Chapter Text
“Permission to speak freely,” Hollis began. His voice and a sense of urgency, and there was fire in his eyes.
“Go ahead.” In contrast, Caraccilo was cool and calm and wide a thoughtful look on his face.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, inviting a hostile Augment on board?”
“Setting a trap with bait too good to resist.” Caraccilo punched a few buttons on the arm of the command chair. “Caraccilo to sickbay.”
“Go ahead.”
“We’re going to be catching a genetically engineered tyrant. Send your two strongest people to wait just outside the doors to transporter room two, and have them each armed with a hypo spray of a double dose of the strongest sedative you have.”
“Understood.”
Caraccilo then turned toward the security chief. “They’re going to need backup, phasers set to kill but only as an absolute last resort. Can’t negotiate a prisoner exchange with a dead prisoner.”
A few more buttons pressed so Caraccilo could get the final step in motion. “Caraccilo to transporter room two.”
“Petrokokkinos here.”
“Do you have that signal?”
“Yes, Commamder.”
“Stand by for now, I’m on my way down along with a team from medical and security. We’re going to give our esteemed guest quite a welcome.”
Only Caraccilo and Petrokokkinos waited in the transporter room, ready to greet Claudius. Caraccilo stood with his hands clasped behind his back and a neutral expression on his face. His first few seconds with Claudius, at least, would be diplomatic.
Petrokokkinos furrowed her brow as she focused on the controls on the console. As she worked, Claudius began to materialize on the transporter pad, thought it took longer than usual. He appeared before them wearing layers of protective clothing and immediately removed the hood that covered his face.
“Welcome aboard!” Caraccilo’s tone was warm and chipper. “I’m Commander Caraccilo. Now, I’d rather not waste time. If you’ll join me in the ready room we can have a proper discussion.”
“Of course, Commander,” Claudius purred. “And what an honor it is to meet you in person.”
Claudius extended his right hand, and Caraccilo hesitated before he reached out to shake his guest’s hand. However, instead of offer a polite handshake, Claudius gripped Caraccilo tightly by the wrist and yanked hard to pull him closer. With his left hand he pulled out a knife that hand been hidden within his robes and swiftly stabbed Caraccilo in the stomach.
Caraccilo shouted out in pain and doubled over as he clutched his wound in a desperate attempt to keep the flowing blood inside his body. Meanwhile Claudius turned his attention to Petrokokkinos. He lunged toward her from the other side of the console, but Petrokokkinos ducked down, crawled around from the back and escaped into the corridor.
As Petrokokkinos rushed out, the teams from medical and security rushed in. Two men with hyposprays charged toward Claudius to inject the sedatives while the security team surrounded and attempted to restrain him until the drugs took their full effect.
Even a crowd of humans was no match for an augment. Claudius pushed them away easily and bolted out into the corridor, but he was unsteady on his feet. He didn’t get far before the sedative began to take hold and his speedy getaway turned into a drunken stumble. The security team was able to catch and restrain him, but he was still lucid enough to make a feeble attempt to struggle free.
One of the medics ran back to the transporter room where Caraccilo had fallen into a heap on the ground. He was bleeding badly but still awake and aware. The medic knelt by his side and tended the wound with a dermal regenerator.
“We got him. He’s stumbling around like a sloppy drunk even though the dosage was four times what it would take to knock out a regular human, but we got him.”
“Good. Guess that means I need to get back to the bridge.” Caraccilo moved slowly as he straightened himself up and got to his feet.
“No way, Commander! You need to get to sickbay that wound checked out now.”
“Are you sure it’s that urgent? I feel fine.”
The medic let out a beleaguered sigh. “Your first convenience, then.”
En route back to the bridge, Caraccilo made an effort to sort out his appearance. He smoothed out his hair and straightened his uniform. Luckily, the heavy maroon fabric of his jacket did a decent job of hiding the blood stains.
Caraccilo slumped back into the command chair, glad to sit down as he was beginning to feel a bit dizzy and fatigued. Maybe he should have gone straight to sickbay.
“I wouldn’t say it went smoothly, but we go him. Put me through to the planet, I’ve got some negotiating to do.”
“You’re connected,” the communications officer answered.
“Enterprise to Ceti Alpha V.”
“This is Francesca,” a harsh female voice replied. “Go ahead.”
“We’ve had an interesting development in our negotiations. Claudius is under heavy sedation and locked in the brig. I will happily return him to you unharmed if you return the favor and release the hostages.”
“Sorry, don’t think I’ll be doing that.”
“What?!” Caraccalio sprang out of his seat and instantly regretted it. His heart raced, his head spun, and his knees wobbled. He slumped back into the command chair and took a deep steadying breath as he hung his head.
“You’ve done me a great favor, Commander.” Francesca teased. “I should thank you for removing my greatest rival. Enjoy dealing with Claudius once the sedation wears off.” The communicator cut off.
Caraccilo rubbed his temples. “Try to get in touch again, I’m not giving up that easily.”
“No response, Commander.”
“Dammit.” Caraccilo lifted his head, and the room was still spinning. “Holis…you have the bridge. I need to get to sickbay.” He stood up and felt the shakiness in his legs but tried to force a smile to discourage some of the concerned looks. “I’m fine. It’s nothing.”