Trust

Posted on Apr 15, 2016 @ 12:25pm by Commander Jacob Crichton & Raxl Dreyton
Edited on on Apr 25, 2016 @ 1:08am

Mission: Fortress: Earth

= Trust =

(cont’d from “Mi Casa Es Su Casa”)

LOCATION:USS PHOENIX

SCENE: Bridge

STARDATE: [2.16] 0414.2107

Jake stepped off the turbolift and onto the bridge. He’d managed to catch a lengthy nap after coming off his shift in Engineering, and he was feeling rested and ready to take the night’s watch on the bridge. His recent encounter with Lt. Byte and Captain Kane was still bothering him, however; it had been the last thing on his mind as he’d drifted off to sleep, and it was the first thing he’d thought of when he’d come awake again. When he spotted the android officer seated in his usual position at the Operations console, Jake halted in his tracks. If Kane had ordered Byte to return to duty, it meant…

Jake wasn’t sure what it meant. The android’s problem wasn’t imaginary. The nice thing about a positronic brain was that you could plug something into and literally read its thoughts, provided the sheer crush of data didn’t blow out your device. But no matter what Jake or Byte had tried, they remained locked out of that specific section of Byte’s mind. There was *something* in there, alright, but not something they could see, and that made Jake nervous.

It made Jake long for simpler times. Even in the darkest days of the Dominion War, when changeling infiltrators might suddenly appear from behind any familiar face, Jake Crichton had still managed to trust people. But since this had all started… since Stonn had attacked him from behind, since he’d discovered the truth about Edgerton’s betrayal, since he’d been tortured by people wearing Starfleet uniforms… somewhere along the line, trust had gotten harder to sustain.

Aerdan Jos rose from the CO’s chair and approached Jake.

“Commander?” Jos asked. Jake turned to smile at the Andorian.

“Commander Jos,” he nodded. “Here to relieve you, sir.”

“I stand relieved,” Jos said. “Are you okay?”

“Fine, sir,” Jake nodded. “Have a good night.”

“Let’s hope it’s a quiet one,” Jos said, and passed Jake as he made his way for the turbolift. Jake waited until Jos had disappeared into the lift, then turned and stalked over to the Operations console. Lt. Byte didn’t look up as Jake came to a halt behind him, and it wasn’t until Jake stepped around to the front of the console and leaned against it that the android acknowledged him.

{{Hello, Commander,}} Byte said. Jake fixed the android with a suspicious stare.

“Hi buddy,” he said. “Back at it, I see.”

{{I am not sure I take your meaning, sir,}} Byte said, looking up at Jake with the kind of poker face only an android could have.

Jake stared the android down for another moment, before realizing the futility of the gesture. He abruptly straightened up, and turned to look at Ensign Lahav at the science station.

“Mr. Lahav,” Jake said.

The Tellarite turned to blink at him. “Sir?”

“You have the conn,” Jake said. “Mr. Byte and I must step off the bridge for just a moment.”

Lahav looked confused, then petrified as he shifted his gaze between Jake and Byte. Byte’s expression never changed, and the android stood smoothly to step away from the Operation’s console.

{{Is there something I can do for you, Commander Crichton?}} Byte asked.

“You’ll accompany me to the conference room,” Jake said. He turned and strode purposefully towards the door, not looking back to see if Byte was following. Of course, the android fell dutifully in step behind him.

=[/\]=

Jake waited until the doors had closed behind Byte before he whirled around, his expression cold.

“Alright, what’s the deal?” he demanded.

{{I am not sure I take your meaning,}} Byte replied, in exactly the same tone he had before. Jake frowned.

“You *know* what I’m talking about,” he said. “Our meeting with the captain. The problem with your memory.”

Byte stared back at Jake for a moment, his cornflower blue eyes unreadable. Jake had a pretty good idea how fast the android’s mind worked, and it was unsettling to imagine just what might be keeping Byte from responding.

Then, as pleasantly as ever: {{Ah, yes. Thank you for your help, Commander, but the issue with my memory core has been resolved.}}

Jake blinked. “What?”

{{I have regained complete access to my internal databanks,}} Byte said. {{The gaps I had been experiencing are no longer troubling me.}}

“So you’re fixed?” Jake asked. “How?”

Byte stared back again, taking just long enough to answer that it made Jake nervous. {{The problem was caused by residual radiation I absorbed during our encounter with the Amaterasu. It damaged a small portion of my neural net and led to pathway degradation, which interfered with my ability to access a portion of my memory.}}

Jake frowned again. “I spent two hours digging around inside your head, and I didn’t find any traces of radiation damage.”

Byte tilted his head slightly to the left. {{And yet it was there, sir.}}

Jake shook his head and turned away from Byte. He walked over to the window, looking out into space. Byte remained where he was standing, but turned his head to watched Jake’s progress. The rest of his body remained perfectly motionless; only his head moved to follow Jake.

“My kids are on this ship,” Jake said, after a moment

{{Yes, sir,}} Byte said. {{Dahlia Bonviva-McInnis and Benito Bonviva-Crichton, aged 11 and 7, respectively--}}

“Shut up,” Jake said. The android abruptly cut off his response. Jake let the silence hang in the air between them for a moment, then turned to look at Byte. “Can I trust you, Lieutenant Byte?”

{{Within the boundaries of my oath to Starfleet, of course you can, sir,}} Byte replied.

Jake stared back for a long moment, his expression cold. Then, he dropped his eyes to the floor (Byte was never going to blink anyway, he decided) and sighed.

“That answer is… less reassuring than it was a few years ago,” he said.

Byte didn’t seem to know how to respond to this, so he said nothing. Jake shook his head again, then walked past Byte towards the door.

“Dismissed,” he said, without looking back.

=[/\]=

LOCATION: San Francisco, EARTH

SCENE: Alameda de las Pulgas

Raxl paced. When he wasn’t pacing, he drank. He’d already emptied the bottle of whiskey he’d found earlier, and another one besides. Selyara probably wouldn’t like that he was helping himself to her reserves, but he decided he deserved some kind of profit from this mess.

All he could think about was his ship, the BAD WOLF, floating empty up there in a holding pattern high above the planet’s surface. Even with all the security, Rax couldn’t shake the image of bandits finding his ship adrift, cutting their way inside, and making off with it before he found a way to leave Earth.

The door to Selyara’s bedroom opened, and she stepped out. She watched Rax pace for a moment, then noticed the two empty bottles of whiskey sitting on the counter nearby. The corner of her mouth twitched slightly.

“Mr. Dreyton,” she said, catching Raxl’s attention. The bounty hunter’s head whipped up, and he scowled when he saw her.

“Selyara,” he said. “I helped myself to some more of your whiskey.”

“I can see that. I might remind you, you’re of limited value to me if you’re too drunk to follow instructions.”

Raxl laughed, a deep, rolling laugh that came from deep in his belly. The laughter had a sharp edge to it, that made each peal sound like an accusation.

“*I’m* of limited value?” Raxl eventually managed. “It was your plan that got us stuck here, lady!”

“My plan was flawless,” Selyara said. “Your detour with the Orions took too long. If we’d arrived on Earth even a few days sooner, we--”

“The thing with the Orions was *also* your idea!” Rax shouted. “I should have spaced you the second I caught you in my ship.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Selyara said. “You’d be dead or in custody by now if I hadn’t gotten Riss of your tail.”

“So now I’m stuck on Earth waiting for Admiral Dictator’s secret police to come track you down!” Rax said. “My situation hasn’t exactly improved!”

“Then shut up a moment,” Selyara said. “I admit that plans have changed, but we’re not helpless. I think we can stop Edgerton, and I’ll need your-”

“Oh no,” Rax said, shaking his head. “No. I’m done with your plans. Soon as I sober up, I’ll find my own damn way off the planet.”

“You will be caught,” Selyara said. “Even if you have no obvious connection to me, you’re a wanted criminal in several systems and I don’t think Edgerton will give a second thought to ordering your execution. Like it or not, Mr. Dreyton, I’m still your best chance of ever getting off this world.”

Rax grumbled something that Selyara couldn’t hear, but then he stalked over to the couch and sat down. He crossed his arms, fixed her with one eye (the other was closed because he was starting to see double), and frowned.

“Okay,” he said. “Fine. Let’s hear it.”

“The Aegis Network is too powerful for the loyalist fleet to penetrate,” Selyara said. “Their only hope is for the network to be shut down. The good news is, the control hub of the Aegis Network is somewhere on this planet, and so are we. We locate the hub, shut down the Network, and then the loyalist fleet can finish off the Neo-Essentialists.”

“That sounds an awful lot like me getting killed,” Rax said. “Which you just pointed out as a flaw in my previous plan, if you’ll remember.”

“It will be dangerous,” Selyara admitted. “This planet is the seat of the Neo-Essentialists’ power. Edgerton has had a long time to insinuate his forces throughout the Federation government. He will have eyes everywhere. But we have advantages.”

“Really?” Rax asked. “And what are those?”

“Edgerton doesn’t know we’re here,” Selyara said. “And I happen to be one of the galaxy’s foremost information brokers. I have my own contacts here.”

“You’re going to wind up with a lot less of them when this is over,” Rax said. “If Edgerton sent that asshole Rawyvin Seth after you, he knows the threat you represent. I’m betting the reason any of your contacts are still alive is because Edgerton’s got his own eyes on them, waiting to see if you ever get in touch.”

“Of course he does,” Selyara said. “Which is why it’s a good thing Edgerton doesn’t know about *you*.”

Raxl blinked. Then, he shook his head. “Oh no, no way. Last time I acted as your mouthpiece, I wound up with half of Limbo trying to kill me.”

“There’s really no alternative,” Selyata said. Then, after a moment: “Well. There are alternatives, but they all end with your torture and eventual execution.”

“Shit,” Rax said. Then, he glared up at her. “Alright, Chen. We’ll do it your way. *Again*.”

“That part was really never in doubt,” Selyara replied cooly.

=[/\]=



NRPG: Subplots!

Shawn Putnam

A.k.a.

Jake Crichton

Chief Engineering Officer

USS PHOENIX

And

Raxl Dreyton

Bounty Hunter