Shore Leave: Cottage 114

Alira shakes off the flap and the aftermath of the stun.

Son of a bitch. I had her. Twice. I hit her hard enough to put her down.

She looks around and absentmindedly Pat's Lisa on the shoulder.

They're gone. We're missing people! Can someone give me a brief sit rep?

Alira thinks of something.

The one I was fighting gave me a look when I mentioned the woman who tried to set up the cadets to steal a vehicle. I assume they are working together.

Moira is a bit startled that Helena just up and left. Apparently......she is in charge now? The pain in her jaw starts to register.

Ah'm fine. Relieved Captain Theliak is all right. Julia, what does he need? Ah'll defer ta him unless he needs ta get back ta his low-grav ship. An' ah wouldn't blame him if he did. It's yer choice if yeh go with yer man or stay behind ta help find yer ma. We'll take yeh either way.

She shakes her head and puts her datapad away for the moment being, addressing Darcy.

Yeah, well, we also dinnae expect unregistered folks could get on-planet. An' that lockdown was casual, ta say tha least. Ah wouldn't rule out a mole, but fer now, ah think it's just safe ta assume tha local security won't be much help fer us. Darcy, ah know yer leavin' tha Potential, but if there're any folks you worked with that yeh want on our side fer this, please contact 'em once yer prisoner's taken care of, or let me know.

She leans forward into Vega's face.

Ah'm waitin', Lassie.

Zephyr isn't fooled by Vega's attempt to appear frail, but he also does not recoil from her or reposition himself. All throughout their childhood she has used him as her scapegoat, her patsy, or her fall-back plan, but he could never bring himself to deny her when things got serious. She's his sister after all...they're blood.

Yes, well I think RC here is going to kill you now Vega. It's time to come clean. Who exactly are these people, why were they going to kill you, and how did they know you would be able to hack into the system? Also, I presume you got here using the same means? If so, you are also in more danger than just being pummeled by RC.

Do you remember what rooms you arranged for them? Or any where they seemed unduly interested in? They have to be holding them somewhere.

Alira notices she is clenching her fists and wills herself to relax.

Oh, and we need to tell security to stop any ships from leaving orbit. Hopefully they have already done that.

Moira appreciates Alira's foresight.

All things considered, Julia, ah'd at least like ta give yeh a chance ta beat the crap outta these folks when we get 'em back. An Darcy, yer right.

She begins typing a message into her datapad, using the highest security clearance she can muster. She glances up at Vega now and then, setting the phaser on the table in a telling way. Moira's an engineer. You don't need to be physically strong to make a mess. Mental skill is dangerous, too.

MAYDAY. MAYDAY. CODE RED AT COTTAGE 114 ON CASPERA-13. THIS IS LIEUTENANT COMMANDER MOIRA BRUCE OF THE USS POTENTIAL SERVING AS ACTING CAPTAIN IN THE ABSENCE OF BOTH CAPTAIN DARCY AND COMMANDER CASSANO. REQUESTING IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE FROM THE USS POTENTIAL AND ANY OTHER RESOURCES SPACEFLEET DEEMS APPROPRIATE. DO NOT LET ANY SHIPS LEAVE ORBIT. REPEAT. DO NOT LET ANY SHIPS LEAVE ORBIT. UNAUTHORIZED HOSTILES ARRIVED ON-PLANET AND HAVE TAKEN COMMANDER SHAWNA CASSANO AND LT. COMMANDER ALEX LLOYD HOSTAGE. CAPTAIN THELIAK AND LT. ALIRA VITAN ARE INJURED. OUR CREW IS BEGINNING THE RESCUE MISSION BUT WE REQUIRE BACKUP. LT. COMMANDER CASSANDRA DARCY HAS ONE OF THE HOSTILES CAPTIVE, AND WE ALSO HAVE AN ALLEGED FORMER HOSTAGE IN CUSTODY. MAYDAY. MAYDAY.........

She sets the message on repeat until she gets a response.

Is tha medical condition being stupid?

She contacts Mars.

Will all due respect, Lieutenant, if yer folks had responded ta tha Commander’s distress call - hell! If yeh’d Actually taken that lockdown earlier seriously - then we wouldn’t be in this mess. Now ah’m Gonna work toward gettin’ mah people back. Are yeh gonna help or am ah gonna hafta report yer office’s inadequacy ta yer commanding officer?

Moira takes a deep breath and breaks into an alligator-like smile.

Ladies an’ Gentlemen, please replicate yerself dress uniforms, or change if yeh have ‘em here. Tha wee god ‘a war is tryin’ ta "remain calm." Let’s remind him we know what we’re doin’.

She changes when she gets the chance.

Alira is down for that. She replicates her uniform and changes clothes unabashedly.

I am with you. If they think I am being sidelined, they better bring handcuffs.

Moira winks at her.

No worries, Darcy. We're just gonna get our people back.

She actually also doesn't have much of an idea. She's hoping a blissful display of regulation will help her case.

At worst, at least she's not gonna get dirt on her own uniform.

She steps to the Cadet and smiles.

Well, Lisa, yeh've got two options. If yeh decide ta go with security an' return ta yer class, there'll be no hard feelin's against yeh. It'll be dangerous, and judging how tha last rescue mission went, yeh might get slug acid on yer face. But! If yeh want, yeh can join us, too. No pressure either way.

Alira stares at everyone, daring them to mention that she was stunned.

Moira smiles at Lisa and steps forward. Thatll be me. An’ tha rest of us are fine, but thank yeh for askin’. Are we ready ta get this investigation under way?

Moira nods in appreciation at Darcy. Alira's gonna be pissed, but she's trying to follow protocol before she goes off on a quote-rampage. Best foot forward and all that.

Well, one of our crew determined that these attackers were on some sort a' performance-enhancing drug. They could be injured, but didn't react as strongly ta tha pain. Three attackers. A lady with a knife, tha man yeh have in custody now, and their leader, who was carryin' a phaser. He lost tha phaser in combat. They claimed they were set ta kill, but we determined they were set ta stun. Commander Helena Darcy ran ta inform yeh, though ah'm not sure where she is. She was uninjured.

She puts her hands on Vega's shoulders. This poor lass allegedly got tangled up with tha hostiles, under threat 'a death, which could explain how they got on-planet. Ah'm sure she'd be happy ta help tha investigation now that she's safe. But please be gentle with her. She's got a medical condition, an' she's already been through a lot. As far as we've determined, she's a victim, not a perpetrator. She gives Vega a quick glance that says "keep it that way."

Finally, she gestures to Nic. An' this gentleman's an old associate of Commander Cassano. He's volunteered his ship ta help us if we determine tha hostiles are indeed off-planet. His skills as a pilot come highly recommended.

She knows she's been talking a lot, but that's part of the plan. She has to make her crew look as good as possible before she starts playing her hand.

Her crew. With two civilians and a cadet who doesn't mind possibly getting killed and technically half of the actual officers aren't even on her ship. She feels like an eldest child the first time mom leaves them home without a babysitter.......

She stands in front of Mars with an open stance and a soft but firm smile.

Lieutenant Mars, ah appreciate yer help so far. Ah'm sure the crime scene investigation is in capable hands. But in line with Spacefleet Code 471, section 45, paragraphs 3-22, it does appear that we aren't on shore leave anymore. An' yer office set a precedent by armin' ranking officers. With this in mind, ah'm gonna take mah crew and start lookin' fer our missin' folk. Ah'm sure that such a by-tha-book decision by a rankin' officer is agreeable, yes?