Busted Part One

Posted on Sun Nov 6th, 2016 @ 8:21am by
Edited on on Sun Nov 6th, 2016 @ 10:20am

Mission: Mission 2 - Contagion
Location: Jeffries Tube and Corridor
Timeline: MD06
1244 words - 2.5 OF Standard Post Measure

Finn had never been accused of being deliberate and well thought out. This was just another example of that. When it came to making observations, or when he got into the right head space in a lab somewhere, he was diligent and rigorous, but when he had his back up, he was reckless to a dangerous degree. That's how he found himself flat on his back in a Jeffries tube down the corridor from the new doctor's, Mott's, quarters. He was busy adjusting the environmental controls to begin introducing a light mist of a relatively harmless agent into the good doctor's atmosphere. Itching powder. It was an old gag, but it was classic for a reason.

There was even plausible deniability as far as he was concerned. A ship this old, having been mothballed for as long as she had been, who could imagine what sorts of things might be lingering in the air ducts? He was softly singing a tune his mother used to sing him when he was a child as he worked. Revenge always put him in a good mood. He knew he probably ought to work on that, and he would...once the doctor had paid for all his petty insults.

Ben was bored if there had been a holodeck on this Universe forsaken ship he would have been there, living out some fantasy, but since there was none, he had decided to do the next best thing, wander this ship. He wasn't far from his quarters when he heard what he thought was whistling.

At first, he couldn't locate the source, or even where it was coming from. But, he did eventually pick up on it. It was in a Jefferies Tube. Being curious, and of course bored, he climbed inside.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked loudly.

Finn jumped. Well, he jumped as much as a man on his back carrying power tools could jump, anyway. He craned his head around to see just who the hell had snuck up on him like that. The man was big, and looked muscular in a way that said 'I know how to use these muscles' rather than 'I know how to use gym equipment.' He tried to look as innocent as he could, which he was generally fairly good at as he had lots of practice. "I'm working. What the hell are you doing"

Ben raised one brow as he surveyed the scene more closely. "I am just walking around, trying to relax. But nice try at trying to distract me. What exactly are you working on this late at night?"

"A...personal project," Finn said, which was true. "The environmental controls seem to be a little off in my quarters," which was also true. That the two things had nothing to do with each other really didn't matter to the narrative Finn was trying to create. "So if you'll let me get back to it, I'm certain I'll sleep much more soundly knowing this gets done." Again, that was also technically true. He never slept so well as right after he'd made someone pay for attacking him. he sighed inwardly. He really needed to work on that.

"Sure," Ben replied with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. " I'll be glad to do that for you, just show me to your quarters, let me see for myself, and then I'll be on my way. How does that sound to you?"

This wasn't getting him any closer to his revenge. He decided to change tack. He smiled, a smile filled with mischief. "Are you asking me to take you to my bedroom? I have to say that I usually get taken to dinner first, but I suppose some people are more direct than others." Hopefully, that would rattle the man enough to get him to drop this line of questioning.

Ben looked at him, finding it hard to keep a straight face. "Yes, I am asking you to show me to your bedroom, you catch on quick. But just to check out your story. Then I'll be on my way unless you don't want me to."

Finn narrowed his eyes. The man was being impossible. This was supposed to be a ship of privateers. Why was there a gods damned Stellar Scout on board? And why did the man have to be interrupting a perfectly good revenge prank? Finn sighed and began crawling out of the tube. He'd been feeling flushed all day, and being stuffed in this Jeffries tube had only made it worse. He wedged the small canister of itching powder back into his bag as he crawled out. "Fine, Muscles. Let's go." He started for the turbo lift. He just hoped this man didn't find it odd his quarters were two decks up.

When they arrived, Ben was indeed wondering why the cabin was so far away. "Curiouser and curoiouser, " he commented as they stepped inside.

Finn raised an eyebrow. "Nothing curious at all," he looked around his quarters. Everything was neat, everything in its place. "Unless you were assuming that I was some kind of slob. I may not have stuck with Starfleet, but the Academy taught me the importance of tidy quarters." He then figured he needed to try and 'sell' his excuse from before. "And you can feel the way the inertial dampers sort of flutter here, not to mention the fact that the temperature controls are stuck somewhere between Andor in winter and meat locker." He'd been feeling chilly for the last day or two; it made him snappy. "Can I get back to work, or do you have more questions?"

"It is down right cold in here, I'll grant you that, but this is a long way from where you were working. It still doesn't make much sense to me. And you want to come back to my place. You could sleep on the couch and it would be warmer than here."

Finn narrowed his eyes at the relative stranger. "Uh huh," he grunted. "See...that's what I was fixin' earlier. Have you ever studied how these old Constitution class cruisers were built? The tubing, the wiring...no bio-neural gel packs in these babies..." then he caught the gist of what the man had said. He really was running slower than normal today. "O'course, a good night recharging my batteries? That has a certain appeal, as well. Take a crack at it in the morning, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as my mother says." He wasn't exactly at his best, but he'd never let a little cold stop him before. "Where exactly are your quarters, Mr. ...?"

"Eagleheart, Ben Eagleheart, and just for the record, I don't make a practice of inviting strange men, even if they are good looking, back to my place. What's your name?"

"Finn Bek," he cursed his pale skin for probably turning pink from the compliment. "And, just for the record, I don't make a practice of accepting invitations from strange men, even good looking ones. I talk a good game, though." He winked at that last part. It was true that he was a shameless flirt and tease, and he could have been a complete man-whore, but he did have some standards.

"Good, then we're in agreement, besides I'm sicker than crap, and probably just as contagious."

OFF::

Robert Finn Bek
Science
SS Mary Rose

Benjamin Eagleheart
Security
SS Mary Rose