RP Log: Confessions of a Farmer
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| 2022-08-07 09:21 | |
T'Shaav enters the transporter room. She hands a type-1 phaser to LePage. "Conceal that. Landing site will be the road leading to the square."
"Ready to go" LePage nods.
"Energize.
- Road <Dreon VII>
- About half a kilometer long, this winding road leads up a small hill to the main colony village. The path is well worn, but shows signs of limited use of late, with small blossoms and grass poking through the topsoil.
The road is quiet at the moment, no traffic either way. One of the burnt fields can be seen not too far off.
T'Shaav's eyes take in the burnt field, and she nods slightly, possibly nodding to herself. She heads for the town gate.
LePage quietly follows, scanning around with his eyes.
- Central Square <Dreon VII>
- Of similar architectural design to Free Haven, this large square, technically octagonal in shape, is the central hub for the colony. A large fountain occupies the center of the square, the water within gently flowing up into multiple arcs then splashing into the pool below. Local flora is abundant as it encircles pillars and hugs walls, all neatly trimmed and cared for. There is almost always activity in the square, a communal point of interest for the colony inhabitants.
- Lanes branch off from the central area to the rest of the colony complex.
T'Shaav notes the magistrate's office. Walking that way, she arrives at the door and signals for permission to enter.
LePage follows right along, keeping an eye out behind T'Shaav as she heads forward
"Come" comes the reply from inside, "But don't know why yer knockin'"
- Magistrate's Office <Dreon VII>
- The magistrate's office is modest in size, incidents in the colony tend to be domestic in nature. A single brig cell is available off one corner of the room, while a desk with a single chair faces inwards into the space. Behind it are a few notices.
Both the Magistrate and former Major Oidin are present in the office. They are discussing the distribution of the fertilizer, by the sounds of it. The magistrate nods to you both as you enter, "Hello"
"Magistrate, Major." The captain offers the Vulcan salute. "The fertilizer is serving your needs well?" She inquires. "This is my chief engineer, Mr. LePage," she introduces.
"We've met Captain, but thank you" LePage nods. "We met when Commander Worthington brought myself and Commander Coil down to talk about the solution"
"It is yes." Neru replies, "Thank you for your help with that." He nods to LePage, "Your guidelines on how to manufacture the fertilizer has proven quite useful as well. We were just going over which fields to spray next."
Oidin nods to you both.
T'Shaav returns the major's nod. "Very well," she says. "Magistrate, I am here to solicit your further assistance. As you may know, one of my officers was abducted from this world. I understand there is a potential witness to the abduction."
"Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated" LePage adds
Oidin looks at Neru, "Luro?"
The magistrate nods, "Based on the description that young feline ensign gave me, yes, it sure sounded like Luro Jenun. But, I can't believe he would be involved in a kidnapping."
"Sir, my background, long before I joined Starfleet, was in law enforcement," T'Shaav says. "Mr. Luro is presently only a witness so far as I am concerned, and I would like to question him with your oversite, of course, as this is your world." A beat. "I would also ask you for any records or data concerning the Maruh Jozer which departed your world after abducting Mr. Coil. Mr. LePage may be able to learn something more about the craft if we can study it and any records of why it was here."
"After Mr. Coil did so much for y'all, I don't suppose it'd really be any trouble to help get him back home safe" LePage muses out loud
Oidin says, "I can take you to Luro's families farmstead, it isn't too far from town."
Neru shakes his head, "I'm not familiar with that ship. It's not one of the freighters we normally do business with. Is that the one that took your man?"
T'Shaav nods. "It is indeed," she says to the magistrate. "According to my officers' reports, it launched from the surface and immediately transported Mr. Coil away." She turns to Oidin. "That is kind, Major. We are ready." She looks to LePage. "Though, I shall give you the option of remaining here to work with the magistrate concerning the ship."
"Probably better I stick with you sir, Commander Worthington wouldn't let me live it down if I allowed the Captain off alone when we're down an officer already..." LePage says.
T'Shaav adds to the magistrate, "sir, one final question. Does Mr. Luro have a criminal record of any sort? I must ask, under the circumstances."
Neru says, "I best come with you too. It wouldn't be right to let you question Luro without me there." He makes for the door. He shakes his head in response to T'Shaav, "Law abiding citizen. His farm was hit hard by the insects, but, like I said, I can't see him helping in any abduction."
T'Shaav nods and makes to follow the Bajorans' lead.
LePage falls in with T'Shaav.
- Road <Dreon VII>
Oidin and Neru lead the way, partly up the road that brings you to town, but they take one of the offshoots until they approach a farmstead. Nearly every field around the farm has been burnt off.
T'Shaav takes in the fields, noting the devastation.
LePage winces, looking at the agricultural devastation. "Damn... haven't seen fields this bad in a long time, and never this much..."
A woman can be seen on the porch of a house. She waves seeing Oidin and Neru approach. She calls out, "Jenun, we have company."
T'Shaav stops at the steps to the porch, not ascending. "Greetings," she says to the woman, offering the Vulcan salute and leaving it there.
Luro Jenin takes a single step out of the barn at the sound of his wife's voice. He looks around seeing Oidin and the magistrate, followed by two Starfleet officers. He freezes in place for a long moment.
LePage whispers quietly under his breath, knowing T'Shaav will be able to hear it as they approach.
LePage whispers 'I can engage the farmers in Ag talk if you need to ease the atmosphere' to you.
T'Shaav nods ever so briefly to LePage. As for her, the ex-detective and ex-security officer takes in every element of the witness's body language, but from the corner of her eye and not giving away any tells that she has noted it, of course. She turns in Luro's direction, but lets LePage lead off as he suggested.
LePage makes the first call out to Luro. "It's a shame, your crops" he says sympathetically. "I've been here before but, never quite on this scale. I'm sorry for your loss"
A sense of ease perhaps, washes over Luro. His frozen stance stops and he approaches the house. "Welcome Oidin, Neru. What brings you here? Not much point in spraying our crops, nothing left."
Oidin stays behind, but Neru walks towards Luro. He doesn't speak yet.
T'Shaav continues observing a little longer, her attention on the witness and choosing her entrance with care.
"We just wanted to take a closer look at some of the damages around here, Neru and Oidin brought us to your stead" LePage says. "It helps us determine our recovery strategy to get a ground level view. Especially me, my input is a little special, I used to be a farmer myself... My name is Gordon," the Engineer continues, walking forward casually.
Neru matches pace with Luro and they now walk side by side towards the house.
Luro says, "Well look all you want, if you can help us, we'd appreciate it."
Luro's wife says, "We're doing ok though, after the stipend we got, that helped a lot. We'll be ok until next season when we can replant."
"That's good to hear... I know it's tough though, crop loss. You pour a lot of time and effort just to see it go up like that" LePage sighs. "It's just a shame... will you be able to make ends meet with the stipend?"
Oidin asks, "Stipend?"
Luro's wife looks at Oidin, then her approaching husband, "yes, Jenun got it the other day. Didn't other farms?"
As Neru and Luro finally get to the house, Neru says, "No, no one else got a stipend."
T'Shaav walks away from the witness, so it seems. "I am going to take a soil scan," she says to LePage, "so that we can analyze the aftermath more carefully. She puts a little distance between herself and the witness. Taking up her tricorder, she appears to be scanning the field. In actuality, she is scanning the witness in light of that statement for hidden transponders, weapons, comms devices, or anything else that he should, being truthful, not rightly have.
LePage spares a glance back at T'Shaav but keeps his warm demeanor. "Well, what matters is making sure y'all can keep food on the table, so I'm glad to hear somebody out there is looking out for ya, huh?"
T'Shaav's police instincts are on red alert. She fiddles with her arm band, appearing to adjust its fit. As she walks back to the group. "Who paid this stipend to Mr. Luro?" She asks the magistrate. "Why him and no one else?"
LePage quietly waits for one of either group to engage the other at the moment.
Luro confesses, "I didn't know they were going to take anyone. I swear. We were desperate. I was desperate."
Luro's wife looks in shock at her husband, "What did you do Luro Jenen!?"
"Who?" T'Shaav asks the Bajoran. "Who paid you, Mr. Luro? Right now, knowing that is more important to me than your own deeds." This may or may not be true, but she is capable of misleading when called for. "I am that person's captain. I need to know."
LePage quickly steps out of the way, standing to the side and keeping an eye on the interaction
Luro says, "They said they wanted information. They wanted to know when the scientist, the one who solved our insect problem. If I saw him, I was to tell them. That's all. They said they wanted to talk to him. I didn't think much of it." He looks down at the ground, ashamed.
"What race of people were they, Mr. Luro. Cardassians? Bajorans? Something else?"
The magistrate repeats T'Shaav's question, "Who wanted to know?"
"I worked through an intermediary, Kaleans I think they were." Luro says, "But, they were desperate too, Cardassians, two of them. A husband and wife. They said they just wanted help."
"How did you communicate to them when you located Mr. Coil?" The Vulcan asks.
LePage continues to observe from the side of the conversation
Luro says, "The Kaleans contacted me when they arrived. Said they were working on behalf of the two Cardassians. When I saw your team in the town, I followed them, then ran to the landing field to tell the Kaleans."
"So no comms devices, you just told them in person?" LePage asks
Luro nods.
T'Shaav speaks again, her eyes still on the suspect. Her voice is as cold and dead as the dark between the stars. "Magistrate. I acknowledge that I have no authority on your world. Nevertheless, this individual has confessed to crimes including being an accessory before the fact, as well as conspiracy to abduct a Federation citizen and Starfleet officer." A beat. "However, he possesses valuable information. I request your permission to take him into custody. If he cooperates with Starfleet in this matter and tells us all he knows, I may persuade them not to charge him."
"Noo!" Luro's wife screams, "You can't let them take him. You heard him. He's a fool, but he didn't know they would take him."
LePage's eyes flick to Luro's wife and he tenses up just a little, the situation getting more lively by the second
Luro says, "I didn't, I swear. The only other thing I know. The Cardassians, the ones who wanted to talk to your man, they are on Orias III."
"How do you know this?" T'Shaav asks.
Luro says, "They told me?"
"And why would they do that?" T'Shaav asks. "Did they tell you why they wanted him?"
"For all we know, they only told you as much to lead us astray" LePage grumbles.
Luro says, "They didn't say they wanted him. I told you, I had no idea anyone was going to get kidnapped. They simply said they wanted his help. They too were desperate, and clearly starving. They feared for the life of their child. It's hard not to feel for that, you know."
T'Shaav is the last person to talk to about feelings. "Is there anything else, anything at all, that you can add, Mr. Luro?"
[Remote Uplink Device (5164): T'Shaav Uplink Device (5164)'Shaav: T'Shaav to Tarun. You have the bridge. We are concluding a delicate interrogation and will beam back very shortly with information.]
[Remote Uplink Device (5164): Tarun Console Control Room: Acknowledged. Permit me a moment to relocate. I had just begun a sensor diagnostic and am presently in sensor control.]
LePage's grim expression softens a little but he still looks wary of Luro for the moment
[Remote Uplink Device (5164): Tarun's Chair Bridge: Tarun to T'Shaav, I have the conn.]
The magistrate listens to the tale and adds, "Best tell them everything Luro. Or I can't help you."
"That's all I know. I swear", Luro pleads. "We needed the help, they needed help, it was all so simple. I didn't know."
"Magistrate, I have to return to my ship so that we can begin to act on this information," T'Shaav says. "I know this is your jurisdiction. So, I ask you again to permit me to take Mr. Luro to the Buran, or, alternatively, I ask you to hold him here for further questioning, sir."
LePage continues to keep an eye on both Luro and his wife for the time being.
Luro's wife looks in disgust at her husband and goes back inside the house.
Oidin, who has been quite quiet, follows her. "I'll make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."
T'Shaav waits for the magistrate to decide and rule one way or the other.
The magistrate says, "We will hold him in our brig. He can't go anywhere, not here."
T'Shaav nods. "Thank you, Magistrate. Mr. LePage, we return, now."
[Remote Uplink Device (5164): T'Shaav Uplink Device (5164)'Shaav: T'Shaav to bridge, Mr. LePage and I are ready to return. Lock on and energize.]
LePage sighs. "Aye sir" he responds before casting a look to Luro. "For what it's worth, I am sorry about your crops" he says, but the look on his face conveys his disappointment.
[Remote Uplink Device (5164): Tarun's Chair Bridge: Acknowledged. Stand by.]