Playing Double Agent

Posted on Feb 29, 2020 @ 8:50pm by Lieutenant Jasmine Yu
Edited on on Mar 02, 2020 @ 12:37am

Mission: Last Days of Empire

“Playing Double Agent”

(contd from ‘Difficult Conversations’)

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Location: USS PHOENIX
SD: [2.20] 0229.0042
Scene: Corridor, Deck 22, Drive Section


Harrad-Tor sighed, leaning his back against the wall. For the past fifteen or maybe twenty minutes, the Orion and Lieutenant Virgo Silsby were chasing Smooshy across multiple decks. The pug seemed to have been taking the two men on a wild ride as it jumped on turbo lift after turbo lift to different decks. Every time Harrad-Tor and Virgo were close to catching the dog, he had managed to hop onto a turbo lift and had left them waiting for another lift. Virgo was now in touch with the bridge again to obtain Smooshy’s location.

“Smooshy’s now on Deck 11, saucer section,” Virgo informed and then comm badge chirped. “Silsby here.”

[[Sir, there is a situation at science lab 2 on Deck 16 that requires your immediate attention.]]

“Understood, I’ll be right down there.”

Then Harrad-Tor’s comm badge chirped. “Harrad-Tor.”

[[Ensign,]] came the irate voice of Lieutenant MacKenzie Procter.

“Yes ma’am.”

[[Your presence is required at the Armoury.]]

“Is there a problem?” Harrad-Tor grimaced, his heart pounding against his chest and his hands were shaking. This wasn’t a good time. He desperately needed to find Smooshy before someone else did. He had to get the communicator from the pug before it fell into another’s hands.

[[Yes, some of the type 2 and 3 phasers are misplaced and need to be put back in their proper slots immediately.]] Procter seemed annoyed and there was no way the Orion could ignore her order to report to the Armoury.

“Yes ma’am, I’ll be right there,” he complied.

Silsby gave him a weak smile. “Don’t worry, I got someone on Smooshy’s tail. He should be found in no time.”

**I hope not. ** The big man swallowed a lump down his throat, feeling the acids in his stomach churning.

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Scene: Armoury
TI: Ten minutes later


Harrad-Tor exhaled a sigh of frustration, mildly annoyed at having to be interrupted from his search for Smooshy to deal with a few phaser handhelds put in the wrong shelves. Procter was always so nitpicky and fussy about every small thing – got in one’s face over even a minute rule infraction. He personally preferred working with Silsby over her, the human man being more laid back and easy going – not fussing over misplaced items in the weapons’ locker or micromanaging the way he did his tasks. Even Lieutenant Yu had never gotten bent out of shape over minor infractions, considering how adherence to protocol was important for the chief.

His comm badge chirped. The Orion tapped on it.

[[Silsby to Harrad-Tor.]]

“Harrad-Tor,” he acknowledged, feeling a lump stuck in his throat.

[[Good news,]] the assistant security officer announced. [[Smooshy has been found and brought to Counseling.]]

“That is good to hear,” he replied, when his mouth went dry and his breathing became rapid. “What about that ball in his mouth?” Then he bit his lip, regretting his words. **Oh no, what have I done? **

[[The chew toy? The Counseling staff just let him keep it,]] Virgo replied. [[Everything okay, Harrad-Tor? Does that item belong to you?]]

“No,” Harrad-Tor said quickly. “I was concerned the item belonged to another and they may be looking for it.”

[[Well, I’m sure they’d report it missing if the toy was theirs. Got to run. Silsby out.]]

Harrad-Tor sighed, shaking his head in dismay, leaning against the wall. While he was relieved Dhirrissa’s communicator was dismissed as a mere chew toy for the pug, he couldn’t help shaking with fear that someone would be able to identify the Klingon piece of tech. And if that happened, then it was only a matter of time before he was caught. He was wracked with guilt, wondering why had agreed to help the Klingon intelligence officer in the first place. How could he have been so careless and foolish? What if Dhirrissa had been lying and had never intended to fulfill her promise? If that was the case, then he had been a fool – a pathetic and desperate fool at possibly tossing away his second chance in life.

He inhaled in a deep breath and then exhaled, pushing himself from the wall. Looking straight ahead and adjusting his uniform, the green skinned man had made a decision as he turned around and left the room.

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Scene: Deck 39 corridor -> Yu’s office



“So, Harrad-Tor,” Jasmine said in a calm voice. “What is it you want to talk to me about?” She gestured to the visiting chair, while she sat down. She tilted her head to the side, smiling warmly at her puppy - Wei was fast asleep in her little dog bed. The corgi puppy looked so peaceful and innocent while she was sleeping. Yu turned forward, her smile vanishing as she became concerned at the distraught look in the Orion’s eyes. The Master-at-Arms had approached her in the hallway as she was on her way to the bridge.

The Orion had requested to speak with her in private, stating it was an urgent matter, which had deeply worried the young woman. She had wondered if word about his past life in the Syndicate had spread and he was being harassed over it. She was planning to hand her report on Harrad-Tor’s confession about his past to the Captain. Perhaps she could now add this new conversation to her report.

“Please sit, Ensign.” Jasmine gestured at the chair again but the Orion didn’t budge. She furrowed her brow.

“If it is alright with you, chief, I prefer to stand,” he said calmly yet his voice was cracking a little.

“Sure, if that’s what you wish.” Yu nodded. “What’s on your mind, Ensign? I can tell something’s troubling you.”

“Chief, I have a confession,” he began slowly. “One that I should have revealed during our last conversation and I apologize for not doing so.”

Jasmine frowned, feeling perturbed. “Go ahead.”

Harrad-Tor took in a deep breath. “During our last shoreleave on Earth, I had received a cryptic message with no identification of the sender, in my hotel room at Rome. The message, from what I remember, said if I ever wanted to be free from the Syndicate and see Jeeza again, then I should come to meet with the sender at this address.” He sighed. “At first, I was hesitant. What if this was a trap set up by the Syndicate, who might have sent an assassin after me. But the possibility that Jeeza may be alive, combined with the chance to reunite her, had me decide to take the risk and meet this individual.” He gulped. “The meeting was at the Colosseum at night and the individual behind the message, was a Klingon woman, who had come to Earth, pretending to be an independent trader…”

So for the next few minutes, Harrad-Tor talked and as the conversation went on, Jasmine’s reaction went from concern to alarm. That Klingoness was no trader – she was Dhirrissa, an intelligence officer. Dhirrissa had a tempting offer, which he didn’t accept at the time. She had told him that his lover was alive and had offered to disclose her location to Harrad-Tor in exchange for his help in the Klingons’ fight against the Orions. The Klingon woman had added that if he helped the Klingons win, then he’d no longer had to live in fear of Liriss and the Syndicate again. Dhirrissa had given him a small communicator for him to reach her, in case he had decided to change his mind. She had assured him that it was a special device whose signal wouldn’t be traced by Starfleet systems.

But the olive green skinned man had apparently changed his mind just before the trip to the Alcyonus System and contacted Dhirrissa, thereby breaking radio silence. He had provided information about the Phoenix heading to the prison colony. She sighed, knowing Harrad-Tor had likely committed treason for not only breaking radio silence during a secret mission but cooperated with a foreign intelligence agent without authorization. However, to her dismay, it didn’t end there.

During their undercover operation at the prison camp, Harrad-Tor was brought into interrogation, where he had met with Dhirrissa. She had pressed him for information, regarding the Phoenix’s presence at the colony and about Joanna Masters and her associates. Harrad-Tor had claimed that only he was sent to infiltrate the colony, while the rest were criminals like Masters. The Orion had also revealed that the Phoenix came in response to a signal, originating from the prison, suspecting to be sent by officers from the missing ship, SATET. Of course, the Klingons had eventually been made aware of the Phoenix’s search for the SATET.

“Why confess now, Harrad-Tor?” She asked the question that had been bothering her throughout this entire meeting.

The Orion was silent for a moment, his eyes flickering down. “Because…I just couldn’t stand lying anymore.”

Guilty conscious. Not surprising. “Alright,” she informed in a firm voice devoid of any emotions. “I will have to report your confession to the Captain. In the meantime, I’ll have Lieutenant Silsby escort you to one of the interrogation rooms, where you will remain there until further notice.”

“Understood, chief.” He nodded.

“One more thing,” the Asian brought up. “Where have you hidden the communicator given to you by Dhirrissa?”

Then his expression paled. “I do not have it anymore.”

Jasmine’s eyes widened. “Did you lose it?”

“Smooshy took it.”

Then Jasmine let out a sigh of exasperation, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

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Scene: Captain’s Ready Room
TI: 20 minutes later


Jasmine observed her CO’s expression in tense silence. She had reported Harrad-Tor’s confession to him and noticed Kane’s expression had hardened. It was understandable that he was angry after all one of his officers had betrayed the crew and Starfleet itself by secretly passing information to a foreign agent and breaking radio silence in the process, which went against the mission mandate. Although Yu personally sympathized with the Orion’s dilemma, she wasn’t willing to condone his actions and knew he had to pay the consequences, despite his claims that he was still loyal to the Federation and hadn’t meant to betray it. But actions spoke louder than words putting his claims in doubt.

Kane cleared his throat, speaking in a calm yet hints of anger were noticeable in his voice. “Has Dhirrissa attempted to contact him since our departure from Alcyonus?”

“No sir.” She nodded. “He very likely may not have received the call since Smooshy took the communicator from him and is using it as his chew toy.”

The Captain set his jaws, becoming more annoyed, now that the pug he wasn’t a fan of, got himself somewhat involved. Jasmine wondered, what would happen if Dhirissa called and it was Smooshy who responded. If the situation wasn’t so dire, she’d have found the scenario rather amusing.

“Where is Harrad-Tor now?” Kane inquired.

“He is held in one of the interrogation rooms,” Yu informed. “Lieutenant Silsby is watching him. I haven’t yet fully appraised him of the situation just that he should hold Harrad-Tor there and pretend to everyone else that the two are preparing the room to debrief one of the SATET survivors.”

“So only you, Silsby and now myself know about what Harrad-Tor has done?”

“Yes, Captain.” She nodded.

“Then let’s keep it that way for now,” Kane decided. “And order Silsby to not breathe a word of this to anyone.”

“Understood, sir.” The door chimed. Jasmine turned around.

“Enter,” Kane ordered. The door parted, permitting Commander Jake Crichton and Lieutenant Eve Dalziel inside. Yu noticed their worried expressions and raised an eyebrow.

Crichton’s eyes shifted to the Asian, noticing her presence for the first time. “Sorry, Captain. I didn’t know you were in a meeting.”

“It’s fine, Commander,” Kane said calmly but his voice betrayed a little anger – not about Jake and Eve’s arrival. “Actually, I was about to contact you and Lt. Dalziel.”

“Sir?” The ExO arched a brow.

“Lieutenant Yu has just briefed me of a very serious matter involving the ship’s Master-at –Arms,” Kane informed.

“What’s going on with Ensign Harrad-Tor?” Jake asked, glancing at Jasmine.

“Captain,” Eve brought up. “Commander Crichton and I have vital information to share, regarding the SATET that we just obtained during our briefing with Ensign So’Mior Howards.”

Kane let out a sigh, leaning forward. “Okay, it looks like we have a lot to discuss.”

For the next ten or fifteen minutes, information was exchanged amongst all four officers. Following Jake and Eve’s report of their briefing with So’Mior, Jasmine provided her own report of Harrad-Tor’s confession. At the end of both briefings, Yu sighed. So the SATET wasn’t trying to hide from the Klingons or Orions but the Romulans – well in particular the Tal’Shiar. Yu wasn’t surprised. They had already known about the Romulans providing military assistance to the Orions from that message sent by the Tal’Shiar commander to the Orion Blockade Runner. Even the Klingons were now aware of the message, which the Phoenix publically leaked and that leak acted as a catalyst to ignite the battle at Alyconus.

“So now we have confirmation that the SATET knows about the Tal’Shiar assisting the Orions in this conflict,” Kane said. “And that the crew are evading them till they can deliver the proof but are having difficulty finding a way out due to the conflict between the Klingons and the Orions.”

“Now that we know the Tal’Shiar is after the SATET, likely to stop them from revealing the truth, then it is imperative we find them first and soon,” Jake urged.

“I agree.” Kane nodded. “But we will need information on the state of the battle at Alcyonus such as who is winning?”

“Yes, but how will we get that information?” Jake grew concerned. “Sir, you’re not suggesting we go back there?”

“No,” Kane said quickly, assuaging his first officer’s concern. “There is no need to as we may have a much better and safer way to do it.” He turned to Yu.

Jasmine raised an eyebrow. “Sir?” Then she sighed, realizing what her CO had meant. “Harrad-Tor? You’re considering using him to acquire this information.”

“Correct, Lieutenant.” Kane nodded. “He has already set up communication with the Klingon intelligence officer, Dhirrissa and I say we take advantage of this opportunity.”

“Ah, so Harrad-Tor will act as a double agent,” Eve said. “Dhirissa will continue to believe he is spying for her and she is not aware he is actually working for us. So he will supply whatever intel – that we provide- to her and in exchange, hopefully he can gather information on the Klingon fleet’s activities and the status of this conflict.”

“Well,” Jasmine added, sighing. “For that to happen, we will first need to get that communicator back from Smooshy.”

“Leave that to me.” Eve smiled. “Owen and I know how to pry a chew toy from him.”

“Good and bring it here.” Kane then clarified in a firm voice, “the *communicator*, not the pug.”

“Yes, of course, sir.” Dalziel nodded. Jasmine sighed, considering the CO didn’t share any fondness for the pug, it would have been unwise to bring him to the Bridge.

“I will have Byte analyze the device and he will monitor the communications between Harrad-Tor and Dhirrissa,” the CO added.

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~*~
Ranjani S.
Writing for
Lieutenant Jasmine Yu
Chief of Security and Tactical
USS PHOENIX