The Phoenix Rises

Posted on Sun Dec 30th, 2018 @ 9:28pm by Admiral Zachary O'Connell

Mission: The Gavarian Frontier
Location: Deep Space 12 and Starbase 72

The office was quiet for once...an unusual occurrence on Deep Space 12. Harrison had decided to catch up on some much needed paper work.

He smiled at the term. It was a long time since anyone had used paper for filing reports yet the phrase still stuck. It was like talking about taping a message, another anachronism which had survived the test of time.

He started with the matter of the Breen. There was little more to report than last time as there had been no further contact with whoever had approached him. He knew that did not necessarily mean there was no more need for his intervention on the Breen’s behalf but for now…. For now, it was a case of wait and see what might eventuate.

That done, he could give his attention to a long time concern. Reports had started to come in again about the Order of 12. Harrison had thought them a defunct organisation. He was aware there were still cadre out there but any structure within the organisation had fallen apart from what he could tell. At least, that is what he would have reported a week ago. Now there were rumours of renewed arms shipments flowing into the Cardassian Union. What was worse, if the telemetry coming from the listening net along the Cardassian frontier was correct then someone knew what was doing their absolute best to keep it a secret. And that someone was not in the Cardassian government. The telemetry had been very carefully falsified. This operation appeared so brazen that it could only be done with connivance from within Starfleet or the Federation.

Harrison sincerely hoped he was wrong but his concern was so great that he needed to report his suspicions to Admiral O’Connell without further delay.

“Patch me through to Starfleet Headquarters: Admiral O’Connell. Priority meassage; encrypted on a secure line,” he ordered Lieutenant Stills in Ops.

=^=Admiral O’Connell on the line, Sir,=^= Stills replied after a brief pause.

“Admiral, Captain Harrison; Deep Space 12.”

For the last several weeks, Zachary had practically lived in his administrative floor, floating from briefing to conference to private communique. He had hoped that his time as a Task Force Commanding Officer wouldn't have been as stressful as last year in the Gamma Quadrant, but it seemed that the Alpha Quadrant certainly had far more nuances and surprises than he ever could have anticipated. When he'd heard of a priority message from Deep Space 12 on the Cardassian border, the Admiral had quickly abandoned the logistical briefing and made a bee-line to his office.

"I'd say it's good to see you again, Captain," Zachary replied, reaching for a cup of coffee his assistant had left for him on his desk. "But I'm guessing that the circumstances for your call are anything but."

“I have been accused of paranoia in the past, Sir, on more than one occasion. When it comes to the Order of 12, I make no apologies for it. And I will say this: had it not been for my insistence that all telemetry be thoroughly scrutinised then we might have missed it. Whoever made the alterations is good and covered their tracks well. But the evidence is clear now that we know what we are looking for. There have been shipments of something through the Demilitarised Zone and someone is taking great care to make sure we are not aware of them.”

Zachary frowned, obscuring that expression only for a moment for a sip of the dark elixir. "The Order of Twelve," he murmured, having become familiar with the organization just a few months ago. "I thought they'd disbanded."

“So did….” Harrison began. “No,” he corrected. “To say I thought they had disbanded would not be accurate. Better to say that I hoped they had. I think that much of their support drifted away when nothing of substance was achieved. You can only keep an organisation running on a hope and a prayer for so long and that was about all the Order had going for it by the end. But the hard core – the nucleus, if you like – remained at large...or so I believe. Certainly they were not brought to answer for their crimes by the Federation and I have heard nothing to suggest that the Cardassians caught any of them either. It seems they have found new backers with money to spare.”

Or the Central Command had no real desire to catch any of the Order, thought Zachary. Rumors had long circulated in intelligence circles that the Order of Twelve had more influence than anyone thought, leading to a renewed sense of patriotism within the Union, giving rise to the massive advance on the Breen border at the end of the previous year. "To what ends do you think the Order will go?"

“We know what the aims of the Order are, Sir. They wish to destabilise the Cardassian government with a view to overthrowing it and establishing a new one along the old militaristic lines. As for what the new backers might be wanting out of this…. I suspect we will not know that until we know who they are.”

"And how do you propose we go aboard finding out the truth, Captain?" Zachary asked. "Resources are stretched rather thin at the moment, and with our reinforcing the Gavarian Corridor, and dealing with the situation in the Inconnu Expanse..."

“I would like to put together a team to infiltrate the Order and gather Intelligence. We need more information if we are to effectively combat them.”

"Infiltration?" Zachary echoed. His curiosity was intrigued, but with the Cardassians and the Federation on somewhat stable ground, he had to be absolutely careful with how they proceeded. The Admiral also thought he would need to loop in his Task Force Chief of Intelligence, and he'd do so as soon as this conversation was over. "What sort of team are you proposing?"

“I have one person in mind. Thalal zh’Simal is a member of the Andorian Imperial Guard but she is ex-Starfleet. She served on Deep Space 12 some years ago. It was before my time but the reports speak of a resourceful woman.”

"Go on," Zachary told him, having nothing to say at this juncture, though he felt the Captain was grasping at a very odd straw.

“She resigned so that she could return to Andoria to take her part in the shelthreth, the Andorian mating ritual. As you would know, Sir, Andoria is suffering from a marked population decrease. zh’Simal felt it her duty to procreate after having put it off for many years: duty which she placed above that owed to Starfleet. Then she stayed on Andoria to help raise the child.”

The Admiral frowned. "To me, Captain, it sounds like the Chief is unavailable."

“As I said, this was some years ago. The child is now old enough to leave in the care of others. zh’Simal meanwhile joined the Imperial Guard and has kept up her training and fitness. I believe she would be open to rejoining Starfleet if the right offer was made.”

While he was intrigued, Zachary was still very uneasy about the idea, and was thinking the Captain was trying to fill a long overdue favor. "And you think this is it, Captain?"

“When she left Deep Space 12, she left behind a broken heart. Chief Petty Officer Akina Jrez and she were lovers. She made a clean break, deeming that would be better for Chief Jrez to cope with. Subsequently though, they have resumed contact. I have spoken to Chief Jrez. He understands that zh’Simal is feeling underutilised where she is. The Imperial Guard is largely only ceremonial now and she wants action. That means she would not return to Starfleet just to sit behind a desk. I have not given Chief Jrez any specifics on what I have in mind but from general discussion we have had, the Chief thinks this might be just what she is looking for.”

Harrison paused briefly. “Which leads me to the main reason I am recommending her,” he said. “She comes with the advantage that she is not Starfleet. If the Order is as resourceful as I believe it to be, then it will likely have dossiers on most of Starfleet’s agents. That would make infiltration difficult. zh’Simal is not a known quantity so her task would be easier. It will still be fraught with danger so any advantage – however small – would be welcome. Added to that, unlike most unknown quantities, her loyalty to Starfleet is, I believe, without question.”

The Admiral didn't respond immediately, feeling the need to wait to hold his questions despite his uneasiness of the situation, and the time crunch he was finding himself in.

“I have heard that you have a new Law Enforcement Officer: Lieutenant...Kowal, I believe.” Harrison waited for confirmation from O’Connell. “From what little I have heard about Lieutenant Kowal,” he continued, “zh’Simal would be an ideal fit if the Lieutenant is putting a team together.”

"I think you're getting your circuits crossed," Zachary pointed out, using an engineering reference for the analogy. "Lieutenant Kowal is assembling a law enforcement team, not an intelligence team. Such an organization will be committed to inside the Federation, not running undercover operations across international borders."

“My apologies, Admiral. Obviously, I was mistaken.”

"Captain, I'll be honest," Zachary said frankly. "I understand completely the dangers the Order presents, especially if it's lying in wait. But, we are not at war with the Cardassians. We're not even at war with the Alrakis Pact, no matter how tense the situation looks. Infiltrating Cardassia in the middle of peacetime would not just reflect badly on the Federation and the Task Force, but could ignite a powder keg we still can't afford."

“Sir, I understand your position though I would like to formally record the fact that I disagree. However, I would like to offer a compromise. The Demilitarized Zone is neither Cardassian nor Federation. However, it has – in the past – been an area of active recruitment for the Order. Resentment of both the Federation and the Union runs deep in the Zone and the Order has been able to play on that resentment, just as the Marquis did in the past. However, the Federation does have a mandate for law enforcement in the Zone; for example, Deep Space 12 investigated the attack on Gaspar as well as providing humanitarian relief. That attack remains unresolved. We could put a team in to continue the investigation and use it as a cover for more extensive operations.”

Admiral O'Connell remained still for a moment, absorbing what the Captain had said. Harrison certainly had the right to disagree, having the ability to take a closer look at his area of space than Zachary could even imagine. Still, the Admiral had the responsibility and the duty to keep the bigger picture in mind at all times. Tunnel vision was not something he could simply afford. "Very well," he said at last. "Collect what information you can, but keep me informed at all times. It's a risky mission, and as I said earlier, I'm done losing personnel and material."

“Thank you, Sir. I will approach Thalal zh’Simal through formal channels but I will keep the full nature of her mission under wraps for now in case she declines Starfleet’s offer. I will keep you informed at all stages. Further, I do not propose to put her into play until I get the final go-ahead from yourself. That way, we can continue to monitor the situation. Things have a habit of changing rapidly where the Order is concerned and I do not want to see Starfleet or the Federation compromised because we acted precipitously.”

This satisfied the Admiral, at least for now. "See to it, Captain. As always, keep me informed of your progress." The screen turned black save for the words End Transmission and terminated the subspace chat.