Allies

Posted on Fri Dec 8, 2017 @ 4:48pm by Commander Caleb Ryan & Captain Maritza Soran

2,276 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Rumours
Location: Maritza's office
Timeline: MD 9 1500

::ON::

The chime in Maritza Soran’s new ready room beeped and then her assistant’s voice came through. “Sir, Commander Ryan is here to see you, with, ehm, Commodore Pierce from the Nemesis.”

Commodore Pierce? Pierce was shadier than planet rise on Titan. But he had sat on the ridiculous excuse for a tribunal that the Lissepian's had dreamed up, and got the job done. "Send them in, Claude." It had to be important, or Ryan wouldn't have begged her time to see him, and his old CO.

Caleb strode into the office and stepped to the side to the higher ranking officer proceed the rest of the way into the office ahead of him. Artemis Pierce was a tall, ruggedly handsome older man with dark black hair peppered with silver on the sides, and sharp blue eyes that took in every corner of the room, a man used to watching his back.

“Commander Soran,” Artemis said with a handsome smile to the blonde Trill. “Congratulations on your promotion.”

"Thank you. Mr Ryan?" She nodded at her lone chair, stashed in its inconspicuous corner.

Ryan got the chair, but he didn’t sit, instead placing it for Commodore Pierce.

Pierce just sat and leaned back, studying Soran. Caleb took his place to the side, a step back.

She had meant that chair for her security officer, still recovering from his leg surgery. If he wanted to offer it to the commodore, so be it, but Pierce fell even further in her estimation for accepting. "What can I do for you, sir?" She was ninety-nine percent sure that, whilst Ryan had asked for this meeting, Pierce was the force behind it.

“The Cardassian situation,” Pierce finally said. He had a bit of an Australian accent. “The Sixth Order sitting just outside your space. They aren’t having a barbie out there. They have been running maneuvers in preparation for an attack.” Pierce didn’t explain how he knew that information. “What are your plans? The Nemesis is here. I’m here to offer our help.”

Unconsciously she pulled her padd, with new orders, closer to her. Try to avoid a dick-measuring contest in my local space for as long as possible "I'm letting the children show off whilst they can. Starfleet Command has been appraised of the situation for some time. They informed me this morning that they intend to deal with it shortly. I am not authorized to give you details, sir." And like hell would she have an insult to the principles of meritocracy and fairness that Starfleet was founded on hanging around, taunting the Cardassians without specific and direct order from someone with at least an Admiral in their title.

Pierce just gave a knowing smile. “Of course not,” he said with a nod. “I just wanted to make sure you knew I was willing to help, whatever is needed,” the commodore said. “Please do not hesitate to ask. I have tangled with the Cardassians a time or two in my day, and I know a gul or two on Cardassia Prime from my time aiding the reconstruction after the war. I can, perhaps, make some calls through back channels.”

No. There would be no boys club antics here. Everything had to be as clean as new fallen snow. "With all due respect, sir, the bigger problem is inside DS5, not outside. There's escalating tensions amongst the civilian population, which is threatening to turn into a race riot if effective steps towards de-escalation can't take place. And I have agitators in that population who actively want that riot, capitalise on the atrocities, but are smart enough to not step outside the limits of freedom of speech."

“And you want my help in dealing with it?” Artemis asked. “A bit outside of my normal purview.”

Caleb raised an eyebrow, glancing at Soran.

"Commander Ryan has my full confidence and support in handling the situation. If he feels he needs to try a new approach, he's free to try it, as long as it abides by the rule of law."

Artemis smiled and raised an eyebrow at Caleb. “No more cowboying across the quadrant?”

Caleb smirked. “Only in the holodeck now, sir,” he said.

Artemis nodded. “Fair enough, Commander Soran,” he said, standing and tugging on his uniform tunic. “If you change your mind, or ever need a bit of assistance, I am just a comm channel away.”

Cowboying around the quadrant. No wonder he had ended up with Pierce. Or maybe he'd picked it up from Pierce. "Thank you, sir. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I sincerely hope that will never be necessary."

Artemis gave Soran a penetrating look. “You may not believe me, young lady, but so do I,” he said quietly and calmly.

Giving Soran a nod, Pierce turned and left.

Caleb lingered a bit, glancing at Soran for dismissal.

Maritza counted to ten, wanting to be sure her door was shut before she continued. "What's he going to do now?" Not that she could stop someone two notches above her in rank once he was off the station. And even when he was on it, well, she didn't know how far her theoretical absolute authority as master & commander of the station over someone not in her direct chain of command would hold water if Pierce decided to push things. But she could gather intelligence, and try and be prepared.

Caleb shrugged. “Pierce likes ta play things close ta the vest,” he said. “He doesn’t share much ‘til he’s ready. Mah guess is he’s at least got eyes on the Sixth Order.” He didn’t explain exactly how that would be possible without the Cardassians knowing. “He won’t be stirrin’ up trouble unless he thinks it’s absolutely necessary, though, Commander,” he assured Maritza. “He colors outside the lines a lot, but he knows where the lines are, an’ only goes there when needed. He doesn’t call in favors or expend political capital lightly. But if the Cardassians do decide ta push back hard, he’ll have yer back, sir, an’ the Cardassians won’t know what hit ‘em.”

"Colouring outside the lines," she said in a withering tone, "is for pre-schoolers, not Starfleet officers." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I have a powder keg situation on the Prom, and one threatening to develop off the portside waters, and another sitting right underneath which may go boom in mysterious ways. Two time travel incidents so far, and we're just lucky we don't appear to have done any major damage." She closed her eyes, counted to ten. "The last thing this place needs is any more people running around thinking they're untouchable." Her eyes dropped to her padd and the highlighted meeting in her day planner, then looked away again.

"I need a win, Mr Ryan. A verifiable win that belongs to this station and its people, not someone who makes up their own rules and thinks he's the calvary. Any suggestions?"

“Ah understand the feelin’, Commander,” Ryan sympathized. “Perhaps what we need is a good ol’-fashioned town hall meetin’,” he told her. “Even if we can’t help with some of their grievances, folks feel better if they feel they’re heard. This is a Starfleet installation, but we got a hundred plus decks that belong to civilians. Perhaps a bit more civilian empowerment could help, an advisory council. Or at least a regular meetin’ with the civilian leadership.” He smirked. “Or we could just tell Pierce about Raddon an’ watch our problem disappear…” He chuckled and held up his hands. “Just kiddin’.” And while Caleb was mirthful, there was something serious behind his blue eyes.

Soran held his gaze, and there was something just as serious in hers. "If Raddon 'disappears,' he becomes proof of his own insane paranoia. A martyr. A proof that Humans are not safe. If anything... extra judicial... happens to him, you and I are going to have words. Do you understand?"

“Yes, sir,” Caleb said with a nod. “Commodore Pierce doesn’t want to cause us any problems, sir. He just offered help. If we don’t need it, that’s fine.” He paused. “He ain’t as bad, sir, as the scuttlebutt makes him seem,” he offered. “That’s mostly what he wants folk ta believe.”

"And that's the problem, Mr Ryan. His reputation has too many shadows over it. Section Thirty-one. Dishonourable discharge. Goes and sits in an Earth desert for ten years and then suddenly he's a commodore? I'm sorry, Mr Ryan, but that is just playing into the hands of those who think Starfleet forgets everyone but its own, especially non-fleet Humans. And that's before we start looking at the nepotism, the alleged corruption, and the tactical officer who should have been booted from fleet before she even got out of the Academy. I want to get those paranoid deplorables to realise that the Federation isn't out to get them, merely ensuring everyone else has the same opportunities. They won't ever believe it, maybe. But anything with even a hint of of a stink about it will confirm every prejudice, every bias, every delusion that they have." She folded her hands on her desk. "It has to be us, us alone, and the letter and spirit of the law. I don't need his help, Mr Ryan. I need yours."

“That’s why Ah’m here, Commander,” Caleb said seriously. “Ah served under him fer four years. That man is as loyal ta his crew as they are ta him. He may be old school Starfleet -- Ah don’t know if there’s room anymore for the likes aKirk, or me, for that matter -- but he always does what he thinks is right. An’ he was there for me after Risa. He an’ that crew moved heaven an’ earth lookin’ fer Daimon Dys after…” Caleb swallowed hard and took a breath. “After he blew up mah shuttle, killed mah wife, an’ almost killed mah baby girl. Ah know he burns with the same righteous vengeance Ah do for that despicable Ferengi.” Caleb nearly growled, his hands clenched in fists at his side.

Caleb took another breath to regain his composure. “But there’s a reason Ah’m here an’ not out there, huntin’ Dys down with them. Ah couldn’t live that life anymore, not when Ah had ta raise a daughter. An’ not with mah leg all mangled. Mah ancestors were old school. Texas Rangers, ma’am. An’ the law runs deep in mah blood. We all got dark stains on our past we gotta deal with -- Pierce included. But that don’t mean we ain’t tryin’ ta do right. Ya got mah word that Ah’ll color in the lines. As soon as Raddon steps out, Ah’ll nail him ta the wall.

“But Ah also know the law ain’t perfect, sir. That’s how Dys managed ta get out an’ blow up mah wife. Sometimes the bad guys are just as good at the law as we are. They know they can push, an’ we cain’t push back. There’s a place in this universe for the Artemis Pierce’s too.”

"No there isn't," Soran said. "That's savagery, vigilantism, corruption, and an attitude from history. If the law is wrong, go into politics and fix it. The history of progress is the history of those going into politics to make sure the law is fair and just."

She sighed. "I know what bad laws have cost you, Mr Ryan. But on this station...two wrongs cannot, will not, ever make things right. People believing that there's a place for people taking the law into their own hands."

She reached for her padd, pulled up the photos. "People believing that, did this." She held up the padd, showing him the bodies of Nazl, and the two as yet unidentified Humans, all in situ. The Ferengi slumped, the Humans still where they hung. "There's been enough of Pierce's way on this station already. Didn't one of your wise men say 'An eye for an eye, and soon we shall all be blind.'?"

Caleb was already familiar with the photos from his own security reports and case files. He nodded to acknowledge them. “An’ the more we dig, the more we find Nazl was adept at doin’ wot I just said, skirtin’ the law an’ gettin’ away with it,” he pointed out. “Nazl is proof that politicians are even part a the problem. We’ll find out the truth about th’other two. Ah ain’t condonin’ a lynchin’ like this, ma’am,” he assured Soran. “An’ me an’ mah team are doin’ their best ta find out who done this. You’re right. This station is a civilized place, an’ Ah’ll maintain order. But not every place is here, ma’am. Not every place can afford such luxuries.”

There was some interesting maths in that reply. Still, "I don't have to worry about other places," Soran replied. "Only here. And that is enough. Carry on, Mr Ryan."

Caleb nodded and turned to go.

"Oh, and Mr Ryan," she called out as he reached her door, "I want the truth about all three of those bodies, Mr Ryan, is that clear?"

Caleb nodded. “Ah intend to, sir,” he said before stepping out.

FIN

Cdr. Caleb Ryan
Chief of Security/Tactical

Cmdr. Artemis Pierce
Commanding Officer
USS Nemesis
NPC Caleb Ryan

Cdr. Maritza Soran
Commanding Officer

 

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