Limited Options

[Victria 0]

“Did you see the kitty after they dunked her a few times to get rid of the fleas?” The first spoke in low tones, though he sounded highly entertained.

 

“I didn’t get to see it, but I heard the spitting and howling from two sections down. I’ll have to check out the security feed later for a bit of entertainment.” The second replied, his voice just as quiet, but just as amused.

 

“She was boothed as well. Yowled so loud for so long that I thought the device itself was going to shatter.”

 

His companion chuckled. “Now that I did see. I swear, I think that every single hair on her body was sticking straight out. “

 

“We’ll have to catch a replay of that one, too. Quality.”

 

“Did you hear about the Trill they are interrogating?”

 

“Yes. News travels fast. I’m scheduled to be on guard duty when they take him to medical to remove his illegal symbiont.”

 

“Ha! That’s no less than he deserves, from what I’ve heard of his background as a terrorist...”

 

Victria bared her fangs in frustration as she was forced to avoid yet another station security patrol. Melting back into the shadows of the maintenance junction, she waited for the officers to pass, her eyes tracking their progress until they were out of sight. This was not the first party she’d heard discussing those particular events in hushed tones. Her hearing was excellent, however, so she usually caught the first of the muffled whispers in time to avoid the gossiping officers.

 

Glancing down to the data padd she carried, she checked the locations of the away team members (yet again) and frowned. She had been prowling around the security complex for the better part of an hour, maintaining the delicate balance between effective reconnaissance and probable detection. She had scouted all possible entrances into the highly protected section of the station but had found no opportunity to slip inside. The engineer’s maintenance crawl spaces provided the best solution, but they were all being monitored electronically. A power outage in that area (or some other type of diversion) might gain her entrance, but it would also draw immediate attention to the attempt.

 

From what she could glean from the sensors, none of the Away Team members had been removed from their original locations. She’d watched their signals moving within the facility itself, but never outside it. That posed a bit of an issue for her because that particular area was well shielded from transporter technology - on purpose no doubt. Could the shielding be compromised in some way, she could simply beam them out.

 

For the moment, however, she could do nothing. The only way into the facility seemed to be as a prisoner or as one of the security members themselves. The former was not an option. The latter had promise, but she doubted she could maintain the ruse for long. A station with this much force housed within it had procedures and protocols that she would not be able to counterfeit. As much as she hated to admit it, Victria needed assistance. She needed a plan.

 

Withdrawing from the restricted area without detection, she was soon mingling with the rest of the station crowd. None of the occupants looked at her oddly, but then she did resemble an average humanoid – albeit an extremely pale one. Assuming her casual stride, she made her way through the maze of people once again, this time ignoring the shops and establishments that she’d previously pretended to explore. Armed with what she had learned during through recon, along with what she’d been able to download from the station’s public access computers, Victria headed for her pre-planned beam-out site.

 

The cargo bay was not empty when she entered. Voices coming from another area of the room hinted that someone was obtaining goods illegally. That was no concern of hers, however. She concealed herself among the crates until business had been conducted and the two parties had vacated the room. Listening for a few moments longer to make sure that no one else was about, she finally activated her comm link to the Scorpiad shuttle, initiating automatic beamout.

 

The run back to Excalibur was uneventful. The HSS (Her Stolen Ship) Blood-fang had moved positions several times in order to avoid detection, but it only took a few extra moments to reorient the shuttle’s position and send it back on its original heading. Finding a cloaked ship (especially one of different technology) was tricky at best, but the Blood-fang had Scorpiad-installed sensors just for that purpose. She risked a short comm burst on the pre-designated tight-band frequency and was quickly gained entrance back onto the ship.

 

“You abandoned the rest of the team?!” An indignant Lieutenant in security colors approached her as she climbed out of the shuttle a few minutes later. “You left them there? I knew you couldn’t be trusted!”

 

“It was unavoidable.” Victria ignored the insulting accusations and stepped past him, heading for the corridor.

 

“Don’t walk away from me, Ensign! Not even full Ensign… provisional Ensign!” He caught up to her and grabbed her arm, spinning her around to face him.

 

“Touch me again and you’ll find yourself without the use of your hands. Hands. Plural.” Victria growled at him as she yanked her arm out of his grip. She bared her fangs dangerously. “I have important news to report . Take your ignorant assumptions and cram them up your a…”

 

“Ensign!” Another voice interrupted, hailing her from the door. The newly arrived Lt. Commander glared at the male security officer, an unspoken reprimand showing in his expression. “Ensign Victria, the Captain gave orders for you to meet him immediately! Quit arguing and go!”

 

Snapping her fangs at the security Lieutenant, she turned sharply and headed into the corridor at a trot. No matter how long she served aboard Excalibur, she guessed there would always be those waiting for their chance to eliminate her from the ranks. She wasn’t sure what irked her more – the fact that she still wasn’t trusted, or the fact that she actually cared. Either way, she was royally screwed.

[Kansas_Jones 0]

Sweet log Victria!

[Images 0]

I agree. Kickass. I must get out a log soon but the weeks keep flying by with no time for me!