Reverse Mirror 2
Disclaimer: Universe belongs to Paramount; with the exception of me mentioning people we're familiar with, most characters are mine.
Summary: Still part of the prologue, Den'l finds out what Admiral Stokes wants.
Author's Notes: This was originally going to be chapter one, but as it got nearer to the end, I realized it really just seemed to be part of the prologue, so bear with me.
Author's Notes 2: My readers might have realized that it takes forever for me to update my stories, believe it or not I'm in my exam years (oooh, goody) and I can't seem to find the time. Even now, I should be working on my French, but I felt too guilty leaving my stories unfinished.
5 bars of latinum to the first person to spot a character from Voyager!
Admiral Marcus Stokes stood silently staring at the starscape before him, arms folded. There was once a time when he had admired its beauty, had been intimidated by its vastness. Now, he saw it as a challenge, fully conquerable if one was smart enough to avoid being assassinated.
What was required was patience, and knowing when to let certain opportunities pass you by. His thin red lips pressed themselves together until they turned white.
The classified hail which had come through nearly half an hour ago was an example of one opportunity he wished he hadn't let pass him by.
Admiral Kathryn Janeway seemed to take sadistic delight in tormenting him; he suspected it had something to do with him snubbing her advances when she had volunteered to be his Woman all those years ago.
He had made the incorrect assumption that she hadn't had anything to offer him at the time, and had turned her down, scornfully.
Now, the bitch never missed an opportunity to remind him of her higher rank.
The chime of the door startled him out of his thoughts. "Come!"
He turned around in time to see Lieutenant Travers, his chief bodyguard, stride through the door and salute him.
"Commander Den'l wishes to see you, Admiral."
At his brisk nod, Den'l entered, businesslike as usual, giving him the expected salute. "Commander Den'l, reporting for duty, Admiral."
He took a moment to let his eyes wonder hungrily over her curves. Then
"At ease, Commander."
She relaxed her posture, even though her face was still serious. That was one of the things he liked about their liasons; too many women in the Fleet these days seemed to think that once you bedded them, they were your Woman.
Which was why he and Den'l got along so well; she had no intention of challenging his Woman. A good thing too, Sam was an excellent fighter, but hardly any Terran was a match for a Betazoid woman hellbent on getting her man. Not that he would have minded seeing that particular fight…
"Something the matter, sir?" Den'l ventured after the silence stretched on too long for her liking.
He sighed and sat at the head of the table, gesturing for her to sit opposite him. Steepling his hands together, he began.
"I've just received a communiqué from Admiral Janeway," he spat the last two words and Den'l raised her brow in amusement, but said nothing.
"She informed me about the launch of a new stealth warship, the I.S.S Prometheus. As you know, the war is not going well. The amount of resistance cells on both Bajor and Cardassia, among others is growing with alarming frequency."
Den'l kept silent, waiting for the Admiral to make his point. None of this was news to her.
Stokes' tone dropped considerably, but he stared straight into her eyes.
"Starfleet Headquarters has ordered the Prometheus into the Beta Quadrant to find our allies, the Chi'ora. Command believes they hold the key to our stopping this war."
"The Chi'ora. And just what in Nine Fires would anyone at Starfleet Command know about the Chi'ora?" The disbelief was written all over her normally smooth features.
The admiral stood and started pacing.
"Apparently, they got a hold of one of our informants."
Den'l also stood. "Impossible, they were all killed to prevent something like this from happening. No one survived, not even our operatives close to the explosion!"
Stokes stopped pacing. "Either way, Starfleet has classified Section 31 information, and they've launched this new ship. To bring help."
Blue eyes as hard as diamonds stared at him. "Regular 'fleet can't handle what the Chi'ora have, Admiral. We both know this."
Stokes turned around, a smile devoid of emotion on his face. "That's why the Section Command wants you to lead a team of agents and masquerade as a part of their crew."
Den'l hardly flinched, she'd expected those words from the time he'd mentioned the Chi'ora.
She also knew that there was more to this than he was telling her. Shrugging slightly, she delved into his mind, not bothering to use a stealthy approach.
Stokes grit his teeth together at the intrusion, but said nothing. This was virtually the only way for Den'l to get the information privately. He had removed all the bugs in the room, but one could never be too careful.
A strange expression passed across her face, but was quickly replaced with a cold grin. "I understand."
Stokes glared at her, a headache beginning to throb at his temple. He suppressed the urge to rub them. Showing weakness in the Empire was a surefire way of getting killed.
"We've changed course to rendezvous with a freighter which will escort you to Jupiter Station where you will be briefed further."
Den'l started forward slowly, hands on hips. "Aye sir… and how long until that freighter gets here?"
Admiral Stokes grinned and squeezed her arm possessively. "Not for another ten hours, Commander."
Den'l gave him a cruel smirk and turned. "I'll get to packing, then. I wouldn't want you to have to spend any more time away from Sam Wildman's bed. I hear she's quite the wildcat…"
Stokes' knife whizzing past her ear made her trail off. She stopped just short of the door and was about to turn around, but he grabbed her from behind, pinning her to the wall. "Don't you ever mention my Woman again, or I'll snap your neck."
He spun her around to face him, noting with even more irritation the defiant sparkle in those blue eyes.
"Aye… sir."
Injecting just the right tinge of seductiveness into her voice had the desired effect. All threats were forgotten as the two set about making the best possible use of the remaining time.
Okay, chapter one comes next! I'm on exam leave now, can't wait til the darn things are over. sigh
Let me know what you think! Thanks!
