The Relic

Posted on Sun Jan 10th, 2021 @ 12:08am by Lieutenant JG Ryan Kade III

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: USS Elliptical
Timeline: Shortly after "Don't worry, the minefield is defunct!"
Tags: Roll Call
693 words - 1.4 OF Standard Post Measure

“Kandiss Kade.” A uniformed man walked slowly from the door to the table in the center of the room. The way he spoke her name was rigid, professional, but she could hear the undertone of irritation. “Why am I not surprised?” He commented dryly while pulling out the chair on his side. “I shouldn’t be,” His tone transitioned to terse, “I see you what feels like once a month, now.”

Her hands were on her lap. She knew this time didn’t look any better than the other times. She knew he wasn’t playing games. And yet, despite herself, she still managed an innocent-looking smile. “H-hey, there… Damien. It’s good to see you!” His lips forming into a small line in response caused her to hesitate for a moment, her right hand reflexively reaching behind her head to nervously scratch at the scalp, “It’s a good thing you guys showed up when you did. I’d have been done for.”

“It’s Isaru. Officer Isaru.” He clearly didn’t care for her using his first name so casually, leaning into the corrective response with an intense glare. As if from nowhere, he pulled a PADD from what was probably a drawer on the other side. With a few button presses, a file was brought up on the LCARS interface. He placed it down on the table, turning it around to face her and slid it across.

The slide was much more forceful than she expected and Kandiss had to react fast to stop the PADD from sliding straight into her gut. Her dark hair fell down over her face as she was now staring down at the illuminated screen. She moved her fingers away to reveal the glowing text and images. It was a file- her file, or, at the very least, an incident report on her public record.

“Twenty-three ninety-four.” Isaru cut into the silence, “On the planet of-”

“That was pirates.” She interrupted with a gently raised finger.

“Twenty-three ninety-five. During the excavation of-”

“Those were insurrectionists! I had nothing to do with-”

“Twenty-three ninety-six…” He gave her a chance to interrupt him, again. When she faltered, her hand dropping, he continued, “Just yesterday, we had to beam you away from territory we do not own on an abandoned alien station we’ve never seen, during an attack by…”

He gestured towards her, giving her a chance to spout more of her excuses. Meekly, Kandiss returned both of her hands to her lap. “Would you believe me if I said they were terrorists?”

Isaru’s exhale was long, deep, and tired. He leaned back in his chair, a hand reaching for his eyes and resting across his brow line. As if to clear murderous thoughts from his mind, Officer Isaru wiped that hand down across his features, resting his elbow on the table as the fingers began to tap away a slow rhythm.

After what felt like forever, the tapping finally stopped. He looked up to her. “With the precedent you’ve been setting, I was given the authorization to look up everything about you.” The unspoken ‘without your permission’ was written on his face.

That very face changed expression into an almost amused grin. “You have a brother in Starfleet.”

Kandiss could feel the heat growing in her face, her teeth gritting. “Leave.” She said with emphasis, “Him.” Her fists clenched, “Out of this. He’s got nothing to do with any of it!”

“Ensign Ryan Kade,” He spoke the name with confidence, then added, “The third?”

She pleaded with her eyes for him to stop.

“Wow, the third? That’s quite a lineage.”

“Whatever you want. I’ll do it. Just leave him alone. Please.”

Officer Isaru smiled with such ease, as if he couldn’t be happier. “Let me take the relic from your possessions, and never talk to anyone about it, again. You never found it, and we never took it. Understood?”

She nodded furiously.

“Good.”

…

Several minutes later, Damien Isaru was on call in his quarters. “Jelob… is it secure on your end? Good. I have a proposal.”