More Than We Bargained For

Posted on Sat Mar 6th, 2021 @ 10:44pm by Colonel Sehan t'Varis & Major Ashley Rogers

2,499 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Chapter III: The Hunt is On
Location: Main Bar, Drozana Station
Timeline: 238702.05

Raven checked her chronometer as she entered the bar. 2000 exactly. To any onlooker, she was just coming in for a casual drink after a busy evening. After some consideration, she had decided to take the Blazefire Sabre with her, and it was hanging from the back of her belt in its leather sheath, as always. As she walked towards the counter, she placed her hand on the weapon's handle, and scanned the room. She spotted Rogers and T'Ango in a dark corner, with a table full of food and drink, just as planned. Releasing a breath she hadn't realised she was holding, the mercenary sat on one of the stools at the bar, and waved the young Orion barmaid over. "Black rum, double Orion measure," she ordered, and waited for someone to approach her.

Commander Ashley Rogers of the I.S.S. Amelia had arrived on Drozana a few days earlier and had been observing members of the Ourainavassa crew and apparently newcomers that appear to be friends with this universe's Ash Rogers. It was not hard to fit in here, as long as no one saw her and her counterpart in the same place, she had almost free reign. Except at the market, it would have appeared that the Ash here may have caused some trouble at some point. She chuckled to herself. That was not surprising.

She lurked in the shadows, immediately recognizing herself and a big feline she'd come to learn is named T'Ango. To anyone else, the two would not have been noticeable, but the other Ash was doing exactly what she would in her place: positioning herself with a view of her commander, unobtrusive, with backup. Perhaps this is a sign that she needed to change up her strategies a bit, to be less predictable.

Commander Rogers straightened her uniform and proceeded to head over towards Raven, taking note of sabre she has. Interesting. She takes extra care to avoid being in the line of sight of the other Ash. She arrived in front of Raven, her back to her counterpart. "Hello."

Raven looked up when she heard the familiar voice, and looked Rogers up and down. Her outfit was recognisable as a Starfleet uniform, even if the design was different to the one she was used to, and she immediately noticed the Commander pips on her chest. "Commander Rogers. We finally get to meet." The colonel decided that a cordial, yet professional tone was probably most appropriate for the situation. "Please, do take a seat, and get yourself a drink."

The Commander nodded and sat down, "I thought I told you that we should meet alone... Yet you have your me sitting over there at that table behind me with a Dosadi Raider." She paused as she ordered a water from the bartender and looked at Raven, "I'd like to be on my A game if I know I might be dealing with myself... I'll let this slide, Colonel. I can't imagine your Number One letting you meet with a mysterious stranger without back-up."

She took a sip of her water, "So, I understand that you've been looking into Hobus on a ship that belongs to me. I assume you have questions." Commander Rogers leaned back and crossed her arms, waiting for Raven to speak.

Raven was astonished. The similarities between the two versions of Ash Rogers, so far, were uncanny. "You are well informed, Commander," she said, taking a sip from her drink. "Although knowing your other self, I really am not surprised. You said in your message that you had information for me, so let us begin with a very simple question. Why are you here, and not in your own universe?"

Commander Rogers raised an eyebrow and smirked, "To the point. I like that. I'm here because you need me here. Through a series of very fortuitous or maybe not fortuitous events and coincidences, you and your crew have come into possession of a ship that once belonged to me. And had Ellie Greaves not botched her part of the operation, I wouldn't have had to come intervene." She noted the micro expressions on Raven's face, "Had it not been for my boss, she'd be dead for her failure. But that's besides the point. You want to know about Hobus. What have you and your crew found out so far?"

Raven grimaced at the mention of Ellie. "Now, Commander. You have given me no reason so far to trust you enough to share that information. In fact, you have just mentioned a name that actually makes me less inclined to do so." She took a sip from her drink and turned her head as she heard noises of fighting. Over at the Dabo tables, a Saurian and a Human had started trying to beat each other into a pulp, and several of the Orion bouncers were struggling to separate them. She shook her head. "Probably arguing over Latinum or something."

"Anyway. Back to the matter at hand. I will tell you this much. We found enough to access a message left by the late General Varis of the Tal Shiar. He mentions he was in contact with the crew of a vessel named the I.S.S. Discovery. If you are indeed from that ship, that will tell you everything you need to know. And if it tells you nothing, then I am right not to trust you."

The Commander chuckles softly as she she glances over at the Dabo table with her peripheral vision, not taking her eyes off of Raven. She knows better than to get distracted. "And I need to know I can trust you with the the information I have," she said leaning closer to Raven, eyes boring into the Colonel's soul. "Your father was a good man. I was the General's contact on the Discovery. But you, you I don't know. You may have the Ourainavassa, you may have your father's blessing and whatever he has passed along to you. But I have no idea who you are and whether you can be trusted with the fate of universes."

Commander Rogers leans away again and drinks her water, "I am a Temporal Agent. We protect the timelines. Hobus is a very important area of concern right now... well, now is relative. Time travel, of course. Greaves was supposed to help you... guide you to the proper course of action, but she was sloppy and got caught by your me. So now, I am here to ensure that what needs to be done is done. And yet not interfere... blah blah blah. I've been at this for years and still the concept of temporal mechanics still gives me a headache. So I am here, no pretenses, to maintain the integrity of everything, everywhere on a scale that would make your mind explode if you think too hard about it. You can have your doctor scan me and test me if you want to prove that I'm not a clone or someone just physically altered to look like Ashley Rogers. Or I can tell you stories of your father so you can feel closer to the man. What ever you would like... but I'm closing the loop with your father."

Raven stayed silent for a moment, considering the Commander's words. Her explanation seemed to make enough sense, and, more importantly, it matched the information that Major Rogers had gotten out of Ellie before her disappearance. Finally, she nodded. "Very well. I would prefer my mind to stay in one piece, thank you very much. I assume 'what must be done' is related to whatever the Tal Shiar are doing at Hobus. They are attempting to harness the power of the Omega Particles for their own benefit." Slowly, the puzzle pieces began to fall into place. "They are trying to find out how they can use them to stabilise the star of the Romulus system, and prevent it from going nova. Or they are trying to weaponise it. Regardless, the only thing I need to know is this. Are you here to help them, or to stop them?"

The Commander nodded and smiled approvingly, "I can see why your me is willing to work for you. You're not going to like my answer... I am here to save lives. And not tamper with the timeline in order to ensure that countless lives now and in the future are saved. Your father trusted me and I, more so than anyone else, knows that trust is not a commodity to be given away. You have your doubts about me and my non answer. And if I were in your shoes, I would too. Quite frankly there's nothing I can say or do to change that... at least not without violating the Temporal Prime Directive. All you need to know that I am here, to protect the everything that exists in the past, present, and future."

The colonel shook her head. "To hell with your Directive. You are Terran, are you not? If you cannot tell me anything, why did you even waste your time coming here?"

Commander Rogers practically growls at the challenging tone from Raven, if this was her universe..... "You're the kind of person that would read the last chapter of the book before you start it, aren't you? What the hell do you think I'm here to do? If I wanted to help them, I would have destroyed you and your precious little ship and you would have been none the wiser. You and your crew are already on a path to try to stop them, I'm here to make sure you succeed. No matter what the cost. I introduce myself now so that we may develop a working relationship. And when the time comes that it will be needed, we may even trust one another. Do you need me to draw you a picture?"

Raven smirked. Her plan to coax an answer out of the Commander had worked surprisingly well. "So we do need to stop them. Thank you for actually answering the question this time, Commander." She took a sip from her drink and pondered for a moment. "So, you intend to work with us, then? Or is it, have us work for you? Either way, now that we are putting our cards on the table, we can finally speak freely."

"As you probably know, we are under contract with a rogue Romulan commander to assist in the evacuation of refugees from Romulus. Specifically, we were meant to escort one particular convoy, which came under attack before we had a chance to rendezvous with them. So now we are after the individual, or group, behind that attack. You wouldn't happen to have any information on someone called the Vulture?"

"You're pushing your luck, Colonel.. I'm only going to tell you what you already know... or are on the way to knowing," Commander Rogers said as she finished drinking her water. "Consider me a... silent partner. I don't work for you, nor do you work for us. The less you know, the better. As for your mission, do what you feel is right... I trust your judgement on that matter."

With a sigh, Raven put down her own empty glass. "Very well, then. Is there anything else?"

The Commander smirked, "You might want to tell your me to stand down, she and the Dosadi been glaring at the back of my head for so long, I fear they may need to seek medical attention for it."

"Oh, I am sure they are fine. Although you are right, I should probably reassure them." Raven tapped her communicator rank badge. "Hey Ash, get yourself over here. Send T'Ango to keep an eye on those idiots at the Dabo table."

Ash nodded at T'Ango and she headed towards Raven and the mysterious contact. After both her and T'Ango had been staring for that long, Ash had her suspicions about who Raven has been talking to. As she approached, her hypothesis was proven correct, her alternate counterpart turned and stood to greet her. The two Ashley Rogers stood toe to toe assessing each other.

"About time we met face to to face," they said in unison. "Oh, this is going to be annoying... Guess Raven has two of us to worry about now," the two continued.

They circled each other fascinated by one wearing the uniform of a Starfleet Commander and the other wearing the nondescript garb of a mercenary, "Why am I not surprised," they both said. "Guess you're not a pacifist botanist..."

Raven burst out laughing. "Oh, this is getting out of hand. Now there's two of them," she exlaimed, quoting one of her favourite old Earth films. "I wish I had a holorecorder on me, the Lynn twins would love to see this. To make this a little less confusing, I will address you both by your ranks. Major Rogers, meet Commander Rogers. She's told me some interesting things. We will be working together on the Hobus matter. Specifically, shutting Hobus down."

The Rogerses both glared at Raven, "This isn't that funny," and then they looked at each other, "Well, this either going to work out well or terribly..." They then looked at Raven, "You're going to have to tell the crew..."

The Colonel grinned. "Personally, I find it hilarious. I take it you will be sticking around for a while then, Commander? If so, I am sure the Major will be happy to arrange accommodation for you on the Ourainavassa, and to get you settled in. We could use a skilled tactical officer for the operation we are about to undertake."

Both Ashes looked at at each other and shook their heads at Raven. Commander Rogers responded, "Yes I will. Until the situation is resolved."

Then they both spoke again, "Thankfully the Ourainavassa has enough accommodations that we don't have to share quarters." They looked at each other, "I'm not sure if I should be offended."

Raven chuckled. "Oh boy, this is going to take some getting used to. Do me a favour, try not to do that too much. The whole saying the same thing at the same time. It hurts my head."

Both of the Ashes looked at each other... on the verge of speaking, but struggling to not, or else risk saying something that the other would. "PICKLES!" they both yelled randomly. "Snickerdoodle! That ugly plant that grandma had! Get out of my head!" They both just looked at Raven and just shrugged in futility.

Commander Rogers then rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration. "This happens every time..." she muttered to herself.

Raven shook her head. She just hoped that taking another Ash Rogers on board would not turn out to be more than they'd bargained for...

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