The Threat

Posted on Thu May 8th, 2014 @ 6:59pm by Captain Liarra Von & Commander Brian Ratchford & Ensign Corrine Steiner

Mission: Manhunt
Location: Holding Cells, SB332
Timeline: After "Pulled Back Among The Living"

ON:

The brig was at near capacity, morning after the solarian chase. None of its occupants were at all happy. By breakfast time, the crowd of Ferengi were chanting loudly, "WE WANT RIGHTS! WE WANT RIGHTS!" It seems that the uncivilized Federation were subjecting Ferengi to "in-hoomane" treatment. Even in Ferenginar isolation cells, prisoners still were provided with a stock ticker to watch the latest trades. But here? No stock ticker was nothing short of barbaric.

Major Beekman was probably most livid of all. Not only had he suffered the outrage of being thrown in the brig, the starbase commander had the audacity of not promptly meeting with him first thing in the morning. And the worst torture of all? He was locked in a cluster of cells packed with Ferengi. The brig guards had initially been chaffed by the major's arrogance. But now? They watched the situation with a degree of patient satisfaction.

Liarra stood near the brig officer's desk and monitored Beekman's activity. For now she was hidden from his view. She wanted to get a better idea about what she was dealing with. Her conversation with Steiner was enlightening, to say the least, but now she was ready to hear the major's side of the story, whether she liked it or not. After a few moments of watching him stew in his cell, Von patted the guards shoulder and made her way back to his holding cell, followed by Ratchford and ignoring the sounds of the Ferengi complaints. She stopped in front of Beekman just on the other side of the forcefield, not saying a word.

The guard, who had been quite happy to let the Ferengi packed into the other cells torment prisoner Beekman, activated audible privacy mode. The dull roar of little orange men yelling to capture Captain Von's attention now fell into complete silence. That didn't keep them, though, from jumping and waving antics behind their containments to attract attention.

The irate major approached with wide eyes, "It's about time! How dare you leave me locked up in a brig with all these Ferengi! Steiner's recapture and return is urgent! You have no right-"

Liarra cut him off with a wave of her hand. "I have every right. You beamed aboard my station unannounced and started firing a phaser, which you did not have permission to carry, in my operations center. Never mind the fact that I was talking her down. I had the situation under control." She paused a moment while she continued to size him up. "By the way, that crewman is going to make it, it case you wanted to know."

Beekman stared for a moment, deciding to change his tact. He calmed, "I am very glad to hear. It's fortunate when people can come through accidents like that. Now... Ensign Steiner. It is very important that she be taken back for legal processing as soon as possible. I'm sure you'll agree that she has caused enough chaos and disaster. You'll be well rid of her."

"Yeah, about that," Brian said from where he stood, just behind Von's right shoulder. "There's something I'd like you to explain to me. When you asked us for help locating the Ensign, you said that she was mentally ill. That she was delusional, and needed medical assistance before she became a danger to herself or others. That was all well and good, but there's one thing I still just don't get. When did Starfleet Intelligence get involved? Starfleet Medical would be handling the care of a patient like that, with Security to back them up. So what's your real interest in her?"

Beekman scowled. "I told you she was dangerous. Starfleet Medical didn't want to take the risk. And did you really want to trust one of those bumbling baffoons from security?"

Liarra didn't stir. "I was once one of those baffoons, Major. For an intelligence officer you really don't seem to be keeping up with your opponents. Now answer the question for real. What is your interest in her?"

Beekman looked dejected, and paused a moment before answering, possibly deciding how he wanted to answer. "Steiner had information that we needed to have back. That took precedence over her mental health."

"Right. She had information you wanted. You were going to get that information out of her and damn her health, Crewman Rossiter's health, or anyone else's health for that matter," Brian replied, making sure that he comments were sharp but restrained enough to prevent the appearance of Liarra losing control of the situation. "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if the information you wanted from her was the cause for her 'mental ill-health'," he finished, mimicking speech marks with his fingers as he paraphrased the intelligence officer.

"I'm pulling rank, Major, whether you like it or not." Von continued to stare him down with an icy glare. "She was captured in my jurisdiction and evaluated by my medical staff. We've decided that she needs help, and I have a feeling that she's not going to get that if she goes with you." She held up a hand as Beekman started to protest. "Complain all you want, but I've already cleared it with Cestus III. They're sending a ship to take her to a proper medical facility where she will be well taken care of."

The Major snarled. "You can't do that, Captain. You don't have the authority!"

"Apparently I do, because I already have. The ship will be here within the day. You'll be released as soon as they are safely on their way. And no, Major, I won't tell you the name of the ship or the name of the facility."

"So you're just going to leave me here, like a common criminal?" Beekman was becoming incensed.

"Only for a day. You break my laws, you pay the price."

"And what about Steiner? She broke plenty of your laws."

"She did. And she will serve her time as she gets the proper treatment. I don't think she was fully in control of her actions. Besides, she was alone and scared and being hunted. I think Starfleet will take that into consideration when it comes to her punishment."

Beekman narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. "You're going to regret interfering with me, Captain. I am not someone that you want to have on your bad side. I can make your life very difficult."

"Is that a threat, Major?" Liarra remained calm. "Look around you. My life is already very difficult. I doubt that you could do much worse. And don't think for an instant that I'm afraid of that grey collar of yours. It doesn't make you better than me. You think that you do what you do in defense of the Federation? Maybe so, but so do I. We're not that different, you and I. The only difference is that I care what happens to the people I'm protecting." Liarra started to turn away. "We'll be in touch, Major. I'll send someone for you when it's time for you to go. I'd like to say it's been fun. Then again, there are a lot of things I'd like to say."

Beekman slammed his fist against the forcefield, causing it to shimmer and sizzle. "This isn't over!" he shouted at the other two officers as they left the holding cells. "This is NOT the last time you'll hear from me!" He slammed his fist into the barrier again and retreated back to the cot. One way or another, he was going to make her pay for this humiliation.

OFF:

Captain Liarra Von
Commanding Officer
Starbase 332

Commander Brian Ratchford
Executive Officer
Starbase 332

Major Beekman [NPC]
Commanding Officer
USS Wolverine