The Rest Of The Story

Posted on Tue Jul 14th, 2015 @ 8:00pm by Commander Dae Nalas & Ensign Six of Ten & Vic

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Intel Decks

* Intel Offices *

“Phoebe, when she gets here, bring her down to the conference room. Vic’s waiting for me there already and we’ll get this show on the road,” Dae ordered.

"Aye sir,” she answered and checked the time as Dae departed. The new arrival was due in ten minutes.

Dae reached the conference room, wishing he’d had that fourth cup of coffee. It had already been a long morning and it wasn’t even lunch time yet. He stepped in and waved Vic back into his seat.

“Good morning Vic. I know it’s hella early for you and for that I apologize but this can’t wait. I’d intended to have Leto work on this particular project but you are much better suited, given your apparent civilian status.”

Vic grinned. "Early doesn't bother me. I'm eager for something new," he said. Truth was, he was happy to have something to take his mind off Six. Hell, off women in general. "What's this project?"

“It’s somewhat complicated,” Dae answered as he sat down. “First, I need to update you on something that happened in the wee hours.” He passed Vic a padd. “Ensign Reva Madhava. She’s been spending a lot of time down at Seyla’s and according to Darwin, it seems running a little wild. Last night, or rather early this morning, she was severely beaten down in the Pit. She’s fine, still in Piper till later today. Two weeks on house arrest for her antics down there. That’s sort of where this all starts.”

Wincing at the image on the padd, Vic paged through the report quickly. "I know her. She's a friend. We hunted down a spider with a couple of cadets. Darwin's investigating who did this, right? That's not what I'm doing, is it?"

“No.” Dae shook his head. “We know who did it and why, and here’s where things get complicated. We are running a joint operation with Security and it involves Suresh. You are aware he’s not the original since we were given the report on the hunt for the original when he escaped from Elba II.”

"Yeah. I had some real-time updates on that hunt, too, since Oz was injured. Jackson was about out of his head over it," Vic frowned. "Go on."

“With the exit of the original Suresh, things down below were reaching the danger point. It seems everyone and his dog wanted to take over and if we allowed that to continue, it would turn into chaos and likely the loss of a lot of lives. So, to make a long story short, we have put this new Suresh there to stabilize things. He’s not resorting to the original’s activities, of course, but he is maintaining the image. They all think that he somehow switched places with the new one and sent the new one off to prison. So, since they are all so afraid of him, things have settled down. Mostly. That’s where this gets a little twisted.”

"Reva stepped in something bigger than she knows, didn't she? Was Six with her? Lately they seem to be a matched pair - at least till Six quit because she's dating Suresh... Oh shit," Vic rolled his eyes and looked at Dae. "She didn't quit, did she?"

“I’m getting to that. Last evening, Reva jumped on Suresh’s shit about his being the cause of Six giving up her commission and dumped a drink on him in the middle of Saturnalia. Suresh couldn’t just beat her down like the old one, so Seyla stepped in. She sent two of hers to make the point and word got around that Suresh had exacted his revenge on Reva. You see the problem here?”

"I know Seyla can be sly and crafty, but... outright violence? She's helping place the new Suresh as the old?" He was a little rocked back by the news. But he nodded at Dae's question and added, "Yeah, I do see the problem. But where do I come in?"

“We have someone undercover down there now, but they are new to the Intel world. They are far from helpless, but they need some training. You will be the contact.” Dae paused, looking back to Vic. “To answer your previous question, no, Six did not resign.”

Standing, Vic groaned and paced to the window then back. "Well, shit," he said. "I just blew her off at Java and let her know what I think of her intelligence. And now I'm her contact. This'll be fun. Am I training her, too? Full-boat training or just specific topics?"

“All of it. Our goal here is to keep her alive and out of the danger zone that Reva stepped into. Granted, she has the long shadow of Suresh looming over her and with the regulars, that should keep her safe. It’s the visitors that may be her problem if they decide to strike at Suresh.” Dae watched Vic pace and shook his head. “If it helps, I’m sure she understands you could only react to what you knew at the time.” Dae fell silent and suddenly realized what he was picking up from Vic. “Oh.”

Knowing Dae had just read his emotions about Six, about having let that opportunity slip away, Vic stopped pacing and stood looking out the window. "Yeah. Oh. Fine. When do we start?"

“How’s now?” The voice that spoke belonged to Six, who stood at the door.

Dae stood and motioned her on into the room. “Welcome. I think you know Vic? He’ll be working with you and also establishing contact points.” He looked back to Vic. “I’ll be in my office if you have any questions.” He turned and departed, leaving them alone.

Vic stabbed Dae in the back with a vicious glare then turned a carefully neutral face to Six. "Morning, Six."

“Hi Vic.” She paused, more than a little uncertain how to proceed. But, as usual, her directness took the reins. “Look, I’m sorry I had to lie to you yesterday. At the time, I didn’t know you were part of this and I wasn’t allowed to say anything. It’s such a closely guarded secret and no one outside this department and security knows. What I said to you is what the general public is supposed to believe, even my closest friends. Until yesterday, that included you.”

"I didn't know I was part this yesterday. We'll need to arrange a code phrase and way for you to contact me if you're in trouble. You can always arrange to meet Reva at the Nexus, make it look like a girls' night, so that you can pass a message to me, either through one of the servers or directly to me." He fell into trainer mode and began telling her the ropes and rules of Intel work. They made arrangements for a meeting place and time as well as contingency plans. "In the next few days, we'll assess your hand-to-hand skills and weapons knowledge. Any questions?"

Six shook her head. “Got it. If we spar, I’ll have to be careful. I don’t want to break anything of yours.” Her expression made it clear she wasn’t joking.

"Too bad Nick isn't around," Vic muttered, "He'd take that as a definite challenge to his manliness." He laughed. "Maybe, then we'll use the holosuite training room and give you a couple of Klingons to fight. We'll work that out, Six. For now, I've given you a lot to process."

She nodded and drummed her fingers on the table. “So what happens now? Am I forgiven for cancelling dinner?”

He sighed. "Yeah. I didn't care that you canceled dinner. I was upset you had quit the Fleet because of Suresh. Still not happy about you and him but.... What happens now is you go home to Suresh and I'll get word to you on when and where to meet me for more training."

“At least you know he’s not what everyone else thinks he is.” She sat, watching Vic for several seconds. “Can I ask you something?”

He nodded, "You'll have to be okay with people thinking he's something he isn't. Reva, in particular. I understand she doesn't like him, and now... she's got damned good reason. What's your question?"

“She never hesitates to tell me exactly what she thinks of him. I have to admire you Intel people, however. This makes me appreciate what you go through for the job sometimes. I don’t think anyone on the outside really knows what it takes out of you...like having everyone you know think you’re under the sway of a killer.” She shrugged. “My question….after we had dinner at Lao’s, why didn’t you ever call?”

He coughed. He wasn't expecting that question. "Ah... it wasn't lack of interest, Six. I just move slower than some." He shrugged.

“I understand. Things don’t always work out as we predict, do they? Often, you just never see it coming at all.” She rose and stopped to rest her hand on his arm. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

"Yeah," he nodded and watched her leave. This was not going to be a fun assignment for him.

************
Lt. Commander Dae Nalas
Hoping For The Best

Vic (Lieutenant)
Conflicted

Ensign Six of Ten
Getting Down To Serious Business