Space Ministry
Xyril City
Stardate 57363.4
Deputy Commissioner Dreno’L smiled in smug satisfaction as the human freighter captain arrived with his cargo. The parts were going to be used to build a prototype space vehicle capable of taking a Xyrillian anywhere he or she wanted to go without the use of the engines that the species had used for the last two centuries. Their own warp propulsion was still primitive and the scientists on the homeworld were reluctant to upgrade it because it did work. The only problem was that it broke down far too often and the Xyrillian crew had to covertly or overtly hitch rides in order to get the engines working again. As his assistant ushered Nicholas Locarno into the office, Dreno’L saw a young girl holding the human’s hand. She looked to be about ten years old, although he knew that was subjective, since different species matured at different speeds.
‘Mister Locarno, I’m so glad you were able to procure my merchandise. The gold-pressed latinum is being transferred to your ship as we speak.’
‘Your merchandise is being taken to the hangar as you requested,’ Locarno replied, eyeing the Xyrillian with suspicion.
‘You didn’t need to come here to tell me that.’
‘Did you know that this little girl was on board still?’
‘I thought all had perished, or so the last report stated. I will speak with the patrol captain.’
Locarno smiled. ‘There’s no need for that, Commissioner. You and I both know what happened aboard that ship a few months ago.’
Dreno’L kept his face neutral as Locarno told him a story, no doubt from the little girl’s perspective, about a group of raiders attacking the ship and killing its crew when they refused to cooperate. He looked at the girl, such a slip of a thing, and realised that neither she nor Locarno would be a problem if his plan made it to fruition. The girl tugged at Locarno’s tunic and he stopped telling the story, kneeling down for her to whisper into his ear.
‘Linnis thinks that you’re putting a bomb on board my ship. Are you?’
Dreno’L knew his face betrayed him and could do nothing about it when he saw the realisation on the human’s face.
‘She’s the real reason you wanted me to get those parts isn’t she? You knew there was a survivor and you knew that she wouldn’t let any of your men near her. So you hired me to do your dirty work.’
‘Very astute,’ the Commissioner replied, abandoning his pretence. ‘Since you know about the bomb I suppose you’ll call the authorities. I must warn you, they will ignore you after a cursory examination reveals nothing.’
‘Linnis has some very interesting gifts, Commissioner,’ Locarno replied. ‘Somehow I doubt that I’ll be having any trouble from you.’
‘What can that little thing do?’ he sneered.
‘What were you planning to do with us?’ a voice said behind him and he turned to face an adult female who looked like Linnis and wore a military uniform of some kind.
‘Who are you? How did you get in here?’
‘Did you want our ship? Our minds? What was it you heard about us?’ another voice said, this one male, as he advanced on the commissioner.
‘I wasn’t going to do anything with you,’ he answered, scrabbling backward. ‘It was all the patrol captain’s fault.’
‘What was?’ the woman asked as she walked toward him.
‘Our engines are out of date, we needed something new. Your minds can help us!’ he said, trying to regain his dignity as the two soldiers continued to advance from different directions. ‘You would have been handsomely rewarded.’
‘I think he’s had enough, Linnis,’ Locarno said as Dreno’L sank to the floor and began moaning.
‘He’s a bad man,’ the Ocampan replied with a strong voice.
‘Yes, he is,’ Locarno agreed. ‘But if you hurt him, you become just like him. Your parents wouldn’t want that, would they?’
Linnis looked up at him and shook her head.
The apparitions vanished and Dreno’L looked up. ‘What happened?’
‘I told you she had some interesting gifts.’
‘Then I will use her for the ship!’ he said, regaining his equilibrium.
‘How? What exactly can the Ocampa do?’
‘Their minds are so powerful. They can guide anywhere, and they can do it fast.’
‘How do you know that?’
‘One of my colleagues found a ship adrift and experimented on them,’ the commissioner replied as he returned to his desk. ‘I’m just continuing his work.’
‘Not anymore you’re not. I’ll tell the police here everything you’ve just told me.’
‘You won’t get that far,’ he said and pulled a Klingon disruptor pistol from his desk.
‘Linnis, I think we should leave.’
‘I can hurt the pistol,’ she replied, looking up at Locarno.
‘How?’
‘Like this.’
Nothing happened.
‘Hah!’ Dreno’L replied and pressed the firing stud.
Nothing happened.
‘Goodbye, Commissioner,’ Locarno headed for the door.
‘Security!’ Dreno’L called. Two Xyrillians reached the doors as Locarno did. ‘Arrest them,’ he added, waving the disruptor around.
The Xyrillians raised their own pistols and pointed them at the Commissioner.
‘These people are unarmed, Commissioner. Were you going to shoot them?’
‘It’s not working, an antique, see,’ he retorted and shot the guard in the chest.
As the first guard collapsed with a smouldering burn, the second fired at the commissioner.
Linnis buried her face in Locarno’s leg, crying.
‘I can hear him dying,’ she said of the guard.
‘So can I,’ Locarno replied. ‘Come on, I want you to meet some friends of mine who can help you.’
‘Sir, please wait. We need to take statements from you both.’
‘You can take a statement from me, not from her,’ he replied gently. ‘She’s already traumatised from the loss of her parents.’
The guard nodded and pulled out a padd. ‘Where are you based?’
‘Starbase 535, and I shall be heading directly there once we are finished. You will find a number of parts from her parents’ ship in the hangar where my ship is berthed, the Kolvoord. I was hired to steal them by the Commissioner for use in what I gather was an illegal project.’
The guard said nothing as he took all the information down. ‘Everything’s going to be alright,’ he said to the girl. ‘You can leave now, Mister Locarno. I’ll deal with this. Thank you for your cooperation.’
I'm probably missing something, here, uh?
