Topic: Prime Directives

Scotty

Date: 2009-11-03 13:02 EST
Time: Early morning
Place: The Brig, unknown location

--

The thing about waking up from a phaser blast on heavy stun was that it was a lot like a hangover, but far less fun. Mostly because you didn't actually get to get drunk, and chances were that if you had been on the business end of a phaser, you weren't going to get to crawl back into your bed and sleep it off. Scotty was -- perhaps surprisingly -- not the kind of guy who got sloppy drunk on a regular basis. He liked the occasional shot, and he'd been plastered a few times, but it wasn't high on his 'things to do' list.

Still, he wished that miserable headache he woke up to would have been from a night out, and not from being phasered.

The first thing he noted immediately, past the headache, when he managed to pry his eyes open was that he was in a cell. A worryingly familiar style cell. It had some variations, but it practically reeked of Starfleet.

He might have considered this a good thing -- it had not been his plan on go AWOL, all those months ago -- except he had been snatched right before going back to bed, in his bloody pajamas, by a crazy woman who had held a phaser to the back of his neck. The resulting struggle involved most of the people in the bar, but she still managed to get him, transporting them elsewhere.

The next part involved most of the people in the vicinity. Scotty certainly had not stopped fighting just because they rematerialized in the middle of a large group of... party-goers? He had no idea what was going on, but he hadn't been done snarling, and he shoved her off and got back to the business of trying to get free.

The reactions of the people they'd beamed into were a bit perplexing, though he only gave it consideration in retrospect. There was a lot of staring, when people weren't trying to wrestle with a pissed off and toolkit-armed Scotsman.

Chaos would have been an understatement, but if his knuckles, elbows and knee were any indicator, Scotty had made damn sure that there would be plenty of bruises on bodies aside his own. There was one point where he had three or four of them on him, and he remembered the...

Did the woman who dragged him here try to actually help him? What the bloody Hell?

He hadn't really had a chance to figure out any more of it. They finally were tired of trying to keep a grip on him and just outright phasered him into oblivion.

And now he was in the brig.

His toolkit was gone -- if it weren't, he'd already be out of the brig -- and he had absolutely no idea of what he'd been brought here for, aside some kind of supposed violation of the Prime Directive. That would have been more worrying, except Scotty was too achy and pissed off to be worried right now. He had his own Prime Directive, and that was to escape, probably leaving a trail of destruction in his wake, and get the Hell back to Harold and the Red Dragon Inn.

He paced the perimeter of the cell, rubbing his face with a sore hand. They'd been... seemingly unwilling to rearrange his face and beat on him nearly so seriously as he'd tried to beat on them here. He took that as a good sign that this Starfleet wasn't like that mirror-place he'd gotten some second-hand exposure to while on the beach and prior. But it still didn't make him feel any sense of obligation to make life easy on them. The only Starfleet he'd sworn an oath to was three realities thataway, and he had no clue if he would ever see that again.

He paced the cell and mostly tuned out of the aches and pains, and tried not to feel too frustrated with the fact that he didn't even have a pair of boots on, and he definitely tried not to think too hard about Harold right now. He hoped someone had actually informed his fiance of what had happened, and he absolutely dreaded how worried Harold was going to be.

Scotty's first priority was escape. He cased that cell like a professional, looking for weaknesses; kept his ears out for any approaches. So much as a weakness in whoever came to see him, and he would exploit the Hell out of it. And he had absolutely no qualms with viewing this as a prisoner-of-war situation where he could and would leave destruction behind him in his escape.

Just following his own Prime Directive.

NightRunner

Date: 2009-11-03 20:18 EST
Prime Directive
Missing in Action

"I watch. I wait. I pick up the pieces, and I keep on going."





Time: Well into the night / wee hours
Location: Red Dragon Inn, Harold and Scotty's room

It had begun innocently, peacefully even, in the quiet hours of the Red Dragon's main room. He'd slept much of the night and most of the previous day, burrowed in his yeti furs atop the bar.
Drowsy times of waking had allowed Renne to periodically listen to the few goings-on around him. It was almost idyllic, really even despite the bite in his leg giving him an ache.

He'd heard many life-forms come and go, noting Scotty's scent as the sleepy man had gone, come, and gone again. He'd heard the Human briefly speak about some odd gadget and in that, Renne had half-remembered the PADD-thingamajig he'd been permitted to borrow. To return it, yes. However, the Scotsman was gone before Renne could speak up.

Gone, then back and he sounded strange.

In minutes, he found himself snapped awake by what counts for adrenaline in him, the sound of defiance and strange words. And a struggle.
What had Dude Two done?
Nothing as far as he'd known.

He didn't admit it to himself that the protective instinct still burned strong within but he acted upon that instinct, acted in an attempt to get at the strange Female. Her tail and a queer, most unpleasant feeling made themselves known to him in the blink of an eye.
And then the two -- Human and Not-Human Female -- were gone.
Renne accepted a fact: He was afraid. Renne accepted another fact: He had to tell the other, come hell or high water.

----------------

Renne was afraid.

He knew this, accepted it and understood the logic behind this fear.

The two Humans weren't friends -- were they, no? -- and he didn't know them. Not well, at least, not well at all. He did however, understand the thing the two Humans shared with one another and in that, he remembered a very old piece of advice.
Matrim had said it, and then walked away.

Keep things together, your things and things that are not your own. Keep things together or pick up the pieces.

Gritting his teeth against the numbing/burning/aching in his left leg, Renne found himself listening to Rubi as the three-inch Jesterette lay atop his head, blanketed by one ear. He'd heard her in the fray with the tailed Female, heard her hit the bar like an insect swatted by something much larger. She had picked herself up, guided him to the stairs and he let her curl up to rejuvenate on his head.

Renne was upstairs in a matter of a few, stumbling minutes, dragging his left leg behind/under himself in a three limbed crawl. Each door he found himself in front of, the creature scratched at with a barely restrained fury.
And each door he scratched at, his voice kept up its urgent cry.

"Doo-d! Doo-d! Hell-p, Doo-d! Doo-d Two, Doo-d Two! Hell-p, Doo-d Two go-ne! Doo-d, hell-p!"

Harold Lee

Date: 2009-11-03 20:44 EST
Harold Lee had opened the door to an unlikely new ally, a creature he'd dubbed Not-Dude.

Nearly crumpled under the news Renne brought him, too; unable to parse all of the words, Dude Mark 1 had been granted an impossibly biologically projected window into Renne's memory of the incident.

Starfleet. Struggle. Phaser fire. Transporter beam.

Needle, meet haystack. A planet-sized haystack.

Shutdown. Panic now, Mister Lee, for you are useless in the worst way and there's not a thing you can do about this. Scotty's gone, and you are powerless.

A small blue hand holding three of his fingers, a firm promise and reassuring voice, and Harold had found some measure of sense. Enough not to go running back to his beach and beg family who no longer felt real for help he doubted they'd be able to give. Enough to eye that PADD of Scotty's and make a couple of connections.

In fact, he made one massive connection: to a data PADD network, revealing a number of bases to choose from.

The haystack got a little smaller, then. Not small enough to quell his abject terror, but enough to rally brainpower to snag his jacket, both PADDs, and actually move.

Ah. The whole "where" thing. Yeah. Harold had to hope the determined little thing at his side could guide him on that.

NightRunner

Date: 2009-11-03 21:18 EST
Prime Directive
Plan of Action

"Like animals, one must never stare Hope straight in the eye."





Time: Well into the night / wee hours
Location: Red Dragon Inn, Harold and Scotty's room

"The haystack just got smaller."

Renne puzzled the strange words, unknowing of the reference.

He followed Harold by scent and kept his ears keen on listening to whatever the man might say next. Apparently, with his PADD contraption he had discovered something but as to what, Renne didn't yet know.
He didn't know, so he did the logical thing. He asked.

"Haey-sta-ck? Tha-t noh be in he-rrre. Doo-d fin-d thin-g? Wha-t? Wha-t yeu thin-k we do?"

Limp-crawling as he'd been, Renne stopped for a minute to let his aching leg just not move. He heard Harold's movements, fetching things, walking perhaps. Renne's mind had thoughts running through it constantly now -- the present and the past doing battle with one another. One speaking logic, the other irrational.
He almost growled, shaking his head to chase off irrationality. It was his time to be strong now, whether or not anyone or anything had called him to it. It was about survival, he told himself.
Survival and keeping pieces together.

Whether or not any of those pieces belonged to him.

Bly O'Shea

Date: 2009-11-03 23:55 EST
Time Two hours after Scotty?s Arrival
Place ?Abandoned? based in Rhy?din?s desert.

--------

?Bly, you and I both know he shouldn?t be here. We?ve gotta do what?s right for all of us.? Her commanding officer leaned in, almost to where they were nose to nose.

She was in links. There were phasers poised on her, all of them set to stun if even her tail came out. A loud growl pushed from her lips,? Your logic in this situation is flawed. If he is here and nothing has changed with our time line his absence is obviously of no consequence.? She could sense perhaps a bit more behind all of this. But what?

?We must do what?s right for the Federation.?

It was the only ultimatum she was given before they fired they began to drag her away. If it wasn?t enough to treat her like a prisoner, but because of her refusal to aid in this situation they had stripped her of her rank. Something fishy was going on. Nothing about what had happened seemed right.

---------

The shield dropped as Scotty had his back turned. Two guards launched her right in there. Bly look a little worse for wear than normal. She landed on her hip and cried out in pain. Her slitted gaze shot towards the two men and she yelled out,? This isn?t right and you know it!?

Blonde locks fell in her face, rough breaths were taken in, and then slowly her gaze turned upwards on Scotty. She cursed. Why did they have to toss her in here with him?

She pushed off and quickly moved to one side of the detention cell. In the process something slipped from her lips in Vulcan. There was no rational thought of logic in any of this. Her body slouched down into the corner, palms situated over her face.

A feral growl left her lips. Her chin lifted upwards,? Sure, go ahead n? hit me. This wasn?t what was supposed to happen.?

Okay, so maybe she had gone a bit over board. Getting everyone else involved at the Inn was a not so wise move. Bly thought about the little thing that took a hit from her tail. Then that blue thing, what the hell was that thing? Her brows rose in thought.

The Prime Directive in this matter wasn?t the issue. The fact that the Federation was here had been released some time ago. However, one of the legends coming to Rhy?din had never happened. She couldn?t believe how quick the crew was to act when they saw him.

It turned from them Hazing the new Federation member to arresting. The whole situation had Bly baffled. From the sign of a stunning device Bly knew that they were not going to give a warm welcome. Where she had been the one to apprehend him she was now she was the one trying to defend him.

Her whole crew had obviously lost their mind. No amount of grilling or shouting was going to get her to change her mind. It was good to have the stubbornness of her mother. If it didn?t make sense, she didn?t like it. Their reaction screamed illogical.

Harold Lee

Date: 2009-11-04 00:08 EST
God knew what Harold was doing, pacing, but the urge to move was overpowering. A tap of his fingers on the edge of the PADD, manic, movement.

He explained as best he could to Renne, what he'd found, what he could see on the PADD. A space port north of the city, listings for a Federation embassy; seemed like at least they'd have the ability to get him where he was going. Once he figured out where that was.

And as a last, desperate grasp at a straw, he sent out a mass message. Everyone he knew on the beach in the to: field. A brief call for help, a basic idea of where their portal was.

It stuck in him, doing that. Cutting right across his pride. Ugh. It wouldn't make it through the portal, that message. But Harold couldn't know that.

And so, they left the Inn. Walking in the vague direction of that spaceport, Harold mostly quiet, taking care to mind Renne's injury and speed. His mind racing with possibilities.

One thing he knew, and he grinned as he thought it; his fiance was a fierce guy, and whoever had him probably regretted it about now.

Scotty

Date: 2009-11-04 01:08 EST
]

Time: Early afternoon
Place: The Brig, "abandoned" base in Rhy'Din's desert

--

Scotty eyed the woman. She looked like she'd been put through a ringer. For his own part, he had cased that bloody cell ever since he'd woken up -- at least that headache had faded to a dull roar in the base of his skull -- but had yet to find any way out. Yet again, he wished for his toolkit. And, yet again, he reflected on the sheer irony of the situation.

At her words, though, his eyebrow went up. He had no urge to cross that cell and be friends with her, but he wasn't about to go decking her, either. Well, unless she decided to lay a hand on him again. Only one person actually had permission to do that, and he wasn't here.

Scotty winced. Just a bit. Then steeled back up again. "Well. Mind explainin' this situation to me, since we're apparently both knee-deep in it t'gether now?"

She scoffed, the reason all seemed to be a little stupid. Her fingers rubbed at the base of her neck. There was a dull drumming throb at the base of her neck. Her head lulled back for a moment to stare at the lights burning down on her and him a like.

?We have this game yeah?? Sure that was a good way to start this conversation,? Where the new Federation nexus drop is toyed with. Apprehended more or less, because most of them come easily. A few run like you did. But either way, when they arrive on the base, we pop a bottle of bubbly and welcome them.? That was obviously not the case in this situation.

"Some game." Not shockingly, it was a cool tone. And Scotty still had his eyebrow up. "So, why're we in this brig, then? 'Cause so far as I ken, ye wouldna be welcomin' me if I'd really broken th' Prime Directive. An' ye really wouldna be in here, if it'd gone accordin' t' plan."

"Because you're not like the rest of them. Not like those that come here at all." She sat down, one leg folded over the other," You've no idea who you are to them, do you?" It was perhaps the one reason why they had reacted the way they did, because of who he was.

"I'm guessin' they think I'm one o' th' other Montgomery Scotts." Scotty sighed. It sort of figured, really; eventually, he had to fall victim to a case of mistaken identity. "Am I right?"

"That'd be it." The blonde looked up to the lights again. Her fingers fumbled over her visure for a moment or two then stopped at one of her pockets. Both brows rose then fell," Now they're going off in a spill of doing what's right for the time line. Blah, blah, blah."

"Wonderful." Scotty finally sat down himself against the wall, cross-ways from the woman. "What's yer name?"

"Bly O'Shea..." Her head lulled back," I didn't know they were going to act like a bunch of morons." It was true. One glance was given to the sheild and beyond it before she leaned back and sank a hand into her pocket.

"Ye ken, ye coulda maybe tried askin' me if I wanted t' go to a party." Scotty frowned, then eyed the forcefield himself. "So, then, Bly O'Shea... any ideas on how t' get out o' here? Or am I gonna be stuck until they figure out that I'm nae one o' them."

Out of her pocket came a universal tool. She showed it off for a moment then tossed it on over to him," What about that?"

Scotty caught it, and eyed it. And smirked, pleased. "It could about do th' trick. Ye stationed here, Bly? And could ye lead us out afore we'd get stunned again?"

Bly nodded. "I want my tool back when you're done too." She smirked. Her fingers gestured to the guards a moment later and she mused, "What about them?"

Well. That was a bit of a crimp in a simple plan. He didn't even have boots on. And while he was decent enough at fighting, his body ached enough that he didn't really wanna go that route. "Three guards, two o' us, an' they're armed." He dropped his voice for that, hoping they wouldn't hear it. "Distraction o' some sort?"

A few moments were spent in thought. Brows furrowed and knit for a moment or so before she nodded, "I just need to hack into the base's system." She thought for another moment or two, "I just need to get contact to my room."

Scotty regarded her for a long moment. He could not believe he was considering going this route, but then again... it had worked once before. And it was the first time he met Harold, too. Maybe luck would repeat itself.

He stood and walked to the forcefield, eyebrows up imploringly. Put on his best 'sweet, harmless' expression and rather hoped that the bruises, bumps, smudge marks and that added to the impression. "Excuse me? Sirs?"

The guards looked back. All three of them looked... weirded-out, frankly. Scotty supposed it was that mistaken identity thing again.

"I'm pretty dusty an' whatnae, an' so's she. If we're gonna be stuck in a cell together, can we at least go have a shower?" He put his eyebrows up, notching up the innocence.

The guards perked their brows up higher, and then higher. One of the three glanced to the other two and then to Bly. He happened to be a friend of hers," If you'll make it fast we'll get you showers and a uniform Mr. Scott."

Bly wrinkled her nose," He can use my shower, seeing as how i won't be able to use it for a while." A pause was made in order to bait them," I'm being court marshalled. At least let me feed my dog while he takes a shower alright?"

It would take them a few moments to debate that issue. When all was judged on, the lead guard turned and opened the lock," You will be escourted there. One hour, and one hour only."

Mister. That was... not exactly what he was used to being referred to, not at all. But these security guards were apparently far easier to find a way around than the ones back in the last... no, the one before the last universe he'd been in. Scotty managed to surreptitiously slip the screwdriver into the pocket of his pajama pants and put on his best grateful grin. It wasn't hard; he was grateful. Just maybe not for the reasons they expected him to be. "Aye, fine by me."

Bly O'Shea

Date: 2009-11-04 20:46 EST
It was standard quarters. One living area with a wall dividing the bed space. The shower connected to the bathroom, both very old fashioned. Very old fashioned. The knobs were still turn knobs. There was one replicator in the room, and it was near the door connecting to the bathroom.

In the middle of the living area was a table, tools smeared across it along with some pet project Bly had been working on. The couch had a blanket draped along it messily and for the most part it was almost too organized. The Vulcan female kept things neat. It even looked like a male had never graced the quarters, it was even shown by the look on her face.

Bly gestured, her face gaining her composure again," The bathroom is over there." Remember, everything about this ordeal was illogical.

"A'right." Scotty cast a glance back at the three guards, who were apparently planning on sticking around in the immediate vicinity. As in, inside of the room. For some reason, Scotty foresaw another naked escape out of a vent shaft.

Wonderful. He shook his head and headed into the bathroom, wondering how he was going to be able to spring both Bly and himself. Well, hopefully she would say she had to go or something, and come in while he wasn't too keen on the notion of parading around naked, it beat bein confined.

She was already thinking. Both slitted pupils of gold narrowed on the three guards for a moment. Her chin rose high for a moment then lowered as she moved to her dresser. She pulled out a few bits clothes here and there, stuffing them in a bag behind the protective wall. When one of the men got to close she would snap," Can't a woman have some privacy!"

They were skittering back soon enough. She snapped a few times here and there, but eventually she had stocked her back for a long stay elsewhere. Another moment passed where she simply assessed a logical resolve, but nothing came to mind.

Eventually, Bly sighed and her tail was released. It crawled and creeped a bit. After a few sounds of the phasers going off, three guards were on the floor, and Bly was standing roughly five feet away from them. Her tail, a moment later, would be vanishing behind her.

The phaser fire was loud, but the alarms that shot through the base were louder. Scotty put two and two together quickly enough; he had been in the shower (getting clean and working on the vent casing with Bly's screwdriver), but apparently, more direct methods would be needed.

And with a grumbled curse, he bolted out of the shower, pausing long enough to grab a towel to at least partially hide his goods before nearly running into Bly. "A'right, now we've got th' whole base on us. So, ken any good hidin' places?"

The Vulcan was looking up at the alarm and then down at the guard who fired. He was out cold. Scotty's words forced her to snap to it with a nod. She moved quickly, bag over her shoulder," I know of a place, but we will pretty much have to keep---- Are you naked?"

She paused in opening the vent nearest her bed. Her brows arched higher," You were actually using my shower..." She peered at him.

"Aye, I did say I was dusty." He managed to get that towel securely around his waist before gesturing impatiently. "Will ye lead on, please? Afore I get phasered while in nothin' but a towel?"

"Just keep that towel on." She sneered a bit," Honestly, an actual shower in this situation was absolutely illogical." The duct was opened and she slid in," Close the door behind you, or you'll tip them off." This was going to be a long night.

"Aye, mother." He rolled his eyes right back at her, then made sure to follow.