Star Trek: Fortitude
Episode Eight: ‘Face Value, Part Two’
By Jack D. Elmlinger
PROLOGUE
Last time on Star Trek: Fortitude…
Captain Ewan Llewellyn received some disturbing information from a Section Thirty-One agent visiting the Santrag system. Somehow, the Romulans have managed to plant an undercover spy aboard his ship, the USS Fortitude, NCC-76240. Through a complex investigation, the visiting Starfleet Intelligence agent, Hawkins, discovers that the Romulans smuggled one of their people to Earth and somehow took the place of a Starfleet officer before Fortitude left Utopia Planitia.
On the same day, a shuttlecraft carrying Chief Engineer Sollik and Doctor T’Verra from Santrag II to the Fortitude suffers from a terrible explosion that destroys one of their warp nacelles. Rescued, they lie in Sickbay under the care of inexperienced young nurse, Lynn Boswell. This development troubles Captain Llewellyn. For an undercover spy to plant a bomb aboard the shuttlecraft, as he suspects they did, on the same day that Agent Hawkins arrives is too much of a coincidence. Filled with rage, he beamed over to Starbase 499 and blankly accused Hawkins of being the Romulan spy, despite the fact that he doesn’t have a well-rounded case.
Fortunately, before the situation can escalate, Nurse Boswell calls Captain Llewellyn back to the Fortitude’s Sickbay, where she has discovered a shocking truth!
T’Verra, previously believed to be Vulcan… is actually a Romulan!
And now the conclusion…
ACT ONE
“Captain, I understand your position, but I must protect!”
“It’s my ship, Hawkins, and she’s my officer!”
They were walking back towards Sickbay. It had been two hours since the revelation regarding Doctor T’Verra had been revealed. Instead of reviving her and jumping into an interrogation, Ewan had decided to hold off. Along with Agent Hawkins and Rear Admiral Blackmore, he had retired to the Briefing Room and discussed all of the possible angles that they could handle this situation from. Meanwhile, Nurse Lynn Boswell worked to restore T’Verra’s original Romulan appearance. The captain felt that she would have nowhere to go if they held up a mirror and showed her the truth.
“Section Thirty-One has jurisdiction here,” argued Hawkins. “I should lead the questions and you can follow up later.”
“Despite the fact that you’re not the spy,” Llewellyn retorted,” I still don’t trust you.”
“I can submit a formal subspace request to Starfleet Command to have you relieved of duty if you don’t follow my recommendations, Llewellyn. They’ll listen to me. You’ll be disgraced, and I’ll get what I want.”
“Go ahead. I can have Security remove you from my ship, and by the time that the subspace transceiver is fired up, I will have finished with my interrogation.”
They stopped walking.
Despite his hatred of violence, Ewan felt like punching Hawkins.
“Armstrong to Captain Llewellyn,” his combadge called out to him.
“Go ahead.”
“We’ve finished our analysis of the shuttlecraft explosion, sir. I think there’s something that you should see. Can you come down to the shuttlebay?”
“I’m on my way. Llewellyn out.”
Immediately as he turned to head for the nearest turbolift, Hawkins smiled with satisfaction and started walking in the opposite direction. Pausing, the captain realized what he was up to and seized his arm. The agent whipped around, furious at being manhandled by this upstart Welshman, but he didn’t physically react.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” growled Ewan. “You’re coming with me to the shuttlebay.”
Hawkins’ face fell. His chance had escaped him but there was something more to it than simply getting to face T’Verra alone. Llewellyn registered his reluctance. Surely the man who was investigating this case would have an interest in finding out about the possible sabotage of the Shuttlecraft Stanley and the attempted murder of…
Well, that had changed now, hadn’t it? The bomb, if there was even a bomb, obviously hadn’t been planted by T’Verra. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been aboard the shuttle when it detonated.
This didn’t make sense. Why would the Romulan spy try to commit suicide?
* * * *
Llewellyn got his answers when they arrived in the shuttlebay.
Jason Armstrong walked over to meet them and there were obvious clues in the results. He was wearing a phaser and behind him stood Ensign Jim Morgan, who was also armed. He called his boyfriend over as soon as he completed his scans.
“Captain, I thought you’d be coming alone.”
“This is Agent Hawkins of Section Thirty-One,” Ewan introduced him. “Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything later, but for right now, you should tell us both what you’ve found.”
Hawkins was starting to sweat.
“I’ve finished my analysis of the shuttlecraft, sir,” Armstrong reported. “I found traces of an explosive device. It was sabotage. My initial scans revealed a Romulan signature, but there wasn’t something right so I delved in deeper. It was a bad fake, sir. The real bomb had a Starfleet signature.”
“Starfleet?,” Ewan repeated in astonishment.
“Hence the sidearms, Captain. One of our own tried to murder Lieutenant Commander Sollik and Doctor T’Verra.”
Slowly the pieces were falling into place. Llewellyn turned to face Hawkins, and that’s when he noticed the sweat.
* * * *
Captain’s Log, supplemental;
After a cleared deranged Agent Hawkins confessed to planting the bomb aboard our own shuttlecraft in some twisted attempt to flush out the Romulan spy, Security has transferred him over to Starbase 499 where Rear Admiral Blackmore is conducting an interrogation of his own.
I’ve informed the crew of the facts concerning T’Verra and her status as a Romulan. While they’re obviously and incredibly shaken by this situation, I have no time to hold their hands over this, as I’m on my way back to Sickbay to confront her.
Overcoming his uneasy attitude towards Sickbay was getting easier with every time that he walked through the doors. The feeling in his stomach today wasn’t directed towards the environment. Today, he was nervous because of who was occupying the central biobed, and because of the task that he now faced. His former Chief Medical Officer was a Romulan deep-cover spy planted aboard his ship. It was enough to make even the most hardened captain pause for thought.
Nurse Boswell greeted him as he entered, ignoring the two security guards who stood on either side of the entrance. Both of them were holding compression phaser rifles in a gross display of power. She looked tired as she joined her commanding officer.
“Status?”
“I’ve restored her Romulan appearance as you’ve requested. Other than that, she’s perfectly healthy in every way. You can ask her whatever you like or push her as hard as you like, sir. Just don’t slap her about.”
“I’ll try to restrain myself. Thank you, Lynn.”
With a nod, she retreated to what had rapidly become her personal office space, allowing Llewellyn to slowly walk forward and approach the biobed.
She was sleeping.
The sedative had worn off but thanks to the recovery process from the shuttle explosion caused by Hawkins’ bomb, she had yet to actually regain consciousness. With a grimace, Ewan deactivated the Level-Ten force field around the surgical bay and stepped inside.
Without realizing it, he placed his hand on the Type-II phaser attached to his waist while his other hand reached out and picked up a small mirror. Standing over her motionless form, he took a deep breath.
“T’Verra, wake up.”
Slowly, while still groggy from the sedative and sleep, her eyes opened. “Captain… the shuttle… explosion…”
“Easy, easy… You’re all right and so is Sollik. We’ve uncovered a plot by Starfleet Intelligence to destroy your shuttlecraft. They were trying to uncover a spy aboard Fortitude. It’s all right. They’ve left in disgrace.”
“A spy…?”
“Don’t worry about that. Listen, can you sit upright?”
“I believe so.”
As soon as she sat up, she spotted the Security guards and immediately flashed concern from behind her eyes. It was very un-Vulcan-like, and as she turned to stare at Ewan, there were also traces of trepidation. Wordlessly, he raised the mirror and handed it to her. When she saw the pronounced Romulan ridges on her forehead, she knew that the game was up.
“I want your real name,” Llewellyn growled at her. “I want your mission objectives, and I want you transferred to the Brig, right now.”
ACT TWO
On the Bridge, Commander Archer was going over a routine status report when an offensive noise came from the operations console behind her. Turning, she saw Jason Armstrong almost punch his LCARS interface as if he was trying to squash a particularly agile insect.
“Having problems over there, Ensign?”
“It’s strange, Commander,” he reported. “I keep getting random spikes of nadion particles off the starboard bow, but every time that the sensors rotate to analyze them, they disappear. It’s pissing me off… Sorry, Commander.”
“Try keeping your temper in check and refine the sensor array,” Valerie smiled, getting up to her feet. “It’s probably random interference.”
“Probably. Although, to be honest, given recent events…”
“I know, Ensign. Helm, back us away slowly, just to be on the safe side.”
* * * *
The Brig was even worse than Sickbay
It was a cold, sinister place.
At least, Sickbay served a purpose. Here, there was nothing but the determination to keep criminals locked away and downtrodden. The usual decorative palette of grey and blue, which was no more different from anywhere else aboard the Intrepid-class starship, seemed more obvious and dreary in here.
At least, that’s what Llewellyn thought as he watched T’Verra being thrown into a cell.
“I’ll ask you again,” he demanded as the force field was activated. “What’s your real name and what’s your mission aboard my ship?”
The Romulan was silent.. It was incredibly unsettling, having a familiar and previously friendly face stare back at you, a little different but not recognizably so, now belonging to the enemy. Ewan would have shivered from the chill running up his spine, had he not thought that it would have shown weakness. Now would be the time to unleash your ballsy side as Rear Admiral Blackmore would have said.
“I can sit here all day,” he continued. “Or if you won’t talk to me, then maybe you’ll talk to that charming gentlemen from Section Thirty-One who tried to murder you. I’m sure you’ve heard the reports of their methods, haven’t you?”
More silence.
“I’m curious about something. Remember when we beamed that End pilot aboard from the debris field and you pronounced him dead? Was he really beyond all help or were you out to sabotage my mission then, too?”
More silence.
“For the last time, what the hell is your real name?!”
She smiled. At least, it was a change from the blank expression that she had been wearing.
“What’s so funny?”
“You,” she whispered with a smirk. “I’ve always been fascinated by how volatile you Humans can be. You claim to be enlightened and you lead your mighty Federation, and yet, given something as minor as an enemy agent in your ranks and you explode.”
“You call this minor?!,” Ewan yelled, slamming his palm against the bulkhead.
“Of course, Captain. You have no idea how many agents we have throughout Starfleet, and you probably have no idea how many agents your Section Thirty-One has throughout the Romulan Star Empire. Our community is a stable one. If it ever came to war between our peoples, we would both probably be defeated from the inside-out without ever firing a single shot across the Neutral Zone.”
She had a point. Ewan did have an idea, contrary to her presumptions. It was no secret that the tensions between the Federation and the Romulans were kept from leading to armed conflict, thanks to a complex checks-and-balances network of spies and undercover agents. It was the most extreme form of cowboy diplomacy.
“My name is Naketha,” she continued, catching him unaware with her sudden decision to answer his question. “I was assigned to penetrate Starfleet’s presence in the Santrag system and determine the intentions of the Federation in this corner of the Beta Quadrant.”
“Why? What’s so important about the middle of nowhere?”
“Think geopolitically, Captain. Your only link back to Earth and the rest of the Federation is a narrow corridor of unclaimed space between my people and the Klingons. We were naturally curious about why Starfleet squeezed through the gap and continued the expansionist policy of the Federation Council.”
“We’re not Empire-building!,” Llewellyn protested, his anger turning to resolute defiance in the face of such accusations. “The government on Santrag II initiated First Contact with one of our scout vessels and requested Federation membership!”
“So you claim,” countered Naketha. “Tell me, if a member world of the Federation decided to leave and join the Romulan Star Empire, would you simply believe that they did it of their own accord? Please, Captain, you know how this game works.”
This conversation was straying from the topic at hand. Galactic politics aside, Ewan still wanted to know what she was doing aboard Fortitude, and what her endgame had been or if there was even a planned endgame. Letting silence return to the Brig for a few moments, he collected his thoughts.
“Your mission here,” he repeated.
“It is strictly an intelligence-gathering assignment, Captain. I went through considerable training and facial reconstruction to pose as Doctor T’Verra. I was never instructed to waste it all in a futile blaze of glory. For example, that End pilot was truly dead when I examined him. I was selected for my medical background, and I would have served you well enough.”
“The real Doctor T’Verra, the one with the distinguished Starfleet career, what happened to her? Did you kill her, damn it?”
“Sacrifices must be made. You of all people should appreciate that.”
That statement made him freeze. The chill coursing through his spine returned and the hairs all over his body stood on end.
“What do you mean by that?”
Naketha grinned, her eyes narrowing.
“I know more about you than you could possibly imagine, Ewan.”
* * * *
There it was again.
Jason double-checked the readings again. They had moved away and for some reason, the strange sensor returns were following them, keeping to roughly the same distance as before. The nadion particles weren’t fading away so quickly. In fact, they were increasing so much that… oh, no!
“Commander!,” he yelled. “I have a Romulan Warbird decloaking, dead ahead!”
Instantly, power began to fluctuate all over the Fortitude. The lights began to flicker and the demanded Red Alert status from Valerie Archer never activated. Instead, they refused to cooperate as darkness engulfed several decks.
* * * *
In the Brig, before anyone could react, the force field switched itself off and Naketha disappeared in the green glow of a Romulan transporter beam.
Walking towards the space that she had just occupied, for reasons beyond his control, Ewan stared at the floor and felt his blood pressure rise.
ACT THREE
Starbase 499 wasn’t suffering no such power drain.
Bursting into the Station Master’s Office, Rear Admiral Blackmore marched straight over to Station Master Erica Martinez and demanded an explanation for the sudden and unexpected Red Alert when his eyes caught the viewscreen. There, floating alongside the Fortitude in between 499 and Santrag II, was a Romulan D’Deridex-class warbird. He felt his jaw literally drop.
“What the hell did they come from?,” he barked.
“They just decloaked a second ago,” Erica answered him. “They’ve targeted some kind of deflector pulse at the Fortitude, shutting down main power.”
“They’re here for the spy!,” the Rear Admiral gasped.
“What spy?,” Martinez demanded to know, spinning on her heels and turning away from the mad panic that had gripped the room.
“No time!” Blackmore brushed her aside. “Raise shields! Scramble the Steamrunner and prepare for battle stations! Now!”
At that moment, the Warbird turned and pointed its sharp green nose away from the helpless Intrepid-class starship, deactivating the crippling deflector pulse and preparing to jump to warp. With its mission complete and Naketha safely back aboard, they were not going to stick around.
* * * *
On the Bridge of the Fortitude as the lights came back on, Commander Archer gritted her teeth and headed for the tactical console. “Ensign Morgan,” she ordered,” target their cloaking generator and fire!”
“Direct hit,” Jim reported, a second later. “They’ve lost their ability to cloak.”
“They’re jumping to warp,” Lieutenant Vuro called out from the helm where he was firmly seated. “I can match their course and speed on your order, sir.”
Archer returned to the center of the Bridge as she issued that order. “Do it!”
Fortitude streaked to Warp Nine as Captain Llewellyn emerged from the turbolift and onto the Bridge. His demeanor could only be described as seething rage. As soon as he registered the image of the escaping Romulan warbird on the viewscreen, the stars betraying their status as passing at warp speed, he felt like hugging Valerie. She had done exactly what he would have done. They weren’t getting away that easily.
“Captain!,” Armstrong exclaimed from Ops, forgetting his place in all of the excitement.
“They’ve taken her. That Warbird has the Romulan spy that we knew as T’Verra aboard. I want her back!”
“We’re currently gaining on them, sir,” reported Vuro. However, they’ll cross into the Neutral Zone in less than fifteen minutes, and we don’t have the authorization to follow them in.”
“We have full power back?”
“Yes, Captain,” Archer nodded.
“Ensign Morgan, target their engines and prepare to fire photon torpedoes.”
* * * *
She was back among her own kind and it felt good.
The Bridge of the Warbird was far from in a celebratory mood. As Naketha entered, she saw Fortitude on the viewscreen, giving chase. Listening to a few reports from the various stations around her, she realized that the cloaking generator had been damaged. Another shout, this time from a young centurion behind her, reported that the Starfleet vessel was loading photon torpedoes and preparing to fire.
This was insane! Hadn’t she gotten through to him one tiny bit?!
Grabbing the subcommander in command of the Warbird, a man that she had never met, Naketha stared at him before he had a chance to order a similar, idiotic move.
“Listen to me, Subcommander,” she pleaded with him. “Open a channel to Captain Llewellyn. I can reason with him.
“You must think me a fool,” came his reply.
“Excuse me?”
“Allow me to introduce myself, spy. I’m Subcommander Vrekaith, and this is my ship that you’re issuing orders on. Not only that, but I have yet to determine if you are fit to return to active duty or not. You could have been turned!”
“If I have been turned,” Naketha spat at him, her anger boiling over at being accused of such madness upon what was supposed to be a happy occasion for her,” I wouldn’t be trying to save your ship! They have photon torpedoes locked on our engines! They could blow us out of the stars with a single command! Let me do something!”
Slowly, Vrekaith backed down. He could see the truth in her eyes. Signalling his communications officer, he allowed Naketha to step forward.
“Captain Llewellyn,” she called out.
“What the hell do you want?,” Ewan snapped over the intercom.
“Let us go.”
“You know we’re about to fire. Why don’t you stand down and return yourself to my Brig? Then we’ll talk about letting your shipmates carry on. Right now, you are illegally breaching the Neutral Zone Treaty and invading Federation space!”
“Ewan,” Naketha retorted,” think about this! Remember what I told you in the Brig? The balance that I spoke of? Destroying a Romulan Warbird would destroy that balance! You would be plunging the Beta Quadrant into war with a single command!”
“Stand down, right now!”
“I don’t believe that you’re a bad man, Ewan. Are you ready to sacrifice the Federation for your personal feelings? I humiliated you but be logical. The End, the tensions with the Klingons… Can you really entertain a third front? You won’t kill us. You won’t start a war. Therefore, we won’t be turning around.”
Silence.
The most painful silence that anybody had ever endured.
Tension, too.
Naketha realized that her hands were balled up into fists. Try as she might, she couldn’t get them to unclench, either.
It took fifteen seconds to get a reply from Llewellyn. It felt like fifteen years.
“This isn’t over,” he snapped at her. “You tell your people to recall their spies. If you ever show your face in this sector again, I’ll open fire. Balance be damned.”
“I believe you, Captain. Thank you.”
“Get the hell out of my backyard!”
And they did.
EPILOGUE
It had been a day since Naketha’s Warbird crossed the Neutral Zone.
As the door chimes to his quarters rang, Ewan lifted his head. It felt like a lead weight and he slowly came to the realization that he had been drifting in and out of a restless sleep for almost an hour. Groggy, he supported himself against the comfortable reclined chair as he stood up and ran a hand through his dark hair.
“Come on in.”
It was Commander Valerie Archer. He had suspected as much.
“I’m just going my rounds, Captain,” she said with a smile. “I thought I’d check in and see how you were doing after… well, you’ve been quiet today.”
“I hope for obvious reasons,” he replied, resuming his seat.
“I guess it can’t be easy, can it?”
“Why don’t we switch jobs one of these days and you can find out?”
Archer shifted uncomfortably on the spot. She wasn’t sure if that was intended to be some kind of joke, or if it was laden with malice. This was Ewan that she was speaking to so she took it to mean the former.
Realizing the possible dilemma over the translation, Ewan closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, Valerie.”
“Don’t be, Ewan,” was her instant reply to his apology. “With everything that’s happened on this mission so far. The End, the Klingons, and to find out that your Chief Medical Officer is an undercover agent… I suppose I just wanted to say that I’m here. Any time of the day or night, you just call me. Got it?”
“Thanks.”
There was little more for them to say. Turning to leave, she decided to be a little brave and make one final observation.
“Ewan, find some time to relax. You look…”
“What?,” the captain asked her. “Stressed? Burned out? Overwhelmed?”
“Older. You look older.”
Leaving him along with his thoughts, Valerie departed.
The End...