JP - Lt. Ikaia Wong & Arthur Summerside: Tip of the Iceberg (Part 7)

[Ka Banning]

((Yosemite Talon-class Shuttle - Just outside Amity Outpost))

Ikaia mentally braced himself to who he was coming face to face with. Last time, Siruma made things difficult for him to say the least. With a deep breath, he activated the comms to try to contact the Romulan.

Wong: =/\=Aloha! Miss Siruma, do you have some time today?=/\=

There was a noticeable delay before Siruma’s voice came over the comms. What exactly was going on aboard the Soros between Wong’s message and their response was unknown - but Siruma sounded less than pleased to be hearing from the CMO, despite her warm words.

Siruma: =/\= Lieutenant Wong… What an unexpected surprise. To what do we owe the pleasure? =/\=

Wong: =/\=Well, you did say that if I needed additional assistance that I should call you up. You’ve been very helpful so far but I need to have a look over of your ship as part of my investigation. Would you be amicable to that?=/\=

Siruma: =/\= Of course… Only, with all this interstellar wind, we cannot linger in this space. We have our clearance to return to the Sol system and my crew is ever so anxious to move on. =/\=

Wong: =/\=I can be over very shortly if you’d like? I’m out inspecting other ships. It won’t take me long to find you.=/\=

Ikaia was trying to at least give the appearance of being affable and friendly. By default, he was. However, his investigation had taken a serious turn now that he knew that there was a connection to the torpedo incident.

Siruma: =/\= Well, then we look forward to your arrival. You can expect a warm welcome from me, Lieutenant. =/\=

He hoped it was ACTUALLY a warm welcome and not something that he was going to regret later. All the same, he picked up the non-lethal Aquilla phaser off the console and strapped that to his hip. The phaser came as a suggestion from Iovianus and it was one he followed up on. Ikaia may have abhorred fighting all together and would do anything to avoid striking another person, it was better that he did have this as a last resort.

Wong: =/\=Looking forward to it. I'm close by. So ready whenever you are.=/\=

Siruma: =/\= Ready to receive you now, Lieutenant. Our shields are down and you may beam aboard at your pleasure. =/\=

Ikaia got up and walked over to the transporter pads. He straightened out his lab coat one more time and he was as ready as he was going to be.

Wong: =/\=See you in a few.=/\=

And with that, he activated the transporter.

((Moments Later, Aboard the Soros))

Wong: Greetings! 

As Wong materialized on the Soros’ transporter pad, Siruma stood in waiting, along with a handful of her crew. Of course, being freight haulers, the majority of her crew consisted of powerful, muscular, and obedient men and women – some from Earth, others refugees from Romulus, much like Siruma.

Siruma: ::Stepping forward:: Welcome aboard the Soros. I hope this won’t take too long. We are, after all, on our way back to Earth. I’d hate to delay unnecessarily.

The big burly crew didn't go unnoticed by Ikaia. It made him glad he brought along his Aquilla. 

Wong: Oh! I shouldn't be taking too long. Just enough to complete my inspection for my reports and be on my way.

Siruma: And should we be expecting any more of your comrades to join us for this inspection? Your friend, Mr. Summerside, perhaps?

He didn't want to exactly give her that answer. In many ways he was alone and in others, he wasn't. Security was notified that he was out here conducting an inspection. As for Summerside, he did ask him to stay behind. He just didn't want to put him in harm's way.

Wong: I'm not sure how relevant that is to my inspection. But I'd like to see the cargo hold if I can. I seem to recall that it's been the source of our issues last we spoke.

Siruma smiled, though her eyes were devoid of pleasure.

Siruma: The cargo hold? Yes, of course. ::Eyes darting down to the phaser strapped to the officer’s hip, then looking up at him with a smile:: Expecting trouble, Lieutenant?

He noticed how she glanced down as the phaser strapped to his hip.

Wong: I was doing inspections on other ships before I got here. Not everyone is nearly so helpful as you are. 

Siruma simply turned and began walking towards the ship’s cargo hold. She beckoned Wong to follow. As he complied, the four Soros crew members closed in behind him, following them closely. Their expressions conveyed little.

Siruma: Of course, there’s something to be said for living a little dangerously, isn’t there, Lieutenant? ::Smirking:: Don’t tell me the earth-folk fully tamed your Klingon spirit?

Wong: I haven't been tamed. I'm just not what anyone expects.

Siruma: Hmm. How disappointing. Still, that might make things a little easier.

It felt like a chill going up his spine. A cold feeling sat inside his chest. He knew if something was going to go down, now was going to be it. He couldn't help a quick glance over his shoulders at the rest of the crew.

Wong: And why is that, Miss Siruma?

With that, Siruma reached out and pressed a panel on the wall beside her. In front of them, a door slammed shut from the ceiling to the floor. Before he could react, Wong felt the strong hands of two of Siruma’s crew grab hold of him from behind.

Siruma: I’m afraid the tour will have to end early, Mr. Wong.

Two hands held on to his shoulders. They gripped onto the lab coat he was wearing. He fixed Siruma with a glare. 

Wong: If you try to stop me here, I promise you this is a mistake. My crew knows I signed out the shuttle and they will come looking for me if I don't come back.

Siruma: Well, we’ll just have to make it look like an unfortunate transporter accident, won’t we? ::To Esteban:: That’s his specialty.

Ikaia briefly glanced at Esteban. Yep. That LOOKED like someone who could end him if he got his hands on him.

He knew that even if he could get out from being held by the two freight haulers, he’d still have to escape the cargo hold and find his way back to his shuttle. He’d have to worry about Siruma’s arrest later. The first step was exactly to escape these freight haulers. He was formulating some sort of plan or at least half of one.

Wong: Then…. I’m sorry.

Siruma: Yes. I’m sure you’re full of regrets.

Wong: I’m sorry for what I’m going to half to do.

And with that, he wriggled out of his lab coat like a Klingon shaped eel and went into a low crouch. All those days spent in hula had given him strong enough knees for this feat of athleticism. He jumped back up and started to run. He needed to find an exit!

Siruma: ::Shouting:: Stop him! Shoot him!

Wong: Ah ha! How about we DON’T do that, hm? I’d REALLY prefer we didn’t do THAT!

Siruma snatched the phase pistol from her crewmate’s side and fired a shot towards Wong, singeing the wall as Wong ducked around a corner.

Siruma: If he escapes, it’s Ganmadan for us.

Esteban: I locked down the transporters. There’s no way off the ship without us beaming him off, Siruma.

Siruma: You stupid veruul! What if he has friends nearby? Get back to the transporter and get a lock on him. Beam that Starfleet bastard into space – but make it look like an accident. ::To the rest of her crew:: The rest of you, find him. I don’t want him meddling with anything in the meantime!

Ikaia scrambled behind some crates trying to think of his next move. Ideally, he’d like to get out of this one alive and in one piece. For bonus points, WITH his lab coat. But right now, survival is the key. He unclipped the Aquilla from his hip and quickly peered over top of the crates to fire off a few shots.

Wong: ::Muttering:: I’m starting to wonder if this whole plan of mine is MY mistake….

Siruma: ::Calling out:: You won’t get far, Lieutenant. You may be a Klingon – but your resiliency will only prolong your suffering if you don’t surrender to me now!

Wong: Yeeeaaaaah. I don’t think I’m going to be doing that.

While he couldn’t see them, Wong could hear the crew of the Soros moving about, taking up positions to corner him and flush him out of hiding.

Siruma: I’ll give you one minute to think about it before we come in shooting.

Ikaia was glancing around at his options. He could already hear the movement of the haulers gathering around him with weapons drawn. They could easily pin him down if he didn’t find a way out and fast.

Wong: You know, I think I will take that time to think about it.

He thought back to the members of Siruma’s crew. None of them were Klingon like him and there was one advantage he knew he had over them - his eyesight. Klingons naturally had very keen eyesight both in regular light levels and lower light levels. As he glanced up at the lighting overhead, this was the advantage he was hoping to get. 

He pointed his phaser upwards. And squeezed the trigger.

A bolt went off quickly shooting out the lights. The area where he was hiding went dark and that was when Ikaia made his move. Using the cover of darkness, he darted out over the crates and ran towards the next series of crates while grabbing his lab coat along the way. He kept pointing his Aquilla up shooting out all the lighting on his path.

Siruma: Activate backup systems! After him you fools!

((Meanwhile, Soros Transporter Room))

Esteban stood at the console, attempting to locate Wong aboard the ship. The Klingon was dodgy, that was for sure – and the residual contamination from storing the torpedo on board was making it harder to lock in his location using internal sensors.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light accompanied by a whirl of harmonics as Arthur Summerside appeared on the transporter pad. Esteban smiled as the reporter appeared. He reached for his phase pistol…

Esteban: ::Grinning wickedly:: I’m going to enjoy this.

… and, with a start, realized Siruma had grabbed it off of him. A moment later, Summerside drew his own phaser and fired at Esteban, who fell back and slumped to the floor.

Summerside: There’s no accounting for taste.

With that, Arthur strode to the console and examined the readout. He was no transporter technician – but he could tell that with all the interference, even a skilled tech wouldn’t have been able to safely scan Wong out of harm’s way. He took note of Wong’s location and made his way to the door, phaser drawn…

((Wong’s Location))

Siruma: Come on out, Lieutenant… We have you surrounded and backed into a corner. Surrender and I might even spare your life.

Ikaia hid and moved about the darkness he created for himself. He finally had the opportunity to put his lab coat back on.

Wong: Somehow, I really doubt that. 

Siruma: No, you’re right… But I’ll make it less excruciating.

He quietly moved along the floor trying to get closer to the exit.

Wong: Still not exactly an appealing option. You know, you could easily turn this around. Be actually helpful. Maybe it doesn’t have to end with you in the brig?

Siruma: You think I’d tell you anything? My father taught me well. The dead are the only reliable keepers of secrets. But don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything soon enough.

Wong: Then your father clearly doesn't understand how forensic medicine works!

Siruma scowled. Wong was truly beginning to irritate her.

Siruma: ::Turning to her crewmates:: Get in there. He can’t shoot you all at once, and his phaser can only stun. ::A pause:: Well, what are you waiting for, cowards?!

The Soros’ crew began slowly making their way toward Wong, taking cover where they could and laying down occasional fire to keep the Klingon from making a break for it. Siruma stood at the rear, grinning at her inevitable victory… until she felt the muzzle of a different phaser against the back of her neck.

Summerside: ::Whispering:: Hello again, Siruma. What was it you said before? “The ones responsible will pay?”

Siruma: You… You don’t want to do this.

Summerside: You clearly don’t know me, sweetheart.

With that, Arthur pulled the trigger and Siruma dropped to the ground. Shocked, her crewmates spun around and stared. Just long enough for Wong to take action.

Ikaia popped up on top of one of the crates. He had been holding off firing directly at people. But given how cornered he was, he made an exception. 

oO Sorry! Oo

He quickly fired off a bunch of shots. The darkness lit up with the blasts of his Aquilla. The haulers crumpled to the ground. He ran over towards Summerside who was standing over a prone Siruma.

Wong: Summerside! What did you do?!

Summerside: Ahhh, don’t get your Klingon whiskers in a twist. I only stunned her… ::glancing at the phaser’s settings:: …I think.

Ikaia raised his eyebrows in alarm.

Wong: You think?!

Summerside: ::Indicating the setting on the phaser:: There you go, she’ll live to sin another day. What say we grab her and get the hell off this ship before anything else goes terribly wrong?

Together, Wong and Summerside lifted Siruma up and over Arthur’s shoulder.

Summerside: I’ll take her. We need your Starfleet training to operate the transporter.

Wong: So wait…. How did you know what was going on anyways? 

Summerside: What, you thought I just stopped listening in after your conversation with Siruma was over? Jeez, you Federation types really do seem oblivious to the concept of continuous recording. I heard the whole thing. Came as soon as I could, given the Jackpot’s god-awful transporter array.

Wong: I thought I told you to stay behind? That was really dangerous!

Summerside: You really going to complain that I saved your ass?

Ikaia breathed for a moment. With security too far away, Summerside was the closest one to help and if it weren’t for him, Ikaia was sure he’d still be struggling right now.

Wong: Alright. You have me there, Mister Summerside. Thank you for your help. I owe you one. 

He didn’t recall the reporter ever carrying a phaser. He had to wonder where it came from.

Wong: So where did you get the phaser?

Summerside: ::Tucking the phaser back in his coat pocket:: “Borrowed it” from Leroban. Can’t say I’m sorry. It certainly came in handy.

Wong: If he reports it missing, I know nothing.

Arthur looked at the Klingon and gave him a genuine smile. In all the craziness of the past twenty-four hours, Wong had truly had his back.

Summerside: Thanks, Kid.

A moment later, they arrived back in the Soros’ transporter room. The crumpled Esteban lay at the bottom of the transporter console.

Wong: Please tell me you just stunned him too, right?

Summerside: Yeah, yeah, he’ll be fine. ::Smirking:: Mostly.

While Wong busied himself with the transporter, Arthur gave the unconscious Esteban a small kick – just for good measure.

Summerside: Now hurry up. ::Adjusting Siruma on his shoulder:: Romulans must be made of rocks or something.

Ikaia took a moment to automate the transporter. All he had to do was step inside it with Summerside. He walked over to join him.

Wong: Alright. It’s all set. Let’s get out of here before everyone realizes what just happened.

With a shimmer of sparkles, the trio in the transporter materialized out of sight.

Continued in Part 8 / 8…

Lieutenant Ikaia Wong PA-C

Chief Medical Officer

Amity Outpost

V239711IW0

Arthur Summerside

Civilian Journalist,

Amity Outpost

V239806K11