Starfleet Intelligence: The Purge
Steve Hood
OOC: This occurs the night before shoreleave.
IC:
((Starfleet Intelligence HQ, Starbase 118 Administration))
::Tala Nevkir finished up the last of the reports today and breathed a sigh of relief. The most daunting position one could hold was as a junior administrator, but an important one. Today especially, thinking about home on Bajor and her people’s war-crime trials. Closing up her windows, she casually scraped up her bracelet. Everyone knew it got in the way when she needed to type, so over time, they got used to her taking her bracelet off and setting to the side of her workstation as she went through and made sure updated reports got to their intended departments. ::
:: Logging off, Tala put her bracelet back on, collected her belongings, and yawned heading for the door. She noted Lt. Justin Brandt, always the cheerful face betraying his boyish, freckled features and somehow always messy mop of bright red hair. oO Oh no… Oo She sighed, exasperated, but with a faint twinge of a smile. After the last four months, Brandt was a funny, but usual sight. One of the roving messengers between Departments. Tala would love to have that job.::
::Brandt steered his 5’9” Terran Irish body toward the turbolift. His hazel green eyes sparkled with his boundless enthusiasm everyone in Administration came to love and chuckle about.::
Bradt: Hey, Tala.
Talar: Justin…
Bradt: ::chuckling:: I know, I know. Still, any time you want to take me up on a night out on the Promenade--
Tala: ::laughing:: You never give up, do you? ::considering a moment:: Okay. Not tonight, but tomorrow after work?
::Justin clapped his hands together as his eyes sparkled.::
Brandt: Awesome. I swear, I’ll be the perfect gentleman.
::The turbolift doors opened to allow Tala to step through, a wicked smile playing over her tanned skin.::
Tala: I might not. ::winking:: Tomorrow night then.
::The turbolift doors closed and Tala rested herself against the wall. oO If the opportunity presents itself… Oo The poor man. She actually kind of liked him.::
:: The doors slid open again. Tala froze… ::
::...staring into a full detachment of Intel Security personnel with phasers aimed straight at her. A Lieutenant Commander, a face Tala didn’t recognize, strolled forward, grabbed her arm, and slid her bracelet off with a thin, cruel smile.::
Scythe: Lt. Commander Elizabeth Scythe. ::handing the bracelet over to one of the officers:: See that gets to Forensics.
::Her jaw fell as Tala’s eyes widened. How… how did they find out? No one could have been present when the messenger passed along the instructions to her. She stared so long she didn’t realize her body began shaking.::
Talar: H-how?
::Scythe made a face of disgust.::
Scythe: Get this piece of filth into lockdown. ::leaning close into Tala’s face:: You’re a disgrace to that uniform. Get her out of here!
((San Francisco, Earth))
:: The man only known as Borris slipped through the window left open as night streamed a small light. One of the last of the old guard, he meant to make this short and quick. The nondescript man of medium height and short brown hair could easily blend with any crowd. Without sound, he dropped to his feet and ghosted through the bedroom, out the door, and straight down the hall hearing only murmurs of light conversation.::
::They never met together. Only one at a time, usually to pass on unrecorded conversation. Tonight was a different matter. The job was big, and required a certain level of coordination. After almost twenty years as a Starfleet Operative, no one remained to remember Borris.::
::Coming into a plain sitting room, Borris nodded greetings to the small group of individuals. One, a high placed Administration within Federation Headquarters. Another, a well respected Customs inspector with a flawless record. A pair of fraternal twins, who happened to be experts with quantum bomb explosions.::
Borris: This is going to be quick. Any problems getting the parts through?
::The male twin shook his head while the Customs agent snorted.::
Customs Agent: Went like a breeze. Balls… talk about your high profile targets.
Borris: Sicarius’ instructions were clear. ::turning to the Administrator:: Once they assemble it, you’re certain you can get the package into Federation HQ?
::The Administrator nodded::
Administrator: I have the clearance.
::The bombing of Federation Headquarters would strike the right amount of pressure and convince these fools they were in no way, shape or form prepared.::
Borris: No mistakes. Make it flawless.
:: He turned to leave as a red blast hit the center of his chest. Stunned and falling, Borris’ eyes widened as a three detachments of Starfleet Intelligence officers swooped in. He hit the floor, unable to move, while watching silent as the cell fell to the show of force. Rage consumed his thoughts. oO There’s no way… how… Oo His mind reflected back to the messenger, the short conversation about the instructions he received from Sicarius. His rage burned brighter. Traitor! ::
((Starfleet Intelligence HQ, Col. Joseph Terrill’s Office))
:: The massive, Fleet-wide sting operation reports filtered in, sometimes one by one, sometimes en masse. All across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, aboard several of Starfleet’s stations and vessels, various member planets within the Fedeartion... The old man standing at the screen, ancient by anyone’s reckoning with iron gray hair cut close to the scalp and matching wide, gray eyes flickered triumph as Starfleet Intelligence swooped through, collecting the wide net of penetrators. His wrinkled skin formed a ghastly smile as the door opened to let in a Deltan woman. She glided across to join Joseph, studying the results of the raids.::
((OOC: for more information about Terrill and Arielle, reference: http://sims.starbase118.net/posts/1840621?sid=57ffd70512a6e&p=4))
Arielle: Unbelievable.
Terrill: ::snorting:: I wouldn’t have believed it myself. Shocked the hell out of me when I read the message.
Arielle: ::shaking her head, softly:: So the legends are true.
Terrill:: We’re only purging pieces on the board. The major players are still loose. ::boring into Arielle’s unflinching eyes:: Apparently, this had been in the works for months. This is only the first phase. Those we miss are likely to hold their ground and wait.
Arielle: And the second phase?
Terrill: ::with the nastiest grin that ever walked:: I just found out myself. We’ve been grooming a new breed of agents, ones we’ll put in every single department, who will be very disappointed in the status quo. ::eyes twinkling:: Ones specifically trained to be ideal recruitments for Sicarius.
::She weighed the strategy before her lips formed a somewhat puckered smile.::
Arielle: Salt for the goose. A program designed from the very top, so those still hiding within Intelligence will not have clearance.
Terrill: And force Sicarius to scramble, now their current eyes and ears have been compromised. ::with a nod:: The order from the top is a decision has been made; we’re going to pick and choose who we want Sicarius to plant within Intelligence. At least until we nail every single major player. We have a name for one of them now. Que.
Arielle: ::frowning:: But if we take out the top players, there’s nothing to stop Sicarius forming a new top staff at a later date.
Terrill:: ::chuckling:: Apparently, there is a plan in motion to place one of our Operatives on a new Sicarius top staff, but we’re not going to know who it is. ::sobering:: From the way I understand it, we’re not going to wipe out Sicarius. We’re simply going to get some of our own people into the organization, practical and level heads to eventually weed out the extremist element.
Arielle: ::after a moment:: That’s terrible.
Terrill: ::countering:: No, it’s smart. We’ll never get the entire organization. It’s much too big. Someone at the very top made a decision to burn as many plants as possible. How they did it, I don’t know, but apparently someone, or several someones, managed to penetrate the organization long enough to start sending messages, getting members on the lower rungs of the ladder to pass along instructions verbally to the people they had inside Intelligence, for the entire purpose of forcing Sicarius to recruit new playing pieces. Pieces who work for us, but will stay and work to help stabilize their organization.
Arielle: ::somewhat exasperated:: That is only going to create a stalemate.
Terrill: No… it’s the long run to checkmate. The truth is, for the first time, Sicarius is now officially cut off from Starfleet Intelligence, which means for the first time in who knows how long, Sicarius no longer has access. We know they’re going to slip in new sleeper agents, and we know what to look for. We’re going to be doing the same, but they won’t know what to look for.
::Saddened, the Deltan woman nodded.::
Arielle: ::reflective:: A silent war.
Col. Joseph Terrill
Starfleet Intelligence HQ
as simmed by
Commander David Cody
Mission Specialist
USS Athena, NCC-97780
P237106MB0
FNS Team | Training Team | Top Sims Judge
"'Star Trek' says that it has not all happened, it has not all been discovered, that tomorrow can be as challenging and adventurous as any time man has ever lived"
- Gene Roddenberry