The Devil You Know (part 3)

Posted on Wed Oct 31st, 2012 @ 1:10pm by Admiral Kathryn Burke & Admiral Maximilian 'Max' Hunter
Edited on on Wed Oct 31st, 2012 @ 1:15pm

1,064 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: The Enemy Within: Lying in Wait
Location: Athena Shipyards, Typhon

[CONTINUED]

[OLD]

Kathryn took the PADD without comment. Yes, she did know him. She wished...but she wasn't going to dwell on that. He'd once again proven that he wanted to soften her up before giving her news she didn't want to hear.

[NEW]

"Do you recall the Nightstar Project?" He asked as he leaned back against the couch. "A project that my department had placed upon your desk and you approved with a hint of hesitation."

"More than a hint of hesitation. I still am not convinced it's the best way to go. I don't approve of Captain Strife's methods. The man should be given a Court Martial and relieved of duty. I much prefer to put my support behind Captain Guerrera." They'd had this discussion before. Kathryn only signed off on the Nightstar Project because she was pressured into it. Not that she didn't like the idea of the ship. She didn't like the person in charge of it. His attitude was win at all costs. A view that was anathema to Kathryn. Putting Strife in charge was an area of contention between her and Max. She quickly thumbed through the PADD, examining the information there.

"Well, now is the time to say I told you so. Believe me, I gave my superiors the same speech, but you and I both know that telling someone they are wrong never leads to them freely admitting it." Max let out a sigh and then cleared his throat. "Which is why I was given the duty of fixing it. Strife is AWOL and that means the Nightstar is too."

Kathryn groaned. "AWOL how? What has that fool done this time?" Whatever it was, she knew it would be bad. Otherwise they would never put Max himself in charge of fixing it.

Max pulled out a secondary PADD, one that was all black and different from the one in Kathryn's hand. He brought up a file and transfered the information over to hers. "During a strictly information gathering mission, Strife took it upon himself to go against orders. Claiming the planet was a recruiting area for the Tal Shiar. He bombarded the area with torpedoes, killing everyone on the planet. After further investigation we uncovered the ship was filled with Romulans. They were refugees, Kathryn. Men, Women, and Children. Families just trying to stay safe."

He paused for a moment. Max was quiet, his smile gone as he remembered being on the planet, seeing the aftermath. She would feel how bad he felt, mainly for the woman and children. Seeing the bodies hit Max where it hurt and where it would stick.

Kathryn watched him for several moments, heartsick at the news. How could the man do something so barbaric? She squeezed Max's hand. He'd taken this hard and she wanted to comfort him in some small way.

Max cleared his throat, putting up his mental block and continued. "I looked through the last of their crew manifests and saw something we can use. A Former crew member by the name of Damion Wolfe. Betazoid and Human hybrid, like yourself, except he requires a special compound to keep from giving into his aggressive tendencies. Good Officer. Smart and Loyal. Well trained and driven to prove his worth." He hit a few buttons on his PADD and sent over another file to Kathryn's PADD. "Right there is his record and information if you want to look it over."

"I know of Wolfe. He's on the Calypso. He was part of the crew caught in an Orion slave mine for several weeks." She shook her head, knowing where Max was leading. "No. He reverted to one of his former IDs. He was traumatized and for a while believed he was one of his aliases. He's not fit to go undercover. Not yet, anyway. He's not mentally stable, Max."

"Precisely." Max added with a bit of a smile. "Strife trusts little to no one, but Damion was one of his top officers. Wolfe left the Nightstar and joined the Calypso in order to get back into a standard officer routine. The incident in the mines is a perfect cover for him. He will react irrationally, unlike himself and it can all be placed on Post Traumatic Stress. Our top psychologists check him out and he is fine." He sent over the review of the psychological report from the private evaluation. "But, he doesn't have to be. If he continues on a downward spiral, pushing against Starfleet and the Federation ideals, then when he leaves he will be in a perfect position to be picked up by Strife. His codes were never removed. Strife has always assumed Wolfe would never fit in right with the Federation norm, mainly because of his condition."

Max paused again, watching her review the file. "Kathryn. We can finally get Strife. With this incident, we can finally get him in a maximum security prison facility. New Alcatraz, which he will await court martial, discharge, and possible land him on death row. Where he belongs after something like this."

"You know there's more at stake, right?" Kathryn asked. "He's more volatile now. His medication isn't working like it used to. And there's a girl -- or so Commodore York informs me."

"Who told you the medication wasn't working?" Max asked as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Because of the recent events involving the Calypso, I've been paying close attention to the crew. Or those of the crew who were in the mines. I want to be sure they're truly fit for duty. They barely had two weeks to recover before I had to send them to Tiberius IV." It wasn't an answer to his question, but she wasn't going to give away all her secrets.

Max looked at her, curious as to why she avoided answering the question. "My job revolves around secrets, Burke. I like to believe I am come adept at spotting when someone is keeping one, and avoiding a question is usually one of the tell tale signs." He moved his hand closer to hers, taking it into a gentle and concerned grip. "What are you hiding? You know you can trust me if you ever needed anything."

(To be continued...)

Admiral Kathryn Burke
Commander, Theta Fleet

Admiral Maximilian Hunter
SFI Special Ops

 

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