"Sweet spot" not so sweet

Posted on 12 Jun 2009 @ 3:28pm by

1,498 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: M2: Aggressive Negotiations
Location: Jefferies Tubes
Timeline: Prior to departure

ON

With an adpated tricorder, T'Pal crawled in the Jefferies Tubes, every now and then checking the reading in the instrument in her hand. Ship's internal sensors overlapped to cover ever nook and cranny, which of course was a very thorough approach. Only it had one flaw: where the overlapping occured, and the frequencies opposed each other just right, one found a senor "sweet spot'. It was something used by certain agencies for years and till this day undiscovered by mainstream starfleet. Thatr knowledge was guarded tightly by those who knew....

That was exactly where T'Pal was heading. These 'sweet spots' tended to disappear from one place and apprear somewhere else when sensors were recallibrated and T'Pal always wanted to know where they were if any was formed. One was just around the next bend, and instinctively T'Pal's senses went to high alert. Since she had "left' Section, she had been on the watching her back.

Aktuh was already there, having arrived mere moments before. He had wondered if he would encounter T'Pal in the vicinity, looking, checking, waiting. He was pleased that he had beat her there but was sure it would not be long. The sensors had been recalibrated within the last hour. She would not allow a 'sweet spot' to go without being found and monitored for long. So there he stayed, hiding in the shadows ominously, anticipating her approach. He did not know her, but with a reputation like hers...he did not have to.

She didn't see him. she smelled him first. her hand quietly released her phazer, set to the highest setting of stun. She hadn't expected anyone, and she doubted if it would be an outside threat, but she wanted to be prepared. "You can come out now," she demanded matter of factly.

Slowly, and with his hands raised in front of him but ready to reach for his phaser in a mere fraction of a second if he needed, he stepped from the shadows, a clear look of respect on his proud features, saying only, "Impressive. Perhaps you truly are as good as they say."

"Who the hell are you?" she asked indifferent to his introduction.

"It is not important who I am. You only need to know that I am here because of you. The agency is not pleased that you are looking to go freelance. They want you back. I am here to ensure that you work for none but them," Aktuh responded darkly.

It would be no use to kill him. If he was speaking the truth, they would simply sent another one. So Elinar did betray her.... she thought quietly, though her face stayed impassive and her mind closed.Many agents were telepaths and this could be one of them. "How will you do that?" she asked.

"I will remain aboard the Freedom, with your captain's knowledge, as an 'infiltration specialist,' " he smirked at the irony of that title, "I will provide you with your instructions, and if needed, I will assist in carrying them out. If you do not complete your assignments as directed, I have been ordered to eliminate you," he said simply.

T"Pal smirked slightly...the first sign of emotion. "I don't work for you," she said dismissively.

In a fraction of a heartbeat, Aktuh had her in a choke hold, her phaser disabled, her hands painfully twisted and held behind her back as he whispered in her ear suggestively, "I could kill you now."

"Well go ahead," she said, relaxing, not resisting him at all.

Her words alerted him to the fact that she was planning something, he was just not sure what exactly. Roughly, he released her, placing himself once again in a defensive position in front of her, saying, "You bluff. You do not wish to die."

"And you don't wish to kill me, otherwise you would have," she responded, studying him, leaving it open as to whether or not he would have been able if it was a real situation. A smirk formed around her mouth, letting him see that him releasing her was what she planned in the first place. Regardless how, she was out of immediate danger. It was mere seconds and her phazer was trained on him. She seemed almost relaxed, but her eyes meant business. She would shoot without hesitation. "Now, tell me, who are you and who sent you?"

"I am Aktuh of the House of Mishtak. I am sent by the unspoken agency," he responded solemnly, studying her closely.

It was exactly the way her ex-handler spoke of her previous employer. "You worked with Lealia," she said slightly mispronouncing the Betazoid's name.

"Lealia," he said, correcting her pronunciation as she knew he would if he were truly who he said he was, "Indeed."

"Why would they go to so much trouble to keep me in tow," she asked, lowering the weapon, but not her guard.

"Rumor is you were testing the waters in freelance," Aktuh explained, "Let's just say...they would rather you work for them. If your reputation is deserved, you are...more valuable...in their employ and a...loose canon, to use a coined human phrase...outside of it."

"Oh, how nice," T'Pal said with ice cold sarcasm. "And if I don't comply, you *sweep* me... is that right?" she asked.

Carefully wording his response, he said, "Those are my orders, yes."

"Give me one good reason why I should kill you now," she said studying him.

"Because regardless of my orders, I do not wish to kill you," Aktuh stated plainly, his guarded eyes meeting hers with as much truth in them as was possible for an agent.

That caught T'Pal by surprise and she let him see that. "Why?"

The corners of his mouth twitched with dark humor, his eyes shining a bit with the challenge she presented, "I wish to see firsthand if you are as good as your reputation presents you to be."

Her eyes remained guarded as she hid their depths, but one eyebrow shot up. "Really....And what does that reputation say?" tag

"You are the best," he said immediately in a tone that said he tended to believe what he'd heard, "Regardless of what task is being spoken of, you are the best."

T'Pal was aware that she had a reputation among certain circles, but had never really taken notice of it. In nearly 30 years of service, one did tend to get known in their industry. She had always worked solo, except during the war, when she worked in special operations in joint missions with seveal other units. "And which task did you have in mind to havefirst hand experience in?" T'Pal knew exactly what he meant, but played a game of her own. She was not opposed to his idea though.

He smirked a moment, his eyes roaming over her even though they were unmoving, "It is told that your conquests do not survive your...charms." he stated.

"How could they then testify to my..."charms"?" she asked with a little smirk of her own.

With a predatory grin, he responded, "There are those who claim to have...witnessed...your prowess."

"That might be so..." she mused with s small grin. 'if you can gain access to my quarters, you can stay there," she said calmly. "See if you can stay undetected by ships's sensors," she said and changed the sensor parameters, voiding the effects of the protection of the *sweet spot*. If he didn;t know whatto do, there would be an intuder alert within seconds. Calmly T'Pal watched him.

Effortlessly, he 'did what needed to be done' and crossed his arms over his chest in pride, looking at her with both another smirk and a leer, saying, "There, I am now a crewmember. Shall I meet you in your quarters, then?"

"Do what you must.." she challenged him with seeming indifference, her dark eyes hidden by her lashes. Abruptly, she turned and made her way out of the Jefferies Tubes back to the hatch that opened on deck 7 after which she made her way to the security office.

Within ten minutes, he was in her quarters, lounging on her bed, apparently relaxing as he waited for her, knowing she was testing him but also acutely aware that he was up for the challenge.

T'Pal needed to go past her office first, before she could make it to her quarters. She sat in front of her console and secured the channel, using her previous code clearance. It was still active, She was intrigued by the sudden appearance of Aktuh She had heard the name before... something about his family. When she had what she wanted, she went to her quarters.

When she did key her code into the keypad at her door, she knew he would be there, waiting for her....

OFF:

LT T'Pal
CSEC

Aktuh of the House of Mishtak
Intruder....
(NPC created abd played by LT Mari Rodrdiguez)

 

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