SD901215.14 JL A/Capt Dharmajiva (CO) and Chef Kaarg
David Stewart
ended it, but it was already six pages long.
~.\~ Start Log ~.\~
Kaarg walked through the promenade towards what was fast becoming his
favourite haunt. Not only because he enjoyed tormenting the cook in said
establishment, but also because it was the meeting point for various people
he needed to keep in contact with. As he approached he saw Vin sat outside.
He walked towards the table to enter the bar and as he drew level with the
1/2 Cardassian sat there, he turned to look at the table's occupant.
"Captain, I didn't know you enjoyed Klingon food and Drink...?" He wondered
whether Vin was here for a reason. As Vin looked up at the massive Klingon,
Kaarg noted the look on the man's face and realised this was likely to be
the discussion he had been waiting for since the away mission.
Vin answered politely and calmly. "Actually, I don't enjoy Klingon food and
drink." Vin pointed to the cafe that he was on the edge of. The chairs and
tables seemed to intermix with the Klingon restaurant's allocation of
seating, yet a small mark on the back of each chair showed to which
patronage the seat belonged to. Vin did expect to be noticed by Kaarg, and
the placement of he chose was essential to that.
He wanted Kaarg to believe that he was frequenting the Klingon Restaurant.
He wanted Kaarg to be ill at ease due to finding something supposedly new
about the man he saw before him. Vin though showed his control of the
situation by placating the Klingon's minor discomfort. "Besides," Vin
smiled "If I were to try Klingon food, I think that I would only have it
prepared by a Klingon I know and... trust."
The last word was spoken to Kaarg intending two meanings. One that Vin would
only choose to try Klingon food if it was prepared by Kaarg, however at the
same time the second meaning came into play, the word 'trust' brought up as
a query. Could Vin trust the Klingon anymore?
Yes the subtleties were coming out again in Vin. He was wrestling inside
himself whether he should be forthright and honest, but the subterfuge
seemed somewhat part of his nature. It wasn't meant to be offensive, quite
the contrary. It was more directed so that those who could not notice the
subtleties would not be offended. In the back of his mind Vin pondered the
idea when he was 'released' from his unnatural species condition into the
half Cardassian that he was meant to be whether the subterfuge in his manner
increased. 'Inconclusive' came the self judgemental thought.
Kaarg looked at Vin, crossing his arms, a comfortable stance for the
warrior. Some would see it as a defensive stance, unless of course you knew
Klingons. To them, the best defence was to be the first one to strike.
"Thanks for the compliment about the cooking, though I'm trying to figure
out the other meaning in that sentence. I'm assuming you want to discuss
something?" Kaarg sat in a chair opposite Vin. Kaarg wasn't one for
subtleties. If something needed saying, he was one to just say it. He had
been expecting a conversation with Vin at some point. He did, however, admit
that this wasn't quite the approach he had expected.
Vin watched the man mountain take a seat. He noticed out of the corner of
his eye that a number of other Klingons noticed that Kaarg had taken
residence just outside the Klingon Restaurant's bounds, and especially that
Kaarg had taken a seat opposite one for all intensive purposes looked like a
Cardassian.
Two Klingon 'officers' hands immediately, yet barely perceptibly went to
their knives (though they warriors would be probably be insulted if Vin
called the Daqtagh a knife.). And the other Klingon that noticed was the
Chef of the establishment. The heightened nerves went into overdrive on this
blustering 'show' pony of a Klingon, the Iron Chef was in town.
Neither Vin's apparel nor demeanour gave rise to the thought that he was a
Starfleet Officer. Something Vin had trained himself in to inconspicuously
mingle into crowds despite his great height. He waited, mutely whilst
watching his surrounds without giving it away. The only person that could
possibly conceive that Vin had a greater awareness of his surroundings was
the Klingon that was in front of him. However, Vin had felt blindsided by
the so called apparent Chef of the Scylax. Something he was not too pleased
about.
Still, Vin cast aside his only feelings of doubt and inequity to deal with
Kaarg. He knew that the subtle way was not an approach to a Klingon. That
they may get insulted and they may possibly affect bodily harm because of
the insult. Instead Vin decided to be blunt about it. Finally, after the
surrounds got somewhat back to 'normal' Vin continued. "What happened? How
did the Klingons know to meet us, and what have you got to do with all
this?" Vin questioned, barely above a whisper and with a hint of threat in
his voice, he believed that a true Klingon would not expect any less.
Kaarg's grin was wide. "Took you long enough to get to the point, Captain,"
Kaarg assumed an 'at ease' posture to let the others around him know that he
considered himself in absolutely no danger whatsoever. "Do you really want
me to answer those questions? I could tell you, but then I would have to
kill you."
The threat in that sentence was completely disarmed by his manner. It was a
line he had heard in many Human entertainment shows that related to covert
ops. "You had your men go through my room, so you should know quite a bit
more than you did before you sent me on that away mission... Captain."
Kaarg's tone did get a little frosty towards the end of that phrase though.
Obviously, he was not happy about his privacy being invaded.
Vin decided to be honest. "Actually I knew nothing before you were sent on
the away mission. Only that Azari-Ailyah Tarryn trusted you enough to
actually include you on those types of missions. I believe that she even
did so without giving you a field commission?" Vin questioned, obviously
questioning the lack of judgement of his former Captain.
"All I did was to provide Security the opportunity to check your quarters
without your presence. They weren't specifically targeting you, although
getting some extra knowledge on your demeanour I believe was warranted.
They did turn every Civilians quarters 'upside' down and especially
concentrated on Starfleet officers too." Vin said with definite and
truthful conviction.
"I suspected that if they were to search your room whilst you were there,
they would have most likely found resistance. Therefore, I sent you on the
away team, to provide 'muscle' and give search teams an easier time. Do you
deny that you would have shoved one of the search team members out of the
airlock had they actually performed the search whilst you were there?"
Vin's voice and questions were still barely above a whisper. He could gauge
that at least one of the readily 'armed' Klingons were watching with
specific interest, and tried to not let him know of the conversation that
was occurring. "This is a private matter, should we go for a walk?"
Kaarg nodded. "That would be a good idea. This is not the place to discuss
such things. Anywhere you can suggest that we can talk candidly and
privately?" Kaarg rose and awaiting Vin to do the same. "And to answer your
question, I don't think there is an airlock near enough to my quarters that
would have made that action viable, so I would have likely just ...
inconvenienced the individual a little." Kaarg's grin was vicious.
Vin nodded. He had long acquiesced to the fact that Kaarg would do as he
pleased despite the level of 'status' that one would have. Vin rued the day
that a diplomat would come aboard the Scylax for some political undertaking.
The Cheyenne was more or less specifically built for those purposes. "It
would have been better for you to be aboard an Akira class, Kaarg." Vin
muttered as they moved off.
They moved onwards to the internal docking ring. From there they could
watch all ships inside the huge Ournal Class station. It was somewhat calmi
ng to Vin for some reason to be able to see the Scylax being worked on by
worker bees. Some of the scorch marks being cleared, the damage to the 3rd
Nacelle being rectified.
Vin stood there watching the work whilst fully aware of the impatient
Klingon waiting just behind him. And the also with full knowledge of the
two Klingons that followed them. 'A bit more private' Vin thought. The
Klingons would have to do sweeps in this standing room only area.
"Tell me why Kaarg, why the Erinys, why now the Scylax? For what reason do
you insist on being attached to a Starfleet Vessel? What purpose does it
serve?" Vin virtually dismissed all previous conversation with the
questions he placed specifically when he knew that the two Klingons were out
of earshot range with their first 'sweep'. He knew they would be coming
back soon and waited to see what Kaarg would do. Would Kaarg wait until
they were out of earshot range again so he could make his answer? Or would
he actually answer when they could hear?
Kaarg looked at Vin, talking once the 'sweep' was out of earshot. Kaarg
gave the backs of the other Klingon's a bit of a disgusted look. "You think
anyone would notice if I hit them over the head a few times till they went
away?" He grinned, already knowing the answer to that one. Once they were
out of earshot, he said, "How much do you know about my tenure on the
Erinys? What investigations of your own have you done since you decided you
were unsure of my loyalty?" Kaarg hoped that Vin had at least done SOME
homework before coming to him.
"So they aren't with you?" Vin spoke to Kaarg before the two decided that
it was safe to return for another sweep. This knowledge had Vin worried.
Why are the two Klingon's interested in Kaarg. Or are they for some reason
interested in himself? They had been around long before Kaarg came to the
restaurant.
The next sweep passed and neither Vin nor Kaarg made small talk. It wasn't
in either of their natures. This alone should have made the Klingons worry
that they had been found out. Instead, either the Klingons were dumb, or
they believed that they were so inconspicuous that they could come for
further sweeps. Vin noted their turn around point. And he finally noted
that their natures too were a little off balance for a Klingon. "What is
going on?" he spoke in quiet thought.
First the Klingon that was 'too' friendly to be truly Klingon with another
warrior, and now these two? Vin slightly shrugged it off. He needed to get
down to business with Kaarg. These matters may be able to wait.
Again out of earshot, "I am not questioning your loyalty Kaarg. I am sure
that whatever mission you have you are displaying full loyalty to. I am
questioning your allegiance. Difference." Vin sighed, keeping the 'suspect
' two Klingons in the back of his mind. "Kaarg, I thought I knew you, I
confided many times myself in you. However now I find out that you are
suspected of 'treachery'."
Shaking his head Vin continued. "No, that is not the right word. Whomever
you contacted did help us out of a tight spot. We could have died if it
weren't for the appearance of your Klingon friends. You have helped in a
great many matters both on the Erinys and now the Scylax. I suppose my main
question is why? Why could you not confide in me your true nature? I have
known you for over a year Kaarg. Why did you deceive me?" It was now
apparent that Vin was not hurt because of the Starfleet/Klingon political
struggle, but he was hurt because someone he thought was once a confidant
and friend. he felt he no longer knew.
Vin was sure that Kaarg was about to speak however, with subtle motion Vin
silenced the Klingon. "They are not what they seem" Vin stated under his
breath in a voice that could not be heard in wind.
Kaarg looked at Vin, "They are with me. However, they need a lesson in
subtlety. The reason I haven't confided in you? You never asked and until
now, there was never a need for you to know. Your security team, had they
done a thorough job of their search, would have found other things of
interest to them in my quarters but they were looking with sensor equipment,
picking up the residual signal from the communications device, rather than
looking with their eyes. Sometimes, your personnel rely too heavily on
technology and forget that the Gods gave you eyes and ears." Kaarg
explained.
"I noticed you picked them out very quickly. Commendable, Captain." Kaarg
paused for a moment to stare hard at the two following them. Both looked at
each other and backed off to a 'safe' distance. They were still there, just
way out of earshot. "Captain, whilst I am a member of your crew on the
Scylax, I am at your disposal. I will act as a member of your crew as long
as your objectives do not directly conflict with my own or that of the
Empire. I had to pass on certain details of our last mission in order to
justify pulling in my teams to help you. I figured that cloaked ships
nearby would do you better than federation ships, uncloaked, sitting on the
edge of neutral space. Your ships would attract too much attention. That
and you wouldn't have been given the back up you would have needed. You
would have been destroyed. The honour was mine in being able to help,
Captain. You are my friend. As are numbers of your crew also my friends.
You have nothing to fear from me."
Kaarg took a deep breath before continuing. "I was originally assigned to
the Erinys by my superiors. Whilst on board, I developed a very strong
friendship to Captain Tarryn and in doing so, proved my worth in various
missions. Usually as some kind of 'home defence'. More than once I helped
in defence of the ship. I picked your ship because it has a Captain I
trust."
Vin nodded. He was a little flattered that Kaarg trusted him so. Vin
could, if he chose to do so, send Kaarg off the ship for suspicion of
treason. As long as Kaarg remained a civilian member of the Scylax, he
would be considered a member of the Federation and governed by the laws as
such.
"Okay Kaarg. I haven't gotten your full story yet. But I believe that this
has started up an avenue for conversation that we can have as a base level.
No longer should we need subterfuge. If I do confide in you however, and I
get to a point that is classified as far as Starfleet is concerned, I will
have to tell you as such. And leave the matter there. No 'digging' for
more information. If you can respect the 'need to know' basis, I can
respect your information on the same level." Vin ended the conversation.
It had been a long and difficult one. The two men did pass some time
thereafter though in some idle chit chat.
They parted their separate ways, knowing that they will meet again on board
the Scylax, in a friendlier environment. Though when Kaarg left, Vin
watching on. The two Klingons didn't meet up with him. He was unsure where
those two went, he had a nagging feeling that something wasn't right with
them. Something rather odd.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``
End Log
Acting Captain Vincent Dharmajiva
Commanding Officer
USS Scylax - NCC 71488
And
Kaarg
Civilian Chef/Bartender
USS Scylax - NCC 71488