Lt Commander Ross - Don't kill the messenger

[Hannah S]

(OOC: There's been a bit of confusion with the location, I'm reconnecting both scenes!) 

((Corridors, Temurian Settlement))

At this point, Ross wasn't exactly sure anymore why his heartbeat was rushing and his chest was aching as if he had spent the last hour running from something. 

Was it the creeping remorse about his tense exchange with Lyra? The worry about A'Mayri's expression which had been more anxious than usual? The thought of countless power cores all across the Quadrant, threatening to blow up any second? Or the fact that he had just told the Temurian in front of him that his people had been forced into slavery? 

Either way, he already suspected this mission would queue in with all the others, haunting him down over the next few weeks. But for now he had to focus on the most pressing issue: making sure of Kiro's commitment. 

Ross: I don't know about your people or the things you've been

through. I'm not in a position to judge. But something is clearly off

the rails... and we shouldn't let it go any further. We need to figure

out who these cores are endangering right now. Can we count on you?

Kiro looked down for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was controlled, but Ross could sense that they were about to cross an important line. What was the Temurian definition of treason? Did it begin at handing over trade routes? Did it end at selling your own people into slavery? He knew the answer should have been easy - but experience and countless harrowing stories proved otherwise. 

Kiro: Yes. ::A beat passed. He didn’t look away when he added the

rest.:: But you need to understand something. What I have… it points

outward. It will show you where the cores went.:: His jaw tightened

slightly.:: It does not explain how far this already goes.

Ross gave a court nod. Although his Intel senses were ringing from the sound of Kiro's words, that would have to be enough for now - they had to save lives, not play judge in a world that wasn't theirs. They were on the outskirts of the Federation, inbetween pirats, Orions and whatnot - it didn't matter why or how the Temurians had gotten themselves into this mess, it only mattered that they did. And now they had to fix it. 

Ross: That's fine with me. In the end of the day... this is solely your own concern. As soon as we make sure these cores aren't posing danger anymore - and if we can count on them not being sold any further - we're gone and won't ask any further questions. If you need our support however ::he paused, locking eyes with Kiro:: I want you to know we'll be around. 

With that, they reopened the majestic portal, stepping back into the lab where Lyra and A'Mayri were still huddled around a screen. Maybe Ross was just imagining things - but it looked like they were excited about something, which was certainly a good thing, right? It had to be.

They slowly wandered over to the rest of their group - Lyra and A'Mayri didn't notice them at first, until Ross cleared his throat. 

Ross: Guys... ::he was almost relieved to slip back into the fake roles:: Kiro shared some data with us.

He nodded towards the satchel in the tiny Temurian hands. Kiro took a second to speak up. 

Kiro: If you start moving on those records… you need to move quickly.

Of course. When had it ever been easy? Ross threw Lyra and A'Mayri a questioning glance. 

Ross: Are we... able to move? Any findings? 

A'Mayri/Voss: ?

Kiro hesitated, just for a fraction longer than was comfortable, then continued.

Kiro: Some of the destinations on that list… are already in use. If

the pattern holds, then you may already be behind.

For a split second, a rush of frustration rolled through Ross' chest. Was Kiro aware they were cleaning up *his* mess? And still he was talking about a *you*. He took a deep breath. Normally it wasn't as easy to get him out of balance, but suddenly the comfort of being the second in line was gone. This was on him alone - and on the brilliance of his team. 

Ross: If what you say holds - we should be able to trace these coordinates and scan for any of the anomalies you're describing, no? What kind of scanner would you need? Will the long range ones back on the base be enough? 

A'Mayri/Voss: ?

Kiro’s grip tightened once on the satchel again, but he didn’t step back.

Kiro: And one more thing. ::A pause.:: If you find something tied to

Gaspara logistics… you come to me first.

It took Ross everything not to roll his eyes. For a second he was tempted to snap back - obviously, Kiro wasn't in the position to make any sort of conditions. He was lucky they hadn't given his name to Starfleet Intel as an interquadrantic terorrist immediately. 

Ross: Our priority right now is to see where the cores are posing acute danger. Not pointing fingers. 

A'Mayri/Voss: ?

As soon as they got hold of the data module from Kiro's satchel, Ross inserted it into the main panel and watched as selling information, time stamps and coordinates rolled over their monitors. He leaned in slightly. 

Ross: We won't have much other choice than to follow up on all of these eventually. But we'll have to try and figure out first where we're dealing with the biggest danger right now. If we trace all of these locations - will you be able to make out where they are failing right now? 

A'Mayri/Voss/Kiro: ?

Ross: ::turning towards Kiro:: You had a way of destroying them, right? A certain wavelength, or what are we talking about? Is there any way to disable them remotely? 

A'Mayri/Voss/Kiro: ?

His head was starting to hurt - but he could feel they were narrowing this down slowly.

Ross: ::scrolling through the selling data:: Let's start with the biggest transactions. Where there are the most cores they will have the biggest potential for an interfering effect, right? 

A'Mayri/Voss/Kiro: ?

***

Lt. Commander Evan Ross
Intelligence Officer
StarBase 118 Ops
O240009ER2