Horses, Men, Trumpets and Candles

Posted on Sat May 22, 2021 @ 7:17pm by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Lieutenant Arashi Tanaka Mr. & Lieutenant AJ Taggart & Lieutenant JG Camille Lévesque PhD

2,743 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Archangel
Location: Victory/DQ8
Timeline: Morning after Across the Bridge/Comparing Notes

0500 Hours

A set of doors opened and two figures stepped into the corridor. Their pace was leisurely, their demeanor calm. Whether that came from the exhaustion they both felt at the combination of a late night and early morning, or the peace of mind knowing they had each other's backs wasn't clear. Still, chess required an air of tranquility, and it was time for the next move.

"Thank your Captain again for his help," Nicole said.

"Thank him with the bloodwine you've promised," K'Vegh said. "He'll be more appreciative of that."

Nicole gave a small smirk. "I'll speak to my source today, most likely," she said.

"Excellent," K'Vegh said. "I am sorry I cannot stay to say farewell to your par'Mach'kai," he said. "I hope she'll forgive me."

"She's the forgiving type," Nicole said. "I'll give her a kiss goodbye for you."

They reached the airlock and stepped into the slightly colder air of the station. Nicole stopped and turned from the door to face him as he turned to her. "And remind her, my offer stands."

Nicole grinned. "As exciting as a tri-marriage and transfer to a Klingon ship would be, I think we'll stay here a bit longer." She stood up on her toes and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "From her," she said, then kissed his other cheek, "and from me. Live well my friend, and if you must die, do it with honor."

K'Vegh grinned and gave her another rib-cracking hug. "Die well, Bard. However, I feel we shall meet to plot together again."

"I'll hold you to that," Nicole said, coughing as the air returned to her lungs.

K'Vegh's roar of laughter echoed down the station corridor as he returned to his ship. Nicole watched him go, then turned and walked away. She was going to need to get an early start to her day to see their plans progress.

0510 Hours

Mike’s eyes snapped open. He sat up and looked around, then grumbled and threw back the covers. He jumped down from his bunk and landed silently on all fours, like a cat about to pounce. He stood up and quickly slipped a shoe on.

“You better be up for a good reason,” Mike’s bunkmate said, yawning and turning on the light by their bunk beds.

“Gabby’s gone, Jerry,” Mike said.

“What do you mean gone?” Jerry said, sitting up a bit.

“I mean gone, Jeremiah. Not here. She’s wandering around somewhere,” Mike grumbled, looking for his other shoe. He found it under the third bed and grabbed it, slipping it on quickly.

A yawn came from the third bed and another voice chimed in. “Mike? What are you doing?”

“Going after Gabby, go back to sleep, Raph,” Mike said. “Twenty strips says she decided to get up early to exercise and decided to go visit that docked ship.

“Which ship?” Raph said sleepily.

“The Victory," Mike said. “The one with that Lieutenant with the dumb smile she was mooning over.”

“What makes you think she’s there?” Jerry said.

“'Cause she’s got that same sappy feeling again,” Mike said, making a face. “So she’s going to snoop around there, rather than stay here where it’s safe. So, I’m going to go get her. I’ll be back.” He walked out of their room purposefully and left their quarters.”

“Do we tell Father?” Jerry said. A few moments of silence and heavy breathing came from the other bed. “Raphael?”

A light snore was the only response. Jeremiah sighed and laid back down. He debated briefly, but he didn’t want Michael or Gabrielle in more trouble. Besides, if they were on the station or on that ship, they weren’t going to get in any danger. He debated another few seconds, then fell back asleep as well.

0510

Gabby had been walking quietly through the station and didn’t breathe a word as she slipped by the large Klingon and the human woman to enter the ship. Being mute, that wasn’t exactly a challenge for her, but she still bit her lip out of instinct.

The ship felt dark and a bit cramped compared to what she was used to on the station. She shivered when an unwanted memory of the stasis pod she’d once been confined to came floating back from her memory. She shook it off and wondered what she should explore first. She thought about who she might run into, and remembered the handsome lieutenant she’d seen smiling at her the day before. She felt a rush of emotion and was wondering how she could orchestrate a “chance encounter” and maybe say hello to him--well, sign it.

She was almost skipping down the next corridor when she paused mid-skip. She had no idea where he might be, and she couldn’t ask the computer. She walked down the corridor slowly, thinking what she could do, when a familiar name caught her eye.

*Lévesque/Anderson* the door moniker read. Ah! The woman with the spectacles. She’d given off a kind energy. Gabby knew the woman would understand her intentions. She closed her eyes and listened carefully. After a moment confirming the other woman was awake, she rang the chime and waited patiently.

Camille had woken early, with intent to get some lab time before her bridge shift. Fresh from the sonic shower, she was in her uniform, except for the jacket, and reading the latest volume of Nature over a light breakfast.

The door chime surprised her. The odds of someone dropping by unannounced at this hour were astronomically low. A security alert would come by comms. A colleague or team member with a crisis would send a message by text or comm too. It might be Penny, but even she had the presence of mind not to stop by at 0515 except in the direst circumstances. Whatever this was, it was important.

She set down her spoon and PADD and looked toward the door. “Entrez!“ At her command, the door opened, and she was surprised to see the young girl from Admiral Markus’s workspace. “Oh! Um, Gabrielle, right? What...what are you doing here?” A fleeting thought suggested she contact security, but a layer of confusion suppressed it. “Come inside, ma chère.”

Gabby smiled and began making a few hand gestures, then stopped and offered a "silly me" smile, realizing her mistake. She held up a hand and imitated typing on a padd, and looked at Camille hopefully.

Camille had not realized the girl was mute at first, but when she gestured in what was presumably some kind of sign language which the scientist did not understand, followed by the more obvious pantomime, it was not hard to put together what was happening. Camille nodded, saved her reading progress on her PADD, opened a simple word processor, and gave the tablet to Gabby with a friendly smile. “Voila.”

Gabby signed a thank you and typed quickly, a simple query as to where AJ might be at this hour.

AJ? Camille wondered, and then she grinned, remembering their first encounter on the station. The way Gabby reacted when AJ had smiled at her. Young love. Or at least a powerful crush, without the accompanying shyness that was the case in Camille’s own youth.

“Ah, so you want to meet Monsieur Taggart. AJ is a good friend, and a good man. You have good taste, mademoiselle.”

Gabby's smile lit up, then she blushed hard at being so obvious with her feelings. She gave a more demure smile and asked if Camille would mind showing her the way there and maybe introducing them formally.

Camille considered the request, and while she kept a cool exterior, inside she asked herself what the best course of action was. This girl probably should not be on the ship. Minors were not authorized to be on the ship at all, much less unescorted. But also Gabby was not doing any harm. A misguided search for the one whose smile stole her heart. Camille could relate.

She thought of a good compromise. She took the PADD back and composed a very quick message to AJ, with an alert to wake him, asking him to meet her in the ship’s lounge, conveniently closest to the airlock, so they could also escort her back to the station.

“Come along. Let’s go see him.” She stood and extended her hand for Gabby to take.

As Gabby's hand closed around Camille's, she felt a strange tingling sensation. She looked up in curiosity, wondering if the older woman felt it too, and was shocked to see Camille disappearing, followed by a second shock as she realized the same transporter had grabbed her as well.

0520 Hours

Mike’s fists were balled up and he was grumbling to himself. His father called him a “scrapper” and sometimes a “hot head” but he was the de facto leader of his siblings and he didn’t like one of them getting into danger, especially Gabby. Their connection, and her vulnerabilities, made him extra protective of her, and he didn’t need some “stupid girly stuff” putting her in danger. And to his young, teenage logic, some guy she was crushing on was going to lead her right into danger.

“Computer,” he said, after confirming he was alone in the corridor, “where is Lieutenant Taggart?”

“Lieutenant Taggart is in his quarters,” the computer responded helpfully.

“Direct me there,” he said.

A panel lit up and started down the corridor. He chased after it quickly, following it to the turbolift and onto another deck, then stopping at a set of quarters.

“You have reached your destination,” the computer said.

Mike rang the chime and folded his arms, adopting his most adult-looking scowl of disapproval.

AJ had been awake and was reading the Plan of the Day for the SRU and drinking his normal, post Physical Training coffee when he heard the doorchime sound repeatedly. Setting down the PADD, he walked over to the door and allowed it to open to reveal a man- no, a boy who couldn't be older than 16.

"You're a little young to be in Starfleet- are you lost?" AJ asked, the expression on his face reflecting his annoyance at being interrupted at such an early hour. He could hear his desk terminal beeping at him but he didn't break eye contact with the young man standing in front of him.

Mike's scowl deepened. "Yeah, exactly," he said, as if he'd just had his point confirmed. He brushed past AJ. "So where is she?"

AJ's brow furrowed at this young man's rudeness but bit back an angry retort and followed him in, tapping a small red button twice on his door chime to covertly summon a security team. "Now, I don't normally say this but I have no idea who you're talking about. Normally, I'd advise that you that I'll be calling security but that's already done and they're on their way. So how about you have a seat on the couch and tell me who you're looking for." He wasn't going to push this young man unnecessarily, not based on what he knew.

Mike didn't sit, but instead squared off in front of AJ. "Gabrielle. I want to know where my sister's hiding. I know she was coming here to see you."

His confusion deepening, AJ leaned forward. "Who the hell are you-?" taking a moment to recall the young girl who had smiled at him. "-Gabrielle. Is that your sister? If so, I haven't seen her since we were onboard DQ8. If you take a seat and retrace your steps, I'll help you find her."

Mike frowned and turned to walk further into the quarters. "Gabby, get out here!"

AJ gripped Mike's wrist in a come-along hold and forced it against his back just before he felt a peculiar sensation- almost like being frozen and burned at the same time.

He felt AJ's hand close on his arm and he swung around, ready to strike, but paused as he felt the tingle of a transporter. His surprised expression was matched by the person in front of them as they both vanished.

A minute later, the security team arrived at AJ's quarters. They received no response and overrode the door lock, stepping inside to find a set of empty quarters and a message light. The security officer stepped forward and hit the message, hearing the voice of their Science Chief inviting AJ to come to the lounge for a morning coffee.

"I'll check the lounge," the junior officer said, nodding to the team to return to their posts.

0520

Nicole had made her way back to her quarters and decided to sneak in as quietly as she could in the hope that she wouldn’t wake Camille. Between the information K’Vegh might get ahold of, beyond what he’d already told them, and what the Castelnaudary was going to report from its intercepted communiques, she hoped they could piece things together today once and for all.

She slipped into the darkened bedroom and back out of her tshirt and shorts, climbing back into bed. She paused, however, as she felt the cold, empty mattress. Nicole immediately felt bad; Cami had woken after all.

She got up and stretched, but paused as something in the back of her mind needled her. Something was wrong with her quarters. She scanned the room quickly. Everything was where it should be, even her boots were neatly put in a corner, as she’d been learning to do. She stood up and re-dressed quickly, then did a complete circle again, slowly, still unsure what was off, but knowing something didn’t look right.

She decided when Camille came out of the bathroom she’d ask her, then paused. She looked at the doors to the head and finally realized what was off: the thin strip of light that would come through the doors was missing.

The bathroom was empty.

She walked over quickly and hit the panel, opening the doors to confirm no one was in there. She walked back to her bed and tapped the communications panel. “Anderson to Levesque,” she said, forcing her voice to stay calm. That proved a challenge when no response came.

“Computer, where is Lieutenant Levesque?”

“Lieutenant Levesque is not on board the Victory,” the computer said.

Nicole felt her stomach drop. “Did she disembark for the station?”

“Negative,” the computer said after a moment. “Lieutenant Levesque is not on board the station.”

“When did she leave the ship?’ Nicole said, her panic rising.

“0518 hours,” the computer said.

Two minutes...Nicole had missed whatever happened by two minutes. If she had walked a bit faster…

She hit the communications panel again quickly, turning to the only other person she thought of. “Anderson to Taggart,” she said. The silence almost made her scream. “Computer,” she said, dreading the response, “where is Lieutenant Taggart?”

“Lieutenant Taggart is not on board the Victory,” the computer said.

Her panic rising, Nicole didn’t even bother to ask about the station. She knew what the answer would be. “When did he leave?”

“0518 hours,” the computer said.

Well that couldn’t be a coincidence, she thought.

“Anderson to Tanaka!” she said.

Arashi had been getting up from sleep and was getting ready for his shift when he got the call. "Please remain calm and tell me what is going on." He said gently.

“Oh, thank Providence,” she said, grabbing her uniform pants and top. “Arashi, Camille and AJ are gone. I don’t know who else may be missing. They vanished at 0518 hours, no idea where to.” She quickly struggled into her clothes, slipping her boots back on.

Concern was written on his face when heard what she had said. He was worried but had to remain calm. "Ok, I am on my way to the bridge, so I want you to meet me there asap." He said as he pulled on his uniform as he was about to get to the door of his quarters. "We'll talk when I get there." He hurried down to the bridge.

“Acknowledged, I’m on my way!" Nicole said, running full speed out of her quarters.

 

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