Manhunt

Posted on Sat May 18th, 2019 @ 12:38am by Petty Officer 2nd Class 'Big Ethel' Jablonski & Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Baroness 2nd Class Schwein von Alcott

Mission: Fractured Fairy Tales
Location: Runabout Selune NCC-79010-2
Timeline: 2396, Pre-Tribunal

"So do we check out a shuttle? You know where the suspect is and where we have to go to pick him up, right?" As they stood in shuttlebay 2, the grav gurney bearing the victim, one Rafael Paulson slid past the hulking faithful security officer and the cybernetic pirate engaged to a god.

"Commander said I'm with you, so that means you know where we're going? I gotta grab a few things before we go, so where should we reconnoiter?" Petty Officer Second Class Ethel Jablonski was apparently ready for the mission, easily accepting that the civilian was there to get her to the murder suspect the command wanted picked up.

"Ja... Mein ship is... Broken, at the moment. So we will need to borrow one." Schwein reached behind her for a PaDD, then realized both of the ones she normally carried were now gone, crumbled scraps now likely in a recycler. "Ah... I need to get a few things as well. We will meet in the main shuttle hanger control room in twenty minutes, ja? We will check out a craft from there. I recommend bringing a melee weapon, just in case."

"Waaaaay ahead of ya," Jablonski replied as she lumbered off at a military clip.

Meeting in the shuttle bay twenty minutes later, Jablonski was carrying a case in each hand that were nearly the size she was, without any seeming exertion. "Okay, so since we need flexibility, I was thinking runabout. But I'm not really a great pilot, y'know? You any good?"

"Wunderbar!" the shorter platinum haired pirate started off, tapping her chest, a coffin shaped case as big as her strapped to her back. Then she thought better of it. "However... I have been having trouble controlling my increase in strength recently... We should request a pilot as well, ja? Otherwise... The controls may suffer... Accidental destruction..." Schwein looked rather sheepish as she said this and seeing Jablonski run up with twice the luggage she had did not inspire confidence in her ability to keep one of the Hera's support craft from being crumbled like a tin can between the two of them.

"Yeah, I kinda broke my sonic shower controls last week because I wasn't careful... okay, yeah, requisition a pilot." Setting the cases down with a pair of thuds, the wall in a gold tunic stepped over to one of the enlisted. "Hey, who's the officer on deck? I need to requisition a pilot and a runabout, pronto, Commander's orders."

Checking the computer at the dockmasters station, the young enlisted man answered groggily, which was understandable as it was barely after 03:30 hours. "Uh... Lemme see. Okay, that would be... Ensign Weiaex. And the Runabout Selune is on deck."

As he was talking, Jablonski watched the young enlisted man calling up files. "Yeah... ohmygod... Okay, here's the order from Commander Paris to accommodate your needs immediately." Suddenly, they were far more awake sounding. "Okay. Just put the orders in... Ensign Weiaex should be on her way to the Main Flight Deck. The Selune will be fueled and ready in five minutes."

"Good, good. So which one is the Selune?" the petty officer asked, and the ring set in the floor of the flight deck indicating the landing pad lit up beneath the sleek stealth runabout. "Oh... good. Okay, uh... what do I call you, anyway, eh? You don't have Starfleet rank, you're a civilian asset, right?"

As she spoke, Jablonski was picking up her two cases, clearly preparing to load up the runabout for the mission.

"THAT... is Crewman Steven Cho. And I'm Ensign Weiaex." From the corridor, striding in smoothly on her three long legs was a tall Edosian woman in a crimson uniform. One of the three hands was pointing at the much more awake crewmember while one of the other hands was open as if she was presenting herself. The third center hand was coming forward to offer itself for a handshake.

"Hey, Stevie." The sleek, orange skinned Edosian cocked her head to the side, flipping back a lock of mid length cream colored hair that grew from beneath the segments in her exoskeletal skin. Quickly, her large almond shaped eyes fixed back on Jablonski. "Well, your hands are a little full so..." Pulling back, she shot a quick but slightly irreverent salute to the mountain of a security officer.

Gesturing wildly with her three hands as she spoke quickly, the newcomer kept talking. "Got here as quick as I got the order. Been up and dressed since the klaxons went off a little while ago. So, you're security? You look like security. You look like most of the security team. Do we need a team with you around?" Her manner was light and perhaps a bit overly friendly as her hands gestured to indicate just how big Jablonski was.

"Annnyway, you need a pilot so here I am..." As she spoke, she glanced at the rank mark on Jablonski's gold uniform, "Petty Officeeeeerrr?"

Schwein's heart sank as she heard the voice of the Edosian pilot. She had forgotten they had one of the more talkative types in the flight department and for a moment, she wished Dox was going with them instead if for nothing more than for the silence. Stepping out from behind her partner so she could be seen, she introduced them. "This is Petty Officer, Second Class Ethel Jablonski. I am Baroness, Second Class Schwein von Alcott. We will be going to the holdings of Baroness, Third Class Sienae Nei'rrh to question a suspect. We expect... Trouble... Ja?"

"Ooh, trouble. So, not just a pleasure cruise, I got you." The Edosian's voice was slightly nasal, high pitched and a little shrill and she kept talking. "Well, pleasure to meet you Petty Officer Jablonski and Baroness von Alcott. Baroness, that sounds fancy. If you don't mind my saying, you look fancy. But, you know, fancy in that I can still mess you up kind of way."

As she spoke, she clapped two of her hands while pointing at he waiting Runabout. "She should be prepped and read, let's get this portable ass whupping under way. I don't know who this other Baroness is, but I'm suddenly feeling just a smidge sorry for her if the Captain is sending you two after her. I'm not much of a fighter, but I'm a fully rated pilot and I know my share of fancy flying moves if we get into it in space, so no worries ladies."

Unperturbed by the flurry of communication, Jablonski turned back to the Baroness to reiterate the question she had asked which had been derailed. "So I call you what, Baroness? Alcott?"

"Ah, yes..." Schwein grinned in that piratical way of hers as they headed over to the Selune. "Officially, Baroness. Schwein is enough in private, but whatever is comfortable, ja?"

"Baroness works for me. You can just call me Jablonski, we don't need to work with rank between us," the broad-shouldered security officer explained as she strode toward the Selune. Apparently, she was assuming everyone was keeping up with her, as she began briefing the pilot.

"Okay sir, the mission is to locate and detain a suspect in a murder investigation. Baroness here knows where we can find the suspect and identify him, so we'll be going in to do that. You're here because neither of us is a very good pilot, and better we have the getaway vehicle warmed up and ready in case we need to get out under fire. We're headed for the... uh, where are we going, Baroness?" The hulking petty officer paused her briefing to consult the silver-tressed buccaneer.

"There is a small station just outside the Kabul system that is the holdings of the Baroness in question, and the person in question is reported to regularly be there," Schwein replied.

"Good, good... so you got coordinates, Ensign Weiaex, and you just keep the ship safe while me and the civilian handle the rough stuff. That okay with you, sir?" Jablonski asked as she loaded her cases into the runabout, then held out her hands for the Baroness' case on her back.

The Edosian pilot stepped smoothly past the pair onto the runabout, lightly cracking the knuckles on two of her hands while waving them on with the third as she slid into the pilot's seat. "That sounds like a plan. I'll run the pre-flight check, punch in those coordinates and we can put some ions behind us."

Schwein handed off her case which literally had her entire arms and armor in it and headed to the cockpit to gingerly tap in the coordinates, hopefully without breaking anything. As for Jablonski, she settled down on the floor, as the chairs were a bit insufficient for her mass these days. Settling in, she waited for the runabout to get underway before she started breaking out and checking the gear.

"Okay..." Ensign Weiaex said from the helm, "All systems are looking good. Coordinates are set and the dockmaster has cleared us for launch. We're off, ladies." As she spoke, her hands were a flurry of activity, running over the console with dazzling dexterity. The Runabout lifted gently from the deck and cleared the Hera moments later. "We're all set and clear. Engaging maximum warp. Let's not keep your suspect waiting." With the press of a few buttons, the Selune vanished in a streak of blue light and a flash.

As the journey passed, Jablonski took the time to review her armor, which she had packed just in case, the weaponry she had brought along, and the few bladed weapons that were in the cases. As she broke down the three rifles she had brought and put them back together, she made casual conversation with the Baroness.

"I'm thinking we'll go in plainclothes and see if they wanna play nice- no sidearms, no visible weaponry, no hard points. If they cooperate, good- we'll take our perp and leave. If not, then I'm thinking we'll leave peaceably and let them think they scared us off." The large lass grinned at that, as she slapped the dense clip back into the TR-116C she was working on. "Then we'll lock and load and come back fully geared up to make a mess. That work for you, Baroness?"

"Nein... They know all too well who I am." Schwein sat down in front of her own case and cracked it open, checking over her own gear as well. "I suggest going in with minimal weaponry just to ask questions and if they resist... Then we get rough, ja?"

"Ahhh, so no second round comeback then, huh? Okie doke. We go in ready for resistance, then. You're the native here, and the Commander assigned you to this before she tagged me for this duty, so I'll follow your lead. So long as we stick to Starfleet protocol for the arrest. That work for you?" Jablonski was remarkably easygoing as she held the reassembled rifle in her right hand, and it promptly vanished from sight.

"Ja..." As she saw the rifle simply vanish, Schwein had to do a double take. "Hurensohn... Amazon tech?"

"Yeah, Commander has me testing them out for the Sec/Tac crew. They're kinda nifty, doncha know?" the big girl grinned like a kid with a new toy, rolling back her uniform sleeve to reveal the edge of a bronze bracer beneath it. "On a mission like this, I can look unarmed, since they weapons are all stored in a... I dunno what they call it, but I got a lotta holding capacity in there. Apparently Hera's old honor guard used to wear 'em so command wants to see if they work out okay. Sounds like this mission should be a good field test. I wonder if that's why they sent me?"

"Possibly. Plus if something goes wrong, they know you can hold your own even in the worst of fights and your strength seems to be a good match for mein." As she talked, Schwein was gearing up with her short swords and phasers. "Since the Commander wants this to be a Starfleet operation, I will handle the pirates, but I will let you handle questioning and arrest protocol, ja?"

"Was kinda hoping you'd say that. You be the mouth and I'll be the muscle, right?" Grinning at the pirate, the easygoing bodybuilder turned to address the pilot. "Ensign Weiaex, what's our ETA to the LZ?"

From the helm, the uncharacteristically quiet pilot turned slightly, "At current speed, we will be arriving in t-minus 14 minutes, petty officer. Are we doing this all official, asking for permission to dock and stuff?"

Schwein nodded as she strapped yet another weapon to herself, knowing that announcing their entry like that would likely make things harder. "Ja... This is official."

"You're strapping on harder than I thought... think I oughta suit up, or is that just gonna make this go even harder?" Jablonski was clearly operating on the understanding that this would be a violent affair and had no trouble with that. Rising from the floor, she produced an archaic hand phaser to hand over to the pilot. "You'll need a holdout weapon, ma'am."

Schwein grinned as she slipped one last knife into her boot."That depends on how they greet us at the door. If they don't let us dock, we suit up and make an entrance. If they do... We try to negotiate peacefully."

"My job is to protect. While you're on this mission, that includes you, the Ensign and the runabout... and all of those Federation citizens we'll be interacting with out there. So peacefully is how I'd prefer it. But..." the slab of muscle on the floor shrugged those broad shoulders, looked around and lowered her voice conspiratorially, despite the fact that Weiaex was two meters away.

"I gotta admit, I do kinda hope they pick the hard way. It'd be a relief to get the chance to cut loose against something other than weights and the holodeck. I can't even spar anymore. I had to turn the augmentors off in my EVA armor because I kept jamming the servos." The farm girl from Cestes IV had no idea why she was confessing to the silver-tressed civilian, save that she'd seen the pretty pirate accidentally shatter a few PaDDs easier than even she could.

The platinum-tressed Baroness leaned in conspiratorially. "I will send you the specifications to my armor, ja? It is designed for... Augmented humans..." With wink, she easily pulled out the gold and black torso piece of her armor suit and slapped the helmet controls, the large skull painted dome sliding into place and sealing up even without someone in it. Thankfully, the poly-duranium composites withstood the mild abuse easily, even from the much stronger augmented human. "No servos, armored joints, same material as a starship hull. Not even Freya could get through it easily."

"I'm starting to realize why the Commander sent a civilian along," the security officer said with a grin, then offered her hand for a clasping greeting between warriors. "I'm Ethel Jablonski. Hera's honor guard, Security, USS Hera."

Schwein grinned wider, returning the clasping greeting. "Schwein von Alcott, Princess Telvan's Adjutant, Thor's betrothed. It is an honor to fight alongside you."

"Ohhh my golly, that was you?" Jablonski's small brown eyes lit up, and feeling a connection with the pirate, her mouth engaged a bit before her brain. "Scuttlebutt was that the last chief, French, had nailed the god of thunder in a threesome but it like, addled her brain and drove her boyfriend nuts, so he went on a killing spree."

Realizing how what had come spilling out might have not been in the best of taste, the hulking security officer tried to turn the conversation more toward what the expected response was more likely to be. "So, betrothed, eh? Nice, nice, good on ya. Thor... so he really exists too, huh? So when you marry him do you get a hammer, too, how's that work in mixed marriages with gods?"

Schwein did her best to ignore the first part and focus on the second. "Ah... I do not know yet, actually... If I receive a weapon, I hope it is a zweihander." She then blushed bright red, realizing the double entendre she had just walked into.

At that, Jablonski giggle-snorted like a nine-year-old. Rolling to her feet, the non-commissioned officer stepped in behind the pilot, one hand resting on the back of the pilot's chair. "Well, let's see what kinda reception these fine citizens of the Federation have planned for us today, shall we?"

"Well, you two are the girls I want to have with me at the next part I go to, that's for sure." The Edosian pilot called back over her shoulder. "Dropping out of warp now and... Yeah, saw that coming. Two seconds in their space and we have a pissy identity confirmation request. Okay."

Flipping the comm switch, the energetic, three armed pilot put on her best 'professional' sounding voice. "This is the Federation Runabout Selune, registry NCC-79010-2, Requesting permission to dock."

"State yer business, Starfleet," came the reply from the station.

Leaning over the tripodal pilot, the security officer nodded for her acquiescence, then tabbed the comm and spoke up. "We're in pursuit of a murder suspect we believe to be aboard. We'd appreciate your cooperation in our investigation on behalf of the United Federation of Planets."

It was not only a textbook response, Jablonski was literally reading it off a PaDD.

The response came back after a few seconds, the voice drawling out almost lazily, the largest of the double doors on the station slowly starting to open. "I'm clearing you to dock in the main hanger. If you give us a name of who you'd like to question, we can have them escorted to ya..."

"I don't think so. Trap?" Jablonski asked the Baroness point blank.

Schwein flipped up her eyepatch and studied the opening hangar bay for a moment before the outer door cleared enough for her to realize what was about to happen. "It's a trap! Evasive maneuvers! Schnell!"

She had just barely caught the hint of the buildup of energy in the massive disruptor platform they were flying right into that the doors were just now clearing. It looked big enough to have been a main cannon array from a Klingon starbase and the glowing green emitter bigger than the Selune was definitely not a friendly way to greet someone.

Her three hands flew over the controls frantically as Ensign Weiaex pulled the nose of the Selune up and slammed on the thrusters to bring the runabout up and over the hanger door just as a massive burst of energy streaked under them. "'Evasive' is right!

The Runabout shuttered hard as the blast raked the bottom of the Runabouts shields and the small craft was knocked end over end for a moment until the multi-limbed pilot could right the ship. "Well, these are very unfriendly folks who clearly ain't in a talky mood. Maneuvering us over the top out of range of their arrays. They'd shoot themselves trying to tag us here. Oh, and there's another fun perk, ladies."

Ensign Weiaex cocked her head over her shoulder with a smirk. "In order to try and trick us into flying into their big gun, they let us INSIDE their shields."

"Then we armor up and show them the principals of blitzkrieg," the platinum haired Baroness replied with a grin, picking up her armor and slapping it on, the main suit piece sealing around her like some sort of Ironman suit with the arm and leg pieces magnetically pulling towards her to do the same.

Tossing the case with her armor into the transporter, Jablonski pulled out a datacard and scanned it, then beamed the armor out. Stepping into the transporter, she waited five seconds before the armor was beamed onto her large muscular form, and when she stepped out, she immediately fell to opening the other case as her armor case materialized in the transporter behind her. “Alcott, you know the terrain. What’s our best approach to get inside and start tearing this place apart? Can they launch fighters? Do we need to get the runabout clear?"

Even as she spoke, Jablonski was hefting one of the assault rifles onto a hard point on her shoulder where is plugged in and sprang to life, even as she pulled out a squarish drum that looked suspiciously like a micro missile launcher.

Schwein grinned wider as she cycled a pair of phasers at her forearms and pulled free her claymore. "Ja, but the whole of them should be no match for the Selune and Ensign Weiaex. If we transport to ancillary power control, we should be able to take them by surprise, shut down the station, and from there, station control is two decks away at the bottom of the station."

"Oh, no pressure! Okay, we're inside their shields so I can beam you literally anywhere inside. I'll deal with the fighters once they find us and... well crap." Ensign Weiaex smirked from the helm as the console lit up. "As if on cue, we've got three small fighters coming around from below the station. ETA is very fast. Beam out now while the beaming is good and you two go have fun stormin' the castle."

Grabbing a hard case of mines to snap magnetically to her left thigh, Petty Officer Second Class Ethel Jablonski grinned at the Baroness Schwein von Alcott. Grabbing and setting a standard type 3 phaser rifle almost as a sidearm, she slid the power setting up on the weapon and turned to stand to in the transporter. Busily she was rearranging her HUDs, because she hadn't preplanned for the loadout she'd requisitioned.

"The suspect is currently resisting arrest, as well as kinda having committed attempted murder on, like, Federation citizens and a Starfleet officer over there. It kinda looks like use of force will be necessary to, ah, bring 'em in."

"Energize," she said from behind the hard shell of her EVA armor's transparent aluminum polymer-coated refractory helmet.

From the helm, the Edosian pilot ran her fingers up the three strips of light that activated the transporter, and in a shimmering wave of silvery/blue lights, the two armor clad warrior-women we're gone. "Heh. I almost feel sorry for those guys down there."

"Almost."