If you have a problem, if no one else can help
Posted on Sat Dec 7th, 2019 @ 7:41am by Lieutenant Elen Diari
Edited on on Sat Dec 7th, 2019 @ 11:41pm
1,513 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Episode 8 - The Silence
Location: After 11
Timeline: MD002 2230 hrs
El was making her way back to engineering from finally getting round to the deflector upgrade she'd been wanting to do for days, when she got hit by what could only be described as a phaser shot of sadness coming from After 11.
Making her way to the bar, she saw Richard sitting there "Ricky, What's wrong, Honey?"
Richard looked up towards Elen's voice, away from the glass he was staring at or more precisely threw. His thoughts were getting away from him, something he was trying to prevent and the glass of brandy. The physician had hardly touched it though the wine in his quarters wasn't helping much.
T'Rish had also been tremendous. She had spent hours with him as he dealt with grief and loss but expecting her not to do her job and to bear so much emotion didn't seem fair to her.
The man's pale blue eyes spoke volumes even without his words but they came. "El," Richard spoke in a quiet voice offering a faint smile, "I thought everyone knew by now." He drew in a breath and motioned for her to have a seat if she wished, "I believe you know that I'm bonded to three women, or at least was, Adibah' has been murdered and my daughter Abigail has been taken."
El went over and just hugged him "I'm sorry, so, so sorry. Where were they? Back on Empok, or home?"
"Empok," Richard said as he released her from the hug. He furrowed his brow drew in a deep breath, "what makes it worse is we have had a really hard time communicating with the base and so I know little more than that."
"I know, tried to contact the new Quartermaster, Stacey, he's an old friend of mine from Spacedock, wanted to see how he's settling in, couldn't connect." El Replied "Hope it's not connected."
She stood there thinking for a minute, "I'm going to try something, hopefully will get through."
"Computer. Connect to Relay station 310, send a test signal and response time. then relay that to Empok Nor, and repeat"
The computer chirped " Test signal one complete- ping five four six milliseconds. Test signal two timed out, repeating. test signal two timed out."
"Do you want me to keep trying ?" Elen asked.
"Security has been trying," Richard said with a sigh, "but if you would, please." He drew in a deep breath and nodded, "you don't have to right now but from time to time, you may have better luck.
Elen looked at Richard, he was what she could only describe as broken. She was an engineer, she fixes broken things. A thought struck her.
"Ricky, I'm about to break a metric ton of rules right now, but I promise you, you WILL get Abigail back, and knowing who I'm about to call, probably the heads of who took her- whether they're attached to their bodies, well, depends, on the mood."
Richard's eyes widened and he was about to protest but didn't. He wanted Abigail back, more than anything and for the moment at least, with communication with Empok nor down and his daughter in danger, it seemed the logical thing to do.
She went over to the wall console, looked around, and then took her necklace off, holding it to the screen. A screed to text and symbols ran down the screen too fast to read until a Starfleet arrowhead appeared.
"Authorisation Diari-3-6-emerald. Passcode. Claymore. Priority Zero. I repeat priority Zero. " She held her breath as the computer processed.
The screen filled with a pale white man, dark brown hair, and what could be described nicely, as an attempt at a beard in a starfleet uniform.
"Ele, What's up ? " the man seemed shocked at the call.
"Jon. Need you and the guys at Empok Nor as soon as- Murder and kidnapping, literally a kid- Don't care how, just get her back." She explained.
"That's the father there, want to talk ?" El pointed back at Richard.
The physician sat there stunned not knowing exactly what was happening or what to say, he just looked at El in disbelief and then downed the whole sniffer of brandy in one gulp feeling the burn as the ruddy liquid went down.
"Hello. I'm Jon Grant, Starfleet Scientific Operations Clandestine Division, My team and I are at your disposal, and are here to help. Well, in about twenty minutes we'll be there." Jon explained.
Richard nodded as he listened and saw the image of the man, "I do appreciate your help sir, "My daughter is Abigail Boston, she's only seven and was taken while on a school outing. The woman was Adibah' Vah'hassi, the assistant Azzian Ambassador and a woman I was bonded to." He still looked worried but there was a hint of determination in his voice, "I can think of three possibilities but the one that seems most logical at the moment are the Cardassians, they have some sort of disagreement with the Azzians and were preparing to begin talks on Empok nor."
The man fell silent as he pondered what else to say, "we've lost contact with the starbase but I do know that Security is aware of the situation."
Jon grabbed a pencil from his desk and wrote all that down "Yeah, I know archaic, but it's how I remember things." he smiled "So, we'll get in touch with security when we get there, to see if they have any evidence or leads. I'm sorry for your loss of your bondmate, but I promise we'll get your daughter back, I swear on my own son's life."
Elen was surprised, "Wow, Johnny. That's a bit excessive isn't it? Swearing on Saraan."
Richard glanced at Elen for a moment then looked back at the man on the screen, "thank you, John," he said with a determined nod,
"You're very welcome, we're warming up the engines now. El, can you help, sorry, I didn't catch your name, even if it's just a shoulder to cry on, until we get this sorted." Johnston answered
"Sure. First thing first, no more brandy." Elen snatched the bottle "Alcohol is never the solution- Shut it chemist-boy", glancing back to the screen.
Richar's eyes shot open as the woman took in drink, "you are correct, of course." He drew in a deep breath and looked over at the screen, "I'm Doctor Richard Ballston, my daughter is Abigail. We are Azzian so a simple DNA test will more than verify she's mine seeing there are so few of my species anywhere near this sector."
"Azzian called Ballston ? Any relation to Neal at Starfleet Med Pharmacy lab ?" Jon asked, remembering an old friend.
Johnston looked away from the screen to someone El couldn't see. He handed the sheet of paper over to them, waiting for an answer.
"Jamie's giving me the nod El, once we're going, he'll call the JAG office, and get their help too. Richard, I know this is pointless to say, but don't worry, we'll get this sorted- Abigail will be back with you before you know it, just don't let Elen teach her too many curse words." Johnston tried to assure the doctor.
Richard tilted his head, "to my knowledge I have no relatives attending the academy or by the name of Neal." He offered a faint smile, "it's a long story."
"Fair enough, he's an old friend of the family, works for Grandma, owe him a lot of favours, thought this might count as one, no matter" Jon sighed. "Right, crew's on board, time to go brief them, Anything else we need to know before getting there ?"
Richard nodded, his pale eyes fixed on the image of the man, "just this, if the ones who took them are Azzian then they may have temporal weapons of some sort on them. There is a radical group that has begun stealing old weaponry such as explosives and using it to make a point, just be careful."
"Temporal? Oh, this is going to so much fun now."Jon smiled, while a cheer came off-screen.
El held the bridge of her nose "Ricky, you're getting your daughter back now, there's no question of that, whether or not there's going to be universe though, is. If they're going up against temporal weapons, these reprobates will fight time with time, and enjoy it." glancing back to the screen at the reprobates remark.
"Johnston. Godspeed. But please, be careful." El wrapped up, before removing her necklace from the screen, cutting the signal to a Starfleet arrowhead.
Richard sat still for a moment and then looked over at El, "thank you, Lieutenant, I'm in your debt."
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Junior Grade Elen Diari
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Commander Johnston W. Grant
Commanding Officer, USS Feynman
Lieutenant Commander Richard Ballston M.D. PsyD
Chief Medical Officer, USS Pioneer
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