Third Mission, Part VIII

Posted on Jan 04, 2019 @ 9:54pm by Chloe Nielsen
Edited on on Jan 04, 2019 @ 9:54pm

Mission: Section 31

“Third Mission, Part VIII”

Location: London, England, EARTH (Mirror Universe)
SD: [2.19] 0102.2330
Scene: MacNeil’s Office
TI: Twelve years ago

When she turned eighteen, Kate left the scientist’s home and enrolled in the medical academy, which she completed with high distinction. Following her graduation, she was appointed to a staff scientist position at a medical research institute in London, where she thrived there. But her rising success was only met with envy, jealousy and hatred from others.

She had made quite a reputation as a scientist with her expertise in genetics. Her biogenic weapons were utilized in defeating both internal and external enemies. In fact, her notoriety and success had caught the attention of other powerful entities in the galaxy. In the past two years, she had been secretly designing bioweapons for the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance who used them to annihilate various insurgency cells. She even did a job for the Trill Government who used her design to deal a blow to the Free Trills resistance movement.

Kate enjoyed her work immensely and believed she was healing the galaxy with her creations. It wasn’t like any of the powers that be were bothered by her lack of empathy – if anything it was the reason they used her often and she was also expendable, despite her brilliance, something she was fully aware of. She was an orphan with an alien mother and a human father, considered a deadbeat loser. One day, she was going to be discarded and that day had already arrived, sooner than expected. Kate was already prepared with a contingency plan.

“So they finally decided to put aside their enmity and band together to assassinate me,” MacNeil spoke in a cool voice with menacing undertones. Her cold gaze was fixed on a pale skinned human woman who had short, curly light brown hair and a thin, long face with high cheekbones. Her lab assistant, Mia, was strapped to a chair behind the doctor’s desk.

Mia’s green eyes were filled with hatred. “Why are you doing this to me? I have always been loyal to you and if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have learnt of the conspiracy to kill you.”

“And I thank you for that,” Kate said in an icy tone. “But I need a decoy so Dr. Brandon and his co-conspirators will not know that you betrayed them by revealing their plans to me. And by agreeing to work with them, lass, you betrayed me as well.”

“I only pretended to work with them and had no intention of ever betraying you.”

The doctor smiled, devoid of any emotion. “Lass, I’m not a wee bit angry with you. I totally understand. You were just trying to survive.” She paused a moment. “And so am I.”

Mia said in a low voice, “I thought you’d take me away from this planet. If Dr. Brandon and Dr. Singh find out I divulged their plans to you, they will certainly kill me and they have powerful allies.”

“I suppose they will and it will be a long, painful process before you eventually die. At least now your death will be quick and painless,” she said in a chilling voice. “And as for Dr. Brandon and Dr. Singh. Once I’m gone, the two idiots will break their alliance and take each other out.”

The lab assistant in a desperate attempt suggested, “Why not use that animal of yours as decoy and take me with you.” She turned her gaze to a fully grown husky dog, its thick snow white fur glistening in the light. The dog’s almond shaped bright blue eyes met her gaze and let out a low growl upon detecting the woman’s hostility towards it.

Kate stared at her with disdain in her black eyes, which changed to blue. “You expect me to sacrifice my precious baby to save you.”

“Well, of course. It’s nothing but a worthless animal and I’m sure you can get a new one.”

Worthless. The word aroused a cold fury within her as Kate pressed her lips together, forming a thin line. How dared she? William Wallace was her beloved companion, a dog she had for the last few years. The husky growled, clearly understanding what Mia said. “Mia, lass,” Kate said slowly, her voice calm, yet deadly. “You should know by now that William Wallace is my precious baby and I will not sacrifice him for anything or anyone.” The dog howled in agreement.

Mia declared, her eyes widening. “You are insane, MacNeil.”

“Wrong,” Kate promptly replied. “I am a healer.” She turned around, pressing her thumb on a device to activate the holo-emitters. In an instant, Mia was transformed into MacNeil with the straps no longer visible, while the doctor took her former assistant’s form. William Wallace was made invisible because of a miniature cloaking device attached to his collar. MacNeil bent down and hugged him, speaking with affection, “I’m sorry Mia upset you, my precious baby. You know I would never let anyone hurt you.” The husky whined, nuzzling her with his nose. “Good lad.” Kate petted him, standing up. “Remain silent till we reach our transport otherwise you will give us away.” The dog howled an affirmation. Soon, the doctor and her dog left the building without any problems and five minutes after their departure, the entire floor exploded, killing everyone inside. The explosion was declared to be an act of terrorism.

----------------
Location: Unknown, NUMINO
Scene: Underwater Lab
TI: Present

By the time the authorities discovered it was Mia that perished in the explosion and not Kate as was intended, MacNeil was already well out of their reach, having left Earth and then the Solar System without any trouble. She travelled around the quadrant, besieged with offers from other groups including the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance, a bunch of criminal organizations and warlords, to work for them. She was close to signing on with the Alliance but the deal fell through when the Cardassian Gul and the Klingon Regent refused to let William Wallace accompany her. They attempted to appease her by offering some exotic creatures with greater worth than a simple Terran dog. Kate, unwilling to part with her companion, killed the Cardassian with a hypospray filled with deadly poison. The Cardassian had threatened to throw the husky out of an airlock if she didn’t accept the deal. This led the Alliance to declare her a criminal, vowing to capture and execute her for the Gul’s murder.

After a month being chased around the quadrant by the Alliance, she ended up on a derelict station in neutral space and ran into a group of pirates from the notorious BFOV SHIV. The Captain sought her out at the station and offered her a place as head physician of her crew on condition that she also design bioweapons for her. Kate agreed and made her own demands, which was allow her to bring William Wallace, keep a variety of creatures and work on her pet projects. Daisy agreed to those terms and thus MacNeil came onboard the SHIV and the rest was history.

As for William Wallace, well, during her time at the SHIV, she had provided him with numerous injections, infusing wolf DNA in an attempt to make him stronger. But the injections in the end led to medical complications and the dog died at Gateway Station before she was hauled to prison. In fact it wasn’t just the husky she experimented on, but other fauna. In her mind, she was trying to help them become better but only ended up harming them or others and even at present, the doctor didn’t believe her actions were considered harmful.

“Doctor,” a male Nuimon announced, rushing inside. “We just received a subspace message from the Lady.”

Kate asked, without turning around, “What did it say?”

“She inquired about your progress and whether you will be ready for the big demonstration in time?” The Assistant gulped. “She also asked if you need more time even though they will soon be arriving at the planet.”

The doctor pondered for a moment, petting the puppy, who snuggled close to her. “Thank you. I will send a reply to her shortly.”

“Yes doctor.” The Nuimon left the room.

Kate smiled, her gaze moving to the husky. “It is thanks to The Lady that I have you. You know, wee one, she is the only person in the multiverse to truly understand us. Like you and I, she too is enlightened and believe this universe needs healing.” The puppy let out a soft howl. “You will grow up just like my William Wallace and I’ll make sure you do.” MacNeil was grateful to the Lady for bringing her onboard this project and gifting her the puppy. In fact, the doctor was the only one with knowledge of the Lady’s true identity.

-------------------
Location: Ciris, NUMINO
Scene: Street-> Tunnels

Anaqueen marched angrily down the busy street, having just left the hotel. She had enough of those ‘children’ who pretend to be these freedom fighters, when truly they had no understanding of what that meant. The Trill growled under her breath, shoving past two Nuimon women, who began whispering angrily but she didn’t care and was heading for the local bar. She had briefly talked to Chloe in her room before returning to the Free Nuimons to offer more of her expertise towards their cause.

The Trill woman took a left turn and entered one of the tunnels, heeding Chloe’s advice to be inconspicuous, considering the presence of her alternate, whose crew were found all over the planet. Ana realized that Nielsen was concerned the Trill would be spotted by someone from the Camelot, mistaking her for their Captain. Ana rolled her eyes – Chloe being bossy as usual. “Does Miss Bossy think I‘m stupid? Of course I’ll be careful. Not like I want to run into that bitch – the less attractive version of myself, if I might add.” She harrumphed, shrugging her shoulders, when a cloaked figure appeared and grabbed her. “Hey! Stop…” Her voice trailed when the figure attached a patch on her neck.

-------------------
Street: Apartment
TI: Twenty minutes later

Ana opened her eyes, blinking in confusion. “What’s…going on?” She glanced around the room and when her gaze fell on a human blonde woman, her expression darkened. “Chloe? You grabbed me. How could you?” She shot up to her full height and glowered. “And how did you know where to find me?” The Trill soon sat back down on the sofa and growled.

Chloe let out a sigh of frustration, sitting on the coffee table. The agent really had no other choice if she wanted her cover maintained and avoid being spotted with Mirror Anaqueen in public. So she put on a disguise, a cloak with a hood, pretending to be a bounty hunter looking for the Trill woman.

“So,” the agent began calmly. “Why did you lie to me during that last call?”

“Lie to you?” Ana scowled, crossing her arms and pulling them towards her chest.

“Yes.” The blonde nodded. “You said you were in Tirithi, when really you are here in Ciris.”

The Trill’s eyes widened in surprise, wondering how the Canadian found out. “Because I felt like it,” she remarked with petulance. “How’d you find out anyway?”

“I used our subspace call to trace your location and tracked you down.”

“So. I got bored and came here.” She grinned.

Nielsen then leaned forward, her grey eyes meeting the Trill’s blue ones. “Anaqueen, I see you made new friends during your stay – some locals, rumour has it.” She could sense a growing discomfort in the Trill. “Locals engaged in acts of terrorism. In fact, I just returned from the Government building, where I foiled your new pals’ assassination attempts on the Dominion Ambassador and Captain Spankryz – your doppelganger.” She then added in a sterner tone. “Did you forget the conditions of your release and what would happen if you break even one of them?”

Anaqueen’s rage reached a boiling point and the Trill erupted, “Are you accusing me of attempting to kill my alternate? Because that isn’t true. I merely offered them advice on strategy and tactics, having conducted similar operations back in my reality. They never told me who the targets were. In fact, they don’t trust me enough with that information after all I am only their paid consultant and an off-worlder to boot!” She stomped her foot.

“Alright, I believe you.” Chloe rolled her eyes at Anaqueen’s temper tantrum – something the blonde was all too familiar with. “Why take on a client now? I heard from the grapevine that the Free Nuimons hired a consultant who goes by the name ‘Queen Anne’ – one of your many aliases. Are we not compensating you enough? Not that we’re obligated to give you anything. But I can request my boss after this mission to increase your compensation? Maybe offer a luxury vacation package?” Offering vacation packages was going to drive Georgia Campbell mad but she wasn’t the boss. Chloe was really being sarcastic with her asset.

“It’s not about the latinum,” Ana replied in a calm voice. “I was just curious about the Lady.”

Chloe’s interest peeked. “The Lady?”

“Yes. She is their secret financial backer. Without her resources, they won’t be able to exist.” Ana exhaled. “I didn’t go to them. They came to me in Tirithi, apparently directed by the Lady, who’s the one compensating me for my services, actually.”

The agent frowned. The Lady knew about Anaqueen and her presence on the planet, which wasn’t necessarily alarming as the Trill was high up on the bounty list for warlords and dictators. Assuming the Lady was either working for a powerful group or even running one herself, then it was highly likely she knew about Ana. “Why is the Lady helping a local terrorist organization? What does she gain from getting rid of Glina and Spankryz?” Chloe doubted the Free Nuimons decided on their own, regarding the assassinations and believed they were likely prodded by this mysterious woman.

Ana shrugged. “They don’t know and don’t care so long as she backs them.”

“I’m guessing she supplies the weapons.” Chloe pulled out the grenade, taken from the female assassin and showed it to the Trill.

Ana’s eyes widened. “That’s the weapon they planned to use. I never knew what it did and they didn’t either.”

“The weapon melts anything it comes in contact with.”

“Who designed such a weapon and from the markings on its surface, it resembles an object taken from the ruins of a dead civilization.”

“Of course, now it makes sense. The Lady does have a spy in the Syndicate and they smuggle artifacts off this planet. Some of the artifacts could have been weaponized and supplied to the Free Nuimons.” Chloe’s eyes widened, realizing something. “But the Syndicate couldn’t find a way to weaponize the artifacts and are trying to find MacNeil in the first place. Unless…”

“Unless what?”

The blonde sighed. “I think the Lady is working with MacNeil and it may be why she got a Syndicate agent killed and tried to kill me as well. She doesn’t want the Syndicate to find her…but then that doesn’t make sense as whoever is backing MacNeil sent those invitations, offering her services to design bioweapons. Something’s not right here. Or maybe she doesn’t want anyone to just take MacNeil away without offering something in return.”

“I don’t understand, Chloe.”

Chloe explained, “I think the Lady is using MacNeil to weaponize artifacts attained from an archaeological site here and has already supplied them to the Free Nuimons. Now for what purpose, I don’t know but I do believe it’s not to help serve the group’s agenda.”

“So what now?”

“Anaqueen, I want you to infiltrate the Free Nuimons,” the agent ordered. “You need to gain their trust and find more information that will connect them to the Lady and MacNeil.”

“What?” The Trill’s mouth dropped. “You want me to consult them?” She scowled. “What? So now that it’s part of your mission objectives, you feel it’s now okay to use me like that?”

Chloe said in a flat tone, “I can use you anyway I see fit. Remember, you work for me.”

Ana pouted, speaking in a dry, irritable tone. “Fine. I’ll do it. Oh you’re so bossy.”

The agent smiled, unfazed by that ‘bossy’ remark and quipped, “You haven’t met a Starfleet Captain if you think I’m bossy.”

---------------
Location: USS CAMELOT in orbit around NUMINO
Scene: CO’s Ready Room

Captain Anaqueen Spankryz, having returned from an eventful reception, where she had escaped an assassination attempt on her lie, sighed, sitting behind her desk and poring over some reports. Free Nuimons, yet another extremist group – the Nuimons didn’t seem to be able to shake off their more isolationist elements. Only this time was different – the group used more violent methods and that bothered her. There were questions running in her mind. The projectile that melted the table instead of its actual target, Glina, the Vorta diplomat. Where did they obtain a weapon like that? The Nuimons weren’t known to manufacture such advanced weapons unless they are assisted by an outsider. Ironic – take the help of an off-worlder to rid their world of off-worlders.

[[Bridge to Captain,]] came a female voice through the comm. [[Incoming hail from the planet surface. It’s from the Dominion Embassy.]]

“Patch it through to my Ready Room,” Anaqueen ordered. The screen flickered to a dour faced Vorta woman, seated behind a dull brown desk. The Trill felt her muscles tense, her gaze fixed intently on the clone. “Ambassador Glina, what can I do for you?”

The Vorta’s response was cool, yet her expression was hard. {{Save the pleasantries, Captain. It’s just you and me now so we can have a frank and honest conversation.}}

“I don’t see why we shouldn’t.” Ana took on a similar tone as the Ambassador. “What is the purpose of your call?”

{{What is your mission here, Captain?}}

“Ambassador,” Ana began rather tersely, “My ship’s mission is supporting a civilian scientific team, while they conduct their research and once they’re done, we take them back to the Gateway. I’m sure you are aware of the joint Federation-Nuimon scientific project that has been going on for the past seven years.”

{{Yes I am, Captain.}} Glina’s violet eyes narrowed. {{But isn’t that the job of the USS BLACK SEA, a starship that is part of your Gamma Quadrant fleet? So how come Starfleet Command sent your vessel instead this time?}}

Anaqueen informed in a firm tone, “Frankly, Ambassador. That is an internal matter that I am not at liberty to discuss.”

{{Alright, Captain.}} Glina leaned forward, her visage taking up most of the screen. {{What is your true mission here?}}

The Trill furrowed her brow, mildly annoyed at this question. “I just answered that question, Ambassador. If you didn’t understand me the first time, would you like me to repeat it?”

{{Frankly, Captain. I believe you’re lying.}} The accusation made by the clone surprised the CO. {{You are here for the same reason we are.}}

Ana glared. “Are you making an accusation, Ambassador?”

Glina’s voice was calm but it betrayed a little anger, {{Don’t take me for a fool, Captain. I heard those invitations were sent to every major power in the galaxy as well as criminals, warlords, all in need of bioweapons. Are you denying receiving such an invitation?}}

“Ambassador, I really have no idea what you are talking about and do not know of any such invitation – certainly not one dealing with bioweapons.” What kind of game the Vorta was playing at, the Trill thought angrily. She wasn’t aware of a person selling his or her services to create biogenic weapons. Starfleet didn’t deal in such illegal activities. An invitation - that was ridiculous.

{{You are not aware there is a doctor out there, willing to offer his or her services to design bioweapons for the chosen party – the highest bidder I am assuming.}}

“Ambassador, I am telling the truth. Starfleet is not aware of an invitation and is not our way to partake in such activities deemed illegal as per our laws.”

{{Of course.}} Glina smiled but her eyes were cold. {{It’s not our way either.}}

Anaqueen bristled, giving the Vorta a fixed stare. Now who were the liars again? If there was such a doctor and the Dominion were after such individual, it would make sense for them to be fishing for information to gauge their competition. “Then I believe we are clear on this matter.” As a veteran of the last Dominion war, Anaqueen knew all too well just how the former enemy operated.

{{I believe we are done here. Hope you have a pleasant evening.}} The communication ended abruptly, leaving the Captain bewildered and annoyed. Spankryz sighed, when the door chime rang. “Enter.”

The doors parted, permitting the ship’s ExO inside. “Captain.” Azula Sol made her way towards the desk. “What did the Ambassador want?”

The CO shrugged. “Glina was trying to fish for information about an invitation she thinks we received from some clandestine doctor who intends to sell their services to those requiring bioweapons.”

Sol arched a brow. “Is the Ambassador talking about a party that the Federation hasn’t been invited to?” The ExO’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Don’t try to be funny, Commander,” Ana chided. “But yes, Glina was trying to figure out if Starfleet received such an invitation because apparently according to her, the invitations were sent to all major galactic powers, warlords – basically anyone desiring to build a biogenic weapon.”

“But Captain, it isn’t the Starfleet way to engage in illegal activities.” The younger woman arched a brow.

“I told her the same and she seemed to have accepted my answer.”

Sol looked skeptical. “Hmm…I don’t know. The Dominion aren’t exactly trustworthy. They are up to something and I bet the Jem’Hadar are already scouring the planet for the Free Nuimons.”

“I don’t think Glina believes me,” Ana said. “You’re right. They will want some retribution for the assassination attempt against the Ambassador and wiping out the Free Nuimons may be part of the plan.”

Sol handed a PADD to the CO. “Speaking of which, I have an update regarding the police investigation.”

“Go on.”

“Cato was able to observe the interrogation of the assassin,” Azula began. “But they couldn’t get much information as the man was just a foot soldier and a fanatic to boot whose knowledge was limited to the plan and target. He did, however, under some pressure from the lead investigator, revealed the identity of his fellow assassin.” She inhaled. “The second assassin, as per the message delivered to you, was found unconscious in a storage closet. Unfortunately, she’s in a coma and under observation at the hospital. Doctors there don’t know when she will wake up.”

Anaqueen sighed, wondering why the mysterious helper, decided to knock out the assassin into a coma. “Were the police able to obtain the other assassin’s weapon?”

Azula sighed, shaking her head. “No, Captain. There was no sign of the weapon. Our secret helper probably took it, though not sure why, instead of just handing it over to the authorities.”

Spankryz nodded. “Anything else?”

“Yes,” Sol said in a nervous tone. “You may want to brace for this next part as it’s very bad.”

Anaqueen frowned. “I don’t need to, so come out with it.”

“Captain, the Nuimon police received an anonymous delivery earlier today with a message addressed to us so they contacted Cato and Hex.” Azula inhaled in a deep breath. “The delivery contained the remains of two of our officers and Cato had it sent back to the ship for further examination. Medical scans confirmed the remains were of Ensign Kelar and Lieutenant Shonar, both from Engineering. Kelar was a recent graduate.” She sighed. “We had already reported them missing last night, when they didn’t check in as all of our personnel are required to, while down on the surface. Cato thought at first they got lost somewhere in Tirithi, their last known location, drunk out of their minds so didn’t conduct a search for them till the next morning.” She paused, watching her CO’s expression darken. “I’ve already informed Lt. Commander Song about their deaths after all she was their department head.”

“What happened?”

“We’re not sure but…” She paused, the words caught in her mouth.

“But what? Commander?”

“Their remains…when discovered were in liquid form.”

Ana’s eyes widened in disbelief and a growing ire brew inside her. “They were melted.”

Sol nodded. “Yes like…” Both women had light bulb moments at the same time. “Captain, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“They were killed by the same weapon that was used in the assassination attempt.” Ana wondered, having this chilling feeling that what if this doctor that Glina mentioned, existed.

“So this weapon can liquefy both organic and inorganic objects, which brings my next piece of news.”

“Go ahead, Commander.” Ana nodded.

“It’s Dr. Adeyami. Right after you left the planet, she informed Cato that the weapon looked to be one of the artifacts from her lab.”

“An artifact that was weaponized?” Oh this news couldn’t get any worse.

“She believed it was stolen,” the ExO said. “So she returned to her lab and got her team to do an inventory of all the items in their possession. They reported many of the artifacts went missing, including that grenade, which they guess was a memory storage unit before its conversion to a weapon.” She handed the Trill another PADD, containing an image of the actual artifact.

Ana studied the image, noting the physical similarities the original item shared with the weapon. “Either one of the local scientists is a Free Nuimon member or another group has a spy placed within Adeyami’s group. Also, since the Nuimons don’t have the capability to create such advanced weapons, then it confirms my suspicion that the Free Nuimons are helped by an outsider – perhaps this mysterious doctor.”

“So Glina was telling the truth and invitations were sent to many other groups including possibly our allies, enemies? But how come Starfleet didn’t receive an invitation?”

“What makes you think we didn’t?” Ana raised an eyebrow. “Commander, I very much doubt Starfleet Intelligence would ignore such an invitation and may be doing something about it as we speak.” The Trill had a lot of dealings with SFI when she was in command of the USS PROPHECY partaking in top secret missions involving traveling to other dimensions as well as during other postings later in her career. So she was familiar with how Intelligence operated and they wouldn’t let a dangerous doctor loose for other powers to snatch.

“So if invitations were sent, then should we expect more guests to this planet, most unwelcome guests?”

“If that’s the case,” Spankryz said, concern filling her blue eyes, “then things with the Nuimons are about to get worse with the presence of more off-worlders.”

Sol asked, “What should we do?”

“Well, first I will be sending a message to Starfleet Command, explaining the situation, try to get some answers that will shed some light on this doctor and await further orders.”

************************************************************************************
NRPG: And here’s Part VIII. Special Two parts for the New Year.

Some of Mirror Kate’s backstory were borrowed from old posts I wrote in 2008 (1st ed.), during the Gateway mission with the SHIV and retold in a different way.

Yes, there will be more visitors arriving on Numino soon but not anything like large battle cruisers or armadas, just more spy stuff. Chloe will have her hands full soon ;) and by the next installment or two, Prime Kate will be dragged into the plot.

Fun fact – Prime Kate MacNeil, about a decade ago, adopted three genetically engineered pets, discovered in Mirror Kate’s lab on the SHIV (this was when I was still writing for her in 2008). They were a white chipmunk, a cat/rabbit (a kitten back then) and a monkey/unknown alien bird hybrid (Mirror Kate liked splicing DNAs of different species together). These were in addition to her three existing pets (a dog, parrot and chimp).

Another fun fact, one of my other old characters, Meera Song (whom I used to write for on the Patriot in 2008-2009) is the Camelot’s current Chief Engineer and is also Jasmine’s friend. Perhaps I may bring her in a future story.


~*~
Ranjani S.
Writing for

Chloe Nielsen
Section 31 Agent

And

Special Appearance by

Captain Anaqueen Spankryz