Shadowplay
Posted on 02/20/2021 @ 11:09am
Edited on on 10/06/2021 @ 11:14pm
Mission:
Men Of Good Conscience
Location: Starbase Lotus
Sitting at his personal console in his former office, now his personal working space, Kheren pondered for a long while before deciding to page David Rogers; one of the top engineers in the fleet, most versed in ship designs and propulsion, an experienced and decorated officer... and notorious for two singular feats; materializing naked in a public place; and stealing a Lotus class vessel all by himself on highly secured Utopia Planitia shipyards, right in the very heart of the Federation and under Starfleet command's nose, automating the largest, most complex and advanced vessel in History to go all alone on a personal lifesaving endeavor.
The Half-Romulan engineer had faced court martial, reprimand, scorn and punishment for his selfless but reckless, heroic but criminal act. Now a model officer, Kheren highly doubted he would risk it all again; if not outright dismissal and penitential colony time, for any reason, let alone for a former officer he doesn't know, bent on defying Starfleet and the Federation Council for no other reason than following his own conscience.
But there is no one else.
With this last thought in mind, he encrypted the private call and routed it through a maintenance channel with a computer generated random ID code before calling Rogers. At this hour he would be in bed in his quarters on the station. Hopefully alone.
This was the trickiest part of his plan so far. Syntron he knew well and, beyond his logic, had already like him committed himself in opposition to Starfleet. but if David Rogers, already scalded by a previous infraction, balked at helping him; or worse, reported him as was his duty as an officer...
Kheren didn't like where that train of thought was leading him to. Not one bit. But too much was at stake; and now, he was irrevocably committed as the comm signal flashed.
David had left the Horizon with little satisfaction in his desire to find out what was happening around the station. Shelly, berthed on the Horizon because it was a highly secure place within a highly secure station, had no opportunity to practice her talents of subterfuge and deception unique to the former status of an Orion Syndicate assasin. So Rogers had excused himself after an hours visit and catching up. Having returned to his quarters and having some light refreshment; non-alcoholic of course as the replicator in quarters couldn't replicate such stuff, David retired to prepare for tomorrow's routine, more maintenance on more non-descript, low security items through-out the station. But then, he had brought all that upon himself with the Diamond Star adventure.
That thought had brought back memories best left in the past. David donned his customary pajama bottoms, crawled into bed to sit with pillows supporting his back against the headboard to peruse a manual on the latest updates on magnetic containment field technology. He had barely gotten past the second PADD screen when his comm pinged an incoming call.
'Great! Another supposed emergency in a replicator somewhere.' David thought resignedly as he reached to his side table and accepted the call. The small screen coalesced to reveal a dark skinned, white haired being. The unnerving silver eye's of the Andorian gave Rogers a slight pause, like he had seen a ghost, before he recognized the person. Captain Kheren something-or-other Th'Shell... something. Quickly going over the past couple days to figure out if he had done something wrong somewhere to warrant the communication from a ranking Captain of the fleet, David answered as calmly as he could.
"Greetings Captain!" Rogers spoke as evenly as he could. With the immediate past transgression's against him, and his classified status to also think about, David continued with an as innocent expression as he could muster. "May I be of some assistance Sir?"
Kheren blinked a moment, his antennae curving inward; a smile the other would not even register as his frozen face could not move to convey it human fashion. And his clipped tone did not help.
''Funny; your record doesn't mention that you are blind, Commander Rogers.''
Aware of the effect of his tone and looks, the Andorian sobered.
''My apologies, Commander; I am a bit... edgy at the moment. That was unbecoming of me; especially considering that I am the one waking you up with an impromptu personal call.''
He straightened up in his chair so that his pipless civilian collar would be prominent.
'' It's just Kheren now, Commander Rogers. I am the one to call you Sir from now on. Forgive me to call you this late an hour, but I need some help; discreet help as you may guess.''
David took note of the lack of pips, but also the tone of the Andorian's voice. He also knew this was not a social call; Not to himself from this particular officer. 'Civvy,' David corrected himself.
Regardless, social niceties dictated a response, albeit a careful one given his unique status within Starfleet. His Ferengii upbringing told him it could be a trap.
"Well Sir, I would hate to guess. But you've piqued my curiosity. What do you require?''
The Andorian hesitated a very perceptible moment before sighing and speaking very deliberately.
'' As a civilian, my... life choices no longer... concur with those of Starfleet, as you may guess. And even if I still wholeheartedly respect Federation ideals and Starfleet's code,I do have... new goals in mind; obviously outside of Starfleet's authority... and approval.''
He waited to gauge Rogers reaction before he continued... or terminated the call.
David took a moment to weigh the Andorian's words while studying the mans demeanor. Half a lifetime on a Ferengii traders' ship had given him some insight into people's tells: those unconcious mannerisms that really good gambler's watched for in their opponents. The trouble here was that this particular Andorian was blind, in a sense. And like all of his species, very difficult to read.
But Rogers had also picked up on the last statement; 'Outside of Starfleet's authority and approval.' David felt, rather than heard, the genuineness of the former Captain's resolve. Thus, with complete candor, Rogers forged ahead.
"Sir, as you know, I am not in high regard on this station. Or in this quadrant for that matter. And if I am understanding you correctly ... and I am sure I am, I would put forward to you that I need to, as they say, get some air. On the promenade. In about ten minutes."
With that David cut the communications off and rose from his bed to dress. Civilian track pants and tank top, with sturdy jogging runners, as he was off duty. He would take a run along the promenade. And he was sure he wouldn't be alone for long.
Five minutes passed and Rogers had started out and at a grueling pace clockwise around the promenade concourse, pushing thirteen KpH; his normal pace. That would keep any late night joggers off his track. The human male average running speed was only ten KpH. David chose the path closer to the inside perimeter so he could see both the outer perimeter ahead but also the various ships at dock through the nearby view.
In front of him, a tall white-haired silhouette was walking, hands in the pockets of his loose grey trousers, his athletic frame filling a simple casual shirt almost the color of the bulkheads. The rigid antennae on his head did not react to his approach; Andorians were effectively deaf from anything directly behind them. The eyes however, including those in said antennae, were another thing. At the angle he was walking, he could effectively watch through the transparencies, without appearing to, everything happening behind him; or anyone.
Not that there was much to see. This was a long part of the promenade that was set aside for strolling and quiet contemplating; few shops or even mere doors, no Starfleet business or duty stations but the occasional security automated checkpoint, and plenty of sitting arrangements to watch the stars by the large transparencies. At this time of night, Starbase Lotus' established nightshift, the place looked eerily deserted, sounds strangely muffled and lighting dimmed to give that circadian illusion favored by most humanoid species, even if none seemed to be about presently; none but the lone stroller and the lone jogger coming up to him.
Kheren stopped and rested his elbows on the handrail before the large window, looking outside at the ships moored around the station. They all looked light sleeping beasts, barely a light on and no movement around them. Even this late, there should have been shuttles, pods and workbees going to and from them, workers in thruster suits busy as all ships needed refitting to transwarp or quantum drive propulsions, arming and supplying themselves for war. But the sudden shortage of personnel and supplies throughout Starfleet had struck this far-away starbase hard in the few days since Kheren and Syntron resigned. It was all still and quiet; all but his heart.
The Andorian would have smiled if he had had enough facial muscles to do so. But even then it would have been brief. Someone was fast approaching; either to help him change the course of an entire civilization... or stop him. He was now committed.
The arc of the inner curve of the promenade's plas-steel windows gradually revealed a lone figure ahead of Roger's as he traversed the inner track between the spaced small tables and the equally spaced lounges overlooking the inner bay. Even at this distance David recognized the large Andorian Captain.
'No,' Rogers corrected himself. 'Former Captain'.
David slowed his pace and, eventually, reached a walk as he came upon the man leaning against the rail that overlooked Lotus' ships at dock. David moved next to the Andorian and placed his palms on the same rail, merely two feet away, and also looked over the darkened vessels outside. After a quiet moment, David spoke softly.
"You know? Recently, I stood on station at Utopia Planatia and looked out at over two dozen ships in the docks. At that time, I thought I was taking a last look at something I would never see again."
David turned to look up at the large man beside him with a quizzical expression before he continued.
"I get the same feeling again, standing here. Like We might not see these again," David finished with a gesture toward the ships on the other side of the glass.
Catching the Andorian's eye's, Rogers then turned to face the big man and plunged ahead, guessing that this former captain needed something from him; Something unique to David's abilities. And that something was, also very recently, a star ship.
"So I can't get you a Diamond Star Captain?" Rogers said plainly, emphasizing the rank which, to him, couldn't disappear. "But almost anything else out here is available, given the appropriate circumstances."
The old Earth expression; in for a penny, in for a pound, found its way into David's thoughts as he turned to look back out upon the sleeping ships.
Kheren's antennae curved inward even more. he kept his eyes to the stars.
''I wish... but I am not a demanding person; an old Intrepid class would please me fine. With transwarp... Especially if it could be flown with a handful of ... disgrunted and unruly children.''
His antennae straigthened and started to wobble. his face didn't move.
''A Federation citizen would get a few years in a penal colony; but a Starfleet officer would face much harsher consequences. I would not wish that on anyone here; especially not someone already... burned.''
He produced from a pocket a small old fashioned, worn out padd of obvious Andorian design and started playing with it, his eyes never moving from the scenery outside.
''Some crash course manual for the layman, on Intrepid class automation, that would be... appreciated... and less... compromising for a... daring and sympathetic officer.''
David listened intently, trying to get a feel for the genuineness of the man's words. He could find no duplicity. With a furtive glance to either direction, and seeing no one, he took his own padd from its holster and began rapidly manipulating the icons on the small interface. Pass codes within pass codes were inputted until a few files were listed on the screen. A final touch sent these five files, simply labeled zero, one, four, seven and nine, across the intervening space to the Andorian's padd.
"Over the past couple weeks I've automated every ship in the fleet. I figured they might be useful to Lotus, in some way, in some future circumstance. Those files, implemented in correct order, will give one person automation to our Intrepid."
Placing his padd back into his hip holster David turned away and began to walk back in the direction he had come. He stopped after a couple steps and looked back. Kheren was still looking out over the docking bay, as if not paying any attention to his departure. David gave him the instructions on the file usage.
"Input the files in numerical order into computer core Beta. They'll program the ship automatically, as they're sequentially installed, up through all three cores. Of course, you'll need the command interface code for the Beta computer first, but those are easily obtained. Not a high priority computer on a three core ship."
Taking another step, David sat on the bench by the bay window and began fumbling with the velcro straps of his shoes, delaying his departure a bit for one last instruction.
"The input sequence is the ship's registry number," David finished, then stood and resumed his run back the way he had come.
Kheren simply nodded, as if thinking about something; he hoped the half-Romulan would understand it for what it really was; a sign of gratitude.
Then a sigh forced it's way through his thin lips. Now he could proceed without incriminating an officer who had already put his neck on the chopping block once. When Syntron would be finished with fooling the starbase's sensors, he could proceed with the final step; stealing a starship.
He waited a good half hour before returning to his quarters. There was still much to do before he made his final move and not much time. he wasstill thinking about the appearance of Captain Jureth in the docking area of the Lotus. If the task force commander planned to add the former flagship to his battle group... or try to requisition the transwarp drive for his own ship...
Not much time indeed. Jureth could act openly and unimpeded through official channels. kheren could not.
He hurried his steps back to his quarters and went straight to his personal office, locked the door and opened another rerouted, encrypted signal; this time to Syntron's own personal quarters. It might be the middle of the night, but he knew the Vulcan might not even be asleep; and he certainly already had computed the urgency of their situation.
Nevertheless, the Andorian started sweating a bit, a fruity scent filing the small room as he waited for his hidden call to be answered.
The Vulcan waited for a while after his impending Andorian co-conspirator vacated the café before heading back to his quarters. Arriving, he engaged his personal mobile computer and called up the schematics of the USS Lotus. With traces of his level 10 security clearance still operable, this would have been an easy maneuver to implement. However, since discretion was essential, he used his superior computer proficiency to create an operable alias as he stealthily navigated beyond each security protocol encountered. Once he was into the mainframe computer, he began to put into place all of the obscured subroutines that would time in and out once initiated. These would allow them a brief timeframe in which they could commandeer a starship out of the starbase without being detected by security measures.
Syntron continued working well into a time designated as evening when an encrypted signal arrived. He engaged the message.
“The needs of the many…” he uttered quietly in coded response.
''Outweight the needs of the one.''
Anyone else but Kheren would have routinely said ''outweigh the needs of the few'' and thus betrayed oneself. Hence why the familiar sentence had been subtly altered between them. now that they knew to be safely in contact, the Andorian spoke up.
''I have the means to commandeer the Lotus... as soon as you confirm that your smoke and mirrors are ready.''
''I have the means to commandeer the Lotus... as soon as you confirm that your smoke and mirrors are ready.''
“The parameters for prestidigitation are in place and awaiting your word to initiate,” Syntron confirmed as he reexamined all of the elements again to ensure their readiness. He included a contingency program that was layered in as a precaution to allow other options to be introduced should their primary method fail or become compromised.
''You and I, of all people, know that there is no time like the present. Especially since I saw Captain Jureth loitering about the Lotus of late. My guess is, with all the back orders in Starfleet, he plans to requisition the transwarp of our former flagship for his Alsea; maybe to scout ahead. We need to move fast before he start sending an army of tech people down there to dismantle it.''
he paused before finishing.
''I plan to be on board the Lotus tomorrow night. it will take me but a few minutes and the ship will be ready for departure.''
“As the Terran expression goes, I am ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice,” Syntron confirmed. “In fact, I have replicated items to assist in gaining access onto the ship incognito.”
''Well I have another way to access it discreetly so we should be well covered here if we need a back up plan of approach,'' said Kheren nodding. Then his antennae lowered. ''Last thing to consider is; are you sure you want to do this? As it is, I can proceed alone if need be; and I have committed myself to risk it, comes what may. I have lived half my life as a pariah, so I am quite familiar with the consequences of what I am about to do. You on the other hand may lose a lot more if you go all the way with that gamble. I will understand if you prefer to pull out at this point. I can arrange for your... work to be the result of me stealing the data and protocols, as I will confess about the automating ones I procured. You would be covered.''
Syntron studied the Andorian for a moment before responding.
“Those who make a peaceful resolution impossible will make a violent confrontation inevitable,” he noted somberly as he studied a framed image of Mount Seleya resting adject to his instruments packed meticulously among modest bags. He contemplated the significance of intensely private ceremonies that likely occurred along the base of the mountain across the span of many millennia for a moment before he continued.
“An old adage comes to mind Kheren,” he asserted as he reflected on the situation at hand. “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity. We have such an opportunity before us."
He looked intently at his Andorian counterpart.
“As we discussed earlier, the odds are already stacked against this mission succeeding. You must have skilled allies by your side to have any hope of success. In regard to risks, you and I have faced and overcame a range of adversity together on more than one occasion. We did this to protect the federation and its occupants on many worlds throughout this quadrant and beyond. The concern regarding consequences was only ever relevant if it was our failure to act in the best interest of all or to not succeed in our attempts. Simply put, to be good, and to do good, is all we have to do. All elements considered, logic dictates that we proceed as planned, with me by your side.”
Despite his expressionless Ghelnoid face, there was obvious relief emanating from Kheren; with even a curious hint of amusement and regret in his voice.
''I would not presume to debate you.''
The seriousness in his tone however was unmistakable.
''Tomorrow then; Zero hundred hour. You have a prefered rendez-vous site for our... skulking to start?''
Syntron considered several options before responding.
“Not specifically, but perhaps somewhere inconspicuous… close enough to our target yet distant enough to keep our presence out of range of curious eyes and questioning minds. Do you have an idea of a locale such as this in that vicinity?
''There is a little known, seldom used, out of the way storage hangar where I took an old, discarded workbee to get to the Lotus' bay unobserved. Starbase sensors, and even windows, can be blindsided if you can fly on a certain path. Here is the location. meet you there at the appointed time.''
The coordinates were of course encoded. And anyone managing to decode them would also have to be able to hear ultrasounds; then, that rare decoder would only find a musical partition; one that only an accomplished musician like Syntron could play and, from it, decipher those coordinates.
Kheren was taking no chances. This was Lotus Fleet they were pitting themselves against after all.
* * *
"Ah.. here we go.." Gould said as he monitored The Lotus' interlink.
Even though he had been expecting it he still had to take a closer look "Very inspired skill for programing, even for a Vulcan." he murmured to himself.
"But unimaginative" Not that 'who' was doing it took much deduction, it was with Syntrons passcodes.
He nodded to himself "Automation.." but followed it up with a frown, stealing the ship seemed pointless, even automated it wasn't useful for more than traveling in without out a crew.
And without starbase it could take months to get it battle ready and restocked.
Whatever they were doing it would have to be soon, and he knew what had to be done.
* * *
"Ah.. here we go.." Gould said as he monitored The Lotus' interlink.
Even though he had been expecting it he still had to take a closer look "Very inspired skill for programing, even for a Vulcan." he murmured to himself.
"But unimaginative" Not that 'who' was doing it took much deduction, it was with Syntrons passcodes.
He nodded to himself "Automation.." but followed it up with a frown, stealing the ship seemed pointless, even automated it wasn't useful for more than traveling in without out a crew.
And without starbase it could take months to get it battle ready and restocked.
Whatever they were doing it would have to be soon, and he knew what had to be done.
