Title: Star Trek-Infinity: Betrayal of Trust [PG] (MISC) Author: Charles Rando (trando@worldnet.att.net) Series: MISC Rating: [PG] Part: NEW 1/2 Disclaimer: Paramount owns the characters in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, and Peter David owns the Selelvian race (see his book, Strike Zone). I'd like to think that the characters I've invented and the story are mine. :-) Summary: The Infinity investigates a sudden Cardassian attack in the DMZ, but not everyone wishes to return to the ship. Meanwhile, Counselor Kassal continues to cope with her terminal illness. CHAPTER ONE Lieutenant Christopher Johnson counted the seconds down in his head. "Five, four, three, two, one." Nothing happened. Johnson tapped his fingers on the transporter console impatiently and stared at the door. After about ten minutes, it opened. "I'm sorry I'm late, sir," gasped the out of breath officer. "Ensign Collins, this is the third day in a row you've been late for your shift. Not only are you hurting the operation of this ship, you are taking up my valuable time. I would like an explanation," Johnson demanded. "There is no explanation, sir. It won't happen again," Collins replied. "It had better not," Johnson said to him, "because if it does, I'll be sure to report it to Commander Witherell." "Yes sir," Collins replied nervously. "Very good. I'll see you tomorrow. On time , I hope." Johnson walked out of the transporter room. Of all days, Collins had picked today to be late. He and Ensign Joy Su had been together for eight months now, and they had planned to celebrate this occasion by firming up their wedding plans. But now he had less than fifteen minutes to get back to his quarters, take a quick sonic shower, change into some comfortable clothes, and get to Su's quarters. And if there was one thing that Joy didn't like, it was to be kept waiting. He ran. ************************************************************ Fifteen minutes later, Johnson was outside Su's quarters. He jabbed the door console with his finger, causing the chime to sound inside the room. He shifted uncomfortably until the door finally opened, and Joy let him inside. "Hi," said Johnson. "Sorry I'm late, but Ensign Collins doesn't feel like reporting to work on time." He kissed her cheek. "How was your day?" "Rebecca and I were able to create a new crossbreed between Vulcan orchids and Romulan orchids. It looks like the new plant is going to thrive. Now if only someone could reunite those two peoples," Su said. "If anyone could do it, I'm sure you and Rebecca could," Johnson said. "Unfortunately I'm a botanist, not a diplomat," Su said. "Speaking of that, I had another run in with Ensign Pelz again. It's so difficult being the head of a department when you're only an Ensign. You get people like Craig questioning everything you say." She sighed, letting the complaint go. "Hungry?" "I haven't eaten all day," Johnson said. "Being a transporter chief cuts down your opportunities for meals." "I can imagine! That's why I made your favorite dinner...." "Those really big hamburgers? With the two beef patties and the secret sauce?" he asked. "And a big helping of french fries," she said. "Uncle Macintosh would love to hear his hamburger has become such a favorite of yours." "He should open a restaurant," Johnson said. He picked up a hamburger from the tray Joy had brought over. "He could call this... a 'Big Mac'. I'm sure the people on Korbus III would love it." "You can only eat so much Cardassian food," Su agreed. Johnson sat down at a table as he ate. "So how are things on Korbus III?" "I talked to Uncle Mac and Henry a few days ago. The Cardassians have been sending loads of troops in because of a rumor that the Maquis could have a base there. There was talk of curfews and house to house searches. It didn't sound very fun." Johnson nodded his head. Korbus III had been originally settled by a colony of Chinese families and had been a Federation planet up until the war with the Cardassians. Then it had become a planet in a disputed section of space and a popular battleground. When the peace treaty with the Cardassians had been signed, Korbus III had been handed over to the Cardassians, but its people had been allowed to stay. Or so the Cardassians had said. Rumors of Cardassian attacks and assaults on Korbus III and other planets recently handed over to the Cardassians had caused a group of Starfleet officers and colonists from those planets had formed a group called the Maquis. The purpose of the Maquis was to protect the inhabitants of the planets and keep the Cardassians in check. After all, it would have been easy for the Cardassians to kill the current inhabitants of their newly acquired planets and colonize the planets themselves. There was a long silence as Joy worried about her family on Korbus III and as Chris wondered what to say to relax her. It was Joy who finally broke the silence. "Well, enough worrying, right?" she asked. "If I remember correctly, we have some important matters to discuss." Johnson immediately brightened. At least now he had something to talk about. CHAPTER TWO "Captain, incoming message from Admiral Daubar," came the voice of Lieutenant Evan Remley, the security chief. "Patch it through in here," said Captain Rando. He sat in his ready room, looking through reports on his personal viewscreen. With a flash, the reports disappeared and the face of Admiral Ingrid Daubar appeared on the screen. "Admiral Daubar," Rando greeted. "What can I do for you?" "I'm afraid I have some bad news for a member of your crew, Charlie. There was an attack on Korbus III. The Cardassians claim it was the Maquis. Whoever's responsible, the entire city of New Beijing was destroyed." "That's where Ensign Su's family lived," Rando said, more to himself than to the admiral. "That's right. The Cardassians have already identified the bodies of Henry and Macintosh Su," Daubar said. "Please pass along my deepest condolences." "I will, Admiral," Rando said quietly. He regained his composure. "Admiral, I request permission to investigate the attack on Korbus III. We're close enough to do so, it wouldn't be too our of our way." Rando knew Daubar would recognize this fact. The Infinity had been investigating the increased activity of Romulan forces at the Cardassian border for the past few months while under the guise of mapping star systems. Daubar sighed. "Unfortunately, Captain, Korbus III is in Cardassian territory now. When the inhabitants of Korbus III decided to stay behind, they gave up any and all Federation protection. It's an internal Cardassian affair." It was Rando's turn to sigh. "I understand, Admiral. I'll inform Joy immediately." "Thank you, Captain. Daubar out." The channel closed and the original reports Rando had been looking at appeared on the viewscreen again. But Rando was already moving towards the door and didn't notice. ************************************************************ "Who could that be?" Su asked when the door chime rang. "I'm not expecting anyone." Johnson rose his shoulders to indicate he had no idea. "Come in." The doors opened and Captain Rando stepped in. "Ms. Su, Mr. Johnson. I hope I'm not interrupting." "Of course not, Captain," Su said. "What can we do for you?" "I'm afraid I have some bad news for you, Joy," Rando said. "There was an attack on Korbus III. Your uncle and your brother are dead." Su opened her mouth, but no words came out. Then she collapsed to the floor. "Who did this?" she finally got out. "The Cardassians say it was a Maquis attack," Rando said. "But the entire city of New Beijing was destroyed. I doubt the Maquis would ever destroy a city populated by humans." "They wouldn't even kill one," Su said. "Captain, I talked to my uncle just a few days ago. He said the Cardassians were scouring the planet for a Maquis headquarters. I'm willing to bet that they're responsible for this attack." "I wouldn't doubt it," said Rando. "Unfortunately, when the people on Korbus III decided to stay on their planet, they gave up all Federation protection. The attack is an internal Cardassian affair. We can't do anything." The expression on Su's face shifted from sadness to sudden anger. "Captain, my brother and my uncle are dead. Are you telling me that Starfleet isn't going to investigate?" "If Starfleet tried to investigate, the Cardassians would interpret the action as an act of war," Rando said. "I'm sorry." Joy's anger grew as he spoke. Chris put his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, but she shook it off. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone." She sat down on a nearby couch. "I said, I'd like to be alone." The two men exchanged a glance and then walked towards the door. Johnson paused on the way. "Joy, if you need anything, please let me know," he said. She didn't respond. Rando put his hand on Johnson's shoulder and led him out of the room. "Tell her that I'm not willing to let this matter drop so easily," Rando said to Johnson. "I'm going to find someway to investigate what happened on Korbus III, whether the Cardassians like it or not." "Yes sir, I'll tell her," Johnson said. As he watched the captain walk off, he said to himself, "This just isn't a good day." CHAPTER THREE "That is the current situation," Rando finished. "Any suggestions?" "Captain, the Cardassians are a very deceptive race," replied Lieutenant Marianne V'gel, the ship's chief cultural officer. "When they make a mistake or do something wrong, they don't like to admit it. Especially when it can work to their advantage." "So you think they could be lying about the Maquis attack?" Rando asked. "Why would the Maquis attack the same people they're trying to protect?" asked V'gel. "I don't think the Cardassians are being truthful." "Then that brings us to our next question," said Rando, "what do we do about this?" Remley spoke up, "Sir, any attempt to investigate this matter wouldn't be looked upon kindly by the Cardassians. It did occur within their territory, and even though it involved humans, it's an internal Cardassian affair." Lieutenant Phillip Williams shifted uncomfortably in his chair, prompting Rando to say, "I will accept any alternatives for consideration." "Captain, I was just wondering... what if the Cardassians didn't know we were investigating?" Williams asked. "You mean go in undercover?" Remley asked. "Well, I mean, what if J.W. cloaked the ship again like he did before? We could go in and out without anyone noticing," Williams said. "Lieutenant, when J.W. cloaked us before, it was for the protection of the timeline. Now that we've returned to the present, it wouldn't be... proper for us to use J.W. that way," Commander Witherell interjected. Rando considered this and then said, "But it could be possible for us to attempt an undercover investigation without using J.W." "How?" Witherell asked. "Well, the Cardassians think there is a Maquis base on Korbus III, which leads me to believe that there probably is one. We can ask Starfleet to allow us to send an away team to Korbus III, undercover of course, to infiltrate the Maquis and find out what happened," Rando replied. "This would, of course, be a volunteer mission." "Well then, pending Starfleet approval, I'd like to volunteer," said Witherell. V'gel looked over at Marit. "There are many Bajorans in the Maquis as well," she said. "Ensign Marit might be able to talk to them and find out some information." Marit grumbled slightly, but replied, "I volunteer to go, Captain." "This sounds like it could be a dangerous mission, sir," came the voice of Lieutenant Remley. "I volunteer too." "I think that should be enough," Rando said, nodding. "We don't want to add too many cooks and spoil the broth." "Captain, if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment in five minutes with Ensign Su," said Counselor Kassal. "I don't want to be late." "Of course," Rando agreed. "We're finished here." He looked at the members of the volunteer away team. "I'm going to contact Starfleet and try to get their approval. I'm sure you'll hear from me soon. Dismissed." The group of senior officers filed out of the conference room, leaving Rando alone. He paused to look out one of the large windows in the conference room; the stars made a beautiful impression against the dark canvas. After a minute or so, Rando tore himself away from the view and walked out of the room. He passed quickly through the bridge and then into his ready room. He would contact Admiral Daubar first, since the two of them were friends and he might be able to get some pull with her. He prayed that he would. CHAPTER FOUR "Yes, Admiral, I understand. Rando out." Rando switched off the viewscreen and sank back in his chair. It seemed that the instant he did so, the door chime rang. "Come in," he called. The doors of the ready room parted to admit Ensign Joy Su, being followed closely by Kassal. Su had a look of absolute determination on her face. "Captain, I hear that you are sending an away team to Korbus III to investigate the destruction of New Beijing. I'd like to come along," Su said. Rando glanced towards Kassal, indicating displeasure that she had let the cat out of the bag. "Yes, we are sending an away team to Korbus III," he admitted, "but I don't know that it's a good idea for you to accompany them." "Captain, I need to know what happened to my family," Su said. "You will find that information out soon enough if you are patient," Rando remarked. "The away team won't quit until they've found the truth." Kassal moved uneasily beside Su. "Captain, I would have to agree with Ensign Su's request. I believe that accompanying the away team would give her closure in light of the recent incidents." "Counselor, Admiral Daubar has permitted us the use of a captured Maquis ship for this mission. It's very small, and it has room for only four people..." Rando said. "Well then that's perfect!" Su exclaimed. "There's only three people on the away team!" "No, Ensign Su, there are four. Admiral Daubar informed me that the transporter on the ship is very old and needs to be constantly checked. She wants me to offer the fourth spot to Lieutenant Johnson." Anger raced across Su's face, but before she could speak, Kassal stepped in again. "Joy, will you wait outside? I'd like to talk to the Captain in private." Some part of Su eventually regained control of her, and she nodded. She turned and walked out of the room. "Counselor, I must say I am quite disappointed. I hope you have a good reason for mentioning this mission to Su," Rando said. "Sir, Joy told me that she was planning on leaving the ship to go to Korbus III herself. She didn't think Starfleet was going to do anything else on the matter, and she even commented about joining the Maquis if she discovered that the Cardassians were behind the attack. I thought that the situation warranted her knowing what was going on," Kassal said. Rando sighed. "Well, you definitely haven't made my job any easier," he said. "I have a crew of four on a ship that fits only four. How am I supposed to squeeze on one more?" "I don't know," Kassal replied. "But I do know that if Joy doesn't go with the away team, she'll go by herself. And we'll won't be able to stop her." "I suppose they'll just have to make do," Rando said. "All right, tell Ensign Su she can accompany the away team. But she is to follow Commander Witherell's orders and not take matters into her own hands." "I don't think she will, sir," said Kassal. "She's desperate to find out what happened, but she's still a Starfleet officer. And I think that the longer we remind her of that, the better." Rando turned to look out of the ready room window. "I just wonder how many people said that about all the Starfleet officers that joined the Maquis, Counselor." ************************************************************ "So the Captain said you could go?" Lieutenant Johnson asked. He sat on Su's bed as she packed a few essentials. "Counselor Kassal said he'd try to squeeze me in. I'm taking that as a yes," she said. "Look, Joy, I know you're upset about all this. But... if the Cardassians are actually behind this... I just don't want you doing anything you'll regret," Johnson said. Su stopped packing and looked at him. "You don't have to worry about me, Chris. I'm not going to do anything stupid. Starfleet's already doing more than I thought they were going to. I just want to find the truth." Johnson stood up and put his arm around her. "Then that's what we're going to do." Su started packing again. "We leave at 0600 tomorrow morning. Don't you think you should pack?" Johnson wasn't insulted by the brusque change of subject. He'd gotten used to it. "Actually, I'm already packed," he said. "Did it before I came over here, just in case. But I guess I'd better go and let you finish." She grabbed his arm as he was about to leave. "You don't have to go," she said. Then Johnson saw it. A little flicker in her eyes that hadn't been there before. It hadn't been there when she had first heard of the attack, or when he had talked to her earlier today, or even when she was packing just a few minutes ago. She didn't want to be alone. "All right," he said, sitting back down on the bed. "I can stay longer." She smiled and the flicker in her eyes vanished. Johnson was amazed. It was the first time in the months he had known her that she had actually appeared to be scared. CHAPTER FIVE "Captain, we've arrived at Starbase 106," reported Ensign Courtney Morris from the helm. She was assigned to fill in for Ensign Marit while she was on the away mission. "Open a channel, Mr. Schroeder," Rando ordered to the lieutenant who filled Remley's place. "Channel open, sir," Schroeder replied. His words were confirmed by the sudden appearance of Admiral Daubar on the viewscreen. "Captain Rando, welcome back to Starbase 106. Is your away team ready?" she asked. "They're ready to transport to the Maquis ship, Admiral," Rando replied. "Very well. You may proceed with this investigation, Captain. Although I must warn you, Starfleet will deny any involvement in this affair if any of them are caught. Tell them all to be extremely careful," Daubar said. "I will, Admiral. Rando out." He spoke into the air to open a channel to the transporter room. "Commander Witherell, you may beam over to the Maquis ship when ready." "Thanks, Captain," Witherell said. "We're on our way." "Good luck to all of you. And Admiral Daubar says to be careful," Rando said. Lieutenant Remley's voice came through the air. "Don't worry, sir. I'll make sure of that. You have my word that I'll get everyone back." "We're ready to beam over," Witherell said. "Energize," Rando ordered. After a second, Schroeder announced, "Transport complete, sir. They're aboard the Maquis ship." "On screen," Rando replied, sitting in his command chair. The screen flashed from the display of Starbase 106 to the tiny Maquis ship. The ship turned away from the Starbase and then streaked off into the stars at it entered warp. "I hope they find what they're looking for." ************************************************************ Ensign Marit Kynten sat at the helm of the cramped Maquis ship. The ship handle extremely well for its size, and she figured that the Maquis would need their ships to be small and maneuverable. She was impressed by the maneuverability; she didn't enjoy the lack of space. "Must you breathe down my neck?" she asked through her teeth. Next to her, Lieutenant Remley shrugged. "It's not my fault the tactical station is right next to the CONN. And it's not my fault this ship's too small." "Well can't you sit at a different angle?" she demanded. "Just turn yourself a little?" "Well then I'd be breathing down Lieutenant Johnson's neck," Remley laughed. Marit was not amused. "If you don't stop breathing down my neck, I'll make sure you won't be breathing at all." "All right, Ensign, whatever you say," Remley replied, turning himself away from Marit. "I just hope you don't lose your temper with the Cardassians," Witherell said. He sat to Marit's right at the communications console. "It looks like we're coming up on the border. We're being hailed by a Cardassian outpost. "How're we supposed to get past them?" Marit asked. "With this," Witherell replied, holding up an isolinear chip. "Lieutenant V'gel and Commander Neddek designed it to be the ultimate disguise. Not only will it create the picture of a high ranking Cardassian Gul, it's also fully interactive. We just sit back and let it do all the work." "I only wish the Bajoran resistance had had that during the occupation," Marit commented, clearly impressed by the chip as it cleared their passage. Next to her, Remley was impressed by the chip as well. If it could create such a response in Marit, it must be something big. Marit must have noticed the attention Remley was giving her, because she instantly returned to business. "We'll be arriving at Korbus III in under three hours at our current speed," she reported. "Very good," Witherell said. "Mr. Remley, I want constant scans of our route. We mustn't be surprised." "Aye sir," Remley said. "Sir, I think I should have the transporter operational by the time we arrive," Johnson said. "Although after reading the mission specs, I don't really see why we need it. Won't we be landing the ship?" "Except you'll be staying on the ship just in case we need you," Witherell said. "If something goes wrong and our cover is blown, we're going to need immediate beam out. That's what you're here for." "Then I'll just make sure it's up and ready, sir," Johnson said. Next to him, Ensign Su leaned towards him. "Must you be such a brown-noser?" she whispered. "I'm just doing my job, Joy. You have no idea how boring it gets in that transporter room. This is my third away mission since I've been assigned to the Infinity . I don't want it to be my last," Johnson whispered back. "You know, you two, there really is no point whispering around a Betazoid," Witherell said. Su sat up straight, or as straight as she could in the low angled corner of the ship she occupied. "I would appreciate it if you didn't listen in on our conversations, Commander," she retorted irritably. "Joy! You can't..." Johnson started to say, before Witherell interrupted him. "It's all right, Lieutenant. I was the one out of line. I won't listen in any more, Ensign." "Thank you, Commander," Su said. The rest of the journey was a silent one.