An integration

Posted on Fri Mar 10th, 2023 @ 5:14pm by Lieutenant Xalanth & Lieutenant Colonel Chuck McDaniel

901 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 115 - Planting for the Future
Timeline: Before autopsy.

Xalanth was feeling rather happy with himself. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, he'd slept peacefully. Amazing what one's mates and children could do to make one feel at ease.

With a slight thunk he stepped off the turbolift. He'd sent a flight of fighters after the ore ship which had dumped the load with the mysterious victim. Time to see if they'd found her.

Lt Col Chuck McDaniel had just landed and received report his first squad had found something. Looking forward he spied Xalanth.

" Lieutenant have you come down to enlist?"

The lizard let out a chuckle as he walked over. " Negative my girls keep me on my feet to much. Did your men find the drone ship?" He inquired

" There was a ship and your prisoner was taken to the brig. Come this way and I will show you." McDaniel replied. Heading across the hanger bay and into the lift the Marine Brig was one deck down.

" What were they doing?" The lizard inquired. " Trying to break into the ship?"

" Not so sure . You're the interrogator so let's go ask. Their ship tried to hide from us but with the advanced scanners and some old fashioned sleuthing my pilots found them a male and.female."

" Well if they tried hiding from a federation fighter wing in an asteroid field they were up to something. Have you got the techs looking over their ship?" The lizard inquired.

" Marine security has the watch. Right this way Lieutenant," McDaniel directed as they entered the two person brig.

" These are the two we found." McDaniel said as they entered.

Xalanth looked over the two humanoids before him. Both were human-looking extremly rugged and dirty meaning they likely lived outside the fedration.

" How dare you. You have no right to hold us hear." the woman yelled from her cell.

" Trying to run from a federation fighter asking you to halt gives me permission to hold you and your ship." Xalanth replied calmly as he grab a stool and sat down in front of the cell. " Now care to tell me what you were doing in an asteroid field designated as a mining site?" He inquired.

Both didn't respond.

Taking a pad Xalanth looked at the info on the machine's surface. " Now i'm guessing your running something you shouldn't. Being so close to the former Romulan border it's to ever the many criminals gangs that live there or the rangers. wouldn't you agree colonel?" He asked Chuck.

" Yes and I only hope the radiation they were exposed to doesn't cause them any long term issues." Chick replied.

The man glanced to the woman and then back to the two Starfleet officers. " Yes we were running guns to the rangers.. or we were." He said gulping down as he slid an old Starfleet badge across the table. Picking it up the lizard turned it over and read the number on the back before he started typing on the computer. " Lieutenant Gerca former operations officer on the USS Huston. Dishonourably discharged for assaulting a superior..."

Xalanth began reading out before pausing " after refusing to give Romulan refugess priority over the Drazanka inhabitance of Louhiri." He finished slowly.

" What would you have done?" The man barked. " She wanted us to prioritise moving the furniture of Romulan senate officials instead of the twenty million slaves they had on that planet."

Xalanth gave a reassuring look as he handed the badge to Chunk indicating for him to run a few scans to assure that this was the man they were talking to. " Let me guess captain Oh." he replied which seemed to calm the man.

" Yeah, that was that cold-hearted bitch wish i could have....." He began before the woman placed a hand on his shoulder.

" I'm sorry lieutenant my husband has a temper hardly surprising given what we've been through."

" Ma'am you don't need to apologise i'd have done the same thing is his shoes," Xalanth replied. " Know you mentioned you were running guns to the rangers."

" Were." The woman replied sharply. " One of them tried selling us out to one of the local Romulan pirate gangs. It's why we were hiding in the asteroid field."

Xalanth nodded as he glanced to the info. The damage their ship had taken did appear to be from very old Romulan disrupters.

Chuck stepped back as his deception had seemed to help open up their mouths.

" Well we're trying to identify a body found in the asteroid field. Did you see anything in it? " Xalanth asked.

The woman and man shook their heads. " No other than the Romulan pirates and that backstabbing asshole. The field only settled down in that area recently. Large parts were blown over the border in the supernova explosion."

Xalanth made a note to kick whoever hadn't had that info on record. " You have any questions colonel? " Xalanth inquired.

" None for me" McDaniel waved .

" Well, then we'll let you know what the decision is." Xalanth said as he stood up to leave the room. When he and McDaniel were outside he turned to the flyboy. " So what do you think are they telling the truth?"

" Their truth perhaps. Tread lightly I would say." McDaniel replied.

The lizard nodded. " I'll keep an eye on them. Get down to chow hall and get your mess some drinks."

" Xalanth I owe you a round." McDaniel replied.

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