100% proof, and we don't mean drink...Pt 1

Posted on Sat Apr 2nd, 2022 @ 7:36pm by Commander Finchley Kerr & Lieutenant Shr'Nesh Karadis & Lieutenant Niali Korial MD

Mission: *CD*
Location: DS9/USS Patterson/Gamma Quadrant
Timeline: Current

Finchley tapped his COMM badge and said "Commander Kerr to Lieutenants Korial and Karadis, meet me on level five, section four immediately, Kerr out."

[Klingon restaurant, Promenade]

Karadis was half way through her first Klingon stew in a long time, savouring every mouthful. Suddenly her COMM badge chirruped and her bosses voice came through asking her to report to him.

"Really, I mean REALLY!!!" she exclaimed, throwingk her fork down angrily and shaking her fist at the universe in general "You couldn't have waited like, another ten minutes!!!"

She stormed out the restaurant, stopped, stormed back in, picked up the plate with the stew on it, plus the fork, then stormed out again. She wasn't going to be denied her Klingon stew by anyone or anything...

(Quarks bar Promenade)

Niali stood and finished her tea in a single gulp, picked up the medical bag she had been given containing specialist hypos for her to use if she needed to and left the bar. “What’s going on now” she grumbled to herself.

[Level 5, section 4]

Finchley watched as Karadis arrived, plate in one hand, fork stuffing the meal of whatever it was into her mouth in the other.

"I mean, honestly Karadis?" he questioned her, then held up his hand and said "Actually, you know what...just...don't, I don't want too know" as she began protesting at 'his' timing at calling the meeting.

Finchley looked around for Niali, hoping soon to catch sight of her.

Niali wandered into section 4 after getting lost several times, then she saw “Finchley?” And then somebody eating from a bowl as though they had never seen food. “Finchley I’m here what the devil is going on?”

"Ah Niali, good, you've made it as well" Finchley said, smiling at her.

"Niali, this is Shr'Nesh Karadis, she's...well, she's just Karadis, you'll see what I mean when we're on mission" Finchley said, gesturing towards the still eating Lieutenant behind him.

Karadis simply smiled, gestured and mouthed "Hello" as she carried on eating.

"First things first though" Finchley said "I need you to hold up your right hand, three fingers pointing up and your thumb and pinkie crossed over the front of your palm."

Karadis looked at him, and putting her now empty plate down said "What???"

"Just do it please..." Finchley sighed.

‘Finchley what is all this about? Not that I am not glad to see you I am but really, this is all a bit cloak and dagger.”

“First things first Niali, your right hand…” Finchley replied.

She raised her right hand as he had asked her to.

Finchley turned to Karadis and nodded to her right hand. Sighing Karadis lifted her right hand as well and did as she was asked.

Finchley to raised his right hand thus and solemnly looked at the two of them, saying "Repeat after me, I swear not to repeat what I'm about to be told...scouts honour!", then burst out laughing.

Niali burst out laughing then punched him in the arm. “Finchley what is going on with you, tell me or I will return to Quarks and get very drunk!”

"Owww!" Finchley said, looking mock hurt "I'll get to that just now."

Karadis kicked him on the ankle and said "Arsehole!"

"That's Commander Arsehole to you Karadis" he replied.

He motioned for all three of them to sit down on some upturned crates, then he looked at Niali and asked "What do you know about Sentinel One?"

Niali sat down aware that the tone had just gotten serious. “Hyper intelligence, very ‘black ops’ yes?”

"And how do you know about them?" Finchley asked curiously "Nobody outside of those who have served there knows. Karadis and I have been there since it's inception, we've picked every squad and you've never been in one" he finished.

“I am intelligent, I listen and don’t talk, sometimes people say things to me in doctor patient confidentiality . Does that help your sensibilities?” She asked cautiously.

"No it doesn't Doctor" Finchley replied "these 'people' broke their oath of silence to Starfleet Intelligence, and more so, to their fellow serving or fallen Intelligence comrades. I'd like the name's of those who spoke with you about their involvement in any operation pertaining to Sentinel One please. This is serious Doctor Korial, very very serious."

She stood, anger and hurt in her voice “Commander Finchley, I have no idea why you brought me down here, then begin to question me like some raw recruit. My Hippocratic oath will not let me divulge the name of those I treat. The officer In question has since died. I will return to what I was doing prior to this….whatever this is.” She turned to go as her heart began to break.

"That's very good Niali, you managed to pass the test" Finchley said, looking round at Karadis "I told you she wouldn't."

Karadis nodded and Finchley turned back to Niali again "Please sit back down Niali, there's a reason I had to do that."

She sat back down now intrigued. “Finchley just what is going on?”

"Karadis is a naturally sceptical person, I had to convince her of your honesty" Finchley began "I already knew you'd treated Commander Berkley for his injuries, how he'd explained how it happened, and that he later died from his wounds, the Warrant Officer who came in with him briefed me a few days afterwards. This partly why you're here, you already know of Sentinel One, but you've never talked about it."

He intertwined his fingers and continued "What I'm now about to say to you can never be repeated to anyone, you cannot discuss it with anyone, even if it's a Brass Hat...sorry, Starfleet Admiral...who's outside of the Intelligence community. I've asked for you to be temporarily reassigned to Starfleet Intelligence, more specifically, to Sentinel One. Now, Strafleet Intelligence have cleared it with Starfleet Medical, and I've cleared it with Commander Savar, it's now down to you if you choose to accept. If you say yes, wonderful, if you say no, we stop now, you return to...Quarks was it...and get drunk, but you still can 't repeat anything that's been said. It's a difficult position to put you in I know, however, there's a much bigger problem that needs addressing and it needs to be addressed now, and Sentinel One is the most practical option, we are a...plausible deniability...we're expendable. I can't go into specifics unless you agree to join us" he finished.

Without hesitation she said “I’m in but I have one question, why me, what skills do I have that you need ?”

Finchley gave a smile of relief "I'm glad you've decided to join us Niali" he said "and to answer your question we need your expertise in Xenobiology. Very shortly we're going to be visiting a...person of interest...and we need you to go straight to work. There can be no doubt in your mind that what we do is for the greater good, so, and I don't say this lightly, you need to leave any ethical morals at the door. None of what we do is recorded, none of it is questioned, we just get results at any cost. This is the job, and we can't afford to have anyone along who doesn't have the stomach for it. One other thing, if any of us dies on this mission, there's no record of it, our records are expunged, on the other hand, if we come through it, our records will only show *Enlisted into Starfleet Intelligence, all other records classified*, is this understood?"

“This ‘person of interest’ do they know that as, there is a distinct difficulty unless there is a chance to take samples to work with? And yes, I understand the ramifications of taking on the mission. I am willing to accept those conditions but, understand I will not kill unnecessarily do you accept that?”

"If the Commander gives a 'kill' order, you'll follow it, is that understood" Karadis said to Niali, and turning to Finchley said "Who the fuck does she think she i..."

"Alright Karadis!" Finchley said forcefully, holding up his hand to silence her.

Turning back to Niali he said "You'll follow the orders I give Niali, understood. I don't kill or give kill orders without reason, but every situation is different. This is a shit job, but somebody has to do it and somebody has to take the responsibility of issuing the orders, that responsibility is mine. I've never shunned from doing that, and I've never disobeyed an order, however much I disagreed with it. The job is the job, your conscience gets left here, now. If you're unable to cope with that, if you believe you'll not follow every order I give, you can leave now. This is the side of me you've never seen yet, but believe me, when my heads in the game, when I'm given an order or a mission, I carry it out with whatever prejudice I believe is necessary. Billions of lives are at stake here, hundreds of worlds...so I can't afford you to question any order I give."

She stood and began to walk up and down looking at Karadis with the slight beginnings of dislike in her eyes. “You have a specific expert skill set you need and have found in me, you will not get anyone with better expert exobiology skills than me and I am willing to turn those skills to your use. But I am also bound by my Hippocratic oath. I can tell you now I will follow your orders but If you need someone to torture for you that I will not do. If you feel that is impossible for you to understand I will leave now and you will need to find your ‘expert’ elsewhere, otherwise my sword arm is yours sir knight.” She said trying to lighten the atmosphere a little.

Finchley smiled at Niali as he replied "I understand M'Lady. I would never ask you to participate in torture, however, assisting to 'loosen a tongue or two' through the use of certain drugs is something I'd expect you to carry out if I order it. That's as much of a compromise as I'll give you, do you accept?" he asked.

She nodded, “I wholeheartedly accept, an adventure is most welcome wherever it leads, ‘hopefully to your heart’ was her afterthought.

"An adventure???" Karadis laughed haughtily "Do you think this is some kind of fairy tale we're going to be involved in?"

Finchley turned to Karadis and said "You're a killjoy Karadis, d'you that...you're a killer of joy!"

Karadis just threw up her arms, turned and started to walk off muttering to herself "I might be a killjoy, but at least I'm not thinking this is Alice through the looking glass, more likely to turn out Alice with a glass up her arse..."

Finchley turned back to Niali and said "She's actually alright once you get to know her. A bit rough round the edges, but she's dedicated to me, we've seen a lot of action together and pulled each other out the shit more than once. However, now that the ground rules have been set, and we have a team, it's time for us to begin this in earnest. There's a few things that'll need to be explained to you once we're underway, how Sentinel One operates in the field, for now though, I want you to come and meet someone else, this is your place to shine."

“Before we go Finchley there is something about me you should know.” She looked around to make sure Karadis was not listening. “My symbiont Dev Korial was an senior secret operative for what used to be loosely called the Trill Private Service, which was the space born military of our planet Trill until the planet joined the UFP when the organization was merged. Before that however he was in charge of ops that the government could not officially recognise. His experience is my experience hence ‘black ops’. I just thought you should know I have rather more experience than I look.” She smiled disarmingly at him.

Finchley nodded his understanding "Thank you for telling me Niali, I appreciate your honesty and that'll come in handy for you no doubt. The thing is though, having the memory experience is one thing, and I don't doubt for a second they feel real to you as any other memory or thought you have from previous hosts, but to be the one actually carrying out the experience, in real time as it were, will be something completely different. To act and react as we'll be doing will be...an addition for you. Now, we really must go."

TBC...