Paris II

Posted on 18 Apr 2016 @ 7:39pm by Commander Rhyan & Cadet Senior Grade Jody Scott & Diplomatic Aide Daniel Sutherland & Elesa Zal
Edited on on 21 Apr 2016 @ 1:19am

2,657 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Errand of Mercy
Location: Office of the President of the United Federation of Planets, Paris, Earth
Timeline: ED 1

Lieutenant Commander Rhyan stepped down from the transporter pad. The satchel hanging from his left shoulder that carried the last of his personal belongings from his apartment on Earth rubbed against his thigh with every step taken. Also stepping off from the pad beside him was Cadet Jody Scott, who – at Rhyan’s request – had followed the commander from Starfleet Headquarters to Paris. The cadet also had a bag strewn over his shoulder, although it was considerably larger and less neatly packed than his own.

Waiting for them at the transporter station was a tall, muscular human male of African descent. The man wore a Starfleet uniform coloured in security or engineering gold, with two silver pips adorning the right hand side of his collar. Lieutenant Johnston, Rhyan assumed.

The Lieutenant was the first to speak. “Welcome to Paris Lieutenant Commander.” Johnston extended his hand and took Rhyan’s in a firm handshake. The security officer then withdrew and eyed up Jody. “I do not wish to offend, but I was expecting you to arrive alone.”

Jody shifted slightly on his feet and bowed his head to look at the floor. Rhyan knew that he had taken a risk of upsetting Johnston by bringing the cadet along with him to see the President, but he didn’t have any other choice if he was to ensure Jody returned to the Redemption with him. He appreciated that Jody’s unkempt and scruffy appearance was likely not helping the situation – but neither of them had more than fifty minutes to raid their bunks for personal belongings before transporting to Paris. And at least Rhyan had been mostly packed before he left for his lecture at Starfleet Academy.

“The cadet is with me, Lieutenant.” Rhyan said firmly, making it clear to Johnston that Jody wasn’t going to be leaving his side any time soon. “Cadet Scott will be joining me on the next transport to the Redemption immediately following my meeting with the President. I would appreciate it if he could accompany me throughout my meeting.”

“I am not sure if she-,“ Johnston began to say, but Rhyan cut him off mid-sentence.

“President Zal will not have issue with the cadet joining me. And neither will her aide, Daniel Sutherland.” Rhyan glanced over at Jody and grinned. Jody and Daniel had become good friends on board the Redemption prior to her loss to the Sixth Fleet – if there was anyone in this building that would happily accommodate Jody, it was Ambassador Sutherland. The Vulcan caught Jody sheepishly smile back at him. The look made him wonder if there was more to that story than even Rhyan knew.

Johnston was visibly annoyed by Rhyan’s interruption, but to his credit he didn’t allow it to enter into his voice. “I am sure we can confirm this with the President when we meet her. Shall we?” The security officer extended his arm to the door, ushering both Rhyan and Jody through and onwards to the President’s office.

The first thing that Rhyan noticed about the President’s complex was the extensive deployment of armed Starfleet security officers throughout the corridors. As they walked deeper into the building even views out into the complex grounds showed an armed officer at almost every corner. There was no doubt in his mind that this had been a response not only to the threats from the Sixth Fleet, Confederacy and Kaal Taan, but from the multiple attempts made on Elesa’s life since she took office nearly a year ago. And that didn’t count the attempt made on her life as a Federation Ambassador that Rhyan had thwarted – the same assassination attempt that resulted in his posting to the USS Redemption as its first officer and chief science officer.

As they approached a large set of opulent, wooden doors Johnston asked Rhyan and Scott to wait as he went into the President’s chambers ahead of them. When he returned he nodded to the cadet and asked the two of them to follow him into the chambers and then straight into the President’s office itself. The room was as ornate as the doors that had marked the entrance, but somehow Rhyan didn’t believe the decoration was Elesa’s influence – she had always struck him as a minimalistic woman, an influence of her long service in Starfleet. It made him look down at his packed bag, which - he had to admit - was almost completely empty.

In the centre of the room was a large mahogany desk, topped with red leather and covered in PADDs bearing the seal of the United Federation of Planets. Behind that desk, and almost engulfed by its size, was President Elesa Zal. It took a moment for the Trill woman to see Jody and Rhyan enter, but as soon as she did she stood up from behind the large desk and moved to meet them halfway. A warm smile greeted Rhyan, although he was certain he could see the stress of office escaping out behind it. The Vulcan instinctively smiled back at her.

“So this must be Cadet Scott?” Zal said to begin with, extending her hand to shake his and apologise for Johnston’s suspicious nature in the transporter room. Immediately following her greeting with Jody she approached Rhyan, paused for a moment, and then gave him a hug that he wasn’t quite expecting. “It’s so good to see you Rhyan.”

“You too, Madam President,” replied Rhyan as he was freed from the embrace.

Zal frowned. “We have spoken about this before, Rhyan. You can call me Elesa.”

Rhyan smirked. “It is still an effort calling you ‘President’ after being used to ‘Ambassador’ for so long. And that is before you confuse the matter with the serving Starfleet officers that still try to call you ‘Admiral’.”

“I do like my positions of high office, don’t I?” Zal laughed as she made the comment and then motioned towards the seats gathered around the window overlooking the city of Paris. “Please, both of you take a seat.”

Rhyan followed Zal over to the antique chairs that nestled around the balconied window and sat down. Jody followed suit, although looked considerably bewildered about sitting with the Federation President in her office. For her part, Elesa made every effort to welcome the young cadet.

It was Zal was the one to break the momentary silence. “I am sure you are wondering why I asked to see you as a matter of urgency, commander?”

“I would be lying,” Rhyan began, “if I wasn’t a little puzzled by the request.”

Zal looked Jody directly in the eyes, her four lifetimes of experience appearing the bleed through her own. “I have no issue with bringing this up in front of the cadet as Daniel has spoken of him highly, and fondly.” For the first time since he had known the Trill woman, Rhyan saw an element of sadness cross her face. The once impenetrable Ambassador was beginning to weaken under the stress of her job.

“What is the problem, President?” Rhyan was concerned. Something about the timing and nature of their meeting unsettled him.

Zal inhaled slowly, making it obvious that what she had to say was difficult to voice. “I am unwell, Rhyan.”

“Unwell? How?” Rhyan leant forward and put one of his hands on top of hers. “Does Aran know? Or Dan? Or the Federation Council for that matter?”

“Dan knows,” said another voice only now making itself apparent in the room. Rhyan turned around quick enough to see the door behind Daniel Sutherland close as the Ambassador approached Zal, Jody and Rhyan. Out of the corner of his eye Rhyan could see Jody wanting to stand up and interact with his friend – but under the circumstances he was impressed with the normally impulsive cadet’s restraint. Daniel continued. “In fact, it was my suggestion that Elesa ask you to come along today.”

“And Aran?” Rhyan repeated, concerned that Zal’s brother – and Rhyan’s colleague at the Ee Research Institute – wasn’t in the loop. Certainly when he last spoke with Aran, which was earlier that same day, he hadn’t made it obvious that he had concerns over his sister’s health.

Daniel sat down beside his former Redemption colleagues as he responded to Rhyan’s enquiry. “Lieutenant Commander Zahne doesn’t yet know about the President’s health problems. And I apologise if this might put you in an awkward position Rhyan, but we would rather he didn’t know – at least not directly – for the time being.”

It was Zal who elaborated on the secrecy. “Aran is a very competent medic,” she began, “but he is not known for remaining level-headed when he becomes emotionally invested in a problem. As I am sure you well-know from your year gallivanting across the galaxy with him.”

If he hadn’t been so stunned, Rhyan might have laughed at the remark. “I understand, Madam President,” he continued to use her full title, more out of respect than awkwardness, “but Aran is a very resourceful individual. He will work it out eventually.”

“I don’t deny that Rhyan. But for now I would rather he was not involved directly.”

“You both keep on using that word – ‘directly’,” Rhyan stated, confused by the insinuation that Zahne may somehow still be involved in the care of the President without knowing about it. He still did not know what was wrong with her.

She was quick to pick up on the confusion and answered his question indirectly.

“I have been infected with a virus, Rhyan. The chief medical officer here in Paris tells me, if left untreated, I will be dead within a few months. At the present time none of the conventional anti-virals are working to suppress or cure the progression of the disease.” Zal’s guard remained remarkably well intact as she spoke, but Rhyan could still see those few cracks in the armour that gave away her true feelings. She was scared – but not just for herself, but also for the work she still needed to achieve as the Federation President.

“I am so sorry,” Rhyan replied, not sure what else he could say to the President.

“Hazard of the job I am afraid. Doctor M’Rell tells me that the virus is blood-borne in nature, which makes this a protracted assassination attempt rather than personal misfortune while off-world.” She sighed again.

Dan was angry when he next spoke. “We do not know who is behind this latest attempt on Elesa’s life, or how they managed to get close enough to infect her. For that reason our circle of trust has eroded significantly to include the people in this room and a select few others.” The ambassador glanced over at Jody, his stern expression giving way to a sheepish smile as they locked gaze.

“Tell me more about this virus,” Rhyan said, starting to piece together his role in the meeting.

“It is unlike anything we have seen before, with the exception of a handful of cases.” Dan diverted his attention back to the wider group. “It has all the hallmarks of an artificially modified virus, but with some features similar to known viruses throughout the quadrant. Some of the RNA sequencing also appears to mimic a stretch of code in the Ee virus that your crew brought back from Romulus.”

Rhyan’s heart stopped for a moment. “You think someone out there has been sequencing the Ee virus?”

“We don’t know, is the honest answer,” remarked Zal, “but there is only one lab in the quadrant with access to the Ee virus.”

Gobsmacked with the revelation, Rhyan took almost a minute to respond to the accusation. “The Ee Research Institute? I refuse to believe anybody working in our labs would even consider releasing this virus into the open, never mind using part of it to assassinate the President! I-” He couldn’t finish his sentence.

“Right now,” Zal commented, “You are the only person I can trust to find out who created this virus. As much as I trust my brother, he cannot be trusted to objectively investigate the situation. What I need is someone who has the experience working with these viruses, as well as the objective nature to find the culprits and come up with a cure before-” She choked on her own words and was unable to finish either.

Rhyan stood up from his seat and took a few paces towards the office door. Behind him he heard the other participants in the meeting do the same. He couldn’t believe his ears. For the last six months he had worked closely with all the researchers at the Ee Research Institute and refused to believe any of them were capable of being an accessory to murder. There had to be another explanation.

“Rhyan?” Daniel pleaded with the commander, his first few attempts at attracting his attention not heard. “Rhyan, we need you to do this. And we need you to be as discreet as you can – if news of Elesa’s illness leaks out, our entire election campaign will be decimated. And you, more than anyone else, knows how important it is that she remains in this office!”

“Ashcart?” Rhyan uttered his commanding officer’s name.

Daniel picked up on the embedded question in Rhyan’s utterance. “I trust him implicitly,” he said, recalling his time spent on board the Redemption as their diplomatic liaison, “but even he has been compromised by the events leading up to Thorlarus and Deep Space Ten. If he has to be involved, then so be it – but until then, this your mission. Doctor Afton will also have to become involved at some point, I’m sure.”

“How am I supposed to carry out research of this sensitivity on board the Redemption with virtually no resources, or my commanding officer even aware of what I am up to?” Rhyan turned back round to face his friends and colleagues.

“All will become clear very shortly, Rhyan,” Elesa answered, “plus you will have Cadet Scott and Daniel on your side when you return to the Redemption.”

Once again Daniel looked at Scott and grinned.

Rhyan took a moment to process everything he had been told in the last few minutes. “That is a tall order, Madam President.”

Elesa walked from the window to where Rhyan stood and grabbed both his arms gently, facing him directly. “I know I am asking a lot of you, commander,” her voice wavered slightly, “and I am already indebted to you for saving my life two years ago. But you really are the only person I trust to find a cure and bring those at fault to justice. Do you understand?”

Rhyan wanted very much to say ‘no’, but he knew that everything the President had just said was true. She was the only person who could effectively lead the Federation through these dark times – even though some sinister force had other plans. He did not like lying to his friends, colleagues or commanding officer – but for now he would have to accept it as the lesser of two evils. At the very least he would be saving the life of his friend’s sister, and at best he was keeping the most conscientious President the Federation had seen for decades in office, and alive.

“Count me in, ”Rhyan said, bringing his hand up to Zal’s arm and squeezing it gently.

“Great,” she responded, effecting the first smile he had seen since arriving that did not give away any other negative emotion within it. “Is there anything else you will need before you board the Redemption?”

Rhyan pondered the question, and then grinned slightly. “In fact, I do. Does the name Cassandra Blackburn ring a bell with either of you?”

 

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