False Eyelashes

Posted on Tue Nov 3rd, 2026 @ 1:59am by Commodore Wilkan Targaryen & Enterprise Enlisted NPC & Commander Zhora zh'Roothi & Lieutenant Commander Kuzos & Lieutenant Commander Aidan Datari

2,949 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: 11. Recess
Location: Forensics Lab, U.S.S. Enterprise
Timeline: 2439-10-21, 12:30

The air in Deck 17's specialized Forensics Lab hummed with the rhythmic pulse of LCARS displays, a familiar baseline rhythm that Petty Officer First Class Chumyri Kimik found strangely soothing. Sunlight-spectrum lighting bathed the recessed work niches, reflecting off clean isolinear housings and the pristine glass specimen cases lining the bulkhead. By standard Hekaran conventions, a life spent surrounded by dark, somber tones was the mark of intellectual gravitas; Chumyri had long since traded that solemnity for dark eyeliner, spiked leather chokers, and a persistent, buoyant enthusiasm that kept the Enterprise science staff on their toes. She was far from a stranger to the senior staff - anyone who had ever needed an emergency spectroscopic breakdown at two in the morning or spent five minutes trying to pry her away from a hyper-caffeinated energy blend knew the petite, bubbly forensic specialist well.

Perched atop a swivel stool in her primary analysis alcove, Chumyri hummed a fast-paced cadence while tapping her boots against the base ring. She had already cleared her primary workbench, prepping the high-resolution bio-molecular scanners and isolation fields. Her Communicator had chimed shortly after Commodore Targaryen wrapped his briefing with the senior staff: the Counselor had successfully brought back Attaché K'Nera's isolinear chip from Karemma just before Captain Tazari dropped the dampening grid, and the raw telemetry was now being brought straight to her lab for immediate extraction.

Chumyri adjusted her dark bangs, bouncing slightly in her seat as she activated the main wall-mounted diagnostic monitor. The screen shifted to a glowing blue readiness grid, waiting to slice into whatever encrypted files, corrupted biometric logs, or hidden sensor telemetry Tazari had tried to lock down. She loved a good puzzle, especially one wrapped in high-stakes diplomatic subterfuge. If there was a phantom signal or an anomaly buried inside that chip, her bio-scanners would rip it wide open.

A gentle chime signaled an arrival at the main entryway. Chumyri spun her stool around with a wide grin, resting her elbows on her knees as the pneumatic doors hissed open to admit the incoming team.

Aidan gave his science officer a brief nod of acknowledgement as he approached, needing only a single glance to know she was in elbow deep. "Anything yet?" He asked as he stepped aside to make room for the others.

"I'm all prepped and ready to crack it, boss... isolation field is calibrated and the diagnostic routines are idling," Chumyri chirped brightly, her dark eyeliner crinkling as she spun back toward her primary diagnostic console. She patted the edge of the sleek, empty bio-molecular isolation tray next to her keyboard. "Just drop Attaché K'Nera's chip into the reader as soon as it gets here, and my scanners will strip off Tazari’s firewall like a bad holographic wallpaper. Two minutes with the sub-routines, and we'll see what kind of secrets the John Kelly was trying to bury."

Commander zh'Roothi stepped closer and presented Chumyri with the data chip: "Consider the actions we've already seen so far they will be very damning indeed."

With a swift, practiced motion, Chumyri caught the small isolinear chip between two fingers tipped in dark polish and slotted it directly into the reader. Her fingers immediately flew across the multi-tiered holographic console, a flurry of motion driven by equal parts hyper-caffeinated stimulant and pure forensic adrenaline.

Lines of dense, encrypted code cascaded across the wall-mounted diagnostic monitor in violent crimson warnings, shielding Tazari's classified telemetry behind heavily reinforced diplomatic firewalls. Undeterred, Chumyri grinned, bypassing standard Starfleet algorithmic protocols with an erratic, intuitive sequence of sub-routines. She adjusted a series of molecular phase-conjugators on the isolation tray, leveraging spectroscopic resonance to bleed away the outermost layers of encryption.

As the crimson cascade flickered and fractured, bleeding into deep amber and finally sharp, stable sapphire, hidden file structures began to unpack themselves across the display. Biometric matrices, unscrubbed signatures, ballistics anomalies, and suppressed station movement logs poured into the local buffer in a steady, cascading stream. Chumyri’s dark eyes widened with bright, triumphant focus as the deep secrets of the John Kelly laid themselves bare beneath her scanners.

"How's Saeri?" Zhora asked Aidan lowly as the Petty Officer set to work.

"Resting in sickbay. I intend to make my way there to be with her when we're done here. Doctor Kholin sedated her on my request. I also intend to see the counsellor with her as this does not sit well with me either." He cast her a concerned smile. "I've never felt so scared in my life, this felt worse than losing my husband..."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," she replied softly and tentively lifted an arm to comfort him when another voice broke the moment.

Kuzos spoke for the first time. "She will be fine Aidan that is the most important thing. Yes, she was scared but it will pass and you will have many more years with your daughter."

Immediately Zhora withdrew her arm and in turn shed her softer side. "Indeed," he tone was distinctly colder. "None the less it should have not transpired in the first place. While the crew from the John Kelly where bullish in their tactics opening fire against fellow officers and civilians is completely unjustifiable and unacceptable."

"I know she'll be fine, she's in good hands and I have absolute faith in Doctor Kholin," Aidan answered softly. He hadn't missed the aborted reaching out and to him, it was the gesture that counted.

Kuzos nodded. "Of course she will be. She just needs some reassurance.

While her fingers danced across the secondary sub-routine arrays to isolate the unscrubbed signatures from the raw data stream, Chumyri’s sharp Hekaran ears subtly adjusted the acoustic pickup of her workstation's local audio filters, tuning out the hum of the bio-molecular isolation field to catch the low murmur passing between the officers standing just behind her alcove.

Her dark eyes flicked upward toward the reflection on the glossy surface of her monitor, watching the muted exchange while her hands continued their rapid-fire decryption. Every bit of personal insight drifting across the lab - from the quiet admission of a father's terror to the heavy psychological toll of the medical ward—plugged neatly into her mental inventory alongside the cascading forensic logs, giving her an unfiltered window into the raw human cost behind the diplomatic conspiracy unfolding on her screen.

Kuzos's violet eyes tracked Chumyri's movements. He was impressed with the speed and skill of her actions. He hoped she would soon give them answers to questions they hadn't even thought of mainly those concerning the Dosi and Karemman. He was sure they were involved in some way.

A bright, breathy whistle escaped Chumyri’s lips as the last tier of Tazari’s encryption dissolved into a pristine, blue waterfall of raw telemetry. Her dark-painted fingernails tapped a furious vector across the holographic interface, scattering the newly unlocked directories into four color-coded quadrants across the large wall monitor so the assembled officers could see the evidence unfold.

"Oh, boy... Tazari didn't just sweep this under the rug, he practically built a whole new floor over it," Chumyri chirped, her bubbly voice practically vibrating with forensic triumph as she spun her stool around to face the group. She bounced slightly, dark bangs swaying over her eyes, and gestured enthusiastically toward the glowing displays.

"First off, Commander, your hunch about the Dosi and Karemma is a total bullseye," she said, nodding sharply toward Kuzos. "Look at these biometric scans from the initial response. The Dosi Minister’s tissue logs have cellular discrepancies that the coroner pressured to ignore. Add in point-blank ballistics that don't match Tharl's firing stance at all, plus financial bribes dumped into witness accounts right before they gave statements, and it’s a total frame job!"

She tapped another cluster of nodes, bringing up an illuminated red timeline alongside audio waveforms.

"And here’s the smoking Phaser: municipal terminal logs prove Lieutenant Commander ch'Rhirhr was checked in on the complete opposite side of the district when the shooting went down. Tazari knew it, too. He was already drafting an unexecuted fast-track extradition order to hand Tharl over to a municipal tribunal to keep the Dosi from killing their trade accords. I've got Attaché K'Nera's encrypted audio affidavit right here warning the Commodore directly."

Chumyri paused, her bright demeanor softening just a fraction as her sharp ears caught the tail end of the low conversation about Sickbay. She offered Aidan a quick, genuine look of sympathy from atop her stool.

"We've got everything we need right here to tear Tazari's arbitration apart, Sir," she added softly, her dark eyeliner crinkling into a warm smile. "I'm routing the full, unscrubbed package straight to the Commodore and Commander Kuzos's legal PADDs now. You go get down to Sickbay to be with Saeri... we've got Lieutenant Commander ch'Rhirhr's ticket home right here!"

"She's in good hands," Aidan answered, "I've offered diplomatic support and I should be there when we retrieve him." Though he longed to be with his daughter, he couldn't in good conscience do so without feeling it he'd be abandoning his duty.

In her customary stance with her arms folded across her chest Zhora studided the Trill momentarily aware he was pitting fatherhood against duty. "Only if you're sure," she held his eye. "None of us will think less of you should you change your mind."

"No I'm not sure," Aidan admitted, "but I do expect you to call on me if I'm needed after all. Thank you ma'am, I will be in sickbay, or at home..."

"Copy that, boss," Chumyri chirped softly, her dark eyeliner crinkling into an understanding, empathetic smile as Aidan made his decision. "Don't worry about a thing up here - we've got all the forensic puzzle pieces locked down tight. Give Saeri a big hug for the whole lab crew when you get down to Sickbay!"

"Aidan, go. Spend time with your daughter. She is the most important person right now." Kuzos told his friend

The Trill nodded, anxious to be with his child but still visibly reluctant to abandon his duty. "Keep me informed," he requested before hurrying out the lab.

With her dark-painted fingers already executing the final routing commands, she tapped a sharp sequence into her holographic console. "Full raw evidence package, biometric logs, ballistics overlays, and K'Nera's audio affidavit are officially beamed straight to Commodore Targaryen and Commander Kuzos's encrypted PADDs," Chumyri announced brightly, spinning her stool around to face the remaining officers with an energetic grin. She leaned back on her elbows against the analysis tray, nodding toward the brilliant sapphire arrays still glowing on the main monitor. "Tazari's whole legal house of cards is primed for total demolition whenever you're ready to swing the hammer."

"The hammer is about to swing and bring down this deck of cards." Kuzos promised.

The Andorian wasn't so certain. "It would be prudent to have another plan in reserve along with an extraction plan if necessary."

The pneumatic doors of Deck 17's Forensics Lab hissed open before Zhora or Kuzos could trade further tactical countermeasures. Commodore Wilkan Targaryen stepped across the threshold, his dark eyes instantly locking onto the glowing sapphire data arrays splashed across the wall-mounted diagnostic monitor. The permanent fatigue lines framing his face hardened into an expression of absolute, unyielding iron as he listened to the tail end of the exchange. He didn't break stride as he approached the primary analysis station, his massive hands clasped loosely behind his back.

"There won't be any need for speculation on extraction contingencies, Commander," Wilkan rumbled, his deep voice carrying the heavy, grinding weight of command authority that instantly grounded the lab. He paused beside Chumyri’s workstation, glancing down at the holographic PADD in his hand as his encrypted link received the unscrubbed package straight from the forensic buffer. A dark brow ticked upward as his gaze swept over K'Nera’s audio affidavit, the point-blank ballistics anomalies, and Tazari’s unexecuted extradition drafts.

"Captain Tazari operates under the assumption that we stumble blindly through missions," Wilkan continued, his dark eyes narrowing as he looked back up toward Zhora and Kuzos. "He thinks a rigged municipal tribunal and a few bought-off Dosi witnesses give him a clean exit. He's about to discover how severely mistaken a compromised officer can be."

The Commodore turned his gaze fully toward Kuzos and Zhora, the hard, unblinking intensity of his stare brooking no hesitation. "Commander zh'Roothi, take this entire evidence package - ballistics, cellular discrepancies, financial ledgers, and K'Nera's affidavit - and format it directly into an ironclad legal injunction. Present it to the Karemman magistrate with a formal Starfleet JAG demand for immediate jurisdictional transfer. If Tazari attempts to interfere or move ch'Rhirhr off-station while the injunction is being filed, we treat it as an active hostile action against a Federation vessel."

The XO nodded stiffly at the request and hid her grimance at the potential should Tazari interfere: "Of course, sir."

Wilkan shifted his weight slightly, his broad frame radiating a cold, calculated calm as he looked between the officers. "Furthermore, digital telemetry and coroner reports aren't going to be enough if Tazari tries to claim our data was tampered with," Wilkan added, his low voice cutting strictly through the hum of the LCARS displays. "Kuzos, I want an independent team on the ground to conduct a full, hands-on forensic investigation of the actual crime scene in the municipal district. Verify the residual bio-molecular signatures, cross-reference the micro-particle impact angles against Chumyri's ballistics overlay, and physically confirm the terminal access logs at that check-in station. I want physical, unshakeable proof from the site itself that leaves their municipal report utterly defenseless."

Kuzos nodded. "At once Commodore. First will be coming with us he can make sure that no one interferes with our investigation as well as gathering of evidence."

"We don't need a shadow extraction plan because we are going to walk right through their front door wrapped in sovereign regulation, raw physical evidence, and unanswerable proof. Let Tazari try to explain away an audio affidavit from his own attaché and a re-examined crime scene."

"It should prove interesting to watch his attempt." Kuzos remarked.

"Take your scout ship, Commander," Wilkan rumbled, his deep voice carrying the heavy, authoritative weight of command across the lab. "We'll log it strictly as a temporary sabbatical for personal administrative affairs back in the Dominion. If Tazari wants to monitor our traffic, he can read official diplomatic leave chats while you pull the hard evidence right out from under his feet."

Kuzos's violet eyes held a look of amusement. "I believe the appearance of a Dominion scout ship and a squad of Jem'Hadar soldiers will not only gain everyone's attention but also let the parties involved know the Dominion is not amused and his tightening their leash."

The Commodore regarded Kuzos with a steady, impassive look as he absorbed the strategic weight of the proposition. He recognized the inherent friction of the situation; a heavy-handed escalation would only invite unnecessary chaos, yet standing entirely passive risked inviting further subversion. Utilizing a Dominion vessel for the ground investigation struck the precise balance Wilkan favored: it avoided a blunt, militaristic confrontation while signaling an unyielding commitment to the alliance and signaling clearly to any compromised local actors that oversight was absolute.

"Precisely, Commander," Wilkan rumbled, his voice low and measured against the hum of the lab's diagnostic panels. "We are not here to provoke a war, but we are entirely unwilling to let bureaucratic corruption subvert the peace. Let them see the Dominion and Starfleet acting in concert to clean up their mess. Pull the evidence, verify the ground-level data, and keep the leash tight."

"It will be a pleasure." Kuzos replied. His violet eyes gleamed in anticipation at the coming events.

With the directive finalized, Commodore Targaryen turned his heavy gaze directly to Petty Officer First Class Chumyri Kimik. "Petty Officer, pack up your field analysis gear and join Administrator Kuzos on the surface. You mapped the telemetry; I want your Hekaran precision on-site to verify those molecular signatures in person."

Chumyri’s eyes lit up beneath her dark bangs, a bright grin breaking across her face as her fingers immediately began slinging portable scanners and isolation kits into her field case. "Say no more, Commodore! Field analysis is my absolute specialty... if there's a microscopic speck of residual phase-plasma down in that suite, I'll have it cataloged before Tazari can even check his sensor logs."

Wilkan offered the Hekaran Petty Officer a single, stern nod, the ghost of a approving curve softening the severe line of his jaw for only a fraction of a second. "See that you do, Petty Officer. Accuracy over speed, but don't spare either."

He turned his full focus back to Kuzos and Zhora, his posture broadening as he set the operational rhythm for the hours ahead. The battle lines were drawn—not in photon torpedoes or shield frequencies, but in forensic logs, jurisdictional law, and unassailable truth.

"Commander zh'Roothi, file that JAG injunction the second Kuzos's scout ship clears the main shuttlebay doors. I want Tazari reading our legal freeze before he even realizes his dampening grid missed K'Nera's chip," Wilkan commanded, his deep voice grinding like stone with absolute finality. "Kuzos, assemble your detail and drop to Kecemen. Get us that physical evidence, extract the witnesses, and tear their cover-up down from the inside. Dismissed."

"Certainly Commodore. We are on our way. You will soon have the evidence you require along with the witnesses. The cover up is already over." Kuzos assured.

"Tazari won't know what's hit him," the XO smirked.

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