The deep voice of Commander Movaare was the first to speak. "Agent T'osa, you have been praised for the quality of your work until now. I'm disappointed by your failure. Did you simply forget the mission?"
"Sir," she started cautiously, "as I stated in my report, I thought the guards were part of the plan."
"You can't honestly expect me to believe you confused security guards with Tal'Shiar operatives." He countered accusingly.
"Again, Sir, as stated in my report, I had gotten locked in the transponder room during the first attack. I was shot before I could identify the assailants during the second attack."
"The agents were supposed to respond to your signal, T'osa... a signal you never sent."
"He was with me the entire time. He didn't trust me completely. After the second attack, I assumed you had other monitoring us and had sent agents on your own." Please buy that, she pleaded with herself.
"That WOULD have been a good failsafe plan, Movaare." Another department commander offered.
"I told you before, that wasn't feasible. We had no idea what kind of sensing equipment he would have brought with him. Agent T'osa was our only option. I thought you told me he was attracted to you. Why didn't he trust you?"
"I believe it's because I'm a romulan, Sir," she replied coldly. "It will take time for romulans and humans to trust one another."
"I see," Movaare said cautiously. He changed the subject and went back to his official, deep voice. "Your report fails to mention why he wanted information from the transponder room. I thought you were taking him to a computer console on the bridge."
Okay... she knew that question was coming. She had prepared ahead of time. Here's hoping they believed her. "Somehow, he discovered the vessel they neutralized had disappeared from the moonbase it flew into. After doing more research, he discovered it never left the base. He approached me with the new identity of the Haakona. Once we got aboard, he wanted to see the transponder records to see who changed its identification."
"What?" One of the department commanders barked. "Someone's changing transponder codes? What's this all about?" T'osa squinted her eyes in the darkness in an attempt to see the shadowed face of whoever was as shocked about the news as she was. It was Commander D'nova. Possibly, hopefully... she may have an ally in her.
Commander Movaare held up his hand towards D'nova. "Did you discover who changed the transponder code?"
Now... for the BIG lie. "No, Sir. The guards were on us too quickly. Commander Kirk left the transponder room door, which slammed shut behind him. I spent the rest of my time trying to burn my way out."
Commander D'nova was still incensed. "I want to know more about this transponder issue."
Movaare was still calm. "This is an internal security matter, which falls under my jurisdiction. I have people working on it right now. We have reason to believe someone is selling falsified scrap parts to the Ferengi Alliance."
T'osa struggled to keep her expression emotionless. Apparently, she wasn't the only great liar in the room. Well, that settled it. She knew exactly whose side she was on now.
"The Ferengi?" D'nova didn't sound happy.
"I will deal with this. Let us stick to the matter at hand." His defensive voice became calm and deep once again. "T'osa, I believe your failed mission may have helped us after all. Ship records indicated a romulan and a reman boarded the ship. Without falsifying evidence, there's no direct way to implicate Commander Kirk in any wrongdoing. Considering the information he's aware of, that is probably to our benefit. We need to know what he knows... because if he knows... most likely, Starfleet knows. I need you to stay close to him. Win his trust... by any means necessary."
She knew exactly what he meant. Still, she remained emotionless. "That will be difficult to do, Sir, since they break orbit this afternoon, do they not?"
Movaare nodded. "Don't you worry about that. Wheels are already being put into motion that will afford you ample opportunties to... persuade him... to trust you."
That cryptic statement made T'osa shudder. The thought of using sex as a tool to manipulate Stephen made her sick. The knowledge she was taking orders from a traitor who was dealing with remans made her want to punch him dead in the face. Her jaw shifted with discomfort. "If you say so, Sir." was the only response she could manage.
His voice became ominous. "The only thing to concern yourself about, Agent T'osa is this... where do your loyalties rest?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Excuse me, Sir?"
He leaned forward into the lamplight. "Where do your loyalties rest, Agent? Do they rest with us, or with your target?"
She sat bolt upright in her chair. "My loyalty is where it has always been, Sir... with the Empire."
Commander Movaare sat back in his chair. "Excellent, Agent T'osa. Dismissed."