Third Mission, Part XX

Posted on May 31, 2020 @ 1:53am by Chloe Nielsen
Edited on on May 31, 2020 @ 1:54am

Mission: Section 31

“Third Mission, Part XX”

**********************

Location: Ciris, NUMINO
SD: [2.20] 0530.1916
Scene: City tunnels -> Woods

Chloe sighed, tightening her grip on the Trill’s left shoulder, pinning her against the wall. “Your childish name-calling doesn’t affect me.” The Trill struggled under her grip, using her right hand to tug at the agent’s arm.

“Release me!” Ana demanded, scowling and swinging her leg back to kick the agent’s leg. The Trill’s kick was so weak it barely touched the blonde.

“Look, Ana,” Nielsen said in a calm, firm voice. “We need to talk so just quietly come with me.”

“There is nothing to say,” the Trill spat out. “I’m not interested in listening to any more of your lies.”

The agent glanced around, relieved that they were in a very remote part of the city’s tunnels, quite deep inside the mountain, thus reducing the chances of someone coming their way. With the chaos outside, due to Mirror Kate’s weapon, the Nuimon authorities would be busy, trying to maintain order and keep everyone safe. She sighed, bringing both her asset’s arms together and cuffing her wrists with a titanium cuff.

“What’s the meaning of this?! Let me go, you lying piece of…”

“Hey! I just want to talk.” Chloe dragged the Trill woman away from the wall and shoved her forward. The blonde began walking, pulling her asset along with her. “Let’s go for a walk to a nice hiking trail, not far from here.”

“I won’t go anywhere with you!”

“You don’t have a choice,” Chloe reminded, her tone harsh. “As you have a lot of explaining to do after the stunt you pulled back at the lab.”

“I don’t have to explain to a liar like you,” Ana retorted, sneering at her. Nielsen noted the sheer hatred in the Trill’s blue eyes and knew Yeelixa had a hand in it. The duo turned around a corner to the right, the path beginning to incline upwards until they reached an opening from which daylight shone through. The pair made their way out of the cave, standing at the edge of a trail that ran through the middle of the woods. Chloe blinked to adjust to the sunlight. It was around quarter to eleven in the morning at the capital with both suns already up.

“What happened?” Nielsen inquired calmly. “Did the Lady say something to you?”

“Oh she did, a lot.” Ana hissed. “She opened my eyes about you.”

“Okay, what did she say?”

The Trill lifted her head back, letting out a mirthless laughter. “Yeelixa, a bitch no doubt, told me that Starfleet has the means to cross dimensions.”

The blonde raised an eyebrow. “She…what?”

“There is a starship, only known to a certain few in Starfleet Intelligence, capable of travelling to other dimensions,” Ana said, raising her voice. “And you, Miss Bossy, said that Starfleet didn’t have the means to send me back home, when you had first recruited me to be your asset – a toy you play with and then discard.”

“Yeelixa is obviously lying,” said Chloe in a firm voice. “We don’t have the means to cross into another dimension. If we did, then we might have sent you and your shipmates from the SHIV back to your home universe.”

“Lies!” Ana roared, her nostrils flaring. “Chloe, as a member of Starfleet Intelligence, you lie for a living. You have a ship to take me home and chose not to tell me.”

“Yeah, my job does involve telling lies.” Nielsen shrugged.

“Finally, the truth for once,” the Trill snorted. “See, blondie, telling the truth is not so bad.”

“And you think Yeelixa is telling the truth?” The agent narrowed her eyes. “We don’t know much about her so why do you assume she isn’t lying to get you to turn against me and the Federation? Tell me, what did she promise you? Must have been worth a lot, considering you’re willing to betray us.”

“Yeelixa assures that her people possess the technology to travel across dimensions,” the Trill replied. “She promises to take me home if I do some jobs for her.”

“How do you know she will keep her word? For all you know, they are using you to serve their own ends and will get rid of you once they’re done with you.”

“She promised to take me home!” Ana snapped. “Home, where I can join the fight against the Hegemony and every other oppressor in the quadrant. Wouldn’t mind teaching the Alliance a lesson for siding with those parasites.”

“She’s using you.” The blonde sighed

“Well, your lot used me!” Ana shouted. “And Yeelixa warned me that once I have outlived my usefulness, you planned on tossing me away like a used rag. So, Miss Bossy, how are you going to get rid of me? Kill me or send me back to prison?”

“What is the name of the Starfleet vessel that can cross dimensions and where is it based at?”

“She didn’t say,” Ana snapped.

“I tell you why,” Chloe said in a calm voice yet gave her an icy stare. “Because it’s a load of BS. Yeelixa gave you neither the name of the ship nor its base of operations because they don’t exist.” A starship, capable of traversing dimensions currently existed but Nielsen was not privy to the information about the USS BASTET. So as far as the agent was concerned, she was telling the truth. One couldn’t lie about something they weren’t aware of in the first place.

“Liar,” Ana growled. “Yeelixa didn’t bother because I do not need Starfleet to take me home, not when her people are willing to do it.” She chuckled with derision. “And Yeelixa mentioned the Federation’s technological level is vastly inferior to the Lokustaar so it really makes no sense to keep working for you liars and hypocrites – not when I can return home to help my comrades and reunite with the woman I love.”

The Canadian let out an exasperated sigh, slowly realizing there was no hope in swaying the Trill to break her alliance with Yeelixa. “Ana, I understand why you took the deal. Yeelixa dangled a carrot in front of you but it’s all a lie.”

“You’re nothing like my Chloe,” the Trill declared, her voice dripping with venom. “I am done having to look at this pale imitation of my love. Unlike you, my Chloe Nielsen cares deeply for me and doesn’t lie or treat me like a pet to boss around.” She sneered at the agent. “Yeelixa will help me reunite with my love and thanks to the Lady bitch, I’m pleased to find that, unlike you, my Chloe has risen to commanding the ISS VALKYRIE, her own starship. Once I reunite with her, we can resume our promise to kill that parasite bastard, Spankyrz. Oh, it won’t see us coming.”

Chloe shook her head, giving her a wry smile. “Even if that’s true, what does it matter if you can’t return?”

“I will return! I have to!” Ana yelled. “It must really bother you, Chloe to hear that your counterpart in my universe is a powerful woman, while you are a pathetic little foot soldier, cleaning up the Federation’s mess without any reward. Such hypocrites who make losers like you do their dirty work – the type of work that they won’t touch. I feel sorry for you.”

“No, I feel sorry for you,” Nielsen said, her expression grim. “Because in a moment, the Camelot will pick up your biosignature and beam you directly to their brig.”

“No…”

“You’ll be reunited with your doppelganger - a starship captain, which is what you desire, right?” The blonde cut in, taking on a harsher tone. “Unlike you, the Anaqueen of my dimension, is a powerful woman in her own right, commanding respect and loyalty from others, while you are a sad, pathetic and desperate woman, living in a fantasy land.”

“You, bitch,” Ana shouted. “I and my Chloe will crush you and Captain Parasite.”

Chloe sighed, rolling her eyes before giving one last parting shot. “Well, unlike my counterpart in your universe, your counterpart in my universe is at least not a fascist.” The fascist was in reference to the Terran Empire (the new and the old), recalling the information from her reading of SFI’s files on the Mirror Universe. “Anyway, hope you enjoy your stay in the brig…” She was interrupted, when she felt a sudden pain shoot through her brain like a sharp knife. The agent dropped to the ground, clutching her head. Then flashes of random images began appearing on her lens – holo-projections of various events, places and people that seemed familiar yet different. The speed and the sheer size of the information dump, was starting to make her dizzy and a little nauseous. Then it stopped and the view on the lens reverted to her surroundings.

Nielsen slowly got up to a standing position, feeling a shortness of breath and her heart beating loudly against her chest. She quickly checked her tricorder and discovered that someone had hacked into her device to download a mountain load of information about the Mirror Universe. But who did that? Who was powerful enough to be able to breach a Section 31 device? Well, she got her answer upon hearing the sound of a condescending female voice. “Yeelixa,” she said, turning around to coldly stare at the Lokustaar operative, who was standing next to the Trill.

“Agent Nielsen.” Yeelixa gave her a cold smile. “It looks like you and Section 31 will have lots of reading to do, where you will find that everything I said to Anaqueen, regarding the current state of her home dimension, is true.”

“And why would you do that?” The blonde asked, perplexed.

“No reason except to distract you, while I set up a signal dampener around Anaqueen.” Yeelixa sneered. “Now, the Camelot will not be able to transport my new asset.” Before Nielsen could react, Yeelixa and Anaqueen became engulfed in an unfamiliar transporter beam and vanished.

“Damn,” Chloe swore, wincing at the sudden onset of a headache. It was time to head back to the apartment and get some rest as she still had some cleanup to do before departing this world. And, Nielsen was in fact looking forward to returning home to Earth after spending many months on this long and grueling mission. She headed down the trail for a short walk.

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Location: USS CAMELOT
Scene: Sickbay
TI: Several hours later

Kate sighed, lying down on the biobed, watching a male Caitian with soft black fur in conversation with a Kelpian woman – both medical officers. She tilted her head sideways, spotting a female Ocampan nurse checking her vitals on the screen above. After the Camelot crew had managed to calm down the jungle flora and lower the psionic energy to their base levels, Kate had left the bridge to check in at sickbay. Considering the procedures done on the Scot and the drugs injected into her by the mad lass – not to mention subjecting her brain to high levels of psionic energy, MacNeil knew she needed to undergo a thorough medical examination to make sure any affliction to her body was minimal.

Lt. Commander Pawnirr, the ship’s chief medical officer, had decided to conduct her examination himself. Kate watched the Caitian wrap up his conversation with the other doctor and as the Kelpian left, Pawnirr approached her, carrying a PADD. There was a tired look in his eyes, understandable as the doctor hadn’t taken a break since her arrival. Sporting a kind expression, Pawnirr picked up a medical tricorder and quickly scanned her.

“Hmm…” He arched a brow. “Your vitals are improving, however I would still like to keep you here overnight for observation just to make sure there aren’t any surprises as the medical procedures and drugs used by this mad doctor, are dangerous and illegal, none of which would have been approved by the Starfleet Medical Research Ethics Board.” He sighed, frustrated. “Frankly, I am appalled that this woman had considered herself a doctor, when she was nothing but a hack who didn’t truly understand medicine.”

“She truly was cruel and mad,” Kate remarked, shivering. “I still feel the chill down my spine, just thinking of her.”

The Caitian nodded, stroking his mane. “I can only imagine the pain she had inflicted on you but Kate, you are strong and will survive this.” He gave her a reassuring smile.

“Will my family be allowed to see me?” Kate asked, feeling a longing to see her loved ones – she missed them so terribly.

“Of course, Kate.” Pawnirr smiled, looking to his side. “In fact, they are waiting in the counseling lobby.” He then waved at someone she couldn’t see yet. “There’s Hex. He’s bringing them here now.”
Kate’s hazel eyes lit up, the heaviness in her heart lifting. She spotted the chief counselor, a Haliian male, entering the room, followed by an Orion woman – her wife with William Wallace trotting alongside her. “Grace!” Tears began welling up in her eyes. The Orion rushed to her side and the two women shared a loving embrace. William Wallace barked, wagging his tail, climbing onto the biobed. Kate gently broke off from the embrace and then lifted the dog onto her lap before bringing him closer for a hug. The beagle whined, licking her face.

The hybrid’s ears picked up sounds of footsteps, followed by squealing, barking and meowing. “Mummy!” came the cries from the half-Nuimon’s two children, running towards her. They were joined by two puppies, a white Persian cat and a black Scottish fold kitten. The children jumped up on the bed, ambushing their mum from both sides.

“Careful, children,” Pawnirr called out gently.

“It’s okay,” Kate assured, tears streaming down her cheeks at the joy of reuniting with her children. “Hamish, Jo Jo, I missed you.” She pulled her son and daughter into a hug.

“I missed you too, mum,” Hamish said in a soft voice, fighting back tears.

Josephine sat back, inquisitively studying Kate’s face. “Mummy, why are you crying?” Phoebe the golden retriever puppy nuzzled beside her, while Papu the corgi puppy was struggling to reach the biobed. Hex helped the puppy up, placing him at the little girl’s side. The corgi yapped as if thanking the dark skinned man. The rest of Kate’s family soon arrived.

“Mother.” Kate extended her arms towards a tall Nuimon woman.

“Kate,” Dahlis said, choking back tears as mother and daughter shared a brief hug. “I am so happy to see you safe and well.”

“Why are you all crying?” Jo-Jo asked, confused.

“Tears of joy,” her grandmother replied. “We are all just happy to see your mother return to us.”

Crumpet padded along the length of the bed, meowing. Muffin trailed the older cat and the black kitten then curled herself next to the Scot/Nuimon, releasing a soft meow. Crumpet, on the other hand, lowered herself onto Kate’s lap, letting out a loud meow and purred. Kate chuckled, petting both felines.

Kate smiled, wiping away the tears and happy to be surrounded by her family. For a moment, all that suffering at the hands of Mirror Kate, seemed like a distant memory. But the scars from that harrowing experience would linger for years to come.

“Kate,” Hex brought up in a polite tone. “If you need to talk, I am here for you.”

“Thank you, Hex.” Kate smiled, cradling Muffin in her arms. Crumpet, not wanting to be left out, leaned against her shoulder, purring and meowing. The puppies, now back down on the floor, began to chase each other around the biobed. “And, I will likely need several sessions of counseling with you as it is important to take care of my mental health.”

The Haliian nodded. “You’re kind, Kate. Most would rather avoid people like me.”

“Aye, I know the feeling,” Kate said, sighing. “It’s not fun when I have to remind people about their physicals and I have so much appreciation for the work, you counselors do.”

“Thanks, Kate.” Hex smiled.

“Well, looks like the Captain has finally made time to come down to sickbay for the medical checkup.” Pawnirr brought up, lowering his voice. “Later this evening.”

“I guess the situation down on the planet must have calmed down,” Kate said, while her family were busy chatting amongst themselves. The children had been eagerly telling their mummies about their day.

“True.” The Caitian sighed, the CMO and the counselor stepping away from the family reunion. “Though, I wish she had come sooner, like right after that jungle had calmed down. I mean, she was abducted and held prisoner in unfavorable conditions for several hours.”

“Well, at least she is willing to see you,” Hex said dryly. “I don’t remember a time when the Captain has ever sought counseling for herself.” The two officers halted their conversation, when Josephine let out a squeal, followed by barking and howling.

“Papu the wonder dog!” The little girl stood up, then began bouncing and waving her arms around. “Come, mummy. Stop crying and sing with me!”

“Not that stupid song,” Hamish groaned, glaring at his sister.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea.” Kate smiled, waving at everyone. “Jo-Jo’s right, let’s sing, ‘Papu the wonder dog’.”

Grace pulled out a little, PADD like device and pressed on it. A holo-projection of a cartoon-like blue dog with floppy ears and curly tail, appeared at the edge of the biobed. The holographic dog was adorned in a purple space suit with the UFP insignia emblazoned in the middle and a big, round transparent helmet over its head. Cheerful music with beats blared from the device as the hologram started dancing, shaking its hips and waving its arms around. Together with the dog, the family began singing the theme song of the little girl’s favorite holo-cartoon, ‘Papu the wonder dog’.

“Papu the wonder dog!
Papu the wonder dog!
Papu the wonder dog!
He will fly in his blue round ship!
He will save the galaxy!
He’s so brave!
He’s so smart!
He’s so cuddly!
Papu the wonder dog!
Papu the wonder dog!
Papu the wonder dog!”

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Scene: Conference Room
TI: Two days later

It had been two days since the Camelot crew stopped Mirror Kate’s bioweapon from completing its task of generating political instability around the world. Since there were no casualties from that event, a potential civil war between the Nuimon factions was averted. The Information Guild had been releasing news reports that were fair and objective, covering all sides of the story. The lab assistants and techs who had worked on the weapon, were vindicated as they had the chance to talk about their suffering under the brutality of Mirror Kate and the Free Nuimons, including the fact that the latter coerced them at an off-worlder’s behest. Some even came on broadcast to publicly apologize for their role in building the weapon, despite evidence of communications in which the Free Nuimons sent death threats to them

All the Free Nuimon members were arrested and now awaiting trial for their crimes including illegally obtaining weapons from foreign criminals. But unlike the lab workers, the fringe conservative group was unapologetic, their leaders proudly bragging about how their actions would have saved the planet. They had even chastised their fellow Nuimons via broadcast, throwing accusations such as cowards, traitors or off-worlder’s slaves. The leading members of the conservative faction, including some consuls, had publicly condemned the Free Nuimons on the basis that the fringe group didn’t truly represent their values, which included not colluding with foreign elements such as the Lady, the use of violence and weapons to further their cause and hurting fellow Nuimons.

On the previous evening, two consuls, each representing the progressive and conservative factions, had conducted a joint press conference on the steps of the government building to stress the importance of unity, while acknowledging their differences in viewpoints. After all, in a healthy democracy such as the one on Numino, having different political views was the norm as long as they were debated in a peaceful and respectful manner.

Captain Spankryz was in a meeting with the new Chief Consul, who was nominated by the council on the previous day. A few hours after the jungle calmed down, Hollande had resigned not just from her Chief Consul post but also from the council altogether and quietly returned to her district. She had also issued a public apology, regarding her failure as Chief Consul and regretted placing so much trust in a foreign criminal. Word through the grapevine was when news of the Lady’s identity – not her true identity as Yeelixa, the Lokustaar operative but her public persona, ‘Elena Djiktra’ - was revealed, Anuita was livid, red-faced with embarrassment and had locked herself in her office for nearly half a day. She wasn’t able to bear the humiliation, being manipulated by a foreigner to make questionable decisions and that Numino was on the brink of a civil war under her watch.

Hollande’s replacement was a man of over seventy years old with short, shaggy white hair, a bald patch in the middle, bronze skin and a thin, spindly figure. His brown eyes drooped slightly, the dullness in them was quite obvious. Gih Stragdi, hailing from Gaheis Plains, one of the three districts in Edorii, a continent in the Northern hemisphere, was a consul, serving his second term. Prior to his election, Gih had spent his entire life as a farmer and an agricultural scientist, which made sense, considering Gaheis Plains consisted mostly of farmlands.

Spankryz and Stragdi were joined by Lieutenant Hex and a young Nuimon man, the Chief Consul’s aide. The news broadcast was running on the screen, showing a replay of Hollande’s resignation speech. Unlike Hollande, this new Chief Consul wasn’t a controversial figure – in fact most considered him to be dull, boring and lacking charisma. Apparently, many considered his public speeches as a cure for insomnia. Perhaps, dull and boring might be just what this planet needed to heal the rift between the factions and maintain political stability.

Gih might be dull but the man had a sharp mind, possessing a strong understanding of the issues facing his world and the ability to gauge the public mood. While a progressive, he was willing to work across the aisle for the sake of keeping peace and was generally tolerated by both sides of the political spectrum. His overall poll numbers were stable – neither hated nor loved by the populace with a large percentage (over eighty percent) with little to no opinion about him.

“In three days,” the Trill Captain informed. “A civilian delegation, led by the new Ambassador to your world, will be arriving and they will take up residence in the new embassy.”

Gih spoke in a deep voice. “My aides assure me that the embassy will be ready before the Ambassador’s arrival. Two of our consuls will be there to greet the Federation delegation and help get them settled.”

“The new Ambassador and her team will be working with your government to further improve relations between us,” Ana said, taking in a breath. “I am, however, informing you that the Ambassador does plan on broaching the subject of a formal alliance, including the possibility of granting your world the status of Federation Protectorate.”

“Captain,” the Chief Consul said slowly. “I must be frank with you. The council will not be reopening the debate on our world joining an alliance or becoming another entity’s protectorate at this present time. Majority of us fear losing our sovereignty if we agree to either. With the public not entirely favourable towards off-worlders, the time isn’t right to have this discussion.”

“I understand.” The Trill nodded, having expected his response. “The Ambassador and her staff will work with your government to clarify any doubts you have regarding this matter.”

“I am glad to hear.”

“Please understand that being a Federation protectorate or joining an alliance with us does not mean you lose your independence,” Spankryz said in a matter-of-fact tone. “And you will be afforded military protection against any external threats to your world.”

“But, Captain, who would really want to attack us? We are a peaceful people and are no threat to anyone.” The Nuimon looked perplexed.

“I can think of plenty of reasons why your world would be vulnerable to attacks.” The Trill frowned, speaking in a serious tone. “Numino is rich in resources, does not have a military force, instead relying on the planetary police to maintain security. You won’t even be able to fend off attacks from a derelict pirate ship, let alone a fleet of starships. Your world has no defensive capabilities to handle external threats and as I recall, your council voted to turn down a proposal to permit Starfleet to build an orbital weapons platform above your planet.” She sighed, recalling that proposal was made in 2424. The Nuimons, back then, had survived a pandemic as well as a major event that had nearly devastated the planet and put them on the brink of extinction. This was made possible through the efforts of the Starfleet task force that was sent on a humanitarian aid mission at the Nuimons’ request and Spankryz was the CO who oversaw that mission.

“But we are a peaceful race and do not desire a military,” he said peevishly.

“Well, if I’m being honest, most worlds that opt to remain independent, generally possess a strong military, some kind of defensive capabilities or both.” The Trill sighed. “As part of a larger group like the Federation, your world will enjoy certain benefits such as military support, which will allow you to focus on the areas that matter the most to your people.” She was mildly relieved that it would be the Ambassador and not her, who’d have to go around in circles or engage in multiple rounds of assurances, reassurances, promises, the annoying schmoozing and all the other niceties in the name of diplomacy. She understood the art of diplomacy and the political game all too well – Spankryz’s previous host, Phallis was a diplomat turned politician. Not to mention, her own experience in leading a number of first contact missions, both in this dimension and others (during her time as CO of the USS PROPHECY).

“So Captain, you recommend that my world establishes a military force?”

“I am not recommending anything, Chief Consul,” Ana answered. “After all, the decision is up to you and your people as to what direction to take for Numino. I am just explaining to you the reality of your world’s situation.”

“I understand and personally, I am in favour of such an alliance and hopefully membership into the Federation,” he said. “But it will be a challenge trying to sell the idea to the people and just between us, I’d personally wait until after the upcoming election next year before we decide to even have the discussion.”

“Of course.” Anaqueen wasn’t surprised. The next council election was a year away and it was quite tight between the progressive and conservative factions in the majority of the districts. It was predicted that in at least seven out of the twelve council seats, the race was going to be competitive. So any chance of Numino becoming a Federation protectorate or a formal ally hinged on the results of the election. It was going to be a long road ahead for the Nuimons to reach the point when they would be ready and accepting of becoming part of a larger intergalactic group.

The Trill CO, on orders from Command, had conducted a preliminary assessment of the Nuimons’ readiness for membership into the Federation. In her view, the Nuimons were nowhere close to being ready for Federation membership- if they wanted one in the first place. She had included in her report that the Nuimons had the potential to be valuable contributors in a number of scientific fields and had shared some common progressive beliefs with the Federation such as freedom, democracy and peace to name a few. Despite differences in political views, the Nuimons never warred amongst themselves and did not practice discrimination against each other.

In the report, she had mentioned that despite the positive attributes, certain unacceptable or negative attitudes held them back. Those included xenophobia towards other races by a large segment of the population as well as the fear of losing their identity and sovereignty if they opened their world to others. And at least close to half the population were not keen on the idea of joining with another interstellar group. This was evident in many Nuimons’ hostile treatment of Starfleet officers and Federation civilians, who were only trying to help them and their world on numerous occasions.

The meeting ran for another ten minutes before the Chief Consul and his aide left, escorted by Lt. Cmdr. Cato to the transporter room.

She sighed, her gaze fixed on the PADD facing her. Hex got up from his chair and turned to the Trill woman.

“Captain,” the Haliian said in a polite tone. “Doctor Pawnirr and I have been conducting a clinical study, investigating the effects of psionic energy on the brain. The study involves doing brain scans by Pawnirr and his staff on the volunteers. In addition to the scans, my staff are conducting interviews with the participants, gathering information about their experiences, when under the effects of the weapon. The Nuimon medical and the science guilds plan to do their own studies with the possibility of collaboration with us.”

“Okay.” Ana nodded.

“Doctor MacNeil has already agreed to volunteer in this study,” Hex added. “And she seems quite eager to do so.”

“That makes sense and quite understandable.”

“Is there anything else you wanted to see me about, aside from observing this meeting?”

The Trill frowned, knowing what the Counselor was hinting at and she wasn’t happy about it. “No,” she replied firmly, standing up.

The Haliian sighed. “Well, Captain, if you need to open up about your experience as the Lady’s prisoner, then my doors are always open. Perhaps…”

“Counselor,” she interrupted, moving past him. “You’re dismissed.”

“Yes Captain.” Hex nodded as he followed the CO out of the room.

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Location: Toronto, Ontario, EARTH
Scene: Harbourfront
TI: Three weeks later

Chloe inhaled and then exhaled in a deep breath, glancing around her surroundings, taking in its beauty. The blonde was walking down the pier, overlooking Lake Ontario on one side – its blue waters glistening under the late morning sun. Adjoining the pier on the other side was an artificial beach, designed and constructed over four hundred years ago, composed of sand, populated with beach chairs and yellow umbrellas. Beyond the urban beach was an area filled with a bunch of green islands, shaded by willow and maple trees and concrete trails encircling them. Home. She was glad to be back home after the last few months, pretending to be an employee of the Orion Syndicate, spending time on worlds such as Farius Prime and Numino. It had felt surreal, being back in her hometown.

Following her departure from Numino, Chloe spent some time working on extracting herself from Eric Mwangi’s cell. Her cover story for not continuing to work for Mwangi was that she needed to avenge a personal betrayal and once that was taken care of, she’d consider returning to work for him again. Eric was promoted to take his former boss, Klars’ place, after having the latter executed by the Syndicate bosses for recruiting the traitor, Lord Percy – a man whom everyone believed to be the double agent ‘Satchel’. Except the late Lord Percy wasn’t really ‘Satchel’, which Nielsen had realized, following the discovery of Elena Djiktra being the Lady. Perhaps, Yeelixa herself was ‘Satchel’ or maybe such a double agent didn’t really exist, except a fake persona invented by her to cause a little friction in the cell. Mwangi was so grateful for the blonde’s role in ensuring his promotion that he didn’t really mind if she took off for her fake personal quest and even wished her well, hoping she’d come back one day.

Chloe sighed, looking around until her gaze fixed on the CN Tower, looming in the horizon, its highest point touching the sky. She turned around, her attention on a row of high rise buildings, a couple of blocks west from her position. Her apartment was in one of those buildings, a place in which she had resided for close to a decade – when she wasn’t away on a mission. She touched the tip of her sunglasses to adjust its position over her nose and then felt a brush against her arm.

“Screech owl,” Selyara, the Director of Section 31, spoke, standing a feet away from the agent. “I have set up a signal scrambler around us so others won’t be able to pick up our conversation.” Both women were looking ahead at the lake, pretending to not know each other. To any onlookers passing them by, they were just two random women, admiring the scenery. In Nielsen’s case, she was going for a run, judging from her outfit - black form fitting running pants, thin, white exercise jacket over a black top, and a white cap.

“Okay, so I got one of the analysts tracking Queen Anne,” Chloe reported, referring to Mirror Anaqueen. “We should be able to know her location like where she has been and will be heading next.”

“Good.” Selyara nodded. “For now, we will just monitor her movements as she might potentially lead us to dangerous criminals, wanted for their crimes against the Federation and when the time is right, then we’ll go nab her.”

“We could get her anytime,” the blonde suggested.

“True,” Selyara agreed but then her voice hardened. “However, HQ has ordered us to stay away till this war with the Lady’s organization is over.” Organization was a reference to the Lokustaar (who were not really an organization). “At present, our focus will be on identifying and extinguishing threats originating from this realm.” Realm meaning dimension.

Chloe nodded, sighing. “About MacNeil, I was wondering how the higher ups feel about me not being able to bring her back alive.” There was a moment of silence before the Vulcan/Betazoid spoke, her voice calm and devoid of emotion.

“Well, the boss (Konicki) would have preferred the doctor to be brought back alive.” She paused to take a breath. “However, the chief is overall satisfied that at least with her being dead, our enemies won’t get to have her either.”
“Honestly, it’s for the best that the mad woman is dead.”

“I won’t disagree with you on that,” Selyara said. “Anyway, I have assigned a team of analysts to comb through the data that the Lady downloaded into your tricorder and I’d like you to work with them on the analysis.”

“Understood.” Chloe nodded, the agent’s mind harkening back to her early days in Starfleet Intelligence, when she was an analyst.

“Also,” the Director informed. “I’ve received a communique from HQ this morning and the brass has decided to officially bring you back into service as an intelligence officer.”

“Okay.” Chloe raised an eyebrow. The agent was dismissed from Starfleet Intelligence, less than three years ago due to misconduct – not in her view though as it was all done to expose a traitor. She was then subsequently recruited into Section 31, however officially, she was transferred to Starfleet Operations to work as an analyst, a job that involved lots of travelling. Her Section 31 role was kept secret.

“So on your official Starfleet record, you are now transferred back to Intelligence in analysis,” the hybrid added. “But you still serve under my command and your ‘real’ job hasn’t changed.” Real job referred to the blonde’s role as an agent of Section 31.

“Good.” Nielsen curled her lips into a smile. **Well, I no longer have to pretend to be an officer from Starfleet Operations, wearing a gold uniform. Besides, I prefer black or grey. ** Of course, the agent rarely ever wore her Starfleet uniform, not needing it in the field.

“By the way,” Selyara brought up, her tone serious. “Campbell is unhappy about the expenses incurred during your last outing.”

Nielsen frowned. “I made sure the Syndicate took care of all the expenses for my accommodation and other basic necessities.”

“True but not your asset.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. Of course, Mirror Ana’s temper tantrums and physically throwing stuff around led to property damages.

“Campbell is livid about having received bills containing large fines against your expense account for property damage at a number of establishments, where your asset had resided. In addition, receipts from expensive outings and room service orders, also by your asset.”

**I guess it’s fortunate I have an account with unlimited credit. ** She grinned, finding the dark humour in the administrator’s outrage because her former asset didn’t have any self-control over her temper and was reckless. The agent was really given such an account to accommodate for some of her covers and aliases that she had developed over the years.

“I better get going as I have another appointment,” the Director said, concluding the meeting. The Vulcan/Betazoid woman left, heading east and turned around a corner, disappearing amongst the crowd.

Chloe sighed, turning around, when someone called her name. She smiled, waving at two adult human women and a little girl of around 10 years, all having blonde hair like herself.

“Hey sis, how about joining us for an early lunch?” The agent’s sister asked, walking next to an older woman in her early sixties. Chloe’s mother smiled and gave a small wave.

“Sounds good,” Chloe replied, spotting the husky puppy trotting alongside the girl – the same one that used to belong to Mirror Kate. After returning to Earth, the agent had gifted the puppy to her niece, who had always wanted one for a long time. The puppy was given the name, ‘Ghost’, because of his snow white fur. She soon joined her family as they made their way down the pier.

--------------------------------
Location: ALCYONUS I
Scene: Desert, outside the Klingon prison complex
TI: One year later (During the battle between the Klingons and the Orions)

The Trill woman ran as fast as her legs could carry as far away from that prison camp, where she had stayed for the past three months. The searing heat from the sun and the soaring temperatures in the desert was weighing her down. Her mouth was dry and she was experiencing a shortness for breath. She barely had enough strength because of dehydration and malnutrition from lack of nourishment. That was what happened when she was kept in isolation without food and water for a whole night. She was perspiring heavily, her purple jumpsuit, now having lost its lustre, worn down and tattered. Her shoulder length hair, dyed purple, was a tangled mess, mixed in with sand.

Now, how did she end up in a Klingon prison, where the majority of its inhabitants were Orions? In order to find the answer to that question, one needed to go back over a year.

One year ago, Mirror Anaqueen had decided to ally with Yeelixa, aka the Lady, an operative of the Lokustaar, therey breaking off her agreement with agent Chloe Nielsen. Anyway, for a short time, Anaqueen assisted the Lady in generating chaos at various locations, using her freedom fighting skills for rabble rousing and ignited rebellions in some places. But then one day, the war of the shadows was over with the Lokustaar locked out of this dimension, though some of their ships and operatives had remained in hiding.

On that day, Ana had lost contact with Yeelixa and her hope of returning to her home universe. It was possible the Lady was amongst those who got left behind. However, as far as she was concerned, Yeelixa had likely broken her promise to the Trill. At that time, Anaqueen was at Rigel Prime (Orion) to rendezvous with the Lokustaar operative but the latter was a no-show. With the Lady not on her side, Ana was vulnerable to attacks from numerous bounty hunters or scum after a big reward, posted by a warlord or a small planet’s ruler for her role in instigating conflict in their domains.

When Ana was working with Yeelixa, no one was able to lay a hand on her as the operative took care of any – scumbag or not - who dared to come after the Trill. But with Yeelixa gone, Ana was targeted by criminals and was forced to escape the Orion homeworld with a band of Orion and Nausicaan pirates by offering her piloting and navigation skills. Things were fine for a few months until those dregs found out about the various bounties placed on the Trill and decided to betray her to gain a handsome reward.

While on route to the Triangle to rendezvous with a Ferengi gangster, who had offered a gigantic reward for Ana’s capture, dead or alive, the ship had inadvertently entered disputed territory between the Klingons and the Orions. They had been ambushed by a Klingon bird of prey and then brought to Alcyonus I to be imprisoned at the prison camp.

At the prison, Ana was assigned to kitchen duty, which involved mostly cleaning up after the chefs had finished cooking. When she was not wiping tables, the 44 year old woman was busy ranting, throwing tantrums and wallowing in self-pity in her cell. Her cell mates, constantly begged the guards to move to another cell. Fortunately for them, because Ana engaged in fights with other inmates and some guards, the Klingons, after disciplining her, placed the Trill in isolation for long periods.

She had believed this was it – her miserable existence would end in a blasted Klingon prison. How could that be? She had managed to evade the Alliance – the Klingons in her universe were far more powerful and feared throughout the quadrant. Compared to them, the Klingons in this dimension were weak and pathetic in her view, scrambling around in rust buckets, they called birds of prey, for small swathes of territories. It had left a bad taste in her mouth, being captured by what she had perceived to be a weaker version of the Klingons. Apparently, this dimension’s Klingons were minnows and the hypocritical Federation a mighty behemoth.

Just when the Trill had lost hope of ever getting out, a prison riot had broken out, providing her the opportunity to escape from that hellhole. She was alone in her cell at the time and with the security system down, she was able to join the other prisoners in breaking out and somehow, making it to the desert. The next challenge for her was getting off the planet. She watched in dismay as many of the Orion prisoners were transported off the planet and began heading in their direction, determined to join them. Unfortunately, she tripped over a rock and fell face down into a sand dune.

Ana growled, unable to move as she felt a dull pain surging through her body, from the beatings given to her by the Klingon guard. Her ears perked up, listening the sounds of engines running and felt a ray of hope. Lifting herself out of the mound, she was about to stand up but then fell back down. The Trill slowly peered over the dune, watching a group of a little over twenty people dashing towards some kind of shuttlecraft. Ana set her jaws, noticing most of them wearing Starfleet uniforms and they were being herded by persons in civilian clothing. She furrowed her brow, remembering whispers from other inmates about a Starfleet vessel in orbit, looking for missing officers, who were imprisoned at the camp.

“I guess they found their missing officers,” Ana murmured, also realizing the persons directing them were likely undercover officers from that starship above. She raised an eyebrow, catching a glimpse of a human woman with distinct East Asian features, coming up at the rear of the group. She looked awfully familiar and the Trill had a light bulb moment. She had seen holos of this woman before and back in her universe, she had remembered those holos had popped up all over the known universe. Jasmine Yu – that was her name. Ana remembered during her time on the run from Trill authorities, making fun of Yu, referring her as a spoilt or clueless princess, a tyrant in training. Yeelixa, while giving one of her updates on the state of the Trill’s home universe, mentioned that Yu had ascended to Empress of the Terran Empire in 2428 but was deposed four years ago and believed to be dead. But according to the operative, Mirror Yu was still alive.

The shuttle had lifted off and Ana let out a sigh of relief, standing up. She dusted the sand off her clothes and shook her hair. The last thing she needed was running into Starfleet, considering the Trill was a wanted fugitive, especially now that she was no longer an asset of Section 31. Her expression darkened, thinking of that blonde agent, whom she had now loathed. She gritted her teeth, fists clenched.

“If I don’t end up going home,” she declared angrily. “I will make it my personal mission to kill Miss Bossy and Captain Parasite – bitches who deserve to pay for what they did to me.” Well, in her view, she would have the satisfaction of taking out a Spankryz, even if it wasn’t the one she wanted to kill.

“And what have we here,” came a deep female voice with menacing undertones.

Ana froze, recognizing the voice, slowly turning around and finding two identical Klingon women surrounding her. The new arrivals were adorned in black leather outfits with silver armour over their upper body. The notorious twins, Hirssa and Bhurssa, members of a minor Klingon House with whom she had a rather unpleasant encounter. She swallowed a lump down her throat as the Klingonesses, standing over six feet tall, towered over her.

“Got a little tip from a guard at Gran’kothor,” Hirssa spoke.

“That a backstabbing Trill coward was taken as prisoner,” Bhurssa finished. Apparently the twins were known for finishing each other’s’ sentences.

Anaqueen looked defiant. “You mistake me for someone else.”

Hirssa narrowed her eyes. “Perhaps, we will refresh your memory.”

“Yes,” her sister continued, growling and baring her teeth. “The time when this cowardly Trill encouraged Komos, our stupid cousin, to overthrow our father, the head of our house.”

“By the way, Komos has been executed and our father still rules our house,” Hirssa informed, growling. “Now we will be tasting glory soon when we defeat those green skinned beings.”

“Well, I must be on our way,” Ana said but the Klingons grabbed her and before she could protest, they were engulfed by a red transporter beam, taking them to a bird of prey in orbit.

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Meanwhile in the Gamma Quadrant, the planet, NUMINO had their election for the planetary ruling council. The election was a success for the progressive faction, who ended up winning eight of the twelve seats. The next Chief Consul, to be nominated a week after the election, was most likely going to be a progressive. It was hoped on the Federation side that now with the Progressive faction’s success, the talks would begin, regarding the alliance and protectorate idea. However, despite interest from some of the newly elected consuls, there seemed to be no immediate plans on tabling a discussion on the topic. Word from the Ambassador’s office was that the consuls had seemed wary of broaching the subject due to political reasons. But the ambassador wasn’t ready to throw in the towel yet and would take a wait and see approach.

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NRPG: The End. Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed this story.

Note that regarding the timeline, this story took place from late 2433 to early 2434.

However the last scene and the final epilogue took place in the present (2435) sometime after the end of the Star Trek: Distant Horizons’ war of the shadows storyline and during the Phoenix’s storyline ‘Last Days of Empire’.

I do plan on returning to the Nuimons for a future storyline (in development) at some point.

Chloe Nielsen’s fourth mission, titled ‘Fourth Mission’, is in the works. So stay tuned.

We haven’t seen the last of Mirror Anaqueen so stay tuned for what kind of trouble she has gotten herself into ;)

Anaqueen Spankryz, Kate MacNeil and my other 1st ed. characters will be making appearances from time to time in my stories.


~*~
Ranjani S.
Writing for

Chloe Nielsen
Section 31 Agent

And

Special Appearances by

Captain Anaqueen Spankryz
Commander/Dr. Kate MacNeil