round 1 JP: Cpt Jalana Rajel & Cmdr David Cody - New Friends & Ghosts of the Past

[+ Hutch]

((Commander Cody’s Office, Deck 1, USS Athena))

:: David established the security of his office before opening a comm channel through the JTSC encryption. Paranoia never really bothered him. He checked the sweep reports from his slimpadd, verifying the non-existence of listening devices, whether energy or bio-based, and entered Captain Rajel’s comm channel. He didn’t show Prendar all of his security features. That was a good way for David to get hacked. ::


((Quarters Jalana Rajel, Deck 2, USS Constitution-B))

:: The night in the dark quarters was rather quiet, which just played into Jalana’s hands. They had just returned from Dagorin VI, a taxing and exhausting mission. She had left Sick Bay after her treatment only about half an hour ago and the little break just to calm herself down was welcome before sleep. So she sat in the dark of her quarters, the only light illuminating from the screen in front of her. The Trill closed a report when her computer beeped, announcing an incoming message, without looking where it was coming from. :: 

:: On the other side was a young man and she couldn’t say she’d seen him before. She liked meeting new people, and she was curious what he wanted from her. So she leaned forward and offered him one of her signature smiles, spreading into her sparkling green eyes. :: 

Rajel: Good evening. 

:: David smiled. ::

Cody: Captain Rajel. I’m Commander David Cody under Captain Faranfey’s command here on the USS Athena.

:: One of Selene’s people? She knew that the crew had changed ships. The Athena was an Odyssey class, just like the Apollo-A, the ship she and her crew had been on before under Andrus Jaxx. :: 

Rajel: Please call me Jalana. ::A sudden thought shot through her head.:: I hope everything is alright with Selene? 

Cody: Actually, I was wondering if you might be willing to help me out. I have this… Thomas Prendar, who decided he wanted to come along on our ship’s next mission. After digging a little bit, I’ve found he’s made quite a bit of noise over several ships. ::with a crooked smile:: Enough for me to take a closer look at what he’s been up to over the last year or two.

:: Raising both brows she squeezed her spots into her hairline. Prendar. She had met the man once, though her crew had met him another time before that. Akeelah had been acting CO back then and the report had been anything but a glowing recommendation for the man. The second time she only had gotten rid of him because Nugra had stormed into the ship and used his unique methods to make Prendar leave. Her mind wandered to Nugra and sadness washed over her, but she quickly moved it aside. This was not the time. :: 

:: So Prendar was on board Selene’s ship? She worried a little about that. Whenever Prendar showed up, that didn’t mean he was there to play nice. The usual chipper and bubbly Trill had trouble to not let her face fall through the ship into the vacuum of space. :: 

Rajel: Prendar. You have my deepest condolences for that visit. 

Cody: If I may, Captain, what can you tell me about Thomas Prendar and your experience with him?

Rajel: Jalana. ::She smiled at him and leaned back in her seat, wondering where to start.:: Prendar was with my crew two times, but I personally met him only once. Though that was a rather impressionable visit. We had just returned from 1914. We had been pulled into a time rift and upon return learned that we’d been gone for two months. Prendar was the one greeting us. He confined me to my quarters and confiscated the ship. 

:: David raised a brow. ::

Cody: He simply showed up right as you came out of the rift?

Rajel: Yes, I don’t know if he waited for us or was just there at the right time as part of the searching party. ::Pause:: He believed that we tampered with the timeline, but in all actuality someone else had done that before us and we were the one fixing that mistake before we found a way to return. Prendar of course didn’t believe me. He investigated the mission and interrogated my crew in a manner that can only be described as him being obsessed with finding anything we did wrong. Not only pertaining the mission but anything at all.

:: David knew that some officers could be a little overzealous in their investigations, and it hadn’t been long since he had talked with Dr. Foster. ::

Cody: ::darkening:: Obsessed. How so?

Rajel: From what I understand he was rather hostile, threatening my crew in a way that made it appear as if he followed the rules, but… you know when you just know that someone has malicious intentions. 

:: From one of the things that Foster had revealed, and having a bit better understanding of what might have shown up, David nodded. ::

Cody: Dr. Foster and I chatted briefly. There was mention of another ship, either cloaked or hidden, within the rift. The reports are a little conflicting. I don’t know if Prendar knew about that or not, or what exactly that was.

:: Jalana wasn’t surprised that he had talked to other members of the crew. He wanted to know about Prendar and the more voices he heard the more complete the image of Prendar would be. She did remember what David was talking about, though having seen the reports as she had sent them to Starfleet, she wondered why they were conflicting. :: 

Rajel: Why do you ask? 

Cody: The reason I ask is because I think it might be related to other events that Colonel Nugra had been involved with before… ::closing his eyes a moment:: Before his passing.

Rajel: ::Swallowing she lowered her eyes, remembering her friend with a pang of sadness. Seeing David’s small gesture she had the feeling that they had been friends as well. :: I’m sorry for your loss.

:: Although they weren’t as close as he had with Selene and Jalana, his death affected him, hard. ::

Cody: He meant a great deal to me. ::taking a breath:: Nugra had a great deal of knowledge and experience about an ancient race, a symbol of which showed up the other day. I’m not sure how much you know about a couple of incidents, once at Duronis, and once on the Victory where Nugra had been.

Rajel: What race… and symbol, if you don’t mind me asking? 

Cody: An ancient one that Nugra had come across before, Yeltan.

:: She could swear she had heard that name before. Leaning back she stared at the surface of her desk and chewed on her bottom lip, as she tried to trace her steps. Where had she… oh. Her emerald eyes raised to look at David. She was not sure how much she could say, without getting either herself or Selene into trouble. She was pretty sure that these were things she shouldn’t even know about. :: 

Rajel: I don’t know about these incidents. ::At least that was the truth.:: Why would Prendar … ::She stopped herself. That question would lead into a deep rabbit hole. :: 

:: David studied her hesitation. He wasn’t entirely sure of the dynamic between her and Selene, but wasn’t sure how to approach it.

Cody: Regarding that other ship, are you sure it was Romulan?

:: She needed to turn around again. Fast. He had a question before she hadn’t answered. That was a good point to return to. :: 

Rajel: David, you were asking about that other ship before. I did mention it in my report to Starfleet, but I have the feeling that someone might have… changed parts. 

:: He masked a grim, somewhat bleak realization. If a report had been changed… oO Or sanitized… Oo Too many people knew how to scrub, himself included. But if there was a question regarding a potential altered report, he might be able to do something with that. ::

Cody: What was the disturbance, if you don’t mind me asking?

Rajel: We were in 1914 as mentioned and while our teams tried to fix the errors my bridge crew attempted to find ways to return home. While they scanned the anomaly for traces that could help, they found traces of another ship that had been there before us. They were Romulan. We do not know why they were there, they had been gone when we arrived. But we had the theory that they were behind the changes. We never figured out why they would do it, though. So we can’t be sure.

:: A couple of things occurred to David. If it had been a Hunger ship, it would have made an attempt to breech. No, it wasn’t a Hunger ship. But… he did know that Sicarius intersected with the Romulans. That made a lot more sense, but increased his concern. ::

Cody: Sicarius has shown up within Romulan space.

:: The Trill’s face fell and her already light skin went pale as the moon. She stared at the screen, at the man who had just mentioned the one name that still after over 160 years send chills through her whole body, out- and inside. How could it be that after all this time they were still part of her life? And why did the Romulans work with them? If Sicarius didn't change their mission Romulans wouldn't have been the species she expected to hear in the same sentence. ::

:: She swallowed hard and her voice was slightly shaky, no matter how hard she tried to make it sound steady. :: 

Rajel: Are… you sure? 

:: At some point, David knew he would need to make a decision. A silent breath made him decide to take a risk. ::

Cody: Yes. I don’t know if you’re aware of a certain Captain’s origins, but I’m also trying to locate a friend of theirs who came along.

:: Still under shock of hearing of Sicarius activity, her eyes snapped up to David’s. He seemed to know about Selene and her past… or rather future. And who did he mean with friends. Selene had never mentioned friends. The unknown Romulan who had waited for her to bring a message to Selene maybe. Or was the ‘friend’ just a figure of speech? :: 

Rajel: What friend are you talking about? 

Cody: ::after a moment:: I have reason to believe that friend knows something about everything we’re facing.

:: That did sound like the Romulan. Jalana leaned back thinking and taking a deep breath. :: 

Rajel: What does all of this have to do with Prendar? Or ::a short break:: Sicarius?

:: And there was the real rub, the real question that set David down this path. He knew it was related, he was just missing one last piece. ::

Cody: ::a long breath:: I can’t go into all of it, but the short version is I think what happened to you, what happened on the Victory, at Duronis, the Apollo-A are all connected, and somehow those two are tied into it somehow.

:: This became worse and worse. :: 

Rajel: This is a bad idea. He should stay far away from them, no matter what I think of Prendar.

:: But the man had gone to collect a captured, then escaped Sicarius prisoner. David shook his head. Something wasn’t right about that. ::

Cody: ::after a long moment:: Do you know something?

Rajel: I know too much if you ask me. ::She rubbed the bridge of her nose.:: You are speaking with the person who delivered Mida Shayzier to the Klingons. ::She remembered the ice cold aura of that man as if it had been yesterday.:: 

:: If there was something that could shock David, Jalana found it. He stumbled over his throat, unable to speak as took in her Trill markings. ::

Cody: ::finding his voice:: Wait… you did, or?

Rajel: My former host Apria. ::She shook her head:: I still don’t know why this has anything to do with … that friend of a certain Captain. You are not telling me that Sicarius has anything to do with the Hunger? .oO Damn, walked right into that, didn’t you? Now he knows that you know. Oo.

:: Closing his eyes a moment, David made sure he hadn’t said anything about the Hunger as a certainty fell. Jalana knew. And if she knew about the Hunger, then it became likely she knew about Selene… about a great many things. He thought about the best way to proceed. ::

Cody: ::softly:: Shayzier went on about a great evil about to descend on the galaxy and we needed to be ready for. ::studying Jalana:: I think we both know about Selene’s history, as well as Shiarrael. Sicarius started with Shayzier, Last year, we saw the resurgence of the Sicarius, starting with the Prometheus Station incident. Sicarius played around with weaponry that created temporal subspace rifts.

Rajel: ::Closing her eyes briefly she inhaled deeply.:: Yes I’m aware about his… belief. It was all he talked about, and having to strengthen the galaxy by eliminating the weak. If they are really back and responsible for that, we all have a big problem. I am sure that everyone would prefer if what Selene and her friend know remains in their timeline and does not repeat itself here. 

:: A sudden realization slammed home that David should have realized just a short while ago while talking with Talia. ::

Cody: ::shaking his head, angry mostly with himself:: There’s something you should know. There’s a shapeshifter associated with Sicarius who goes by Que. Que captured Talia Kaji at Duronis, impersonated her, was rooted out, then Que herself was captured later by Commander Brek and the Columbia crew later on in mid 2392. Prendar went out to Starbase 118 to collect Que, and somehow she managed to escape. I know because Brek and I got together barely an hour or two later after Prendar showed up. Jalana, this Yeltan symbol that came up, it’s on the planet in the Gamma Quadrant. And we know there is a shapeshifter involved with the Sicarius.

Rajel: A shapeshifter? That means she could be anywhere… anyone. David, I don’t like the sound of that. 

Cody: ::recalling that Prendar spent the most time on both the Constitution and Victory:: Wait… would Prendar know about you, Selene and Shiarrael?

Rajel: I don’t think so. Shiarrael made sure that there are no traces of her visit here. ::She had tried to find anything but the computer had believed that nobody but Jalana had been in her quarters at that time. :: And I contacted Selene over a secure line. She did not mention Prendar being on board at the time, so he wouldn’t even know that we talked. But if Selene’s background is in her file, he could find a way to get to it.

:: It solidified a somewhat working theory. David nodded, pulling in all the information that came through from different sources. He suddenly realized that the Shiarreal that came with Selene was still out there, if understood that she somehow showed up at the Constitution.::

Cody: Do you believe that he could have found out?

Rajel: To be honest I wouldn’t be surprised about anything when it comes to him. But why do you think he could know about that? Do you think that might be the reason he’s on the Athena right now?

Cody: There’s something I haven’t told you, I haven’t told anyone, yet. There’s two event chains I’ve developed. One involving all of the incidents regarding temporal events that have and may have to do with the Yeltans and the Hunger, and then an event chain that includes the actions of a person along with the re-emergence of the Sicarius in February of last year.

:: The Trill leaned forward, watching the man intently. :: 

Rajel: Which events? 

Cody: Here’s the one thing you need to know. On February 4, 2392, Lt. Commander Thomas Prendar requisitioned a ship from Starfleet Intelligence and flew off somewhere. There are two factors involved in this, one circumstantial, and one factual.

Rajel: :nodding:: It is not surprising that he grabs a ship and flies off. ::But he surely had a point to what he was saying.:: What are the factors? 

Cody: Circumstantial, fourteen days after Prendar flew off, the first strike from the Sicarius happened at Prometheus Station. Factual, for reasons I have yet to find out, Prendar didn’t attempt to re-capture Que after she escaped from custody from Captain Shaw. I’ve read the report, and everything Shaw’s team said backs what Prendar said… but still.

:: That hit her like a hammer right in the guts. There must be an explanation for that. Something. Anything. .oO Calm down, Jalana and think. Oo. 

Rajel: Are you sure about that?

:: David assured her with a short nod. ::

Cody: Every Intelligence officer has a personnel file that logs their activity, regardless of the operation. ::

Rajel: What if the name Thomas Prendar is a cover he uses to protect his real identity? With him being of the SFI he has the means to do that and bury his real identity. We wouldn’t have access to that kind of information and no way to find out. 

Cody: ::thinking:: There’s only a couple who would. Do know you something, or is it an idea?

Rajel: ::nodding:: I am simply trying to come up with alternatives, to keep an open mind about his involvement and background.

:: David nodded. Always keep an open mind. ::

Cody: And possibilities.

Rajel: That is who we are. The keeper of open minds and finders of possibilities, seekers of truth and all that. And secondly… ::She sighed:: … The thought of Prendar being from the future and knowing about all of this is terrifying. So I have to hope he isn’t.

:: With a somewhat morbid curiosity, however terrible it was, David relaxed. ::

Cody: No. He’s from the Prime here and now. I’ve read his file… what was he like? Shayzier… if you don’t mind me asking.

:: The Trill looked through David for a long moment, remembering that man like it had been yesterday that she stood in front of his cell trying to find out why he had killed so many people. Chills ran through her every cell. :: 

Rajel: Calm, calculating… He was convinced that what he did, had to be done. That the weak had to cease.

:: Flinching slightly, David thought of the last Ixvapian warlord, Hadrian. The strong preserved, the weak perished, as was ordained by the Journey. He knew that deformed logic, even if he didn’t agree. ::

Cody: ::entranced:: What did he say?

Rajel: He told me… Apria, that it would come. .oO You can't stop it. It will come and the weak will cease. Oo. And that we can’t stop it. He smiled at me when he said that, even more when he told me I would see, when he didn’t answer to who ‘it’ was. ::She took a deep shivering breath.:: He… ::Pause:: He was obsessed with his cause, no matter the cost. But I can see why so many followed him. 

Cody: What was it about him?

Rajel: Because despite all he said and did, he wasn’t cold. He was charismatic and passionate about Sicarius’ cause. He believed in it and could make others believe in it as well. If you ask me, that’s the most dangerous kind of fanatic.

:: Closing his eyes a moment, David took a moment to digest. Charismatic, passion and belief, some of the worst people within Earth’s history possessed those traits. Yes, he could see how Mida inspired others, especially if his followers were prone to look toward someone who could lead them in those times. ::

Cody: So you caught him, turned him over to the Klingons, and then?

Rajel: He died the next day. I was there to personally make sure of that. He looked at me the whole time. He wanted me to see it. ::She stayed with that memory for a brief moment. :: After all we talked about today, I wonder if he knew about the Hunger.

:: David couldn’t discount the possibility, given everything that happened. He wondered if Mida was another universe jumper, and somehow fell into a fever to spark this universe. He tried to picture Mida Shayzier, filling in everything from this tall, dark haired, charismatic man, to someone of normal stature, maybe with the elements of a scholar in his features. Was he clean shaven, or did he have a beard? ::

Cody: What did he look like?

:: For a moment Jalana wasn’t sure why David wanted to know, but it dawned on her. He tried to imagine him, something she had done many times in many lives when facing an opponent or an enemy. And without any information, it was hard to do that. Mida didn’t have pictures on files, but she had seen him, spoken with him, so the question made perfect sense. :: 

Rajel: Shayzier was tall, his hair brown and about shoulder length. He liked to wear it combed back… I remember him running his hands through it to move it backwards before he was executed. His eyes ::pause:: brown but not dark, though I found them dead and soulless. The kind of eyes that show you he could lose it any moment if he would allow it to himself. ::A longer pause.:: But maybe it was because he was in that cell, that they looked that way to me. ::She pulled herself out of the memory looking at the man on the screen.:: I was focusing on containing my rage against him when we met, so my impression might have been tinted by that.

::Nodding, the deep black skin of the Ixvapian warlord and his dark, glittering, proud glean ghosted out of memory. David met people like Shayzier.::

Cody: Those who are firm in who they are and what they believe.

Rajel: He looked like the kind of man you would trust with your life, when meeting him as part of your crew. If not for those eyes.

Cody: ::struck by a thought:: Any sons or daughters?

:: Jalana rubbed over her face with one hand. All this talk about Shayzier made her nervous. It had been so far in the past, somewhere in a dark corner in the darkest room of the void called memories of forgotten past. And then this article had brought it back up, now David asked all these questions. It made it difficult to focus on anything but these memories. They were as fresh as the day it all happened. :: 

Rajel: Yes two daughters. Hope and Futureia. Why do you ask?

Cody: Just free thinking, more than anything. Sometimes the cause of a father is inherited by the sons and the daughters ::humans were just as bad about that alongside both the Klingons and the Romulans at times::

Rajel: I see. ::pause:: Well his wife, Leia, and his daughters were not there when we got him. We were sure that he made sure of that to get them to safety. We were unable to find them, no matter where we looked. I assume he had some powerful friends with means to take care of that.

::That clinched a few things David learned during the course of this year, making several notes.::

Cody: Would you be willing to tell me about them?

Rajel: The girls were teenagers, that means they grew up with his convictions, possibly were influenced by it. That means unless he kept family and Sicarius apart. Though with his strength of belief that is hard to imagine. But I can’t say if they followed it as well.

::A sudden feeling traveled the course of David’s spine, based on what he had learned about the initiates.::

Cody: Jalana, you are a lifesaver.

:: The Trill smiled slightly, she hoped she didn’t look as tired as she felt. With a gesture that had gone over into her blood she fluently pushed her hair behind her ear and lowered her hand again. :: 

Rajel: I am glad, if I could help. I appreciate that you shared the information you have. If you don’t mind I would like to stay updated on this.

:: David leveled her a warm, somewhat devious smile. ::

Cody: Something is going to happen in the near future. Something very large, very splashy, and very public. I won’t spoil the surprise, but I think you’re going to like it.

:: The smile and the sudden excitement was more than a little curious for Jalana. Coming from such a dark subject to this of course made her want to know what had happened in this man’s mind, what was the mysterious event going to happen soon. But she also knew asking would be futile. She would have to wait.:: 

Rajel: I can’t wait to see what it is, David. And good luck with Prendar. 

Cody: Thank you, Captain. For everything. I’ll keep you in the loop.

:: She nodded, offering him another smile, before pressing the button to end the connection. She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. This had been an emotionally taxing conversation, with memories she would have preferred to stay away. The day had been long and straining, so what she really needed was sleep. Opening her eyes again, she wanted to see if she had much urgent paperwork to do tonight, when in the corner of her eye she saw something, that made her heart jump and her body followed, pushing back the chair into the shelf behind her. She twirled towards the shape she saw standing at the window. ::

Rajel: Computer light. NOW! 

:: The light turned on immediately, hurting her eyes briefly so she closed them for that moment. As she opened them again, there was nothing, but her rapidly beating heart. She could have sworn she saw someone standing there in the window, dimly illuminated from behind by the passing stars. :: 

Rajel: Computer, has anyone but me been in my quarters within the last 24 hours? 

Computer: ::beep:: Negative. 

:: The Trill exhaled. The conversation with David must have put her more on edge as she had thought. In combination with the taxing day her mind could play tricks on her. Yes, that must be it. Simple trickery. But that didn’t mean she would sleep with her lights out tonight. Clearly not. :: 


JP by

Commander David Cody
Mission Specialist
USS Athena, NCC-97780
P237106MB0

hoodsdavid@gmail.com
FNS Team | Training Team | Top Sims Judge

& 

Captain Jalana Rajel
Commanding Officer
USS Constitution, NCC-9012-B
A238906JL0

werner-jessica@gmx.de
Image Team Facilitator | Top Sims Judge

Edited November 2, 2016 by Hutch