Roles In The Play
Posted on Wed Nov 2nd, 2022 @ 8:07pm by Captain Akiva ben-Avram & Lieutenant JG Jaya Maera Garlake & Ensign Nandi Chakma & Lieutenant Colonel Storr Garlake & Commander Arianna Frost
5,025 words; about a 25 minute read
Mission:
Season 1 Interlude II (E5.5)
Location: Commandant's Quarters | Overwatch Station
Timeline: ID 1 - following 'Rocky Horror Picture Show 1&2'
Words swirled somewhere on the edge of her hearing. She was vaguely aware of the others around her and that she was sat down. In her mind images replayed of events and conversations over the last five years, ever since Castermer and all it brought with it entered her life. One disaster after another, one loss after another. Yet somehow Castermer One, had seemed to have done what they had been brought together to do.
Castermer Two, however, seemed to be turning out a total and complete clusterfuck. Missing the planned and expected attack on Memory Theta, the consequences of which lead to more death and destruction. Missing and dead operatives, Operation Donnager - the operation that started the downward spiral, the loss of Aeneas and Gol, the betrayal and loss of Tarani, Vokau. The operation she and the others had devoted their lives and careers to. And now...information was leaking, people had gone missing, people have died. Some seemingly back from the dead in Borg form. The justified fury of a brother kept in the dark. It was all too much. Much too much. It hurt to even think about it.
Who was left? Was there anyone besides her left who had any idea what was happening? Joriel? Zorah? Did they know what was happening? Were they in on it?
"I refuse to believe that I am the only one left. I can't be the only one! I can't be!
She needed to find out. She needed to know, to get to the bottom of this utter shitshow.
Arianna stood up finally and took a deep breath. "We need to talk to the Colonel." She said without looking at anyone in particular.
Laying in a post-coital flop amidst blankets and limbs that became more and more precious as the day of the triplets' arrival came closer, Jaya ran her fingertips around Storr's sweaty brow, admiring the chiseled profile of her husband while she caught her breath. "Storr... you love me, right?"
Storr chortled. "I think I just showed you pretty good and hard, darling."
"If I had to cut our cuddle time short, you know it would be with good reason, right?" The teasing look on her face failed to hide the solemnity that prompted her question. Something was the matter and she was hesitant to broach it.
Garlake let his head loll to the side, smiling at his bride as he traced her voluptuous yet petite curves through the sheets. "I do, and if you're bringing it up now, it's a blerrie good one, Boervrou."
"Well..." But Jaya had no need to say more as the chime to their quarters resounded clear into their bedroom. "We should make ourselves presentable," she said with a grin. Despite the brightness in her smile, there was a darkness that hung over her like a haunting specter. "We have company."
Storr would have made a Vulcan proud with the arch of his eyebrow. Watching Jaya lithely exit the bed and sway towards the dresser made him want to do many things that would delay their answering the door but he reeled himself in and swung his legs over the side. Who on Earth was this mystery guest?
It was not unusual for Akiva to visit either of the Garlakes. Truth be told, it would not be unusual for Ari or Nandi to pay a visit either. But the three of them standing outside the Commandant's quarters did strike a particularly peculiar scene.
"Come on, Jaya," whispered Akiva as he resisted the urge to bounce on his heels. Although this was his station, the feeling of sneaking around still triggered his anxiety.
Nandi shot Ari a quiet glance, wondering whether this was the best place to be at the moment. She knew, however, the line of no return was long behind her. This was going to be her life now.
Arianna gave Nandi a wink as she espied a crewman out of the corner of her eye.
Three, two, one and...
Act!
"Now, now, Captain, we can't rush genius. Who else is going to play the role if not the Colonel? The play won't be complete without him. You know we have our Lancelot, I know we have our Lancelot, but only the Counselor can bring us our Lancelot." Ari tutted with a well-practiced grin.
"What?" The ploy caught Akiva entirely off guard. "Lancelot?"
Nandi acted quickly. "But I do not know if the Colonel will approve of such a scandalous role. Sir Lancelot seduces Queen Guinevere does he not?"
Arianna nodded, "yep, that's why the best person to play Guinevere is actually Mrs. Garlake. Always wanted to see what she looks like with long brown locks." As she kept talking she kept an eye out for the crewman that had by now passed to the other side of them. "I take dibs on the Lady of the Lake, I've always wanted to throw a sword at someone and thereby give them executive powers. The aquatic ceremony would be glorious." All this was said in perfect seriousness.
"Now, the important question, who do we get as Arthur?" She asked of Nandi then looked pointedly over at Akiva, counting mentally the fading steps behind them.
"Don't even think about it," Akiva grumbled. While he hadn't caught the ruse immediately, it didn't take long to catch up. But with his single-mindedness on the matter at hand, Akiva couldn't bring himself to lose focus. "Besides, King Arthur dies in the end." Well, maybe just a small sidebar. "If we're left standing here much longer, though, then I will insist on rescheduling."
The door finally opened, revealing Jaya in a robe hastily wrapped around a thin nightgown. "Hello..." she said, grinning at the obvious state of the Garlake quarters and what had just transpired. "Please, come in. I was just telling Storr that we had company."
Though the way was clear, Nandi was uncomfortable being the first to enter. Akiva held out his hand to the ladies. "After you," he said.
Nandi did as ordered. It was only after she'd cleared the threshold that she feared she had stepped in front of Ari. "I'm sorry, Commander," she said on reflex.
"Don't stress," Arianna replied kindly as she stepped in behind the younger woman.
Bringing up the rear, Akiva was the last to enter and only breathed easy once the doors closed behind him. He was not entirely sure how to proceed, so he looked for Ari to begin reading Storr into what had already proven to be a vastly complicated conspiracy.
"Please, take a seat anywhere you can find it," Jaya said, "and help yourselves to the replicator."
Storr had managed to get his silkies on and was just finishing pulling down his "614th Marine Corp Ball" muscle shirt when the three barged in, his disbelief at each guest rising as his eyes moved from one to the next. His wife's joyful and dutiful hospitality shook him from his stupor and helped him recognize his role in playing host: the need for better seating. Flipping the sofa around, Galake took his usual spot on the loveseat, the cushions molding just right to his form. There were two chairs and the aforementioned 3-person sofa, more than enough for the current batch...though at this rate, who knew how many more were coming?
Arianna put a hand into her pocket and pulled out a small device. Those with some clandestine experience would recognize the device as a scrambler. She pressed a command on it and raised a finger as a signal to wait. A high-pitched sound permeated the room for a few seconds before Frost put it back down.
"Sorry about the noise," Ari said finally as she sat in one of the chairs. "Had to scramble the recorders because what we're about to tell you can't get recorded." Then she looked over at Storr directly.
She also fought a chuckle at his outfit. This was no laughing situation, but the Colonel always seemed to add a dose of humor usually without so much as an ounce of effort.
Jaya smiled at Ari, detecting not only her suppressed reaction but also the cause for it. There was never a man like her Storr.
The look on Nandi's face was a blank slate. She had absolutely no context with which to process current events. For the time being, and perhaps the foreseeable future, she was along for the ride.
As for Akiva, he looked nearly bored. Apathy was a defense mechanism that stood only skin deep. His keen, hypervigilant eyes betrayed his true disposition as far from dispassionate.
Storr despised cloak and dagger, so much so he actively avoided getting read-in to all but the most necessary programs (and even not all of those at that). Besides the fact that Starfleet habitually over-classified information, leading to stovepiping and empire-building, it disallowed a man's word to be his bond. Let your years be yea and you nays be nay.
"I'm reading you all in into Project Castermer. Heavy countermeasures against Black Nagus intrusion within Starfleet Intelligence and associated facilities. I've been with the Project since its inception in '85. After we managed to thwart a large-scale incursion in '86 the first stage of the Project was dismissed. We kept up background operations and monitoring..." Frost sighed, "and we missed signs of an impending attack on this place. That's why I disappeared after the attacked. I was recalled to the Project to resume field operations. Jaya, Nandi and the Captain already know this bit as I already explained this to them and Wolf and Teejay when the event I mentioned earlier took place. I'll get to that in a moment and why they aren't here with us. Questions before I continue?" she asked, looking around the group.
"Let's cut to the chase," Akiva prompted. "Storr needs to know."
"The issues affecting us today started with Operation Donnager." Frost continued as she told them the events of the operation. While it should have felt liberating, finally talking about the event that had caused her many sleepless nights, a gigantic dose of survivor's guilt and self berating for not seeing the whole picture on time, for missing the tells that could have thwarted the disaster. No, it didn't felt good at all. It felt the same as it did every time she thought about it, awful. At one point during the story she stood up and went over to the replicator. She ordered a whiskey sour. Part of her wanted real alcohol pretty badly in the moment, the other advocated for a sober head. So she settled for the fake stuff but with the flavor. "And now we come to the crux of the matter. We just found out that one of the Borg butlers is actually Agent Vokau, the same agent I thought I'd eliminated, the same agent who also happened to be Teejay's brother and Teejay was the one who discovered it. At this point I called the Captain and Jaya in to help me contain it. Nandi was unfortunately already there, helping Wolf and Teejay get signed into the system, and I was present as Command representation."
The Afrikaner stroked his beard as the conversation reached its crescendo but it felt anticlimactic. Spy vs. spy, betrayals, murder, deception, shadowy dealings and figures, and yet... he sighed. Perhaps it was the abrupt oxytocin crash after being interrupted but he was having a hard time caring about the situation.
"So an injustice has been done in a long train of abuses. I hate to say it but this is a broken, fallen world. For every Castermer there are countless more, operatives and controllers trying to play God with the fate of others...how is this any different other than some consequences have suddenly and embarrassingly made themselves known? Can Teejay not make his peace, send his brother to the hereafter and we move on? Ari," he continued, turning to look directly at the attractive, though currently anguished, Aussie, "is this truly such a threat to everyone in this situation that we need to reach into the shadows and hope that our hand doesn't get bitten off?"
Sensing everyone's reaction to his question, Jaya resisted the urge to squeeze Storr's hand. Cerebrally she understood the logic of his question, but she didn't need to be an empath to predict and identify how it made everyone feel.
The question elicited a gasp from both Nandi. Who could be so nonchalant about death and injustice? The Colonel was a Marine, sure, but still.
Akiva stiffened at the question. He was a fellow pragmatist, so he gave his old friend the benefit of the doubt that Storr would change his tune once he had all the information.
"The problem is..." Ari replied, holding Storr's eyes, then took a sip of the fake comfort, "what we've discovered are crimes against humanoids, a war crime level. The other problem is the likeliest perpetrator is my team leader who will stop at nothing to achieve his or his master's goals. Including going after each and everyone involved and their families..." Frost motioned around the group. "We've been dropped in it a while back, we only just now discovered that we have been. This place is involved by simply having them here and not questioning how or why. I'm involved by being at the wrong place at the wrong time and part of the mission that led to the assimilated targets being there. I suspect there may be more of the Castermer targets among the other Borg butlers. And I suspect he has eyes and ears here."
Garlake sighed. Was life not better when you didn't know about all the insidious machinations and vain plottings? "So to make sure I'm straight in all of this: we're up against a man who has seemingly omniscient and omnipresent information and surveillance; we have no details as to his real name, location, or goals; may possibly be working for or manipulated by an even more unknown individual; has an unknown amount of hidden Borg-ed victims for an unknown purpose on this station; and has the means, motive, and opportunity to strike at any one of us because we now know about him and his nefarious operations. That sound about right?"
Arianna nodded, swallowing hard the sip she'd taken, "pretty much. At present, I don't think he knows we know - which works for us, because we can at least try and set up some kind of defense until we know more. I'm his focus point at the moment, a punching bag for defying orders not to get involved with the DS9 event. So as long as I keep up the correct appearances, we can buy some time."
Then she looked over at Jaya, wondering if her friend had caught on yet. Their conversation the night before, about her suspicions regarding the said man. "In my field persons with the designation Taskmaster usually have more of a history that's accessible to my access level. I can't even access his file, and in the four years I never learned his name." Ari sighed, looking down at her glass again, "whilst I knew everyone else. Even Joriel's." She looked up at Storr again at this point, "Kazyah Linn's callsign. We worked together on Castermer One. Part of what I was sent here to do originally was to vet him and make sure he was still working for the right side." She made air quotations for emphasis. "Back then all indications pointed towards that he did. Right now...I have no idea. I have no idea who's where or working for whom."
"Kaz got out while the getting was good," Jaya observed. "That suggests, at worst, a position of neutrality in whatever... whatever this is. It may be too much to hope that he will come back to help us, but at the very least I don't predict he will be a knife in the dark."
Nandi raised her hand ever so slightly. "I'm sorry, but who's Kaz?"
"Former Intel Liaison for Memory Theta," said Akiva in summary with a touch of resentment. "He deserted his post and was never heard from again."
Turning her mouth into a giant O-shape, Nandi fell silent.
The meeting was getting away from the goal of enlisting Storr's assistance in their cause, making Akiva's already taut spine stiffen even more. "Storr, now that you're up to date on what has been perpetrated right under our noses, I am calling on you to pull every string and every trick in your arsenal to not only defend us but to help bring these people to justice. I will not be an accomplice to this... this... this evil, and if I turn a blind eye and deaf ear to it, then that's exactly what I will be." While Storr was among the oldest of the few people he could call friend, Akiva spoke to him with the quiet fury of a man burdened with glorious purpose. "Obviously we must defer to Ari's experience in the realm of counterintelligence and espionage, but you represent the fourth pillar of Memory Theta. The Starfleet Marine Corps' separate chain of command may be our best line of defense if this Taskmaster is unable to get his fingers into it like we've seen from Intel and general command departments. Will you help us?"
Storr sighed before sitting back and stroking his short beard. This was a hard sell; if it had been anyone else that asked, he would have sent them packing. But what did joining this league of shadows truly bring him, his soon-to-be rapidly expanding family, his friends, or the Station at large? It seemed only trouble...but...he could not...no, would not let them ride out onto that field alone. He sighed again before sitting back up.
"Akiva, you're my best friend and I know you wouldn't have asked for the world if you didn't need it or think it warranted. I'm trusting you, and all of you here, with my life in this matter as clandestine activities are...not my forte. I will help in whatever way I can to help bring justice to this small corner of the galaxy."
That, as they say, was that.
And Jaya could no longer resist an affirming squeeze, though she opted for Storr's thigh in lieu of his hand. In matters of conscience, there would never be any doubt in her mind as to which direction Storr would ultimately take. Before all else, the man--her man--was a crusader.
"Thank you, old friend..." Akiva nodded at Storr with approving gratitude. "The security updates we've implemented since... Jumik... will serve us well in terms of physical infiltration, but what we've learned these past weeks is that the entire apparatus of Starfleet, including its bureaucracy and unsanctioned assets, can be weaponized against without warning. That is to say, our trip to Risa cannot be without measured steps. We will be at risk outside of our fortress. The sign we use to refer to our secret mission is simply this--" Akiva held his palm outward with no space between digits. "--for it is unsafe to discuss this except for the utmost secrecy. To that end, Storr, I am asking you and Ari to formulate strategies and protocols to maintain the safety of our group and expand it as quickly as possible. Risa is a rare blessing for shore leave, but we will not let this Taskmaster exploit us again."
Arianna nodded, "if we must discuss, make sure the place is away from prying eyes, and if inside, use either a scrambler," she pointed to the device on the table, "or ask Ferrofax to create a cone of silence. There are triggers in the system, certain words, like Castermer, that if spoken will alert the monitoring entities and send an alert to our or any Security team which will be ordered to arrest us. This is Security Council level classified, so we have to be really careful. Other than that, we need to act as if nothing is wrong, we go about our day to day business as per usual and we watch. We prepare in silence, away from prying eyes. Any information we find, we share with the group. Questions?"
Despite her presence in the original unscheduled event that led to this current meeting, Nandi still felt lost in the woods. Fortunately for her, Jaya gave voice to her body language.
"And how will we do that?" Jaya asked. "Let's say your evil Puppetmaster or whoever leaves a clue where I can find it. How do I safely share it with the group without letting him know?"
"The best way generally is to create a base where we can pool our info into. Air gapped systems are usually safest in this case. It means our database is not immediately connected to the wider network, and we have to input data into the wider net manually, or withdraw it the same way. That's for the physical. And we all have access to it." Ari replied, looking over at Jaya and Nandi. "We can also designate our information keeper, converer or what-have-you. One person in the group assigned to making sure everyone is up to date on everything. We shouldn't meet as a group too often to avoid suspicion, but we all need to be up to date."
A sullen thought came to Akiva just then. "I may have a solution for that..." He bit his lip. "Possibly. It's..." With a sigh, he ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know. I'll... I'll think it over."
Jaya could sense a surge of emotions rising up in the man. "What are you thinking, Akiva?"
But he just shook his head. "Not now. Let me investigate before I say any more. It might not even be feasible."
Storr watched and listened, curious about what Akiva was thinking because he had no inputs whatsoever. If it couldn't be shot, stabbed, punched, choked, tripped, kicked, or otherwise battered and pummeled, the Commandant was at a loss. Well, not completely. He had acquired the knack for paperwork (perish the thought) on the station but outside of burying their foe in supply inventory results, funding requests, personnel movement/management worksheets, and inspection checklists, Garlake was still at a loss as to his involvement. Regardless, he dedicated himself to at least understanding the problem as best he could and being a quick study. Perhaps something might still require a good, solid Marine knife hand.
"Don't subject her to it..." Arianna sighed inwardly at Akiva's words, "alright, we'll touch back on the alternative then." She looked around the group, "this as good a time as any to lay things on the table and ask what you want to ask."
"I have a question..." Nandi's posture was demure and her body language rather sheepish, but her tone and facial expression were both intense. "How the hell are we going to get out of this?"
Arianna looked over at Nandi. "Slowly, by playing the game and by being smarter than the other guy, hopefully. This is sadly not something we can just end. We need to do this right, by the book. We gather evidence, we gather motive, we analyze and then we act, whether alone or with help remains to be seen. Main thing is we trust and support eachother, because this will get worse before it gets better and we have to keep eachother up." Frost paused, observing Nandi, "how good's your analytical thinking?"
Pattern recognition, trend analysis, developmental simulations... Nandi was familiar with broad categories of analytical thinking, yet something told her that the Commander was thinking of something more specific. "Could you be more specific?"
"Every good setup needs a dedicated analyst to go through collected data. What each of us brings to the table in what what we find, we may be tainted in our view - so a fresh set of eyes to analyze what we have collected is always beneficial. Someone to look at the puzzle from above and see a fuller picture. You won't be alone in this, of course, but someone dedicated to such research is essential." Arianna explained, "so you may see a pattern emerging in all data we have collected that we might miss. Or you can form a behavioral analysis/profile from information we collect on Taskmaster, help us predict his next move even. See where I'm going with this?"
Making a face, Nandi said, "I suppose I could try? I'm a scientist, not a profiler..."
"It's in its essence the same thing. Data analysis. You have to analyze data in a different form of Science, sure." Arianna nodded, acknowledging the young woman's struggle. "I'm a profiler, sure, but a lot of it merely depends on my opinion of the data in front of me. Profiling is only so accurate, it's not an exact science. Profilers make mistakes just as much as anyone else. That's why we do it together and a decision on a profile is done together. Everyone's experience gets on the table. Mine, yours, Jaya's, the Captain's, the Colonel's and whever else is unlucky enough to be in this with us."
"So I'm the secretary..." Nandi let out a wry chuckle that turned high-pitched. "I can live with that. It's a start, at least." I have to do something, said her facial expression.
Arianna reached over and placed a hand on Nandi's hand. "I know it doesn't sound glamorous, but it's the best way for you to get a handle on what this will entail. And a little truth few spooks will ever admit? I'd give anything to go back to being an analyst. The things I've seen and been through since I'd moved into the field...I'd trade all of that to just be an analyst and many in my field feel the same, but they will never admit to it. That being said, I promise we will put all of your skills to use with time."
Taking a slow, calming breath, Nandi nodded her agreement. "I'll do my best," she promised.
Frost nodded, "I know." She squeezed the woman's hand again before looking over at the Captain, "sir, there's one more thing. In your personal docket, there is a file that I sent you during one of our conversations. It contains the database sent to me by Vokau that I haven't had the chance to take a crack at the time. It could give us information on how it connects to Taskmaster - may even lead us to who's pulling his strings."
"I... see..." Akiva deflated somewhat in hearing that his secret conversations with Ari from a month ago held ulterior motives. Should he be surprised? Intelligence operatives were trained to be as they are. "Well, it's a lead, which is more than we had. Let's recover the database and see what it shows." Pausing for a moment, he stifled his emotions and asked the more pertinent question. "Is there a way to safely access it without tripping all the safety precautions you mentioned?"
Arianna shook her head, "it shouldn't. I've isolated it from the keywords, besides, I never actually told anyone I did it, so at least with this we should have a leg up...I hope. I promise that's the only secret thing I sent over - it was just after Donnager" and I was feeling more paranoid and vulnerable than usual and it was the only safe place I could think of with someone I trusted. I'd just lost my team and Tarani betrayed us and the possibility of a leak...you were the only safe place I could think of." She felt she had to explain and she didn't care how it looked to her friends. She owed them the truth. She owed Akiva the truth.
No matter how hard it was going to be, and that one particular truth yet to come...was going to be the absolute hardest.
This group trusted her and now she needed to trust them. They could handle it...she hoped.
"Well, it sounds as though the Colonel is with us," Nandi said, "and we all have starting points. I should probably get back to Mrazak before he wonders what is taking so long with his Vulcan mocha..." A twinge went through her body as another sliver of her dignity died.
Ari nodded, "alright, we all best disperse too." She said as she collected herself again and stood up. "Good luck to us all."
"Mazal tov," Akiva agreed with a nod. He went straight for the exit without hesitation.
"Um... bye..." Nandi awkwardly waved her hand as she followed more slowly.
Arianna nodded to the Garlakes before leaving herself.
Once the others had left, Jaya turned a guilty look upon Storr. "I'm sorry for putting you through all of that." Her chin hung low as she stared up at him with her brown puppy dog eyes. "I hope you won't hold it against me." A faint smile curved her lips to one side. "Or maybe I hope you do..."
Garlake's entire body seemed to flash instantaneously from neutral to sun hot, his passions enflamed by Jaya's innocent, demure, yet coy demeanor. She was always attractive to him on many levels, even without the pheromones and emotional link they shared...the pregnancy amplified that attraction, her now-impossibly voluptuous body literally screaming its advertisement of fertility. And it was all his, because of him, because she lovingly submitted herself to him. He knew there was absolutely nothing he could have ever done for God to have blessed him so thoroughly, though as he picked up his nubile, squealing wife (carefully, of course), he figured the two could explore that blessing all the more to try and find out...
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