Double Exposure

Posted on Tue Jan 5th, 2016 @ 3:25am by Céline Valois & Commander Louie Rousseau & Cadet Senior Grade Chance Conradi

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Deck 552 Academy Satellite Offices

* The Academy *

“All ready for this?” Louie asked. He reached over to his desk and scooped up the padd he carried everywhere. "They’ll be here in a few minutes.”

Chance, to whom this task had unexpectedly fallen, nodded. He felt a bit like a lamb being led to the lions, but... Really? How bad could the kids be? "Reva is going to owe me one. A big one," he said before flashing a grin at Louie.

“Thanks for filling in at the last minute,” Louie replied. “So what exactly happened to Reva? And does Cy know?”

"Ah... I don't know. I suppose not," he answered. "I'm getting information sort of fourth hand, but it involves Niro. You know who Niro is? Enaran? Filthy piece of spider bolus."

“I hear things.” Louie checked his padd and then the time. “Alright, the teacher and her students will meet you here. I need to get moving, I’m running a few minutes late for the class. Bellow if you need anything.” Louie dashed out, leaving Chance to await the arrival of the students.

Outside of the main doors, Celine and her students gathered for one last bit of instruction. She faced their curious expressions and spoke softly. “Remember what I said, kids. This door leads us into a part of Starfleet Academy. You had better be on your best behavior, no fooling around, no wandering off and mind your manners. I expect to hear some ‘yes sir’ and ‘yes ma’am’ from everyone. But don’t be afraid to ask questions, okay? Just...no shenanigans,” she finished off with a wink.

The kids all laughed at the word. She had used it a few days prior and most of the kids had never heard it before. They seemed to like it so she threw it in on occasion.

“Alrighty, here we go,” she said as she opened the doors.

Chance immediately went into flirt mode, until of course, the fourteen or so kids followed their pretty teacher in, all eyes on him. His smile's wattage died a little. "Oh. Oh dear," he whispered to no one at all. "Ms. ... um, I'm sorry, I didn't get your surname? I'm Chance Conradi, Cadet Conradi. I'll be taking you around today."

“It’s Valois, but I have the children call me Ms. Celine,” she said with a smile, but then turned to the children. “Cadet Conradi, class. Please give him your full attention and ask any questions that you might have, but raise your hand first.”

Turning back to him, she said, “We’ll follow you.”

"Okay, Ms. Celine," he nodded, looked at her motley little crew and turned towards the door Louie had used to make his escape. "We'll start with a tour of the Academy's hands-on training rooms, where we have simulators and holosuite to teach various skills such as ...," he blanked for a second. What did they teach here? "...ah, emergency responses." He led them down a corridor and into a simulator room.

* * *

Chance had taken the group through the Academy and fielded quite a few questions, including an inquiry as to where they kept the Klingons.

“In the Diplomatic Corps,” he answered, and they had all laughed. Even at their young age, they knew that was impossible. He smiled back at Celine and let it go at that. They rounded a corner and he stopped outside a set of doors. “The Academy Dean thought you all might like to look in on a class for a few minutes. He’s teaching one in here on covert ops and has invited you all in.” He looked over to Celine now. “Stay as long as you like. Once you’re done, Lt. Young will be available if you need anything more.”

“Thank you, Cadet,” Celine said. “You make a very good tour guide.”

“My pleasure. You have a good group here.” He flashed a bright smile at her, then turned to the kids. “This concludes my part of the tour.” When the kids began to clap, he gave them a ceremonious bow, pressed the door panel to open it, and turned to depart.

Inside the class, several cadets were arranged around a long table, with Louie at the front of the room. He was speaking as they began to file in.

“In every op, there’s always the chance that things can go horribly wrong. When that happens, the manual goes out the window and you have only your skills and instincts to rely on. As an example, a friend of mine was under cover and had been on site for several weeks. Someone got too curious and her cover was blown.”

The kids went in first and Celine stood in the corridor to ensure that they all entered and none were left behind. She finally stepped in and closed the door behind her. They were standing in a smaller auditorium but this class must have been more cozy since the cadets were all around the table down on the main floor.

Shushing a few of the kids who were asking questions, she had to tell them that this was not a time to ask questions of the instructor.

“So what happened to her?” a cadet asked.

“Well, she improvised. She managed to escape but it had far-reaching consequences. Now this particular officer has a new face and identity. Most never get in that deep however, but in this line of work, you do what you have to do.” He looked up and seeing the group, he waved. “we have a group from the school here to visit for a few minutes and they --” His gaze fell on Celine and he stopped mid-sentence, his mouth still open. What, well...who he was seeing simply wasn’t possible. He blinked, thinking that maybe it was just a trick of the dimmer light near the back but she was still there. Belatedly, he realized the silence was stretching out in the auditorium.

He swallowed and when he continued, his voice was husky. “I think that’s a good stopping point for today.” He noticed a curious look from the young man at the end of the table - a Betazoid. Damn. He nodded to them, then moved to the doors. He took a moment to greet the kids, then stopped, looking at Celine for several moments. “My apologies,” he murmured to her, then hurried out.

“I, uh--did we do…” he was gone before she could finish her question. It seemed as though their arrival had caused some sort of a ruckus, and even the kids were a bit confused. They had hoped to ask some questions about being spies, but it looked as though they were going to have to wait.

“I’m sorry, children,” she said, turning their attentions to her. “I don’t know what happened. Maybe he was summoned away for an emergency?”

“A school emergency?” one of the girls asked, a bit skeptical of the excuse.

“You never know,” Celine said with a smile. “You lot sure give me a run for my money on occasion, don’t you?”

The kids laughed, most agreeing, and even the skeptical one nodding and smiling.

One of the cadets motioned the kids to come down front. “You all can stay and ask some questions if you like. We’ll be happy to answer them.” He looked over to Celine. “If that’s alright?”

“Absolutely, and thank you. They’ve been very inquisitive today.”

As the kids filed down to the front and began to speak to the cadets, Lt. Young appeared at the door. “I’m sorry to interrupt but Commander Rousseau has asked to see you, if you would?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but she was concerned about leaving the kids unsupervised. “Ah, but the kids?”

“The cadets seem to have them occupied and I’ll stay if you like?” Alan answered.

She nodded, but she needed to tell the kids. “Children,” she announced, clapping her hand loudly, “this is Lieutenant Young. He will be watching over you for a bit, while you speak to the Cadets. I have been asked to meet the Dean of the Academy. Remember, best manners and no shenanigans.”

The kids all chuckled, even the Cadets. Celine liked making the little ones smile.

Moments later she opened the door to the Dean’s office. “Commander?” she called out. “You wanted to see me?”

“Please come in.” Louie was standing behind his desk in the inner office. He waited for her to enter and had to force himself not to stare. “Celine…” the name popped out before he could stop it.

“Valois, yes,” she replied a bit cautiously, “but I don’t recall giving you my name. Unless you found it in the school administration listing?”

Louie shook his head. “I wasn’t told which teacher was coming.” He sat heavily in his chair, his gaze still locked on her face. “First, I should apologize for my abrupt departure but you were...are...something of a shock.”

“Commander, if this is some strange way of trying to seduce me based upon my looks, your style needs quite a bit of work,” she said, her face stern. “And would be borderline sexual harassment to this point.”

Louie shook his head again. “No, it’s not that, it’s….” he sighed aloud. “I’m not explaining this well. Perhaps I should show you why you’ve thrown me for such a loop.” He reached across the desk and turned the photograph around. “Look.”

Her brow furrowed. She looked to him, then the picture again. “But that’s me. How did you get this?” she demanded, picking up the image. “Are you some kind of pervert, Commander? A stalker, maybe!? And where was this? I don’t remember taking this picture! I’m taking this with me to security, Commander. This is some sort of photo manipulation, it has to be! And I won’t stand for it!”

“Please.” Louie held up his hands to calm her. He looked down at his desk, hoping to hide the sudden unshed tears that stung his eyes. He took a deep breath, then began to explain. “That picture was taken on May 6, 2239 on my wedding day. That is my wife. We were married thirty years and she died in 2269. Her name was Celine Valois.”

She was still angry, but by the way he looked, and with his voice shaking, she was now a bit curious. Still, she replied, albeit a bit more calmly, “Bullshit. You expect me to believe that you’re almost 150 years old? This is insane.”

He tapped on his terminal and a news article appeared on the screen. “Look.” He turned it so she could lean closer and read it. It was the story of his and Cy’s recovery and the tale of the missing years. “It’s true. And I am one hundred and sixty-nine.”

Standing silently, reading through the article again, she was lost for words. “I...I don’t understand,” she finally managed to say, almost as a whisper. Holding up the picture again, and noticing the beautiful frame and how well it had been maintained, she said, as she pointed to her own face alongside his, “How is this possible? I was born in 2359 and I don’t believe in reincarnation, at least not to this extent. An exact copy? Same name?” She swallowed hard. “I need to sit down,” she said quietly, sitting on the edge of one of the chairs and holding the image in her lap. She was drawn to it and studied every detail of what appeared to be her own face staring back at her. Same eyes, same lines, same smile...it was eerie. But the woman did look amazingly happy.

“I have no explanation,” Louie admitted, “but now you see why your appearance in the auditorium had such a marked effect on me. I don’t know what to think.” He ran his hand over his face. “I feel like I've been sucker-punched.”

“Me too,” was all she could say. She continued looking at the picture and finally looked to Louie. “How do we go about figuring this out? I need to know what’s going on. This isn’t me, but it sure does look like it is.”

“Well, I suppose we start with your background. Your family,” he suggested. He sat silent for a few before he spoke again. “If it will help, Commander Thorne knew her very well. We’ve been friends since our academy days and still are. He is the professor of engineering here.” He motioned to his terminal and the news story. “As you can see, he went on that little adventure too.”

“My family?” she asked. “I was raised by two doctors, well, scientists, on Verdanis in Beta Cephi. But I was adopted. I don’t know who my real parents were. I never really asked Mom or Dad.”

“I think maybe it’s time you did,” Louie answered softly. “Look, I know this isn’t what you expected when you got here. Take the kids back to the school, finish your day, if that’s possible after this. Come back here when you get done and we can start digging.”

So many questions were running through her mind. Some for him, but most for her parents. But would they even know anything? They adopted her and might not even know who her real parents were. Asking them might just be a dead end. But as much as this whole situation unsettled her, she did want answers. She wasn’t certain that she wanted to dig for them with the Dean, but it seemed only fair as this affected him as well.

“I’ll contact my parents and see what they know. You’ll understand if I don’t come running right back here? I mean, this whole thing just screams creepy. And I’m sorry if that’s a bit insulting, but...it might take me a bit to get my head on straight after this.”

“I can understand that. I am..at a total loss,” he admitted. “But it can’t be coincidence. I don’t know what the hell it is but it’s….something. Damn. I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say.”

Looking at the picture again, she touched the woman’s face. “Would you mind if I took this with me? I can show it to my parents. Maybe...well, it might jar something loose in their memories.”

He hesitated, looking from her to the photograph and back. “I...yes, of course.” He felt a small stab of panic at letting it out of his sight but she had a good point. ”It’s fine.”

“I promise to return it in the same condition,” she said, sensing his hesitation. Standing, she felt like something else needed to be said, but nothing came out of her mouth as it stood open. Instead, she turned and left his office to find her students.

Louie watched her go, then pressed the panel on his desk to close and lock his door. Too many conflicting feelings flooded him and he had no idea what to do or think next. And as strange as it was for him, he could only imagine what effect it was having on Celine. His sigh sounded loud in the silent office. He had spent every day since 2269 missing Celine, his Celine, and now a woman on this base was...well….her. He knew it wasn’t coincidence and he intended to find out what the real story was. He hadn’t wanted to tell this Celine but it had been hard to even look at her. Suddenly, he felt as if he’d been thrown back to 2239 and it was too much. He heard Alan returning to the outer office and he rose, opened the door and stepped out.

“Alan, I am taking tomorrow off. If anything major arrives, you can call but don’t unless it’s something serious. You can leave early afternoon, as soon as classes are over.”

“Aye sir,” Lt. Young responded. “Sir? Are you alright?” Louie’s behavior when he’d sent Alan off to meet the teacher had him concerned.

“I...yeah. I’m fine.” It was a lie but it was good enough. “I’ll see you day after tomorrow.” He departed and once in the turbolift, tapped his commbadge to call Cy.

****************
Lt. Commander Louie Rousseau
Cadet JG Chance Conradi
Celine Valois
Lt. Alan Young
Crazy World