Duae Viae

Posted on Sun Sep 2, 2018 @ 10:12pm by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Fleet Captain Rhea Kennit & Lieutenant Commander Miguel Torres & Lieutenant Penelope Naroot & Senior Chief Petty Officer Samantha Summers

5,919 words; about a 30 minute read

Mission: Divide et Impera ~ Chapter 2: Heralding the Chase
Location: DQ8/USS Victory

***Deck 23***

The moment the transporter released her, Kennit began to walk with a slow, confident stride as if she were another member of the station’s crew, a manner designed to not draw attention to herself. A skill which she had mastered long ago. Her duty to Admiral Bennett was explicit: find evidence that incriminated Admiral Tanner in the suspected buildup of weapons and armed ships, as well as known pirate activity within the Delta Quadrant, and try and verify one way or another, rumors of biological warfare agents banned by the Federation being developed in modified medical laboratories hidden aboard unregistered starships.

She needed to find a computer access panel in a relatively quiet, remote part of the station where she could interface with, and search the computer for the information she sought.

***Command Deck***

Tiffany turned her back to the screen and looked at Amber. "Find her," she said.

Doctor Jones stepped back from the conversation and closed her eyes, extending her mind throughout the starbase. Borg implants made the Captain's mind unreadable, but thankfully everyone else was, and people's short-term memory often recalled things they weren't aware they'd witnessed. She cherry-picked, moving through sections rapidly as she examined viewpoints around different parts of the station. The hologram on the Victory had provided them with the Captain's likeness, so now that she knew what to look for, it was only a matter of time.

Tiffany then turned back to the Victory. "Captain," she said, "we are here to return Commander Hunter back to you. May we do so now?"

“By all means..” Kennit replied. “I’m sure I speak for the entire crew when I say we’re releaved to have him back in one piece.”

"Whoa! Wait a minute!" Alec protested. "You're going to need me here to stop her from doing whatever she's going to do! You need someone she trusts!"

"That might have worked before, but things have changed," Tiffany said, quietly.

"Excuse me, but none of you have adequately answered my question," Admiral Tanner said. "So unless you wish to have this discussion in a holding cell, I suggest you speak to me. Now." His expression left no room for doubt about his seriousness.

Tiffany turned her back to the viewscreen again and looked the Admiral in the eye. "Almost a week ago, the USS Victory responded to a call for help by a 'Captain Hunter' who was apparently smuggling contraband. When they tried to bring him here, you ordered he be released and that they return to their patrol."

"That is not true," Tanner said. "At no point have I had any communication with anyone on board that ship."

"Excuse me Admiral but that isn't true. YOU ordered us to release Captain Hunter, saying you had no jurisdiction to hold him among other things." Alec huffed defiantly. "I can have the visual logs sent over for you to inspect that's if you care to."

"This is insane. I tell you, I've never spoken with any of you before. I never forget a face, Commander, and I have not seen any of you before. I've spent the last week in planning meetings to get this Starbase restaffed with a permanent crew. I've had no time to speak with anyone."

"Regardless," Tiffany said. 'That is what they believe happened. We believe that that communication, and indeed, everything that's happened since, has been the work of a hostile party set to undermine Captain Kennit."

"For what purpose?" Tanner said.

"At best, to distract her while he operates in her sphere of influence. At worst, to undermine her authority and have her removed from command of her ship. Attacking an Admiral would certainly earn her a court martial."

"You believe she's going to attack me?" he said. "Why? I have no idea who she is."

"You're just the patsy that was set up to be her target," Tiffany said. "We believe she's already on the station, working to 'stop you.'"

"But she's there on her bridge," he said, pointing to the screen.

Tiffany looked back at the screen. "Indeed," she said. As Amber cleared her throat, Tiffany turned to see the CMO raising an eyebrow at her. "Get ready," she said. Amber nodded and stepped back, closing her eyes.

Kennit gave a short nod, “You should be receiving coordinates now. This will beam him directly to Sickbay where out medical staff can assess his condition.”

The Admiral's console beeped and Tiffany leaned over to read the coordinates. "Excellent," she said, sighing with relief. "Thank you, Captain. We'll have him over shortly. Edwards out."

Alec looked at Tiffany as the screen deactivated and almost snarled at her. "Captain! I'm telling you that isn't Captain Kennit! You have to believe me!" His voice was full of emotion. "I'm not transporting back to the Victory when Rhea is on the station." He was adamant in his opinion.

"Calm yourself, Commander," Tiffany said, reaching up behind her and removing her jeweled hair clip, her auburn hair falling around her shoulders. "I have no intention of handing over the only person stopping her from firing on this office." She pressed several of the gems, faint electronic beeps responding, and her image shimmered, replaced by Commander Hunter.

The new "Commander Hunter" gave his organic twin a familiar smile. "Sauce for the goose," 'he' said.

"Who the hell are you people?" Admiral Tanner said, sitting back in his chair, completely dumbfounded.

'Commander Hunter' reached over and activated the transporter. "I hope I live long enough to explain," 'he' said as the beam whisked 'him' away.

A moment later, only the original Commander Hunter and Admiral Tanner were left in the office.

Looking at the Admiral, Alec spoke, "Why don't you do some work at your desk Admiral? Do some of that planning and staffing you were telling us about earlier. It will keep your mind occupied until Captain Kennit gets here and rest assured she's coming."

Tanner sat down heavily in his chair, completely flabbergasted. "This is why I came up through the Operations Division," he said. "I have no head for all this cat-and-mouse stuff. I like nice, ordered plans and blueprints. I should have been an architect like my mother said." He rubbed his forehead, staving off a headache. "What is it she thinks I've done, again?"

Alec gave the Admiral a thin smile, "Basically she thinks your in business with smugglers and other nefarious types in this quadrant and you had me kidnapped and set her up. Trust me she takes that very personally. I'm going to go and search for her. You stay here, don't leave this room. Seal the doors. It won't stop Rhea but it will slow her down long enough that if she beats me back here, I can talk to her before she kills you."

Alec moved to the door, "Stay here and seal this room." As he got ready to go off hunting for the best assassin Section 31 ever had. He was good but Rhea was in a class by herself. His one advantage was she didn't know he was on the station and he knew her tendencies. "Alright Rhea." he whispered, "Where are you?"

Left to sit and stare at the stranger in his office, after a moment Admiral Tanner collected his wits enough to follow the Commander's suggestion.. to a point. He accessed the Starfleet personnel database and pulled up information on this Commander Alec Hunter, Captain Rhea Kennit, and Captain Tiffany Edwards. He was able to locate information on two of the three, but the third. .. every request he punched in to gain access to Captain Rhea Kennit's personnel files and history was blocked with a message informing him that he did not have the necessary clearance to access the data he was requesting. The message was signed off by Vice Admiral Harv Bennett. Though he'd never met the man.. his name was familiar. If Kennit was one of Bennett's ..

Staring at the screen, Tanner said "All right Commander. I think it's time you started to explain things. . don't you?"

Alec had just moved through the door when he heard the Admiral's question. he stopped and looked back at him "Admiral." His tone irritated by the Admiral's desire to know what was going on. "I promise when this is over and if your still alive, someone will explain all of this to you. For now just accept what I'm telling you as fact because it is and I have to find Captain Kennit."

Standing up, Tanner responded “That wasn’t a request Commander. That was an order.”


[Elsewhere on the station:]

Rhea was very good at disappearing. The first thing she’d done after beaming to the station was assess station personnel and then alter her own clothing, covering the snug tactical suit she wore with a civilian work uniform, and her long dark hair was neatly tucked up into work cap. A few artfully places smudges of lubricant from a nearby generator relay, and she looked like a dirty civilian.. blending into the background and for all intents and purposes becoming invisible to those around her. It was easy enough to find an access point to the station’s computer. Even easier to access the system and then link her Borg network to the Federation systems. Complete knowledge and familiarity with Federation computer systems made it easy to slip undetected into the computer and begin a swift, targeted search of th station’s systems looking for confirmation of what she already suspected. Looking at ship records, cargo manifests, personnel transfers..

Systematically gathering data ... looking for the evidence which would determine her next action. A flash of information caught her attention, shifting her focus more fully to the data records on vessels which had docked with the station in the past 6 months, her head cocked to one side curiously as she noted the specifics on a pair of starships which had passed through the station together, docking twice during that time frame. The data was..

Interesting.

Very much so.

"What the hell are you doing here.." Kennit murmured softly, even as she searched the database looking to see what other information had been logged regarding both ships and their crews. Puzzled when no record of the data which she had noticed had been detected by the station personnel. Very unusual indeed.. just what had they stumbled onto out here?

[Bridge of the Victory:]

When the shimmering light of the transporter faded and there standing in front of the view screen was Cdr. Hunter. Torres stood up not sure how that happened with their shields up. "Rotate shield frequencies." was the first thing out of his mouth as he walked towards the first officer. "It's good to have you back sir." he motioned for the security officers that were near the turbolift to come forward and once they had, he said, "escort the Commander to sickbay for full medical evaluation." he ordered them and then turned back the the first officer. "Just following regulations sir."

Hunter made a face. "Not my favorite place, with or without the Dear Doctor," he said," but I understand." He nodded to the security officers and made his way to the turbolift. As they stepped inside with him, he looked to the intercom. "Sickbay," he said.

Miguel watched as the Commander and the security detail entered the turbolift and made their way to sickbay. Something bothered him about this whole situation, however he wasn’t sure what it could be. He looked over at security and saw that only Summers was there. “Senior Chief I’m going to need you to do something.”

Summers shook her head to clear it before responding. "Yes sir, what do you need?" Summers listened quietly. A wicked grin formed on her face, as she replied. " Interesting...whatever transpires due to this, it is my hope that it will help the Empire..." Summers shook her head again. "I..mean..the Federation." Summers leaned closer to Torres. " If I have a chance, may I strike a blow for our cause?"

Miguel went on to tell her what he wanted. How he wanted transporter inhibitors set up all over the brig in order to keep Cdr. Hunter from being beamed out once he sent him there. How he wanted her to have a team to follow whoever it was that treated him because they might not be who they seem. In fact it's possible that they might even be the person that had attacked the doctor. That she and the second team should follow that person and see what they were up to, and if necessary stop them from harming the ship or any of it's crew. He left out how they were to do that to them.

Summers nodded her head, all the while thinking...capture 'Cmdr. Hunter,' get a team assembled, follow those in league with ' Hunter,' and then kill them. Summers grinned. That last part she'd throw in for free.


[Deck 6:]

A simultaneous, piggybacked transporter beam was never a fun experience, and when Amber materialized in an empty turbolift she allowed herself a spare second to fight the nausea that washed over her. The second spent, she shook it off completely and reached into her uniform top, pulling out a set of gloves and slipping them on.

The Xantaxians were known far and wide as the biggest prudes of the galaxy. Ashamed at anything of a sexual nature, they had evolved methods of "hiding" their sexual exploits from each other. When they'd reached the level of holotechnology, they developed an ingenious method of avoiding sex: they issued gloves to every citizen that could be programmed to make them appear as another species. It certainly was easier than their old fitted costumes their ancestors had worn.

These days though, the gloves had a far more useful purpose than a sexual aid. As Amber hit the triggers in the gloves, her appearance rippled. Her hair shortened and darkened, her eyes faded from cobalt blue to an icy blue and her face was distinctly more snarky.

'Doctor Anderson' reached over and activated the turbolift controls, lighting the car and sending it to the nearest deck. She stepped out into the corridor and was about to access a computer panel to see where she was, when someone came around the curve.

"Doctor Anderson?" Lt. Faraday said, shocked to see his girlfriend's CO.

"What is it, Lieutenant?" Doctor Jones/Anderson said, matching Nicole's British lilt and her annoyed tone.

"You...what are you doing here?" the security office said. "I thought you were injured. Maggie says you're confined to Sickbay."

Amber's mind brushed his gently, pulling the relevant information on him, Maggie and where she was. "Well I'd be happy to Mister Faraday," Jones/Anderson, "but I'm standing here answering inane questions by someone who should be on duty." Her annoyed tone cut through and the j.g. straightened up. "Sorry, Ma'am, I--"

"Go! GO! GO!" she barked and he turned and rushed down the corridor, not even realizing he was doubling back the way he'd come.

Jones/Anderson did an about-face as well and rushed back to the turbolift. "Deck 3," she said. She deactivated her gloves, returning to her normal appearance when the lift doors opened, stepped out and rushed down the corridor. She hated good news/bad news situations. She now knew where Nicole was, but "confined to Sickbay" didn't sound promising.

[Sickbay:]

Amber marched inside and a nurse immediately approached her. "How can I help you?" she said, pleasantly.

"You must be Maggie," Amber said, smiling at the younger girl. "Nicole described you to a T."

"Oh, Doctor Anderson mentioned me?" she said, then looked confused, but she's--"

"Incapacitated, yes," Amber said, her mind brushing Maggie's for what she could learn before walking over to the ICU. "I'm here to offer a second opinion."

Maggie hurriedly followed her. "Doctor MacKenzie's examined her twice. She doesn't seem to be improving. I'm sorry, but, who are you?"

"Jones. Doctor Amber Jones. I'm Doctor Anderson's 'Doctor Anderson,' " Amber said, smiling wryly. She came around the privacy curtain and her heart skipped a beat. She'd seen her friend and former subordinate in some bad states, but she'd never seen her so....grey.

"Tricorder," she said, holding out her hand.

Now realizing where Nicole learned that tone, Maggie slapped a medical tricorder in Doctor Jones' palm and moved to the other side as the doctor scanned Nicole. "Nitrogen poisoning," Jones said. "Her elixir is keeping her alive..." She scanned again. "How are her iron counts?"

"Falling," Maggie said. "We've tried supplements but they aren't taking--"

"Hypospray," Amber said, holding out a hand.

Maggie automatically handed over the tool. "--well." she finished.

Amber programmed it, pressed it to Nicole's neck, and watched the readouts. The biobed beeped and some of the readings stabilized slightly, but continued to be lower than normal. Amber upped the dosage and pressed it to Nicole's neck again. She then reprogrammed it and pressed it one final time.

"We'll know by tonight," she said, trying to sound less worried than she felt. "I'll check on her later."

"Yes...Doctor," Maggie said, following the other woman back into Sickbay.

As they returned to the main ward, security walked in with 'Commander Hunter'. "Ah, Commander, welcome back," Amber said, smiling.

"Good to be back," 'Hunter' said. "Doctor Anderson--"

"--is still not recovered, but I believe I have her on the mend," Amber said, finishing his sentence. "Please, lie down and we'll give you your once-over and get you back to duty." She looked behind her. "Thank you, Maggie, you can return to duty." Her mind brushed Maggie's again, telling her everything was fine. Maggie smiled and nodded and walked away.

As Hunter sat on the biobed, Amber flipped open her tricorder and scanned him. Bio-readings appeared on the biobed's display and and she nodded. "Vitals are normal, no signs of infection, viral contaminants or foreign objects. How do you feel?"

"Tired, in need of a bath and a meal, but other than that, fine," 'Hunter' said.

"Excellent," Amber said. She closed her tricorder and took a padd, writing out his bill of health and MacKenzie's name, the only other one she'd heard, at the bottom.

She handed it to security and gestured for 'Hunter' to stand. "Please escort him to the bridge. He's fit for duty."

The security officers nodded and stepped aside as Hunter walked out of Sickbay, following him out.

Amber turned and moved into Nicole's office with enough confidence that no one looked her way. She closed the door and activated the intercom, massaging her throat gently. It stood to reason that if Doctor MacKenzie was the person who was tending to the CMO, she was someone in charge, and Amber wanted her bases covered. "Sickbay to Doctor MacKenzie," she said in a near perfect match to Maggie's voice.

"Go ahead," MacKenzie said.

"Commander Hunter is back on board. He's been checked out and passed examination. We signed off on his exam for you."

"Thank you, Maggie," Addison said. "MacKenzie out."

Amber wondered where MacKenzie was that was more important than Sickbay, but as she often thought, 'not my circus, not my monkeys.'

She put her gloves back into her uniform top and left Sickbay, checking one item off her list.

[Bridge:]

Miguel was busy looking at the readouts from his station as the hologram sat in the command chair. When the first officer returned to the bridge he was surprised to see how fast the Commander had made it back after his examination. He watched as the XO made his way over to the hologram as if it were the Captain.

Eyeing the Commander with an icy stare, a very good representation of Kennit's well-known temper, the 'Captain' said, "You're back rather swiftly Commander."

"I missed you too," he said, ignoring her tone. "Thankfully even without the good Doctor to shout at them, her staff is at their usual peak efficiency."

Miguel waited until the XO had taken his station. Once he did he pressed the command on his console and watched the Commander disappear in the familiar light of the transporter. He had preset a site to site command while the Commander was getting… looked at. The Commander or whoever he was would soon find himself beamed into the brig where he would be surrounded by transporter inhibitors to keep anyone from being able to beam him out. If Miguel was wrong he’d apologize later. He then opened the encrypted channel to Summers that had been set up earlier. “Senior Chief what’s your status?”

Summers hit her badge to respond. " I am here, Commander, awaiting your order to proceed."

"Do it." was all he said. He did do his best to sound confidant about it. But truth was he wasn't sure about Summers, but she was all he had right now.

Summers stood in front of one of the brig cells, as 'The Commander' appeared. "Welcome to the Brig, 'Commander.' Please do not attempt to escape..or I shall be forced to eliminate you. Oh go ahead and attempt..I want to kill a human again.."

'Commander Hunter' sighed and shrugged. "Well, it was worth a shot," he said. He reached into his uniform top, fiddling with his clip. "See you in Engineering," he said, then with an electronic beep, vanished completely.

Summers' face showed shock..then anger...she hit her com badge. " Commander Torres...our 'Commander Hunter' "blinked out" of his cell before I had a chance to frisk him *and* to initiate the other parts of your plan. " Summers kicked at her control console, tearing her uniform, and giving her a gash in her leg. Green-Red blood mixture seeped through. Summers looked at the wound. "Blasted...I need another shot.." Summers shook her head.

=/\= Initiate intruder alert. Have several security teams report to all three engine rooms. =/\=

Summers hit her Com Badge. "Security! Teams to all three engine rooms, be on the lookout for 'Commander Hunter...' he's not what he appears to be...detain and hold!" Summers silently cursed, then after taking a quick look around cursed out loud. Summers hit her Com badge again. " Summers to Sickbay....I have a bad gash in the my leg, heading to you right now." Summers shook her head in disgust at how 'Hunter' managed to get away from her so quickly, then left for Sickbay.

[Bridge Victory]

Miguel didn't like the sound of that. He ordered the on duty security officer to send text message to have multiple security teams head to each of the engineering teams. he then opened a private channel to Sam. "Sam we have an intruder pretending to be Cdr. Hunter on board. We believe that he is heading to you. He might be trying to take control of the ship from there. Under no circumstances is that to happen. As a result I want you to prepare to execute Starfleet order 2005"

She paled at that, but still answered calmly enough “Aye sir..” even as she took the initial steps which could result in the issuance of a self-destruct order.



[Station Promenade]

The best way to go unnoticed was to not hide, but simply blend into the background. People didn’t notice the everyday, it was the person trying to hide, the one who drew attention by their abnormal actions who was immediately noticed. Crossing the Promenade, Kennit was encountering to the opposite side of the station, where civilian traffic passed through and civilian ships of all types and backgrounds docked..there was a piece of this puzzle missing..and she didn’t like missing pieces.

Reaching the civilian docking ring used by cargo vessels, she began to look at the status boards, reviewing information on the ship’s currently docked, or waiting for clearance to dock.


***Command Deck, Admiral Tanner’s Office {Continued from above}

Clearly getting over his earlier shock, Tanner had moved around his desk and now stood near the hatch, face to face with Commander Hunter. “I gave you a direct order Commander!” he snapped. “You barge in here with a wild story and that Captain Edwards..neither of you explaining yourselves and expect me to sit back and do nothing while you and your comrades pull God knows what on my station and I will not have it! Explain yourself, starting with who exactly Captain Kennit is and why Edwards seems so certain she’s after me! Why is her personnel file unavailable?”

Behind them came a soft, even toned voice speaking in a slightly exotic accent. “Oh if I was after you Admiral, I’d have already had you.”

Both men jerked around astonished. Seated at Tanner’s desk, her long legs negligently propped up on the desktop, crossed at the ankles and wearing a tight fitting black uniform of a type which Tanner was unfamiliar with sat the topic of his questions. Dark eyes snapping, she watched them both with a hint of mocking amusement at their startled response. How she’d gotten into the office was a question neither man had an answer for. She certainly hadn’t arrived through the hatch! Kennit had discovered a number of details while in the civilian sector, backed up and verified by a swift search of the station’s records easily accessed by one with her unique assets.

Startled by the sight of the beautiful woman who had entered his office god-knew how, Tanner reacted by walking toward her and swiped at her booted legs intent on knocking her feet off his desk, “Who the hell are you?” Twnner barked, his words tinged with surprise when her legs didn’t move at all in response to his action. It has been like slapping at a solid bulkhead beam.

Ignoring the Admiral for the moment seemingly, Kennit was gazing at her XO, her eyes dark and utterly unreadable. “You look remarkably fit and healthy Commander, despite your recent...misadventures..”

Getting over his initial surprise of seeing Rhea, Alec couldn't hide a smile. He couldn't help but admire her skill in getting past the security systems and himself and into the room. "Thank you Captain, I owe it to Captain Edwards and her crew. They were the ones who rescued me three days after I was kidnapped. Since then we've been trying to figure out just what was going on and your course of action and voila! Here I am."

“I’ll have to have Torres check the ship’s comm system.. since we received no message stating you’d been rescued.. a simple contact would have saved so much speculation..” Kennit replied in a even tone, with just a hint of a darker emotion tinging her voice.

Tanner interrupted, “Who are you? How did you get in here? I’m calling Security!”

Kennit rose from her seat, dropping her legs down and standby so fluidly the motion seemed..predatory. “I am Captain Rhea Kennit, Commanding Officer of the USS Victory. But you know that don’t you..” she stated matter-of-factly. She moved then, the hunter stalking its prey as she continued, “as for how I got i here...”. She held her left hand slightly toward his desk, extending the tubules hidden in her upper arm and hand out to connect with his computer console and unlocked her personnel file for him as she answered, “I’m a ghost. And you aren’t calling anyone.. but feel free to try if it makes you feel better.” She’d already locked out all outside contact from this office, he could try all he wanted.

Tanner jerked back, suddenly very uneasy. This was rapidly becoming a situation he wasn’t prepared for, She wasn’t done however, and didn’t allow him to speak just yet. “I have some questions for you, it appears based on the information I’ve learned that either you are a very bad boy.. or someone out there wants me to believe you are.. I am quite curious to discover which proves to be the answer..and why it is my First Officer seems to be embroiled in the middle of this mystery..”

"Now Rhea, I told you, I've been looking for you with the help of Captain Edwards and her crew. We pieced together that you were being set up by Blackhawk to take out the Admiral here and knowing that we headed here just like you." Alec gave her the facts, he knew that was all Rhea was interested in nothing more, nothing less.

"Who is Blackhawk?" Tanner said, looking between them. He kept his hands up where the intruder could see them, and trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. "Captain...whoever you are....if you aren't here to kill me, then tell me what you want, because right now I get the feeling I'm not walking out of here alive, since you don't seem the type to accept a court martial."

She turned to look at him, her dark eyes unreadable. “Admiral. If it was my intent to kill you, you’d be dead and we would not be having this conversation. A better question is...who might want you dead, so badly that he or she has gone to great lengths to encourage your early retirement.” His threat of a court martial didn’t faze her at all. She knew no such hearing would ever take place. Not over a small little Officer like this, no more than she’d faced a court martial over the men responsible for the loss of the USS Endeavor, it’s crew, and it’s Captain when she’d come to deal justice for those who could no longer speak for themselves.

"My ex-wife and I get along just fine," he said, "so I doubt she would be a suspect. Past that, I don't see how someone who deals with operations and fleet deployment creates many enemies. I know I'm a paper-pusher, but I'm a good one. I don't make decisions that cause people grief, my job is to try to make things run smoothly. I don't do espionage or murder intrigue. Hell, I don't even enjoy these kinds of holonovels."

“And have things run..smoothly under your command?” Kennit asked.

*Until about thirty minutes ago,* he thought.

“Any issues with personnel, regular ships that pass through the station..?” she asked.

*I've been here barely two weeks, what's 'regular'?* his mind shouted at her. He couldn't remember a time he'd been this terrified, and he was beginning to panic.

When he didn’t respond, she took a step toward him, her expression bland. Her voice calm, but the underlying menace of the highly trained assassin she was still radiated from her entire body as she said, “We do not have time for this Admiral. Someone impersonated you on a secure comm feed with my ship. That shouldn’t even be possible and yet a search of the station’s comm records carries no record of that communication. The comm records have not been altered, of that I am certain which means there is an underlying threat here to you, to me, and to my crew ... possibly this entire station now, answer me!”

It took considerable focus to stay on track. She’d been terrified for Alec. She’d lost one man she loved, and had been sick to her core that she would lose him...only to find him here on this station. Safe and sound. And he’d made no effort to contact the Victory..

That was something she’d deal with later. Right now.. there was a much larger question which had to be answered..

Alec moved to step between Rhea and Tanner, he knew that look and he knew she was going to have something to say to him when this was all over and the dust had settled. "Rhea....ease down. We'll get the answers. I'm sure the Admiral is more than willing to tell us everything he knows. Isn't that right Admiral?" He said giving the man a look that said staying silent wasn't an option.

For the barest of moments, a flare of raw hurt, of the residual fear she’d kept contained flashed in her eyes to be ruthlessly crushed back, replaced with the cold, emotionless control the Borg implants provided. Under the smooth soft skin of her neck, a shadow rippled softly following the path of the carotid artery there. Without speaking, her gaze fixated once more on the Admiral, waiting to see what ...if anything.. he might tell them.

Alec wasn't blind nor was he stupid. He saw the flash of hurt in Rhea's eyes and knew he had hurt her by not contacting the ship and her. In turn her hurt hurt him. This was something he never wanted to ... to hurt her. He would have a lot of explaining to do on why he didn't contact the ship but in the here and now. They needed answers and he knew Rhea wasn't in the mood to wait too long get them. "Rhea." He took a step closer to her, "We're on the same side. We both want answers." He whispered, hoping she believed him and wouldn't punch him through the bulkhead.

"I can't," Tanner croaked. "I'm an interim commander. I've been here two weeks. I don't know anyone here, all I know is nothing's happened that anyone felt needed to be reported to me. Starfleet will be assigning a permanent commander here in another week, and then I'll be moving on to my next assignment." His voice wavered and he closed his eyes, picturing his daughter and his granddaughter. If this was it, he was going to make sure they were the last thing on his mind. His knees buckled slightly, but he drew a breath and rallied himself, standing up straight as tears left his eyes. "I'm sorry, Captain, but I have no idea what is going on."

Disgusted by his emotional reaction, she cocked her head slightly to the left, an action that was very reminiscent of the Borg and indeed her eyes shimmered with silver slightly as the light caught her eyes just right for a moment. Her left hand flexed with the urge to strike. To assimilate and take the information from his mind was almost more than she could resist. She could know in a moments time whethe or not he told the truth, or lied..

Instead, she reached to her neck and removed the small jammer which had kept her unique bio-signature hidden from sensor detection. “All right she commented smoothly. “Let’s see then shall we, who comes running. Have a seat back at your desk, I doubt it will take long..”

Alec looked at her then at the door, "Rhea..... what are you doing?" He trusted Rhea but it was always nice to know what the plan was.

She glanced at him. “Fishing.”

"Fishing?" He repeated, "Oh right fishing." As he realized what she meant. He gave her a glance, "Hope you know what your doing."

It wasn’t the first time he’d expressed doubt in her judgement, she was however growing weary of his lack of trust, or perhaps.. a lack of faith in her. She didn’t react, not outwardly at least. For now, the Captains focus was on this moment. Waiting...

TBC

 

RSS Feed