Corvus repente letalis interfectorem

Posted on Tue Sep 11, 2018 @ 6:45am by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Fleet Captain Rhea Kennit & Lieutenant Arashi Tanaka Mr. & Senior Chief Petty Officer Samantha Summers & Lieutenant Samantha Raylen

7,953 words; about a 40 minute read

Mission: Divide et Impera ~ Chapter 2: Heralding the Chase
Location: USS Victory
Timeline: Continuing from Duae Viae

[Tanaka's Quarters]

The security officers outside of Arashi's quarters were quietly engaged in idle conversation when the j.g.'s combadge went off. "Casey to Stiles."

"Go ahead, Sir," Lt. Stiles said.

"Lieutenant Tanaka is no longer confined to quarters. Have him report to Sickbay and hold station, and you and Ensign Mochrie should report to Engineering. We've had reports the intruder is attempting to gain access there."

"Aye, Sir," Stiles said. He rang the chime and waited till the doors opened.

"Enter." Tanaka said as he was practicing karate kata. He was wondering what was going on'

"Sir, Lieutenant Casey has cleared you for duty, and you are to report to Sickbay and hold station. Sorry for the inconvenience."

The two officers clapped Tanaka on the shoulder and headed for Engineering.

"All right." he said and put on his uniform after a quick sonic shower. He headed to Sickbay after straightening his uniform.

[Sickbay]

CPO Summers rushed into Sickbay, holding her hand over an leg wound. "Doctor! I need help here!"

Doctor Mackenzie came out of Doctor Anderson's office quickly and helped Summers to a biobed. "Lift your leg up gently," she said, grabbing a support piece and placing it under the leg to elevate it. "Cromwell!" she shouted.

Maggie rushed over with an instrument tray. "Cut the pantleg and sterilize the wound," MacKenzie said, taking a dermasealer and prepping it.

Maggie cut off Summers' trouser leg and put it into a specimen tray, then ran a sterilizer along the wound.

"What happened?" MacKenzie said, swapping places with Maggie and running the sealer along the gash as Maggie gave Summers something for the pain.

Summers looked at the two of them before starting. "Commander Hunter, at least the 'Commander Hunter' on our ship, is an phony. Commander Torres instructed me to 'contain' him in the brig, but he managed to 'blink out' of his containment cell before I could frisk him for weapons. In my...frustration, regarding the incident, I banged my leg, causing this wound." Summers looked at her vanishing wound, and noticed green mixing with the red. She looked at the ceiling, thinking to herself, 'Please don't notice...please don't notice.'

Having sealed the worst of the wound, MacKenzie cleaned the area, placing the sullied cloths in a drop tray. Maggie paused as she took the tray, giving a glance at Summers, then removed it as MacKenzie finished with a dermal regenerator, sealing the skin and removing scar tissue, leaving the leg intact.

"There," she said, standing up straight and looking at Summers. "Now, what is this about a phony Commander Hunter? Who was impersonating him?"

Summers took in a breath of air before starting. " Let me relate what I was ordered to do by Commander Torres: He said to me, and I quote, " 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."

"Fascinating," Addison said, although her voice didn't show much interest in it. "Wait," she paused, the CPO's words sinking in. "Who treated him?"

"It was Doctor Jones," Maggie supplied. "She said she was an associate of Doctor Anderson's, and was here to check on her. She gave Commander Hunter his returning physical. She said he was fine."

Addison's eyes immediately flicked to the intensive care wing where Doctor Anderson was struggling for life and cleared her throat. "Where did she go after she left?"

"I don't know," Maggie said, "she just handed me the padd and walked out." She shrugged helplessly. "I see where Doctor Anderson gets it," she added.

"What did she look like?" Addison said.

"Blonde, not too tall, really blue eyes, pretty, great skin, I was jealous. Almost perfect figure, I was more jealous of that," Maggie said. "Definitely someone the boys will remember more."

Addison blew air impatiently. "If she comes back, I want security here. I'll check on Doctor Anderson."

"I just did," Maggie said. "She's unchanged."

"All right," Addison said. "I'll be in the office. Call me if anything changes." She nodded to Summers. "You're dismissed."

Summers looked at the pair. " Dismissed? I have to find this person and kill him..I mean hold him for the Captain...." Summers shook her head.

"Well you, um....you have fun with that," Maggie said, backing away slowly then turning and hurrying to another patient.

Summers's eyes went wide and she grabbed a heavy-looking scanner from a nearby cart. "You swine!!" she shouted as she brought the scanner full force at Maggie's head.

Maggie turned at the shout and saw the instrument coming at her. She stumbled back and was knocked to the side by an orderly who had tackled her out of harm's way. "Someone get security!" he shouted.

He and another larger nurse came at Summers and grabbed her arms, wrestling her to the ground. Maggie loaded a hypospray and tossed it to the wrestling nurses, one of whom caught it and pressed it to Summers' neck.

Summers looked at Maggie with fury in her eyes, then noticed the people holding her down, then nodded off as the doors to Sickbay opened and Tanaka walked in.

Tanaka was in action, though he had just arrived. He cuffed Summer's hands and lifted her up to take her to the brig. "What in Buddha's name is happening here?" He asked, a bit confused. "Why is Summers out like a light?" He moved to finish his job and made sure that Summers wasn't injured seriously.

"A heavy dose of anesthizine," Crewman B'tal said, checking the hypospray. "And quite a lot. Should keep even her out for a several hours.

He looked at Rhodes and nodded and they stood up. Rhodes went to storage and came back with an anti-grav gurney. "She attempted to cave in Nurse Cromwell's skull." He pointed at the now-broken hand-held scanner on the floor. "Get her in the fucking brig," he said with disgust.

"All right. I'll take it from here," he said. The nurses hauled her body onto the gurney and Tanaka took Summers out of Sickbay.

He steered her into the brig and flagged two other security men along the way. "Okay, you two help me out here," He said to the other security guards as they arrived. They helped Tanaka lift Summers off the gurney and dropped her in a brig cell, then they took the gurney back to Sickbay.

Now that he was back on the job he felt better but after all this he was going to need serious time in the Holodeck to relax.


[Doctor Anderson's Quarters]

Hiding in what she assumed would be the least likely place on board anyone would run into her, Doctor Jones was growing impatient waiting for someone to report to her what was going on. She didn't dare use the computer now, and things were rapidly running overtime.

Suddenly Nicole's monitor beeped and Amber moved to it quickly.

Issue. Trojan caught and in brig. Lifesigns detected. Go to backup B.

"Someone finally wants our attention," Amber said to herself and sighed. "I hate plan B."

Amber stood up and rummaged through Nicole's cabinets until she found a medkit and left her quarters quickly. She then took off two of her rank pips from her collar and hid them in her uniform top. A quick turbolift ride later dropped her by the brig and she walked inside. "Good afternoon," she said to the security officer on duty. "I'm here to take forensic readings from the prisoner's cell."

"We've already processed the cell. There was nothing there of use, I'm afraid," Lieutenant Faraday said, then smiled charmingly. *What is it about the medical staff on this ship that make them so attractive?* he thought.

Amber smirked, his thoughts projecting like a speaker turned up to 11 and batted her eyes. "Well," she said demurely, "that's a shame. Doctor MacKenzie sent me down with explicit instructions, and we don't want to make her mad." She batted her eyes at him and as he stared into her cobalt blue irises, she pulled the details she needed. "And the longer I take here, the longer it'll take me to go relieve Maggie, and I'm sure you'd want her to come drop by, wouldn't you Lieutenant?"

The mention of his girlfriend's name brought his appreciative gaze to a halt and he cleared his throat. "Well," he said, "I'll have to supervise."

"By all means," Amber said, walking just far enough ahead of him into the brig to keep him distracted by the view. As they walked into the room, Amber moved to step into the cell, but tripped over the bottom lip of the entryway, landing on her hands and knees hard with a cry of pain, half in and half out of the cell, wrapped around the corner of the entryway. The small hair clip that was lying tucked in a corner flew into her hand and she palmed it smoothly.

Faraday rushed forward to help her and pulled her to her feet. "Are you alright, Ensign?" he said.

"I'm fine, thank you," she said, running her hands down her uniform to smooth it out and adjusting her top for some dignity. She opened her tricorder and turned to face the cell, scanning quickly. "No DNA readings, no life signs, no follicle or skin cells."

"We had the same conclusion," Faraday said. "Like no one was even there."

"I'm so sorry I wasted your time," Amber said.

"Don't worry, Doctor. It was my pleasure," Faraday said, turning on his smile again.

Amber smiled back and winked. "I'll give Maggie your best," she said, turning away and walking back out of the brig.

When she'd returned to the safety of a turbolift, she reached into her uniform top and pulled out the hairclip she'd secured from the brig and her rank pips. She tossed the clip aside, put her pips back on, then took a breath and steeled herself. "Bridge," she said.

As the turbolift doors opened, she stepped out and did her best to keep calm. She'd been in more than one lion's den in her time in the service, but she knew she was skating hard on thin ice this time. She came around the bridge rail, ignoring the "Captain", and went straight to the person of rank in the First Officer's spot. "You must be Commander Torres," she said, giving a professional smile and inclining her head. "My name is Doctor Amber Jones. I believe your Captain is ready to speak with me. If you would be so kind as to hail the station, I believe we can conclude this."

Miguel looked at her confused from his station as he tapped his console sending a signal to Sam to begin the 5 minute countdown. "Why would I contact the station when the Captain is right there." he told her.

"Because her lifesigns are coming from the Admiral's office on the station," Amber said, not even glancing at the Captain's chair. She paused and tilted her head, looking Torres in the eyes curiously. She briefly looked as if she wanted to ask a question, then seemed to mentally shrug and dismiss the thought. "The time for holograms and hijinks is, I think, played out. The Captain's making herself findable to lure someone out, I'd like to take the bait."

Security officers arrived as Jones was speaking, the trio of security immediately flanked the intruder. Torres was silent for a moment the shrugged. “All right then, just what is it that makes you believe she wants to speak with you? You’re in fact, an intruder aboard this ship. I’m honestly wondering why security hasn’t already neutralized you...”

"To answer your first question, because she has a biosign inhibitor right here," Amber said, pointing at a spot on her neck. "A handy gift from her friends in Section 31 to mask her bio readings and prevent sensors from finding her. She's removed it. The ship is picking up her biosigns loud and clear. She'd only do that if she wanted to be found, which means she wants me to find her."

She spread her hands in front of her showing how plain it was to see. "As for why the three men around me haven't neutralized me, that's because they can't move their arms." She stepped to the side so Torres could see all of them, beads of sweat on their foreheads as they struggled to move their limbs.

"I'm not an intruder by choice," Amber said. "When your captain attempted to harm my crew by infiltrating our computer and sending our ship hurtling towards a nearby star, it necessitated a more direct approach. We'd have been happy to return your XO to you and be on our way, but your Captain set the tone. Right now my concern is the safety of everyone on board the station, and this ship, and prevent more people from being hurt."

She folded her arms. "I wasn't able to find the spy on your ship in the time you gave me, by the way," she said, sounding apologetic. "I can only tell you it was no one in Sickbay when I was there, and it's no one on the bridge. So, for the umpteenth time, will you be so kind as to hail the Admiral's office?"

Not speaking, Torres merely nodded once toward Naroot .. indicating that she should open the channel and hail the Admiral’s office on the station as requested.

Penny turned back to her board, having already picked the channel she was going to use. She'd wagered only a 45% chance Commander Torres would actually acquiesce, but sometimes long odds pay off. She sent out the automatic hail, directing it directly to the Admiral's office. She looked back at Torres and nodded back, confirming the channel was open.

"Thank you," Amber said with false graciousness. She turned to the security officers. "You can sit down now," she said, flicking her wrist. The three of them suddenly flew into the air and landed semi-gently in three chairs at the rear stations.


[Station: Admiral Tanner’s Office]

Strolling over to the replicator, Kennit commented “I doubt it will take too long. However, you should likely move to a more.. protected point away from the hatch Admiral.. just in case.” As she spoke, she ordered a large cup of coffee, specifying double espresso, with steamed milk, sugar, and a double shot of chocolate syrup topped with whipped cream. Just the sort of drink which the Doctor had been trying unsuccessfully to get her to at least cut back on...

Alec looked at Rhea and then at the Admiral, "I'd do as she says Admiral. The Captain knows what she is talking about and we don't want you getting hurt.....unnecessarily." His tone devoid of humor.

The desk lit up with a signal of an incoming hail and Tanner nodded towards it. "That may be your fish."

She didn’t answer, instead she touched the desktop control panel and brought the communications channel online.

The screen lit up and Amber was standing in the center of the bridge in front of the holographic Captain, arms folded and an annoyed look on her face. "Captain Kennit," she said, inclining her head. "Your Chief Engineer's wasted a lot of my time, so I'm going to make this short: I'm offering you a tie. We tried to return your pet XO, you tried to take over our computer. You're holding the Admiral in his office, I'm on your bridge. I say we're even.

"I was here to find your spy, and unfortunately your crew has sidetracked that. I can tell you when I was in Sickbay, it was no one there, and it's no one here on the bridge. So here's my offer: I go home, you go home and we find the bastard pulling our strings." She gave the Captain a moment to let it sink in. "And to sweeten the pot, I offer the only currency of value to someone in our line of work: information."

She pulled an old-fashioned pocket watch out of her uniform top and opened it, checking the time, then put it back in its pocket in her uniform. "I promised my fiance I'd be home for dinner tonight. It will take me fifteen minutes for me to replicate dinner, set the table and get things laid out. That gives you one hour and thirty-five minutes to ask me anything you wish and compare notes on what led us here before I go. I'll be in the observation lounge."

Alec huffed indignantly. "Pet XO?" he said, looking at Rhea as the channel closed.

“I wasn’t aware I was holding anyone here against their will...” Kennit drawled. “And how the hell did that little bitch get on my ship?”

[Victory Bridge]

As the channel closed Amber looked over at Torres. "Thank you," she said, a bit more sincerely. She looked at Cassandra for a moment, then back at Torres. "And you can cancel Order 2005, no sense throwing your lives away." She shook her head, shocked again at the ability of humans to always turn to death, and walked to the observation lounge.

*They've already beamed aboard,* a voice said in her head. She nodded and steeled herself as she walked through the doors.

When she arrived, the lounge was occupied. Captain Kennit stood there, her body backlit by the stars as she waited. Cmdr Hunter was also present, as was Admiral Tanner who had accepted the invitation to accompany them to the Victory in order to find out who wanted him ‘retired’, and why, rather than remaining behind.

Though she stood still and quiet, there was a palpable air of danger which permeated the lounge. Kennit was tired of this game which was being played by this Dr Jones and her Captain. She didn’t like being used.

“Start talking.” Kennit said in a voice deceptively soft. “Since you seem to believe you know the answers, explain what is going on, why would someone go to such lengths to draw me out..why now, and why him.” She added with a jerk of her head toward Tanner.

"He's a patsy," Amber said, sitting down in a chair, nodding at Tanner. "And he's a pawn," she added, indicating Commander Hunter. "As to why someone would go to such lengths to draw you out, I'd say it's because nothing with you tends towards the 'subtle', nor 'easy.'"

She reached into her uniform top and pulled out a padd. "A week before the Borg destroyed the transwarp passage back to Alpha, my ship was chasing a man named Darren Blackhawk, I assume you've head of him by now, and he decided to hide out in the Delta Quadrant. Unfortunately because sensors in the corridor aren't much use outside it until you exit, he was able to slip away by the time we got through. We left a sensor bouey there and began a search. When the Borg cut us all off, we at least had the consolation of knowing he was trapped too, with far fewer resources. Unfortunately, that's left him more desperate, and he has begun reassessing threats."

She activated the padd. "Right now, he's got one ship of operatives, but he's making alliances. Our recon has found him making overtures to several hostile species, and he's tried to put his people on two Starfleet ships and two starbases. We found three of those four people. You have the fourth."

"Why her?" Admiral Tanner said.

"I can count the number of people who have what it takes to outflank him and take him down on one hand," Amber said. "I'm one, Doctor Anderson is another. You're high on the list as well. My guess is, when he found out two of his most difficult roadblocks were suddenly on board the same ship, with another tailing him, you became a priority. He is a planner, a master strategist. The damage he can do once he has an in is almost irreparable. That's why I'm breaking protocol and speaking to you. This is the last thing he'd expect, let alone want."

“I have no reason what-so-ever to trust you.” Kennit stated in a matter of fact tone. “And a great many reasons not to. How do i know you aren’t working with the spy on my ship, that you aren’t here to help by creating confusion and misdirection. And there are a number of potential reasons why someone might wish harm to me. Not the least of which is a little detail about me which many are aware of, yet never think of what it means. I’m not human. I wasn’t human before the Borg and I am most definitely not human now. What I am is.. unique. And I have the unique ability still. It would be risky .. quite risky. But I am capable of opening a transwarp conduit utilizing the Borg network which would grant immediate access to.. anywhere the Borg have traveled. The risk of course being that a swarm of Cube ships would respond.. but we’re not quite as cut off from the Alpha Quadrant as so many, even those on this ship assume.” She tapped her left temple, “The things up here ...”

"For what it's worth, I trust you even less than you trust me," Amber deadpanned. "And if I were you, I wouldn't mention that ability again until you've cleaned house. If he finds out you're his ticket back to his empire, you'll go from target to tool, and he'll kill everyone on this shp to get to you."

Kennit shook her head, “It makes no sense. The last thing anyone should want is to have me on their tail. A smart man would do everything he could to stay off the radar. This Blackhawk must not be a smart man.. if he is indeed as you claim, the root cause of this little annoyance. You aren’t telling me everything. You have a ship which I know is out there, but which manages to hide fairly well. Your Captain appears to be a bit of a pawn herself. Why all the subterfuge? why not just hail the Victory outright and share the information instead of playing this little game?”

Alec stood in silence beside Rhea as she and Jones went back and forth. He had gone from a pet to a pawn in the space of a few minutes. He wasn't overly thrilled with the light he was being portrayed in but he held his tongue and managed to keep a neutral expression on his face.

Amber wasn't one to fidget. Superior genetics had given her rock hard, well, everything and she was sitting perfectly still. Still, at that moment it wasn't without willpower and she had to sit forward and rest an elbow on the table. "In a word: you," she said. "Up until this point, I considered you completely untrustworthy. Much of that is personal and because of whom you chose to work for, but nonetheless, I loathe having to put my faith in a person with so much evil in them."

Hearing that, Kennit immediately let out a quick, short burst of laughter as Dr. Jones continued.

She paused and reigned herself in, and sat back, glancing at Alec. "But his love for you radiates from his mind like a lighthouse beacon. I speak from experience when I say that one of the pleasures of dating a relatively simple man is that they don't hide themselves often or easily. If someone like him can love you so openly, perhaps there's hope yet."

"And you weren't put on his tail, you were put on Admiral Tanner's tail. What better way to take you off the board than having you arrested for killing an Admiral? Now Commander Sweetheart is in charge of the ship, and he'd be beheaded in a week. There'd be no connection to Blackhawk and he'd just have us to deal with. You just go too close for his own good, and when you didn't kill Tanner right away, any plan to discredit you went down the tubes. He's going to hide now, like a spider, and plot his next attack."

Still with a smile of amusement curling her lips and adding a sparkle to her eyes, Kennit’s first response was “Evil. Oh I like that. Someone out there is really quite afraid of me... That’s delightful..”

Still with a slight hint of a smile on her face and amusement in her voice, the Captain said “I wonder how you would react in the presence of something truly dark, evil and malice on a scale which can’t be described. I spent most of my adult life facing individuals like that, civiliazations we kept hidden from the Federation and with could cause. When the Bluegills became recognized, that was bad enough but it was manageable. They’re an annoyance compared to some of things I’ve fought. You refer to who I work for as if we were the source, we’re the only line of defense. What I am now is a result of what I’ve seen, where I’ve been. The hardware inside me now after a disastrous encounter with the Borg was only disastrous for those of us who went out and stopped them. Be thankful to whatever God you worship, if the technology in my body had worked as the Collective intended, there would be millions of Borg with the technology inside me and nothing would have slowed them down .. if the Collective had maintained control of the Queen they created the Federation would have fallen within a month. I choose my actions. I always have, and I always will.”

Here Kennit leaned forward, ever so slightly and said, “I have never acted, without first being certain that the information I’ve been given is accurate and the need for whatever action was warranted. I’ve died for the Federation. I suffered a fate worse than death. And I still have to deal with smarmy little pissants like you so fine, you get 20 seconds in which I will drop the shields keeping you from looking into my head. Twenty seconds to look and see what scares you so badly and then I’ll close that door. If you’re as good as you want me to believe, that’s more than enough time. I can’t deal with whatever is going on when all I’m given is half ass information and frankly I’m sick of this..so Dr. Jones... once we’ve finished this little adventure and you’ve had your look, I want the truth. All of it. Your chance to take a peek starts..now..”

*About time,* Amber thought to herself. She was not known for her patience, but pushing Kennit to this point was like pulling teeth. She closed her eyes and reached out with her mind, keeping herself guarded. Both of them had the same fault: overconfidence. She didn't want hers to get the better of her now. She may have been bred to be a superior human, but she knew she wasn't dealing with another human.

Kennit opened her mind, her eyes cool and still amused by that ‘evil’ comment. Everything was open, nothing held back. Memories as a child, of Starfleet Academy, her first assignments, being recruited into Section 31, John, their child, the Borg, the murder of John and his crew by rogue factions within 31 and her own..swift and unrelenting response to the irrefutable evidence of what had really happened, Alec.. everything she was .. for a span of 20 seconds there was no barrier, no block to keep the telepath out.

Amber walked through the maelstrom of thoughts, watched the horrors, the sorrows, the losses. She was tempted to correct a few misconceptions in the Captain's memory, but she kept her hands to herself. She had a goal and she was searching for it. Part of her was impressed and touched by the fact that the captain wasn't holding back. She'd expected to come across a barrier by now, and she was on high alert, but so far she'd been able to see everything without restriction.

The Captain’s mind was open, but quite complex. Amber quickly passed by the horse crazed child Rhea had been, but was touched to see that even at an early age, the woman was fascinated by the stars which glittered and beckoned in the night sky. She felt the thrill of Rhea's acceptance into Starfleet Academy, her first assignments, rising through the ranks to become a Commander and her explosive relationship with Captain John Murdock - starting out loathing the man for what she perceived as arrogance and callous disregard for his crew at first. The many arguments, sometimes nearly degrading into physical fights until she’d reached a point where Rhea had planned to leave Starfleet to get away from him, to leave Starfleet and Section 31 behind in the deep, almost desperate longing for peace ... the disastrous mission which had resulted in a complete shift in their relationship with one another..

Amber was close to her goal, she could feel it. She pushed deeper, now finding the going more difficult as she began to sift up unwanted memories.

The experience of assimilation by the Borg, of being self-aware even with the Collective Voice in her head. Pain and terror mingled with a cold emotionless, ruthless drive for domination and control. Salvation when Murdock boarded the Cube.. even as changed and damaged as her mind had been the Queen would not allow her drones to attack the Federation away teams which had boarded the massive Borg ship. Even in that moment, she wouldn’t allow harm to come to those she cared for.

The child they’d shared. John’s death, an moment in her life which had nearly destroyed her.

All of those personal moments a jumble of images and emotions overshot and cut through by another, powerful aspect of the woman she was. The Borg Queen. Cold. Incredible intelligence which remained within the now damaged, almost sociopathic mind of Captain Rhea Kennit. The accumulated knowledge of the Borg there within her mind, stored in the unique neural implants which laced through her brain like a spider’s web. Always the echo of the Borg was there, calculating and assessing. Capable of killing without hesitation or remorse. Yet willing to sacrifice her own life in an instant to protect her ship and her crew. An assassin for a part of Section 31. A function she’d turned her back on after administering what she considered justice for the deliberate betrayal and loss of the USS Endeavor, with it’s entire crew including Captain John Murdock. Her only regret there being that she couldn’t kill those responsible for it again, and again.. and again.. Making them suffer the slow, deliberately torturous deaths she’d given them repeatedly.. incredible hatred there..

Alec. Falling in love with him despite herself. Learning to trust someone again. And the pure, intense anguish and fear when he’d been abducted. Unwilling, unable to bear the pain of possibly losing him again.. only to have that deep would ignite with anger when he’d appeared alive, unharmed.. aboard a ship of spies and liars. He hadn’t attempted to contact her. Instead he’d gone along with the machinations of this other faction, this other perversion .. Allowed them to play some sick game, all at her expense..

*It wasn't his fault,* Amber's mind said, trying to sooth the sore spot. She attempted to move past it, the glittering jewel of the memory she was after dead ahead and she reached out for it.

A sudden jolt of ire and irritation, the telepath was delving into areas she wasn’t willing to share and with a sharp and unpreventable mental shove the connection was broken. The impenetrable barriers snapped back into place and once more Kennit’s mind was shielded and the connection cut off.

Amber jolted a bit and inhaled sharply, filling her lungs with fresh air.

“Times up. Now, one last time, why should I trust anything you’ve told me. All you’ve done is play your own little game, putting my ship and my crew into danger.”

Amber took a second to compose herself and tapped her combadge. "I'm sorry," Amber said. "I assume Captain Edwards didn't send out a general hail because we didn't know where you were. When you almost crashed into us, we were going to hail you, but you sent us flying into the void. When we got back on course, you were on the station. It's not Commander Hunter's fault he didn't contact you. All he wanted was to get to you safely."

She looked away, appearing unsure of herself for a moment, then back at the Captain. "A few decades ago, Section 31 decided they wanted a new breed of agents. Genetic engineering was banned, but that wasn't really a concern of theirs. So they funded a project and hired scientists. The Darwin Genetic Research Station was created. The project was a huge success at first. Two batches of children had been created and they were genetically perfect. Strong, healthy, brilliant, even enhanced psionics, telepathy and telekinesis. Unfortunately their immune system was too aggressive and began rapidly aging the station personnel. It even killed an entire starship crew.

"The Enterprise-D discovered Section 31's secret, but didn't realize it for what it was, and busied themselves with saving the station crew, which, thankfully, they did. However upon Captain Picard's report to Starfleet Command, Section 31 determined the project was too dangerous now that it was exposed. Questions were being asked, and the entire project needed to be erased.

"They came for us in the middle of the night. They shot to kill. No mercy for the scientists we thought of as our parents, the first generation of children we saw as our older siblings, nor us, the young children who went from a world of peace and love to a world of death and hate in the blink of an eye.

"Thankfully, the team had been infiltrated, and the lone member of our organization was able to save one scientist and six children. That's all, from a station that was home to dozens of kind, loving people. Those of us that escaped were hunted down like animals until I finally took out the 31 agent who was assigned to us." Her nostrils flared as she inhaled sharply, reigning in her emotions.

"That wasn't the first time they've done something like this, nor was it the last. That's why I have no love for your organization. We both have spent our lives fighting to protect others, including our loved ones. I have not put your ship, nor your crew in danger. I don't put people in danger, I get them out of danger. And just like you would never risk the Commander, I wouldn't risk those I love more than anything. So I'm not asking you to trust me. You won't trust me any more than I'll trust you right now. I'm asking you to trust him." She looked at Alec and sat back, pulling her watch out of her uniform top and sighing.

Alec's eyes went to and met Amber's. In his eyes there was a note of admiration of thanks for her words.His gaze shifted to Rhea, to see how she would take this latest revelation and more importantly how she would proceed with thw information Amber had provided to her.

The Captain was just looking at him, waiting. She wasn’t sure at this point about anything. Annoyed by how deeply the telepath had dug into her mind, slightly mollified by a perverse satisfaction at the obvious signs of discomfort Jones had displayed for a moment after Kennit had forcefully ‘kicked her out’.

Alec's gaze shifted as he saw Rhea looking at him....waiting. He wasn't sure for what as this whole situation left him with more questions than answers. What he was sure of was his love for Rhea and he knew that despite Amber's statement that it wasn't his fault, he had hurt Rhea, caused her to worry and that was something he would need to make up for. He looked into her eyes, Amber had just told the room of his love for Rhea (not that he would ever deny it) so he took a deep breath and nodded, "I'm sorry, I caused you to worry. I never wanted that, I just wanted to get to you, to warn you of what Captain Edwards told me about Blackhawk." His head dipped. "I'm sorry, I let you down."

Kennit blinked. Well that was all well and good, but it told her jack shit regarding whether or not the crew of the what-ever-it’s-name was could be trusted, or whethe the claims made by this telepath were true or just more smoke being blown up their arse.

A sensation not unlike a pulse rolled slowly through her left arm. There was one way in which to know ... she could take it. One swift assault and Dr Jones could be assimilated .. everything she was absorbed into her neural network and assessed for value. Rhea clenched her left hand into a fist, her knuckles popping. Taking two slow step toward Admiral Tanner, ignoring his alarmed double step retreat, Kennit half turned to Dr. Jones and asked with a jerk of her head toward Tanner “What about him. What’s to stop this Blackhawk from killing him anyway. If Blackhawk is as you claim, he could just as easily make it appear Tanners murder was by one of us since I don’t plan to retire him currently.” She deliberately chose her words, her bad mood finding perverse enjoyment in Tanners reaction to the choice of phrase she’d used.

Amber's genetically engineered brain was already calculating vectors, speed and distance. The Captain was too close for comfort and was about to find herself lifted off her feet.

“For that matter, there remains a mole on my ship. One who has already killed one member of my crew and left my Chief Medical Officer in critical condition. That is a situation which must be resolved sooner rather than later as well.”

"I agree," Amber said. "She reached into her breast pocket and pulled out her pocket watch again. "We have five minutes left, let's go catch a criminal. Besides, Doctor Anderson's human physiology should have finally healed enough for her to wake up and heal faster. With luck she should be waking up shortly. Friendly faces are always preferable when a patient comes out of a traumatic coma." She thought a moment, then looked at Alec. "I have an idea," she said.

She put her watch back in her pocket and pulled out her gloves, slipping them on. "If we want to know who attacked Doctor Anderson, let's give them another shot at her." She activated the controls and her appearance rippled and Doctor Anderson's doppelganger was back.

The comment regarding friendly faces was one Kennit found amusing. Friendly wasn’t quite the word for what was going on currently.

“After you, Doctor.” The Captain said with a mock bow and sweep of one had toward the exit.

"Oh, many thanks," she said, matching Anderson's accent. She tapped her combadge twice. "Put us outside of Sickbay," she said. Transporter beams washed over them and released them in the corridor of Deck 3.

"After you, Commander," Jones said, grabbing Alec by the arm and swinging him at the door, shoving him through them as they opened. "And if I say you're getting a physical, you're bloody well getting one!" she snapped, matching Nicole's irate tone.

Alec whirled around on her, his face red with anger at being manhandled. "I'll have you up on charges for this Doctor!" He practically spat the last word at her. "Where do you get off shoving me around like I'm a piece of cargo!?" He screamed at her.

The volume had the desired effect and several heads turned their way, a few people gasping in surprise.

"Doctor MacKenzie!" Maggie shouted, looking down the hallway to the intensive care ward.

"Is there a problem, Maggie?" Jones said.

"How...are you here?" Maggie said.

"Where else should I be?"

"Well...in intensive care..." Maggie said.

Doctor MacKenzie came around the corner and stopped short, her face losing color as she looked at the newcomers to Sickbay.

Jones looked right in MacKenzie's eyes and barely needed telepathy to read her thoughts. "Her," Jones said, rushing across Sickbay.

Quickly following, the Captain side stepped a bewildered Maggie and gave chase.

She rounded the door into Doctor Anderson's room to see MacKenzie standing over her with a hypospray. "Not another step!" she shouted.

"I don't need one," Jones said. The hypospray flew out of MacKenzie's grip and landed securely in Jones' gloved hand as the Captain, Hunter and Tanner came up behind her. Amber took her gloves off, her normal appearance returning, and replaced them in her breast pocket. "Now then, any final words?"

MacKenzie looked between Jones and the Captain. "How the hell did you two join forces?"

"I've been asking myself that for the last hour," Amber said. "Tell us where Blackwood is, and we might show mercy. The alternative is the Captain will assimilate you, and I'll turn your brain to putty to get the information we want."

"You're the telepath," MacKenzie said, nodding. "He said you'd never show up here."

"Why are you here?" Amber said.

"Because I'm the only one he trusts to take this creature out. Plus, I wanted to be the one to watch the bitch die," MacKenzie sneered.

"Last chance," Amber said. "You can choose to stop killing, or you can choose to accept your death, but the choice is always yours."

"I know all about you," MacKenzie said. "You won't kill me."

"You're right," Amber said, I won't."

MacKenzie sneered again, then picked up on Amber's tone and had just a moment to look horrified as she felt a pair of hands grab her from behind.

Nicole had sat up, grabbed MacKenzie by the hair with one hand and around her neck with the other. Her eyes were blood red, skin white as a cadaver and her fangs fully extended. She looked near demonic as she hauled her former subordinate over her and onto the floor behind her bed and sank her fangs in.

Amber cried out in pain as well and put her hands to her head, stumbling to the side and landing in a visitor chair. MacKenzie's scream for help and pleading for her life almost shook the walls, but it didn't last long. Amber kept her head in her hands in pain the entire time and when the room finally went silent with a final whimper, Amber just sat there, shaking slightly.

What was an eternity for Addison MacKenzie was about twenty-five seconds for the rest of them. When there was finally silence, save for the sound of Anderson finishing her meal, Amber sat up, tears streaming from her eyes.

She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes and stood up, composing herself. "She's dead," she said quietly.

From behind the biobed, Nicole stood up. She stretched and flexed, testing her muscles and making sure everything was in order. She wiped a few stray drops of blood off her chin and sucked her finger clean. She turned and saw them all staring at her and in response raised an eyebrow.

"Good God...." Tanner said.

Alec just looked on in silence, he knew about Anderson and her 'condition' but had kept his promise to her and had told no one. Even now he held his tongue.

"Nothing to do with it," Amber said weakly.

Nicole looked at Amber like she was a strange relic. Finally she cleared her throat. "What in the hell happened?"

"She's the one who attacked you," Amber said. "She attempted to plant a red herring and frame herself to throw everyone off, but she was behind the murder on your ship."

"Why?" Nicole said.

"Blackhawk," Amber said, weakly. "She worked for him."

Nicole glanced at the Captain. "She knows?"

"Everything," Amber said, nodding.

There was a moment of silence between them, then Nicole looked down at her hospital gown. "I suppose I should put some clothes on."

“Might Help...” Kennit drawled.

Amber chuckled. "I'll have a report sent over with everything that happened to catch you up," she said.

Nicole nodded and backed away to preserve what little dignity she had left behind the privacy curtain, grabbed her clothes from the storage drawer next to the bed.

Amber looked towards the Captain. "I'd suggest tracking her combadge. I'm guessing she had a getaway plan. It might be prudent to see where she's been. Goodbye, Captain."

Kennit turned to look at the other woman curiously.

Amber tapped her combadge three times and a transporter beam washed over her, taking her away.

Nicole came back out fully dressed and powered down the diagnostic equipment. "I'll have the body brought to the morgue for analysis," she said.

Admiral Tanner sat down and ran a hand over his face. "I've never entertained the possibility of retirement before," he said, "but after today..." He looked up at Captain Kennit. "Whatever resources you need to deal with this, I'll make them available."

Captain Kennit gave a short nod. “That will be appreciated Admiral. Though it would have been more helpful had our unusual little ‘friend’ provided more data on Blackhawk’s known companions, last known location...more than just a few words we’re supposed to take as solid truth without any actual evidence. We’ll have to start with her body, since my Chief Medical Officer most inconveniently has prematurely killed our only witness who could have provided some of the information we need.” She added, dark eyes locking on Dr. Anderson for a moment before continuing.

Nicole's nostrils flared, but a starving man didn't mourn a sandwich dropped in his lap.

“Also, I want access to all sensor data on the station relating to every ship which has come through here in the past 12 months.”

Tanner nodded. "I'll have it sent to your ship as soon as I can," he said. He stood up, feeling like he'd aged 10 years in 10 hours. "Commander," he said, weakly, "if you'd be so kind as to direct me to the transporter room?"

"That isn't necessary Admiral." Alec replied quickly, "We can beam you back to the station directly from here. It would be much quicker."

"Fine," Tanner said. "Whatever gets me out of here fastest." He stood up and straightened his uniform.

A few words via comm with the transporter tech on duty, and Admiral Tanner shimmered away, beaming back to his office leaving the Victory and it’s crew to see what information if any could be gleaned from MacKenzies blood drained corpse.

 

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