[ Lt. Jonathan Byrne | Brig | Security Center | Deck 07 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Pierce "I'll do my best," said Nicander quietly. Still cautious, Byrne watched the Doctor climb off his bunk bed and walk over to the table - the ruined bionic arm hanging at his side. Nicander picked it up with his tattooed hand and seated himself by the small table, balancing the PADD in his grip whilst awkwardly trying to access the information Pierce had sent him with his thumb. He ended up having to put the data tablet down on the tabletop in order to browse the intel on the Klingon Councilors. Then, the ship shook from more sustained enemy fire, and the PADD slid off the table and down unto the deck, forcing the weary Doctor to start over.
Meanwhile, Pierce approached Byrne, and she asked a very poignant question. "Didn't the current Chief Medical Officer have him wear some kind of device on his head? That's that the report said, at least," he said to the other Lieutenant. He glanced towards the stationed Brig Officer, wondering if the man still kept it at his station. "I'm just not sure what to think. I mean, he nearly got out. The forcefield emitters around the opening to his cell had to be repaired and reinforced while he was out, but I'm a spy, not an engineer. I have no way of telling if that will be enough."
Shifting his feet and putting a hand on the cannon mounted beside him, Byrne gave it some further thought. "Can we even trust that he'll give us the right intel? If he turned, this morning, and this thing here didn't work, then there is
no way he'd give us the right Councilor. He'd lay the blame squarely at the feet of any prominent Martok supporter in the Great Hall, wouldn't he?"
Looking at the screen of Pierce's PADD, synced with Nicander's, it seemed the Doctor was browsing the faces of the Councilors, and the Klingons were either high-lighted or dismissed with a tap of his remaining fingers.
"It says here there are six vacant seats in the Klingon High Council," said the Doctor, frowning and rubbing his temple. "This, after Councilor Gothmara and Morjod staged a coup against Martok, briefly deposing him from office in 2375. Destroying the Great Hall, the two managed to kill most of the High Council members. It says that in the initial attack, Martok's wife Sirella died, as did Martok's daughters Shen and Lazhna. If this intel is up to date, then Martok has yet to restore Houses to these vacant seats, leaving eighteen Councilors..."
The microphone was still off, so Nicander still couldn't hear them, which had Byrne make his recommendation. "I don't know about you, but perhaps we should ask him to wear that thing again, because I don't trust him. Perhaps I should give him the benefit of the doubt, not being paranoid and all that jazz that comes with our duties in Starfleet. But we are spies, Pierce, and we know that unless we're cautious, the enemy can get the better of us."
Doctor Nicander continued, catching the PADD as another impact against Thea's shields made the Sword shake. "I could see Councilor Cha'lak, of House Cha'lak. Councilors Ganbral, Grevaq and Kolen...." he murmured, staring intently at the faces on the small screen with his pale grey eyes. Silent, the Doctor continued removing Klingons whom he'd seen through the eyes of the other Infested, and the representatives of Houses Konjah, Kriton and Kryan were dismissed as well. That was when a loud noise was heard from outside the Brig. A... roar?
"What the hell?" said Byrne under his breath, and he saw how the Brig Officer stirred as well, rising to his feet and checking the energy level on his Type-III rifle. "What's happening?"
"We have an intruder in the Security Centre, and too few officers defending it. They are all holed up in our central surveillance hub, or out defending the ship. Jesus fucking Christ..." The Security guard swore under his breath, looking at the screens in in his Brig console. "It's a bloody Gorn. Ferocious. Huge thing, and it's tearing down doors bare-handed, looking for prey. Fuck, it just struck Simmons down... Oh, god, it's eating her... It's
eating her! Fuck, this is bad."
Byrne could see that the man was nervous, and while he was feeling the adrenaline rushing through his own veins, he had to keep the man calm. "
Hey, listen to me, what's your name?"
"Crewman Tucker, s-sir," came the reply, eyes flickering between the screens on the console, his rifle and the interrogation room doors, as if expecting the Gorn to tear its way inside through those, and perhaps it might...
"Tucker, take a breath, and take a firing position with your console between yourself and the doors, and
tell us if it's heading inside here, okay? Do you understand me?"
"Aye, s-sir. Okay... Okay..." Hands visibly shaking, face white, Tucker did as instructed, and Byrne returned his attention to Pierce and the Doctor. By that time, Nicander had four suspected Infested left, and while he was unhearing and oblivious to the threat of the Gorn just outside the Brig, they could still hear him speak when he was finished.
"The faces unaccounted for are Councilors Daa´maq, J'mpok, Kopek and Torg," he said in his faded accent and put the PADD down on the table. "Do you have any recordings of these Klingons available? I
did hear the voice of the Host body before..." Nicander gestured with his remaining hand, indicating the embarrassment of the morning.
Byrne, leaving Pierce to continue doing the talking with the Infested, drew his pulse phase pistol and held it in a two-hand grip, keeping the muzzle lowered for the time being and his finger off the trigger - facing the direction where the Gorn might tear itself inside to get another snack.
Topic: CH06 Battle Log: Discovered Identity [D03|1430]