[Earth] Section 31's Dirty Little Secret
Dori
Moira hadn’t seen anyone in months. For a few weeks, she had assumed that they were off on a long term mission, and would come back when they could. Sometimes radio silence had to be maintained. But time went on, and on. She didn’t know what to do; she ate, slept, and practiced, read, and made sure the house stayed tidy. She needed things to be in their proper places; that was her way. She was almost compulsive about the fact.
She wasn’t sure if she should call Rasa or not. She had been told at one point that if the team was threatened, calling out could compromise them. When she had asked who could threaten them, she had been told that it was simply enemies who disliked the kind of work they were training her to do. It had made sense, so she did not question it further. She did not want to get Rasa in trouble. She was so close to finishing her degree and getting a job in Starfleet - she did not want to mess that up for her.
Still, she was running low on that stuff that made the replicator work, and while there were ration bars in the basement, she didn’t like to think of surviving on them long term. While there were animals in the mountains, killing them was out of the question; she had no idea how to even begin to skin them or whatever it was you had to do to get the meat off them and prepare it for cooking. Gardening had not been one of her strong suits, although she had always admired the flowers that grew naturally around the house.
She decided she would wait until the replicator stopped working, and then leave. There was her small ship, after all. She had heard one of the others talk about going to San Francisco on occasion. Maybe she could find them there. In the meantime, she decided to settle down with her book. It had been a good day, and she wanted to relax before going to sleep.
Captain Tamaris Rogan was sat at her desk, idly leafing through some paperwork. She frowned, then she looked again and frowned, reading through the document again. Then, being very deliberate in her actions, she spoke to some disreputable people. When that yielded little, she sent her husband a message saying she was going to be late back and rose, going to a closet and putting on nondescript combat clothing.
Two hours later, she was in the arse end of nowhere, Rocky Mountains. It was scenic and picturesque, reception was spotty and, Tamaris reasoned, the perfect place for a serial killer - or a black site for Section 31.
“Well… this would be a stupid way to die Ree but you gotta do it,” Tamaris muttered to herself and approached the only house for miles around. She knocked on the front door
Moira looked up from the book, frowning. They didn’t usually knock. Palming a knife, she walked over and activated the door. The sight of a single woman took her by surprise. “Uh... yes?” she asked.
“... okay so you’re not expecting me and I wasn’t expecting you,” Tamaris blinked. “You wouldn’t happen to be asset #379 would you?”
Moira opened her mouth and then shut it again. “My name is Moira.” she said. “No one has ever called me asset 379. I don’t suppose you know anything about the people who own this place? I haven’t seen anyone for months.”
“Yeah….” Tamaris raked a hand through her hair. “This… this is complicated. Would you mind if I came in?” The warrior in her assessed the woman before her and came back with a ‘younger, faster you’ which made Tamaris feel all her way into her early 40s.
Moira eyed her, then nodded. “Sure, come on.” she said, backing up and turning so Tamaris could walk in.
Tamaris followed her. “I can authenticate myself if you want,” she said, waving at a nearby console. “But essentially - I’m in charge of getting rid of all the people who once were part of the organisation that made you and I.”
Moira was too well trained to let her emotions show. “There is no organization. There’s only a couple of people.” she said evenly. “There was Peter, and Susan, and Ralph. I suppose they replaced the two who raised me, but... no, there must be a different explanation. I’m part of a small scale operation.”
“Oh you sweet, sweet thing,” Tamaris sighed. She keyed in her code - it showed Moira how high her access went. “Want to try again?”
“No, really. They trained me. Give me the job, I do it, come back here. Wait for the next one.” she shrugged. “Sometimes I had to wait a few weeks. Sometimes a month or two. But it’s never been this long.”
“Oh good gods,” Tamaris murmured. “And your contact was..?”
“Alexander Coker. He just came in to give me jobs.” Moira replied.
“Ah. Yeah, he’s dead,” Tamaris said. “So… tell me about yourself. Your training.”
“Ah.” Moira replied. “I was brought here as a small child. I don’t know who my parents are, but I was raised by two people who were later replaced by my trainers. I am skilled in mixed martial arts, hand to hand combat, weapons combat, and the use of many poisons. I know how to fly most smaller ships, as well as basic engineering and basic medical skills.” she recited this in a monotone.
Tamaris sat very, very still. Then she stood up and punched the wall - hard. Bits of plaster cracked and she appeared not to notice the crunch in her hand.
“<Intense Betazoid Swearing> - motherfucking supposed to not be anymore,” she snarled, still turned away from Moira. It took a further moment for her to compose herself and turn back. “My apologies. - I guess you could say I was your predecessor - the first prototype. Fuck me… This… Fuck. I am so sorry that you’ve had to learn and go through all of this,” she finally said.
Moira took this in, her face impassive. “I see.” she said finally, slowly. “So you’re saying this was done before? To you? And that I’m a part of something bigger?”
“Correct. And yes… I am so, so very very sorry,” Tamaris said. “But I will help you. I promise. I will help you with every fibre of my being. No one deserves this.”
“So my trainers... are they dead too? And what about Rasa? She’s just a kid.” Moira asked.
Tamaris blinked.
“Rasa? Who the fuck is Rasa? - Can you get in contact with them? - And it’s safe to assume your trainers are dead or in prison… but give me their names in case any slipped through the net.”
“Rasa was a young woman who was brought here... oh, I lose track of time. It was decided she should go to the Academy. I believe she’s due to begin her cadet cruise either shortly, or has already begun it. I don’t know where she came from, but they didn’t train her like they did me. All they did was educate her.” Moira replied. She grabbed a PADD from a nearby bookcase and walked over to the console, transferring some information to it. “This is the information on my trainers. I take it what they did was illegal... does that mean I’m in trouble too? I killed a lot of people.”
“I… no. As long as you stop killing people now. - We’ll have to talk to JAG - that’s the legal people - but you will probably fall in the same category as me,” Tamaris sighed. “And hopefully I can get to Rasa before there is an issue…” The older woman felt responsible. In another life these would have been her protegees and she would have been the one training them for their life as a living weapon.
“Rasa never killed anyone. She’s studying to be a doctor.” Moira said, her brow wrinkling. “I don’t care what happens to me, as long as she’s ok. She was the closest thing I had to a sister.” she glanced around the room. “I don’t have much, but I’d like to take what’s mine, if you want to take me back to wherever you’re based.”
“Sure thing kid,” Tamaris sighed. “Want me to help you pack?”
“No, I haven’t got much.” Moira replied. “It’ll only take me a few minutes.” she turned and left the room, heading upstairs. Grabbing her bag, she shoved the few changes of clothes she had into it, leaving the weapons behind. She had a feeling she wasn’t going to need those where she was going. Fastening her bag and slinging over her shoulders, she left the room and headed back down the stairs. “I’m ready.” she said flatly. “I suppose it would be best to take your transportation. My ship probably isn’t on any registry.”
“Of course you have a ship,” Tamaris said, somewhat weakly. “Right… show me…”
Moira walked outside and around the side of the house. There was a path, leading into a small copse of trees; she led Tamaris through the trees. On the other side was a small, warp capable ship. It was large enough to hold maybe half a dozen people, with a small replicator, a medical kit, an engineering kit, and a few beds. Aside from the design, it could have been called a runabout. “This is it.” she said. “I really like this ship. I read a ship about dragons once, and I kind of fixated on them. So when they gave me a ship to use...um, I called her the Black Dragon. No one else cared.”
Tamaris had hung back slightly, her jaw slack. Then she stroked a hand reverently over the hull.
“They spoke about these,” she said. “I was never issued one - I may be dying of jealousy a little inside, this would… would have made life much easier.” She shook her head and came back to herself, clearing her throat. “Right um… We’ll pick that up later, she’s beautiful - and I love the name. I really do.”
Moira found herself smiling slightly. “Thank you. I... will miss her. We spent a lot of time together.” her smile fell. “Well, I suppose that’s that.”
“We’ll see what happens,” Tamaris said. “Right… I’ve marked her location so we know where she’s parked -“ she went to a control panel and accessed it. “We’ll look here… despite a stint in the big house, my access codes still work.” Her hands flew over the console. “I’ve locked her down. No one else can shift her and I do mean no one. - well, my husbands brother could eventually crack the code but he’s busy raising our daughters - it’s complicated,” she said, waving a dismissive hand. “Let’s go initiate you into mainstream society - and see what we come up with. I’ll not leave you out to dry - I know what they do to you. - I’ll look after you now I promise,” she said, holding out a hand to Moira.
Moira took her hand, the reluctance on her face obvious. “I guess I should thank you. I can’t survive on my own out here for much longer. But...” she paused, unsure of how to say it. “I’m scared.” she admitted finally.
“I know. I was too. - It’s time for you to come in from the cold,” Tamaris said with a warm smile, squeezing the offered hand. “You’re no longer alone.”
The younger woman searched Tamaris’s face for a long moment before nodding. “Let’s go.” she said.
End