The Truth Is Out There

Posted on 03/13/2024 @ 9:57pm by Lieutenant Gilora Paret & Captain Cara Letsul

1,871 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: The Kingsmen: Duality
Location: Intelligence Office - Command Tier Deck 8 - Poseidon Station
Timeline: MD006 2330 hrs

The normal scrawl of text and data was interrupted, this more than anything else brought her attention. Nothing stops the data, nothing stops the stream and yet here she was.

The data stream was interrupted by the bird holding two planets. The signal seemed to be crystal clear and as if the symbol was indicative of more to come. Pale fingers began to flash around the console as the viewers eyes widened. Must trace the source... Find the source... they thought. For a moment the person considered calling for their superior. But that idea was dashed as it would take away too many precious moments.

"Greetings..." The deep baritone voice brought our viewer's face back to the screen. On it a tall rather lanky Romulan could be seen. He stood behind a podium and above his head hung the bird of prey with the twin planets of Romulus and Remus. The viewer's eyes stood transfixed on the unsolicited message.

"I bring you greetings to all who my voice can reach. Who I am is of no consequence. What I have to say is of the utmost consequence. For too many years now the Romulan Empire has played second fiddle to the Federation. For too many years the Federation has attempted to keep us at bay. The age of appeasement is over, and the age of action has begun.

Every great age requires a defining moment, something that like pebble on a lake will cause ripples. For a time we believed this moment to be the Hobus star exploding. But no, that is a mere footnote to what has begun and what is to come. By now I am sure you are wondering when he is going to get to the point. My people are after all known for being short winded. I must offer my apologies... This is exciting for me and my people.

This message is to inform you that Captain Cornelius Harrington, Starfleet serial number CH-2354-051201 has been executed. For those who do not believe my words I encourage you to view the following..."

The image of the Romulan dissolved as was replaced by black and white footage of Harrington sitting in a chair in an empty room. In a moment the Romulan who had been speaking enters carrying a disruptor. He levels the weapon and fires in a flash Harrington is gone. He was disintegrated by the disruptor's kill setting.

The footage was only seconds long but it served as proof enough. The viewer was glued to her seat. Her fingers moved quickly over the console as she tried to trace the transmission. She ran the transmission through facial recognition software in the Intelligence computer suite, nothing. Sweat began to pour from the woman's forehead. When a Cardassian sweats you know there is a major problem.

The Romulan and his podium come back on the screen. "Now you see that we have the courage of our convictions. There will be no peace in our time. One by one your leaders will fall victim to our whims. As our leaders fell victim to yours. Captain Harrington may have been the first victim in this war, but I assure you he will not be the last. The Furtive War has begun... JOLAN TRU!

When the Romulan finished speaking one could hear a lot of cheers and applause. Moments after in a flash the podium and stage was replaced with the bird of prey of the Romulan Empire. A moment after that the bird of prey dissolved in static and was replaced by the calm and almost friendly scrolling of data. Clearly this broadcast was not meant for our viewers eyes. However, she managed to intercept it. She also had the forethought to record it, others had to see this.

Gilora Paret was a logistics officer, not normally one to do data analysis or retrieval. However, since the Captain's disappearance Senior Chief Petty Officer Healy had been pulling double and triple shifts to sift through the data. She decided to give him a night off and let him sleep. Now, she wished she had not been so nice.

Gilora sat in her chair and breathed heavily. Sweat had pooled in her cranial ridges. The data chip which contained the message sat on the console in front of her and she was at a loss what to do. What if the message was false or somehow faked. But then again what if this was real and not something that was meant for her eyes. "Computer what is the origin of the message I just watched." Gilora thought that if she could not trace the message perhaps the computer could. "Origin Unknown." Came the reply. "Frak.... Alright Computer what is the station time?" Gilora asked as plans began to run through her head. "The time is now 2330 hrs." The soft reply of the computer came again.

For once the usually calm and collected Cardassian had no idea what to do. She paced the small office and unzipped her uniform tunic. She began to mutter to herself. "Well if he is dead they may want to bring The Kingsmen back and not risk lives, then again they may to confirm this as true." She paused in her frantic thoughts and pacing took her coffee cup and hurled at the wall. "FRAAAAAAKKKKKKK!" The cup shattered into an untold amount of pieces and yet she felt better, a little more collected. She knew now she had no choice.

Within minutes Gilora Paret stood in front of the acting Captain's quarters. "Well the minute she sees this she will no longer be acting Captain." She said to no one in particular. Gilora pushed her hair back with her hands and zipped her uniform. This was solemn news, but it was official. She rang the chime.

It was another busy day, and Cara was finally able to lay her head down upon her pillow. Her eyelids drifted downwards, her body relaxing when the sound of her door chime made her eyes go wide. Abruptly Cara sat up, grabbing her red silk robe, she quickly pulled it over her night gown. She was surprised to see Gilora at her door.

When the doors opens Gilora stood at rigid attention. "Captain I am sorry for disturbing you at this late hour. May I come in I have some news for you."

"Do come inside, what sort of news do you have?" stepping back to let the intelligence officer in. "Have a seat." gesturing towards the sofa. Cara went there and sat on the sofa straightening out a stack of books which was on the coffee table. She looked wonderingly at Gilora, there was something about her stance that indicated the woman was, stressed.

Gilora stepped in and looked at the sofa. "No thanks I think I will stand if that is okay with you. Standing helps me think and right now thinking is all I have. Captain, I have intercepted a message from New Romulus. In truth I am not sure if it was even meant to go this far, or since we did receive it, is it a ruse meant for our eyes only..." The mind of a Cardassian always looked for patterns, for conspiracies and Gilora's was no different. She sensed that she was about to go off on a tangent, and it was too soon for those thoughts. She had to get Cara to see the message. "...May I have access to your computer. It will be easier for you to see this than for me to explain." She said as she held up the data chip.

Just something about what Gilora stated, and then seeing the data crystal in her hand send an electric shock through Cara, her face turning pale. She'd experienced this before, this was a bit of dejavu. Cara was off the sofa, and quickly headed over to her computer activating it after entering a secure code. She could feel her heart pounding as a feeling of concern was rising.

"Gilora, you may proceed." stepping to one side to let the Cardassian woman have access.

Gilora nodded and was thankful that Cara did not ask for a further explanation. She placed the data chip into the computer and immediately the seal of Starfleet Intelligence appeared and asked for an access code. Gilora had the sense of mind to encrypt the data. With deft fingers she input her access code and the seal of Starfleet Intelligence faded into that of the Romulan Empire as the recording played out.

Cara took a seat in front of the screen, watching avidly as to the information Gilora gave. At first Cara felt disbelief, seeing what was there. Her mind was having a hard time accepting what she was seeing. Though a small part of her mind was screaming. When it came to the end, Cara started the video once more.

She was eerily quiet, watching, listening, gauging the Romulan's posture the nuances of his words, the emotions that were there. She analyzed it, still in disbelief.

A third time through, the seriousness of what she was witnessing started to crack through her disbelief, her doubt. Her stony facade started to break. Cara fended off the emotions that were welling up inside, she can't let them over take her, she was stronger than this.

One more time, the fourth time watching it, the dam broke, tears falling down her cheeks. "No... no...no... he can't be dead." her head lowering towards the desk, pillowed upon her arms. Cara sobbed uncontrollably, her heart that was starting to heal, shattered. "Adira, the kids..." she wept.

Feeling ill to her stomach, Cara reached over and grabbed the waste basket nearby and lost what little bit of contents there was, the bitter acrid taste of bile upon her tongue. Wiping her mouth with a tissue she looked up at Gilora, wanting to say something but no words came out.

Gilora stood with her hands behind her back as Cara watched the data over and over again. She saw the other woman's emotions well up, and Gilora felt for her but in a different way. She did not know Captain Harrington, well not personally. So she felt the loss of her superior someone she would have followed the end of the universe and back. However, those feelings paled in comparison to what Cara felt.

Gilora swallowed hard before she spoke. "I understand what you are feeling and what you are going through. However, everyone is going to be looking to you. As of this moment you are no longer the acting Captain of Poseidon Station. The station is yours, and your crew needs orders. Ma'am."

Gilora's words helped to bring Cara's mind back into focus. She sat up straight, reeling in her emotions. Cara was stepping back into her compartmentalizing ways, as she did in the past.

" You are right Gilora, you are certainly right." taking in a deep breath, Cara's features took on a more calm and placid expression. "Thank you and I will see you in the morning."

Captain Cara Letsul
Commanding Officer
Poseidon Station

Lieutenant Gilora Paret
Logistics Officer
Poseidon Station

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