[BR] LtCmdr Sky Blake, "Nature vs the machine." (Opening)

[Deliera Jay]

((Briefing Room))

Rahman: Everyone, this is Agent Evan Delano of Federation Security. For the past year, Agent Delano has been on special assignment in the Shoals, embedded with the Reya-Laialara. As the preliminary investigation of the attack on the governor's residence by the Colonial Marshals points towards involvement of the Reya-Laialara or fringe elements of that group, Agent Delano will be joining us as an advisor.

::Sky raised an eyebrow, arms crossed as she settled back in her chair. This was the guy they'd risked the captain's life - and had lost one of their own - to recruit.::

Delano: I’ve worked with some of you in the past, and I’m glad to see you again. For those who haven’t met me, just know that I’m ready to do whatever I can to help you all get to the bottom of what’s been happening here.

::She didn't want them to be, but her thoughts had all been on the negative side of the scale. She knew how they'd hope he could assist, but not how. As much as she hated to admit it, the case of her deceased captain took priority. She didn't intend on allowing him to lead them on a wild goose chase to find Carrero's killers.::

Blueheart: Officially, welcome aboard, Mr Delano.

Moonsong: Welcome back, Evan...

Rahman: ::looking to Delano:: Perhaps you could give us a brief overview of the Reya-Laialara?

Delano: I’ll keep it as brief as I can. For those of you who don’t know, the Reya-Laialara is a spiritual movement founded by a group of Vulcan philosophers a little more than a century ago. Broadly, they reject the standard Vulcan notion that emotions must be controlled and subdued at all times, and instead promote the idea of a critical balance between emotion and logic, allowing each to shape the other.

::Much like the current carers of her children, though seemingly more isolated and cult-like than your average everyday citizen going about their lives.

::Vulcans and Terrans grouped together - they had independence, yes, but they preferred to be with a group structure, to provide order to an unspoken chaos. Pack animals. Brekkians derived from something far different. Congregating together felt unnatural, so when they'd attempted to bring in the Ornaran's society and implement it for their own, it hadn't been quite as successful. People clashed. They were still clashing. And it had been hard to let go of her own way of life and adopt a more sociable, team-player aspect that Starfleet often requires of its officers. Or, at least, she imagined that she had at least *tried* to do that the first time.

::Waking up the second time, guarding herself from the dangers of other people, still recovering from the shock of everything. That was the true definition of 'hard'. So when she came across a group mentality now, people who clot together and stand up for one belief, it felt to her like they acted as a single entity. So while she didn't want to believe that the Reya-Laialara had been involved, swallowing the pill the Marshals wanted to feed to her wasn't particularly difficult.::

Blueheart: ::sighing:: If only things had remained that simple.

Jolara: ::calmly:: Such things rarely are simple.

Moonsong: Still… it is a very balanced theory.

Mei’konda: No raace has ever prospered while staagnating.  Chaange can be good, at least for some Vulcans.

::"Change can be good."

::Every Brekkian in existence would state to the contrary. Every Ornaran would cheer the words.::

oO Not everything is about Brekka. Oo

Delano: Things are a little more complicated now. Besides the core Reya-Laialara members, the settlement, Seheik, has grown to include a large number of residents who are there for other reasons. Many of them are Romulan refugees who support reunification - a position that is not popular among most Vulcans or Romulans. Some of them believe in the Reya-Laialara philosophy. Others live in the Shadows simply because they have nowhere else to go. Add to this that some of the descendants of the group’s founders resent being isolated from the rest of the galaxy, and you have a somewhat volatile situation. And, I’m afraid that’s what’s led us to this current situation.

Rahman: In your view, would a member of the Reya-Laialara be capable of such an act as attacking the governor of Shadow's Edge and killing a Starfleet captain?

::Sky's glance towards Delano had been unintentionally cold at the words.::

Delano: No.

::She sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing the bridge of her nose. Before she could make any point to his providing the answer she'd expected him to give, he continued on a different, more surprising track.::

Delano: And yes. The Reya-Laialara are opposed to violence, and are near pacifists. Weapons on the settlement are extremely rare, as they rely almost entirely on secrecy as their means of defense. But, as I said, there are a growing number of people within the Reya-Laialara settlement who are discontent with their situation. And then there’s Lenik.

Blueheart: ::leaning forward in his seat:: I for one would like to hear more about this Lenik character.

Jolara: Agreed.

Delano: Lenik is not technically a member of the Reya-Laialara - if only because the Elders banished him from the settlement. But it seems likely that he’s driven by a twisted version of those beliefs. He has a history of cruelty for the sake of cruelty. Despite this, he’s well spoken, and has something of a following among some disaffected people on Seheik.

oO Why can't people ever just leave and start their own thing when they're unhappy? Beginning again is not that hard. Oo

::It was the attachment that made pulling away more difficult. Attachment to people, place, system, and order.::

Delano: Lenik may not have been directly involved in what happened to Captain Carrero. But after what happened down on the surface, I find it unlikely that his presence here is coincidence.

Jolara: ::nodding:: As of yet, we do not have any evidence to connect him to it… directly or indirectly. But I would rather not discount him as a suspect. ::looking at Rahman:: As for his ship, I have identified it as the Miran's Tifar was originally known as the Cadrun, a Cardassian Union Vasad class frigate still active in 2377. It disappeared under mysterious circumstances possibly hijacked by Lenik, though that is speculation. I have reached out to the Federal Marshals to see if they can help with giving us some idea of where it has been and where it may go. But so far I have not gotten any solid leads.

::Most of the crew would have been kids when that ship disappeared. It could indicate either Lenik's age, or it's passing between hands.::

Blueheart: Why do you suppose Lenik is on Shadow’s Edge? ::He posed the question to everyone in the room.:: What are his motives?

oO Aside from being a murderbot? Oo

Moonsong: Perhaps we need to look at what he might hope to gain from what happened. There are things about this that make little sense.

Mei’konda: Well.  There is little informaation here about the Cadrun, specifically, but Vasad class frigates are in the databaase.  Small.  Maneuverable, liike us.  Heavily armed with phasers and photon torpedoes, but… mmh, this is interesting.  Apparently, they were used as support shiips duriing the Dominion War, before the Cardassians joined the alliance against the Dominion.  Very powerful sensors.  Some were equipped with sensor scramblers, which usually made Federation ships haave to switch to manual targeting.  Could be effective, in the Shoals, if Lenik’s ship is equipped with these.

Blake: Effective, but unnecessary whether he has them or not. The advantage for us is that if he knows his way around the area, he'll know there are places where everyone is blind regardless of sensor scramblers. And so do we. 

Anyone: Response (if any)?

Tbc . . .

LtCmdr Sky Blake
Executive Officer
USS Veritas

C238803SB0

I am not a sheep, ser.