Mike's nervousness was compounded by Ginny's concerned anxiety. He tried to contain himself; Rachel was looking at him with curiosity, not a good sign. The last thing his personal life needed right now, was Rachel probing into it. He tried to shield his thoughts. She wouldn't purposely read his mind, but if he was projecting too loudly, she'd hear them. He focused on the issue at hand.
"What do you mean there's been an attack?"
"The venue for the peace talks." Rachel said. "We caught a Romulan spy leaving the venue. When he saw Federation security officers he detonated a bomb he'd placed in the podium, clearly hoping the blast would be big enough to take him and officers out." She winced. "It wasn't."
Mike's gut clenched. It was horrible...but why were they here?
"The president of the Federation was set to make a speech opening the talks." Oscar added. "This is an assassination attempt."
"But you caught the guy." The words sounded flat, even to his own ears. Rachel and Oscar were looking at him with pity and veiled irritation. "Let me guess." He said, sitting behind his desk. "There's more."
"He was Tal Shiar." Rachel said. The mention of the Romulan secret intelligence organization made Mike's stomach clench. She looked frustrated. "It was all I could get out of him before he used some type of hidden poison to commit suicide."
"So you're going to each place the delegation stopped to look for any more information?"
Rachel and Oscar gave him those looks again. Something was wrong; they were here for more than simple round of questions.
"There's reason to believe that the spy had help from someone inside this station."
Mike frowned. Someone inside this station? He had a suspicion, but he wanted them to confirm it. Rachel turned to the computer screen. Pressing a series of buttons, she turned. "Watch this." Mike's worst fears were realized. The screen showed what was clearly a station security video of the outside of the station's restaurant. The view of the inside showed Ginny, clearly visible, talking to the bartender. Suddenly the lead female member of the delegation. Mie couldn't remember her name, walked in. Ginny seemed defensive, but soon she got up and went to a side table with the Romulan. They were partially obscured from view, but... whatever they were talking about was clearly important. Ginny's body language was shifting from caged, to relaxed. What had this woman said to win her trust so easily?
Oscar and Rachel were looking at him. They were clearly waiting for him to condemn her; confirm their suspicions. "You think Ensign Baker's behind this."
"She has cause to be." Oscar said.
"What? Having 50 percent Romulan DNA makes her guilty?" Mike snapped.
Oscar sighed. Rachel pursed her lips, looking at him intently. He focused on keeping his mind blank.
"Look." He said, choosing his words. "I'm not just going to accuse one of my officers of treason without proof."
"You're awfully defensive of her, Captain Lawson." Oscar said. "How is it that after a few weeks, she gets this level of devotion from you?"
"I have no idea." Mike said flatly. "Clearly it must be Romulan mind control."
"Mike." Rachel admonished. "This is serious."
"I know." He growled, standing. "Which is why Starfleet command is probably eager for a conviction or someone to take the blame." He glared at the two of them. "And conveniently enough you just happen to have a half Romulan officer on this station that Command hasn't been comfortable with from the beginning." A silence fell. "You're forcing her to be a scapegoat for the sake of stopping people from panicking."
"It's more complicated than that, Mike." Rachel said.
"Oh." Mike growled. "Of course it is." He shook his head. "Wouldn't do for the Federation to be seen as prejudiced."
Oscar's eyes narrowed. Rachel crossed her arms.
"We need to maintain peace with the Klingons." Rachel said. Oscar shot her a look.
"The..." Mike shook his head. "The Klingons?" He shook his head. "What do the Klingons have to do with this?" Whatever it was, he didn't care. He wasn't about to let them arrest Ginny without proof. "If you want to question Ginny about her conversation with the Romulan delegate, you can, but I'm not going to let you-"
"Let us?" Oscar's voice was low. Mike closed his mouth. He was threatening a Starfleet admiral...what was he doing? He turned to Rachel. Her expression was closed off. While she didn't look happy, he figured she'd be easier to reason with. But before he could speak, she shook her head..
"We're not here to question her." She said. Mike's eyes widened. Surely not. "We're taking her into custody."
The words were barely out of her mouth before Mike was rushing across the room, out the doors to the bridge. He made it just in time to see two large security officers go over to Ginny's station. Sonny Evers blocked them.
"Orders from the admiral." One of the security officers grunted.
She was resigned. Mike felt it. No. She couldn't be serious. She had to fight this.
"I'll go." She said.
"Ginny." He murmured. She looked up and met his eyes, giving him a bracing smile. Then she was hidden from him by the security officers, taken off the bridge. He went to follow, but was stopped by Oscar.
"This is a matter for Starfleet Command now." He said.
Mike shook his head. "You can't just take an officer off my station without probable cause." He turned and looked at them. "Until you have proof of her guilt, you aren't taking her off the station."
"Lawson." Oscar growled. Rachel put a hand on his arm.
"She'll be held in the brig pending trial." She said, shooting Oscar a warning glance. Mike nodded, going to the turbo lift. Rachel followed him. Mike glared at her. "Mike, what aren't you telling me?" She asked as the doors closed.
He clenched his jaw. "She's not...she's not a secret assassin, Rach." He said.
"Mike you don't know her."
He jerked his head. "Why don't you just read her mind?" He snapped. "You can see she's innocent."
Rachel shook her head. "Romulan minds are more complex than humans'." She frowned and shook her head. "Besides, I tried to read her when I saw her on the bridge...she was blocking me." She shook her head. "She's hiding something, Mike." Her eyes narrowed. "And you are too."
He swallowed. "She's not a spy." He whispered. Rachel shook her head, sighing.
"Just be careful." She said. "You're not the best at..." She trailed off, ducking her gaze. Mike glared at her.
"At figuring out when people are lying to me?" He finished. "Thanks for the reminder, Rachel. Truly, I'd forgotten the last time you taught me that." He tried to feel Ginny over the connection. There was thinly veiled layer of panic mixed with shame. He let the pull between them guide him. He entered the brig. The security officer stood, but catching the look on Mike's face, he backed away.
Ginny was sitting on the cot in the brig, looking at her hands. She was trying to meditate, keep herself calm. Mike put his override code into the control panel. It buzzed and went red. He glared at the security officer.
"Admiral's orders." The man mumbled, not meeting Mike's eyes.
"Open." Mike growled. "This door."
The officer gulped and and did as he was ordered. Ginny didn't look up as he walked in but she shifted on the cot to allow him to sit. She was forcing her emotions down, trembling with the effort. This wasn't right. There were so many reasons why this wasn't right. He wanted to hold her, but they were being watched.
"Not exactly how I imagined this day going." She murmured. He let out a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a cry.
"Really?" He said. "I figured a troublemaker like you would be familiar with the inside of a cell." He winced as she finally lifted her head and looked at him. The pain in the depths of her eyes that was mirrored in the burning stab across their connection made him gasp.
"What do they think I did?" She asked. He ducked his head. There was no pretense. She already knew they were framing her. He looked ahead.
"A member of the Tal Shiar was caught rigging a bomb to assassinate the president of the Federation." He said. "They have footage of you talking to one of the delegation."
Ginny swallowed. "So they think I had something to do with it."
"It's bull." Mike said forcefully. Relief came from Ginny's end of the bond. He winced; she'd thought he believed them. "I mean...you'd literally be the worst spy ever." He shook his head. "They can't accuse you of something without proof, Baker. You're a Starfleet officer and a damn good one. Probably one of the best I've had under my command. You make me believe in what the Federation can be."
She didn't say anything. Warmth radiated from her as she moved her hand between them, placing it flat on the cot. Mike mirrored her, his hand next to hers, their fingers pressing against each other. It was the only contact they could allow themselves.