AN: Salutations and bienvenue! Time to return to the world that I've made with MaliceUnchained and Kretolus!
Captains Log, Stardate: 86519.51
My crew and I have survived the short-lived siege on Defera, and I'm happy to say that initial reports from the security teams and planet security say there were very few casualties, just injured. I've sent down a medical team to aid the Deferi…along with the Klingon's medical team. At the moment the representative of Klingon Intelligence, General Xrithath, is being helpful but I'm having his shipped watched… as I'm sure he is doing the same to me. I've yet heard from the away team, but in the meantime, I'm going to brush up on my medical skills and help treat wounded in our sickbay.
"I need ten cc's of kelotane, stat!" shouted Dr. Mrill, an old black furred Caitian with a mane of frizzy hair streaked with white, as she worked on an engineer with plasma burns on his arm when Vex walked into sickbay. Nurses were running about the room dealing with the wounded from all over the ship
"Want a hand Mrill?" Asked Vex looking around the room to assess the worst of the injuries and where she could do the most help. She hadn't been a medical officer long, but she still remembered her Grey's Anatomy and Leonard McCoy's Comparative Alien Physiology.
"I need several, but I'm glad that yours are at least trained!" retorted Mrill as she injected the engineer and moved on to examine a science officer. Vex nodded, even though the Caitian wasn't looking at her, and got to work scanning a tactical officer.
"Looks like you lucked out ensign," She told the young human as she put down the scanner and motioned for a nurse with a dermal regenerator to come over, "your wounds are just superficial and this nurse will heal you right up."
"Thank you, captain, but it definitely doesn't feel like that." The ensign moaned as the nurse started regenerating his wounds.
"I'll give you something for the pain." Vex told him soothingly before she walked over to synthesize a pain reliever. As she was putting in the right chemical formula, her badge beeped.
"Away team to Captain Vex." Said Zasva over the line, her voice sounding strained and annoyed.
Picking up on this, Vex tread carefully. "Good to hear your voice commander." She said, her voice sounding light as she picked got the small vial filled with the analgesic, "Is everything okay?"
"Hello lover." Said a voice from Vex's past that was quickly followed by the sound of glass breaking and a numbing wet feeling on her hand. Vex looked down at her hand that was supposed to be holding the vial of medicine, only to see the shattered remains of it in her now bleeding hand.
'Well… at least it was filled with a pain killer and not a sedative.' She thought before focusing on the situation, cold rage filling her. "If you have done anything to my crew or the Admiral, I swear Ariat, I will fire every weapon in my ship's arsenal at your coordinates from space." She threatened in a deadly calm voice.
A tittering laugh, that would have sounded sweet if it came from anyone else, was her only answer before Zasva's voice spoke up. "We're fine captain. As much as I really hate to say it, Commander Iset probably saved our lives." Zasva told her, the annoyance in her voice intensifying for a moment before she continued, "We've returned to the township and met up with Ambassador Surah, who is requesting to see you, Admiral Zevil, and General Xrithath as soon as possible."
"Very good, Number One," Vex told her First Officer as she called another nurse over to treat her hand, but getting Mrill instead, a sour look on her feline face, "I'll transport down as soon as possible."
"Actually, darling," Ariat broke in before Vex could sign off, "the General has invited you all aboard the I.K.S. Mo'kai to discuss our current Breen problem… An invitation that the Ambassador and Fleet Admiral Zevil have accepted."
Vex gritted her teeth and tried to ball her hands into fists, but a small poke from a frowning Mrill stopped her. "Fine. I'll meet you on the Mo'kai then. I'm sure that the Admiral is bringing Commander Utprut, so Commander Islop, I want you to join us while Lieutenant Commander Ejpiz and Lieutenant Violet return to the ship. That's an order, Lieutenant Commander, not a suggestion." Vex said quickly, knowing how protective her tactical officer was of her Betazoid.
"Aye sir, away team out." Zasva said and Vex could have sworn she heard a frustrated growl before the Aenar signed off.
"Do I need to give you a mild sedative before you share air with that woman?" Asked Mrill casually as she passed the dermal regenerator over the cuts in her hand. "Or maybe some blood pressure medicine, or something to poison her with?"
"Don't tempt me." Vex ground out dangerously, her face darkening with anger.
Mrill was quiet for a moment as she finished off her work, placing a hand on her wrist before the Trill could get too far away, "I know we don't talk about it-"
"Those sentences never end well." Vex groaned earning her an unamused glare from the doctor. Mrill had known her the longest, even longer than Toros. She had met her when she was Nolem Vex, her fourth host, and was her go-to confidante outside Zevil and Tyufia.
"But while we all were hurt by her betrayal and were put in danger because of it…" Mrill paused for a moment, trying to find the most delicate way to put her next words, "you were the one that suffered most… both emotionally and physically."
"That's the nicest way of saying 'you screwed up and nearly killed us all' I have ever heard," Vex said in self-deprecation as she started toward the door. She knew better than anyone it was her fault that her crew nearly died and that she had nearly lost her ship.
"It wasn't your fault and we do not blame you!" The doctor hissed as she followed her captain, grabbing her by the wrist before she went out the door. "She tricked you, tricked all of us!"
"But none of you fell in love with her!" Vex hissed back quietly and she wrenched her wrist free as she continued out the door. The doctor would have followed her, but she had patients to see to and she knew better than to follow Vex when she was angry like this.
Ariat Iset was a former member of the True Way terrorist movement in the Alpha Quadrant. She'd been a constant source of trouble for both the Federation and the Klingons during the war, but it was ultimately the Klingons that had tracked her down. Normally when this happens, the Klingons give their opponents a warrior's death, but the ship that had gotten to her was a Klingon Intelligence ship.
She was given a choice: either join them or be sent to be interrogated for the rest of her life. Not having any real love or loyalty to the True Way and not wanting to be tortured for the rest of her life, Ariat joined Klingon Intelligence and became one of their best deep cover operatives. It was on one of those deep cover missions that she met Vex.
'Of all the people in the galaxy to that had to show up it had to be her!' Vex thought angrily as she entered the transporter room. "Set coordinates for the Klingon ship." She ordered in a clipped tone, not even looking at transporter tech or even Tynizi or Violet.
Feeling it was best not to argue with her captain, the Benzite male at the controls did as he was told. "Coordinates are set, Captain."
"Captain, I really think that I should-" Tynizi started to say, but a look from her captain shut her up. There was a darkness in her Captain's gaze that she did not want to test with an act of insubordination.
"Energize." Vex ordered and she was gone from her ship and on the Mo'kai, where the sight that greeted her was far from welcoming.
"Hello, darling!" Ariat said with a sickeningly sweet smile on her face as opened her arms in an expansive and welcoming gesture from her spot at the transporter controls. "Welcome aboard the I.K.S. Mo'kai." She was alone; no officers flanking her, no General, and, most importantly, none of her friends or the Ambassador.
"Where are my friends and the Ambassador?" Vex asked in a cold and emotionless voice. She was not going to let this snake get to her.
"Straight to business, that's not like you lover." Ariat mockingly pouted, "Aren't going to say how nice it is to see me?"
"It's never nice to see you." Vex told her venomously as she stepped off the pad and stood in front of the duplicitous Cardassian. She thought she might have seen a wince from the double agent, but ignored it and plowed on. "I'm only going to ask you one more time: Where. Are. They?"
"Fine, be boring." Ariat said with a roll of her eyes. "They went to the War room with the General ahead of us." She smirked as she turned and started to lead the way out of the transporter room and presumably toward the War room before continuing, "Zasva wanted to stay and wait for you, but I volunteered to do so, wasn't that nice of me?"
Vex said nothing to this as she followed her. "You're really quiet today." Ariat observed as they approached and then entered a turbo lift. "Deck 8." She told the lift, continuing as the lift took off. "You're not still mad about what I did are you? It wasn't personal."
That was the straw that broke the camel's back, because in the next second, Vex had the Cardassian slammed up against the wall with her arm up against her throat, putting just enough pressure to keep Ariat quiet but not to suffocate her, her face a mask of pure rage. "Trying to capture me I understand, I've got five lifetimes of secrets in my head, so it comes with the territory. I can even understand you trying to kill my crew and destroy my ship, it's war, that happens."
Vex added a bit of pressure as her glare turned a mixture of sadness and murder, "But making me fall in love with you? That is by far the most fucked up thing I have ever had to deal with and would never cross that line, no matter the mission." Feeling the lift slow down, Vex pushed herself away from and proceeded out of the lift as the Cardassian took deep breaths of air. "Not personal my ass."
Surprisingly, Ariat didn't try to retaliate or verbally jab at her, opting for an uneasy and a slightly awkward silence fell over them as they made their way to the War room and then stepped inside. The room looked like a Klingon version of a Starfleet conference room, but more utilitarian and with a significant number of weapons on decorating the walls. Sitting around the table were her friends, the Ambassador, and sitting at the head of the table was General Xrithath.
He was dressed in the all-black armor of Klingon Intelligence: black platemail armor on his torso, pointed black shoulder guards, and black leather pants with a Gorn battle skirt attached to the pants. Like most Gorn, especially of his size, he wore no boots on his claw-tipped feet.
"Captain Vex," Intoned the massive Gorn as he stood to his full gargantuan high of eight feet, his green eyes going from her to Ariat as they to their seats. "Welcome aboard the Mo'Kai. I trust my First Officer was an adequate guide."
"Sure, let's go with that." She said with a glare directed at the Cardassian, who pointedly didn't make eye contact. Vex took the vacant seat between Zasva and Tyufia, both of whom along with Tyufia looked at her concerned.
'Are you okay, Captain/Vex/Cissy?' Asked the three voices of her three psychic friends, their concern for her clear in their mental voices, but unfortunately causing a dull ache in her head.
'No, but why should that stop me now?' She answered all three of them before turning her attention to the Deferi Ambassador. "Ambassador Surah, you wanted to tell us something? Although I have a good idea what it's about."
Surah looked troubled as he stood up from his seat, rubbing his hands nervously as he did so, before addressing the room. "Honorable allies, I apologize for my... secrecy, but at the time it was the best course of action. As you have no doubt surmised, this is not the first time that the Breen have attacked Defera." His troubled expression deepened as he continued, "Their aggression has increased in recent weeks, and we have been unable to either stop them or open a diplomatic dialogue."
"The Breen take what they want and don't bother with things like diplomacy." Vex stated, disdain clear in her voice, "We learned that the hard way during the Dominion War."
"Ambassador, why not simply ask for our help instead of trying to trick us with an alliance?" Zevil asked calmly, but the look in his eyes a mixture of cold and stormy. "The Federation has always promised to be your ally in a time of need, regardless of any kind of official alliance. We have respected your preference to remain neutral in our conflicts, and wouldn't force an alliance if you still didn't want one. We only seek to maintain peace and stability throughout the Alpha Quadrant, this deception was unnecessary."
"We know this and are asking for your help now." Surah hurriedly said, the very image of contrition. "The Breen are attacking our ships and colonies without provocation. Hundreds have already died, and I fear that more lives will be lost unless we have your assistance."
"If the Federation is unwilling, then the Klingon Empire will happily offer you aid in this time of need." Said Xrithath smoothly, bring everyone's attention to him. "I have been given the power to not only aid you, but to offer an alliance if you are so inclined."
"Thank you, General Xrithath, but we are more than happy to lend aid to the Deferi." Zevil said, receiving nods of agreement from the other Starfleet officers. "However," Zevil said lifting a finger to stop anyone from speaking, "I think this is an excellent opportunity for the two of us, the Federation and the Klingon Empire, to not only join forces to fight a common threat but to show the Deferi that both our governments are capable of balance."
Vex, Zasva, and Tyufia looked at Zevil as if he had grown a second head. They wanted a true end to the war like everyone in the Federation, but with a Klingon spymaster and his equally (if not more) duplicitous First Officer? "Admiral-" Vex began to argue, but Xrithath spoke over her.
"Your proposal is a bold one, Fleet Admiral," The Gorn said, his reptilian face inscrutable but his tone thoughtful, "I can see why Ambassador S'taass speaks highly of your oratory skills." He was quiet then, considering the merits of such an alliance as he drummed his claws rhythmically on the tabletop.
"There is also historical precedent." Zevil went on, going in for the kill, "Many years ago, the crew of the Enterprise-D joined forces with the Klingon Empire and the Cardassians to find a Preserve message, which grew all three governments' understanding of the ancient species. Whatever it is the Breen are looking for could lead to something similar or even greater."
"If I may, General?" Ariat spoke up for the first time, earning everyone's attention. With an agreeing gesture from Xrithath, she spoke her piece. "While the current mood in the High Council's chambers is still a call to continue the war, there have been whispers that it might be better to…put an end to the conflict with the Federation."
"Yes, Ambassador Worf has been less than subtle in his calls for peace." Xrithath rumbled lowly in a considering way, before stopping his claw tapping as he turned to Zevil. "You can vouch for your leader's agreement to this action?"
"I would need to verify with Admiral Quinn and Ambassador Sugihara, but I doubt they would be averse to this arrangement." Zevil told the General smoothly. He was downplaying the reaction to his idea, especially the chatty Ambassador's, who would probably break out into song and dance at the news.
"Then I see no reason why we can not join forces." Xrithath said as he stood up from his seat, his spiked fringe almost brushing the top of the ceiling, and offered his hand to Zevil when he stood up as well, his hand being engulfed in the General's massive one, "I will likewise inform the High Council of this arrangement."
"I cannot thank you all enough." Said a grateful Surah as he also stood up, everyone else following suit, feeling this was the end of the meeting. "My people face destruction. I cannot believe that the balance of the universe requires us to die."
"Think nothing of it, Ambassador." Zevil told the Deferi, a calm smile on his face. "Like I said before, our only interest is making the galaxy a safer place." Zevil gave a sideways glance to the General next to him, "If that leads to the path of renewed peace with the Empire, so much the better."
"Still thank you!" Surah said earnestly again, giving a deep bow before straightening up. "I will be in contact with you again. I can only hope that your efforts will tip the balance in our favor."
After informing both leaders of the situation (Sugihara did in fact look like he was about to sing) and getting the green light, both high ranking officers agreed to organize teams from both ships to investigate the ruins on Defera and patrol schedules to keep the peace around the planet and around the system.
"Xavius?" Vex asked as the four officers rematerialized aboard the Quinzel, "Can I have a word with you in private?"
"Of course." Zevil said, not liking the emotions he was sensing from his friend or the way she said his name. When she had said his name like at the Academy, it never meant anything good. "Lead the way."
'Someone is in trouble!' Tyufia said in his mind in a singsong voice as she watched them leave.
Zevil ignored his First Officers childish behavior as he continued to follow Vex into the Quinzel's conference room.
Once inside said conference room Vex faced him, an unreadable expression on her face. "I think it's a mistake to work with the Klingons on this." Her tone was calm, but Zevil could feel the anger and the anxiety that this statement held.
"A mistake to work with the Klingons or to work with a particular member of a Klingon crew?" Zevil asked, trying to convey his words in a gentle manner while staying resolute.
"Klingon Intelligence is a different kind of predator then the rest of the Empire and definitely more ruthless." If possible Vex's demeanor grew even more rigid as she walked away from him to look out into the debris field outside. "Do you know what she did to me and my crew?" Vex asked him, a fire growing in her eyes.
"Zasva said that she tried to capture you and kill your crew." Zevil informed her, more gentleness coming through his voice now. "But I've known you long enough to know that can't be the reason for the rage and anguish I felt coming off of you when you came into the room with her."
Vex was quiet for a solid minute, reliving the whole sordid affair before finally speaking up and tell the story. "We found her in a 'stolen' shuttle, running from a Klingon Bird-of-Prey. She sent out a hail on all frequencies, begging anyone that would listen for help and sanctuary." Vex gave a mirthless chuckle, "Said she was defecting from 'indentured servitude' to join a side that was more welcoming to her kind. It was all a lie, of course, but we didn't know that and rescued her, destroying the Klingon Ship in the process."
"This is all sounding like the opening of a defense for a disciplinary hearing, Vex." Zevil said as he joined her at the window, his eyes on her instead of the starscape. "What's the real story, Jicsi?"
This time Vex was quiet for even longer, slowly wrapping her arms around herself, before continuing. "She was with us for a month. Command wanted us to observe her before taking her an Intelligence facility for an official debrief. She was…nice, charming even, she made friends with most of the crew in a short and I..." She stopped herself as memories came back to her unbidden: Ariat and her talking and laughing over lunch, bantering with one another while walking the halls, stolen moments and kisses in the turbolift and each other's quarters. "…didn't see what was happening before it was almost too late.
"She'd been slowly dosing me with a mind control drug that KI had been working on, some sort of altered and enhanced version of scopolamine, and was using it to not only get my command codes but to learn a few secrets about the ship and crew that only I knew about." Vex's voice grew hard and angry as she continued, "Rigged and detonated an explosive near the warp core that drew everyone's attention away from the shuttle bay while she dosed me with a more potent version of the drug that she'd been using on me so that I followed her without question.
"It was a good plan; except she didn't count on Zasva sensing that something was wrong with me, and Violet and Clyde being able to seal off and the damage before the core blew. They got to me before she could load me onto her shuttle, but she still escaped, and I was lucky not to have been demoted or kicked out of Starfleet for letting it happen." She turned to face her friend, a glare on her face. "She made me fall hard for her when she only saw me as intel and her 'friends' as loose ends. That is the kind of people that you want to work with, Xavius. Honourless Klingon psychopaths and sociopaths."
"I'm truly sorry that you went through that Vex, I really am." Zevil told his friend softly, but his tone soon changed to a more official sounding one as he placed his hands behind his back and stood a little straighter. "But we have to take a Vulcan perspective on this situation on this. The Deferi need our help and we need to start somewhere in opening a dialogue with the Klingon Empire to get back to the peace we had twenty years ago. Now, I am going to get ready to go down to the surface to go down with the away team to investigate the ruins, we'll let you know what we find anything."
He turned to leave and was halfway to the door before he stopped and not looking back he said "A friend of ours recently told me 'We do what we have to for the safety of the Federation, and our decisions are a part of that'. At the time I didn't want her to be right, but she is. I'm sorry Vex." And he was gone.
Vex silently fumed for moment before, not knowing what to do before an idea hit her. She quickly made her way to her private quarters and accessed her terminal as she sat at her desk as she waited for the transmission to go through. 'Breen hunting for Preserver tech, Ariat showing up with Klingon Intelligence, on top of Xavius keeping something from me and making alliances? I need a mind more devious than mine on this problem.'
The transmission connected and showed a Bajoran woman dressed in an Intel coat that had Admiral bars on the collar. "Hey kiddo, long time no see." Vex said with a genuine smile on her face.
"That's Admiral Kiddo to you, Jicsi," Lydana answered with a laugh. "What can I do for you today? Not very often I hear from...well, anyone, now that I think about it."
"That's not what I've heard from Xavius, kiddo. He told me you and he have been driving Quinn crazy with schemes and bantering." Vex sassed, but her mood turned serious quickly. "Xavius is actually why I'm calling. With all the time you've spent around him lately, has he been acting...strange?"
Lydana leaned back in her chair, her brow furrowing in thought.
"Now that you mention it, yes," she said at last. "Very furtive and secretive, especially about his quarters. He's hiding something, for sure, though it pains me to say it."
"Oh, thank God." Vex said relieved, much to the confusion to the Bajoran Admiral, "I thought I was going on a wild Targ hunt. I figured if you said I was being paranoid, then I was on the wrong track."
"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean the universe isn't out to get you," Lydana said with a chuckle. "Okay, so we're agreed that something is going on. What can I do to help?"
Vex quickly told her everything that had happened so far: the mission, Zasva sensing Zevil's lie, the Preserver tech, and Ariat and her Gorn boss. "Ariat being here is just another hyper spanner in the works that I don't need along with Zevil hiding something. So, I guess what I really need is for some advice." Vex said as she raked her hands through her hair, "I know what Thaxci might do, but Thaxci wasn't Xavius's friend. I want to believe that whatever he's doing is for the greater good of the Federation, but I'm not that naive either."
Lydana sat silently, taking everything in, and thought for a few moments before responding.
"I haven't known Xavius as long as you have," she began, "but he has shown himself to be a man of honor and courage, and he believes in the ideals of the Federation. He has kept secrets of mine that could benefit his career if they got out, and yet he has done nothing with them. I believe that, while he may be acting strangely, he would not willingly endanger his friends, or the Federation itself." She paused, giving Jicsi a wolfish grin. "Of course, I could just check up on him. He may be my friend, but that doesn't mean I won't bug his ship."
"I uh...already did that with his quarters aboard the Quinzel." Vex chuckled a little sheepishly, "I haven't reviewed the footage yet, but I'm sure it'll find something." Vex thought for a moment on whether or not to share what Tyufia told her, if it was betraying a confidence, but she knew she had to. "There's something else...I was told by a source that Xavius has been taking dangerous risks on his own safety and I think it might be part of this strange behavior." She quickly explained, "Xavius is a brilliant tactician and a great soldier but stopping an entire Borg legion with his mind while Undine bombard the planet is bordering on suicide."
Lydana sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation.
"He is going to get himself killed one of these days," she said, her irritation clear. "Send me the data from your bugs too, I'll sift through it and see what comes up."
"Thanks kiddo, I appreciate it." Vex told the petite Admiral with sincerity, "I'll send you the data on an encrypted channel as soon as I can. I guess my next problem is Ariat, but she's always been my problem...she's just been out of sight." This last part was said bitterly and a glare to the side.
Lydana nodded, giving Vex a warm smile.
"Well, if there is anything else I can do to help - up to and including sending more captains with itchy trigger fingers - just let me know...old woman." She chuckled at the last two words, hoping to bring a smile back to her friend's face.
"Tempting offer!" Vex chuckled, indeed smiling, "I'd love the help, but General Xrithath would definitely not like his First Officer being shot... multiple times or shot out of a torpedo launcher into a sun or transported into a solid piece of neutronium." Vex, again, glared in the distance but soon shook her head with a sad frown. "I don't actually mean a word of that, but if I say it enough, maybe I'll believe it."
Lydana shrugged.
"Well, consider it a standing offer," she said, chuckling softly. "In that case, if there's nothing else you need me for, I'd best get going. Things to do, people to pretend to see, you know how it is. Just give me a call if you need any more help. Or if you just want to talk."
"I might just do that...but before you go..." Vex trailed off as a thought came back to her, "Zevil brought his model of Voyager with him and-"
"Captain, the expedition team is about ready to go down to the surface." Toros cut in over the commlink.
"Thank you Toros, send them down and I'll be on the bridge in a moment." She responded before she tapped her badge and then looked to Lydana, "Thanks for the talk, Kiddo, I'll send you the data and let you know what's going on. bye!" Vex then signed off and headed to the bridge, determined to make sure that Ariat and Klingon Intelligence didn't screw her or her friends over all over again.
QN: Things are getting exciting for our little spy friend, aren't they? I have to give it to the doctor; he knows how to keep you lesser beings coming for more and he even got MaliceUnchained to lower himself to give a helping hand! How nice of him.
The good doctor is indisposed at the moment, said something about a Witches will or some kind of drivel like that and he was called away, but he left me to do the sign off. Please leave a review for the attention starved hack, but till next time, this is Q bidding you adieu!
