A Secret Revealed

Posted on Sat Feb 20th, 2016 @ 2:34pm by Lieutenant Commander Kh'ali & Lieutenant Raj Amani & Indra Nyyar

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Counselor Amani's Office / CIS Intira

* Counselor Amani's Office *

"...and that's the whole thing, in a nutshell." Nyyar finished describing how she'd come to be Zikar's wife, their years together, her discovery of his activities and flight from Cardassia, then the events on the station and finally, his death. Raj has asked for an overview from her words and she hadn't stopped talking for over an hour.

"To put it bluntly, that is one hell of a story," Raj said, but then he smiled. "You've had a very stressful year, the last two weeks especially." The fact that she had lived through all this amazed him. Her friend on Cardassia had been paid by her husband's assistant to get her away, then her husband's vicious attack, the near-miss when he'd tried to kill her, than her new lover killing him....it was mind-boggling. As Robin had said, they may be digging deep into the psychological bag of tricks. This was, in short, a mess. Her obvious attachment to Eldren Tohr concerned him almost more than the shock from having her husband almost kill her. Her apparent good mood concerned him as well. One day, likely soon, the dam would break and he had no idea how bad the flood would be.

"I'd like to see you twice a week." Raj smiled as he spoke again. "You've been through more in the past year than most people deal with over a lifetime. But we'll get you through and settled into what is, essentially a new life."

Nyyar nodded. "Thank you. It's going to be interesting learning to stand on my own. Tohr's awfully protective, so he will be looking out for me.”

Raj had gathered that and it was also a concern to him. From an outsider's view, there were some striking similarities between her descriptions of the over-protectiveness of Zikar and Eldren Tohr. The fact that Eldren was the one who'd killed Zikar was going to come back to bite someone on the ass. The only thing Raj could do was be there with a safety net. He unknowingly agreed with Eldren in one regard, however. He was wary of Zikar's associates and the Council on Cardassia. The conversation with Zikar's associate, as she had related it, made him sure that their hold on Nyyar wasn't really broken yet.

"Given recent events, he had ample reasons to feel that way." It was as far into this as Raj wanted to go just now. Today was mainly to get to know Nyyar. "What do you have planned for the rest of the day?"

"I need to get to Zikar's ship and sort through his things there. Most of it will just go back to Cardassia when they return," she answered. "So I need to do what I am going to do now. Boroca will recall them likely in two days. He's leaving them here till then in case I need any help."

"I see." Raj made some last notes and laid his padd aside. "Would you like some company?"

"That would be great, thank you. Tohr isn’t keen on the idea so having you along should put his mind at ease." She smiled and rose. "If it won't take too much of your time?"

"I am free this afternoon so let's go." He escorted her out and informed Cela where they would be. He then requested a transport directly to the Cardassian ship.

* CIS Intira *

When Nyyar and Raj arrived at the ship’s berth, he had called Kh’ali, thinking it a good idea to have her along for official reasons. Farak, as Zikar’s assistant, had also been summoned and now the group entered the ship. they stopped in the observation lounge and Nyyar requested they wait there. Going to Zikar’s quarters was something she had to do alone.

Finally she reached the quarters and keyed in a code that Zikar always used. The doors opened and she entered this small part of his world in the Delta Quadrant. His spirit weighed heavy in these rooms and for a moment she found it difficult to breathe. It was as if he might step in through the doors any moment, calling her name in that expectant way he always had upon returning home, flowers in hand. She closed her eyes, forced herself to calm down, then faced the room.

There were mementos of their life together everywhere, mostly images of Nyyar herself, of her and Zikar in various places. She paused before one of them, taken on a trip they to Risa just before everything had begun to fall apart for her. They stood on the beach, the wind stirring her hair, arms around each other and both of them all smiles. A lump rose in her throat as she recalled that vacation. It has been a wonderful, happy trip and seeing this now was almost more than she could bear. Gently she ran her fingertip over the picture. Whatever he had been, and despite how things had ended, she had loved him deeply, as he did her. A tear dropped to the shelf by the picture and she turned away, moving through to the bedroom.

It was obvious Zikar hadn’t spent much time here. Looking through the closets and drawers, she found only his clothes, nothing she needed to worry about. She knew he kept a journal, one he never missed adding to but it would be on his terminal since he liked to record it. She suspected that the entries in his time since she left would be enlightening, perhaps shed some light on his sudden rage the night he was killed. Tossed on the bed was a single shirt, discarded in a hurry it seemed. Lifting it, she detected a faint whiff of his scent, one that always smelled clean, like the outdoors. Holding it to her nose, she breathed in. More tears came and she wiped them away with the shirt before dropping it back to the bed. With one final look around, she returned to the living room.

She sat at the terminal, noticing the light flashing that indicated a message. She knew his usual codes for this too, even though Zikar never realized it. Once the numbers were entered, the screen came to life. The message was from Boroca.

Zikar, the last operative has been recruited and everything is ready to go. I have one more target, however, though he may be tricky to convince. Once you return home, we will proceed as planned. In the meantime, training has begun. I look forward to your report on the success of convincing Drekkar and the Butcher to return to the fold. My best to Nyyar, Boroca.

Nyyar sat frozen as she reread the message. What exactly had he been doing? She forwarded the message to her own terminal, then located his journal and sent it along as well. Given Boroca’s words, she thought it wise to dig a little deeper and did so. What she found there terrified her. She tapped the comm and called for Kh’ali.

A few minutes later, Kh’ali entered. She took a look around and gave a low whistle. “Wow, Nyyar. I am not one to speak ill of the dead but does all this seem a little obsessive to you?”

Nyyar nodded. “Yes. It explains, at least a little, his actions here since his arrival. That’s not why I called though.” She motioned Kh’ali over and showed her first the message, then a few of the other documents she’d found.

Kh’ali read them over quickly, then cursed aloud. “A new Obsidian Order? After all that came out after the Occupation? I think this is something to send on to Intel. Give me just a moment.” She leaned over the control panel and sent the whole lot to Leto. “There. She will know what to do with it.”

“Good.” Nyyar checked to make sure the originals were still in place, then sent copies to her terminal as well. “They will check this when the ship returns to Cardassia and if anything is missing, they will look this way. I don’t want that happening.” She rose and moved back to look at the picture from Risa.

“Do you want to take that?” Kh’ali asked.

Nyyar hesitated, then shook her head. “No. I remember that Zikar very well. It’s the one who was here I want to forget. Besides, Tohr wouldn’t stand for having it anywhere close by. I have Zikar’s journal and that’s what I wanted. I removed it from his terminal completely though. I don’t want any of them reading it.” She wiped her eyes once more and turned. “Let’s go.”

Kh’ali opened the door and as they left the quarters, she wrapped her arm around Nyyar’s shoulder. “It’s done. What about the estate?”

“Everything has been transferred to me. Boroca sent the official documents this morning.” They entered the lounge and Raj was immediately concerned.

“Nyyar?”

“I’m alright,” she answered. “I just want to get out of here. Thank you Farak.” She looked to the Cardassian now. “Tomorrow, I’d like to speak with you if you have time?”

“Of course, Nyyar. Anything you need.” He smiled gently at her.

“The Arboretum, 1200 hours. Bring Paz.” She didn’t wait for his answer, but turned and left the lounge without another word.

****************
Indra Nyyar
Lt. Raj Amani
Lt. Commander Kh’ali
Farak