The Empress And The Vigilante

Posted on Apr 20, 2020 @ 6:27pm by Chloe Nielsen
Edited on on Apr 20, 2020 @ 6:32pm

Mission: Section 31

“The Empress and Vigilante”

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

Location: BETA QUADRANT (Mirror Universe)
SD: [2.20] 0419.1425
Scene: Unclaimed Space


A lone spacecraft coasted through a region of space not under the control of any entity, somewhere deep in the Beta Quadrant. This ship was small, only able to fit about one to three passengers. Shaped as a cross between a cylinder and a pentagon, the craft had a bluish tint metallic hull, emblazoned with a large, round face of a black Terran cat - its yellow eyes widened and mouth open. One would attain the impression that the occupants were a bunch of pet lovers or traveling entertainers – but nothing could be further from the truth. Maybe, at one time, eons ago, the SS MEOW MEOW might have been used by performers but not so at present.

--------------------------

Location: SS MEOW MEOW
Scene: Captain’s Room


The captain of the SS MEOW MEOW was a young woman with long raven hair, flowing down over her shoulders. Her modest black jumpsuit was form-fitting over her slim figure but one that didn’t draw too much attention to her features. She wore a black scarf around her neck. Jaz Yarin was a Terran woman with distinct East Asian features, more specifically Chinese and Vietnamese. She let out a sigh, leaning back in her chair, sipping from a mug of hot, steaming, green tea, her gaze flickering to a half-finished bowl of ramen, served in a vegetable broth with cream coloured protein cubes and flavoured with a sweet and sour sauce of unknown origin.

She was nearly running out of food and medical supplies and needed to replenish, hence the reason for heading to the space station, known as VAGABOND – a suitable name for a location in the middle of lawless territory that was a stopover for fugitives, nomadic travellers, vigilantes, criminals and runaways. The station was located far from the territories belonging to Alpha Quadrant powers such as the Terran Empire, Klingon-Cardassian Alliance and the Trill Hegemony to name a few. However, that didn’t mean elements from those groups wouldn’t show up from time to time. Although she had heard tidings from fellow travelers that the Alliance had been running a multi-year military campaign to expand their territory into the Beta Quadrant.

Anyway, she wasn’t particularly bothered about the Klingons and the Cardassians. Those days of feeling the hostility towards the Alliance were long gone and she could care less about their conquests. She had another plan and that didn’t involve the Klingons or Cardassians. For the last three years, since she had first ended up in this quadrant, Jaz’s goal was survival as well as becoming stronger and smarter for the next phase of her plan. A plan to return home and reclaim what was rightfully hers, while exacting vengeance on those who had murdered her loved ones and stripped everything from her. She was waiting for the right opportunity that would enable her to one day return to her birthplace.

Jaz Yarin was not her real name and she hadn’t always been a vigilante or nomadic traveller – depending on one’s perspective.

Her true name was Jasmine Yu, former Empress of the New Terran Empire (or Terran Empire), deposed over four years ago. She was naïve back then, depending on everyone around her and trusted the wrong people.

--------------------------

Location: Paris, EARTH (TERRA)
Scene: Solarium
TI: 18 years ago (2417)


Thirteen year old Jasmine Yu rubbed her right eye, stifling a yawn at the same time. The crown princess was staring in boredom at the holographic display – a thin, rectangular screen. She sighed – reading a chapter of the old Terran Empire was boring. **This is so boring. ** She tilted her head to the left, her gaze fixed on the large window – extending from the floor to covering half the ceiling through which the early afternoon sun shone through, illuminating the entire room. The window was overlooking a beautiful garden outside. **So nice, outside. Wish I didn’t have this lesson not when I can go out to the garden and play. **

She turned forward, watching her tutor named Adina – a middle-aged woman with chocolate brown skin and coiffed black hair, who had been teaching her since she was seven years old. A little strict yet well-meaning woman under strict orders from her parents to ensure she received the best education that the empire could provide. Adina was ranked as a Lieutenant in Imperial Starfleet from her blue on black uniform, comprising of a full-sleeved jacket top with the empire and rank insignias pinned on it and black pants.

Even though Jasmine wasn’t happy to be inside on such a nice sunny day, she was fond of Adina. The black woman of Nigerian origin, was an excellent tutor with vast knowledge in many fields especially the sciences – the field she was primarily trained in. In addition to the sciences, Adina was well-versed in history and politics as well. The young princess looked forward to the rest of her formative years, learning from her.

Yu turned at the sounds of doors parting and arched a brow. Two palace security guards rushed inside- a brown haired white man and a dark haired Middle Eastern woman – their gold on black uniforms marking them as officers of Imperial security. She watched the male guard approach Adina and whispered something in her ear. Then the colour drained from Adina’s face, her almond shaped eyes widening. Jasmine frowned, wondering what had just happened that had rocked her tutor to the core.

Adina stood up, rushed to her side. “Crown Princess,” she spoke calmly, yet her voice was cracking. “We must leave.” The tutor tapped on the console, shutting off the display and took hold of the Asian girl’s hand.

“Adina, where are we going?” Jasmine demanded. “Please, tell me what is happening. Where is mom? Is daddy back?” She was pulled up to her feet.”

“I am taking you to the Empress,” she informed. “Now, come, we must hurry. Your mother is waiting for you.”

As soon as they had reached the Empress’ wing, Jasmine had received terrible news that had devastated her for days to come. Her father, Emperor Victor Yu – the 1st of the Yu dynasty – had died in an explosion that had destroyed the imperial flagship. Officially, it was determined the explosion was caused by core build up due to a junior engineer’s carelessness. There were however some in the empire who had believed it was sabotage by Alliance operatives or Yu’s enemies attempting a failed coup.

On that tragic day – two days after Independence Day – Jasmine, the next in line, was to succeed to the throne. However, since she hadn’t come of age, her mother was appointed as regent who’d govern the empire till the young woman reached 24 years old.

------------------------------

Location: SS MEOW MEOW
Scene: Captain’s Room -> Bridge
TI: Present (2435)


Jasmine sighed, watching her empty bowl and then pouring more tea into her mug. Her childhood seemed like a distant memory. A lifetime ago. She emptied her mug, set it down and got up. She walked across the room, her black boots making a thud at every step. She began climbing up a spiral staircase, holding the railing with her left hand. A minute later, she had reached the top, opening up to a narrow corridor. Jasmine strode down the hallway, which was no more than five feet in length and stopped in front of a wide tritanium door. Tapping on a panel, the door slid open, permitting the Asian to enter the bridge.

The bridge, located at the apex of the ship, was a compact, oval-shaped room with about three to four small consoles lining up the sides. She made her way to the front, where the main console stood. Above the main console was the viewscreen. Both the console and the screen curved around the edges of room. Jasmine stopped, sighing and shaking her head at the sound of a loud meow.

An adult cat sat on top of the console, all curled up. Its fur, black as night, glistened under the light and its bright, yellow eyes were fixed on the Asian woman. The feline meowed again.

Jasmine sighed. **Not again, Salem. ** Salem was the name of her cat – a male shorthair, belonging to the Bombay breed – and he loved sitting on consoles. She could never understand the cat’s fascination with them. With Salem, she had found his favorite things in life were food and laying on consoles. She approached the main console and waved at the cat to get off but he didn’t budge, letting out another meow as if to say, ‘he was comfortable and wasn’t leaving, so don’t tell me what to do’- if only cats could talk.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, she gave up, plopping herself down on a chair and swiveled around.

{{Jaz, would you like to know our ETA to VAGABOND?}}

Yu stopped turning in her chair, nodding an affirmative at a hologram in the form of a middle-aged Terran black woman. The hologram was the digital avatar of the AI that controlled the ship. Jasmine had chosen the form of the hologram to be that of Adina, her favorite tutor who was responsible for her education during her childhood and teenage years. However, when she was sixteen, Adina had moved on, taking up a teaching post at the Imperial Starfleet Academy. Yu had no idea whether she was still alive or not but the hologram had acted as a tiny link to her past and she had chosen Adina’s form as a way of holding onto it.

{{ETA to VAGABOND, twenty two minutes and forty eight seconds.}}

She ran her finger over her temple, pulling behind strands of her black hair, revealing a tiny, round silver device, attached to the skin. The device acted as an interface between the AI and her brain waves. Thus the AI was able to discern her thoughts through the interpretation of her brain signal patterns.

Four years ago, during the coup d’état, Jasmine was rendered mute because her vocal chords were severely damaged by an individual – a woman whom the former empress had considered a trusted friend and associate – a big mistake, one she had vowed to never repeat again. She wore the scarf around her neck to hide the scars. Unless she had found a way to return to civilization with access to proper medical facilities, the young woman might never regain her voice again.

------------------

Location: ISS XUN GUAN, in orbit over TERRA
Scene: Bridge
TI: Seven years ago (2428)


Empress Jasmine Yu was in awe as she was slowly entering the bridge of the empire’s flagship, designated as the ISS XUN GUAN. The bridge was large, spherical in shape with a high domed ceiling and spanning three decks. Standing at the top level, she gazed forward. In the middle of the roomvstood a round platform – the command area – over a clear, transparent floor through which the lower levels could be viewed. At the front end of the room was the viewscreen, hemispherical in shape, taking up around one-quarter of the bridge. The helm and navigation stations were located on the middle level, the viewscreen looming over them. The rest of the stations such as tactical, operations, science and engineering occupied the middle and lower decks.

XUN GUAN was named after an ancient Chinese female warrior of the same name. According to the historical records, Xun Guan had lived during the 3rd or 4th century AD at around the time of the Jin Dynasty. Jasmine smiled, taking a few steps forward, accompanied by her betrothed, a young, handsome man of East Asian origin with a lean build and short black hair. He was taller than her by around three or four inches. Along with her fiancé and future husband, Henry Wu, she was joined by her mother, the Empress Dowager Qui Chung as well as other political and military dignitaries. Chung was only there to see them off and would immediately return to the palace after the starship had departed.

She and Henry had reached the command area and as they stepped on the elevated platform, a tall man with a medium build, got up from the command chair and approached them. He had greeted her with a bow. “Empress,” he spoke with an Irish accent. “Welcome aboard the XUN GUAN.”

“Thank you, Admiral,” Yu said politely. “I am honoured to be here and looking forward to our tour of the empire in this fine starship.” Immediately after ascending the throne, it was customary for the new Empress to travel to the various territories under her rule and present herself to the denizens from all over the empire. While the Terrans had managed to accumulate a large portion of the alpha quadrant, they had not yet reached the level of power enjoyed during the time of the old Terran Empire. This time around, the new and young empire, had stiff competition for the dominance of the quadrant in the form of the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance and various other smaller powers.

It was the Alliance that had brought down the previous empire in the early part of the 24th century and thus enslaved both the Terrans and the Vulcans, while freeing the various worlds, occupied by the empire, such as Bajor, Trill and others. While Bajor had joined the Alliance, Trill had remained independent, later forming an entity known as the Trill Hegemony. The Hegemony had preferred to be neutral, staying out of conflicts between the Empire and the Alliance.

Sometime after (maybe a few years later) the capture of the Regent of the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in 2375, the Terran Resistance Forces, led by their new flagship, fitted with advanced technology (like a cloaking device) stolen from that other universe (Prime), had launched a military campaign to reclaim Earth (TERRA). The campaign was successful and the Terrans had wrested control of their homeworld as well as the entire Sol System from the Alliance. That day became known as Independence Day, celebrated every year by Terrans all over the world. Unfortunately, there were still many humans enslaved by the Alliance at their labour or internment camps, waiting for years, even decades to be freed.

“Captain Wu,” the Irishman, who held the rank of Fleet Admiral, was the commander-in-chief of Imperial Starfleet, greeted.

“Admiral, it is good to see you again,” Henry responded with a salute.

Fleet Admiral O’Connor was an officer in his late forties with salt and pepper hair, cut short at regulation length. O’Connor had close ties with the royal family by his frequent visits to the palace to provide advice on military affairs to the Empress Dowager during the latter’s reign as regent. It was during one of those visits in which Jasmine had first met Henry who was also the Fleet Admiral’s adopted son. Henry was adopted by O’Connor when he, at age 14, had lost both his parents during the explosion that had killed Jasmine’s father.

Jasmine was in her final year at the Imperial Starfleet Academy, when she had first Henry. At the time, Wu was already serving in the fleet. It was love at first sight for the pair and two years later, they had become engaged. As her mother, Qui had already decreed Jasmine was free to choose her husband, the young empress’ choice of Captain Wu was met with little resistance.

“Empress, please take your seat.” O’Connor gestured towards the command chair. The flagship wasn’t often deployed unless it was during war, generally commanded by the Fleet Admiral, or whenever the empress, emperor or regent, had decided to travel for official diplomatic purposes.

As Jasmine sat down on the command chair, she glanced around, taking in the scene around her, while Henry and O’Connor sat on chairs on opposite sides.

“So Empress, Captain,” the Irishman said. “I hear the wedding date has been set.”

“Yes.” Jasmine nodded. “A month from today after we return from the tour.”

----------------------

Scene: Observation Deck
TI: A few hours later


It had been a couple of hours since the XUN GUAN had departed from EARTH. They were currently on route to their first destination. Jasmine set foot in the observation deck – an oval shaped balcony like platform, separated from the space outside by a transparent hemispherical wall. With a cup of hot steaming green tea in her hands, the young empress sat down on a bench overlaid with a soft, velvet purple cushion. The observation deck adjoined the royal dining hall, where a reception was held in her honour. Some flag officers, along with other high ranking Starfleet personnel were in attendance. Jasmine had come out to the deck to be alone. Henry was busy chatting with former colleagues.

Her outfit was a uniform like pant suit, comprising of a white jacket top with insignias pinned on it and long pants of the same colour. Gold embroidery was found all over her uniform. Jasmine preferred the uniform suit during formal gatherings as she felt comfortable in them and disliked pretty dresses. She took a sip of her tea, staring at the stars passing by, deep in thought over how she was going to do as empress. She had hoped to make her late father and mother proud by becoming a successful ruler with a long reign.

Yet, she was also aware the empire was rife with schemes and assassination plots at all levels by ambitious individuals eager to advance their own status in society. But the empress didn’t believe she would be affected after all who’d dare go up against her. To get rid of her, they’d have to get past a bunch of powerful people at her side, namely her mother, Henry, Fleet Admiral O’Connor and other important persons. She was grateful to have the Empress Dowager as a close confidante at least for the first few years of her reign as her mother was wise and knowledgeable and could draw on her own experience from her time as Regent and Empress prior to that.

The raven haired woman listened in on the conversations happening in the hall. Interesting topics though she knew none would dare air out their grumblings about the royal family within ear shot of her. One particular topic had caught her attention.

[[So tired of those traitors,]] came an angry female voice. [[Seriously, wanting to abolish the monarchy and replace our empire with a republic. How ridiculous!]]

[[You’re so right, Admiral,]] said a calm male voice. [[Haven’t they forgotten our history when it was due to that damn Vulcan’s reforms that had weakened the empire and allowed those nasty Klingons and Cardassians to conquer us.]]

[[Maybe those Republic supporters are Alliance plants, meant to weaken us.]]

[[This is why we must never ever have an alien, especially a Vulcan, to rule us as they’d make us weak.]]

Jasmine let out a sigh of exasperation, sipping her tea again. She admitted to agreeing with them and was unhappy about the fact that there were elements within the empire who desired to push her family from power. What was their problem? It was her parents’ strong leadership that had made this empire strong and prosperous.

Maybe it was the Alliance attempting to stir trouble to create political instability. Jasmine had hoped it would be during her reign that the Terrans would finally rid the galaxy of the Klingons and Cardassians. She had often dreamt of the day on which the empire’s forces would free all the humans from Alliance imprisonment and destroy each and every Alliance prison labour camp. It would be a challenge though – the Alliance were still very powerful. It had saddened her that not every human was able to enjoy the safety and comforts, provided by life within the empire.

She sighed, realizing her cup was empty and turned around to get another. She arched a brow, when her brown eyes fell on a woman with a slim figure and long blonde hair, held together in an up do. The new arrival seemed to be in her early thirties, had blue grey eyes, flickered down to her yet despite the look of deference, this woman’s demeanor radiated an air of confidence. She was an Imperial Starfleet officer, belonging to the command division, judging from the red on black uniform - a pant suit worn during formal occasions. The blonde’s hands clutched around a cup filled with hot and fresh green tea.

“Empress,” the woman greeted with a slight bow before offering Jasmine the cup. “Please accept this cup of your favorite green tea as a token of my appreciation.”

Jasmine nodded with a smile, accepting the cup and took a sip before exhaling a sigh of relief. “This is wonderful, thank you and to whom am I speaking to.”

“Commander Chloe Nielsen,” the blonde answered. “I serve as first officer of the ISS CAMELOT under the command of Captain Tamara Jones. Captain Jones sends her apologies for not being able to attend this reception as her presence is needed on the ship so had sent me here in her stead.” Actually it was more like Captain Jones was afraid if she had left the ship, then another officer, most likely the ExO, would mutiny and take over as CO.

ISS CAMELOT. Jasmine recalled from the briefing that the Excalibur class battlecruiser was the lead vessel of the small taskforce escorting the XUN GUAN on the tour. From what she had heard from Henry, Captain Jones was a seasoned officer with many years of service. Jones, an African American woman, was decorated –awarded with many medals and ribbons for her accomplishments. But Yu was more fascinated with Jones’ ExO and was eager to learn more about her.

The Empress gestured to an empty spot on the bench beside her. “Commander Nielsen, please join me and have some tea.”

“It will be my pleasure, Empress.” Nielsen nodded, sitting down next to the Asian woman who had contacted the waiting staff for more tea and snacks.

----------------------------

Location: SS MEOW MEOW
Scene: Bridge
TI: Present


A single tear streamed down her cheek. Jasmine wiped it away, shaking with grief as memories of her loved ones flooded her mind. They were all dead – brutally murdered in the coup in 2431 that had ended her three year reign as Empress. Her mother, Qui. Her beloved grandmother, a wise and kind old woman – Grand Empress Dowager Yu who had told her amazing stories, brought her delicious dumplings and gave sage advice. Other members of her family. She had seen O’Connor go down but his fate was unknown.
And finally, Henry – her husband and love of her life. She clenched her firsts, struggling to hold back tears. Even though it had been four years since he was killed before her very eyes, it had felt like yesterday. She took in a few deep breaths and managed to calm down.

Chloe Nielsen. Suddenly, she had felt a burning ire rising within her. But she had no idea what that blonde woman had been up to or whether she was even alive. She looked up at the hologram just when Salem was licking his paw and sticking it through the projection. The black feline meowed before yawning.

{{You want information on Chloe Nielsen?}} The AI avatar inquired.

Jasmine nodded.

{{Well, Jaz,}} the hologram began a moment later, displaying a hologram of Nielsen’s current form. {{After accessing the information from the Imperial database, Captain Chloe Nielsen is currently the commanding officer of the ISS VALKYRIE, a starship assigned to Imperial Security and Intelligence.}}

Jasmine wondered about Chloe’s location.

{{Unable to determine the VALKYRIE’s current location.}}

Yu sighed, staring intently at the hologram of Nielsen and glowered. That woman, even in the image, displayed an air of confidence, mixed in with arrogance, as the still hologram stood there, wearing a newer form of the Imperial Starfleet uniform, which comprised of a thin, full-sleeved red on black uniform jacket and long pants.

Jasmine was looking forward to a reunion with the blonde again.

[[Meow! Meow! It’s the Meow Meow express….]]

Yu groaned. **Not the system glitch randomly popping up again. **

[[Meow! Meow! Come join us for a merry ride! Sing along and wave your arms along with a cute, black cat who says, Meow! Meow! Meow! It’s the Meow Meow express…]]

Salem chimed in with a meow.

[[Meow! Meow! It’s the…]]

The cat meowed again.

-----------------------

Location: San Francisco, EARTH (Prime Universe)
Scene: Section 31 HQ
TI: Present


A young Betazoid analyst leaned back in his seat, letting out a yawn. A long day and nearing the end of his shift. He sighed, staring intently at the screen. “A couple more documents to trawl through and archive.”

“Hey,” a Bolian woman greeted, appearing beside him with a cup of freshly brewed coffee. “How is the archiving going?

“Alright except it’s getting a bit tedious,” he answered dryly, blinking. “I need some coffee.”

The Bolian sat on the chair next to him, placing her cup on the table. “So, what are you looking at?”

“I have been assigned to go through the files that were extracted from the BFOV SHIV,” he began. “It’s a pirate vessel that had arrived from the Mirror Universe in 2423 and had some members of the crew including their Captain, who were apparently dimensional twins of the GATEWAY station senior staff and I recall that ship’s helm and navigation was manned by a doppelganger of the Captain of the USS COMMENDATION. This doppelganger, an unjoined Trill, had attempted to kill the COMMENDATION’s CO but failed and so was sentenced to prison for life. Only in 2428, Agent Nielsen had recruited her as an asset…”

“Oh I already know about the SHIV and its troubles with the GATEWAY STATION at the time. So who is this woman you’re looking at?” Her gaze shifted to the screen, where images of identical versions of a Terran woman of East Asian origin, appeared side by side. The woman on the left wore a Starfleet uniform, the red band and collar marking her as a member of security, while the one on the right adorned some kind of blue formal uniform, like a royal.

“This is Jasmine Yu. In this universe, she is serving as chief of security and tactical on the USS PHOENIX.”

The Bolian smiled. “USS PHOENIX, the famous flagship. Wow! She has done well for herself.”

“This other woman is her alternate in the Mirror Universe.” He paused, his eyes twinkling. “And this Jasmine Yu was in line to be Empress of the new Terran Empire, but she hadn’t ascended to the throne at the time, having not come of age yet. So her mother was governing the empire in her stead as regent.”

“Parallel universes are always fascinating,” the blue woman commented. “So did that Mirror Jasmine Yu eventually ascend to the throne?”

“No idea.” The Betazoid analyst shrugged. “She was technically supposed to in 2428 but the information from the SHIV’s databases only go up to the year 2423 – more specifically to the day of that ship’s crossing into our universe.”

“A pity, I’d have liked to know how successful she’d have been as Empress.” The Bolian analyst sighed. “Any information on a doppelganger of Agent Nielsen?”

“No information on a Mirror Nielsen found here.”

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

NRPG: This story is the first of a short series setting up the backgrounds of Mirror Jasmine Yu and Mirror Chloe Nielsen. This series will cover them in the present with flashbacks from their past.

References (related to this Mirror Universe):

Mirror Universe
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Mirror_universe

My Section 31 posts from the story, ‘Third Mission’, currently ongoing (2018 - ).

Posts from the GATEWAY mission, ‘Be Careful What You Wish for’ in 2008 (1st ed. FRPG)

Mirror Jasmine’s cat, Salem. I was inspired by the Sabrina the Teenage Witch series in which there was a black cat named Salem.


~*~
Ranjani S.
Writing for

Lieutenant Jasmine Yu
Chief of Security and Tactical
USS PHOENIX

Chloe Nielsen
Section 31 Agent