You Go Left, I'll Go... Also Left

Posted on Sat May 6th, 2023 @ 6:21am by Lieutenant Didrea Zade & Lieutenant JG Nayisa Wrea

Mission: Wrath of the People
Location: Deck 2 :: Kane's Quarters
Timeline: MD5 :: After 'The Secrets Of The Boss Man, Part 2'
1707 words - 3.4 OF Standard Post Measure

On the PADD, Zora was walking toward Kane's quarters.

Nayisa frowned, raising an index finger near her lips to signal to be quiet as she watched the first officer stop in front of the doors. She doubted that Zora would be able to hear them through the wall, but she also didn't want to test that assumption. Signaling for Zade to pick up the bag, she led the way to Kane's closet, aiming to use the storage crates as cover if needed, tapping the PADD in her hands before it beeped. It wasn't until both of them were behind the crates that Nayisa whispered, "we have to wait until she leaves. Computer, lights out."

Being careful to not touch anything, Zade kneeled next to Nayisa and raised her eyebrows at her, incredulous. It was unclear if the intel officer saw the expression, however, since the lights went out and plunged them into darkness. They were hiding in Kane's closet with the Commander right outside. Did the temperature rise in Kane's quarters? "We have to wait her out??" she whispered back. "Are you serious? What if she comes in, or sees the cameras?? Do you realize that both of us will be thrown in the brig if she catches us??" The idea of Zora knowing that Zade had gotten herself roped into this increased her anxiety about even being in Kane's quarters.

"You put the camera near the floor, right?" When the Trill nodded, Nayisa gave a 'calm down' gesture with one hand. "It'll be fine, trust me. She can't enter the quarters without either your security override or a special access code from Starfleet Command." Nayisa didn't know if that was entirely true, but she was trying to keep her friend calm enough for them to get through this. She'd happily lie for that. "Keep sight of her on the cameras, though."

Zade turned her attention to the PADD in her hands, which faintly illuminated the concern in her expression. Zora seemed to just be standing there, staring at the door. Perhaps she was in deep thought after their earlier conversation. Zade remembered their conversation, only hours ago, some lingering anger bubbling in her core at the reminder of the first officer's jab before leaving the security offices. That was personal. The last time she "dwelled" was when Nayisa had told her about that dead end. Aside from occasional nightmares, Zade tried to put it behind her, or at least not think about it as much-

Beep!

The sound of the PADD in Nayisa's hands nearly made Zade jump out of her skin as she was rudely reminded of the current situation. For once, she was thankful that she couldn't physically scream, because something high pitched certainly would have left her mouth. The only audible evidence of her response was a sharp 'sss' sound as she inhaled through her teeth. "Can't you turn that down???" she whisper-hissed, tightening her grip on the survey PADD.

The beep made Nayisa jump as well, and she nearly ran out of time to press the green button. She was so focused on the PADD in Zade's hand, trying to figure out how to get out of this mess with Zade in tow. In this situation, working alone would be preferred because she'd only have to worry about herself. "Sorry," she whispered back, her apologetic smile barely visible in the vague glow of the two PADDs.

Turning her attention back to the PADD, Zade noticed that Zora had started walking away. "She's leaving," she reported to Nayisa, her voice still hushed. Mentally orienting herself to the direction of the cameras, she realized that Zora was headed for her quarters, and her mouth got dry at the idea of having to walk past them to retrieve the camera she had placed.

"Good." Nayisa waited until Zora had disappeared from the camera's view before tapping Zade's shoulder twice with the back of her wrist, a signal to follow. "Computer, lights." The quarters lit up again, allowing them to see their way out, and Nayisa led the way back to the door. Pressing the button on the PADD again, Nayisa gave her arms a little shake to release some of the stress Zora's presence created. What a rush! she thought. Nayisa pulled the cable and the spanner out of the bag. "Alright, now we just need to get out. When the doors open, just walk to the turbolift."

Looking up from the PADD, Zade asked, "what about the cameras?"

"Don't worry about the cameras. Now, how's the corridor?"

Zade looked down again. "Clear. Where am I going once I get to the turbolift?" The near-miss with Zora had Zade's fingers tingling, like she was still expecting something to go wrong. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, each pulse faintly emphasizing the anxious tingling in her hands, and she tightened her grip on the PADD. This was no time to be anxious.

"Intel offices. I should be right behind you, but if I happen to get held up, the code to the office is 235813. Get in, and just sit tight." Taking a breath, Nayisa told the computer to kill the lights once again before she pressed the panel on the inside of the quarters to open the door.

"But-" Zade paused whatever she was going to say when the doors to Kane's quarters opened. Despite having just checked on the cameras, Zade looked both ways before heading toward the turbolift, the one opposite of the direction Zora went. She wanted to look behind her to see if Nayisa was following, but she realized that that would make her look suspicious, so she just kept looking forward.

Nayisa followed Zade out, and she had the access hatch popped off and the cable plugged back in by the time the doors had shut. Pressing the button once more, she activated the spanner and hovered it over the wall panel, using her thumb to type as fast as she could to get rid of the bypasses. It took a few seconds, but she got an alert that the complex seal was back in place and she didn't need to keep babysitting the failsafe. Sticking the spanner in her mouth to hold it, she did a quick glance left and right before furiously typing on the PADD to remove the bypass for the standard seal. Once that was done, she ripped the cable out of the access hatch and replaced the cover before briskly walking in the opposite direction of Zade to go recover the camera the Trill had placed.

Nayisa got about halfway there when the sound of doors opening stopped her in her tracks, and she quickly backpedaled in the opposite direction when Zora came out of her quarters. It was too risky to retrieve the cameras with her nearby. Using the curvature of the corridor to her advantage, Nayisa remained out of sight as she turned and ran in the direction Zade went, seeing her enter the turbolift.

It was certainly surprising to turn around in the lift to see Nayisa sprinting towards her. Did someone catch her? Did Zora see her?? Zade kept the door open just long enough for her to run in before saying, "Deck five!"

Since Nayisa didn't want to get caught, she was running full speed, so she fully accepted her fate of slamming face-first into the back wall of the turbolift. A small price to pay to ensure that nobody found out what they were up to. Panting from her short sprint, she took off the gloves and shoved them into her pocket before straightening her uniform, as if she had planned the whole thing for show.

There was a pause, then Zade asked, "are... you alright?"

Nayisa looked to her friend and grinned, ignoring the throbbing pain in her temple. "Yep!" She ran her fingers through her silvery hair, grateful to not have the gloves on anymore. There was an itch that had been nagging the back of her head for the last five minutes. Once she gave that itch a satisfying scratch, the intelligence officer placed her hands on her hips and took in a breath, as if she had reached the top of a mountain and was inhaling that crisp morning air. "Oh-ho-ho, what an adventure!! I so can't believe we did this!"

Thankfully, the ride to Deck 5 was short. When the doors opened again, Nayisa stepped out of the lift. "Maybe I can go get the cameras while the analysis is running. But oh my god, that was amazing! I can't believe we finally got to..." She only walked a few steps before realizing that Zade wasn't following her. "Zade?" she asked, turning around to face the turbolift.

The Trill was finally free of this stupid endeavor, and now her annoyance at Nayisa even pulling off such a stunt was returning. How was she so chipper about this??? Did she forget that she just broke several regulations? Zade pulled the tricorder out of her pocket, the one that had been masking their signatures, and stuffed it into the bag along with the survey PADD before underhand throwing the whole thing at Nayisa. Throwing the bag helped hide the anxious tremor in her cold hands from the stress of the situation. This was very different from even the toughest security assignments she had dealt with. "Don't involve me in things like that again," she growled. It was then that she stepped out of the lift before heading to the Lounge. After all of that, she needed to calm her nerves before even beginning to deal with Nayisa and her actions.

Nayisa caught the bag, then watched Zade storm off. She felt a small pang of guilt for dragging her into this, but her contribution was quite necessary. If the analysis of the samples she collected matched P'Rel's hypothesis, then this was huge. It could change the course of the trial, and that was worth having Zade mad at her for a day or so. Deciding to let her friend be mad on her own, Nayisa returned to the intelligence suite to lock herself back in P'Rel's office.