Thank you to all the readers out there!

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CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

Absently stroking her chin, Liberty stared meditatively at the blank wall on the other side of the empty storage area. The fact that it was completely empty wasn't a surprise to her. If Dalcrom was in the midst of setting everything into motion, any equipment or supplies would've been long gone by now. What was perturbing to her mind was realizing what had been here and what it added up to.

"I've patched into the communication system." Eugene's voice sounded quietly pleased in her right ear.

Slowly sucking in a lungful of air, Liberty blinked and slipped her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "Anything interesting floating through the air?"

"A 'Sinclair' is expected to arrive at any moment." A note of perplexity had entered the young man's voice. "There's something that's odd, though."

"Sinclair?" murmured Liberty, taking a few steps across the bare floor, her eyes narrowed in agitation at the name. "That worm has resurfaced through the mud, eh. I wonder who he managed to blackmail?"

"That's weird." The tone of Eugene's voice had become increasingly bemused, but an underlining pitch of intrigue was also evident. "The messages are appearing and disappearing in the middle of nowhere."

Halting in the middle of the room, Liberty arched an eyebrow. "What?"

There was a curious hesitation for several seconds before Eugene's voice returned in increasing interest. "The messages, both incoming and out-going…they just seem to be originating and dying in thin air."

Lips becoming a hard line, Liberty fixed her eyes on the instrument panel next to the storage room door. "Can you pinpoint the area?"

There was silence from the other end for another handful of seconds.

"Eugene," she hissed with a scowl, raising a hand to the miniscule communicator.

"Umm…are you sure you want to know? Because you're not going to believe it," he finally said with a half-hearted chuckle.

"Eugene, do you believe that an individual can be physically pulled through a communicator?" snapped Liberty, the corner of her mouth jerking faintly at the quiet echo that surrounded her in the empty room. "Because you're going to be in ten seconds."

A spasm of coughing could just be heard through the tiny communicator before Eugene continued. "I can't pinpoint it specifically; however, I have narrowed it down to the general area of the…U.S.S. Arizona Memorial."

"Where?" A vexed line appeared along the normally smooth forehead.

There was another hesitation on Eugene's part, as he wondered if it was necessary to repeat it. "Over the general area of the Memorial."

"How long would it take to pinpoint the specific area?" Again running her fingers along her chin, Liberty brought up the images of the area in her head.

"If the activity keeps going at the rapid rate it has been for the last thirty minutes, and 'if' I can breakdown the security shield, an hour. An hour and a half at the most," answered Eugene, the sounds of his finger's running over his instrument panels heard in the background. "Unless I get really lucky and grab a thread of out-going message before it disappears under the shield."

"If you don't get 'lucky', Eugene, make it twenty minutes." She made it sound like a reasonable request, contrary to what was being thought by the youth on the other end of the conversation.

"Yes, ma'am," sighed Eugene, already resetting his calibration's for communication signals. "Anything else?"

"If the signal's coming from here, then where are they located? And how far are they from the transporter?" she asked, deciding time wise she would wait until she was within close proximity of the young man before correcting his attitude.

"Both are in the same area, two floors up from where you are right now. And I think you should know, someone has just transported in from the south coast of Molokai," he quickly added before she had a chance to throw something else at him. "From the messages still being sent, it's not Sinclair, though."

"It figures. Nothing ever goes as planned, does it," she said, more to herself than to Eugene while glancing at her wrist chrono. "Okay, you're still getting a signal from the Admiral and Doctor, right?"

"Yes ma'am. Loud and strong. However, it's been moving slightly, just outside the hotel. Wait a minute…" He broke off abruptly, causing Liberty to pause on her way toward the door. "I'm picking up a bunch of internal racket from Star Fleet Headquarters."

"Let me guess…someone's coffee maker isn't working," Liberty grunted, deciding to wait until she received an explanation before heading out. "Or the Judge Advocates office has run out of toilet paper again."

"They've discovered Commander Talmon's disappearance," came the musing response. "Admiral Cartwright is trying to have the entire planet sealed until they've located him."

"In other words, Star Fleet's finally been kicked in the ass and had their collective brain's dislodged." Rubbing her forehead tentatively, Liberty swiftly weighed what this was going to mean. "I'd like to know who and why, but neither one of us has the time. Keep an ear open, Eugene. They don't realize it, but if they do or don't shut off the planet, it's too late. If Brother Talmon is here, then everything is set to go, and there isn't anything they can do now; however, keep me updated on their progress. That is, if they make any."

"Shouldn't Admiral Kirk be notified?" The words came out after a short barrage of coughs, as if he hadn't been thrilled about asking the question.

"Oh, God, no." She sighed again. "Right now, I've got their attention diverted enough that they won't go galloping into anything in a heroic rush. They hear news like that, the Admiral will decide he has to swim Molokai, grab this Rossenber and swim back to Frisco with the guys' collar between his teeth. At the moment, he and the Doctor are playing tag with Commander Talmon. I'd just as soon leave it like that until I have a better idea of the set up. You find out where that incoming signal is originating. Time is working against us here, especially when they catch wind that Star Fleet is panicking. Thank God the Federation hasn't jumped into this yet."

"The day isn't over," Eugene dryly pointed out.

Grimacing at the comment, Liberty shot a look heavenward. "Don't remind me. Before I forget, you mentioned Norris Talmon was also assigned to partial duty in the Communication Center."

"While I'm at it, do you want to see if I can manage to slip under Star Fleet security again and see if the ex-Commander Talmon left anything behind in the system?"

suggested Eugene, already setting up the computer for its full workout for that morning. "Would you also like me to send off a notification of billing to the Judge Advocate's office for services rendered?"

"Cute," Liberty snorted. "But the case would be in court until the next 'Big Bang'. Just keep track of everything I've asked about, and get back to me when you find something. I doubt Star Fleet would appreciate any more of our help, but if we can prevent them doing more damage to themselves as well as the rest of the universe, I'm sure they won't begrudge us too much. They might actually let us remain on the planet after it's all over with."

TBC