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Posted on Tue Feb 12th, 2019 @ 1:33pm by Lieutenant Aemilia "Millie" Stepanova & Commander Vox Templar & Lieutenant JG Chance Crow & Patricia Crow

Mission: Shore Leave
Location: Millie's residence, Moscow, Russia, Earth
Timeline: Shore Leave 2

Prior to "Night at the Ballet.]

Millie pulled up her feet and tucked her legs under her on the sofa, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders. She felt 'cold', but she knew from her crisis training that it was her body's reaction to the shock. Kidnapped... Millie couldn't help but shudder slightly. In hindsight, she was more scared now than she'd been in the moment. It was unnerving to know that she had been tracked down outside of the Bolshoi.

Banks paced but hadn't said much as not to add to the stress of the situation but she needed to debrief her and find a pattern. "So, you wake up in the room, it's just the two of you. What happened then?"

Millie sighed. "He rambled on for a while. Said that I ruined his plans for getting you back, that he was going to take away everyone you cared about, including me." She gave a shiver, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders. "He said that I wouldn't understand his suffering, so...I asked him to tell me."

That stopped her mid-pace. "What did he tell you?"

At that moment, Chance entered, his disposition indicating he'd been told it was an emergency, but not much else. With tridorder in one hand and med kit in the other, he spoke out, "What happened?" By the time he finished just that, he could tell who the victim was here, and approached Millie, waiting for an answer from either of them.

Millie gave a sigh, not looking up. "Kidnapped."

Chance knelt down in front of her, opened his medkit, then began to scan her from head to toe. "Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you?" he asked gently.

"I--I don't know." Millie's voice trembled just slightly. "They sedated me, so I don't--" She pulled the blanket around her shoulders.

"That's alright," he said quickly. A preliminary look at his tricorder gave him an unsurprising answer, and he did a visual scan of her as well. Her eyes were dilated, as he'd expected. "At the moment, I want you to lay back, and put your feet up." When he had helped her to do that, he scanned with his tricorder again, looking for more hidden problems, if they were there.

Millie slid the blanket from around her shoulders, her hands trembling slightly as she folded it. She laid back on the couch, propping her feet up on the blanket. She didn't want to look at them...at either of them. It had been a long time since she'd been scared--this scared.

Banks knelt down beside the couch, putting a hand lightly on Millie's shoulder. "Is there anything I can get you?"

Millie shook her head. She watched Chance out of the corner of her eye, visibly uneasy.

"It's okay." Banks patted her shoulder. "I patched into the security network and saw the video of the abduction. It looked pretty standard and I could probably guess what they gave you. When I arrived I didn't see any indications of anything to...worry about. You didn't even have a button out of place."

Chance nodded in agreement. "I'm not seeing any trauma to the body...of any kind." In between checking his readings, he was visually scanning Millie as well. It didn't take much to see how uncomfortable she was, and he could only imagine that not knowing what had happened must make the imagination run wild. "Still, if you'd rather a female doctor, I can get Melanick or another for you."

Millie shook her head, almost too eagerly. "No--no, please don't. The less that people are digging into my medical file, the better." She averted her gaze, flushing with embarrassment. "I--I'd rather that Starfleet not get involved in this."

Chance raised a brow, not having expected that from the counselor. But everyone was entitled to their reaction, and nothing had seemed to happen on Starfleet property, so he could comfortably nod in the affirmative.

Banks nodded too. "I think that makes sense. I can follow up though unofficial channels."

"He said he was going to kill me...as soon as he finished his drink. But he never-- He didn't finish the drink. He left it on the desk." Millie looked up at Banks, concerned. "Do you think he'll come back for me again?"

"I can't promise he won't. He tends to pop up now and then. We just have to keep our guard up when you're off the ship."

As Chance listened to them, he felt his hackles rise. He sat back on his heals not liking where this was heading. "Who?" he asked, hoping he was wrong.

Banks eyes slowly drifted in Chance's direction though she didn't say anything.

That look told him everything he needed to know, and he bolted up, making a beeline for the next room. James. His blood boiled, and he wanted to explode, but he kept enough sense to know that was the last thing Millie needed, even at a distance. In all his years under his oath, he dutifully never wished harm on another, but James went beyond challenging his belief. He could certainly say he'd not lift a finger to save the other man, but he was fairly certain now that he could comfortably go on the offense without a pang of guilt. Did he have nothing better to do than haunt them?

Banks stayed where she was, knowing Millie didn't need to be left alone. "If you have any business planetside I can handle it for you."

Millie shook her head. "I still have work to do at the Bolshoi," she said, shakily pushing herself into a seated position. "And there's a new production opening tomorrow night, and I'm expected at the premier."

"Then I'll go with you. Been awhile since someone..." she grinned and let a few seconds of silence hang as she motioned to where Chance went...."took me out."

A flicker of concern rippled across Millie's brow. "No, don't feel like you have to shadow me during your shore leave." She glanced to the direction where Chance had vanished, and then back again. "If the both of you want to come, and his son as well, I can certainly get you tickets for my theatre box. That's not a problem. But please, I'm sure I'll be fine. Don't let this put a damper on your time together."

"I'll be sure to starch my black bow tie," Vox said has he stepped into the light of the parlor. He was wearing a simple black coat and pants. The wooden floorboards only now seemed to be aware of his presence as he stepped out of the shadows.

Millie's heart flew up into her chest as she heard the voice from the shadows. She shoved the panic back down, pulling the blanket back up into her lap. "Vox... what are you doing here?"

Vox looked around the room, scanning it with his optical implant subtly as he spoke. "This individual you speak of... He wanted you for a reason, obviously. And that means he won't give up after one attempt." He walked over to a side table that was set up for drinks, complete with a bottle of clear liquid he deduced to be vodka. He upended an empty glass and filled it. "Having one more officer present to keep an eye on things isn't such a bad idea, Millie."

Millie struggled with hiding her embarrassment. "But... this is your shore leave. You shouldn't have to spend what little time you have...babysitting me."

"It's not babysitting. It's making sure a fellow crew member doesn't get attacked at home. We need to find out why and stop it."

"We know the why." Banks stood, facing Vox. "The guy who did it, targeted her to get to me."

"Who's still sore because of me," Chance said sourly from the doorway he'd disappeared through.

"Maybe you can rest up at the beach with Patricia. I'll watch Millie. I've already scanned the building security and have set up several mobile sensor modules," Vox said.

"It took a few moments for Banks' mind to begin asking questions. She looked at Vox, a little suspicious. "How did you know we were here?"

Vox stepped forward and looked around the room as he dismissed the question gently, "It's best not to focus on such... minutiae. Needless to say, you two deserve to take the limited time we have to enjoy Earth. We probably won't be back for a long time."

Banks was nearly annoyed by how quickly he dismissed her inquiry but then a few red flags popped up and she glanced at Millie. Now wasn't the time to follow up the questioning but pretty soon she was going to get some answers.

Millie agreed with Vox. "He's right. We might not be back for a good long while, and you don't want to be spending your shore leave watching me get work done in my office." Millie gave a gentle, if exhausted, smile to both Banks and Chance. "You two should go and enjoy your shore leave."

Banks wasn't sure she liked the vibe she was picking up but she wasn't going to argue at this point. "If anything happens, call me," she said to Millie.

"I will. I promise." The counselor reached out and placed a hand on Tricia's arm. "I'll be fine."

Banks nodded, casting a quick glance at Vox, then turning to Chance, who nodded as well. They walked out together a few moments later, neither happy with the situation.



Lieutenant JG Aemilia "Millie" Stepanova
Chief Counselor, USS Mercutio


Lieutenant JG Chance Crow
Medical Doctor, USS Mercutio


Commander Vox Templar
Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Mercutio


Patricia Banks
Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Mercutio

 

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