Lieutenant Commander Lael Rosek: Persuasive Personality
Lael Rosek
((Mini Time-Warp))
::She felt as though she was underwater, struggling to come to the surface. Her mind was foggy and she could scarcely string a thought together. It was several moment before she remembered where she was and why. She winced when he frown caused the fire in her cheek from Lenik’s strike to flare up anew. There was a good chance it was, if not broken, at least fractured and severely damaged. It was going to be a b*!%^ to heal.::
::The headache caused by his strike was making it difficult to focus. Instinctively, she wiggled her wrists in the restraints, freezing when she realized the bar restraining her left arm was lose. She almost couldn’t believe her luck. Pulling her left arm the rest of the way free, she tugged hard on the cuffs, hearing the loud clang of metal being broken. With her hands free, she wretched away the bar holding her right arm, then quickly disposed on the handcuffs restricting her legs.::
::She tugged at the metal rings surrounding her wrists and ankles, breaking them with ease. Rubbing her wrists, Lael stood slowly, still dizzy from the blow to her cheek. Now that she was free, she had to find some way to contact the Montreal. If she recalled correctly, there was a room not far from here used for communications.::
::If she could get to the console and hack the system without Lenik catching on, maybe she could send a signal to the Montreal, similar to what she’d done when she was held prisoner at Temlai by Sicarius. This was bound to be a hell of a lot easier as the systems were in Federation Standard rather than Romulan.::
::Cautiously, she slipped from the room, going from her memory of the ship layout. Activating any of the wall consoles would alert Lenik to what she was doing. She had to keep her head down at least until she could seal herself in the communications room. However, just as she was turning the corner to the room, she found herself face to face with two children. Startled, she jumped back.::
L. Braddock: ::confused:: Who are you?
::Lael couldn’t help but stare a the little girl, her breath catching in her throat. The girl’s long blonde hair fell well below her shoulders and piercing blue eyes met Lael’s. She looked so much like Maddy that it took a few moments for Lael to find her tongue. She lowered herself to the girl’s level and offered what she hoped was a reassuring smile.::
Rosek: ::breathes:: I’m here to help you. ::pauses:: Where’s the captain of your ship? I need to speak with him right away.
::The girl turned away looking on the verge of tears. Lael could feel the girl’s anguish, which was strange given that she wasn’t even touching her. Even with her neural suppressants likely having worn off, she shouldn’t be able to. Not with her touch-only empathic gifts. She grimaced as she recalled the meld with Lenik. She couldn’t think about that right now. Her attention turned back to the little girl.::
Rosek: ::murmurs:: My name is Lael. What’s yours?
L. Braddock: ::softly:: Lily.
Rosek: ::smiles:: It’s good to meet you, Lily, though I wish it was under better circumstances. ::pauses and glances around the corridor:: Come with me.
L. Braddock: ::confused:: Where?
Rosek: Somewhere safe. ::offers her hand:: Trust me.
::Though it appeared the little girl was skeptical at first, she eventually took Lael’s hand and allowed her to lead the way to the communications room.::
((Communications Room, SS Belfast))
::Once they were inside the communications room, Lael strode toward the console and used her hacking skills to begin breaking into the ship’s systems. It was a few moments before she’d found what she was looking for and a few more before she’d been able to circumvent the control locks. She opened a secure channel to the Montreal, using another subroutine to prevent Lenik from cutting it right away.::
Rosek: =/\=Rosek to Montreal.=/\=
Mei’konda/Bridge: =/\=Responses=/\=
Rosek: ::rubs her sore cheek and winces:: =/\=A bit beat up, but otherwise no worse for the wear.=/\= ::pauses:: =/\=I don’t have much time before Lenik and his goons track this. But Lieutenants Hamasaki and Shin and Commander Tel-ar need to find a weakness in the Belfast’s systems. If you can take out their shields, you can beam the prisoners to the Montreal and Lenik loses his some of his leverage.=/\=
Mei’konda/Bridge =/\=Responses=/\=
Riley: =/\= We’ll have to get pretty close to do it, and even then I’m not sure we can spare the power. =/\=
Rosek: ::pauses:: =/\=Okay. What about one of the Klingon ships?=/\=
Hamasaki: =/\= We have four Klingon ships in-system now. Relaying our current situation to them... =/\=
::Stennin looked back at his console, seeing the limited sensors they had left. The Klingon ships were still there. But perhaps they would not make it in time.::
Stennin: =/\= They might not be able to reach us in time, captain. In the meantime, we should evacuate the freigther.=/\=
Mei’konda/Bridge: =/\=Responses=/\=
Rosek: ::nods:: =/\=I’ll locate the prisoners and we can use the transporter to get them out. It’s not ideal, but it’s the best we’ve got.=/\=
Stennin: =/\= captain, we might loose the ability to transport soon. =/\=
Mei’konda/Bridge: =/\=Responses=/\=
Stennin: =/\= We have enough power for at least thirty minutes. I will power down all non-essential systems. Replicators, holodecks. Labs. That will give us another hour. =/\=
Mei’konda/Bridge: =/\=Responses=/\=
Rosek: =/\=Yes, sir. Rosek out.=/\=
::She turned to the little girl who was now studying her curiously. For the second time in the last few minutes, Lael was struck by just how much the little girl looked like Maddy. It caused a tightening in her chest to think of how close she’d been to adopting Maddy before Zeram had come barging back into their lives. A smile turned up the corners of Lael’s lips as she recalled a dinner with Maddy before she’d received the news about Zeram.::
((Flashback))
((Rosek’s Quarters, USS Veritas))
{{Time Index: Stardate 2395}}
::Lael laughed at the funny face Maddy made after a bite of the pad thai the little girl had insisted on trying. Reaching desperately for the glass of milk in front of her, Maddy took too large gulps before fixing her gaze on Lael, a frown crossing her lips. She’d suspected that the little girl wouldn’t be a fan of the spicy dish, especially the way Lael made it. But she’d been so insistent.::
Maddy: Why did you let me eat that?
Rosek: ::smirks and takes a bite of her own pad thai, chewing and swallowing before replying:: I did try to warn you. Al-Leyan tastebuds aren’t as sensitive to spice as most other species.
Maddy: ::pouts:: But you’re supposed to be the grown-up. Grown-ups tell kids what to do all the time.
Rosek: ::chuckles and shakes her head:: Yes, but nothing can persuade you as well as your own experience.
::Maddy rolled her eyes and Lael headed over the replicator to replace the meal with one of Maddy’s favorites. She really did dote on the little girl far too much.::
((End Flashback))
Rilaw: ::snarls:: Get. Away. From. Her.
::The moment she heard the woman’s voice, she crossed the room to Lily, pushing the little girl behind her. She didn’t know what the Klingon woman would try, but given what she’d done already, Lael surmised it couldn’t be anything good. Her first priority was to disable Rilaw so she could get to the prisoners. She didn’t know if Rilaw’s presence meant Lenik knew where they were, but she had to assume so.::
Rilaw: I said get away from her!
Rosek: ::brow furrows:: There’s something I don’t understand. Why do you follow Lenik? It’s pretty clear you are more than capable of handling things yourself.
Rilaw: That’s right! You don’t understand! I had everything in the Empire and when my children were killed after being kidnapped by pirates, the Captain showed no remorse! Only spoke of honor and then left it at that! Lenik was able to talk to me about turning away from them… and have my revenge!
::As Rilaw spoke, Lael felt a tug of sympathy for the woman. She remembered all too well how much it had hurt leaving Jax behind and then leaving Maddy in Zeram's care. But what Rilaw was suffering was infinitely worse. Lael at least had a chance of seeing Jax and Maddy again, no matter how remote. The Klingon woman couldn't say the same for her children.::
Rosek: ::expression softens and her voice softens:: I’m sorry. I know it’s difficult losing a child. But killing innocent people won’t bring them back.
Rilaw: ::narrows eyes:: It sure gives me the pleasure of knowing I’m doing this in my kids’ honor.
Rosek: ::gaze flickers to Lily before returning to Rilaw:: Can you really in good conscience take your revenge on innocent civilians and children for the mistake of one Klingon captain?
::Something about Rilaw’s expression told Lael she had the woman’s attention. Was it possible she was actually reasoning with her? Could she possibly win her over? Talking and negotiating had never been her strong suit. Even
Rosek: Besides, Lenik doesn’t give a damn about anyone but himself. I don’t see him as the type to keep someone around once they’ve outlived their usefulness to him. At some point, he'll do to you what he has to everyone else.
::She relaxed significantly as the knife Rilaw had been holding clattered to the floor. Part of her was still amazed that she’d been able to get through to the stubborn Klingon woman. Maybe there was hope for her as a diplomat yet. Too bad the Starfleet brass wasn’t here to witness it, especially Admiral Kavannagh. He was the one who had tried to convince the Academy commandant to boot her without a second thought after her breakdown during her first year. If that arrogant @$$ could see her now, he’d eat his words.::
Rilaw: ::crosses arms:: So what do you have in mind, then? By all accounts, you should be strapped down in a chair.
Rosek: Help me get the prisoners to safety. Don’t let him drag you down with him.
Rilaw: ::arches an eyebrow:: If it wasn’t for your crew, you’d be dead by now. That same Denobulan I tried to poison some 40 days ago tried to talk some sense into me. ::smirks:: Sure is a rambunctious idiot.
::Part of her wanted to be offended. But Rilaw wasn’t her enemy. They were allies now with a common goal. She needed to put her pride aside in the interests of getting the freighter’s crew to safety and running her mouth wasn’t going to do her any favors. As hard as it was, she literally and figuratively bit her tongue, keeping the bitter retort from escaping.::
Rosek: ::smiles wanly:: Not such an idiot if he was able to get you to listen.
::Rilaw didn’t comment, changing the subject.::
Rilaw: The Belfast is going to crash into the colony if no one stops it in time. By now, Lenik has most likely boarded your ship as some kind of replacement of his Miran’s Tifar.
Rosek: ::brow furrows:: I wondered why he was so determined to have the Montreal’s code. I mean I suspected, but why would he want an old ship like ours?
Rilaw: ::shakes head:: The only way to stop this freighter from crashing is to detonate the remote explosives now. They’re in the main engine room.
Rosek: ::nods:: We’ll set them to go off after we’ve gotten ourselves and all of the prisoners over to the Klingon ship.
Rilaw: They can only be detonated by hand. ::stands tall:: You go save the prisoners and::takes out a PADD from her vest:: here’s the transporter codes from General Eth’ek’s ship. I must stop it with the little honor I have left. For my children.
::Lael paused a moment, grasping the woman’s forearm in a warrior’s handshake. Her gaze met Rilaw’s and she saw the determination there. As angry as she’d been at the woman for what she’d done to German, she found it strangely freeing to forgive her. German was alive and well. Rilaw had agreed to help her ensure the freighter crew got to safety and that the freighter didn’t crash into the planet. As hard as it was to trust what Rilaw was saying given their past history, something in the way the woman spoke told Lael she could.::
Rosek: chaq yI'el neH sto'vo qor Dun lopno'. (May you be welcomed in Sto'vo'kor with great celebration.)
Rilaw: Response
Rosek: ::smiles:: Qapla’
::Lael reached down and grabbed the knife before taking Lily’s hand and encouraging her to follow.::
((Corridor, SS Belfast))
::She and Lily stood around the corner to the primary cargo bay’s entrance where Lily indicated the others were being held. There weren’t many guards, though Lael suspected that had to do with Lenik’s plan to board the Montreal. He clearly had no idea that she’d gotten loose and had assumed that she wasn’t a danger to his plans. She’d likely pissed him off pretty good with her projection. If she could do that kind of damage when she was at her weakest, it scared her to think what the full measure of her psychic strength could do.::
L. Braddock: ::whispers:: That’s a lot of guards. How are you going to get in there?
Rosek: ::shakes her head:: I’ve faced worse odds.
::She paused, using one of the portable communication devices she’d found in the communications room to contact the Montreal.::
Rosek: =/\=Rosek to Montreal.=/\=
Mei’konda/Bridge: =/\= Response =/\=
Rosek: =/\=I’ve located the freighter crew. With General Eth’ek’s approval, we can begin transporting. We don’t have much time, though. Colonel Rilaw is going to detonate the explosives in the main engine room before the freighter can reach the planet’s surface.=/\=
Mei’konda/Bridge: =/\= Response =/\=
Rosek: ::pauses:: =/\=It’s a long story, sir. I’ll explain it fully in my report.=/\=
Mei’konda/Bridge: =/\= Response =/\=
Rosek: =/\=Understood, sir. Rosek out.=/\= ::to Lily:: This is going to be dangerous. I need you to stay here.
L. Braddock: ::frowns:: But--
Rosek: ::shakes her head:: No arguments. I need to know you’ll be safe.
L. Braddock: ::exhales shakily:: But my brother--
::Lael pocketed the communication device and grasped Lily by the shoulders, her gaze meeting the little girl’s. She smiled slightly as a pair of blue eyes stared back at her. Lily was so much like Maddy...just as brave and just as selfless.::
Rosek: Hey, I’ve got this. But I can’t focus on what I need to do if I’m worried about you. I’ll find him and everything will be okay. I promise.
::She’d said that to Maddy just before Zeram had taken the little girl away from her. For so long, she’d hated those words...had refused to make any promises, afraid that she wouldn’t be able to keep them. She was still afraid. A part of her rebelled, terrified at the thought of breaking her promise. She could only control so much. There was a chance, no matter how remote that it wouldn’t be okay. This was where she had to have faith and trust that God would do the rest. Whatever was meant to happen would happen.::
L. Braddock: ::nods:: I’ll stay.
Rosek: ::smiles slightly and offers her pinky:: Pinky promise?
::After a moment, the little girl wrapped her pinky finger around Lael’s and met her gaze.::
L. Braddock: Pinky promise.
::She hugged the little girl before rising to her feet and peaking around the corner. There were four pretty tough looking guards standing outside and who knew what was inside. She was going to need to stay alert and take this one step at a time. Exhaling a heavy sigh, she rounded the corner with the knife in her hand, confronting the first guard with a sharp punch to the jaw.::
Guards: Responses