29
Magnum had allowed Macen and his escort to proceed. And oddly enough, they were headed out at impulse power rather than rabbiting like cornered criminals. Starfleet Command finally responded to Magnum's requests for clarification of his orders. He was surprised when the seal of the Fleet Admiral was replaced by Edward Fowler's face.
"You seem surprised, Captain," Fowler was amused by Magnum's confusion, "Jellico was forcibly removed from these offices less than an hour ago. I've taken his place."
"Pardon my saying so, but the President couldn't have appointed you that quickly," Magnum replied.
"Starfleeti s at its heart a military organization despite what the propaganda would tell you otherwise. I don't require an appointment. I'm simply assuming the role with the consent of the Admiralty," Fowler explained.
Which Magnum assumed explained why no one at Command was answering dispatches or requests for information, "The President and the Federation Council still need to weigh in. That's the nature of civilian oversight."
"Maybe in days gone past," Fowler allowed himself a triumphant smile, "In the meantime, I will not allow dissent amongst my captains and commanding officers. You will obey my orders as though they are th e writ of God herself. Understood?"
"I'm beginning to," Magnum allowed.
"Now to clarify those pesky orders. You are to capture and board the Tribulation a d kill everyone aboard save a lone engineer by the name of Marla Gilmore. Shoot them, eject them out of airlocks, whatever you deem best. But make no mistake, if that party reaches Earth you'll be the one sucking vacuum," Fowler told him.
"You can count on me to do the right thing for the service," Magnum pledged.
"I never doubted your loyalty," Fowler lied.
Magnum exited his Ready Room and quietly discussed a request with his XO, "Jerry, I need every comprehensible file on a Starfleet Admiral Edward Fowler. I believe he's staged a coup and has taken over Starfleet Command."
"Can this day get weirder?" Hunter asked.
"Probably not," Magnum promised him, "Ensign Hawke, raise every task force CO and patch them into the main viewer simulcast. We have a lot to discuss."
"Aye, sir," Siva Hawke readily complied.
The bulk of the Council of Five escaped capture by Starling's Internal Affairs officers. None of them had ever counted on facing a Cappellan or the Director of Starfleet Security. Nechayev arranged for the exit. Her personal runabout set course for a rendezvous with the Excelsior-class USS Endeavor Section 31 unwisely pursed the runabout only to intercept it at Jupiter Station to discover it was being flown by the onboard computer to meet with the waiting Endeavor. The captain and crew of the starship honestly expected Nechayev to be aboard so they were of no use to Section 31.
But a small transport owned and operated by Mackenzie Calhoun lifted off of Earth and headed for Alpha Centauri where the Galaxy-class USS Excalibur-A awaited her captain. Even Edward Fowler didn't want Calhoun involved in retaking Starfleet Command, so the Excalibur was deemed free to depart Federation space.
"Where to, Admiral?" Calhoun asked.
"Deep Space Nine," Nechayev selected Ro's command.
"Eppy just sent word," Calhoun used the familiar name he'd given Admiral Shelby, "Starling let her off with a reprimand."
"And Crusher?" Noyce wondered.
"Safely ensconced back at Starfleet Medical. Some celebrities are immune to prosecution it seems," Calhoun chuckled.
"We must contact those admirals based outside of Starfleet Command and alert them that there is a truth beyond what they're being fed," Alkaar stated.
"Kira and Ross are safe enough and so it seems with Shelby. But that still leaves others such as Johnson and others overseeing starbases or fleets," Noyce reminded them, "We know Deep Space Three, Four, and Nine's commanders are on Section 31's hit list. Morgan Freedman out at Deep Space K-7 won't be far behind. I can't imagine Captains Data, Sisko, or Riker staying uninvolved. Or even retirees such as Elias Vaughn."
Commander Robin Lefler reported, "Starling is arresting various Starbase and starship commanders on trumped up charges and junior officers are being given command. Most of the more ambitious officers feel it's their due"
Nechayev knew Lefler was in line for her own command and that she'd risen through the ranks to earn it, "Starfleet has changed with the nature fo our mass recruiting efforts. The meticulous screening process we used to put the prospective cadets or enlisted crewmen have grown relatively lax as a prerequisite to fill starships with bodies"
"And that's on us," Akaar unhappily admitted, "On every admiral in the service"
"The nature of warfare has also changed the federation," Calhoun had been the warlord over a war torn planet fighting for its independence during his adolescence. His adult life had been in Starfleet's service, whether it be undercover or commanding a starship. He also had two other merits of notoriety: he'd honestly beaten the Kobyashi Maru scenario and he'd broken Jellico's jaw with a single punch.
"I've fought wars, like Kira and Ro, where you made due with whom you were able to recruit," Calhoun said.
"This isn't a provincial world or the Bajoran Resistance or the Maquis," Akaar grumbled, "Even my people, who have a proud warrior tradition, wouldn't be acceptable to Starfleet's old standards"
"Yet somehow you managed to qualify," Calhoun pointed out, "Every society has exceptional people. But then there are times when the numbers of such people are tragically low," Calhoun reasoned with him, "This is one of those times. The exceptional people are by and large deceased. You can keep holding Starfleet's standards on a pedestal or you can shape the material in the form of the recruits you receive into the officers and enlisted personnel you want."
"When Earth Starfleet became the Federation Starfleet, it had to adapt and it had to unify diverging views of how to operate and why," Lefler added.
"Our latest and ongoing recruits don't measure up so we teach them to," Nechayev asserted, "It's an opportunity rather than a liability."
"Yet those opportunities are now commanding starships they're barely qualified to serve on," Noyce reminded her.
"Then we reason with them," Calhoun suggested, "And failing that, we use their inexperience to our advantage."
"We do it all the time in Sector 221-G," Lefler promised therm.
"Commander Lefler, could Wesley Crusher be persuaded to use hsi abilities once again?" Noyce asked.
"Wesley stepped away from being a Traveler and its gifts in order to life his life as an ordinary man who could help shape the Federation's future," Lefler replied, "And that's just the way I like him."
Nechayev knew Crusher and Lefler had rekindled their very brief romance when he returned to Starfleet. And the accelerated promotions Starfleet had been permitting meant Lt. Commander Crusher wasn't horribly outranked by soon to be Captain Lefler.
"Starfleet has always had its share of malcontents. Even those that passed all of our screening sand graduated through all of our training programs," Noyce shared, "Some have even been admirals."
Magnum negotiated a halt on Macen's advance on the edge of Sector 001. Then he called together his COs. Captain Divine shared that her sister, Kimberly, was an agent with the Federation Security Service and was on a special assignment to determine who Edward Fowler was and where he'd suudenly appeared from, seemingly from thin air. And Agent Divine relayed the poor news that Jack Fowler's prison transport had been hijacked by renegades from Turkana IV. The entire crew of the Tribulation was free to roam the galaxuy.
And visuals of Edward and Jack Fowler made them out to be father and son or some other exceptionally close relatives. Agent Divine's theory was that the civilian "specialists" Magnum's squadron had been waiting for were none other than Jack Fowler's team. A theory endorsed by Magnum himself.
Starfleet was in an uproar. The chain of command had been so thoroughly disrupted by Fowler's coup and Internal Affairs' mass arrests, that no one knew who to recognize as the authority dictating Starfleet policy. Some factions, empowered by Fowler, implicitly endorsed his authority. Others opted to recognize the Council of Five's members as the legitimate remainder of Starfleet Command. And the third and final faction awaited orders of confirmation from the UFP President, blithely unaware that all communications traffic from Earth was being jammed and unable to leave the solar system.
Fowler hadn't outwardly seized control of the Federation Council and the President's Cabinet but the threat was implicit. And the government wondered who "Admiral" Edward Fowler was and where had he come from? Of course rumors flew that Fowler was none other than the director of thee mythical Section 31 that had bred Cell 51's threat several years ago.
"Our chief problem seems to be Edward Fowler," Magnum shared with the holographically composed briefing room of starship commanders, "Just yesterday, the man was an obscure blip in Memory Alpha's records and had been mentioned in Starfleet's Bureau of Personnel as an Admiral in charge of an archive site in London. Now he claims to be the Starfleet Commander. And in the same of 'security' he's destabilized Starfleet further than any one individual since Admiral Leyton."
"With bulk of Starfleet's experienced command officers detained, how could we repel an external threat at this juncture?" Agman inquired.
"Whoever he is, he isn't stupid. He'll have a contingency list," Morris complained.
"This is undoubtedly theater but for whose benfit?" Cera wondered.
Magnum's comm badge alerted him to an incoming message, "Captain, the USS Asimov is signaling their approach to deliver Captain Jack Fowler to assume command of the flotilla and pursue the Tribulation and her escorts."
"Thanks you, Ensign Hawke," Magnum shifted in his seat, "Computer, identify USS Asimov."
"Subject vessel is a Sydney-class transport permanently assigned to Jaros II," the computer recited.
"Sonuvabitch. They hijacked the prison transport," Morris was agitated.
"Or more appropriately, Admiral Fowler ordered the release of his son," Magnum said wearily.
"Has anyone else noticed that Jack Fowler w s just promote d from 'Commander' to 'Captain'," Divine asked.
"He'll probably be given flag rank if we protest his orders to assume command and pursue Macen's crews," Magnum dismally guessed.
"I don't know about the rest of you but I'm not following any orders coming out of Starfleet Command from this point forward," Morris angrily declared.
"If they're lawful orders, you're obligated by oath to obey them," Magnum grasped at one last straw.
"Tom, there's no chance in hell Fowler legally assumed his post. Look what's happened across Starfleet since he assumed command. Internal Affairs is being backed by a division of Starfleet with extensive tactical training and they're supposed to be archivists?" Divine was incredulous.
Magnum looked defeated, "Signal Macen. We need to know what he's actually up to,"
"Captain Magnum is requesting information regarding our actual mission," Kerber reported.
"Send Prentiss' report with my compliments," Macen told her.
Smith handed five strips of latinum over to a smirking Kerber. The ship came to an abrupt halt. Macen turned to Ebert, "Tracy?"
"The helm locked up," she told him.
"Every system has been locked," Sekona almost frowned.
"Celeste, signal our imminent departure," Macen requested, "Parva, wreck everything you can."
"On it," the Orion engineer reported.
The lights and life support ceased to function as Macen signaled the Venture, "Morgan, we need transportation to DS9."
"I wondered," Avery replied, "Standby."
The familiar tug of s transporter's annular confinement beam grabbed hold of everyone. Avery met Macen in the transporter room, "What now?"
"We set course for Deep Space Nine," Macen repeated.
"Any particular reason why?" she asked.
"Because that's where the resistance will form up," Rockford explained.
"You might want to explain that to Tom Magnum and his squadron," Avery smiled.
"I'm looking forward to it," Macen confessed.
Twenty starships, including the Obsidian, gathered at Deep Space Nine. The other Deep Space station kept their assigned starships close by in case Fowler loyalists should attack. All except Benteen's Sutherland. Smaller light cruisers had taken station instead.
Mackenzie Calhoun remained in Sector 221-G but Kat Mueller led the Trident crew to DS9. Captains Data, Sisko, and Riker had been called away from exploration efforts in the Alpha, Gamma, and Beta Quadrants respectively. Chakotay and the Voyager were requested to return from the Delta Quadrant but Janeway overruled the idea stating her fleet could serve as a strategic reserve.. Captain Dax brought the Aventine to bear on the problem as well.
Akaar, Nechayev, and Noyce had slipped free of Fowler's dragnets to reach Ro Laren's protection. Prentiss and Lietjen had been rerouted before they could reach Earth. Rekena Garan, Chancellor Martok, and Grand Nagus Rom all pledged their support to the Council of Five's efforts under Akaar's guidance. Top diplomats from each stellar nation attended erstwhile hearings given for representatives of the Federation Council aboard DS9. The revelation that the Federation had developed a biogenic "doomsday" weapon and also used it on three Romulan worlds staggered their imaginations.
And so Bacco's epic policy reversals were explained at long last. And the Romulan representative present for the findings acknowledged those events had catapulted the creation of the Typhon Pact. But Kerber and Smith had additional testimony to offer on events outside of Ardana IV.
"Starfleet has revamped their security in the wake of so many defections but prior to Fowler's overt takeover, Bailey and I managed to access the layered files regarding the zenite weapon. In short, the weapon is now effective against flora and fauna. But it's effects dissipate within a generation and the worlds became candidates for terraforming and restocking of species."
"But that's insane," Kira protested.
"No one is arguing that, Admiral. But the Tribulation was reclaimed in order to fight its way to Caligula and decimate the new Romulan capital," Kerber explained.
"Does Fowler want an all out war?" Akaar shouted to be heard over the clamor of voices.
"That does appear to be his goal," Smith confirmed it.
"With Bob Johnson and Picard back on Earth, we hardly have an emissary the Romulans will respect," Jim McKinley, the Intrepid's CO realized.
"I shall inform my government," Senator Tarn offered, "But Empress Donatra will not see a penetration of the Neutral Zone as anything but a prelude to war."
"Our task is both simplistic and daunting," Data surmised, "We must arrest Fowler and his fellow conspirators and we must also halt the Tribulation's attack."
"The Seventh Fleet has secured the Tzenkethi and Breen borders," Kira pledged.
"Same for the Ninth and the Tholians and Andergani," Ross promised.
"Captains Data, Sisko, and Riker, I need you to get Admiral Noyce and myself to Starfleet Command," Akaar ordered, "Riker, we have matters to discuss as soon as this meeting concludes."
"I'll be staying on Deep Space Nine to manage Starfleet Intelligence," Nechayev turned to Ro, "Hopefully that won't prove difficult for you."
"None at all," Ro said firmly, if tersely.
"Everyone else is pitted against the Tribulation. Captain Magnum has seniority so he will lead the action," Akaar continued, "Captain Saavik, in lack of an experienced diplomat, you will serve as our envoy to Caligula."
"I'll make the necessary arrangements," Tarn promised.
"Congratulations, Captain…or should I say Admiral," Akaar told Riker.
"Why now?" Riker asked.
"Because this crisis has shown the admiralty needs a dedicated troubleshooter. And despite Sisko's efforts, you bet qualkified for the job," Akaar told him.
"Can I refuse?" Riker wondered.
"Only if you resign in the same breath," Akaar railroaded him.
"You want this bad," Riker realized.
"The Federation needs it even more badly," Akaar ended the debate.
And Admiral Will Riker returned to his ship.
Nechayev pulled Ro, Macen, and Avery aside, "Akaar will be returning Prentiss to Earth to testify before the entire Federation Council and to report her findings to the President. I want you there as well."
"But the Defiant…" Ro began to protest.
"Will stay here with the station," Nechayev assured her, "I want you, Captain. You both were Maquis once. It's time for that kind of thinking again."
"You're ordering us to kill Fowler and hsi conspirators," Avery deduced.
"I can't issue that kind of order. It's blatantly illegal. However if weapons should discharge and 'accidental' deaths occur, there would be no investaigations into the matter," Nechayev revealed.
"But Ro and I are still with Starfleet," Avery protested.
"Director Forger accepted your transfer requests to the SID earlier today. I seem to have forgotten to tell you until now," Nechayev had covered several bases.
"How will we clear the sector patrols?" Ro asked.
"Your mutual friend, Captain Mudd. She's being given identity and transit papers," Nechayev revealed, "And Captain Mudd will no longer be the only woman in the room with platinum white blonde hair."
"Joelle Jones and her crew signed on as well, I take it," Macen realized.
"Argh," Ro groaned.
It seems Mudd pitched her recruitment to Jones and Jones and her crew applied for a Letter of Marque. Which she received along with an employment offer with Outbound Ventures and received a new ship. Shocking really," Nechayev faked surprise.
"So Jones is our escort," Macen ventured.
"The Venture will accompany the Hathaway as they enter Sector 001. Mudd will land the SID team on Earth where my people will have narrowed down a target list," Nechayev stated, "Captain Avery will assist Captain Jones in securing Spacedock."
"It seems our choices have all been made fo us," Ro grumbled.
"You could always return to yoru cell on Jaros II," Nechayev offered with sickly sweetness.
"Where do we meet Jones?" Macen changed the subject.
"Here," Nechayev told them, "She and Mudd are due any minute now."
"Last time I saw Jones she had a NV-class starship," Ro recalled.
"She's traded up since then," Nechayev said smugly.
"Not counting her Iotian command?" Macen wondered.
"Are you suggesting your new fellow agent once commanded a starship for the Iotian Federation, a known member of the Typhon Pact?" Nechayve sounded insulted.
"Still playing head games," Ro observed.
"Better than being a head case, dear," Nechayev retorted.
Ro actually growled.
"I think we'd best get all our personnel ready for departure," Macen suggested to end the bickering.
"You will transit to Alpha Centauri in the Obsidian which will lay in wait while you approach Earth. If you leave now, you can arrive after Admiral Riker's team departs DS9 twelve hours from now," Nechayev advised them all.
"So they promoted Will," Ro was pleased, "Finally, an admiral beside s Kira I can respect."
As Ro strode off, Nechayev asked Macen, "Does she need to be reminded to leave the uniform behind?"
"She knows the drill, Alynna," Macen assured her.
"If Picard hadn't had such pull I would have let he rot in the Bajoran Militia," Nechayev shared.
"I'll be sure to tell her so," Macen replied, "It's a great motivator."
And Avery exited with Macen.
"He's going too far," Gennady whined.
"Oh, shut up." Starling snapped at him, "This is precisely what we said we wanted."
"I never wanted a doomsday weapon," Kostigan complained.
"Be careful of what you say!" Hesh warned, "You saw what they did to Jellico."
"What did happen to him?"Kostigan asked.
"Was it Jaros II or somewhere in the Orion Confederacy?" Gennady fretted.
"He's in a Section 31 black site. Supposedly no one can find it," Starling told them, "Everyone else Internal Affairs detained is detained by the Orions."
"It's that Gulag fiasco all over again," Hesh bitterly complained.
"Careful, Hesh. These Section 31 types are cracking down on perceived disloyalty," Starling told him, "They're probably tapping into our conversation even now."
The conference room doors opened and a squad of Section 31 agents rushed in before finally admitting Edward Fowler himself, "You'd be oh so correct, Admiral Starling."
"Fowler," Starling said neutrally.
"I prefer you all standing by my side. It would make things less complicated and legitimize my rule," Fowler offered, "Akaar and his band of malcontents are intent on toppling me just as I'm establishing my new empire."
"Rule over an empire?" she didn't appreciate the terminology.
"Every hierarchal bureaucracy is its own fiefdom," Fowler defused the provocative language, "Starfleet is no exception."
"I suppose you have lists of new targets," Starling knew for certain.
"The command staffs of Deep Spaces Three, Four, Nine,, and K-7 must be removed through any means necessary," Fowler instructed.
"You want them terminated, not arrested," Kostigan realized.
"If the arresting agents should feel threatened for any reason, they have a right to defend themselves with whatever force is necessary," Fowler created the legal fiction to cover the actions.
Starling in particular was disturbed by this course of events. She'd never been asked or ordered to assassinate fellow Starfleet officers before. And she was amazed at how politely it could be done. Starfleet Command really was a brave new world these days.
The Constellation-class USS Hathaway arrived at DS9 beside the Freehold. Starfleet Intelligence had refurbished the starship and reregistered her as a civilian transport. Joelle Jones and her crew of ex-Maquis commanded the SS Hathaway now. But in the years since the Maquis, Jones had supplemented members of her original crew with eager replacements due to losses or retirements.
And now the veteran Maquis crewmembers were living a dream. They would get to topple Starfleet. Mudd was more than happy to assist as well. Nechayev's terms of service were exceptionally generous.
Avery decoupled the Venture and went to the outer edge of the Bajoran system to meet the two newcomers. The Obsidian also disembarked under a new commander. Macen insisted Ro take the center seat for the duration of the mission.
The crew didn't know Ro well enough to either judge or willingly accept this turn of events. But Macen had also turned tactical command of the SID team over to Ro. And despite most of their long acquaintanceships with Ro, there was a great deal of disgruntlement over the turn of command. Only Ebert was used to seeing Macen take orders for Ro and defer to her judgment.
Ro left the running of the Obsidian to Macen and Macen deferred to Shannon Forger. Ro contacted Jones from the Captain's Ready Room and began burying the proverbial hatchet. Jones was feeling magnanimous after her cordial greeting from Macen laced with Nechayev's generosity of issuing a blank pardon for any and all crimes committed within Federation space.
Ro briefed Jones, Avery, Forger, Mudd, Macen, and Rockford simultaneously, "The Special Investigations Division is ostensibly a civilian agency owing its total allegiance to the UFP and the President. I say 'ostensibly' because the agency retains all of it s previous ties with Starfleet including its former Starfleet assets. In light of Prentiss' investigation, the President felt incumbent to 'remove' the SID from Starfleet's control and place it under his direct authority."
Ro continued, "Once we reach Sector 001, Captain Avery will conduct sorties of local Starfleet traffic in anticipation of Admiral Riker's action. Captain Jones and Commander Forger will be assisting her in this."
"It'll basically boil down to a series of hit and run guerilla styled attacks," Avery told them.
"My favorite kind," Jones had zeal lighting up her eyes.
"And all of this is distract Sol Command from Harri's entrance and weaken the defense grid to prepare for Riker's group," Forger had a keen grasp of the situation.
"Hey, distract away," Mudd grinned.
"What about the ground team?" Rockford asked.
"A twofold approach is being used," Ro told her, "Celeste, you and your investigators will have access to Starfleet from a remote duty station. It's your role to uncover any and all evidence to be used in trial against the conspirators. Brin and I will lead the tactical team in completing the arrests."
"But you can't seriously be thinking about taking these people alive," Rockford complained.
"I can and I will," Ro silenced the debate before it began.
"Do we even know where Fowler will be?" Avery asked.
"He won't be at Starfleet Command," Macen shared, "But Jack Fowler gave his father's position away when he contacted him from the Sydney-class prison transport he and his team were allowed to steal during the supposed jail break. Amanda Forger and her teams at Ampok Nor have been eavesdropping on both Fowlers ever since."
"You sneaky bastard," Rockford punched her husband in the arm.
"It wasn't just me," Macen rubbed his wounded member, "Amanda put it all into motion after the initial suggestion and tailored it so it worked seemingly without a flaw."
"Modesty doesn't suit you," Rockford deadpanned.
"So where will Fowler be?" Avery impatiently asked.
"First a little background, after the Breen strike on Earth and specifically on Starfleet Command and the Federation Council Building, basic services on Earth were disrupted and the loss of communication, even for such a short time, disrupted governmental functions across the Federation," Macen reminded them all, "In response, a shadow government was created. A hidden means of keeping the government intact and functioning in the loss of the President, the Federation Council, and even the bulk of Starfleet Command. That cabal still exist today."
"Only now Edward Fowler wants to be the public face in charge as well," Jones guessed.
"To be fair, Section 31 owns and operates the shadow cabinet. Fowler's immediate precursor as Director of the Section 31 held the same dual post as well," Macen explained, "But Section 31 has been operating openly in London since after First Contact and the worldwide unification. They stage from a data archive that is both a legitimate Starfleet resource and the hidden headquarters for Section 31."
"Best place to hide and all that," Jones seemed to approve, "My girls and I have been hiding in plain sight at Forrest Station for a decade."
"And it seems you have a knack for acquiring decommissioned starships," Avery countered.
"You can thank Ro here for leading us to the Saratoga and your precious Admiral Nechayev for giving us the Hathaway," Jones shared.
"Captain Avery, I expect you to work hand in hand with Captain Jones and Commander Forger," Ro reminded everyone, "And your primary mission begins before my team reaches London."
The two disparate captains' holograms faded away leaving Forger to mutter as she exited the Ready Room, "This ought to be fun."
"Brin, I think you'd better give me everything you have on the archive," Ro recommended.
"Everything is public Starfleet record. Everything else is just an inference knowing what we do about Section 31," Macen told her, "Only Section 31 operatives will know more."
"And Erika Benteen will be blocked from communicating with us," Ro guessed, "Is there anyone else?"
"Possibly," Macen allowed, "Agent John Crichton Browder was with Sloan when we investigated Elijah Waters' death. When Sloan died, Browder fell out of favor. But he knows where most of the bodies are buried so that bought him insurance. He may or may not be willing to topple Fowler."
"Ask him if he'd appreciate living under Browder's regime," Ro insisted, "That should motivate him."
"Captain, Sector 001 seems devoid of Starfleet traffic," Armino, Avery's XO, reported.
"And that worries me," Avery confided, "Commercial and civilian traffic seem unaffected. And our credentials seem to have paid for our entrance into the system."
"Meaning our bona fides as pirates," Armino deduced.
"Precisely," Avery confirmed it, "The same holds true for Jones and Mudd."
"Fowler must presume he can purchase our loyalty," Armino speculated.
"Good bet," Avery agreed, "And I'm not certain he isn't wrong about Jones and Mudd."
"And yet Captain Ro trusts Captain Jones and Captain Macen seems certain of Captain Mudd," Armino reminded Avery.
"Which leaves me the resident skeptic," Avery pointed out, "A fact I'm well aware of, Armino. But it doesn't change anything."
Mudd transported the SID team to Bari, Italy. It was a port facility and hosted a Starfleet telecommunications post. Rockford led Lee, Shade, and Forte to it and they quietly took the post over. And they began doing their research.
Macen's team took the ferry to Ulcinj, Montenegro. The town was one of the oldest port cities on the Adriatic. It dated back to 5 BCE. From there the team hired ground transport to Sasko Lake where the village of Sas existed. It was a quiet hamlet with a population always lingering around 300 people. But next to it was the medieval site of Svac.
Svac had been overrun and destroyed in the 1200s by the Mongols. Now it was home to one individual. Browder made the ruins of Svac his home. And it here that Macen attempted to contact him.
"This place is a wreck," Ebert complained.
"But we're being actively scanned," Daggit replied.
"And targeted," Parva added as phaser turrets revealed themselves in every direction.
"They probably won't target me," Tessa theorized.
"But they may find your mobile emitter to be a threat," Smith softly warned her.
"Well, if I live and breathe. Ro Laren and Brin Macen reunited," Browder drawled his laconic southern accent.
He'd put on twenty pounds over the last sixteen years. Browder finished his thought, "Sloan told me you might come for me someday."
"Not in the way you're thinking," Ro countered, "You know what Fowler is up to."
"And I warned anyone that would listen and most that wouldn't what would happen if that man was made Director," Browder complained, "And they forcibly retired me as my thanks."
"Help us stop him," Ro requested.
"Fowler may have lousy methods but his intentions are decent. The Federation is soft and decadent. They need to realize the universe s essentially hostile to life and civilization," Browder spoke, "Cell 51 was the first step in that revelation. Fowler is the natural progression."
"We could force you to help," Ro threatened.
"How? Sick your pet Angosian or EMH on me?" Browder scoffed at the idea.
"Easy everyone, we need him," Ro warned everyone else.
"No, you only need them," Browder pointed out Kerber and Smith, "All you need from me is an introduction to get past the front door. Once you're inside, you'll need to plunder the specially coded armory. And if Fowler captures all of you, I'll simply say you overpowered me and raped my data vault."
"Deal," Ro agreed to his terms.
The UFP President had resigned amidst unknown suspicions. That made Vice President Shwren ann'Deri te newly sworn in President. Seen as a joke by her political rivals Wren had run on a populist platform despite her Andorian heritage. But she'd served at the Tactical Officer aboard the USS Gandhi and worked beside Tom Riker. And he'd broken her heart.
After joining the Cobalt Office, Wren had looked Riker up and discovered he'd settled down into the SID and married a joined Trill named Lisea Danan. At reading the news, Wren still felt a pang of regret that she hadn't confessed the depth of her feelings to Riker. But at least he'd seemingly found happiness and a purpose all his own.
Wren's Chief of Staff was another fellow officer from those days. Annalise Valis had navigated Starfleet bureaucracy for a dozen years before resigning and joining Wren's initial campaign for a governorship over Sherman's Planet. Riker had introduced Valis to the broader world of fluid transfers and thus overcoming her background as a clone from a society of clones.
Now Valis was the giddy, if overwhelmed, mother of six children by six different fathers all of six different species. She was a literal United Federation of Planets in her own backyard.
Wren had changed her name upon entering Starfleet shortening it from Shwrenann zh'Deri to something more pronounceable to pinks skins. And Wren fell in love with human men. She couldn't even fathom marrying into a quad sexed Andorian family grouping. As a zhen she more closely anatomically resembled human females than the other feminine Andorian sex.
Wren was in a long term relationship with a Starfleet captain. Brian "Skip" Tyler commanded a Constellation-class starship recommissioned after the Enforcer debacle. Wren had stepped down as she was being promoted to Captain and being assigned as a Sector Security Commander.
Protocol was trickier with unmarried partners. Tyler couldn't be referred to as the "First Husband" nor could he simply be discounted because he and Wren had cohabitated every opportunity they had for the last fourteen years. One PR staffer had suggested "First Consort" but the imperialistic tinge reminded people fo the Andorian Empire which was an association everyone worked hard at avoiding.
Wren had grown up on Sherman's Planet had had spent less than two weeks in Andorian territory much less Andoria itself. Wren had seen the best the Federation had to offer growing up and in Starfleet. And that message of hope was what she brought to the Presidency, however unorthodox her arrival to it had been.
Wren's campaign had been "Strength through peace and peace through strength." She voiced the belief that the Federation would sway nonaligned worlds through example rather than force. And that belief in the collective good would overwhelm foreign hostility. But now it seemed domestic hostility needed to be dealt with.
Diplomacy served the Federation's interests far better than militancy. It had been policy for over two hundred years and Wren wouldn't see it die on her watch. But Starfleet had forcibly evacuated her and her staff to Section 31's London base. And injured four of her people getting them into the cells located beneath the archive amongst other things.
Wren shared a cell with Valis since they were short on space. Fowler had been making infrequent visits. And now he'd returned.
"How are you feeling now, Madame President?" he asked with seeming sincerity.
"Irritated, just like before. This is a poor way to try to 'persuade' me to conform to you ideology," Wren replied tartly.
"I could force you to conform but I want you to be a willing working partner. The masses must have their illusions that all is as it always has been," Fowler replied.
"You simply want me waving at the grandstands from a balcony window while you sit behind me as the gray cardinal in complete and total control. I'd be the public face of your policies and the likeliest target for the disgruntled," Wren stated, "My assassination would enable to exert public control afterwards with a Committee for Public Safety or some such."
"Congratulations, Madame President. As politically astute as your predecessor was, I doubt he would have been fully cognizant of those facts," Fowler didn't even bother to try and hide his ambitions, "But an assassination would prove meaningless and unnecessary if you simply did what you were told."
"Which is te sticking point where our ideologies part ways," Wren told him.
"You fool!" Fowler spat, "The Federation can no longer afford your regressive policies. You were doomed to failure before I ever began my campaign to consolidate control over the Federation."
"And who chose you to be the Federation's unwanted savior?" Wren asked.
"Messiahs are rarely appreciated in their own lifetimes," Fowler angrily declared.
"And yet all of your ambitions rest on a single weapon. Do you really believe the Federation will remain whole and intact after mass xenocides are committed?" Wren had to ask.
"Section 31 has studied the Terran Empire from the alternate universe. We could learn a lot from them," Fowler revealed.
"Like how to unite a Klingon-Cardassian Alliance that will crush the Terran Empire?" Wren retorted.
"The fall of Emperor Spock's Terran Empire is history. The rise and continuation of the true Terran Empire is another matter," Fowler smirked.
"And that kind of fear and hatred doesn't dissuade you from going down that path?" Wren wanted to know
"Fear is life and it propels me down this path," Fowler postulated.
"Then you're even more delusional than I thought," Wren said.
Fowler stormed out. Wren sighed, "We have bigger problems than I originally thought."
"They're holding my children,," Valis growled, "If I get out of here I am ending him."
"You might be doing the universe a favor," Wren conceded.
"Too simply put things, we've reactivated everyone's Starfleet commissions. Except Tessa, who doesn't require one. Parva is listed as an engineering consultant at the SPYards again, and Bailey and I are data processing specialists brought into the archive to facilitate data storage and file transfers to Memory Alpha," Kerber explained.
"That doesn't include me," Ebert pointed out.
"Because you're excluded from the team," Smith told her, "We thought you knew."
Ebert flashed Macen an angry look, "No, no one told me anything."
"It was my call," Ro told her, "Brin didn't know until now. Angelique and Bailey have arranged for you to have access to a runabout located on a Starfleet pad in Bari. Your job is get Rockford and her investigators to Paris as soon as they have enough evidence to make a case."
"Which does fit our original mission better," Macen conceded but he was also plainly unhappy at not being consulted.
"I can provide uniforms," Browder assured everyone, "As well as transportation back to Italy."
The Mars based system interceptors challenged the Obsidian, the Hathaway, and the Venture, interrupting a quiet egress into the solar system. And then a lone Galaxy-class starship indentified as the USS Rutherford entered the system behind them.
"Who are these blighters ad why are they flitting about in my solar system?" Voltaire rambled.
"Identify transponders indentify the individual ships a,.." Byte began.
"Shut it or I'll have you dismantled," Voltaire warned, "You and Rey are just damn lucky Fowler wants you on duty."
Voltaire considered his options as the ship bore down exclusively on the Venture, "Mr. Byte, bring Ms. Yar up to the bridge. I want the ship's captain to see how we deal with traitors. You'll be personally chastising Ms. Yar. Or I'll have you recycled."
The threat was blatantly illegal considering that the only mechanical portion of Byte was his brain. The rest of him was purely organic. And human nonetheless.
"The Venture is hailing us," Morag told Voltaire.
"Let them eat static," Voltaire was quite manic now, "Prepare to lock phasers and target photon torpedoes on that vessel when I give the order. I want her destroyed as example for the rest."
"Prep all weapons systems and shields," Avery ordered, "Alert boarding parties to stand by."
"Are you certain?" Armino was advising caution.
"They would have replied to our hails long ago if they meant any good for us," Avery replied, "Arm weapons and raise shields. Now we'll see what they have in mind."
"We're rigged for silent running," Nyota Nicjols reported, "On course for their shuttlebays."
"Our proximity will foul their torpedo launchers until they disable the proximity safeties," Jones told her, "Helm?"
"Approaching at half impulse and they're slowing," Jena Cole relayed.
"Slow accordingly. I want to match the Rutherford's speed not overtake them," Jones instructed, "Sensors?"
"They seem wholly focused and committed to engaging the Venture," Tatsu Toshira stated from the Sciences station.
Jones tapped a virtual button, "Hailey, get ready to transport our surplus 'packages' at a moment's notice."
"Yes, Captain. We have everything prepped and ready to deploy," Hailey Cooper, the ship's teenage transporter chief confirmed.
"All right Illyana, let them know we're here," Jones instructed Fermova, her communications chieftain.
"Captain! We're being hailed from our aft quarter!" Morag lamented.
"Incompetents! Must I do everything?" Voltaire raged.
"Red Alert! Raise shields!" Frakes ordered.
"Several teams were beamed aboard from ahead and astern," Byte revealed, "Engineering has fallen to the boarding parties."
Everyone's systems went in to standby as an hours long diagnostic began.
"Clever," Rey mused.
"Exceptionally," Byte concurred.
Yar disarmed the two guards standing watch over her. She handed Byte one of her captured phasers.
"I've got one," Rey pulled it out from underneath the CONN station.
Avery's boarding party flooded onto the bridge from the turbolifts and the crawlspaces.
Jones' engineering team had followed the stun bombs that detonated throughout Engineering thanks to Cooper's precision placements. The Deputy Chief, Ryssa Davis, reported in to Jones, "We've secured the ship. The could cut their way through bulkheads to get to us but we could set the auto destruct and be back aboard in time to watch the fireworks."
"I'll be happy to report that to Paige," Jones' Chief Engineer was woman named Donaldson.
Hailey Cooper's older sister, Gwen was the EMT beamed aboard to tend to any wounded. The 2nd Officer, Zara Smythe, also came with. Once Davis' engineering team shut everything down, Smythe led the holding action.
Yar threw in with Avery's boarding party and opened negotiations with Voltaire. Frakes was indignant, "Where did you people come from?"
"Your main briefing room. We transported in as soon as we were in range," Arwara was happy to tell them, "It seemed that your anti-intrusion defenses were offline."
Morag looked mortified before he was stunned. Frakes was just plain stunned before he hit the deck. Triad begged and pleaded and offered sexual favors before she too was put down.
Avery hailed Arwrara's team, "Captain Jones is recalling her personnel. We have an inbound hostile."
"Understood, we'll continue to hold," Arwara confirmed.
"Now is a good time to start being reasonable," Yar dictated to a seething Voltaire, "And we really should sit down in your Ready Room. I know where you keep the aged bourbon. You're going to be breaking out some sifters and we'll all be indulging. Even you."
With the Tribulation damaged beyond easy repair, Jack Fowler received orders to load experimental long range torpedoes aboard the USS Thunderchild and begin delivering them one Typhon Pact nation at a time. After that was accomplished, Fowler would rearm and attack the Federation's fellow Khitomer Accords signatories and finally move to eradicate the Iridian Enforcers.
And the Federation would plant their dominion over every known civilization. It was plan gestating within Section 31 since the late 23rd Century but had never reached a fruition point until the agency explored the Mirror Universe.
Edward Fowler was irate. All the timetables were bogged down. Gennady and Kostigan were late arriving at Ardana IV. Starling had retreated to Luna. Hesh was trying to bury himself somewhere amongst Starfleet regulars.
Kostigan had the most disturbing news. Half of Starfleet hadn't reported in yet since Fowler's take over. And less than a quarter of those that had previously removed their senior officers still had a viable chain of command. And the teams sent to replace the expectedly problematic crews had never reported in since departure.
Gennady assured Fowler that every space station and starbase held by the resistance faction would deplete available forces since the stations necessitated protecting. But every scenario was built around an external foe not a potential civil war. Not even the Cell 51 precursor design to test the viability of the plan had so thoroughly carved up allegiances.
Akaar and the Council of 5 simply needed to disappear. And so did Data, Riker, Sisko, Dax, Janeway, Chakotay, and a dozen other top officers. Fowler had allowed Wren to survive this long as bait. But once Starfleet was finally and completely his, her execution would be the first order of business.
Browder brought Ro's team into the heart fo Section 31. From all appearances the above ground floors were exactly what they purported to be. The data archive extended twenty stories into the London skyline. But the staffers were aware that something covert existed beneath them. It was part of the nondisclosure orders they received upon being posted at the archive.
"How far down does this facility extend?" Ro asked Browder.
"Twenty levels. That makes as deep as it is tall," Browder told her.
"Where exactly does the Section 31 name derive from?" Daggit asked.
"I've wondered that myself," Parva admitted.
"The agency was incorporated because of the ambiguity of Section 31 of the original Starfleet Charter revisited and reaffirmed by the Federation Starfleet Charter," Browder revealed.
"I never saw that," Burrows confessed, "And Starfleet Special Operations Command shares its origin in the same clause."
"You have to realize the perspective. They were creating a clandestine agency within Starfleet that most officers, even the admiralty, wouldn't know about," Browder shared, "Particularly not the Vulcans when it was first instituted into being."
"It's just more men and women playing god," Ro said distastefully.
"Then it's a good thing all gods die this day," Daggit decided.
"Damn straight," Parva resolutely agreed.
While security finally cleared them into the archive center, Kerber and Smith distanced themselves. Only four data terminals on the ground floor accessed Section 31's secure servers. They'd memorized the location of each one and they commandeered two of them facing towards each other. Then they quietly began infiltrating the system.
Browder got everyone else into the security office and used his clearance to arm them with phasers equipped to not be automatically deactivated by the in-house security net. Macen commented to Ro, "Tracy and Tessa are going to be upset they missed this"
"Even your frinxing EMH is an adrenalin junkie," Ro complained.
"You're the one that left them in Italy," Macen reminded her, "So they'll only be angry with you."
"Something to look forward to," Ro rolled her eyes.
Browder took them to the turbolift, which was large enough to ferry twenty people at a time. And after riding down one level, they got their first glimpse of Section 31's secret base. And the beast was even more developed and entrenched than anyone had dared guess.
"Communication from the Obsidian," Fermova reported to Jones, "Two ships have dropped out of warp at the edge fo the system and are blazing their way towards Earth at maximum impulse."
"Tatsu, get me a scan of those ships and then plot a parabolic course showing their egress into the inner system," Joes ordered Toshira. And Toshira was more than happy to obey.
"Illyana, contact Avery and find out of she wants to be a pirate as well as play one," Jones instructed Fermova.
"She wants to know what you have in mind, Captain," Fermova told her.
"We'll play concerned helpers to a stricken Rutherford as it broadcasts distress signals," Jones replied, "Once we've lured Starfleet in, we'll strike while they're unprotected."
Fermova passed the information along before replying, "She'll do it. She doesn't like it at all but she'll do it anyway."
Jones addressed Ana Novic, "Plot us an exit course out of the system if we can get these buggers to follow us."
"Yes, ma'am," Novic happily replied.
"Captain, I have IDs on the two inbound starships. They're the Centaur and the Manitoba."
"Give me everything we have on them," Jones insisted, "And hurry. Anji, pull up their specs."
Botwan complied.
"Using a starship as bair. This is the first truly piratical thing we've done," Avery complained.
"We've all known it could come down to something like this," Armino stated, "But suddenly I wish I was on another starship."
"It'll get better as other stragglers arrive," Avery sarcastically told him, "And we have to keep up pretenses until Riker's squadron arrives."
"I hate my life," Armino only half joked.
"I can't get at the AI," Kerber quietly complained.
"Artificial intelligences are illegal within Federation borders anyway," Smith whispered back, "I'll deal with the AI. Just keep security off of me."
The facility security detail had taken notice of Kerber and Smith's efforts at the secure stations. As had the ground floor archival staffers. Smith focused on the AI's language parameters.
The Federation founders had each suffered disastrous results at the hands of computerized intelligences that cost billions of lives. So one of the first unified acts of the Federation Council was to band artificial intelligences. And that law had remained unchanged and unbroken for centuries or so it had seemed until arriving at Section 31.
But other sentient fleshly beings had made similar decisions for similar reasons as the AIs. Kodos was a prime example from somewhat modern history. Or the madness of offspring trying to protect their fathers in the case of Kodos' daughter, Lenore.
Kerber decided simply deal with the closest guard first. The enlisted officer was human so a palm strike too the nose nicely distracted him with Kerber plucked his phaser from his belt and she stunned him. And then she began stunning everyone wearing a phaser.
Meanwhile Smith noted that archivists were running around in a panic rather than guarding their collections. She supposed it was a difference between Ardanan society and the Federation. But she had expected better spinal fortitude from Starfleet.
"Got in," Smith announced in a normal tome and then lights went out.
"Turbolift?" Kerber asked as she stunned the last of the security detail.
"Functional but only to our biosigns," Smith bragged, "I've reset it to a fairly primitive relay and all other security lockouts are disabled."
Another security officer was pinned down behind a console and she wondered how Kerber had spotted her in semi-darkness. Unaware that Kerber and Smith had spent their formative years fighting in mineshafts and in the dark of night.
"Going down?" Smith asked Kerber.
"Right behind you," Kerber agreed as she volleyed fresh phaser fire at incoming security reinforcements coupled with Federation Security Service agents. Then the turbolift sealed and whisked them away below ground.
What Starfleet Security deduced was that Smith hadn't shut the building down. She'd simply put it on standby so its sensors could register her location an d activate as she needed it to. And then they discovered the AI she'd tricked into doing so.
Browder led Ro and the SID team to the armory on Sub-Level One. And the lights and power went down. Emergency lighting came to life and the SID dealt with the startled agents in short order. Afterwards, even Browder was impressed.
"Pretty impressive, I doubted you people had brutal takedowns in you," Browder admitted.
"We could still demonstrate on you," Ro quipped, "Meanwhile binder and gag these men and women."
Ro called Macen and Browder in for consultation to ascertain where to go next. Smith and Kerber followed their tricorder link to the internal sensors to find the team, "We've disabled the primary system but left internal sensors keyed to this unit and the turbolifts activated by Bailey and I's life signs."
"They have the UFP President in detainment," Smith shared.
"Our priority is the President," Ro informed the team, "Daggit, Kerber, Smith, and Macen are excluded from that effort. Burrows, Parva, and Browder, are all on me."
"I'd prefer to stay with Macen," Browder drawled, "I've been waiting for this shindig since Sloan died."
"So be it," Ro snorted.
When Ro's unit reached the detention center, they found otherwise unrestricted Presidential Cabinet members herded into clumps by Section 31 gunmen. Taking out the extremely distracted gunmen proved to be the easier part of the equation. Getting them, and Valis' six children, out quietly would be another matter.
"Burrows, take point. Parva you have rearguard, I'll mind the President," Ro told them.
"Why are you doing this?" Wren asked at last, "How are you doing it?"
"It's a long story but we have time," Ro began explaining as their small column moved out. She concluded with, "Starfleet has given me three second chances. It's time I repaid that."
Fowler was haranguing then facility's engineers over their inability to reactivate the system AI. One tried to be reasonable, "The system is deactivated. It's has new language codes it accepts but we can't isolate or remove them to tell it to standby until further notice."
Starling knew her end was drawing nigh. As was Section 31's. The engineer's were too busy congratulating themselves over reactivating unimportant subsystems that were never part of the attacker's priority. .
Macen and Daggit began stunning engineer's a security personnel alike. Fowler was incensed and wholly focused on Browder's presence, "I should have known you'd betray us."
"I'm not the one trying to seize control over the Federation," Browder retorted.
"So these are the people trying to kill us?" Kerber's voice held a dangerous edge.
Fowler backed Starling into a secretive room to find out why she'd left Luna. Smith deprived it of power and sealed the doors shut. She promised Macen it would open again before they asphyxiated. Maybe.
"Do they have any basic amenities in there?" Macen inquired of Browder.
"Chemical lighting, chemical sanitation, water and rations to last a year," Browder shrugged.
"Now do we contact our half of Starfleet?" Kerber asked.
"First order of business," Macen pledged.
The Titan led the Enterprise and the Robinson in relieving the Venture, the Obsidian, and what was left of the wreckage of the Hathaway. Avery and Forger took on survivors from Jones' crew. Emelie Winters reported from OPS that Mudd had called the "all clear". So Avery and Forger set course from Earth as fast as Rosie Winters and Aglaia could input the coordinates into their helms.
Wren went into crisis control putting down the actually rebellious elements of Starfleet before turning her attention to the Federation Council and its "election" of a Fowler stooge as President after hearing reports of her death. Prentiss would be delivering her repport. And Wren insisted Ro be there as well.
"All right. But I won't like it," Ro curmudgeonly replied.
"Neither will I," Wren promised.
The Obsidian reported its arrival and Smith "persuaded" the artificial intelligence to commit "digital suicide". And the lights went out permanently on the underground Section 31 base but left the data archive unaffected. Macen bid Browder farewell.
"You could come with us,:" he offered.
"Sorry, but I think Section 31 needs a little more housecleaning. Hakatay and Sekona are my first recruits. I might even be able to convince Gilmore," Browder replied.
"This just goes to show again that Section 31 and the SID make natural allies," Macen told him.
"We'll see," Browder allowed before disappearing into the archive. Some secrets couldn't be divulged. Ever.
Jones opted to return to Forrest Station to retrieve the NV-26 USS Saratoga rather than crew aboard the Venture. All of her crew was transferred to Avery's ship and then the voyage was made.
Section 31 was officially shut down and dismantled but Amanda Forger and Nechayev tracked the distribution of suspected Section 31 assets long after the agency's official demise. But it seemed there was now more than one faction of S31 in existence. So it made them harder to monitor than ever.
Fowler and the conspiring admirals faced trial before the Federation Council and the trial actually brought the possibility of death sentences despite longstanding Federation policy. But in the end they all received sentences to Jaros II's maximum security wing. Jellico was never located. Wherever Fowler had put Jellico, it was like he'd vanished from the universe.
The SID was officially reincorporated within the Starfleet organizational framework. Agents would be chosen from Starfleet officers and exemplary civilian assets. So those members of Macen's crew that had once possessed Starfleet rank found themselves recommissioned as officers. And most were promoted as such.
Seeing as, Shannon Forger was promoted to than rank of captain and given formal command of the Obsidian. Macen was made a commander again and given the title Mission Commander. The SID has a whole remained aboard Ampok Nor. Which was still a civilian space station.
But Macen was divested of any and all corporate responsibilities regarding Outbound Ventures. Rockford, on the other hand, was now the managing partner of Outbound Ventures and Rockford Investigations. Going forward it was believed the mix of Starfleet and civilian assets would only strengthen the team rather than hinder it.
But the Obsidian crew was homogenized into being Starfleet only. Those ship's officers that had never served in Starfleet enlisted a s noncommissioned officers and underwent training as such. This left Ebert restricted from the bridge. But the Corsair was her exclusive dominion.
Tom Riker and Lisea Danan kept their ranks as they rejoined Starfleet but a new XO was sent to Ampok Nor. Which suited Danan who wanted more time for her scientific studies. And Riker was a Starfleet captain at long last just as his brother made admiral.
"The uniform's look good," Macen told the Forger sisters, "And congratulations on the promotions."
Amanda also been promoted from Rear Admiral to Vice Admiral. She shared her concerns regarding Section 31, "I don't suppose Browder will just let it die?"
"Of course not," Macen replied, "And he won't be able to keep it intact."
"Which means more nuts to the squirrels," Rockford grumped.
"So top flight agents like Sarina Douglas will have options to choose from," the elder Forger realized.
"And Jack Fowler will scoop up the remainder," Macen predicted.
"Yay, Jim Bob," Rockford rolled her eyes.
"You know it," Macen seemed almost amused.
