[2372] Targeted

August 17, 2020, 10:38:03 PM

[Cadet Vanya| Campus Grounds | Starfleet Academy

Vanya sat at the edge of the pond her slender feet dangling over the side. She guessed that she would probably get into trouble but she was wanting to have some alone time The ethics class she has in had a debate about artificial life It had started fairly inconspicuously, they had discussed their homework, researching the case of Maddox vs. Data in determining the Android’s position as property. Then the debate went.. wrong. Alex Dijacovic argued that holograms cannot become more than they are, they are computer algorithms created for specific purposes, such as the EMH. It bit at Vanya personally as she, like the EMHs had been designed for a specific purpose and wanted to be more.

Normally, she would hit the pool, or some other activity, or go back to her cabin and read But she didn’t want to bother Nat with this, and she didn’t want to run into people staring. So she had seen this isolated point and decided to sit and contemplate her existence.

“Now then missy.” Came the voice from behind him. “what ails you on a day like this.” It was Boothby, the ancient groundskeeper.

“I’m sorry, I’ll move” he said “I just wanted to…”

The elderly human shushed her.

“Now I’m not fond of you hanging around here, but if its just one of you, I don’t see a problem, though I wouldn’t sit here in the summer, the water gets pretty ripe.”

“Surely you could use some kind of agent to keep the water fresh for longer all year round.”

“I could” he said. “But where do I stop? I could keep every tree evergreen, but what happens in autumn with the beautiful leaves, or in the spring when the green chutes sprout?”

“So you’re saying something natural is better?” she said starting to feel even more dreadful. “Not necessarily,” he said. “I got tools in my shed that my old teacher would call sacrelige. But it doesn’t matter on the method, if the emotion, the feeling is there, then my garden is as good as any in the past 200 years,”

As Vanya considered his words, several meters away, hidden from all, Vesh lay in a bush. His mobile cloak covered him and hi weapon. He had seen the heresy walk past this way before, going about its business Everything needed to go right. He’d shoot her, beam away, and be off out of the system before anyone registered it was gone.

However, before the transport cycle started, the insufferable old man had joined it. He was tempted to destroy it even with the old fool present One squeeze of the trigger, and it would be gone. He made the decision to commit when his body started to tingle. He recognised the sensation, Starflet had caught him! They had penetrated his personal cloak, and soon he would be dead.

He was laying on a transporter pad. He considered biting on his molar releasing the toxin that would kill him, and dissolve his remains, but quickly realised that the transporter pad was Romulan. A pair of Remans hoisted him to his feet, and dragged him across the transporter bay into the corridor He was deposited in an interrogation room. Sitting at the other end of the table was his commanding officer, once she had been the daughter of his best friend. She had risen through the ranks, leaving him behind.

“Do you want to tell me what that was about?” she asked.

“I was destroying a piece of heresy that mocks Romulus with every step it takes.” He said. “You should let me beam down there and finish the job.”

“Against my orders?” she certainly had her mother’s temper, Vesh mused, despite his rage at having his operation disturbed

“Yes, if you let me do my job, she would be dust, and I would be on the edge of this solar system by now.” He challenged.

She had been pretty forceful with him when she denied him permission to proceed, but didn’t go into any details, as his CO, she didn’t have any reason to of course, but this was the best opportunity. He had acquired the scanning frequency of the earth security systems, it would change but this was the best chance for years to destroy the thing. His portable cloak was impenetrable on the idelic human grounds of Starfleet academy.

“What happened to my father?” she asked him.

“He died” he said, looking into ther eyes. The question caught him off guard. “At the battle of the Omarion Nebula.”

“And your son?” she asked,

“You know.” He replied. She struck him with her gloved hand. His neck snapped back.

“That’s right Them and hundreds of other of our agents.” She said as his face burned from the slap. She had her fathers hands alright.

“The thing down on that planet is a freak, its represents failure of our work, it should be destroyed, but we can’t do it. The sensor grid would pick up the bolt as you beam away, even if the man who has the ear of every influential Captain and Admiral that academy has churned out over the past half century doesn't see it burn. We destroy it, The Federation looks at the senate, and the more liberal elements of the senate and their contacts in the military look at us. We are not strong enough act in this way anymore. We need everyone to think that we are diminished while we built ourselves up quietly. As much as it paints me to admit, we cannot risk retaliation from Starfleet. Not with the Dominion knocking on our door.”

While the threat from the Gamma Quardant made Vesh nervous, it broke his heart to hear her speak in this way. “Our mission… our goal predates and contact with offworlders That thing wears our face.” Vesh insisted.

“Yes, yes it does” his CO replied her voice softer “But even by the standards of the perversion that is artificial life, it is an evolutionary dead end. It has a 2% chance of replicating. Multitronic processors were a failure in Federation eyes before you were born. The senate keeps it secret from our people, and most of those that do know think it is a Federation ploy to discredit us. Now we need to rebuild the Tal’Shiar for the new galaxy, and let the Federation fight the Dominion for us.”

Vesh said nothing.

The CO stroked the side of her face. “Do not worry Uncle Vesh, if the thing calling itself Vanya, or any other AI get out of hand, the Zhat Vash will be there. On our terms alone.”

Fin