S-PLOT - JL | Capt Vokar, Empress Xue'Daio Nox - "Half Past Five" Pt 2

Posted on Sun Jun 12th, 2016 @ 3:07am by Xue'Daio Nox & Captain Vokar

2,754 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Resurgere

"They have already tried..." Vokar replied as he plucked the flower from his chest and twisted it around in his fingers, watching it as it moved through the air, "The Vanguard were branded traitors, terrorists and every other name under the sun for the methods that we used to protect the Federation, that was until the Battle of Vulcan and their support of our cause, now we are hailed as heroes in public, but we are still called the other names behind closed doors," the Vulcan continued, "Danger and Treachery are where we work the best, we are danger, we thrive on treachery and we strike regardless of who or what the target may be."

Bemusement painted itself across the Empress's dainty face, lighting the depths of her rose hued eyes with a combination of mirth and mischief. Her gaze followed the flower as it flirted with the Vulcan's fibers, caressing them just as it did the air, light and gentle. "Is that not the very definition of terrorism?" She asked, moving to re-cross her ankles as she spoke. The movement incited a sigh from the skirt of her robes, a deep display of the unrest boiling within their wearer. Change was coming. Those three words were pricing to be a mantra, one she firmly believed in and could feel.

"One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter," Vokar chuckled in reply as he dropped the flower to his lap and bought his hands together to rub some life back into them, "As you say, there will always be those who attempt to dismantle everything we fight to build, they will never play by the rules that Starfleet adheres to, people like me will always be needed to do the dirty work."

"People like you... Like Commodore Ivanova? Does she dabble in your brand witchcraft?" Xue questioned, continuing to watch the aging Vulcan's hands as they released the blossom back to doing as it wished. There was power there, but there was also gentleness - hardly the hands of a cold blooded murderer. She knew better, but the questions needed to be asked and answered of progress was ever to be made.

"Commodore Ivanova... has limits," Vokar replied with a slight smile crossing his lips, "She is bound to Starfleet, the woman is smart and intuitive, she is driven and incredibly smart, but she is inexorably linked to my name through the Vindicator." the Vulcan was extremely fond of the ship that bore that name regardless of what class, "The USS Vindicator was my first post, my first taste of Starfleet, I grew up into the man I am serving on a ship bearing the name Vindicator." he added before coughing slightly, "I do not know yet if she is capable of crossing the same line that I crossed, however I believe that the monster bearing the name Tr'Bak is pushing her close,"

"He would be the ultimate catalyst to drive even the most astute of saints to tyranny." The Empress scoffed sharply, obviously ruffled by the mention of the Romulan's name being uttered in her presence. He'd hurt things, nearly toppled the Ascendancy thanks to a brutal combination of his manipulation and her mother's foolish arrogance. Maec was to pay the debt left in his wake, slowly cleaning up the wreckage, repairing the view the Stenellis people took when it came to Romulan activity. "There is a coming war, Vokar. I sensed it the moment I saw the war Tr'Bak lit up when he got the chance to be near the Vindicator and the Commodore. I saw it. As long as he lives we can never rest easily." She leveled, soothing her hands across her lap as she spoke, "Your Vanguard would do well to exterminate him and any of his sympathizers before you find yourselves watching him end your beloved Utopian virtues, wiping out the Federation as a whole. That is what a megalomaniac like him demands... Everything."

"Tr'Bak is a dog, rabid and deranged," Vokar stated as the smile faded from his face, the remaining lines turning dark again and catching shadows as the scars rippled and shifted, "Tr'Bak can have his war, Ivanova is much more dangerous than he knows, than he expects," the Vulcan added as he drew one of his padds out of a hidden pocket and tilted it towards the young woman, "No doubt your... sources have told you that she is royalty, have they also told you that her Father is a former Starfleet Admiral and that she has the protection of the Klingon Empire too, on the honour of the Chancellor himself?"

An eyebrow raised, slender and platinum, over one of her eyes as she regarded him and the PADD he offered before choosing to accept it into her delicate hands, "I'm sure the universe knows that she's a Queen and that her father was once Commander in Chief of Starfleet. I know that he's trumpeted as a Klingon more than as a human... by proxy I suppose that would mean that Ivanova is as well, but men like Tr'Bak don't care about the pedigree of their targets, Vokar, they bleed just the same as the countless men and women that will die as collateral damage." Xue countered as she thumbed through the PADD, pausing on the Intel report outlining the populace of Atlantis and their neighboring Civilians, "Now this... This is interesting. One must ask why she doesn't use her resources."

"Pedigree has little to do with it, it is simply about the availability of resources and support," the Vulcan replied as he leant back again, "Rochelle has significant support, perhaps she is not yet aware of the full extent of these resources? Given everything that has happened recently, I doubt she has had time to talk to her father or check on the Starfleet Intelligence file from the Klingon Empire, she may not know of the depth of support that she has." he added as he closed his eye again, "If she is considered a member of the House of Ch'Krang, then she has at a minimum, a hundred thousand men who will live and die at her command, that's not including the men outside of the immediate House troops."

"You're forgetting that she's a she. Or have the Klingons discontinued the practice of being sexist?" The question rose quickly as the Empress considered options and possibilities, "If they have and if they're as loyal her as they are her father... well then," Xue's lips pulled into a dark sort of smile, sardonic as much as it was pretty, as she handed back the PADD to its rightful owner, "Vrith Tr'Bak would be in for one hell of a ride. But, seeing that she doesn't even utilize the Atlanteans, i have reason to suspect that she won't utilize the Klingons either. That is why she must be convinced to do so and she must also be convinced that the Ascendancy aren't her enemies nor sympathetic to those that are. I need a mole, Vokar, we need a mole. Somewhere deeper in Starfleet, somewhere obscure but at the front of everything all at the same time. On the Enterprise, to be perfectly exact. We must know each intricate move before it's made because the tide is changing, and quickly." She knew what she was saying, the power she was placing in Vokar's careful hands. It was an allegiance, a trust, and all she could do was pray to the Gods that he wouldn't fall or double cross her in his endeavor to be rid of the same parasite that plauged her people.

"Correction, you need a mole," Vokar replied with an outright laugh as he opened his eye again and cast it back over her, "I already have a finger in that particular pie, I see your meaning though. It does help to have that knowledge, the Vanguard have always maintained a very credible line of communication between themselves and events that are transpiring." It amused him to see her approaching him with something like this. He was an unknown variable and she'd taken him on his word that he was what he said he was, if he had been anyone else then perhaps this conversation would have been a bad idea for her. Luckily for her, the Vulcan was honest, for the most part. He had no reason to deceive her and the Ascendancy would serve the Federation better as impartial or allies, "As for Commodore Ivanova, she can be convinced, I am sure."

The smile spread, chasing the lines of her face until it reached the pinnacle of her eyes, setting them firmly ablaze. "And you will find me that mole, Vokar. You know what's at stake here... At least... You know what I want to you to know." The carrot dangled tempting and tantalizing. Xue knew that for every intimate detail the Vulcan knew about the Federation and those that played within it there were four or five hundred that he hadn't a single iota of a grasp on when it came to the reach of the Ascendancy or the powers that played about her electrifying fingertips. Xue feared nothing, not even Vrith Tr'Bak, but there was reason for it. Good reason. Reason the Federation knew nothing of, remaining ignorant for their own benefit until such a time she chose to employ those variables for better... Or for worse. Having Vokar held prone, albeit as a guest, had given her a chance to observe and make decisions - to allow herself to be wooed instead of choosing to pull the plug and permanently extinguish that which was already written off for dead. "The caveat is that they must be loyal to your call just as I know, on your honor for what its worth, that our loyalty is mutual. I want to be sure that the information I receive isn't tainted. If war is coming, I need to be ready and your precious Commodore will need to be convinced... Quickly. Or else she'll be swallowed whole by it quicker than you or I could ever hope to rally to her aid. If she crumbles she'll take the whole house of cards with her. Mark my words." She chortled devilishly, though the truth rang clarion all the same, "Just hope she doesn't fall with the weight of so many worlds on her shoulders."

"One of the benefits of not being bound by Starfleet regulations is that my sources know that I will not tolerate bad information or betrayal," Vokar replied with a slight laugh as he pushed himself to his feet to stretch, "Rochelle will come around. In time she will know what has to be done, she won't allow that monster to terrorise her and her family for much longer."

Xue mulled over the Vulcan's words, nodding slowly as she did. "A matter of time can be entirely way too long, Vokar. It's time to force her hand a little and force her hand I can and will." She replied, finding her feet with practiced ease, "You're right when you say that she won't tolerate her family being terrorized. Even the smallest straw will break the camel's back at this point. Come with me. I have intelligence reports you're going to want to read. You've been out of the loop long enough, old timer." The Empress smiled in good humor, extending her hand to help him up as a sign of good faith and friendship, mutual understanding.

Vokar wasn't above accepting the hand in aid to rise, his pride had long ago learnt to shift and change with the tides of life, "You'd be surprised at how much I know, in the spirit of our mutual friendship, your security is simply not prepared from an intrusion from foreign devices," he replied as he produced a padd again from a seemingly invisible pocket, "I've not dug into anything you would consider sensitive to your defenses but I would advise you to beef up the encryption protocols with some of the technology you have recovered from the various wrecks of the Vindicator."

"Wiley old dog, aren't you?" She chuckled with a shake off her head, gingerly accepting the PADD from his rough hands, "My mother left a lot holes where there shouldn't have been holes. She relied on the fear she instilled in our allies and enemies alike. The Cardassians have been quite beneficial in supplying additional technology, but she'd never done much to put it to use. I aim to change that." Her eyes glittered as she read over his reports, looping her arm through one of his as they slowly strolled back towards the great hall, "What we were able to recover the Vindicator was... Lacking. Starfleet was quick to come and collect the vast majority of anything useful. I suppose they fear us getting our hands on their technology, but forget they'd turned me loose on the Enterprise." The albino snickered with a shake of her silver head, "Things are changing Vokar. You wouldn't be so inclined to gain our favor if you didn't already know our capabilities. You can stop playing coy at my expense any time now. You wouldn't be alive if I didn't like you or respect you. You have my trust, use it well."

"Cardassian technology is... simplistic, compared to other powers, Vokar replied with a barely stifled laugh, "Ever since they were forcibly disarmed, they have been lacking in significan't security advances, it's only in the last few years that they have begun to re arm, with the help of the Tholians and the Romulans." He added as he waved a hand through the air to signify the Triad. "While I haven't dug into your defenses, I have explored significantly while on bed rest, you are right to assume that I know more than I let on,"

"And who do you think the Tholians work for? The Breen? Come now..." With a tilt of her head, Xue chided him with well practiced ease, "You know what we show. You know the weaknesses left by a mad woman under the direction of a jackal. What you don't know is that just around the proverbial corner lies a gateway to things you, nor anyone else outside of a select few, have ever seen. I'm sure you suspected that we have to have some sort of ace up our sleeves aside from pretty women." She added ever so flippantly, as of none of it really mattered in the greater scheme of things... and perhaps it didn't in the long run. Xue had learned that nothing was ever as it seemed and people were rarely who they made themselves out to be. It was now up to her to gather the reins and take up the top tier and make things happen. Vokar was but a catalyst, as was Tr'Bak and even Maec, but each had proven a vital point all of their own. Now was the time to act on it and act the young Empress most certainly was.

"The Tholians are working for themselves, they always have been," the Vulcan replied with a slight laugh as he ran through the various factions in his head, "At the time, the Tholians had the most power out of the Triad, the Romulans were distracted by their own Civil War and the Cardassians had nothing in the way of ships or a military, they had the manpower that was required for a ground assault of any kind." he added with confidence, "I was... quite active during that particular war, the siege of Sol was something that no-one was prepared for and allowed certain groups to put things into motion that changed the landscape of the Federation's political structure overnight."

Xue couldn't help but shake her head, "Come. Out of the shadows with you, Vokar." a tiny white hand patted the sultry olive green of his and she leaned into him as they walked. She'd made decisions, those that would alter the course of her peoples' collective histories and it was high time that the scarred old Vulcan was made aware of the exact scope of the waters he'd stuck his toe into. Dabbling wouldn't solve anything. The next few days would be ridiculously telling of the future.

(To Be Continued...)

Empress Xue'Daio Nox
Empress of the Stenellian Ascendancy
Queen of Aleine
Queen of Apsha

&

Vokar
Vanguard Commander
VCD Pendragon
NPC apb Mike

 

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