<USS Avalon> "The Recruit" Pt. 2

?The Recruit? ? Part Two
by Lieutenant Commander Javan Sierra



The night was young, not even midnight, and the stars had swarmed the skies. Bright beacons of light that appeared like pinholes in the black fabric of the sky provided a dim ambiance that made it perfect for a stealth operation to take place. The park was equally dark and the foliage swayed slightly in the evening breeze. There was an awkward calm in the air accompanied by the even more oddity of quietness.

Javan was seated on a bench clad all in black. Even though the night was dark he still needed the increased element of camouflage. His ears were on alert and his eyes combed the area for any sign of things out of the ordinary. Every minute movement or sound sparked his attention, but even though it looked like he was going crazy and coming down with a case of severe paranoia, he was more aware of things going around than anyone else was.

Then he heard it.

His ears strained for amplification, but his head remained unmoved from its position on his peripheral arc. He could sense the movement and, because of his Betazoid abilities, he could hear the thoughts of the person attempting to sneak up on him. He waited patiently as he felt the would-be attacker slowly move up closer and closer to Javan?s turned back.

Spring at the right moment, Javan pivoted on the ground and tackled the shadowy figure who had emerged from the tree line just moments before. A struggle ensued with Javan ending up straddling his victim with their arms pinned to the dirt. They struggled to move and shift out from underneath Javan, but he held tight. ?Rule number two, Mr. Vanneer, never sneak up on a Betazoid.?

The young man smiled up at Javan, ?Well, I was hoping to show you I could do whatever you want me to do. You know, an earlier tell tale sign that I was good material.?

?Kid,? Javan said as he stood up and brushed the dust and grime from his black pants, ?you?ve got a lot to learn and none of it was taught at the academy. Stealth Tactics at the academy is equal to simple addition in mathematics where I work.?

A curious look wafted across Eli?s face, but without training Javan wouldn?t have been able to see it in the twilight. ?Where?s that??

?Wouldn?t you like to know??

?Yes, that?s why I?m here, isn?t it??

?Yes, but before I even think about letting you in on what?s going on I need your pledge you won?t go ballistic and start killing people. This is top secret and it should be obvious because I?m asking you to meet me here at night dressed in all black.? Javan smiled as he pushed through some bushes that scratched at his legs and hands. ?So, are you in??

Eli smiled in the darkness, ?I guess, but do I have any choice??

?Not really, but if you decide to walk away you can?t talk about this with anyone and you?ll never have this opportunity again.? Javan moved into an alleyway between two structures and stopped. He turned, staring down the potential recruit, and put his back against the cold stone that made the ancient building. ?It?s vital that at least we get that much right.?

That last sentence must have sparked Eli?s curiosity even more because he stepped closer and began to check over his shoulder. His eyes became more agile as they scanned the two ends of the walkway and he checked the rooftops as well. ?You?ve got my word.?

?I take those kinds of statements very serious, Mr. Vanneer.?

?As do I, Commodore.?

Javan smiled and put his hand on Eli?s back, ?You in??

Eli nodded.

?OK, well, first off I?m not a Commodore. I?m a Lieutenant, Lieutenant Javan Sierra to be exact.? Javan moved down to the entrance from which they?d come and he gazed out into the open air. He circled the area, which he was quite good at doing, and seemed unmoved by what he found.

?Right. So, Lieutenant, where do we go from here?? Eli stepped up and joined Javan in the surveillance of the grounds. Unfortunately, Eli couldn?t see much of anything in the darkened night. He strained trying to get any light to register, but even then it came as unidentifiable blurs and shadowy figures that were just the trees weaving in the wind.

Javan was about done when he saw it. An unnoticeable movement in the bushes. It stuck out to Javan because the move was in the opposite direction that the bush was moving. A rookie mistake, he thought as he pushed Eli back rather harshly into the enclosed area behind them. He heard Eli make a groan as he slammed into the brick building. ?We?re being followed.?

?What?? Eli blurted out rather loudly and obviously audible to the figure that halted in their tracks about ten meters from the duo?s hiding spot. Javan silenced Eli quickly with a finger to his lips, and again pushed him back into the alley. ?What?s going on??

Javan turned, pointed silently to the black object knowing full well that Eli wouldn?t be able to notice it. ?Someone followed you. We?ve got to move.?

Eli wasn?t objectionable, which made Javan?s life and job a whole lot easier as they began to scramble into the courtyard beyond their location. Keeping low to the ground, Eli moved slowly along the fence that encompassed the crystalline pool of water that was still except for the ripples that the soft breeze caused to run along the surface.

Moving up behind him, Javan halted his progress by pulling on his leg. Eli did as he was told and stopped in his tracks and held his breath; Javan did the same. The figure moved into the foyer and slid along the back wall of the establishment. It had on a visor of some kind and it glowed green.

?Night Vision.? The green glow emanated for not long until it switched to red. The red permeated the calmness of the black and an evil aura descended upon the area. It searched the left area and then started to move in a sweeping arc. It drew close to Javan?s location and he knew what was coming. He shoved Eli forward. ?Thermal Goggles! Run!?

Eli sprinted forward and dived through a well-placed hole in the fence. Javan dived, but his leg that had been torn by the bushes at the beginning of the night snagged on the fence. Struggling to get his leg free his eyes tried to search two places at once. He?d been left all alone except for the approaching assassin, or so Javan surmised it was an assassin.

The presence of Eli had dissipated and he could no longer reach out and feel the young man anywhere near. His eyes turned back to the fence in time to see the red glow approaching. He pulled and yanked at the fabric, the sound of tearing cloth filling the silent night. He began to stand and move away, but the figure dived through the opening and tackled Javan.

?Eli!? Javan called out to his target, but didn?t get a response. He struggled with his attacker, but the death grip the man had on his arm and leg was nothing he could escape from. Javan reached for his phaser tucked into his boot, but the man had already disarmed it and it was now lying shattered on the ground several feet away. ?Get the hell off me!?

He was released, but he had the strangest urge to remain. He stared down his attacker who rose slowly to his feet, the red dots in his eyes slowly fading into nothingness and it was soon removed and held at his side. Javan couldn?t fight a smile and he ran a nervous hand over his neck. ?Admiral Mondale. How pleasant of you to follow me.?

?Yes, I was suspicious about you, Mr. Rydell ? if that is your real name?? The aged admiral clipped the goggles on his belt. ?I did a background check on you only to find out that you?d left the Intelligence Agency over ten years ago and died less than two years ago. Unless you have been bestowed the power of self resurrection by something beyond, you?re not who you say you are.?

?You never know.?

?Who are you, really??

?Lieutenant Javan Sierra.?

?Never heard of you.?

?That?s the idea, Mr. Mondale.? Javan took a step backwards, but was met with an armed phaser at his back. He swiveled on his heel and the phaser slammed into his sternum, but the radiance of the woman in front of him made up for the agonizing pain vibrating through his torso. ?Vice Admiral Janessa Trevell. Looking lovelier than ever.?

She smiled, ?Compliments won?t get you anywhere, Mr. Sierra.? She turned a hesitant glance toward her commanding officer. ?Admiral, what do you want to do with this impostor??

?I?d first like to know what you?re doing impersonating a Starfleet Officer ? ?

Javan cut him off, ?I?m not. I?m a Lieutenant in Starfleet.?

?How do we know that you?re not impersonating that person too??

Javan sighed heavily ? this was precisely the reason that you avoided capture. It wasn?t the fear of torture, immense pain, threats, or even death; it was the tediousness of having to answer millions of questions regarding identity, past, and future. ?You?re going to have to take my word for it.?

?I can?t do that.?

Surprise, surprise.

?You really want to know who I am? I?m a Section 31 operative who is seeking a new recruit. You seemed to have scared him off.? Javan shifted his weight as if to ensure his superiority over these inferior beings who knew nothing of pain or sacrifice.

Janessa shook her head, ?More lies? I say we just shoot him and get it over with. We can call you treasonous and our stories will check out because we?re our own witnesses.? She seemed to have thought their getaway to the tee.

?I?m not lying.?

?I?m sure you?re not. Shoot him Janessa.?

Javan?s heart leapt into his throat, which he was unaccustomed to feeling. Normally he just accepted every day as his last and lived it to its fullest. His palms got sweaty; another thing he was not use to feeling, but it was there nonetheless.

?Hey!? A strong loud voice echoed in the tiny confines of the courtyard. Mondale spun and glared at the new ensign standing with a phaser of his own pointed at the Admiral. ?I suggest you let that man go.?

?Get out of here, Ensign, that?s an order.?

?How about no?? He didn?t budge, ?I?m not moving of leaving unless Javan is coming with me.?

Janessa leaned out to the right and aimed her rifle at Eli. Her finger was scratchy and she almost pulled the trigger several times, and at the highest setting Eli wouldn?t been reduced to nothing more than a few burnt molecules and a scorch mark on the ground. Javan, which blinding accuracy, knocked the rifle up and over her back. He stepped behind her and caught it, shoving the barrel into the small of her back.

?Drop it, Mondale.?

The old man turned on his heel again, completing the three hundred and sixty degree angle he?d started minutes earlier when confronting Eli. He frowned and smiled, ?You have your times, don?t you Mr. Sierra??

Javan returned the grin; ?I like to think that I do, Admiral.?

Mondale raised his rifle up and pointed it at Javan?s head. ?Release her, or I?ll fry you at short range. Don?t think that I won?t.?

In a move that Javan wasn?t suspecting, Janessa dove to the right and pushed Javan back. Mondale moved his phaser in tune to the operative?s steps and went to fire. Eli, in a gutsy move, blasted the Admiral. A look of complete horror crossed his face before the tired and aged Admiral slumped to the ground lifeless. Eli smirked as if he enjoyed watching the life drain from the decades old body.

?No!? Janessa raced to her feet and lunged at Eli, but never made it there. She fell into the dirt, the cloud rising up and then settling again in total silence.

Javan stood with a phaser in his head. If it had been the Wild West the barrel would?ve been smoking. A smirked crossed his own face. ?Now we have two dead bodies to deal with.?

Eli pointed to the two and vaporized them into nothingness. ?That take care of it??

?Yes, actually.?

?So, where were we headed?? Eli said overloading the phaser compression rifle and it too exploding into fragments of oblivion. ?I believe I was off to do some training??

Javan pointed, ?This way, Ensign.?

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