Surefoot 69: We are Shanos Minor

Valtiri understood that, as he understood the reactions of fear and hatred he felt from the Caitians upon seeing the Ferasan prisoners. Even discounting the prior war crimes, the destruction of Shanos Minor would have irrevocably branded the likes of him as a monster in their eyes. And he wouldn't blame them for a moment.

Focus. Focus, as his Mentor had taught him. Find his balance. Test his strength. Reach out. Perhaps seek Pilot's mind, assure him that, whatever happens, Captain Hrelle was too honourable a warrior to simply butcher them out of a hunger for retribution against their people... however much they might deserve it.

And yet, now, somehow, he couldn't hear any minds, sense any presence nearby. It was bizarre; normally such silence could only be achieved naturally, by being hundreds of sestares away from others. It was-

He was startled from his thoughts by the crimson column of a transporter beam at the other end of the room, as his eyes and nose took in the scent of a middle-aged Caitian female with sepia fur and a blue-themed Starfleet uniform, sitting in an armless chair facing him. Her voice echoed as she ordered him, "Stay where you are."

He stayed silent... trying to catch some thoughts, some clue. He suspected he knew who she was, based on what he had picked up from Hrelle, but really, he should have been discerning something from her at this close a range-

Then, as if reading his thoughts, she finally continued. "I'm Commander Kami Hrelle, Chief Counselor of the USS Surefoot, currently second in command of this facility. If you're trying to read my mind and wondering why you can't, it's because this cell is surrounded by an energy field that inhibits telepathic activity. That surprised me when I first heard that this was possible; I was trained to believe that there was no technology capable of doing that, but then I've since learned that some advances are kept classified."

Valtiri nodded; that explained his lack of success in reaching out, even to her mind. "I wish I had possessed such devices growing up; I would have slept better." He focused on her. "I recognise you. I caught fleeting glimpses of your husband's thoughts about you as we fought."

Her expression tightened. "You mean, as you tried to murder him, don't you? Him, and my kin-daughter?"

Her accusations stung. "I am no hired thug, Counselor. I am the Hunter Prime of Ferasa, a Warrior. If I had just wanted Captain and Lieutenant Hrelle dead, I could have killed them both many times over, without their ever knowing it. By facing them as I did, I offered them an honourable and worthy means of dying: with swords in paw."

"How noble of you," Kami commented dryly. "You gave them a better fate than the Kaetini you killed. Have you killed anyone else since coming here?"

"Yes: two Ferasans."

"Oh? And what did they do to earn your wrath?"

He raised his muzzle to her, determined to accept her anger towards him, under the circumstances... as long as the truth was still embraced. "One Ferasan assaulted your son Misha's teacher as I was questioning her, despite my promise to her that she would not be harmed if she cooperated with me. The other Ferasan held a gun to a Caitian cub's head in Sekuro in an attempt to save his own worthless, cowardly life. Both offended my code of honour."

Her bronze eyes narrowed on him. "You believe you have a code of honour?"

"I do not believe it, Counselor. I know it."

"And where does a man with a code of honour stand on an act of mass murder of the innocent civilians of Shanos Minor?"

The question stung him again, as the memories of his reaction flooded him, and he looked away. "It... does not. I felt the deaths of those innocent civilians, as surely as if I had been among them, consumed by the fire and the blast. I swear to you that I did not know that my people would commit such a heinous act, nor would I have ever supported it." He looked up at her again. "Please believe me, I am ineffably ashamed of what has happened, and I swear to you that I will do everything in my power to recompense your people."

But the Caitian remained unimpressed. "I am not prepared to believe or disbelieve you at this stage, Mr Valtiri. That's why I'm here: to assess you, to confirm the veracity of what you're saying. Fortunately, I don't rely on telepathy to glean the truth; instead I have over thirty years' experience in reading people of many races, detecting the most subtle signs of deception from them, signs they never even know they're displaying. And of late, for obvious reasons, I've been focusing on reading Ferasans.

So we're going to spend the next few hours together, Mr Valtiri. Here, I will question, and you will answer. I'm going to know you better than anyone else in the Universe.

Let me establish the ground rules, so you understand the gravity of the situation. In addition to the psionic inhibitors in the walls, ceiling and floor of this cell, there are also transporter units. They brought you, and then me, in here, and when required they will bring in food, water, clothing and hygiene, sleeping and other units.

But... if you make any aggressive moves towards me while I'm here, you'll be transported... into nothingness.

If you attempt to escape, or damage any of the cell's infrastructure, you'll be transported into nothingness.

If you attempt to lie to me, or refuse to answer any of my questions to my satisfaction, I'll leave here, give the word, and you'll be transported into nothingness.

And this interrogation ends when I say it ends."

She shifted in place. "Well... shall we begin?"

*

USS Surefoot, Conference Room:

Crewman Malala Jain, a short, slate-grey Malurian female, moved around the conference table with a tray of coffee and other requested beverages, setting the correct ones before each individual, T'Varik noting her attention to detail... as well as her obvious interest in Petty Officer C'Ria Ctuuri and what he might have to say about the status of the Hrelles.

T'Varik understood her acute curiosity: the young member of the Support Crew had met the Captain and Sasha Hrelle on the previous incarnation of the Surefoot, when she had been abducted along with other refugee Malurian children to serve as slave labour by the Bel-Zon, until the Hrelles had discovered and rescued them. Malala had met them years later, at Sasha's graduation, formally thanking them and promising to pay back their selfless acts by joining Starfleet... which she had obviously done by enlisting when she became a legal adult.

T'Varik appreciated her desire for further information... but now was not the time. "Thank you, Crewman Jain, you may resume your scheduled duties."

She looked across at the Vulcan, the disappointment clear in her large reflective eyes. "Are you certain I can't prepare some snacks as well, Captain? Some shuris strips for our guest, or maybe those Vulcan pastries you always enjoy-"

T'Varik ignored the smirks that produced from some of the others in the room. "Dismissed, Crewman."

Jain pursed her lipless mouth, but to her credit simply replied, "Yes, Ma'am," and departed.

T'Varik focused now on Ctuuri, who looked healthier than when T'Varik had last seen him; he was dressed in a plain black utilitarian jumpsuit, and sat formally at one end of the table in the Captain's Conference Room, holding himself with a confidence belying his youth as he addressed the officers assembled, including Commander Murphy, Lieutenants Shall and Bellator, Captain Weynik from the Ajax... and onscreen, Admiral Tattok from the Triton, everyone rapt as Ctuuri commenced. "It was the largest Ferasan fleet ever assembled. Scores of them. Every Pride with a starship came. They swept over us, shut down our major defences, moved into orbit over Cait and bombed our Militia bases. They met little to no resistance; they had our security access codes."

"How in the Seven Hells did they get their paws on them?" C'Rash asked, bristling.

He looked to her. "Fleet Captain Shall believes they received stolen classified data from a Starfleet Admiral, Ian Trenagen, as part of some act of vengeance."

T'Varik looked over at Weynik, who glanced up at the screen at Tattok, his father, none of them saying anything. T'Varik understood their silence, aware of the late Admiral Trenagen's association with the illegal organisation Section 31, and of his bitter feud with Fleet Captain Shall, culminating in an attack on Captain Hrelle on this very ship, followed by an official announcement about Trenagen's death from natural causes... precisely the obfuscation she had expected. She herself had encountered Trenagen directly more than once, but would never have suspected he be capable of such treachery.

"Nearly all of our fleet was destroyed," Ctuuri continued. "The Mother's Fury was sent on a death dive into Kuburan, the outer dwarf planet in our system... or at least, what appeared to the Enemy to be a death dive. A warp charge was launched and detonated from our aft, simulating an explosion while we entered a hidden base beneath Kuburan, damaged but intact. We have been there since, tending to our wounded, repairing our damage... and learning what we can about the Enemy's plans."

"She's alive," C'Rash breathed out, looking more animated than T'Varik had seen in a long while as she focused on the male. "Mother's Cubs, Ma'Sala's alive?"

"She needed a cybernetic right eye and right arm fitted until she can get to a cloning facility, but yes, she is."

"What are the Ferasans doing on your planet?" Tattok asked from the viewscreen. "It's more than just planting their flag on your territory, I take it?"

Ctuuri looked up at him now. "Yes, Sir. The Ferasan genome has suffered irreparable damage from generations of Augmentation and experimentation, something they discovered in recent years and kept to themselves. They believe that they can overcome this through... forced breeding with Caitian females, and the abduction and... modification of our cubs to more resemble Ferasans."

He shuddered. "They've set up camps all over Cait, deceiving our people with a story about a medical emergency triggered by a conspiracy of Militia and Starfleet terrorists. And they're building vessels to transport thousands of suitable Caitians to their world."

C'Rash hissed, as T'Varik picked up a PADD and looked to Tattok. "Warrant Officer Ctuuri has provided a datadot with intelligence, news, and video footage transmitted from Cait. It corroborates his account, and Lieutenant Bellator has examined and confirmed its authenticity." She nodded to Bellator. "We are transmitting it to you now."

"Thank you. Any word about resistance efforts on the planet?"

Ctuuri nodded. "There are demonstrations by the public, and more aggressive efforts, among the Kaetini, the only organised paramilitary structure available with the destruction of the planetbound Militia forces... and I can confirm that, at least as of twelve days ago, these efforts were being led by Captain Esek Hrelle."

Weynik made a sound. "I knew Wide Load wouldn't be spending his time sitting around eating shuris snacks." Then he looked back at the Caitian curiously. "Your name, 'Ctuuri', sounds familiar, but I'm not sure how."

The young male nodded again. "My father was Major Tan Ctuuri, Sir. You and Lt Hrelle met him two years ago on your ship, on a mission involving the Ferasans." His eyes went downcast. "I signed up for the Militia after he died, and Fleet Captain Shall took me under her mentorship."

Now he looked around them, and then at Tattok. "When it became clear that help from Starfleet wasn't forthcoming, and that the Ferasans were preparing to move thousands of our fertile female and our cubs to their planet, I volunteered to leave Kuburan in a modified warp-capable probe, fitted with a life-support system and recyclers, to find the Surefoot and inform them of what was happening, so that you can take action to prevent further atrocities." He remained focused on Tattok as he added, "Assuming you wish to... Sir."

The Admiral's race wasn't physically given to expressive faces, at least in comparison with most humanoid's. But T'Varik had learned to discern the nuanced shifts in her commanding officer, and she saw it now as he replied, "We haven't willingly withheld our support for Cait, Mr Ctuuri, I can assure you. Without our efforts to try and retake Betazed, all the other neighbouring sectors, including your people's own, would fall irrevocably into the Dominion's hands."

"And now we just bash our heads against the Dominion's brick wall, over and over," Weynik groused. "Seeing our numbers diminish with each battle. Losing good people, good ships." Now he looked up at his father. "I want to start winning something for a change. Especially if Cait only fell because of help from one of our own."

Tattok ignored him, continuing. "Mr Ctuuri, the information you have provided is to say the least disturbing... especially this news about Caitian civilians being transported en masse to Ferasan territory. Is there any indication of the timeline involved?"

"No, Admiral. Our intelligence is highly limited, only what has been leaked from the Motherworld. Only... soon."

Tattok looked to T'Varik now. "Captain, how long will it take for the Surefoot to complete the transfer all of your wounded and evacuees to the Samaritan?"

The Vulcan looked up. "We should be completed in 4.63 hours, Admiral."

Tattok nodded at that. "Proceed as normal. I'll be in touch."

Weynik sat up. "Wait, we haven't-"

But the Admiral ended the transmission.

"I hate when he does that," Weynik muttered.

T'Varik turned to the others. "We will proceed, as instructed."

"That's it?" Ctuuri looked around in disbelief, and a growing desperation. "Was I not clear enough? They're taking our people! Using us for breeding stock! They've killed hundreds of thousands of us!" He held up his paws pleadingly. "What is wrong with you people?"

Now C'Rash, sitting beside him, reached out and took his paw in hers. "Claws in, Cub. Nobody here is more eager than me to get back to rescue my Matriarch, and chase those filthy Rat-tailed kussiks off our world. But we can't just drop what we're doing here and take off."

T'Varik regarded her spouse, before turning to Murphy. "Commander, please see to guest quarters for Mr Ctuuri. Lt Shall, take the Conn until my return. Captain Weynik and I have to discuss something."

The ebon-furred Caitian female glared at her spouse, but rose, along with the others, and departed- except for Murphy, who looked at T'Varik with a mixture of cordiality and suspicion. "Nothing I should stay and oversee, Ma'am?"

T'Varik looked back, recognising the underlying nuances behind his question. It had been an unspoken reason of Tattok's to assign Murphy, an outsider to the Surefoot family, to act as second in command... and to curb any potential temptation to take impulsive action. T'Varik had almost been insulted by the notion... until she began overhearing talk among some of the younger, more impetuous crewmembers about 'accidentally' taking one of the runabouts to Cait.

She said nothing about it, attributing it to bravado... but had Bellator and C'Rash implement hidden additional encryption protocols, anyway. "Nothing, Commander. This is just... Captain's Talk."

He offered a smile. "I'll be a Captain soon, too."

"Then you can join us... soon," Weynik quipped, shooing him towards the door.

Murphy shrugged good-naturedly, and departed with the others.

T'Varik rose and moved to the shelves near the desk, retrieving a curved bottle of amber liquid and two tumblers, returning them to the table and pouring. "Your assessment, Weynik?"

The Roylan leaned across the table, making noises until T'Varik took the hint and pushed one tumbler closer to him. He accepted it, sitting down again. "You handled yourself well, stayed mostly quiet and let my Dad take on the anger from Mr Ctuuri-"

"I was in fact asking for an assessment of your father, not my own performance," she corrected him dryly, taking a tumbler for herself and sitting down again.

He smiled. "Sorry. I've gotten used to mentoring you in Wide Load's absence." He sipped at the spirits. "My Dad's made his decision: we're going. It's just a matter of how, and how soon, and how many favours he's gonna have to call him or how many secrets he's gonna have to threaten to release to get it authroised."

She cradled the glass in her hands, idly calculating the amount in millimetres she can drink without triggering a depreciation in her mental faculties. She indulged in a measure of reassurance in having Weynik present; as assured as she was at commanding now, she found it advantageous to confide in someone of her own temporary rank, outside of her own command structure. "I will not deny any satisfaction when the order is finally given. I worry for the Captain and his family."

"Anything in that data in particular about them?"

She nodded and tapped on her PADD; on the main screen, video footage of Sasha wielding her sword against a group of Ferasan soldiers, graphically cutting through them. "This was Lt Hrelle defending a group of Caitian student protestors in a city called Shanos Minor. She has apparently inspired many to continue to protest and rebel."

Then there was a dark, more distant image, computer-enhanced to compensate for the night-time surroundings, of a single figure wading through literally dozens of others... at one point, flame shot out from a handheld weapon from the single figure, enveloping the mob, sending them sprawling. "And this was identified as Captain Hrelle, attacking Ferasans who had occupied the Shall Clanlands."

Weynik watched the carnage. "Bloody Hemra..."

She switched off the link. "Moments later, the Shall Clanhouse was destroyed by aerial fire. There was a subsequent broadcast from Mi'Tree Shall, indicating that Captain Hrelle and Sreen were fugitives, being pursued by the Jem'Hadar, who apparently until now have been allowing the Ferasans to dominate the Occupation activities."

Weynik nodded sagely, drinking again. "That makes sense. When Sasha and I worked with Major Ctuuri, the negotiations between the Ferasans and the Dominion were very tentative. Maybe it's still that way, otherwise we've be hearing Dominion propaganda throughout the Quadrant about their alliance with the Ferasan Patriarchy, we will dominate the Galaxy, yadda yadda." He regarded the Vulcan. "They'll be fine. Esek is a survivor, and he's passed that trait onto Kami, Sasha and the cubs. Maybe we should talk about you now."

She raised an eyebrow. "There is nothing to talk about, Captain."

"I disagree. Soon we'll be kicking those fleabag Ferasans off of Cait, and getting Captain Hrelle and Family back onboard. Are you willing to go back to being his second in command, now that you have had an extended taste of the Captain's Chair?"

"Given my vegetarian preferences, and knowing the posteriors that have sat there, I have no intention of tasting it."

"You know what I mean." He drank again before continuing. "You deserve your own command. I've watched you, not just during your temporary command but throughout the time you've spent as Esek's First Officer. You're more than capable of taking the Centre Seat permanently."

"I agree." She drank as well, ignoring his smirk at her candour, before continuing herself. "I initially took ship duty to serve as a Liaison for the Academy cadets we had onboard as part of the Advanced Work Experience program. The War has suspended further cadets from embarking on duty in potentially hazardous areas. But I am fully confident it will resume when the War ends."