The Game Is Afoot

Posted on 15 Jan 2015 @ 10:03pm by Lieutenant Benice Gyce Ph.D. & Seleya Qellar Ph.D.
Edited on on 08 Sep 2015 @ 4:52am

2,261 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 4, Multi-Purpose Laboratory Alpha
Timeline: MD41: 1300 hrs

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"Vashyyk," Seleya sneered, spitting out the curse in her native Romulan tongue. The display she'd been using had gone completely dark and the mini-tricorder she'd been using - certainly not standard Starfleet issue - beeped a warning. Thankfully, she'd had enough foresight to set it up not only to create a false sensor echo of her presence but also to monitor the ship's internal security grid. The early alert about whatever security countermeasure she'd tripped might give her enough of an edge to cover her tracks... Hopefully.

With rushed precision, she knelt down under the computer console and removed an isolinear chip. It was conveniently disguised as a hair clip, and it disappeared discreetly beneath her hat. Next, she plucked what appeared to be a hat pin from her choice of chapeau for the day and began waving it over everything she'd touched. It was a clever little Ferengi device that eliminated all physical traces of one's presence, and it was literally the only thing she'd ever come across that made her thankful for the existence of those sniveling little insect-eating shits.

After she'd finished with the interior of the console, the panel and the console itself, she stabbed it back into hat and stood up. A glance at the chronometer told her she had no time to spare, so she snatched up the mini-tricorder and began securing it in one of the folds of her ostentatious silken, French-style gown on her way out the door. Two sections away from the laboratory, she turned into an opposing corridor and almost ran into the last person member of the crew she'd wanted to see at that moment.

"Why in such a hurry when there's few aboard to bother?" A Bajoran sporting a wooden cane asked innocently. A security gold undershirt and vest told anyone she was indeed security. And both women had played this game of chess before.

"Lieutenant Benice, what a delightfully unexpected surprise," Seleya said flatly, without a trace of surprise or delight. "You'll have to forgive me if I seem brusque; I'm very late for an important function on board the starbase."

Given her dress, it would have been appropriate to gather up a handful of material on either side and curtsy in greeting but that would have been far too jovial a thing for Seleya to do with someone like Gyce. It was the sort of uncharacteristic move that the investigations officer would notice - why would an otherwise chilly woman like Seleya be so unusually charming? It was the kind of thing she had to be especially cautious over, the kind of thing that would tip her hand and reveal her inner anxiety. It was already an unlucky and unproductive day - interrupted work at the console and a tripped security alarm - and the lieutenant's appearance only made things worse. Why hadn't they sent some low-level lackey to investigate the alarm? Was it simply Gyce's turn to check things out, or had she somehow suspected Seleya was involved?

And now it was Gyce's turn to think fast and smartly. Every word meant something and the last thing Gyce wanted, was for her Romulan devil to complain to the wrong ears about a Bajoran security officer that wasted her time.

She knew Seleya tripped the alarm. Not specific proof, but her CCTV was already set to alert Gyce when Qellar deviated too far from her typical travel patterns. But hunches did not seal cases so Gyce was forced to maintain an equally polite front with Seleya.

"What sort of function?" Gyce smiled brightly. "I tend to be something of an academic myself, so I could come along with you if you don't mind."

Perfect lies are sold with mostly truth. And Gyce indeed was a scholar and she loved going to conventions when time allowed. The lie in the truth, was a location. Where was Seleya going? Was she registered as an attendant? How far away was this convention on station from where she was caught?

Gyce's smile told her they were playing a game. She likely suspected Seleya, but if she had anything other than circumstantial evidence then she would have said something already, making the ultimate goal of the game to get her to incriminate herself. No small task, to be sure, but one which the Bajoran was preeminently qualified. If she was facing anyone else, Seleya might make her excuses and roughly brush past them. An air of authority and 'something to do' worked on most people, but they both knew it wouldn't work here. Instead, she settled in and began working on the long game...

"Lieutenant, while I'm sure there's a great deal a criminologist might find fascinating at a meeting of biotechnologists," Seleya began, voice dripping with sarcasm, "I'm afraid it's a meeting of a decidedly less academic and more personal nature."

The statement helped lay a solid foundation for the half-truth. At the same time, it spoke to Gyce's request to attend without confirming or denying it, placing her in the awkward position of having to push the matter further. Seleya's exceptionally placid look cracked just a little, a well-timed half-glance away and a downward turn at the corner of her mouth meant to show concern over the nature of her 'private' meeting being exposed and disappointment at the delay just to turn up the pressure her opponent was likely to feel in having to inquire further.

"Well at the very least, let me walk you there. The station can be fairly dangerous," Gyce spoke with concern. True concern because that statement also held a lot of truth.

A knight's move on the chess board. Gyce knew a location of where the Romulan was going was important. To deny a security officer's protection would put suspicion back on her opponent.

"Thank you, I appreciate your concern," Seleya said, tacitly accepting the offer. She fell in step beside Gyce and set a pace that offered her little comfort, not out of sadism but to help keep the Bajoran off track. If she had to concentrate more on walking then she was concentrating less on Seleya. After a long moment of silence, she finally spoke again. "I'm meeting a friend. A Romulan friend. He's a member of a dissidents group, an exile like me. Given our proximity to the border and the strategic nature of many of the Starfleet personnel on the station, I hope you'll forgive my inclination toward discretion."

Lesson one from the Romulan playbook: the most accomplished and successful liars were manipulators. While it was ordinarily to your advantage to stonewall your opponent, on rare occasions you were better off elaborating to establish an emotional connection. The vague statement about her meeting had laid the foundation, the emotion she'd allowed to cross her face furthered the illusion and now her surprising openness sought to seal the ploy.

"All the more reason I should be there," Gyce spoke with a small hint of a pant from trying to keep up with the woman. Fairly succeeding at that. "If there is another dissident, then that is a person Starfleet would want someone to meet. And since you know me decently well, all the more reason for him to trust me as an ally into the Federation."

Gyce had to thank the Prophets for swimming so much, otherwise she would not have the stamina. Then again, she also had no idea where her Romulan friend was leading her. All the same, watching Qellar getting her green-blooded skin out of this series of word traps, made the pain in her face worth it.

Seleya crossed the threshold of the Galileo into the open airlock connecting the ship to Starbase 84 with a grace that seemed to defy the physics of her voluminous dress. She paused only momentarily for Gyce to make the transition herself, then set off toward the more public areas of the station.

"Lieutenant Benice, if you've been wanting to spend more time with me, I'd think tea would be a more fitting venue, don't you?" she asked. It might have been a playful or friendly statement if not for the complete lack of warmth in its delivery. As they passed into more open areas of the starbase, Seleya continued speaking for the obvious enjoyment of hearing her own voice.

"Have you spoken with any Starfleet personnel on this station? This is the primary operational hub for Federation operations in the Beta Quadrant. It would be generous to say we are near the Romulan border, as it's more accurate to say we are virtually on top of it. Having been in operation for nearly 100 years, there is a healthy culture of skepticism about all things Romulan thanks to the constant petty back-and-forth spats between the two entities. Not to mention the place is still crawling with strategic operations and intelligence officers who see a Tal Shiar operative behind anyone with a hint of a cranial ridge despite Romulan space and everything in it still being in absolute chaos. This is not a friendly place for a Romulan, dissident or not, and you can't imagine anyone would look too kindly on a private meeting being monitored by Starfleet security."

Seleya took a right turn and then a left turn in quick succession, finally emerging on to the bustling main promenade. She stopped suddenly, just short of entering into the flow of traffic, and turned to face Gyce.

"Having said that, I would be pleased to introduce you."

"Wonderful," Gyce commented, though she was partially distracted with trying to keep up. "So what time was your meet-up with your friend?"

"In just a few moments," Seleya said, reveling in Gyce's tone of voice. It had just the tiniest trace of distraction but carried with it a sense of satisfaction that far outweighed its size. She turned away from the Bajoran woman with a half-smile and gestured to the other side of the promenade, four or five shops down from where they were. "We're meeting in a little cafe there, supposedly in ten minutes but I know he's already there. He's always early. We're nothing if not a punctual people."

In fact, she knew he'd be there because he'd been waiting for her for the past half hour. Fifteen minutes more and the agreement had been for him to leave, assuming that something had gone wrong. And of course something had gone wrong, but at least she'd get the chance to speak with him privately about it. Hopefully.

"He sounds like quite the guy," Gyce answered with a hint of intrigue in her voice.

The man spotted them some distance off and scowled at Seleya, making his annoyance over the delay quite clear. Because of the pace she set, there was enough distance between her and Gyce that at first it wasn't clear they were together. Whenever it did become clear, the look on the man's face changed dramatically, passing through any number of different emotions: surprise, concern, worry, displeasure. It was all so plainly written on his face that Seleya nearly cringed; it was the sort of thing Gyce was absolutely certain to pick up on, and it would only serve to heighten her suspicions.

"Jolan tru," Seleya said when they arrived, leaning forward slightly to press each of her cheeks against his in turn. She took a step to the left and then turned around, standing at the man's side while facing Gyce. "I'd like you to meet Lieutenant Benice Gyce, a Bajoran colleague from the Galileo. Lieutenant, this is the friend I spoke to you about, an old acquaintance from Romulus."

"Greetings," Gyce smiled with a nod.

Truth be told, her leg was screaming. And in any normal case, she would ask her partner to tail a suspect but not here. Not when the XO thought her suspicions were built on racism. And so that meant she would have to seek out a doctor, at most, to give her something to sooth this level of pain.

For now, Gyce relished the moment of rest and put to memory the Romulan male's reaction upon spotting Gyce.

The man regarded her with a passive gaze, which could have been a friendly Romulan greeting for all the emotion they generally showed in public. Seleya touched his arm tellingly, and he seemed to fade into the background as she turned to Gyce. "I apologize for the pace, but I simply cannot abide being tardy, lieutenant. Is there anything else I can help you with, or shall we consider your curiosity satisfied for the moment?" Without waiting for an answer, Seleya immediately pressed on to a different question. "Can I take you to tea tomorrow morning before the ship departs? There's a small Bajoran cafe just down the promenade..."

"I'd love to," Gyce obliged with an easy smile. In all truth, she was annoyed that Seleya cut her off at the pass. Meeting this Romulan male could give Gyce a great opportunity at digging into Seleya's story.

Alas, it would tip her hand. But she could pull a CCTV feed from the station easily enough. Run it through facial recognition programs to ID Seleya's counterpart.

"I thank you for the offer," Gyce ended in parting.

The game of cat and mouse was far from over....

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Dr. Seleya Qellar
Biotechnologist
USS Galileo
[ PNPC - Mott ]

Lieutenant Benice Gyce
Security Investigations Officer
USS Galileo

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