So Much For A Quiet Morning

Posted on Sat Dec 12th, 2015 @ 3:16am by Lieutenant Commander Kh'ali & Admiral Ricky Wegener

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Admiral Wegener's Office

* * * Deck 6 - Wegener’s Office * * *

The past few days had been more than eventful for several on 900. The most pressing on Rick’s mind was the group that had just returned from Bajor in 2360. Having been involved in the event back in that time, his memories were muddled with what had originally happened along with what had changed. He still wasn’t sure how that was possible. As he sat as his desk sipping old whiskey, he thought about that. Normally the events changed in the past would erase all memory of the other timeline’s existence, but for some reason, Rick, Lucius and the rest of those on 900 who were involved, could remember both sets of memories. He was determined to bring that up with Commander Winter to see if she could shed any light on it.

In addition to Bajor, he was now being advised that a team had just encountered a downed Borg vessel. Other than Six, Rick never wanted to meet another Borg. He hadn’t heard back from the team yet and was getting more concerned by the hour.

He stood and walked to the bar to refill his drink.

The console on his desk beeped and Hope’s voice came through. “Admiral Wegener?” It was her official voice, which meant someone else was out there. “Legate Zikar is here and would like to see you.” Despite her smooth tone, it was clear she was more than a little unsettled.

He stopped pouring his drink. “Legate what again?” he asked, very confused.

“Legate Zikar,” she replied. “He’s just arrived from Cardassia Prime and would like to pay his respects.”

“I see,” he said, finishing pouring. “One second, Lieutenant,” he said, then tapped his communicator. “Wegener to Ensign Ware.”

Ensign Steve Ware, the on duty flight control officer in C&C, tensed when he heard the hail. “Ware here, sir.”

“So, is there something you might need to tell me?” Rick asked. “Maybe something about a random Cardassian ship that decided to dock with us allowing some Legate somethingorother to come knocking at my door?”

The comm was quiet a few moments until finally, “S-sorry, Admiral. I--”

“Steve, ol’ buddy,” Rick said, trying to calm him a bit, “I need to know these things, okay? Especially if it means I’m going to be getting visitors. What if he just showed up and I was waltzing around here in a weird outfit, or something? I need time to prepare, see?” He sighed. “Okay, when you get a chance, slap yourself in the face really hard.”

“Sir?”

“I’m kidding, Ensign. But seriously, let someone know when this happens. Me, Captain Hawke, somebody. I don’t like surprises. Otherwise, you’re doing a hell of a job. Wegener out.”

Ensign Ware sat at his console, his eyes wide, and so very, very confused about the conversation he’d just had. He looked around at those around him, who had heard all of the conversation, and just slowly turned back to his console.

Back at his desk now, Rick decided it would probably be best if he received his strange visitor standing. “Hope, send the Legate in.”

Instead of his usual routine of greeting visitors on the way in, shaking hands, sitting beside them, Rick kept the desk between him and this particular visitor. Relations with the Cardassians weren’t like they had been in the past, but for Rick, the war wasn’t that long ago. And no matter what shape the Cardassians were in, it would still be a cold day in hell before he ever fully trusted any of them.

The doors parted and Zikar walked in, his pace relaxed. He approached the desk and stopped, giving Rick a slight bow but did not offer his hand.

“Admiral Wegener? I am Legate Zikar. First I would like to apologize for coming in unannounced. It was an unexpected trip, as strange as that sounds.”

“What can I do for you, Legate?” he asked, his face solid stone.

“I am here mainly for personal reasons,” Zikar answered. “My wife is on her way out as well and should be here anytime.” He smiled for a moment, thinking of Nyyar. “Since I was coming out here to catch up with Nyyar, I thought it might be a good time to see the station and this area of the quadrant. I’d also like to take some time to meet with you, your XO, and your Chief Diplomatic Officer. You are aware of the continuing talks between my world and the Federation. As such, I thought it might be wise to get your views on several points, being here on the frontier as you are.”

“Uh-huh,” Rick replied flatly, seating himself. “Which points, exactly, are you referring to?” He didn’t offer a seat to his visitor, but he wouldn’t have objected if he sat as well.

Zikar did sit down and crossed his legs. “I’m curious what you think of the idea of an alliance. I know that this far out it might not have much day to day impact. It’s a big step, however, given the common enemies we face from this quadrant.”

Rick had to remind himself that he was no longer just an admiral of the fleet but was now actually a representative of Starfleet Command. With a bracing sigh, he replied matter-of-factly, but with less hostility as before.

“I don’t think that an alliance would be a very good idea, at least in my opinion,” he replied and left it at that.

“There are many at home who think as you do,” Zikar conceded. “But many who figure that if an understanding can be reached with Romulus, it can be reached with anyone. It will, however, be an uphill battle.”

Rick sipped his whiskey and decided not to offer any to the Legate. It was his office. Fuck that guy. “I think you may be mistaken,” Rick responded. “My answer has nothing to do with feelings or concerns about your race. My reasoning is because the Cardassian Union took such a pounding during the war that you are but a shell of your former glory. You have nothing to bring to the table. Hell, you’re still rebuilding most of your infrastructure and you’re getting help from us to pull that off. I know that your propaganda machine is pumping out information on how strong you are again, but you and I both know that that’s bullshit.” He paused long enough to sip more of his whiskey then continued. “Maybe becoming members of the Federation would be more applicable. Instead of getting what assistance we can spare, you would get the full weight of our aid.”

“You have a point that I and others have made,” Zikar agreed. “You are correct, of course. But there is a long way to go before that happens, unfortunately. It will take the passing of the torch from those whose minds and ideals are stuck in Occupation-era politics to those with a broader perspective who have the good of Cardassia in mind instead of merely the flexing of its muscles.”

Rick almost blurted out “Well you’re in the wrong place, then, pal,” but decided at the last minute to keep it to himself. He was doing that quite a bit with this guy. Instead, he simply said, “I’m sure you didn’t just come in here unannounced to pick my brain about how I think the Federation and Cardassians are going to get along, Legate. So, what exactly is it that you require from me?”

“Merely to pay my respects on behalf of Cardassia, since I will be here for several days. I thought it better to do that than to surprise you some night on the Promenade. You would do the same, no doubt, were you to visit Central Command.”

“...with plenty of advanced notice…” Rick thought to himself.

Zikar rose from his seat. “However, I don’t intend to take up too much of your time and I need to get settled in. It has been a pleasure, Admiral.”

Rick raised his glass. “Legate.”

Once the doors closed he summoned Hope to his office.

“I know, I know, you don’t like uninvited or unexpected guests,” she said, flopping down in the chair across from him. “You’ve told me, like, a brazillion times. But this guy was persistent and a legate, which is like an admiral or something to them, so I thought--”

Rick had held up his hand to stop her. “Despite it being one of my major pet peeves--did you say ‘a brazillion?’” He shook his head and laughed. “Anyway, you’re off the hook this time. Yes, he’s a high-ranked official but it wasn’t your fault. What kind of self-serving asshole just shows up and expects to be allowed to go where he pleases and meet who he wants?” He drained the last of the whiskey in his glass and put his feet up on the desk. “I’m sure if you’d have denied him entry he would have made some huge incident about it.”

They sat there quietly until he picked up his glass. “Want a drink?”

She shook her head. “No thanks.”

“Well, then.” He huffed. “I hate that guy. Oh, want to come over for dinner later? El’s making some...dish.”

Hope chuckled. “Sure. What time?”

Rick’s office doors opened. Out of reflex, and thinking it was the intruding Legate again, he reared back to launch the glass at the doors but saw one of his own instead. “Oh, Commander, come on in. Sorry about that,” he said, placing the glass back on the desk. “And somebody wasn’t at their desk to let me know that you were here.”

Hope scoffed. “What--?” She narrowed her eyes at him, huffed in frustration and stomped back out to her desk.

“1900 hours!” he shouted to her just before she closed the doors.

Kh’ali looked from Rick to the doors, then back. “Am I interrupting?”

“Yes, but I like you, so come on in. How’s baby doing?”

Kh’ali smiled immediately. “Wonderful. He survived the trip to Qo’nos, and a kidnapping attempt planned by my cousin, who I had to kill on the day before my wedding. It was a good time all around. Your officers were impressive.”

“Weird,” he said, squirreling up his face, “that sounds quite a bit like my cousin Ander’s wedding.” He shrugged and walked around his desk to sit with her. “What’s up? I don’t normally get visits from you, Kh’ali.”

“Sorry to deprive you.” She smiled, but it quickly faded. “I wish my visit today was for more pleasant reasons. I have an issue you need to know about. An hour ago I was in my office and a woman came in to see me. She’d just docked and apparently came straight to my office. She was so on edge that if Quentin had whispered boo, we’d have had to peel her off the ceiling. Her first request was for asylum, along with a security detail. What does that tell you?”

“Please don’t tell me she was Cardassian.”

Kh’ali shook her head but her expression was puzzled. “No, she’s Bajoran, but funny you mention that. Her name is Indra Nyyar. Bajoran born, made a Cardassian citizen in 2365. Terrified and on the run from...her husband and how did you know?”

“Is her husband Legate Zikar?”

“Yes,” Kh’ali answered and her eyes narrowed. “Legate Zikar of Cardassian Central Command, specifically the Intelligence Bureau. What’s going on Admiral? I’ve put her in her quarters, with security. It was an official request and I am bound to act, even though she’s not a Federation citizen. She is by birth, not that it matters in this case.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “If she’s asked for asylum, and is not just doing so because she is a fugitive from justice, we can grant it. The Legate will bitch and moan, and because of his position in their government, will probably raise a stink about it, which will likely be brought up in the talks between the Federation and the Cardassians, but it is what it is.”

“She has no record at all...of any kind aside from medical records and those are few. It’s like she’s been living in a bubble most of her life. Strange actually. Birth record in a village on Bajor, then nothing till a marriage certificate issued 18 years later.” She frowned a moment as she studied Rick’s face. “You didn’t tell me how you knew all this.”

“To be completely honest, I didn’t know anything about her, but Zikar paid me a very unprofessionally unannounced visit earlier. You actually missed him by about five minutes. Said he was here just to pay his respects, yadda yadda. I didn’t believe that, however. And when you came in with your story, I knew it had to be something related to him.”

“He came...he’s here? Already?” That clearly agitated Kh’ali. “She was sure he was a few hours behind her transport. What the hell is going on here?” she wondered. “Did he seem upset? Did he mention her at all? She was really frightened when she was in my office and it seemed genuine. I have to tell you, I am getting a really weird vibe from all of this.”

“He said he was here to visit his wife because she was on her way. I didn’t think anything of it then, but now it seems more like he’s chasing her.” Standing, he walked around the desk to his console. “Wegener to Intel.”

=^= Go ahead, sir. =^=

“I need a full package on Legate Zikar, Cardassian Union, focusing on the last, say, four months. Also anything you can dig up on his wife…” he paused to look at Kh’ali.

“Indra Nyyar,” she said.

“...Indra Nyyar,” Rick continued. “I need it quick and it needs to be quiet. Zikar is on 900 and I don’t want him alerted to the query. Understood?”

=^= Aye, sir. Intel out. =^=

“Something about this just smells fishy,” he said, taking a seat in his own chair now. “If she’s just fleeing to get freedom, that’s fine, but how she got here, and he just happened to show up at the same time and on a different ship? That’s just strange.”

“Agreed.” Kh’ali nodded. “Here’s the thing. I asked her point blank who was after her since she kept watching the door as if she expected someone to jump through it. She said ‘my husband’. No hesitation. Now I have a security detail posted. I am meeting with her later today because I need a full statement so I’ll get what I can from her and pass it on to you. It might not hurt, though, for someone to get a personal look at him.”

“I’ll check with Li and see who’s available from Intel. Maybe we can put a few teams on him around the clock to see what he’s up to. And I’m sure you know that his wife needs to be sequestered until we can get him to go away or this thing is resolved.” Rick sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “No trips to the movies, shopping, nothing. It’ll seem a bit like jail, but it’s for her protection. Otherwise, we’ll bring her whatever she needs. Try to make it at least somewhat comfortable for her.”

“I will. I’d like to request moving her, though. She’s down in standard civilian housing and all the traffic through there will make it difficult to keep her under watch without attracting attention. If we move her up to the VIP area, there’s little traffic and anyone up to no good will be easily spotted.” Kh’ali checked her padd and nodded. “We have a couple of the ambassadorial quarters open.”

“That’s fine. I’ll clear it with the quartermasters,” he said. “Besides, since she’s going to be as much as a prisoner in her room, we may as well provide her with something nice for a cell. Just make sure she has access to all of the entertainment channels and that the replicators get her just about everything she needs. I’ll speak with security to have them be a little lenient as far as getting take out for her, if she requests it.”

“Consider it done.” Kh’ali tapped on her padd for a moment before she spoke. “What I want to know is, what makes a woman suddenly flee after twenty-three years? What happened to make her so frightened that wasn’t happening before?”

“Opportunity?” Rick asked. “Maybe he finally got to the point where he trusted her to relinquish some of his control, she saw the opening and took it. Or it could be any number of things. It might not hurt to find out as much as you can from her about their relationship, how she came to be with him and, if she’s willing, anything she will give up on Zikar.”

Kh’ali nodded. “I am going to suggest she speak to counseling staff if she wishes. They might be a great help here. I’ll let you know how it goes though, and will send her statement as soon as I have it. It’s relatively quiet in my office today, or was, so I’ll be there with her for the next couple of hours.”

“See what you can find out and I’ll let you know if Intel comes back with anything.”

“Thank you. Will there be anything else?” Kh’ali asked. “If not I have a mystery to solve.”

“Nope. Do your thing and let me know how it goes.”

“Wish me luck.” Kh’ali turned and was through the doors in a flash.

*******************
Admiral Rick Wegener
Lt. Commander Kh’ali
Legate Zikar