Disclaimer: Star Trek and all its characters belong to Paramount Pictures. Carrie belongs to author Stephen King but the words are mine. The characters of the Four Orders (FO*) are entirely my own.

Requested Story by T-Rex-1000

Part Two:

AU/Multiple Star Trek Shows/Carrie: Having become part of 24th century, Carrie White is enlisted in the clandestine organization Section 31 to help protect the Federation from a looming threat that has the power to change Starfleet's future forever.

Chapter 15

Starfleet made everything in its power to hide and complete cover up the unfortunate event on Academy grounds. It was not its usual tactic when dealing with such things however advertising weakness was not a good strategy either.

All concerned parties were told that an exercise got out of control due to unforeseen circumstances the participants were under the influence of some unknown substance that had caused erratic behavior.

Carrie however was surprised of the gullibility of everyone as they believed that made-up story and resumed normal operations as though nothing had happened. But she knew otherwise. The attackers were not some loony students under the effects of a drug. They were Romulans and they had come for whatever information Section 31 had managed to sneak under their noses.

When everything calmed down she returned to her quarters and retrieved the encrypted data. She needed some place else to study it. It was now painfully obvious she needed a non networked console to open it in order to avoid anyone tracing it accidentally. She asked Boothby where she could find old fashioned computers. He was surprised of the request but pointed her in the right direction.

She found the computers and fashioned a compatibility console and got to reading. The second data crystal contained instructions on how to contact safely Lt. Deville. But she was not sure that was a good idea. Right now she could not trust anyone let alone someone she barely saw on the Enterprise.

The first data crystal was something else entirely. It contained several folders. Some of them were additionally encrypted and she did not have the password or the knowhow to decrypt them. The one that she could access contained data on a Bajoran named Bareil. He was a vedek and as she recalled that was a title like a priest or a cardinal depending on the point of view.

She wondered why the Romulans would be interested in him when the Bajorans were under Cardassian rule. It was even more wondrous why Section 31 was interested in him too. The file mentioned where he was and in which cell he was. That was rebel cell. A note said that he was instrumental in the days to come.

Another note mentioned a seer that the Romulans had consulted. The seer had foreseen the fall of Romulus in and around the end of the 24th century and the rise of the androids. Along the note, there was a symbol that resembled the picture of atomic structure but with a note that read – the Conclave of Eight.

She wondered what that is. Is it an organization of eight people or was it something else? There was no additional information on it. There was only a contact name but she was not sure that was a name – Oh. Could be some kind of joke that used exclamation of surprise? Of course anything was possible but she could not check that because any checks she did in the public database will alert the contact person immediately.

This spy stuff was way too complicated now that she thought of it. How do you find someone without alerting him or her that you were looking? She needed to create contacts of her own and probably of the underworld kind. But she knew no one that even knew such.

Her original idea was to right the wrongs in the society by continuing where the law ended but now she was not sure what to do. She could still become a vigilante but that would attract the attention of the authorities. She was certain she could cover her tracks but no situation was perfect enough to hide everything. Sooner or later someone will catch up with her.

She examined the pad that the Professor gave her. It contained instructions on what to do in many situations. One of them referred to an underground contact. But she was to use that only in the direst of situations. Apparently the contact was a smuggler that could get anyone out for a price, a hefty price.

This sounded like a mercenary. Those are people who would sell even their own mother for a price. Such individuals can never truly be trusted as they would change allegiance in an instant for the right price.

Carrie had been isolated her entire life. Her knowledge was almost nonexistent but she had managed to sneak out some books that basically had created her education of the world. And she had been so naïve ever since. This was perhaps the main reason her so-called friends managed to pull that prank on her and she had been totally oblivious to it until it had happened. When she landed on the Enterprise she had to learn everything anew.

Ella had been invaluable. She was not only her friend/family but her teacher. Still many of the concepts of the 24th century did not resonate with her as logical because despite learning next to nothing in her own time she still had some sense of it.

The time spent on the Enterprise had helped her see how they were seeing her time and they saw it as barbaric, at best. Still they had retained many of its history and the lessons that come with it. But none of that information contained the everyday life of a person. The history books never truly reflect that.

Carrie studied what she could in the Professor's pad in order to familiarize herself with Section 31 protocols. She needed more information but it was very risky to make contact with anyone as only the Professor had inducted her in the organization and she was not sure anyone else knew. Besides, Section 31 maintains absolute secrecy. So it was not her job to advertise where she was working and if she was.

She had read everything she can on them. And they did not have the most stellar reputation. In fact it was the exact opposite. It seemed like everyone disliked them. And on most occasions even Starfleet disavowed them despite Section 31 being subservient to them.

But from the little she read she understood that Section 31 was a necessary evil. They were needed. Despite Starfleet having its own unit – Starfleet Intelligence and Security, the obscure Section 31 was a necessity the other members of the Federation did not need to know about for as long as S31 did its job to perfection.

Carrie went to bed exhausted. She never thought a single day could be so exhausting but apparently it could. She wondered what else was in store for her.

Somewhere in San Francisco, two hooded figures met on the roof of a deserted factory. They scanned the area just to be sure they were alone.

"We are alone." One of them said and sat down. Removing its hood revealed the head of a Romulan female in Starfleet uniform.

"Lieutenant Oh," The other one said. "You have done well."

"I had no choice but to disguise it as best as I could. In the light of the Academy celebrations it was the only solution."

"We appreciate the effort."

"What went wrong?"

"That Section 31 operative evaded us. It was only natural he would mix with the rest of the students. We had no choice but attempt retrieval."

"Attempt being the operative word," Lieutenant Oh exclaimed. She was not impressed with the lack of success.

"We would have made progress if not for the last minute additional support the Starfleet forces received. Did you manage to find out who they were?"

"No," Lieutenant Oh replied. "But by the security footage it seemed they knew exactly who they were dealing with."

"I doubt that otherwise they would have told Starfleet and…"

"That doesn't exclude the possibility that they did. Advertising it would make us retreat the already won positions and that's exactly what they had aimed for. But there is too much at stake for us to be intimidated this way. I imagine their strategy was to expose us and thus forcing retreat."

"It is a good thing then that we are not that easy."

"True but there are other ways to locate the missing data. We cannot risk exposure again. We have sacrificed too much already. We have to proceed more carefully in the future. Starfleet is nonetheless suspicious of the situation. We need to lay low for now."

"I am afraid the others do not agree. We must recover the missing data as soon as possible."

"And we will…"

"It is not good enough to lay low. Section 31 is in possession of dangerous knowledge and one that they do not understand let alone know what to do with."

"And starting a war with the Federation is out of the question at this point,"

"War? What do they know of it?"

"More than you can imagine,"

"Doubtful."

"Tell the others that we will do this my way. I can gather the necessary information from the inside without arousing any suspicion. A direct attack again that risks exposing our agents will make the Federation very itchy. And Section 31 is not to be underestimated either. They are far more resourceful that you give them credit for."

"They are no match for us."

"That depends,"

"On what?"

"On which one you are dealing with,"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"There are two of them. One serves Starfleet the other one has a mind of its own. The latter is far more dangerous than you or the others can possibly imagine. So far we have dealt with the ones that serve Starfleet but the data was not stolen by them."

"Do you know who their operatives are?"

"No, not yet, but I am working on it. So far they are completely oblivious to us. So no more such attacks." Lieutenant Oh said. "They think the information they have stolen is from the Tal Shiar and we must ensure they keep thinking that. But if you and the others launch another such attack and you are discovered they will quickly link the dots."

"Very well, I shall convey that to the Conclave."

The two looked around before walking in opposite directions and then disappeared into the night.

But their little encounter was not as stealthy as they had believed. Someone else was watching too. He bore a Starfleet uniform of the past with a black badge. He was part of the other S31 and that meeting bore some concern for him. His boss needed to know but he had no access to him as he himself was a fugitive from his own people.

Lieutenant Carrington sighed deeply (for that was him). Making contact would be very difficult. This Lieutenant Oh has already declared him unstable and Starfleet would not listen to his words. He only hoped the Professor did not induct Carrie into this mess and if he did he must find a way to get her out of there and put some context into it before she loses control and the Romulans realize what a potential she holds. There was too much at stake.

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Lordheaven