SD242103.03 | [Backlog] JL XO Cmdr. Dahe'el & Lt. Ra'lin Sha'mer - "Off With His Head"

Posted on Sun Feb 19th, 2023 @ 11:53pm by Admiral Rochelle Ivanova & Commander Almar Dahe'el & Lieutenant Ra'lin Sha'mer

1,227 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Genesis
Timeline: BACKLOG

"Ra'lin Sha'mer to Commander Dahe'el. Could you please come?" A quick query to the computer showed that Ra'lin stood in the middle of a corridor, with another person nearby. Her voice was odd, quite unlike the usually enthusiastic yeoman. Now it was cold and hard.

His shower had revitalised him, the discovery put his mind somewhat at ease and allowed the Cardassian a few scant moments of relaxation on the heated rock he kept in the centre of his quarters, the frustration he had been feeling building up was melting away when the sound of the yeomans voice came through, "Dahe'el here, on my way." he stated as he sat up and reached down for his jacket that had been discarded on a nearby chair, he reaffixed his rank insignia and moved to his desk, placing a palm down on the surface to activate it and pulled up Ra'lins location.

A couple of minutes later, the scaled Cardassian found himself striding down the corridor and turning a corner to find the yeoman waiting for him, "What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"

Ra'lin gave the unconscious ensign on the floor a delicate prod with one foot. "This man here-" she had looked up his name in the ship's registry while she waited for the Commander to arrive, "has been involved in the attempted assassination of Commodore Ivanova." Her voice still had that cold edge. It made her sound truly alien.

An onyx eyebrow rose a about a millimeter - the fine arch of it could easily have made any number of proud Vulcans quite jealous. There was silence as the Cardassian attempted to absorb the allegation made by the Yeoman, part of him wanting it to be true and for there to be a tangible lead in the case, part of him reminding himself to be careful and not leap into things based purely on emotion and his need for closure. The words 'attempted assassination rung clarion in his head, over and over again until only the physical raising of his hand stopped it. "I need evidence, Lieutenant." Almar's voice came as more of a wheeze, begging and pleading for something more to go on than an unconscious body on the floor.

Testimony. Yes. Not everyone had the skill to read thoughts and – was that even something that could be used against someone? Ra'lin had never thought about it. At other times the nervous Ra'lin might have surfaced, looking uncertain gnawing on a knuckle Ra'lin, but she was still too full of anger for that. "I will give my testimony under oath, recorded and logged. Maybe an official telepath can read him and confirm. I'm not sure if any licensed telepaths are in JAG, but there are certainly counselors with the ability, and they will confirm what I tell them. A good one can also see that those memories are truly his and not implanted," she added. "Of course, I am also willing to undergo the same treatment."

Almar could only nod. He trusted Ra'lin as much as Rochelle trusted her. In fact, it was Rochelle's trust in her that had bled over to the Cardassian. Suspicious and alert by nature, Almar had long ago figured out that Rochelle's judgment was far more stringent and picky than even his own. If a person passed her test, they passed his. Simple as that. Time had proven Rochelle correct in her assessment.

A sigh broke through his lips and he reached to run a hand over his hair, "We can arrange for that when we arrive at Theta." He responded with a nod, eyeballing the crumpled body of the Ensign, "He went through the shuttle with me, asked questions, pointed things out." His head shook, "I didn't think anything of it because I was hyper-focused on getting data..." His lips pursed, thin and grim. It was telling of his emotional state and the anger that had begun to boil in his veins. Killing the bastard then and there wouldn't solve anything and it certainly wouldn't answer the countless questions that needed to be asked and answered. "Is..." Gods alive he was afraid to ask, but oh how he had to know, "Is she alive? Does he know?"

Ra'lin shook her head. "I didn't probe. I could, but only with someone else to witness, please. So I don't know. I do know who the person is who ordered him to do it. And he did tamper with the shuttle. No wonder he knew what things to ask… and what not." She took a deep, trembling breath and made an effort to uncurl her fists. However angry she might be, the man lying prone at her feet was the wrong target. He had been an instrument. A willing one, most definitely, but he wasn't the person they wanted. She had a name and a face.

Things had just become personal.

The Cardassian drooped more than a little bit. His head nodded slowly, showing he understood and gently indicating he wouldn't ask of her to do something that she wasn't comfortable with. It was likely the rat on the floor didn't have the answer to the question they wanted answered most, but as a stepping stone he would be useful. "Who is his puppeteer?"

"A Commodore Ravnsson," Ra'lin answered promptly. "I don't know him myself, but I've heard of him. One of the few El-Aurians in Starfleet. He leads Starfleet Intel if I'm not mistaken…. And I do believe he is based mainly on CST."

There was a pause, though only barely, before Almar felt his jaw release from the unbearable tightness that had befallen it. "That he is." He replied, "Let's get this man to the brig and see what we can do to cut time getting back to Theta. You'll want to alert Commander Archer, see what he knows and can sort out."

"I'll do that." Ra'lin glared down at the sleeping man at her feet. The sight of him made her tremble with anger again. "Maybe ask someone else to, hm, escort him to the brig, though." She herself would be content to just grab his ankle and drag the man behind her, but that would probably be considered 'conduct unbecoming a Starfleet officer' and frowned upon. Such a pity. Her dark eyes flashed.

The Cardassian nodded and hit his combadge perhaps a little too hard. His chest stung from the impact, "Dahe'el to Security, arrange for a site to site transfer of a prisoner, personnel number..." He sighed, stooping down to look at the Ensign's combadge and reading off the engraved serial found on its back side. The voice on the other end mumbled about charges to log into the records, and it was all Almar could do not to snarl when he responded, "Conspiracy and murder."

Finding his full height once more, the Commander cast a weary gaze to Ra'lin, "Find Archer and get to finding out anything and everything we can about where Rochelle may be." He ordered, albeit softly, "Either we find her body or we find her alive. Either way, we stop Ravnsson."

"We'll find her alive," Ra'lin said. She was trying to go for assuring, but in her current mood the words came out grimly, a challenge. Alive. There was no other option. They would find her alive. "And Ravnsson will go down."

 

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