Subject: FRONTIER: The escape attempt, part II

SD 71004

> He grinned, then turned round and picked Houston off the floor like 
> a rag doll and the three of them left the room.

Joanna was careful to maintain a slack posture, and avoid exhibiting 
any live behaviour. However, she could afford to sneak an occasional 
look at her surroundings as she was carried. The best time to strike 
would be when there were as few security guards present as possible.

The layout of the ship was quite similar... and if she wasn't 
mistaken, this would be the route to Neil Festore's quarters. The 
prospect of being interrogated by someone who looked like her lover 
was not something which could raise any emotions in her, but it would 
be... most uncomfortable. However, it could afford her advantages she 
could not afford to miss.

As they entered the room Joanna could see many differences, mostly to 
do with a more fanatical devotion to cybernetics. This universe's 
Festore most certainly would know his stuff. That raised the 
interesting question of whether or not he would be able to tell if the
switch was disabled.

Simony hoisted her up onto an inclined bed and with something 
bordering on indignation - but never fully realised because of both 
her circumstance and demeanour - Joanna felt powerful hands tearing 
her uniform away from her body. Still she made no move, for she knew 
there were more than enough guards in the room to contain her. And now
she was being shackled to the bed, powerful forcefield-assisted 
duranium straps holding her arms and legs securely in place.

Finally Joanna felt a hand rest on the inside of her thigh briefly, 
but then it seemed to change its mind and leave with its owner through
the doors. She counted the pairs of footsteps leaving the room, and
concluded that she was alone in the room.

Not for long. The doors parted yet again, this time to admit a man 
somewhat smaller than Simony in stature. A glance through the tiny 
crack in her eyelid revealed something she would have dreaded if 
she were human.

Festore wore a devilish, almost malicious expression. It was 
accentuated by the dark shadow of beard that covered his jaw, and the 
short cropped hair. He sighed and looked at the android on the bed 
with an air of longing. Finally, he spoke.

"So ironic. She never wanted to do it chained up. And here you are, 
sweet and vulnerable and ready to be taken."

Joanna didn't respond; the man was clearly talking to himself.

He drew closer, pulling a terminal up next to Joanna. It was modified,
she could tell, maybe for use in extracting information from her. 
Quickly she began to add security to her data system, encrypting files
with silent rapidity.

She could see him attaching the optical cable to the terminal, the 
other end in his hand, waiting to be inserted into her cranial access 
point. But he was hesitating; his hand moved toward the activation 
switch.

As he roughly squeezed her left breast, Joanna snapped her eyes open 
as if she really had just been turned on.

"Sorry," he said, "but I just couldn't resist it."

Joanna was silent for a while. "Why?" she asked.

"I really hate interrogating a beautiful android. Especially when 
they're unable to offer any verbal resistance. It's like reading 
someone's mind while they're asleep. So, here's your chance. What can 
you say that'll make me reconsider?" There was a leering smirk on his 
face.

She didn't reply; according to her psychological database she could 
get him irritated by refusing to accede to his demands.

"You know what I'm going to do after I've extracted all the 
information from you?" The smirk produced a sneer in his voice. "I'm 
going to do to you everything she would never have let me do. And then
some. But don't get any ideas - I'll be turning you off for that 
part."

She saw her chance, slim as it was. "Does the order in which you do 
these two most horrible things really matter?" she asked innocently.

Neil laughed; it was the most disquieting noise she had heard in her 
existence. She saw the moment of decision in his eye, and then he 
reached for the switch again.

As he squeezed, she faked her deactivation again, lying perfectly 
still. In a moment, she would know if her ploy had succeeded. There 
was yet the question of what to do if it had.

She heard the optical cable fall to the floor, felt a sudden presence 
on top of her. And with an electrical sound the shackles snapped free.

In the instant which followed, Neil was deprived of his consciousness 
by a sharp butt to the head. It was quick, efficient, and possibly 
non-lethal if he were recovered quickly enough. Joanna pushed his limp
body onto the floor and got organised.

Firstly she replicated a uniform for herself and slipped into it. She 
could not pass easily in the corridor stark naked, although in this 
universe the uniform didn't seem to cover an awful lot.

Festore had a phaser; she took it and turned to the terminal. A quick 
query of the Brig showed that all of her shipmates had been removed. 
The internal sensors were accessible, but each access was logged. She 
used Neil's voiceprint and code after hacking into his file. 

She found three other readings other than her own which did not have a
corresponding communicator signal. Presumably Keanu and Ishara had 
already made a jailbreak, since they were not being escorted by 
anyone and were moving freely within the ship. Leana was in Angus 
Murray's office, the reading was stationary.

She accessed the camera system, spotted all three, and sent a message.


A corridor on Deck Three

Keanu jumped as a wall panel next to him lit up as he walked past.

A message briefly appeared:

I AM MAKING MY ESCAPE. MEET ME IN THE TRANSPORTER ROOM.

HOUSTON.

"What do you think?" he said as Ishara scanned the text.

"I think we should get to the transporter room," she suggested.

"Right. Let's use the J-Tube, I don't think the turbolift will be very
friendly to us."


ANGUS MURRAY'S OFFICE.

>"What? and ruin a perfectly good delusion? far be it from me to do 
>such a thing, besides, I want to see what she does when she gets her 
>hands on your side's Ramsay."

Leana noticed that the computer terminal behind Angus had flickered 
into life, a message was being displayed,

KEEP HIM TALKING, I WILL BE THERE PRESENTLY.

She read the message trying not to be conspicuous.  She looked back at
Angus, "Hell hath no fury..." she said.

He smiled, "Yeah, it should be worth seeing, especially if she does 
half the things she says she's going to do, he will *not* be having a 
good day."

"I assume she's a bit of a bitch then?"

"You could say that, Patrick doesn't seem to think so however, I 
believe they have gotten... intimate, on one or two occasions."

He leaned across the table and touched her cheek, "Personally, I've 
only ever had eyes for you."

She smiled, and then taking the opportunity grabbed his hand and 
before he could react she had him on the floor with his arm twisted 
almost to breaking point.

"Sorry to cut this short," she said. "You are a very charming man but I
have to be leaving about now."  She lifted him off the floor and 
punched him solidly on the jaw, he staggered back but recovered 
quickly, he wiped a rivulet of blood from his mouth. "Oh dear," he 
said, "Oh dear, oh dear.  I really hoped I wouldn't have to do this." 
He took a purposeful step forward and dealt her a hefty backhand 
swing.

She fell to the floor and Angus took another step forward, she lifted 
herself off the ground and gave him a venomous stare.  She feigned 
with her left hand and then kicked him squarely in the stomach, he 
collapsed, winded, to the deck.  She kicked him again and he slumped 
against the wall, unconscious.  She kicked him again, just to be sure.

She took the phaser from his belt and walked to the door, it hissed 
open and she peered out into the corridor.  Houston was cautiously 
making her way to the office and so Leana stepped out to meet her, she
barely even noticed that Joanna was wearing something less than her 
standard issue jumpsuit.

"We have to get to the transporter room, the other two will be waiting
for us there.  There should be a Jeffries-tube access around the 
corner."


THE TRANSPORTER ROOM.

Keanu climbed out of the J-Tube, luckily the room was empty. Keanu 
helped Ishara out of the tube when went over to the console. 
"Hopefully, my security code will be the same." After a few minutes, 
Keanu broke the silence, "There's a code needed from the security
officer, to activate the system to send us back to our Frontier. Now
what?" Before Ishara could respond Houston emerged from the J-tube 
closely followed by Leana. Keanu noticed the change of outfit Houston 
was wearing. 

He looked for a moment then heard Ishara's voice in his head [Keanu,
you're drooling.] He turned to Ishara and gave her a long nasty look 
as he wondered how she did it.

"We can't use the transporters to beam back to our Frontier, not 
unless you know the security officer's security code." Keanu said as he
looked Houston up and down again.

They stood in silence for a few seconds, then Leana spoke up, "Can you
beam inside this ship? Because if you can, Angus is unconscious in 
his office, we could try and get that code out of him."

"Yes, no problem, but if someone on the bridge is paying attention
then they'll know something is up," Keanu said looking back at the
transporter console. "And Simony is about somewhere and I'd rather not
find out where." 

"The further we are from him the better,"  Leana agreed. 

Joanna made a suggestion, "If we beam Angus into the transporter room,
Leana can seal the door with her phaser and we will be secure for a 
short while at least. I will organise a security lock-out so that 
no-one can tamper with the transporter."  

Leana adjusted the setting on the phaser and fired at the join in the 
door, the door melted slightly, sealing it shut.  Meanwhile Houston 
tapped away at the console to rig her security measures while Keanu
locked onto the life-sign in Angus' office and initiated the 
transporter.  Moments later Angus' prone form materialised on the 
transporter pad.

He groaned, and shifted himself into a slightly less shambled 
position. 

Keanu went to punch him but Leana stopped him, "We have to wait until 
he's at least fully awake."

Keanu sneered, "I don't see why, we should kick the hell out of him 
now and ask the questions later."

"Like that would you?  What's wrong, are you afraid he'll hit you back
if we let him wake up?" Leana retorted.

Keanu fumed, "You don't know what he put me through earlier, believe 
me, I'm perfectly justified."

"Look, we have to at least make sure he's aware of what's happening 
before we start interrogating him!"

Keanu gave her an acid look, "You seem quick enough to protect him, 
what were you two up to in that little room?"

Leana slapped Keanu and he staggered back slightly, she gave him a 
cold look and in a menacing voice said, "If you even *think* of that 
again, I'll make whatever Angus did to you seem like a fine summers 
day."

Keanu faltered slightly, "I'm sorry." he said "I'm just a little 
stressed out at the moment, this hasn't exactly been one of my better 
days."

"You're forgiven, and I'm sorry," she said. "And now, we wait."

They waited.

Angus came round and sat up, he took a moment to take in his 
surroundings, once he had he was not at all impressed, "What's this, 
ghosts from my past, come to teach me the error of my ways?"

"Something like that," Keanu replied.

Leana smirked, "This is not going to be your day Angus."


                       Respectfully submitted:

                           Allan MacLennan
                 [Lt.] Angus Murray, Tac/CSO FRONTIER

                             Dale Forster
                  [Lt.] Keanu Maren, CEO FRONTIER

                            Sam M. Edwards
                  [Captain] Will Ramsay, CO FRONTIER
                 [Cmdr] Caroline Ramsay, XO FRONTIER
               [LtCmdr] Joanna Houston, 2O/tCMO FRONTIER


          "Put your faith in God, And keep your powder dry."
                           Oliver Cromwell

                 "Time is the fire in which we burn"
                          Dr. Tolian Soren                            

      "Rom's an idiot, he couldn't fix a straw if it was bent."
                                Odo