JP: David Whale & Roshanara Rahman: Trespassing

[Rich Yulin]

((Glenboro, Manitoba Canada, Earth))

::She'd been fortunate that David Whale *had* been on Earth. As Frankie had mentioned, Earth was only his base of operations and he easily could have been a hundred light-years away. That would have wasted more time.::

::But it was the fact that Alton Vines, the former chief engineer of the USS Ackerman, was also apparently also on Earth, at least with what Mr. Whale could find out since Vines too had decided to go off the grid. But then, that was the advantage of having a Federation Security assistant director working with her now.::

::It'd taken some more digging but he'd found him all right.  At least, that was what Whale had told her.  Being FedSec now, rather than Starfleet, meant there were things he didn’t feel terribly obligated to share::

::Which led them to here today.::

::Wherever here was.::

Rahman: You've ever been to this place before?

Whale: My father and I used to come to Canada back in the 2250’s to canoe the lakes and rivers.

:: He was pretty sure she saw it for the evasion it was, but the Commander was polite enough to let it slide. ::

::She gazed out across the landscape. It reminded Roshanara a bit of her trip to Del's family in rural Australia. The wide open spaces, although here lined with many more trees. Not to mention it was much cooler than the Australian summer.::

::But as someone who had grown up in the crowded streets and apartments of Lahore, it seemed so lonely out here. From what Whale had told her, Vines's recovery had taken much longer than the former security chief and marine.::

::Once almost regarded as having fallen mute, Vines finally made progress in his recovery when he finally spoke up to Whale during one of their visits. Something from that moment seemed to trigger the spark back into the old man then. Day by day he grew stronger and sharper.::

::And then, when he finally was all clear to be discharged, he surprised everyone by promptly going into hiding. Not even his current 24th century descendants knew where he'd gone to.::

:: Whale, of course, had resources at his disposal that Vines’s descendants didn’t and not all of those were on the right side of the law.  Having spent so much time in security, one develops contacts -- the kind of contacts that can come in handy when trying to find someone who doesn’t want to be found. ::

:: In the case of Alton Vines, Whale had found him a year prior, alive and relatively well, just outside the tiny little town of Glenboro -- population one thousand.  He’d visited three times since then, never for very long, just to check in on the old man.  Whale knew what it was like to wake up and find everyone you ever loved was dead.  Not many people did. ::

::As they approached the cabin in the distance, Roshanara looked back to the man beside her.::

Rahman: So what's he like? Or at least what you remember of him.

Whale: Cranky.  Even back in the day, Vines was a grump with a heart of gold.  He’d give you the shirt off his back, but if you messed up his engine room he’d give you the shirt off his back then swat you in the back of the head for being a ‘ruttin’ frag-bag.’

:: Whale paused, smiling slightly. He took off his gloves and tucked them into his canvas satchel. ::

Whale: That was his favourite insult and I could never figure out what the hell it meant.

:: She chuckled. ::

Rahman: I suppose some things about engineers don't change.

Whale: I didn’t know him very well, really.  He was the old man in engineering; I was the young security officer out to conquer the universe.  Our social circles didn’t exactly overlap.

:: She hoped the two weren't that distant though as Whale was saying. Maybe he was trying to prepare her in case they were unable to convince Vines. She'd already been preparing herself. After all, if someone found her at her home and asked if she wanted to do what she was going to ask Vines, she'd have told them to get the- well, they certainly wouldn't be invited in.::

Rahman: Well, I figure there's a better chance with you here than if I just asked by myself.

Whale: Look, Rahman, I’m here because I owe Frankenstein a favour, not because I think this is a good idea.  In fact I think it’s a horrible idea.

Rahman: How so?

:: Although she had a feeling she already knew what he was going to say. ::

Whale: The man spent years catatonic because of what happened to him on a Constitution Class starship.  I think putting him back on one now that he’s recovered enough to rejoin society…

:: He looked around and shrugged. ::

Whale: ...more or less ...puts him at greater risk that is warranted by what is, essentially, a political PR stunt.

Rahman: You won't hear any argument about the politics of all of this.

:: She sighed.::

Rahman: Look, if he says no, then we'll be on our merry way. But who knows? Maybe he'd actually be interested. Might as well let him decide.

Whale: This is your call, your mission.  And your responsibility.

:: She nodded. She understood what he was telling her. Take care of Vines. And if something were to happen... ::

:: Well, she didn't want to think what kind of consequences an assistant director at Federation Security might be capable of bringing down on her. ::

Rahman: I just hope he doesn't mind visitors…

:: Whale glanced at the Starfleet officer and raised a brow. ::

Whale: You can be fairly confident that if he wanted visitors, he wouldn’t be this hard to find.

Rahman: ::grim:: Great.

::They reached the door of the cabin, and Roshanara stood for a moment with some hesitation. She was considering whether to ring the chime, but she then decided to let Whale stand in front and be the first to greet Vines.::

:: With a sigh, Whale stepped up and knocked on the door.  It was wood -- actual, real wood -- and it rattled slightly on its hinges. ::

::As Roshanara waited, she found the lack of other sounds nearby unsettling. No roars of trains, hovercars, or shuttles overhead. No sounds of children playing or street vendors calling out. Just... the wind to keep you company.::

Whale: He may not be home.

Rahman: Well, at least we tried-

::She stopped as she heard someone coming down the stairs from inside the cabin.::

Whale: Or he might be.

::A voice called out from inside.::

Vines: Whale? Is that you?

Whale: Yeah, Vines.  It’s me.

:: And someone I’d rather wasn’t here who wants to ask you something I’d rather she wouldn’t. ::

::The door opened, but only slightly, and a sliver of the face of an older man with unkempt white hair could be seen. He looked over his former shipmate closely.::

Vines: What the hell are you doing back here so soon? I thought you said you'd leave me be.

::His eye wandered over to Roshanara, who when they exchanged glances returned a slight--and hopefully friendly appearing--smile.::

Vines: Who's this? Your girlfriend?

Whale: I’m married, remember?

Vines: Pssh, just cause you're married don't make you a saint.

Whale: Actually, I achieved sainthood about three weeks ago.

Rahman: I'm Commander Roshanara Rahman, sir. From the Starfleet Corps of Engineers.

::Vines looked at her as if she had just spoken to him in an alien language. Then he looked at Whale.::

Vines: You son of a bitch.

Whale: Pretty much.

::But he'd already slammed the door in their faces.::

Whale: That went about as well as I’d hoped.

TBC…

David Whale

Assistant Director with the Criminal Intelligence Operations

Lt. Colonel (Ret.), Starfleet Marine Corps

&

Cmdr. Roshanara Rahman

Commanding Officer, USS Syracuse

Project Manager, Starfleet Corps of Engineers

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