Ensign Britney And An Old Enemy (Part Two)

"You've got to do something!" T'Pol yells at me in my Ready Room, "Brit has been abducted!"

She thumps so hard on the desk, my cup of Earl Grey is spilt.

"Calm down." I reply in my authoritarian tone, "We'll do everything we can. Lieutenant Worf and his Security Team are going over the area now to see whether we can get any clues as to what happened to Ensign Britney."

Worf walks in, and T'Pol is demanding instantly to hear more.



"All the items she bought in the Starfleet Mall are there and have been recovered, Captain." Worf begins, "However we did find this note." He hands it to me, but T'Pol grabs it first.

"It says 'We have the traitor at last!'" she says.

I take it and read it for myself.



"Only The Dregs of Society would refer to Brit like that." T'Pol says, "After she infiltrated and exposed the counterculture movement."

"Exactly!" I reply, "But all of them are supposed to be in penal colonies. Let's check up on them. Maybe they've mislaid a few prisoners and haven't noticed."

I get my viewer and contact the warder of Fempokey, the penal colony for women.



"Greetings Captain Picard." he says "I am Warder McKay, head of the prison. What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if any prisoners had escaped recently, most noticably any members of the counterculture group calling themselves The Dregs of Society?"

McKay suddenly looks decidely uncomfortable, as if someone has tipped an ant farm into his uniform.

"My empathic skills tell me that the Warder knows more." says Deanna.

Really? She needs to be a telepath to know that?

"Come on, Warder." I demand, "How many have escaped?"

"All of them." he answers sheepishly, "Including the leader, Desdemona Dreg. They were playing football, and when they kicked it over the wall, they asked if they could go and get it back. They never returned."

"Why didn't you warn us?" I ask, "One of the members of my ship has been abducted as part of a revenge motive."

"We thought we could get them back before anyone noticed." answers McKay, "I'm very sorry."

I switch off the videoviewer in disgust.

"Well, we know what we're up against." I say, "Let's check any ion trails and particle emissions to see if we can help. Ensign Britney may be in big trouble."

"I think Britney is pretty tough, Jean-Luc." Bev answers, "It's the Dregs that need to be careful if they've captured her."

To be continued...