#6 Burned and Broken

Posted on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 @ 12:24am by Lieutenant Commander Billi & Kitten Dawson
Edited on on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 @ 7:11pm

Mission: AMONG US 8
Location: promenade
Timeline: current

ON:

They did a fine job thought Billi as she stood in front of what once had been a restaurant, so badly damaged she could bot even tell what the name had been. Carbon scoring, tables and chairs thrown all about and landing in piles, shattered glass and fire damage. Not to mention the after affects from the fire suppression system spraying its goo all over the place. Pulling her tricorder from its holster Billi flipped it open and began to slowly walk inside, her left hand holding the device slowly waving back and forth as it scanned the interior, making note of everything within, all being logged. The broken glass beneath her boots crunched as she went, with Billi stepping carefully so as not to place a foot on a loose piece of debris and lose her footing. So far, nothing important stood out.

Kitten had been alerted to someone being in what once had been the Cats, puzzled as to why she grabbed the phaser she kept for emergencies, pocketed it and made a beeline for the restaurant. Walking in a few minutes later she spotted someone poking around "Are you lost?" Kitten asked.

Billi had heard the person approaching from behind as they to stepped on the broken glass and shards of debris. She spun around, tricorder still held and scanning as she faced the new arrival. Ah, yes, Kitten Dawson herself. "Are you daft?"

Whoever this person was she was in a Federation uniform "No I'm not daft. But why are you here? There's nothing left," Kitten said the sadness clear in her voice "My boyfriend and I are going to be cleaning it out in the next couple of days."

"I'm a Starfleet officer investigating criminal activity here on Mercury. Namely; this bombed out mess," explained Billi. Her eyes did not miss the piece of sensor data the tricorder presented on its screen. So, with a seasoned quickdraw she pulled her phaser and aimed it at Dawson, her arm straight with elbow locked as the 'barrel' was aimed at this woman's face. "Before we go any further, Miss Dawson, you need to slowly pull the energy weapon from your pocket and place it on the floor. One false move and I will shoot you and leave you to drool on the floor while I finish my scans."

"It's a phaser," Kitten said as she removed the weapon and placed it on the floor "I have it for protection."

Billi closed down her tricorder and holstered it without ever taking her eyes off of the younger woman. She got Dawson to move away from the phaser, keeping a good two meters between them, and then she picked up the private weapon and jammed it into her belt before holstering her own. "Thank you for complying." Billi logged what Kitten said in her brain. "As for cleaning this place out, not going to happen. This is a crime scene and it needs to be fully logged before anyone else is allowed back in. I'm not telling you to leave because you are the owner and proprietor and I do need to speak with you, anyway. But, no one else will be allowed in here until I say so, or the base CO says so...whoever that may end up being," finished Billi with a cynical tone.

"I don't know what I can tell you," Kitten said "Just who are you?"

"Lieutenant Billi, Miss Dawson. I am the Flight Control Chief for Mercury and I was charged with investigating this mess by the XO, Commander Taavis." The secondary particulars about herself, and others, Kitten did not need to know. Not yet, anyway. "Come with me," said Billi as she headed for the main entrance they had both entered previously. If asked then she would explain where they were going as she stepped just outside onto the promenade and half turned to look back, her expression saying 'well?'.

"Where are you taking me?" Kitten asked following Billi from what had been the Cats.

Now that they could see Shadow Way out on the Promenade, Billi chinned further down the way, where Shadow Way made a horseshoe bend and where Billi had opened The Emerald. "My place, The Emerald. Bit more comfortable and private for our...interview." She got them walking slowly with a casual gait. "You said you carried a phaser for protection. Protection from who, exactly?"

"It's my boyfriends idea, he's not always with me when I had the place opened and he didn't want me to be unprotected. After much convincing I agreed to carry one when I was at the restaurant,"Kitten answered "The only time I carried it was when I was going to the Cats otherwise it was in our quarters."

"Make sure to keep it that way," said Billi. "I could confiscate it from you under regs. Keep it on the downlow and no one will care." Billi pulled the phaser from being tucked into her belt and handed it over. "In your pocket, and on stun at all times."

Kitten took her phaser and tucked it into her pocket "What regs? Your the fourth Starfleet person I've met since we arrived a month ago. And my phaser is always on stun. I don't think I could take a life."

"That's sad," quipped Billi as they arrived at the entrance to her establishment, the swinging doors like an old west saloon made from synthetic wood fibers to resemble black oak. She held one open and gestured for Kitten to enter first and then she came in behind and stood next to Dawson. The interior was done up like an expensive Jazz club/saloon from New Orleans, complete with Orion deco and tapestries, sheer curtains and darkened alcoves for private, Quiet talks. "Welcome to the Emerald, Kitten." Billi looked over. "You are okay with me addressing you common, right?"

Kitten nodded "I'm fine with that, you have a nice place here. I'm not sure what I can tell you."

Billi gave a friendly nod then led Dawson over to a private booth. She slid into one side and placed her PADD on the table, motioning to the other side of the table. "Please, join me." A server came over, one of the few base residents she had hired, ready to ask for their orders. "Trill wine, please. Burgundy, vintage 2284. Thank you, Lana."

"You're welcome, Billi. And you?" Lana looked to Kitten.

Ktten thought a minute "Just a soda, I'm only eighteen so I can't legally drink."

As incorrect as that was Billi decided not to say anything, just nodded to Lana to go ahead. Lana gave a side glance to Billi with a grin and nodded in return. "You got it, Miss."

Now, with drinks ordered and a relaxed atmosphere Billi tapped her PADD a few times, with one tap setting her PADD to the Syndicate shorthand so that if Kitten happened to glance at it while it lay on the table then she would not be able to read it. "I need you to recall the events of the day of the bombing. Casual, no rush. Let your mind relax and talk. Pent up stress can cause recall issues and we need as much truth as possible to weed out clues." Billi adjusted her uniform, trying to be all professional despite being in her own little den of Orion luxury. She even removed her combadge and huffed on it to polish it and then put it back on.

"We were not on the base. My boyfriend had given me a new puppy the day before and business had slowed so we checked out a shuttle and headed to the planet's moon for a couple of days. When we got back we dropped the puppy off in our quarters and headed for the restaurant to get ready to open. The rest you know. All of the food I had in the freezer and in the cooler was all over the place too. There's literally nothing left," Kitten said fighting to hold back the tears "I do have some meats and animals in storage and in status but I don't think I'll be able to re-open. The damage is just too extensive."

"The personal expenses I can understand," said Billi. "But, you seem to know nothing about how Starfleet works. You are a resident here and a business owner. The slot you occupy is free of charge, as is mine and everyone else's. Relaxation is important to many species and the Federation recognizes that. Once this interview is over and my scans completed, then Starfleet engineers and operations personnel will be sent to clean up and repair the business itself. So you have to make do with replicated furniture, at first, but it's better than a total washout."

"I didn't know, I was expecting and prepared to have to pay rent. My boyfriend said he'd help with the expenses to re-open but I told him I wanted to do it on my own. He's the one who hired a freighter to move us out here from Earth," Kitten said "There are somethings that just cannot be replicated. A couple things that are gone were gifts from my late parents before they were killed in a shuttle crash."

Billi's eyes narrowed a bit to signal some irritation rising from within. But, she pulled it back and pushed it down for the most part. "I'm sorry, but have you missed the damage and carnage over the past couple of weeks? You are not the only one to have suffered. People died in the attack, businesses and homes ransacked for whatever the pirates could carry, and no regard for the sanctity of life." She motioned towards the rest of her establishment. "Everything you see now is replicated because they made off with all of my hand made curtains, draperies and tapestries. Some irreplaceable. Some that had been in my clan for generations. But, I make a few calls and all can be replaced. Lives cannot."

After letting out a breath Billi switched tactics. "I lost two employees in here during the raid who fought back out of loyalty and honor. Their courage got them killed over trinkets. Items that were worth getting upset over their theft, but nothing in this galaxy is more important to me, or more priceless than my life and the lives of others. Think about it, you could have been inside when it blew instead of sitting here sipping soda pop while enjoying the ambience."

Lana brought the drinks over and set them down and as she did so Billi reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, handing it over to Kitten. "Apologies if I seem gruff about your situation but I am an Orion. We see things differently."

"Digger said the same thing as had we been in the restaurant when this happened one or both us us would have been hurt or killed. When we saw the damage we just went back to our quarters. I did see other places damaged as well but I don't think either of us knew anyone had been killed. I am sorry for your loss and anyone else who lost someone from this," Kitten said taking a sip of the pop.

Billi was being the strong one as she had always been her whole life. It had darkened part of her heart to see two dead employees but, it went against her principles to show weakness of spirit to others. They needed her to stay strong, not the other way around. "Brol also lost his younglings. Fourteen saplings whisked away by those barbarians because strange and unusual life forms bring a good price on the black market." That was when her face scrunched in thought, head tilting a bit as it passed through her mind. She recovered smoothly as she reminded herself to look into something unrelated to this conversation.

"I met Brol and Raven right after I opened. But had not heard about his saplings that were taken. Those pirates are cowards. To steal from people or a business is bad enough but to take someone's young is horrible,"Kitten said, seeing the scrunched up face "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Billi responded. "I am curious, Miss Dawson. Why you? Why did your establishment get bombed but no one else? Is there something you're not telling me, or are afraid to bring to light?"

"I have no idea,"Kitten said "I lost my parents at sixteen and moved in with Digger, sold the house on Earth and when I turned eighteen we talked about me opening a restaurant and I purchased meat and animals to use for meat as I want to serve fresh meat. Once that was done my funds were gone. My boyfriend is the one who hired the freighter and we brought everything from Earth. Why I was targeted I have no idea neither does he."

Billi tapped at her PADD while holding it, looking a final time at the notes she had taken before closing it down and sliding it into her thigh pocket. "The investigation into who did this and why may run cold, Kitten. The nature of things with such limited input, I'm afraid. Perhaps it was the butcher you purchased your meat from, wanting to burn you out so you had to spend more to recoup your losses. Maybe the freighter captain is determined to see you fail and then scrape away your last credits for the ride home in your shame and failure. Neither of those seem logical to me but I have seen criminals do strange things over the years in the pursuit of profit." Everything said from here on out would be committed to memory, and with the surreptitious way she had activated her combadge as a listening device, recording their conversation, she would have it all logged in her Intel files to be sent to Security after she compiled it into a report.

Kitten thought for several minutes "The butcher didn't know where we were going. The freighter captain? Digger hired the freighter. His name was, Captain Reynolds. When Digger said we wanted to come here he jumped at the chance. I don't know what he charged Digger but Digger paid for the freighter."

"I will need to speak to Digger, then," added Billi. "This Reynolds may have a scam going in regards to what he sees as 'dumbass colonists'. Either way, we'll see where further inspecting leads."

"He's in our quarters," Kitten said "It's not far if you'd like to come now or when you have time. I will warn you we do have a puppy so if your not into dogs."

Billi stood up from the table and smoothed out her bodysuit style uniform (like the ones Crusher and Troi wore in TNG films). "We can meet later, I have other duties to look to. As for dogs, I don't mind them. They're pretty good when cooked up Cajun style. Keep them away from Tellarites, though. Canines are a delicacy for them."

Kitten stood as well "I'll keep a close eye on my puppy. But no one better cook him. I also thank you for investigating this. Hopefully you find out who did this and why."

"That is the goal, Kit." Billi said. "As for your situation we'll talk another time when I'm not so...official. Even though my uniforms are hand made by yours truly," meaning herself. "I don't like wearing them ALL the time. A girl has to show off her assets. I might be able to finagle a deal with some contacts. Get you some more meat stock. Furnishings too. It will cost you but I'm sure you and I can come to an arrangement that will benefit both."

"I have some meat in storage and enough animals to use when the time comes. As for furn-hings and such it will all depend on the price as I said all my money was used to buy meat and animals and decorations for here. Digger paid for the freighter and I don't want him to have to fund the restaurant. It's not fair to him. He's getting his own business going," KItten said.

Billi gave a shrug. "Just something to think about. The interview is over so you are free to go, and thank you for not being difficult about it. Until we meet again." She gave the young woman a toothy smile, a slap on the arm and then walked out of The Emerald.

OFF: