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Who: Leonard McCoy
Broadcast: Yes! Fleetwide
Action: Caprine/Solace
When: Friday

[There are days when McCoy would gladly turn in his lab augment for an engineering one. After practically picking apart the Caprine and then putting her back together bolt by bolt (with a lot of help from actual engineers out there, thanks) he's about ready to airlock himself.

He's a doctor, not a goddamn mechanic. It's like learning anatomy all over again, except this time he doesn't understand a single thing. Glory be, at least, they've finally graduated to trying fix the many issues in non-essential systems.

Like the kitchen, where McCoy is now making sure it all works again, after having spent hours trying to put it all back together. Spoiler: it doesn't go well. That's why he's waving away wisps of smoke and coughing a bit when he addresses the Fleet.]

I need an engineer. Again. [Sigh.] I'll pay you the going rate. Come on over to the Caprine. It's the ship in the most pieces over here. [There goes more credits. Everything exploded again. Someone just... put him out of his misery.]

[private comm to Beverly Crusher]
[So he's starting to regret thinking that someone should put him out of his misery. Really coming to regret that.] Hey. We need to talk. Let's meet somewhere.

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[At first, when McCoy doesn't show on the Iskaulit, Beverly doesn't think much of it - he probably got caught up in some repairs on the Caprine or stayed up too late last night or... any number of things, really. But as the minutes pass, she gets more and more worried, especially because she's unable to reach him on the comms.

So, after forty-five minutes, she calls Kirk. Her voice sounds strained and nervous when she speaks.]

Jim? It's Beverly. I... I think Leonard may be in trouble.

Edited 2017-01-30 03:07 (UTC)

_{[ Beverly calling him wasn't cause for alarm on its own. They're friends, and Kirk is a known engineer through the Fleet. She could easily be calling him for that sort of work, which he was already running himself ragged helping with anyways.

What he hears makes his heart sink and his stomach twist, a sour taste building in the back of his mouth. ]}

What do you mean? What's happened?

_{[ He manages to keep his voice surprisingly calm despite the immediate desire to panic, but that won't help anyone, least of all Leonard, and for all they knew everything was fine, right? Please be right. ]}

[She takes a deep breath.]

He hasn't shown up for his shift at the Iskaulit and he hasn't answered any of my calls. I hope I'm simply overreacting but...

[But her gut tells her she's not.]

He had some people after him on Solace.

_{[ There is a definite pause there. A very definite, very dangerous sort of pause. ]}

What do you mean "he had some people after him on Solace"?

_{[ That calm voice? It's not a good voice in Captain Kirk. ]}

He didn't have the money to fix the Caprine and he ended up making a deal with some very bad people - a deal that he has no way of honoring.

[For what it's worth, she doesn't sound very pleased either, but what's done is done, and the important thing is getting him back - safely. In all likelihood, whenever the fleet leaves, Atroma will beam McCoy back from wherever he is, but she doesn't want to wait on that - or count on it.]

If they've decided to come collect on the debt...

Damn it, I told him I would loan him some...

_{[ He had more than enough between being popular with the audience and Varric's bountiful donation. Which made this situation all the more ridiculous and infuriating. That complete idiot. ]}

Are you on the Iskaulit? I'm coming to get you and we're going to Solace.

_{[ And he will have choice words for you when this is over too, Bev, since you seem to know all about this. ]}

No. I need to go to the Blue Fish, to get some supplies. It's docked planetside anyway so I will send you the coordinates and meet you there.

Fine, I'm on my way.

_{[ Which means he's getting his own supplies and will adjust himself in route.

By the time he does get there, his face is a serious, smooth slate rather than his normally warm, expressive countenance. It does not warm when he sees Beverly, and it won't for quite some time yet. ]}

Do you have any indication on where his last location might have been?

[Beverly, for her part, has changed out of the tell-tale Drift Fleet jumpsuit into something more inconspicuous: a simple pair of black jeans, white tee shirt, jacket, boots - the sort of basics you can find at any waystation in this region of space. She's also tucked her hair up into a black knit cap so that it does not stand out so much. Tucked into her jacket pocket, however, is a laser gun, as well as credit chips, in addition to her communicator. Whether she has to fight or pay McCoy's way out of this, she's ready.]

Yes.

[But she doesn't elaborate. He's pissed and she's not sure what that means he might do.]

But first, we need a plan and to lay some ground rules. We can't just go charging in.

_{[ He's never been one to keep in that uniform anyways, so he's in a mix of his survival suit jacket, black shirt, jeans, and his survival boots. It's the sort of mix of ready to take you on and casual that blended with the rest of the place. He might not be a spy, but he's not stupid either. His own weapon is hidden inside the jacket. Packing and showing it could go awry fast here and he wasn't about to risk it so easily with Bones on the line.

His glare hardens. ]}

Believe it or not, I have done things like this before. Knowing where he was last seen can help formulate that plan.

_{[ He really didn't like the idea of being handled at the moment. Despite being pissed, he wasn't going to go running off either, and he was mildly insulted Bev seemed to think so. He'd learned his lesson on that already. ]}

Was he near warehouses? Bars? Supply centers? What are we looking at here?

A depot, not too far away from here.

_{[ He was quiet as he absorbed that for a second. ]}

So we're probably looking at the potential for multiple buildings and rooms, and guards if they're smart.

_{[ He practically growled in his frustration. ]}

Is that all we have on them and this place? We can't track anyone through our Fleet comms can we?

[She starts to shake her head but then she has a thought-]

His account! Do you think there is anyway we could trace the money?

If he's done transfers, yeah.

_{[ He licked his lips as he thought it over. ]}

He won't be that hard to hack, and if we have to I can get Winn to get us in. Did you bring a data-pad?

[She shakes her head.]

Just my communicator.

Damn it... Well, we either have to find a terminal, go back to the ships, or think of some other way to find him. Think the locals would give any info on where these people like to do their business?

Possibly.

[She thinks for a moment.]

I don't know how much use I'll be to you when it comes to hacking into his account, so perhaps we should find you a terminal and while you work on that I will see what I can find out from the locals.

_{[ He nodded to that, looking around them. ]}

Shouldn't be hard to bribe someone to use one for a bit. Twenty minutes?

_{[ He glanced at her, clearly waiting for a consent or counter argument
rather than giving an order. ]}

[She nods, relaxing some, knowing that they're in this as partners.]

That should be enough time. I'll message you if it's not.

_{[ He nodded and checked his comm. ]}

Right. Twenty minutes it is.

_{[ He slipped it back in his pocket, adjusted his jacket, and made his
way into the crowds to seek out someone with a terminal. Eventually he
found one, and with the right amount of cash he was granted the liberty to
sit down and toy with it. As he had thought, Bones' account wasn't all that
hard to hack - he should talk to him about that - but in this case it was
useful and he wouldn't complain. Now just to hear what Beverly had found..
]}

[Meanwhile, Beverly disappears into the crowd, exploring the local shops and warehouses and talking to the other shoppers. It proves easy enough to get people to talk - no one is suspicious of this nice older woman who is just trying to find obscure parts for her ship. Still, it takes a few tries before she finds a promising lead - a name and a warning to avoid this certain group.

Once they meet up again, she passes this information on to Kirk.]

Does that match with what you found?

_{[ Kirk taps something and nods before shutting down the terminal
(wiping what he had looked up, of course, no sense in leaving evidence
behind). ]}

It would make the most sense. Did you get a clue on where they're most likely to hang out? Odds are they would take Leonard there, where they're most comfortable.

There’s a warehouse, not too far from here, that I was adamantly warned against going anywhere near.

[Which of course, means she’s going in.]

Adamantly, you say?

_{[ He smiles, but it's not his usual, carefree charming one. This one
is full of teeth, a predator's grin. ]}

Well, you know how I feel about warnings, especially adamant ones. Let's go get my doctor back.

[She nods sharply. No one from the Enterprise gets left behind, least of all Leonard.]

You should know I have training in covert operations... If you can provide a distraction, I'm sure I can get in.

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