Questions and Answers

Posted on 09 Dec 2016 @ 5:44am by Commodore Harvey Geisler & Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale & Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler

2,219 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Click Three Times
Location: Interrogation
Timeline: MD11 || 0530 hours

Once the briefing was over, and Joey had barely left the briefing room, she called down to Security to have Kr'ozzu brought back to the interrogation room. She wanted him waiting for her by the time she arrived. That would serve more than one purpose. The first... he'd wonder what was going on considering they'd already talked to him and gotten a location from him. The second... her need for a cup of coffee, which would coincide with the first.

With a frown, Joey walked down the corridor to the nearest turbolift. The briefing had been a disappointing one. Nothing had really been decided upon, and no one had really offered up any ideas. The ones that were brought up were spoken out against, but no other alternatives had been offered. It didn't really matter, though. They were back to square one, and right now, the only thing that mattered was getting their people back. That was going to happen.

After a short ride in the turbolift, she made her way into her office to replicate a cup of coffee just the way she liked it. The brunette woman was exhausted, but now she made a mental vow not to rest until everyone was back. Once they had more answers from Kr'ozzu, then maybe they'd be able to formulate a plan.

Deciding against making the Karemma wait, she tapped her combadge. =^=Corwin to Di Pasquale... it's time for round two. Meet me in interrogation room one.=^= She tapped her combadge a second time to end the link, then made her way into the room he was waiting in. Joey said nothing... merely stood in front of him and watched his every movement. Perhaps unnerving him a little would help soften him up a bit.

Camila had been going over PADDs in mounting frustration when the call from Joey came through and she deactivated the PADD she had been ready to smash against the bulkhead. She wasn't ready to be an Executive Officer, but she hadn't been ready to be a Chief of Security, either. The tap on her combadge was nowhere near as satisfying as smashing a PADD would have been, but it was what she had.

=^=I'm on my way. Di Pasquale out.=^= She tapped the combadge again to end the comm, grabbed her now cold cup of coffee and headed down to the interrogation room. Who knows? she mused as she headed for the turbolift. Maybe we'll get to beat him this time. She shook the thought from her head and a few minutes later walked into the interrogation room.

"Lieutenant," Camila said as she entered. "Are you ready to start?"

"I am," Joey answered not looking away from the man sitting at the table. "I bet you didn't think you'd see us again so soon, did you?"

Kr'ozzu yawned, looking up at the two women. "I thought I could get another hour of sleep," he retorted. "Come to try and take off a whole limb this time?"

"We didn't gake anything off the first time, nor are we going to take anything from you this time," the brunette said, taking a seat across from him. She was exhausted... that much was clear, but she was going to keep moving forward like she had been. "We need your help. I'm not interested in making threats to get you to talk. That gets us nowhere. Just face the fact that you don't really have a choice, and we'll move forward."

"You're never going to get back in the Confederation's good graces," Camila said. "Or your father's. You're on your own, a prisoner and we aren't obligated to ever let you go. Tell us everything you know about who you were supposed to meet, what kind of forces they have, and what's the defenses?"

"So I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't?" Kr'ozzu shot back. "Who do you think you are, I wonder? Showing up out of nowhere, acting like you own the place, knowing more than you clearly should. I'd like to know what the hell is going on here. You tell me, and I might just answer your questions."

"That's not how we're going to work this," Joey said with a shake of her head. "You're going to answer our questions first, then I'll consider answering yours. I'm doing you a favor by not threatening you to get what we want, so why not do me a favor and help us out. Keep in mind... my niceness will only hold out for so long."

"And if I don't answer?" Kr'ozzu asked, putting up a bold front. "You'll pull out your torture kit? You know, I had some time to look at that cell I'm in. The place is clean. Too clean if you ask me. In fact, it makes me more curious about where you're from. I've never seen a ship so spotless."

Camila stepped up to the table where Kr'ozzu sat. "Listen, Kr'ozzu. If you don't tell us what we want to know, I will personally see to it that it's known far and wide how a woman managed to take you prisoner. If you thought your father held you in contempt before, I bet it would be nothing compared to that once he learns that."

Joey hid her smile by taking a sip of her coffee. That verbal hit might just be what was needed to get him talking. If not, she had a backup plan. Lowering her cup, she reached up to tap her combadge. =^= Lieutenant Corwin to Lieutenant Abrams... your services may be requested in interrogation room one shortly. If you could bring a hypo of truth serum, that'd be fantastic. =^=

=^= Acknowledged, Lieutenant, =^= the male's voice replied. =^= I will be there in five. =^=

The taller of the two women tapped her combadge a second time and looked down to Kr'ozzu. "You have five minutes to start talking on your own. If you don't, you will be forced. I've already said I don't want to go that route, but when my hands are tied, I'll do what needs to be done."

Kr'ozzu shook his head and sighed. Looking at both women, he said, "First off, everyone knows about their secret bases. The Confederation isn't some militant empire, just one built on greed. Who can make the best deal, get the most credits and prestige. There's no real military, and everyone's paid. So, people can be bought.

"Bases like where your friends might be held... that'll be different. If... my father found them, then you can bet there's no outside influence involved. It'll be his people. Let's just say he has trust issues."

"Would he trust you?" Camila asked as she thought back to the planning session and the proposal to have Captain Geisler act like a prisoner, even though it hadn't been agreed on.

"He threw me out," Kr'ozzu replied. "Your Captain was my best chance at getting back in. Me sitting in your cell or being offered as an exchange... D'rimo would care less."

"That's some father you have there, Kr'ozzu. I suppose it wouldn't really matter what you do... you'll never be good enough for him," Joey stated. She couldn't imagine a relationship like that with either of her parents. "If you help us get our people back, I can guarantee your freedom. Then... you're free to do whatever you wish once we're gone."

Kr'ozzu scoffed. "You? Guarantee my freedom? How could you possibly manage that, and how can I survive this far into Confederation territory?"

"I'm sure you have friends that can get you out of it," Camila said as her irritation grew. "What do you want in exchange for helping us?"

"I want a fighting chance at a fresh start," he stated. "Thanks to you and your... crew... all of my hired help is likely dead. My establishment that I worked so hard for on Razmena has probably been taken over by the Re'ka family by now, so that's out of the question. I have to start over, and it took me five years to get where I am now. I need something lucrative to get back into the game you all forcibly removed me from."

"I'd say you got off relatively easy considering you threatened to kill me in an attempt to get what you wanted. You could have just as easily ended up like your hired help did... or far worse," the taller of the two women stated. "Who's to say we didn't do you a favor? Someone else might have come in and taken what you worked so hard to build for yourself by killing you anyway. You say you want a chance at a fresh start... maybe we can work something out there if you help us."

Kr'ozzu didn't immediately reply as his mind was considering his real options before him. "The installation won't be heavily protected by ships, as those are valuable and are kept in active service. But, the asteroid field will be protected by weapons platforms and mines. As soon as they detect something that isn't supposed to be there, they will unleash hell."

"What kind of hell? I want details. Where are the weapons platforms and mines?" Joey asked. "And before you say you don't know, I'm calling bullshit. You were on the inside once."

The Karemma frowned. Had he been in a better position, surely he'd try and find a way to use the female's frustration against her. "They're hidden everywhere," he told her. "My father's business relies heavily on weapons. Even though this place is secured, many know about it. I already told you it was in the bounty information, the coordinates anyway. The platforms are strong enough to repel almost an entire fleet."

"Be that as it may, we need details on those weapons platforms," Camila said, knowing the computer was recording everything said in the room. "How many, how far are they from the asteroid field, how many personnel are likely to be there and what type of weapons? The more details you provide, the better you'll be when we release you."

"I've been away from my father for the last few years," he responded. "Times have changed. But, you can count on polaron beams and high-yield torpedoes. Those are staples not just for the Confederation, but my father as well."

"What about the mines?" Joey asked. She already had an idea what the polaron beams and high-yield torpedoes could do, but she needed to know more about the mines. "I understand you haven't been near your father for a while, and that times have changed, but anything you can tell us will help. Our people did nothing to deserve being captured by your father, or whoever it was, but we have all intentions of getting them back. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated, Kr'ozzu. It's better than the alternative."

And the alternative was standing outside of the interrogation room in all his giant glory with the truth serum in hand. He knew better than to walk inside unless granted access by one of the two officers inside, and neither had done that yet. For now... Lucas would wait to see if he was needed before moving on to his normal duties again.

"I think they're magnetic, but they're selective in the metals that they're attracted to. If it's not a Karemma hull, be ready to have some friends." Kr'ozzu sighed, not exactly thrilled he was giving so much up. "So, I've told you what I know. What about my questions? Where did you all come from? And how can you guarantee that I can walk away from all of this?"

"Where we came from doesn't matter," Camila said. "As for you walking away from all of this, that's up to our Captain to decide, but your cooperation is going to be on your side." She looked at Joey. "Do you have any other questions? I need to get this to the Captain."

"One last question... how many ships can we expect in this particular location? It'd be nice to have a rough idea of what we can expect when we get where we're going," the taller woman stated, wondering if blasting their way through all of this with a few well placed torpedoes was an option.

"What do you want me to say?" He asked with a scoff. "Ten? Twenty? No... my father won't have more than two ships there. Neither in the same place. He also keeps six within a light year or two. If they're not alerted, they'll stay there."

Camila thought of asking him a few things, but doubted he knew the answers to them. "Thank you, Kr'ozzu," she said. "I'll make sure that Captain Geisler knows you cooperated. It'll go a long way in you getting your freedom."

"Thank you for your cooperation," Joey said. There was a couple Security officers waiting outside with Luc ti take him back to his cell. With her job done, she made her way out of the interrogation room and waited to be alerted of what their plans would be. It was rather frustrating not having anything set already, but there wasn't anything she could do about it.

Alone in the room, Kr'ozzu could only sigh. What had he done?

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