Ask Nicely

Posted on Thu Jun 21st, 2018 @ 1:59am by Captain Charybdis MacGregor & Lieutenant Commander Siivas McKenzie
Edited on on Thu Jun 21st, 2018 @ 1:59am

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Future Tense
Location: Interview room somewhere on Earth
Timeline: 2285
Tags: Jones

Rear Admiral Thomas Jones of Starfleet Intelligence walked into the windowless interrogation room and eyed the sole occupant. The Deltan doctor sat calmly, hands folded on the table in front of him, a bemused expression on his face.

The Man With No Name gambit did not work with him. Nor did misdirecting lines of questioning. trying to trip him up was a waste of time, because he knew every step as soon as it was conceived. He couldn't even be caught off balance by separating him from his compatriots, because even if he couldn't reach them himself, what Jones knew about them would come to mind as he made connections, and then the Deltan would know.

He was a telepath. The bane of the intelligence community.

And he knew it.

Jones sighed as he settled down into the chair. The doctor had some sort of agenda, and it was in the interest of Starfleet to find out what it was... but pressuring him wouldn't work, and holding him wasn't working either. While his lover hadn't killed anyone, he had simply snuck in past the entirety of Starfleet Security last night, and stayed with McKenzie until morning, then allowed the security lieutenant to escort the Deltan from his quarters only after asking with sufficient politeness and respect, and minus one phaser.

So Jones had to think outside the box on this one, and as a rather unexpected ploy, he thought he would try a tactic seldom used in interrogations... honesty.

"Good morning Doctor... I hope that you're well rested today. I'd like to ask you about those three women you and your government worked so hard to rescue. Starfleet is grateful for your efforts, and would like to extend that gratitude to the Deltan people for their diligence in working so hard to rescue three of our imperiled personnel," even when the idiots who filed the initial reports apparently did not bother to follow up on correlated events and we got left completely in the dark on it, he grumbled internally.

Siivas nodded slightly in recognition of the change of tactic.

"My question is simple, Siivas. You mind if I call you Siivas? Why?" he opened his hands on the table, worn hands that spent hours tinkering on an antique grav sled in his garage on weekends and labored to build a model of Siivas' old ship, the Liberty while in his off hours to bring him some peace and focus. "What's so special about those three?"

Jones knew the tip of the iceberg... he knew which one. He just didn't know why Siivas was so interested, and he was pretty sure he wasn't going to find out unless the Deltan decided to share it with him. And thus, in the annals of Starfleet Intelligence he was working his way around to just plain going for broke and asking outright.

It was either this or try to bring in another telepath, and not only could that start a galactic incident but would likely just make him dig in harder and then they were likely never to get answers. So here he was, Rear Admiral of Starfleet, basically asking for his answers pretty-please. Fortunately he had enough wisdom and little enough ego and pride to know when to step back and admit when he was licked.

"Thank you for your honesty, Admiral," Siivas replied, admitting now that he knew Jones was actually an Admiral himself and likely, which one. "I can't reveal all of it to you because your predecessors set into motion several contingency plans, of which I've been given the job to see through to the end. There are several other layers of operation in effect so eliminating me won't prevent success but it will make the operation go to ground and be even harder for you to observe our actions," he explained. "In this way, early Starfleet Intelligence took a page from cell-operations and made each operative a cell unto themselves."

Resting his chin on his thumb and placing two fingers over his lips, Jones nodded. That made sense and jibed with what he knew of Starfleet Intelligence when it was still in its infancy and the protocols that they adopted in such cases where they thought they would be playing a very long game- information might be lost to future generations, but it definitely wouldn't be lost to the enemy. And with technological advances, there would be that much more likelihood of the information retrieval and rediscovery.

"The operation involves protecting the Federation against the Romulans, who back in my original time had attacked the proto-Federation core civilizations using advanced technology and psionics, combined. Because of that level of threat, because certain members of the proto-Federation had psionics but the majority did not, it was decided that those few would stand to protect the Federation from that front. It was surmised that the Romulans would try again," Siivas explained, "common sense, really. They had been foiled mechanically but their psionic operatives had performed admirably. They just needed to find a way to manufacture and control them better."

"But we Deltans have been in space nearly as long as Vulcans have and we're well-acquainted with the various species of the alpha and beta quadrants that have warp-capability," he spread his fingers in an abbreviated gesture as if adding "naturally". "The great diplomats, Deltans are often able to assimilate into other humanoid species through a variety of methods, not the least of which is through sex. And we were not officially a member of the Federation then and would not be for some time; all pre-arranged in advance of course, so we could continue our work and not be perceived as a threat to certain interests."

He shrugged and sighed, "When I came forward in time, I was contacted by the current cell and re-activated once I had been assessed to determine if I was still useful. When I encountered Charybdis for the first time, I suspected she was a Romulan. I was able to confirm it sometime later in the process. She believes that we are friends and that is useful because as soon as I reported my findings, an additional provision activated and she became the focus of that Operation, which is why you've witnessed so much activity and effort spent to save her. She is a tool for us to use to foil the Romulans' latest attempt to infiltrate or manipulate the Federation using psionic agents."

Then he paused and cocked his head slightly, "Though, as a sleeper and a mole, I believe she is already faulty and they, the Romulan Imperial Intelligence Agency also known as the Tal Shiar, is not yet aware that their tool is broken. I've been inside her mind, at her invitation and while her indoctrination as a child of the Empire was strong, there is a childhood stigma, a psychic scar if you will, of her treatment by the Empire. She has used that trauma on those who have been inside her mind without her consent or of whom she wishes to keep her secrets safe from, which is a tale in itself."

The wealth of information was astounding... Jones considered that perhaps his approaches with the others had been perhaps misguided. But in this case, his subject was considerably different. McKenzie was volunteering the information because it suited his purposes... and so much of it was unverifiable. But there were cornerstones of fact within what he was saying that jibed with what they knew... so either he was outstanding at spinning a fiction on the spot while scouting details, or he was simply telling the truth.

"That would be Sebel, the Vulcan Kohlinar driven mad after spending a few years as her caretaker on Vulcan?" he asked.

"I was unsure of his name," Siivas nodded, "that information was something she clothed in shame." He sighed slightly and gestured to the Admiral, "I know of a circle of Deltan adepts that are extremely skilled in redactive techniques that may save his sanity and life. Of course, the memories she gave him and what's been happening since then will, necessarily have to be redacted from his mind but at least he'll still have one."

Nodding, Jones pursed his lips and agreed. "I'll make the information available to your people. I'm sure it would be appreciated."

"Helping as a Healer is still my primary concern Admiral," Siivas gestured with one hand as it catching and holding something, "but as a Deltan, I am able to interpret self-responsibly, how and when. The Starfleet Oath and moreso Terran Hippocratic Oath are in fact hypocritical in the service of Starfleet as every officer's duty is to protect the Federation, especially those of its Healers. So a Healer's ethical foundation would constantly be called into question, especially if one were to command a medical vessel and was forced to defend one's self or one's charges from aggressors. This is why I am helping you understand, as much as I am able. We may not be allies but we don't need to be enemies, when our goals are parallel."

The Starfleet intelligence admiral crossed his legs and nodded, a sad smile on his face. "We seem to be making a reasonable amount of progress... far more than I'd expected today. I appreciate your position, Doctor, and I am glad that you can appreciate mine."

"Indeed," Siivas agreed and then turned the conversation back. "So. Before she was augmented, she was overly emotional and sub-par intelligence, but met the Tal Shiar's requirements for the program physically. The process of her augmentation destabilized her; tearing her psyche apart mechanically and rebuilding it through hypnosis and drugs has strong limitations, and the Vulcan persona they fused to her broken consciousness, using it to hold the pieces together, has influenced the development of an unseen identity: Charybdis Prime."

"The controlling element is not a full personality; she lacks a certain amount of emotional experience but has begun to develop depth of character and a reservoir of will. The Vulcan portion of her personality has integrated to a high degree but still remains somewhat independent, representing her subconscious. Her Romulan original identity is her ID and is given to her more passionate and less-than-pleasant expressions of emotion. From my experiences inside her mind, I believe all of her personalities are meshed into a Federation sympathetic person. She knows what she is, how she was made but she has become... 'attached'... to the Federation and her loyalties. I believe she has asked for my intervention to assist her in forming into a complete psyche, though I will teach her the Deltan Path, not Kohlinahr and that should even her out her passions."

Nodding, Jones stood and paced as Siivas spoke, confirming some of that they had gathered from previous captured operatives and expounding on the case currently in deliberation. His mind raced with possibilities, but there were basic questions he still needed answers to... fortunately, these were perfect questions for the telepathic doctor who ideally knew the subject best.

"Is she stable, Doctor? From what we've seen of her service record, putting her under duress appears to produce spectacular results, and she was ideally on her way to becoming one of our best and brightest before she vanished." He paced a few steps, then turned and fixed the doctor with a pointed look.

"Leaving her to languish will produce the results you don't want," Siivas leveled and look that said he spoke from experience. "If she's left to amuse herself, she will and if a Deltan has to be responsible for keeping her out of trouble and alive, then its best to keep her busy and under pressure."

"You know what we're leaning toward and why... it's one hell of a gamble, and I'm still trying to convince a few parties involved that it is the ideal solution. But is she going to turn? Will she fall apart on us? And are your people liable to swoop in and change the entire equation on us?"

"My people aren't going to swoop in and do anything Admiral," he replied with a chuckle, shaking his head. "I'm on my own once I'm out doing something. But we have a tremendous opportunity to flush out the Romulans by placing her just outside their reach, to make them do something foolish. A foolish Romulan is a source of great information," he added with a small smile. "And a Romulan revealed to a Klingon," he chuckled again, "well, they hate the Romulans for good reason. So if we flush out the one, the other will come out as well and ignore us unless we get in the way."

"I'm planning to place her at the Crossroads... it looks like the shape of the galaxy is going to be determined in the next few decades primarily in those regions, and they are calm for the moment, but cold wars are always a matter of jockeying for position and border defense. I'll make you a deal, doctor," he said, offering his hand. "You keep an eye on her, and keep us informed with regular progress reports... and we'll do what we can to support your efforts. And should the time come, and push comes to shove, we'll throw more behind your effort than you might imagine that can be brought to bear."

He left the hand extended patiently... he was in no hurry, and he was willing to give the Deltan doctor time to consider.

Siivas leaned forward and stood in one fluid motion taking the hand, not shaking it but holding it for a moment before giving it one pump and letting go. "Her reports will be in the regular medical reports being sent so that they're easily mined for the data." He turned and looked around, "How about some lunch? A pub with a good stout and serves some haggis?"

Haggis was a horrible thought to Jones, but it was a small price to pay for sealing the deal with the Deltan and having achieved what he had today. In his career Tom Jones had been called on to perform many odious tasks... watching the Deltan doctor eat a haggis in a pub in Scotland was a very small price to pay indeed.

"Haggis it is, Doctor McKenzie..."

 

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