Piecing It All Together (part 1)
Posted on Sun Dec 16th, 2012 @ 7:38am by Commodore Samantha York & Sergeant Amarylis Beckinsale
951 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission:
The Enemy Within: Lying in Wait
Location: Captain's Ready Room
ON
Amarylis arrived with the rest of the away teams on the Calypso aiding Master Sargeant Melo in bringing WO Bourne and the other two drones to sickbay to begin the liberation process. Once she was finished in sickbay she wanted to speak with Commodore York immediately about Commander Vance. Her worry was that the Commodore might not be aware of the severity of what exactly she was facing. Alexandra Vance was an excellent tactician and she was even more dangerous in psychological warfare. She knew her enemies well and from her former position on the ship she would have read deep into Commodore York's history and would know how to make her tick.
Amarylis purposefully made her way to the Commodore's ready room tapping the console for permission to enter.
"Enter," Sam said, putting down the information she had on Vance. She was surprised to see the Marine walk into her room. "How can I help you, Sergeant?"
Amarylis approached the desk stopping before the Commodore and saluting. "Ma'am, I know this is kinda not the place you'd expect to see a marine, but I really think you need to hear what I have to say. It's concerns Commander Vance." she finished with a sigh as her mind drifted back to Cardassia Prime.
"Sit down and tell me what happened." Hopefully this would be the missing piece in the puzzle, the one Vance hinted at in her dream.
Amarylis took a seat wondering if the Commodore already knew of the events. The clearance to even see the files were so ridiculously high you'd have a better time stealing the information vice going through the proper channels to get it, however people had a strange way of surprising her especially the brass. She would try her best to see what the Commodore knew. "Ma'am, i'm not speaking of a specific event, I'm talking about you knowing exactly who you are dealing with. Alexandra Vance is not some mindless drone to be taken lightly. She has a knack for analyzing people and situations. She has spent her entire life watching people, learning what sets them off. She can also see her way out of some pretty hairy situations. Everything she does no matter how small has a bigger purpose. I just wanted you to know what you were up against and I wanna bring her back ma'am."
I want to bring you back home again Commander. Amarylis thought to herself clearing her throat to avoid an emotional scene.
"I know she was in Intel, and something happened. She was beaten, tortured. I need to know the details of that, Sergeant and I don't have the time to go through proper channels."
Amarylis was shocked. Very people knew exactly what had happened and in particular those details. "Um...ma'am, I don't know what you are talking about. Who told you Commander Vance was tortured?" she asked stammering as she spoke.
Beckinsale's shock was enough to convince Sam the Marine knew exactly what she was talking about. "I'm Betazoid, Sergeant, don't lie to me. I need to know exactly what happened. It may be the only way we can get her and the others off that Rhombus alive."
Amarylis sat back in her chair. She had sworn long ago never to divulge the details of the mission yet somehow Commodore York had managed in but hours to learn what it had taken others years to try and learn with no results. She began to worry for Alexandra, she was slipping.
"Ma'am, the information i'm about to tell you is highly classified and will be denied if mentioned publicly, the Federation was never on Cardassia Prime....except that's no true. Four years ago then Lieutenant Commander Vance and I were assigned aboard a covert starship vessel known as the USS Shadowrunner. There were no logs, official reports or any real account of what that ship did or where it went. I was a sniper on Charlie platoon and she was the ship's Chief Intelligence Officer. Back then she was still strict as ever but she had a composure unlike any I have seen. It seemed as though she had a solution for everything and even through her strict ways she just had a way of gaining your trust, even making friends. The woman would go to the ends of the universe for both crew and mission, but personnel were top priority unless it was her."
"That was until Cardassia Prime. Starfleet Intelligence had reports of a terrorist cell attempting to rebuild old dominion alliances under the guise of diplomatic conferences. These supposed diplomats turned out to be splinter agents spreading their poison through the hierarchy of the Cardassian Union trying to beckon them back with the promise of power and glory lost in the war, apparantly old grudges and betrayals had been forgiven.....touching isn't it?" Amarylis said with a soft laugh.
"Well the Shadowrunner was tasked with getting Vance and a small team onto Cardassia Prime to find the ones responsible for this plot and to eliminate them before an alliance was forged. Surprisingly everything was going smoothly, eventually her resourcefulness led us to the discovery of the cell's leader and the group engaged in the talks. We engaged the culprits in battle and had nearly eliminated all when the Cardassian security force arrived. The area we were in was so secretive and underground communications to the outside were impossible and the chances of an entire platoon of cardassians stumbling across it armed for a fight were slim at best. Alexandra felt she had been double-crossed, most likely by a Cardassian she had entrusted to lead her to the cell."