Diversion and Deception - Part 2

Posted on Mon Apr 27th, 2026 @ 5:49pm by Captain Daegan Baas & Ensign Garath Of the House of Varal [Baas] & Lieutenant Darius Korveth & Lieutenant JG Christian Rogers & Lieutenant JG Ryan Kellerman

1,211 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: What was Lost is Found
Timeline: MD 7 - 1215

[Pilot's Briefing Room – Shuttle bay]

Ryan had watched Chen come through the door and knew, almost immediately, how this was going to go.

It wasn't because Marcus lacked intelligence. The opposite, actually. The man was sharp--Strategic Operations didn't hand out billets to anyone who couldn't think five moves ahead. But thinking and doing were two different animals, and tonight was not going to be a thinking kind of night.

Stepping away from the table while Rogers pulled the Captain aside, Ryan stepped through the holographic settlement projection. He caught Marcus' eye with a gentle tilt of his head toward the far bulkhead.

"You shouldn't be there," Ryan said, keeping his voice low. His tone was not unkind, more protective.

"All due respect, sir, you need me there. Security personnel are great and needed. They've trained for situations like this. But, I'm a tactician. You know that old cliche, that no plan survives contact with the enemy.. That's why you need me."

"And who makes the plans that go ass up?" Rogers asked, pointing out that it was the "tacticians" who think they knew everything about a situation and made plans for it. It was those, like him, who had to carry out the missions that needed to be loose and free to adjust as the situation warranted that the intelligence officer didn't seem to understand that, which only reinforced his objections.

Marcus didn't move toward Rogers, but he didn't back away either. "All due respect, sir, I had no part in the planning and never claimed that I had. I would assume that it was the Captain, Lieutenant Kellerman, perhaps yourself, I don't know. What I do know, sir, is that it doesn't matter who made the plans or how good they are; they're going to need adjusting once we get down there, and I am well equipped to compensate for those adjustments."

Rogers glared at the intelligence officer. Did he just completely... He shook his head. "Thanks for proving my point. I don't need another person stumbling about acting as a disruptor sponge. Captain, we're wasting time and this intelligence officer is best left up here were he's not a danger to himself, or others."

"Besides, I can take care of myself and..."

Hearing the back and forth, Baas ended it. "I already approved this request. The discussion is moot. Now..."

Rogers shook his head. He was beginning to understand the high mortality rate among the crew.

Baas took note of Rogers' reaction through narrowed eyes. Thinking to himself, ~Strike two.~

Ryan nodded to the Captain but leaned closer to Marcus' ear.

"If I tell you to move, you move. If I tell you to get on the shuttle, you get on the shuttle. Do that, and you'll be fine." Ryan squeezed Chen's shoulder and met his gaze for a quick moment before walking toward the shuttlecraft.

"Understood, sir," Chen replied

Rogers stopped Garath. "Yamagachi is your responsibility. Make sure she comes back alive and unharmed. Understood?"

Garath nodded even though he knew such assignments should have waited until the Captain laid out his plan.


[Council Chamber]

Sokah had stepped outside to think. He still had a hard time believing Dareem had executed not one but two of the Starfleet hostages. Tensions were high as Dareem's deadline was approaching, and he paced behind those guarding the chamber. A crowd of people was gathering, demanding to know what was going on, and they were getting more and more riled up as their questions went unanswered.

Hearing a shout, he looked up as several streaks across the sky appeared and flew over the settlement. Bursting into the chamber, "Shuttles! There are shuttles heading to the wastelands!"

Dareem felt a wave of satisfaction wash over him. Good, he thought. Baas is complying.

He crossed the chamber and grabbed Sokah by the shoulder. "We should not assume they are abandoning the vessel. Send two to verify those shuttles aren't empty or full of an armed strike force."

"I already have observers in place." Sokah picked up his own communicator and switched the frequency, calling the OP to verify the landing.

Across the chamber, his eyes fell upon the remaining hostages. The Executive Officer hadn't spoken since the demonstration. The Orion had fallen silent--mostly. The rest were quiet or whispering among themselves.

Dareem noticed Posrun. The young Romulan had his eyes downcast, his disruptor dangling from his hand. Something wasn't right.

"My young comrade," Dareem said, striding toward him.

Posrun did not look up. For a moment, neither spoke.

"You saw what was required," Dareem continued. "What it means to carry the weight of leadership. It isn't always clean. It is not--"

"Stop."

Posrun just about spat the word out before lifting his head. His eyes were wet, though he seemed not to care.

"That wasn't duty. It wasn't a demonstration," he said, his words cutting at the elder Romulan. "That was just... waste." His voice wavered.

Dareem's expression hardened by several degrees.

"You think you understand the cost--"

"I don't want to understand it like that," Posrun said, shaking his head. "I wanted to learn what it meant to be Romulan. To be like you." He took a deep breath that was uneven. "I wanted to return to the Empire and be someone worth remembering."

He took a step forward, nearly invading the elder's personal space.

"For that?"

Posrun pushed the disruptor into Dareem's hand. It wasn't a gentle motion, but it was far from violent. The dark metal struck Dareem's palm with a dull slap.

"This is not it, Dareem."

The young Romulan didn't wait for an answer. He simply turned and walked the long chamber toward the main doors.

Dareem stood very still, his expression a mix of disappointment and anger.

Then, in a motion so fast it seemed almost reflexive, he raised Posrun's disruptor and leveled it at the young man's back.

Arim, standing nearby, held his breath. He waited to see if Dareem would kill one of his own.

For what seemed like ages, Dareem's finger hovered over the trigger. A hundred memories rushed through him in a space of a second--teaching Posrun as a boy to hunt, to construct defensive positions, regaling him with stories of battle with Klingons and the Federation.

His grip on the old disruptor tightened. Then, it stopped. Something in him refused to go that distance, and he lowered the disruptor.

Posrun reached the doorway, shoving his way through three armed Romulans while Dareem remained where he stood.

Anyone watching at that moment could almost see the steam billowing out of Dareem's pointed ears. In a moment of self-consciousness, Dareem came to the realization that all eyes were on him. He looked down at the disruptor and then back to the main doors where Posrun had just exited through.

To the remainder of his force, he shouted, "Anyone else born without a Romulan heart can join young Posrun. Those who seek glory and wish to return to the Empire as one of the victors need to remain."

Sokah had approached and placed a hand on Dareem's shoulder. "The Federation shuttles are offloading personnel, then head back to the ship... just as planned."


TBC...

 

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