Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Star Trek or its collective intellectual properties. The original characters and scripted plot threads are my own property with implied rights. I am not generating any revenues from this work. All implied and actual rights to Star Trek are owned by CBS/Paramount. They alone are entitled to revenue from Star Trek properties. No infringement of their rights is intended.
Inside the Commanding Officer's office offset from Ops within the Immense-class variant Deep Space Nine, Captain Ro Laren stared at her Tactical and Strategic Affairs Office, Dalin Zivan Slaine, in utter disbelief, "What happened?"
Slaine repeated herself, "Cardassia Prime and Bajor are each reporting assassination attempts on the Castellan, the Royal Monarch, and the First Minister."
The part of Ro's mind that wasn't numbed registered that Slaine put her people's rulers first despite being stationed on a Starfleet starbase in the Bajoran Sector, "Was anyone injured?"
Ro, after being AWOL from Starfleet to join the Maquis, had enlisted in the Bajoran Militia prior to Bajor's admission to the Federation. She'd served as DS9's Chief of Security through her transition back to being a Starfleet officer until Captain Kira Nerys had stepped down to join a monastery.
Ro had been promoted to Lt. Commander even before Commander Elias Vaughn ascended from being station Executive Officer to CO. He'd asked Ro to be his XO. Vaughn had retired two years later bumping Ro one rank as she assumed command. Another two years in as station commander, Ro was rapidly promoted to captain just before the Argyn destroyed the original Nor-class station.
Ro had transferred her command to a base on Bajor while the debris of the old station was swept away. And she remained on Bajor, overseeing both the defense of the Wormhole and the sector along with the construction of the second Deep Space Nine. That project had brought Master Chief Miles O'Brien back from Cardassia Prime where his wife Keiko had resumed her replanting effort after Maret had been deposed and the Legislative Assembly restored and Rekena Garan was elected Castellan and Katreen Dervin was inaugurated as the constitutional monarch of the Cardassian Union.
"Castellan Garan was shaken but unharmed. Several members of her security detail were killed in action as well as three legislators. Queen Katreen was also relatively unharmed but the bulk of her on-duty security staff was killed in action. First Minister Astris Beru was severely injured and is undergoing medical treatment even now. Her entire detail was lost.
"How did the Castellan and Queen Katreen escape harm so easily?" Ro wondered.
"Legislative Security, since Gul Ocett took command, has the Castellan wearing a force field belt between engagements," Slaine explained, "Gul Mariska has the Queen doing the same. Their belts overloaded in the plasma blasts but they provided enough protection it seems. It's a pity your Starfleet abandoned their own version of them."
"And Astris?" Ro ignored the criticism.
"First Minister Astris wasn't primarily caught in the bomb blast wave so much as injured by shrapnel," Slaine described the event, "Her prognosis is good however."
"And Kara Gena?" Ro had to ask.
"Astris has been joined by her wife," Slaine said matter-of-factly. Unlike Ro, Slaine had no direct connection with Astris and Kara.
"Does Garan have…anyone?" Ro wondered. Queen Katreen still had her father, Feist, and was the darling of the Cardassian social set. But it seemed she was too progressive for most Cardassian males.
"Castellan Garan is nearing the end of her birthing years. Since she has foregone marriage in lieu of her career, she has been ostracized by her family," Slaine said stiffly, "It is a fate most women face in politics, the military, and law enforcement."
"Zivan…I never realized," Ro felt a wave of empathy for Slaine. Ro knew all too well the demands of duty over relationship since her paramour, Alfonso Reyes, commanded Deep Space Three. They barely managed to spend two months spread out together out of a year. Which was a surprisingly high percentage considering they were both starbase commanders on opposite sides of the Federation.
"No need to apologize, Captain," Slaine assured her, "Cardassian familial mores were never properly introduced to the Bajoran people because of the male officers' predilection to take on captive 'comfort' women as sexual slaves. Home and hearth were the realms for family and procreation."
Ro knew Tora Ziyal had been one of the hybrid children born from Cardassian and Bajoran parents and been one of the few that had eventually been embraced by her father. Unfortunately, her father had been Skrain Dukat. And she had died at the hands of one of his lieutenants. Which had broken Dukat's mind.
"Couldn't you reverse that trend and take on a foreign lover?" Ro inquired, "And possibly even settle down with them later?"
"It's…been done," Slaine allowed, "But the stigma is even greater than that towards infertility or of forsaking a traditional marriage."
"But you've thought of it," Ro surmised, "I can tell."
Slaine cleared her throat, "Gul Mariska's staff detected the bomb before Queen Katreen reached it. The blast only killed the officers attempting to disarm it. It seems to have been a secondary protocol to prevent tampering."
"Lyoti Mariska really made gul?" Ro was surprised considering Mariska's career track followed Ro's own for offshoots and unexpected vectors.
"Yes, Mariska commands the Royal Guard just as Gul Ocett commands the Legislative Guard," Slaine said proudly.
"And you thought women were underrepresented on Cardassia," Ro cajoled Slaine over a previous conversation.
"Things are changing," Slaine grudgingly admitted.
"So maybe there's hope for old maids, as the humans would put it," Ro teased her.
"Terrans are so strange," Slaine sighed.
"They have their merits at times," Ro chuckled.
Her comm/comp made a tinkling sound and Ro responded to it, "Yes?"
Colonel Cenn Deska, her Bajoran Militia Liaison Officer and Station XO's image appeared, "There's a Priority One message from Starfleet flagged for your eyes only."
"Probably because of the mess," Ro assessed, "I'll take it here, Colonel."
"Very we'll," Cenn said crisply.
"I'm sorry, Zivan. You'll have to step out," Ro apologized.
"No need, Captain. I understand," Slaine assured her.
Ro knew her role in events was about to be dictated. She made a private wager with herself regarding which admiral would be assigning her duties. She wasn't even remotely close to being right.
"Admiral Jellico," Ro said as smoothly as she could, "How can I help Starfleet's only Fleet Admiral?"
"Don't be flippant, Captain. Your whole damn region is a festering boil waiting to explode," Edward Jellico snapped at her.
"I can easily send support teams to the Royal Guard, Legislative Security, and Bajoran Militia," Ro promised him, "We can have boots on the ground in all places within six hours."
"You haven't been told, have you?" Jellico realized.
"Told what?" Ro was curious.
"Bombs detonated in Paris and San Francisco as well. The targets were key members of the Federation Council and Starfleet Command," Jellico informed her.
"Losses?" Ro tried not reeling.
"Federation Security took a serious hit. Three out of four targeted Council members were killed. The fourth could go either way despite the best Starfleet Medical can do. No flag officers were killed at Starfleet but a dozen junior officers and aides were killed by the blasts.""
Ro asked the pertinent question, "Are there any suspects?"
"In every case, a single word was attributed to the bombing via subspace radio. That singular word was: collaborator."
"Collaborating with whom?" Ro was surprised.
"If you haven't realized, all three sides of this are now cooperating after decades of hostility. Each target was a key player in securing our current alliances," Jellico pointed out.
"And who does that alliance threaten?" Ro asked.
"We have plenty of questions and precious few leads, Captain. The blood feuds between the Cardassians and the other sides combined with the terminology indicate it could easily be ex-Starfleet officers with a grudge, Militia officers, ex-Resistance, Ex-Maquis, or on the Cardassian end it could be New Order adherents or old guard Obsidian Order agents. Hell, it could even be Typhon Pact radicals. We can't rule anyone out just yet," Jellico shared.
"Yet you're coming to me despite my Resistance and Maquis pasts," Ro sought clarification.
"You know how they think," Jellico stated, "And your loyalty is proven. Unless you want to give me cause to reconsider."
"So where am I allowed to begin?" Ro asked.
"You'll handle the Bajoran end of the stick," Jellico informed her, "But Cardassia will be getting help as well. Director Forger will be sending agents in there."
"Forger?" Ro was startled, "I thought Starfleet dismantled the Special Investigative Division over the Turkana IV incursion. The Typhon Pact demanded retribution and the SID was laid out on the altar."
"There are appearances and then there's truth. The SID was gutted from Starfleet and reconfigured as a civilian agency. A decidedly low key and displaced far from the centers of power agency," Jellico explained, "Forger and the agency are based off of Barrinor."
"Home of Outbound Ventures," Ro smirked.
"Yes, Forger still has the authority to contract freelancers. So Macen and his people are all eligible for SID assignments despite what the Typhon Pact may wish," Jellico had fought Macen long and hard before finally realizing it was better to Have Brin Macen as an ally, "In fact Captain, I'd expect a call from Director Forger."
Her screen reverted back to the UFP symbol. And then the computer tinkled again and informed her she had an incoming message. Ro knew it was Amanda Forger without answering.
But she did answer, "Hello, Admiral."
Forger smiled, "I'm no longer an Admiral, Ro. I'm not even Starfleet anymore."
"Like Admiral Jellico explained a moment ago, there's appearances and then there's truth. I take it you're running the same setup Elijah Waters did back in my Maquis days?"
"Elijah was a good man," Forger reminisced.
"A fact I'm all too aware of," Ro admitted, "Just as I'm all too aware of Brin's quasi-legal status during his time with the Maquis and after the war."
"Well, the SID's status is still legal. We're just wholly civilian now. But we retain close working ties with Starfleet, Federation Security, the FBI, and allied forces," Forger assured Ro.
"I just bet," Ro chuckled, "Any particular reason for the call?"
"You're spearheading the Bajoran and Cardassian investigations," Forger reminded Ro, "I was wondering if you had a wish list I could help you with?"
"I could use your help," Ro confessed.
"Any agent in particular?" now Forger smirked.
"You know who and which team," Ro said dryly.
Forger smiled as she nodded, "I do. And it just so happens they're available."
At Serenity Station, the Nova-class surveyor, Obsidian, was making final preparation for departure from the Cardassian built Nor-class station. Macen and Celeste Rockford were taking a final meeting at the airlock. Captain Tom Riker, the station CO, and Lisea Danan, his wife and XO, were finalizing contingency plans with the other couple.
"I've made arrangements with Kathy to free up the Fury. That should bolster the Indomitable's capabilities should we lose contact with either the SID or the station," Macen informed them.
Riker nodded. The Indomitable was an Emden-class escort and the station's permanently assigned support-defender. The Fury was another Outbound Ventures vessel. She was a Blackbird-class scout that shared her pedigree with Macen's own commands of the Odyssey and Solstice. As CEO of Outbound Ventures, Kathy Tyrol would have forced her schedulers to rearrange all the available work and who was assigned to it to free up the Fury and her crew. Riker operated at his own discretion.
The Obsidian detached from Upper Pylon 3 and maneuvered through the open space between the three arching pylons. Heading out of the system at three-quarters impulse, the ship waited until clearing the Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt before jumping into subspace at Warp 5. Cruising along, she set course for Deep Space Nine. They were only two sectors away from the Bajoran Sector so the trip would be over quickly.
Rockford made her report based on what her investigative team had gathered. She met with her husband in his Ready Room off from the ship's bridge, "I can tell this one bothers you. Crazies are never fun to deal with."
"How's your group coping with it?" Macen deflected the comment.
"They largely wonder why we're involved. If we're being sent into Cardassia, it's foreign territory and therefore Starfleet's job," Rockford hated to report.
"The Cardassians won't let Starfleet cross the border on this one," Macen sighed, "We're going because none of the traditional agencies can work the case. But thanks to our past association with Katreen Dervin and rescuing Rekena Garan's government, they're willing to give us some leeway."
"Hey, I'm a true believer. But we took a major hit at Turkana IV thanks to Section 31 setting us up for failure. If Amanda Forger hadn't fallen on her sword, we'd all be in prison on some Typhon Pact world," Rockford reminded him.
"And Amanda wouldn't have been able to relocate and transition the SID into a entirely civilian entity without the aid of Gemini Trayce and Simona Dalca," Macen agreed, "What little Starfleet presence lingered within the agency before resigned and requested their Starfleet commissions be reactivated. So Amanda is spending as much time recruiting as administrating. Without Gemini and Simona handling the daily chores, the agency wouldn't even be able to operate."
"Rab and Parva tell stories of when you really did resign from the SID. It sounds like the next three years were hard…and boring," Rockford shared.
"That ended when I met you when you crashed my honeymoon and tried to kill me," Macen gave her a rueful smile, "Starfleet acquiesced to my terms afterwards and we were brought back into the fold. Even if you hadn't joined up yet."
"That was Annika Ryst. Completely different personality and you know it," Rockford chided him, "And besides, I eventually killed your Vulcan girlfriend for real."
"T'Kir had a name. Bertram Sindis did the actual killing. You just put a mockery wearing her face and name out of its misery and mine," Macen reminded her.
"It was a mercy kill," Rockford huffed, "I couldn't stand the thought of her stalking us for the rest of our lives. And I liked the way you put that."
"Want me to say it again?" Macen asked.
"I didn't like it that much," Rockford teased him, "But you could give the troops a pep talk. They always appreciate that."
"Join me on the bridge?" Macen asked.
"Lead the way, kind sir," Rockford insisted.
Afterwards, various SID team members mingled with Obsidian crewmen and officers in the Team Room. The recreational area was one part Ten Forward and one measure Quark's Bar. Macen had actually hired Quark to design and oversee the layout of the area. Quark still railed against the fact everything, including gaming, was free. The Federation's gift economy still baffled and sickened him on general principle.
Elsewhere a cafeteria ran twenty-four hours a day serving both prepared hot and cold dishes alongside replicated fare for those too choosy to indulge in the day's menu. Macen had hired away a chef from Starbase Three to plan the daily meals. When docked at Serenity, the Chef had a share in a joint venture restaurant.
Seated at the table next to a holographic fireplace replete with space heater to project heat, Adrianna Forte, Shade, and Lee Kang of Rockford Investigations sat together. The trio had been personally recruited by Rockford from her various agencies to take part in the SID's continual assignments.
Forte was the youngest and most inexperienced, but the teenager from Miri was considered to be one of the brightest minds in the Federation. Shade had left the Fabrini hone ship Yonada to seek her fortunes in the wider Alpha Quadrant. Lee had once been a Chief Inspector in Chung Kua's police forces. He'd been ousted for refusing bribes and trying to investigate the guilty.
Shade was grumbling, "Macen's holding out on us and Rockford is complicit in it."
"Leaders and employers often reserve the dissemination of the facts to their own private purview," Lee replied, "It establishes a certain measure of control."
"It's dangerous," Shade retorted, "If you'd bother to remember, I'm Fabrini. My society knows better than most the cost of secrets and forgotten pasts. We thought our damn colony ship was an actual planet. And we never bothered to preserve the knowledge of how to steer the frinxing ship."
"The Yonada is hardly unique in that fact," Lee countered, "Nor are the Fabrini the first to concoct fantastic tales of their history…or their present."
""Look at the story they told about President Bacco," Forte pointed out, "So even the highest echelons of the Federation aren't immune."
"And it's always done in the name of the 'greater good'," Lee reminded them.
"Society isn't best served by lies," Shade said angrily as she stared across the room.
Forte followed Shade's gaze. It rested squarely on Angelique Kerber, Bailey Smith, and Tracy Ebert. That puzzled the teen.
"What's wrong with them?" Forte asked.
"I don't know who Kerber and Smith really are but they're hardly Terran," Shade pointed out, "Even backwards colonists would be more aware of general cultural norms amongst humans."
"So why are we glaring at Tracy?" Forte wondered.
"She knows their secret and she isn't sharing," Shade accused, "And her legal past is incredibly murky."
"I agree," Lee conceded, "I tried digging into her background through the usual channels. It was like running into a proverbial bureaucratic wall."
"Someone's covering all of their tracks," Shade surmised again, "And they're highly placed or influential."
"But what do they have to hide?" Forte stubbornly asked.
"They're staring again," Smith quietly observed to Kerber and Ebert.
Kerber was instantly angry despite knowing the other trio had good reason to be suspicious. Angelique Kerber was a fiction. Her real name was Anara and she'd been born into a Troglyte clan on Ardana IV. And she'd been sentenced to death for her "crimes" against the floating city—state of Stratos that controlled the planet and especially the Troglyte slaves that worked the myriad mines for their overseers.
Bailey Smith was just as fictitious. She was Maarta, a highly ranked idealistic citizen of Stratos born into wealth and prestige that saw the travesty of her comforts provided at the expense and lives of the Troglytes. So she'd joined the Troglyte Underground and resisted against Stratos' rulers. And for this, she'd also received a death sentence.
Tracy Ebert was Macen's original pilot during his days with the Maquis aboard the Blackbird-class scout christened the Odyssey. Ebert and the crew had earned the Maquis much needed operating capital and even more precious intelligence on Cardassian movements as "freelance information brokers" and smugglers. It wasn't until after the Jem'Hadar had effectively annihilated the Maquis that Ebert learned her captain had actually been a double agent trying to steer Ro Laren into complying with Starfleet's agenda for her.
Macen had brokered an amnesty deal for the Odyssey's crew as he and Lisea Danan returned to Starfleet as the Dominion War began. Ebert was adrift afterwards, spending fifteen years in largely illegal activities just seeking a sense of purpose and refusing to comply with the rules of a Federation that had sought to arrest or kill her during her time with the Maquis. And that did nothing to broach the issue of them abandoning her home world to the Cardassians' debauchery or her family's lives and their livelihood as the Cardassians seized possession of their freighter and killed most aboard to secure their claim.
It was Ebert that took action, "Stay here."
As Ebert stormed across the way, Kerber and Smith took comfort in the fact that while Macen had strongly advised they avoid confrontations, no one had said the same to Ebert.
"What the hell is your collective problem?" Ebert snapped the investigators, ""Every time Angelique. Bailey or I are in a room, you state, glare, and whisper. It's like you think we're criminals."
"Who's to say you aren't?" Shade riposted.
"The Special Investigations Division started as a Starfleet operation. Even though we were contractors, we had to meet Starfleet Security clearance requirements. Do you think they'd let us work for Starfleet if we really were criminals?" Ebert challenged that supposition.
"They let Macen and Ro rejoin Starfleet and they were terrorists," Lee asserted, "In fact, most of the Bajoran Militia officers that joined Starfleet were former terrorists."
"You're really ready to call Admiral Kira Nerys a terrorist?" Ebert was incredulous.
"Let's just say there's a definitive double standard regarding Bajorans," Lee argued.
Several Bajorans in the room were getting agitated. Ebert tried one last shot at reasoning with Lee and Shade, "I would be very careful about bandying about unsupported allegations."
"Or what?" Shade snorted.
"Or some accident could happen on a mission," Kerber said as she came alongside Ebert, "Or even in a corridor."
"Is that a threat?" Shade eagerly asked.
"Is it?" Smith asked in return as she came alongside Ebert's other side, ""Why don't we ask for public opinion?"
"Um…you might want to tone it down," Forte hesitantly advised her coworkers.
"You want a piece of me?" Shade got to her feet.
"I think the whole room wants a piece of you," Kerber smirked.
Shade looked around. Every off duty crewman was on their feet and surrounding where Shade had been lounging with Lee and Forte. She wondered what the hell had turned everyone against them.
Lee rose, "Look, we're entitled to our opinions. This doesn't concern any of you. It's a private matter."
"Think you're too good for us?" a crewman demanded to know.
"Do you really think your private prejudices will keep you from bleeding?" another yelled.
"That's enough!" Rockford yelled as she entered the room, "Everyone back to your seats."
She came to confront her employees, "To our offices. Now!"
"Thank you," Ebert said with relief.
"Don't thank me at all," Rockford went to exit and the trio turned to find Macen standing there and he wasn't happy.
"Follow me," he ordered.
Rockford paused long enough to say to her husband, "I'll take of my end. Do the same with yours."
Then she exited. Kerber, Smith, and Ebert collectively sighed as they followed Macen out of the Team Room. Only Ebert had seen Macen in this type of mood before. Kerber and Smith had no idea of what was in store for them.
Inside the Investigative Offices, Rockford confronted her troops, "Can you possibly explain to me why you were antagonizing teammates and generally pissing off the entire crew?"
"How could you even say that?" Shade wondered, "You weren't even present."
"The entire ship heard your exchange," Rockford snapped, "The intercom was open and broadcasting every word. That fact isn't the real problem. The problem lies in what you said. If you have such a difficulty working with Macen and your fellow teammates, I can easily replace you."
"I'm sure Lee and Shade were just caught up in the moment," Forte tried to defend them.
"Nice try, Arianna. But the heat of the moment is generally when we really reveal ourselves," Rockford suggested.
"Are Kerber, Smith, and Ebert even really teammates?" Lee inquired sharply.
"They are because the captain decided they are," Rockford snapped back at him, "And I don't recall him asking for your opinion. Ever."
"You know their secrets," Shade accused.
"What secrets?" Rockford asked wearily.
"Who they really are and where they really came from," Lee added.
"That's matters of public record," Rockford retorted, "Trying looking it up."
"Are you telling us to drop it?" Shade wanted to know.
"Would make a difference if I did?" Rockford already knew the answer to her question, "I just advise you to be prepared for whatever answers you think you find."
Rockford left at that point. Lee turned to Shade, "I want to bring Tony into this. He has contacts we don't."
Shade nodded her approval. Tony Burrows was a former Starfleet Special Operations Command officer and a student of the legendary Elias Vaughn. Vaughn had purportedly been Macen's instructor in conducting covert operations.
She turned to Forte, "Are you in or out, Arianna?"
"I'll admit I'm curious about what you've said. I'll stay just to be your conscience if nothing else," Forte offered.
"Good enough," Lee said, "You're the only one of us as capable at computers and digital archiving as Kerber and Smith. We'll need that. We need to examine their public records and determine where they originate from."
"That could take time," Forte warned.
"We have it," Shade promised her.
In the SID team's private, dedicated briefing room, Kerber protested, "They treat us like we're hiding something from them."
"You are hiding something from them," Macen reminded all of them, "If Tessa hadn't activated the intercom, public opinion wouldn't have swayed your way and things could have gotten rough."
"We can handle ourselves," Smith promised.
"But you're not supposed to be able to," Macen reminded her of her own forged cover story; "You two are convicted and condemned fugitives. If Starfleet or any other law enforcement body discovers who you really are, they will demand I surrender you."
"Just give us a warning and a head start," Kerber requested, "We'll take care of ourselves."
"It doesn't need to come to that," Macen advised her, "Just don't pick fights with professional investigators who are already suspicious."
"You didn't say," Smith pointed out.
"Say what? Macen was curious.
"If you would hand us over," Smith stated.
"No," Macen finally told them, "I wouldn't hand Talera P'ris over and I'll do the same for you. But my options are even more limited in your cases."
"It wasn't fair of them," Ebert protested.
"How much 'fair' have you experienced in your life?" Macen asked her.
"Why did we become Maquis? What was it you said about it?" Ebert thrust back at him.
"To make the unfair fair again," he sighed.
"That's what this is all about," Kerber insisted.
"Find a less provocative way of doing it," Macen urged, "Your lives are in their hands, on the field and off. And consider this, I told then-Admiral Forger you were accused of civil unrest and disobedience. She doesn't know the full truth of the matter. If you're exposed, the SID's credibility takes a severe hit just after being totally discredited as a Starfleet division."
"You gave her the IDs I doctored up," Kerber finally realized.
"Amanda knows better than to dig too deeply when I ask her not to," Macen told them, "All three of you are riding that particular bandwagon. I can grant you all a home and sanctuary as long as you don't actively prevent me from doing so. I just need a degree of cooperation."
"Do you think Rockford can call of her dogs?" Smith asked.
"No, and trying to will only make them work at uncovering the truth that much harder," Macen warned them.
"We shouldn't have left Ardana," Kerber complained.
"You did the right thing," Ebert insisted, "When Captain Sisko went balls to the wall to capture Michael Eddington; he surrendered himself to spare us. The officials on Stratos would have killed hundreds if not thousands to get at you two."
"But we didn't surrender," Smith pointed out, "We ran away."
"And Stratos is a Federation ally governed by archaic laws," Macen reminded the pair, "Eddington would have been left alive in Federation custody. You'd simply be martyrs. This way, you will return and fight again. I promise you. If you can just keep from getting yourselves arrested in the meantime."
"Thank you, Captain. Are we free to go?" Smith asked. Kerber still looked irked.
"Of course," Macen assured them, "Just think about it."
Ebert stayed behind and Macen asked, "Something on your mind, Tracy?"
"Would you really let them return to Ardana?" she asked.
"I don't hold anyone to my side involuntarily. If they eventually decide to take their fight back home, I'll even deliver them. But if they continue to agree that their fight can be fought on a broader canvass, then I hope they'll serve beside me," Macen promised her.
"I knew they could count on you," Ebert beamed.
"And I knew they could count on you, which is why I shared their history with you," Macen revealed, "I can't be everywhere all the time."
Ebert realized he was discussing his triad of responsibilities: the SID, Outbound Ventures, and the Obsidian crew. She got a wistful look, "It's nice to belong to something again. Or at least something worthwhile."
"Or at least something that doesn't involve smuggling contraband or piracy," Macen said, "Or at least not all the time."
Ebert suddenly knew Macen had finally checked into her past between meetings, "Too true."
"You still have a few hours before you're needed on the bridge. Try and enjoy them," Macen recommended.
"Aye, Captain," she threw him a mock salute and exited the room.
Macen knew Ceryx was at the helm. The Tyrokian only required an hour of sleep a day so he manned most of the flight time. Aglaia was their Platonian recruit who seconded Ebert at the helm when Ceryx was off duty.
He also knew Shannon Forger was more of a traditional starship captain than he was. He agonized over his crew but he had little love for the ship itself. It was a pretty tool with bells and whistles. But in the end, he'd never understood his idol's worship of the Enterprise. James T. Kirk had figuratively married his command. Macen preferred flesh and blood.
Burrows joined the investigative team in Lee's quarters, "I agree something is wrong with them. They certainly aren't what they present themselves to be. Kerber hasn't revealed herself but Smith is an expert sniper. Ebert was obviously a Maquis. But what did she do after the Maquis were crushed until Macen tracked her down again? There's a story there. One for each of them."
"But do we really want to know it?" Forte felt compelled to ask.
"Doesn't matter," Shade assured her, "It's never stopped us from finding out before."
Macen and Rockford were the first to disembark from the Obsidian upon reaching Deep Space Nine and docking. Ro met them and conversed with them en route to the station's working areas. Forger had devised a standing watch rotation and let everyone else enjoy shore leave.
The SID team members were also on leave but also on standby in case they were needed at a mission briefing. The final errant member of the team would be arriving within the hour. The Freehold had been in orbit over Cardassian Prime so Harriet "Harri" Fedora Mudd had been in the system during the assassination attempts. Macen wanted Mudd's professional insights.
Rockford reported to the Rockford Investigations Agency office aboard DS9. Burrows was joining Forte, Lee, and Shade in overtime work. Rockford stifled a groan as she asked the office manager for an overview of cases since her last check in. Fortunately the books were fairly straightforward and the agency's investigators were competent. So Rockford departed without disturbing her wayward employees plus guest. It would get ugly soon enough.
"She knows," Forte assessed as Rockford left.
"She isn't stupid," Shade grumbled, "She wouldn't have been successful enough to open a string of detective agencies across the Federation if she were."
"But she isn't preventing us from our endeavor either," Lee pointed out.
"Either she wants us to succeed or she feels we can't," Burrows suggested.
"Or she knows we'll be compromised by what we find out," Forte recalled Rockford's warning.
"Let's just get back to work," Shade requested.
The Freehold docked and Mudd departed her ship and spotted Macen and Rockford waiting for her, "Oh Lord, I should've known."
"Be nice, Harri," Macen advised, "Celeste and I slip a lot of latinum your way."
"And thanks to that cock up on Turkana IV, which you thankfully left me out of, I've got law enforcement crawling up my luscious ass again," Mudd complained, "And you got your own agency dissolved and your boss resigned in disgrace."
"Appearances aren't everything," Macen counseled.
"Oh. My. God. The SID is still up and running?" Mudd exclaimed the question.
"It's a civilian agency. A little known or recognized agency that isn't officially in existence," Rockford explained.
"Hot damn!" Mudd was gleeful, "Now you're talking. Clandestine agencies have latinum to burn."
"But some agency agendas are self sufficient," Macen reminded her, "Before I founded Outbound Ventures a Starfleet admiral named Elijah Waters came out of retirement to create a business that routed Maquis operatives on legitimate cargo runs in order to place them in areas for strategic strikes. He also funneled arms shipments into the DMZ using his Starfleet contacts to ascertain where border patrol vessels would be in their assigned zones."
"I like it," Mudd enthused, "Whatever happened to him?"
"He resigned before Eddington took control of the Maquis. Elijah saw the radicalization of the movement and their abandonment of only striking military and political targets," Macen told her, "Afterwards he died under mysterious circumstances. Starfleet never caught his killers and neither did I."
"Damn. Hate it when that happens," Mudd remarked. For her it was sincere empathy.
"After Elijah left, his assistants tried to manage but Starfleet became suspicious of why Elijah would be killed. And soon after the Cardassians swept into the Demilitarized Zone while Starfleet let it happen. The Jem'Hadar subsequently slaughtered most of the Maquis after that," Macen said emotionlessly.
"So you worked with this admiral?" Mudd asked.
"Before the Maquis and during. Shortly after Elijah quit, I had to break cover to escort the Chrysalis Child and her family to safety. My cover with both the Cardassian Guard and Starfleet was irrevocably shattered and my mission profiles drastically changed afterwards," Macen described the events.
"Still, it never hurts to have royalty owe you one," Mudd opined.
"Harri, do you have any idea of why we called you here?" Rockford wondered.
"No, but my bank account thanks you in advance," Mudd flippantly quipped.
"We understand you were on Cardassia when the assassinations occurred," Rockford told her.
"I wasn't anywhere near them and I don't know anything," Mudd said defensively.
"How would you like to return to Cardassia Prime?" Macen asked.
Mudd groaned, "I barely got out the last time. They rounded up every foreigner on the planet and interrogated everyone," Mudd shared.
"Obviously somebody got through their scrutiny," Rockford suggested, "Someone domestic worked with some off world to carry the attempts out."
"Why don't we go to Bajor instead?" Mudd whined.
"Ro has Bajor covered," Macen let her down easy, "But we've been asked to step in on Castellan Garan and Queen Katreen's behalf."
"The Cardassian News Service reported that Maquis and Bajoran extremists took credit for the blast," Mudd informed them.
"And Cardassian extremists were blamed for the explosions on Bajor and Earth," Rockford told her.
"Earth?" Mudd scowled.
"Someone bombed members of the Federation Council as well as Starfleet Command," Macen explained.
"Starfleet's no great loss, apologies to your bruised feeling s and all, but even the Council got hit?" Mudd was appalled.
"Why Harri, you sound like a concerned citizen," Rockford teased.
"You two are such bad influences on me," Mudd grumbled, "Why don't you believe the Cardassian reports?"
"The Maquis were briefly revived but they evaporated when Aric Tulley died," Macen tried to explain, "And while the Circle has seen a resurgence in Bajoran politics, Jaro Essa is too well known to risk his reputation on trying to blow up targets on Cardassia. The Cardassian Embassy on Bajor would be a likelier target. Even the Kohn Ma have reconciled with the Council of Ministers' rapprochement with Cardassia."
"But what about the Federation settlers in what used to be the DMZ?" Mudd persisted.
"Too obvious," Rockford ruled it out, "Castellan Ghemor granted them autonomy within the Cardassian Union. Even Gul Maret left that brushfire alone."
"Who's left?" Mudd demanded to know.
"Come with us to the briefing that we're about to go to and get the official scoop yourself," Macen taunted her with.
"No wonder my father and brother learned to hate you," Mudd groused.
"I have my moments," Macen grinned.
"So why aren't you already at the meeting catching up before it starts?" Mudd wondered.
'I read all the briefs before the Obsidian ever docked at the station," Macen revealed.
Mudd looked over at Rockford, who shrugged, "He's like that."
The senior officer's briefing room was filling up fast. Ro brought in a group of her own staff. They included Slaine, Chief O'Brien, Lt. Commander Nog, Doctor Julian Bashir, Colonel Cenn, and Lt. Commander Jefferson Blackmer. Bashir was still suspended from active duty per the terms of his court martial but he was serving as a civilian consultant to the medical staff. As such he was the de facto Chief Medical Officer in fact if not name.
Macen and Rockford brought in Mudd and Ebert. Tessa, the Obsidian's EMH was tied in through a comm channel. The emergency medical monitor displayed Tessa's features too everyone.
"Captain Ro, I'm detecting another holographic matrix listening in on this session," Tessa reported.
Ro nodded at Blackmer. Blackmer called one of his deputy officers back at the Security Office. They began sealing off access to the room outside of Tessa's connection.
"Now hold on, Pallie," Vic Fontaine's voice came over the speakers, "Despite what the doll face might be thinkin', I ain't here to bust up your shindig."
"Doll face?" Tessa was seriously irked.
"Vic, we've had this discussion," Bashir sighed.
"Yeah, but ya never brought a lady friend light bulb before," Fontaine protested.
"I'm certain we can arrange for Tessa to visit your holosuite sometime after the meeting concludes," Bashir cajoled Fontaine.
"Sounds swell. Hey Lady Doc, insert yourself into my program sometime and I'll show ya around period Las Vegas," Fontaine offered Tessa.
"Um…okay. What's 'Las Vegas'," Tessa wondered.
"Yer killin' me, sweetheart," Fontaine protested, "Just come and see the floor show. It'll be aces."
"Goodbye, Vic," Ro said tersely.
Everyone looked at Bashir as the channel closed, "Don't look at me!"
"Isn't Vic's programmer your friend Felix?" Ro asked.
"Well…yes," Bashir sheepishly admitted.
"Then I'll look at you any damn way I want to," Ro huffed.
"At least Quark had the presence of mind to save Vic's holoprogram among a few select others when the old station was destroyed," Bashir sniffed.
"Yes, we're all too aware of Quark's Vulcan Love Slave series collection," Ro said disdainfully.
"Not every program owned by Quark is a sexually based fantasy," Bashir argued.
"No, but he does largely cater to the brothel on demand crowd," Blackmer grated.
"If Quark has allowed any program to run long enough to achieve artificial intelligence then he's responsible for operating a sex slave operation," Tessa was fraught with concern.
"Damn, why didn't I ever think about that?" Blackmer asked gleefully.
"Probably because holographic rights are in their infancy within the Federation," Tessa protested.
"I doubt Quark lets the programs run for more than a few hours at any allotted time," Rockford reassured Tessa.
Ro's comm badge sounded. She grimaced, "The Legislative Assembly was supposed to send a representative investigator and they're late. Hopefully this is telling me of their arrival."
Ro answered, "Go ahead."
"You wanted to know when a Cardassian ship requested docking. A Lakat-class ship is here. Should I clear them?" the officer asked.
"Lt. Dren, I specifically ordered that a Cardassian flagged vessel reporting on Legislative business be immediately cleared and its representative sent to join me. Did I not?" Ro said icily.
"Yessir!" Dren worriedly complied.
"Sometimes there's a reason an officer stayed with the Militia rather than integrate into Starfleet," Ro sighed.
"There was sixty years of bad blood between our peoples," Slaine confided, "It's a generational sickness. It'll take new generations to cure it completely."
"I don't think I can wait that long," Ro sighed, "We're on a break until the representative gets here."
After a short interlude where Starfleet's staff and the SID members were either reacquainted or newly introduced, a junior officer brought the Cardassian investigator to the briefing room. Rockford was delighted to discover she knew her, "Ziva!"
Slaine was startled by the outburst as Rockford rushed across the room to warmly embrace Ziva Delain. Slaine had no idea that Delain had worked under Rockford in the SID while she was still a semi-independent agent. The Legislative Assembly was quick to boast their chief investigator came from a highly successful background. They just neglected to elaborate on that same background.
"Ziva, I had no idea you'd be here," Rockford gushed.
"I didn't either until after some fools set bombs off all over Cardassia Prime," Delain admitted, "Afterwards all hell broke loose amongst the ranks."
"Your government hasn't been very forthcoming," Rockford reminded Delain.
"There's a reason for that but I suspect you probably know most of the particulars by now anyway," Delain said ruefully.
"Actually the only semi-official word we've received was from Harri Mudd," Rockford nodded her way.
"Macen always has surrounded himself with Mudds were Cardassian interest are concerned," Delain said regretfully.
"I'll introduce you," Rockford offered.
"We're already acquainted," Delain said sourly.
"Oh," Rockford realized Delain had probably sat in on Mudd's interrogations.
"Raktejino?" Macen handed Mudd her favorite coffee beverage.
Mudd looked startled. Macen smiled, "Like I said on Safehold, you're part of the extended family now. Whether you want to be or not."
"Definitely sounds like my kind of family," Mudd said wryly.
"Maybe we can change that," Macen commented. Noting Blackmer's sudden interest in Mudd…and Ebert…Macen swore, "Grozzit."
"Hey! You know Mac," Mudd realized.
"And just how do you know Calhoun?" Macen wondered. He hadn't been aware of any associations between Starfleet Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and Harri Mudd. But only Calhoun's trusted associates called him "Mac".
"Oh. My. God. You're that Brin Macen. He always said you'd have a mental warp core breach if you knew the connection between Pops and I and then Mac and I. He just never mentioned anything about you recruiting me," Mudd laughed.
"Mac always thinks he knows everything," Macen said about his longtime rival.
"And you don't?" Mudd snorted.
"You should hear how he recruited Celeste," Ebert stated as she and Ro broke up their private reverie to join them.
"It seems your Chief of Security is listening to Celeste's investigative team," Macen told Ro.
"And I hear your running roughshod over a house divided," Ro retorted.
"Trouble in paradise?" Mudd smirked.
"Maybe I should reconvene the meeting now," Ro suggested.
"Let Celeste and Ziva work their magic with Blackmer and Slaine for five minutes before continuing," Macen suggested.
"Well, we should all know about rebellions," Ro sighed.
"That we do," Macen concurred casting a sidelong glance at Ebert. It was still strange to see her as an adult woman and not the awkward teenager he'd recruited so long ago.
"Are we talking a particular insurrection here or a general uprising?" Mudd quipped, "Or does everything boil down to your Ardanan fugitives?"
Everyone in the small group stared at her. Mudd shrugged, "I sometimes sideline as a bounty hunter, remember? Your duo are hot commodities that Stratos officials are willing to pay a lot for."
"Tempted, Harri?" Macen softly asked.
"Of course but I'm not going to screw the pooch here," Mudd promised, "Besides, I owe Bailey Smith or whatever she's calling herself today my life and I intend to repay her. And I happen to like her and Angelique Kerber as people. I don't turn friends in to the authorities unless they've already betrayed me first."
"And that's a good thing," Ebert ventured, "Right?"
"It's as good as you're going to get," Ro clarified, "But anyways, I'm calling the briefing to order now."