Ens Chevalier - True, nothing but the truth, so help me Father
CPT Arianus
(OOC: Sim is going deep into the impact of interim trauma description and its sources, so readers' discretion is advised)
(( First Officer's office, USS Artemis-A, deck 2 ))
Ensign Chevalier stood nervously before the First Officer's office, his mind racing with anxious thoughts. His chest felt constricted, as if a weight was pressing down on him, and he was acutely aware of the sensation of a thousand tiny needles pricking at his side. Despite his mounting fear, Jaseb willed himself to take deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart and steady his nerves. He flexed his right hand, clenching and unclenching his fingers in an effort to ease the tension. Finally, with a deep breath, he reached out and pressed the bell, his hand shaking slightly with the effort.
Bell beeped in confirmation, and Chevalier entered. As soon as the door closed behind him, he straightened his posture to reflect professionalism. He was wearing a mask of coldness, a mask of emotionlessness, that he needed to be.
Chevalier: Ensign Chevalier, reporting as per your orders.
Commander rose from his seat to greet the ensign and gave a sharp nod as Jaseb reported.
Dakora: At ease Jaseb. ::He gestured to the chair:: Have a seat.
Jaseb nodded in response and relaxed his stance. The ensign pushed his chair back slightly, sat down, and watched the commander walk to the replicator.
Dakora: Before we get started, can I get you anything to drink? ::He placed a hand to his chest.:: I'm feeling a raktajino myself.
oO Warp coil lubricant? Oo
Chevalier was unsure why such an absurd thought had popped into his head in response to the commander's question. He found it amusing, almost comical, in its utter absurdity. Despite this, his face didn’t flinch when his eyes moved from Dakora to the replicator.
Chevalier: A coffee, if I may - three parts Sidamo, two parts milk, and no sugar. 300 milliliter.
Commander swiftly entered the Ensign's order into the replicator with practiced ease. Once the beverages were prepared, he turned and headed back to the desk, carefully balancing two steaming cups in his hands. Chevalier thought about standing up to help Commander but then decided to stay seated, knowing that Commander would ask for help if needed. And he did not. Upon reaching the desk, Dakora placed the cups onto small, elegant coasters, and finally, he settled comfortably in his chair.
Dakora: Right. So, let's get started then. ::He picked up the PADD and skimmed through the contents for a moment.:: The purpose of these debriefs are to provide additional data points on what happened on a given mission from all available perspectives. With that in mind, let's take it from the top. Describe the events, as you remember them, immediately after being temporally-displaced by the being known as CloQ?
Chevalier: We were at the ceremony at some establishment in Betazed. Was the Fifth Chalice the name of that business? ::gaze on Dakora, searching for confirmation:: Yes, the Fifth Chalice. The ceremony ended, and all the promotions and a medal were awarded. We were standing next to the table. You, me…
oO Z’Vahme Oo
Chevalier: …we were talking. I do not clearly remember the topic of our discussion. And then, without any warning, any sign…we did not. It did not feel like we were transported; it was…somehow different. White light is in one second, and an unknown street is in another.
Jaseb closed his eyes and delved deep into his thoughts, sifting through the chaos of memories and random flashes in search of something important.
Chevalier: The smell was similar to the Betazed we were celebrating. Kimden rolls… Espra cheese… but something was different, nuance in that smell. ::open his eyes:: As we later learned, the other thing I smelled was pollution from the Dominion factories. Toxic waste they released into the planet’s atmosphere.
The ensign remained silent for a moment.
Chevalier: You briefed us on CloQ and told us you recognized the city. It was your home city. And then we were interrupted by Jem’Hadar patrol, quite a sign we were not in our time, so we ran and…
His memory betrayed him as a flash of Jem'Hadar flashed through the ensign's head. He drilled himself, who was telling the story, caught that flash at the edge of the eye. The analytic persona hidden in Jaseb’s mental compartmentalization wanted to know more — screamed for more, hungry to know.
Chevalier: That Jem’Hadar was weird, different. Smaller than the ones they showed us at the Academy and had smoother skin. He definitely wasn’t the batch from the Gamma Quadrant. The rifle was Dominion standard, but the armor was slightly more advanced. I guess it was probably a better composite, as the coloring was darker. His reflexes were slower than I expected. He looked shocked to see us there but was looking for someone… ::jerked head suddenly:: Where we ended… Yea, we ran through the streets, there was Savel with us, and he led us to some building through the side entrance. There, we found we were in 2376; it was a community center of some kind. We Found we were in an alternative reality and met Leera, a member of a local resistance cell.
oO Your mother, Commander Oo
Jaseb looked directly at Dakora. The ensign didn’t say it out loud, but he knew it. It wasn’t his place to record it in the official paper.
Chevalier: We were unable to extract any useful information from her at the time as Jem'Hadar stormed the compound.
The commander nodded reassuringly as Jaseb spoke, trying to maintain a casual tone to the briefing. He let the ensign speak in his words, his memories. But with his last sentence, Chevalier fell silent. He crumpled the half-cooled coffee mug in his hand and drank it after a while instead of continuing.
Dakora: And after we encountered Leera and you learned she was my Mother, you managed to turn those cleaning supplies into a weapon. ::Talos grinned.:: –Nice work, that, by the way– Then we reached the Nerve Center.
The commander paused.
(( Begin Flashback ))
(( Ruins of Janaran Community Center, Medara - Betazed, circa 2376 ))
Jaseb heard the Jem’Hadar voices. His heart thumped loudly in his chest as the voices of the Jem'Hadar grew louder and closer. He heard a kick when one fell for his trap, the hissing as chemicals compounded. There was a shock in their voices when they realized what was happening. They began shouting commands at one another. But soon, the tone of their voices changed. Changed into an inhuman, agonized scream, slowly silenced by a cough, followed by the sound of bodies hitting the ground. One was still alive when he got closer to the entrance to the shaft, his slow, irregular steps echoing in the deafening silence. Maybe he tried to find clean air, a way out. Perhaps he sought revenge for his suffering through his final act of defiance. It was possible that he was already blind as he stepped into the shaft’s darkness. Jaseb heard the whistle of a body falling. Splash, as dying Jem’Hadar changed into a broken ragdoll on cold concrete. After that, everything became quiet…
((End of flashback))
(( First Officer's office, USS Artemis-A, deck 2, 2401 ))
Dakora: In your words, how did the Artemis team end up joining The BZR?
Jaseb nodded at the commander before taking a deep breath and sipping his coffee from the mug before speaking again.
Chevalier: We meet with your mother, Leera. She had helped us escape through the sewage system, and during our escape - looking into our options and considering our limited resources and ignorance of the reality of the times in which we found ourselves, we agreed to help her. And she took our offer and took us there - into her resistance cell in BZR. We had hoped to establish a connection with Starfleet, but they informed us that due to the state of the Dominion War, this was impossible. We had no chance to detect the fact there is Artemis in that Betazed orbit. Our attempts to contact the ship went unanswered. And later, once we discovered the planet was occupied, we limited our attempts to avoid interception by the Dominion.
Chevalier appeared to be losing focus and becoming increasingly distracted as he spoke. Although he had clearly rehearsed what he wanted to say and how to say it, his statement began to include more irrelevant details, indicating that he was becoming less attentive to his words and delivery.
Nevertheless, it was uncertain which would crumble first: the ensign's story or the ensign himself…
Dakora: Response
TAG/TBC