Deceptions

by Vee-Jay Hedgehog

A murderer is on the loose, and James and Vee-Jay are hard-pressed to stop him. All things that have been building up have come to a head as the War fast approaches. But will either of them live to see the War through? The longest of the stories so far

Disclaimer: I don't own Enterprise, that credit goes solely to Brannon Braga and Co. of Paramount Pictures, who have been geniuses for 30+ years of Star Trek.

Based loosely on a comic my rl bf is doing about the future generations of Enterprise NX-01's famous crew.

The Continuation from "Wavefront". Be warned, this is the LONGEST story of the 7!

"DECEPTIONS"

"Ah, what I wouldn't give to be home." Ensign Marissa Daniels sighed. She hadn't been back to Earth in so many months and she dearly missed her family. Now that the Admiralty had waged war on Captain Archer and since she was part of his crew, there was no going back to the planet she loved. She tutted, picking up the clothes on her bed and making for the closet. "I'd sure love to see Momma again." "That won't be possible, Marissa, because you're not going back for a long time!" Marissa whirled around and shrieked as the silver blade came down on her chest. Her heart stopped and she looked up into the hazy, sneering face of her attacker. Her world caved in around her and she slipped away into the unknown darkness. "Such a pity too. You would've made a fine officer." Blood spilled from Marissa's body, spreading across the grey carpet as her unknown assailant sheathed his blade and disappeared from her room.

"I know she's cleaning up, but this is ridiculous!" Jesse Barclay muttered as he paged Marissa's doorbell. "Maybe she's asleep," Isaac shrugged. "You know girls." "What the heck?" Jesse gasped, looking down to the floor. A small pool of red liquid had formed under the doors. Jesse and Isaac gasped. "Shit, no!" "MARISSA!" Jesse cried, grabbing his phaser. Jesse blasted the door panel open and ran inside, only to stop short of the blood covered carpet and Marissa's body lying near her closet. "Urp," Isaac whimpered. "I think I'm gonna be sick!" Isaac made for the bathroom while Jesse immediately contacted Captain James Douglas Archer.

"Murdered? Are you certain of this?" James sat silently in his chair. He nodded to Vee-Jay whose face filled his videoscreen. "She was one of my most promising, Vee-Jay." "I understand," the younger girl replied solemnly. "But let me assure you that there is no such hostility against you and yours being here!" "She was murdered in her quarters by someone that knew the layout of this ship." Vee-Jay's eyes narrowed. "Are you suggesting my command crew has something to do with this?" "Probably." Vee-Jay gritted her teeth. While James had a valid reason to be suspicious of the Rebellion's own, they would have gladly walked over burning coals to prove their innocence. "So what are you suggesting?" "That my crew and I return to Starbase 19-652 for the moment until we can ascertain who is responsible." "Valid suggestion, Captain. Very well, you have my permission. You need no one else's." "Thank you, Commander Reed. Archer out!" As the viewscreen went dead, Vee-Jay sighed deeply. Jeremiah paged her at her door and she gave permission for him to enter. "I heard one of Archer's own is dead?" he asked. "You heard right. An Ensign Marissa Daniels. He suspects one of our own as the murderer." "You're kidding me? After everything we've done for him?!" "Simmer down, he has a valid reason to be suspicious." "How so?" "Up until now, he's never known war, hatred, rebellions or alliances," Vee- Jay replied. "He's got every right in the world to consider the possibilities that the murderer could be a Rebellion member." "And what if it's one of his own?" Jeremiah asked. "If it is, then I'm honour-bound to help him find out who it is." "Hey, Commander?" "Yeah?" "What makes me curious is how come none of Archer's own heard or saw anything in regards to Marissa," Jeremiah replied. "Hmm," Vee-Jay thought. "That's true. That's very, very true. How did that bastard kill her and not have her screams be heard?" "Killed the comm to her room maybe?" "Or silenced it. Curiouser and curiouser. Hmm." "Eh?" "Jeremiah, what was the status of that suit Starfleet Command was working on. You know, the stealth-suit?" "Stealth Suit Unit Two-Oh-Two Mark Twelve?" "That's the one!" "It never came to fruition to the best of my knowledge, Commander." "I see. Well, it was worth a shot. What'd you come here for by the way?" "Eh? Oh, just to drop off these reports about the metaphasic shielding for the Enterprise-C." "Thanks," Vee-Jay replied. "Catch you in the city later." "Okay. See you." Vee-Jay sat back down at her desk and checked over the reports. One particular reading on the reports caught her eye. "Well, I'll be damned," she said softly. "A breakthrough at last!"

"Part of me is glad it's over, the other part is god-damned furious that this happened and no one heard or saw anything!" "I agree with you there, Captain." James and his younger brother Thomas walked slowly down the hallways of the USS Glyder. They'd docked at Starbase 19-652 for the night to ensure proper transportation and burial procedures were met for Ensign Daniels' family concerning her body. "How could this have occurred? How could no one on that deck have heard anything?" "The intruder may have silenced the comm from the inside and not the outside," Thomas mused. "The Security personnel would have picked that up immediately." "Then how'd he get in?" "Your guess is as good as mine." "What about Commander Reed's own?" James eyed Thomas. "Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" he demanded. Thomas shrugged doubtfully. "I just figured you suspected them." James sighed deeply. "I don't know what to make of hers," he replied. "If it was one of her own, it'd have to be someone she'd suspect of being a traitor, and unfortunately, she suspects none of them." "You're sure about that?" James shot a glare at Thomas that instantly made him shut up. "Listen you, Vee-Jay is many things but traitorous isn't one of them!" "What about Mom and Dad?" Thomas fired back. "Wasn't Vee-Jay responsible for their deaths?" James was silent. "See? SEE? You don't know her! You don't even know whether or not Mom and Dad were killed by her or Magellan!" Thomas stormed off, leaving James to his quiet thoughts. /He's wrong/, James thought. /Didn't she say she had saved the Admiral? If she had, then that would mean she --/ James' head snapped up. /Vee-Jay! I've got to talk to her!/ James turned and ran for Transporter Room Four.

"Hmm." Vee-Jay Reed paced the floor of her office, trying to piece together the connection between what the report she'd viewed earlier had stated and the fact that one of James' own had been killed. "I'm amazed Magellan would go to such lengths," she muttered. "No wonder he was adamant that he have command of the Enterprise-C when I was promoted to Captain. That crazy son of a bitch would have been the only one to have discovered the particles in the warp nacelles of the Enterprise-C were actually the beginnings of a metaphasic cloaking device. He was the only one considered as my rival, but would he go to such lengths to murder one of James' own on his own ship? The murder of Ensign Daniels doesn't make sense. How could the bastard have gotten in and out of her quarters without anyone seeing or hearing anything?!" Vee-Jay smacked her fist into her palm. "I know he's behind this somehow!" she said out loud. Her door suddenly chimed. "Enter," she called, still musing. "Vee-Jay?" Vee-Jay turned around. "James," she gasped. "What are you doing here?" "I was hoping you'd be able to at least give me a straight answer for once." "Eh?" "My parents, Vee-Jay!" James snapped. "What happened to them?" Vee-Jay hadn't been expecting this, not for a very long time; but she realised that in order for James and her to trust one another, they couldn't move forward until she explained everything to him. "I do owe you an explanation to say the very least," she replied, heading for the window. "Yes, you do! Now talk!" "It all started back in the Academy, James. What I have to tell you, I've never told anyone else. Can I trust you never to breathe another word of this to any of your crew?" "I don't know how to trust you since you took the fall for my parents' murders back in the Academy." "Would you have understood the life of an operative sentenced to death if she failed in her mission?" James was taken aback. "Death?" "In the Secret Service, if you screw up once, your penalty is expulsion. Screw up twice and the Council owns your ass for the rest of your life. Screw up three times and push the Council into killing you off the second you show signs of rebellion." "And you," James began slowly. "You did it three times, didn't you?" "The first two times was because of Magellan. He hindered me from day one. I was the cause of his constant promotion and I was sick of being his scapegoat. Then I ran into Admiral Dolthin and learned from him about the two facets of the Council. One was, and still is, the facet of the Council the whole Alpha Quadrant rely on. The bastiches that seem to think their way is law, and that the rest of us need them. The other facet was the Rebellion - the Secret Service Rebellion - this faction, the one that I command. The ones that actually know the secrets behind the Council, their hatred for the rest of their own. Those that have ordered the senseless mercy killings in the Chain of Command, and we continue the struggle against it for as long as it takes." "Where do my foster parents fit into this?" "It was shortly after I found my Mother, Father and Grandfather murdered in our home," Vee-Jay replied, willing herself not to cry. "I can't begin to tell you how immense the pain of losing them was. I was only ten years old, barely old enough to be part of the Secret Service, and now I had lost everything that I had ties to. I withdrew myself from the other agents in the service, throwing myself into my own private world. I drew my own conclusions to their murder but rarely spoke to anyone. Admiral Alynna Nechayev saw it fit to remind me everytime I screwed up that perhaps I should join my parents and Grandfather in the afterlife. One day I very nearly took her advice." James couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wanted to reach out to Vee- Jay, to hold her, but she moved away from him. "In the process of almost drowning in Lake Tahoe, part of my solo training, I was rescued by Admirals Dolthin and Brookshire, also at the Lake to conduct research for Starfleet. Brookshire explained to me that the reason I had been raised by the Secret Service from my toddler years was because of his and Dolthin's orders to my Grandfather. Admiral Dolthin saw something in me that he said would continue his hopes to overthrow the evil that had corrupted the Admiralty from within. I didn't understand him then, but I do today. His words have served me in good stead for fully two decades, James. I only pray that if the day for war does come, that he'll still be here." "And if not?" Vee-Jay didn't answer. "What about my foster parents?" "Admiral and Lady Riker were amongst those the mercy killing movement would see as their next victims," Vee-Jay continued. "Admiral Dolthin discovered their names among the list he retrieved from Admiral Nechayev's files. To say it shocked him would be an understatement. He enlisted me in secret to keep an eye on your foster parents until arrangements could be made to save both their lives. When the arrangements were finally made, Lady Moreta and myself made it clear to your parents that no harm would come to them." "Moreta?!" James cried. "Moreta has been leader of her people since the day she was born, James. I met her quite briefly as an operative alongside Magellan years ago. We became friends shortly after the assassination plot for her parents failed and Magellan and I captured the ones responsible. She hated Magellan. She even drop-kicked him one time when he tried to chat her up. In any case, there would be no way I could convince your foster Mother and Father of their being hunted without Moreta's word to back me up. It was she who revealed to them the true nature of the Admiralty's so-called 'work' in restoring Bajor. In turn, your foster parents asked me to watch over you - keep you safe until I would be able to reunite you with them." "Where are they?" "In Keile's Eastern Region, protected by one of the strongest Seers and his wife. I haven't kept in direct contact with them but I do know they are safe from harm, and especially the war." "When can I---?" "See them again? I could make arrangements, but with the murder of one of your own, I would rather not risk anything." The door chimed again. "Yes?" "Vee-Jay?" a soft, feminine voice called from the other side. "May I please talk to you? The door opened as a young wolven female entered the room. She was dressed in the traditional robe of the females of Planet Keile, gold and purple beads signifying her status as the future leader of her people. "Princess Dannica!" Vee-Jay gasped. "To what do I owe the honour, My Lady?" "Forgive me," she bowed her head. "But I must speak with you concerning my future duties." "Shouldn't your parents be the ones advising you, My Lady?" "I would rather speak to you than them, since you have command of your own already." James cleared his throat. "I should go," he told Vee-Jay. "Please, Captain Archer, I would rather you stayed," Princess Dannica replied. "But what could I impart on you, Princess?" "Plenty." "Have a seat, My Lady," Vee-Jay gestured to the chair opposite her own. "Thank you, Commander." "How can we help?" Vee-Jay asked. "I heard about the death of Ensign Daniels and I fear I may know how the killer got in and out of her quarters without being seen or heard," Dannica replied. "I sense the killer is human and one of your own, Captain Archer." "One of MINE?!" James cried. "What?" Vee-Jay gasped. "My Seer abilities are limited but I believe I passed him in the hallway just now. I cannot sense his name, however." James was stunned. He took the seat beside the young Princess as Vee-Jay slowly stood up. "You've seen him?" "Yes, I have." Vee-Jay sideglanced James, who still looked like someone had slapped him in the face. "Can you give us anything else about him? Appearance, talents, position?" "I know he's a Lieutenant." "That could be any of my own," James groaned. "He's a senior crew member." "What?!" "Simon, Jesse, Luke, Isaac, Elson, Adam, Brad, Elizabeth, Harlan, David, Robert, Farley and Sherrie," Vee-Jay named them in succession, startling James even further. "Trouble is, only three of them stand as suspicious." "Which three?!" James demanded. "David's Father is one of the Admiralty behind the Mercy Killings, Farley's Mother was a double agent in the Secret Service and Brad's parents vanished whilst on a mission for Admiral Picard before his near-death on his very last mission." "David and Farley have served me in good stead since I graduated, Vee-Jay!" James growled. "Don't take this personally, Captain," Vee-Jay countered. "Those three remain under suspicion until we can find enough evidence against them." James' comm-badge sounded, startling everyone in the room. "Archer, here." "Captain Archer, Sir? You'd better get back to the Glyder." "Why? What is it, Simon?" Simon was silent for a moment. "Mister Tucker?" James asked, fearing for what his Engineer was about to say. "We," Simon began slowly. "We found Commander Riker in his quarters, Cap'n. He's dead, Sir." Vee-Jay and Dannica were horrified. James' face was a mask of deep pain. The second murder had happened and this time, the killer had taken the life of the brother he cherished the most in his lifetime.

"How?" James asked numbly. Vee-Jay stood beside her friend, gripping his shoulder tightly. Thomas' body was in the process of being removed from his quarters. Her stomach had almost given up when she'd laid eyes on the blood-splattered room, her mind imagining the gruesome murder in graphic detail. She had made sure that Jeremiah and Kristopher had escorted Princess Dannica back to the surface while she and James headed to the USS Glyder. Simon and Elson were the officers who had discovered the blood seeping out from underneath the door. "We don't know, Cap'n," Simon was saying. "He didn't answer his comm- badge, so I thought something was up with the comm-system in his room, so I took Elson down with me and we found him like this, Sir. I'm so, so sorry." It struck Vee-Jay that she now had a duty to take Thomas' body and James himself to where she had left Admiral and Lady Riker in the care of Seer Yanak. This would be something she herself would oversee to ensure the murderer would not follow them. James watched wordlessly as his brother's body was removed from his quarters. Vee-Jay noted that the sprays of blood indicated Thomas had put up the hell of a fight before he'd died. And there was something else in the pool of blood that she recognised. Something she hadn't seen in a very long time. /It can't be/, she thought. /Could that be Phoriuspheric Dust? I haven't seen stuff like that since I was left on Lokinn IV during my solo training!/ "Keep his body in the cryostasis chamber that the Rebellion gave us." "Yes, Sir." Vee-Jay's mind snapped back to the present. James looked about ready to collapse. She gently squeezed his shoulder, causing him to turn towards her. "Come on," she told him. "I'm taking you and Thomas' body to Seer Yanak. It's time you saw your foster parents again." James didn't protest as he walked alongside Vee-Jay towards the shuttlebay.

"James! Oh, James!" Vee-Jay silently pulled the cryostasis chamber out of the back of the shuttlecraft along with Lieutenant Commander Benji Carmichael, one of her most trusted officers. Admiral and Lady Riker enveloped James into their embrace. It had been nearly seven long years since they had seen each other. "Commander Reed, Ma'am?" Vee-Jay looked up at Benji, who looked about as down as she did. "Yes, Carmichael?" "Do you really think one of Archer's own is the culprit behind all of this?" he asked quietly. "It could very well be one of our own posing as his." "Thomas put up a fight before he died," Vee-Jay replied, glancing in James' direction. "Which means he had a fair idea who his attacker was. He wouldn't have fought that much had he not known the murderer first hand." "Thomas? Dead?" Deanna was saying, tears streaking down her cheeks. "No," Admiral Riker replied, tears filling his eyes. James clung to his Mother, wishing the truth didn't hurt as much as it was now. Vee-Jay let Benji take care of the stasistube as she turned to face Admiral and Lady Riker. She knew this wasn't going to be pretty. "Vee-Jay! You promised me you'd take care of both James and Thomas!" William snarled angrily at the younger girl. "Dad," James protested. "Thomas was under my command." William ignored him. "You promised me our family would remain intact!" William grabbed her by the collar. To James and Deanna's horror, William backhanded her across the face. Vee-Jay, already used to this kind of treatment, didn't even whimper. The blood trickled from her lip down onto her sweater. "I should never have listened to you! You and yours never fight for protecting those that mean anything to you!" "Will! Stop it!" Deanna cried, pulling her husband's arm away from Vee- Jay. "It wasn't Vee-Jay's fault! Listen to her!" "Admiral Riker! Stop it!" Benji tackled into the older man as he reached for his phaser. William kneed Benji in the stomach before pointing his phaser dead at her chest. "I should have given you up to the Admiralty on the day you deferred to Dolthin's command!" he snarled. "DAD! NO!" James cried. Vee-Jay was silent as she walked up to the Admiral until his phaser was pressed up into her chest. She looked into his eyes and saw nothing but fear and anger in them. "If you truly believe my death will bring back Thomas, then by all means shoot Admiral Riker." Admiral Riker faltered. His hand shook uncontrollably. For a brief instant, he saw Thomas standing behind her, shaking his head. "You know I would give my life a million times over to bring him back to you and your family." The phaser fell from Admiral Riker's hand and he dropped to his knees, sobbing. Deanna hugged him fiercely, still crying. Vee-Jay assisted Benji as he weakly stood up. "You're bleeding, Commander," he told her. "Superficial," she replied quietly. "It's you I'm worried about." Admiral Riker heaved a sob-laden breath, looking up at Vee-Jay, the girl he'd trusted for so long, the girl who had told him of the Mercy Killings, the girl who had risked her life to save his and Deanna's lives, the one who had held onto the belief of reuniting them with James after so damn long; and in one fleeting moment, he'd let the anger and the hurt surface and backhanded her across the face - after everything she'd done for him, Deanna and their children. "Vee-Jay," he whimpered. "I---I'm sorry---I'm so sorry!" "I'm sorry too, Admiral Riker," she responded bluntly. James knew that his Father's actions had stirred the long-since dormant anger she had kept under the covers of her rebellion. She had never been trusted by anyone except her closest companions and was just beginning to warm to the Admirals who had given up trying to assist Alynna. Now, in one fatal move, those bonds had been severed. "Vee-Jay," he began, trying to stop her from leaving. "Lieutenant Commander Carmichael will remain here until the rest of my security team arrive," she continued, her voice filled with a rising anger. "Until then I suggest you stay undercover with Yanak and Liarra." "Yes, Ma'am," Benji replied, slowly standing to attention. "Take care of them, Carmichael. The team will be here in an hour." Seer Yanak and his devoted wife Liarra appeared from the darkness of the archway behind the sobbing Admiral and Lady Riker. Liarra held James by his shoulders and gestured towards the inside of their home. James watched Vee-Jay return to the shuttlecraft and take off before following Liarra inside. Benji and Yanak took care of his parents and his deceased brother. "Don't be afraid of Vee-Jay's actions," she told him as they slowly headed upstairs. "It has been a long time since she has opened herself up enough to trust those Admirals who would rather remove Alynna from her pedestal." "Why did my Dad do that?" James asked. "Admiral Riker believed Vee-Jay would always watch over you and Thomas, keep you both alive and safe from harm. That is the pledge she gave him on the night she and Lady Moreta told them about the Mercy Killings." "But Thomas died on MY ship!" James replied, tears still falling from his eyes. "That was NOT her fault!" "Your Father was angry and hurt, believing your friend had betrayed him. That one moment has severed the ties between your Father and her." "But I don't understand why she didn't hit him in return?" Liarra smiled sadly, cupping his cheek gently. "Vee-Jay would never dream of attacking someone under her protection. She would have gladly died just now if it would have satisfied your Father's pain and anger. But the reason she reacted in the way she did is because your parents still don't understand that the time is drawing near for the War. Thomas' death signifies its beginning and you must now become part of it, regardless if you refuse to have anything to do with it." James closed his eyes and nodded slowly. This had been what Vee-Jay had been both fearing and expecting. She had wanted to protect him from it so many years before so that he would be safe while she and her friends fought the batle that had been brewing under the surface of the Council for so many decades. Ensign Daniels and Thomas' deaths had gotten him involved in it, something Vee-Jay hadn't wanted at all. Now he understood why she had made him choose the side he wanted. She had been hoping to protect him from all of this before the Admiralty destroyed everything because she loved him! Now after all this time of pushing her away, he finally knew he loved her too. "I've gotta get back to the Starbase," he finally spoke. "I've got to talk to her!" "In due time, Captain," Liarra replied. "You must wait until the Rebellion Security Team arrives." James nodded. /Oh, Vee-Jay/, he thought sadly. /I'm sorry my Father hurt you. I'm sorry I hurt you. Please find it in your heart to forgive them, and to forgive me for not realising how much you love me/.

Vee-Jay winced slighly as she dabbed a cloth over the dried blood on her lower lip. She shook her head and hung the damp cloth on the hook next to her bathroom mirror in her quarters. She had acted defensively against Admiral Riker, making her usually-suppressed anger known to him. If Magellan's tormenting hadn't been bad enough, she'd had to deal with every Admiral under the sun beating the snot out of her. Being backhanded all the time hadn't hurt this much since she'd left the Admiralty and served under Markus' command. Markus too had been harsh when she failed to complete a mission, but the treatment had never been physical. It had been many years before she had begun to let go of the fear she'd had of Markus and his own. And now it all came flooding back like a torrential rainstorm on Earth's Asian Region. "All this time I suppressed that hurt," Vee-Jay told herself, speaking loudly. "And now in the space of a few seconds, it all comes back. You're an idiot, Vee-Jay!" "Big sister?" The voice belonged to young Ensign Jaydenn Thomson, Vee-Jay's adopted younger brother. His entire family had been on the USS Temporal when the Borg had attacked them. He had been the only one left alive when Vee-Jay and her own had found the partially destroyed Starship. She could remember him clinging to her as the transporter whisked them away as the ship he had been born on was obliterated as its warp core finally gave in. He stood behind her, a towel in his hands and his hair slightly damp. "Are you okay?" When Vee-Jay turned to face him, he noticed her lip. "Sis! What happened!" he cried, starting forward. "Something that should have happened years ago, big guy." Jaydenn clung to her, Vee-Jay for once glad of his company. As she held Jaydenn to her chest, memories of her own Mother holding her as a baby filled her mind. How much of a life did she really have without the parental figures that she so greatly craved? "Big sister? Did James hit you?" Jaydenn asked finally. Where Jaydenn had gotten that idea Vee-Jay would never know. "No, his Father did. Because I failed to protect James' brother, Thomas." "How?" Jaydenn asked. For all of his nine years, Jaydenn reminded Vee-Jay of a certain Vulcan she had once loved so much; one that should never have died under her command. "You remember Marissa, right?" she asked him, sitting down on the couch. Jaydenn sat beside her. "The girl that was killed a few nights ago?" "Uh huh." "Yeah, the whole crew are saying James thinks she was killed by one of ours." "That's not the whole truth, but Marissa was killed by someone she knew. She may not have trusted him, but she definitely knew him." "So how does this have anything to do with how you couldn't save James' brother?" "I failed to look harder at both our crews. I have a feeling I know who the murderer is, I just can't be sure until I find some harder evidence, Jaydenn." Jaydenn lay his head on his older sibling's lap, his hair's dampness becoming obvious to the older girl but she said nothing in protest. "So, where does that leave us?" "I'm not sure, but I want you to be extremely careful from here on in, alright, little brother?" "Okay," the younger boy smiled. "Can we have muffins for dessert tonight?" "Sure thing." "YAY!" Jaydenn cheered, getting up and heading for the kitchen. Vee-Jay sighed. Having Jaydenn around had made her more of a Mother than she'd thought. She was about to give up with her thoughts about keeping all her anger aside whilst she tried to command her own when the door chimed. "I'll get it!" Jaydenn yelled, stuffing a muffin in his mouth. "Hey! I said you could have them for dessert, kid!" "I've already eaten!" Jaydenn fired back slyly as he opened the door. "Hey," James smiled sheepishly at Jaydenn. "Hiya James!" Jaydenn grinned, his mouth still full of blueberry muffin. "Hey sis! Your boyfriend is here!" "ARGH!" James watched as Jaydenn neatly dodged a cushion. Vee-Jay got up from the couch as Jaydenn darted out of the room, laughing as he ran down the corridors towards the main shuttlebay. James met with her eyes and she looked away from him. "What are you doing here?" she asked quietly. "I came to apologise," James replied. "What's there to apologise for?" Vee-Jay asked. "Everything." Vee-Jay, for all the time James had known her, actually looked surprised. "What?" she asked, turning back towards him. James swallowed hard and grabbed her before he had time to realise what he was doing. When his lips met hers, it was like the dam had burst between them. Vee-Jay was stunned, her mind telling her to push him away, just like she had Elieth, the son of Vulcan High Commander Tuvok; but somehow, she allowed herself to relax, returning James' kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. As the kiss broke between them, James held her close to him. "You tried to protect Thomas and me," he murmured. "And I pushed you away from me because I didn't believe you. You saved my life more times than I can remember. You saved my foster parents. You saved my crew. You saved me! And like an idiot, I tried to keep you away from me." "James," Vee-Jay whispered. "Let me finish, please," he begged. "You knew more than I did. You were there when the Admiralty destroyed what had been my dreams for a future where my family and I could lead together, lead Starfleet into a new generation. You knew everything that was to become the here and now. You were always there, behind the scenes, trying to ensure the crew and I would survive longer than the Admiralty wanted us to. I pushed you away because I was scared. I didn't want to tell you that I loved you. I still do, and now I want more than ever for us to be together." Vee-Jay said nothing. The hurt she'd suffered at the hands of the Admirals was surfacing. The pain and the anger rose in her eyes. "Oh, James," she whispered, the tears that had threatened her many years before now spilling down her cheeks. "I loved you long before all of this. I wanted to keep you safe because I loved you more than anyone else here, even Jaydenn! I felt for sure you'd understand why I did what I did all those years ago because I just wanted your life to turn out better than mine ever did!" James sat her down on the couch, holding her close. "What did Magellan do to you?" he asked, her sobs increasing. "What did the Admiralty put you through?" It came out in a flood of memories, memories long since suppressed within the depths of her heart. James learned of the beatings, the bullying, the threats of death and the tests she was subjected to; tests of mentality, strength, physical limits of pain and torment, mind control and the deaths of over 5000 of her own that lay heavy on her shoulders like a death robe. James was sickened by what he learned as the shadows closed in on the Starbase as night fell. "I killed the High Commander's Son," Vee-Jay whimpered. "I killed him under that device they implanted into my skull. If only I'd made sure I had override codes to that damn program before I handed it over to Nechayev!" "What I learned was that the High Commander understood why they'd used you," James whispered. "Tuvok was saddened by his son's death but he refused to blame you." "T'Pel blamed me. I could see it in her eyes." "T'Pel blamed you because she didn't know what had happened to you while under the Admiralty's command. When she learned from Admiral Picard what had been, she forgave you." Vee-Jay shook her head, still crying. "But you didn't forgive yourself, did you? Oh, Vee-Jay." James held Vee-Jay tighter as the lights became brighter in her quarters as the night wore on.

A pair of deep blue eyes surveyed the scene in Commander Reed's quarters via a video-link. His mouth curled into a snarl. "Pathetic!" the voice hissed, filled with disgust. "Lovers during wartime? Reed should know far better than this insubordination!" He reached for a glass of wine by his bedside table. "I didn't think Archer was so damn stupid, falling in love with a Secret Service agent who failed in her duties! I doubt she's even realised the seriousness of these attacks!" He shook his head angrily. "Why she fell for him, I'll never know," he growled. "Figuring out an Andorian Concubine would be easier than her!" His hand rested on the blood-splattered hilt of his weapon. "I'm surprised the Captain didn't notice this was missing from his quarters," he mused. "Why he chose to keep this ruddy thing is beyond me! And what the hell is this inscribed on the damn blade itself anyway?" He unsheathed the deadly curved blade and in the midst of the now-dry blood was a paragraph of strange alien lettering. "Beyond me what the flying hell that says," the younger man muttered. "Beyond me about a lot of things, including this bullshit that's erupting in front of me!" He shook his head and clicked off the video-link as James and Vee-Jay curled up together on the couch in her quarters. "Time to let her old wound heal and another one destroy her methinks," he grinned, sheathing the blade once more. "We'll soon see who disobeys the Council and lives to tell the tale, Commander Reed, Captain Archer!"

~**~

The first question hit her like a freight train. How long had she been asleep? Vee-Jay's eyes flickered open, dimly aware of the slight chill of the air and the warmth of another body underneath hers. Turning slightly, she could see the sleeping form of Captain James Douglas Archer, still with his arms around her after they'd fallen asleep on the couch in her quarters. /I told him everything/, she realised. /And I don't---I don't feel so burdened anymore. Was that all I had to do to get through to him? To myself? To everyone and everything?/ She smiled and snuggled into his chest, causing the older boy to tighten his grip around her slim body. She kissed him lightly on the lips. James moaned and his eyes flickered open, resting on hers before a smile lit up his handsome face. "Hey," he smiled, gently pushing back a strand of her long red hair out of her face. "Which of us passed out first?" she teased, smiling. It struck James that he had never seen her smile since their Academy days together. She looked even more regal and commanding than he had ever seen her before. Well, when she didn't look like she'd been crying all night. He grinned. "You did." "Like hell it was me," she chuckled, pushing herself up off his chest. "You're one to talk, Commander." Vee-Jay shook her head and reached behind her head, removing the trio of black bands that held her long red hair in place. As her hair slipped down along the length of her back, she suddenly looked concerned. "What is it?" James asked, getting up. "Ow, my neck!" "Jaydenn?" Vee-Jay called, expecting her little adopted brother to appear almost immediately. Nothing but silence. Vee-Jay was instantly on the alert as she darted through the kitchen towards Jaydenn's room. "Jaydenn? This isn't funny!" Vee-Jay halted when the door to Jaydenn's room opened. His bed hadn't been slept in and his phaser was still in its holster on his bedside table. "Please, no," Vee-Jay whispered, her mind filling with dread as her half- Betazoid senses went into overdrive. As James stretched, he saw Vee-Jay make for the door to her room. "What the--?" he asked. "Jaydenn didn't come home last night!" she replied, dashing out of the room. James dashed after her, the pain in his bones forgotten. Vee-Jay slapped her comm-badge. "Commander Reed to Captain Kichawasi!" Vee-Jay barked. "Kichawasi here, Commander." "Have you seen my brother?" "No, Ma'am. Not since he went with the transportation barge to Planet Keile's Capital City." "Ready my shuttlecraft! Captain Archer and I are going there immediately!" "Aye, Ma'am!" /Dear Lord, don't let this be the same as yesterday!/

Adamei, Danae, Arikko and Dannica had been notified of Jaydenn's sudden disappearance and were waiting for Vee-Jay and James outside the Council Building, their home residence on Keile. "We heard, Commander," Danae explained to the worried girl. "But none of our staff have seen him!" "Someone must have!" she pleaded. "With the recent murder of Commander Thomas Riker, I don't want to lose Jaydenn as well!" "He's here," Dannica suddenly spoke. Everyone turned to Princess Dannica. A soft blue aura covered her body and her eyes were pure white. Her dress billowed as if a breeze was ruffling it. "What?" Vee-Jay gasped. "He's in the city," she replied, her abilities allowing her to 'see' what Vee-Jay could not. "He's cornered. Someone both you and Captain Archer know has him trapped. I see---some kind of blade---a weapon unlike any our people have crafted. I cannot tell who the assailant is. His face is masked somehow. Jaydenn is screaming." That did it. Vee-Jay was off and running towards the backstreets of Merek, Capital City of Keile. "Vee-Jay!" James cried. "Aw man!" James immediately took off after her, only to hear Dannica say something that he'd been dreading: "Jaydenn," she breathed. "It's almost over. His spirit is leaving on its final journey." James swore loudly, then chased after his friend.

"JAYDENN!" Vee-Jay tore down the backstreets of Merek, not caring who she pushed out of the way. All her mind was occupied with was the fact she could no longer sense her brother. Deep down she knew she had to stop running, but she couldn't. He had to still be alive. He had to be. She couldn't lose him! Not after everything she'd already lost! "JAYDENN!" The stream of blood leading from the T-junction ahead of her made her heart stop beating. She then saw a shadow on the wall ahead, sheathing what appeared to be a weapon - above a slumped body. "JAYDENN!" she screamed. The owner of the shadow quickly disappeared over the wall as Vee-Jay attempted to shoot him with her phaser pistol before reaching the dying Jaydenn. She enveloped his body into her arms, ignoring the stream of blood that soaked into her Rebellion Uniform. "Jaydenn," she cried. "No! NO! I can't lose you too!" "It---It was---B---Br---." "Shh! I'm here, little brother!" Vee-Jay whispered. "I'm here!" "Big sister," whispered Jaydenn, his voice faint. "I can see---I can see my Mom an' Dad waitin' for me. And---Aunty Della and---Uncle Robert---." Vee-Jay squeezed Jaydenn tightly for a moment, her tears streaming down her cheeks. "Go to them, my brother," she told him, sobs choking through her. "I will love you forever." "Vee-Jay?" James' voice, Vee-Jay realised. Jaydenn heaved his last breath and died in her arms. Her head lowered. James reached her side and knelt beside her, putting his arms around her. Even though the tears were streaming down her cheeks, Vee-Jay had only one feeling in her heart. A feeling that would boil over soon enough when she found whoever was responsible for this senseless killing.

The feeling was rage.

~**~

"What?!" Chief Engineer Simon Tucker cried. "Jaydenn's DEAD?!" James nodded silently from his chair in the briefing room. Most of his bridge crew were present and were horrified to learn Vee-Jay's younger adopted brother had been killed only twenty four hours after Commander Thomas Riker. "How?!" Communications Officer Elson Sato demanded. "Stabbed four times in the chest," Luke said quietly. "Vee-Jay gave me permission to analyse his injuries." "Shit," Adam swore quite loudly, but no one corrected him. "How's Vee-Jay?" Jesse asked. "I've seen her unhappy, and this isn't it," James replied. "She's enraged beyond belief. She'll kill whoever's responsible without a second thought, believe me." "An after-effect of her past, I believe," Luke added. "It's good she talked to you when she did, Captain." "How the hell did you---?" James asked. "That little device implanted in her skull records events and projects them to a video-link, Captain - a link I happen to have." "Any way to remove it in future?" Luke smiled. "As a matter of fact, there has always been a way to remove it thus. I believe she just needed some companionship last night to end the hurt it has caused her for so long." "Hmph." The senior crew allowed themselves to smile a bit at their Captain's expense. Luke coughed to regain everyone's attention. "I should also point out that one crewman in particular didn't turn up for his medical exam yesterday or today, Captain." "Eh?" James' head snapped up. Things like this usually didn't bother him, but with all the recent happenings, it did now. "Which crewman?" he asked, immediately suspicious. "Ensign Craishen, Sir." "Brad?" James asked, confused. "In fact," Luke went on. "Brad's missed almost every test I set for him. It's almost as though whatever work you assigned him to do at the time has kept him preoccupied." "Hey, wait a second here," Simon put in. "Brad's an Ensign on this ship, meaning he's not exactly under just the Captain's command, Luke." "Yeah, he's also under ours," Adam nodded. "And as I recall, he finished that diagnostic of the Warp Cores a little early yesterday." "Yeah," Jesse agreed. "Like he had something to do that couldn't wait." James closed his eyes, trying to picture Brad as a murderer. The picture didn't fit. He shook his head. "Whatever Ensign Craishen's been doing, he can't be the one we're looking for." /But how can I truly be sure?/, James thought silently. /It's not like I can suspect every last member of my senior crew! But he was the only one preoccupied with something else other than work, so why am I protecting him?/ "Captain?" James' thoughts snapped back to the present. "Dismissed," he finally ordered. "Do not discuss the matter of Jaydenn's death to the others in our crew. I want this ship and everyone here to be as respectful as possible. This is not an easy time for Vee-Jay." "Or for you, Captain," Jesse nodded respectfully. "Understood, Sir." The crew filed out of the briefing room, leaving James to his thoughts about Vee-Jay, Jaydenn, Thomas and of course, Brad. A message beeped across the screen behind him moments after the doors had closed. "Eh?" Reading it, James realised he shouldn't have returned to his ship when someone else needed his company more than his own command did. "Vee-Jay."

James quietly walked down the hallways leading towards the Holodeck of Starbase 19-652. He had gotten word that Vee-Jay had holed herself up in one of them and wouldn't answer to any of her own. Jeremiah had contacted him personally, the older man having seen the relationship develop between them and respectfully requested his aide in talking to their leader. James had noted Jeremiah had been displaying signs that he too was interested in his Commanding Officer, even though he held higher rank than she, but had backed off when Vee-Jay had started showing signs of liking him instead. The looks he received from the others in her command had been ones of deep respect and admiration. He had never been given these looks by others in Starfleet Command and he felt welcome here, more welcome than he ever did in the Academy. He reached the sealed Holodeck and tapped on the comm. "Vee-Jay? It's me, James." To James' surprise, he was suddenly scanned by the doorway. "Subject identified as Captain James Douglas Archer of the Federation Starship Glyder 1862-01," the computer droned. "Access granted." The doors opened to reveal a lush meadow outskirted by forests, leading towards a set of cliffs. James had never seen anyplace more beautiful than this. "Oh wow!" he gasped. James noticed a lone wolf eyeing him as he walked into the area. It seemed to be watching him for some reason other than to make a meal out of him. He noticed the crushed grass in front of him. Someone had been through here recently. "Vee-Jay?" James followed the grassy trail until he reached the cliffs, and there, sitting alone on a grassy mound, was Vee-Jay. The sun was setting over the holodeck scene. It struck James he had never seen Vee-Jay look so alone before and as he approached, he didn't know how to broach the subject of Jaydenn's death with her. "Beautiful sunset," he finally piped up. "I didn't notice it until recently," Vee-Jay responded quietly. "Everyone's worried about you, including me." "What is there to worry about other than finding the bastard that did this?" "Take it easy, Vee-Jay, I'm not your enemy." Inwardly, Vee-Jay flinched. She knew she had to stop acting like James was still a part of Starfleet Command. James sat behind her on the mound and put his arms around her. Vee-Jay leant back into his chest. "I don't understand how this guy could have gotten in and out of your ship without being seen," she breathed. "Nor do I understand why Jaydenn went to Merek when he knew he wasn't allowed to without an escort." "Ensign Daniels and my brother knew their killer," James soothed. "He's taunting us, Vee-Jay. He wants us to find him, but I don't know where to look." "Join the club," Vee-Jay replied. They sat in silence as the sun sank lower towards the far horizon. As a chilly breeze blew past them, it occured to James that perhaps Jaydenn hadn't gone to the surface alone. "Vee-Jay," he began slowly. "What if Jaydenn didn't go to the surface alone?" "How do you mean?" "One of my crew, Ensign Craishen, finished his work early, both yesterday and today," James explained. "He disappeared off the ship I think roughly the same time Jaydenn took off." "Are you sure? Bradley?" "I'm not sure. Putting him up against this as our killer doesn't match up." "I don't know about that," Vee-Jay mused. "I noticed something in the blood pool in Thomas' room that was pretty interesting to me. Something I haven't seen in many years." "Which is?" "Phoriuspheric Dust. It's a composite of dimondius sand, biothermic dust and phosperous, more commonly found on stealth suits during the decontamination process to sterilize the outside of the suits." "Stealth Suits?" James asked. He frowned slightly, trying to remember the status of the special suits he had back on board his ship. "I can't recall if we even have Stealth Suits." "Something else I noticed was the blood splatters, James," Vee-Jay went on. "Your brother put up the hell of a fight before he finally succumbed." "So why didn't anyone else see the killer or hear my brother's screams?" "That's beyond me at the moment too," Vee-Jay replied earnestly. "I honestly don't know why no one heard or saw anything, but something that does bother me was the special stealth suit the Admiralty apparently scrapped had a capability similar to being able to block comm-signals." "Stealth Suit Unit Two-Oh-Two Mark Twelve?" "You've heard of it?" "Only too well," James replied. "Nechayev kept saying how it would root out the traitors in her midst without them knowing." "Without them knowing? Hmm," Vee-Jay frowned, her mind moving at warp speed. "I wonder if what Markus said was true?" "Huh?" "Come on," she replied, tugging his sleeve. "I have a funny feeling I know someone who can tell us what happened to that suit!"

"Stealth Suit Unit Two-Oh-Two Mark Twelve?" "Yes, Sir," Vee-Jay replied. "Three murders have recently occurred here." "Yes," Admiral Markus Dolthin nodded solemnly. "Captains Kichawasi and Saint Borealis relayed that information to me. I'm so sorry, Commander, Captain Archer." "There'll be time to grieve after we find out what happened to that suit, Admiral. What can you tell us about it?" James asked. "Other than what I've already told Commander Reed, not much else," Markus shrugged. "The suit was decommissioned after its first test mission. Apparently it worked far too well." "How so?" Vee-Jay asked. "It was tested on Qo'Nos," Markus replied, bringing up the schematics he'd already shown Vee-Jay a long time before. "Here in fact - the Targ Hunting Grounds on the outskirts of the city itself." "Hunting grounds?" "The suit was designed to act as a cloak to an unsuspecting target," Markus went on. "In this case, the target was High Councillor Qa'Taar, a Klingon mercenary responsible for the deaths of many brave Starfleet Captains." "Most of which turned out traitorous anyway," Vee-Jay stated bluntly. "Qa'Taar did us a favour." "Yes, well, the suit was used by one of our own, Vee-Jay. Apparently it had a misguided effect on his mind." "It made him insane?" "Hardly. The suit's original programming was to split the consciousness of the officer into two separate but similar entities just for solo missions which required a kill to be made. Unfortunately, someone apparently tampered with the suit beforehand and split his personality right in half. He became quite displaced after the testing period was over." "Who was it, Admiral?" "I was not the officer in charge at the time. Sadly Admiral Paris is no longer here to tell you what I don't know." "Damn," James growled. "I'm only telling you from what little records I managed to salvage from the ruins of Paris' home." "So Paris was the one administering the test, huh?" Vee-Jay mused. "I wonder?" "What?" "I wonder if we could find that original security disc. The one from Holodeck 15 on Starbase 197 where it was originally tested." "You may meet with resistance if you attempt it, Commander," Admiral Dolthin warned. "I know who's in charge of that Starbase, Admiral, and I'm afraid he's just going to have to live with it." "Or die with it," the Admiral replied drily. "If his wife finds out, Vee- Jay, he's finished!" "That's a risk I'm more than willing to take. He always was yellow- bellied!" "Fine," Markus sighed, throwing his hands up in frustration. "Get yourself killed! Just don't drag James into it, won't you?" "On the contrary Admiral, I intend to go with her," James replied. "My Brother and a promising Ensign were killed on board my own ship! I have every right to go with Vee-Jay and find this disc." Markus let out a deep sigh. "Alright, alright! You both win! I'll disable the warning system on Starbase 197. But when you leave, you'll only have five minutes to get out of there before the Admiralty comes calling, understood?" "Yes, Sir!" the duo replied. "Dolthin Out!" Markus leaned back in his chair and tapped a security override code into the laptop on his desk, masking it with the computech signature of Admiral Alynna Nechayev's computer. He hoped to the good Lord above that Vee-Jay and James would find the culprit and soon - for time was growing increasingly short for the Rebellion members that remained in Starfleet Command.



"Admiral Tobias Nechayev is in command?!" Vee-Jay nodded as she expertly piloted her cloaked private shuttlecraft towards Starbase 197 on the outskirts of the Neutral Zone. "This is Romulan Territory, Vee-Jay," James told her. "Are you sure they won't fire on us if they see us?" "Since when have you not liked a bit of fun with a territorial dispute?" James looked blankly at her. Vee-Jay sighed. "You gotta lose your attitude, Starfleet." "Speak for yourself, Rebel!" Vee-Jay smirked slightly before the massive Starbase came into view. Her eyes glanced down at her control panel and she noticed something that concerned her immediately. /Three heat signatures? Someone else is on board my shuttlecraft!/ She ignored the fact of this before landing her shuttlecraft expertly inside the Starbase's shuttlebay, in a darkened corner, still in its cloak. She gestured for James to follow her. "How are we going to get out of here?" James asked, glancing outside the window. "This place is like a Cardassian Prison!" "You'd be surprised what they teach the Secret Service Agents nowadays." James was startled when Vee-Jay removed the bottom panel of the floor and revealed an exit hatch right below it. "What in the---?!" "Hmph, you got a lot to learn, Starfleet," she smiled, her expert fingers cracking the keypad code protecting the hatch. /Okay, wiseguy. I know you're gonna follow us, so come on./ Vee-Jay slipped into the hatch first, followed by James and then the hatch slid shut; a little slowly, James noted. "That took a while to close, Vee-Jay." "I know. Starfleet's been getting careless lately." /Not bleeding likely. I can sense someone else in this exit hatch with us!/ Vee-Jay removed the outer grid protecting the other exit hatch from the rest of the access tunnels. James whistled low. "Whoa," he gasped. "This is major!" "Impressive, huh?" Vee-Jay replied, noting the hatch was moving back to where it had been behind them. "Let's get going." "Where--?" James asked, but Vee-Jay put her finger to her lips and gestured for him to follow her. Within moments, both Vee-Jay and James had disappeared into an opposite access tunnel. Their unwelcome guest, attempting to follow them, looked around uncertainly, trying to figure out which route they had taken. Vee- Jay quietly led James into the tunnel just above their unwelcome guest and they quietly moved through it while their hunter tried to find them. "Who was that?" James asked as Vee-Jay quietly sealed the access hatch behind them. "I'm not sure, but it could have been the murdering son of a bitch we've been looking for," Vee-Jay whispered back. "He stowed away on board the shuttle, James." "You're kidding me!" "No. I noticed the onboard heat sensors were registering three signatures." "Why didn't he just kill us both right there?" Vee-Jay cocked her phaser pistol and peeked around the corner. The coast was clear. James took out his phaser and followed her down the dimly lit corridor leading towards Admiral Nechayev's private quarters. "I think he may have figured he'd learn more about us if he followed us. He may be looking to deal Tobias a nasty shock if we manage to retrieve that security disc. Come on!" James gave Vee-Jay a leg-up into the air vent above them. Vee-Jay helped him into the vent and replaced the grid. They crawled towards Tobias' quarters, but stopped when they heard voices. Vee-Jay gestured for James to be extremely quiet, to which he nodded in acknowledgment. "But, darling, this can't go on like this! You must at least offer them a compromise!" "No buts! You were a coward when I married you and you're still a coward even today!" "Alynna?!" James mouthed. "I don't believe it!" Vee-Jay mouthed back. Alynna Nechayev glared at her trembling husband. Tobias had never been much of a fighter and had never lasted very long on any war council. It was why he'd been delegated to observation duties on Starbase 197. "Alynna, darling, please!" Tobias begged. "Had you not disregarded Richard's orders, the Rebellion would not exist!" "The Rebellion should never have entered the equation!" Tobias looked nervous but his voice suddenly became defiant. "You let them enter the equation!" he fired back. "You let Magellan treat Vee-Jay as such! It was why she created that movement!" "It was not her!" Alynna screamed back. "That was Dolthin and you know it!" Vee-Jay realised with a start that her senior officer's life was now in great danger. "Oh no," she mouthed, shaking her head. "Markus would never betray us!" "Markus betrayed us the day he took Reed under his wings!" Alynna snarled. "Stop disillusioning yourself! Either you find that little bitch and turn her over to us dead or you can be sure you won't live to see tomorrow morning!" Tobias went pale. Alynna panted, still furious at her husband, then grabbed her dress jacket and stormed out of the room. Shaking, Tobias quickly strode over and locked the doors to his quarters from the inside. He panted hard, looking as though he was about to pass out. Vee-Jay nodded to James and together they kicked open the vent and leapt down into the room. Tobias whirled around. He was about to yell but Vee-Jay clamped her hand over his mouth and waved her phaser pistol threateningly. "The disc!" she hissed. "NOW, Tobias!" Tobias whimpered, but pointed over to his desk where the disc lay on top of another one. James retrieved it as Vee-Jay let the Admiral go. "You breathe a word, Admiral and you'll die at my hands and not your wife's!" Tobias nodded, frightened. "James, check that disc! Make sure it's the right one!" James slotted the disc into the Admiral's laptop computer. The test of the Stealth Suit started up almost immediately. James then noticed the other disc that lay on the Admiral's desk. He picked it up. "What the hell is this?" he asked Tobias. "I---I---," Tobias stuttered. Vee-Jay levelled her pistol dead at Tobias' chest. "What is it?" she demanded. "The---The---," Tobias squeaked. "WELL?!" "It's the journal disc of Admirals Richard Reed and Thomas Archer!" James and Vee-Jay were stunned. "My Father?!" "My Dad?!" A shot of some kind reverberated off the closed doors to the Admiral's quarters. "Oh shit!" Vee-Jay cried. "They've found us!" "OPEN UP IN THE NAME OF THE ADMIRALTY'S SECRET SERVICE!" "James! Grab those discs! Hurry!" James snatched both the discs up and he and Vee-Jay helped each other back up into the ventilation shaft just as Magellan and the Admiralty Secret Service burst into the room along with Admiral Alynna Nechayev. Alynna grabbed Tobias by the collar and pressed a phaser to his neck. "You always were a supportive fool."

Vee-Jay and James heard the sound of the phaser beam echo throughout the access tunnels. "Tobias," James said quietly as they made for the Shuttlebay. "He was never a battler," Vee-Jay replied. "Heads up! We got company!" Vee-Jay fired off a few shots, downing several of the Secret Service's own as they both ran for the access hatch leading to the main Shuttlebay. It seemed no one realised they were heading for the Shuttlebay; until they reached the main shaft, leapt down and made for her shuttecraft. "HALT!" Vee-Jay and James halted immediately. They had been cornered by Magellan and his Secret Service Team. Vee-Jay quickly reached into her utility belt and flicked the sparkler off the stick of explosive she held in her hand. It flared up into life. "Turn around slowly!" a voice ordered. Vee-Jay and James did so, Vee-Jay hiding the explosive behind her back, keeping watch on the length of its fuse. "So, we meet again," Magellan smirked. "And what's this? Captain James Douglas Archer by your side, Commander Reed? I'm stunned that you managed to convince him to join your cause." "Shut the hell up, you asshole!" James snarled. "Cool it, James," Vee-Jay replied. "He doesn't win this round easy---." Magellan then saw the lighted stick of explosive in her hand as she brought it in front of her. The look in her eyes bordered on insanity. "EVERYONE SCATTER!" he shrieked, breaking into a run. Vee-Jay grabbed James and hurled the stick dead into the group of Secret Service Agents. Alynna reached the top railing just as the explosion ripped through the shuttlebay. She shielded her eyes with her arms as the force of the explosion almost blew her backwards. She was just in time to see Vee-Jay and James escaping in her shuttlecraft out the jammed main shuttlebay doors. "DAMMIT TO HELL!" she screamed as the duo went to warp speed. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, REED!"

James tipped the discs out of his backpack and showed them to Vee-Jay as she cloaked the shuttlecraft as they went to warp. Vee-Jay set the shuttlecraft to auto-pilot and took a look at the discs. "You think they've been altered?" "I don't think so." Vee-Jay didn't say anything more for the longest moment. "Vee-Jay?" James asked. "I could have gotten us killed back there. At least Tobias is at peace." James shook his head slowly. "Tobias died because he refused to take part in all of this. It's up to us now." Vee-Jay nodded. Then she remembered Markus. "Oh no! Markus! We've got to get to Starfleet Academy!" Vee-Jay took over the auto-pilot and they sped back towards Earth at top speed.

Admiral Markus Dolthin sat silently in his office, looking at three reports. One belonged to Magellan Zalinski, one to Bradley Craishen and the last belonging to Vee-Jay Reed. He could hear the sounds of phaser fire and explosions happening outside his closed doors. "Time is no longer a question for whom the bell tolls," Markus said out loud over the noises approaching his office. "I see two traitors and a hero before me. I know now I put my faith and trust in the one who is a hero." A shot of phaser fire scorched the doors from the outside. Markus sat impassively, waiting for his judgment. "You have always been my student," he said, staring at Vee-Jay Reed's report. "You were the strongest of all the officers under Alynna's command. You never let up for a moment. Through the pain and suffering you endured for so many years, you built up a passion and a rawness about you that inspired others, including me. It is up to you now, Vee-Jay. I will not be here to see your triumph over these bastards, but at least I will know I have left this legacy in safe hands." Markus reached into his desk drawer and pulled out what looked like a Starfleet-standard detonator. He stared at it for a moment, his reflection surfacing in its shiny form. Then he smiled grimly as the doors to his office began to buckle. "Yea, and though she be the final leader," Markus smiled to himself. "She and her kin will find a way to change the destinies of all those who have fallen before the might of the usurpers." As Commander Harrison Davidson of the Admiralty Secret Service burst into his office with his team in tow, Markus held the detonator up in front of him. Everything moved in slow-motion as Harrison and his own attempted vainly to get out of the office in a mad panic. "Farewell, Commander Reed." Markus' thumb came down on the detonator.

"Please! Don't let me lose him!" Vee-Jay whimpered, piloting her shuttlecraft towards Earth. James suddenly felt numb, as though someone had frozen him inside an iceberg. He knew that Markus was gone. He reached over and grasped Vee- Jay's wrist. Vee-Jay slowed the shuttlecraft down. Her head lowered. "Dammit," she whispered. "Dammit! Why do I lose so many that I care about?" James said nothing. He simply stood and walked over to her side, pulling her to her feet. Vee-Jay sank into his shoulder, crying bitterly. He held her as she cried. "We'll win this war," he told her as he held her tightly. "For everyone we've lost. And I will never leave your side. I promise you, Vee-Jay." Vee-Jay sniffled, the tears still falling from her eyes. She held James close to her. "Let's go home," she told James quietly. "We have a war to prepare for--- for the futures of everyone in the Alpha Quadrant."

~**~

Vee-Jay walked up the stairs towards the balcony overseeing Starbase 19- 652's Landing Bay. James, Jeremiah and Kristopher followed, all dressed in full battle gear. Vee-Jay herself bore the Captain's uniform of Admiral Markus Dolthin - a gift he'd given her when she'd first been delegated as the Captain of the USS Enterprise-C when she'd completed her Secret Service training. Every last member of the Rebellion Faction from all over the Alpha Quadrant had arrived to hear their leader speak. Vee-Jay took the podium with her three friends standing behind her. "Our illustrious Admiral Dolthin has sadly departed from us," Vee-Jay spoke, her voice heavy. "Although he is gone his wisdom and courage will live on in our hearts forever. The Admiralty have sealed their fate by declaring war on us. Already they have been sourcing outside help from Cardassia and Romulus in the hope of crushing our insurrection. We know as well as they do that Starfleet Command has already fallen! We will not fall to them. We will not be beaten down like the sheep they believe us to be! Today we fight to end this war and create a new beginning for the entire Alpha Quadrant!" As the crowd of Rebels cheered, Ensign Garrett suddenly appeared and tugged on James' arm. "Farley?" James gasped. "What the hell are you---?!" "Princess Dannica has been kidnapped!" he whispered. "Adamei is begging for your help, Captain Archer!" James looked back at Vee-Jay, Jeremiah and Kristopher. They hadn't noticed Farley, nor had they noticed him talking to the young ensign. "Go tell Adamei I'm on my way! I'll be taking my Yacht!" "Yes, Sir!" James neatly darted down the stairs after Farley. No one noticed him leave.

"Shit," James muttered under his breath. He piloted his Captain's Yacht towards Merek, the Capital City of Planet Keile. Farley had told him that the kidnapper had specifically asked for him and him alone to rescue the Princess; only if he had the guts to. "Whoever the hell this bastard is, he'd better have life insurance!" James landed his Yacht and made for the Tower on the outskirts of the City. The tower was undergoing maintenance for it was about to be turned into a base of communications for the upcoming war. It was a vertical maze of titanium - one slip from any of the stairwells or trapdoors meant instant death. "Shoot!" James growled. "Where the hell is he?" A sudden shriek from several floors up caught James' attention. Looking up he spotted Princess Dannica struggling against the arms of her captor. "HEY YOU!" James fired off a volley of shots from his phaser. The kidnapper ducked and ran, taking Dannica with him. James leapt up the stairs, two at a time, dashing across the walkways towards even more stairs. The kidnapper was an excellent shot, he noted. "Son of a bitch!" James cursed. "Why me of all people?!" Dannica's cries ended in a shriek. James felt instantly cold. He forgot about his problems and raced towards the top of the stairs that led to the top level of the tower, one floor before the rooftop. As he hit the door, he saw Princess Dannica lying in a pool of blood. She was dead. A cruel laugh drew his attention towards the bottom of the final set of stairs. "Too late, aren't we Captain?" he taunted. James saw the weapon in his opponent's hands. His Father's dagger! "YOU BASTARD!" James yelled. "Pity Princess Dannica will never be Queen," he smirked. "And you will never see the light of another day!" James dived behind a marble pillar as the kidnapper opened fire on him. He fired back, trying to at least wound his opponent so he could make a run for the stairs. As he circled around, trying not to let the Princess' body be hit by the exchange of phaser fire, he realised quite quickly that if he made for the rooftop, he wouldn't have anywhere else to go but down - five hundred feet down. "I should've told Vee-Jay," he muttered, firing off a volley of shots. "I'm saddened to hear you fell in love with that sorry excuse for a Rebellion Leader," the kidnapper continued, walking forward from his hiding place and still firing. "She was never one of us!" /One of us?!/ James realised with a start that the kidnapper was one of the Secret Service, but it was not Magellan. Magellan would have held Dannica hostage but would never have harmed her, lest he bring the full hatred of the Beta Quadrant down on top of him. James pushed himself up and ran straight towards the kidnapper. Startled by his sudden maneuver, the kidnapper dropped his weapons as James tackled hard into him. James grabbed his mask and tore it off, revealing the one officer he'd never have considered to be his worst nightmare. "BRAD!" Brad smirked evilly. "It took you all this time to realise?" Brad kicked James off of him. James landed hard a few feet away. "You moron!" Brad smirked, getting up. "You left everything there for someone to seize their chance! The Dagger, Ensign Daniels, Jaydenn, even your brother Thomas!" James struggled to his knees. Brad had kicked him right in the lower stomach, winding him severely. His mouth contorted into a snarl as he looked up at Brad. "You murdering traitor!" James hissed. "How could you?" "Easily. With Vee-Jay gone from the Service I quickly assumed the position of Commander to Admiral Alynna Nechayev. I'll bet she never told you I was one of her own squadron, did she?" James couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I'll bet she never told you she was under MY command," Brad continued, stalking around James like a predator stalking its prey. "I simply kept up the guise of your lowliest ensign until I was sure you'd let your guard down long enough so I could seize the triumph for the Admiralty!" "You bastard. You sick, perverted bastard!" "Hmph. Flattery will get you nowhere, Captain." "Oh really? How about this then?" a voice yelled. Brad pulled his head down just in time. A wide-band phaser beam sliced the air, shattering the window behind him. Brad fell to the floor, trying to avoid the fragments of glass. The sound of boots landing on the marble floor behind him filled his ears and as he looked back, Brad knew he was in serious trouble. "VEE-JAY!" "Long time no see, you asshole!" the younger girl growled. "Damned if I'd let you win this round!" Brad scrambled to his feet and ran for the stairs. Vee-Jay aimed her phaser at Brad's shoulder, landing a direct hit on the fleeing murderer. Brad cried out in pain and fell, disappearing down the stairs. "Dannica?" Vee-Jay started towards the Princess' body, but saw James shaking his head. "She's dead," James replied quietly, refusing to meet her eyes. Vee-Jay's mouth became a snarl. "I should've killed him a long time ago!" James struggled to his feet as Vee-Jay took off after Brad.

Brad hid in the shadows of the level just below where Vee-Jay had stopped, trying to find him. His shoulder was bleeding profusely and he gritted his teeth as the pain seered through him. "Damn you, Vee-Jay," he hissed. "You always were the better shot of us three!" Vee-Jay looked around her, her senses on overdrive. "Where the hell are you, you murdering bastard?" she muttered. Brad got himself into position. He took careful aim as Vee-Jay approached the railing. James, still wounded by Brad's kick, appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He saw Vee-Jay on the level below him, on the opposite side, looking around; and then he saw the metallic gleam of a phaser pistol emerging from the shadows behind his beloved friend. "VEE-JAY! BEHIND YOU!" he cried. Vee-Jay whirled around as Brad fired. The blast went straight through her left ribcage. Vee-Jay hit the railing behind her, which promptly collapsed, sending her tumbling off the edge. She disappeared into the darkness of the lower levels of the Tower. "NO!" James cried, pulling out his phaser. He fired off a shot that struck Brad in his already-wounded shoulder. Brad screamed and fell back. James raced towards Brad, forgetting his pain. He was beyond furious. /Vee-Jay/, James thought, tears of rage spilling down his cheeks. /I'll finish this war. I'll finish what you started. For you, my love!/ Brad struggled to his feet, crying from the pain. James tackled straight into him, throwing a volley of punches at his own Ensign-turned-traitor. Every punch struck Brad where he was most weak. Half-blinded by tears at losing the one person that meant more to his whole world in the Rebellion only made James punch Brad harder. They tumbled down the stairs, still fighting. Vee-Jay had fought her whole life to make the entire Alpha Quadrant see what kind of people the Admiralty truly were, and now she too had succumbed to them; a shot fired from one of his own crew, one of the traitors who had aligned themselves with the corruption and devastation of the Admiralty Council. Brad screamed out every time one of James' punches struck him. His good arm reached blindly, struggling for his weapon which lay a foot away from him. James slammed his fist into Brad's mouth, ignoring the blood seeping from his knuckles. He was beyond all caring. Brad paying for the murders he'd committed was all that he was concerned about. "YOU MURDERER! YOU KILLED HER!" Brad's free hand closed around his phaser pistol and he fired off a shot dead through James' ribcage. James cried out and fell back, right near the unstable railing. Brad pushed himself up, blood spilling from his mouth and nose, brandishing the pistol and smirking cruelly. James whimpered, blood dripping from the walkway down towards the lower floors. He looked up as Brad stood over him, aiming directly for his head. James knew time for him was up. "I did her a favour!" he rasped at James. "The same favour I'm about to grant you, Captain Archer!" "NOT BLEEDING LIKELY!" The sound of phaser fire erupted from behind them. Brad whirled around and stopped dead. His phaser pistol clattered to the floor just in front of James' face. James looked up and almost lost the contents of his stomach. Where Brad's back had been, there was now a gaping, bloody hole; his spinal cord shattered in mere seconds. Brad staggered backwards and hit James' leg. He fell on the railing, which collapsed underneath him, sending him tumbling into the darkness. James closed his eyes as a muffled thud echoed throughout the tower. When he opened them, he saw the beaten, bloodied Vee- Jay gasping for air ahead of him; still brandishing the smoking phaser pistol at the top of the stairs just across from him. "Like I---I was saying," she panted. "I shoulda---killed him a long---time ago." "How did you---?" James rasped, trying to shake his head in disbelief. Vee-Jay shook her head. "I'll tell you some other time," she smiled grimly, wincing as she got to her feet. She knelt beside her wounded friend, running the bloodied fingers of her left hand through his hair. James smiled weakly as she then tapped her comm-badge. "Captain Reed to The Firestorm!" "Davis here, Commander!" "Four to beam up, two bodies to the Security Team, James and I immediately to Sickbay." "Yes, Ma'am!" James looked up at Vee-Jay as her hand rested gently on his face. "I love you," he whispered. Vee-Jay only smiled as the shimmering silver beams whisked them away from the Merek Tower.

~**~

"How are they?" "Lucky enough to both be alive, Lady Riker," CMO Justin Mitchells replied. "I'm surprised our Captain was able to move after sustaining that blow to her ribs." Admiral Riker watched over the sleeping body of his adopted son. "I owe her everything, Mitchells." "The only thing you owe her, Admiral, is your trust," Justin smiled. Vee-Jay's eyes flickered open. Her moan gained the attention of everyone in the room. "Where---?" she rasped. "You're in Sickbay, Captain Reed," Justin replied, standing over her. "You collapsed when you attempted to help Captain Archer to his feet." "James!" she gasped. "He will be just fine," Justin added. "He's lucky to be alive thanks to you." Vee-Jay pushed herself up into a sitting position, ignoring the dull ache eminating from her ribcage. "I have to get back to the bridge." "Ah ah ah! Nothing doing!" Justin frowned. "You, Captain, sustained some heavy injuries." "Doesn't mean I can't work properly." Justin rolled his eyes. Deanna touched her shoulder gently. "It's alright, Vee-Jay," she smiled. "Just rest. Jeremiah is taking over your duties while you recover." "I owe you everything I have, Vee-Jay Reed," Admiral Riker spoke up. "Not only did you save our lives, but you saved James and quite possibly the fate of the entire Alpha Quadrant." "But I failed to save Thomas, your only son, and Dannica, heiress to the throne of Adamei," Vee-Jay replied sadly. "Arikko has informed his parents that in Dannica's memory, he intends to rule his people, but not before he has led them alongside you and James in the fight against the Admiralty." "He said that?" Admiral Riker nodded as Deanna helped her ease back down onto the biobed. "But he---Arikko never---He doesn't trust us!" "He does now. He knows you tried everything to save his sister, and in the process almost lost your own lives. He wants more than anything to be the trusted friend and ally to you that his sister was." Vee-Jay nodded. Justin pressed a hypospray to her neck. "Just sleep, Captain," he ordered. "There'll be plenty of time to return to your duties once you and Captain Archer have fully recovered." Vee-Jay's mind darkened and she slipped into a dreamless sleep for the first time in months.

"Bradley? Dead?" Magellan knelt before the Admiralty Council on board the USS Narahyrule's Briefing Chamber. While it was an honour to have them aboard, the nervous Captain knew this last mission that Brad had performed for them had resulted in failure. "Yes, Ma'am," Magellan replied in a voice he hoped was steady. "How?" she rasped. "Shot dead by Commander Vee-Jay Reed of the Secret Service Rebellion." Nechayev's eyes burned with rage. "THAT DAMNED BITCH!" she screamed. Magellan cringed, his heart pounding. He hated to admit it, but he was terrified of the angry head Admiral. "No more!" Alynna raged. "I declare WAR on them, Captain Zalinski! Call the rest of the War Fleet together! This goes no further!" Magellan bowed his head and nodded. "Yes, Ma'am! Immediately!" Magellan summoned what little courage he had left and exited the room. When the doors closed, he ran for his life. /Heaven help us all/, he thought.

~**~

"How the hell did you survive that fall?" James asked Vee-Jay as they walked through the graveyard outside of Merek. "I thought you were dead." Vee-Jay smiled sadly. "I thought I was too," she replied. "I was fortunate that I had my grappling hook gun in my utility belt." "I almost lost you." Vee-Jay said nothing as James held her hand tightly. In her other hand was a single Elderflower, a flower grown in Merek for memorials and funerals. The love they shared had grown stronger since their recoveries. Now all that remained was to say goodbye to those they lost in the events leading up to this moment. Vee-Jay knelt and placed the single pink Elderflower on the grave of her adopted brother Jaydenn MacNicholls-Reed. She quietly made the sign of the cross in front of her and then got up. James then wrapped his arms around her. "At least he's with his true family now," she told him as he held her close. "You were his true family as far as he was concerned," James replied, gently kissing her cheek. "Maybe. But I was no substitute for the family he lost to the Borg." "Captain Reed?" Turning, the twosome saw Crown Prince Arikko standing behind them, two of his most loyal guards by his side. "The Admiralty Council have declared open season on us," he told them. "What shall I tell the Fleet?" Vee-Jay and James held hands, their fingers interlocking, ever strengthening the bond of teamwork, trust, friendship and love that flowed between them. "Tell them to prepare," James replied. "For there is no way we will let their lies spread any further!" "And tell them we will not stop until the sun sets on Starfleet's time in command of the Alpha Quadrant." The Prince bowed his head respectfully and set off down the stone path with his guards. Vee-Jay and James followed a few feet behind them. "For all those we have lost," Vee-Jay said out loud. "For all those we fight for," James smiled, wrapping his arm around her waist. As the sun set behind them, Vee-Jay looked up towards the heavens and said a silent prayer for those closest that she and James had already lost. As they headed towards where the shuttlecraft was waiting to take them back to their commands, an air of finality summed up everything Vee-Jay and James had been preparing for.

"Let slip the dogs of war, for we will not be broken."

~*To Be Continued!*~

Author's Note: Whoa! LONGEST story YET! Expect to see all hell break loose in the final part of the 7 part arc "Secrets"! New lies and new traitors are exposed, the Secret Service loses one of its forerunners, the Admiralty remains on tenterhooks and a bond between two Captains becomes ever stronger as the alliance of the Federation falls and the War enters its first chapter. Crown Prince Arikko and his armed forces join the fight to convince those who have long-since been oppressed by the Admiralty to join forces with them and end the corruption that has plagued the Federation's so-called United Alliance; but someone else is at work behind the scenes of the Admiralty's corruption. Who is the mysterious player behind Admiral Alynna Nechayev? And why is she only interested in Captain Vee-Jay Reed's capabilities? Will Captain Archer be able to find out in time or will this mysterious woman bring about the downfall of the Rebellion before its first victory in the War? "Secrets" are about to be revealed in the most startling manner yet!

Be sure to keep checking back for the final part in the Secret Service Alliance Stories. Then read about the past, the present, victories and losses during the War when the first part of the 7-part Secret Service Rebellion Stories "Admiral's Cove" appears right here on my archive of stories! It's gonna be one heck of a battle! Catch ya soon! ^_~