Shifting Winds (part II)
Posted on Mon Nov 23, 2020 @ 1:13am by Lieutenant Si'Lar Trellis & Commander Caleb Ryan
1,279 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Si vis pacem, para bellum
Location: Gino's
Timeline: MD09 11:00 (following The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls Part 2)
Tags: Trill, Symbionsis Comission, Xelana, Zandy, Trill Ministry of Defense
OLD:
“Don’t overwork yourself,” Caleb said. “We won’t be falling apart anytime soon. Ah’ll see about getting you some temporary assignments ta help out,” he promised.
"I appreciate it." Roden smiled briefly. Understaffing was a perennial problem on star bases, with thousands of meters of hardware to look after and an engineering corps reluctant to give up on the dream of exploring the galaxy. "Let me leave you to your lunch, sir. I'm keen to get to grips with her." He waved a hand at the bulkhead, and noticed he was accidentally including Charlene in his hand gesture. "I mean-- th- the station! My apologies, Miss Charlene!"
Charline smiled brightly, leaning over the table to place down Caleb’s lunch order and flashing both men with a very nice view of her cleavage. “You make sure to come back,” the buxom blonde told Roden. “It will be my pleasure to serve you.”
Caleb chuckled, cutting into his steak. “Thank ya for stoppin’ by, Lieutenant,” he told Roden.
NEW:
The Trill Defense Ministry agent waited for the new Chief Engineer to depart from the holo-restaurant before making her way over to the table currently occupied by the Executive Officer.
"Hmmm...that looks good!" Xelana said as she slid into the chair at the table directly across from Commander Ryan. "Ma'am, can you get me what he's having, except make it extra well done!" the Trill agent said with a glowing smile as she turned back to the Starfleet officer.
"That is how you Humans eat your Bar-Bee-Cue...right? Well done?" she said, mixing her metaphors.
Caleb paused and put down his utensils, staring across the table at Xelana. “Ah’m sorry. Did we have an appointment?” he asked. “Ah don’t recall one. An’ this isn’t barbecue,” he said coolly. “Nor well done.”
Charlene glanced at Caleb, lifting a blonde eyebrow. He gave her a handwave to indicate she should go about her rounds and fill the order. “Now what is so important that you felt ya had ta interrupt mah lunch?” he asked, popping a piece of kobe steak into his mouth. He nudged the plate of sushi toward her.
Xelana looked at the strange item of food carefully. She had never been fond of Human cuisine, considering their history of polluting their home world's oceans for so many decades.
She looked back up at the Human. "No, no appointment. I just thought I'd drop by and see if I couldn't offer you some useful advice," she began. "You know, when I was first informed about this mission, I figured it would be a simple one-person entry and extraction job for the Ovaan symbiont. Well, imagine my surprise when I realized just how much of a plasma fire this entire station is, and that its Command staff is right at the center of it!" she said with an exaggerated expression.
"You have a homicidal symbiont on the loose with absolutely no clue as to where he will strike next, a dead Symbiosis Commission Agent, and just to top things off, the Zuul symbiont was brutally murdered, along with its host!" she said. "I would hate to see what passes for a casual day on this farflung station," she expressed.
“Security is investigatin’ all those incidents,” Caleb said. “Ah cain’t comment on ongoin’ investigations. But it’s a big station, with lots of folks on it.”
Xelana's smile faded as she leaned back and listened carefully to the man speak. She paused for a moment before leaning forward and speaking again. "I'm actually here to help you," she said, carefully choosing her words. "I wish to help you by suggesting that you do everything in your power, Mr. Executive Officer, to ensure that Starfleet does not apprehend Hex at all, but instead steps back and allows the Trill Defense Ministry to apprehend and extract him without," she said, making eye-contact with him.
“An’ why would Ah do that?” Caleb asked. “We’re a bit out of your jurisdiction to be apprehendin’ anyone. If this Hex is a danger ta the station an’ its inhabitants, we will arrest him.”
"When it comes to the best interest of Trill, the Ministry of Defense's jurisdiction is pretty wide," she said intently. "Much wider than even that of the Symbiosis Commission," she said, letting the distinction linger for a moment before continuing on.
"Hex is a homicidal sociopath," she began. "But more importantly is that he's an opportunistic homicidal sociopath who will sell out any and everybody if he believes it will benefit him," she said. "And that includes your precious little daughter," she told him. "If Starfleet gets ahold of him, then Hex won't hesitate to throw her under the -- what do you Humans say.? -- under the motorcart?" she said, mixing her metaphors again. "He'll sacrifice your precious cherub for a negotiated plea deal with some Starfleet magistrate.
"However, the Ministry of Defense would be willing to overlook her...let's just call them indiscretions," Xelana said, tracing her finger across the table. "Certain indiscretions such as murder, or maybe even the numerous unauthorized entries into classified systems with your access codes," she said pointedly.
"You can imagine how devastating it will be not just for your career, but for your daughter, if Starfleet were to discover what had been going on right underneath their nose," she explained. "Whereas the Ministry of Defense would be much, much more willing to overlook all of this and ensure that your daughter receives all the help she needs to transition properly," she offered.
Caleb’s face grew dark with fury, but he kept it contained, for now. “Mah daughter has nothin’ ta do with Hex. And Ah don’t like what yer insinuatin’. She has her problems, like any teenager, but she ain’t no murderer, an’ she doesn’t have mah access codes. How would you even know somethin’ like that? That is way beyond the purview of any Trill ministry! Yer messin’ with Starfleet now. We’re a bit out of yer league, young woman. If Hex shows up on this station, it will be dealt with. But until then, until ya got a solid lead for mah security teams ta follow, you find somethin’ better ta do than persecutin' an innocent teenage girl!” he hissed at Xelana.
This is why Xelana hated dealing with Starfleeters. They were blind to the reality of the universe and the dangerous figures that inhabited it. This particular executive officer fit the mold perfectly. She knew that she'd have to shift to Plan B.
"Fine. If you want to stick your head in the sand," she said, leaning back and sitting upright, staring him in the eye. "By the time I get done finding exactly where your daughter is and putting her in shackles, you'll wish the only thing she had done behind your back was give out oomax to the highest bidder," she said bitterly as she began to rise from the table.
Caleb glared at Xelana. He bit back a retort, a threat, his large hands clenching hard around the steak knife in his hand. He could end her threat right now, and Zandy would be safe. Instead, he settled for, “Good day, ma’am. An’ if Ah see you again, it’ll be too soon.”
Xelana merely snorted in retort as she stood and left the table, waving a hand towards the bulkhead, activating the doors.
Cdr. Caleb Ryan
Executive Officer
DS5
Xelana Castille
Trill Ministry of Defense
NPC
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