ILLUMINARRPG: (8-0001)- SO - PO1 Steven Hammons

[Charles Gatling]

Mission: Death in the Shadows
Day : 8
Stardate 2446.02.08

(USS Illuminar -- Deck 4 -The Prancing Pony Lounge  -- SO - PO1 Steven
Hammons  -- 0001)

Nearly a half hour was plenty of time to get deep into his third brimming
container of mellow ale and Hammons was feeling good. Along the way had
been some very cheerful banter, good singing and music. This party was
shaping up to be a barn burner and Sienna hadn't even gotten around to one
of his requests yet. Luma had even gotten into the act with a haunting
melody taken from an ancient race then disappeared in a puff of purple
sparkles. He had put the stein down long enough for some clapping and
whoops. Yes he was getting a good buzz going and the night was still young,
there was plenty of excitement to come.

Not the excitement he had expected though....

He heard the scraping of a chair and raised voices, one being familiar. The
security officer in him rose from slumber and he snapped his head around to
see Weston pulling the Doctor roughly from her chair while raving about the
Captain and evidence. Steven had snapped to his feet without thinking and
turned to see the CO accompanied by Galk step right into his path. Weston
had no sooner looked up than he was going down due to one of those Vulcan
nerve pinches. ~Damn! I wonder if I can get him to teach me that?~

"Mr. Galk take Mister Weston to his quarters so that he may sleep off the
effects of the alcohol he has consumed."

It should have ended right there as Sekal wished Quinna a good evening then
turned and strolled out the door. But it didn't, not by a long shot! She
followed him and Galk out of the lounge screaming something about evidence.
Steven had been on a few domestic abuse cases in his time and had seen the
like before, it was nothing new but to an inspector extraordinaire like
himself this smelled wrong. It smelled like ....

The picture of him, Boyles and Carson Peters striding through the
auditorium to arrest Lieutenant Sekal shot through his brain like a .243
slug. It's said there's no fool like an old fool but the flip is true as
well, there's no con like an old con, also known as a con artist. And
Hammons had pulled a few cons in the line of duty otherwise known as
stings. The "arrest" of the department head of science on Mars had all been
part of an elaborate sting. It had failed in the end because someone in
Roanoke had gotten fidgety and eliminated their target before they could
sweep her up but Sekal had not only been in on it he had actually
volunteered for that bit of theater then worked quietly in the background
while he was ostensibly in the brig.

Yes Steven smelled a sting going down. His buzz had been killed by a stroke
to the heart and he had gone dead cold sober in a matter of seconds. He
could feel the alarm of Alaya and reached down with his left hand to gently
cradle her shoulder. Using their bond he sent. ::Calm down my love, things
are not as they appear.:: He then opened to her his memory of planning the
arrest of Sekal with Chief Peters based on phony evidence then carrying it
through ::That danged Vulcan is up to something again and they are in on
it.::

(Reply: Alaya)

::Don't tell anyone that you know, let them play this out. If Sienna
doesn't know she will soon. She isn't going to let this go unchallenged,
not after how things just went down.::

(Reply: Alaya)

He looked around at a room that had gone deathly silent with some still
looking at the door and whispering. ::Word of mouth travels fast, they
couldn't have picked a better venue. Play along for now or this could fall
apart like a house of cards.::

He stepped away from the table. "Show is over folks, I'm sure the Captain
will rectify this misunderstanding soon. In the meanwhile sit back and
relax and have another drink or two." There was no way the party was going
to get cranked up again after that buzzkill but he got the attention of
many who returned to their drinks minus the celebratory mood.

~Oh well, the good times had to end eventually, too bad it happened this
fast. I hadn't even gotten a good drunk going yet..~

(Reply: Any)

(Posted by Charles G)




Charles Gatling
Commanding Officer
USS Illuminar
NCC 61240


"The light shines brightest amidst the deepest darkness."
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://startrekfreedom.com/pipermail/illuminar-rpg_startrekfreedom.com/attachments/20210616/b646b702/attachment-0001.html>