Posted by Civilian Kara Nakuto (Civilian, Former CO) in A lonely terminal - Nakuto makes a call to McHarrie

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Peter Sigmundsson (Chief Intelligence Officer) in A lonely terminal - Nakuto makes a call to McHarrie

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Matthew ‘Junior’ Grimshaw (Shady Character) in A lonely terminal - Nakuto makes a call to McHarrie
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻
She had deliberately sought out a terminal on a lower deck, not so deep into the bowels of the ship that power was restricted, but distant enough to shield her conversation from unwanted attention.

It had been well over a year since Nakuto had spoken to her former CMO. The amiable Welshman’s own tenure on the Viking had been marked by tragedy from the moment he stepped onboard - a dear friend and colleague being murdered by a rogue transporter; and also chaos with the arrival of his uncle…no, father, in a plot orchestrated by Section 31, the intentions for which still unknown to the ship’s former Captain.

Her stomach knotted with apprehension at the task ahead of her, his reaction to seeing again that once-familiar, half-Klingon face impossible to predict. Would he welcome such a stark reminder of that bleak chapter in his life? Or run from it in turmoil at the memories she roused within him?

It had taken Kara a long time to track down John’s whereabouts. Her skills as an engineer and patience as a Captain combined paid off. It was clear that John didn’t want to be found. Whilst a specific location was not available, Kara had located enough to track him to a remote sector on the Romulan edge of the neutral zone…

There was only one way to find out and so, as Kara waited to be joined by Peter Sigmundsson, she occupied her trembling hands with the firing up of the terminal, its green, aurora-like glow the room’s only illumination.

Kara Nakuto

Peter entered after her in complete silence. Despite his considerable size, he was quite capable of moving quietly. Almost unnaturally so. He took a place on the other side of the console. So to hear and not be heard, see and not be seen. He crossed his arms and looked at his former Captain, someone he’d never seen so small before. So afraid.

There was quite a bit of static on the image that appeared. The outline of a figure with his back to the display could be made out in a cabin that looked small enough to be a runabout.

“Now then, James, my old friend, I wonderred how long it’d take you to track me down,” the figure said. Whilst the man could not be made out on the image, he clearly did not possess John’s distinctive welsh accent.

“That should do it,” he said as the image came into focus and the thin figure spun around on his chair to face the screen. The information overlay on Kara’s terminal would identify the man as Lt. Commander Matthew Grimshaw and annotated it with the fact that he was a convicted spy that had escaped custody aboard the USS Swift.

“And… I should have known that he wouldn’t do his own dirty work,” Grimshaw said not even attempting to hide the dissapointment in his voice, “But, I must admit to being more than a little surprised he’d trust a… well you know?.. A you.”

Grimshaw leaned back in his chair, wonderring just how far he could push his caller before she would hang up.

“You know what I think? I think he chose you cos he thought a Klingon would be able to scare me in to giving in. He should know me better than that. Ofcourse he’s hated so much in the Empire, a true Klingon would just kill him. So he had to make do with a half-breed like yourself. You are a half-breed and not just some dishonoured exile that happens to be deformed, aren’t you?”

-Junior

Peter read the information from the side and immediately recognized the name of Command… no, Mr Grimshaw. His arrest and subsequent imprisonment was all the buzz not long ago and his recent escape was a fairly prominent report that went across Peters desk. He made no sound nor did he move but his face tightened and his eyes narrowed. He made a mental note to find the man later on.

Peter Sigmundsson

Unexpected, to find this stranger on the screen in place of her old friend. Unexpected and…unsettling. Still, Kara succeeded in almost wholly suppressing the ripple of shock and confusion that coursed through her. So too the anger at his deliberately baiting words. She refused to rise visibly to his insults, even as every atom within her roared for battle.

Rising to her feet, Nakuto took a step back to fully present her height and build on the viewscreen. Not yet returned to full strength, still her strong frame and defined muscles would serve as a deterrent to any seeking a fight. Half-Klingon only in measure, that much was true. But in that moment she refused to question whether it was enough.

“Matthew Grimshaw,” she spat, her tone an audible representation of her disgust. “So we take each other by surprise, it seems. But truly you must realise how easy you were to find. You should be more careful. But then with every enemy you collect it becomes all the easier for me to find people willing to give you up without a care.”

“Ofcourse I was easy to find. I want to talk to James. Not his pet,” Grimshaw replied curtly

She could sense Sigmundsson at her side, could feel the man’s dislike of their caller like a wave emanating from him to collide with her own. Her Klingon side was relishing the chance to cross verbal bat’leths with Grimshaw further, but her human sensibilities needed to make their point. No sense in drawing this out. The man was well aware of why she had called.

“Show me John McHarrie,” she demanded. “And for your own safety you better show him to me unharmed.”

Kara Nakuto

“He’s a little tied up at the moment,” Grimshaw answered as he tapped on his console, “I’m not going to harm him. Why would I de-value my only bargaining chip? Infact he’s probably safer with me than with you. Why are you heading to The Devil’s Castle?”

Kara opened her mouth to reply before realising that she was devoid of an answer. She had not been party to the discussions on the Viking’s latest mission and, in truth, knew little more than the nebula’s name and relative position on the map. It was a natural instinct to fire a questioning glance at Sigmundsson before she could catch her mistake, the brief focus of her attention offscreen revealing their secret listener. She berated herself silently for the lapse in control but knew that Grimshaw had already caught the clue.

“Oh!” Grimshaw exclaimed after a few more taps on his console but before Kara could answer his question. “Now THAT is interesting. See being an outlaw, my data-stream and intelligence feed is some what more primitive and slower than yours. You will always have that advantage over me, but I just found out which ship you are on. What a small galaxy! Nevin, is that actually you listening in from just off camera?”

-Junior

There was a deafening silence as Peter took the first step forward, standing next to her with crossed arms. Despite her impressive height and musculature, she was practically dwarfed by the Intelligence chief. His lip curled into a dry smile but his eyes remained cold as he stared directly at the man “No such luck Junior” His tone of voice was cold and calculating, much like his expression. Revealing to the man that he knew who he was without telling much else. “We need to speak with Dr McHarrie. It’d be much easier if you gave him to us, I’d rather not waste time on the hunt”

Peter Sigmundsson

Her satisfaction at having the CIO by her side was unmistakeable and Nakuto grinned widely and challengingly at the man on the screen.

“He’s concious. He can hear you,” Junior replied.

“We have not heard from James McHarrie for over a year now,” she informed Grimshaw, her tone suggesting diminishing patience for this cryptic conversation. “What do you want with him? I hope for your sake it is not answers since he seems only capable of speaking in riddles and half-truths.”

Kara Nakuto

“Yes, he taught me well, no? Now supposing you are telling the truth, and I’m not suggesting that I believe you for one minute. You want to speak to John? Is that because Nevin said to?”

Junior paused briefly to let that sink in. “I’d put money that it is because James put him up to it. Nevin almost ended John’s career and set wheels in motion that gave him no choice but to join us. Nevin was there when James cut me loose and marooned me. I think James used Nevin to distract me and it worked. Who would have suspected a shy, junior officer that was a single parent? I didn’t. I love and care for Antos as though he were my own child but James can’t use that against me; Nevin would never allow it.”

Junior leaned back in his chair waiting to see the response of the two in front of him.

“Whether I believe you or not is really not up for discussion here,” Junior said, “If you’re working for James, you’ll pass a message on for me. If you are telling the truth, I’ll give you credit that you’ve done well to track me down. If you can track me, trust me, you’ll be able to track James down and tell him I want my life back.”

-Junior