[Round 1] An Unlikely Coincidence

[Nimue]

Thread opened for Ensign Lundrigan!

[+ Allia]

((Interrogation room; Phoenix))

::Kivith waited as patiently as possible in the cramped interrogation room. What had happened to the rest of her crew? It would be appropriate for her life to be forfeit; it was her lack of tactical planning that had put them in this situation. The others shouldn't be punished by her lack of foresight. While she told herself that worrying about things she had no control over was illogical, she couldn't help herself. Still, when the door finally opened and a dignified Romulan in traditional military dress strode in, Kivith thought she maintained her outer calmness rather well.::

PE'THLAR: Greetings, daughter.

::And then the woman laughed. Aside from the mirth on her features, the Romulan woman appeared very familiar. Then, what she had said finally penetrated Kivith's thoughts. Daughter. She wasn't referring to her Vulcan heritage; this woman was claiming to be her actual parent. Highly unlikely, being as her mother was human, but the similarity between Kivith's features and this woman were hard to dismiss so easily.::

::It seemed to take forever, but the woman finally regained control of herself::

PE'THLAR: Look at the device.

::Kivith sat, motionless.::

::The Romulan slapped her hand down on the desk, hard enough to cause an echo throughout the room.::

PE'THLAR: I said look at it!

KIVITH: I see no reason to do so. This is your technology, you could have programmed it to convey any readings you wish.

::PE'THLAR regained composure:: Kivith, you are as stubborn as your father. Kravik drove me mad when he dug his heels in. If this is how you grew up, it's just as well I left you with him back on Earth.

::Kivith tried to keep her surprise to herself, though she was currently so unbalanced she wasn't sure how successful she was. It wasn't likely that these pirates had been able to hack into the Federation database to gain access to her file, and even a greater stretch to claim that these pirates had forewarning of their approach enough to study those files. Perhaps this woman did know her. She wouldn't let the Romulan know she came to that conclusion.::

KIVITH: My mother was human.

::PE'THLAR sneered:: Your mother is half human. Use the device. Scan me.

::Kivith continued to stare at her passively. After a few moments, the sub-commander dropped into a long string of curses in Romulan.::

PE'THLAR: You are going to drive me crazier than your father. ::She drew a wicked looking curved knife from a sheath at her waist::

::Kivith tensed, ready to defend herself. Weapons had been pulled on her before; with her background and the temper she had struggled with growing up, there had been more than a few scuffles. Instead of coming at her with the blade, however, the sub-commander raised her sleeve and slashed a thin mark across her upper forearm. A very narrow stream of bright red blood trickled down onto the table, splattering crimson as it landed.::

PE'THLAR: Do you believe me now?

::KIVITH watched the blood drip with a morbid fascination that kept her brain from functioning properly.:: I am more inclined to, but nothing can be proven without a complete genetic scan. If it pleases you, I will behave on the premise that you are indeed my mother. However, if you believe that will make me treat you more...familiarly, I must inform you that I am duty-bound to the Federation and will not divulge any secrets.

PE'THLAR: I do not want Federation secrets. ::There was deep scorn in her voice as she dropped the sleeve back over her forearm, careless of the blood.:: This ship is like a singularity drive on the verge of breaking containment and imploding. You and your crew mates are going to be as dead as the rest of us unless you help me.

::Kivith looked at her mother with puzzlement.:: oO The jailer is asking the prisoner to save her? Oo

PE'THLAR: Captain Deklan is a brutal Jem'Hadar. The Brotherhood gave him command of my ship and consolidated his crew among mine. Ever since, he has killed and pillaged as he saw fit, even executing crew members for refusing the simplest order . His conquests are disgusting, and the man must be killed before he destroys us all!

::Kivith noted the shame on her mother's face. That likely made her one of the captain's conquests; it explained the rage against him.::

KIVITH: What can I do? I am your prisoner.

PE'THLAR: You are my agent, just returned from a scouting mission. ::The sub-commander looked at her with hard eyes:: You suggest we leave this sector of space immediately, before a more powerful Federation fleet gets here and destroys us all.

KIVITH: How does this improve our situation?

PE'THLAR: This will increase my standing among the crew. When we try to wrest the ship away from Deklan, maybe it will override the crew's fear of him enough for many of them to take our side. ::The sub-commander stood, leaning both hands on the desk and hunching over to stare at Kivith searchingly.:: Whether you believe me or not, this gives you and your friends the chance to escape. Otherwise you can go sit in the cell with the rest of them, and die when your fleet comes. ::Pe'thlar looked hopeful.:: A fleet IS coming, is it not?

::Kivith thought about the USS Achilles that had just come from this region of space. Even though the Colorado hadn't been advised of the threat in this system, surely they were already beginning some sort of recourse. She didn't have enough variables to make an informed decision.::

KIVITH: I do not know. Possibly. If so, it could be several days before they arrive.

PE'THLAR: Are you with me, daughter?

KIVITH: Affirmative. ::There were few logical choices. Outside the cell, she could be more helpful in any circumstance.::

::PE'THLAR breathed a heavy sigh of relief.:: Good. Take off your Starfleet badge; it's been deactivated anyway. ::As Kivith did so, also taking a moment to remove the single pip denoting her ensign rank and pocketing both. Pe'thlar handed her a Romulan communication device to place on her uniform.:: Click this five times to open a channel to me directly, but only in case of emergency.

KIVITH: I understand. I must speak with my shipmates before they do anything...drastic.

::PE'THLAR opened her mouth to disagree, but must have realized the argument would take more time than simply letting her go. She acceded with an irritated nod.:: I realize you've probably taken the Kholinahr seriously, but emotions may be required in order to save yourself, and your friends.

::Kivith had already come to the same conclusion. It wasn't going to be an easy thing to do; she hadn't allowed any emotion to escape her unchecked in twelve years. Remembering back to another incident, she amended her estimation to nine years. Unwilling to speak, she gave her mother a nod.::

::Pe'thlar patted Kivith's shoulder awkwardly before marching out of the room.::

PE'THLAR: My agent returns with troubling news. T'plak, you will take Kivith to some quarters to straighten up. I must inform the captain immediately. Guards, come with me.

::Kivith allowed herself a small sneer she almost felt as she watched the two guards fret. Do they follow their prisoner, or do they follow their commander's orders?::

PE'THLAR: Centurion T'plak will be with her; do you doubt his loyalty, and mine? Move it.

::After a moment's indecision and a concerned glare at T'plak, they followed the sub-commander down the hall.::

T'PLAK: How much does she trust you?

KIVITH: Enough. It would appear we're both prisoners, in one sense or another, so our goals are aligned. Take me to the cell where my crewmates are, then we can find me a new uniform.

::The Centurion didn't waste time with objections, he simply lead the way. When they reached the cell and found the guards weaponless, communicatorless, unconscious, and stuck inside the field, Kivith fought down the urge to smile. The Discovery's crew was too clever for their own good.::

KIVITH: Can you keep this quiet and post a new guard?

T'PLAK: I think so. ::He shook his head at the men.:: Idiots. I'll need to stay here until new guards arrive and make sure this doesn't get out. Take this corridor all the way down, make a left at the junction and a right at the next. Your quarters will be 713B.

KIVITH: Acknowledged. Meet me in my quarters when the area is secured. Once I have completed some tasks, I will need to be escorted onto the bridge. ::She didn't wait for his agreement, only trusted that he would do as she asked. The way she had seen T'plak look at her mother left little doubt of his loyalty. It wasn't ideal, but it was sufficient for her.::

::She manned the computer terminal the moment she got to her tiny, nearly empty quarters. Fortunately the crew was so diverse and had programmed the computer in a variety of languages, allowing her to tap into the basic ship functions and download a map to a datapad of her own. She took a minute to encode that map and prepare to send it via data stream throughout the ship. With the ship's specs, an enterprising crew could find a place to hole up and plan their next move, or perhaps when the moment came, take back the Colorado, located in the primary hangar.::

::Kivith finished the encoding, knowing that while it would seem like an odd but brief data surge inside the piece-meal ship, Epsilon should be able to download the map and decipher the message.

KIVITH: *Datasurge transmission*=/\=Commander Epsilon, take cover until the opportune time arrives. You will know when that is. Kivith out.=/\=

::Kivith monitored the ship's primary frequencies, looking for anything that suggested her message had raised suspicions. As far as she could tell, it hadn't. After that, requisitioning weapons and new clothing was a matter of replicating something in the proper size. She had never been particularly fond of Romulan uniforms, but she left her Starfleet regulated underclothes on and sliced the collar off the rather bulky top, shredding the materials so the hint of cleavage could be seen. Kivith decided that would work well in this crew of misfits. Otherwise, she was well covered in the muted sea-green outfit. With the exception of having her bosom somewhat exposed, the uniform was quite comfortable. She took a moment to remove her braids from Federation regs as well, choosing to plait her scarlet hair together in a long tail that reached nearly the small of her back. After the chime rang, she drew the disruptor pistol she had found and walked to the door, pressing the button to open it.::

T'PLAK: Things are under control at the brig. ::Eying her appreciatively.:: You don't look much like Starfleet anymore, but you don't look very Romulan, either.

::Kivith ignored him.:: Take me to the bridge; we've kept my mother waiting long enough.

Ensign Kivith

Science Officer

USS Discovery