Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek , though MACO Lt. Kaitlyn Donovan does belong to me.
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Reviews are much appreciated. Thank you to all of the readers following this story.
The End Justifies the Means
Chapter 10
Kaitlyn woke up with a jolt as hands were moving over her body. She made a fist and jabbed her attacker.
"Ma'am - it's okay. You're safe, we're here with you." a familiar voice said as he quickly jumped back.
Kaitlyn's eyes focused on her surroundings. She was lying on the floor of her living room, with at least five MACOs around her. Her head started to throb to the beat of her pulse. She closed her eyes and winced as she touched her forehead and felt the huge bump and a gash. She opened her eyes and tried to sit up.
"It would be wise for you to stay still, until I've checked your injures." Doctor Phlox said as he kneeled down beside her and opened up his kit.
"How long have I been out?" she asked Lance Corporal Rutledge as the doctor scanned her.
Rutledge frowned and came down on one knee, "We're not sure, Ma'am. When did you get attacked?" he asked softly as he pulled his PADD out to make a report.
"As soon as I stepped in the damn door!" she yelled. She clenched her fists and tried to calm down. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be yelling at you." she quickly apologized.
"I understand, Ma'am." Rutledge looked over his shoulder. "Where were all of the targets then?" he questioned another MACO.
"O'Dell and Gardner were at home and Keppler was still at the bar. It wasn't them, it was someone else." Lance Corporal Vinson stated.
Rutledge nodded, "Search around the area and see if we can find any evidence left behind. Get the feeds from the apartment security and copy them." he directed the other MACOs and they quickly left.
Doctor Phlox smiled softly as he finished cleaning the gash, "Well, you do have a mild concussion with a small gash and your throat is bruised, but I think you'll be just fine, Lieutenant." He helped her sit up slowly and watched as she fought a wave of dizziness. He frowned, "Help me get her to the couch." he requested.
Lance Corporal Rutledge gently eased her up and walked her over to the couch. He stepped outside as he received a communiqué.
Kaitlyn touched her throat gently. She hadn't noticed that it was sore, probably because of the immediate pain in her head. She looked around her living room and winced at the mess. Whoever had knocked her out had tossed the place.
Doctor Phlox gave her a hypo and sat down beside her. He ran the scan over her again and was taken aback by the readings. "Lieutenant, the readings indicate that bruise from earlier today is almost gone, and that your ribs are almost completely healed. How is that possible?" he questioned her.
She looked at the doctor's bright blue eyes, "I heal quickly, doctor." she shrugged.
He frowned. Her answer did not explain this phenomenon. He looked up as Rutledge came back in.
"Ma'am, Admiral Forrest is on his way and so is Major Hayes." he informed her.
She looked at Rutledge and frowned. She closed her eyes and leaned on her knees. That's all she needed right now. She took a deep breath, then sat up slowly. "Do we know what they were looking for?" she questioned.
"All of your electronics are still here, though it looks like they had your computer on. Where's your PADD?" he asked.
She pointed to her handbag on the floor.
Rutledge walked over and picked it up, "It's not in here, Ma'am." He pulled out her phase pistol, "They didn't take your weapon." That would have been a load of paperwork to fill out. "What information did you have on your PADD?"
She leaned back on the couch, "Nothing. Everything gets automatically stored in my off site account and gets erased off the PADD as soon as I read it. It memory wipes every hour."
"That's some kind of security, Ma'am." Rutledge quickly typed more information into his report.
Doctor Phlox wondered why she felt such a security precaution was needed, but then he guessed she was right to take such measures if things like this happened. "Lieutenant, why don't you go change and pack a bag - I'm sure they're not going to let you stay here tonight." he suggested.
Kaitlyn nodded and stood up, "Thank you, Doctor Phlox."
He gave her a huge smile, "Not a problem, Lieutenant."
Kaitlyn walked into her bedroom and shut the door. She pulled her bag out of the closet and threw in an assortment of clothes for tomorrow, then got a newly ironed uniform out and laid it on the bed beside her bag. She went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. She touched her throat where bruising from finger marks were evident. Why would her attacker choke her? She'd been knocked out. Unless she'd woken up. She frowned as she tried to remember if she had. Her mind was blank. She quickly put her toiletries into her bag and zipped it up.
Kaitlyn came back out and found Forrest and Hayes questioning Lance Corporal Rutledge. They looked over her quickly and moved closer to her.
"Are you alright?" Forrest asked quickly as he noticed her gash, then the marks around her throat.
"I'm fine, just a bump and a gash - right, Doctor?" she looked to Doctor Phlox for confirmation.
"She has a mild concussion, but she'll be just fine." the doctor pointed out.
Major Hayes frowned that she had left that little detail out.
"You should take tomorrow off." Admiral Forrest stated.
She shook her head, "No, Sir. I've got at least two meetings that I know of tomorrow that I've got to go to find out what is going on." she found her voice raising, then sighed softly. "I'll rest on Sunday." she promised.
Forrest nodded slowly, there was no use arguing with her now. He took a deep breath, "I'm glad you're okay, Lieutenant. I'll see you in the morning." he turned and looked at Major Hayes. "Make sure she stays somewhere safe and send me the report when you're done here." he directed.
Major Hayes nodded, "Yes, Sir."
Doctor Phlox looked at Donovan, "Do you often lose your temper?"
Hayes narrowed his eyes at her, "No, she doesn't. She's usually very calm." he pointed out.
Phlox looked at her with concern, "That's twice in the past hour. If you are still having trouble tomorrow, I want you to come by my office so that I can run further scans of your frontal lobe." he directed her.
Hayes nodded to the doctor, "I'll make sure she comes by if she keeps flying off the handle." he promised.
The doctor looked slightly confused by his colloquialism, then he realized what the man meant. "Very well, get a good rest tonight, Lieutenant."
Kaitlyn nodded, then looked at Hayes as the doctor left.
"Come on, let's get you back to the office - you can sleep on one of the cots there." he directed and indicated for her to move along.
Rutledge walked with them down the stairs.
Hayes looked at the Lance Corporal, "Wrap the investigation up, lock the doors, and come back to the office to finish up your report." he directed the young man.
"Yes, Sir." Rutledge acknowledged then quickly went back up to the apartment.
Donovan got into the waiting shuttle with Hayes and the pilot quickly took off as soon as the hatch was closed.
Hayes looked at her softly as he sat back, "What happened?"
Kaitlyn frowned and sat back, "I let my guard down. Commander Williams had just walked me home, I'd talked to Harris across the street, and then I went inside." she shrugged and absently touched her throat.
Hayes frowned at the bruising, "You got knocked out by the wall - did you wake up?" he inquired.
"I can't remember if I did or not, but why would they choke me otherwise?" she wondered.
Choking someone was very personal, she'd either seen her attacker or knew him. He watched her carefully, "Maybe after you sleep, you'll remember more."
"Possibly." she said, but she didn't count on it.
They headed into the MACO offices after the pilot dropped them off. He opened the door to one of their overnight rooms that held four cots and wall lockers.
"I'm going to get an update from the teams." Hayes said and went to his office.
Kaitlyn hung her uniform up and put her bag on the shelf in the wall locker.
When she turned around, Harris was standing at the door.
"I'm sorry, Kaitlyn. I should have known that someone might come after you, since you're in charge of keeping Forrest safe." Harris frowned. "We'll make sure that we keep you secure."
She shook her head, "I don't need people watching me - I already have enough teams running around keeping eyes on everyone else. I won't let my guard down again." she reassured him.
He held up a scanner and indicated her throat.
She lifted her chin and allowed him to take deep scans of the tissue, "Fingerprints?" she questioned.
He was hoping. He shook his head, "Gloves. Well, I'll have the forensic team estimate the build of your attacker from this." He put the scanner up, then pulled out a replacement PADD for her. "Same security features as the last one." He glanced at the door, "Kaitlyn, they came because they picked up a transmission from you." he explained.
She frowned, why hadn't they told her? She headed for Hayes' office.
"Why didn't you tell me that you'd gotten a transmission from me?" she demanded.
Major Hayes frowned, "Kaitlyn. . "
"I want to hear it - it may help me remember." she pointed out.
He clicked on his monitor. "Evidently you'd activated your implant and this is what we heard."
She listened carefully.
"What are you doing?" she heard herself say, then she heard something crash and break.
"You? Why?" she questioned, then she heard herself gasping for air. Then the transmission stopped abruptly.
Hayes watched her as she listened to the transmission. He raised his eyebrow when he saw something register across her face. "What is it?"
Kaitlyn shook her head slightly. She turned and left. Her attacker had known she had a communication implant and had turned it off. She went back to the room. It didn't surprise her that Harris had left. She grabbed her pt clothes and her shower gear, then headed to the locker room.
She was fuming. Annoyed that she had seen her attacker, but couldn't remember who it was. Livid that she had obviously recognized who her attacker was. Infuriated that she didn't know who she could trust anymore. She closed her eyes tightly as she stood under the hot water of the shower and focused on taking deep, calming breaths to keep her blood pressure from skyrocketing.
She found Major Hayes on one of the other cots and leaning against the wall when she came back to the room. She frowned slightly, then put her bag up and kicked off her shower shoes and climbed under the blanket on her cot. She didn't want to talk to him right now. She turned away from him.
Hayes reached up and flipped the light off. He'd keep a watch over her tonight, even if she didn't feel like talking to him. After she'd left the room earlier, he'd realized what she'd figured out from listening to the transmission. The attacker knew about her communication implant and had turned it off. He frowned, she wasn't going to be able to trust anyone. He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. He was going to make it his task to find out who her attacker was.
0645 - Bay Park
Kaitlyn smiled softly as she and Sam Gardner had settled into a comfortable jogging pace through the path of the park.
"So, did you find out what you needed to at the library?" Gardner asked.
"No, I just ended up with more questions - but I'm sure I'll figure it out." she said as they passed an older couple walking on the path.
"I'm sure you will, you seem like a very determined woman." he smiled as he glanced at her.
She chuckled softly as they passed a few more walkers.
They continued to run through the paths until they came back to the fountain.
"That was a good run." he commented as he pulled their bags out of the lockers.
She patted her face and nodded, "Yes, a nice easy pace to start the day."
He raised an eyebrow, "Are you saying the pace was too slow?"
"I would never say that to you, Captain." she smiled and sipped her water.
"What do you run?" he questioned as he put his bag over his shoulder.
"Three miles in under fifteen minutes." she shrugged as they started to walk out of the park.
He chuckled, "I don't usually haul ass like that unless I'm being chased."
She turned and stepped closer to him, "Wouldn't do any good to be chased and then find out you can't run that fast." she pointed out softly.
He smiled, "That sounds like a challenge."
"How about we go get breakfast before we start challenging each others' abilities?" she suggested.
He nodded and they walked down the street to the small cafe and got a table on the patio. He handed her a menu from the center of the table as the waitress came over quickly.
They placed their order and their coffees were quickly delivered.
"I've only come here a couple of times." Gardner admitted to her.
Kaitlyn sipped her coffee, "I come here a couple times a week when I'm in town." She watched as he decided something, then leaned forward.
"Tell me, why are the MACOs encroaching into Starfleet Security territory by guarding Admiral Forrest?" he questioned her.
She set her cup down. Of all of the things he could ask her, she didn't expect him to ask this first. She shrugged, "It's more of a public relations move." she admitted.
"How so?" Gardner frowned.
She sat back in the chair, "Have you seen the Starfleet Security training? I mean, it's good - but it's not all encompassing." she tapped the table. "The crews aren't going to just stay on the ships, are they?" she asked.
Gardner shook his head and watched her closely as he sipped his coffee.
Kaitlyn leaned forward and spoke quietly, "Not every species they encounter will be friendly, not every terrain they go to will be a city. Their basic training is not enough. I'm hoping that Starfleet will call upon us when they realize they need us." she shrugged.
Sam Gardner nodded slowly as their food was placed before them. He was still quiet for a few minutes while they ate.
Kaitlyn didn't mind the silence. It was so peaceful outside today. She finished her eggs and hash browns and leaned back and closed her eyes and let the warmth of the sun shine on her face. She could feel his eyes on her. "What?" she questioned, her eyes still closed.
"How did you know I'm looking at you?" he wondered.
She opened her eyes, "I usually know what's going on around me." She took another sip of water, "It was a nice run today." She smiled and stood up. "What time should I meet you at Paxton Industries?" she put down her part of the bill.
"The dinner starts at 1900, so let's meet there at 1830. I'll call Mr. Paxton and see if he can speak with you." he smiled.
"See you then." she waved as she headed down the street. She glanced back and noted that he was still watching her.
Kaitlyn still didn't know who to trust and who not to trust. She smiled when she thought of someone who might be able to help her, if he was as good as she got the impression that he was.
0815 - Starfleet Headquarters
Kaitlyn knocked on the open door.
Commander Derek William's came over quickly, "Are you okay?" he asked quickly. He'd worried since he got the message from the Admiral last night, but the Admiral had assured him she was fine. He should have walked her to her door, he should have made sure she'd gotten inside alright. He frowned.
She nodded, "I'm fine, but I have a favor to ask . . ."
1230 - Starfleet Weapons Complex
Lieutenant Reed looked up as he got a message he had a visitor at the front desk. He logged off his computer and quickly headed down to the front desk.
Commander Derek Williams nodded as Lieutenant Reed approached. He wondered why Kaitlyn thought she could trust this man. Granted, he was Starfleet Security, and he was the Ordinance Officer that had disabled the bombs - but how could she be sure that he wasn't in cahoots with Keppler? He took a deep breath, she had to have her reasons.
Lt. Reed had recognized the Commander from reading over the files of everyone involved with the Enterprise, since he was investigating into who made the bombs. "Commander Williams, how can I help you today?" he shook the man's hand.