Swords and Shields

Posted on Sun Jun 27th, 2021 @ 6:12am by Captain Nycolas Temple & Commander Owen Nash & Lieutenant Farizah Alani & Lieutenant Commander Mindo & Lieutenant Kalin Brennan-Griffin PhD & Lieutenant James Smith & Lieutenant Krysia Kaleri-Smith & Lieutenant JG Joza Bralix & Ensign Aenardha Sh'vastarth & Federation Diplomat Briya Valriya & Lieutenant K'Laus

Mission: The Gauntlet
Location: Deck 2 - Meeting Room
Timeline: 0800, Current Day

ON:

So much had happened since the Pandora arrived at Paradise - information had come in that had helped to explain the situation the ship found themselves in, but hadn't made things any easier. The final journey of their passage back to Federation space was before them now and the Captain was keen to get everyone in the senior command team together to go through it all. He didn't want to hide anything from the crew; he wanted them to know exactly what they were going to be facing and why. If there was any possible upside from this mission, it was the unity and loyalty that had grown stronger within the crew; they were all closer for having gone through this together.

Nyx sat at the head of the meeting table, waiting for others to arrive. The data was pre-loaded onto the console behind him, all he needed was the crew now.

Lieutenant K'Laus, the Pandora's Supply Officer, was filling in, representing Operations in the briefing. He was, however, undergoing a lot of changes personally. He was learning more about his Klingon heritage, but also coming to terms with always being an outsider. He entered the room, one of the first to arrive, two PaDDs in hand. One for the meeting and one for Captain Temple and Commander Nash. "For you and the Commander," he said handing Temple one PaDD. "Because you can't kill a fellow officer on this ship."

Nyx blinked as he took the PADD, giving the Lieutenant a bemused frown, "I... know that? I mean, it's not in the manual but it's pretty common knowledge."

"Yes," K'Laus replied. "As clear and common knowledge as the vacancy in Operations. That's not an incident report, it's a request."

The Captain was intrigued, "Oh? You would like to kill someone? I don't understand."

Being a former Operation Officer, Owen was also curious as to why the ships Supply Officer would want to kill someone. Then as the fact dawned upon him that he was a Klingon, Owen wasn't as surprised suddenly. "That's gotta be one hell of a request," Owen said.

K'Laus grunted and shook his head. "After the briefing," he said to Temple and Nash. "I will discuss it with you then."

Krysia walked into the meeting room; her maternity leave had turned into something of a busman’s holiday, but at least she’d had a chance to spend some time with the twins as well as get some rest. She was still healing, and she certainly knew about it when she’d overdone any exercise. Walking over to the replicator she ordered herself a fruit juice before walking over to the table. “Captain, Lieutenant” she nodded politely to both before sitting down in her seat, stifling a yawn as she did so.

Valriya entered the meeting room wearing a pale purple taffeta silk pant suit highlighted with resham work of crystal and beads. From the neckline flowed a salwar kameez styled tunic that opened up near the waist to reveal the slim silhouette of her pants cut straight nearly from hip to knee to ankle making her blade-thin legs strike one as even longer. She glanced around the room, unfamiliar with the space as she’d never been in here before, though she’d been seated at more tables and rostra during her career than she’d ever be able to recall. In this meeting room there did not appear to be any marked places or reserved chairs positioned about the table of which three were already occupied. A Klingon, a Counsellor and a Captain, but this was not the start to some piece of tavern humour. Familiar with the need for a strategic smile, Valriya painted one on her own face and took a chair next to Lieutenant Kaleri-Smith, who Valriya now knew to be the wife of the Chief Intelligence officer whom Valriya had met when first arriving aboard the Pandora. “It is good to see you again, Counsellor,” the Risian greeted as she unfolded a pair of black horn-rimmed eyeglasses and slipped them onto her face above her smile.

“Likewise,” Krysia smiled warmly, gazing at the Risian curiously. Prior to Briya putting on those glasses, Krysia had sensed her presence like any other, but once the glasses had gone on that had changed to just a faint glimmer of a presence. She didn’t want to pry whilst with others so she said nothing about it.

Lieutenant Mindo was next to enter the conference room, feeling rested after finally getting a full night's sleep. He crossed the room and climbed onto a chair, using the lever underneath to raise himself higher.

“Chief Mindo,” Valriya verbally accosted him with a tamed version of the teasing they’d recently shared during off duty hours. “You and your department have the warp core purring like a kitten. The distribution of amplitudes in its perfectly tuned resonance whisked me straight to slumber the moment my head touched the pillow.”

Mindo grinned. He'd come to love Briya's over-complicated way of saying things. "Thank you, Bree," he replied as Aenardha stepped into the room. "We aim to please!"

Aenardha’s uniform was impeccable, not a wrinkle on it. It was, however a moisture wicking uniform, in all its articles. It allowed for moisture to escape, thus keeping the wearer cool. The uniform appeared slightly different to anyone who looked at it long enough, but it was still within regulations, adapted for an Aenar of course. She was still sore from her workout with Cailus, but after a long hot soak in a bath tub (in brine about five degrees centigrade, hot for her) she was not allowing it to slow her down. Aenardha did not know whether to sit at the far end of the table away from the higher ranks or if she was allowed to sit with them in intermingled ranks. Not wanting to appear shy, though she was, as this was her first officer’s meeting…ever…she settled into the seat she had picked near the head of the table and realized she was sitting quite close to the captain. She figured she would be told to move if this was not allowed. She had been utilizing public vision since stepping in from everyone except the captain of course. Aenardha realized she was not getting any information from Briya either. She wanted to inquire about that later, but found the inquiry would be out of line. It is not too often that an ensign would question a diplomat. Feeling awkward enough, Aenardha knew that getting up and moving would make things even more so. She decided to stay put until told otherwise. “Captain,” she regarded Nyx. Without the ability to see through his eyes, Aenardha was not sure she was looking him in the eye. She approximated the angle the best she could using public vision of the others talking amongst themselves.

Owen looked around as he saw each of the officers enter the room and take their seats at the Conference Table. Nodding at Krysia and smiling at both Valriya and Aenardha, Owen once more had that familiar feeling about himself and decided that he really needed to talk to Krys about this as it was happening more and more often. Before taking his seat nearest the head of the table, Owen looked over at Nyx and said, "I think we're all here, Captain," before turning to look at the others seated at the table and then saying, "and by the way, may I say it’s lovely to have everyone in the same room again after such a long time, both new crew and current crew."

Valriya mentally flinched at the First Officer’s choice of words. Was not the new crew part of the current crew? Perhaps he meant new crew and old crew? Why did that distinction matter to her? Concerning her standing among the crew it didn’t; she was accustomed to arriving upon established routines and settling in quickly. She may not stay long, but she settled in quickly. Her issue with the Commander’s choice of words must have been a matter of semantics, a realisation that she immediately regretted. Breaking validity of positive sentiment down into syntax and semantics was…beneath Briya. She flashed Commander Nash a smile by way of apology.

"Welcome everyone," Nyx said as each officer entered, nodding his head to them. "We're still waiting on a few more, I believe?"

"Just me!" Shae said as she quickly scurried in and took her seat. "Sorry, a little separation anxiety with the little one," she said as she settled in to her chair. She tugged at her duty jacket to straighten it out and quickly twisted her long pale hair into a bun, indicating that she had left her quarters in a rush.

"Welcome, Lieutenant. You're right on time,” Nyx said with a nod. He instinctively looked behind her, expecting to see Griffin coming in as well, and when he wasn't there, Nyx immediately wanted to ask if Cailus would join them soon. He opened his mouth to speak but then remembered - that wasn't going to happen. Griffin wouldn't be coming. Nyx awkwardly cleared his throat instead and looked down at the PADD on his desk.

Lieutenant Farizah Alani stepped through the parting doorway, gave her uniform a slight tug and flashed a smile at those in the room. "Captain," she said, her eyes locked onto Nyx. The Bolian made her way around the room, her fingers slid through the handle of a mug, steam still coming from the top of warm liquid. The blue-skinned woman stood out in the room. The aroma of her beverage preceding her as she made her way around and into a vacant seat. She had yet to get to know everyone, but she knew one by one she'd get to know them with some level of intimacy. "Hope I didn't miss any of the exciting bits," she added with a smirk as she reclined back a bit in her seat, sipping her beverage.

"Welcome, Lieutenant Alani. Everyone, meet our new Chief of Ops," Nyx said as he indicated to the Bolian as she had walked around the table. "Roderick has been asked to serve on the USS Palatine, so Lieutenant Alani here has come onboard to take the reins of Operations."

Owen nodded to the Pandora's newest Chief of Operations and made a mental note not to bother her too soon. After having spoken with the last two Department Heads, they had soon left the ship and been re-assigned somewhere else and that was starting to make him wonder if he'd been doing the wrong thing. But he was also happy to see another new member join the family. "Welcome aboard, Lieutenant Alani. It’s a pleasure to have you serve with us," he said politely.

Krysia offered the newest crew member a polite smile. “Welcome aboard, Lieutenant.” She had to admit she totally understood where Shea’s comment about separation anxiety was concerned. She was worried she was missing out on important bonding time with her son and daughter.

Aenardha was picking that up; the common feelings of separation from their offspring. They were strong feelings and commonly shared among both Krysia and Shae, even if they did not realize it. They were strong and they were genuine, which caught Aenardha’s senses by surprise. Yet, among that communal feeling, there was another and Aenardha realized it came from the XO. He too, felt a type of way due to some kind of separation. She forbade herself from sensing further, shook her head as thought throwing a thought away and her antennae flittered minutely.

Two crew members in as many minutes had referenced their young children and the additional hardships having them onboard the Pandora placed upon their shoulders as Starfleet officers. Valriya had strong opinions on the matter - on the inappropriateness of having them onboard - but was determined not to voice such an unsolicited opinion, which would not have been a particularly diplomatic thing to do. So she needlessly adjusted her eyeglasses for reassurance before clasping her hands in her lap and fixing her eyes on an interesting speck of light beyond the windows out in the vastness of space.

James arrived late, adjusting his jacket as the door opened. He looked around and smiled as he entered the conference room. He quickly caught his wife’s eyes and smiled before looking back toward his old friend. “Sorry, I’m late Captain. Had a meeting that ran later than expected, and then I stopped in to see the twins really quickly.” James made his way over to stand near his wife as he smiled at all those already in attendance.

"Welcome, Smith." Nyx nodded to the Lieutenant as he entered. "This is also the first meeting for our Chief Diplomatic Officer, Consul Valriya." Nyx continued the introductions by nodding to the stylishly dressed Risian at the table.

Valriya swept a nod and a smile around the table, but said nothing. Rule one of diplomacy; listen first and often.

“And while this is a Senior Staff meeting, I have asked our new Intelligence Officer Ensign Sh'vastarth to join us as well. Both of these two new crew members have had ahh... uh, unique introduction to the Expanse. I believe they are well-versed on current events, let's just say."

"It's always good to have new faces around here," said Mindo. "It keeps things interesting," he added with a small smile.

Aenardha nodded to Mindo's comment. "It seems interesting comes as regular full course meals out here." She looked back and forth between Nyx and Nash as she said, "I am certainly glad to be a part of this, sirs."

Owens smiled as Nyx made the introductions for the newer officers in the room, despite trying to shake a familiar feeling once more. Hearing Krys speak about the twins and knowing that both Cailus and Shea were back aboard brought a sudden reminder back about he was was once more alone and tried to file that thought away for another time. There were other more important things to be working on other than focusing on being 'Uncle Owen.’

There was that communal feeling again. This time it was a shared degree of despair. Aenardha recalled her conversation with Lt. Mindo and the emptiness he experienced, even if it remained only subconscious. But there was another feeling of despair and loneliness emanating from someone else. Before Aenardha could pinpoint who, she forbade herself from sensing that further and, as easily as someone can snap their fingers, she willingly shut down most of her reading abilities save for public telepathic vision.

As everyone was now seated and ready, Nyx took a moment to pass a glance over all of the faces in the room. The names and people had changed over time - new Chiefs of Medical, Ops, Communication, and Diplomacy. But there were still so many familiar faces too - those who had been present during the Pandora's very first crew meeting. Nyx was awash with feelings of pride and gratefulness as he looked at each of the crew; knowing they were about to face one of their toughest hurdles in the Pandora's history.

"So, here we are,” Nyx began. "We are docked at Paradise Outpost, with the Alrakis Pact and other enemies waiting for us to make a move. We have to get back to Federation territory in order to deliver Admiral Thac and all of our evidence of corruption within Starfleet and the Expanse to the Federation." He frowned then nodded slightly, considering his next words. "There has been a lot of secrets and intel that has come to light since we were first diverted off our original course to investigate the Pithos facility on Hesiod. I do not like secrets. I don't want them on my ship, or between us as a crew. Secrets are how places like Pithos get built. So, before we start our final leg home, I want us all to know why we're here and what we are fighting for. Is that clear?"

Mindo simply nodded. He was reminded of his own incident with Section 31 eight years prior, aboard the Rhys. The secrets from that situation still haunted him.

"Aye, Captain," Owen said, as he saw the Captains question sink in with the others in the room.

“Understood Sir,” Krysia nodded as she looked at Nyx. “I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say we trust you Sir; the Pandora is our home.”

“Aye, Captain,” James said. Smith thought back to the incidents that Nyx and he had with Section 31 early in their careers and he hated everything that they stood for and hated any intelligence agency that operated outside the normal confines of the law.

Aenardha knew she could not read the man and was unsure if he had the ability to notice when someone was attempting to read. She did not try of course, but wondered about the reason for this; if there was some secret he was withholding, a secret that was impossible to retrieve without him outing it himself. Still, the man was the captain and captains were always filled with information set to be disclosed on a need-to-know basis. She trusted him to reveal said information at the appropriate time. Aenardha nodded her agreement and understanding as others were chiming in.

"We are dealing with two enemies,” Nyx continued. "As you are aware, we are being hunted by the Alrakis Pact. Our location was broadcast into the Expanse by a signal. Lieutenant Mindo, what have you learnt about that signal?"

"I was able to trace the 'Stop the Pandora' signal to our own Carnwennan station. The signal was sent through a complex system of subspace grids that made it near-impossible to trace. It took help from Qaraq to track down a Pakled ship that had received the signal and from there I was able to find the origin. I want to thank Ensign Sh'vastarth for the suggestion to enlist Qaraq's help." Mindo nodded to Aenardha.

Aenardha returned the nod, recalling her travels with the Broot.

Mindo continued. "The signal's broadcast began an hour after the Pithos station on Hesiod Green was destroyed. I found a subspace, coded transmission sent to Carnwennan station from Admiral Thac, posing as Admiral Francis, around the time of Pithos' destruction. I can only speculate the recipient is someone also from Section 31 working with Thac. I do not know this person's identity."

“Section 31,” said Aenardha with an almost hint of laughter as well as nearly questioningly as though she had not heard him correctly. She let out a clearing-of-the-throat cough hoping to cover all that up. It was pounded into all the cadets at the Academy that Section 31 was a non-existent boogey-man scapegoat for any and all unexplained things regarding Starfleet. The very second she spoke up was the very second she realized she may have been informed wrongly, that all the concerning thoughts she felt when someone mentioned ‘Section 31’ were perhaps genuine.

"I can assure you, Ensign, Section 31 is quite real," Shae spoke up to correct the young misinformed Ensign. "They have been a major influence in my life one way or another since the Dominion War. They are to be taken seriously and not to be trifled with," she cautioned gently.

Aenardha tapped away on her PADD, screen blanked out with the braille raised so no one could see what she was typing. She made a note to revisit all she had heard about Section 31 and to further research it.

"Since I have been absent, I haven't had a chance to get a look at this signal or analyze it. Perhaps with Lieutenant Smith's help, we can get more information from this signal," Shae offered.

James nodded, “I’d be happy to assist in getting this done. Ensign Sh'vastarth and I will work on getting as much information as we can from this signal. Maybe we will be able to identify who received the signal."

"Most importantly, we know where it's being broadcast from," Nyx answered, before turning to look at Shae. "Lieutenant Brennan, you were on Carnwennan Station. What happened there?"

"To be honest, Captain, if there was anything going on beyond what was happening to us, I wouldn't know," Shae replied somberly. "We were confined to quarters during the investigation except to visit Sickbay, and we got special permission to visit the holodeck to do a holographic call to Earth so my family could see the children. It was at that time that we were abducted by a Section 31 cleaner. He wanted to know what Admiral Milne was planning and wanted us to get some sensitive information for him in exchange for a promise to leave my family alone. After we were released back to the care of Carnwennan, Cailus went overboard with the security, and for good reason, but we remained isolated as a result. After our trial was held and concluded, we left; we wanted to be as far away from Carnwennan as possible. We did take part holographically in a trap to reveal any additional Section 31 agents, but that was it. If there was anything else going on at Carnwennan, we really were too preoccupied with our own drama to notice," she said. Much of this the Captain already knew after dinner, but it didn't hurt to reveal it before the rest of the staff. "I'm sorry, sir, I really don't see how our experiences on the station will help you."

"It's about the connection," Nyx replied. "Mindo's research found the source of the signal comes from Carnwennan Station; Lieutenant Brennan's experiences show Section 31 was operating on the station. I confirmed this with Admiral Milne myself, who now believes that Admiral Thac and Fleet Admiral Vincent were working on behalf of Section 31 as well." He paused, giving a deep sigh, "I thought we were dealing with corruption and negligence within Starfleet and - I will freely admit this to you guys - I had become disheartened to think the organisation we had all sworn our lives in service to, was now making choices that ran against our very principles. That defied the Prime Directive, even! Well, now we know this wasn't just a Fleet Admiral and Admiral flouting the laws for themselves - they were doing it for Section 31. Pithos, the signal, all of it - it's coming from them."

“And recall,” Aenardha spoke up, fearing she was out of turn, but when no protest came, she continued, “Diplomat Valriya and I had to be smuggled off of Carnwennan. They were not open to us leaving for the Pandora. And the location of this ship would not have been discovered if it was not for my telepathic link to Mr. Arnaldo.” Just speaking about that made the feelings for him boil within her again. She swallowed those feelings for the time being. “The nature of our telepathic link prevented any other telepath from eavesdropping. We must take the precaution that they may have a telepath in their employ.”

"Well, if they have, we'll need all of the telepaths and empaths on board to be wary and alert of anything they pick up on the way home," Owen added after the Ensign spoke before turning to Nyx. "So what was your next move?"

"I went to Thac myself, in private, and confronted him with our conclusion,” Nyx continued. "Up until now, I'd kept him in the dark about what we knew, but I wanted to follow Admiral Milne's ploy and see what I could get him to admit. It's funny how much a person will tell you when they think they have the upper hand. He still thinks Vincent is alive and going to save him; he doesn't know that Admiral Milne is investigating what's been happening in the Expanse and has captured the Section 31 agent on her station. So, he let slip a few truths to me. He confirmed Pithos was a 31 facility designed to win the war against the Alrakis Pact - then press the Federation's military forces into other territories. Of course, 31 would control the technology that made it possible, effectively giving them control over Starfleet's operations. That is the size of the operation we have uncovered."

Krysia sat taking it all in, She was surprised Section 31 was able to operate so deep without someone knowing it. “Just how do Section 31 operate so freely? It sounds like they’re an entity unto themselves, one that has a reach that goes who knows how far!”

Mindo had been quiet for a while, lost in his own troubled thoughts and memories. Finally, Mindo spoke up. "There's someone else who could be involved," Mindo said. "About eight years ago, I was entangled in a scandal aboard the USS Rhys that involved the Rhys' CO and an Admiral from Section 31, Bradford Chase. It ended in my demotion and reassignment to the Tornado. Shortly after the scandal on the Rhys, their Captain died. The details of his death were listed as suicide. It later came to light that he was in fact killed. Admiral Chase is very good at covering his own behind. And the fact that Admiral Vincent has suddenly committed suicide just raises red flags... I don't think this involves the Pandora or its crew directly. All I'm saying is, our situation might be just one small cog in a grander scheme." Mindo didn't add anything about his paranoia behind his hasty reassignment to the Pandora. It could have involved Chase, but for years Mindo hadn't been able to find anything close to proof or explanation.

"If that's the case, then at the moment, surely we have some very important pieces and clues to what could be the solution to your dilemma?" Owen asked.

"Wow. What Chase did sounds exactly like what's happening here. The exact M.O. in fact,” Temple agreed. "Unfortunately, hearing that only further confirms another piece of the puzzle - this does directly involve the Pandora and her crew. There was a question that's been plaguing me for some time now, why did Thac bring the Pandora to Hesiod when he knew there was a possibility that we would uncover his scheme? It seemed so reckless of him." Nyx frowned, "Well Thac told me why. He chose the Pandora because he believes we are corruptible. He specifically mentioned you, Mindo. And Lieutenant Brennan. And myself. As examples of people who have been involved with or worked with Section 31 before. Thac believed that because our prior history, we would side with him and 31."

"Why?!" Mindo shouted. "Because he thought we'd be afraid? Section 31 ruined my life and nearly cost me my career! And now he needs me transferred to this hellhole, away from the only person I've ever loved?!" Mindo realized he was standing on the table. His outburst had come so fast he couldn't control it.

Aenardha recalled the abyss of despair she had picked up about Mindo when they spoke last. As he spoke his heated words in the meeting, that abyss exploded in his mind and seemed to nearly consume his emotions. It all happened too fast along with such a violent explosion of emotion for her to block herself from reading. There was someone he lost and there was a sincere hatred of Section 31.

Valriya leaned back in her seat, absently drumming her finger against her chin as she mulled over Mindo’s words.

Mindo stepped back down to his chair. "I'm sorry, sir," he said, head lowered. "I wasn't talking about the Pandora... or my crewmates."

Nyx reached across the desk to place a comforting hand on the Chief Engineer's shoulder. "It's okay, I understand your frustration. But he wasn't suggesting we would do it out of fear. He believes we would see it all his way; that we'd agree with Section 31's actions and help him." Nyx visibly swallowed, taking a beat. "If there is anyone at this table, with even an inkling of support for Section 31 - you may speak now. I think I know the answer but I want to be sure. Anyone?"

Krysia shook her head, looked around then looked at Nyx.. “I think I probably speak for those here when I say absolutely none whatsoever, Sir.”

“I did not even,” Aenardha spoke as she looked around, “know that Section 31 was a real thing until a few moment’s ago.” She looked at her captain. “No support here, sir.”

The Consul cleared her throat and angled towards the table. “I do not support Section 31 or their nefarious purposes, Captain Temple. And I realise speaking up at this exact moment, especially given my recent arrival aboard your ship, is subject to shady surmisal. I would like to point out that many of the tactics and tricks of the trade for diplomacy would be equally employed by Section 31. We warn, Section 31 threaten. We encourage, Section 31 coerce. We use these little devices of deception and manoeuvring in our everyday interactions with one another. I bring this up only to point out that Section 31, for all their enigma and tendrils of collusion, are an organisation comprised of people. And while an organisation can have evil people at its lead, the vast majority of those serving within the ranks of Section 31 are likely to be well meant, though clearly misguided. When viewed through that lens, it becomes quite easy to see how Section 31 could be everywhere at every time. Along the way, the innocent information provided to Section 31 becomes twisted for the shameful purposes of a perverse few.” After a pause Valriya looks up from the table to the Captain. “I’m not certain how you’ll find this helpful, Captain. I just felt it tendentious to paint an entire people with the same brush.”

Nyx smiled at her, "Of course it is helpful, thank you for clarifying your thoughts. While you are correct, there are many within Section 31 who will see their operations as completely acceptable - necessary, in fact. But the truth is, they are over-stepping their boundaries and violating the Federation's core principles in the process. It has already directly resulted in the loss of Hesiod Green, the escalation of aggressive action by the Alrakis Pact, and jeopardising the stability of the Expanse. Justified or not, they need to stop. There are too many lives at risk."

Mindo couldn't help but smile a little at Briya's words; as long as her fingers, as genuine as her heart. It made him feel a little better.

"In the interest of full disclosure, I want to add my own experiences with 31 to the table, so that we are all being honest here." Nyx spoke again, "I worked in the departments of Starfleet Security and Intelligence. We focused on gathering information about the Cardassian Union in the aftermath of the Dominion war. Section 31 noticed my work and when our goals aligned, they recruited me into their agency. I was tasked with eliminating Cardassian Military leaders in a bid to prevent the Union from recovering from the war and to maintain their weakened permission. Unfortunately, the Cardassians retaliated against us and destroyed my home at the time, Lucis V. The colony paid the price for my actions. I live every day knowing that I am responsible for that happening. Believe me when I say, we cannot defeat evil by doing evil."

That little speech brought to Aenardha’s mind the incident on Andor, at her home on the south pole. Repaying evil with more evil lead to two people ending up in positions they never envisioned before. There was no other move to make save for dealing and living with those actions. “You are absolutely right, sir,” she said. “We need to expose corruption. We need to draw them all out, even the ones with good intentions. If they have done nothing wrong, they have nothing to worry about.”

James nodded, “Like the Captain I also had my own encounters with Section 31, and none of those encounters have been to pleasant. One of those times was shortly after my first wife and daughter were killed. I was angry that I didn’t get back to the colony to protect them, but I was preforming my duty and they knew that. By the time our ship arrived we were looking for those that survived. I was angry during that time and I shut myself out and almost left Starfleet entirely. If it wasn’t for my old friend Nyx, and those at Starfleet Medical who forced my to a desk job and some time to heal I would of left the service completely.” James swallowed before continuing, “It was during this time they again tried to recruit me and they tried to use my own loss to their advantage, but I turned them down flat. Shortly after that the Captain requested that I be assigned here as his Chief Intel Officer, and I have made it my mission to stop this organization at all cost. There values are distorted and we need to stop them and any who back them.” James was visibly shaking before he stopped talking as he reached over to grab his wife’s shoulder before looking around the room.

Krysia offered a supportive smile, placing her hand on his where it rested on her shoulder. “They’ll never hurt you again, no one is going to take us away from you James that I promise you!”

"Right then. We know the score." Nyx clapped his hands together and leaned forward. "We know the Alrakis Pact will be heavily patrolling the main navigation route through the Carnwennan Corridor. Our friends in the Resistance believe we should take passage through the Rentara Nebula. This will give us a way around any potential forces and a head-start into the Corridor. We will likely still be chased all the way back to Federation Territory but taking the Nebula will give us a significant advantage. Any questions?"

Aenardha had plenty but knew there to be no answers here and now. She had to study what information they had. And study was at the top of her todo list.

Mindo said nothing, his mind already in Engineering making a mental list of the preparations he had to make for the Rentara Nebula, not to mention any other hazards they might run into.

The meeting concluded without much else discussion; the final stage of their journey had begun.

OFF