Watchful Eye

Posted on Fri Aug 21st, 2020 @ 3:52pm by Lieutenant N'Vok & Colonel Sehan t'Varis

1,962 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Shore Leave: Welcome to Drozana
Location: Commander's Ready Room Raven's Claw
Timeline: 238612.28

Delon had spent his first night aboard the ship undoing the physical alterations to his body for his covert assignment. The biggest change was the blond hair now being replaced by the natural black tone. Now that he was aboard a real Romulan military vessel, he could make the human disguise disappear and take on the more traditional role he had been trained to do: oversee the crew and ensure loyalty to the empire. That task was even more challenging given the fact that this crew was a mixed bag of different species.

These are indeed desperate times for the Star Empire, he thought.

He proceeded to step off the lift and head onto the bridge, aware of the varied looks he received upon some of the crew discovering his Tal Shiar insignia as he made his way to the read room.

Raven was sat in her office, going over the files from the Sianna and making sure that everyone that had joined the crew had been assigned a department and quarters. After that, there were requisitions to approve, and then Gedak wanted to meet with her about some more opportunities to fill the ship's coffers, which were beginning to dwindle. First thing on the agenda would be to finally fix the door lock to the room - she was starting to get rather tired of always having the door to the corridor wide open, as it could only be closed from the outside.

She was ripped from her thoughts when she saw the Romulan in full Tal Shar regalia approaching the ready room. One hand moved to the button that would immediately summon a security squad, while her other hand went to the plasma pistol on her hip. "Excuse me," she called out. "May I help you?"

N'Vok's eyes watched her hand slide to her sidearm. He kept a stoic expression on his face as he tilted his head slightly to one side. "A little jumpy, colonel?" He stopped several paces from where she stood and clasped his hands behind his back.

Raven gave a derisive snort. "Let us think, for a moment. We are docked at a station that is known as a hub for all sorts of lowlifes. We are involved in an operation that some might consider treason to the Empire. An individual wearing a Tal Shiar uniform, a person I have never seen before, strolls past my ready room on my ship. Would you not be tense, if you were in my position?"

She drew her weapon. "You have to the count of four to explain who you are, what you want, and how the hell you got onto my ship. One."

"Direct, aren't you? If I wanted you killed, do you really think I'd stroll onto the bridge and shoot you in front of several loyal crew to accomplish the task," he asked with a gaze that indicated how absurd that line of reasoning really was. "My name is Lieutenant N'Vok and unlike your commission, I assure you that my commission from the Tal Shiar is quite real." He gestured to a chair in front of her desk. "May we dispense with the threats and have a real conversation?"

"You have explained who you are. But not the other two." Raven levelled her pistol and put emphasis on the number. "And I assure you, 'Lieutenant', that you will find that my commission is perfectly genuine. Three."

"It's quite tragic when a Tal Shiar officer is killed in service to the empire. However, the science involved with appropriate response is quite impressive, to say the least." He finished that veiled warning without mentioning that certain operatives elected to be implanted with an airborne neural toxin that was designed to be released upon heart failure. Vaporization was even more effective in death as the particles dissipate even quicker into the surrounding area.

"I'm a member of your expanded crew, if I may loosely use such a term." His gaze didn't drift from hers as he continued, "and I simply walked aboard by use of the gangway, though such minutiae isn't relevant at the moment." He paused and tilted his head as he continued to examine her angry expression. "Am I to assume that you didn't know that I'd be arriving? Surely you didn't think that the Tal Shiar would just hand you a commission and assume you and your crew would behave yourselves without oversight?" He blinked casually a few times and remained a stoic monument.

Raven's eyes narrowed, but she holstered her weapon. "I was not informed of anyone coming on board. At least not a Tal Shiar officer. The only people we took in were those from the Sianna, and again, I would have noticed you among that crowd." She sighed and took a sip from her mug of coffee on her desk. "So I assume you were disguised as one of those. Let me guess, the guy I signed up for the kitchens?"

"Your deduction is correct. I was an active operative during my time aboard the Sianna and when we arrived at the station, it gave me a brief opportunity to see who you were and how you operate." He took the liberty of the moment to take a seat opposite her across the table.

The colonel nodded slowly. "So the Tal Shiar is more than aware of our operation. I am surprised nobody has tried to stop us yet. Still, we are only trying to shelter civilians from the coming supernova. The Senate and the Praetor are deluded if they believe it can be stopped." She leaned back in her chair. "So then, Lieutenant. Are you going to stay with us? As you know, this vessel operates independently of the Empire, we are, as you might say, privateers." Yes, 'privateers' was probably the most accurate word to use for a bunch of freelancers sharing their ship with Imperial Romulan officers.

"These are indeed troubling times for the empire. I don't hold any illusions that things will work out fine. In fact, the very opposite typically happens on a regular basis and is the nature of my profession. That being said, I wasn't sent here to control you or your daily activities. Despite being given a wide latitude to operate, there are of course, certain basic standards that must be maintained. The praetor and the senate may play all the political games they wish. The Tal Shiar, on the other hand, concerns itself with the stability of the people." He continued in his sultry yet slightly raspy voice, "My presence aboard is simply to observe and ensure that nothing happens that would be considered... a betrayal to the empire." He leaned against the chair back but kept his posture most formal. "Certainly you can see the need for subtle monitoring."

Raven snorted. Exactly the kind of thing she had hoped would be avoided by the insignia on her collar. Still, the Lieutenant may prove useful. She shook her head, and adopted a more businesslike tone. "Fine. But remember, most of the crew are not officers of the Romulan Empire." She tapped her rank badge. "And I am your superior officer, even in the Tal Shiar. Any report you send, I see first. You get in the way of the operation, you will be removed from the vessel. And I do trust that you will make yourself useful. We still do need a cook, unless you have any other talents that will benefit my ship?"

Inwardly, N'Vok respected Raven's direct approach. However, until he knew what her ultimate goals were, he would definitely be giving her a whitewashed version of his reports while submitting different ones directly to Tal Shiar Command. Sure, she was given a commission and on the surface, that gave her an air of entitlement, but to him, she had to earn that. He would of course respect her position as the commanding officer of the ship.

He nodded slowly and said, "The non-Romulans aboard still elect to serve us. That means abiding by our laws, if not our customs. I'll only care if they do something illegal or disloyal to you or the empire." He paused before continuing, "My main expertise does allow me to assist with sensors, coordinating information. Then again, if things progress well enough, I may take the liberty of cooking something for the senior staff dinner. Is that still a custom, even on this ship?"

Raven nodded. "Having an experienced intelligence officer on the sensors is certainly going to be useful for our operation. But you are mistaken in one thing. The non-Romulans on my crew do not serve the Empire. They serve me. This is my ship. My crew. At present, our goals align with those of the Empire. Nothing more than that."

She pointed at the tattered Tal Shiar flag behind her desk. "This flag belonged to the original Commander of this vessel. We found it on the bridge when we acquired the ship. After over a century and a half of disuse, it took us just over a year to get her up and running again. This ship may be a relic of a bygone age, but her crew certainly is not."

The mercenary stood, casually brushing aside some of her bright white hair that had fallen in front of her face, and stepped to the bat'leth hanging next to the flag - which she usually used as a coat hook. Nonchalantly, she took her leather coat off the 'hook' and threw it over her chair, before lifting the weapon off its mount and placing it on the desk.

"This bat'leth once belonged to a senior member of House Martok. He gave us our first mission after getting the Raven's Claw working. And then elected not to pay us." She smirked. "His widow did. I took the bat'leth as a little souvenir."

She leaned forward, elbows resting on the desk and her chin on her fists. "Do not play games with me, Lieutenant N'Vok. I may hold a Tal Shiar commission, but I am first and foremost a freelancer. A privateer. Those that prove to be a threat to the safety of my ship, or my crew, do not usually survive to tell the tale. Regardless of who you are."

N'Vok, for his part, maintained a neutral expression as he listened to the colonel puff up her chest and explain how great she was. "The Tal Shiar wants to know if hiring more freelancers is a viable option for situations in the future. I'm simply here to report how this specific instance pans out." What he said was the truth, at least partially. He leaned forward toward her slowly and gazed into her amber eyes. "I assure you that I won't be in the way of your ship operations. I suspect you may even forget that I'm here at some point."

Raven snorted. "I most certainly will not forget you are here, Lieutenant. Whether either of us likes it or not, you are part of my crew now. Which means your welfare is my concern. If you have any operational questions, now is the time to ask them. Otherwise, you know your way out." She picked up the PADD she had been working on. "I have work to do, and I am sure so do you."

He rose slowly from his chair and gave t'Varis a slight nod. Turning to leave, he made a note to log that she was impulsive and somewhat more emotionally-driven than he had anticipated. It was time to secure quarters and get something to eat before starting the initial crew dossiers.

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