Round 7 Cpt Jalana Rajel - A blast from the past

[Jalana]

(( Big thanks to Jonathan for letting me have a part in this ))

(( Quarters Rajel ))

:: In times like this Jalana preferred to stay in the action, on the bridge or close to whatever department had the best lead. But right now they had old reports, that had not been updated for over a hundred years, mysterious DNA in some encrypted files and data of a nebula that sounded more dangerous than she liked. Before they'd arrive they would have a meeting, but until then she couldn't really do anything. There were too many variables and they still had half a day left until arrival. So Jalana went back to her quarters. ::

:: Upon arrival she slipped out of her boots, grabbed a PADD from her desk, got a cup of Jestral Tea and dropped her butt on the couch. She put up her feet and activated the PADD, which automatically updated itself with her newest messages and reports. With a lazy sweep from bottom to top she began to scroll the headlines and furrowed her brows as she spotted a report marked as Top Secret. A quick tap of the thumb on the headline opened the message and she leaned back, cuddling into her couch and raised her cup to her lips to take a sip as green eyes scanned the text. ::

=/\= REPORT =/\=

[...] finalized, completed documentation of what has become known as the Prometheus Incident as investigated by the Starfleet Sciences & Technologies division. At the conclusion of Operation: Knife Point, S.S.T. has confirmed involvement of Sicarius [...]

:: The tea that had just begun to warm the Trill's mouth suddenly found its way onto the display of the PADD, running over the surface down over her fingers. With a yelp she dropped the PADD and shook her hand to cool it down. Coughing she put the cup down on the table to quickly grab the PADD again without even waiting for the couching fit to be over. That was impossible! Again she read over the lines and there it was again. Sicarius. Her heart beat faster, rapidly like a drum. The report mentioned further information below and without reading anything really she looked for another mention of it and found it after a bit of searching. ::

[...] Knife Point confirmed that Doctor Hans Coulter was the instigator. The lead project manager and also had been an agent of Sicarius, an organization once believed to have died out in the late 2200s. [...]

:: That was it? Nothing else? She hurriedly began to read the whole report, not really interested in all the other details after these shocking news? A side note? That couldn't be all they had on them! It was impossible that they were back. She herself had seen to it. He was dead!

(( Flashback, Trill Private Service, TSS Farel, 2230 ))

:: There he was, all calm and quiet, as if he had all the time in the world instead of being executed in less than a day. She had not seen a single motion from him ever since he had been brought into the cell and sat down on the thin pallet that was his bed. A statue. That kind of statue that had killed millions of people in a purge only he and his followers believed in. Her ocean blue eyes remained on the unmoving body. She had come here to see the man who had killed so many. ::

:: His last stop had been a colony Orgilum IV. Several ships had responded immediately to the distress calls and after he was found to be responsible, Apria had been the one to be put in charge, to make sure he'd arrive in the Klingon Empire for his sentence. She knew that they were helping the Federation with that, which she did not like at all, but this man needed to be punished. It was hard to not take that task upon herself, but she had orders. ::

:: Apria stood just as still, arms crossed in front of her, as if the first to move would lose. The knee long black uniform jacket closed up after covering her throat, so neither the security officer at the door, nor the man inside the cell would see her throat tremble in the immense effort not to scream in fury. She couldn't understand how he could be so calm after ending so many lives. Finally she couldn't stand the quiet any more. ::

Apria Rajel: Why?

:: He slowly turned his head and looked at her with his dead dull eyes, pretending that he had not seen her standing there in the dimmed light of the brig's control room. Silence, but even without words he made her feel uneasy, like she'd be next on his list. He could be considered handsome, if not for these eyes staring at her like the grim reaper on a field trip. ::

Mida Shayzier: Why what, Kezra?

:: His voice, so soft and melodious sent shivers down Apria's spine. There was no surprise that he was able to interpret the 5 bands on her shoulder and fit them to the correct rank. She had taken Command just a few months ago so she was not a full Tezra yet. She pressed her lips onto each other. ::

A. Rajel: You know what Shayzier. Why?

M. Shayzier: It had to be done.

:: She stepped forward, closer to the force field that would hold her back from doing the Klingon's job right here and now. ::

A. Rajel: You just HAD to kill millions of people?

:: He raised from the pallet and stepped forward looking down right into her eyes. Apria forced herself to not step back again, no matter how much her inner alarm screamed to get away from him. ::

M. Shayzier: ::whispering:: They were weak, Kezra.

:: Her ocean blue eyes squinted, as her fingernails dug into the fabric of her uniform covering her elbow. It would be so easy, just lowering the field and he would be hers. It took her everything to remain calm to the outside. ::

A. Rajel: In less than a day you will join them. We will see who'll be weak then.

:: Chills ran down her spine as he smiled, as if she had said the most beautiful compliment in the galaxy. ::

M. Shayzier: You can't stop it. It will come and the weak will cease.

A. Rajel: It?

M. Shayzier: ::He smiled a little more:: You will see. Everyone will see.

:: Apria wondered what he was talking about. Was he threatening them? Did he have something planned that would fall over the galaxy? Did he know about something that nobody else had heard about? Or did he have delusions and there was nothing but the voice in his head to kill? ::

Security Officer: Kezra Rajel, Bridge reports that we are passing the border.

:: As Shayzier pulled up the corner of his mouth she knew that it didn't mean anything good. Did he plan to kill the Klingons as well? Were they followed? She had to get back to the bridge right away. ::

A. Rajel: Thank you. ::She spoke without taking her eyes off him, as if he could possibly reach through the energy field.:: No matter what you have planned you can forget about it, Shayzier. I will hand you to the Klingons and will make sure personally that you can't do any more harm. Enjoy your trip. It's the last you'll have.

:: He still smiled as she turned without another word and left the brig, feeling his dead gaze in her back. ::

(( /Flashback ))

:: And she had done just that. The Klingon Officials had allowed her to be present and she hadn't looked away once when Mida Shayzier had been executed, she still could feel that gaze on her as if he had wanted to make sure that she saw it. She hadn't batted an eye, no matter how cruel it was and when they had been done and his body lifeless, she had approached to feel for a pulse and make sure that he really was dead, just then she had beamed back to the Farel and headed back towards Trill. ::

:: With Shayzier's death Sicarius had been uprooted and destroyed. It was not possible that they were back. Too much time had passed. The few fanatics left must have spread in the whole Galaxy. Jalana remembered fighting a few on Trill in her Cop days as Arien, but those really had no idea what the whole organisation was about, they had been sheep, easily persuaded to stop. ::

:: Jalana dropped the PADD on the table, not in the mood any more to continue reading the reports. To find the Unity and save anyone who could possibly still be alive needed to be on her mind, not a man who was dead for over 160 years. She'd have a meeting tomorrow and needed to be clear and awake. ::

:: She grabbed her tea and headed towards the bed room. Going through that memory, so old that she had forgotten it until now, made her feel uneasy, feeling that tingling in her back as if someone was watching. She stopped at the bedroom door and turned slightly, looking around her quarters. ::

Rajel: Computer, how many people are in my quarters?

Computer: Only Captain Jalana Rajel is in these quarters.

:: She exhaled, even though she had known that before. Shaking her head she turned off the light in the living area and stepped to her bed. She changed into her nightgown, not sure though, if she would really find any sleep tonight. ::

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Captain Jalana Rajel
Commanding Officer
USS Constitution B
Image Team Facilitator
A238906JL0