Star Trek: Theurgy

Day 30 [1500 hrs.] - The Green of the Spy King’s Eyes | In Viridi Exploratorem

May 19, 2020, 10:02:56 AM

THE GREEN OF THE SPY KING’S EYES | IN VIRIDI EXPLORATOREM

STARDATE 57634.57
APRIL 10, 2381
1500 HRS

[ Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Fisher | Central Intelligence Suite | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

Fisher tossed the PADD he’d been reading for the last twenty or so minutes onto his desk and leaned back in his chair, seriously regretting his decision to have forgone any manner of sleep aid the previous night. He’d been reading files for hours and had wound up with even more questions than he’d had at the beginning. There wasn’t exactly a wealth of information on the Alien Parasites, but still the libraries accessible aboard the Theurgy went way beyond the sparsely available data that Anderson had sent him just prior to the start of his journey from Starbase-211. But even with this additional data, it didn’t seem to matter much, only serving to frustrate the hell out of him.

“Damned enigma.” He spat out.

‘An Enigma out to kill you, and the rest of the Galaxy, so you better buckle down and get back to it asshole.’ He thought to himself, shaking his head to dismiss the still lingering exhaustion he’d been dealing with over the last three or so weeks. It’d been an exceedingly difficult year thus far, and that had been Fisher’s feeling even before being told about a Galactic wide conspiracy to end all life. It was the kind of bad streak that would have driven most people insane with stress, but like so many others aboard this starship, he’d been dealing with it as best he could. Still, he knew he’d need to find some rest soon, otherwise he’d start making mistakes, and that was something he couldn’t afford in his position. But he knew were the line was. He’d gone through stretches of intense focus and reduced rest like this before, on many occasions, and right now he needed to understand as much about his enemy as possible.

“If you know the enemy...” he started to quote Sun Tzu, pausing as his memory failed him in the moment.

“Thea... how does the rest of that Sun Tzu quote go?” he asked.

[If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.] she answered simply.

“...in every battle.” He solemnly repeated after her, nodding in acknowledgement of the wisdom of the ancient Chinese General. After a short moment of reflection, he sat back forward in his chair and reached for the PADD. Closing the file he’d been reading, he opened another, this one a confidential report filed on the ship’s previous Chief Medical Officer. The man in the cage, who had given the Theurgy a glimpse of their elusive enemy, who himself carried one of the creatures inside his body. Dr. Lucan cin Nicander. Friend or foe, by understanding him, Fisher hoped he’d at least meet the neutral outcome of Sun Tzu’s observations, if not the obviously preferred positive one.

Re: Day 30 [1500 hrs.] - The Green of the Spy King’s Eyes | In Viridi Exploratorem

Reply #1 – May 19, 2020, 07:44:44 PM

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Corridor outside Central Intelligence Suite | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy Attn: @Swift

First day on the job...it never really changes, does it?  Anh-Le straightened her uniform top, just in case, made sure her hair was secure in its bun, and checked her wrist-watch.  And I have four hours left on my last dose.  Good.  The accessory was old-fashioned, of course, but it helped her remember when to take the hormone suppressants that she needed to take lest she accidentally drug her co-workers (which had happened exactly once, under rather extenuating circumstances, and had led to Anh-Le having to stun them all with a wide-beam phaser before the individuals involved could hurt one another). 

Anh-Le hadn't had much time to get settled yet, dumping her possessions in her new quarters and getting changed into her uniform before making a quick trip to Sickbay for a hypospray of painkillers for her sore shoulder.  I swear, it's like they went to a bargain-basement Ferengi for the beds on that transport...  Now, she stood outside the office of her new boss, anxious to get started.  This was the biggest job she'd ever been assigned to, and she felt a heady mix of anxiety and anticipation as she readied herself for the challenge.  Save the Federation from a malevolent cabal that's compromised Starfleet Command.  We're either going to all be heroes, or we're all going to die.  She probably shouldn't feel so excited, but Anh-Le had always been addicted to a good challenge. 

She took a breath, stood straight at attention, and rang the door chime. 

Re: Day 30 [1500 hrs.] - The Green of the Spy King’s Eyes | In Viridi Exploratorem

Reply #2 – May 20, 2020, 03:53:03 AM

[ Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Fisher | Central Intelligence Suite | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

“Enter.” Fisher answered the chime of the door, setting the PADD he’d been reading face down on his desk.

As far as he knew, everyone aboard the Theurgy had been cleared through the rigorous and enhanced security measures put in place to screen for the Alien Parasites, and thus could in a way be trusted. But old habits died-hard for the new Chief Intelligence Officer. Besides, just because someone had been cleared of a parasite, didn’t mean they weren’t still working for them, or on their behalf. Suspicion and paranoia were instrumental tools to any good spy who wanted to remain a good spy, and not wind up a dead spy. Trust came at an incredible premium, if at all, was one of the first lessons an Operative was taught, and for the most part he’d abided by that tenant well enough throughout his career.

The doors hissed apart, and he laid eyes on the green-skinned intel analyst standing just outside his office.

“Ahh, Lieutenant Anh-Le. Come in.” he greeted, standing out of a sign of respect to welcome her.

He’d read through her file in advance of this meeting, having been notified of her arrival in the Epsilon Mynos system the moment she’d been cleared by Klingon security officers in the Aldean shipyards. He’d liked having a cursory understanding of the people he was going to be working with over the course of his assignment with the Theurgy. Her story was something of an anomaly among her kind, as she’d been raised by her parents on Earth. And unlike Fisher, who’d spent half of his Starfleet career as a Security Officer first, she’d been brought into the Intelligence field almost immediately, serving for a time as an analyst under who else, but Admiral Anderson.

The Admiral had clearly invested a lot of personal stock in this ship and its mission to expose the threat the Galaxy was facing. It’d dawned on him as he’d been going through personnel dossiers of the crew, that a surprising number of the officers aboard the Theurgy had had some kind of past linked to the Director of Covert Operations.

‘I wouldn’t have it any other way.’ Fisher thought to himself, as Anderson had a proven eye for talent.

Which brought him back to his new analyst.

“Please, take a seat.” He offered her, gesturing to either of the two chairs that rested adjacent his desk.

Re: Day 30 [1500 hrs.] - The Green of the Spy King’s Eyes | In Viridi Exploratorem

Reply #3 – May 20, 2020, 04:31:13 AM

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Central Intelligence Suite | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy Attn: @Swift

Anh-Le saluted crisply.  "Lieutenant Dantius, sir.  My name's surname-first, I'm Vietnamese and it's a tradition in a lot of cultures like mine."  By 'like mine' she meant East and Southeast Asian cultures from Earth; her family had assimilated into local society decades before her birth.  "Reporting for duty as ordered, sir.  Apologies for my late arrival."  She eyed her new CO; Human, native English speaker with one of those harsh American accents by the sound of him, a keen green-eyed gaze, tall and broad-shouldered with his uniform fitting just a shade off over his muscles (then again, uniforms tended to be a little tight at the seams for anyone who worked out regularly until you tweaked the replicator settings), posture just a little stiff as he stood--back pain?  Acute or chronic?  Definitely field experience, maybe a career field operator in black-ops.  He looked to be middle-aged, so he'd been doing this a while, was probably up for promotion once or twice, but between his rank and the way he carried himself, he'd clearly held back, probably to do more fieldwork if the unconscious forward shift of his weight was any sign.  So why switch to a desk job? 

Probably for the same reason I did, honestly...job to be done, Federation to be protected. 

Commander Fisher seemed experienced just from the first look, at least, and Anh-Le figured that Admiral Anderson had a good eye for people.  He would get the job done, and that was all that mattered. 

"Thank you, sir."  Anh-Le took a seat on the chair on her right, leaning on her left arm to favor the sore one.  "I'm glad to be on board, from the briefing materials it looks like we're in a hole and need all hands to dig out.  Where do you want me to start?" 

Re: Day 30 [1500 hrs.] - The Green of the Spy King’s Eyes | In Viridi Exploratorem

Reply #4 – May 20, 2020, 06:28:59 AM

[ Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Fisher | Central Intelligence Suite | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

“Noted, Lieutenant Dantius.” He said, nodding as an acknowledgement of the manner in which she’d preferred her name.

The Green-skinned woman was direct, and to the point. Others might have found her formality off putting, but Fisher appreciated it. Spies like him could afford to be conservative with the truth and bend it to fit their needs. After all, a field operative’s ability to obfuscate was at times paramount to the success of an operation. But analysts needed to be thrifty with the facts at hand and be as direct as possible when delivering them. The lives of those receiving that intel often depended on it. Admiral Anderson probably knew that better than most, given some of the stories he’d shared with Andrew throughout the years of their mentorship.

‘Definitely an eye for talent.’ He mused to himself.

“No worries.” He answered in regard to her apology, knowing that travel from Federation space to the Epsilon Mynos system was difficult enough, even without half of Starfleet actively hunting down the Theurgy, or any leads that might’ve pointed them in the right direction. Just getting here at all, was a testament to the kind of skills someone needed in order to be of value to the mission that lay ahead of them. “My own journey here was fraught with delays and setbacks.” he offered simply. As he’d been deliberately vague of specific details on any personal logs made during his journey from Starbase-211, he was being equally as vague now. Another old habit of his. Anyone in the know would understand those logs; anyone who wasn’t would have been left with far less information than was needed to make any judgments or decisions based off of them.

It took an especially adept analyst to connect the exceedingly few dots and understand the picture they were staring at. He was betting the Orion woman sitting before his desk was one of maybe a hundred or so analysts that could do just that. Otherwise Anderson wouldn’t have bothered sending her.

“The briefing materials are light of a lot of specifics that you’ll now have access to, here on the Theurgy.” He began to explain.

“Understandably so, we were kept in the loop on just enough to get us here, but the risk in letting too much out would have compromised any progress this ship has already made in dealing with the issue at hand.” He paused as he leant back in his chair again. “I don’t need to tell you, that there’s a lot of reading that has yet to be done if we’re going to really understand these Parasites.” Knowing your enemy was of course the first step in any kind of effective defense against them, and even though he’d spent a few years as an analyst, Fisher’s skills lie in infiltration, and building the foundations of intelligence gathering operations. “I’d be lying if I said I understood everything I’ve poured through thus far. I’m not the right mind for that.” He admitted openly, letting his cards show enough that she’d understand his preference for field work.

“That’s where you come in. If we’re going to be an effective Intelligence Cell, we’re going to need to fill out all of the roles of one.”

Grabbing another PADD, he set it down onto the desk before her. “I’ve already met with and briefed the other members of the Intelligence Staff about our roles moving forward. I want you to coordinate with our Communications and Encryption specialist, PWO Ravenholm, and root through all of the data that we now have on those infected by the Parasites, and whatever other data she can dig up from alternate sources. I need intel dossiers on the names on that PADD.”

He pointed to the PADD. “I want their routines. Their personal proclivities. Their movements. Their communications. Anything that might give us leads to investigate further.”

“These bastards have one hell of a spy network set up, and I want ours to be better.”

Re: Day 30 [1500 hrs.] - The Green of the Spy King’s Eyes | In Viridi Exploratorem

Reply #5 – May 20, 2020, 07:36:16 AM

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Central Intelligence Suite | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy Attn: @Swift

Anh-Le took the PADD, and her eyes widened.  "Oh, đụ má!  That's half of Command!  C-in-C, Chief of Staff, Chief of Ops--these things could bring down the quadrant in a day!"  She shook her head, refocusing.  "I'll take a look at this in depth, sir.  Hopefully if we can figure out their origins and motivations we can negotiate without needing to find a nuclear option.  Wouldn't be the first time we mucked up a First Contact, after all.
 If not..."  She grimaced.  Even if they were trying to destroy galactic civilization, no species deserved destruction. 

The Orion flipped through the list, frowning with concern.  "I wonder how they pick their hosts?  Can they nab anybody, or do they need to get in close with somebody who's already infected?  I mean, during the Dominion War, the Founders only got Martok because he was out hunting and they had an infiltrator in his hunting party.  If this bunch are the same way, that means aides of at least one senior admiral were compromised first.  If they can nab anybody--then how come Anderson's not compromised, how come we're not compromised?" 

She shook her head; this whole situation was looking worse by the minute.  "Anderson would be the first person I'd infect if I were in charge of them.  Control Intel, you can hide your dirty deeds.  Then C-in-C, Sankolov, call in Captains one by one on rotation until you control all the senior officers.  Then manufacture a crisis--a big multi-way war ought to do it.  Let it go on a few years...Heck, look at the Dominion War!  It hadn't even started and that nutcase Leyton was already committing treason in the name of security.  Make sure the infected Captains have contingencies in case of mutiny, then coup.  Take out the President, poison gas on the Council, pin it on a scapegoat--maybe the Romulans.  Depending on the parasites' capabilities, theoretically you could pull it off without anyone realizing what was going on until it was too late."

In fact...how long have these things been coming after us?  It'd been only six years since the Dominion War, after all; Anh-Le had only escaped the Breen attack on San Francisco because she was on fall break from the Academy.  Heck, they could've set off the Dominion War--could Founders be infected? 

The sheer magnitude of the situation made Anh-Le's extremities feel numb.  We're lucky, she realized.  Lucky that Anderson isn't infected...I hope.  She owed the man a lot, if they'd gotten to him...no, that didn't bear thinking about.  "...I'll comm you tonight when I've finished going through this, sir."  Her voice sounded far-away and quietly raspy as she tried to figure out options.  "Warrant Officer Ravenholm.   Data analysis.  Yes, sir.  Dossiers on Sankolov, C-in-C, all of them.  I'll have them on your desk within a week." 

I just hope we can un-fuck this mess before we end up in a pointless war because Command's dancing on somebody's strings...

Re: Day 30 [1500 hrs.] - The Green of the Spy King’s Eyes | In Viridi Exploratorem

Reply #6 – May 22, 2020, 10:02:28 AM

[ Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Fisher | Central Intelligence Suite | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

Fisher listened as the Orion woman asked her questions, each of them he’d asked himself at least a dozen times. There was so much that was unknown about these parasites, and so much more they’d probably never have answers to. But that didn’t change the objectives in his mind. Sure, his job was easier when from the word go, he could answer questions like the one’s she’d just posed, but truth of the matter was, his job was never easy. Often times the primary goal of his intelligence operations had been to find as much success as possible, with however little available intel there was, and that was if they weren’t already the first ones gathering said intel.

‘Easy? What was easy?’ Fisher mused.

“I appreciate your determination, Lieutenant.” He paused, looking to her with his own determination evident in his face. “...and I trust you understand the importance of alacrity when it comes to our operation.”

He understood the immensity of the responsibility he was placing on the shoulders of the young Lieutenant, and that even more would be asked of her over the course of the coming Intelligence Operation he was planning, but the times called for it. Besides, when the time came, he knew he’d make the ultimate call when it mattered, and that only he would bear the culpability of the consequences rendered. He wouldn’t risk selling the souls of those working under him, only his own, and he’d only part with his under the most dire and extreme of circumstances. For now, good analysis of the available intel would keep the Devil at bay and allow Fisher to wear the badge of a Starfleet Officer with pride for a little while longer.

‘Wear it with pride while you can. Because eventually, the sight of it will make you sick to your stomach with guilt.’ He remembered Hurley’s warning, and felt a pang of trepidation slither up his spine, causing the muscles in his back to tighten under stress induced tension.

“That’ll be all, Lieutenant. Thank you.” He said as a way of dismissing her.

/FIN