Chapter 16

"Finally managed to get through to somebody on Trill," said Brown. He and Kostopoulos sat across from a heavily restrained 'Zrae,' still in her natural form, with a security officer and a MACO flanking her, each armed with a phase-rifle. She now wore a plain grey jumpsuit, provided for her to replace her pilfered Starfleet uniform.

"We were concerned that you had killed and replaced someone," Brown continued when their captive did not reply. "'Course, the government was still being evasive, so I did some digging around, got through to an actual person - it pays to talk to people, not organisations.

"Turns out there is a real Aubren Zrae. I spoke to one of her former colleagues; a rather nervous fellow named Dax. It took a while, but eventually I got out of him that the real Zrae actually is a freelance engineer, but she's been living off-the-grid in somewhere called Tenara for the past three years."

"Makes her the perfect person for you to impersonate," said Kostopoulos. "No way to contact the genuine article."

The Suliban woman still didn't speak, but Brown thought he detected concern on her dappled face. Bordering on fear.

"So," he said. "You come to the base in disguise, under the pretence of attending the tech expo. You sneak into Dan Keenan's room through the vents to steal a laser pistol, using those genetic tricks of yours…" With his hand, he mimicked a spider crawling. "Then you sneak into Reena Bird's room the same way to kill her, hiding the pistol in the ventilation shaft on your way out. Or did you just kill her during your meeting and chuck the pistol afterwards?"

"I didn't kill her," said the Suliban, her voice quiet but steady.

"You're here under a false identity," said Kostopoulos. "You're the only person who could get in and out of the rooms undetected. The evidence is piling up against you."

"Was it personal?" Brown jumped in. "Or did the Cabal want Bird dead for some reason? Have they targeted Abramson Industries?"

'Zrae' scoffed. "I don't work for the Cabal… Not anymore…"

Now we're getting somewhere.

Brown folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, silently asking her to continue.

She sighed. "My real name is Perra. I was born into the Cabal. My parents were devout believers in their insane cause. Thought that we received 'gifts' from people in the future in exchange for carrying out their will." She shook her head. "I didn't know any better; I had no other life to compare it to.

"I was given some of the basic 'enhancements' as I got older, but I was never one of their soldiers. I became an engineer - that part I didn't lie about. Eventually though, I started to realise how crazy the others were. I mean, messages from the future? It's obvious they were just being manipulated by some present-day megalomaniac.

"I wanted to escape, but we were told that the galaxy hated us, and we wouldn't be welcome anywhere. Considering what races like the Tandarans do to even non-Cabal Suliban, it wasn't hard to believe."

Brown knew that the Tandarans were one of the fiercest enemies of the Cabal, but this animosity had turned to mindless xenophobia, leading them to imprison any Suliban they could get their militaristic hands on, Cabal or not. They were generally distrustful of any alien 'interlopers' in their territory, and were even currently holding several Human scientists over some dubious charges of trespassing in a Tandaran system on a harmless survey mission. The drawn-out negotiation efforts had been all over the news lately. It was more than likely out of spite due to Earth's Suliban aid program.

Perra continued. "But, when the Cabal started to fall apart seven years ago, I ran. Moved from planet to planet, always in disguise, taking odd jobs where I could. Didn't risk staying in one place too long; there were always those seeking out ex-Cabal. Even the Cabal itself.

"I soon ended up in one of the refugee centres for my people, on Alpha Three. Started to feel like I could be myself again, without hiding. In appearance, at least. I still didn't tell anyone who I used to work for."

"Why did you come here?" Brown asked. "To Starbase One?"

"I received a message from Abramson Industries at the refugee centre. I don't know how they found me or knew about my past, but Reena Bird said she'd like to meet with me to discuss what I knew about Suliban technology - cloaking devices, miniaturised warp cores, segmented vessels… In exchange, she said her employer could arrange some sort of immunity for me with the Earth government."

Brown thought that this did seem plausible. Willem Abramson had a lot of political pull.

"Bird suggested the expo as neutral ground to meet," said Perra, her voice getting heavier. "I was curious. If it meant not hiding any more, I was game. It seemed too good to be true…"

"What happened?" Brown asked softly. Were they about to get a confession?

Perra took a deep breath. "We met. We talked about what I could offer them, what I knew. She told me a little bit about how the immunity process would work. I was still unsure. Paranoid, maybe. Part of me thought it was all a Tandaran trap - they can disguise themselves as well as we can, you know, just not as easily.

"I told Bird I'd think about it… Next morning, I heard she was dead."

Brown leaned forward. "You're still claiming innocence, then?"

"I am innocent!" Perra shouted, desperation in her voice. Her guards stepped cautiously forward, but Kostopoulos put up a hand to halt them.

"Please," Perra said more quietly, her eyes pleading with them. "You have to believe me."

Brown and Kostopoulos exchanged a look. Once again, they were both thinking the same thing.

All the evidence added up, it seemed like a closed case…

So why did they believe Perra?