Nicole entered the Marine barracks with the two corpsmen. Hanging back reluctant but looking around and taking in the open bunk arrangements. She saw various members lounging on bunks and such.
A hand touched her elbow causing her to jump. "Down girl." Kama laughed and smiled at Marki, "I think she believed that remark about 'conscripting recruits.'
Marki leaned against the support for one set of bunks. "Nicole, sorry if this makes you uncomfortable. But Starfleet does not Conscript or Draft recruits," she said, then added, "This isn't a bad life...and you're young and could still sign up."
Nicole cleared her throat. "Uhh, I'll think about it." With that Kama opened a locker and started trying to find a t-shirt that the gal could barrow. Marki pulled out a pair of medical scrub pants, thinking they would do. "Come on." Inside the showers each grabbed a towel and stripped. When they came out clean, hair wet, Nicole was dressed in barrowed clothes.
"Is there a Nicole Shea in here?" called another marine as she peeked into the room looking at the women.
Nicole stood up from where she was sitting playing a quick hand of cards, and said, "I'm Nicole Shea."
"Chief Warrant Officer Carmichael wants to see you in Security immediately," she replied with a shrug. "I guess it must be something important."
"Thank you." Nicole stood and tried to remember where her flight suit was.
Kama disappeared around the corner and returned with the flight suit rolled in a clean dry towel. "Here is what you're looking for and probably the item Chief Warrant Officer Carmicheal is looking for."
"Thank you, guys, for the hospitality. Maybe we can get together some time."
They both walked the lanky red-head past the reception area to the exit. Nicole smiled and walked through the doors. She'd never been to security but knew where it was. She took the lift to that sector of the station and stepped out into a room where the only feature was the double doors with the Security logo.
Taking a deep breath she entered the room behind the door and an officer at what must be, she thought, the duty desk. "I'm here to see Chief Warrant Officer Carmichael."
Immediately a woman presented herself. She was fairly tall, with curly, light brown hair pulled away from her face. Her eyes were green and she wore a Starfleet uniform with Security colors. She also wore the pins of a Chief Warrant Officer. On her arm was Chiron, her skryll, peeking out from the sleeve of her uniform. She looked at Nicole and smiled.
"Hello there, Ms. Shea, I've been expecting you," she said. The soft British accent lilting in the air. "Why don't you follow me. We can speak in my office."
Nicole looked around, then followed the woman, to an office with a huge glass window looking out into the rest of the security offices. The door opened at the woman's approach. They entered and the officer pointed to a chair. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"No. I'm fine." Nicole unrolled the bundle in her lap and picked up the phaser and reached over and placed it on the desk, then sat back and relaxed.
"Thank you," Tara smiled, as she picked up the phaser and placed it in a secure location. As she returned to the desk, she sat down and faced Nicole. "Tell me, are you happy here?" she asked. "On this station?"
Nicole looked into the deep green eyes, and answered, "I'm not totally convinced this is where I belong or that being a shuttle pilot is what I want to spend the rest of my life doing." She looked down and re rolled the uniform and towel back up. "Why, do you ask?"
"Well, actually, there are certain things that are becoming a problem on the station," she began, "And I need to do something about it. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to work into the crowd that needs infiltrating, nor is any of my people, since I need them for other duties at the moment . . . I would like to know if you'd consider working for Security in a . . . covert sort of fashion," she said with a smile.
Nicole laughed and then looked at the officer across the desk and saw that she was serious. "Would I have to Join Starfleet?" she asked.
Tara shook her head. "No," she replied. "You'll be working under me though, under my authroization . . . But you'd still be a civilian." She was quiet for a moment. "Nicole, what I'm asking isn't a walk in the park," she began. "This can get quite dangerous. But I think you are my best bet to try to stop what's going on here. You have access to the shuttles. You'll meet other pilots . . . You're already in the world we need to infiltrate."
"You are looking for a snitch!" Nicole sat forward in her chair, amazed that this woman was asking her to snoop, betray the docks--which were her life. "What is so important that you want me to risk my life and the only source of livelihood that I have?"
Tara took a breath and looked at Nicole, deep into her eyes. "Nicole, there is dust on my Station. It just nearly killed one of my good friends. I know it's being dealt also. We've been receiving reports now, for awhile. Though we've made a few arrests, we haven't been able to stop the flow," she said. "I don't want to come into work one day and hear that another of my friends was poisoned with this drug. Or that someone's child died because they somehow got a hold of someone's stash . . ." she stopped and stood as she looked away. "Somehow, someway, I have to stop this. Do you understand?" She looked back to Nicole. It seemed that drugs were another constant between her dimension and time and this one.
"I understand." Nicole sat back in her chair and looked at the pictures on the wall, the security safe where she'd stashed the phaser. "I know what 'dust' is. There's chemheads on a lot of docks and by crews on freighters." Nicole shrugged, "Sorry to hear about your friend. But being a snitch on the docks isn't much safer then being addicted to 'dust'."
"I can give you a certain amount of protection," she began. "I can give you that phaser back for one thing. I can also give you a commbadge. Any trouble, you signal us. It's not much, but you won't be alone. Would you be interested at all?" She could feel the woman's hesitance. She could understand it. She, herself, had a job to do. She would do it somehow, though she would also take whatever measures she could to do it as safely as possible for all involved.
"Okay." Nicole said bitting her lower lip. Then said, "I could use the combadge, but you can keep the phaser as I don't know how to use it," Nicole admitted.
"That can be changed," Tara replied with a smile. "If we're going to do this, we're going to do this right. I will not send someone undercover unless they can take care of themselves. I am going to set up some descreet training for you," Tara explained. "You are to have some self-defense. I'll have you trained on a phaser as well, though that will have to be hush-hush, so I'll most likely do that myself. Then we'll clear you for a few more things. When you start, you'll be ready. How about that?" Tara arched an eyebrow as she smirked.
"You must not be in a hurry." Nicole said, with a smirk of her own. "Not that I'm turning down any training. There's only one other problem...I have a rep for being clean, not being a trouble maker; so no one is going to say anything around me on the docks, round the freighter crews, or anywhere else you might want me to go." She watched the other woman sit back in her own chair and ponder what Nicole had said.
"Any image can be changed," Tara said with a sly grin. "All it takes is a little deception worked in slowly over a period of time. Perhaps during the time we're training you. Killing two bird with one stone, so to say."
"I guess in the mean time I could stop being so quiet. When did you want to start?"
"As soon as you have some time available actually," Tara said. "In fact, if you can give me your regular schedule we can work out a schedule for your training."
"I only have two watches on the docks. I work second watch. I work three on, one off, four on/ two off...and it repeats. I have today and tomorrow off."
Tara quickly took a PADD and jotted down a suitable schedule. She handed it over to Nicole. "How does this work out for you?" she asked. "Also, I would like to get together with you after lunch. Say about, 13:30 hours? I would like to start your first lesson."
Nicole looked at the PADD, and asked, "Aren't you worried about my being seen with security staff...blowing your operation?"
"As long as you arrive there before us there shouldn't be a problem," she said. "And we'll leave separately. Either way, you do need the training and so we'll work it out as descreetly as possible. This is not getting blown," Tara said. She wouldn't let it, she thought. It was too important for the station to fail with this.
"I'll be there."
"I know you have reservations," Tara replied as she watched Nicole rise from her seat. "I'll do my best to aleviate them for you," she said. "I also sense you do want to help, and I thank you for that."
"I want this too. Where do you want me at 1330 hrs."
"Holo Pursuits, like the PADD says," Tara smiled gently. "It's a civilian establishment. I'll make the arrangements for the suite. Just show up. I'll be about 15 minutes behind you," she said. "As long as no one is watching too closely, no one will know whose been with you."
"Okay." She stood and picked up her towel roll and took several steps to the door, stepped into the hall and took the lift to the docks where she put her flight suit in the laundry and sent the towel back to the marines via the laundry.
After a quick nap she woke and headed out.
Jayson and Tara approached Holo Pursuits in civilian clothes for a change. They were laughing and talking, his arm around her waist and hers reaching to caress his face as she looked into his eyes. As they reached the counter, the receptionist could see they were there for a nice afternoon together.
"Reservation for Jayson Sandoval," Jayson replied.
A smile was bright on his face as he stared into Tara's green eyes. She bit her lower lip and then leaned over just enough to kiss him.
"Yes, right this way," the receptionist smiled at the couple as she showed them to the holosuite. It was directly across from where Nicole was. Tara had looked at the registry on their way to the suite. It was perfect, she thought. As they walked in and initiated the setting of a lake, the receptionist turned back to her desk and walked off.
They waited a moment. Jayson raised Tara's hand to his lips and kissed it. "Are you ready?" he asked.
She arched her eyebrows. "Aren't I always?" she smiled back, her accent adding to the playfulness in her voice.
He smiled back at her and kissed her. "Let's go."
Carefully, they exited their suite, making sure the receptionist or any other patron didn't see them as they slipped into Nicole's suite.
Nicole was found leaning against a wall with her arms crossed over her chest. She saw them walk in hand in hand. "Hello." She looked the man with Tara over throughly, not moving from her spot.
"Nicole, this is Petty Officer Jayson Sandoval. He's going to be part of our operation," she replied. "He's also going to help me evaluate your skills so that I can see what we need to sharpen."
"Hello, Nicole," he greeted with a smile.
"That's okay with me. So, what do you have in mind?" Nicole asked with a smile.
"Well, first we try a simple defensive program. We can make the background anything. But since you're going to be dealing with the docking bays lets program something somewhat like that . . . Then we'll give you several opponents. We'll increase the difficulty of them to see what you can handle. Are you up for that?" Jayson asked, looking at her seriously.
She met his eyes. She stood away from the wall she was leaning against and said, "I'm ready." She'd changed into skin pants, tight fitting sports top and had her hair french braided so there were fewer areas for an assailant to grab.
Tara went to the control arch and made the commands, Suddenly a docking bay replaced the empty walls of the holosuite. Tara and Jayson watched as Nicole was confronted by two men - one was a Bajoran male. One was Human. Both pretty good sized. The diffulty level ranked at about a 4. The highest possible level was 12.
Nicole saw her shuttle and passed the guys still walking to it. Her backpack slid down into her right hand and her left was now out of her jacket pocket. When she heard, "Hey, babe...I'll take you for a ride!"
"Sorry, guy I have my own ride!" She said. She heard them walking behind her and each flanking her. She was about 30 meters from her shuttle when the hand closed around the one with the back pack. At the same time there was a shove against her other which threw her off balance. She instantly dropped the pack and went for the deck in a left shoulder shoulder roll. She came back up on the balls of her feet-both hands out and both men infront of her.
The Bajoran, and the largest of the two, quickly moved and attemped to capture her right wrist when she stepped in, grabbed him on either side of the head and at the same time brought her right knee up with a satisfying crunch.
The human decided while her hands were full with his buddy that he'd slide in and take her from behind.
Nicole knew that he'd take the oportunity and pushed, sending the Bajoran to the deck and with an elbow strike to the solar plexes, a stomp to the instep of his booted foot he released her. She turned as he was hopping around and caught his hand and applied a wrist lock that took him to the ground.
"Level 5 difficult," Tara said outloud.
Suddenly another opponent appeared. He was Human, but very large and muscular. "Hey! What are you doing to my buddies!" He was followed by another man who looked Cardassian.
..."Why, me?" Nicole looked at the two men, the Cardassian-looking one nealt and checked on the one who's head impacted her knee. The new human male kept approaching her while she wrenched harder on the wrist lock and he screamed. The guy walking towards her paused and tilted his head, and said, "You should never have done that, Red."
Nicole took a breath and with her other hand grabbed a fist of hair and slammed the guy she'd been knealling on's head as hard as she could into the deck and suddenly all of the tension went out of him and she stood quickly moving to the side, her hands out. She looked immediately for the emergency all stations, any maitenance techs, or loose items she could use as a weapon. She caught movement from her peripheral vision and ducked as the big human swung a length of chain at her. She ducked it and moved back toward the ramp to the main corridor when the Cardassian moved to cut her off.
Tara and Jayson observed her closely. She was doing well they thought. If Nicole could take these two down they would take her up one more level perhaps. She was a good fighter, definitely. But could she take on more than this? If there was a situation that came up where they couldn't get to her, could she handle herself? That's what worried Tara the most as she watched Nicole.
"Don't let them get you in the middle!" Tara replied.
Jayson looked at her and shook his head at her. This was an evaluation. They weren't to say anything to help. Just observe.
Nicole had to quickly wipe her face with her sleeve and her hands on her pants as she looked to see that the two down were still down and where the jerk with the chain was... She back peddled and make sure not to get in them middle of them. The big guy on her right, the cardassian rushed her as she rembembered the stylis in her pants pocket and grabbed it just as the guy's hands formed around her throat and applied pressure with all of her strength she shoved the thin point up between them and into his throat and immediatley his hands let go and she dropped and rolled away from him and immediatly checked the position of the other guys with the chains...he stood watching blood fountaining from his throat. "You....bitch!"
Nicole's blood was running cold, her neck ached. She was physically tired and she wasn't feeling anything from what she just did when she saw the other guys start toward her. She broke toward the exit but the Bajoran had crawled his way there and was knealing in front of it. she stopped and turned, moving so neither of those two were at her back. She narrowly missed being hit by the chain...on the deck she rolled and came up and ran for her shuttle. The one guy was tight and as she rolled, came up on the other side and found a length of pipe. She took the guy with the chain out as he came around the end of the shuttle.
"Damn," she said, dropping to her knees and resting both hands on the deck.
"Rest for a few minutes," Jayson said. "Then if you're ready we'll test you at level 6. So far you've held up really well!"
"You've done marvelously!" Tara agreed. "After this is over I'll have to buy you a drink - descreetly of course!" she laughed gently.
Nicole slowly stood up stretching some of the kinks out. "Geez that was great fun, guess I should have asked if I was suppose to take them alive?" She laughed. "I guess I'm ready."
Tara laughed. "All right, but let's change the setting," Tara said. "You will be dealing with other elements and different places."
"What do you want to change it to?" Jayson asked curious.
Tara accessed her memory via the CVI and reviewed all the selections that were available. "Computer, change setting to bar 546. Difficulty Level 6."
Instantly the docking bay melted away into a grimy, dimly lit bar. There were a few rough looking men. At least one human, one Fergeni, one Bajoran and one Cardassian. The Ferengi was the bartender. He was busy wiping the counter. The others were holding drinks.
Nicole moved to the bar and ordered, "Jasmine wine." She tossed couple of credits onto the counter and listened to the band and wondered to herself why do they all have to be so loud. She shook her head and rolled her shoulders and picked up her drink. After a couple of sips the barkeep moved off and over to a table where a long man sat drinking alone. Beside her sat a Bajoran and she nodded at him and took another sip of the sweet wine. From another area of the bar a human male got up and started to walk past when he stopped and suddently grabbed Nicole and the Bajoran seated next to her hit her in the head with a bottle that was left on the counter. She never lost consciousness but wasn't able to resist when she was tossed over the cardassian's shoulder like a sack of grain. Her vision was blurry and unable to stop it--her head connected with the door jam. The other two men laughed and carried on flanking the one carrying the woman and ducked into a storage room attached to the bar.
All of a sudden her mind recognized the danger and she tried fighting back and was dumped to the floor on her ass. She let out an exhalation and tried to gain her feet but didnt make it as the cardassian shoved her back down. Both the Human and the Bajoran moved in and each took and arm and pinned her to the deck and started clawing ot her clothing. Struggling she managed to get on arm free and reverse punched the human on her left side. When his grip lessened just a bit, she pulled and with both arms free she reached into her jacket which was hanging on by one shoulder, which she saw was bleeing, and pulled the knife free and touched the release. A six inch blade snicked out as the cardassian lunged to pin her to the ground himself while the other two finished pulling her clothing off. Dazed she saw him coming at her and unable to roll out of the way he basically fell on the knife...pushing she managed to get him off her to one side blocking the Bajoran. With the bloody knife still in hand she waved it at the human as she climbed to her feet and with her left hand, her back to the exit, slapped the plate and it slid open behind her. She kept backing into the bar...bloody knife out front, clothing half off, and a pissed off Bajoran and Human trying to get a shot at her.
At the bar, the Fenrengi knowing that he didn't need this kind of rep for his establishment and that a fight would just cost him money, screamed, "Computer, security now to bar 546...hurry!" he squeeked as the human male took several kicks to the stomach and chest. The Bajoran moved in and with a kick knocked the blade from her hand and from the way she was holding it looks like he broke it. He grinned and closed in once again with the 'bitch'.
"Should we stop the program?" Tara asked Jayson, differing to his judgement on this one.
"Let's give her another minute and see if he can get out of it. If not, we'll freeze the program."
Tara nodded with a bit of concern as she continued to watch cautiously.
Nicole back peddled around the room moving anything and everything in between them. Fighting back tears, she threw several heavy glasses at him, one connecting with his shoulder. she spotted the darts and board on her side of the room and inched her way there..."Where the hell is security!" She screamed. The human had once again regained his feet favoring his right side. Her right hand was numb and she noticed the swelling and the signs of bleeding both there and several other places on her body...weary she had to stop that and focus on the two dipshits that were in her face. She snatched up the darts with her left and while she could throw them she pocked one, stuck one in the band in the back of her pants and kept one hidden in her fist as both broke around the tables and the Bajoran grabbed her and the other moved in with a kick to her stomach...wretching and doubled over he moved in and grabbed a fist of hair and she brought the dart up in an under cut right through the thin area between two ribs over his heart.
The Bajoran screamed and shook her hard. She fought and couldn't get enough air or get her arms free enought to do anything, and since she wasn't able to touch the ground, she couldn't get any leverage when the men entered the bar wearing the red and black of SF security. he dropped her to the floor and tried to make a break for cover when Nicole lying on her side on the floor crying hear the whine of the phaser and the thump of a large body hitting the floor.
"Computer end program," Tara said quickly and immediately went to Nicole. "I'm sorry, we should have stopped this sooner."
"But we do know what you are capable of. You actually made it almost all the way through level 6. You can handly yourself better than most of the people on this station," Jayson said looking at her.
"She needs medical attention, Jayson. We shouldn't have shut the safeties off," Tara admonished.
"Tara, you want her safe when she goes out there, right?"
Their eyes met. She knew what she wanted. She wanted Nicole's help, but she wanted the woman safe.
Nichole sat up with Tara's help. She sucked in a breath and said to the woman who was looking at the wrist. "I...can't do anymore." She sniffed and looked over at Jayson and saw him nod, and squat down on the other side of her.
"Okay, we'll have other sessions but mainly to teach you to shoot and finer points of folowing suspects. But right now lets get you on your feet and walk you over to sickbay and have that wrist fixed." He helped her stand, and Tara holding on to the injured side pulled Nicole's clothing to rights.
"We'd better have her beamed to sickbay. We can't risk her being seen with us," Tara added.
"All right," Jayson replied with a nod. "I'll stay and make up a story. You and Nicole beam to sickbay."
Tara looked at him curiously. "What are you going say?"
"I'll tell you when we meet up later to set up Nicole's session," he said.
"Fine," she replied with a gently smile. She tapped her commbadge. "Emergency transport to sickbay for two. Lock onto my commbadge signal."
In a shimmer they were gone. Jayson walked out of the suite and to the receptionist explaining how he and Tara had heard a cry issuing from the suite across from them. When they checked, the found the young woman in there hurt and had her beamed to sickbay. The receptionist thanked him and returned to check the holosuite. Jayson left without another word heading back to Security.