Task Force: Gamma

Davynn Qech · Graphics Chief Joined: 16 Jun 2009 Posts: 809

Location: security office; USS Hartington
Stardate: 53775.3

"Qech to Lt. Uvek. Ambassador Rolen is waiting to be questioned in the Security Office. I'm going to remain here as well for the duration of the interrogation as a witness."
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uvek · Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 10:28 pm Post subject:

Location: security office; USS Hartington
Stardate: 53775.3

Uvek entered the Security Office, dismissing the lower ranked personnel. He swung around his desk, and activated a recorder.

"Uvek, Chief Security Officer present with Lt. Commander Qech, First Officer and Ambassador Rolen, Vorta representative of the Dominion".

Uvek looked at Rolen. The Romulan was in a dark mood and not prepared to "joust" with this smiling pain-in-the-ass.

"No minced words, Ambassador. Two things have happened here that require your honesty and frankness, if we are to continue in the vein of cooperation. First, you have revealed edited intelligence regarding this planet, the Cardassians and their intent, and the fact that the Dominion was at least aware of their intentions for some time, hence the report itself." He leaned forward.

"Second, and more relevant to this ship and its security, you revealed to Commander Qech that you have reviewed private security files and I want to know how and when. And yes, I am now acting as a Security operative. Play with me, you'll find that out."
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Live a life of action...not reaction.

Davynn Qech · Graphics Chief Joined: 16 Jun 2009 Posts: 809

Qech sat quietly to the side, sipping a glass of orange juice; her best substitution for Raktajino. She felt a lot better now, having had a shower and gotten something in her stomach. Despite the mistrust she had for the Vorta, her demeanor was calm and not the least distracting. As far as she was concerned, this was Uvek's department, and she was going to leave him to what he did best. She listened quietly, wondering what the ambassador's story would hold.
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Captain David Brennon · Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 10:52 pm Post subject:

The Ambassador sat there as he was "dressed down" by the Hartington's Security Chief. The whole time the Lieutenant spoke his smile never faltered.

"And yes, I am now acting as a Security operative. Play with me, you'll find that out."

Until that point. After these words left the Lieutenant's mouth, Rolen's own twisted, his smile faded away. In its place followed a sneer dreadful looking. His eyes turned to the Executive Officer for a moment, then back to Uvek before speaking.

"Firstly, Lieutenant, I always speak frankly and with honest. It may appear at times that we Vorta shroud our speech in a veneer of subterfuge, that is a mistake. We behave the way we do so that we may have a better understanding of you and people like you. The way you act under pressure, any kind of pressure tells us a lot about you. Now, allow me to answer you questions in reverse order. You assume that the Dominion does not keep active and up to date files on all persons of interest. That would be both sloppy and foolish. Unless you have forgotten, Mr. Uvek, the Federation and the Dominion were recently at war and as such we have a very up to date database of Starfleet records. Why you assume that, knowing I would be asking for passage aboard this ship, why I wouldn't read up on every single member of its crew is beyond me."

He paused for a moment, to let what he had said sink in. Once the moment had passed he continued on.

"Regarding Dominion intelligence on Planetoid 9035637, the world we are currently in orbit of, I am under no obligation to reveal anything to you, nor am I required to answer to you about such intelligence, just as you wouldn't be required to provide me with the most recent Starfleet Intelligence reports on any given world within or around the boundaries of the Federation. It would violate your oath as a Starfleet Officer, your oath of loyalty you've taken to the Federation..."

He paused, smirking at that last words that had come from his mouth, his eyes turned upwards, looking the Romulan directly into the eyes.

"I apologize, oaths of loyalty must be a sore topic for you, Lieutenant."

He shifted his weight, as he stood to his feet, not in a threatening manner, but rather in a simple show that he was not intimidated.

"I provided what intelligence I could, when I could. I am not making any communications with my people other than what has been officially logged in the ship's computer and with the Com Officer. This notion that I am somehow doing you all wrong is absurd."

His gaze shifted now to Commander Qech, the look of disgust he wore upon his face while speaking to the Romulan faded, replaced by his more typical gentleness.

"I apologize for this display, Commander. When one questions my motives, I tend to get a little testy... I am here in the spirit of cooperation between our two peoples. You were the victors in our recent conflict, The Dominion has no desire to renew hostilities, in fact it is my goal to strengthen our ties. We are more alike then we are different. In the interest of honesty, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I have never served in the Alpha Quadrant. I spent the duration of the war on a Dominion Research Outpost attempting to generate a cure for the Great Link."

Rolen took in a breath and let out a protracted sigh.

"I am, at my heart, a scientist. I want to see what is out in the universe. I awoke with an inborn curiosity about the world around me. I also awoke with a very perceptive mind. Are you going to fault me for using my natural gifts in my daily life? Have I committed any crimes against any of you? I've done what I can to help, and I have expressed concern, genuine concern for members of this crew. Should your Captain desire, I will signal the nearest Jem'Hadar vessel and be removed from your presence. I apologize for any inconvenience that I may have cause and I hope this experience does not tarnish the relationship between our two peoples. Howver, should he desire me to stay... I can be an invaluable member of your team. It is up to him to decide... though I suspect that you both will be included in the decision making process. My fate is in your hands."
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uvek · Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:14 pm Post subject:

"Balderdash," responded Uvek, unmoved. "You will no doubt notice Mr. Rolen, that this ship does not possess, nor use private security files on you or your people. Keeping such files, in light of the recent conflict, could easily be construed as espionage. Surely, you will admit that I, above all, can recognize espionage when I see it." He continued, relentlessly, "And you are correct, the Federation won the conflict with the Dominion. As a result of this we are expanding our knowledge of this region of space. If you are under no obligation to reveal your knowledge, then in my opinion you no longer serve a purpose. Your presence here is for one purpose only, by your own prior admission to me. To steer us away from Dominion held space. Now, at this juncture, you decide that my first supposition in the lounge was correct, that you are attempting to improve our relationships. Very well, Ambassador. To ensure your mission is a success, you will reveal what you offered to the captain earlier, regarding this planet and the information gathered on the Cardassians. Furthermore, if you truly believe you will be an invaluable member of this crew, you WILL cooperate and withhold nothing in the future."

Uvek leaned back. "As far as oaths of loyalty, you know nothing of me. My personal oath to the Empire is very much intact, as is my oath to the Federation. One was nearly destroyed by your leadership and their deception. The other is a product of my desire to serve any force that reveals the secrets of the Gamma Quadrant."

He looked at Commander Qech, grateful that she was playing "good cop" to his bad. Rolen no doubt saw her as a softer ally, and thus projected his softer appearance and attitude to her. He waited to see what that last round brought.
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Live a life of action...not reaction.

Davynn Qech · Graphics Chief Joined: 16 Jun 2009 Posts: 809

Qech sat quietly, sipping at her orange juice, and looked up at Rolen when she was directly addressed.

"My presence here isn't to interrogate or bedevil you, ambassador. I'm merely bearing witness to the conversation." She smiled at Uvek and added: "And to make sure Lt. Uvek didn't get carried away." She looked back at the stiffened Vorta. "Please, sit down."
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Captain David Brennon · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 9:13 am Post subject:

"My presence here isn't to interrogate or bedevil you, ambassador. I'm merely bearing witness to the conversation. And to make sure Lt. Uvek didn't get carried away. Please, sit down."

Rolen nodded and quietly returned to his seat where Lieutenant Uvek continued his line of questioning.

"Balderdash, You will no doubt notice Mr. Rolen, that this ship does not possess, nor use private security files on you or your people. Keeping such files, in light of the recent conflict, could easily be construed as espionage. Surely, you will admit that I, above all, can recognize espionage when I see it. And you are correct, the Federation won the conflict with the Dominion. As a result of this we are expanding our knowledge of this region of space.

"The Federation was invited to resume its exploration of the Gamma Quadrant by the Dominion under the condition that Starfleet stays far away from our territory. That would be why this vessel is on a coreward course, a course that takes it in the opposite direction from the Dominion. As for your claims of espionage, you're applying a double standard. I know for a fact that Starfleet still has intelligence files on many high ranking Vorta, including myself, and the individual Founders it has encountered in the past, regardless of the current political climate. As I said, it would be foolish to plunge myself into a situation such as this blindly."

If you are under no obligation to reveal your knowledge, then in my opinion you no longer serve a purpose. Your presence here is for one purpose only, by your own prior admission to me. To steer us away from Dominion held space. Now, at this juncture, you decide that my first supposition in the lounge was correct, that you are attempting to improve our relationships. Very well, Ambassador. To ensure your mission is a success, you will reveal what you offered to the captain earlier, regarding this planet and the information gathered on the Cardassians. Furthermore, if you truly believe you will be an invaluable member of this crew, you WILL cooperate and withhold nothing in the future."

At this the Vorta laughed, an actual full throated belly laughed. It took several moments for his laughter to subside, he was clearly amused by something Uvek had just said. As his calm returned, and with his smile having returned to his face he looks back up to the Romulan.

"You have a strange understanding of recent events, Mr. Uvek. Allow me to clarify them for you. One: We enter orbit of this world. Two: The Away Team gets into trouble. Three The Tal'Harton attack. Four: The Captain asks for my knowledge on the species. Five: I GIVE IT. Six: I return to my quarters and proceed to research this world using my private personal computer filled with classified Dominion records. Seven: I present the Captain with the relevant information regarding the Cardassian's activities on this world. Eight: I uncover more data and present it to him as it is discovered. My personal computer isn't nearly as fast as say the Hartington's Main Computer, it takes time for it to compile data. Not only that it is incompatible with your Starfleet systems so even if I wanted to interface with your computer I couldn't. I've withheld absolutely nothing, Lieutenant. In fact I've shared my Intelligence with your Captain when he needed it. You are letting your prejudice guide you. You think that I'll betray you, that I'm here to help your mission fail. I assure you I am not. I do have my own motives, ones that you've correctly spoken of. I am to ensure you remain outside of Dominion held space, per the terms of the Federation's agreement and I am to help facilitate the normalization of relations between the Federation and the Dominion. If anyone is keeping my from perfoming these tasks it is you, Lieutenant, with your institutionalized paranoia left over from your time in the Tal Shiar."

"As far as oaths of loyalty, you know nothing of me. My personal oath to the Empire is very much intact, as is my oath to the Federation. One was nearly destroyed by your leadership and their deception. The other is a product of my desire to serve any force that reveals the secrets of the Gamma Quadrant."

"Lastly, I know more about you than you would most likely care for me to. At some point, Lieutenant, some point in the very near future, you'll have to choose one of them. The Federation and the Romulan Empire are historical enemies and the peace between them will not last. The mixed Cardassian/Romulan fleet that was destroyed in the Gamma Quadrant several years ago was on its way to destroy the Founder's Homeworld. They were then destroyed by the Jem'Hadar. It seems to me that you bringing this into the conversation doesn't help your case at all. The only deception during that battle was a misdirection to lead the Obsidian Order and the Tal Shiar to the wrong world where they would be punished for attempted genocide. As for your strong desire to reveal the secrets of the Gamma Quadrant, that doesn't seem like a very strong reason to stay with the Federation. Does that mean if some native power wanted to give you all of the information on this region of space that you'd join them? Switch sides just like that? Your loyalty is so cheaply purchased? That is what you just said... to serve ANY force that reveals the secrets of the Gamma Quadrant."

He looks over to Qech, his smile having faded again.

"At least I'm here to give you information when I can. I may not always be able to do that because I won't break my oath to my people, I won't compromise their security by giving over state secrets like your Security Officer wants me to do. At least I am not ruled by a desire to side with any force that will give me knowledge. Are you sure I'm the one to worry about, Commander?"

Ambassador Rolen sat back in his chair, arms folded in front of him with an exceedingly disappointed look on his face. With a sigh he continued on.

"If you're going to throw me in your brig, do so. If you're going to let me work with you then let me go. If you think I'm a spy then send me away but stop trying to catch me in a lie, because I'm not guilty of what you're hoping."
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uvek · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 12:03 pm Post subject:

Uvek looked at Commander Qech. "Circle talk." he said simply.

"Very well, Mr. Ambassador, thank you for your cooperation. If, in the future, you find ths ship and its crew is endangered we would appreciate it if you would reveal whatever "state secrets" you possess that could help us".

He stood and motioned for the door. "Have a nice day, Mr. Rolen, I'm sorry I wasted your time."

"Commander Qech, please remain for a moment."
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Live a life of action...not reaction.

uvek · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 12:20 pm Post subject:

Uvek waited until the ambassador had walked out, eyeing him the entire time. He then looked at Commander Qech, sipping her orange juice.

"Computer, stop recording." he said. "Commander, despite his protests he is deliberately dancing around subjects. His claim to have a slow, incompatible computer can no longer hold weight, since Captain Sisko revealed the HUD technology that operates a Jem'Hadar warship, and we have been fitted with a computer that has intricate knowledge of Dominion technology, as gathered during the war. The Federation has even tapped into the Borg's technology. It was a fool's gamble on his part."

He shifted in his seat. "As for loyalty, I was hoping to get him to reveal his particular insight into the Romulan people. As you noted, my reference to deception brought out a particularly venomous response. I was referring to the infiltration of the Empire by the Founders, not the attack some years ago. My work prior to the Federation led me to believe that the Founders had and currently are infiltrating the Star Empire, along with most Alpha Quadrant races. He is untrustworthy, and in my opinion will continue manipulating facts and knowledge to his own benefit."
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Live a life of action...not reaction.

Davynn Qech · Graphics Chief Joined: 16 Jun 2009 Posts: 809

Qech listened calmly to Uvek's diatribe, and spoke finally after swallowing a mouthful of orange juice.

"You got him to stop smiling at least" she grinned. She took another sip and continued, more seriously.

"I understand your fears, Lieutenant. And there are holes in his story to be sure. And I'm not going to bring up his amazing talent for pushing buttons. But I think we need to tread carefully, lest we become paranoid. He was right about one thing: He hasn't yet done anything wrong. You have every reason to keep tabs on him, and I think you made it clear to him that security is anything but lax on this ship" she smiled and nodded to the security chief, "so for now I think we'll just give him the benefit of the doubt. He may be here for the very reason he says he is. He may not. But we can't allow ourselves to behave as anything other than the Starfleet officers we are, or else we become one of two things to him: One; unworthy allies, or two; fools. Whatever his intentions we need to avoid both of those scenarios."

She rose from her chair and headed toward the door, stopping at the threshold to look back over at Uvek. "And for the record, lieutenant, no one ever doubted your loyalty to this crew. Don't let that enter your mind."

With that, she left for her office, sipping her orange juice along the way.
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uvek · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 4:08 pm Post subject: