Now I See

Posted on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 2:59am by Sasha Vieers (Deceased) & Ensign Dorian Rochester (Deceased)
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:43pm

Mission: Death in Paradise
Location: Deck 3 - Crew Quarters
Timeline: 21:45

ON

It was late evening in the empty corridors of the USS Pandora. The mystery surrounding the deaths on Paradise Station had quietened the usual buzz and activity on the ship. Either out of fear, or guilt, many were now choosing to spend their off-duty time in their quarters, resulting in the corridors being noticeably subdued than usual.

Ensign Niala was working the graveyard shift on watch in front of Dorian Rochester’s temporary quarters. Thankfully the detainee wasn’t as talkative as usual, which made things more peaceful for the young Security Officer, but time was also ticking by at an excruciatingly slow pace. Niala was just standing by the door, monitoring the same corridor over and over again. Between himself and the other officer on watch, they were completing the same patrol route around the small space over and again. Dorian was hardly a high-security risk, as apparently being an A-grade Annoyance was not actually a crime, so there were only two Security Officers watching him. Lieutenant JG Gemak had just left for an urgent toilet break, the only notable event in the previous three hours.

Niala gave a large sigh as he moved from his place to make his next check of the corridor as required. High-security or not, Lieutenant Griffin’s routine had to be followed. He looked down to the left towards the turbolift, saw nothing, then looked to the right, and saw nothing. Niala was about to return to his place when the turbolift doors suddenly opened. Immediately Niala stood at attention and faced the wall, expecting this to be a surprise visit from Lieutenant Griffin or possibly just Gemak returning.

However, the lift shaft was empty. There was no car, just the vacant transport tunnel. No reason for the doors to have opened. Moments passed and nothing, indeed no one, appeared. Niala remained, staring at the empty space with quiet unease.

After waiting several moments and hearing nothing, Niala called out, “Is that you, Gemak?”

No response. As implausible as it would seem, he thought it possible there was a fault with the lift and someone had to open the doors manually. But there had been no notifications of service problems with the turbolifts, and indeed no one had been present to manually open the doors. The hairs on the back of the Ensign’s neck immediately stood up. Doors don’t just open by themselves on the ship. Especially not the lift doors, which would be a major safety hazard should someone fall down the empty shaft.

Nervously clearing his throat, Niala asked, “Computer, who is in my vicinity?”

“Ensign James Niala and Ensign Dorian Rochester.” Came the computer’s automatic reply.

“Okay.” He breathed out with a loud sigh, somewhat relieved that he was still by himself. But there was an obvious question still hanging in the air, and Niala’s brow furrowed as he realised what it was. “Then Computer, who just opened the turbolift doors?”

There was a slight pause, before the response, “Ensign James Niala.” The computer replied neutrally.

The answer echoed in the Ensign’s mind for several minutes, and he repeated it to himself a few times before daring to ask for clarification from the ship’s computer. It simply didn’t make sense.

“I… opened the door? While standing… here?” Niala asked slowly, as he looked to the empty lift space down the silent corridor several metres away.

“Incorrect. Access code was entered from within the turbolift.” The computer replied.

From within the turbolift. It wasn’t possible.

“What in the world….” Niala cursed under his breath as he turned to look at the console on the wall. Accessing the screen, then the Security program, he saw the usual surveillance monitors, and security protocols all in place. He shook his head and immediately hit his Comm Badge, =/\= Security to Engineering. We’re experiencing a malfunction with turbolift door systems. Please respond immediately. =/\=

There was a line of static, and no response. Niala didn't want to disturb the Chief while he was off-duty if this was just a minor malfunction, but he had a routine to follow. Anything out of the usual had to be reported immediately. Deciding to do just that, he tapped his badge again.

=/\= Niala to Griffin! =/\= He said more urgently this time.

From down the corridor, the turbolift door closed shut again, causing the usually calm Ensign to jump a little. Immediately he reached for his phaser and had it at the ready.

“Enough of this!” He growled, shaking his head. “Computer, Initiate lock - ”

However, as Niala’s hand reached the console again, he was suddenly and violently hit from behind with the hard side of a phaser rifle, hitting him directly across the back of his head. Falling into unconsciousness, he crumpled to the ground with a shocked groan, eyes creased shut as he slumped over. His phaser fell to the ground...

~~~

Dorian Rochester had been awoken by the commotion in the corridor outside of the quarters and immediately jumped out of bed. His room lights were off and unresponsive, causing Dorian to gulp a little in anticipation. He started knocking blindly on the wall to find out what was happening, conscious that his door was still covered by a forcefield. “Hey!” He cried out. “What’s going on?”

The door to his quarters silently slid open, revealing a darkened corridor with no lights. It was pitch black, motivating Dorian to step away from the doorway. His breath became shallow and quick, clearly frightened. There was a noticeable shimmer as the cell’s protective shield was deactivated. Dorian stared into the black for a while, squinting his eyes to see if he could make out anything. He was frozen to his place, though it felt like the beating of his heart was ringing loudly in his ears.

“Hello?” He called out weakly.

There were a few footsteps, not too heavy, but obvious enough. Shadows moved, causing Dorian to repel back another step in surprise. “Who’s there!” He demanded to know, as he reached for his PADD. He tapped the screen and turned it on, providing a dim illumination into the darkness. He held the PADD in front of him, as a makeshift torch.

Another few steps forward followed, and Dorian’s face changed as he saw his visitor; he relaxed slightly but there was confusion still in his eyes.

“Oh, it’s... you…. But what the hell are you doing here?” He asked, shaking his head. “You know you can’t bust me out of this place.”

There was no response.

Dorian frowned, and tilted his head. “Come on, you’re freaking me out now. I… I… did as you asked. I did everything!”

The silence from his visitor was unnerving and he started to fear again, as he realised the danger he was currently in. Trapped in the cell, no lights or security around. It was dawning on him that he was at their mercy now and they hadn't come to free him. He looked down and saw the Security Officer's phaser being raised up in his visitor's gloved hard. Immediately, his face broke into tears. He didn't want to die - not like this, not trapped and defenceless. Surely he could reason with them? He was always good at talking was Dorian Rochester. He just had to keep them talking.

“We are going to get out of this.” Dorian began, trying for a measured tone despite his growing fear. “If we work together…”

A flash of bright yellow light crackled from the darkness - the bolt of phaser energy hitting Dorian square in the chest. It was so powerful, so lethal, it threw Dorian back into the wall of his room, his body hitting hard against the cold metal surface. After that, it was a short free-fall to the ground, his head landing with a heavy thud on the floor.

Red Alert klaxons blared through the ship as the corridor illuminated in flashing bright red lights. Without hesitating, the assailant placed their Rifle into Dorian’s hands, then dragged Niala into position in front of the doorway and returned the Security Phaser into his hand, making it appear as if the two had fired on each other in a sudden shoot-out as Dorian attempted escape. With this task complete, the figure disappeared again down the corridor, just as the response team arrived on the scene...

OFF