Post-Action Debriefing: Mrs. Dox

Posted on Fri Oct 18th, 2019 @ 5:59pm by Commander Rita Paris & Jaeih Dox-t'Aan
Edited on on Mon Oct 28th, 2019 @ 9:57am

Mission: Family Detention
Location: The Golden Ghost Conference Room
Timeline: 2396 - Post-Rescue

The first few hours on the Golden Ghost were hectic ones for the Dox women. They had both endured a month-long ordeal that had begun with their kidnapping at the hands of the Tal'Shair and then wildly different experiences under that control. But one thing was clear when they were in Rihannsu custody: they had been prisoners.

Once the rescue was complete and they and the crew of the Hera were safely on board the Artan rescue ship, Jaeih Dox and her daughter Mnhei'sahe were taken to the ship’s medical bay, where they were given extensive screenings by the ship’s Doctor, one Maenek Helev t'Liun. They both showed signs of physical distress, malnutrition and, in Mnhei'sahe's, a variety of remnants of bruises and physical trauma that had already been attended to while she had been in the tender mercies of her own people.

The most notable discovery was the presence of trace amounts of nano-transporter tags in each woman's digestive system. The Maenek deactivated them, rendering them inert, and the next few days would likely leave both women to pass the remnants the old fashioned way. But those tags were but one of a thousand questions for each woman that would have to be answered on the five-day journey through enemy space to rendezvous with the Hera.

After their medical check-up, both women found themselves in somewhat familiar circumstances. Interaction with their friends and crew was kept to a minimum and they were escorted to separate, small, private chambers... under guard.

They hadn't been allowed to visit each other, pending a night's rest and separate debriefings in the morning. And as morning came and Jaeih Dox had cleaned and dressed in the small quarters, she prepared herself for what was to come. Once again, she found herself a prisoner, as she saw it, and she was not a happy woman about it.

A small meal had been delivered to her room and she ate it, simmering in her own thoughts. She had spent years in cells. Romulan prisons. Starfleet prisons. Some horrible, some plush and accommodating. But as she waited for the debriefing, she couldn't help but wonder how her daughter was taking it. A month of captivity had almost broken the young woman, and now her closest friends were treating her as a potential enemy. It was perfectly sensible, all things considered, but sense and protocol were cold comforts under the circumstances. Circumstances that Jaeih knew had to be weighing even harder on her daughter, which simply made her more upset.

Then, a chirp on the door came, and the guard came in and escorted her through the refurbished Rihannsu Bird of Prey to a small conference room. In the center of the room was a table. Behind the table, was Commander Rita Paris, in her typical gold uniform looking very much as she always did, save for the cosmetic surgery that was still in place while they were in enemy space that made her look like a Rihanna woman.

Jaeih stood, arms folded behind her back with a flat expression on her face, waiting. Once again, she would have to earn the woman's trust and she wondered how many more times it would happen.

Standing up as she entered the room, Paris waited for the Romulan rescue to settle. Then she slowly walked around to the same side of the table, and wrapped the woman in a rather fierce hug.

“This isn’t part of the official debriefing, and it’s horribly unprofessional, I know. But I’ve been very afraid for a very long time that we’d lost you two, and that we were never going to see you again. To your daughter I have to be The Commander and set an example, but… words cannot convey just how relieved I am to see you, Mrs. Dox.” There was some sniffling, and when the human woman pulled back, there were tears in her eyes and an oddly happy smile on her face, that seemed somewhat out of place with the sharp brows and pointed ears that somehow just looked odd on the woman once described to Jaeih as 'the humanest human to ever human'.

Jaeih stood, arms folded behind her back with a flat expression on her face, waiting. Once again, she would have to earn the woman's trust and she thought to herself, Must I once again work to earn their trust?

Standing up as she entered the room, Paris waited for the Romulan rescue to settle. Then she slowly walked around to the same side of the table, and wrapped the woman in a rather fierce hug.

Confused, Jaeih's eyebrows cricked up as she thought, Apparantly not

Still, Jaeih hadn't returned the hug, standing rather straight as she kept her own composure. She was remarkably unsure as to how to respond to the emotional display, but couldn't quite contain her usual, dry humor in spite of herself. "I would assume the official debriefing will have considerably less... hugging, then? To which I'm curious as to the purpose here. We're still in a conference room under guard."

“Yes… we are,” Paris admitted, embarrassed by her own display now, and blushing a shade that would have betrayed her iron-based red blood to anyone who knew the difference. Moving back around the table to take a set, she indicated to Jaeih to do the same. "My apologies for my unprofessional display... not exactly setting you at ease."

“Yes, Mrs. Dox, this is the first debriefing, of which I assume there will be a few," Paris admitted. "And yes, this is official in capacity, and yes, we do have to follow procedure. You were captured and held by the Tal’Shiar for a month, and they literally used brainwashing techniques in addition to psychological warfare. Thus the observer and the guard. We both know that if you choose to move to violence you are a far more skilled hand to hand combatant than I, and this small space would work to your advantage. So we must proceed carefully and methodically, which I would assume that you would understand.”

Even as Rita had said the words, the trained observer noticed the small details. Paris was more tanned than last she had seen her- life on a starship tended to leave her rather pale for the most part, yet Paris was sporting a deep tan. While her uniform covered her physical topography as it always did, the tight hug had revealed that the woman was more defined and a touch more muscular then the last time they were together. Her hands bore a few small scars, clearly of recent minor injuries that had healed without the benefit of modern medicine.

It seemed there were a few elements that did not add up, particularly given that Paris seemed to regard the month of her absence to be a much longer period of time than it actually was, which also seemed excessive. However, Jaeih knew this was to be her 'debriefing', and not Rita Paris', so she logged her questions for when they were more appropriate.

As she glanced at the unfamiliar 'observer' also in the room, Jaeih's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. The mysterious man was a Miradonian. And much like Jaeih's Miradonian daughter-in-law, that meant he was a living lie-detector as was common for the race. 

Turning back to Paris, Jaeih folded her hands in front of her on the table and nodded. "Wise precautions, all. Were I in your position, I would be doing much the same. That said, the first thing I can tell you that might put your mind at ease, is that my experience and Mnhei'sahe's were vastly different. I was there as little more than leverage to use against her. Once onboard, I was deposited in my cell and largely abandoned there for most of the time I was there. I spent one evening in a joined cell with Mnhei'sahe's grandmother... who had been taken prisoner as well... where we talked before I... for lack of a better term... escaped said cell. But during that time, I was asked no questions or exposed to any brainwashing techniques beyond... almost complete isolation by my captors."

At the mention of her escape, Paris smirked and nodded. “All right, Mrs. Dox. Let’s take it from the top, then. You know how this goes- you lay out the story, I ask probing questions trying to poke holes in it, and we establish a timeline and revise it a few times. Let’s start in the restaurant, and finish with how you ended up in command of a Scorpion fighter to assist our rescue efforts. Please elaborate on any facts of which you are aware of Lieutenant Dox’s experience as well, as that will help us make determinations moving forward.”

Looking deep into Rita’s eyes, Jaeih simply nodded and begun her story. She had told the attentive commander of the attack at the restaurant where she killed five Tal’Shiar operatives and bargained for Mona’s freedom. She told her of her two weeks in isolation in the brig of the Warbird that had begun to weigh heavily upon her, threatening to break her will, recalling too closely, her prior years of solitary confinement on a Romulan Penal Asteroid.

All the while, the Miradonian in the corner continued to nod occasionally, confirming the truth of every detail. And occasionally, Rita would interject as promised and ask for details to be repeated, clarified or expounded further on. Interrogation techniques designed to weed out falsehoods and reveal if stories had been practiced. But Jaeih remained focused and her story never wavered.

Then she told Rita of the painful experience of believing that Mnhei’sahe might have been compromised. She told her of how her daughter, once she had finally been allowed to see her, seemed to have difficulty maintaining a dialogue in English and how she was parroting her grandmother’s words. But then she told her of the secret code that the two women knew that Jaeih had been almost too far gone to notice and she recited, almost word for word, the speeches Mnhei’sahe had made trying to sway their captors to reason. “Speeches you would have been proud of.” Jaeih said with a slight smile and the hint of pride for her daughter.

But the smile faded quickly as Jaeih then spoke of her Daughter then spending a week shackled to a chair while she continued to try and reason with Rendal while Verelan had been taken away and beaten. She told Rita, with pain clearly behind her own eyes, of Rendal’s cruelty that the elder Intel operative could only hear from her own cell. Of the horror of having to listen from her own cell as the man she loved… Mnhei’sahe’s father… was reintroduced to the young woman only to be executed in front of her.

It was a recitation that took more out of Jaeih than she had anticipated and Ria had allowed her a moment to compose herself, though the gilded Starfleet officer had to resist her own desire to embrace the damaged woman once again.

After a moment, Jaeih continued. She told Rita of the long talk she had in a shared cell with a beaten and bruised Verelan t’Rul. She told the commander of Verelan’s beliefs and her desires for her granddaughter, completely unguarded. Then she described the nightmare of being forced to watch as Rendal then stripped away the Senator's mind, making her into little more than a puppet.

Then came the details of her escape, made when Rendal had taken Mnhei’sahe for her own ‘treatment’ in the device known as the Neural Extraction Converter.

“Mnhei’sahe recognized it first.” Jaeih said as she talked. “There was an AnteCenturion that guarded us. He was the one that came into our cells to feed us, and I was too furious to see his compassion. But when Mnhei’sahe was taken and the cellblock was otherwise empty, he came back. He said that he believed that Mnhei’sahe had been trying to tell him to come to me, so he did. His name is Pajom tr’Sahe, and in the cellblock, while the security was turned away from us for a moment, he told me what he could do. Tr’Sahe was loyal, not to the Tal’Shair, but to Verelan and her family, which extends to Mnhei’sahe.”

An odd smile crept on her face as she spoke, “Also loyal was the officer on security camera duty that day, and he was looking the other way while Rendal was busy. Verelan has never been a fool. She knew Rendal might betray her and she had made plans for an escape. An escape for ALL of us, it turned out. She had been unable to enact her plan before her own mind was taken, but tr’Sahe had carried out his part. Those nanotags the Doctor spoke of… he had been feeding them to us without our knowledge for days. Shielded from the ship's sensors, they were programmed so that if he had to, he could beam Verelan, Mnhei’sahe and even me to her private shuttle in the ship's hold. It was controlled by a transmitter in his disruptor.”

“His loyalty was… impressive. All Mnhei’sahe did was give him a look… a glance towards my cell, and he trusted that. Obeyed what he believed was her wishes and came to me. So, we quickly worked out a plan. We faked an escape attempt during my feeding and in that attempt, he fired on me. It was designed to look as if I’d been disintegrated, but I had been beamed to Verelan’s ship. From there, it was simple enough to send out a coded message to you, which I’m assuming was received since you found us. And then I waited, eventually killing and replacing one of the pilots of the escort Scorpions.” Jaeih finished, looking weary for the telling. “I had hoped that from there, if you hadn’t shown, that I might have a chance to get to her myself and get her at least out of Rendal’s hands.”

“Your faith in us is inspiring, Mrs. Dox,” Paris observed as she tapped away at the PaDD that seemed to live in her hand when she was aboard a starship. “An impressive tale, and well played, I must say. I’ve a few follow-up questions we’ll get to in the next few days, and the Captain may specify some questions as well. But between this report and Mister Sonak’s vouchsafe, you are welcome to take some leave when we return to Federation space should you desire. There will also be some mandatory counseling of course, to talk about the experience and assist you through any potential long-term trauma. Beyond that, I feel inclined to tell you that you are once again free on your own recognizance.”

Nodding, Jaeih relented to the procedures she knew would be coming. She wasn't looking forward to mandatory anything, per say, but she understood the need, nonetheless. "Thank you, Commander."

As the usually closed off Intelligence operative stood, having been given her leave, she paused. "Commander… if we are concluded with the official portion of the briefing, there is something I need to say."

“By all means, Mrs. Dox.” Setting the tablet down on the table, Commander Paris folded her hands in her lap and looked up expectantly. “If you have need to express yourself, we can keep this off the official record.”

"In the time we have known one other, you have proven yourself to be a woman of great honor and integrity. You measure your wisdom with warmth, and what you all risked for her… for us both… is a debt I shall bear with pride." But as she spoke, her posture shifted slightly to a more maternal one. "But remember, you are more than a Commander to her. You are her Rinam… her sister… and you are her guiding star. She will need all of that."

There was a brief moment of silence as the old-school officer considered her words. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and controlled. “Your daughter once told me that she would cross time and space to find me, were I lost. Which happens to me more often than one might expect. In this instance, I came a very, very long way to come for you two. The entire time, my greatest fear was that as a traitor to the Star Empire, they might well have executed you. As much as that loss would affect the Hera and her crew, the effect on Mnhei’sahe would have been devastating.”

“I literally crossed burning wastes, climbed mountains, fought armies and monsters and even got a little weird,” Paris flicked her tapered pointed ears to illustrate her point. “It’s what she would have done for me, and I could do no less. Rest assured, Mrs. Dox- I will be here for you both. Today, tomorrow, and as long as the universe lets me stick around. We are family.”

Those last three words were simple, but the ancient astronaut spoke them with the gravity and sincerity that carried the weight of her words. From another dimension, a dozen decades ago, she had no blood relatives, no family to claim her. But she held the heart of a Kolinahr, a rarity beyond compare. She was sisters with Romulans and pirates, and carried them with her in the heart of an explorer. In that simple statement, she encompassed her basic philosophy of family- they were not blood, they were choice.

Jaeih Dox was a part of that family, and the living anachronism would be there for her, as well.

Raising an eyebrow, Jaeih replied somewhat flatly, restoring her earlier demeanor of practiced Rihannsu detachment. "Well then... as family I look forward to the opportunity of hearing exactly where you've been while we were on our little vacation. Perhaps, over dinner back on the Hera after you've had an opportunity to look much less... distracting. Really, it's good you stayed in the Cyclone. Even now, I've never seen someone look quite so human."

“On both counts, I’d be delighted, Mrs. Dox. Of course it’s quite a tale… but then our lives are writ large, as a wise man once told me, and it falls to us to rise to that challenge.” Offering a slight tilt of the head, Paris beamed a smile. “I am very, very glad to hear that you rose to the occasion, Mrs. Dox. The universe would be far poorer without you in it. And I have an appointment with the surgeon today to get back to looking… well, properly human again. I’ll leave the sharp brows and pointed ears to those who wear them well.”

"Excellent. You... wear humanity exceptionally well, Commander. Jolan'tru." Jaeih offered a brief nod as she turned to the door. As she walked out, she raised a hand and made a 'shooing' gesture to the guard that had been escorting her as the door closed behind her. "I know my way. You are free to latch on to someone else, now."

In the corridor of the strange, Artan-ran Rihhansu vessel, Jaeih walked away from the small conference room to the turbolift. Her judgmental facade never once slipped as the ship's crew, all her own people, walked past silently. But once in the lift, as the doors closed and the salt-and-pepper haired older woman let out a deep sigh and her shoulders slumped a bit as she let herself slump back against the rear wall.

Taking a moment before telling the lift where to go, she smiled softly and let out a slight chuckle as she whispered to herself in her mother-tongue. "Family. Elements willing, I may... actually get used to the idea at this rate."