The Past Comes Full Circle Part II
Posted on Tue Sep 5th, 2023 @ 11:24pm by Captain Marc Kidd & Commander Abernathy Rice PhD & Lieutenant Commander Faith Benson & Lieutenant Commander Viessa Kenobi & Lieutenant Jonathan Corwin & Lieutenant Christopher Blake & Lieutenant Claire Fisher & Lieutenant Sorine Kaida & Lieutenant Siadra Molaur & Lieutenant JG Andrew Griffin & Lt JG Adalyn O'Rourke Ph.D. & Ensign Cihl Theidi & Ensign Nala Rider
Edited on on Tue Sep 5th, 2023 @ 11:33pm
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
The Sins of History
Location: Minister's Briefing Room - Bajoran Capital - Bajor
Timeline: MD004 1000 hrs
With a sigh of relief, Siadra stepped inside the building. The memories that were racing around in her mind, quieted down. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, cleansing herself from the negative thoughts that cascaded in her mind.
As Andrew followed the others he turned around suddenly. Was someone following them? Griffin looked around and seeing no one he turned around and continued walking with the others.
Marc led the crew into the rather spacious briefing room that the Minister had. He took a seat to the right of the head of the table. Leaving the head for the Minister when he arrived. The Bajoran that led them to the chamber immediately began offering refreshment to the crew as they took seats. Marc took a Bajoran coffee, which was less bitter and more aromatic that its Earth cousin. He sipped and smiled, he rather felt like he was on leave instead of about to be briefed for a mission.
Ensign Cihl Theidi looked carefully around the Briefing Room used by the Bajoran Minister. As the Engineer of the Artemis he knew that he wasn't very high on the proverbial totem pole of the ship and he did not want to push too many boundaries on this mission. Choosing a chair at the far end of the table, the Ventaxian took a seat away from his perceived center of the action. His species was all about the challenges of contracts and law so he was curious how this mission would go, but was more curious how the crew would fall in around the table.
Nala walked in and took a look around before selecting a chair exactly between the Captain and Ensign Theidi, then requested a Tapamoca (the none alcoholic version) and sat down to wait for the meeting to beginning.
As Andrew walked in he mused over what had happened just before they entered the building. Had there been someone watching them ? He took a seat and sat down deep in thought. Then shaking his head he looked up.
"You alright?" Kaida asked Andy, he seemed a bit jumpy and she'd generally found him to be an upbeat sort of person, happy to slog through hours of old evidence with her. She sat down next to him.
“ Sorry it’s just I had the feeling we were being watched. But I could not see anyone around.” Andrew said
"Hmm," She nodded, looking around herself. "It's probably nothing," she replied trying to ease his worries while collecting a few of her own.
Andrew hoped she was correct from the data they had collected Tamar Vamcet who as a teenager threw a tutor out of a window to their death for just spelling Vamcet Vancet. Would no doubt be very interested about this meeting.
For a pilot that specialized in spatial awareness and maneuvers, Chris was more like a deer in the headlights in the briefing room. He very stiffly took a chair that was out of the way of the entrance and quickly sat down. He glanced around the table and then looked down at his own section of the table as he waited for the briefing to start.
Abe accepted a beverage offered; though he wasn't well-versed in Bajoran drinks, he decided to try it anyway. Taking a sip, he quietly commented, "Not bad." Making himself comfortable near the Captain, he awaited the arrival of the minister. This kind of meeting had become a familiar routine since he moved into command. There were two rules he always adhered to: keeping his answers concise and refraining from offering any unnecessary information. These simple rules had often proven effective in keeping him out of trouble.
Adalyn's mood sobered as she entered the briefing room and considered what she might be about to absorb. She was experienced enough to not let herself get too distracted, but the sights before entering this space were so pleasant, it was almost enough to make her forget why she was actually here. She took her seat and greeted those who met her eyes with a small smile, but anyone who knew her well would realize she had her game face on. She took a warm beverage, more out of politeness than a desire to experience refreshment, but was pleasantly surprised at both the drink's odor and taste.
Viessa refused a beverage and chose to stand nearby. She didn't like to sit, felt it made one stiff and irritable being static for too long. She also didn't like to take drinks from someone she didn't know, or know how they were made and by whom. Still she waited for the minister to enter as they all did.
Shortly after everyone arrived and was settled Minister Taro Holmes walked in. The dark skinned Bajoran towered over some people as he was easily over six feet tall. Stone faced he looked at the crew gathered. "Thank you all for coming. I am glad that you helped yourself to refreshments. Please continue to do so during the course of this meeting. Now, to simply cut to the chase. What if anything do you know about the forced labor camps of the Occupation?" Taro surveyed the group and noted the Bajoran present. He was sure that she would know what he spoke of. However, he was not too sure about the rest of the crew of the Artemis.
Nala's head snapped up at the Minister's entrance.
[Sheesh, Nala! Chill out!] Nala scolded herself softly.
"My knowledge is limited to what was taught to me during my Starfleet education," Adalyn ventured. "The Cardassians occupied this planet and treated your people as slaves, beings they could subjugate, because they believed they were superior." It was perhaps an overly simplistic explanation, but the question seemed rather broad to O'Rourke, so she decided to keep her answer brief.
Nala suppressed a shiver as holo reels played through her mind. For once, she was going to remain silent, unsure as to why this was being brought up.
Jonathan sat silent and sipped at his Raktajino as the Minister walked into the room and took notes during the meeting in case he needed the information to defend against.
Engineer Theidi leaned toward the table as he listened to what the others were saying, fairly interested in learning more about why the Artemis was at Bajor. The question about the forced labor camps was somewhat surprising considering the length of time that had passed since the Bajoran Occupation had ended. Then again, when your world was subjugated, did you ever truly heal?
Claire nodded at the minister and quietly took an open seat at the conference table, PaDD in hand to take notes. She couldn’t help but sit back in her seat to be able to watch the room as well. It was in her nature.
Viessa had not been in Starfleet service when the Occupation began having resigned her previous commission under the name of Nuala Kenobi in 2217 and returning to El Auria. She then witness the near annihilation of her own people so had a kindred feeling towards the Bajoran's but not quite the same experience. She then helped form Kaitos, her own people's new world and re-joined Starfleet in 2385 under her birth name which she currently uses now. She knew of the history from the way it was written and from what she'd seen on the side-lines but dared not speak and be made to look foolish.
Siadra had taken a seat, just sitting there quietly, watching and observing. Inside her mind though Aadru the historian, was paying close attention, as this was history in the making and he didn't wish to miss one iota of the proceedings.
Taro nodded as he listened to what was said by way of answer to his question. He poured himself a glass of Spring Wine and sipped it immediately. The stoic Bajoran allowed for a short smile as he savored the flavor. "The three deadliest camps during the Occupation were: Gallitep, Porchet, and the camps aboard Terok Nor. As you all know Gul Darhe'el known as the Butcher of Gallitep is dead. He was killed by a Bajoran national aboard Deep Space Nine. Gul Dukat who was responsible for the atrocities aboard Terok Nor is missing and believed to be dead. Which brings us to this man." A holographic image of a Cardassian whose skin tone was darker than most Cardassians. His mouth twisted into a sinister smile, one that seemed permanent. He wore a Cardassian military uniform with the rank insignia of a Gul. "This is Gul Vamcet the administrator of Porchet Labor Camp. About half of all Bajoran deaths during the Occupation took place at Porchet. This makes him the most wanted man in Bajoran history. And we want you to find him and bring him to justice." There was no mystery or theatrics in Taro's voice. Rather his voice was filled with passion and purpose.
Cihl's mouth dropped, momentarily, before he quickly closed it and did his best to hide his surprise by all this. Being among the youngest members of the ship's senior staff aboard the Artemis he still had a lot to learn about maintaining decorum when he was on an assignment, but he also knew he needed to regroup and keep his mind on other tasks as he awaited more news. Looking to his datapad, the Chief Engineer started typing on the display screen of his unit, planning for how he would ensure that the Artemis was prepared if combat were to occur during their mission.
Viessa wasn't surprised, sadly. The Occupation of Bajor, and the crimes committed by the Cardassians, and certain ones at that, were always a hot topic still many decades after their withdrawal. She looked across the table at some of the faces of officers experienced, and some less so and she reminded herself that she'd missed the most of the history associated with that. She'd been around a long time and it was hard to sit on Kaitos when the quadrant was at war but also at the same time she was happy to not be a part of another one. She'd seen enough war simply from her early years on Earth during World War III and then other skirmishes during the early Starfleet and Federation days.
She extended a small hand to catch the ministers attention. "Excuse me Minister, Dr Kenobi." she introduced herself. "Do you have anything of his, maybe an old piece of clothing he wore, things he has used. Simply from a forensic standpoint it could help us locate him should more conventional means fail. Also, how did he escape Bajor?" she asked.
Andrew raised a hand. “ Minister would it be possible for us to have a list of survivors from Porchet.” There had to be a reason why Tamar Vamcet was killing anyone who could identify his father. Perhaps one of the remaining survivors knew where he was or if he changed his appearance.
So..Faith was a little late showing up the rest of the way. She'd been going abouts looking at everything and the changes over the years of Bajor then and now. Giving a look between whom was there at this point a moment. Staying back for this particular second.
Taro took another sip of his wine. "Dr Kenobi, and all of you please call me Taro. For if we are to succeed on this hunt we should all be fast friends..." He turned back toward Viessa. "I believe we have something that belonged to him. We are not sure it is his, but it is a Cardassian uniform shirt with Gul rank and it was found in what is believed to be his quarters. We can have it transferred to your evidence room by the morning. He really did not escape Bajor. You see just before the Cardassians fully pulled out of Bajor they had sent word to the officers in charge that it was to happen. During the two weeks that followed the Cardassians committed their most brutal atrocities. Vamcet was no different, he set fire to people while they were still alive for his own enjoyment. The day before the full Cardassian evacuation Vamcet was removed aboard a Cardassian ship. Never to be seen again. That is until recently, however, we will get to that in a moment."
Nala felt her stomach plummet through the floor!
[I...I think I'm gonna be sick!] Nala thought, unable to fully suppress a shudder.
Taro now turned to address Andrew's question. "Lieutenant I am afraid that our records of who was at Porchet in particular is scarce. As you are no doubt aware we have been rebuilding the records since the Cardassians destroyed them. That said, I believe we can have a list of who we know sent to your databanks. I would like to caution you if you plan on questioning those people. They are very wary of people in uniform and Starfleet is no different. They may not even talk to you."
Cihl glanced up from his datapad again, having heard about the database being updated with the list of the people who had been at Porchet. "Surely there is someone that would be willing to speak with us though," the Ventaxian said, surprised he'd actually spoken.
"Ensign I have no doubt that you will find one or two people willing to speak with you. Especially if you tell them you are seeking to bring Vamcet to justice. I merely caution you to treat these people with... What is the Human expression? Ah yes kid gloves. Be gentle and approach with caution." Taro made response to the engineer's question.
Jonathan looked up from his Raktajino and spoke. " So we have witnesses that won't speak to us because we wear a uniform, even though we're not cardassians? The federation are allies to the Bajoran people, and they won't talk? That is ridiculous! Would it help if we went to them dressed in civilian garb? I hope they would talk to us, because there may be evidence out there that can either prove his guilt or innocence. Justice is the goal of everyone here isn't it? If there is evidence being held back, then there can be no justice. " Stated Jonathan resolutely. " Justice must be fair and equal. "
"I don't doubt we all share the same goal at this table," Adalyn replied evenly, looking to Jonathan, "but we must remember the people here aren't just witnesses - sources of information that will get us to our end goal - they are also survivors of horrific trauma. Whether or not they find our ultimate goal worthy, history has taught them they can rely on no one but themselves, and asking them to recount their most painful memories comes with guaranteed pain and no guarantee for justice. Control has been taken from them in every way imaginable. At the very least, they have earned the right to determine what they share and whom they share it with. We'll just have to do what we can to prove ourselves worthy of holding their secrets and their trust. I'll put together some information on building rapport and conducting trauma sensitive interviews," O'Rourke added, more to herself than the group.
Kidd nodded when his Counselor finished speaking. "Good thinking Counselor. Please make sure to have that on hand for us all. We could all use a brush up on that."
Claire watched the various people at the conference table as well as Taro. She took in everyone’s different reactions and perspectives. “If I may, I believe we are all getting ahead of ourselves.” She turned her attention to the minister. “Why now? The Bajoran occupation ended decades ago. Yes, he managed to escape in the chaos, but why is the Bajoran government asking for Federation assistance to find this criminal now? Has there been some developments as to his whereabouts?” She asked, not entirely hiding her skepticism as to the Bajorian government’s motives.
Taro smiled mid sip, he thought the JAG Officer would have been the one to ask the correct question. "In fact Lieutenant we have..." He punched in a few commands in the console in front of him. The image shifted to that of what appeared to be a gambling house. There could be seen a tall Cardassian male although the features were distorted. "What you are seeing is a security feed from Freecloud. This was recorded two days ago, and the person in it is believed to be Vamcet." Taro played the footage and it depicted the Cardassian exchanging some chips for currency. Then he purchased a bottle of viscus black liquid, which could only be kanar, the recording was silent and ended when the Cardassian left the frame. "We believe this to be Vamcet because our contact on Freecloud said that was the name used to sign the record books when he booked a room. We cannot pursue simply because we do not have the resources. So, when we heard about your new unit the Council of Ministers thought we would reach out."
"Clearly not very intelligent if he's using his real name... or simply he doesn't care." Viessa commented. "Makes me wonder if he wants to get caught."
“ This explains why Tamar Vamcet is behaving the way he is. If his father is no longer keeping himself hidden. His son is making sure no one can point him out as the butcher of Porchet forced labor camp.” Andrew said
Nala was stunned by everything she heard.
[So...WHY am I here again? This dude's alive...so they don't really need a Facial Reconstruction Specialist] Nala thought as she sipped her drink.
Siadra was making notes as to the man's facial features. "So basically the man is acting like the proverbial purloined letter trying to hide in plain sight? Would we be able to also get some images from that video to get a better look at his facial structure? Just in case we come across him?"
"This along with all of the data that we have will be available to you. I will see to it that it is uploaded to your computers immidiately. Lieutenant I am sure that your specialists will be able to confirm if that is indeed the Gul before you proceed. In short your mission is to first confirm that is who we think it is, then bring him to Bajor to face justice." Taro answered Molaur with smile then turned to Captain Kidd. "Captain I am sure that you are no doubt aware that relations between our peoples have been strained as of late. I can assure you that a successful outcome to this mission will go a long way to repairing that relationship."
"Minister I agree wholeheartedly and assure you that we will do our best to see Vamcet brought here. Ensign Rider I am going need you to work with Lieutenant Molaur and confirm that this is the Gul. Lieutenant Blake begin to map out the quickest and most undetectable course to Freecloud. Commander Benson, you and Ms Frost begin working on an extraction plan." Kidd gave out some assignments this was more for show to the Minister. He would give more assignments upon their return to the ship.
Nala jerked slightly as she'd almost fallen into a 'waking sleep' that she'd sometimes go into if she was somewhere and she was starting to get fidgety...it helped her not look like she was falling asleep, and her mind actually strangely remembered what was important about wherever she was.
"Aye, Captain," Nala was able to reply without a very long pause.
"I have no doubt that with the Artemis out there this case will not remain open much longer. Now, if none of you have any more questions I will leave you to your tasks. However, please take a moment to enjoy what we have to offer before returning to your ship." Taro Holmes smiled genially as he rose. He paused and stood at the head of the table to take it all in and to allow for any questions.
"Yes Captain." Chris replied quickly. His mind was already going over how current the star maps were and how he could use any anomalies along the way.
A Joint Post By
Ensign Nala Rider
Facial Reconstruction Specialist, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Captain Marc Kidd
Commanding Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Minister Taro Holmes
Bajoran Government
Lieutenant Faith Benson
Chief Security/Tactical Officer, USS Artemis
Second Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Sorine Kaida
Criminal Investigations Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Commander Viessa Kenobi
Chief Medical Officer/Medical Examiner, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Junior Grade Adalyn O'Rourke
Ship's Counselor/Profiler, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Junior Grade Andrew Griffin
Criminal Investigations Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Christopher Blake
Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Claire Fisher
JAG Offier, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Ensign Cihl Theidi
Chief Engineer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Commander Abernathy Rice
Executive Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Jonathan Corwin
Defense Council, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Siadra Molaur
Chief Forensic Science Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
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