Duty and Desire - 20801.01
Captain Everett Williams sat behind his desk, in the office of Strategic Operations aboard Starbase Alpha. The small stand on his desk showed his position of Chief Cardassian Strategic Adviser. His desk also held his computer, a few PADDs and a picture of his wife, his wife who had died under “classified” circumstances. Williams picked up the picture, stared at it, into the holographic amber eyes of his wife. He stroked his thumb over the photo, a look of sadness and determination in his eyes.
A knock on his door awoke him from his trance.
“Enter.” He said, putting the picture down.
The door opened, and Ensign James Thomas, Everett’s new secretary, walked in. The junior officer stopped in front of the desk and saluted, only dropping his hand after Williams begrudgingly stood and returned the salute.
Everett sat back down, a look of annoyance on his face. This fresh officer knew his duties and regulations, and did them with annoying perfection.
“Report Ensign.” The Captain said, picking up a PADD, parsing through it as he half paid attention to Ensign.
“Sir, three men are here to see you. A Captain, a Commander, and a man in a brown cloak.”
Everett put his PADD down hard and looked the Ensign in the face.
“And why are they not in here?” he said, a little testily.
“Sir regulations state-“
“I know what the regulations say about alerting a Captain to unknown guests. Do you really believe an assassin would be accompanied by a Captain and a Commander?” Williams challenged.
“No sir.” The Ensign replied, beaten.
“Good.” Williams stood and began walking towards the door, “Let them in. I will be busy with these men for a while. Take the next hour off.”
“But-“
“Ensign. I want you out of my office for the next hour.” Williams was growing impatient.
“Yes sir.”
Ensign Thomas saluted again, and Williams returned it much to his chagrin, before Thomas turned on his heel and allowed the three men from outside to enter. They pushed past him, the cloaked man bumping into him, and without a pause continuing into the Captain’s office.
As the doors were closing the Commander spoke to Captain Williams, “Your secretary seems to be a stickler for regulations.”
“Annoyingly so.” Williams returned.
After the doors had fully closed the man in the cloak took it off, revealing his pointed ears, and a Star Fleet uniform with the rank of Petty Officer First Class. But that wasn’t this man’s rank, nor was he Star Fleet.
“Everett,” Captain Harry Falcone began, “This is Major Tehnar, our Tal Shiar friend.”
“Good to finally meet the man helping us start a war.” Everett droned, offering his hand to the Romulan.
James sat his desk, frustrated and angry. His commanding officer was annoyed with him for doing his duties and following regulations, and something was bothering him about those men whom he’d let into the office.
He’d been ordered to take a break, why not? He stood from his desk and stomped to the turbo lift.
“Promenade. Drunken Tribble level.”
The doors closed and the lift began its signature whirring.
“What is wrong with that man!?” James yelled aloud.
He knew Captain Williams was a widower, he’d read his superior’s file like any “annoying” Ensign would. But that had been several years ago. How long would it take him to get over an accident? Why should he take out an old wound on a fresh officer, and risk damaging the career of said officer? Wouldn’t a Captain know better?
The turbo lift halted and the doors opened, he was right across from the Drunken Tribble, and in a few moments was sitting at the bar, immersed in the atmosphere of the pub. As a server walked passed, James grabbed his attention and made an order.
“Scotch. And I want the whole bottle.”
` “You don’t seem too happy.” James turned to the sound of the voice and found one of the new friends he’d made on the Starbase since posting here, one of the barkeeps, a man by the name of Smith Johnson.
“Hold that drink.” Smith ordered the other barkeep, who put the bottle back and turned to another customer as Smith walked over to James. Smith was a dark-skinned man from central Africa, back on earth. He was an older man, with the hair on the side of his head almost completely grey with more grey speckling the top of his head.
“To my knowledge James, you should be on duty, and officers don’t drink on duty. Follow me.”
Smith led James over to a side table, away from the main crowd, and poured him a glass of synthehol.
“So why are you down in the Tribble trying to order some real alcohol when you should you be up in the Strategic Operations office?”
James took a drink before responding, “Captain Willaims dismissed me, after some men came to meet with him. One of them was in a brown robe concealing his face, and he slammed into me as they went into his office. Then one of the men meeting him, a commander thought it would be entertaining to poke some fun at me for following regulations and warning the captain before admitting the three men. Captain Williams seemed agreed with him.”
“Bad mouthing your superior? That doesn’t sound a lot like you James.” observed Smith.
“Maybe he deserves it. What makes him so angry at me? I’ve done nothing! I know about his wife but it’s been a long time, why should he still be so angry about that?”
“You ever been in love James?”
“Well there was this one girl back in high school-“
“That’s not love James. You’re too young to have known true love. Love you would kill and die to defend. Do you know how Captain Williams’ wife died?”
“An accident wasn’t it? Shuttle crash or something?”
“So you’ve read the “official” record.” Smith chuckled sadly and shook his head, “She was a security officer, who was sent into a situation no security officer should be sent into without a whole lot more support than she had. She and a small team were sent to recover two Star Fleet officers who’d been captured near the Carddie border by Marquis terrorists to be held hostage. Turned into a hornet’s nest and the Marquis shot her shuttle down. By the time that Star Fleet sent another extraction team in, three days later, she’d been captured and killed by an Obsidian Order team that was taking action against the Marquis. They claimed they thought she was one of them and killed her along with the other Marquis. Everett blames both Star Fleet and the Carddies for her death.”
“How do you know that?” James seemed mystified.
“I wasn’t always a barkeep.” Smith flipped back his collar. On the inside he was wearing the rank pips of a commander. “I was with him when he found out, I was his friend, and his first officer. After a lengthy leave of absence he took a transfer, and I retired, to keep an eye on him.”
James set his mug down, and stared off at the wall. Lost in thought.
“You might want to be a bit kinder James. He’s been through more than you can even know at this point in your life.” Smith advised as he stood up and returned to the bar.
James finished his drink, thought a bit more, and then setting it down the mug set off for the Office of Strategic Operations.
He stepped off the turbo lift and plopped down at his desk. He wasn’t technically on duty, so he opened a book on his computer and grabbed some ear buds so he could listen to music. As he was putting the buds in, he heard voices. Taking a look at his computer screen, he realized that the comm. to Captain Williams’ office had been left open. He went to close it, but something told him not to. Instead, he listened in.
“Let’s go over it once more.” A voice said, it sounded almost Romulan to James.
“Do you not think we’re capable of this?” Captain Williams.
“Of course I do. If this were a team of my own operatives, I would do the same. A final summary before the plan is enacted.” The Romulan voice again.
“Fine.” This was another voice, the Commander who had mocked James earlier, “Markel and I will pilot the Hideki ship, while you, along with Everett will take the Hidden Vengeance. We go to the rendezvous location for the Federation and Cardassian diplomats. When they drop their shields for transport we both de-cloak and open fire, destroy both ships, and then disappear. Once the distress beacons are recovered, or even better, if they get a distress call out, Star Fleet Command and the Central Command ought to be angry enough to start a war for us.”
James couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Treason. And Williams seemed to be in on it.
“Good, then we’re finished here. Be on your ships by 1530.” The Romulan voice ordered.
James glanced at his chronometer, it was 1457. James quickly closed the comm. channel, put the ear buds in and started his music.
The door opened and James looked away as the three Star Fleet men, and the man in the robes, who James was certain was a Romulan spy, left the office.
“Thomas!” Captain Williams said loudly, making James jump, “I thought I said you were dismissed from duty for the hour.”
Williams had stopped while the rest of the men entered the turbo lift and left, not even hesitating for their partner in crime.
James turned to face the Captain and spoke, his voice calm, but he was sweating.
“I am off-duty sir. I’m reading a book.” James turned his console so that Williams could see.
“Hmm.” Was all Williams offered before he left in the turbo lift.
James breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the captain was gone, and he stumbled over himself as he ran to the turbo lift.
“Main Security Deck!” He yelled, as if it would make the lift go faster.
As soon as the doors opened he ran off and down the hall to the Main Security Office. He was breathing heavily as put his hands down on the reception desk and leaned over, catching his breath.
“I’m Ensign Thomas from the StratOp office. Captain Williams is planning to attack the diplomatic envoy meeting with the Cardassians!”
The security officer on duty, a Lieutenant, cocked his eyebrow at James.
“Attacking the envoy eh? That’s a pretty heady charge Ensign. Do you have any evidence to prove this?” inquired the Lieutenant as he stood up out of his chair and walked around his desk.
“I overheard them meeting in his office, planning it.”
“Them?”
“There was a Romulan, and two Star Fleet Officer’s with him.”
James was catching his breath now, and he had calmed down slightly. He could tell that this lieutenant neither believed him nor was planning on helping him.
“Did you happen to record this meeting?”
“Well, it would be in the audio storage buffer on my computer.”
“Okay. Well Ensign, I’m going to have you come sit down here, and I’ll get someone to take you to your quarters.” The security officer then turned towards another officer. “Jason, I’ve got a guy who spent too much time in the Tribble and is claiming his boss has gone AWOL.”
Great. James thought, ignoring the rest of the conversation that went on behind him, I get to do this myself.
James took off running out the door and down the hall.
“Hey! HEY!” The officer yelled behind him, “Lieutenant Avers to Security Barracks. I’ve got an AWOL drunk officer loose on the main security deck. Requesting back-up!”
James tore off his comm. badge and threw in down on the ground, they’d trace him with it. He opened the turbo lift and headed back to the StratOp office. He needed to grab something there, and he hoped that security hadn’t called his office already.
His hopes turned out well, no one tried to stop him as he walked over to his desk and sat down behind it. He reached up into a hidden compartment in his desk and grabbed the phaser that was hidden there. It was one of the smaller type 1 phaser, and he tucked it snuggly in his boot.
Next he logged onto his computer and ran a quick search on the docked ship manifest. He quickly found what he was looking for, a small freighter with the name of Hidden Vengeance.
He closed his computer station, and briskly walked out into the StratOp foyer. The turbo lift opened in front of him, and a short glimpse told him the occupants were wearing orange. James ducked into a side doorway and waited for the security officers to pass. Once the coast was clear, he slipped into the turbo lift as the doors closed just behind him.
“Docking level 15, station B.”
James fell against the wall and slid to the floor, completely overwhelmed. He held his head in his hands.
“How did this day go so wrong?”
He did his duty, he was just doing is job. Now the station security was looking for him as a rampaging drunk, while his commanding officer was headed off to start a war. He looked as his chronometer, 1509.
His thoughts slipped back to the academy, which wasn’t too long ago. He’d always had the answer there. It was always in this book, or in that regulation. What now? There was no course at the academy that told you how to deal with a rouge captain.
The turbo lift stopped, and James pulled himself to his feet as he stepped out onto the deck. There was a crowd of people filling the cavernous corridor. Smaller corridors leading off to the various ships were embedded in the wall every few hundred yards. It only took him a few minutes to get to the door he was looking for. Glancing around, he couldn’t see the man in the cloak, or Captain Williams. Taking a deep breath, James opened the door and walked down the corridor.
Captain Everett Williams was seated in a private booth in the Drunken Tribble, a half empty bottle of rum and a mug to match sitting on the table. He had fifteen minutes before he needed to be aboard the Vengeance, and he planned on spending those fifteen minutes doing what he’d been best at in those months after his wife’s death, drinking.
In his hands he held the picture of her, staring at it. It was a picture taken of her on her first tour of duty, when she’d met Everett. She was in her dress uniform, which was unusually flattering on her, and her long, blond hair was braided.
A small smile appeared on one corner of his mouth, something that hadn’t happened in almost two years, as he remembered taking the picture. Some fancy dinner that the captain had thrown, and she had asked him accompany her. It was highly unusual, but she was an unusual girl. She made no
attempt to cover up that she liked him, and he felt the same way about her. Only a month later they were married.
The smile disappeared as the memory faded, and Everett remembered what he was planning.
“I’m doing this for you Claire. I’m doing this to get revenge on Star Fleet, for not rescuing you, and on the Cardassians for murdering you.”
He folded the picture and put it back into his pocket. Glancing at his Chronometer he saw that he had only ten minutes left. He emptied his mug, slammed it down on the table, and then grabbed the bottle as he stood to leave.
He was almost out the door when Smith grabbed his arm.
“Everett. That’s a lot of rum. Are you okay?” The older man asked.
“I’m fine Smith, better than I’ve been in almost two years.” Everett replied, with an obviously forced tone of happiness.
Smith released his arm, but still looked at him suspiciously. “If you say so Everett.”
Everett looked at Smith for a few seconds more and then turned and left. Smith watched him go for a few seconds before returning to the bar.
“I’m taking the rest of the day off.” He told another barkeep as he grabbed his jacket and left the Drunken Tribble, heading towards the space dock.
At the end of the corridor James found that the door to the ship was sealed with a voice print lock. He pulled out an MGE and removed the covering off of the locking mechanism. Beads of sweat ran down his forehead as he worked, jumping at the slightest sound. But after a bit of jury-rigging with his MGE and tri-corder, he was passed the lock. If there was one thing he’d excelled in at the academy, it was hacking computer systems.
The door slid open and James replaced the casing before stepping inside, drawing his phaser from his boot as he did so. He’d entered into a hallway, and after a few tentative steps the door closed silently behind him, blocking out the much brighter lighting of the Starbase corridor.
The ship was surprisingly clean for a freighter, but still held the same Spartan design he’d expected. After a bit of a mental debate, James decided to go right, towards the aft of the ship.
After about thirty meters, James heard footsteps behind him. Panicking, he dove through an open door into a dark room, and landed with a thud on a hard, cold floor. Feeling around, he found some sort of table or bed to his left and he slid under it, hugging the floor as the footsteps drew closer.
Two Romulans, in Tal Shiar uniforms marched passed, shoulder to shoulder.
What am I doing here?! James yelled to himself as to footsteps receded, I have no plan, no help, and no idea what I am doing?! Then he had his answer, I’m doing my duty, to the people of the Federation. Sacrificing for something larger than myself.
He stayed under the covering until he felt to ship break dock, and stayed there as he felt her go into warp, and then stayed there for an hour more. During that time he’d calmed down and formulated a plan.
About every ten minutes a Tal Shiar patrol would pass, and after the third or fourth pass, James realized it was the same two Romulans every time. The first part of his plan was to take the two of them out. Then he would sneak to the engineering compartment and sabotage the engines and cloaking system.
He heard the patrol coming and gripped his phaser tighter in preparation. He was shaking violently as he slipped out from under the covering and silently stepped out into the corridor once the patrol had passed. He set the phaser to wide stun, and fired at the two Romulans. Without a cry or any other noise they both collapsed onto the deck.
He quickly dragged them both into his hiding room, which turned out to be a small bunk room, and jammed the door closed on them. After they were sealed in good and tight, he slipped down the hallway, towards what he hoped was the engine compartment.
The small bridge of the Hidden Vengeance held only four occupants; Captain Williams, Major Tehnar, and two Romulan crewmen manning the helm and weapons. Everett stood with his hands clasped behind his back, staring off into the space outside the glass windshield covering the fore of the bridge.
“You seem quite withdraws Mister Williams.” Major Tehnar observed, moving to stand next to Everett, “Think. In only a few hours, we will bring about a war that will weaken the Federation, Cardassians, and the Klingons after they undoubtedly join in the conflict. Leaving the Romulans to clean up after the mess and bring the entire quadrant under a single, glorious power. You and your friends will be rewarded handsomely for you part in this.”
Everett whirled around and looked the Romulan right in the face, not blinking, not flinching.
“You may be in this for conquest and glory Romulan, but not me. I’m here for one reason and one reason alone. Revenge. I want Star Fleet and those spoon heads to feel the pain they gave me. Let them kill each other off. I don’t care if the Romulans, the Klingons or the Fracking Ferengi conquer whatever’s left afterwards.”
Everett stared a moment longer, and then left the bridge, heading for somewhere, mostly just to wander the ship, alone with his thoughts.
James had reached the engineering room, and a quick glance around the bulkhead told him there was only two Romulans in the room. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Calm down.” He whispered, “You can do this.”
Opening his eyes, James whipped around the corner of the bulkhead and with two quick shots downed both engineers. Holstering his phaser he moved quickly to the main control console, stepping over the engineer who had been manning the station. One thing had been bothering him since he’d heard them planning, the Hideki would convince the Federation that the Cardassians were involved, but how would a freighter convince the Cardassians that the Federation killed their diplomats? The answer came to him as he looked over the system power requirements on the main console.
The ship had a holo-cloak.
“A holo-cloak?!” James exclaimed.
“That’s right.” A voice answer sinisterly.
James whirled around just in time to see a Tal Shiar operative fire a green beam at him. He felt a numbness in his fingers and toes which quickly flew through his body. His eyesight grew dim, and then black as he lost consciousness.
“He’s waking up Major.”
James was dimly aware of what he heard as his vision slowly returned, blurry at first. He tried to reach his hands up to wipe his eyes, but found he couldn’t. After a few moments of struggling, his eyesight cleared enough for him to see he was in a chair, with his arms and legs restrained.
Looking forward he saw that there were three other people in the small room with him: Captain Williams, and two Romulans, one of which wore the uniform and rank of a Tal Shiar Major.
“Welcome aboard Mister Thomas.” The Major began in a friendly voice, “I apologize we did not have a welcoming committee to help you as soon as you’d stepped aboard. Oh well, all water under the bridge so to speak. Now, who sent you? Who else knows you are here?”
“No one, I didn’t tell anyone.” James slurred, still a bit groggy from the stun blast.
A sharp pain shot through his leg, and he screamed, now wide awake, as the Tal Shiar had slammed a heavy pipe into James leg, snapping it.
“Wrong answer.” The friendly voice was gone.
[Major Tehnar, please come to the bridge, we are approaching the rendezvous location.]
The Tal Shiar man sighed.
“I can finish things here.” Captain Williams spoke up.
The Major looked at him, sizing him up, “Have you ever interrogated someone before?”
“No. But I can use my imagination.”
Captain Williams sinister tone seemed to satisfy the Major. “Fine, this is all irrelevant anyway, this will all be over too soon for anyone to stop us. I’ll leave the guard outside if you need him.”
“I won’t.” Williams returned, sounding quite sadistic.
The two Romulans left the small interrogation room closing the door behind them.
Williams paced the room, never taking his gaze off of James. After a few minutes of this, James shaking and almost wetting himself, Williams finally spoke.
“What do you think you are doing here Ensign?!”
“Stopping you.” James was surprised how strong his voice was.
“You have no idea what’s involved here! You have no idea of my motives!”
“I can guess, and I don’t think she’d want you to do this.”
Williams lashed out, hitting James square in the stomach. James would have crumpled over and collapsed if he wasn’t held firmly in the chair.
“Don’t you DARE tell me what she would want! You never knew her! You don’t know what happened!”
“I know enough. Smith Johnson isn’t only your friend. He told me what happened. He also told me that you loved her. I may know have ever known love, but I do know a few things about it. Mainly what my grandpa taught me. ‘Never taint love by turning it into anger or revenge.’”
Captain Williams stared at James a bit longer, his face seeming to soften. Then suddenly he pulled his fist back and swung, hitting James in the temple and knocking him out cold.
Everett stepped out of the interrogation room, leaving the door open.
“Well? Did you learn anything?” inquired The Tal Shiar guard.
“Only one thing. I’ve learned that I chose the wrong side.”
Everett whipped out his disruptor and shot the Romulan square in the gut, killing him instantly. Without a moment’s hesitation he slipped back into the room, cut James’ restraints and dragged him out of the interrogation room, past the body of the Romulan guard he’d shot, the wide eyed look of betrayal still evident on his face. It didn’t take very long for him to drag the Ensign to the nearest escape pod and load him in.
He closed the door of the pod and was about to push the eject button, when he heard a voice behind him.
“What do you think you are doing, Human?” Tehnar accused.
Everett sighed, gripped his disruptor, and then slammed the eject button as he whirled around and fired.
Smith sat in the cockpit of his small cloaked runabout-sized ship. He’d locked onto the freighter’s ion trail as it left the station, and then it’s warp coil frequency, and had followed it all the way here, where it had dropped out of warp, only a few hundred kilometers from a Federation Zeus class light cruiser and a Cardassian Ganar Class frigate, both broadcasting a diplomatic transponder signal. He’d didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t like it.
Suddenly a new contact showed up on his scanners, an escape pod from the freighter. A quick ID scan revealed Ensign Thomas was aboard, unconscious, with a badly broken leg.
“Oh, what did you get yourself into James?” Smith wondered aloud as he moved into position to pick up the pod.
Everett sat in the helm of the Hidden Vengeance, switching controls over to manual thrusters. The door was closed, locked, and jammed behind him, welded shut courtesy of the helmsman’s disruptor. The bodies of the two bridge crew members were lying on the floor.
After Everett had stunned Tehnar, he moved to the bridge and taken out the pilots. The first one had dropped without much resistance, but the other one had pulled a knife and Everett’s disruptor had chosen the perfect time to run out of energy.
It was quick fight, the Rommie obviously thought he was a much better knife fighter than he really was. He’d gotten one lucky slash in though before Everett had dispatched him. He’d cut a major artery on Everett’s leg. He was losing a lot of blood, but he didn’t care much. He didn’t plan on living much longer anyway.
He locked course onto the Hideki ship accompanying the Hidden Vengeance, but hadn’t engaged yet. There was a banging on the door to the bridge, apparently Everett’s stun hadn’t been too effective on Tehnar. The Romulan screamed a string of curse words, insulting everything from Everett himself, to his grandmother’s upbringing. But Everett didn’t care.
He pulled out the photograph one more time. A tear fell from his eye as he lifted the picture and softly kissed it.
“This time I do it for you. I’m doing something good, I’m fixing this mistake, and I’m doing it for you.”
Everett slammed his fist down on the engage button, and the ship lurched sharply as it shot directly up at full thrusters, right into the belly of the Hideki scout just above it.
James jaw dropped as he watched the explosion of the two ships from the cockpit of Smith’s runabout.
“He didn’t go through with it. I actually changed his mind.”
“I knew he wouldn’t let it happen. He may have been angry, but he was a good man.” Smith lamented has his scan again revealed no life signs, “Let’s go home. I suspect Star Fleet Security will want to talk to you James.”
James watched the wreckage as long as he could, until the ship had done a full turn, and Smith fired up the warp engines. As they left the scene, James pondered what he really desired out of a Star Fleet career, and who he really owed his duty to. It wasn’t as cut and dried as it used to be to him.
