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[Judy's Apartment]
"Later tonight, then," Judy answered. This was turning out rather well indeed, for her.
Then, it fell to [spoiler]shit[/spoiler], with the arrival of a wannabe man-stealer, carpet destroyer, and general idiot along with her lawyer.

"Frivolous," Judy assessed on hearing the idiot lawyer's spiel, before reluctantly leaving Malik's warm lap. She stood, reading the PADD through her glasses.
"Ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha, that portrait of Alexander Hamilton could do a better job than this lawyer. In fact, I could dismantle this piece of garbage entirely in song, and you know what? I will."

Judy moved towards her piano, and began to play the opening chords to the 20th century song Let it Be.

"As I find myself in legal scuffles/
I'm glad it is with schmos like these/
Their case holds no water/
It is [spoiler]shi-hit[/spoiler]."
Judy sang mostly in the correct key, improvising the words on the spot. It was quite impressive.
"They can't sue me on charges/
Of the sins of morons under me/
That's not how the law works/
Case is [spoiler]shi-hit[/spoiler].

"It's all [spoiler]shit[/spoiler]/
It's all [spoiler]shit[/spoiler]/
It's all [spoiler]shit[/spoiler], yeah/
It's all [spoiler]shit[/spoiler]/
No judge will ever buy this/
This is [spoiler]shi-hit[/spoiler]."
If Lawrence was embarrassed by his mother's promiscuity, he was absolutely humiliated by her musicianship. She, on the other hand, was beaming.
"You see, his orders were to listen/
Not to be a massive prick/
That was his idea/
'twas Di-hi-hiq."

And so Judy continued, shooting melodic holes through what was an atrociously bad attempt at prosecution. Dihiq was the culprit, the correct court was internal affairs, not the California state courts, and how did anyone expect any better? The lawyer studied at Cooley, considered the worst law school in the Federation since the charter was written.

[Judy's Concert Hall]
Ivan's jaw dropped in shock as Judy turned this soft, 20th-century legendary ballad into a [spoiler]Shithole[/spoiler] "Very Vulgar' song. Govorov then looked at Judy, only to say "What the heck is this, Judy?!"

[Judy's Apartment]
Govorov pulled out the chips he brought, and grabbed them by the dozen. He then dipped them in the bean dips 'Like a bear'. Then he noticed Jada coming into the apartment. "Jep, Judy's throwing a baseball party or something." He said with a grunt. He offered his boss some Lay's Salt&Vinegar chips. "Care for some, boss?" he asked.

[Judy's Apartment]

Judy put her hand over the handset, and then authoritatively whispered to Ivan, "I'm on the phone." She really was, after all.

The dogs did the greeting for her, sniffing the newcomer and licking him.

"Come on up, then," Judy answered, affecting a Savannah, Georgia accent for no reason other than that, after a shot of Romulan Ale, it seemed like the thing to do. "I'm on the lucky 13th floor, apartment 11."

Then, she hung up and turned to Ivan. "Sorry about that," she apologized, in her normal accent. "Please do take your shoes off, and close the door. Care for some Romulan Ale?"

[Apartment]
Govorov gently patted at Judy's dog. He understood, of course. And what Judy said next made it worth the waiting.
"Sure, I'd be delighted to get some alcohol."

[Judy's Apartment]

Judy wasn't all that surprised that Saya had chosen those colors to troll her and not as support for the Solar Sailors per se - a hat would have been more à propos for the latter goal. It was highly illogical, and yet Saya did it - one of the many idiosyncrasies of hybrid origin that Judy found so endearing in her friend.
Judy did chuckle at the confession - it was amusing.

Judy had to admit that she was relieved not to have half the flight department in her apartment. She assumed that, between other plans that some people made, dislike of baseball, and dislike of her, not too many of the crew would come, and was very much banking on that assumption.

"The game should be starting soon; I should turn the TV on," she said, doing so. The 2D device (she had thought of getting a holographic one, but she no longer lived here full-time) was already set to the correct channel, and showed some commentary about the match.

"As for liquid refreshments, let me go to my drinks for grown-ups cabinet," Judy added, before getting up and walking to the kitchen. She returned soon afterwards, with a six-pack of Heineken bottles, some shot glasses, and a bottle with Romulan labels and a blue drink.

"It was legal when I bought it," she defended herself, winking as she did. This wasn't just any Romulan Ale: it was vintage 2374 Praetorian Romulan Ale (a high grade made in a good year), worth many times what she'd bought it for during the war when it was new and legal. She had about a dozen bottles of it here, all legally bought.

Judy set her goods down, opened the bottle, and poured some of the legendarily potent drink into a shot glass.
"Want some?" She asked Malik, all while eyeing Saya to assess her level of shock.

[Judy's Apartment]
Govorov entered the apartment; It was open. The security in the place was quite enexceptionable, but he decided to hold that thought. The visit was unrelated to his work anyways.
"Hey Judy!" He shouted cheerfully. His hands were full with shopping bags on each side; He brought something to eat(No, it was not potatoes). "I brought you some chips and bean dips to eat. I know, I'm becoming a Yankee already." He chuckled to himself at the horrible pun he just made.

[SF]
"Very well, we'll go there," Judy said succinctly, unbuttoned all-weather coat fluttering elegantly behind her. "Cadet, check where the Red Squad dorms are."
Dihiq, shivering in the cool evening wind with his inadequate uniform, pulled out a PADD and checked. "They're on the n-n-n-north side of Treasure Island, just across from here," the cold Cadet reported, teeth chattering as he did.
Judy side-eyed the moron, and replied, "we'll beam over there, come in through the roof, and search. Security in these places is drunk contractors who'll step aside for an officer."
Then, she tapped her commbadge and issued an order to the Tempest.   "Eastman to Transporter Room, beam us to the roof of the Red Squad dorms." 
The operator complied, and they were gone. Fortunately, he used the correct location, instead of beaming them to the shooting range, where Dihiq would have led them.

[Red Squad dorms]
After materializing on the roof, Judy looked over the edges of the building. Security, as she expected, were nowhere to be seen. "Security are probably visiting a pub. Let's see where the children are," she remarked, before looking around the roof. At one corner, she saw a protected stairwell with a door. Confidently, she took aim at the lock with her phaser pistol, but missed the mark somewhat and ended up shooting a bird before adjusting her aim. In her own mind, her trenchcoated self shooting a door looked very badass. To Dihiq, she looked ridiculous.
However Judy looked, she got the job done in her bizarre way, and led the team of 4 down four staircases to the entrance.
"Let's search our way up from here until we find anything, or anyone, of interest," she ordered.

[Red Squad Dorm]
Govorov saluted the Lieutenant very smoothly and elegantly, and pulled out the pistol. He noticed that Judy was beaming; Perhaps she was impressed of herself. He tried very hard to hold his laughter, as she missed the padlock with the pistol. He aimed his own pistol into mid air, and he thought he looked like one of those characters from the old-ass movie <007> he saw on his ship towards the Tempest.

[Bridge]
Judy walked right up to Captain Hawk without hesitation and, while waiting to be acknowledged, propped one elbow on the tactical console's wooden railing and clasped her hands together in front of her like the total civilian that she had been for 5 decades. She intended to report on the situation, but Harmon was quick to jump in and  deliver his spiel again. Enter Tekin, then Saya, and it all added up to Judy waiting a while before getting her own turn to speak.
"After we found Mr. Harmon, we got chased by about 20 thugs in 3 hovercars. I had to ram our car into theirs, in the hope that it would incapacitate them. A security team should be down there right now apprehending them."
In her mind, Judy had a visual of the Tempest security crewmen peeling goons out of the rubble.
Dihiq burst that bubble. He had been scanning the area on his own initiative, and reported that, "Sirs, the count of living Starfleet officers there has decreased by one."
Judy's mild smile turned to a slack-jawed expression of shock as her arms fell limply to her side. She was stunned, speechless as she realized that she had sent a member of the crew to their death.In her arrogance, she had simply assumed that her plan had worked flawlessly and that the thugs were incapacitated; as a result, a life had been extinguished. Because she, Judith Eastman, forgot to consult any sensor readings to verify that the men were injured, or use any of Mars PD's resources like drones and armored personnel, a soul was taken. Judy placed the blame solely on herself.

[Bridge]
Govorov was gleaming with glee, until he heard about a death. Shit. He thought. He then looked at Judy's face which was more frozen then his. A sign of sadness went across Govorov's face, and his emotion of happiness and triumph suddenly turned into those of mourning and self-blame.

[USS Tempest - Brig]
The Starfleet officers materialized outside the cell row in the brig. Judy examined her recent passengers, and was pleased to see they were unharmed and that her gambit had worked.
"Mr. th'Rasdar, have a detail beam down there. Take anyone with a pulse to sickbay so they can be treated and subsequently interrogated. Ms. Soreka, you'll be joining them as a field medic. Unfortunately, we can't force treatment on Mr. Harmon. That brings us to you, Mr. Harmon. You're with me. We're off to see the captain."
After shooting off these orders, Judy led the way out of the brig and to the bridge, where she presumed Hawk to be.

Govorov gave Judy a puzzled look, and asked for his orders. "Eh, what can I do for you, Lieutenant Eastman?"

[Outside Casa Harmon ->  the open road]
Once Judy saw Martinez was cast out, and both Govorov and th'Rasdar entered the car (since Soreka was already next to Harmon, sandwiching him with th'Rasdar, Govorov was forced to sit shotgun), she put on her glasses and got on the roads.

[Open Road]
Govorov entered the car, then went to the trunk. He pulled out his trusty rifle and put it on stun mode. He saw Harmon's face and quickly looked away. He got the passenger seat, which was a relief. Less nausea, the better.  He felt calmer when he listened to  , a mega-hit pop song from several centuries ago. He imagined the world without hovercars for a second, then quickly pointed the pistol to Harmon. "Don't try to bite the cat, you little rat." He hissed at the Aussie man.

[Harmon's Lair]
Judy and Crewman Martinez (the fellow who had earlier bought the Lieutenant a coffee) covered for Govorov, standing at the hole with their phasers drawn and set on stun. They could see the man addressing the young Russian very clearly.
"Ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha," Judy laughed mockingly at Harmon. "Alexander Harmon, you do have an excellent sense of humor. Ha ha ha. How did you find your pizza yesterday?"
She made her way into the secret chamber, phaser pointed at Harmon throughout, and continued.
"Mr. Harmon, have you ever played chess?" Judy asked rhetorically, launching a long speech. "The best way to explain your predicament is through chess. You, my dear, are currently a bare king, alone and defenseless in the back row. You are being gunned down by a queen and two rooks. You can't win." Judy's mention of a queen was, of course, a vain reference to herself that probably sank in as she briefly paused.
"If I shoot, or Mr. Govorov shoots, you wake up in the Tempest's brig. If you shoot one of us, the other shoots back, you wake up in the Tempest's brig. Either way, checkmate."
She gave him a second to absorb this analogy as well, and then added, "however, I'm known to be reasonable. If you put your gun down, and come with us to the Tempest of your own volition, there will be no need to do anything we might regret later."
Judy took a brief moment to wipe some of the dust from her hair, and then added, "Your move, Mr. Harmon."

[Harmon's Lair]
Govorov's heart was still beating hard from that incounter. He glanced at his phaser rifle, and saw it was set on 'Kill'. He was startled, and very quickly set it back on stun. Govorov gave a slow nod to what Judy said, hoping Harmon'd be scared. Then, he gave a cold yet sharp glare at the man who tried to kill him.

[Jim's Ice Cream Parlor, near Ref. Marker 201]
Govorov rushed to get some Ice Cream, and some information. Though he wasn't exactly boiling hot, an ice cream wouldn't hurt. He walked over to a woman, the only lady standing in the parlor along with some men with tattoos. Ivan wasn't too fond with men with tattoos, so he walked over to that lady, who had curly, blonde hair and was wearing huge earrings. Other than that, she seemed quite normal.
"I hope you're not Jim." he said in a friendly voice.
"Oh, no. Jim died five years ago. I'm her granddaughter who owns this shop for the time being. My name's Miranda." She said.
"Such a pleasure to meet you. The name's Ivan. Can I ask you a simple question, Miranda?
"Of course."
"I and my friends are looking for a lost friend. He has short black hair, a thick goatee, handsome brown eyes, and is probably wearing sunglasses and a Jumper. You seen him?"
"You mean the guy with a thick French accent? He was wearing a beret and a trench coat though. He ordered some vegemite ice cream. Don't understand his taste."
Govorov thanked her for his help, and got himself some strawberry ice cream.

He then reported back to Judy.
"Lt. Eastman, the crook bought some ice cream here. He apparently changed to a beret and a trench coat, though."

[Stewart Shuttleport - Pickup Curb]
As th'Rasdar approached, Judy motioned for him (as the next-highest-ranking member of the away team) to sit shotgun. She then listened to his report.
"De-la-kroyks? Are they even trying?"
"We know they rented a car, so it's probably a distraction of some kind," she assessed, in effect agreeing with him. "I think it's safe to assume he's not going to the ski resort, or anywhere along that bus line."Govorov entered the car as well, and brought some information.
"Aussie sounds like our crook,"  Judy said, dismissing the heritage comment as Ivan seemed to do.
Then came the last crewman, Martinez, coffee in hand. He climbed into the car, delivered the offering to Judy, and gave his report.
"Harmon apparently ordered a 2/3 caf venti ristretto cappuccino, 2 pumps vanilla, 1 pump caramel, upside down, with cream," he said, hesitating at the long and complex coffee order. "Apparently they also requested an affogato with vegemite ice cream, but the cafe didn't have that pattern stored so they went elsewhere."
"A vegemite affogato?" Judy repeated incredulously. "Well, I've got a hunch that was about the vegemite ice cream, not the coffee, so they must have gone to an ice cream parlor. Computer, find ice cream parlors offering vegemite ice cream near me.  "
There was but one.    "The nearest such parlor is Jim's Ice Cream, 71 kilometers away on the Ares City Pike, Mars Hoverway 47."  The car's onboard computer happily said.
  "Computer, navigate to Jim's Ice Cream Parlor." 
"In 300 meters, use the left two lanes towards Mars Hoverway 547 North, Oliver Memorial Tunnel towards Stewart, then, turn left onto Mars Hoverway 447 West, Stewart bypass road towards Ares City."
Judy took in the instructions, briefly glanced to make sure everyone used their seatbelts (Starfleet crew were often unused to those), before flooring the gas pedal and pulling 4 lanes to the left. In the process, she cut off two hover-sedans, leading each to honk at her. Judy didn't give a damn.

[Hwy 447 - Reference Marker 5 - 44 kilometers and 11 minutes later]
The speed limit of the two-lane Hoverway 447 was about 150kph (the fastest hover-roads, like the Ares City Pike, had about a 250kph speed limit); Judy's speedometer read something near 270 (she herself didn't bother to read it). There was 20th-century Earth music (Sinatra's My Way, suitable for the stubborn lady who chose it and was currently singing along, wildly off-key) playing loud and clear.
"I did it my way."
"I did it my way."
Ahead, Judy saw the lights of a minivan, going at what she estimated to be half her speed. She pushed the brake pedal, slowing down to a measly 130 kph, and honked.
"Get a [spoiler]fucking[/spoiler] move on, Gramps. We're in a hurry."
"Gramps" did no such thing, so Judy looked at the opposite lane, and moved sharply into it to pass him.
And the car in front of him.
And several more.
All in all, she passed 7 hover-cars, a truck, and a camper in one go, before returning to her lane. She did it her way.
"The jamokes here don't know how to [spoiler]fucking[/spoiler] drive," the dangerous driver said straight-faced.
Before anyone could interject, the computer gave a direction.
"In three kilometers, keep left to merge onto Mars Hoverway 47 West, the Ares City Pike."
Judy checked the navigation panel, and quickly calculated that they'd be reaching the ice cream parlor soon.
"How about one of you update Captain Hawk on our progress?" Judy asked the security crewmen, not aware of the effect her driving may have had on them. "Govorov, why don't you do it? Tell him we're chasing down leads in Stewart Province."
Then, she took a left, leading to an overpass and then a merge onto the 6-lane Ares City Pike. It only took seconds before she was in the fast lane, doing 300 kph or thereabouts.

[[Hwy 447 - Reference Marker 5]

Govorov felt nauseous. Judy probably broke around a dozen traffic laws in 'round 10 minutes, dammit. He thought to himself. He's not one with a delicate stomach, but he felt like he was going to hurl. Luckily, he kept the paper bag from today's breakfast, so he 'Did his thing' in there. It may have seemed gross for others, but he wasn't the one to blame.
He coughed hard, and replied to Judy. "Of course, Lt. Eastman. I'll give a report to Cpt. Hawk." He replied in a moaning voice.

He took a big gulp, and tapped his commbadge. Govorov to Hawk. This is Team Mars, lead by Lt. Eastman. We are currently chasing down Harmon in Stewart Province. Govorov out.

[Transporter Room 1]
Judy watched the security non-coms step up to the pad, and followed them. She stood with her hands on her hips, looking very much in command among the taller gentlemen.
"Stewart Shuttleport, four to beam down on my mark," she informed the transporter operator, who nodded and put in the correct coordinates. "Mark."
And thus, they were off the ship.
[Stewart Shuttleport, Stewart, Mars]
Stewart (pronounced as a single syllable, STOORT, in the local accent) was a sleepy little provincial town on beautifully terraformed Mars, Its shuttleport was likewise - beautiful but dull - and there were only about a dozen travelers passing through its main landside hall when the Starfleet manhunt crew of four beamed down. The uniformed presence captured the room's attention, even more so when Judy handed out orders.
"Alright. Harmon is pretending to be French. He called himself Alexandre Delacroix. Rivera is supposedly his cousin Thomas. Mr. th'Rasdar, check the hoverbus ticketing area over there, see if they've seen our perps; Mr. Govorov, bother the airlock agents, see what kind of disguises they might be wearing and if they're doing an accent. Mr...." Judy trailed off after her rapid-fire shooting of orders, not knowing the last crewman's name.
"Martinez," the young crewman, also a new guy, replied, correctly interpreting the bossy officer's pause as asking his name.
"Martinez, bother the food vendors. See if he stopped for coffee or something. I'll go to the hovercar area, we reconvene there in 10. Off you go!"
Before starting the car, Judy tapped her commbadge.
  "Eastman to Away Team. Meet me at the specified time at the passenger pickup curb. I'll be in the red hover-Jeep."

[Stewart Shuttleport, Stewart, Mars]
Ivan felt a little dizzy; He have never been broken down into molecules, after all. But he made a quick salute to Judy, and was off to bother with the gate agent.

[Airlock, Stewart Shuttleport, Stewart, Mars]
He walked over to the airlock; There, he saw a man who resembled of Elon Musk seemed to be of Russian heritage. Blonde hair, blue eyes and a bit pale face; He was happy to see his own people, but missions were missions. He walked over to ask about Harmon.

"How may I help you sir?" He asked in a thick Russian accent.
"I wish to ask you a question: Has anyone passed by who uses the name of Alex Harmon, Alexandre Delacroix or Thomas Delacroix?" He asked in perfect Russian.
The Agent looked comfortable on hearing his mother's tongue: "Ah, you are Russian as well, I see. Wait... There was a Alex Harmon, who arrived at 3:45 A.M. He replied.
"And how did he look, may I ask?"
"A bit tall, probably around your height sir. Dark brownish hair, a thick goatee, and with handsome brown eyes. From what I could recall, he seemed to be of Asian heritage, but I cannot be too sure of that. Maybe it was French, I don't know."
"Any other details?"
"He was wearing jumpers and some outdated sunglasses. He had an Aussie accent. Maybe he was an Aussie.
He chose not to trust his information, at least about his heritage. He thanked him with a Spasibo and moved on.

[Passenger Pickup Curb]
He arrived at the place, and saw a very impressive red hovercar. He could hear the hum of the engine as clear as crystal.
"Lt. Eastman, I confronted the agent. His details include dark brownish hair, a thick goatee, handsome brown eyes, and looks of an Asian heritage. The agent wasn't so sure about his heritage, though. His accents were something of an Aussie, and he was wearing sunglasses and Jumpers."

[Judy's Office]
[Transporter Room 1]
Judy came to the transporter room, and sized up the delegation - th'Rasdar, Govorov, and another young-looking human.
"Well, let's get a move on. Harmon has 7 hours on us," she said, opting not to immediately assert her primacy with orders, but to apply pressure nonetheless.

Ivan nodded. He made a large cough once; He was nervous, after all. He never went to mars before. th'Rasdar said nothing, so he obeyed Judy's commands. He simply replied "Of course, ma'am." as he stepped into the transporter pad. The celing glowed, and he couldn't help but wince.
He waited for others to come along.

"My apologies Your Highness, or how should we salute you?  I'm not that up on Orion royal titles! Will 'O Omnipotent One' do?! Or were you feeling left out on the kiss/worshipping?!" she joked. "Poor Govorov must think we're all totally bonkers now!"

"Oh, no Hrafn." He replied. He couldn't help but smile at the cheerfulness Hrafn possessed.

[[Transporter Room 1, Deck 6, USS Tempest]]

CPO th'Rasdar

[Transporter Room 1, Deck 6, USS Tempest]

Tempest Security had been working through the night to track down Lieutenant Harmon and Cadet Rivera-Sanchez and find out what they knew about the sabotage. As expected, they'd switched off their commbadges or else somehow disabled tracking. Therefore, following Commander K'lizh's proposal and technical oversight, Bex had used ship and station sensors to track un-badged human lifesigns in the vicinity of the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, both currently and in recent records. These were checked with security and scientific sensors to identify candidates using facial recognition system and a biodata detection method provided by Eastman and Falleg. However, there was a vast amount of data to comb through, necessitating "big data" analysis techniques conducted on both ship and base computers. The produced candidates for the rogue Starfleet officers were more the result of statistics more than detective work. Nevertheless, they'd found a few. One done on Mars had some unusual signal activity associated.

CPO th'Rasdar, the veteran Andorian assistant security chief, decided to pursue the lead himself, bringing one of the new cubs with him as back-up. 'Crewman Govorov, meet me in Transporter Room 1. We're going down to Mars to pursue a lead.'=/\=

[Dorm Room]
Yes, CPO. I shall be there shortly. He replied, still a bit tired in his dorm. He quickly fixed his hair, them rushed to see his boss.

[Transporter Room 1, Deck 6]
"I have arrived, chief. What are your commands?"