[A1-VW] LtCmdr Rahman: Hide... (Part 1)

[Rich]

((Va Wreth Reception, Astrofori One))

Rahman: =/\= All right, what do you want, commander? =/\=

Ross: =/\= What makes you think I want anything? Perhaps I just miss your smiling faces. =/\=

::Smiling? Only he was the one smiling by the sound of his voice. There was an arrogant, gleeful tone behind every word. That could only mean Harry was confident that Roshanara and the others were two steps behind him.::

::She remembered that smile… a smile that had once seemed warm and inviting…::

((FLASHBACK: Main Engineering, one year ago))

Rahman: What in the…

::She looked down at the panel, cursing under her breath. How could there still be a power drain registering on the board?::

::She looked over to Reez.::

Rahman: You switched off all of the secondaries?

::The Denobulan rolled his mechanical eyes.::

Reez: Asking me a third time isn't going to change the answer.

::She let out a frustrated sigh and called up additional systems checks.::

Rahman: Fine. Looks like we're going to have to do a Level 1.

::She could already hear the groans that would be uttered throughout the decks. But so be it. As chief engineer, her first duty was to the ship and its safety. She tapped a few final commands onto the "pool table" console in the center of engineering, switching the primary grid to diagnostic mode, before walking over with a quick stride to grab her toolkit.::

Rahman: Take Mint and Xio with you. Maybe see if Kavi wants to lend a hand. I'm sure he'll be thrilled at getting a chance to gloat about it.

::Reez put a hand on his hip.::

Reez: Really? You know I hate that guy…

Rahman: But you love me more.

::She smiled as she walked past him towards the Jefferies tube access, not letting him answer.::

Rahman: Thanks, chief!

::She was already crawling up the ladder by the time he muttered a few words that didn't really sound like, "You're welcome."::

((Jefferies Tube, near Service Junction 22))

::Roshanara rubbed her eyes for a moment before picking up the hyperspanner again. A level 1 diagnostic, also known more colorfully among engineers as a level 1 PITA or pain in the… assembly, was the most comprehensive level of systems diagnostic, requiring crew members to physically verify each component of the system in question. Naturally, this process meant whereas a level 5 took little more than a couple of seconds, a level 1 took several hours.::

::She wiped the sweat from her brow as she entered the results of the scan into her PADD.::

::Clank.::

::She turned her head towards the closed hatch that led to the service junction room.::

::Clank.::

::That was odd. No one was working in this section with her as far as she knew.::

::She shuffled down the cramped quarters of the Jefferies tube towards the hatch and pushed the release. The hatch opened, revealing the seemingly empty service junction room.::

::Roshanara crawled out of the maintenance shaft to look around. On one of the displays, the results of the ongoing systems diagnostics were being displayed. On another, the status of the EPS grid flashed as various system reports scrolled through. An open toolkit lay atop one of the consoles.::

::As she walked up to the console, taking a closer look at just what reports were being generated, she raised her arm up to tap her combadge when she suddenly caught a glimpse in the display panel's reflection of someone standing behind her.::

::She gasped as she spun around, but then let out a deep breath of relief as she saw it was just Harrison Ross, the ship's first officer.::

Rahman: Commander! ::She let out an embarrassed laugh and gave a sheepish grin.:: You startled me. Come to lend a hand?

::The Garuda's first officer simply smiled back as he took a step towards her.::

((END FLASHBACK))

::Mei'konda had stepped out of her combadge's line of sight and walked behind her, doing his best to use his tricorder discretely. He whispered as they stood back to back.::

Mei’konda: Keep him taalking, Commander. Reynolds is trackiing him. I can use my tricorder to work with Reynolds’ systems to find him.

::She took a deep breath and casually looked about the room. The other guests continued to mingle, none the wiser about the threat that had just made his presence known.::

::Harry--Commander Ross, that is, had been willing to kill to make his escape from the surface of Pleethion, having kidnapped Captain Reynolds. He'd left the other members of his away team to their deaths in the face of the eminent eruption of the mud dome. He'd been willing to sacrifice the lives of those aboard the Garuda, whom he had served as comrades and even as their acting commanding officer for a time.::

::Why? She still didn't know. There was a time she had greatly admired the man. He was the first captain for whom she had served as an acting XO back on the Mercury. She respected his compassion then towards his crew and the recognition of their needs. Truthfully, she had thought Ross had shown more kindness and camaraderie in his brief stint as their captain than the temporally-displaced elder Kells had.::

::But that was before Ross had betrayed them, and before he had used her to do it. How had he been able to fool them all? How could he have manipulated her so callously?::

Rahman: =/\= You could have done whatever you've planned without letting us know your presence. Which means you either want to gloat and taunt or you want us to do something for you. Am I correct? =/\=

Ross: =/\= After a fashion. =/\=

::Her frustration got to her.::

Rahman: =/\= You know, we didn't get the chance to say goodbye the last time you left. =/\=

Ross: =/\= That does sound like me. =/\=

Rahman: =/\= Whatever you're planning this time, it's not- =/\=

::He cut her off.::

Ross: =/\= My dear Roshanara, what makes you think you haven't already done what I wanted… =/\=

::He paused deliberately to deliver his next word.::

Ross: =/\= …Again? =/\=

::She knew he was just trying to get to her. And yes, his words did sting, each one drawing pangs of self-doubt and guilt. But she wouldn't let him have the satisfaction of knowing it.::

Rahman: =/\= Nice try, commander, but things have changed since you decided to leave us so suddenly. =/\=

::He seemed disappointed that she wasn't quivering in fear, which was perhaps why he decided to then single out the other woman he had so hurt, even more intimately than he had Roshanara.:: 

Ross: =/\= Quinn, love. You're being awfully quiet. Have you worked out where I am yet? =/\=

::The Caitian's whispered in her ear.::

Mei'konda: I’m readiing DeVeau. Dunross. And one other humaan. Strong vitaals. It could be hiim.

::She turned her head to look, but while the Va Wreth themselves were pretty easy to pinpoint, the rest of the humanoids were rather indistinguishable among one another.::

Rahman: ::sighs:: I suppose we can't just stun everybody in the room and sort it out later…

Mei'konda: ::whispers:: I know.  I waant to get my claaws on him, too.  But thaat would be too prediictable.

::She turned to look at the Caitian and shook her head. They really needed to spend more time together so he'd be able to better discern her dry delivery.::

Rahman: I suppose.

Mei'konda: I suggest we beam hiim directly to Garuda’s brig.  Yes, thiis vital sign may not be hiim.  But I will taake full responsiibility if it is not.

Rahman: It's not your tail, I'm worried about, commander. We're here trying to *avert* a diplomatic crisis. The last thing I want is to end up on the FNS.

::…again.::

::Roshanara also believed Ross wouldn't have come here with his lifesigns unmasked. At the very least, he'd have a transport inhibitor. He wouldn't take the chance.::

Rahman: Something's wrong about all of this. Why is he here in the first place? Why risk coming personally to-

::And then suddenly, the lights went out again as startled gasps rang out.::

TAG! TBC…

Lt. Commander Roshanara Rahman

First Officer, USS Garuda