackhorse & Admiral Lucius Hawke
Mission:
The Struggle Within
Location: Decks 11 & 12 - VIP Quarters
Timeline: Current
El’Shar had gotten settled into her quarters and both she and Lt. O’Donnell were surprised to see that the latter had also been assigned VIP quarters on the same level. “I guess your rank has its privileges,” Marie had said with a smile as she enjoyed the space of her temporary lodging. “I should hang out with you more often!”
“Temporary quarters,” El’Shar reminded her. “It won’t always be like this. And I’m sure Commander Sakkath wouldn’t have given either of us VIP lodging if things weren’t as they were. Technically I don’t even qualify for it, but I won’t argue. He has enough on his plate right now.”
“I won’t say anything, then, if you won’t,” Marie winked and disappeared into her bedroom. “Holy...look at this bed!”
El’Shar laughed. “Yeah, they are pretty sizeable. Listen, I still have to find Admiral Hawke to deliver this message from Starfleet. I’ll find you later and we can go find someplace to eat on the Promenade. Working dinner, by the way.”
“Damn. And here I thought we may get the evening off.” Marie flopped onto the bed.
Blackhorse stopped in her quarters long enough to freshen up her uniform, pick up the official data PADD from Starfleet Operations and queried the computer for Hawke’s location on the base.
Deck 11, VIP Quarters the computer advised.
“One deck up,” she said. “Easy enough.”
* * * Deck 11 -- Vice Admiral Hawke’s Quarters * * *
She’d hit the chime once and waited outside the door. One time that you never got impatient was with an admiral, especially when visiting his quarters unannounced. But she was given strict orders to deliver the PADD to him immediately upon arrival. Of course, a meeting with the acting base CO and finding her quarters would be forgivable, especially because Starfleet Operations wasn’t out here in the Delta Quadrant. As a matter of fact, the highest ranking Starfleet representative out here was Hawke.
The door opened and a very beautiful woman answered the door.
“I’m sorry for the intrusion, ma’am,” El’Shar began, “but I was looking for Vice Admiral Hawke? Is he available?”
“Please, come in.” The woman, who had striking red hair, stood aside to let El’Shar enter. “I’m Aia Rios Hawke, the Admiral’s wife. Have a seat and I’ll send him out. He’s just looking in on the baby.” She indicated the sofa and chairs in the living room, then vanished into another room.
“A baby,” El’Shar thought with a smile. Her ultimate goal was to have a family and settle down. If a working Admiral could do it, she was sure she could as well. Walking to one of the chairs she’d been prompted toward she began to be seated, but stopped. She’d have to stand again anyway once the Admiral came in. As she looked around his quarters she wondered how long they had been in the Delta Quadrant. The room was decorated nicely as if this were their permanent home. Another smile crossed her lips as the Admiral came into the room.
Lucius appeared and smiled as he reached El’Shar. “Captain Blackhorse. Welcome to Starbase 900. I was informed you had arrived to investigate the disappearances. Please have a seat.”
“Thank you, Admiral,” she said and took the seat as offered. “I’ve already reported to Commander Sakkath and he’s given me all of the information I require, I just need to start the investigation itself. I’m sorry to hear about the disappearance of the personnel. Were you close with Admiral Wegener or Commander...” She paused as she finally made the connection. “Oh, no. Is Commander Hawke related to you in some way? I only just now noticed the last names.”
“My daughter. The youngest, actually. Well she was until six months ago.” Lucius’ smile faded and he looked tired as it did. “From what was seen in Admiral Wegener’s office, it was a disruptor misfire that caused several rifts to appear and pulled them through. My aide was in that office moments after the event. She described part of a water glass she was carrying simply vanishing. The office has been sealed, for the obvious safety reasons.”
The deep red of embarrassment crawled across her face. “Admiral, I apologize, I didn’t make the connection. But I didn’t have their names until I received the current files from your Commander Sakkath earlier.” She wanted to crawl under a rock. “But from what I have read so far, the science teams are doing everything possible to try and get them back. While bringing someone else from their side over isn’t a great thing, it does mean that getting them back is definitely possible.”
Deciding to quickly change the subject before making even more of a fool of herself she pulled the PADD out and looked at it. It was a secure PADD and couldn’t be accessed by anyone, not even other admiralty members, except Admiral Hawke. It had remained lifeless and would until he entered his own code. “I’ve been ordered to give you this, sir. It comes from Starfleet Operations for your eyes only.”
“Oh?” That surprised him and he took it, glancing at the blank face. “Thank you Captain. As for the investigation, you can find Commander Leroy in the science center. It’s my understanding he’s basically living there until this is solved.” He laid the padd on the coffee table, then turned his attention back to El’shar.
“I will do so, sir. I was a science officer before being assigned to Temporal. I thought I may even have a good look at the data he’s compiled, but he’s sure to have had much more practice by now than I.” She tried to say something comforting, but she couldn’t come up with anything. “I would also like to interview the female that came through from the other side. She may not know any of the specifics on how she got here but there may be some clues in her experience that could help us get ours--yours, back safely.”
“Commander Leroy is overseeing her, so he can make the arrangements. I’m sure he’d be glad of the extra hands as well. If there is anything else you need, just let us know.”
She stood, knowing how to tell when a meeting with an Admiral is over. “Thank you, sir. And, again, my apologies for the mix up.” He gave her a half-smile and stood as well, to see her to the door. “If you don’t mind my asking, Admiral...how old is your baby?”
“Just going on six months now.” His smile returned finally. ‘It’s been an enlightening journey so far. I’ve not had little ones for thirty years now.”
“A six month old,” she repeated and got quiet a moment. “Ah, sorry, Admiral,” she said, finally snapping back into reality. “I’ve just been thinking about a family myself, lately.” She stopped herself. “Never mind. Probably too much information.” She nodded. “Admiral, I will keep you informed of how the investigation progresses. And thank you for seeing me with no notice.”
“Anytime, Captain. I hope it’s wrapped up soon and we have them back here. Two we will be thrilled to see home. The other is facing prosecution on too many counts to name. Good luck to you. And my aide is Ensign Sarkozi. If you need anything at all, contact her.”
“I will, sir.” She smiled again, hoping to leave him on a high note but having his own daughter as a victim to this incident that would possibly be a miracle. As she walked down the corridor she mumbled. “Idiot. Hawke and Hawke. Who the hell misses something like that? Not like it’s Smith or Jones.” With a roll of her eyes she walked into the turbolift and smacked her forehead against the wall.
Once El’Shar was gone, Lucius returned to the sofa and sat down, reaching for the pad. Such communications weren’t unusual, but having it sent this far with an officer instead of via subspace definitely wasn’t the norm. He entered his code, then began to read as the padd came to life and the message appeared. He sat, staring at it, not sure at first if he was reading what he thought he was. He re-read it again, then locked the padd back down. The screen was once more blank as Lucius sat, staring across at nothing and considering it. He now had yet one more compelling reason to get Ricky and Li home.
*******************
Vice Admiral Lucius Hawke
Keeping The Words Under Lock And Key...For Now
Captain El’Shar Blackhorse
Doesn’t Know Captain Obvious...
