You are not alone. (Part 5)

Posted on Mon Nov 24th, 2014 @ 2:57pm by Commander Alexandra Vance & Sergeant Amarylis Beckinsale

1,356 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Deadly Diplomacy
Location: Holodeck
Timeline: Prior to "And the hammer comes down".

[[OLD]]

"Your safety Sergeant. You and every other member of the crew from the smallest child to the department heads. Now life is valued less then another." Vance replied.

[[NEW]]

Amarylis smiled, the sentiment was warming especially coming from the woman known as the 'ice queen'. "I really like this side of you Alexandra. You should show it more often."

"I think not Amarylis. You and I are like sisters. There is a certain level of decorum I must maintain in front of the crew." Vance stated in a flat tone.

"Still doesn't mean you have to be the ice b*tch all the time." Amarylis shot back.

"The ice b*tch is what keeps people alive. I'm not here to make friends Amarylis I have all the ones I need." Alexandra replied with a glib smile.

"Thanks..I guess." Amarylis said with a sarcastic smile. She studied Alexandra's face, she could tell there was something more. "This isn't all that brought you here Alex. Something's bothering you."

Vance snickered. Amarylis knew her too well, saying nothing was pointless now her hand was revealed. "Everything is not as it seems Amarylis. Their is a coup afoot from within, someone is looking to shift the balance of power."

Amarylis laughed. "There is always some coup, some greedy Admiral looking to shift the balance of power. It's almost as common as a sensor sweep these days."

"This is no laughing matter Sergeant. This is more then a greedy Admiral looking for power. I believe a ghost from our past has returned." Vance warned.

Amarylis' eyes widened. "Morat?"

"This doesn't wreak of her yet, but the Admiral we saw that day. He could have resurfaced." Vance replied.

"We should tell York." Amarylis stated.

Alexandra shook her head from side to side. "Alerting her of this will only alert our enemies of our knowledge. For the time being we have the element of surprise and they will dare not attack the Commodore unless they consider her a threat. While they may have some degree of guile and bent morals they are still bureaucrats afraid of the paper trail. It's much easier to kill a Commander then a flag officer."

"I'd prefer neither outcome." Amarylis responded in a concerned tone.

"She hasn't been successful thus far." Alexandra said with a smile.

"Famous last words." Amarylis shot back worried by how non chalant Alexandra was about all of this. Either she truly believed this was not Morat's doing or she had become so accustomed to the Cardassian chasing her that it was beginning to become a game. Alexandra herself once told Amarylis the moment you let your guard down is when the enemy will strike.

"There will be a day when the clock will strike twelve for each of us, but I won't let Morat or anyone else push the hand for me or those I care for. You all think I am this cold witch with no emotion. Some think I get some sick pleasure out of it, some think I'm sick. The truth is I see the world in a very different way then even you. The woman you met back on that planet, she saw it in a very different way. The way she saw it, that's the way I want you all to see it. The hope, dreams, the belief we can all become better and find a peace. I can't see it that way. I have to keep the evils lurk in the depths at bay. Like you I have seen the darkest sides of this universe. What happened happened because it needed to." Alexandra said.

"You say it like it had to happen but you show so much hatred towards the Cardassians, why?" Amarylis questioned.

"While necessary I will never forgive those soulless cowards from crossing a line. A line they fully intend to cross again as they and those whom share nefarious goals like them almost did to you. Accountability my dear Sergeant, eventually we must all be answer and they will answer to me." Vance replied gritting her teeth as the thought angered her.

"Morat has many she must answer to Alexandra. One person cannot pass judgement upon her." Amarylis replied.

"Morat is far too dangerous to be tried in a court. Her guile and influence upon others make it unwise to attempt her capture. She is kill on sight." Vance stated.

Amarylis nodded at Vance. While she didn't quite agree with the statement she understood where Vance was coming from and if anyone understood Morat it was Alexandra. "What started this all? I mean something set that woman off. No one is born THAT evil with that much hatred."

"I don't have those answers." Vance said in a quick response. It was a lie. Alexandra knew exactly what had set Morat off but she would never share such intimate details with anyone, not even Amarylis.

Amarylis raised her brow. She could tell Vance had lied but she dared not call her on it. Alexandra trusted her and there was a reason she withheld the information. Perhaps she had created the woman that Morat is now? No....She quickly dismissed the thought. "Perhaps one day we will get those answers." Amarylis said breaking the silence.

"Perhaps." Alexandra said looking off into the sunset before them.

"So now what do we do?" Amarylis asked breaking the silence.

"We do exactly what we are doing. We sit here, we enjoy this beautiful sunset and we purge our minds of the poison that lies outside this holodeck, isn't that the purpose of this program?" Alexandra asked looking over to Amarylis with a smile.

"Well..uh..yeah I guess but I mean we can't just sit here and do nothing. This was more intended for downtime not a hiding place from combat." Amarylis retorted.

"On the contrary Sergeant. We are not hiding, we are devoiding the enemy of the knowledge of our awareness of their presence. Why would we act when their is nothing to act upon? Our focus like the Commodore's needs to remain on the diplomatic function, and for you recovery. I won't order you to the counsellor but I will remind you of his presence. Use whatever resources you feel necessary as you are your best diagnostician. I will worry about our little skeletons in the closet and ensure they remain there." Alexandra replied.

Amarylis smiled inching closer to Alexandra resting her head on Alexandra's stomach. She let out a long drawn sigh of relief and closed her eyes. Alexandra reciprocated the sign of affection by gently combing Amarylis' hair.

"This is nice." Amarylis said looking up to Alexandra.

"I can see the appeal." Alexandra replied continuing to stroke Amarylis' hair.

"You know you can just say you like it Alex. You don't have to be the big boss lady around me." Amarylis replied jokingly pinching Alexandra's arm.

"Fine, I like it." Alexandra replied gruffly.

"See? That wasn't so hard." Amarylis said.

Alexandra let out a long drawn sigh. "Actually I love it." The words were hard for her to speak and tweaked her emotions. She forced herself not to cry but it was hard and she did not fear any sort of repercussions from Amarylis. It was her sister after all, not Jethro Vance, not the Cardassians. Only to Amarylis could she convey such feelings. There was no one else she could trust them with.

Amarylis looked wide-eyed at Vance taken back by her comment. Rarely did she ever claim to 'love' anything. She never had even heard her utter the word before. Not to her dad and especially not about some holographic projection. She was too much of a realist, but not now. Not in this moment. "I love the company."

Vance smiled looking down to Amarylis. "As do I. There is no one else I would wish to share this moment with. And I sure as hell wouldn't want to be alone."

"You never were alone Alex."

"I know Amarylis, and no matter what happens I want you to remember something;


That you too in this life, will never fight alone."

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