Turncoat?

Posted on Tue Mar 7th, 2017 @ 11:27am by Commodore Samantha York & Commander Alexandra Vance

1,343 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Shadow Dance
Location: CO's Ready Room
Timeline: Day 3, afternoon

Alexandra had just received the report on York's encounter with Jennifer Tate on the planet in a meeting called by the planet's monarch. The words were alarming to say the least and wreaked of Stockholm syndrome, a condition Tate should have been equipped to resist. These developments left Vance in quite a quandary. Jennifer Tate held information considered highly sensitive to the Federation and Starfleet. By being compromised she now posed a threat to the security of this information potentially endangering lives. If this Keelan could so easily manipulate Tate into being his lapdog, how easily could he retrieve the information from her.

As an intelligence officer, this was her most important function. She sighed tapping her commbadge. "Vance to York, I will be meeting you in your ready room in ten minutes, it's a matter of urgency."

She did not wait for a replied instead purposefully pacing to York's office. When she arrived, she did not bother to wait for permission to enter, she needed to speak with Samantha immediately. "Pardon my entrance, but we need to talk."

"So I gathered," Sam said wryly. Alexandra had given her no choice in the matter and the Captain had a pretty good idea it had something to do with Jennifer Tate. "Have a seat and tell me what's on your mind this time."

Alexandra took the seat offered. "I've reviewed the report on your meeting with the monarch Keelan and Commander Tate. Im afraid her behavior has become a concern not only for you but soon higher powers once they see that report. If what is written in your report is accurate then Jennifer has been compromised in a situation she should have been equipped to handle even as an analyst. The worry now becomes if she can be compromised so easily, how long until she begins to divulge information sensitive to our fleet? It's only a matter of time before Keelan starts asking."

"The report is accurate," Sam said. "I do not know what is going on with Commander Tate, but she has been enamored of the Jenefrans since our arrival." She shook her head. "As for Keelan, he could sell ice to the Inuit. I don't trust him. If he learns Tate is with Intel, he might pump her for information and that would definitely be dangerous. But until we can prove she didn't murder the King, there's not much we can do."

"We need to see how enamoured she truly is. It is not that I do not trust your judgement or abilities but Jennifer has training to manipulate her feelings to convey mixed signals. We need to provide a threat assessment and formulate a plan of action from there, this affects more then us now.

Alexandra sighed resignedly. "Standard protocol in such a situation would have me....well I'd have to eliminate the threat but that's not going to happen. The issue is even if she is exonerated, she may not wish to return."

"I have considered that possibility," Sam said. "And no, you are not going to eliminate her. That is not acceptable. If she chooses to stay with Keelan, we'll come up with something. Maybe a Vulcan mind block will do the trick--but that is only as a last resort."

"Or reveal Keelan for whom he truly is. I may have never met him but I know he is behind this. His fixation on the Princess is no love, unless we are speaking to that of his crown. A mind-block is a technique Tate will undoubtedly be familiar with and may perceive it as hostile. Then we lend further to chance she will divulge information to Keelan. I recommend I be allowed to assess her state of mind." Alexandra offered.

"She won't be asked," Sam said with a half-smile. "She will have no choice in the matter and no chance to divulge anything to Keelan in retaliation." She paused while she considered Alexandra's offer. "I will be meeting with Keelan as soon as I have the results of the autopsy. You can come with me. If you can find a way to stay, you're welcome to do so, but I don't think you should go down before then. Keelan will wonder what you're up to."

"I concur the man is extremely paranoid. I would like to speak with him should the situation dictate however my main concern falls with Tate. I believe it would be unwise to formulate an action plan without speaking with her first." Vance commented.

"I agree," Sam said. "But under the circumstances, there is little we can do until we have the evidence to prove Tate's innocence. Once we have that, we will present it to Keelan and Tate. You can probably talk with her then. We will also know at that time if she wishes to remain on Jenefra or return to the Calypso. If she stays, then we consider our options."

"Tate is innocent. Her clearances would not afford her access to that compound. She would have required aid from someone within our intelligence department." Alexandra stated matter of factly.

"Of course she's innocent. But knowing it and proving it to the Jenefran Council are two very different things," Sam said.

"But it places doubt in Tate's mind." Vance pointed out. "This could assist us in reversing whatever Keelan has planted in her mind."

"Right now, she thinks we abandoned her," Sam said. "Which takes us back to the proof we need. We cannot violate Jenefran law."

"I have no intentions of causing any form of diplomatic incident, such would only serve to strengthen Keelan's version of events. The key thing to remember is Tate is an analyst by trade which means her mind works on facts and logic. Despite her skewed judgement her mind will be unable to reject either should they present themselves as viable. We must convince Tate that Keelan's versions of the events are indeed falsified, once again leading me to the belief the Princess is the key in all of this. It is because of this it is vital I atleast observe him, once I learn of his 'tells' I can then advise you if their is malice behind his intentions."

Alexandra sighed as she took a deep breath. "I'm willing to stake whatever little I have left that Keelan has created this all as a coup to seize the throne from the King and his daughter, everything that has happened has been all too convenient for him."

"Alexandra," Sam said. "I know what he did, and I know why he did it. That's not the issue. The issue is that we have to prove it before we can take any action against him. We cannot violate Jenefran law, and we cannot take matters into our own hands. Not until we have incontrovertible proof."

Alexandra sighed. Sometimes it felt like the two of them were on completely different levels. "I'm not asking you to do either. What I'm saying is we need to find the Princess and get her side of this story. This will be key if you want to reverse what Keelan has done to Tate. Right now, he is her whole world, it will not be long before we truly lose her."

Alexandra's comments to that point were about Keelan. Nothing had referred to Kali. "We have someone on the planet tracking her. The problem is that the Jenefrans and Qunari have the same signatures, so it makes it almost impossible to find her from teh ship."

Sam paused. "Alexandra, we do know what's going on, and we are taking measures to get Jennifer back--if she wants to come. But until we have empirical evidence to exonerate her, there is nothing we can do. So, for now, help Mr. Batiste with is investigation. I will let you know when we are ready to present our findings."

She stood, indicating the discussion was over. "Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do."

____
OFF

Commodore Samantha York
Commanding Officer

Commander Alexandra Vance
Intelligence Officer

 

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