Not That Kind of Hand

Posted on Fri Jun 16th, 2023 @ 6:40pm by Warrant Officer Samual Johnson

2,865 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Mission 4 - Like a Thunderbolt
Location: Spaceports
Timeline: MD 05 Evening

She held the infant clutched against her chest, the blanket she used to swaddle it was coming apart but she didn't have the time to stop and fix it. She gripped the hand of her other child as she worked to not drag the child while also still rushing through the throng. She was desperate to get to the next transport and off the station. In her hurry she had to take the first transport she could find that would get her back to her colony on Hebra. Once there she could finally relax and feel a measure of safety. Until then she had to constantly look over her shoulder.

"Mama!" her daughter said and Elauna felt the child pulling on her arm. She stopped and turned, her daughter stopping with her. She pulled her infant closer to her chest as her eyes scanned the crowds around her. She couldn't let herself hope that this station, as incomplete as it was, would be safe. They shouldn't be able to track her here and the next transport would take her directly to Hebra. Once she got on it, she was almost safe. Once she-

"no!" she whispered and started toward the port where she was to catch the next transport. There were many people moving about here, and she wasn't very tall. Her son was covered and her daughter - Elauna just hoped the large K'Tarian didn't see them among the crowd. Nauva protested her pace but Elauna continued moving, pulling Nauva with her.

Only to stop short. The K'Tarian had seen her and he was able to move quickly through the crowd, shoving people aside. He stood in front of the corridor she needed. Elauna tried turning but the crowd was too thick. She stopped, ignoring the complaints of others who had to move around her. Despite her intentions, though, she was being swept forward toward him.

"He wants what you took," the K'Tarian growled. Elauna didn't recall his name. He was only one of the faces that moved in and out of the compound while she was there. She knew who he worked for, though and why he was here. What he wanted. Waht he wanted.

"He's lying!" Elauna hissed, "I didn't take his money." She let go of Nauva and held the infant to her, protecting him from the K'Tarian.

Hard eyes under the ridged and horned brows glared at her. "I don't care. He said you were to be returned. He was vague on the condition as long you still breathed."

Elauna moved back, automatically reaching out to sweep Nauva behind her. "I won't! Please, just let us go! I can get you currency when we get home. My father will-"

"Just have to wait longer for your return. How many pieces he receives you in is the only question open for debate," the K'Tarian growled.

Elauna grabbed Nauva's hand and started to run but she didn't get far before she felt Nauva pull on her arm, then a split second later was the cry of her daughter. Elauna turned, her heart beating fast as she saw her daughter struggling in the K'Tarian's arms. A small part of her was happy to see that her daughter was fighting with all her might, fists pounding on the large man's arms, her heels kicking at the man's torso and pelvis. No matter how furious her blows, though, the man only grunted.

Nauva cried out again as the K'Tarian crushed her against his body. "Stop that, you brat, or I'll rip out your eyes and shove them down your throat!"

"She's just a child!" Elauna wailed, her eyes filling with tears. "Please, just let us go!"

"Not until you give him what he wants," the K'Tarian said again.

"Is there a problem here?" Elauna turned quickly at the new voice. Of everyone passing by, no one else seemed to want to get involved. For a moment her heart lifted by hope. It was Starfleet, a gold uniform. Security most likely. He had the swagger of a man used to facing danger. Then her hope crashed. He was shorter and not as broad as the K'Tarian and he wasn't carrying any weapons she could see. He wasn't a match for the K'Tarian without weapons. Not a cold blooded killer like the K'Tarian.

"None of your business, Starfleet," the K'Tarian growled, obviously coming to the same conclusion.

"I don't know," Rook said, taking another step forward. "Seems to me that little girl there doesn't want to be in your clutches. Also seems that this lady here has asked you to leave them alone. As you said, I'm Starfleet. This is a Starfleet station. Kind of makes all of this my business then."

"Leave, and I'll leave you unharmed."

Rook, smiled as he nodded. "Yes. That would probably be the best choice for me." Elauna found she still had some hope which was now fully destroyed on hearing he was so easily intimidated. Still, she knew what the K'Tarian did and for whom he worked. "However, I think it's probably not the best choice for that little girl. Am I right?" Rook turned to Nauva. "Little Miss, would you like for him to let you go?"

Her face streaked with the salty white tracks of her tears, she numbly nodded her head, her silky mane falling around her cranial horns to half hide her gold eyes. "Yes, please," she said, as if awed by Rook's authority.

Rook smiled. "There, see, she doesn't want you holding her and that makes it look an awful lot like a kidnapping." Rook stopped for a moment, scowling. "That's a pretty serious crime. Of course so is threatening to commit an offense. Which means I'm going to have to ask you to put the child down and then come with me."

The K'Tarian laughed, making a show of looking Rook up and down. "And you think you're going to make me?"

"If I have to," Rook said, his tone still friendly and chipper. "Though, you might want to hurry and surrender. Others are coming and I think one of them is a bit trigger happy."

"Leave now, Starfleet, before your mother weeps tears over your coffin," the K'Tarian growled, baring his sharp teeth.

"Last chance to put the girl down and come along with me," Rook said.

"Or what?" the K'Tarian growled. "You're going to make me?' He laughed then.

"Yep," Rook answered.

"No, you can't! Leave now so he doesn't hurt you," Elauna said, noting that the crowd was now thinning around them, but also stopping to watch the promised spectacle. "He's Black Hand," she said. "Let her go," she said to the K'Tarian, "don't hurt her. I'll come, please don't hurt her."

"He won't hurt her," Rook said, stepping in front of her. "He's going to set her down and let her come back to her mother, then he and I are going to go have a chat." The friendliness was leaching from his voice. Black Hand he asked himself. It was something he was going to have to look up. Also, he was going to have to wonder about the response time of other security officers. He expected they should have been here by now.

"I'm tired of you, little man," the K'Tarian said. "You will not have enough time to run as I kill this man so don't try." He said that to Elauna over Rook's head. It was a mistake to take his eyes off Rook, however, as he took that moment to step in and deliver two punches to the area just below the K'Tarian's ribs. The upward jabs had the desired effect of both bruising his liver and snapping one of the tiny floating ribs. Rook ignored the pain of shredding his fingers against the K'Tarians torso horns that covered the sides of their bodies.

Nauva, dropped just after Rook's move, crawled to her feet and then ran to her mother, crying the entire way. The K'Tarian roared as he came at Rook, swinging hard. Rook had already moved and ducked under the swing. He came up, jabbing twice more in the same location. He practically heard the small rib bone crack. After delivering the second hit, he side stepped then took a step back, arching his back to once again move out of the way of a wildly thrown punch.

With the K'Tarian off balance, Rook kicked out and connected with the K'Tarian's knee. The force of the kick bent it and displaced the kneecap. The K'Tarian fell to the deck, screaming as he landed on the knee Rook just dislocated. A doubled fist punch to the K'Tarian's back caused him to fall prone to the floor. Rook, knowing he wasn't out of the fight yet, though, moved back, away from the K'Tarian's reach.

The large criminal shoved himself to his feet, keeping his balance on his good leg. As he straightened, a knife flashed in his hand. Where he hid it was of less concern than the gleam of the edge of the blade. He lunged forward, slashing at Rook's chest. Rook, still relatively uninjured, was able to move easily out of the way. The K'Tarian hopped forward, going for a stabbing lunge. Rook again easily dodged it. The K'Tarian was still unbalanced and Rook took advantage of that to take out his other knee. The K'Tarian once again fell to the deck. Though pain glazed his eyes, he glared at Rook. The knife flipped in his hand until he held it by the blade, and in a perfect positon to throw it. Rook had no doubt that the K'Tarian was proficient at throwing the knife.

But he'd never found out. As the K'Tarian brought his arm back to release the blade and Rook prepared to dodge out of the way, a phaser blast hit the K'Tarian from behind. The knife clattered to the deck and the K'Tarian fell to the deck. The crack that was his nose cartilege breaking was distinct and loud.

"About time," Rook muttered as he m oved foward, sure that the security officer had the stun setting high enough to render the criminal unconscious. "Take him to the brig," he told the security team that just arrived.

"Sorry, Warrant," one of them said, Rook didn't know them all by name yet to his dismay, "but we had another incident on the other side of the Promenade. You okay? Do we need to call for Medical?"

"I'm fine," Rook said, hoping to hide the shallow but nasty cuts on his hands. "Have medical check out the K'Tarian in the cell though. He might have some complaints."

"Yes, Warrant," the security officer said as he glanced between the large K'Tarian and the average height and build warrant officer. The unspoken awe that Rook fought the K'Tarian and came out unscathed was writ large on his face, but he kept from saying it. Rook was used to the idea though. He wasn't even quite average height, and despite working out he never developed a 'muscular' physique. He did too much running for that to be the case, he guessed. But Jim was a big guy himself and he taught Rook how to use his smaller size and speed to his advantage. Especially against those that were too used to letting their intimidating size and species reputation do most of the fighting for them. Then, apparently, he was part of some form of criminal enterprise which probably gave him another air of intimidation.

"You okay?" Rook asked, moving past the security officers binding the K'Tarian and preparing to transport him to the cell. He knelt in front of Nauva, watching her gold eyes hidden by the silky, black hair of her mane. She nodded slowly as her eyes moved to watch the K'Tarian disappear in the silver light of the transporter. "You sure? The doctor's are very nice and not at all scary." Rook hoped that he sounded confident in saying that. He didn't believe it at all, but then he didn't like doctors at any rate. "They'll fix you up and maybe even give you a lollipop afterward. You want to go see the doctors?"

"I believe she is fine and we have a transport to get to," Elauna said, her eyes showing she was a little bit afraid of him since she just watched him beat the K'Tarian.

"I'll need you to make a statement for me," Rook said, "and I have a few questions." He held up his hands, "I understand, you have a transport but I'm going to put a hold on the departure until we're done." He saw her slight step away from him and the way she put her arm around her daughter, pulling the girl closer to her.

"We didn't do anything wrong," Elauna said, her voice holding a note of panic.

"Of course you, didn't," Rook said. "But unfortunately as a victim, I need to get some information about what happened and why. I may not have lollipops, but we can get something along the way." He wondered if he was right about the woman's panic. She was moving from one transport to another with just herself and her children. She didn't have any bags larger than the sling across her back and Rook would be willing to safely wager it contained more things for the infant than for her. "That is if you're hungry."

"Mama! I am hungry!" Nauva said, glancing up at her mother.

"I bet the transport food isn't very good," Rook said. "We've got a few places open and you could choose whatever you wanted."

"Mama!" Nauva said again, hte plaintive whine in her voice saying all Rook needed to know.

"We can also make sure you have enough supplies for the rest of your trip." He knew civilian transports weren't the best at providing what a mother traveling with two young children needed. "Formula for the baby, diapers. Maybe some gelackt," he guessed the simple dish might be something the girl would enjoy. "The Federation also has a victim fund, I can get you some currency to help you out. Just enough to get you home."

Elauna shook her head but indecision was written on her face.

"I promise, the transport won't leave without you. I'll wait until I personally see you're aboard before I lift the hold order." Rook waited. "I've just got to get some information for my report."

Elauna glanced at her infant son then her daughter. "Okay, I guess."

"Can we get get some archt?" Nauva asked, "Fresh archt?"

Rook smiled. "I don't know about fresh, but I bet we can order it up out of the replicator. Have you ever had chocolate ice cream?"

Nauva's face lit up. "Once! Mama got it for us. It was delicious!"

"Alright, then that's one order of archt with some chocolate ice cream for dessert," Rook said, indicating the way toward the Promenade's security suboffice.

"You beat up the bad man," Nauva said, slipping her small hand into Rook's. "Beat him up good!"

"Yes," Rook answered, smiling at the girl. "But violence should only be used to defend yourself or others."

"Mama says the same thing," Nauva said, sounding disappointed that this maternal lesson was universally true.

"Thank you," Elauna said, her voice low and scared still. "Thank you for helping us."

Aw shucks ma'am, tweren't nuthin were the first words that came to mind, something he'd heard Glenn say often as he relayed tales of his service. He got it, he said, from old films he liked to watch about Guys in White Hats that went about Saving the Townsfolk from Bad Guys. Rook thought in the capitals the way Glenn always said it. He also wanted to answer that it wasn't anything as long as she told him why someone she claimed to be a gang member was trying to kidnap her and her children. It couldn't be for currency or other valuables because she didn't seem to have any. At least not with her. He kept pondering it as Nauva changed her mind about what she wanted to eat as they passed a food vendor. Nauva suddenly declared she just had to have what the vendor was selling. But still wanted the chocolate ice cream. Rook wound up buying meals for the girl and her mother to take with them.

An hour later, he watched Elauna disappear into the transport that would take her back to Herba, the hold order on the transport rescinded. He knew some on the transport would be put askew that they had to wait out the delay but they just had to deal with it.

Rook, himself, had some new information that he needed to follow up on. He'd never heard of the Black Hand prior to today but he had a feeling, after speaking with Elauna, he was going to become very familiar with them. He headed to the turbolift and his office beyond that to complete this report.

 

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