Third Mission, Part XII
Posted on May 14, 2019 @ 4:40am by Chloe Nielsen
Edited on on May 14, 2019 @ 4:41am
Mission: Section 31
“Third Mission, Part XII”
***************************
Location: Riivenvale, NUMINO
SD: [2.19] 0511.2248
Scene: Resort Cottage
“Main Resort.” Dahlis Alenvin sat down, holding the device and began replaying the broadcast. “That’s where most of the off-worlders stay.” A male Nuimon was spotted stepping forward and behind him were his fellow terrorists, aiming weapons at the hostages in a large hall. The Free Nuimon members were adorned in wood brown jumpsuits.
“From where did they obtain those weapons?” Horaciin inquired, hovering his finger over some Free Nuimons carrying disruptor rifles.
Chloe shook her head, sighing. Those rifles were smuggled by the Syndicate and subsequently stolen by Lord Percy at the Lady’s behest.
“Yesper Breg is dead,” Raemona announced, entering the room with Grace. “Apparently killed by some off-worlders.”
“It’s what the Free Nuimons claim,” Dahlis said, a hint of skepticism in her voice.
Kate stood up, her eyes widened. “This can’t be true, right?”
The agent shrugged and wondered how stupid the Free Nuimons were. None of them were wearing any masks to conceal their identities.
“They are accusing Chief Consul Hollande of hiring foreign mercenaries to kill Breg,” MacNeil said. “And she did so by conspiring with the Dominion Ambassador and…” She gasped. “Starfleet. There’s no way we’d get involved in something like this.”
Horaciin arched a brow. “What’s this about Orion Syndicate? Those idiots are thanking them for what?”
“Weapons,” Grace said in a quiet voice. “The Syndicate engages in illegal activities and apparently supplied this group with smuggled weapons.”
**Mwangi isn’t going to be happy about this. ** Chloe sighed, knowing the Syndicate really had nothing to do with the Free Nuimons.
“They plan on broadcasting again in about half an hour to make their demands,” Kate said, swallowing a lump down her throat. The Scot tapped her comm badge. “MacNeil to Camelot.”
[[Camelot here.]] Anaqueen responded. [[Did you get a chance to view the broadcast?]]
“Yes, Captain.” Kate sighed. “Frankly, I’m stunned and not happy we all will be stuck inside this cottage for a while longer.”
[[Actually, you cannot remain there any longer.]] Ana’s rather blunt statement bewildered everyone except Chloe.
“You want us to return to the ship?” MacNeil asked slowly.
[[It would be the preferred option.]]
Raemona blinked. “But the transports are grounded. How will we leave the resort?”
Kate gave her sibling a weak smile. “The Camelot’s transporters will take us directly to our chosen destination.”
“Frankly, I’d rather just go home,” Horaciin said. His mother, father and sisters all concurred with him.
“Yes, that’d be my preference as well.” Kate shared a glance with a Grace. “Grace?”
“I agree,” the Orion answered.
[[Well, that settles it,]] Spankryz said. [[We will transport you there.]]
“When?” Kate inquired. “Tonight or tomorrow morning.”
[[No, much sooner.]]
Chloe was pleased as this was an opportunity for her to leave the cottage and head to Ciris.
“Sooner?” MacNeil raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
[[Sensors have picked up a group of four Nuimons, heading your way,]] Ana replied. [[They will reach the cottage, ETA seventeen minutes and twenty two seconds.]]
“Are you suggesting they are the Free Nuimons?” Dahlis asked. “What if they are rangers checking in on all the cottages?”
[[They are not rangers,]] Spankryz said. [[My chief of security confirmed with the Planetary Police branch in Riivenvale. No rangers were deployed to the valley since the Free Nuimons took over the main resort.]]
“Why does the Free Nuimons want to come here?” Kate inquired.
[[You don’t have much time. Take what you can and we can transport the rest later.]]
As Kate and her family began scrambling to gather their belongings, Chloe got up and made her way towards the window. Using her own device, the agent confirmed the Camelot’s information – four Nuimons were on their way to the cottage, carrying energy weapons. She felt a brush against her leg and heard a meow. The agent glanced down, meeting Crumpet’s gaze. The cat meowed again.
[[Mummy! Why?]] The blonde could hear Josephine whining to one of her mothers. [[I thought we were going to the falls.]]
[[Mum, I don’t want to go,]] Hamish complained.
Chloe sighed, giving the cat a sidelong glance. Crumpet let out another meow. A family having to get ready with two small children and a bunch of animals within the next fifteen minutes, was no easy feat.
[[Mum, please tell Jo-Jo to stop singing that stupid song.]]
Chloe could hear the little girl singing, her voice echoing through the walls. [[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!]]
[[Mum!]]
[[Papu the wonder dog!]]
[[Mum!]]
[[Papu…]]
[[Oh stop it, you two and get ready!]] Kate snapped.
The fifteen minutes had passed by in a flash and now the family along with the pets had gathered in the middle of the room. Nielsen walked towards the group and stood at the corner, next to Kate who was holding Josephine with one hand and William Wallace’s collar with the other. Grace was holding Hamish’s hand. Crumpet meowed angrily, hissing at Horaciin, the Nuimon holding the squirming feline in his arms. Raemona and Amianel were carrying the puppies. Dahlis cradled Muffin, the kitten sleeping in her arms as she gave her husband a warm smile.
“MacNeil to Camelot.” Kate tapped her comm. badge.
[[Camelot here,]] came Anaqueen’s voice. [[Ready?]]
Kate nodded. “Yes. Ten to transport.”
[[Got it. Contact us at any sign of trouble. Camelot out.]] Soon, the group were engulfed in a bluish hue energy beam and then vanished.
-----------------------------
Location: Unknown, NUMINO
Scene: Underwater Laboratory
“I look forward to the success of the big test,” the Lady said, a sinister smile gracing her lips as she lifted her hood back, revealing a beautiful humanoid woman with a pale complexion, long reddish brown hair held together in a messy bun and piercing blue-green eyes. “Our plans of bringing enlightenment to this universe depends on your weapon, doctor.”
“Mark my words, it will succeed because of my brilliance.” Kate’s smile was smug. “How nice it is that you and I are the only enlightened persons in this room. Sure, things will be chaotic for a while but like you, I believe it is a necessary step for this dimension to embark on a path of enlightenment where sentient species will consider all creatures like my wee ones to be precious.”
“I told the Free Nuimons to hijack the resort earlier than originally scheduled,” the Lady informed. “After this morning’s mess in the valley, I thought it prudent to speed up the process of political upheaval. This world is now one step closer to societal collapse.”
“Unfortunate that Starfleet is here.”
“Indeed it is.” The Lady frowned. “If your weapon fails, then Captain Spankryz will somehow find a solution to the crisis and there is that blonde intelligence agent, who is becoming quite a nuisance.”
“Didn’t your tool send you a message saying he killed that agent?”
“Percy’s a fool if he believes that woman could be easily killed.” The Lady chuckled with derision. “No, that agent is still alive.”
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Location: USS CAMELOT
Scene: Main Bridge
“We have confirmation that MacNeil and her family have reached their destination safely,” Commander Sol informed, glancing at the Captain.
“Sensors indicate no sign of hostile persons in the area,” a male Andorian reported from the tactical station. “Shall I continue monitoring them?”
“Yes, Ensign.” Spankryz nodded. The Trill sighed, feeling exasperated right now. The Free Nuimons’ hijack of a popular tourist resort in the Riivenvale valley had further complicated an already volatile political situation on the planet. Their broadcast had made her blood boil. The group had accused Chief Consul Hollande of hiring off-worlder mercenaries to kidnap and assassinate another Consul, Yesper Breg.
As soon as the live broadcast was aired, her ExO had contacted Lt. Cmdr. Cato, the ship’s security chief, already down on the planet and ordered him to get confirmation of Breg’s death from the planetary police. Apparently, the late Consul’s body was discovered by a lake in the Riivenvale valley, less than a mile from the cottage, MacNeil and her family were staying. At the moment, Cato was attempting to obtain the complete report of Breg’s autopsy from the police, hoping Dr. Pawnirr could analyze the results and find something that the Nuimons had missed.
From the onset, the situation seemed like an internal political issue involving rival consuls. But the Free Nuimons had claimed – albeit falsely – that Hollande sought the help of the Dominion and Starfleet so it was no longer a simple internal matter, not to mention the majority of the hostages were non-Nuimons.
“Captain,” the Andorian announced. “Incoming communication from the surface. The Free Nuimons are making another live broadcast.”
“On screen.” Ana turned to the viewscreen, which shifted immediately from the planet to a small, dark office. A male and two female Nuimons stood. The male stepped forward, pointing a disruptor rifle over a Talaxian’s head, the latter shaking in fear. The lead Nuimon spoke in loud voice, filled with burning rage.
{{Citizens of Numino, in our quest to free our beautiful world, we hereby make our demands known to the Ruling Council, the Dominion, Starfleet and all other off-worlder intruders.}} He paused for a moment, letting the words sink. {{First, all off-worlders will leave our world within the next forty eight hours and failure to abide by this decree will be punishable by death.}}
“What?!?” Sol’s eyes widened in shock. “Is he serious? This world has no death penalty.”
{{Second, Chief Consul Hollande, you will hereby resign from your position effective immediately and for the murder of the rightful Chief Consul Yesper Breg and for betraying our people to outsiders, you will answer for your crimes.}}
Ana wasn’t surprised at the list of demands presented. She wondered if the Free Nuimons had a powerful backer – the Orion Syndicate perhaps considering they had supplied the weapons or so they claimed. Though it wasn’t the Syndicate’s practice to allow their clients to thank them in public unless the Free Nuimons were clueless idiots who were way in over their heads.
{{Consul Hollande, you too have forty eight hours to comply with our demands,}} the Free Nuimon continued. {{If you do not comply, then we will kill all the hostages and leave their bodies at the council doorstep.}} The broadcast ended and the viewscreen reverted to the peaceful scene of the planet below.
“Open a channel to the Chief Consul’s office,” Spankryz ordered.
“Channel open,” the Andorian informed. “Audio only.”
[[Chief Consul Hollande’s office.]] A male voice was heard. [[Who am I addressing to?]]
“Captain Anaqueen Spankryz from the Federation starship Camelot,” Ana said. “I would like to speak with your Chief Consul.”
[[I apologize, Captain but the Chief Consul is not available.]]
“Emergency council session?” Spankryz inquired.
[[No, council is not in session.]] The statement bewildered the CO. [[She has administrative tasks to complete and then a private meeting with Elena Djiktra for the rest of the night.]]
“Thank you,” Ana said in a polite tone. “Please contact us when she is available.”
[[I will, Captain.]] The communication ended, leaving more questions than answers for the Trill.
“Okay.” Sol raised an eyebrow. “Am I the only one getting weird vibes from Hollande’s lack of availability?”
“Elena Djiktra,” Ana said, recalling her brief meeting with the human entrepreneur at the reception a few days ago. “What do we know about her and why is Hollande relying on her counsel so much?”
“Strange, isn’t it?” Sol nodded. “I heard rumours it was Djiktra who advised Hollande to give in to the Dominion’s demands to build that third Karemman facility in exchange for those rangers’ lives.”
“I don’t believe it’s a rumour.” The Trill stood up. “Commander, run a background check on Djiktra. We need to find out everything we can about her.”
“Understood, Captain.”
“Also get Lieutenant Hex to speak with a government representative about how we can assist in the negotiations with the Free Nuimons,” Ana ordered. “Then send a message to all Federation citizens residing on this planet, telling them to make preparations for departure in forty eight hours.”
“Departure?” The ExO blinked.
“In the event, negotiations with the Free Nuimons fail,” Spankryz said. “I am hoping it doesn’t come to that but we need to be prepared, just in case.”
“Yes Captain.” Sol bit her lip. “What about Adeyami and her team. She’s not going to be pleased about having to abandon her research work.”
Ana let out a sigh, thinking of the lead scientist of the joint Federation-Nuimon scientific project. “Tell her these measures are just precautionary.” She turned on her heel and made her way to the Ready Room, leaving the first officer in charge of the bridge.
---------------------------------
Location: Ciris, NUMINO
Scene: Hotel room
TI: Twenty minutes later
After beaming successfully to the Alenvin family home in the town of Riivenvale, Chloe had bid Kate and her family a fond farewell and had left to catch the first shuttle to Ciris. MacNeil had tried to get the blonde to have dinner and stay for the night but the agent politely declined and Horaciin had provided her directions to the transport centre.
The trip to the planet’s capital was short. Upon arrival, she took a hover cab and got off at a hotel located on a level in the mountain, higher than her Syndicate issued apartment. She didn’t want to risk going to the apartment, in case Lord Percy kept watch on it and decided to wait for the right opportunity.
The room was small – just a bed and desk with an access terminal. Chloe removed her jacket, tossing it onto the bed and sat down on a chair beside the desk. She accessed the data stored in her wrist band and first replayed Breg’s confession to her, regarding his collusion with the Lady. Her lens, which she had been wearing since dawn, displayed the visual recording over the bed and only she as the lens wearer could see it. Chloe recalled watching the Free Nuimons’ second broadcast, where they had laid out their demands and knew Breg’s confession would provide solid evidence to dismiss the group’s claims as false but it would require some tweaking on her part to make the Nuimons believe there was no tampering by foreign entities.
The agent next accessed the data stored in a recording device, she had provided to Mirror Anaqueen, prior to the latter’s infiltration of the Free Nuimon cell. The device was a miniaturized skin patch and was attached behind the Trill’s earlobe. Since the patch and the wrist band were linked via a secure subspace connection, Chloe was able to remotely access the data on her asset’s device.
Chloe needed to know how her asset went from being in Ciris to the Camelot’s brig and from perusal of the data gathered by the patch, she obtained vital information. **A possible breakthrough? ** Lord Percy was the Lady’s representative to the Free Nuimons and had lured Mirror Anaqueen into a trap. Percy had lied to the Trill that the Lady had wanted to meet her in person somewhere in the Riivenvale valley and Ana, despite her reservations, had accompanied him in a shuttle.
That same shuttle had followed the one carrying her and Breg. From the visual recording showing Percy’s admission of his collusion with the Lady, Chloe found it puzzling that he denied being ‘Satchel’, when Mirror Ana asked him if he was. In fact, the Deltan had further claimed he didn’t know the identity of the double agent. So if he wasn’t Satchel, then who was? But then Percy had planned on framing Gaven as the traitor by planting false evidence and in turn bring down Mwangi who had vouched for the Trill man to join the organization. However, considering Percy was arrested by the marines, along with Anaqueen and held in the Camelot’s brig for several hours and only released an hour ago, meant the twerp didn’t have much time to manufacture his evidence. This had opened up the chance for her to turn the tables on him.
Pulling out a black comm badge with a blank metallic surface, the agent tapped on it. The Section 31 designed communicator had built in tech to block anyone from tracking her location. “Gaven,” she spoke. “It’s me.”
[[It can’t be!]] The Trill sounded surprised. [[Percy told me you died in that shuttle explosion, while that informant escaped only to be killed in the valley.]]
“Listen, Gaven,” Chloe urged. “You cannot tell anyone, not even Mwangi that I survived.”
[[Why not? Eric will be pleased at the news.]]
Nielsen let out a sigh. “Tell me, Gaven. Did he authorize Percy to assign me the job of escorting Breg?”
[[No,]] the Trill replied. [[Eric didn’t find out until an hour ago and was quite livid at Percy for making this decision without his consent. In fact, Eric is here in Ciris after the first Free Nuimon broadcast aired. Those terrorists lied about us supplying their weapons. Percy was captured by Starfleet and held for several hours until his release an hour ago. With the Klingons here, things have become rather complicated for us.]]
Eric Mwangi was here in Ciris. Chloe was pleased as the presence of the high ranking boss in the capital provided her the golden opportunity to nail Percy – Satchel or not, the man was still a traitor and not exactly popular with either Eric or Gaven. If her plan worked, then she’d be one step closer to getting to Mirror Kate. “Gaven, Lord Percy set me up to die, along with Breg.”
[[That bastard! Why?]]
“I can’t say much over the comm,” she said. “But Percy wants Mwangi’s job and is making plans to take you and Eric down.”
[[So that’s why he set up a subspace conference call with Klars for tomorrow morning at 0900hrs in his suite at the Luxury Guardians Inn. Both Eric and I are required to attend. Apparently, Elena Djiktra is also expected to be there.]]
A conference over subspace scheduled for the next morning. It seemed the Deltan was in no hurry to implement his plans, which gave the blonde ample time to come up with her own to take him down.
[[Where are you right now? I can come there and keep you company.]]
“It’s best you don’t know as for all we know, Percy could be monitoring this conversation.” Chloe sighed. “Until I finish the task, Mwangi entrusted to me, please don’t breathe a word of my survival to anyone.”
[[Don’t worry, you can count on me.]]
“I’ll see you soon.” Chloe ended communications and turned to stare at the screen. She then pulled out the organic chip that Breg gave her before he died, and inserted it into a tiny slot, located at the back of the screen. She wasn’t expecting the data on the chip to be encrypted and watched the display flicker to an image showing a beautiful beach, its shoreline running along an aqua green body of water that glistened under both suns. Lining up behind the beach, she spotted a vast, tropical jungle, thick with vegetation. Chloe raised an eyebrow – there was only one place on the planet that had a jungle. Simlran.
“Computer, cross reference this image file and run a search through the planetary database.” The search was quick and the screen split into two – one side displaying the image and the other a list of items uncovered from the search. Chloe began going through the results, each containing multiple images similar to the one from Breg’s chip.
As she poured through the information, the agent found that the image was an aerial view of a beach, located somewhere on the south-east coast of the continent. Unfortunately, the swathe of land was so vast that made it difficult to pinpoint the exact location where the image was taken. However, there was one ship in orbit with some of the latest and more advanced scanning technology that could possibly do the job.
Chloe sighed, realizing she had to get in touch with Captain Spankryz. The agent recalled from reading Anaqueen’s Starfleet profile that the Trill’s first command, USS PROPHECY was a starship that partook in highly classified missions – information that had been hidden from the Captain’s public record. So she believed Ana could be entrusted with classified information and considering the stakes were high on Numino, the Captain wouldn’t inadvertently blow the blonde’s cover.
She stood up and walked up to the window to observe the setting of the first sun.
------------------------
Location: Unknown, NUMINO
Scene: Underwater Laboratory
“I am very confident about this final demonstration,” Kate said, beaming with pride as she and the Lady stood facing the holographic projection of the test site, located deep within the Simlran tropical jungle.
The Lady’s mouth curled into a thin smile. “I feel the same.” She then paced about, her blue-green eyes fixed on the subjects, their fear and confusion amusing to her. “Even if the test isn’t completely successful, I still plan on moving ahead with deploying this weapon on schedule.”
Kate furrowed her brow, her eye colour shifting from onyx to blue. “But won’t that spoil your plans for this planet?”
“Kate,” the Lady said, her smile cold as ice. “Don’t worry. I don’t require perfection to implement my plan. A slight imperfection here and there won’t matter as long as it fulfills our objectives.”
“We can bring more subjects if that’s what it takes to perfect the weapon.”
The Lady shook her head. “No more subjects.”
“Why not?”
“The missing off-worlders have aroused a lot of suspicion and now Starfleet is involved in the investigation,” the brown haired woman said. “Besides, our guests have already started arriving with most still docked in orbit so we have to proceed with the weapon’s deployment as scheduled and continue the charade of making them believe there will be an auction to sell your services.”
Kate smiled, when her puppy let out a soft howl and then pressed a button on the console. “MacNeil to Control.”
[[Control here.]]
“Our guest is here. Commence the test.” At her command, the room darkened and a multi-coloured glow was emanating from the holographic display. The place grew quiet, aside from an occasional low pitched howl from Kate’s husky puppy and a whine from the moochi moochi/hetal creature. “Now, activate the system.”
[[Yes doctor.]] A moment later, the underling in the control centre announced, [[System activated.]]
She smiled, when music began playing in the background of the holographic display. The music was described to be eclectic, containing no beats and words and bringing with it an eeriness to the room that would make one’s skin crawl. The tempo was slow at first but began to pick up as time went on. Soon, MacNeil’s eyes filled with delight and her body convulsed with excitement as the flora, dormant at the time, suddenly came to life, shifting to a bright blue glow.
She and the Lady watched the scene unfold with emotional detachment.
------------------------
Location: USS CAMELOT
Scene: CO’s Ready Room
{{Captain,}} Dr. Naomi Adeyami spoke in a voice filled with anger. {{First, the Nuimon Science Guild suspended the project until further notice and now you want all of us to pack everything up in preparation for departure within two days.}}
Ana gave a curt response. “Yes.” While the Counseling staff were charged with handling civilian concerns, regarding the current situation on Numino, some insisted on talking to the Captain only. The Trill sighed, frustrated at having to deal with angry civilians, upset over Starfleet upending their lives like ruining their holidays or scuttling scientific endeavours. “Look, Doctor. My orders are just a precautionary measure in the event the negotiations break down.”
{{So, you really do believe the negotiations will fail?}} The black woman gave her an incredulous look.
“No.” The tone was more forceful than she’d have liked. “I fully intend to make sure we find a solution, one that will benefit everyone.”
{{Then why make us pack, Captain,}} Naomi argued. {{Do you realize how much work is involved in unpacking and then arranging our equipment, not to mention setting up our experiments?}}
The Trill set her jaws together, sending a fixed stare in the scientist’s direction. “Doctor,” she said in a stern voice. “I am sorry the Free Nuimons’ hostage takeover has inconvenienced you and your team but while you were engrossed in your work, the political situation here has been breaking down for some time, leading up to this hostage takeover. Never in this world’s history, have a Nuimon, let alone a group of them, used weapons to further their cause.” She sighed. “It is a difficult situation for all of us, particularly the local population so doctor, do us all a favour and let us work out a solution.”
{{I understand, Captain.}}
“Good.” The Trill nodded. “Then we’re done here.” She then promptly ended the communication and inhaled deeply.
[[Bridge to Captain.]]
“Go ahead, Commander.” She leaned back in her chair.
[[You have an incoming message from the surface.]]
“Not another civilian complaint I hope,” Ana said dryly. “Re-direct them to the counseling staff if that’s the case.”
[[Actually, the message is encrypted for your eyes only.]]
The Trill raised an eyebrow. “Patch it through.”
[[Okay.]] The ExO further added, [[Captain, I was thinking about the hiker, the human female that MacNeil found.]]
“Yes?”
[[Breg’s body was discovered by a lake not far from the cottage,]] Sol said. [[Well, the shore leads to some cliffs and then to MacNeil’s cottage. Kate found the hiker on those cliffs, the only ones near her cottage.]]
“Are you suggesting that the hiker may be responsible for Breg’s murder or had witnessed something?”
[[Possibly,]] the ExO said. [[Captain, I suggest we find this hiker and bring her in for questioning, which we can do so as she’s not a local.]]
“Alright,” the Trill agreed. “Ask MacNeil to come up to the ship.”
[[Understood. Bridge out.]]
Ana turned to the screen, which displayed some garbled rubbish. A moment later, the screen flickered to a short message.
IDENTIFICATION VERIFIED. CAPTAIN ANAQUEEN SPANKRYZ.
The screen shifted again to another message. Ana read the contents, raising an eyebrow.
CAPTAIN SPANKRYZ, I HAVE VITAL INFORMATION TO SHARE WITH YOU – ONE THAT CAN POTENTIALLY HELP RESOLVE THIS HOSTAGE CRISIS. I CAN ONLY SHARE THIS INFO WITH YOU IN PERSON AND PLAN TO COME BOARD IN ONE HOUR.
The Trill narrowed her eyes. **Does this person really possess information or is an enemy looking to sneak onboard the ship? **
AN ADVOCATE REPRESENTING THE INDIVIDUAL KNOWN AS LORD PERCY WILL BE CONTACTING YOU, REQUESTING PERMISSION TO BEAM ABOARD TO BRING UP GRIEVANCES AGAINST HIS UNLAWFUL ARREST AND MISTREATMENT. GRANT PERMISSION AS IT’S ME.
Ana sighed, wondering if she should just ignore the message and not allow this so-called advocate onto the ship. She didn’t exactly need that type of nonsense as the Deltan wasn’t exactly mistreated just held for a while as per Starfleet protocol until they could verify his background.
IN CASE YOU DOUBT MY MOTIVES, I WAS THE ONE WHO WARNED YOU ABOUT THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS AGAINST AMBASSADOR GLINA AND YOURSELF. REMEMBER THAT MESSAGE DELIVERED TO YOU VIA MACNEIL’S CAT AND I ALSO TRANSPORTED THE OTHER ASSASSIN’S GRENADE TO YOU.
Ana frowned.
IF YOU STILL DON’T BELIEVE ME, I’M THE ONE WHO TRIED TO EXPOSE HENRY DHILLON, YOUR FORMER EXO AS TRAITOR.
The Trill’s eyes widened. **It can’t be. That same agent, ** She let out a sigh and made a decision, regarding the messenger’s request.
------------------------
TI: An hour later
Anaqueen sighed, sipping from a mug of hot, steaming tea, made from a root, grown only on the Trill homeworld. She was currently reading various news reports by the Nuimon Information Guild. Most of them discussed the Free Nuimon hostage crisis, the political rivalry between Hollande and the late Yesper Breg as well as the progressive and conservative views regarding the future of this world. Apparently the forums, where Nuimons congregate to debate on various issues affecting them, were full. Those forums had enabled them to air out their differences without resorting to violent conflicts, thus the Nuimons were fortunate to have never experienced a civil war.
She did find a silver lining from her reading. According to one report, public sentiment was not entirely in the Free Nuimons’ favour. Around eighty nine percent of Nuimons strongly disapproved of the violent means the Free Nuimons used to send their message across and were appalled at the sight of the disruptor rifles. Many, including those who identified themselves as Conservatives or Isolationists, felt they could have just simply arranged with an information guild member to do the broadcast.
About forty two percent of the locals agreed with the Free Nuimons’ sentiments regarding off-worlders but unfortunately, the report found sixty eight percent believed their accusations against Hollande to be true. Amongst that group, it was unknown how many already disliked the Chief Consul and were pre-disposed to believing anything negative against her. Then again, Ana recalled from another report that close to seventy three percent disapproved of Hollande’s job performance. Also in that report, Breg wasn’t exactly a popular figure either when he held the position with only forty six percent of the population in approval of his job performance.
If only there was proof lying somewhere that would dismiss the Free Nuimons’ claims as false, then it could possibly turn the tide against them, including public sentiment. Nuimons were intelligent beings, capable of seeing through the lies.
[[Bridge to Captain.]] Azula’s voice broke her train of thought.
“Go ahead, Commander.”
[[Captain, there is a woman, waiting down in Ciris requesting permission to beam aboard,]] the ExO began. [[She claims to be an advocate for Lord Percy, that Deltan we found with your doppelganger and demands to speak with you, regarding her client’s grievances towards us.]] There was a hint of annoyance in her voice. [[Apparently, Lord Percy wants to launch a complaint to Starfleet Command for his wrongful arrest and mistreatment in the brig.]]
Ana sighed. The message did indicate the individual would pretend to be Lord Percy’s advocate in order to come aboard.
[[Captain, we can just deny this woman permission and direct her to public relations.]]
“No.”
[[Captain?]]
“Commander, inform this advocate that she is granted permission to beam aboard the ship as I will speak with her.”
[[Yes…Captain,]] Sol said in a slow, unsure voice. “I will send a security escort to greet her in transporter room one and bring her to you.]]
---------------
TI: A few minutes later
The door chime rang. Anaqueen glanced towards the set of doors. “Enter,” she commanded and the doors parted. A young Bolian woman entered, followed by a taller human female. The latter had long, shoulder length black hair and adorned a black and white striped blazer over a white top and pants. Accessories included a stylish grey hand bag, hanging from her right shoulder and a pair of sunglasses over her eyes.
Ana frowned, watching her guest raise her hand to remove the sunglasses. She then relaxed, turning to the security guard. “Leave us.”
“Yes ma’am.” The Bolian turned on her heel and left.
The Trill nodded, gesturing towards the two visitors’ chairs in front of her desk. “Please have a seat.” She raised an eyebrow when the other woman tapped on a silver bracelet, encircled around her right wrist.
“Captain,” the new arrival spoke. “I’ve activated a signal blocker that prevents the ship’s systems from recording this conversation. So rest assured, no one will be able to overhear us for the next twenty minutes.”
Ana nodded, watching her guest sit down on one of the chairs. “I’ll admit I was surprised to see you active in intelligence work. According to your Starfleet profile, you were transferred to Operations and from what my own source told me, you were forced out of Intelligence for reasons they couldn’t share.”
“That’s right,” Chloe said. “My public record shows I’m now an officer in Operations but in reality, it’s just a cover for my true role. Let’s just say, I work for a special division in Intelligence and leave it at that.”
“What information do you possess that can potentially help resolve this crisis?”
“I’ll get to that later,” the agent said. “But the real purpose of my visit is I need your help with my mission here.”
“Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” Ana’s remark dripped with sarcasm. “This isn’t the first time you have approached me for help in an operation.”
Spankryz had first met Nielsen in 2428. On suspicion that a former ExO of the Trill was involved in acts of treason during the Second Dominion War, Chloe ran an off the books surveillance operation on the Camelot to gather proof that the targeted officer was a traitor. This operation ran for four months without the Trill’s knowledge, which had displeased her and the CO only found out, when Chloe revealed the entire operation to her in the hopes of gaining her help. It turned out Nielsen’s then CO, under orders from SFI, put a stop to the investigation but the agent had ignored those orders and pressed on. After Chloe had presented her the evidence gathered so far, Anaqueen was convinced back then, there was truth to the agent’s suspicions and in fact, she had planned on requesting Starfleet Command to allow Nielsen’s investigation to continue.
Alas, Chloe’s CO had taken the agent and the evidence away. A source in Intel told Ana that Nielsen had resigned from Starfleet and went into seclusion, while the evidence vanished without a trace – both untrue. It was only years later in early 2432 after Dhillon’s arrest for attempting to blow up the Government building on Vulcan that the evidence still existed. She had always wondered if it was Nielsen who was responsible for finally capturing and exposing the traitor.
“Captain, read this.” Chloe handed a PADD to her. “Hope you’re a fast reader as the message will be automatically deleted after thirty seconds.”
A moment later, Ana returned the PADD to the agent. “You have infiltrated an Orion Syndicate cell, headed by this Eric Mwangi.” She paused for a moment. “So tell me, how does the Syndicate plan to auction off this doctor?”
“The Syndicate is not her backer,” Chloe informed. “An individual known as The Lady, is the doctor’s backer. No information is known about her or about whom she works for but she does seem to have access to vast resources.” She slid the same PADD across to her. “Same drill as before.”
“Two doppelgangers from the Mirror Universe, both supposed to be serving life sentences, found roaming free on this world.” Ana set the PADD down after reading its contents, her expression darkening. “One of them has already been recaptured and now in the brig.”
“As I recall, Captain,” Chloe brought up. “When you were CO of the USS COMMENDATION, you conducted a joint operation with the Gateway staff, to locate and capture the SHIV, which took you behind enemy lines.”
“Yes.” Ana nodded, recalling that particular mission from eleven years ago. It all began when the Commendation responded to a distress call, sent by the USS TUSCACORA, an intrepid class vessel but by the time her ship reached the site, the other starship was destroyed. Forensics analysis of the wreckage, conducted by the Gateway science team, revealed the Tuscacora responded to a beacon, sent by a civilian vessel and triggered a subspace mine, leading to the explosion of both ships. It was later discovered that the SHIV, upon arrival in this dimension, had attacked the civilian craft. Then they had set up the mine and activated the beacon to lure the starship into a trap.
The Trill leaned forward, meeting the agent’s gaze. “What kind of help do you need from me?”
“I need assistance on a task that only you are equipped to provide.”
“Okay.” Spankryz shrugged.
“Read this.” Chloe gestured at the PADD.
After placing the PADD down, Ana’s expression soured. “So the Lady is supposedly the mastermind behind the whole political crisis on Numino and she provided support to the Free Nuimons as well as Consul Breg. But why?” Ana raised an eyebrow. “What does the Lady gain from creating political instability on Numino?”
“Captain, Breg confessed everything to me, when we were attempting to leave the valley before he died.”
“Confessed everything?”
“Yes.” She tapped on her bracelet and a holographic projection materialized, showing Breg speaking to her in the valley.
Ana watched in tense silence, listening to every word out of the late Consul’s mouth, an ire rising within her. At the ending of the recording, she inhaled deeply. “This could be the breakthrough we need to stop the Free Nuimons for good. The fact that both Breg and this group conspired with an off-worlder will turn public sentiment against them and perhaps help us find a solution that will allow Numino to maintain its relations with other worlds.” The Trill frowned. “How are we going to convince the Nuimons this evidence has not been tampered with by off-worlders? They won’t accept it from us.”
“Leave that to me, Captain.” Chloe nodded. “I have a plan in place to send the recording to the Information Guild after doing a little tweaking.”
The Trill sighed. “The Nuimons do have complete faith in their information guild’s authenticity.”
“Before Breg died, he passed on a piece of information – an image file.” Tapping on her wrist, a 3D projection of the image appeared.
Anaqueen leaned in to study the image in detail, furrowing her brow as her gaze focused on the beach and the jungle behind. “Is this the location of the lab?”
“Not quite.” Nielsen sighed. “It’s a beach on the south-east coast of Simlran but it is a vast stretch of land, making it hard to get an exact location. My guess is MacNeil’s lab is most likely hidden within the jungle, either above or underground.”
“I see,” Ana said. “Well, according to science reports, the jungle on Simlran, has been difficult to penetrate using standard sensors. It is a reason why various expeditions are sanctioned to venture inside the jungle but a number of explorers have died in the process.”
“Captain, I hear that Starfleet Engineering have recently installed a prototype, considered to be state of the art sensor package in your ship.”
“Correct.” Ana nodded. “The Camelot has been chosen as a test site for one of Starfleet Engineering’s latest sensor upgrades and tests are expected to commence in our next deep space exploration mission, when we head into uncharted territory.” The Trill tapped her comm badge. “Spankryz to Lieutenant Lith.”
[[Lith here,]] the chief science officer responded.
“Lieutenant, I need you to run tests on the new sensor package.”
[[Captain,]] the J’naii inquired. [[I thought the tests will only begin during our next mission.]]
“I was recently provided new data regarding the jungle on Simlran and figured, now is as good as time as any to test out the new sensor upgrades.”
[[Yes Captain. What kind of scans you would like me to run?]]
“Planetary surface scan, spectral scan, geological scan and basically every other scan listed in the test protocol.” The Trill pondered for a moment “Also a tachyon scan as well.”
[[Understood, Captain. The tests should take a couple of hours so expect the results, sometime tomorrow morning.]]
“And Lieutenant, do not breathe a word of this task to anyone and report the results to me alone,” Spankryz ordered. “You will receive the data following this conversation. Spankryz out.” She noticed the agent placing a black comm badge in her hand. “What is this?”
“A comm device to contact me.” The agent pointed at the Captain’s standard comm badge. “Your comm badge is not secure enough.”
“Makes sense.” Ana nodded, putting the black badge into her pocket.
“Contact me as soon as you get the results,” Chloe said.
“Understood.”
[[Bridge to Captain.]]
“Yes, Commander,” Spankryz acknowledged.
[[Kate MacNeil had beamed onboard and was on her way to you but…]]
Ana raised an eyebrow. “But what?”
[[Well, I got contacted by Major Choi to let me know Dr. MacNeil will be delayed.]]
“Delayed? Commander, where did she go?”
[[Your look-a-like got in an accident.]] Sol’s tone was dry. [[According to Choi, the prisoner banged herself into the forcefield and is injured. Since MacNeil happened to be in the same turbo lift as Choi, she offered to go treat the prisoner’s injuries.]]
“Thank you for informing me,” Ana said, her expression souring. “Once MacNeil is done treating the prisoner, send her up here.”
[[Will do, Captain. Bridge out.]]
“Captain,” Chloe brought up. “There is something you need to know and it’s about your prisoner.”
“Go on.” The Trill’s tone was harsh, furious over Mirror Ana’s latest stunt.
“That woman – your doppelganger.” Chloe let out a sigh. “She’s my asset.”
Anaqueen’s eyes narrowed, her expression hardening. “And you’re only just now sharing this information?”
“We had other important matters to discuss,” Chloe replied in a calm voice.
“So she was telling the truth when she claimed to have been recruited by Starfleet Intelligence.” The Captain glared at the agent. “Do you realize how dangerous that woman is and why she was sent to prison in the first place?”
“I do but as to why, that information is confidential,” Chloe said in a matter-of-fact-tone. “One thing I will say is that Anaqueen is only here on my orders. Neither she nor I knew you’d be here and she has no intention of harming you.” She handed her an isolinear chip. “Take a look at your own time. It’s proof that everything I said about your double is true and she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, when your marines found her.”
Ana eyed the chip with skepticism. “Anything else, Agent Nielsen?”
“Yes, I need to see my asset before I leave.”
“I will allow it.” Ana nodded. “But I will accompany you myself.”
-----------------------------------------
Scene: Holding cell
Kate followed the MCO towards the holding cell, where a Trill woman was found, sprawled on the floor. A Betazoid male, another marine, stepped aside. “Lower the forcefield.”
“Do as she says, Sergeant,” Choi ordered and a moment later, the forcefield was deactivated. “She’s all yours, doctor.” The Korean woman moved to the side, letting the tall woman through, however her gaze remained on the doctor and the prisoner.
Kate pulled out her medical tricorder and began scanning the Trill.
“Doctor, do you always carry your medkit around?” Mina raised an eyebrow.
“Always. You never know when you need it,” the Scot replied, waving the hand scanner around and then gasped. “This is the Anaqueen double that those Ferengi were after!”
“Yes, that’s the look-a-like.” Choi rolled her eyes. “Really annoying.”
“A mild concussion and some first degree burns on her hands,” Kate informed, pulling out a dermal regenerator and ran it over the Trill’s hands. “She should be fine.” The doctor stood up and as she was turning around, Mirror Anaqueen began letting out inaudible groans.
“She’s waking up.” Mina took a step forward.
Kate bent forward. “How…” She was interrupted when the Trill rose, swinging a punch at the Scot, striking her in the cheek. The forceful impact of the punch pushed the half-Nuimon backward, nearly falling into the Korean, who managed to grab her shoulders.
“Activate forcefield,” Choi yelled, dragging Kate away with her. Even after the forcefield was reactivated, Anaqueen began stomping and banging the wall with her fists.
“What did you put in me?!?” She roared, her blue eyes burning with anger. “You crazy bitch! What have you done to me?!?”
Kate blinked in confusion. “I only treated your injuries.”
“Liar!” Turning to Choi and the Sergeant, there was a crazed look in the Trill’s eyes. “What are you fools standing there for? Lock this evil lunatic up or we will all become subjects in her crazy experiments!”
“The only lunatic I’m seeing is you,” the MCO remarked, rolling her eyes. “Come on, doctor. The Captain is waiting for you.”
Ana burst out in laughter. “You’re this universe’s MacNeil! Not the mad doctor from the SHIV.”
“SHIV?” Kate furrowed her brow – she had not heard that name in over a decade. The pirate ship from the Mirror Universe that gave the Gateway a lot of trouble, whose crew included doppelgangers of the station’s senior staff. MacNeil was the station’s ExO at that time. “Wait? You’re the Anaqueen from the SHIV?”
“Shiv?” Choi blinked. “Doctor, the look-a-like didn’t have any weapons in her possession.”
“How is that possible? You were supposed to be in prison like…my double.” She gulped, the acids in her stomach churning. The hybrid’s mind raced back to the time when she had that uncomfortable one-on-one conversation with her alternate from the Mirror Universe and just thinking of that awful woman, brought a chill down her spine. “Well, it’s a good thing, she’s still locked up.”
“Oh no, she isn’t,” Ana said, letting out a mirthless laughter. “Your doppelganger is in fact on Numino and now there is no one there to stop her from executing her evil plan. Soon, we will all be put in cages and be at her mercy.”
“I see you’re not right in the head,” MacNeil said, sighing and turned around only to release another gasp, her gaze falling on Captain Spankryz and that hiker – her former patient.
Spankryz stepped forward, addressing the two marines. “You both leave!”
“Yes ma’am.” Choi waved the Sergeant towards the door. “Captain, the prisoner has gone mad and assaulted Dr. MacNeil immediately after receiving treatment.”
“Thank you for informing me.” Ana gave her double an icy stare. As the marines left, the CO turned to MacNeil. “How badly are you hurt?”
“I’ll be fine. Just a wee scratch.” MacNeil was nursing her cheek. “She mistook me for my doppelganger from the Mirror Universe and is ranting on about how my double is also here on this world.”
“A few hours here and you have already attacked another person.” The Captain remarked, her voice filled with acidic undertones as she was approaching the cell. “You really do belong in prison.”
“Captain, is she really your double from the SHIV?” Kate asked, pointing at Mirror Anaqueen.
“Yes.” Ana nodded. Both women watched Nielsen push past them and make her way towards the prisoner, whose eyes widened and mouth dropped open at the sight of the agent.
“Chloe. You’re alive.” Mirror Ana’s voice was a raspy whisper. “How? I saw you die when that grenade exploded.”
“I’m afraid you mistake me for someone else.” Chloe grinned, lifting her forefinger to her lips.
Mirror Ana blinked. “You’re getting me out, right?”
“No.” Chloe’s response angered the Trill, who clenched her fist, releasing a low growl. “Not yet,” she added in a low whisper.
“Doctor MacNeil,” Spankryz said in a calm voice. “I need to speak with you about that hiker you found this morning and took her in to treat her injuries.”
“Well, she’s right here.” The Scot gestured towards the Section 31 agent and raised an eyebrow. “I swear the last time I saw you, your hair was blonde and that was…two hours ago.”
“Thank you, Doctor MacNeil for directing me to the hiker,” Ana said quickly. “You are free to leave and I’ll take over from here.”
“Okay.” MacNeil turned on her heel, when she realized something was bothering her. “Wait, just one thing I have to ask before I leave, Captain.”
“Go on.” The CO nodded.
“Your alternate claims my doppelganger is here,” Kate brought up, her lips quivering. “Is that true?”
Spankryz pursed her lips, her eyes flickering briefly to Nielsen, who was spotted shaking her head - signalling a no. Kate furrowed her brow, wondering whether the two women knew each other and were hiding something from her. “Doctor, since your task is done here, you are free to return to your family.”
Kate didn’t move, much to the consternation of the other two women. The Scot/Nuimon narrowed her eyes, which shifted from purple to hazel. “Wait, you two know each other, already.”
“No.” Chloe shrugged. “This is my first time meeting the Captain.”
“Not from the wee signals you two were giving each other.” Kate’s tone was forceful, glancing back and forth between Nielsen and Spankryz. “Come on, tell me everything.” Her attention was now on the CO. “Captain, please tell me the truth. Is my doppelganger out of prison and here on Numino.” There was a pleading look in her eyes.
---------------------------------------
Location: Simlran, NUMINO
Scene: Underwater Laboratory
“Control,” Kate ordered. “Deactivate the device.” A cold smile crept across the doctor’s lips when the music stopped playing and the flora returned to their previous form. The holographic display vanished with only a grey platform remaining, followed by the lights turning on to hundred percent illumination. The puppy let out a whimper. “Don’t worry,” she assured the animal. “Mummy will be with you soon.”
The Lady approached the half-Nuimon, a smile creasing her lips. “Well, doctor, congratulations on a successful demonstration. My superiors will be pleased with your achievement.”
“Well, it was all because of my exceptional intelligence.” Kate grinned. “I’m grateful for the trust your people have placed in me to create this weapon.”
“Kate, in about thirty six hours, this whole world and the ships in orbit will witness your perfection,” the Lady said in a flattering tone. “Once we have achieved our goal here, I will keep my word and help you bring enlightenment to this universe.” What Kate wasn’t aware was the Lady and her superiors had no intention of keeping their promise to her.
The Lady smiled again. Months of planning, regarding this world, were about to pay off for the humanoid agent of the Lokustaar. The auction to sell off Mirror Kate was a ruse to lure the various criminal elements and powerful groups to Numino, their presence already creating tensions on the planet. The chaos in the valley that morning, was just the start. As for Kate, the Lady believed the doctor could be valuable to the Lokustaar and had no intention of giving her up anytime soon.
To the known universe, she was Elena Djiktra, a human entrepreneur with plans to expand her enterprise to the Gamma Quadrant. A high ranking boss in the Orion Syndicate, placed in charge of advancing their operations into this quadrant. As Elena, she had the Nuimon Chief Consul’s ear. All she needed to do was cultivate Hollande’s ambitions as well as the latter’s displeasure at Breg taking her abilities for granted and the rest was history.
As the Lady, she got Breg and the Free Nuimons to do her bidding. In the case of the former, she took advantage of his feelings of betrayal by Hollande and entitlement over the Chief Consul position. With the latter, she merely just amplified those youngsters’ insecurities and irrational fears over losing their home to off-worlders.
Also as the Lady, she had manipulated Lord Percy, using his greed and ambition, to betray the Syndicate. The Deltan had an infatuation for Elena – her – which she found highly amusing, considering he had no chance with her. But she still gave him false hope of winning ‘Elena’ for her own entertainment.
“I must return to Ciris,” the Lady said dryly. “Poor Hollande is feeling so helpless without me and I don’t want to miss all the excitement.”
*************************************************************************************
NRPG: Here’s Part XII. We’re now getting closer to the big finish! Around three more chapters left.
The Lady is revealed to be an agent of the Lokustaar from the Star Trek: Distant Horizons storylines. This story will sort of tie into the DH’s current story arc and Numino is just one of the many worlds in this dimension, the Lokustaar are attempting to disrupt.
The focus of this Section 31 mission is on finding Mirror Kate and stopping her scheme and in turn prevent Numino from descending into chaos.
Part XIII Preview (subject to change): Chloe, Prime Anaqueen and Prime Kate scene continues. Chloe sets a trap for Lord Percy and encounters Elena unaware she’s the Lady. Prime Kate ends up in a dangerous predicament. Mirror Kate receives a pleasant surprise.
~*~
Ranjani S.
Writing for
Chloe Nielsen
Section 31 Agent
And
Special Appearances by
Captain Anaqueen Spankryz
Commander/Dr. Kate MacNeil
