The Hunt for a Killer Begins

Posted on Mon Jan 12th, 2026 @ 9:14pm by Captain Erik Norsgaard & Lieutenant Tatiana Dragos & Lieutenant JG Caitlyn MacRae
Edited on on Tue Jan 13th, 2026 @ 12:30am

2,913 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Wolf in the Fold: Hide and Seek
Location: Captain's Private Quarters | Deck 2 | USS Thunderbird

[Captain's Quarters | Deck 2 | USS Thunderbird]

He missed the fireplace at his brother's cabin. Sitting by the fire, in that old wing-backed chair that his sister-in-law had reupholstered at least twice already, his feet up, reading. Yeah, he missed that. And while he'd done what he could to make his quarters more welcoming and less austere, it still ... lacked something. At the moment, dressed in loose-fitting, draw string pants and a nubby white pullover, he sat in his own wing-backed chair, part of a matched set, with his bare feet up on a matching ottoman. No fireplace but he had a good view of the star field outside from the view port. Probably the opposite of warm but restful in its own weird way. A cluster of fat candles, their flames undulating slowly, sat on a low table beneath the windows in front of him, while beside him was an end table, hand-carved by a friend, with a lamp, a pile of books, and a large mug of Söderblandning Te, a favorite tea from back home.

Just press the button Caitlyn... Once, twice, three times her hand reached out, hovering over the chime to signal her arrival and each time she hesitated. Which was infuriating ridiculous. For one thing, a lowly lieutenant hovering around outside the Captain's Quarters? Hardly inconspicuous. And for another, she had come all this way to help him. Which she could most definitely not do from out here. With a sharp shake of her head, she touched the door chime and took a deep breath, waiting for permission to enter.

"Enter," Erik called out, as he marked his place in the history he was reading, and rose from his seat. He put the book down and headed toward the door to greet his visitor. Being the captain meant you never quite knew what was on the other side of the door. Expect dinner guests and end up facing an irate crewman with a torn uniform holding a dead spider. Now that had been an interesting evening.

Stepping from the corridor and into the captain's quarters was like stepping into another world. The bright artificial lights and many shades of blue and greys which Starfleet seemed to love at present were largely gone, and she was all for it. There was a warmth to the place, which she supposed was the point. A home from home. It was so him.

Norsgaard reached her just then, interrupting her curiosity. Like her, he was in civilian clothes, although where he had opted for light colours and a more relaxed feel her own were more fitted and as black as the night - contrasting sharply with her pale skin tone. Yet even the boots she wore did little to offset the height difference between the two. "I love what you've done with the place," she offered in lieu of a hello, before adding, "sir."

"I'm trying," Erik said, with an embarrassed smile. "Just can't work out how to get a fireplace in here. But where are my manners. Come in, come in. Just made a pot of tea. Would you like a cup?"

“Sounds good, thank you,” she nodded. In truth she couldn’t remember the last time she had drank any kind of tea… perhaps at the Academy now she thought on it. Her roommate has loved strange exotic flavours and most of them were almost criminally bad. “And I’m sure an eager engineer of two who would help with the fireplace. Who would want to say no to their Captain?”

"Haven't won them over yet," Erick said as he gestured to her to take a seat in one of the oversized wing-back chairs facing the view port. He found a second of a set of hand-crafted mugs he'd been gifted once upon a time, and poured her a cup of tea. "They aren't my crew yet. Not a one of them. Anyway, this is from back home," he said as he set it on the round wooden end table between them. "One of my personal favorites. If you don't care for it, I can replicate you something else." He grunted as he settled back into place. "You should have seen the look the ship's counselor gave the chocolate balls I served at the first briefing." He laughed at the memory of her expression. "You would have thought I was offering up poison."

"That would have definitely been a way to make an entrance," Caitlyn mused as she lifted the mug, nursing it between both hands and enjoying the warmth. "Duly noted. She is now top of my suspect list. Who doesn't like chocolate? Seriously though, who?"

It was entirely rhetorical and in jest. Somewhat.

"I met Lieutenant Dragos earlier," she added, taking a tentative sip of the tea, pleasantly surprised the rich and unusual blend of flavours. "And I did some reading up on her. You have a good one there, I'm glad you'll have her watching your back. She should be joining us shortly. Half expected her to beat me here, after crawling through just about every part of this ship I had to shower about four times before I felt vaguely Human again."

"It's interesting really," Eric said, "since I'm not entirely sure that their former captain had their loyalty either. Which reminds me. He was definitely poisoned. Just got the report back from Starfleet Medical. I'll send you the report, eyes only, but it's rare and from what I hear, they were lucky to catch it. Whoever poisoned him, almost got away with it."

Caitlyn took a sip of tea as she digested the news. It had been her fear, the reason she had burned more than a few bridges and annoyed more than one admiral to get here. Yet at that time it was unconfirmed, based solely on the trust she had in her contact.

“This is why I prefer Klingons, they at least will look you in the eye when they try to kill you,” she sighed, setting down the mug. “I had asked Dragos to look into the medical side. It would seem that is where we focus our efforts. Poison is not exactly easy to come by. I would assume our culprit has medical or science background… or at least has help from someone who does. There could be more than one.

Firstly, is there an update on the Captain’s condition? I assume there were easier ways if someone wanted him dead, right? The ship was in the middle of a full blown medical emergency. If you wanted to kill a starship captain with minimal questions asked - that was the time. So was it a mistake? Or someone who doesn’t want to have a death on their hands?”

"Good question," Erik said. "From the crew reports, Knox was brought back to command the vessel and his record is questionable at best. That would present opportunities for this person ... that maybe they wouldn't have had otherwise. And I would have to agree with medical knowledge being involved. As to the rest, did they mean to kill him outright or just incapacitate him? Not sure ... and do they mean to try again with me? There's a thought that will keep me up at night." He shook his head as he took a long sip of the tea, a blend of black tea, tropical fruit, and flowers, that was as popular back home as it once had been in Japan. "Glad you're here, Cait. I really am."

There was sincerity in his voice that was undeniable and she flashed him a grateful if tired smile. “Me too,” she admitted, “obviously I wish circumstances were different. But then again I don’t get to go to the quiet places. There was no way in hell I was going stay on the sidelines and let anyone else help to stop this. I’ve got your back, always.”

"Give me a second, I'll get an update on Captain Gray," Erick said. He set his mug down on the end table and headed over to his desk. It only took a few minutes, going through channels, to find out what he needed to know. When that was done, he returned to his spot, picking up his mug again almost at once. "He's starting to improve. Weak. They're thinking it's going to take months for him to recover fully. In case someone is still after him, he'll recover somewhere safe. Somewhere no one but him and a trusted few will know about."

“Good,” MacRae nodded. “If he needs anything let me know. Dragos and I can do some digging on the poison, find out how it may have been administered. What do you think of them, your senior staff? Gut instinct.”

Erik sighed, placed the half-emptied mug on the end table, and settled back in his seat. Hands folding across the six-pack hidden by his shirt, his gaze drifting to the stars outside as he thought that over. "The only one that rubbed me the wrong way was Trynn. Nothing I could put my finger on, just not someone I'd want to confide in. Knox is a big question for me. His supposed best friend didn't have his loyalty and from what I heard, he wasn't exactly supportive of the replacement First Officer either. Do I think he tried to kill his caption though? Nah. Not sure he's first officer material but that's a far cry from being a traitor. Baas is interesting but in a good way. Once you vetted him, he might be good to draw into this as well. Solid officer. Malbrooke is so quiet as to be nonexistent. Knight's a professional, good officer, and Ryan? He's recovering as well so haven't head much dealings with him."

Before she could comment, the door chime rang out. “That should be Lieutenant Dragos,” she pointed out as she picked up her tea, allowing Norsgaard to call for the other woman to enter.

The door opened, and Tatiana stepped inside Erik's quarters. "Sorry I am late, I was observing things in medical with the Bajoran refugees and others. There seemed to be quite a bit going on, getting them settled."

"Come on in," Erick said as he waved Tatiana over.

“Have my seat,” MacRae offered as she stood, “it is obscenely comfortable and I may end up napping in it soon. The tea is quite something too.”

No point in bombarding the woman with questions before she had really gotten the chance to say hello. “We were just talking about all things medical and Captain Gray so your timing is perfect.”

Tatiana was glad that she had chosen to wear her civvies when going into medical. Comfortable black pants, the sort you'd be able to dance in. Not to tight just comfortable.

"Thank you" Tatiana answered taking a seat having a smile of thanks. She adjusted her light blue long sleeves which went to her wrist.

"And you can have mine, Cait," Erik said as he rose smoothly and went to fetch another mug. There's tea from back home." He poured a cup and set it beside Tatiana, then retrieved his own mug and flopped down on the rug. Easy enough for him. He'd spent most of his childhood sprawled on one floor or another. "hope you like it."

MacRae had to bite down on her lip to stop herself from laughing. While chivalry was very much alive and well, at least where the captain was concerned, she couldn’t picture many starship captains who would quite happily opt to sit on the floor as if this were a slumber party. Thankfully she could take a mouthful of tea to help hide her amusement and regain her composure while sitting comfortably.

Tatiana had another smile as she took the tea. She caught the amusement in Caitlyn's eyes as to Erik giving up his seat. She recalled the other times when she had gone to visit Erik, both of them talking and foregoing sitting in chairs. Can't help it if the rug was comfortable.

Taking a sip of the tea, Tatiana remarked. "Tastes very good, you've always had good selection of teas," to Erik.

“What was your impressions of what was happening in Sickbay,” Caitlyn asked curiously. With her years of experience, Caitlyn doubted anything would have escaped the other woman’s attention.

In response to the Caitlyn's question, Tatiana turned her gaze to Caitlyn. "There seemed to be the strong desire to get themselves into something more comfortable, they have had enough of being poked, prodded, and there was certainly quite a bit of distrust. Can't say I blame them after what they had experienced."

“Distrust does seem to be the order of the day,” Caitlyn lamented. “There has been an update, regarding Captain Gray.”

She nodded towards Norsgaard, to let him share the update he had received on his predecessor. She was interested in hearing if it mirrored what Dragos had been able to find out through other channels - if she had been able to uncover anything at all in a short space of time. But she was also considering the concern Erik had shared. If Gray had been a target, was he?

"He's recovering but it will be awhile till he's back to full health," Erik said. "Lab says it was a rare poison and they were lucky to catch it when they did. Another day or two, it would have been completely gone from his system."

“At least there is some good news," Caitlyn pointed out, "and he willrecover. Although that may be small comfort. Especially when right now we don't know exactly who did the poisoning... exactly what kind of rare poison? Did the lab identify it?"

"Indeed. It's disturbing that he was poisoned while on board this ship. As to the poison, it's Apostim 669 ... something," Erik said. "The kind of thing you cook up specifically for something like this. From what I hear, its not available otherwise."

“Unfortunately there are too many people willing to do that kind of thing, if you know where to look. And typically that is outside Federation space,” Caitlyn pointed out. “This is worse than I thought … the planning … someone also had to know this ship was heading here - to be transport for these prisoners.”

"Captain Gray wasn't even on board when we got the assignment to transport the prisoners," Erik pointed out from his position on the floor. He leaned back against the wall, long legs outstretched. "No, this had to be someone on board. Someone who took advantage of the situation in Sickbay with the plague. And that's even more disturbing."

Tatiana pulled out her PADd opening up the file she had made.

"I came across a mention of a poison named Apostim 6692. From the report that was submitted, it had been traced to an lab run by a scientist who was rather interested in creating almost untraceable sort of poison. The composition has to be mixed under special conditions. It is said that he or she is working with the Orions." Tatiana handed the padd to Erik.

"Lieutenant Baas needs to be informed as well," Erik said as he accepted the PADD and took a minute to read through the results. Tatiana, if you could look into this scientist ... Maelon Ral. Untraceable poisons tend to draw interest which means either Intel or Security have heard of him. Cait, I know that you're spearheading this investigation but I think we need to inform Lieutenant Baas as well. What do you think?"

“Agreed, although the less visible security is - the better,” MacRae pointed out. “Whoever is behind this will be watching what is happening on this ship. But based on this poison, I think we focus on the science and medical staff. People with the knowledge and resources.”

"Is Baas able to not be visible as much? I'm not familiar with him since I'm freshly arrived. Observations from the two of you? I did read that the chief science officer, Stormy Knight, she's half Betazed and half human. She might pick up something from either of us, or may pick up something that just wasn't appearing to be right." Tatiana regarded Erik and Cait.

“I haven’t met him, yet,but I will finish clearing him tonight and …”. MacRae paused, smothering a yawn. “sorry. Been an adjustment and a lot to do. Do you have something with a thousand percent more caffeine?”

"How about we finish for now," Erik said. "Vet Lieutenant Baas and then we'll bring him into this next. Unless there's something else, the two of you should get some sleep. Busy days ahead"

Nodding and making herself get up from the chair. "Sleep sounds wonderful, and that chair is way to comfortable." flashing a smile. She stretched a little bit, hiding a yawn behind her hand. She retrieved her PADD from Erik, "thank you."

“I’ll let you both know when Bass is cleared and then I’ll bring him up to speed,” Caitlyn told them as she stood, “And thank you, both. You had every right not to trust me or help me like this.

And the tea was a bonus,” she added with a grin.

---

Captain Erik Norsgaard
Commanding Officer
USS Thunderbird

Lieutenant Tatiana Dragos
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Thunderbird

Lieutenant Caitlyn MacRae
Operations Officer
USS Thunderbird

 

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