Homecoming

Posted on Mon Jun 15th, 2015 @ 10:04pm by Commander Oralia Zeferino & Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin & Admiral Lucius Hawke & Suresh

Mission: Further Challenges

The cha’Do

“We’ll reach the station in two hours.” Suresh’s voice came over the speaker in the galley where Li and Oz sat, drinking their hot chocolate.

Li lowered her mug with a sigh of relief. “I am so ready to get home, Oz. This has been the most….” She stopped and shook her head. “I don’t even know how to describe this trip.”

"There are lots of adjectives we could use. Harrowing. Exciting. ...and I've run out of inspiration," Oz said, sipping her chocolate. "Oh, delicious." She smacked her lips, actively tasting the drink. "I can't wait to touch Jackson."

Li gave a soft laugh. She had much the same feeling about Sakkath, though perhaps ‘touch’ was a bit mild. She suspected it was in Oz’s case too. “What do you think they’ve been doing while we were gone? Besides work? Meditate?”

"Sakkath has probably been meditating. I don't see Jackson doing that. I know he saw Eli, Chance and Iggy off; they've headed to Enara Prime to finalize Eli's pardon."

Li raised her eyebrow. “His pardon? What have I missed? And is he going alone? Surely not, I don’t know that I would trust them that far. And by them, I mean the powers that be on Enara, not Eli.”

"I told Gilroy to send a Security team with them, so they'll be safe." Oz shrugged. "I don't think we'll need to worry about them. Of course, I'll worry about those three anyway." She was a touch maternal about Iggy.

“I’ll be glad when it’s done and they are home. That kid deserves a little peace and it’s been a long time coming.” Li raised her mug for another sip. “I’ve sent a request on ahead for us all to have a couple of days off. We all need it to decompress, sleep, get clean...especially get clean.” She laughed. “And various other things that I won’t get into.”

"Mmhmm," Oz nodded. "Two hours." She wriggled in her seat, getting more comfortable. "What are we doing about Suresh? The living one, I mean."

“Good question. After this? He’s more than proven himself. And I am wondering about something Oz. What happens when we are home? On this trip the four of us have gotten pretty close and it’s been more of a group, not ranks, you know? What about that?”

"You mean Darwin? He and I have been beyond ranks for years, Li. Same as Gilroy. With you, he'll likely step back and call you Captain again." She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I'm a touch concerned about Suresh integrating into the Station's life." Even though Suresh had, with Li and Darwin, saved her life, Oz still retained a degree of distrust towards him. A tiny degree.

“Me too. I don’t sense that he has any desire to become the old Suresh, which is good, but where does that leave him? What will he do? And what about with us? How will Sakkath and Jackson take to him?” Li frowned a moment. “I can’t see you and I just dropping him and not interacting at all. It wouldn’t really be fair, would it?”

"No. I'll have to work with my team to get the message across that Suresh isn't a criminal still. Gilroy, in particular, I know would be happy to ...well, toss him in the brig and forget him there. He was Suresh's main investigator." She paused, sipped her drink then added, "What if we use him as an informant? Help him retake the old one's place and in exchange, he helps keep things south of the equator somewhat under control?"

“It’s an idea we could work with,” Li agreed. “It will mean that some things have to be overlooked, however. Perhaps you do that already? There’s so much business going on down there that it’s impossible to track it all. How do you handle that?”

"Intel doesn't have a monopoly on managing informants down there. Darwin handles a few of them, including Seyla," Oz watched Li. "We can track some of the business going; we've stopped everything from slave trading to an illegal fighting ring. Suresh was one of the most connected players, as you know, and his absence leaves a power vacuum that's causing a power struggle. Even with information from Seyla, we haven't quite located who's trying to move in on Suresh's businesses."

Li began to laugh at Oz’s words. “I can tell you who’s been running things since Suresh was arrested. It’s a man who was my watchdog down below and kept Suresh from going too crazy. He also provides information and to be honest, did a lot of behind the scenes stuff there near the end. His name is Lazan. How he and Seyla will work I don’t know. I also can’t predict how they will react to this Suresh moving in.”

"We know Lazan. He and Seyla have been both working together and against each other. It's funny how she'll rat him out on certain things. There's a possibility that she could be a way to install Suresh as a replacement."

"And Lazan might see him as a way to continue what he has in place and out-maneuver Seyla. However, it will all depend on what Suresh wants to do. And if he agrees, how will he explain being seen with us?” Li shrugged slightly. “Though me? That’s easy enough.”

"Has he been seen with us? Other than this trip?" Oz shrugged. "And in the future, we can simply arrest him then let him loose because we have no evidence, just like before." The idea rankled Oz, but only because the past Suresh had done that so often: skipped out on being prosecuted thanks to lack of evidence.

“And let everyone think it’s the original? That he has been released on appeal? Ray may have something to say about that.” Li moved her mug aside and leaned on the counter. “The old Suresh would be expected to dog my steps and take every chance he could to speak to me. So if this one is seen talking to me, those from down below will see it as normal.”

"I don't know that ...," Oz relented, "Maybe Ray could be convinced. But a lot of things would have to be explained away then. It might be easier just to admit what he is, or just not mention anything at all and let people speculate."

“Agreed there. Most of his minions would be too afraid to question him, as long as they don’t see the lack of scar,” Li answered. “I think it would be better all around as you suggest. The people below will think what they want and those above will know who he is so he can begin to make a life for himself.”

"Sometimes gossip can create the best cover stories. Shall we run this by Suresh?"

“As good a time as any,” Li agreed. “If he agrees, he’ll have to take the targ by the horns so to speak, as soon as we reach the station.”

"So will Darwin when he informs Seyla."

"What am I telling the green one?" Darwin slid down the ladder into the galley. He moved to the replicator and requested water.

"About Suresh, this one, taking over for the old Suresh," Oz told him. They had discussed the idea, briefly, already. Darwin nodded.

“Really?” Suresh had followed Darwin down the ladder after setting the autopilot. He looked from Darwin to Oz to Li and back to Oz. “Go on.”

"You know how large Suresh's network was, don't you? How many irons he had in the fires down under?" Oz asked him.

“I got a great idea, yes, in my days down below before we left. My reception was ..interesting. Most thought I was him still there and I didn’t bother to contradict them. I felt it was safer at the time. Seyla knows the truth, however. She may be a bit of an issue.” Suresh considered the idea for several seconds. “I think she has big plans.”

"She does," Darwin confirmed. "But, she might appreciate being a puppet master." He grinned at Suresh, chuckling.

“Explain, Dar,” Li requested.

"Let her, and Lazan, if he's up for it, keep Suresh's networks up and running. This Suresh can just be the face of their little empire. A figurehead." Darwin shrugged. "It's not a perfect solution, but it could put an end to the power struggle. Just for the record, that struggle has killed a few people."

“So I’ve heard,” Suresh said quietly. “We need to keep this from blowing up and having it happen again. That will keep my nose clean too where Security is concerned, I take it? I may have the face but I don’t want to get sucked into actually living the life.”

"You better keep your nose clean," Oz muttered, casting a dark look at Suresh.

Darwin's brows rose as he realized that Oz might not be completely over her distrust of Suresh. "Yeah, it means that Seyla and Lazan would be our targets if things start to get out of hand."

Suresh’s jaw tensed at Oz’s words. “Really Oz? After all we’ve been through? I’ll be the one putting my neck on the line and possibly in danger when one or the other of them decides to get rid of me and take over.” He stood and started back to the ladder. “I’ll think about it.” Moments later, he had vanished up the ladder to the upper deck.

Darwin shot his boss a disappointed look. Tossing her hands in the air, Oz exclaimed, "What? Oh, c'mon!" She huffed, stood and followed Suresh up the ladder.

Suresh had resumed his spot in the cockpit even though the autopilot was engaged. This last section was smooth sailing and his attention wasn’t needed until they were ready for the final approach and docking. He sat with his bare feet propped up on the conn, staring through the large portal before him.

Coming in behind him, Oz dropped into the copilot seat and, like Suresh, stared out the portal. "You can't expect me to just do a 180 on trusting you, Suresh. You carry his name and his face. He killed Connor, Chance...; he would have killed me. And it's not like you're a twin brother to him. You are him."

“No, I’m not! I risked my life to save yours. Isn’t that enough?” He took a deep breath and turned a little to face her. “I am no more him than you are who you were in my universe. You want to hear about her?”

"Do I really have a choice?" She looked over at him. "What about her?"

“Here, you and your team are close. Darwin obviously thinks the world of you. But there it was not so. The security officers feared that Oz. She didn’t have your heart or your compassion for people. She was extremely effective, sure, but it came at a cost - they followed orders because they had to, not because they respected her. She was dead by the time you arrived.” Suresh paused and rubbed his eyes. “She was killed by her assistant chief. He thwarted her assassination attempt on that Admiral. It was discovered then that she was working for the enemy, though we didn’t know she answered to Nahi until the team from your universe exposed him. So...by your theory, you would be her, and yet I know that is as far from the truth as you can get.”

She blinked a few times. He knew her as a tyrant feared by her own team, but he could see beyond that to what she was here, in this universe. Chewing her bottom lip, she stayed silent a long time, debating whether she could really let him be a bigger person than she was. "Well, looks like you and I had opposite personalities in our realities." She glanced at him but returned to staring out the forward portal. "I'll keep that in mind, Suresh."

He studied her for several seconds before he spoke. “What will it take, Oz?”

"Maybe just hearing that I'm a tyrant, was a tyrant in another universe. And you did save my life - you, Darwin and Li." Again, she glanced at him. "I still have to convince Gilroy, you know."

Suresh nodded. “He seems the sort that will respect what I did. You can’t argue with results.” He gave her a half smile. “This idea of yours is going to be a dangerous one. I can handle it but I’ll need to know who is on my side.”

"I'm on your side, Suresh," she asserted. "But, yes, having Seyla and Lazan use you as a figurehead will be dangerous. You'd be able to reach out to me, Darwin, Gilroy (once I talk to him), or Li, though, if you felt threatened. Think on it; there's no need to decide right this minute."

"I have ninety minutes. Because you know that the moment we land, it’s all or nothing. We have Seyla to confront on her assistance and she won’t like any of us for killing him. So if I’m in, I can’t show weakness for a second and you know that,” he replied. “She will be looking for a chink in my armour to use to get her revenge.”

"Darwin will confront her. You could stay in Security's secure housing or in Intel's for a while. Or return home. We could assign Suresh's old quarters to you."

"His will be fine. It’s all about the appearance, yes?” he asked. “Staying hidden will make her smell fear.” Suresh shook his head. “And that will be the end of me. Besides, I lived through a war, I can do this. Li already has a good contact place to pass information, have her tell you. It should work just fine.” Finally, he reached over to touch Oz’s arm. “Jackson is a lucky man.”

"He's not the only lucky one," she laughed. "And I look forward to seeing him." She shifted in the chair. "All right, then we'll get Seyla and Lazan convinced and you'll be the most feared underlord on the Station."

“You want to convince Seyla? Threaten to send her off to the same place you sent her lover for helping him escape. I think she’ll see reason.” He turned to check the conn and nodded. “Everything’s fine. Let’s go give them the news.”

"After you," Oz gestured towards the aft of the ship then trailed behind Suresh till they ended up in the galley again, where Li and Darwin were.

Suresh crossed the galley to stop behind Li. He rested his hands on her shoulders, then leaned in to breath in her scent. He gave her shoulders a squeeze, then winked at Darwin.

Dar's jaw dropped and he yelled, "Hey! Don't be creepy! That's really out of line!" Suresh was lucky he didn't have anything to throw at him.

"Getting a headstart on acting like the old Suresh?" Oz shook her head as she reclaimed her mug of chocolate. "He's in for the plan. Darwin, you'll talk with Seyla?" He nodded, still glowering at Suresh.

“Rehearsing, Suresh?” Li laughed in spite of Darwin’s glare. She reached up to rest her hand over his. “That was very good by the way. I think you’ll be believed. The old one was very scent-oriented.” She removed her hand from Suresh’s and reached over to nudge Darwin. “Convincing, remember?”

"Very," Darwin grumbled.

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Captain Li Hawke
Commander Oralia Zeferino
Lt. M. Darwin
Plotting

Suresh
Getting Into The Role