Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters, only my OC - Kaitlyn Donovan.
This story is the sequel to All's Fair in Love and War.
Query: What sacrifices must be endured by those that secure our freedom?
Thank you to Just a Crazy-Man, bina W, and IrishBug74, LoyaulteMeLie, Lupinesence, jeangreyten, Belen09, Silver-ShadowSpark, Cap'nFrances, g-love99, guest, badkarma00, and Snowbird for the reviews, and to everyone that is following this story and adding it to their favorites!
Chapter 22 - When the Dust Settles . . .
The Price of Freedom
Chapter 22 - When the Dust Settles . . .
Major Donovan started to move slowly following a few moments of silence after the third bomb had gone off. She winced as pain shot up from her left wrist to her shoulder as she sat up.
"Mullens?" she called out through the thick floating debris and smoke filling the air. They had both come down to the Junction Room a few minutes ago to check out some unusual interference readings.
"I'm here Ma'am." he answered from a few feet away. He made his way over to the sound of her voice. "Are you injured?" he questioned.
"My wrist, but I'll be fine." she answered. They looked up as water started pouring out from the fire suppression system.
They made their way through the doorway that was a much tighter because a ceiling beam from above had crashed down.
They stopped short as they came out into the red emergency lit corridor. The table from the fourth floor Conference Room was mangled in their path at eye-height, on top of concrete debris. She looked up and could see the darkened sky where there had once been a ceiling and many other floors.
Kaitlyn thought quickly. "I'll get the water stopped - if people are trapped, they'll drown in a few inches of water. Try to get out of the building. Start to coordinate all help that arrives. Make sure we have a list of everyone that is transported to a hospital and which one they are being taken to. Grab personnel as you find them to help you. I'll head up and find survivors."
They headed off in different directions.
Donovan climbed over debris to get to the building's Maintenance Room and found the water control panel and turned the flow off.
She headed further down another corridor that looked relatively intact and headed to the stairwell and went up.
X
Corporal Amanda Cole sputtered as she startled awake as water poured down her face from the water suppression system. She had been thrown back into the door of the Conference Room where she had been waiting for Admiral Forrest and Ambassador Soval. Ambassador Galen and a few of his staff had already made it to the Conference Room.
She reached her hand out through the darkness as her eyes tried to adjust. She stiffened. She felt no floor behind the threshold of the Conference Room door. Her eyes adjusted as the water stopped pouring down the walls and the light from the night sky illuminated the area.
The floor was still intact in front of her, though she wasn't sure how stable it was because there was a crater in the center of the foyer to the other side of the wall. She tilted her head as she began to hear people calling out for help.
"Stay where you are." Amanda called out. "I will come to you." She kept to the wall as she headed to where the first voice had called from.
X
Major Kaitlyn Donovan entered the fourth floor, where she knew many personnel had been gathering for the Pre-Summit meeting. She flipped on her penlight and called out in English and Vulcan.
"Major Donovan!" she heard a strong voice call out.
She carefully made her way to where the voice had called from. She saw Ambassador Soval propping up Admiral Forrest in his arms. She kneeled down and quickly checked the Admiral's vitals and found none. She touched his face gently and searched for some type of brain activity. Kaitlyn slowly looked up at Ambassador Soval, "I'm sorry, Ambassador - there's nothing we can do for him. I will watch over his body until the rescue personnel arrive. I need you to go down the stairs and outside to the medics."
"I am not leaving him. I will wait." Soval growled.
Kaitlyn glanced back as Amanda Cole approached. "Corporal, see to it the Ambassador gets to the medics."
Amanda nodded and touch Soval gently on the arm, "Please come outside to the medics."
Soval's angry glare softened. He took a deep breath and gently laid Admiral Forrest down, then left with Amanda.
Kaitlyn Donovan looked at Admiral Forrest and felt her eyes start to sting. She took a shaky breath and tried to contain her anger. She'd cared for Maxwell Forrest and he'd been taken away. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. But the overwhelming emotion that enveloped her was rage. She wanted to find the people responsible and tear them apart. She took another deep breath as she heard a Vulcan medic calling out.
"Over here." she called out in Vulcan.
X
Major Donovan came out of the United Earth Embassy forty minutes later. She touched her forehead gently as she tried to push other people's thoughts out of her mind. It had been overwhelming - being bombarded with all of their thoughts and emotions as she helped pull them out of the wreckage. She needed to come out for a few minutes and center herself before she went back in again.
"Major Donovan." Sgt. Jackson called her.
She turned her attention away from the gaping hole in the Embassy and headed to him.
Sgt. Jackson did a cursory look over her, "Ma'am, Administrator V'Las is at the gates." he reported.
"Thank you, Sergeant. Are you injured?" she questioned.
"My shoulder was dislocated, but I already got it seen to. Ma'am, have them fix your wrist before you go back in there." he advised.
Kaitlyn gave him a small nod. "I will. Could you locate me a bottle of water?" she requested.
"Yes, Ma'am. I'll bring it to you." he hurried off as she headed down the path to the front gates of the Embassy.
Administrator V'Las bowed slightly as she approached, "All of Vulcan grieves with you. What can we do to assist?" he questioned.
Kaitlyn looked at the makeshift triage areas that had been erected and all of the Vulcan medical personnel that were treating the injured. Shuttles were ready to take the injured to the hospitals. She glanced at the growing rows of covered bodies that had been extracted from the building. "If your hospitals could treat our injured and if the Chief Medical Examiners could do a cursory autopsy report on all of the injuries sustained on the bodies - it would help immensely." She looked at the wrecked Embassy again, then turned back to V'Las. "If you have a tent that we could use for our Headquarters, we could get back up and running." She took a deep breath, "If you happen to have a spare communication system we could borrow - ours has been completely wiped out and I have not been able to contact Starfleet Command."
Administrator V'Las nodded and opened his communicator, "This is Administrator V'Las, make an emergency call to Starfleet Command." He handed the communicator to her, then spoke with his entourage quietly.
She stepped away slightly and waited for someone to pick up on the other end.
"This is Admiral Gardner." he stated.
"Admiral Gardner, this is MACO Major Kaitlyn Donovan. There has been a bombing at the United Earth Embassy on Vulcan." she reported.
X
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed felt his whole body tense as Hoshi announced they had an incoming message from the United Earth Embassy on Vulcan. He'd been unsettled ever since Captain Archer had told them three days ago that the Embassy had been bombed and they'd changed course and headed to Vulcan. He knew Kaitlyn was alive because Admiral Gardner has said she'd made the report to Starfleet Command. It made him wary that she still had her mental shields up.
"On screen." Jonathan Archer directed as he stood up from his Command Chair.
Major Kaitlyn Donovan appeared on the viewscreen. "Captain Archer," she acknowledged with a slight nod, "we thank you for arriving so quickly."
"What can we do to help?" Archer questioned.
"I'd really appreciate it if Commander Tucker could check out the structure - we had another minor collapse of a floor yesterday when we were in the process of extracting the last few personnel from the Embassy. I need to be able to finish gathering evidence for the investigation and locate the bomb remnants." she explained.
"How many bombs?" Archer asked as he took a slow breath.
"Three bombs exploded."
Archer raised an eyebrow, "Do you suspect an unexploded bomb still in the Embassy?"
"I am unsure. Corporal Mullens and I had been tracking down some anomalous readings coming from the Junction Room when the bombs went off. I have not been able to return there because of the further structural collapse yesterday."
Archer nodded slowly, "We'll be down there to help you in less than an hour. Do you have a final count?"
"Forty-three casualties - thirty-one Humans, twelve Vulcans. Fifty-six more personnel are injured in local hospitals. There are five of us securing the Embassy." she stated as she glanced off the screen for a moment. "I just had the list sent to you."
Jonathan Archer took a deep breath, "We'll be there soon, Major." The viewscreen reverted back to the view of Vulcan. He turned to his Officers, "Trip, Malcolm - get the equipment you need. Take Phlox with you. Travis, pilot the shuttle." They nodded and quickly left the bridge.
Hoshi glanced up again, "Captain, we are receiving a communiqué from Ambassador Soval's shuttle - they are on their way here."
Archer nodded, "Tell them we'll meet the Ambassador at the airlock." He indicated for T'Pol to come with him.
X
The Enterprise shuttle landed on the Embassy grounds and powered down.
Major Donovan met them halfway and nodded to each of them, then indicated for them to come into the Command tent.
Trip Tucker looked over Kaitlyn and noted the cuts on her face and arms, "You okay, Major?" he questioned.
"I'll be fine." She walked them over to the monitors and had Corporal Mullens pull up the schematics. "Commander, if you'll look over these for areas we need to check - I'll take you in."
Trip turned his attention to the monitors as Malcolm came over to her.
Malcolm raised an eyebrow at her in question.
Kaitlyn shook her head tiredly, "I'm not doing too well." she admitted quietly.
Doctor Phlox came over and indicated for her to sit down on one of the cots. "Let me check you over, Major."
Malcolm watched as Phlox ran his scanner over her. "Administrator V'Las seems to think the Andorians are behind this."
Kaitlyn scoffed, "That's highly improbable. Did he offer another suggestion?"
"A dissident group called the Syrrannites." Malcolm stated.
Kaitlyn shook her head, "They are pacifists - they're the people that have been disappearing the past few months."
"How are you feeling?" Phlox questioned her as he analyzed the reading on his scanner.
"Tired, anxious, concerned, and sore." she listed.
"When did you sleep last?" he frowned as he clicked through the readings.
"Before the bombings - we've been very busy." she pointed out when she saw the concern on Malcolm's face.
Phlox sat down on the cot next to her, "Your silocynine levels are very high again." he indicated.
Kaitlyn nodded slowly, "When we were rescuing the personnel and extracting them from the Embassy, I was bombarded with all of their thoughts and emotions. I have not had time to meditate." she explained quietly.
"You also have a slight concussion."
"I was in the building when the structure collapsed some more yesterday - I had a compress on it and I've kept myself awake." she stated as Phlox began healing her injuries.
Phlox frowned slightly, "You are going to need to sleep soon."
Tucker turned to them, "I see some places I need to check out."
Kaitlyn stood up and pulled her emergency pack on over her shoulders, "I'll take you in." She looked at Malcolm, "If you could check over the information I've gathered, I'd appreciate it." She glanced at Phlox, "And if you could check out the rest of my unit that's here, I'd feel better."
Malcolm and Trip exchanged looks.
Commander Trip Tucker took a deep breath, "Major, you really need to rest." he pointed out.
"When I have more Security personnel here, I'll rest." she promised them.
Malcolm Reed quickly called up to the Enterprise as Donovan took Tucker headed into the Embassy.
X
When Donovan and Tucker emerged from the building a few hours later, she found that three more of her MACOs and four Starfleet Embassy Security personnel had been released from the hospitals and had reported for duty. She also noted that eight Enterprise Security personnel had arrived.
Malcolm motioned her over to the monitors and pointed out three areas most likely to have remnants of the bombs. "You could have your teams search these areas. Mayweather and I could go check out the Junction Room to see if we can gain access to the rest of the Embassy's computer files." he suggested.
Kaitlyn nodded.
Malcolm held her arm gently as she swayed slightly, "Kaitlyn?"
"I'm fine." she tried to reassure him.
He handed her a bottle of water and indicated for her to start drinking it. He glanced back at the monitors, "With all of the security precautions you had in place - nothing should have been able to get through, unless . . ."
"Unless it was someone who already had access, or they had help from someone that had access." Kaitlyn nodded. She'd concluded that yesterday and had started reviewing all of the personnel files for anyone that could have been compromised.
Malcolm nodded, "You stay here and coordinate everyone. When we get to the Junction Room, I'll get a link to the Enterprise and have the Embassy's files uploaded."
She was about to protest, but he shook his head. She backed down and nodded. She knew she shouldn't push her luck, since he could easily have her taken off of the investigation.
Kaitlyn watched as four teams headed into the Embassy to gather any remnants of the bombs they could find.
A few minutes later, Corporal Mullens indicated she had a communiqué. "It's Admiral Gardner, Ma'am."
Kaitlyn nodded and sat down in front of the monitor. She pushed the button and Gardner's face filled the screen.
"You look like crap, Kaitlyn - when did you last sleep?" he questioned her.
Kaitlyn shrugged, "I haven't - the Enterprise just arrived a few hours ago." she reminded him.
"You'll do us no good if you collapse from exhaustion." he pointed out. "What have you gathered so far?"
"Administrator V'Las has suggested the Andorians or the Syrrannites as suspects. We have four teams searching for remnants of the bombs in the Embassy right now." she explained.
"Is either of those suggestions a possibility?" Gardner inquired.
"Not likely. Unknown to most people - our scanners check DNA, so an Andorian even in disguise would not make it through without us knowing. I also review each person that comes through our doors - a random Vulcan can not simply enter the Embassy. Everyone is vetted." she sighed softly. The probability that the person(s) that had planted the bombs was someone that had access was rising quickly.
Their conversation was interrupted by Corporal Mullens, "Ma'am, Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Mayweather have found a live bomb in the Junction Room."
Kaitlyn stood up, "Get everyone out." she ordered. She glanced at Admiral Gardner, "We have a situation - I'll get back to you as soon as possible." she ended the communication without waiting for his acknowledgment.
"Have they requested a beam out?" Kaitlyn questioned Mullens.
"The Enterprise has a lock on them." Mullens explained and turned up the dial so she could hear the conversation.
They listened as Malcolm told Travis to look on the bright side - they wouldn't know it if the bomb went off.
"There's Vulcan DNA on this." Malcolm stated.
"So much for blaming the Andorians." Travis commented.
"I'm going to boost the resolution." Malcolm indicated.
Kaitlyn shook her head as she clenched her fists. It was risky - the bomb could activate. She glanced at Mullens.
"The other teams are out of the Embassy." the Corporal reported.
Kaitlyn's attention went back to Malcolm's conversation as she heard him curse and a loud beeping begin over the comm.
"Enterprise - Mark." Malcolm ordered quickly.
Kaitlyn's heart stopped as she waited for Malcolm and Travis to be transported out of there. If the bomb went off while they were still being dematerialized, they wouldn't make it.
They materialized outside the Command tent as another explosion rocked through the Embassy.
Malcolm Reed came over quickly and held up his hand to keep her from pointing out that he'd taken too big of a risk. "I know it was a close call, but it was worth it." He showed her the readings of the Vulcan DNA on the bomb. "We can run it through the database." He walked her away from the others, "Kaitlyn, I recognized the bomb."
Her brow's furrowed, "What?"
Malcolm held onto her arm, "Kaitlyn, it was one of yours."
She blinked. How was that possible? How could one of the bombs she'd made years ago be here?
"Kaitlyn." he squeezed her arm to regain her attention. "You put the evidence indicators on all of the bombs that had been recovered when they were deactivated, right? The evidence indicator is what I recognized." he pointed out to her.
Kaitlyn felt sick. She kneeled down to keep herself from puking.
Malcolm kneeled down beside her. "Someone got that bomb out from seven layers of security at Starfleet and had the bomb shipped here, where it was reactivated and planted in the Embassy." he pointed out.
Kaitlyn took a deep breath, then looked at Malcolm. "There were four bombs in Starfleet's possession. I highly doubt they took one bomb and left the other three." They stood up and looked at the Embassy. "Malcolm, our Embassy communications have been monitored by someone on Vulcan since we arrived - that's why the frequencies and codes had to be changed early. Only you, I, and Commander Morrison knew I put evidence indicators on those bombs we recovered. The person who took the bombs obviously didn't know I had them tagged. We can't risk anyone else finding out where these bombs came from - not until we find out who it was."
Malcolm nodded in agreement, "Could it have been Harris?"
"I doubt it - he would have just had other bombs built. Besides, what would be his reasoning for blowing up the Embassy?" she shook her head.
"Well, when these bombs were used the last time - they were put in place by Terra Prime. This could be them again." he contemplated.
"If this was initiated by Terra Prime, that means they have a high ranking Starfleet Officer working for them - someone who could get those bombs out of storage without setting off all of the security we have in place." Kaitlyn frowned at the possibility. She shook her head, "I've been through all of the Starfleet personnel files here - there's no one that has any ties to Terra Prime."
Malcolm looked at Kaitlyn, "We'll find out who did this." he promised her. "Analyze any other fragments the other teams recovered. I'll take this up to Phlox and get him to run the DNA."
Kaitlyn nodded, "Malcolm, if you have anything important you need to relay to me - don't use the comm system." she reminded him.
Malcolm gave her a slight nod, then touched her arm again. "I'll come back when I can."
She gave him a small smile as he turned and had Travis go with him to the shuttle.
Kaitlyn headed back to the Command tent and looked over the tables that held the bomb fragments the other teams had recovered. She pulled out her scanner to start analyzing the fragments as the teams went back into the Embassy.
X
TBC.
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