Lieutenant JG Amelia Semara - Spy Games

[Max]

((Deck 1, Captain’s Ready Room, USS Khitomer))

Of everything discussed so far - her old professor and the stoic woman's involvement in liberating Betazed - nothing had been genuinely uncomfortable until this moment.  Asking Shayne to allow one of the things he feared most to transpire was not something she was going to do - she valued him and what little progress had been made in their relationship far too much to propose such a recklessly, emotionally fraught course.  And yet...

She looked at him again, judging, questioning...  Her body softened, as she accepted him for who and what he was.  It wasn't for her to decide.  He was captain of his vessel, and more importantly, captain of his life.

Semara: I've been enjoyin' our chat, Cap'n.  :: Her lips parted as she slowly chose her words. :: I hope this ain't out a' place to say...  It's just pleasant feelin' you so... normal?  :: A laugh. :: Normal as I s'pect any Cap'n can be.  I'd deeply regret ever puttin' you in a situation you ain't comfortable with.  I can review personnel who've worked with Sencha, and recommend someone appropriate.

Why did he frown?  Why did the muscles in his jaw flare when he licked his teeth?  Perhaps it had been out of place to mention anything about the way he felt to her empathic senses after all, and yet...  She kept thinking "and yet..." to every little observation she made of the man.  It seemed that whatever he felt, he was always the one making his choices - not his feelings.  Impressive.

Shayne: Out of everyone you could summon, would any come with a personal recommendation from my senior officer? Could any be compelled, by duty or your presence, to adhere to strict confidentiality? For all we know, whoever else we pull might have had a part to play in-

She could feel the barbed wire his thought ran up against, the barrier that caused him to literally clamp down on his own tongue with his teeth.  There was more to this.  Much more.  Something that made it feel like even the Captain's ears were pricking up and his nose was twitching, his whole body hunting for danger everywhere.

Semara: Far as I know, the people who know the most about Sencha are on this ship, or in T'Dara's group.  I can't speak to her team, which leaves this crew...

She considered it for a long moment.  Richard couldn't be trusted to not make a home brew emitter and he was an ensign besides, so that ruled him out.  Ras, possibly, but he was also a peer.  It really came down to two people: Hobart or Shayne.  And something told her that if she had been uncomfortable going to Hobart with this request she was making, then he wasn't the best candidate for a meet-and-greet.

Semara: No.  No one else comes to mind.

Amelia's fingers gripped the ceramic of her tea a little tighter, watching him take control of his breath and his blinking - physical signs of keeping a level head she knew well.  She had similar tools for keeping a clear head when the voices around her or inside her started to get uncomfortable.

Shayne: If she wants a telepathic scan from me, she’ll have it. She can go as deep as she needs to. But you will warn her that what she finds in here ::he pointed to his cranium:: will not be easy to look at.

The lines around Amelia's eyes creased just a little, then she settled on a warm smile.  He was truly something, facing his fears this way.

Semara: If you're certain.  :: Beat. :: I ain't sure what you think is so troublin', but I'm happy to do whatever it takes to help you feel more comfortable.

His fingers enmeshed as he returned to his seat.  Suddenly, the air was empathically acrid...  Charged...  Something was coming.

Shayne: …which brings us to our next topic. There’s no easy way to broach this topic, so I will make it short and sweet. Our most recent mission was sabotaged, in at least two ways. The relevant details are thus; someone, probably an inside actor, modified the mission orders with no obvious evidence. The tests you underwent should never have been done in such a dangerous region of space. You were all in far greater danger than was intended.

Amelia stared at her captain hard as he delivered the information, one blow at a time.  It was her turn to take a long, slow breath in, and let it slither out her lips.

The scariest part?  It all made sense.  They had been rushed from above - if they'd been allowed too long with the experimental design, if she'd known everything she knew now, she might have suspected.  Any number of the crew might have suspected...  Goddesses - even Richard was questioning the weaponization of this technology.

The depth of subterfuge started to unroll in her mind like a carpet.  Someone sent them to the nebula on purpose.  Why there?  It was obvious: they had already done the math.  They already knew something would happen when Sencha was deployed in that environment.  Maybe they even knew exactly the kind of anomaly they hoped to see.

Someone was months, if not years ahead of her with their research on Sencha waves.  And they wanted to harvest every last drop of horrific potential from the technology.

Semara: The four preserve us...

Shayne: Following this discovery, it has been suggested that a greater intelligence presence be installed aboard the Khitomer.

A chill ran through Amelia's spine as danger glimmered in Shayne's eyes.  She clung to that smile he gave.

Shayne: How would you feel about a change in collar?

At this point, a human probably would have uttered the words, "You can't be serious."  She was not, however, human, and could tell he was completely serious.  One question burned in her like an asteroid streaking through the atmosphere.

Semara: Why me?  Why not Lieutenant Zerva?  Or request a new officer?

There were plenty of possible answers, some that terrified her.  It couldn't be because she was a walking lie detector.  She knew Shayne well enough to know that wasn't the answer, but she still needed to hear it.

Shayne: Response

Amelia stood from her chair as he spoke, and started pacing the carpet for need of somewhere to put the energy that was bubbling up in her.  It made sense.  Somehow, she knew it would.  Shayne didn't propose ideas he hadn't given serious thought.

She had already gotten halfway there that something was wrong with this test of theirs, and that was without any of the resources that might have been made available to a security or intelligence officer.  Add to that: this was a problem that had to be solved almost scientifically - sifting through the data, looking for outliers that couldn't be explained...

She stopped pacing a moment, and leaned one-handed onto the back of the chair.

Semara: I joined Starfleet because I want to explore, cap'n.  Trite, perhaps, but true.  :: beat ::  I love wearing blue, and I don't like the idea of leavin' the department, but... :: Squeezing the chair-back, muttering something under breath, then looking Shayne in the eye ::  How can any scientist, in good conscience, turn away from what has the makin's of one of history's great perversions of science?

Shayne: Response

Semara: :: Shaking her head :: I still don't have the trainin'.  I mean, maybe we could spin some a' my anthropology or diplomacy or analytics academy classes, but it's a stretch.  :: Beat :: Even if I believed I was suitable...

Amelia caught herself at a terrible thought.  She sat back down in the chair carefully, as if the walls themselves had ears. She leaned her forearms onto Shayne's desk and picked up the tea mug again, her cold fingers stealing what little warmth was left from the hot liquid that had been sitting there.

Semara: It was specifically our orders that were changed?  Then whoever did this knows us.  Or at least our profiles.  If I'm walkin' around with a black collar all a' the sudden, there's only one thing I could possibly be lookin' into.  If it were me, I'd cut my losses and set up shop elsewhere if I saw that happen.  No, we can't budge, or they - whoever they are - run.  :: Beat, then a sigh. :: And I'm just furtherin' why you want me for this, ain't I?  :: A tight-throated chuckle. ::

Shayne: Response

Semara: A suggestion, sir.  Officially, I stay in blue.  Unofficially, between you, me, and I assume Commander Hobart, my research projects take on a more... classified bent.  At least unless and until we figure out a better story for a departmental transfer.  :: Beat :: In fact, I suggest that, outside of this room, you've strenuously objected to meetin' my old professor, if you catch my drift.  In light a' that, I'll need complete access to all files and personnel that have ever come within a thousand kilometers of any Sencha research to find an appropriate individual for her to meet with instead.  Quietly.  :: A thoughtful pause. ::  And then, any trainin' I take on just happens to be professional development.  So many young officers have dreams of a command track, and I ain't quite that young any more.  Science is my true love, but who's gonna correct me if the record shows a thirties-something life crisis gave rise to an ambition for more?  :: A chuckle :: 'Sides you. :: Beat :: Then, when we have that better story, I'll make sense in what's ostensibly a command postin'.

It was an insane play.  One she'd never have dreamed of even a month ago.  The thought of leaving her science posting...  Quite simply, it hurt.  She didn't want a black collar.  She didn't even really want a red collar.  But she knew what the cost of one bad experiment with Sencha technology had done.  She was quickly learning what the next experiment might cost, and then the one after it...  And what would happen when it wasn't just an experiment?  How could she ever forgive herself if she didn't do everything she could to stop that from happening?  If she let more suffer?  It would hurt even more.  So, so much more.

Shayne: Response

Tag / TBC...

---------- ○● ----------

Lieutenant Junior Grade Amelia Magnolia Semara

Science Officer

USS Khitomer - NCC-62400

A239710MA0