Double, Double Crosses and Trouble
Posted on Sun Apr 8th, 2018 @ 7:11pm by Captain Mrazak & Lieutenant Nevada McKay M.D.
2,143 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission:
S1E1: Bynars Be Bygones
Location: Bynaus Orbit and Starport
Timeline: MD 6
Tarsus III and its Starbase 74 trailed away in starlines as the shuttlepod trailed its escort, the Wallace-class USS Charon, which flew at its max warp of factor 5. Major Kowitz sat at the helm in dress uniform which did little to smooth over his scarred visage. Captain Pron, liaison between Internal Affairs and the Judge Advocate Corps, sat across from Nevada with a quizzical look on his divided, blue Bolian face.
After an hour of fleeting glances at Nevada, Pron finally broke the silence. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
"I Doubt it, unless I treated you at Star base 10 or 47," she said nonchalantly. "Its been a long time since i was on either of those stations though." she said leaning back.
The Bolian scrunched his brow in thought. "No," he said at length, "That's not it." His facial expression suggested he was possibly considering that all Terrans look alike.
As he reviewed his case notes for the upcoming investigation, Pron crossed his legs and began speaking again without looking up from his PADD. "The commodore said you are a preeminent expert on cybernetics and the like, but your file seems rather standard and unexceptional." He arched an eyebrow at Nevada. "'Cookie-cutter,' to borrow a phrase from your kind. Are you ready for this level of assignment? Catching malfeasant Starfleet officers is much different than treating dutiful ones in Sickbay."
"Perhaps you could brief me on our assignment before being a xenophobe?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head ignoring him, a dangerous glint her eyes as she leaned forward.
Pron pursed his lips, clearly holding back what he felt was a witty retort. "Very well. What we have is a crossfire of legal accusations and string-pulling from Bynaus, the unremarkable world of the Bynars. If they weren't in possession of the source code for most of Starfleet's cyber-security, then we wouldn't be making a trip all the way out here in person. Such as it is, we have a complaint from a..." Pron double-checked his notes. "Commander Akiva ben-Avram regarding a custody dispute with an android. He claims that the ambassador's office is stonewalling the matter due to an alleged epidemic and pending network failure among the native population." Pron scoffed. "Cyborgs." He cleared his throat before continuing.
"And, just this morning, we received an encrypted message from anonymous officials in the Bynar government claiming some sort of clandestine Starfleet operation is being conducted through the Federation ambassador's office." Shuffling to the next file on his PADD, Pron made a long-suffering sigh. "Which, at last, brings us to you. In the event that wrongdoing has been perpetrated, the IA department of JAG requires a Subject Matter Expert pertaining to this so-called 'cybernetic epidemic' as well as any relevant biological forensic samples which may need to be taken from one location or another. That's where you come in." Pron cast a glance toward Kowitz at the helm. "Since the Marshals could be colluding with any potential malfeasance with the ambassador's office, the Major has been tasked with arresting power in the event we come across anything incriminating. Stay close to him, and you'll be fine."
Kowitz looked back from the helm, his face dark with a knowing smirk which did not touch is eyes.
"Is that clear enough for you, Doctor, or shall I employ visual aids?" Pron looked back to his notes without expecting a reply.
"I was under the impression Androids were In very short supply," she said scowling, her right hand balling into a fist. "Given how little the federation understands about Positronic circuitry, though I suppose given enough….of a reason a Sufficiently Malicious Artificial intelligence could form some form of Virus to infect the bynar Central nervous system as well as their augmetics," she hummed leaning back in her seat. "Still, you'll have to Pardon my curiosity, As JAG is notoriously short sighted on matters of Technology and Medicine, I Fail to see how just one, as you say at least my dear Azure skinned friend, Cookie Cutter Specialist in the field can accurately determine the causation of a Cyber plague, from an outsiders perspective."
Pron nodded obliquely, as if Nevada had just made his point for him.
"Unless you've managed to Convince the Bynar to allow an outsider, to their world and culture to have access to their species wide neural net," she smirked and gave him a violent wink. "I doubt you Understand just how hard it is to Compromise the Bynar, and their organosynthetic Neural network."
Waiting patiently for her to finish, the Bolian then took a breath and spoke with candid condescension. "We suspect that the epidemic is a false flag to cover up some shady business. My job will be to comb every office and database in connection with these reports, beginning with the ambassador, while you stand around and try to look official. You will not speak or move unless called upon."
"We're crossed into the heliosphere," Major Kowitz called out. "Transmitting transponder codes now."
The conn beeped in mixed tones while the ship's computer and Bynaus' starport said hello to one another.
"We're on fixed approach -- autopilot will take it from here." Kowitz swiveled around in his chair to face the two of them, hands folded against his neck.
"Well done, Major," Pron said, "especially with a skeleton flight crew."
Kowitz frowned at the compliment like it was an insult. "I've flown solo combat missions into the heart of darkness. A simple ferrying like this?" He pointed to his face. "Eyes closed."
"Starfighter Corps." Pron sighed again, though this time at Kowitz. "I had thought you were a Marine. I should be so fortunate they sent a fighter jockey instead of a Marine as my arresting officer."
"I was top of my class at Advanced Tactical Training," Kowitz shot back. "ATT eats the Corps' Boot for breakfast and shits out what's left."
Pron rolled his eyes. "Well, since amateur hour has already begun, let us make ready for our investigation. By the time we make planetfall, the ambassador will undoubtedly be expecting us."
"So say's the political puppet," Nevada muttered under her breath.
The Charon held high orbit while the trio flew down in their shuttlepod. With the Wallace-class shuttle nearly directly over the north pole, the shuttle pod did little more than a controlled free fall to the surface. Kowitz grinned ear to ear as the inertial dampers whined, eliciting an equally whining protest from Pron. By the time they reached the ground, Pron held a kerchief to his mouth before getting up to disembark.
The decaying sprawl of Bynaus' capital canton lay before them as a depressing backdrop to the sterling tower of the Federation embassy on which they landed. Contrary to Pron's predictions, there was no welcoming party.
"Well, let's do this," Pron said. "We already have all the permission we need, so let's get to work."
"Such a lawyer," she huffed and walked past him a compact tricorder in her palm. "Feel lucky you're one of the few outsiders allowed down here, Enjoy the sights," she said cheerfully.
Kowitz snorted at the glib comment, but Pron said nothing. Truth be told, once you saw one burned out ruin, you've seen them all.
When they approached the exterior door, it did not open. Pron sighed, and then entered the master JAG security code that unlocked most Starfleet facilities. The doors parted before them.
"They knew we were coming," Pron said in mid-stride. "Remind me to add Obstruction of Justice to the list of charges."
As they navigated the bland corridors to the ambassador's office, they passed by only a pair of Security officers who guarded the entrance to the Starfleet wing of the Federation embassy.
"Security is light," Kowitz observed.
"There are two platoons of Marines stationed on Bynaus," Pron recalled aloud from memory. "A squad or two would probably be guarding the ground floor."
Kowitz shook his head and snorted in contempt. "Barely enough for a company."
They finally arrived at the door marked for the ambassador. Pron didn't bother with formalities; he input his passcode again and walked inside without announcement.
"What is the meaning--" Hannok jolted up from his desk in mid-protest, then saw the burly Major in a Marine tactical vest place a hand on the stock of the Type 3 phaser strapped to his tree-trunk of a thigh. He cleared his throat. "That is, how may I be of assistance?"
Pron smirked in premature victory. "I am Captain Pron, liaison to Internal Affairs from the Judge Advocate General's office. We are here in regards to some discrepancies with intelligence reports--and formal complaints--originating from this embassy." The Bolian let his words sink in while giving the ambassador his most penetrating stare. "Is there anything you wish to state for the record before I begin my investigation?"
"No." Hannok was visibly shaken through his Vulcan stoicism. His usual defense of state and military secrets would be bathroom tissue in an IA investigation opened by JAG. "Only that I intend to cooperate to the fullest extent of the law."
"Excellent," Pron snapped in crisp diction. "You may leave now while I begin searching your files."
Hannok balked at that. "Absolutely not! I insist on remaining." He gripped the edge of his desk until his knuckles turned white. "You can't do this!"
"I can." Pron produced a PADD and laid it on the desk. "Anonymous officials from the Bynar government blew the whistle on your little clandestine operation, so your diplomatic immunity has been revoked. Stand down, Ambassador, or be removed."
"But I--"
Kowitz stepped in with a left hook, which sent Hannok toppling across his desk. The PADD clattered to the floor near Pron's feet.
"Major, that was out of line!" Pron snapped.
"He was resisting," Kowitz said with a shrug. "Obstruction of Justice, like you said."
Pron shook his head. "Sure, fine. But now you have to carry him to the infirmary. Take the doctor with you." There was no love lost in the look he gave Nevada. "Make sure he gets treated."
"So Lovely to be of assistance to Interal affairs, Mind not burning yourself to the ground while we're gone Senór Azure?" Nevada laughed as she turned to lead the way into the embassy.
Kowitz hefted an unconscious Hannok and carried him over his shoulder like a dirty sack. "Let's go, Legs." As they left the room, Kowitz stopped in the corridor. He looked both ways with a perplexed look on his face. "Any idea where the infirmary is? Me neither." He dumped Hannock off in an empty adjacent room. "Now, while that useful idiot is busy, let's go meet our contact. Keep that tricorder handy, and let me know if you spot anyone coming."
"Sure…you got my payloads on you?" Nevada asked as she looked around casually.
Kowitz nodded and reached into the deep pockets of his fatigue pants. "Here you go," he said with a light toss. "We've got to get back to the landing pad to meet our contact before the window closes." Looking back at the ambassador's office, he added, "With any luck, that idiot captain won't mind our absence right away."
"Oh please…he's Just JAG, put some vanishing cream on his nose and he'd think his nose had a cloaking device," Nevada grumbled catching the Nano-probes.
Kowitz led a swift pace as they trotted back to the landing pad, albeit another platform. Another shuttlepod hovered a few feet off the ground, its engines hot and burning. The airlock slid open on the starboard side in an ominous invitation.
"Spooky," the Short Female snickered as she tapped a few things discreetly into there tricorder.
Lieutenant "Wilco" watched the man he knew to be a merc and the medical uni through the sensors as they approached the shuttlepod. Once he let them on board, he knew that there was no way out. After Commander Mrazak's last condescending communique which ended before he could even respond, the ace pilot decided that he didn't have to cast his own lots; they'd been cast for him.
"Let's go!" he called out the open hatch.
Before the words were out of his mouth, Kowitz cleared the hatch, his massive form eclipsing the exterior daylight. "I know you weren't talking to me," he barked.
"Wilco" swallowed at the man whose voice and demeanor dripped with hostility. He barely noticed the other who followed.
"Pleased to meet you Wilco, now could you get on with it?" Nevada asked as she followed Kowitz in, her eyes narrowed in a dangerous look.
"That's not not my name... but nice to meet you too," he grumbled at both of them.
Kowitz placed a tight grip on the pilot's shoulder. "Whatever your name is... take us to your ship."
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