The Rule of Nobody

Posted on Tue Mar 1st, 2022 @ 2:03pm by Gregorio Emanuel de Castillo-Bartres & Rear Admiral Gareth Tau & Captain Akiva ben-Avram

1,509 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: S1E5: Symphony of Horror
Location: USS Megaera
Timeline: MD 3

When Akiva stepped aboard the Megaera, he was not met by its commanding officer or a member of senior staff as per expectation. Instead he was greeted by a taciturn woman with short-cropped hair and a glistening dark complexion that made her intense eyes pop like date palms. The rank at her collar indicated she was a warrant officer.

"Greetings, Captain." While her voice was honeyed in timbre, her tone was extreme and severe. "Admiral Tau is waiting for you. Come with me."

And then she turned on her heel without waiting for a reply. Akiva blinked at the brusque treatment, but there wasn't much he could say. He just swallowed the indignity and followed her from the airlock to the nearest turbolift. They rode together in silence; nothing remained to be said between them. When the doors parted, Akiva followed her through a corridor to the Science Labs. Multiple cadets in teal uniforms cleared out, and from the looks on their faces Akiva knew it wasn't him they were avoiding. Beyond the labs, the woman guided him to a room at the end of yet another corridor that had a high-security panel. She placed her palm upon the scanning plate and waited for the door to open.

"Admiral Tau," she said with a more pleasant tone than she'd used with Akiva. "The captain is here to see you."

Sitting at a old-fashioned oaken desk that must have been a family heirloom, Tau looked up from his classified dossiers. He waved Akiva inside. "Thank you, Clarice. Hold any transmissions."

"Yes, Admiral."

Once Clarice had taken her leave, Tau gestured to the wiry armchair in front of him. "Sit."

Akiva did as instructed, but said nothing except for a polite, "Hello, Admiral."

At first Tau did not respond. He took a deep breath, sighed, and then sniffed. "Let's not mince words: the past few days were a kak show."

"Yes, Admiral." Akiva was not going to make a move until he was certain it was advantageous to do so. Anyone trained in classical litigation knew not to let their mouth run away with them. The dryness that threatened to overtake his tongue certainly helped hold it.

"Nyel already took her leave." Whatever negative thoughts he held regarding that action were kept quiet. "I am the sole remaining member of the tribunal. Therefore, I've decided that, in light of the circumstances--"

Akiva smirked. His team had rescued Tau personally, yet the admiral phrased it so impersonally.

"--to drop the inquest against Memory Theta for performance above and beyond the call of duty."

"I appreciate that, sir." Akiva dipped his head in gratitude as he spoke at last.

"Don't think you're off the hook yet," Tau said. "You might have saved DS9 and mitigated the disaster in the Sol system, Memory Theta is still under review."

And then Tau stopped speaking. He simply stared at Akiva, his eyes boring into the other man's soul.

"What does that entail?" Akiva was forced to ask.

"You were not at your station," Tau said, "when Spacedock One fell. In fact, you were present for stated reasons that were so transparent I nearly reprimanded you on the spot. But I am a man who learns from trials and tribulation. Therefore, you will be receiving a deputy administrator who will ensure that you are never absent without leave again."

Things could be worse. If that was all Tau had to inflict upon him, then Akiva could surely find a way to live with that. "I will select an executive officer as soon as I return to Overwatch Station."

"No, you won't." Tau shook his head.

"I won't even get a say?" Akiva pressed. "Sir."

Tau chuckled wryly. "That would rather defeat the purpose of the assignment, don't you think? Candidates are being considered, and you will be notified in due course."

There wasn't much wiggle room to be had. Akiva would just have to hope for the best. He certainly had nothing to hide. Well, aside from the hidden QEC device he maintained for personal use. Other than that, he was on a mission to purify the corrupt establishment that was the black ops side of Starfleet. Hopefully this new deputy would be of a similar conscience; the last thing Memory Theta needed was another Mrazak fighting for power.

"I understand," Akiva said plainly. "Sir."

Tau looked at him. "Good. Because I am not done. You are also getting a babysitter--someone who will factor in the bigger picture before diplomatic quagmires are made." He pressed the desktop comm button. "Come."

The office doors parted to reveal another man whom Akiva had not seen before.

The man at the door stepped through it, a blatant scowl on his face, that might have otherwise been described as handsome. He took a bracing breath. "Good day, Admiral Tau," he said, with at least passable politeness. He looked at Akiva, "And this is Captain Akiva ben-Avram?" he asked with a bit more of a noticeable level of disdain in his voice. "Gregorio Evangelina Guadelupe Emanuel de Castillo-Bartres, protocol and political officer of the Federation Department of State's diplomatic service," he said by way of introduction.

A politician. No, worse. A politician's apprentice. One whose pedigree suggested a vestigial grip on antiquated notions of nobility. Akiva fought to keep his facial muscles in place, lest the grimace he held inside show outwardly. He was no stranger to genealogies in introductions, though, and replied formally. "Hello, Señor Emanuel de Castillo-Bartres. I understand we are to be working together." He stood up, though he didn't quite meet the other man's stature, and extended his hand in greeting.

For his part, the civil servant didn't bother trying to hide his scowl, nor did he need much professional discernment to realize the fakeness of Akiva's expression either. Still, the forms must be obeyed. He politely took Akiva's hand for the bare minimum level of politeness. "I suppose that is one way of looking at it. My job is to attempt to contain the damage caused by one Captain Mrazak Tow'Lasha, though how he came to have that rank is a mystery to anyone who can read his service record. Though considering how spectacularly you and one Colonel Garlake, amongst others, have failed at that task to date, I am not sure if I should be flattered by the faith in my ability, or worried that someone I pissed off has decided to attempt a very protracted form of assassination."

Tau cleared his throat. "Captain Mrazak was promoted in recognition of his clandestine efforts which ceased escalating tensions between the Federation and Cardassian Union which would have otherwise certainly led to war." He did not directly take credit or blame for the act. "However, to appease powers that be, I will leave you two to get more acquainted...outside my office."

Gregorio gave Tau a look of amused disbelief. "Get back to me on that when the Lagashi legislative yuan is done taking evidence from the citizen Mrazak abducted," he scoffed. He looked at Akiva, "I have a temporary office assigned on DS9 that we can use to 'appease the powers' as the admiral says, if you please."

"I don't answer to you any more than I do him," Tau said to Gregorio with a terse nod toward Akiva.

It was all he could do for Akiva not to flinch under such withering disregard.

For good measure, the admiral activated the desktop communicator and said, "Clarice, have these two doostjie beamed directly out of my office and back to DS9 Ops."

"Yes, sir."

It was the last thing Akiva heard before he found himself back on Deep Space 9. The hustle and bustle of the senior staff all but ignored them, save for the pair of Security officers who stepped directly into their path off the transporter pads.

"You are unscheduled," said the senior NCO. "Name, rank, and destination."

Akiva's disorientation turned to amusement. He suppressed a tight smirk and looked at Gregorio. The man wanted to take charge? Done.

Gregorio shook his head. "Pendejo sin saco," he muttered under his breath during the transport. He grimaced at the security guards. "Political Officer Gregorio Emmanuel de Castillo-Bartres, of the diplomatic service with Captain Akiva ben-Avram. Transported in from USS Megaera by Admiral Tau. Destination is my temporary office, which if I recall is 24-A-17 on the promenade," he said, gesturing as appropriate to the Starfleet officer. "Perhaps you'd like to take us down to the security office to verify, chief? All my records should be in order," he followed up. He had no idea what records about ben-Avram were on file, but not his problem.

"You're cleared," said the noncom to Gregorio. He looked at Akiva. "Welcome back, Captain." At his signal, the other Security officer stepped aside to allow them to pass.

"After you," Akiva said with a smirk. Sometimes not being a complete and utter hatakhatt to other people paid off.

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