Some Concerns after the Meeting.
Posted on Mon Jun 10th, 2024 @ 12:19am by Commodore Wilkan Targaryen & Lieutenant Alexia Toryn
1,879 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Pilot
Location: CO's Ready Room
Timeline: 2439-03-09, 05:00
Alexia walked towards the ready room and pushed the door chime.
Captain Wilkan Targaryen had retreated to his Ready Room after the meeting with Commodore Veegg aboard Starbase 419. Inwardly, the Captain was seething after the meeting and he hoped that, outwardly at least, he'd been able to hide it from the crew. He had a feeling though that his crew was no less happy than he was, and he didn't need his El-Aurian side's listening abilities to tell him that.
As he looked at the holodisplay showing the sensor data received from DS47, the Captain's thoughts kept going to the large Dominion Warship that he saw among the fleet. He remembered the Dominion Battleships well and they were not to be trifled with at all. During the Battle of Cardassia he'd been involved in an assault against one of them and it took an entire Galaxy Wing to take even one out. The Enterprise was advanced, but they had no idea just how advanced the Dominion tech had become.
Hearing the door chime, he closed the holo and turned toward the door, "It's open."
Lex entered and looked at Targaryen a moment. "Are you alright, Captain? Because I'm sensing quite a bit of anger from you." She said calmly. Trying to soothe her captain's emotions.
"I'm fine, Lieutenant," he lied. "Was there something that I could do for you? I have a lot to prepare for before our departure for the Gamma Quadrant." He reached for his tea, subtly bumping the model of the Ulysses that sat on the corner of his desk.
"Captain, I'm a Betazoid, and I assure you I will never repeat what happens here." She noted. "I am simply concerned." She noted with a soothing tone.
Wilkan nodded, "I'm aware, Lieutenant, and you're probably reading me at the moment, or trying your very best not to read me and finding it difficult not to." He had known many Betazoids during his career and, while he'd learned some tricks to combat their gifts, he knew that it was next to impossible to hide strong emotions if you were in the throws of them. "I wouldn't be surprised if half the crew were concerned along with you. Can't say I blame them, or you for that matter."
Lex nodded. "The Crew supports you, Captain. Even I thought it was inappropriate, and I finally had to say something I know we haven't know each other very long. He was disrespecting you in front of the Senior Staff, and I finally had to voice my displeasure." Lex noted. "That was not a discussion to have in front of the Senior Staff."
"I have to give you credit for that, not many have the courage to speak up against a superior, let alone a Zaldan." He considered how far to take what he was going to say next, knowing full well that there was a lot more to the story between him and Commodore Veegg than many would know. He was also liable for some of the decisions he'd made in the past, which allowed officers like Veegg to rise through the ranks into the roles they now held. It was no secret he'd been demoted several times in his career, his very presence on the Enterprise was evidence of one of his largest demotions.
"And there's probably more to the story. I won't press you for anything you're not willing to discuss right now." Lex noted. "But it's only fair that I give you the opportunity to earn my confidence as your Chief Science Officer. And I came to introduce myself.. And see if I could calm you before you sat in the center chair." She noted. "And a cool head is exactly what you need for dealing with the Dominion." She extended her hand. "Lt. Alexia Toryn. A pleasure."
"Wilkan Targaryen," he answered after taking her hand. He motioned for the adjacent chair to the glass desk. "Feel free to have a drink from the replicator and tell me about yourself, Lieutenant. Who are you when not defending your Captain from his boss?" He smiled as he asked the question.
Lex spoke. "It's far too late for coffee. Jasmine Tea, hot." She noted. "Well, mainly I'm a scientist. One from a family of knights. Who have exceptional combat training and take great pride in it. So I guess I am an especially deadly scientist."
"Nothing wrong with that," the Captain answered. "I've known quite a few scientists that were deadly in my career. I'm happy to have had the opportunity to meet another one, Miss Toryn." Pressing a control, the star map overlaid with the sensor data from DS47 appeared between them, "Have you had a chance to look at this yet? I've been staring at it since we left the briefing."
"The Gamma Quadrant still has not been fully explored. Not even by the Dominion, their focus is not scientific exploration. Exploration efforts came to an abrupt end after the Odyssey was destroyed, and the Dominion mustered it's impressive military against the Alpha Quadrant." Lex noted. "Which brings me to the other reason I have been assigned here. I also work for Starfleet Intelligence."
Rather than engage, the Captain chose to say nothing and let the Science Officer speak. He motioned though for her to continue as he, silently, let himself calm so his own mental shields strengthened.
"My mission is simple. Monitor the Dominion for any large scale fleet movements towards the Wormhole, and do what is necessary for the defense of the alpha quadrant. I have certain authority to act in case the worst case scenario happens, but that is not how I work. I intend to work with the people at my side if that happens." Lex noted. " So I am a lethal scientist explore spy."
"I wondered who aboard the ship would be the SI Representative," the Captain answered. "Pretty much a standard practice since the events of Frontier Day with the last attempted Changeling invasion. I've been one myself," he referenced his own career, having been involved with Internal Affairs and worked closely with Ro Laren at one point among other classified assignments.
"You know, normally, SI doesn't like their reps to reveal themselves unless a critical moment has been reached. Do you feel we're at such a moment?"
"I do this because I would rather die and give my life rather than to see the Dominion oppress my people again, but I also feel if there is such a situation, we're better off cooperating rather than obstructing each other. I haven't told Veeg. He doesn't have a need to know, but since you're the captain here, I believe you should know if there is an SI agent on your ship. Besides, I'm not here to please HQ. I'm here to explore and defend the Federation. I'm not even here to please Veegg, but I will make sure he cannot court martial me." Lex noted, she was loyal, whip smart, and dependable.
Wilkan smirked, "We'll I'm sure you've left quite an impression on the Commodore, that's for sure." He looked at the star charts, "I keep bringing myself back to this chart and the recorded contact with the attack vessel. Does SI have any assets working in the Gamma Quadrant, official or otherwise? I know 47 was setup to maintain contact, but there's usually a bit more involved to those assignments. Did their appointee report anything of value?"
"Well, the current disposition is the wait and see approach using 47's sensors to detect large fleet movements. But if both sides go back to the splendid isolation that happened before the Dominion War, we may both find ourselves in another war. As for the Dominion's representative, you must understand the Vorta. They are arrogant and envious. Prideful and supremely overconfident. The Dominion losing the war was clearly a huge scandal for them, one that may not be public knowledge within the Dominion itself, and to allow the Dominion Public to know that The Founder's Dominion, actually lost a war, would be catastrophic. I think the Dominion is far weaker than we think. It must have its people believe that the Dominion is always victorious. It must have the Jem'hadar to keep its worlds in line, and it must use Ketracell White to ensure their loyalty. It must present the illusion that the Founders are gods." Lex noted. "They may intimidate you, but they are actually afraid. They're skeptical now of making allies after Damar turned on the Alpha Dominion, and they know they lost fleets by sending them through the wormhole. They committed fleet after fleet to invading the Alpha Quadrant, and those ships were never heard from again, and I think that is why they did not send yet another fleet through the wormhole and left the Alpha Dominion to fend for itself. And they had to save face, lest the worlds here, that they've already conquered, begin to realize the Dominion is not as mighty as it seems." Lex noted. "My brothers and sisters in House Toryn, used the Vorta's weaknesses to our advantage, and we had the Administrator Deskan jumping at every shadow. We killed him twenty times, and made him a paranoid fool, and when Damar launched his rebellion, his ego combined with his arrogance, became his downfall when he ordered half his occupation force executed." Lex noted. "Then we came out of the shadows and destroyed him."
The Captain of the Enterprise listened to the Science Officer, realizing very much so that the Dominion War may not have ever truly ended for her or her family despite how long ago it had been. There were many still like that. He himself could feel the twinges of remembrance of his encounters during the War. Being El-Aurian he'd been on the front lines, actually been involved in some of the most devastating battles of the war, and it was something that was hard to let go of. He wasn't certain he'd let it go either, but he could never admit that to anyone. With the Commodore already questioning him and his decisions that would be the death knell.
The Captain took a breath, "that was certainly a lot, Lex, more than any should have to handle. The Battle of Betazed was one of the pivotal moments within the War and I can still remember my involvement with the final battle from aboard the Armstrong alongside Picard's Enterprise. What your people went through was devastating."
Wilkan paused a moment though as he considered where to go. "The War was a long time ago," he reminded the Science Officer and himself in the process. "People change." He let out a long breath, "But I don't deny that it's a hard thing to let go of, especially when your family was caught in the middle of it."
A series of beeps emitted from the computer terminal, "So, Science Officer, what do you think of this trajectory?"
"Keep your wits about you, Captain. The Dominion will never make their ulterior motives clear until it's too late to do anything about it." Lex noted. "I will see you later."
The Captain watched as the Science Officer left, curious about what the future held.
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