Tracking Party: Wounds to Lick

Posted on Thu Sep 2nd, 2021 @ 4:18am by Commodore Ledeya ‘Ed’ Ehestri (*) & Madison Indri

Mission: Elsewhere
Location: Freecloud
Timeline: 2396
1755 words - 3.5 OF Standard Post Measure

Calliope was sore. Her bodily aches being the least of it. She glared back through the cabin at the force field security containment where the lithe Orion woman sat atop an empty crate meant to serve her as a make-shift chair. Even though it was *her* in the containment field, having been stripped by the transporter beam of any weapons or devices, and left without any means of escape, facing incarceration, the damned woman still looked like a prowling tiger, fixing Calliope with a one eyed stare through the dark cascade of her straight jet black hair, and giving a little quirk of her lips as if to say she had Calliope’s number. She’d been supplied disinfectant, wrappings, and a medical knitter to manage the knife wound Indigo had dealt her.

Calliope hated to admit it, but she’d possibly be laying in a drain, except for Indigo’s knife throwing skills. That and a little quick thinking on her own part by using the transporter tag meant for Messier on the hit-woman instead. She was supposed to have been returning with Messier though.

Calliope winced as Ryder unstrapped the disruptor damaged chest plate. “Easy! My arm.” Calliope protested. “And my back.” Her face was still half swollen from being ground into the concrete. If anything it looked worse now— puffy, adding ugly shades of yellow and purple to her already mottled skin tones. Ryder started to catalogue her injuries and go over them with his tools.

She glanced in the other direction at the cockpit of the runabout where Lt. Baranovski managed the helm. He seemed fine. “Report, Doctor…” She grunted.

“Lt Baranovski and I were held up above ground fending off Wexler’s men.” Ryder explained. “When guns were drawn we had to explain ourselves to the locals down the barrels of their pistols before we could catch up with you. They were taken into local custody.”

“Indigo took Crewman Messier with her.” Calliope held up the comm link Indigo had tossed her in that last moment. “Hopefully we can at least still make arrangements for him to debrief.”

“I’m glad you’re the ranking officer here. I certainly don’t want to be the one to explain this to the Commodore.” Ryder tore open a sterile pad already soaked in some kind of solution. “Hold this against your face, but avoid getting it in your eye.”

Calliope winced with the burn before a numbing and cooling effect set in and she leaned into the pain relief.

“You can’t injure yourself like this,” Dr. Ryder clucked his tongue. “Not with your medical history.”

“Injure myself? I had help with that, you know. Besides, what medical history?”

“I just mean, you’re not,” He cleared his throat and she saw his adam’s apple bob with a nervous swallow. “you know, as young as you used to be, Commander.” He rested a caring hand on an unscathed forearm to try to ease the delivery of what he was trying to say. “It takes longer to heal and bounce back. I can only do so much but cellular regeneration is still just a natural process that medicine can only help along.”

“What are you couching, Dan? Are you about to prescribe me bed rest again?” She hadn’t taken it before and she knew she needed to hit the ground running again to catch up to her duties back aboard the Paracelsus. “You know I don’t have time to laze around.” Even if she did, she reserved every day she could for shoreleaves with Lance.

The subspace comm started to trill from the cockpit and Calliope closed her remaining open eye to block out the universe and all of her present troubles.

“Is Coooommooooodoooore.” He sang out in a bellowing tone. “Is very much wanting to speak to you, Commander.”

Calliope shuffled to the cockpit and, very gingerly, took the co-pilot’s chair, her hand still covering half of her face with the treatment cloth from Ryder.

Ledeya was impatient especially as it was so late in the evening. She was working late in Starbase 621 anyway after the bombings but she had a sinking feeling that the operation was not going right. It only grew when the connection took a lot longer to be answered and then the Commander appeared with a cloth covering her face. The Betazoid had thought her dirty and bloodied but it was nothing compared to Calliope in her opinion.

“Commander?” She demanded in a softer tone than she had first been considering using once she took in the woman on the screen.

“Commodore Ehestri,” Calliope acknowledged. “I know this looks bad, but I can explain. We were able to locate Messier—”

The Betazoid woman held up her hand, she did not want explanations, she wanted to see Messier and have him explain the mess that had been created. She wanted to see him in the flesh. “I want to see him Commander.”

“He is not in our custody.” Calliope tried not to think about her swollen lip as she talked.

Ledeya frowned a confused look crossing her features as she tried to think of how wild a tale that it was going to fast become. “Then let's hear just how bad this is then.” She indicated for her to continue.

“The Watchdog of whom we previously spoke, Ms Indigo, was instrumental in narrowing down Messier’s location, but a number of other parties also made similar deductions at the same time. We believe we made contact with several armed personnel from an organization run by a mobster who goes by Wexler. Those persons are in Freecloud custody. The crime family that Messier originally made contact with, the family which touched this whole affair off, are called the Graves and they operate at least out of Daucina. They sent a hit woman. Unlike Messier, she is currently in our custody.”

“I believe I will be having many conversations with the Freecloud Defense Network over the next few days then.” Ledeya said aloud as she wrote on a PADD that had been passed into her hands by someone off screen. “Thank you.” She said, offering a small smile to the person before returning her attention to Calliope. “None of that explains your lack of a crewman though Commander.”

“Messier…” Calliope sighed angrily. “Convinced Indigo to take him into hiding, while I was… otherwise engaged. I was unable to trace their whereabouts. But, she did leave me with a method of contact. I think she expects us to live with a compromise. She intends to protect Messier, but will probably allow us to question him.”

“It seems the Crewman is a lot smarter than we give him credit for then. I am relieved to see that you are not dead by being otherwise engaged.” Ledeya finally said softening again as she shook her head.

“Thank you Ma’am.” Calliope hurt physically, but she was also still coming off the adrenaline of the engagement. She was Starfleet and she was doing her job. Risk was just a part of that to her mind.

“We both knew this might not achieve success but I like to believe that this was successful for the most part even if we now have an AWOL crewman.”

“It’s not how I hoped it would resolve, but at least someone knows where he is, and with any luck, he’ll know something that can help Fleet Investigations in the region.”

Ledeya shook her head. “He is alive commander. Sometimes in this situation that does not happen.” Ledeya said honestly. “I am pretty sure he will be a fountain of knowledge once he has calmed down from his jolt through the universe. Is your new watchdog friend trustworthy to give you something truly capable of contacting her?” Ledeya could not blame the young man for his approach even if it had caused her mountains of paperwork.

“I checked the link in my tricorder. It’s an active one, but uses an encrypted anonymized vector hub on Freecloud, so it’s naturally untraceable.” Freeclouders loved their privacy.

“Naturally. Strange for the watchdog to get involved like that though. They do not interfere in Starfleet affairs.” Ledeya mused for a moment as she looked down at the PADD looking at the ships available for them to get back to the fleet and off a shuttle.

“Agreed. I think she reacted to Messier like he was a lost puppy, really. If anything, she might actually catch heat from the Watchdogs for it when they hear from us.”

Ledeya shook her head. “The Watchdog are not soft hearted.” It was bothering her, there was something that they were missing about Indigo but it was not something that they could dwell on. Messier was safe, which was more than she had expected outside of their custody. “But that is something to investigate another day.” She admitted. “Doctor? How soon do you need assistance with injuries?” She asked knowing the other two would be close by.

Peering out from around the copilot station in the background, the doctor piped in brightly with his response. “No one here is in dire straits, Commodore. We can lick our wounds with the equipment I have on hand. I’d prefer to have Commander Zahn monitored with sickbay standard equipment within 48 hours, however.” That it was for reasons entirely off record, Dr. Ryder kept to himself.

“I can do ten point five hours.” Ledeya said scoffing at the notion it would take them two days to get to them. “Unfortunately it will not be the Cosmos we are tied up with the situation on Starbase 621 but the Bodicea should be with you soon enough to assist with the wound licking.” Ledeya commented just seeing the corner of the doctor's head on her screen.

"I will lay in a rendevouz course with Bodicea." Lt. Baranovski confirmed. "With luck, Commander Zahn's face heal up as pretty as mine, maybe." He caught Calliope rolling one eye and chuckled.

Ledeya wanted to roll her own eyes but stayed just staring at the screen. “Thank you Baranovski. I hope you are as witty in your report as to why Zahn looks like that. It will be an interesting read.” Ledeya said dryly not missing the eye rolling or laughter. At least they did not seem to be severely affected by the turn of events.

"Yes ma'am. Considering Baranovski's gift of gab, it promises to be a good yarn. Zahn out."