Third Mission, Part X

Posted on Mar 09, 2019 @ 10:15pm by Chloe Nielsen
Edited on on Mar 09, 2019 @ 10:15pm

Mission: Section 31

“Third Mission, Part X”

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Location: Riivenvale, NUMINO
SD: [2.19] 0227.1939
Scene: Valley

Upon arrival, Chloe heard a splash and her eyes flickered downwards – her feet lay ankle deep in water. She released Yesper and stood up. They were standing in a stream at the edge of the woods. Dawn was approaching from the appearance of the grey sky above so it was still dark though not enough to make it difficult to see. The agent looked ahead – the stream was flowing downwards until it was heard to be bouncing off rocks, leading to perhaps a waterfall. Chloe’s ears picked up a distant roar further down the stream. She turned to the side, spotting the Nuimon lift himself up on a rock, his weary appearance displaying a confused man.

The agent tapped on her wristband. A 3D projection, displaying the map of the region, was generated. The map could be seen only by her due to the ocular lens worn on the cornea of her eyes. Information, obtained by the device embedded in the wristband, would be displayed on the lens. Chloe fixed her gaze on the spot marking their position, confirmed to be somewhere in the valley, just on the outskirts of Riivenvale. She sighed, realizing finding a safe path to the town wasn’t going to be easy, not in this terrain – a deep valley surrounded by waterfalls everywhere.

“I am not familiar with this region.” Breg sighed.

“From what I saw on a map, the way to the town is by going down this stream.” The blonde frowned, when red dots suddenly appeared, scattered all around their position. “And we got company.”

“Company?” The Nuimon blinked in confusion.

Chloe ushered him to get out of the water. “Let’s move.” She grabbed his shoulder, nudging him forward. “You really don’t want to be around to find out.” They began moving down the slope, keeping close to the stream. Soon, Chloe spotted the stream flowing into a narrow waterfall that cascaded over a series of rocky outcrops, resembling a staircase, whose steps looked to be evenly spaced.

Sighing, the blonde knew they needed to traverse down the waterfall to reach their destination. Since the current didn’t seem to be too strong, they should be able to manage. The roaring grew louder and the agent glanced ahead, noticing the presence of larger waterfalls on both sides of the staircase falls. The falls on the left, originated from quite high up the mountain and from her vantage point, there seemed to be no end in sight. Now the waterfall on their right began just a few feet above them but like the other one, its end wasn’t visible from their position.

As they were about to go down a step, two marauders appeared out of the woods. Chloe noticed both were males of different heights. The short one was obviously a Ferengi from his orange skin, bulbous forehead and large earlobes, while the tall one, a bald, blue skinned being, was a Bolian. Whether the two worked together or just simply arrived at the same time was unknown but that didn’t matter except that she needed to get rid of them quickly. Both carried disruptor pistols, which they hadn’t removed from their holsters. She wondered who’d make the first move and grinned, when it was the orange being.

The Ferengi lunged forward, his mouth wide open, baring his teeth but Chloe stopped him in his tracks and bent his right arm in an elbow lock. Before he could react, she flipped him over her shoulder and he tumbled down the steps.

Before the Bolian even moved, the agent swung her right arm, her fingers releasing small silver star-shaped monofilament blades towards him. The projectiles struck him in the arm, shoulders, the neck and his left eye and the blue man fell backwards to the ground with a thud.

Chloe sighed, turning forward, spotting Yesper looking visibly shaken as his eyes didn’t leave the Bolian’s dead body. “Come on. There will be more coming so we need to hurry.”

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Scene: Resort Cottage

After Kate MacNeil entered the living room, she paused for a moment, her gaze moving to the window and smiled. She eyed the down pouring of water outside with admiration – such a beautiful sight. Like her mother’s home, this cottage was built within the mountain, where some of its walls came behind a waterfall. She closed her eyes, listening keenly to the rumbling sound outside made by the falls and exhaled, her muscles and breathing relaxing. For a moment, she stood in a sea of calm. But that moment didn’t last long when soft meowing pulled her out of that sea of calm.

Kate sighed, glancing over her shoulder. Crumpet padded past her, carrying a black Scottish fold kitten by the scruff. The kitten meowed, clearly not enjoying being carried. “Crumpet, put Muffin down.” But the white Persian didn’t budge so Kate bent forward and tapped her head. When Crumpet opened her mouth to meow, Muffin jumped away, making a dash for the dining table.

Her mother greeted her with a smile. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes.” Kate nodded, looking around and noticed only her Nuimon family were in the room, standing around a rock slab - the dining table. “I know Grace went for a morning walk with William Wallace but why the children aren’t down yet.”

Amianel, her youngest half-sister, glanced at the window. “Well, I took Josephine out because the puppies needed their walk and when we returned, they went back to her room.”

“And last I saw Hamish.” Horaciin settled himself down beside his father. “He was still in his room, feeding Bo and Cho.”

Kate sighed. “Alright, I’m calling them down.” She inched herself towards the rocky staircase and called out, “Hamish, Jo-Jo. Come down, now. Breakfast is ready.” A moment later, the stairs shook a little with thundering noises as two olive green skinned kids, a golden retriever puppy and a corgi puppy came running down, nearly shoving the tall woman aside. She smiled, when the children took their seats with Jo-Jo sitting next to Amianel, while the chair beside Hamish was empty. A soft mewling was heard. Kate glanced behind her shoulder and sighed as Crumpet tapped her paw on Muffin’s head. “Crumpet, stop pestering your wee sister.” The white cat let out a loud angry meow and left the kitten alone as she lay down in front of her own bowl.


Dahlis sat down beside her husband, Feremvir Goemman and looked around. “So we are missing just Grace?” She turned behind when a whirring sound was heard and the sound of footsteps coming up the steps. “There she is.” A tall Orion woman appeared with a beagle tagging along beside her.

“How was your walk?” Kate asked, directing her wife to the chair beside Hamish and then taking the one next to it. William Wallace trotted to her, licking her hand, while Kate petted him affectionately.

Grace replied in a soft voice as she sat down, “It was nice.” She smiled, sharing brief glances with MacNeil and their kids.

Breakfast went smoothly, where everyone enjoyed a nice chat, covering a variety of topics. Kate took a quick peek at her kids to make sure they were eating their meals and sighed, noticing Josephine was feeding bits of the protein bar to the puppies. The protein bar – a golden brown rectangular delicacy was amongst the two or three varieties of protein foods, served for this breakfast alone, all extracted from different plant sources. Kate picked up a stone pot and poured herself a cup of tea. Besides the protein, the breakfast included an assortment of delicious fruits, all grown locally in the region, purple grains all mashed up and lathered with a bluish green dressing and tiny pink and orange spheres, which she found to be quite sweet and sugary. The sweet spheres were what her children enjoyed the most and the half-Nuimon had to make sure they didn’t eat too much of them and skip the mashed grains.

“Mum, when are you going to make us omelettes? Gramps always make me the sausage omelette, when we visit,” Hamish asked.

Kate let out a sigh of exasperation. “Hamish,” she began softly yet there was a firmness in her tone, “you can have omelettes when we get back home but now we have all this delicious food to enjoy.”

The boy started whining, scowling at the mashed grains on his plate. “Mum, I don’t want this porridge. You always give me porridge daily. I want eggs, potatoes, toast, bacon and sausage.”

MacNeil groaned, shaking her head. “Lad, look we have all this delicious food here.” She picked up a tiny round blue fruit and tossed into her mouth. “Hmm…very delicious. Try some?”

Kate’s other half-sister, Raemona raised an eyebrow as she held a red gooey round protein bar. “What is a sausage?”

Her twin, Horaciin and Dahlis both shook their heads in grimace. “You do not want to know, sister,” Horaciin remarked.

“I agree.” His mother nodded. Both Horaciin and Dahlis had spent a considerable amount of time on Earth. “Let’s not ruin our appetites.”

Both Amianel’s and Raemona’s eyes widened in horror. “Animal?” The younger of the two furrowed her brow. “People eat animals?”

“Apparently on other worlds, they do,” Raemona said with disgust in her voice.

Josephine chimed in, “Mummy, can we all go out for fish and chips?” At the mention of the word ‘fish’, Crumpet shot up to an erect sitting position and turned her head around in search of fish.

“Lassie,” Kate told her daughter in a gentle tone. “There are no fish and chips here.”

Hamish lashed out. “It’s wrong to eat fish.”

“Lad, so it’s okay to eat a pig or cow then?”MacNeil arched her brow.

Her daughter screamed, “No! You can’t eat Mama Bessy!” Mama Bessy was the family cow.

Amianel turned to Grace. “So Grace, I am curious as to what your people eat.”

The Orion woman’s expression turned grim as she replied in a quiet voice filled with bitter undertones, “On a slave ship, one just ate what was offered.” An awkward, yet discomforting silence passed between everyone at the table, well except for the meowing from the felines. William Wallace and the puppies kept roaming around the table for scraps.

Dahlis cleared her throat. “How about I tell you more about our upcoming day trip to Triple Falls, one of the attractions here at Three Peaks Resort?”

Kate nodded, sighing with relief. “Yes, I’d love to know more about Triple Falls.” Before anyone else spoke, footsteps were heard in the level below and then on the stairs.

Dahlis glanced behind her shoulder. “Hello.”

A male Ferengi appeared, climbing up the last step and now stood facing them, his mouth open wide to grin. Another male Ferengi came up behind him. This second Ferengi was tall and thin – though still short compared to all the other non-Ferengi adults in the room. Then a loud stomping sound was heard and a third one burst into the room, standing beside the first two. The new arrival was the shortest and was a little pudgy in the middle.

“May I help you?” Alenvin inquired.

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Scene: Valley

A humanoid man with long dark hair, stocky build and tanned complexion, jumped in front of Chloe, brandishing a machete. His face and arms were covered in tattoos. Yesper withdrew, shaking in fear. Both the agent and the informant had only managed a few feet down the waterfall, keeping close to the edge, along a grey rocky wall.

The man aimed his weapon at them, speaking in a hoarse voice. “Come with me willingly and you will not be hurt.”

Chloe shrugged. “Not a chance.” The deafening roars of the neighboring waterfalls made it difficult for them to hear each other so their voices were raised.

Letting out a guttural scream, the man charged towards her, swinging the machete. Chloe slid out of the way, just missing the pointy end of the blade and promptly swept her right leg to the back of his shin. The attacker slipped, sliding down a few steps and dropped his weapon. Chloe walked down towards him just as he was lifting himself up.

“Why are you after us?” She demanded, slipping her right hand inside the left sleeve.

Instead of answering her, the man, now kneeling, spat out some water and reached out for his blaster. However the agent, quickly spotting the move, pulled out a type 1 phaser and fired, the energy beam hitting him square in his chest and he collapsed, his body rolling down the waterfall.

She sighed, glancing behind and waved at Yesper. “Come on.” As she began moving, he quickly caught up to her.

Yesper moaned, speaking at a fast pace, his voice shaking, “I didn’t expect the plan involved me dying.”

“No one expects to die,” Chloe said dryly but the Nuimon kept blabbering.

“He promised,” he went on, “that only you would die and I would be rescued.” His voice trailed, when Chloe stopped walking. The agent turned around, giving him a cold stare.

“What do you mean?” The blonde pulled out her phaser and pointed it at him. “Who is this he you’re referring to? Lord Percy?”

The Nuimon gulped, giving her a nervous look. “I…did not…mean anything.” His voice shook as he spoke.

“I heard you loud and clear.” Chloe’s eyes narrowed. “You’re in collusion with an off-worlder who goes by Lord Percy and apparently, you helped him lure me into a trap but it looks like he betrayed you. So does this make any sense to you?”

“I…deny knowing this…Lord Percy.”

Nielsen sighed. “Well, looks like you’re going to die here after all.”

“No! Wait!” He raised his hands. “Please, don’t kill me. You are right. It was a trap.”

Chloe brought her arm down. “Tell me everything, while we keep moving.” So the two continued walking, now half way down the waterfall. They were beginning to be enveloped by mist and she could feel moist on her face. Glancing around, she noticed they were now surrounded by the two larger waterfalls on both sides.

“After Hollande ousted me from the Chief Consul position a year ago, I was contacted by an off-worlder whom I have never met. She calls herself, ‘The Lady’, and promised to help me reclaim my rightful position as Chief Consul if I assisted her with some minor tasks.”

“What kind of tasks?”


“Finding land, arrange for labour to build a laboratory for a doctor she brought here.” He shrugged. “I am a powerful person here and have many contacts so I was able to accomplish all these tasks without anyone asking questions.”

Chloe pondered for a moment. The Lady seemed to have her hand in everyone’s tills – Mirror Kate, Free Nuimons, Lord Percy and now a Consul. What was her game plan here? “So you weren’t being targeted for an assassination by Chief Consul Hollande? And the Dominion aren’t really after you for your involvement with the Free Nuimons in conspiring to kill the Ambassador and Captain Spankryz?”

Yesper shook his head. “No. They were lies to get you to come with me on this trip but it is true I have been cooperating with the Free Nuimons at the Lady’s behest. While I encouraged those rangers to sabotage the Karemman facility, I had nothing to do with the Free Nuimons’ assassination attempt against the Dominion Ambassador and the Starfleet Captain.”

“And your connection with Lord Percy?”

“Well,” Breg replied. “I met with him a few times for business reasons during my time as Chief Consul but I did not know he was messenger for the Lady until the night before the attempted assassinations, which was when he and I hatched out this plan.”

“Which was?”

“Lord Percy wanted to eliminate you and I wanted the Chief Consul position back as well as destroy Hollande’s political career.” He gulped when Chloe’s cool gaze bore into him. “Once the pilot had killed you, he and I would have escaped to the surface, while the transport would have been destroyed in the process. I would have called for help and upon reaching the Riivenvale police branch, I had planned on telling them that I had been targeted for assassination by Hollande and even claim she had conspired with off-worlders such as that human, Elena Djiktra and the Dominion. So basically, declare Hollande a traitor, have her ousted from the council and then be subsequently arrested. Then I would reclaim the Chief Consul position.”

“Elena Djiktra? What do you know about her?” Chloe remembered meeting that human woman in the council building with Lord Percy. As she recalled, Elena was a high ranking member – the same level as Mwangi and apparently in charge of expanding the Syndicate’s operations into the Gamma Quadrant.

“Well, all I know is that she is the head of a successful, interstellar business enterprise,” he said, a hint of bitterness in his voice. “Over a year ago, she became Anuita’s close confidante, advising her on various matters regarding my world, which I and the other consuls found troublesome. I believe this foreign woman might have planted the seed in Anuita’s head to remove me as Chief Consul and take it for herself. Now as Chief Consul, she is taking only the advice of an off-worlder and shutting everyone else out. It was Djiktra who advised Hollande to cave into the Dominion’s demands to build the third Karemman facility in exchange for those rangers.”

“Look,” she said in a harsh tone, “I don’t give a damn about your personal rivalry with Hollande but I need to know something.”

“Yes?”

“Do you really know the location of this doctor?” Before the Nuimon could answer, something bright and bluish white shot past them, barely missing them by a thread. The agent turned behind and let out an exasperated sigh.

On the top step of the waterfall, stood a young Ktarian woman with long raven hair, tied behind in a ponytail. The new arrival adorned a bluish grey jumpsuit over her lithe form but what interested the agent was the unusual weapon in her hands. It was shaped like a bow with no string. Nielsen raised an eyebrow, wondering where the arrows were. She had spotted the Ktarian press her thumb on the bow and in place of the string, a bluish white phased energy beam materialized, concentrating itself into a ball before it shot off towards them. Chloe pushed Yesper to the side and jumped to avoid getting in contact with the energy ball, which hit the wall, causing some rocks to break off.

The Ktarian moved down the steps like a hunter after prey, her smug expression indicating her high confidence in herself. Chloe sighed, pulling out her phaser – she needed to rid the Ktarian of her weapon, which was once again activated. Another energy ball was hurled towards them. Chloe pushed the Nuimon away, while she herself hopped in the opposite direction, thus once again missing getting hit. She looked up at their attacker who continued approaching them, a smile now gracing her features.

Chloe narrowed her eyes, blinking to adjust the focus of the lens on the bow and scanned it. Readings indicated the bow was drained of power and was recharging, estimated to be thirty seconds – more than enough time to make her next move. The agent shifted the lens’ focus to the enemy’s arm, holding the bow and then at lightning speed, she pulled out the star-shaped monofilament blade and threw it in the air. The projectile flew at top speeds as it spun in the air and before the Ktarian could react, the blade sliced her upper arm. The Ktarian released an ear piercing scream, dropping her weapon, which was spotted cascading downwards along the steps. Chloe then promptly knocked the Ktarian out with a shot from the phaser to the latter’s chest. As the other woman collapsed backwards to the ground, she turned to Breg.

“Let’s keep moving.”

Yesper complied without protest. Unfortunately, their path was blocked when a figure jumped from who knew where, in front of them. Chloe narrowed her eyes.

A human male of Asian origin faced them and was adorned in black woollen clothes. With short, black hair, he had a lean build and stood at about the same height as her. He reached over his shoulder and pulled out a curved, single-edged blade with a circular edge and long grip – a katana.

Chloe sighed. Yet another opponent to overcome.

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“Come along, darling,” Lord Percy called out in a sing-song voice, glancing behind his shoulder as he pulled at the rope. Straggling behind him was Mirror Anaqueen, her hands bound in tritanium cuffs that were attached to the tail end of the rope.

“Do not call me darling.”Anaqueen’s fury had already reached its boiling point and the Trill gave her captor a murderous glare. “When I get free, I will kill you and feed you to the sea creatures!” She tumbled forward, when Percy yanked the rope.

The Deltan let out a belly aching laugh. “You are really funny and silly to believe you can get free and kill me.” The pair walked along a ravine, surrounded by grey walls, made of rock, on both sides. A narrow stream flowed to their left. It was generally quiet except for the distant roar of waterfalls nearby. Percy yanked the rope again, chuckling.

Anaqueen growled as she was pulled forward, nearly tripping over a stone but she managed to hold her balance and glared at him. “You will not succeed. My friend won’t be so easily taken down by the likes of you.” She felt her muscles tighten, thinking of Chloe, hoping the agent was alright.

“You overestimate that woman’s abilities.”

“You haven’t seen her in action.” Ana’s tone was defiant but then felt a burning pain shoot through her wrists, when the Deltan once again jerked the rope a little too hard for her liking. “Ouch!” They had reached the end of the ravine and were standing at the bottom of a cliff. She watched Percy place his hand on a rock and began climbing up the cliff, dragging the Trill with him. “Where are you taking me?”

“I have located the blonde and the Nuimon,” he informed coldly, looking behind his shoulder. “Now come along and don’t be late.”

Ana sighed, dragged by Percy as they headed up the cliff.

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The Asian man pointed his katana at the blonde. “Hand over that man and I will let you live.” He stood with one foot placed on the step above, the water rushing over it.

“I didn’t realize I needed your permission to live,” Chloe remarked with sarcasm and approached him, giving him a cool gaze. “Now, get out of the way as we are already running late.” As expected, the man didn’t budge.

“Well, I guess we shall handle this the hard way.” He then warned, taking on a fighting stance. “I am a bounty hunter, one of the best in fact.”

Chloe rolled her eyes, noting the pride in his voice. Bounty hunter, most likely after Yesper and apparently didn’t really want to get in a line. “No introductions necessary on my part,” she quipped, standing on a outcrop, a step above him.

“Be warned, I have never lost in single combat.” He thrust his sword forward at her chest but only hit the air, when the agent maneuvered her upper body a little to the right. When he thrust his sword forward again, the blonde hopped up a step, missing the blade’s end by a hair. He jumped up another step, raising the blade, preparing for another strike.

Chloe noticed from the positioning that the bounty hunter was aiming for her neck. **Time to go on the offensive. ** She slid down, her feet shifting to a lower outcrop, making a splash in the water and could feel the whooshing in the air from the blade swinging above her head. Then in one quick move, she raised her left leg, striking his groin. The bounty hunter yelled as he stumbled backwards down a few steps, his katana flying out of his hand and into the water, carried downwards by the current.

With him lying across two steps, Chloe waved at Breg to keep moving down, knowing her adversary wasn’t going to be out for long. The Asian slowly got up to a standing position but the Nuimon already moved past them. He didn’t waste any time and leapt towards the blonde, his right leg extended for a side kick. However his other leg slipped over the edge and the man fell face first into the water, making contact with the rocky surface. The water current was becoming stronger, the further they descended the waterfall.

Chloe took advantage of the opening given to her, moving down a step and sent a swift kick to his head, just as he was getting up. The bounty hunter ended up arching his upper body back but still held his balance. Then in a flash, he grabbed the agent’s wrist, twisted it and threw her over. The agent landed in the running water and was sprawled across a single step, where both her hands and feet touched the ground. She glanced up, realizing the Asian threw her down four or maybe five steps and stood up just when her opponent jumped forward, flipping his lean body in mid-air. When the man’s feet touched the ground, he then slipped, his left foot sliding across the edge, bringing him down until he was sitting on the step, his legs dangling in the water.

**He should know it’s quite slippery here. ** She sighed, making her way towards the bounty hunter, delivering a kick to his ribs on the left side, forcing him to turn to his right as he let out a scream. As the agent moved in for another kick, the Asian shot up, grabbing her right elbow, twisting it, preparing to throw her forward. However, Chloe, using the full strength of her body, swung a punch with her left hand, to his nose and then heard a crack. Not bothering to deal with his bleeding nose, he tightened his grip on her elbow and reached out for her neck with his free hand. However the agent blocked him and swept his wrist into a joint lock. A tug of war ensued between them as they pulled and pushed on the other until both their feet slipped across the edge. Now both the Section 31 agent and the bounty hunter fell down the staircase, the running water carrying them all the way to the bottom, where they plunged into a wide pool, sending a splash in all directions. The duo let go of each other.

Chloe pulled herself out of the water, suddenly feeling a throbbing in her head. Her clothes and hair were wet. The agent also felt a pull and realized the current in the pool was strong and the water was still moving. She tilted her head to the side and found the beginning of another waterfall a few meters away. The agent slowly got up to a standing position, when a stream of red energy beam shot across her right arm, barely missing it and hitting the water. Chloe froze, glancing behind her and found three Klingon warriors surrounding her and the bounty hunter, who also was standing up. She spotted Yesper at the far corner, barely holding onto a tree branch. Fortunately for him, the Klingons had their backs to him.

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Scene: Resort Cottage

The thin Ferengi, also the tallest of the three, approached the table. “Greetings,” he began in a thick voice. “Your door was open and so we entered.” It wasn’t unusual in these remote resorts on Numino for guests to keep their front doors open from dawn to dusk.

“How can we help you?” Dahlis asked, standing up, her six foot frame towering over the three orange beings.

As Kate watched her mother approach their unexpected visitors, she felt a little nervous. She doubted the Ferengi’s intentions were pure. She gave a sidelong glance at Grace, whose expression darkened at the sight of the visitors and the Orion woman’s hands clenched into fists. MacNeil was aware her wife didn’t have a fondness for Ferengi, having sometimes been forced to service their needs during the green woman’s time on the slave ship many years ago.

“My name is Zuk.” The first Ferengi, who was in the middle in terms of height as compared to his companions, widened his smile. “My brothers, Lark and Bluk.”

“We are looking for someone – a Trill female. She has a lot of bounties placed on her, worth a gigantic fortune,” Lark the tall one said. “If we find her, then we stand to profit immensely.” William Wallace and the puppies circled around the Ferengi, sniffing them. Crumpet looked up from her empty bowl and meowed for more food but no one paid any heed to her, while Muffin was licking her paw.

Dahlis furrowed her brow. “We have not seen a Trill woman here.”

“Are you sure?” Lark raised an eyebrow.

“Yes.” The former Chief Consul nodded.

“I have never seen such tall females,” the stout Ferengi, Bluk, remarked, sneering at Dahlis and the other women in the room.

Zuk rummaged through his coat pocket and pulled out a tiny hexagonal object. He pressed his thumb on it, generating a projection of a Trill woman with a slender form and long silver hair. Kate nearly gasped but bit her lip instead. **A doppelganger of Anaqueen here. Not another one. **

“It’s auntie!”

Kate bit her lip again to avoid groaning, when her daughter suddenly yelled, followed by Phoebe and Papu yapping. She sighed, when her son chided his sister.

“No, she isn’t, stupid.”

“What do you mean?” Zuk said slowly, his gaze moving to the little girl. “Do you know this woman?”

“Jo-Jo! That is not ‘auntie’.” Kate pointed at the hologram of Mirror Anaqueen, whom she had not met before. “First, look at her hair – it’s long and silver. Auntie has shorter, light brown hair.” Turning to the Ferengi, she smiled. “Look, my daughter is young and mistook this Trill woman as someone we know…”

“Stop interrupting, female,” Bluk shrieked, his high-pitched nasally voice grating to her ears.

Zuk circled around the table and stood beside the children. “So, little one, do you know this ‘auntie’?”

Josephine nodded, beaming. “Auntie runs the big starship up there.” She pointed up at the ceiling as if the Camelot was sitting above them.

“Auntie?” The Ferengi arched a brow. “Are you related to her?”

“No, lasses and lads who run big ships are called aunties and uncles.”

“Look, Mr. Zuk. We don’t know this Trill woman you are looking for.” The Scottish woman got up and addressed the Ferengi in a polite, yet stern manner. “So, kindly do us a favour and leave.”

“She’s lying,” Lark declared. “I saw her expression pale when you brought up the hologram. She knows her.”

**No, all I see is a doppelganger from another dimension and that concerns me. ** MacNeil pulled out her comm badge and displayed it for all to see. “I am a Starfleet officer,” she warned, “and just one call away from the USS CAMELOT, where all I need to do is alert Captain Spankryz of your presence here. Soon, you will be dealing with a security squad.”

“You will do no such thing.” Zuk drew out a disrupter pistol and his brothers followed suit as all three pointed their weapons at the family.

“Look, perhaps there’s a misunderstanding…” MacNeil gave them a weak smile. Zuk banged the table with the disruptor before aiming it at the children. Kate’s mouth went dry, her heart rate and breathing suddenly elevated.

“Where is this woman?” Zuk demanded. “If you do not tell me, then I will take your offspring and sell them to an Orion slave ship.”

Hamish gave his mothers a pleading look. “Mummy, Mama, do not let them take us. Please!”

“Please, Mr. Zuk,” Kate implored. “I’m telling you the truth. I don’t know this woman so please let my children go.” She watched in disgust as the tall Ferengi grabbed the red protein bar and tossed it into his mouth, only to spit it back on the table a moment later.

“I hate this planet,” Lark snarled. “There’s nothing good to eat here.” Kate gulped, watching Raemona glare at the Ferengi.

“You trolls are welcome to leave.” Horaciin’s remark was snide until the very same Ferengi aimed his disrupter at him.

“Quiet, plant eater!”

Bluk’s gaze fell on Josephine, his small, pudgy hand slowly reaching out for the little girl’s head. But then Grace shot up and swung her hand across his face, scratching him. The troll let out a squeal of anguish, clutching his cheek with both hands. Zuk turned around and raised his hand to slap across the Orion woman’s face but she remained defiant, sending him a cold stare.

Alenvin stepped forward, hands raised. “Mr. Zuk, there’s no need for violence here. I am sure we can come up with some arrangement.”

Zuk shook his head. “We want the location of that woman otherwise we take those two Orion children.” Actually, Hamish and Josephine were half-Orion, one-quarter human and one-quarter Nuimon.

“How much fortune you would be making from all the bounties on this Trill woman?” Dahlis inquired, folding her arms across her chest.

Kate gave her mother a perplexed look.

“Enough to buy a whole moon.” Zuk’s mouth widened, greed filling his beady eyes.

Dahlis pondered for a moment, glancing briefly at her son. “I have an offer that will provide you a fortune, enabling you to buy three moons – one for each of you.” As expected, the Ferengi’s eyes shone with greed.

“You are lying,” Zuk said. “There’s nothing on this world that is worth anything to us.”

“How about gemstones?” Alenvin nodded at her son, who smiled.

Bluk rushed towards her. “Gemstones? Where?”

“At the back of this cottage, inside a cave behind the waterfall.” Dahlis inhaled. “These gemstones are the most precious to us and so we hide them there. Selling even just a bag of the stones should make you a sizeable profit needed to purchase a moon.”

“If we get three bags, then we can buy a moon each,” Lark said with excitement in his voice. “Brothers, forget the Trill female and let’s get these gemstones.”

Zuk, however, didn’t seem convinced, arching a brow, while glancing back and forth between Dahlis and his brothers. His gaze fell on the former Chief Consul. “Before we accept your offer, you need to show us this cave so that we may verify your claim.”

“Sounds fair.” Alenvin nodded. “I can…”

“No, I will take them there,” her son interrupted, smiling at the Ferengi.

Zuk moved to stand beside his taller brother. “My brother and I will go with you, while my other brother remains behind here to make sure none of you try to contact that Starfleet vessel.”

Lark grabbed Horaciin by the arm. “Come on, plant eater.”

Kate sighed, watching with a feeling of helplessness as the two Ferengi left through the back door with her brother. Crumpet meowed, glaring at the Ferengi as if they were at fault for Kate’s lack of response.

----------------
TI: Ten minutes later

MacNeil let out a huge sigh of relief, when the back door slid open and her brother entered, followed by the two Ferengi who were carrying three bags filled with egg-shaped objects, the size of tennis balls. The hybrid observed the gemstones were white and glowed a bright, bluish green colour.

“It was all true,” Zuk cried, tears of joy streaming his cheeks. “We accept your offer.”

“Where’s my share?” Bluk snatched a bag from his tall brother and shrieked. “I get my own moon!”

“So I assume that ends our transaction and you will leave us alone,” Dahlis said in a business-like tone.

“Of course.” Zuk nodded. “A deal is a deal. It was a pleasure doing business with you.” Thus, much to everyone’s relief, the Ferengi headed down the stairs and rushed out through the front door.

MacNeil dropped down on her chair, picking up the cup and gulped down the tea. Placing the cup down, she exhaled, glancing at her wife and children. William Wallace licked her hand and snuggled beside her. Loud laughter erupted and she jerked around, her mouth dropped in shock. Dahlis and the rest of her Nuimon family were laughing.

“Mother…I cannot believe you just did that,” Raemona said amidst bursts of laughter.

“Never underestimate the Ferengi’s greed,” her mother commented.

Kate raised an eyebrow, giving her wife a sidelong glance.

“Mum, Mama,” Hamish said in a quiet voice. “Why is everyone laughing? I did not hear a joke.” Crumpet meowed, tapping her empty bowl, while Muffin padded around the big cat. The puppies began yapping and running around the table.

“I don’t understand.” When the laughter finally died down, the Scottish woman blinked. “Those Ferengi left with so many precious gemstones and you are all laughing. Shouldn’t you call the police to stop them before they leave this world? I know you were forced to give them up to save our wee ones.”

“I did not realize that bio-waste from the kuukula bird is considered precious to off-worlders.” Amianel grinned.

“Bio-waste?” Grace raised an eyebrow and it was then the couple realized what Dahlis had done, when Kate began laughing, while the Orion merely smiled.

Hamish scowled. “I still didn’t hear a joke.”

Feremvir cleared his throat. “The kuukula is a large bird, found only in these mountains and every once in three days, they come to these caves to relieve themselves.”

“Also,” Horaciin added, grinning, “the bio-waste, through some chemical and biological properties, from most of our avian lifeforms, send off a glow. It is why outsiders mistake them for gemstones.”

“Now I remember why you all warned Hamish and Jo-Jo off those tiny clear white gems that was always found outside the windows.” Kate smiled. “Because they weren’t really gems but bird droppings.”

“Yes.” Dahlis nodded. “That’s why you see us clearing them away because after a few hours, their shine wears off and they give off an unbearable stench.”

“How long before those gemstones lose their glow?” Grace asked.

“Several hours,” Horaciin replied. “And then their transport or whatever location, will stink for days.”

Kate let out a chuckle. “Well, whatever warlord they will be trying to sell these ‘gemstones’ to, will not be happy about the smell.” All the adults continued chatting during the rest of their meal.

“Mummy,” Josephine spoke. “You gave those Ferengi, bird poo?”

“Yes, lass.” Kate was puzzled, holding a tiny blue fruit.

“Then why doesn’t pigeon poo glow?” Her question was responded with a groan from the Scot and then a loud meow came from Crumpet.

Kate sighed, turning around and realizing her cat’s bowl was empty. “Really? Still hungry? But you had a lot already.” The white Persian meowed again and MacNeil gave into the feline’s demands. “I will need to contact the Camelot.” She tapped on her comm. Badge. “MacNeil to Camelot.”

[[Camelot here. Commander Sol speaking,]] the ExO responded.

Josephine yelled, “Hi auntie number one!”

Kate shook her head, sighing.

--------------------------------
Scene: Valley

**Klingons – as if my day couldn’t get worse ** Chloe knew the three Klingons beamed down from the JoHTagh, currently in orbit above the planet and like all the others, they were after Breg, believing he had Mirror Kate’s location. The Klingon party comprised of two males and one female, all of them adorned in thick black leather clothing. Chloe noticed the Bat’leths on their backs and other traditional Klingon blades, nestled in the various pouches on their belts. One of the male Klingons also held a disruptor rifle, aimed at her and the Asian.

The other male – apparently the leader – came forward, his heavy footsteps splashing water everywhere. Meeting the blonde’s gaze, the Klingon spoke, his baritone voice, drowned by the sounds of the surrounding waterfalls, “Tell me, Syndicate scum, how you prefer to die?”

“You are direct,” Chloe remarked with sarcasm. “How about including the option, ‘not die’.”

The Klingon leader pulled out his daqtagh. “You and your partner are no match for me and my warriors.”

“Orion Syndicate.” The Asian man turned to Chloe, looking outraged. “You’re part of the Syndicate?”

“Guilty as charged.” Well it wasn’t really true but the agent was under cover and playing the part of a Syndicate employee.


The bounty hunter turned to the Klingons, raising his hands. “I don’t know this woman and am not part of the Syndicate. I am just a bounty hunter here to collect some bounties.”

“Well, bounty hunter, if you want to live, then leave this one to us,” the lead Klingon said in a menacing tone.

“Okay.” The Asian turned around and began walking away. “A pity though, The Lady offered a huge sum but I still can get that Trill woman.”

Chloe wondered about where her asset was and whether she was alright. The agent believed, at first, Ana was still in Ciris but wasn’t sure now and considering a bounty hunter was looking for her in this valley, then it stood to reason the Trill was somewhere nearby. But right now she had a more immediate problem.

“Tell me where that Nuimon informant is,” the leader demanded. “If you do, you will have a quick and painless death.”

With her right hand, the blonde reached up for the wool band and pulled it off her neck. The Klingon leader raised an eyebrow, while she peeled off the woollen layer, revealing a thin, metallic grey strap and then unravelled it.

The lead Klingon chuckled with derision, eyeing the strap. “Pathetic human.”

“I see that Nuimon informant,” the female Klingon announced, distracting her fellow warriors, providing Nielsen the opportunity to deal the first strike.

In swift motion, the agent grabbed the disruptor held by the other male Klingon and attached the strap to the rifle’s silver muzzle. The strap was automatically activated and the weapon turned red hot, forcing the Klingon to let go. The rifle fell into the water and floated towards the waterfall looming ahead.

Having lost his disruptor, the Klingon let out a thunderous roar and drew out his daqtagh, raising it above his ear. He lunged towards the blonde, swinging his blade. Chloe shifted to the side and her opponent managed to plunge his dagger into the water. Now with his back to her, she didn’t bother waiting for him to turn around as she drew out her phaser and fired a shot. Just as he was turning around, the energy beam struck him in the chest, burning a hole through it. The Klingon’s eyes rolled back into his head and collapsed into the water, creating waves.

Chloe inhaled deeply, spotting the Klingoness trying to make a grab for Breg and rushed towards them. However, her path was blocked by a very irate Klingon leader. The burly man grabbed the back of her neck and locking her right elbow behind. The agent grit her teeth as the pain reverberated through her body. The Klingon plunged her face under water, holding her there.

Nielsen held her breath, reaching out for her boots with her free hand – a mistake in grabbing just one arm. Pulling out a thin monofilament dagger out of her left boot, she lifted her arm towards the warrior’s hand pushing down on her head. In a flash of motion, she stabbed him below the wrist with the dagger, forcing him to release her head. As the Klingon roared in anguish, Chloe pulled her head out and swam away from him. However, the stab wasn’t enough to slow him down as the warrior removed his bat’leth and rushed towards her, growling. Then she heard the sound of a whoosh and then her right shoulder was sliced open from a bat’leth strike. Chloe bit her lip to avoid screaming from the severe pain burning through her shoulder and as the large man went in for another strike, she swung a back kick to his arm, forcing him to release one end of the weapon. Before he could respond, she followed up with a snap round house kick to his midsection, pushing him backwards but still held onto the bat’leth.

“I have him,” the Klingoness announced. The agent noticed the Klingon woman dragging Yesper away, the Nuimon struggling in her grip.

“Contact the ship,” he ordered. “Let Chop----“

Two figures appeared out of the woods, wearing dark brown clothing, their hoods pulled over and their faces hidden by forest green masks. The taller one raised a disruptor and fired a shot at the female Klingon, disintegrating her. Chloe focused her lens on the new arrivals and quickly scanned them. The information displayed on the lens, indicated they were Romulans, comprising of a male and female. **Tal Shiar agents. ** Readings also showed they had personal shielding, whose purpose was to likely mask their bio-signatures from standard sensors.

Yesper, now free, began swimming away, the water current helping him forward. The female Romulan headed down the slope and entered the pool in pursuit of the Nuimon. The Klingon leader, now having lost both his warriors, roared and made a dash for the male Romulan – the one who killed the Klingoness. With the Klingon leader now distracted, Chloe headed for Jesper in the hopes of catching him before the Tal Shiar agent.

Pulling out her phaser, she fired at the Romulan but missed as the latter managed to duck before returning fire. Chloe swam to the side, allowing the energy beam to hit the water but then something hit the back of her leg, causing her to wobble. It wasn’t the Romulan who was looking upwards and so the agent quickly tilted her head, realizing the shot came from somewhere a few feet up that cliff to the pool’s left.

More shots were fired by the attacker from the cliff, Romulans and the lone Klingon. Chloe dove into the water to avoid getting hit when she got dragged by the current towards the waterfall ahead. When the agent attempted standing up, she winced, feeling the pain burning through her leg and shoulder. She spotted the Nuimon who was also getting carried towards the waterfall – well, it looked like going down the waterfall was their only escape route. Using her lens, Chloe determined the drop was around twenty feet so they should survive. She sighed, when the female Romulan resumed chasing after Yesper and then heard a sound of something dropping into the water. Chloe glanced behind her shoulder. A small, silver grey sphere was spotted, a part of it floating above water.

Chloe’s eyes widened, realizing what the sphere was. The sphere exploded, sending off shockwaves in every direction. The agent got tossed backward until she spiralled into the waterfall – the strong current carrying her down. The agent glimpsed at Breg, also pulled along in the same direction as her.

----------------------
Scene: Valley – Cliffside

Lord Percy’s smile widened as he turned on his heel and sneered at the Trill. “Well, darling. You were really off the mark.”

Anaqueen clenched her fists, her rage now at a boiling point and her blue eyes shooting daggers at him. She wanted to kill that twerp and shook her bound fists, when her captor pulled at the rope, jerking her. The Trill was in a state of disbelief – Chloe was really gone. She couldn’t believe it and had hoped the agent would somehow make it. Percy and she had arrived at this cliff spot around the time, Chloe just killed one of those Klingons. At the time, Anaqueen felt hopeful – in fact even gloated in front of the Deltan, who just laughed in her face, claiming it would he who’d end the agent’s life. She hadn’t believed them and had been in a state of shock since the Syndicate operative had launched the grenade that pushed Chloe and the Nuimon over the waterfall. As for the Klingon and the two masked figures – well they seemed to have survived and left the area with the Klingon engulfed in a red transporter beam.

“I will kill you,” the Trill roared.

Percy burst out laughing. “And how will you do that?”

“I will find a way,” she said through clenched teeth.

“No sweetheart, you were wrong about blondie.” He chuckled. “You overrated her abilities and now that bitch is dead.” The cocky Deltan raised his voice. “You heard it, darling! The blonde bitch is dead at my hands!”

The pair were alerted to a whirring sound and turned to find bluish hue beams materializing around them. Anaqueen could hear her heart beating against her chest as she watched with dismay when the beams dissipated to reveal a group of persons in black jumpsuits with green bands across their chests and shoulders. The new arrivals also wore silver harnesses that held their weapons.

A young human woman with chocolate brown skin, stepped forward, pointing her type 3 phaser rifle at them but then froze, when her gaze fell on Anaqueen. “Unbelievable,” the marine whispered, raising an eyebrow. “A perfect resemblance to the Captain.” Then she quickly got over her surprise and now sported a serious expression, approaching the duo with the other marines following suit. When she stopped a meter from them, the others did too.

“Starfleet.” Ana heard Percy murmur, the smile vanishing from his face as he loosened his grip on Ana’s leash.

She took a step and then realized the Deltan was no longer tightly holding the rope. **Now is my chance to escape. ** The Trill took off, running as fast as her two feet could carry her, ignoring the shouts from Percy and the marines. Just as she was about to climb up the cliff, a pair of strong hands brought her down.

It was the black woman, the squad leader, who held the Trill down in a tight grip and then turned to the nearest marine. “We’ll take this one back to the ship.”

Ana then felt her heart sank. ** I am ruined. **

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

NRPG: Here’s Part X. We’re getting closer to the end. Only about 3 or 4 posts left.

Part XI preview (subject to change): Chloe, in need of medical help, runs into Prime Kate MacNeil by chance at the resort. Mirror Anaqueen has a reunion with Captain Anaqueen Spankryz in the CAMELOT. Mirror Kate MacNeil receives a mysterious guest during a big experiment.

Some notes: Prime Kate used to serve on the USS PROPHECY as Chief Medical Officer (2006/2421-2007/2422). Also, during first contact with the Nuimons by the Gateway crew in 2421 (just before Kate joined the Prophecy), a doppelganger of Anaqueen was sent to impersonate her in order to sabotage the mission. While Kate was on the Gateway during the whole business with the SHIV and the Mirror Universe characters in 2423, she hadn’t met Mirror Anaqueen in person.

~*~
Ranjani S.
Writing for

Chloe Nielsen
Section 31 Agent

And

A Special Appearance by

Commander/Dr. Kate MacNeil