Fact Finding

Posted on Tue Jan 7th, 2025 @ 3:25pm by Commander Rhupert Tyree & Commander Daynah Ral

2,201 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: The Foragers
Location: XO's quarters, USS Valiant
Timeline: Three days after Get the Party Started

Rhu reviewed the crew file for his XO and shifted in his seat. Undoubtedly he had the best quarters aboard Valiant with the most elbow room, but things were still spartan. He didn’t disagree with that. It put a CO in a certain frame of mind and he glanced around, settling his mind. The transition to working for the President and Federation Intel wasn’t going to be necessarily easy for the crew.

What he hadn’t anticipated was Daynah’s stance and he’d obviously missed something in her background file or hadn’t put the information there together in the right way. Then he tossed the file onto his bunk, got up and walked out of his quarters and to his XO’s quarters and tapped the annunciator, Daynah you have a minute?”⁸

Daynah had sat in her quarters alone. For the time being she did not have to share with anyone. However, she was confident that would change in due time. In a way she had been brooding since the meeting. She told Rhu that she would follow orders and do her duty. But, the idea of working for Intelligence made her skin crawl. So, now she sat and thought what would be next for her. Surely, if she requested a transfer it would be granted, but, any aspirations she had for the big chair would be placed on hold for quite some time if she did that. The sound of the door chime and the Captain's voice brought her from her brooding. "Yes sir. Always time. Come on in."

Stepping inside the quarters, Rhu let the door close behind him then settled onto the floor cross legged and leaned back. Giving her the high ground might help loosen the tension some and he said, "Daynah. I know you're not happy with the orders we've been given. My fault that we didn't hash it out before calling that meeting. But talk to me now?"

Daynah thought for a moment, she was not sure if she wanted to tell him or anyone for that matter. But he deserved an explanation, hell the whole crew did after her outburst during the meeting. She took his approach here as a sign that rank and protocol would not play a part in this conversation. Daynah smiled softly as Alaryc Ral spoke in her mind. Informed her of everything that Rhupert may be going through at the moment and tried to help her make sense of it all. "Absolutely sir. What would you like to know?"

Rhu almost let his eyes narrow. His XO was going to make him pry answers out of her, but kept his tone even as he said, "Alright then. You have issues with intelligence, fact finding missions and operations?" He decided not to further define it right now. First he needed to get her talking.

"No, not fact finding, just intelligence and covert operations. It is my opinion that Starfleet is and should be above that kind of work. It is after all something that our enemies engage in regularly, and yet our most staunch ally, the Klingons, would call it dishonorable. I mean in fact intelligence is never fully correct and is always up to inerpretations. Very often it is misinterpreted and that leads to death..." Daynah's voice trailled off as the last moments of Jazra Ral played in her memory. This was years, in fact decades ago and yet for the being that was Ral it was as if it were yesterday.

She seemed as if she was lost in a trance and then just as it began it ended. "...I mean we are scientists there is no need for us to go running around the galaxy chasing a weapons smuggler or some such. When did Starfleet become the police force of the galaxy?" Dayanah tried to change tactics as she hoped that the Captain would not pick up on what just happened.

Rhu considered that. Even as dull a telepath as he was, he could read shifting emotions. Expected them even, but he'd felt a sharp twinge flitter through his XO's emotions and knew she was speaking from an experience. Logic told him it was likely one of her past hosts experiences. "You are right in that our enemies do truck in skulduggery. The fact that they get down in the mud means we have to go wading after them. You're also right that we're not the police force of the galaxy. But StarFleet is there to protect the Federation and the Federation's interests. Our current mission doesn't have us spying on friends of the Federation. Or even enemies. We're fact finding. Good intelligence can save lives, but it's a poor commander that uses only one data source to make decisions. That's what we're currently being asked to do. Gather information to help, in this case, the President make good decisions."

He pressed his back up against the bulkhead, stretching. "The pirates are a problem. We could hunt them down ship by ship, but they're too well organized and I've never heard of whole penal colonies being used to man them, under Fleet and Federation noses. I'd much rather work hard to strop tragedies than just react when they happen."

The Captain just spoke of a very fine line and Daynah knew that was precisely why he brought it up. He found a flaw in her logic, well not a flaw but more of a loophole. "You know that the powers that be are putting us up on a tightrope without a net. This fact finding of yours can go sideways before it even begins." Daynah was still on the fence here, she had a mind to request a transfer and walk away from all of this. However, while Jazra would scream about how spying is a dangerous and useless game. Alaryc would speak of its virtues and many uses. She slumped on the floor next to Rhu as she exhaled sharply and closed her eyes. This was her way of asserting herself over Ral's exceptional personality.

"You ever have a number of voices in your head and try to listen to them all. Now, I want you to imagine that happening all the time and that is the mind of a joined Trill. Sometimes it is helpful to just tell them to be quiet and let me think. There was a time when I was in your shoes. I was a Starfleet Captain, well Alaryc was. He lost his life during the Dominion War defending what he held dear, what his crew held dear, what I have no doubt you hold dear. I guess we are going to have to walk this tightrope together." She did not seem too happy about it, but she did seem resolute to see this through.

"I can sort of relate to the voices..only in the form of telepathy. I'm half Betezoid and from about when I hit puberty until I was about eighteen, being around too many non-telepaths just about made my eyes bleed. At eighteen, I finally was able to block out the...background noise I guess we'll call it. That's when I was finally send to StarFleet Academy. But my brain had had enough and I could only really read strong emotions from people. Gravitating toward security helped because we tended to deal with people who were excited and I could get a read on emotions easier."

"Got me on the brute squad," he said with a depreciating grin. "So I have a little idea. You're experiences are why I'm excited to have you as my exec and I'm not going to let you go easy, Daynah. You speak about things going sideways and I'm aware of that. But that can be true about any mission." He rapped his knuckles on the deck between his knees and said, "Thats why we'll have rules and only take on missions from people I trust. When you get a chance to meet them, I hope you'll be see that they won't put us at risk carelessly. I definitely won't."

After a few moments he said, "And I understand the feelings from the Dominion war. Betezed came to realize they couldn't always depend on the Federation. There isn't the trust that there was before and the BDF and Betezoid Intelligence doesn't trust that Federatioin and Fleet Intel services. That's why they have their own net. You're right. This is a sticky wicket, as they say. My read on all this. Why the President is involved like he is...there's a threat out there that is staying deep in the shadows. We need to help flush them out. That means poking around in dark corners and getting a little dirty. I hope you'll stick around cause we can use you."

Daynah had forgotten that the Captain was half Betazoid and here she was lamenting about the attack on Betazed. He may have had family. She had a mile long stare as she processed the information. Her deameanor changed, she seemed a tad wiser, perhaps with age. When she spoke again it was clear that it was Ral who spoke from within. "Captain, we symbiotes see the ever changing universe through the eyes of our hosts. We have come to terms with what death means, for being such yourself and our hosts. What we do not understand is the want and cause of senseless death. Alaryc's death was not senseless, it had meaning he died for his beliefs, so those in his charge could live. That is an admirable death. I am proud to have been there with him at that time. However, Jazra, sweet Jazra died senselessly. It is hard for us to meet death so close together, not unheard of just hard. I tell you all of this so that you know what it means to us, the amount of trust we put in you. We admire you and that is enough for us..." Her voice trailled off and her deameanor changed again back was the visage of Daynah her sweet smile beamed as she chuckled. "Sometimes Ral tells me to sit down and shut up."

"I will remain but I do have a request. I am to be this crew's conscious, your conscious. If you or anyone else is overstepping the line you and they will hear it. I will remove myself from duty if it comes to it. I want you to known that so if it happens there is no surprises." Daynah may have been soft spoken but there was a hardness to her words. One knew that she would not take no for an answer on this.

Rhu kept his eyes level with hers and nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Dayna. That's part of an exec's duty and only a tyrant of a captain would demand his XO would rubber stamp things. However, I would appreciate disagreements to be in private. To make all this work, we'll need to speak with one voice when it comes to operating Valiant. I need to get better at keeping you up to date with what's going on, so my communication needs to be better."

Daynah was a no nonsense kind of person who made sure people knew where she stood. This was how she made it to where she was in Starfleet. "I think I can agree to a unified front. I will follow orders as needed however, if or when there comes a time that I must follow an order that I disagree with that disagreement will be made public, it will be in the ship's log, and the order will be followed. It is the only way that I can do this and still assuage my concious." She felt that Rhu understood her, and for Daynah Ral that was a rare and wonderful gift.

Rhu pulled his feet together and then pushed himself up by using the wall. "I'm glad you'll be staying aboard, Daynah," he told her. "Remember our main goal her is saving lives. No politics. The moment it gets political, I'll get us out of this whole mess. I know a couple of Admirals that would jump at the chance to stick a thumb in Intel's eye. Both Fleet and Fedreration. That's actually what makes me more nervous. Star Fleet is NOT going to be happy with us working for Fed Intel and cutting them out of the loop. I'd expect contacts we all have to come snooping around. Keep that in mind when you're briefing the department heads and our people."

He met her eyes and said, "And we'll make sure we communicate both ways to take care of everyone."

"Avoiding people is what Trill excel at believe it or not..." Daynah began with a smirk. "...After all my previous wife is still alive."

Grinning Rhu brushed down his trousers and said, "All sorts of adventures ahead. We'd best get to it. Sounds like more interesting conversations ahead...I'd like to hear about the wife.

Knocking on the door jam, Rhu waived and stepped out of his XO's quarters, leaving her to her thoughts.

 

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