CH06: S [D03|0915] Where no counsel is, the people fall.

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CH06: S [D03|0915] Where no counsel is, the people fall. | Mitosis Intelligo, P3

October 28, 2020, 07:38:02 AM

WHERE NO COUNSEL IS, THE PEOPLE FALL. | MITOSIS INTELLIGO, PART 3

STARDATE 57654.08
APRIL 18, 2381
0915 HRS

[ Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Fisher | Central Intelligence Suite | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Nolan @chXinya @Argyros @GroundPetrel @Pierce

The word had been given. The staff was assembled. The hour of contest was soon at hand.

There were a myriad of unanswered questions which would continue to plague the Intelligence Department, and in effect the entirety of Theurgy over the course of the day laid out ahead of them. A battle loomed, and though they manned not a tactical console, patrolled the corridors with a phaser rifle, or piloted a warpfighter, each of the members of said Intelligence Department would have a key role to play in it’s outcome. Because it was their duty to find the answers to as many of those unanswered questions as possible. It was their duty to shine light into the deepest and darkest recesses of obscurity and uncover truths which could be wielded like the sword of legend against the foes of the righteous. But before they could even set out on their respective ventures into the shadows, they would need to group up, to clarify their mission, and to decide who would accede to what matter. The unfortunate reality of the situation was, that time was exceedingly short and rapidly moving against them.

“Alright.” He started off, his sage-green eyes shifting over the faces of each of the people gathered before him, and whereas before he had just called for the most senior members of his staff, this moment had dictated the necessity of the entire department being in attendance. Only Zaryn who was off-ship on the Allegiant mission, and Ravenholm who remained at her station on the bridge were absent.

“Here’s what we have. There are about sixty Klingon ships of varying loyalty out there, many of which are wholly interested in shooting us clear from the stars and singing about it during their next blood-wine fueled stupor.” He turned behind him to approach the main operations screen against the wall behind him and touched one of the console panels beneath it to display a sensor reading of their situation. “Pretty picture, I know.” He mused for an instant before turning back to them, and moving over to another side of the viewer, likewise activating it. “The Captain has seen fit to once more call upon the services of our resident infested Doctor. I need a team to head down to the Security Complex and see to the matter; we need to know if there are any members of the Klingon High Council which have also been infested. Such information would be an incredible piece of leverage in aiding the High Chancellor as he attempts to justify his alliance with Theurgy.” There was a temptation in the Chief Intelligence Officer to see to the matter personally once more, but he knew he had other items to attend to first.

“Lieutenant Koilos.” He announced. “I think you’re the man to lead such an... incursion.” The word was moderately insensitive considering the Borg related history of the man, but Fisher knew he could handle it. His record, at least the little bit of it that he had been able to scrounge up, described a man who had exactly the kind of wherewithal to see the matter done right.

“Lieutenant Dantius, I’d like you to assist the matter as well. You were present during the previous... interview.” He used a different term this time. “And the Lieutenant will need any insight that you can provide regarding Doctor Nicander. He may be a victim, a member of the crew, and a colleague; but he is still a relatively unknown element due to the creature which still violates his body. If you sense something is amiss in comparison to your previous experience with him, then Lieutenant Koilos will need that insight in order to act accordingly.” Fisher understood that their prisoner was technically one of choice rather than force, but while others were so ready to trust in the ship’s former Doctor, he couldn’t escape the lingering doubt with regard to the parasite which still resided within him. He wanted to trust the man, but trust was not something which came easily, or at-all from the veteran spy. It was a commodity which he shared sparingly, because if he did so with the wrong person, it could lead to disastrous results for not only himself, but everyone near and dear to him.

“Lieutenant Pierce. Perhaps you should be in on this one too.” He nodded to the latest addition to his staff, whom he hadn’t yet fully become acquainted with. Of course, he wasn’t truly acquainted with Jordan either. They were new parts of the group, which had only just come aboard over the course of he previous 48-hours, and they were already being thrown into the fire, without so much as a moment to breathe and take stock.

‘Such is the life of a spook.’ He could hear the voice of his first handler from nearly ten-years earlier echo in the back of his mind.

Blinking away the plethora of unpleasant memories which were associated with that same voice, Fisher looked to his last direct charge with regard to the ongoing mission. “Lieutenant Byrne, I need you to continue to coordinate with our assets in play in and around Earth. We haven’t yet heard any word from Admiral Anderson since his going dark, or any confirmation that he’s been pulled from the lineup.” Resorting to baseball lingo as was the norm, he indeed had been wondering what the status of their only link to Starfleet. The man that so many of the people in this room, and in fact aboard Theurgy had held close ties to, and who had been sent to assist in the mission by. He himself owed the very existence of his Starfleet career to the man, as were it not for his more hands-on approach, Fisher would have likely washed out of the Academy due to arrogance, and ignorance. He might never have uncovered the fate of his missing brother either, a thread which would have haunted him unto this day were it not for the opportunity to investigate the matter personally as a member of Starfleet Intelligence.

In a way, Fisher’s life as a spy had been both a blessing and a curse, which meant that the man most directly responsible for that life was either a saint, or a demon. And while he had contemplated one over the other in recency, he still thought of the man fondly, more often than not.

“Any questions or concerns so far?” he raised, as he was homing in on the end of this particular briefing.

OOC: Figure on 1-reply from each of the members of the staff in attendance, or 1-week time to pass; whichever occurs first, I will post the next part of this thread, and we will bring in Auctor Lucan in the role of Admiral Anderson, who has sent an urgent message to Theurgy and our Department with regard to some important matter.

Re: CH06: S [D03|0915] Where no counsel is, the people fall. | Mitosis Intelligo, P3

Reply #1 – October 29, 2020, 06:16:44 AM

Pierce hadn't really had the pleasure of meeting Lt. Commander Fisher before this moment. She'd heard of him at the Starbase but hadn't had the opportunity to meet him properly. Time for that would have to wait. She'd only recently made it to the Central Intelligence Suite to discuss the events of the day at this critical juncture. Prior to making it here, she had left her quarters after recording a personal log about the Daqchov mission and more or less wandered thereafter.

She stood at attention, putting forth her best display of a Starfleet officer with hands clasped behind her back. Her hair flowed behind her as she had her piercing look on the group, clearly another who stood out due to the auburn color. Being new to this vessel, she had to earn her keep and as well as reputation much like she had to do back on the Starbase and back in the 23rd Century. The Admiral had picked her to come to this vessel to help with their situation. Maybe she'd be able to help decipher something being originally from over 100 years in the past.

The words were given by Fisher about the intentions of this particular mission in that of information gathering from their ex-doctor. Hopefully, if she was chosen, she could find an angle to 'speak' to the good doctor despite the symbiotic creature attached to the back of his neck. Caught in thought, she was interrupted from her glassy-eyed musings as she heard Fisher addressing her personally. Pierce snapped back her attention having heard it all despite her reverie.

"Lieutenant Pierce. Perhaps you should be in on this one too."

"Aye sir. I will do my best to assist in the information gathering." she said quickly to show that her attention was fully there.

Re: CH06: S [D03|0915] Where no counsel is, the people fall. | Mitosis Intelligo, P3

Reply #2 – October 31, 2020, 09:36:20 AM

[ Lt. Jonathan Byrne | Central Intelligence Suite | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] | Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Pierce @chXinya @Argyros @GroundPetrel @Swift

Fisher painted them the picture and Byrne looked at the sensor reading behind him. His eyes looked atthe various contacts and varying hostile standings they had towards them. 'A pretty sight as always...' he thought to himself whilst he stood there with crossed arms. Word had it that Nicander would be coming in play again and Fisher cleared the mist around that particular subject, taking away any doubt about it. Byrne's eyes shifted to the present people in the room, lots of new faces thanks to the admiral.

Koilos and Dantius were selected to head down to the known infested physician, eventually Pierce was signed in too. Byrne couldn't help but smirk a little. All three of them were the new arrivals, he wondered if they were prepared for the task. If they had what it took when Nicander would turn. If they could make the right calls when the situation arose. He kept these reservations to himself, he'd pry into their records at a later time, with or without permission.

He was addressed next by Swift, the order quite clear and Jonathan simply nodded "I'll look into it and report anything if I catch any chatter or if our sources manage to inform us of anything." he answered Swift, before Pierce asked Swift how they could most easily get to the doctor. A fine question and Byrne kept looking at Pierce, eyeing her up for a moment before looking back at Swift.

Re: CH06: S [D03|0915] Where no counsel is, the people fall. | Mitosis Intelligo, P3

Reply #3 – November 10, 2020, 12:24:21 AM

| ATTN: @Auctor Lucan @Nolan @chXinya @Argyros @GroundPetrel @Swift

Pierce was giving Byrne a once over as she took note that he was eyeing her. He didn't break the gaze which meant that he too must be someone who's had quite a bit of time working for Starfleet Intelligence. Her eyes squinted solidly trying to remember if she had seen him before. As far as she could tell, she hadn't but the look he gave her suggested he either knew her, knew of her, or wanted to know if she was up to the task. Notwithstanding her gorgeous appearance, she was more than capable of the task at hand.

Despite not having been involved with the infested before, she had had experience with the Klingon Empire, Pre-Khitomer Accords. To her, this wasn't likely to be much different. After all, this crew likely hadn't had sleeper double agents posing as Human in their ranks before. Pierce decided to file all these different thoughts away for later in the event something of her specialty came to the forefront.

After hearing Fisher's thoughts and commands, she heard the inquiry dropped for possible questions and concerns. She released the grasp of her hands and pulled one up slightly while she pointed to signal his attention.

"Actually sir, I wanted to ask if you had any thoughts on how to best get through to the doctor? How do we know if it's him that's speaking or the creature and can we trust the intel?"

Re: CH06: S [D03|0915] Where no counsel is, the people fall. | Mitosis Intelligo, P3

Reply #4 – November 16, 2020, 05:54:30 AM

[ Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Fisher | Central Intelligence Suite | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Nolan @chXinya @Argyros @GroundPetrel @Pierce

Appreciative of the simple acknowledgment of the role she was to play, Fisher in turn offered a rather succinct nod to Pierce. As he hadn’t yet truly met her, or developed a feel for who she was, he would indeed be going forward based solely off what was detailed in her service record. Said service record was lengthy and full of commendation, as one might expect of any Officer hand-chosen by Admiral Anderson for this mission, but there was also a great deal of difficult circumstances which surrounded her. Temporal displacement. Transporter induced gender swap. She had more than seen her fair share of strange and unusual occurrences in life, and now she would be privy to at least one more. For his part, he had only witnessed Nicander’s use of the ‘Farsight’ via video recording, but they were nonetheless strange all the same. He imagined to her however, the whole affair might even seem overly mundane. Then again, there was always the chance that the proverbial hand grenade that was the good Doctor might go off in spectacular form, and Fisher was counting on his people to be there to contain and control it if necessary.

As for Byrne, the man was himself something of an enigma. Fisher had of course interacted with and dispatched orders to the Lieutenant since he’d come aboard the Theurgy, but there had yet to prove an opportune moment to understand him beyond that of his professional reputation as a talented Deep Cover Field Operative. Still, he had proven himself a valuable organizer of their Intelligence Network and any assets that it was made up of, which made sense given how long the man had been successfully hidden among the Aldean populace. “Sounds good. Anderson is likely on the move at the moment, and if we can somehow play cut-off man during the relay, then we’ll want to be in the right position when the throw comes in. If it hasn’t already.” In fact, it was very likely that the Admiral’s situation had already advanced to the point of involving their respective contacts and assets in and around Earth, but it was still too early to know any outcomes. “...and actually, we’ll likely also want to keep an eye and ear on any assets that we have in play elsewhere. I know it’s a lot, but I think you can handle it.”

Returning to the display board, Fisher had been about to move onto the next item when Pierce piped up with a concern.

“Well, while the Doctor is technically an asset. And a valuable one at that. He’s also proven himself an ally on a number occasions. His provided insight into the doings of this... ‘Nameless Darkness’... has been integral in any progress that Theurgy has made thus far. All that said though, you’re right to take whatever information we get from him with a grain of salt. We can’t really be certain that his capacity for deception is entirely behind him. Not while that... thing... still pervades his body.” Taking a moment, he peered to Lieutenant Dantius once more, motioning with his hand accordingly. “The best we can do, is be direct with our questioning, and rely on our intuition and past interactions with him. Beyond that, I’m not sure if there’s anything else. Just play it smart and recall on any training or experience you have in interroga--” catching himself a moment, he sought to reclarify. “...in interviewing a potentially dangerous asset.”

Clasping his hands in front of him after sensing they could move on, Fisher turned to the main viewer and switched over to an active feed of a shuttle bay, where the SS Sabine was prominently displayed. “Meanwhile, we’ll need to move up our plans to requisition Miss Vers’ personal craft. Since it seems we’re unlikely to be outrunning the Klingons for very long, we’ll need to resort to a bit of subterfuge in getting him to Qo’nos. The Sabine will need to act as something of a high-speed ferry, which means a few minor modifications to make her a little stealthier. I’ll be meeting with her owner in the next hour to discuss the matter.” The details of this plot to sneak Martok away from Theurgy were beyond sensitive, but everyone who was present to hear of this plan could be trusted, and likely needed to know what was about to go down in order to act appropriately. “Hopefully, she’ll be agreeable in the matter. I’d hate to have to remand her and her ship in service.” There were a number of offers he was willing to make in order to appeal to said mercenary, be it of monetary value, or otherwise.

“Now. We are still concerned about saboteurs and traitors in the High Chancellor’s midst, so if you hear or see anything that is out of place, then report it, carefully to me, or to the Captain directly. We can’t take a chance of our signals being stolen on this one. Not when we’re this close to stealing home.” Yet more baseball terminology, but it was more than apt given their situation, and it emphasized the importance of vigilance. They were spies, all of them, and a spy’s job was every bit the part of countering other spies.

“Commander!”

Turning about, Fisher regarded Warrant Officer Yannick, one of Selena’s fellow Communication and Encryption Specialists as he was seated at the console, actively working to relay any information that their cybernetically enhanced comrade was intercepting while still on the Bridge. “What’s up?” He asked, moving over to stand beside the man.

“Commander, Warrant Officer Ravenholm is forwarding an encoded priority-one transmission from the Bridge down to the CIS.”

Looking back to the rest of the gathered Intelligence staff, Fisher had a feeling as to who it was sending the message. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on edge, and the knot in his stomach tighten even more so. After taking a deep inhale through his nostrils, he nodded to Yannick so as to order him to relay the message to their main viewer, and as the screen blinked over, the sage-eyed spy crossed his arms in anticipation of whatever his mentor and friend might have sent their way.

Re: CH06: S [D03|0915] Where no counsel is, the people fall. | Mitosis Intelligo, P3

Reply #5 – November 17, 2020, 02:53:06 PM

When the message was played, the masked and garbled voice of Admiral Anderson was heard again - becoming familiar in it's anonymous cadence.

[This is King, still active,] said the voice. [As previously stated, two contacts of mine here on Earth were compromised by the enemy, one of which I had no close ties to but the other did know me by name. Bishop... you know this asset as Royale, and it is my fault she was involved. Given the nature of the enemy, and the many unknowns when it comes to how they spread, I was beginning to employ some contingencies of mine in order to extract myself, but due to your direct involvement... I remain behind enemy lines.]

Even though this was good news, the tone of Anderson's wasn't at all relieved. Quite the opposite. A stoic kind of grimness was passing the filter put on his voice.

[I have learned that you involved Rook without showing our hand in this game, and you already know about your successor, who goes by Knight. Four hours ago, as I record this message, I received confirmation from Rook that Knight located Royale and attempted extraction. While the details have yet to be confirmed, the extraction was unsuccessful, and we lost Royale. Knight and Rook are both keen to know why Royale was captured in the first place, but I do not trust either of them with that information. I'm sorry, Bishop. She was a fine operative. Needless to say, as you know my history with Rook, I cannot rule out that he decided to silence Roayle rather than trying to save her.]

The voice took a deep breath, sticking to protocol in the next string of words. [Sending personal verification codes from Rook and Knight with this message, so that you can confirm the legitimacy of their involvement, as well as me remaining non-compromised and active. I wish that was all I could relay, but there is more...]

The pause seemed quite dire, and it proved to be with due cause as well.

[My unofficial inventory of the vaults below Starfleet Headquarters have yielded answers. I don't know how familiar you are with the Genesis Device of Doctor Marcus,] he stated, and the rest might as well have been expected. [Starfleet Command had another Device made years ago, and it has now gone missing. While the puzzle is yet complete, it seems it was shipped away on the USS Eirene, destined for Breen on a diplomatic assignment for Ambassador Marian Visser. She set out after the Azure Nebula was compromised, and the Eirene will have reached her destination by now. Using that device will definitely mobilise the Breen against the Federation, especially now, when the Thots have convened at the Hall of Heroes in the Confederacy's capital.]

It was obvious, also, that the fallout had yet to be confirmed, and since Jennifer Dewitt had remained at Breen on the Allegiant - sending Lieutenants Arnold and zh'Wann with half of the away team on the Erudite to Andor - they could neither appraise Dewitt nor learn if they had stopped the Genesis Devise from detonating on the Breen home world. Communications were only possible with the Erudite, so there was no way of knowing what had happened.

[I fear... that the intel your Infested asset on the Theurgy gave you was true. Your reports have mentioned his Farsight. This... 'connection' with the collective consciousness of the enemy. Utilising it to spy on Starfleet Command and other Infested might prove key for the continuation and success of this mission. Do not loose this asset, and please forward any more intel that can be gathered when it comes to the development in the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Praetor. Awaiting confirmation. King out.]

Re: CH06: S [D03|0915] Where no counsel is, the people fall. | Mitosis Intelligo, P3

Reply #6 – November 17, 2020, 09:01:56 PM

| ATTN: @Auctor Lucan @Nolan @chXinya @Argyros @GroundPetrel @Swift

Alana Pierce stood as the message played out on the audio panel in the Central Intelligence Suite, she was sad to hear the information pouring in from Admiral Anderson. It wasn't that long ago that she was present among them herself. Luckily, she got out in time, but the intel was worrisome. The information didn't get better either.

She listened intently for any discernable information that may prove useful at a later date. Then she heard one thing that did resonate rather well for her too. The Genesis Device. A top-secret device that people of the late 23rd Century in Starfleet at least were forbidden to speak of. Even some of the Admiralty wasn't privy to the details of the inner workings. The only one to really get a good look at it was the crew of the Enterprise and her former Captain, Kirk. The matter that there was a second one constructed didn't bode well for them knowing that it was on the loose. I wonder if they've managed to stabilize the matrix of the device yet as the original was flawed in that regard. But the fact that it was weaponized yet again was not a good sign.

"Commander, did he really say a second Genesis Device was constructed? I've...err...I've some knowledge of it and that's not good news. Not at all. Do we know if it was detonated? It can be neutralized if they manage to disable the controls on the physical device but otherwise, we're in for some serious trouble if it's detonated. The effects unless they've fixed it are temporary at best." She was troubled by this information.

She waved another hand in the air for the Commander and noted something else. "Also sir, I have a theory on the parasites when we have a moment to discuss it."

But she needed to prep for her "interview" that would be taking place shortly too. Anderson didn't sugar coat it when he said Theurgy was in the thick of it all.

Re: CH06: S [D03|0915] Where no counsel is, the people fall. | Mitosis Intelligo, P3

Reply #7 – November 18, 2020, 08:26:56 PM

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Central Intelligence Suite | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Nolan @chXinya @Argyros @Swift @Pierce

Damn it. OK. More bad news, that was to be expected. Start thinking of counters. Anh-Le, fresh from promotion to senior analyst (did that matter? She was still crunching data, maybe occasionally helping with interrogations, and generally doing what had to be done to keep this mission somewhere near functionality. Well, it would be good for her career if she lived through this mess. Yeah), tried to keep her brain from haring off on tangents.

(she wasn't succeeding, but it was the thought that counted)

"Seconding Lieutenant Pierce, sir. Building a system-killer and then leaving it in a vault is one of those things that the R&D divisions really need to stop doing. At least the detonation will be obvious, and there's probably a way to detect the protomatter.

"With respect to using Dr. Nicander's connection to the enemy, I recommend using that ability sparingly and only when absolutely necessary. First of all, because he's been through enough and getting him possessed again--when our only asset that could un-fuck that situation is apparently no longer active--would be kind of a little bit extremely cruel, arguably an unacceptable risk by Starfleet regulatory standards. Second, well, if we lose him, we lose him permanently, and the enemy gets wise to our one halfway decent card. Third, he himself has testified that there's a good chance the enemy can spy through him when he uses that ability, and, uh...there's no need to dig our own graves any more than we already have, Commander."

Damn it, they needed a better source of intel. Nicander had personal experience but everything they'd gotten out of him was next to useless on a practical level, and hadn't even completely confirmed that the enemy was incapable of reasoning. There had to be a way out, Anh-Le knew. There always was. She just hadn't seen it yet.

"With respect, sir, I'd like to hear Lieutenant Pierce's idea, too." Probably had something to do with the anyon solution. Anh-Le was still certain that was significant. Somehow.

Re: CH06: S [D03|0915] Where no counsel is, the people fall. | Mitosis Intelligo, P3

Reply #8 – November 18, 2020, 09:12:53 PM

| ATTN: @Auctor Lucan @Nolan @chXinya @Argyros @GroundPetrel @Swift

Alana was normally calm and cool, but this body was causing her to get a little more self-conscience about herself. Have to visit a Counselor soon to work on that but right now, she had to relax and just let herself rely on her training. Also surprising was that Lt. Dantius was in support of her thoughts on the Genesis Device and that she was interested in hearing the theory about the parasites.

Her face scanned the room and all eyes appeared to be on her. At present, she felt a calm wash over her as if she was just a competent officer without the baggage. If she was going to make a difference, this was it. She activated her PADD and punched in a few scans, and some research she'd previously been collecting.

"Thank you Lt. Dantius. I'd be happy to explain my theory. Now, I'm unsure about if this could result in the full recovery with those individuals who are infected with the creatures." She transferred the data she was looking at from her PADD to the CIS Computer systems for everyone in the room to see. "When I was at Starfleet Intelligence and with Admiral Anderson, I did some digging. There is a lot of speculation surrounding these creatures."

Her hand pointed to the data which mentioned these creatures. "They reportedly have "mother creatures which control them."

She turned back to the panel of intelligence officers and folded her hands in front of her waist. "My theory is, if we can find the host or mother creature associated with the infected officers in question, then we can securely release most if not all of them from the clutches of these creatures. In the lore, when the queen parasite is killed, the soldier parasites release control of their hosts and then drop dead or, leave their victims voluntarily with no harm to the host."

She paced back to the screen showing them diagrams of the standalone creatures and the mother creatures along with unlocked security footage from the Starfleet HQ from that era of time.

She deactivated the viewscreen and turned her PADD off before she proceeded back to the group.

"What do you think?"

Re: CH06: S [D03|0915] Where no counsel is, the people fall. | Mitosis Intelligo, P3

Reply #9 – November 22, 2020, 10:44:03 PM

[ Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Fisher | Central Intelligence Suite | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Nolan @chXinya @Argyros @GroundPetrel @Pierce

Fisher could feel a cold and silent twilight beginning to settle in advance of the message, like a heavy cloud laden with foreboding in spite of the positive aspect the message’s very existence had reinforced: Admiral Anderson had survived the night. That should have at least been a minor cause to appreciate, if not even outright celebrate, but as experienced as he was, the Chief Intelligence Officer knew that getting out of the kind of grim scenario that his old Mentor had found himself mired in always came at a cost. It was as sure a thing to bet on as any, and it naturally prompted the most obvious and relevant ponderance of all: what had been that cost, and who had been the unfortunate one to pay it?

“Play it.” He’d ordered Yannick.

Even through the distortion of digital voice encoding, Fisher could still sense the stress hidden behind his friend’s chosen words and tone, which denoted grim toll that had likely been placed upon himself, and the greater effort to stall this most calamitous of Galactic happenings. The first of which was one of the first people that had worked directly under Fisher upon being given his own Intelligence cell to operate: ‘Royale’ as she had been codenamed, was a young woman from Mars that he had recruited from the Starfleet Corps of Engineers, her real name, Angelina. She had barely twenty-years of age when he last knew her, and now that life had likely been snuffed out of existence by their enigmatic enemy. It stung, just as bitterly as it had every other time one of the people working under or for him had been lost to their duty. He would need to make roads in connecting with whatever family and or loved ones that might have missed her, relaying carefully that she had given her life in the pursuit of something greater than just herself. In truth, she had done just that, as this effort to turn back the tide of annihilation that the ‘Nameless Darkness’ had set out upon them would have been far grander in scope without Anderson’s continued involvement.

The revelation that ‘Rook’ had been involved in an attempted recovery of ‘Royale’ troubled Fisher, because he knew just as Anderson had suspected that the other man most directly responsible for the skills that Fisher possessed, was every bit the opposite in terms of approach and temperament. Richton Leonardo Hurley was as duplicitous and self-serving as a spy could possibly be, and he had been operating with near impunity for decades now. He had come from the same direct Intelligence lineage as Anderson, though their relative methods could not have been any more different. Fisher had caught the eye of Hurley after being greenlit for field status in 2371, because the man had wanted to try and sway another of Anderson’s proteges to his way of thinking. A twisted game that he had played as part of a grander scheme to ensure not just Starfleet dominance, but more specifically Starfleet Intelligence’s dominance. And while his methods and personal stakes could be questioned, as Fisher most certainly had, his effectiveness as an Operative Lead, and his devotion to advancing the broader goals of Starfleet couldn’t be.

Still, Anderson was right to suspect foul play from Hurley. Fisher himself had nearly wound up a casualty of bottom-line success on a number of operations involving the man.

‘Never leave a living asset in the hands of an enemy. Silence them! And do it without remorse or hesitation, because in this game, there’s no room for second-guessing.’ The words reverberated through his head as if they had been spoken loud and clear, and though he hated the sentiment and held a great deal of reservations about the man who championed it, he couldn’t deny its calculated logic, regardless of how cold it was.

As the message continued, Fisher crossed his arms over his chest out of defensive habit and listened until the mention of ‘The Genesis Device’, one of those hidden treasures that had been locked away in the vaults beneath Starfleet Headquarters. One that he had been privy to the existence of only due to the pair of senior spies that he had been brought up by, and a disclosure of what kind of dangerous techs were hidden away from public knowledge. It was a miracle technology, but like most of it’s kind if held by the wrong person it could be used as a weapon of unparalleled destruction. The kind of weapon that if brought to bear against the Federation’s rivals, would certainly cement the foundations of looming war. There would be no chance for a denial on the part of the Federation because the device was uniquely theirs. If Dewitt and the rest of the Allegiant mission failed to stop it, then the rest of their efforts would be for naught. The dominos as they had been so carefully set up would tumble over in succession, and absolute War would consume the whole of Galactic civilization.

When Anderson signed off once more, after having stressed the importance of their resident infected Câroon, Fisher remained in quiet consideration for a long while. His attention shifting to Lieutenant Pierce when she asked in astonishment about the existence of a second Genesis Device, and then to Dantius as she echoed the same notion. “From what I remember, Genesis pattern energy is easily identifiable, and only directly associated with the Federation. If it’s activated, everyone in the Galaxy will blame us for the devastation it wreaks.” Shaking his head at the devious ingenuity of their enemies, he nodded in acknowledgement of her further points regarding the use of Dr. Nicander’s farsight. It was an asset. He was an asset. Arguably their most important asset, and they needed to ensure that he remained in play at key moments. Overuse of his ability posed a significant risk to his health, at least that’s what he had ascertained via the medical logs of Dr. Kobol on the matter.

“It’s an interesting thought, Lieutenant Pierce. Maybe even a glimmer of hope, but I’m not sure how much stock we can place into these theories at the moment. If anything, I would recommend forwarding whatever fore-knowledge you have regarding these... mother-creature... onto Commander Kaeris and the rest of the Science Department. They’re spearheading...” pausing a moment as he realized the use of the term elicited still fresh memories of the lounge bombing, he took a chance to re-phrase. “They’re leading the effort in uncovering whatever means there might be in subduing or removing these God-Damned things from their victims. For now though, we need to focus on what’s immediately in front of us. Keeping up with our field assets and contacts. Interviewing Dr. Nicander and asking him to make use of his... gifts... again. And getting the Sabine up, running, and ready to ferry the High Chancellor to Qo’nos as soon as possible. You all have your orders. Consider yourselves dismissed.”

Lingering after some of their extended Department staff began to disperse, going about their way on any number of additional tasks which merited attention, Fisher would give it a few minutes before he went off to meet with the owner of the Sabine. For one, he needed to forward a report of Anderson’s message to the Captain for review, and for another he imagined there may have been additional discussion that his Officers may have wanted to engage in.

Re: CH06: S [D03|0915] Where no counsel is, the people fall. | Mitosis Intelligo, P3

Reply #10 – November 23, 2020, 10:05:35 PM

Pierce was filled with hope from her recent theory drop that she'd let loose. With Fisher suggesting a possible avenue of further exploring these, that could help them in the long term despite not being very helpful in the here and now. Listening to the various crewmen around her discussing items of interest pertaining to this mission, Alana decided that it was time to go rattle the good doctor's cage a little. Hopefully, something of substance would come from the encounter, but if not, at least she'd tried.

She heard Fisher's dismissal and took that as the official queue to leave the room. With a curt nod towards Lt. Cmdr. Fisher, Pierce took her leave of the room and proceeded as ordered. Difficulty was ahead and this was only her first day. Interesting times are coming, but at least she'll be surrounded by a capable crew.

The halls were at yellow alert, preparing for the coming onslaught of battle. Time to see if the decision to come aboard was a good one or not.

OOC: Pierce has left to the Hardball thread.

Re: CH06: S [D03|0915] Where no counsel is, the people fall. | Mitosis Intelligo, P3

Reply #11 – December 14, 2020, 11:21:20 PM

[ Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Fisher | Central Intelligence Suite | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Nolan @chXinya @Argyros @GroundPetrel @Pierce

Everything that needed to be said, had been. His people had their assignments. He had his own. It was time to put actions into motion before the next round of planning would take place. Move. React. Plan. Move again. It was a proverbial game of sorts, though the stakes couldn’t possibly have been any higher than they were. Still, the Chief Intelligence Officer felt confident in the skills, capabilities, and determination of the people working under him. For while he desired to be in on a second interview with their resident infected Doctor, he simply couldn’t be in every place at one time. Effective leadership meant delegation of tasks to those under your command, and thankfully Fisher had the right people to rely upon so that he could find some semblance of comfort whenever there was something he could not personally see to. Koilos, Pierce, and Dantius would perform their job admirably, just as he was sure Byrne would continue to do so elsewhere. All while Ravenholm would monitor the situation from her station aboard the bridge, where she could more directly interact and coordinate with the crew overseeing the general operation of the ship.

In the past, his superiors had seen fit to analogize this game as one of Chess, even going so far as to adopt and assign codenames according to that ancient Earth board game. He himself had rather defiantly ascribed it more akin to that of Poker during his past, a notion he felt even more appropriate given the situation they faced. For they faced not a singular opponent with a lone objective, but rather many of them with nuanced goals leading them in their charter. They would play off of each other’s gambits, using one another as a means to an end. The ‘Nameless Darkness’ which sought to destroy all civilized society, would prop up Gorka and his insurrectionist movement as it would only serve toward their eventual claiming of an ultimate prize. While Theurgy would likewise support Martok and his claim to remain in power, because it would serve them and their play for victory. Eventually though, he knew the cards would be dealt in such a manner that it came down to the two primary participants of this struggle.

With a simple nod of affirmation as everyone began to disperse, the veteran spy quietly excused himself from the CIS and made for the nearby turbolift with a mind that was hopeful for the best. He and his department were working diligently to place Theurgy in the prime position to make an all-in call when the time came.

And when it did, he knew that their cards would be of an unbeatable nature and afford them the right to claim the pot as the lone victor.

-FIN