<FWG> <Section 31> Emergence of Emergency, Part 1
- From: Jason Ziredac <ziredac@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: fwgalaxy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 12:01:31 -0800 (PST)
Emergence in Emergency
by Ilixia Rydyn
The midnight sky was littered with stars. The security around the Federation
Council complex had been heightened because of the recent events. Security
contingents were doubled and officers from all over Earth were called in to
patrol twenty-four hours a day. Lieutenants Bendis and Jackson were called in
from the President?s personal detail in France. And, needless to say, they
weren?t happy about their apparent demotion.
?I swear to God that we?re being punished.?
?When there is a Dominion assault on the heart of the Federation, you should
consider yourself lucky that the President himself decided that we were good
enough to come here in this trying time.? Michael Bendis looked across the
water, the moon reflecting in the glassy surface and rippling in the gentle
breeze.
Jason Jackson scoffed openly, giving his companion a look of disdain in the
pale moonlight. ?You sound like a fuckin? war propaganda brochure.?
?A what??
?God, never mind.? Jason had always been a history connoisseur, knowing
pretty much everything about Earth culture and its past. His friend,
obviously, knew next to nothing other than how to aim and fire. Jason often
wondered how he ended up as a security grunt instead of a prominent professor
at Daystrom. He could show those young upstarts a thing or two about history.
?Shall we make another round??
?Sure,? a sarcastic response came, ?I didn?t think that twelve in four hours
was enough. Lead on, professor.?
The two patrolmen walked on, slicing the orange triangles of light that were
spitting onto the concrete. Their boot heels were coughing, and the backbeat of
the buzzing crickets nestled the compound. Headlights were careening everywhere
in the city?s distance, dashing like chaotic little diamonds in a jeweler?s
robbery gone awry. As they rounded the next corner, they saw ahead movement in
the obscure foliage lining the side of the building that entered upon the
auditorium.
Phasers were drawn. Probably a cat, they were thinking, but with Dominion
soldiers making guerilla backhands on the administration, it got these two
watchers thinking double-time. Approaching cautiously, they saw the plants?
movement cease, and they could barely make out a human shadow against the
faraway lamplight from the compound gate.
Whatever it was, it was stopping to notice them.
It wasn?t until they were closer that they could make out the silhouette of a
young woman in the waning midnight. Jason was the first to get a bead, raising
his phaser rifle to his shoulder. ?Whoever you are, stay where you are, keep
your hands out where we can see them.?
Michael moved up next to his friend, his eyes searching the wilderness for
others like her, but found none. A solitary figure on Federation Council
property at this night was unheard of, in addition to an unauthorized presence
been strictly against regulations.
?Who are you? What are you doing here??
?Yeah, sound a little more frightened, would you Mike?? Jason whispered as
he took another step forward. ?What?s your business here? Do you have
documentation that allows you to be here??
More definite silence from the unmoving figure.
?Stun??
?No.? Jason shook his head, he activated the light on the end of his phaser
rifle and illuminated the woman before them. ?I repeat, what?s your business
here??
?Stand down, men,? came the reply, a somewhat familiar one. ?It?s me, Ilixia
Rydyn, the assistant to the Vice Chairman. I?ve escaped from the Dominion
agents that took me. Check my identification.?
The click of the security officers activating their weapons was heard in the
silence of the night. ?You are under arrest, ma?am, put your hands up.?
She did. ?Granted my photo isn?t exactly how it is on my PF,? she added as
they approached. ?A little less blood, a couple less bruises, white eyes
instead of red, you know??
?Where have you been?? Michael said, unwavering from his position ten feet
away from her. She had disappeared under mysterious circumstances, so her
sudden appearance was a little unsettling.
?The new assistant, Sashella Moraine, was a Dominion agent who took me. She
took me to some dark hotel room and interrogated me for hours. Then she
slipped, and I got away.? The other patrolmen began to search her, in a way
that would have made a warmer, more naïve girl blush. But Ilixia kept her hands
interlaced behind her head, patiently, while the frisking finished.
?So now that we?ve intimately met,? Ilixia said, ?can you take me somewhere I
can get cleaned up? This cut on my left cheek is killing me.?
Nodding, Jason motioned back up the path from where they had come. ?No
tricky movements, all right? This has been an uneventful night, let?s keep it
that way. Michael, would you call up to the command post and tell them we?ve
got the Vice Chairman?s assistant??
Michael took a step back so that he could not be heard by the other two.
?Bendis to the security headquarters. We?ve found the Vice Chairman?s
assistant that went missing. She looks pretty messed up so we?re taking her to
the medical center to get her patched up. Keep us monitored.?
?Understood, headquarters out.? A dry and tired voice responded quickly.
?We?re ready, Jason, let?s go.?
Jason moved behind Ilixia and nudged her gently forward. ?We?re taking you
up to the medical wing, we?ll get you fixed up and then I?m sure that the Judge
Advocate?s will want to speak with you. You should probably know that you?re
suspect in the attack on the Vice Chairman, regardless of your accusations
against this Sashella Moraine.?
?It is fully understandable, but upon further investigation, after just
asking the guards that came with me, you?ll find that I?m not at all involved.
But your suspicions are justified. Shall we??
--
The medical wing smelled grossly of sterilization. Jason and Michael both
just hated being there. Screw the physicals, they would rather take the mark
on their record. There was one nurse on shift, and they not-so-affectionately
referred to her as ?Nurse Careless?.
?Della, we?ve got a live one here, can we keep her that way??
?You?ve known me like two days, why are you mean to me??
?No reason, he?s bored,? Jason smiled as he offered Ilixia the bed. ?She?s
got some pretty deep scratches and some intense bruises.?
The nurse eyed him, ?Thank you, Doctor, would you like to give me an official
diagnosis?? She pulled the curtain and concealed the man behind it. It was
the Vice Chairman, blissfully unaware of the situation unraveling around him.
He hadn?t awoken in the time since the attack, but the nurse was doing her best
to keep him comfortable.
Michael rolled his eyes, ?Just help her, would you??
?I really don?t think my scratches and bruises require this much attention
and dispute,? Ilixia intervened, holding a hand out to divide the air between
them. ?I don?t even need to look pretty right now. Just wipe the blood off,
make sure they don?t bleed anymore, and I?ll get to work. There are VC
assistant duties I?ve missed that I need to look over. Make sure my temporary
replacement didn?t grossly screw something up.?
?Lady, you aren?t going anywhere until the authorities talk to you in the
morning. So, for now you sit and you don?t move. Got it?? The nurse?s
expression went from nice and gentle to serious and gruff. ?One of these two
will be nice enough to sit outside and make sure you go nowhere. Okay??
?Suspect or not, I will not be addressed in such a demeaning manner. And I
know that I?m not going anywhere. You can confine me to the compound. You can
confine me to my appropriate wing. But there are duties I must attend to that
fall under my sole responsibility, and to disallow my completion of these tasks
is to delay important matters of the Federation Council. Since you so happen to
be employed by the Federation Council, and you are a citizen of the Federation,
I suggest you let me get to work. Either one of you,? she said, pointing a
wagging finger between the two of them, ?can go tell your superior officer that
if I even attempt to leave the compound, you can arrest me and place me in a
cold cell with no food or drink until the interrogators come get me.?
Ilixia slid her butt off the biobed and stood up. ?Trust me. It would behoove
you to allow me to get to my duties. Call it work-arrest.?
The nurse was in her face in an instant. ?Listen to me you upstart fool. I
don?t care if you are the President of the Federation or the most insignificant
citizen. You are not leaving this room until you?ve talked with the
authorities. Do not give me your holier than thou stories of political
grandeur. Sit down, let me treat you, and then you?ll sit longer until you?ve
been talked to.?
Michael and Jason exchanged almost respectful looks with each other. After
all, the nurse was right. ?Ms. Rydyn, we understand your dedication to your
duty and completely get that you want to proceed with your job. However, at
this juncture, it just isn?t going to happen. So, please, bear with us with as
we follow our procedures and do our jobs. It would be to your benefit.?
Ilixia eyed the patrolmen, honest, young, astute fellows with nothing to look
forward to at the end of the week aside from upper approval. They didn?t want
to lose their jobs. The nurse, on the other hand, was first to go after the
whole debacle passed on. ?I?ll give you a half hour. Then you?ll see who?s
holier than whom.?
The curtain to the Vice Chairman?s resting area slid open, the
disheveled-looking leader emerged as if he had staggered out of the gates of
hell. He was tired, it was showing in his eyes, his body, and his words once
he started speaking. ?Ilixia,? the hollowness of the dialogue was eerily
absent of any qualities once present in Kegan Tiriko?s persona. ?You have the
very best of intentions, I?m sure, but I am compelled to agree with these
people. You did say that you wanted to take over command of the Federation
Council.?
?Mr. Vice Chairman!? The nurse squawked in half surprise and half joy. She
rushed to his side, supporting him under the arm. ?I?m so glad you?re awake,
would you like me to call the doctor??
He shook his head, ?No. I want to know what Ilixia was thinking when she
made her power play.?
?Sir, with all due respect, these are questions that should be asked by an
interrogator. You are in no state to be interviewing a witness to a spectacle
that we know so little about.? Michael Bendis had turned on his diplomacy,
sheltering his gruff outward demeanor to play ambassador. ?You should return
to bed.?
?You should understand my position, Lieutenant, and be grateful that I
haven?t already dismissed you.? Kegan?s words had gained some intensity and
color, even though his skin remained pale. ?I wish to hear what Ilixia has to
say. And then I will decide whether or not to permit her to attend to her
duties until such time that an official contingent of security officers from
the Federation Council complex can question her.?
There was a pause, a moment of reflection in Bendis? eyes. Jason Jackson
stepped up beside his colleague and nodded for him, ?Of course, sir. We
understand that you?ve been through a trying experience. Just be aware that we
are merely attempting to do our job to the best of our abilities.?
Kegan?s eyes locked onto Jason?s, the seriousness deepening. ?And I am
trying to do mine. If you two will wait outside, please?? He watched them go,
knowing that they were trained for such situations, but would follow orders as
dictated to them.
?Mr. Vice Chairman,? the nurse started.
He raised a hand, not even bothering to meet her gaze. ?And you are
dismissed as well, nurse. I thank you for your expert care, but I need to be
alone with my assistant. That is all.? Once they were completely in private,
Kegan stumbled to her bedside. ?Ilixia, what the hell were you thinking? I?ve
known you long enough to know that you?re a power-hungry bitch with delusions
of political power, but even that was beyond your logic.?
You said it, not me, she thought. Ilixia put on a sorry face, a troubled one,
with quivers in the lips. ?The?the thoughts were not my own. Unfortunately
that?s all I can really understand at the moment. Part of the work I?d be doing
tonight would be research under? under mental manipulation.?
It came as a shock to Kegan, but at the same time he half expected something
surreal. ?I get it. I do. That wasn?t you that I saw in the doorway. It was
someone much more? confident. Can I trust that you won?t be under this
manipulation again? Like now for instance? If I let you go to do your work,
you?ll be monitored and probably supervised heavily until morning. That?s the
one stipulation I have to letting you go about your business.?
?Well, with the exception of the things only those with authorization can be
involved in, of course. Like the Federation?s personnel files.? She said this
with a shrug, as if it was something he had meant to add as a footnote.
?But you will be watched. It would not be in the Federation?s best interest,
or mine, to let you roam free without some type of supervision. We?ll know
where you are, the archives as you stated, and you may be without
over-the-shoulder watching, but you?ll be followed nonetheless.? Kegan looked
tired, and he blinked the sleepiness from his eyes. For sleeping for so long
he still felt like hell. ?I?ll make the necessary arrangements, but you?re
free to go.?
?Naturally.?
--
The two patrolmen wound up assigned to her. Ilixia detail. They didn?t seem
terribly disappointed, though it required them to stay at work later than they
had thought earlier that day. First they talked about movies while she sat at
her desk tapping at her computer so fast and erratically that it looked like
she didn?t know what she was doing. Second they took a trip down to the
archives, where she accessed information that would have seemed completely
uncorrelated had the patrolmen been paying any attention other than to comedic
occurrences at family reunions. Third they went to the research lab where she
pretended to be completely engrossed in mind control and manipulation.
But she already knew the width and breadth of the subject.
She already knew the entire dossier for the patrols, the names and ranks of
the people on shift in the medical wing, and even the janitors.
Now that one of Ilixia?s goals was achieved: making sure the Vice Chairman
was okay, her next goal was to take action: to find out exactly how someone
could have inserted thoughts into her brain to make her think they were her
own, only to have them rattled out of her by a wicked gunshot by a wicked witch.
The trick to not letting that sort of thing happen again was to be aware of
all thoughts, weighing their logical presence, their relevance, and the
awareness that something or someone was toying with the thought pattern. To be
thoroughly conscious of her mind was to defy the invader.
The invader, she guessed, had to be somewhere in the compound, had to be
connected with the Dominion surprise attack, and therefore had to be connected
to the Gusmati. Because it wasn?t until they waltzed into the political party
that the invading thoughts began. It was far too evident in the timing for it
to be just a coincidence. The political facts that were surprisingly slapping
the congregation in the face without them knowing it could be put aside; the
Gusmati meant harm, and they were utilizing people to get things in motion.
Shaking loose the tight unyielding grip those two bodyguards now had on her
was easier than she thought. A little temptation of food and an extended break
in the dawning morning hours was enough to send them surely out of her sight,
without the slightest notion that when their backs would turn, Ilixia Rydyn
would be up to no good.
Up to no good was such a subjective phrase; it meant different things to
people like Admiral Remington than it did to people like a black-haired girl
with a nice red coat and a nickname. To people like Mosaic, it could mean
gathering your entire race to usurp the measures and treasuries of the
Federation and stabbing the Vice Chairman with a knife while dressed as
Dominion soldiers. But to people like Admiral Remington, it could mean
impersonating a member of the chiefs of state to infiltrate a heavily guarded
governmental compound and rummaging through classified files.
I?m getting sick of wearing these damn masks, she thought as she took out her
special silver tricorder and attached it to the service nodes of an archival
console. Once I get rid of this ugly face, I?m taking a good long break from
incognito.
Ilixia Rydyn, who was, in fact, not Ilixia Rydyn at all, found the
information she was looking for: rooms given to Gusmati usage within the
compound. Below three floors, down hall A, rooms 112-115.
==
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