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Day 03 [1400 hrs.] The Herald of War

[ Deacon | Below Decks Lounge | Deck 28 | Vector 3 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan ,  @Nolan  (Optional)

The lunch shift in Below Decks was coming to a close when the communicator had unexpectedly chimed.  An unfamiliar voice at the other end requested Deacon's presence in the Captain's Ready Room.  At last, he thought to himself.  Perhaps someone was finally taking his presence here seriously.  He half-imagined any other kzin in his circumstance may well have given up hours in, let alone bothered to find a position of utility, likely opting to commandeer the arboretum for their territory and behaving in a way more expected of an honored guest than a traitor to his people.  Of course, had he done so, he may likely have died in that arboretum alone and forgotten, be it by virus or contempt of coup.

The kzinti weren't well loved.  A sentiment they reflected back on the universe ten-fold.  Fear was far more useful than love.  Only the weak sought the approval of others, kzinti wanted obeyance.

Tapping the communicator, he spoke, "I will be there momentarily."

He looked about the galley.  On homeworld, it was customary to present an offering of respect to the Patriarch, even among the Black Priests -- some would consider it a ritualistic bearing of the throat, a sign of deference to authority, regardless of the truth behind it.  Setting his jaw, he quickly assembled a plate, deferring to his years of training and sense of straakh in this instance, and reasoning that the captain, as busy as she seemed, was likely undernourished as well.

Plate in hand, he nodded to his holographic second-in-command as the galley bulkhead re-materialized behind him.  "Wrap up the lunch shift and keep things under control until I get back."

Xenia straightened her shoulder and gave a polite nod in response.  "Of course.  If there are an inquiries in the meantime, do you have a menu planned for the dinner shift?"

Pausing, he considered his options for a moment, mentally reviewing the ingredients he had readily on hand and uncertain how long his appointment with the captain would take.  If anything, his last few days on ship had taught him that literally anything could happen, the the slightest of inconveniences could lead to a chain of disasters.  "Stew," he said, mentally conjuring the recipe, the fragrance, the savory taste, the warmth.  "Definitely a stew."

"Very good."

With that, Deacon slipped through the lounge door.  The trip to the meeting wrapped his hearts in a grip of anxiety.  As much as something within him hated these hallways, he found himself now more concerned about his message.  The last time, he'd been met with what seemed indifference, and now he was bringing his warning to a rogue captain on a hunted ship that was currently in hiding while dressing its wounds.  Times like these made even the most resolute of souls question their life choices.

"Amara guides my path," he reassured himself as he entered Transporter Room 5, a whispered prayer to his distant divinities.  "The Fanged God challenges us so that we may be greater."  The path here had almost become automatic given the frequency with which he'd passed through this particular threshold.  With the Theurgy in MVAM, if he wanted to get most anywhere, he needed to transport to one of the vectors.

The ensign dutifully manning the transporter controls looked up, a glimmer of recognition in his eyes.  Being the only kzin on board ensured he was memorable.  If only he could say the same for the humans -- they still looked so similar to one another to his eyes.  Who was this again?  Unremarkable features, dark skin with tightly curled hair cropped short to the skull -- Ensign Naizo?  Deacon made a point to try and address this culturally ingrained sense of prosopagnosia.  "Where to?" the ensign inquired.

"The captain has requested my presence," came the reply as he stepped onto the pad. He turned and held up the plate by way of example.  "Can you blame her?" It was not so much a lie as a misdirection.  His message was ultimately for the captain's ears.

With a chuckle, the ensign entered the appropriate coordinates and waves his hand across the console. "Transporter Room 1 it is."

The now familiar sensation of the transporter washed over him, replacing one pad with another, one nearly indistinguishable ensign with another, although he could safely say he didn't know this one having spent so little time on Vector 1.  Stepping down from the pad, he paused, "Which way to the Captain's Ready Room?"

The resulting directions were simple enough, involving a quick path down another damnable hallway to a turbolift that would, in turn, carry him to the uppermost deck of the ship.  Strategically, it seemed an odd place from which to command, being one of the least defensible and most readily targeted areas of the vessel, but these were monkeys and the best monkey claimed the top of the tree, he supposed.  There was a certain amount of evolutionary logic to it, he supposed.

At last, he stepped into a waiting area where a red haired female greeted him -- yet another face he didn't recognize outright.  "I am Deacon," he said by way of introduction.  "The captain is expecting me."  He made no comment about the covered plate of food that rested neatly in the palm of his large hand.

Re: Day 03 [1400 hrs.] The Herald of War

Reply #1 –
[ Cameron Henshaw | CO Ready Room | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan , @steelphoenix

Henshaw was writing up a report on certain ship activities for the XO and CO to review, her attention fully dedicated to the subject before she heard the shutters open. In the doorway the Kzin appeared in the waiting room outside the CO Ready Room. Cameron remembered him from when she spent that awful night after the loss of her adoptive father. She straightened up as the Kzin introduced himself.

"Deacon, welcome aboard." she said with a smile on her face as she rose from behind her desk and gestured towards the chairs in the waiting room "Please have a seat, I'll inform the captain of your arrival." she stated with an ever so sweet voice. she chimed the intercom that would alert the captain and announced the arrival of the Kzin. the message would be available to Ives when he chose to listen to it.

It didn't take really long before Ives' voice granted permission for Deacon to enter. Cameron walked over to Deacon before guiding him to the CO ready room "The captain will see you now Deacon. Can I offer you anything to drink?" she asked with a smile as she waited by the door, opening it for him and awaiting his reply.

Re: Day 03 [1400 hrs.] The Herald of War

Reply #2 –
[ Captain Ives | CO Ready Room| Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @steelphoenix @Nolan 
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It was easy to think - with the number of attacks decreasing - that the Devoted had given up on their enterprise to make their time-travelling 'saviour' their new Commanding Officer. Yet as Ives read the reports, and the results of the hearings conducted with these devotees, he got the distinct impression that they were going underground instead. Their beliefs might have been shaken by Morali, who vocally had denounced them, and some might have abandoned their faith, but for the most zealous of Morali's supporters, the notion of admitting to fault was beyond them.

Yet Ives' thoughts were not so much on the Devoted... but the development of the away-mission to SuD Lang.

His train of thought, dealing with the Klingons and the findings at the outpost, was interrupted by the message that his next visitor had arrived. Pushing troubled thoughts away to make room for new dire news, Jien rose to his feet and stepped away from his desk, thinking about the report from Dewitt. "Bid him enter, please." Despite how close they had got since Theta Eridani IV, his and Cam's working relationship remained set in stone, and he could not openly call her by her first name lest they were in private. Even then, it was almost habitual that they kept using rank. "Thank you, Ensign."

He was worried about Cam of late, but she had refrained from speaking about the mission to Starbase 84 and what she had witnessed, but Jien hoped she could open up to her counsellor about her experience. When the sliding doors parted to admit the Kzin, Jien folded his calloused hands behind his back and waited for them to close - leaving the two of them alone - before he pursed his lips to speak.

"Greetings," he said, and reached forward to shake the felnoid's hand, "I regret that I could not see you sooner. I have heard you've had quite an experience aboard this ship after you came aboard. I am not sure if I should apologise for what has befallen you, or at the very least voice my concerns."

He then gestured towards the seating area in his ready room, giving the plate that the Kzin carried a curious glance. "Either way, you should know that I have read Lieutenant Commander Dewitt's report, and I share her concerns about your claim. Whatever you can tell me will be appreciated."

Re: Day 03 [1400 hrs.] The Herald of War

Reply #3 –
[ Deacon | CO Ready Room | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan ,  @Nolan  (Optional)

Deacon entered the room and stared for a long moment at the man inside. "I'm... sorry," he said, looking back over his should as if he had somehow taken the wrong directions and ended up in another office that was somehow, oddly enough, expecting him.  "I was under the impression that the captain was... female.  We were addressed by a female when we came on board."  He narrowed his eyes, still holding the plate of food in his hands, noting that the man did, in fact, wear a captain's rank insignia on his collar.  He knew his ability to tell the humans apart was haphazard at best, but he could at least discern the genders.  Was it possible this was some elaborate deception?  But if so, for whom?

Warily, he placed the plate down on a nearby table, lifting the lid to reveal an open faced turkey sandwich accompanied by mashed potatos, gravy and cranberry sauce.  "Either way," he continues, "if you are like any patriarch, you do not feed unless fed and it is customary to pay honor to the patriarch with a gift."  He slid the plate towards Ives, pausing long enough to see if his gift met with any approval before he continued.

"You clearly have an... array of problems at your door and I dislike having to bring another, but," he said with a slight sigh, looking around the room as if he could see beyond the confines of the walls, "I guess this is my pride now and that makes you my patriarch, and I would be remiss in my training as a Black Priest if I did not advise my patriarch of threats to the pride."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose with a claw as he collected his thoughts.  "My peop..." he stopped, forcing himself to correct his statement and begin again, "The Kzinti have been preparing for war.  They've already engaged in raids against outlying colonies along the Chord of Contact.  We're not talking rogue prides like the Kytharri or the Mirak... this is the Patriarchy itself."

Pacing slightly, he continued, "I was part of the priesthood that accompanied the war band that attacked and reclaimed Hssin.  There... weren't many survivors among the Federation colonists."  Hssin, a former kzinti world that had been ceded to the humans following the McDonnell-Rishal Treaty was the most strategic point from which to launch an assault on any number of worlds at the very heart of the Federation.  Its value was perhaps even more significant than the Nelvana system along the Romulan Neutral Zone.  "Many were tossed out onto the surface to suffocate.  I managed to help some escape... secured a transport, convinced some unnamed guards that the priests would eat well that night, and sent them on their way.  I knew one of those guards would open his mouth eventually... try and claim some straakh by claiming he helped one of the priesthood with a feast.  I couldn't stay or they'd have my ears... and probably my grandfather's as well."

His words hung in the air for several long moments as he struggled internally, at once sorry for his choices and assured that he would likely have made them again.  "I tried to warn your people on the starbase.  Even told them my real name to prove who I was.  I figured they'd take action, tell your commanders on Earth, confront the Patriarch... something.  All they did was put me in a room and let me tour the arboretum.  Under guard, mind you.  Like I was a Tholian ambassador or something."

Finally he stopped, golden eyes affixed on the captain, his arms folded behind his back.  "Three hundred years, the Kzinti have been planning for this.  The war fleet has been rebuilt, each with a cloaking device, each with a full compliment of warriors who have been raised in the belief that the humans have done the Kzinti a terrible injustice and it is the Will of the Fanged God that the hero people strike down the furless monkeys and drive them to the edge of extinction.  To force the survivors into the yoke of servitude.  To reclaim what was theirs and expand the Paramouncy into a new, golden era."  He lowered his countenance, increasing the severity of his words.  "The Federation has fought the Borg, the Cardassians, the Dominion... even the Klingons.  Your forces are weaker now than they have been for centuries and according to what I heard on that flight deck two days ago, your command structure is infiltrated by creatures that would see the Federation burn from the inside out.  Well, they're about to get their wish."

Re: Day 03 [1400 hrs.] The Herald of War

Reply #4 –
[ Captain Ives | CO Ready Room | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @steelphoenix
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What struck Jien first when he heard the Kzin speak was the vast cultural difference between the 'norm' of Federation member worlds and most of the factions within and around the Alpha Quadrant. The sayings, the phrases, the way custom was adhered to regardless of circumstance, it made the past diplomat in Ives stir - rising to a challenge. The offer of food was the first situation to handle, and Jien did so as tactfully as he could. He could, in no way or manner, refuse or belittle the kind gesture.

"My gratitude. It is I that should feel honoured, for you to consider me in such a way in such short a time," he said, and then addressed the question that he'd had to answer countless times in his life. "I am a Chameloid with two forms, one for each sex of the human species. I was raised on Earth since infancy, and I embraced both sides of the people I call my own. Since I was able to, I did not limit myself to one half of the species. Furthermore, switching forms is intrinsic to our nature, as opposed to the more known shapeshifters of the Dominion, who had to revert to a liquid state."

Having gotten that part out of the way, Jien seated himself by the plate - contemplative while he listened to Deacon. Truth be told, while Jien knew plenty of the Kzinti and the wartime history with them, he'd had little personal exposure to the people themselves. In Deacon's - or Maryk's - words and manners, he could verify a lot of his teachings about that people, but he still felt he would need to revisit the database in regard to the latest war and the treaty.

Deacon's words were dire, suggesting another faction rising against the corrupted Federation, threatening to make it crumble like a house of cards. The timing couldn't be more unfortunate, Jien's instincts telling him to spread the word about the intentions of the Kzinti. He had not heard about the losses of colonies for the simple reason that he and his crew had been on the run from Starfleet since November. On top of it all, it was appalling to hear how Starfleet had tried to brush off Deacon's warnings, and it proved yet again how Ian Hawthorne had been a key figure among the enemy. Not only would he set the Romulan Star Empire's sights on the Federation, but he had also suppressed the information about this threat.

Contemplating what to say in the wake of Deacon's words,Jien took a bite from the food that the brave man had brought him. It was good, and he enjoyed the care taken to make it. Unlike Changelings, his Chameloid morphogenic matrix needed sustenance, and while the process was entirely different than for solids, he could draw it from food and beverage. It was his human form that was able to derive taste and texture, however, as a complement to the way his matrix absorbed the organic matter. In terms of outward appearance, the process was, of course, identical. This was, however, not the time to compliment the messenger on the food.

"It is not so simple as the Federation being weaker in the wake of the past encounters with foreign threats. The Fleet Development program has pushed the production of new ships ahead of schedule. Even this ship was not supposed to be commissioned this early, let alone before the Odyssey-class ships. I think the true design is that the enemy has made sure to run our resources dry in the fleet development of recent years, depleting dilithium mines and other raw materials for the upcoming war. Since they have taken over the admiralty of Starfleet Command, they do not need to weaken the Federation. They can simply throw Starfleet's forces into disarray any given moment, and grant victory to any faction they so chose."

Frowning in further thought, Jien took another bite, looking out the viewport, staring at the Azure Nebula outside. "Jennifer Dewitt's sentiment about what you are doing now mirrors my own. She wrote in her report that she told you that you were brave indeed to come to the Federation with this information," he said, and then looked back at this herald of war that had come to him. "The mission this ship is on does not - in any way - negate the will to protect Federation space from external threats. What you have revealed will be added to the rest of what we are trying to warn the Federation about, and if possible - since our repute is tarnished already - we will explore ways in which this threat can be communicated through other channels, where we are not the sender. I put faith in you that what you say is accurate, and I promise to do what I can... but I need more from you."

Rising, Jien slowly walked up to Deacon. "If you truly want to help, I want you to to give us information of tactical import. Names of the leaders and what you know about htem, coordinates for the intended supply chain and known plans for the invasion in all stages. We will need technical specifications on these new ships of the Kzinti, and what kind of armament they carry. I want to know what kind of cloaks they have, and if there are any ways in which to penetrate them. Even if you cannot confirm all the information you carry, your educated guesses are important too, since it is all that we've got at this point. I want you to give me everything, so that when I get this information to Captains and politicians that have not been replaced by the enemy, they will know to take this Kzinti threat seriously. The difference is in the specifics, and how convincing the information is to the recipients."

Pausing, Jien had stopped at arms length from the tall male felnoid, and had to crane his neck a bit, but his oaken eyes stared into Deacon's. "Is this something you are willing to do, and if so, how much time do you need?"

Re: Day 03 [1400 hrs.] The Herald of War

Reply #5 –
[ Deacon | CO Ready Room | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan ,  @Nolan  (Optional)

Deacon closed his large golden eyes.  This was it, then.  The actual point of no return.  He had done a great deal to earn the ire of the Patriarchy and likely lose his ears in the process, but now the gory details needed to be shared.  It shouldn't have come as a shock -- anyone worth their salt would ask the same, but it made his betrayal all the more real.  Going back now would require more than he could ever deliver and would mean sacrificing his truth to the Fanged God and forever denying his place in the Eternal Hunting Grounds.  He had given up everything to be here, now.  Everything... except his faith.

Already, calculations were running through his head, star charts, tactical data, crew compliments.  He knew that if he did not set himself to the task of recording it now, he would likely miss some element, no matter how inconsequential.

When he opened his eyes, they were steely and serious.  "A few hours.  I don't have all the details but I'll make sure to clarify what I know for fact and what is speculation.  I will provide the information to Theurgy to pass to you, if that is acceptable.  It will be better for her to convert the numbers... probably more accurate than me doing it myself.  Human math is aggravating enough." 

Again, he was silent for a moment before continuing, "Captain... I... if there's any way to minimize the casualties.  I... realize that may not be possible but... my people are blind.  They've been heading for this cliff for a very long time ... but that doesn't make them bad people.  Just... lost.  I want to save my people, Captain, not end them.  If there is... anything I can do, any price I can pay..."

Re: Day 03 [1400 hrs.] The Herald of War

Reply #6 –
[ Captain Ives | CO Ready Room | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @steelphoenix
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Hearing the Kzinti's inner conflict did not make Jien doubt his resolve in the matter of warning the Federation. Quite the opposite. It showed just how much Deacon thought he could do in coming to the Federation, and that he truly thought that the intel he carried made a difference.

More than that, seeing the way the realisation of the seriousness in the situation hit him... it told Jien that this man had more of a heart than the Kzinti described from the old war journals. As a hybrid being, with both human and felnoid heritage, he seemed like the living, breathing conflict between his two different people. Caught in the middle, with a prevalent will to stop further bloodshed.

So when he asked for Jien to advocate mercy, Jien wanted to immediately give it. To dismiss his concern off hand and assure him that - of course - the Starfleet of old would not resort to methods that were not in relation to the threat against Federation space. The words were in his mouth, and yet he felt they would cheapen and belittle the will of this soul torn in two.

So Jien took a breath, unfolded his arms and walked up to Deacon. He had to crane his neck to look the man in the eye, thinking what he might say instead. In the end, the truth was all that remained worthy. Perhaps it was the only thing that would allay the man's fears.

"Despite what the Federation News Central would have you believe, I was a diplomat before I became a battle commander. I advocated peace for years. I saw things... things I can't unsee. Atrocities committed on both sides in many conflicts, and I came there, representing the Federation, and made many of them sign peace treaties that last to this day. Some, of course, I failed to mediate, and the conflicts continued, until the planet resources were drained by the war machines. The point is not my track record in where I succeeded and where I failed, but I want to assure you that I understand. I understand the cost. It is a cost I pay each day in opposing the enemy."

He turned towards the viewport, looking out at the nebula. "Each time I point and I say 'fire', I know the toll. Citizens of the Federation man the ships of Starfleet. I know I leave children without fathers and mothers when I oppose the enemy's ignorant forces. Wives and husbands cry in their homes in want of my mercy, knowing that their spouses have been deployed to hunt down the Theurgy. I know this, and I hold on to this knowledge, refusing to make myself numb to it."

He looked back towards Deacon, and he changed... to her female form. The turmoil inside made her want to shift, to put it behind herself, and yet she continued, saying something that she hadn't told Commander Trent. Not even O'Connor knew it.

"In late evenings... I memorise the crew manifests of the ships that have been destroyed in protection of the truth. When I have finished memorising the ones listed, I go to the database, and I begin to memorise their closest kin. When I have done that... I memorise where they live, so that one day, despite my better knowledge, I will be able to visit them. To say something... I don't know what. I do this... This self-flagellation because it helps me keep perspective of my own actions. I will not become numb to the cost of war. I refuse it."

Clenching her jaw, the turmoil evident as she ran a hand through her hair, she took a deep breath.

"I promise you. I will do my utmost to spare the Kzinti from themselves."

Re: Day 03 [1400 hrs.] The Herald of War

Reply #7 –
[ Deacon | CO Ready Room | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan ,  @Nolan  (Optional)

Deacon listened quietly to Ives' words, his ears flicking back only slightly at the shift in forms -- that would take some getting used to.  It was taxing enough to be around so many females in such critical roles, but to have a captain -- a patriarch -- who was equally both and yet neither.  It was something that, at once, gave him confidence that the captain had an understanding beyond that of any kzinti commander, and yet, from his own upbringing, it also seemed a weakness.

It was another conflict that he would have to resolve within himself, he supposed.  But the words resonated true.  She.. he... the captain had heard his request and, to the best of hir ability, would respect it.  It was the most he could ask and the most he could expect, and this alone was worthy of his respect.

Taking another deep breath, Deacon lowered himself to one knee, bowing his head.  "I recognize you as my Patriarch, the head of my pride.  You have my loyalty, my claws and fangs to defend you, my limbs and hearts to support you, my ears to keep your secrets, my eyes to watch your back," he intones, before slowly looking up.  "Not as poetic as when it's said in the Hero's Tongue, but it means the same.  I realize that you do not hold to the tenants of my god or the traditions of my people, but you have done me an honor, Captain, and I will do everything I can to be worthy of your time and your effort.  You need only ask."

Rising to his full height again, he continued, "I'll return to my quarters and begin working on the report immediately."

Re: Day 03 [1400 hrs.] The Herald of War

Reply #8 –
[ Captain Ives | CO Ready Room | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @steelphoenix
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When this brave herald of pending war took the knee, and professed his loyalty to her, Jien didn't know what to say, but since Deacon continued to speak, she was grateful for not having to guess at a proper response to such a display. For a moment, she had tried to remember if she'd read anything in the war journals about Kzinti rituals, but she came up short. It would seem she had said plenty, the emotional confession about how she suffered for her duty quite enough to convince the man that she was worthy of his allegiance.

Again, Jien wanted reassure him that there was no need for such ceremony, but she stopped herself because she knew well enough that to dismiss his confession would be equal to mockery - a slight upon his culture. Instead, she remained stoic, as best as she might. Hearing his profession had left her emotional, but if there was one thing she remembered from the war journals, it was that the Kzinti did not appreciate weakness. Especially not weakness shown by a female. So, she said naught at first, until he got back on his feet. Only then, looking him in the eye despite their differences in height, she pursed her lips to speak.

"You are no longer alone in this, Mister Deacon," she said, only a faint smile alluding to the fondness she'd found for his bravery. "I do take your claim seriously, and I will assign an officer to help you. Your quarters are not ideal for this task either, so I want you to make full use of the conference lounge on this deck. There, you have access to the holo-emitters above the table, not to mention Thea's database. I will not have you try to map up this invasion on whatever PADDs you have available, but compile it all in a in-depth Senior Staff briefing. Anything less, and we won't be ready."

She extended her hand, concluding this first meeting between them. As she shook it, she added.

"As for the honour? It is entirely mine."

- FIN
 
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