<USS Avalon> Re: "Ghosts Real and Imagined"

 
"Ghosts Real and Imagined"
Written by Lt. Delaney Scott and Lt. j.g. T'Leara
 
 
 
Delaney had never really thought about how tedious being in  charge might be, 
how much "paperwork" was involved in being the boss. There had  to be a 
couple dozen work orders and reports on the desk, and  after picking up a 
couple, 
she could see that they were in no particular order.  Still, it was her job to 
make sense of this stuff now, and so she set about  completing the task of 
reading them and making sure they got copied to the  admiral, so she stacked 
all 
the PADDs in neat piles and just started with the  one on top. 

She'd read about six when she began to notice an  oddity---there were work 
orders  for minor repair jobs that had been completed and a report written, but 
there  was no name as to who had done the work. Laney frowned. She might not 
have  gotten to know many of the crew in her six or so weeks here, but she was 
pretty  sure every one of the engineers on this ship knew the regs---if you 
did a job,  you signed off on the work order. 

Now she had another job to do...check  up on the work that had been done to 
make sure it was done right, and find out  who was messing with the ship and 
not putting their name on their  reports.
 
_____
 
It was late and again, T'Leara couldn't seem to manage sleep.  Of course, it 
would help if Admiral Taggert would stop calling, but truth be  told even if 
he hadn't sleep still would have eluded her. She'd meditated as  long as she 
could manage, then again headed into engineering. It seemed that  there was 
more 
than enough work to do there and not nearly enough hands. Given  her 
background as an engineer, she was more than able, and completely willing to  
help. 
However, given her reputation, she was also aware that there were those  who 
might not appreciate her interference there. Thus, she quietly worked,  
carefully 
reported, and left with all information there for those who would  check up 
on the requests. All, that is, except her name. 

She entered  Engineering  tonight as she had so often of late and immediately 
went to see what there was  to do. As with all the other nights, nobody 
stopped her or questioned her in any  way. They were all far too busy with  
work of 
their own to notice one out of place Vulcan  wandering about..
 
Laney walked into Engineering after lunch and stopped,  taking a look around. 
It brought a wry smile to her face to think she was  probably going to be 
spending a great deal of time down here  now---wandering in during her off 
hours 
would probably become a habit, too. 
 
She stepped into her office and deposited several PADDs onto  her desk. They 
were all the work reports that had been done by the mysterious  handyman, and 
she'd spent the rest of her morning checking up on them all,  making sure the 
work had been completed properly. Turned out that whoever had  done the work 
had indeed repaired each malfunction perfectly, leading her to  believe that 
whoever it was had pretty decent engineering skills. But the  question 
remained: 
Why be willing to do the work but not put your name on it?  There were too 
many of the incidents for whomever it was to have simply  forgotten, as she was 
well aware happened occasionally. 
 
She sighed as she sat in the chair behind the desk,  contemplating the 
mystery. She hadn't mentioned the matter to Security or to  Admiral Ketchum, 
but she 
would have to soon, or risk getting herself in trouble  for keeping it under 
wraps. And considering she had just gotten this miracle  promotion, Delaney 
sure as hell wasn't about to risk losing it on her first day.  So..............
 
She decided she would give it a day. An idea had just occurred  to her: She'd 
set a little trap for the mysterious worker. All the jobs he or  she had done 
were relatively minor, only jobs requiring only one person. She'd  set 
something up and then see if her phantom engineer took the  bait.
_____
 
 
T'Leara picked up the first order and replaced it quickly.  Repairs of that 
magnitude would take at least two people, and far longer than  one evening. The 
next then, she decided, looking at it carefully and nodding  slightly. 
Checking her tools to ensure she had what she needed, she headed  toward the 
malfunctioning console, certain she knew what must be done. 
 
Laney didn't have to wait long before the bait hooked her  fish---not even a 
day. That evening, as she ate a quick supper in NineForward,  the tricorder 
she'd kept with her to monitor the "malfunctioning" console (okay,  technically 
it wasn't working, not after she'd sabotaged it for just this  purpose) down 
in the fairly secluded alcove in Engineering..... No one was  likely to notice 
who was working there, so it had seemed the perfect place to  lay her trap. 
 
She quickly downed the last of her food and headed back to the  engine  room. 
Once inside she slowed her pace and made herself  appear to be casually 
strolling through, around the warp core and toward the  back, where the alcove 
was 
located. She stealthily leaned against the bulkhead  and crossed her arms, 
looking down at the Vulcan in science teal as she said,  "So you're the mystery 
engineer... What's a scientist doing performing the job  of an engineer or an 
ops tech? Not that I mind the help of course, but you're  not exactly sticking 
to the parameters of your job description are  you?"
 
"Not any longer," the Vulcan agreed, standing slowly and  wiping her hands on 
her pants. "However, I assure you I am more than equal to  the task at hand." 
 
Laney nodded. "I've noticed. I checked up on your work because  you didn't 
sign off on the reports, and now I'd like to know why. Even a sci  geek helping 
out the gear heads is required to sign off on any repair work you  do."

 
"Not when they're no longer permitted to work in the field,"  she admitted 
reluctantly. "I am no longer assigned to engineering because of  what they fear 
I can do were I inclined to...cause trouble. I assure you,  however, that is 
not my intent. I only..." She sighed. "I could not sleep. I  
required...distraction." Quieter still she added. "I desired to help." Shaking  
her head 
slightly in defeat, she began gathering her tools. 
 
The engineer quirked an eyebrow. "Your desire to help out is  admirable, and 
I'd let you keep at it if I could, but regulations require me to  both put a 
stop to it and report your extracurricular activities to the  
admiral............ Dare I even ask why you might have reason to cause  
trouble?"
 
"I have none. I would not, though I have no expectation you  will believe 
me." she answered softly. "None did before." 
 
Delaney sensed a story there, a long and complicated one, but  the Vulcan was 
obviously not willing to share so she didn't press---not like she  didn't 
have skeletons in her own closet, secrets that were best kept secret. If  she 
agreed with Starfleet Command about anything, it was that there was no  telling 
what people would do if they found out she was, for all intents and  purposes, 
a Changeling. 
 
No one was likely to care one micron that she still had Human  DNA. 
 
"Well," she began at last, "it's good to know that you've no  intention of 
causing trouble. And as I've noted, you did do everything  correctly. But I 
hope 
you understand that if you're not authorized to do  mechanical repairs, I 
can't let this continue. I'd be risking the promotion I  just got this morning 
if 
I did, Ensign...?"
 
"Lieutenant again finally,  though only just," the Vulcan corrected. 
"T'Leara. I understand." Belatedly  remembering the appropriate social custom 
that was 
to follow good news, she  added, "Congratulations." 
 
Laney cocked her head just so and saw that indeed, there was  an onyx pin 
next to the single solid one. "My mistake, Lieutenant T'Leara. And  thank you. 
Are you finished with this?" she said, indicating the  console.
 
"The last chip set needs replacing," T'Leara said simply, her  expression 
Vulcan stoic, though her eyes held a longing as she glanced at the  work to be 
done. "And the fourth set is showing signs of weakness.. You should  probably 
replace them both, to be certain it functions efficiently." 
 
Hiding her grin that the woman hadn't noticed the malfunctions  were the 
result of minor sabotage, Delaney nodded. "I'll make sure it gets  done," she 
said. "If it's any consolation, your work is remarkably efficient.  It's really 
too bad you can't do it any more."
 
"It was a condition of my freedom," T'Leara admitted, seeing  no reason to 
hide it, especially not if she was to be reported anyway.. "You  
should,perhaps, 
interview those who were nearest this console earlier. The  damage to the 
chipsets appears deliberate." 
 
Laney did not smile, though she wanted to. Her sabotage had  been noticed 
after all, she mused with a mental chuckle. Well, that meant that  not only was 
T'Leara good at her job, but she was observant, as a good engineer  should be. 
It really was to bad that she couldn't keep her on as an ad-hoc  repairman. 
She didn't even want to have to report her, would have liked to keep  it just 
between the two of them. Though if she really had been forbidden to  do any 
engineering work, for whatever reason, Delaney knew she would be risking  her 
own 
career and freedom by not following protocol. 
 
Outwardly she nodded. "Thank you for pointing that out to me.  I'll have a 
look at it and be sure to keep an eye open for any other  damage."
 
"None of the damage I have repaired thus far, save that in the  Jeffries Tube 
last night and possibly the failed airlock control Monday,  appeared to have 
been deliberate." T'Leara continued, "And, of course,  the slight hum from 
your office earlier most likely indicates the  addition of flawed monitoring 
device embedded in your computer, though no  doubt you are aware of this." 
Sighing, she handed over the other two repair  orders she still had in her 
possession. "This replicator," she said indicating  the first," has been fixed 
twice 
this week. The Ensign insists upon  attempting to reprogram it with his own 
recipes, incorrectly of course.........  This one in the mess, however, will 
likely 
require a new unit, as I've  replaced blown circuits three times already." 
 
Delaney's eyebrows winged up. She knew already what was on  every work order, 
but the bit about their being a monitoring device on her  office computer was 
definitely  new to her and it wasn't welcome. She  frowned then, suddenly 
recalling that she had, in fact, had some trouble with  the monitor earlier, 
but 
she had chalked it up to a simple mechanical  issue, one that she would fix on 
her own when she didn't have so many pressing  issues to take care of before 
they reached the planet and their mission really  got underway. 
 
To hell with protocol, she thought angrily, snatching  the PADDs from the 
Vulcan with more force than she naturally would have, or  had even intended. 
"Come with me, Lieutenant. I want you to show me this device,  if you can find 
it."
 
T'Leara nodded and followed silently. Entering the office, she  cocked her 
head to the side slightly, listening carefully. After the briefest  moment, she 
stepped forward to the monitor and removed the back, peering in  closely. She 
drew the small pen light from her pouch and a pair of fine nosed  tweezers and 
seconds later withdrew a very slender silvery disk. The humming  ceased at 
once. Holding it out to Laney, she said, "It would seem you are  a subject of 
real interest. They rarely waste these on average  surveillance. You'd do well 
to do a thorough sweep both here and in your  quarters. Just in case." 
 
What the....? Laney slowly reached forward and took the disk,  eyeing it 
curiously. Who would have---could have---done something like this? And  why? 
 
Anger began to boil inside of her and she seethed, miniscule  vibrations 
beginning to cause her body to tremble (though no one casting a  casual glance 
would have noticed anything was amiss) as T'Leara's words sank in.  She was 
going 
to have to sweep her office for bugs? Her private quarters?!  Who the hell 
dared to think they had any right at all to invade her privacy?! 
 
Just as suddenly as she had become angry she became scared,  and her body 
trembled for a much different reason. As livid as she was that her  privacy had 
been raided, the sudden and undeniable breach in security was  something that 
definitely could not be ignored. T'Leara had no idea the  Pandora's Box that 
could be opened if whoever was observing her discovered that  which she so 
carefully kept hidden. 
 
The anger warred with the fear, and in the mere seconds that  passed, Laney 
allowed the anger to take over, to consume the fear so that it no  longer 
existed. She could not operate in a state of fear, nor would she allow  these 
bastards, whoever "they" were, to make her afraid. And she promised  herself 
that 
"they" would pay for every having taken an interest in her. 
 
Laney walked over and keyed the door shut. With the office  being as small as 
it was, the door being closed made it seem that much smaller.  It was a good 
thing, she mused, that she wasn't claustrophobic. "Lt.  T'Leara," she said. "I 
give you full permission to use whatever means necessary  to detect and 
remove any and all monitoring devices from this office. I would  then like you 
to 
utilize your skills to create a program that will alert me if  the 'they' you 
speak of tries again. When you are finished, I want you to bring  anything you 
find to my quarters, which is where I will be, looking for  more." 
 
She'd go to Ketchum next. Hopefully, she prayed, he  wasn't one of the "they."
 
Again, T'Leara nodded, though she peered curiously at the  woman a moment 
longer before saying simply, "I shall meet you there shortly." 
 
What would they want with this woman? Clearly she could not be  what she 
appeared to be. They have little if any interest in most humans, after  all. 
 
A mutation, perhaps?
 
It doesn't matter, she reminded herself, scolding silently,  You of all 
people know the value of privacy. You will help restore this ones if  only as a 
matter of courtesy. If Taggert desires knowledge on this one so  badly, you 
will 
have a long night ahead to find all means to gaining that  knowledge.
 
He never plants just one.
_____
 
Three and a half sweaty hours after she had left T'Leara  standing in her 
office, Laney dropped the last of the devices atop the pile on  the coffee 
table. 
There were twelve in all, and whoever had violated her by  doing this had 
been pretty damn slick about concealing them. Not only had  she found one in 
her 
monitor, but underneath the desk itself. There'd been one  on each of her 
three lamps, one underneath each table in her quarters (another  three), one in 
the closet, one in the replicator, and one behind each of the  paintings she 
owned. T'Leara had been right: someone had taken quite an interest  in her, and 
she could think of only one reason why that would be...
 
...they knew what she was. 
 
She didn't want to stop and think about why they hadn't made a  more overt 
move against her, such as alerting the crew to the fact that there  was a 
Changeling among them. She didn't have the time. She now  realized that she was 
going to have to sweep both shuttle bays and every  damn shuttle on the 
ship---especially hers. She also had the quarters she hadn't  even moved into 
yet, the 
chief engineer's quarters, to go through as well. 
 
Bastards, she thought angrily. She would have liked  to destroy every single 
device and disk she had found, but she would need to  take them to the admiral 
for evidence. As she had worked she could only wonder  in vain who could 
possibly have done this---and wonder who, if anyone---on this  ship she could 
trust. Right now, the number of people in that category was zero.  She couldn't 
be 
sure she could trust Adrian now (and was reminded that they had  a breakfast 
date in just a few hours)---his attraction to her could very well be  feigned 
in order to get close to her---and she couldn't even be sure T'Leara was  
trustworthy. She may have alerted her to the surveillance, but that could all 
be  
part of the plan.Going to Admiral Ketchum could even dangerous. If he was a 
part  of the conspiracy, he would certainly have a plan for covering his 
tracks. 
 
As she dropped that last item on the pile, and prepared to  devise an 
intruder detection plan, Laney was struck by how very much she  wished her 
parents---even the father she had not spoken to since she had been  
arrested---could be 
there to hold her and tell her everything was going to be  alright. The fact 
that she hadn't felt such a bone-deep need for that kind of  comfort since she 
was a child told her that the predicament in which she had  just found herself 
was deadly serious.
 
T'Leara rang the chime and waited. She held them all, fourteen  total, in the 
small bag she'd placed them in. 
 
Why are you interfering? she asked herself quietly. Why put  yourself further 
up on his list of enemies?
 
The answer was simple enough. Failure to work against him  would be 
tantamount to working for him. And she would not, could not, work for  Admiral 
Taggert. 
Not ever again. 
 
Delaney bade her visitor to enter, having a good idea who it  would be. She 
would act with caution, and figured now was as good a time as any  to get rid 
of T'Leara if she was not someone whom she could trust. 
 
When the Vulcan entered carrying a small bag, Laney almost  laughed. 
Apparently, her new office in Engineering had been quite full of  surveillance 
devices. She took the bag that was handed to her by a silent  T'Leara, studying 
her 
as she added the ones she had found in here to the lot. 
 
"I would like to thank you, Lieutenant, for your help, but  your assistance 
is no longer required," she said at last. "I don't know what the  hell is going 
on and I don't know why. I'd ask you if you might have a  clue, as you are 
the one who brought this to my attention, but quite frankly, I  don't know if I 
can trust you. There are only three people I know without a  doubt that I can, 
and only one of them is aboard this ship. That  would be me."
 
"I understand," T'Leara answered. In truth, she really did.  She had no real 
idea whether or not she could trust this woman. For all she  knew, Taggert had 
found out about her activities and set this up to test her. 
 
It didn't matter, she reminded herself. She still had to warn  her. Just in 
case.
 
"You'd do well to trust no-one." She cautioned as she reached  the door...... 
"Be careful, Lieutenant. They've a far reach, and usually get  what they 
want. No matter what the cost." Fighting the urge to shudder, she  opened the 
door 
and stepped into the hall. 
 
Unable to resist, Laney stepped after her. "Damn it, who the  hell is they? I 
need a name, not some faceless ghost haunting me. Even if you're  one of 
them, surely you can give me something. Though I suppose it's part  of the 
test, 
isn't it? The surveillance was just bad enough to have been  discovered, and 
now I have to figure out who the hell you, or they, are, is that  right?"

T'Leara glanced around nervously then, taking Laney's arm, stepped back  into 
her quarters and waited until the doors closed. Very quietly, so as not to  
be overheard in case any devices had been missed, T'Leara answered, "They,  are 
Admiral Jack Taggert and the Vega Prime Research Project. Just telling you  
that much violates every agreement that keeps me in Starfleet instead of dead 
or  incarcerated somewhere, or worse, so if you are one of his people sent to 
test  me, clearly I have failed yet again, as it seems I always will." Lowering 
the  collar of her shirt to disclose the bruises of the last 'lesson' she 
spat. "One  thing this last 'lesson' did teach me is the value of observation, 
though, so  know this... I will not be caught unaware again.... If you are his 
you  might as well try your hand now, because I will kill the next to try to do 
 to me what the last did. Understood?" Her eyes blazed as she leveled them at 
the  woman. She drew a slow deep breath, forcing herself to settle. "If, 
however, you  are genuine in your ignorance of him and his research, I can only 
warn you as I  did before to watch yourself. Trust no-one. Sweep your living 
and 
working areas  often." She released her collar, allowing it to cover the 
bruises once again.  "Just be careful." 
 
The bruise was a deep emerald green, and it was fresh. It had  been caused 
the last 24 hours, for certain, Laney noted, and if this  Taggert or someone 
working for him was responsible, she knew that she did indeed  have something 
to 
worry about. The warning was genuine, and the passion with  which T'Leara 
vowed to defend herself equally so. 
 
Laney had no doubt her own sense of self-preservation would  mirror it. 
 
She was also not remiss to the fact that, if indeed this woman  was risking 
as much as she claimed by telling her even as much as she did, then  she owed 
her something for the telling. And she also had not missed the name  Vega 
Prime. She had been discussing the facility with Adrian recently, and their  
many 
attempts to keep their work under wraps.
 
Well, she thought wryly, she could certainly see what would  have intrigued 
them about her. she was an anomaly, an aberration. For all  intents and 
purposes, she should not exist. They would probably see her as a  thing meant 
to be 
studied and then dissected. Thank goodness she had caught on  as soon as she 
had, because Delaney had no intention of going from phase one to  phase two. 
She 
was no one's fracking research project! 
 
Well, except maybe her mother's. And she had stopped being  that, her mother 
had assured her, the moment she was born. Before, even---the  moment she had 
learned she really was pregnant, Marsha Scott had only wanted to  have a 
healthy child. She had made sure Delaney knew that all she cared about  was 
loving 
her and keeping her safe. Oh, what Laney would give to be able to  talk to her 
mother now. But how could she be sure the conversation wasn't being  monitored 
and/or recorded? If they were watching her here on Avalon,  were they 
watching her parents too? 
 
Most likely.
 
Delaney sighed. "Thank you. If indeed you have risked what you  say, then I 
am certain I am now in as much danger as you. I don't know much  about Vega 
Prime, but what I have heard isn't very...comforting. I don't relish  being 
anyone's science project, though, and I aim to put a stop to it any way I  can."
 
She smiled ever so slightly. "It would nice to know that there  is someone 
aboard that I can trust and I want to believe that person  could be you, 
because 
the prospect of being alone in this is too terrible to  contemplate. In that 
regard, I can only assure you that I am no agent of  this Admiral Taggert 
person. I didn't even know he existed before  you told me about him, and I've 
already got a bad feeling about  the guy. So thanks, again, for the warning."
 
T'Leara looked at her warily for a moment, then nodded again.  "Be certain to 
heed it." Hesitantly she admitted,"I am no friend to Taggert,  either, I 
assure you. I do not work for him, though I did once. I was assigned  as an 
engineer, though my aptitude in science was considered a bonus. It  was my 
refusal 
to continue once I knew what he was doing, my efforts to halt  their research, 
that led to the events for which I was eventually  courtmartialed." She 
paused, considering her next words  carefully, "There is one other I trust, 
though 
perhaps foolishly. He leads  the ships security forces." Shaking her head 
slightly. "It is possible I have  misjudged, though. Human's are so difficult 
to 
fathom at times. They're  propensity for dissemination too well developed." 
Blowing out a slightly  frustrated breath, she amended. "No. Perhaps it's 
better 
not to for now. Better  to remain wary of all. For your own sake." 
 
Laney knew without a doubt that her companion was talking  about Adrian... 
And though she knew it was her attraction to him and not common  sense talking, 
she really wanted to trust him. But T'Leara was  right---at this point, it 
wasn't wise to trust anybody. Hell, she didn't even  have the faintest clue as 
to 
when Taggert's people had begun to spy on her, and  possibly her parents, and 
there was no way she could even risk warning them, no  matter how much she 
wanted to do that, too.
 
T'Leara's mention of being court-martialed almost made  her laugh, as she 
could certainly relate. And since she had shared at least some  of her own 
story, 
Laney could do no less. "I have been tried and convicted  myself," she 
admitted. "Spent a few years in Leavenworth---and if you don't know  about that 
place, that's a good thing. My trial records are  classified---something I'm 
really not supposed to tell you, or anyone, for that  matter. That little red 
flag 
is probably what got me noticed by the Mad  Scientist....."
 
And then she did laugh, a little hysterically. "Which means  this is all my 
own damn fault."
 
"No," T'Leara answered sternly. "No, it is not." She reached  out a tentative 
hand to her. "You must not blame yourself. That way serves no  purpose. 
Taggert alone is responsible for his actions. His team for theirs. You  bear no 
fault in their folly." 
 
The hysterical giggle continued. "Oh, T'Leara, if only you  knew... See, I 
did something I was ordered not to do by my former commanding  officer, 
something I was practically begged not to do by my father, but I didn't  
listen, 
because I just had to know. And what has it done? Broken apart  my family and 
put 
me in a mad man's crosshairs."
 
It was at that very moment that she understood the root of her  father's 
fear, and for the first time since it had all happened, she felt like  an 
idiot. 
Laney hoped fervently that she would have the opportunity to tell him  how 
sorry she was.
 
"It's placed you here, now, aware of their presence, thus more  able to 
protect yourself." T'Leara responded calmly. "Rest assured the  truth of your 
nature would have come out, it is the nature of  secrets to be discovered, and 
he 
would have learned of it no matter  what you chose to do. The difference then 
would have been you' d have had no  warning. No way to steel yourself and 
protect yourself. Now, no more lamenting  the past. It is the present and 
future we 
must look to now. Lay your ghosts to  rest and attend to your safety now. 
Understood?" 
 
The "stern talking to" T'Leara had just given her was just  enough to 
rekindle her anger. Damn it, she was already letting that bastard get  to her! 
Well, 
it wasn't happening again, she swore to herself. Jack Taggert had  just messed 
with the wrong woman. T'Leara was right, she had to stay  focused on the here 
and now so that she could use her God-given intellect  (or Changeling-given, 
depending on your viewpoint; for Laney it was the God she  had been brought up 
to believe in, He who had created all things, all peoples)  to beat Taggert 
at his own game.
 
"You're right," she said. "No more letting that jerkoff make  me doubt 
myself. Now, you'd probably better go, or tongues will start wagging  we're up 
to 
something. Thank you, again. You've helped me more than you  know."
 
Still, she would lay her ghosts to rest only when she could  look Captain 
Francis Scott in the eye and say to him, "Daddy, I'm so sorry." 

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