Vipers In The Bosom

Posted on Fri Dec 6th, 2019 @ 5:07pm by Captain Enalia Telvan & Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox
Edited on on Wed Dec 18th, 2019 @ 12:24am

Mission: Neutral Zone Neutrality
Location: Comm Signal across lightyears
Timeline: 2396

Dropping heavily into the uncomfortable chair at the secured comm unit she had brought along specifically for this mission, Commander Rita Paris pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed as she waited. It had been a long and trying day flushing out a brainwashed spy, which was going to potentially destroy a Starfleet officer’s career who, by all appearances, was a victim, not a treasonous betrayer. Which didn’t make the process of having flushed her out any less odious nor trying, and Paris took no joy in it. While their mission was a diplomatic one, the strain was already beginning to wear on her, and being forced to look for betrayal at every turn was apparently going to be a constant in dealing with Romulans- not only from the Romulans themselves, but everyone vaguely connected to the process.

As someone who preferred optimism and positive resolutions, it was beginning to dawn on the old-fashioned officer that this darker future in which she dwelled, this was only the beginning. It was only going to get worse from here, and she was beginning to rethink her five-year plan to start a family planetside. Living in a state of constant paranoia was not one she wanted to experience, and it seemed that was precisely what she had to look forward to as the USS Hera attempted to aid the reunification efforts between Romulus and Vulcan.

For now, she had a job to do, and she was the mission commander for this particular mission. So she had to see it through. But the internal debate was already making itself known, and she realized how much she did not want to be here, doing this, nor facing what was likely more of the same to come.

The Starfleet emblem appeared on the screen before her as a secure comm channel was opened using a tight-beam transmission method. In all the skullduggery of their secret mission, she and Captain Telvan had worked out a schedule of times when the Hera would be stationary at specific coordinates, so that tight-beam communications could be established which could only be intercepted by someone who intercepted the specific line of communication. Which would do them little good without the appropriate encryption code, which had been pre-arranged between the Captain and her first officer. Even now, the two comm systems were exchanging ‘handshakes’ even as retinal patterns and DNA scans were occurring on both ends, and she typed in a cypher code that she had memorized before leaving the Hera.

As the screen’s image shifted to that of the Hera’s specific logo, the sight of the Trill captain’s face was a sight for sore eyes to Rita, whose relief immediately turned to concern as she saw the expression on the Captain’s face.

“Captain? What’s wrong?”

Leave it to Rita to see through her commanding officer’s poker face.

"More bad news than I'd care to mention, honestly," Enalia replied as her face almost fell with weariness at the sight of her first officer. "We discovered that one of our own had been brainwashed, a Tal'Shiar agent this whole time without even knowing it, Rendal got a majority of our protomatter data, and she got away."

The spotted woman went to take a sip from her tea but paused and set the teacup back down without doing so. "Please tell me you've had better luck?"

The cheerful commander offered a sickly smile. "Gut instinct told me she was a spy, but Lieutenant Ayamo Oulette. A Vulcanoid Rigellian Intel Officer with the U.S.S. Persephone who had been assigned to accompany us on this mission as an independent observer turned out to be another Manchurian candidate- brainwashed deep cover. Not only is this diabolical, but it's hard to believe they have this many sleeper agents out here under deep cover? They're like body snatchers, Enalia. They seem fine, all is well, then suddenly phlbbbt, you're a killer programmed by the Tal'Shiar."

There was a pause as Paris looked away, unwilling to say what had to come next, but she couldn't why away from the danger to both ships. "The Doxes both spent a month with the Romulans, cap'n. It's a hard fact. As much as it pains me... Sonak can clear them, but is it even there for him to find in their mind if they aren't somehow triggered? I'll admit I'm feeling particularly paranoid right now captain... if nothing else because I left one on each ship. If we've been wrong about them..."

"Don't beat yourself up, Rita. There was no way to tell in Varnok's case. We just..." Enalia paused a moment, trying to come up with something to say that would indicate a plan or lighten the mood, convincing herself of what she was saying as she said it. "We just have to learn from this and move on, doing the best we can. They're ahead of us for the moment, but we'll get back in the lead before you know it. As for finding it, I have faith. After all, Senator Verelan t'Rul is the one that proposed all of this and if she were still their puppet, there's no doubt in my mind that the colony would have been wiped out by now."

"Unless this was part of their plan... have Dox go to the colony as the representative then activate her at a critical moment," Rita countered.

Enalia slowly leaned back in her chair, contemplating the possibility for a long moment before shaking her head. "Sonak already performed a mind meld and cleared her. He's melded with at least two people that we know of that's gone under the Ju'rot device, plus Mona's bonded to her. There are enough angles of failure of her being a sleeper agent that I'm confident that she isn't. Sonak or Mona would have sensed something by now."

"Still..." the Trill woman began, pausing a moment more. "I'd like to ask him to meld with her and this Lieutenant. And see if Az'Prel is able to meld as well, just as a backup. I don't want to ask him to take all the risk, after all."

"I'll present it to him in the morning and see what results we get. if he can't find the implanted personality, though... that's cause for genuine concern. I hate this, Enalia," Rita admitted, shaking her head and frowning. The pretty pilot wasn't at all happy about this, and it was starting to give her heartburn. "We're the good guys, and I can always trust my shipmates. But now, we have to second-guess everyone. Who knows how many sleeper agents they've gotten to? Which just sows distrust, because it isn't paranoia if they are really out to get you. And one on each ship? We need to know who issued the order for Ouelette to be sent on this mission that no one was supposed to know about."

"I have to check, but I'm pretty sure it was Admiral Forsyth. She's the one that somehow got the invitation and intel and disseminated it down to Admiral Meowlith and us." The look on Enalia's face was starting to grow grim as realization was starting to dawn on her why Forsyth did what she did so often regarding the Empire. "I think I'm going to have to request an investigation into Forsyth as soon as we're back in Federation space."

"Quietly- we don't want to arouse suspicion if we don't have to. We don't know who else in the chain of command might be brainwashed... stars and garters, Captain, this is a nightmare!" Rita paused to rub her brow, worry creasing her features.

"It really is. I grew up in this sort of atmosphere though, so it's... Familiar." Enalia finally took a sip of that tea of hers before continuing. "Trusting everyone with your life because if you didn't, you really didn't have anything. But then being ready and willing to phaser your best friend at a moment's notice if you had to."

"But you're a Starfleet woman through and through, and you're the ideal that all of Starfleet should be striving for. You're not used to this at all, are you?" The Trill woman had a genuinely concerned and caring look on her face as she set her teacup aside. "How are you holding up? I know this can't be easy for you."

“I’m…” the gold-clad commander began, then uncharacteristically slumped in her seat, actually letting the fatigue show. “Surgical alterations. Traveling on old Romulan birds of prey. Sneaking around our own chain of command. Brainwashing, deep cover agents. It feels like I’m working in Section 31, not Starfleet. I can’t trust people, the people I trust with my life, who now I have to suspect of turning at any moment. At least I’ve got Sonak to lean on, but… this isn’t the career in Starfleet I planned to have.”

“It isn’t the career in Starfleet I plan to have,” Paris admitted quietly. “I honestly don’t know how to cope with this, Captain. I'm a little out of my depth, here. Rampant paranoia because everyone could be a secret double agent that we can't detect until they turn on us at a critical moment... looks like Rendal might have won after all.”

"No. I guarantee you she has not won, nor will she." The fires of Freedom were alight in Enalia's eyes now and there was no putting them out. "She may see herself as winning or perhaps even as in the right, but I guarantee you that the ideals and freedoms that we strive for will carry the day. Our goals may be lofty and our enemies abundant and strong, but I promise you this. Our hearts are stronger and they will rue the day that they crossed the likes of true Starfleet Officers."

And with that, Enalia stood and posed just like Rita in that poster she kept on her wall growing up. "Because we believe in the ideals of the Federation and strive to bring them to all sentients that have hope for a better future in their hearts."

“While our enemies are subverting and brainwashing our allies,” Paris countered, then stopped as she made a rather chilling realization. The captain didn’t seem to be considering the very real possibilities that Paris was pointing out- that logically, their own people were very likely compromised. Instead, she was glossing over the facts, trying to inspire Rita. Which only served to worry her that much more. Could they have gotten to Enalia as well?

That heartburn kicked into overdrive, and Rita Paris suddenly felt quite ill.

“All right, Captain. I’ll stay the course and do my best,” the golden age graduate offered, steeling herself. “We’ll keep you posted as to developments as they occur, and in the morning Mister Sonak will see what can be done to detect and/or deprogram Lieutenant Oulette.”

As Enalia sat back down, a slight blush of embarrassment on her face, she nodded and returned to her normal somber demeanor. "Sorry, I guess I'm not that good at inspiring people after all... I'll leave that to you from now on."

"As for the possibility of who may be brainwashed, I'll have the computer run an analysis on the backgrounds on those we know for certain have been, and see if there are any indicators. There might be some clues to give us hints at people that might also have been compromised. For now, all we can do is proceed as normal, trusting our allies as normal but being on guard. And please let me know how things go on your end."

“Yes ma’am, I will keep you posted. In the meantime…” It was clear Paris was struggling to say the words, but she got them out, a sad look of deep regret in her eyes. “Watch your back, Captain. Paris out.”

"Hera speed, my friend. Telvan out." As the secure comm channel closed and returned to the Starfleet logo, Enalia slumped in her chair, tears forming in her eyes. Things were getting worse and she feared for her friends on both the Hera and the Ghost. Unlike other trials, this sleeper agent BS was one she could do little about and she felt that Rita, Sonak, and Az'Prel, having come from other universes and not having been in a position to have been put in a Ju'rot device, were the only ones she could really, truly trust right now.

On the flip side, could she even trust herself?

She found that thought to be the scariest one yet.