"Admiral," a young lieutenant's voice boomed through the expanse of Admiral Amanda Addison's brightly lit office. The skyline of Paris loomed through the windows behind her, the silhouette of the Eiffel Tower barely visible. Her fifteenth floor office was surrounded be full length windows on the far wall, providing the most amount of light possible. Addison hated the darkness.
"Yes, Lieutenant?" the Admiral looked up from the padd she held steady in her left hand. Her coffee cup steamed beside her right hand, the glass desktop providing the platform for it all.
"More intelligence, sir. Our Romulan counterpart has three new targets, sir. The next one is Rzepka aboard Deep Space Nine, after that he is targeting - " the lieutenant started.
"Rzepka? She wasn't on my original list." Addison said quickly. "Intercept and be sure he doesn't target her. I need her for other matters."
The Lieutenant frantically reviewed the information on the padd in his hand.
"Sir, it's too late to send a message to our spy. By the time he receives the message, the target will have been eliminated."
"What?!" Addison felt herself getting frustrated with this operation. Section 31 had grown too large and it's infrastructure was becoming too involved with Starfleet Intelligence and was losing it's secrecy. Some of the newest operatives were sharing secrets. The best way to stop the breech, in Addison's mind, was to eliminate the source of the problem.
"How long until the attack on Rzepka's life?" Addison said, trying to calm down. Her curly blonde hair glistened in the setting sun.
"Three days, sir."
"What is the elimination plan?" Addison said with a sigh and holding out her hand for the padd. The lieutenant handed it over to her. "Tryscopotherol. Clever. "
"Sir?" The lieutenant plastered a confused look on his face.
"Tryscopotherol poisoning will mimic a malfunction in the Commander's stem cells. Bashir will probably catch it though. Not a very tactical murder weapon, at least, not for our Tal Shiar friend." Addison put the padd down on her desk and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"Can't we just warn Rzepka?"
"No. I haven't recruited her yet. She has no idea what is going on. Send a fleet of 30 operatives from Targus Prime with the antidote. With any luck, Bashir will do the rest. He's a good doctor. Not much more we can do than that. If she dies, she dies. It will be a tragedy, but unavoidable. We can't risk exposure at this juncture. DS9 is expecting a transport tomorrow. Get the operatives on that transport. I'll send transfer orders for them." Addison spun her chair to face the window.
"Aye sir. I will head the mission myself." the Lieutenant said. He felt partially responsible for not approving the pre-attack orders when he received them a few weeks ago. This little mishap could have been avoided.
"Dismissed." Addison said to the window. After the Lieutenant turned to leave, she let out an exasperated sigh. She hated killing good officers, but the last commander of Section 31 had been sloppy. He had enlisted too many operatives without properly testing them first. Now that those operatives had knowledge of several key pieces of information, the only way to eliminate an exposure threat to non-Federation civilizations was either to wipe their memories or kill them.
Wiping memories, in this case, was just too messy.
Each of the operatives on the list were working closely with intelligence relating to the Typhon Pact. They each knew of tactical maneuvers Section 31 was planning to protect the Federation from attacks from the Typhon Pact. However, the operatives on the list were not trustworthy enough to protect those secrets. They posed a great risk to the Federation.
Except Rzepka. Addison wracked her brain to figure out how Rzepka got onto the list. Rzepka wasn't even involved with the Typhon Pact reconnaissance mission. However, if she survived the attack on her life, Addison knew that she could play a key role in the resolution cover.
"If Sloan were here," she thought to herself. "He would have taken care of this a long time ago."
Personal log, Commander Kymberli Rzepka, Stardate 54981.5
While I'm excited for the prospect of... something... to happen soon, I'm marred by the mundane and boring environment aboard DS9. In order to break up some of the ho-hum, I've been offering some time in the engine room, helping Lieutenant Nog get ready for a Starfleet Engineering Inspection and teaching him a few things along the way. He's a good kid. He's going to go places one day.
The pain has been manageable. I can feel a noticeable difference now compared to this time last year. It's been nine months since the stem cell transplant, and I'll be honest - I wasn't holding high hopes of it's success. But alas, it worked. And is still working.
Perhaps I'm being a bit pessimistic while I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I've talked to councelors about it. I've talked with Ezri, who offered the best advice over subspace 500 light years away.
"Pick up the first shoe. That way, when the other one does drop, you'll have recovered the first one."
At first I wasn't sure what she was talking about. It's hard to read someone's feelings and thought through subspace. Over time, I finally realized what she meant. I had practically halted my career when I was injured. It's time to pick it back up and run.
Run fast.
I think it's time for me to stop floating along and start actively swimming. My new career in Starfleet Intelligence will surely prove to be a promising one and I'm going to make a difference for the Federation.
I will. I swear it. As soon as something happens.
Ops was exceptionally quiet that day. During her entire tenure aboard Deep Space Nine, Commander Kymberli Rzepka couldn't remember a time when Ops was so quiet. Very few officers and personnel were on duty when a call came through the station's secure channel for Science Officer Ensign Thrishar ch'Thange. The ambient light around Ops lent an eerie glow on the Cardassian technology surrounding the commander. Tan and gray bulkheads lined the Operations hub of the station, illuminated with indirect light.
Thoughts and emotions of the few individuals fluttered through Kym's consciousness. She was the only Betazoid aboard the station, but she never felt a lack of understanding from her crewmates.
In the Captain's office, Rzepka noticed that Captain Kira Nerys was having a very animated discussion with a Klingon – Chancellor Martok. He was standing tall with his arms folded, entertaining the Colonial. Their discussion seemed casual, but Kira seemed to be fired up about something.
The commander grew increasingly uncomfortable sitting in her straight backed chair, keeping an eye on the communications panel in front of her. The Andorian ensign stood still as he took his call in the private office directly in front of the comm station, slightly to the left. The commander knew that he was talking to someone about a personal nature, but she knew little else. She offered to cover his station while he took the call.
Electricity jolted through Commander Rzepka's hip bones and down into her ankle. She dug her thumb carefully into the inside of her knee, right under the kneecap, as she sat in the straight-backed leather chair, waiting for the young Andorian ensign to return from his call. It was her Saphenous nerve. She knew it. It always bothered her after she'd been too active the day prior. She figuratively slapped herself for working 16 hours straight the day before which left her tired and her nerve on fire.
How long can a call take, anyway? she anxiously thought to herself as she pressed the heel of her hand hard into her right quadriceps and pushed her hand toward her knee, watching the wrinkles of her black uniform follow her hand. Repeating the process, she shifted her weight off her right hip bone and onto the left. She desperately need to stand up and walk around. Only a few more minutes, I'm sure...
Rzepka heard the turbolift shaft slide into place and come to a halt on her right, pausing only a second before the doors hissed open. She sensed the doctor's presence as she withdrew her hand from her leg quickly and straightened up, concentrating on the comm panel in front of her. She could see her reflection in the panel's exterior as she watched the lights dance along without a care. Every single thing seemed in order. She felt him approach slowly but didn't look up from the panel.
"Good evening, Dr. Bashir." she said calmly before he came into her line of vision. The electrical pulses in her leg were causing her hamstring to spasm, but she kept still and straight faced. She maintained her composure as she looked up, smiling.
"Good evening, Commander. Your leg okay?" The doctor didn't waste any time noticing the leg trouble. He must have seen her rubbing it feverishly before she sensed his presence. Caught red handed, she thought. He leaned his hand on the top of the conn station and shifted his weight into a casual posture.
"Just a cramp. Nothing too serious." The commander flashed a confident smile while her leg lit up like a warp core breech. She stretched out her back and leaned against the tall gray leather chair.
His left eyebrow raised and he turned his chin downward. His dark features were pronounced in the dim light of Ops, his dark hair glistening in the ambient light. He didn't believe her. Kym vowed to herself that she would practice lying at the first free moment.
"What are you doing up here, anyway? I haven't seen you in ops since you were promoted." His small talk was already driving the commander up the wall.t. She straightened, focused on the comm panel for a moment and then looked up again.
"A priority message came through for Ensign ch'Thane on my office channel. I'm just covering while he finishes." In the corner of her left eye, she could see the ensign talking very animatedly to what appeared to be his parents in a closed office. "You know Andorians. Always like to be secure Besides, gives me an excuse to get out of the office."
"She been in there a while?" Bashir said, furrowing his dark eyebrows and motioning his head toward the commander's office. Kym turned her head to see Captain Kira still talking with Chancellor Martok through the glass doors. They were both relatively calm, surprisingly. She nodded her head and a lock of brown silky hair fell into her face. She brushed it aside and behind her ear.
"Only a few minutes. You need to see her? It might be a while," Kym said as she looked down at the comm panel again. Nothing changed in the fifteen minutes she had been sitting there. She just liked to pretend that she was busy.
"It's nothing that can't wait until later," he said, turning back to Kym, his face lighting up. "Oh by the way, Happy Anniversary!"
At first she didn't realize what he was talking about. His happiness was coming from a dark place, but he was genuinely proud of... something. Himself?
Then she remembered. Her leg spasmed again and she remembered. A small scoff escaped her lips and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She looked at him and let a small smile come across her face.
"Thank you, but I think I'll celebrate anniversaries of happier occasions." She looked down again. Nothing changed. The doctor leaned with his elbow on the panel, feeling philosophical and looking off into the distance.
"Reminds me of an ancient American writer. 'The scar will remain, but it is better for a man to lose both arms than his soul; and these hard years, instead of being lost, may be made the most precious of your lives, if they teach you to rule yourselves.' Louisa May Alcott. You ever hear of her?" He turned to look at her again. The commander just shook her head.
"Ancient Earth Literature is not a strong suit of mine." Kym peered over at the Ensign, who was finishing up his call. If she didn't stand up soon, she was sure her leg would detach itself from her body and run off through the station. Julian stood and looked through the office doors, where Kira and Martok appeared to be finishing as well.
"What are you doing tonight? Get together going on at Quarks later - you should come with us." He said suddenly. Kym hated Quark's. She was tired. And she had a Security briefing anyway.
"I have a meeting this evening. I really can't tonight..." Kym trailed off as she sensed his discontent. Ezri. He felt very sad about her absence, and Kym's decline of invite made it even worse. She looked at his frowning face, processing his emotions, which were sometimes a bit scrambled and hard to read. He was silent for a few minutes. Her mouth curled into a bit of a scowl as she thought about how much she missed Ezri, too.
"I miss her too." Kym said warmly. He looked at her in the eyes and smiled again, shaking off the feeling of loneliness. Ensign ch'Thane started to make his way out of the office as Martok exited the commander's Suite. Kym stood instinctively as the Chancellor walked past, nodding as he walked by.
"Hey, how about tomorrow. I'm free all evening. We can drown our sorrows then?" Kym suggested to the doctor, partially knowing that she would likely need a nerve block tonight or tomorrow morning anyway, and wouldn't feel well enough to venture out. It was a cheap shot, she thought, but at least it made him feel a bit better.
"Sounds great. Tomorrow then. And hey, if that leg doesn't ease up in a few hours, I expect to see you in my office." He said, pointing in accusation and smiling before sprinting off to Kira's office. Ensign ch'Thane was standing beside Commander Rzepka at that point, and she moved over to let him sit.
"Did I hear you have an anniversary coming up? I didn't know you were married! Congratulations!" the ensign said as he sat. His personality was very bubbly but political. Andorians were usually very pleasant species and he was no exception.
"Not a wedding anniversary, Ensign. But thank you." Kym started to limp away, feeling his gaze on her back.
"Well, what kind of anniversary then?" He asked. Kym sighed at his persistence, and turned to face him.
"The day I became paralyzed. Three years." She smiled and turned quickly, leaving the very confused ensign to his work.
