AN: Salutations and bienvenue! Sorry for the wait, dear readers, I was dealing with a few things and I was having a devil of a time getting through a particular scene.
Captains Log, Stardate: 86519.51
We have been to and left the Toron system, having engaged our ships cloaking device and our Slipstream drive toward the Defera system. So far, we have not been detected by any ships, Breen or otherwise. We have, however, detected several Breen scout ships in the area and have recorded their communications to their lead ships. I have placed my best people on deciphering messages in hopes that they might hold answers as why the Breen are attacking the Deferi.
Vex entered the science lab, only to be bombarded with a loud and garbled electronic sound. "I see we are listening to the Breen's greatest hits!" Vex shouted as walked over to the console where Dinah was sitting at with Vic standing beside her.
"I highly doubt that is what this transmission is, Captain." Said Dinah sincerely as she lowered the volume on the recording, "It is most likely troop assignments and inquiries as to our whereabouts."
"Dinah, remember that talk we had about sarcasm?" Vic asked in a dry tone, her brow raised but not looking away from the screen.
"That you are the unequivocal officer and queen of sarcasm and none will ever gain the same level of mastery that you have." Dinah said matter-of-factly.
Vex let out a bark of laughter as Vic rolled her eyes and shook her head, "No, that it could be used for humor about odd or out of place things." She then paused, "But you were right about that first part."
"Now that that's cleared up," Vex said, trying to move back to the reason she walked in the science lab, gesturing to the console and screen in front of them "What's the status of clearing this up?"
"Not as quickly as I had initially anticipated, Captain." Dinah stated before typing in a few commands into the console, bring up a sound wave analysis program on display. "It appears in the years since the Dominion War, the Breen have made their communications even more secure by adding several other conversations to their messages." As she spoke, the solitary sound wave separated into three separate waves.
"Great." Vex said sarcastically, "Because understanding the Breen wasn't hard enough when you were listening to one conversation."
"That was sarcasm indicating displeasure, correct?" Dinah asked Vic.
"Yup, good job." Vic said to her before returning her attention to the captain, "We can clear it up and we're trying to right now, but the Breen language already takes our translator programs forever when it's just one conversation, trying to untangle three at the same time is going take a bit longer, even with Dinah and I trying to speed it up."
"Keep at it and keep me informed." Vex said, turning to leave, covertly grabbing something from one of the lab tables as she went. Once outside in the hall, she stopped and was about to look at what she swiped when a voice stopped her.
"Hey Vex." Said Tyufia as she walked up to her friend, a smile on her face and a swagger in her step that Vex was sure wasn't there the last time she saw her. "Wanna join me for breakfast?"
"Hey yourself and of course I would." Vex replied as she skillfully hid what she had taken in her pocket, thankfully without the Betazoid knowing.
As they started walking to the ship's Ten Forward, Vex decided to indulge in some light hearted teasing, "You've got a bit more pep in your step today. Did you do something different today…or maybe last night?" Vex asked casually.
"I did several things I haven't done in a long time, actually." Tyufia said saucily, a dreamy grin on her face and Vex chuckled.
"Then I am shocked that my Tactical officer had the strength to be at her post this morning." Vex continued to tease, "You're losing your touch, Casanova."
"Oh, I haven't lost my touch Cissy," Vex said superiorly her grin turning cocky, "I'm just a dab hand at synthesizing a good stimulate to get my girl going."
They both turned to one another and burst out laughing at the innuendo. This was how it was at the Academy: they would hang out or walk around campus and make jokes like this and just having a good time, the only thing missing was Zevil saying how incorrigible they were.
At the thought of her old friend, Vex decided that now was probably as good a time as any to subtly ask about Zevil's behavior and if he's done anything out of the ordinary. "So, how's it been being Xavius's Number One?" She asked as they entered the lounge/mess hall area and made their way to the replicators.
"Exhausting." Tyufia said with a put-upon sigh and dropping her shoulders in a comical way, before standing up straight and smiling, "Wonderful, but exhausting. He's a great captain, but the risks he's been taking are ridiculous, especially during this last engagement with the Borg."
"How so?" She asked as they got to the replicator. "Oatmeal with brown sugar, berries, and an iced raktajino for a drink."
"Make that two." Tyufia told Vex, the Trill acquiescing to her request. They grabbed their bowls, coffee drinks, and looked for a place to sit. "He's not endangering the crew, but he is endangering himself by constantly going on away missions. I mean these aren't the days of Kirk, where captains go on away mission's every time."
"Except that, thanks to Quinn, it kinda is." Vex told the Betazoid with an apologetic grin as they sat down and dug into her food. Like Zevil, she was also guilty of going on away missions, before and after she joined with the Symbiont.
"Sure, but he could send me every once in a while." Tyufia said exasperated as she stirred her oatmeal a bit, "He nearly had an aneurism after he telekinetically held a whole group of attacking Borg Drones, not to mention almost getting blown up by the Undine's orbital bombardment."
"So, you're saying that you want to almost have aneurisms and be nearly blown up?" Vexed asked her as she took a sip of her raktajino. So far, this little fact-finding mission was a bust. She wasn't getting anything other than the fact that Zevil was taking an active role in the away missions, a slightly dangerous one but that wasn't that out of the ordinary.
"No, but it's my job to be the one to do that stuff! And I'm not the one trying to-" Tyufia began to say, before she clammed up, drawing Vex's attention.
"Trying to do what?" Vex asked, trying to project concerned curiousness and not the overwhelming suspicion she was currently feeling. She hopped that if Tyufia did sense that feeling, she would just think it was her spy instincts and not genuine suspicion of her friend.
Tyufia was silent for a moment, thinking of what to say, before she leaned in and whispered, "I'm only telling you this because I not only trust you not to say anything, but because your also Xavius's friend. He told me that he thinks that he doesn't deserves his rank."
Vex took a moment to absorb that information, and to put the sick feeling that she was abusing Tyufia's trust in her in one of her boxes, before putting in her two cents. "While I think that's bullshit, I can kinda see where he's coming from."
Tyufia looked at her strangely for a moment, before realization dawned on her face. "Because of how you joined with Vex."
"Exactly," Vex said as pointed her spoon at Tyufia, "It should have taken me years to shadow Thaxci before she deemed me ready to join with Vex, but because of some shitty and cruel twist of fate, I became the Vex host early." Vex shut her eyes as the memory of that day washed over her.
Much like a certain Bajoran's training cruse, the one Jicsi was on was supposed to be routine, but thanks to the damn Tal Shiar showing up, that was all shot to hell. They had wanted Vex for the decades of intelligence she had, but they hadn't planned on the Quinzel's superiority and Vex's experience in commanding her.
Things were looking okay, but the ship was too close to the singularity implosion/explosion, and she took a massive amount of damage, especially the bridge. Thaxci had managed to activate the emergency transport system to get her and most of the bridge crew to sickbay, but she and the Symbiont had already a lot of damage, forcing Jicsi to choose who to save.
"Fate might have played a role in joining you with Vex, but you were and still are the right host." Tyufia said soothingly, her tone responding to the emotions she was feeling coming off the Trill.
"I know." Vex said with humility, "and deep down, Xavius knows that he's earned his place as Fleet Admiral." Vex chuckled, "Thinking back on it, it's probably no surprise he and Lydana are such good friends: he and her are a lot alike."
"Now that's a scary thought." Said Zevil as he and Toros walked up to their table, both wearing exercise clothing, "Tyufia and I have both seen what having two Lydanas looks like, and once was more than enough."
"That does sound scary, I kind of regret putting the idea of two of her out into the universe." Vex said with a chuckle, "Nice outfits you two, heading to your spin class?"
"The Ambassador was interested in Vulcan meditation practices and requested a demonstration." Toros explained.
"As am I." Zevil added, "We've reserved holodeck 1 for the demonstration a little later, but in the meantime, the Commander has agreed to allow me to test my swordsmen skills against his Lirpa skills."
"That sounds like fun," Tyufia said, a touch dryly, but added, "The sword fighting, not so much the meditation thing."
"It is quite calming, Commander Utprut, you might find that it calms your somewhat chaotic nature." Toros stated, earning him a raspberry from the Betazoid. He ignored this childish display, as he turned to his captain. "Captain, you asked me to remind you to submit your report to Starfleet Intelligence."
"Ah, yes," Vex said in an 'oh right' kind of voice as she stood up, "thank you Toros. I'll head up to my ready room and do just that." She turned regretfully to her Betazoid friend, "Sorry Tyufia, but duty calls."
Tyufia shrugged and gave a mournful sniff, "Fine, I'll just stay here… all alone…cause I don't have any friends."
Vex and Zevil looked at one another with raised brows. "I'm okay with that. Are you okay with that, Xavius?"
"I am indeed." He said to her with a decisive nod of his head, "Shall we leave her to be the petulant child she is and go off to be grownups?"
"Yup, let's go." Vex told the senior officer and with that the three standing officers walked away and toward their individual destinations, the sound of Tyufia blowing another raspberry.
Vex ignored this, partly because this was routine, but partly because she had to focus on what she was about to do. Vex had asked Toros to remind her of that report, a report she had in fact already submitted, because she needed an alibi in case of the off chance, she would need one.
She needed to know what Zevil was lying about and if it would endanger her crew, especially if he felt like he needed to prove something, and the only way to do that was to bug his room. 'Xavius, if you ever find out about this, I hope you'll forgive me and will be in a position to do so.' She thought as she approached his quarters.
"Computer, open guest quarters. Vex-alpha-four-six-five-six-eight." Vex said quietly and the doors opened, allowing her to walk right in. Vex's eyes scanned the room as she took out the item she had taken from the science lab earlier.
It was a small metal box that held several small orbs that were a little bigger than an average Earth marble and looked to be made out of dark grey metal. These were the latest in observation and investigation equipment that the scientists at Starfleet Intelligence R and D had whipped up.
They could be placed on any surface, had cloaking tech to hid themselves, and could record, not only audio, but also record images to be used in the holodeck. Vex liked to call them her 'little grey cells', after her favorite detective's famous line.
She was about to start placing them when her eyes fell on a familiar model. 'He brought this along?' she thought to herself. She remembered the day that Zevil had made it, how happy he was to have finished it and how she and Tyufia had teased him for his hero worship for Admiral Janeway.
'Maybe he brought it for good luck.' she reasoned, but that didn't seem right to her and she couldn't shake the feeling that this reminded her of something, but no matter how hard she tried to find the memory, she couldn't find it. She shook her head, 'No time for that now, I need to place the grey cells and get out of here in case Zevil comes back early.'
With that last thought, she took out four of the orbs, and threw them at the four corners of the room, where they stayed. "Begin observation and recording functions and engage cloak." She said to the orbs and a second later, the four orbs disappeared.
She repeated the process in his sleeping quarters and quickly left the room, scrubbing her presence there as she left. Not a moment later, her badge chirped followed by Dinah's voice. "Lieutenant Violet to Captain Vex."
"Go ahead Dinah." Vex answered as she tapped her badge.
"We are making our final approach to Defera, sir." The android told her captain.
"Good, I'm on my way to the bridge now, inform Zasva, Toros, and our guests and have them meet me there." She said as she made her way to a turbolift, a kind smile spreading on her face, "I'm sure the Ambassador would like a front seat to his return home."
Soon, Vex was at the Conn with her people at their stations and their guests making their way to the bridge. They came out of warp and the scene before them was surprising: within the rings of the planet was a large debris field, mostly destroyed ships.
"Did the Breen do all of this?" Asked Vic in surprised disbelief.
"If it is, Burgess downplayed it when he said there was an uptake in Breen activity." Vex said thoughtfully, her posture pensive, "Dinah, perform a standard sensor sweep. I want to know for sure what caused this debris field."
"Performing standard sensor sweep now, Captain." Dinah informed as her hands flew across the console. The debris field was scanned, and the results sent to the tactical, engineering, and science stations.
"Definitely polaron based weapons sir," Tynizi reported after looking over the results of the scan, frowning, "and some of this debris is only days old, but there haven't been any reports from the Deferi about any incidents or combat in this area."
"I don't like the looks of this." Zasva told Vex, "I recommend that we proceed with caution, captain."
"Agreed, Number One." Vex said as the proximity alarm sounded when a ship warped in next to them, "Yellow alert! We don't know if these guys are friend or foe."
"Actually, we do." Zevil announced when he, Tyufia, and Ambassador Surah walked out of the turbolift. "That is the Deferi Star Ship Jeska, the Ambassador's personal star ship with his entire attaché onboard. I had them take another route as an added precaution."
At Vex's raised brow, Zevil had the decency to look sheepish, "Do forgive me for not telling you, Captain Vex, but I had to consider the secrecy of our mission and the Ambassadors safety."
"I understand Admiral, this is your mission," Vex said, her tone respectful of her friend's rank, but her eyes narrowed, "but this is also my ship and I, at least, need to know what is going on it."
"Of course, Captain." Zevil said with a nod of difference, "I will remember that for the future."
"Captain," Vic interjected, "The Jeska is standing by for the approach to the Defera, Sir. Shall we begin our escort?"
"Tell the Jeska we're ready to begin escorting them to the planet, Vic." Vex told the human before turning to tactical, "Tynizi, keep a look out for any other surprise visitors." She then turned to the helm, "Dinah, match the Jeska's speed and keep us on their portside."
At the course of 'Aye sir', the ship started its escort and Ambassador Surah stepped forward, "Welcome, honored guests, to Defera. May you be blessed with balance." He intoned with a small bow to Vex and Zevil, "We appreciate the Federation's willingness to meet with us in these times."
"It is the Federation that appreciates your willingness to come to the table to discuss an alliance." Zevil said with a grateful smile, "I'm sure that an alliance between our governments will be very-"
"Sir!" Tynizi called to Vex, interrupting the Admiral and Ambassador's conversation, "We're picking up an approaching warp signature! Attempting to identify now!"
"Onscreen." Vex ordered and the screen showed a blurry image of a ship in the distance for a moment, before it warped out of the system, "Did we get anything from the scan?"
"No, sir," Vic answered annoyed, "the ship was running a subspace jammer, so we weren't able to get a lock on it before at warped out." She then examined the scans further, "But I'm picking up a residual warp signature, and we might learn more from a detailed scan."
"Do it." Vex ordered as they neared the planet. "Something tells me we might need to know soon."
"Captain, we are being hailed by planet security." Dinah informed Vex, who ordered to answer it. On the viewscreen changed to show the inside of a security station with a Deferi male in the center of the screen.
"Greetings U.S.S. Quinzel." Said the security officer in a business-like tone, "We are required to identify your credentials and verify you are in fact the correct ship prior to granting you access to Defera. Please submit to a scan at this time."
"Understood." Vex said, motioning to her crew to allow it, "Do you require any assistance in your scans?"
"No assistance is required at this time." He said, a slight smile appearing on his face, before he turned to another screen where presumably the scan results were.
After a few minutes, the security officer looked back to the screen, "Thank you for your cooperation." He said to Vex with a grateful nod, "Our scans are complete please provide us with your clearance code before you establish orbit around to Defera."
At this request, Zevil stepped forward into view of the screen. "Our access code is 9-4-6-W-2-Q-O-S."
"Code verified." The security officer said after he entered the code and then looked back up to them, "Welcome to Defera and it may you be blessed with balance."
"Thank you for the protection and escort, Captain Vex." Surah told Vex with a grateful bow as she stood and faced him, "Your diligence and readiness does you credit."
"It was my honor to bring you home, Ambassador." Vex said with a bow of her own, before she turned to the Admiral with a mischievous smile, "And I always enjoy chauffeuring the upper echelon of Starfleet around too."
"Efficiently if not totally respectfully." Zevil said with an amused smile, before a frown marred his face, "That ship you picked up worries me. We will need to learn more about it later, in case it poses a threat to us and the Deferi."
"But for now, let us discuss the possibility of trade and diplomacy between our peoples." The Ambassador cut in, with a smile. "My attaché will send us the planetary coordinates for transport. These coordinates will take us to one of our famous historical parks and preservation sites."
"We just received them now captain." Vic told Vex from her station, "I'm sending them to transporter room one now."
"Then I shall go there presently." Surah said with another smile bowing to Vex again, "Again thank you, Captain." He then turned to Zevil, "Fleet Admiral, I will meet you and the Commander at the transporter room."
"I will see you there shortly, Ambassador." Zevil said with a smile of his own, "I just want to discuss a security detail for the talks with the captain." As the Ambassador left Zevil's face turned serious as he turned back to Vex, "I still don't like the looks of that ship, Vex, especially when you consider the recent debris field."
"A debris field that was created by with polaron weapons." Vex agreed with a nod of her head as Zasva and Tyufia joined them. "I'm think we should send you down with a full away team with a security team as back up."
"While I agree that would be a prudent option, that might put the wrong impression with the Deferi." Zevil said as he took on a thoughtful pose, "No, it might be wiser to take three other officers with Commander Utprut and myself and have a security team or two waiting on standby in case the worst should happen."
"I agree with the Admiral, Captain," Zasva said to Vex, "if you will agree, I, Lieutenant Commander Ejpiz, and Lieutenant Violet will go down with the Admiral and Commander to the talks."
"Very good Number One," Vex said to the Aenar, "We'll keep a look out up here and have security teams on standby in case of an invasion." With that said, Vex resumed her seat as the five officers left by the Turbolift, her face thoughtful.
'Could the lie that Zasva sensed from Zevil been the Ambassador's star ship?' she asked herself but dismissed that thought before really considering it. 'No. Something is telling me it's deeper than that.' She narrowed her eyes as she started giving her crew their orders, her final thought before focusing wholly on the task at hand: 'What are you up to Xavius?'
AN: My poor creation, she just doesn't know what's going on with her friend. Does it make me sadist that I'm enjoying watching my creation squirm or does it just mean I'm just a writer?
Please tell me what you think of this latest chapter, but till next time, I bid you adieu!
