Author's Notes: Parente's name is pronounced Pah-ren-tay. The title is shamelessly stolen from General Kenobi's nickname in Revenge of the Sith.
2364
Starbase 233
Bobbi March strolled along the corridor of the space-station. Ignoring the other Starfleet personnel passing by, she wondered why she’d been summoned to Admiral Harris’ office. Peace had been established with the Cardassians, at least for the time being. The Romulans remained isolated and incommunicado. The Talarians had been no threat for several years. The Orion Syndicate had been less of a threat after Bobbi’s own top-secret mission three years previously, which had resulted in several key members being assassinated. As she approached Harris’ office, Bobbi finally decided to stop speculating and wait to see what happened.
Inside the admiral’s office, Bobbi found two other officers, beside Harris, waiting.
“Ah, March, good. This is Lieutenant Commander Luis Parente and Lieutenant Thokov, from Internal Affairs. You’ll be working with them on a new mission.”
Bobbi looked the pair over. Parente was a somewhat swarthy looking muscular man, his dark skin betraying his Portuguese origins. Thokov was a male Andorian with a much more slender build. Parente didn’t look particularly happy to see her, while Thokov looked as inscrutable as a Vulcan.
“What’s the mission?” she asked.
“Lieutenant Sophie Burns has gone AWOL. She was a research assistant at Starfleet R&D with access to classified weapons research. She stole files on a few prototype weapons. We’ve discovered evidence that suggests she may attempt to sell the files to hostile races. A deep-cover Intelligence operative has reported spotting her on Chalnoth. We believe she may be meeting potential buyers there,” Parente explained.
“Why am I involved?” Bobbi asked, not seeing the connection.
“Basically, you’re going to be back-up.”
Bobbi nodded. She done something similar once before, acting as back-up for an Intelligence officer during a meeting with a mole. It had been dull, boring and routine. A visit to the notoriously anarchic planet Chalnoth was likely to be none of those.
Chalnoth
Two weeks later
Bobbi pushed her way through the crowded market place. Although Chalnoth was regarded as an anarchic planet and lacked a central government, it did have people buying and selling foods. The ferocious looking aliens were snarling and barking in their own language as Bobbi pushed past them, trying to keep her cloak pulled close to conceal the modified pulse rifle she carried. After nearly a fortnight on the planet, Parente and Thokov had finally tracked down the errant Lieutenant.
Finally, Bobbi found a fairly intact, reasonably tall building and pushed her way inside. Minutes later, she was lying atop the roof, still concealed by her hooded cloak and watching Sophie Burns as she sat outside a bustling bar. Bobbi scanned the street with her rifle’s telescopic sight. Thokov and Parente approached Sophie. The human was wearing a concealed communicator, while Bobbi wore a small earpiece that enabled her to listen in.
Bobbi tried to relax as the pair closed on the Lieutenant. It wasn’t easy to do as the entire city was a free-fire zone for five different gangs trying to control the area. Running light-fights were an almost hourly occurrence. The sound of weapons fire was always audible, only the distance between it and you changed.
“Lieutenant,” Parente said as he stopped next to Sophie. Startled, the woman looked up.
“Yes?”
“My name is Lieutenant Commander Parente. I’ve been sent to negotiate with you for the files you stole.”
“You mean you’re here to arrest me, don’t you?”
“No. Internal Affairs wants to arrest you. R&D merely want the files back. So, I’m here to try to compromise with you. We’ll pay you for the files and you can leave. IA can try to find you some other time.”
“Really? High and mighty Starfleet is willing to compromise with a defector and thief?” Sophie snorted. “Hardly the behaviour you’d expect.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Thokov put in quietly.
Sophie considered that. “I want a million Cardassian Leks.”
“Cardassian currency?”
“They were the ones who were buying the files. That was the offer they made. I may be prepared to negotiate the currency, but I want at least an equivalent amount.”
“Considering the Cardassians have sealed their borders lately, I doubt you’ll be able to spend the leks.”
“As I said, the currency is open to negotiation. Klingon Darseks, say…”
Parente said nothing for a moment. “I’ll have to get back to you,” he finally said. “That’s a rather large amount of money.”
“I should hurry,” Sophie replied. “My Cardassian contacts are meeting me soon.”
Parente didn’t reply as he stood up, glanced back to where Bobbi was watching, then left, Thokov trailing behind.
Bobbi stayed put. Her job now was to wait for Sophie to leave, then track her to wherever she was staying.
Bobbi spent an hour watching Sophie through her sniper scope. Unable to figure out what the traitor was up to, Bobbi had no choice but to remain in place and wait for her to leave.
Finally, two Cardassians, dressed in civilian clothes, arrived and sat down in front of Sophie. Bobbi continued to watch. Since the Cardassians had their backs to her, she had to rely on lip-reading what Sophie was saying. She was clearly negotiating for the sale of the files.
After several minutes of back-and-forth, the taller Cardassian handed Sophie a PADD. She pulled a smaller datapad from her jacket. She started to hand it over.
Bobbi didn’t hesitate, she fired her rifle. The energy pulse shattered the pad and hit Sophie in the chest. The woman slumped forward, a large burn decorating the front of her shirt.
The Cardassian scooped up the PADD he’d handed to Sophie whilst his companion looked around, trying to spot the shooter. Bobbi remained absolutely still, barely breathing. Finally, she watched the spoon-heads hurry off, leaving the dead woman behind. Bobbi scrambled to her feet, hid her rifle under the cloak and scurried from the building.
Swiftly crossing the street, she approached the body. She hadn’t intended to kill Sophie, merely to destroy the datapad. Bobbi looked at the dead woman, then as she saw a group of Chalnoth approaching, she hurried into the crowds thronging the streets.
It took Bobbi another two hours to finally make it to the city’s spaceport and the non-descript battered shuttle that the three Starfleet officers had flown in on.
Bobbi entered the cockpit to see Parente looking expectant.
“Sophie’s dead,” she told him.
“What the hell happened?” Parente demanded. “You were supposed to follow her, not kill her!”
“She met the Cardassians,” Bobbi snarled. “An hour after you left, two of them showed up. They haggled over her fee and then she started to hand over a datapad. I shot the pad to stop the Cardies getting it, but the pulse hit Sophie and killed her. The Cardies took back the PADD they gave her and booked. I got out and spent the last two hours trying to get back here.”
“Why would she meet the Cardassians?” Parente asked.
“Because she wasn’t being straight with you!” Bobbi shouted. “She probably told you what she wanted to see how much Starfleet would pay to get the files back, then use it as leverage with the Cardassians. She was negotiating with you in bad faith, she strung you along!”
Parente sighed. After several moments of silence, he turned to the controls. “Strap in, Lieutenant, we’re leaving.”
Moments later, the shuttle took off and climbed for space.
Bobbi sat in the back of the cockpit, contemplating the fact that she’d never killed a human before and wondering if she’d do it again.
Bobbi March will return…
2364
Starbase 233
Bobbi March strolled along the corridor of the space-station. Ignoring the other Starfleet personnel passing by, she wondered why she’d been summoned to Admiral Harris’ office. Peace had been established with the Cardassians, at least for the time being. The Romulans remained isolated and incommunicado. The Talarians had been no threat for several years. The Orion Syndicate had been less of a threat after Bobbi’s own top-secret mission three years previously, which had resulted in several key members being assassinated. As she approached Harris’ office, Bobbi finally decided to stop speculating and wait to see what happened.
Inside the admiral’s office, Bobbi found two other officers, beside Harris, waiting.
“Ah, March, good. This is Lieutenant Commander Luis Parente and Lieutenant Thokov, from Internal Affairs. You’ll be working with them on a new mission.”
Bobbi looked the pair over. Parente was a somewhat swarthy looking muscular man, his dark skin betraying his Portuguese origins. Thokov was a male Andorian with a much more slender build. Parente didn’t look particularly happy to see her, while Thokov looked as inscrutable as a Vulcan.
“What’s the mission?” she asked.
“Lieutenant Sophie Burns has gone AWOL. She was a research assistant at Starfleet R&D with access to classified weapons research. She stole files on a few prototype weapons. We’ve discovered evidence that suggests she may attempt to sell the files to hostile races. A deep-cover Intelligence operative has reported spotting her on Chalnoth. We believe she may be meeting potential buyers there,” Parente explained.
“Why am I involved?” Bobbi asked, not seeing the connection.
“Basically, you’re going to be back-up.”
Bobbi nodded. She done something similar once before, acting as back-up for an Intelligence officer during a meeting with a mole. It had been dull, boring and routine. A visit to the notoriously anarchic planet Chalnoth was likely to be none of those.
Chalnoth
Two weeks later
Bobbi pushed her way through the crowded market place. Although Chalnoth was regarded as an anarchic planet and lacked a central government, it did have people buying and selling foods. The ferocious looking aliens were snarling and barking in their own language as Bobbi pushed past them, trying to keep her cloak pulled close to conceal the modified pulse rifle she carried. After nearly a fortnight on the planet, Parente and Thokov had finally tracked down the errant Lieutenant.
Finally, Bobbi found a fairly intact, reasonably tall building and pushed her way inside. Minutes later, she was lying atop the roof, still concealed by her hooded cloak and watching Sophie Burns as she sat outside a bustling bar. Bobbi scanned the street with her rifle’s telescopic sight. Thokov and Parente approached Sophie. The human was wearing a concealed communicator, while Bobbi wore a small earpiece that enabled her to listen in.
Bobbi tried to relax as the pair closed on the Lieutenant. It wasn’t easy to do as the entire city was a free-fire zone for five different gangs trying to control the area. Running light-fights were an almost hourly occurrence. The sound of weapons fire was always audible, only the distance between it and you changed.
“Lieutenant,” Parente said as he stopped next to Sophie. Startled, the woman looked up.
“Yes?”
“My name is Lieutenant Commander Parente. I’ve been sent to negotiate with you for the files you stole.”
“You mean you’re here to arrest me, don’t you?”
“No. Internal Affairs wants to arrest you. R&D merely want the files back. So, I’m here to try to compromise with you. We’ll pay you for the files and you can leave. IA can try to find you some other time.”
“Really? High and mighty Starfleet is willing to compromise with a defector and thief?” Sophie snorted. “Hardly the behaviour you’d expect.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Thokov put in quietly.
Sophie considered that. “I want a million Cardassian Leks.”
“Cardassian currency?”
“They were the ones who were buying the files. That was the offer they made. I may be prepared to negotiate the currency, but I want at least an equivalent amount.”
“Considering the Cardassians have sealed their borders lately, I doubt you’ll be able to spend the leks.”
“As I said, the currency is open to negotiation. Klingon Darseks, say…”
Parente said nothing for a moment. “I’ll have to get back to you,” he finally said. “That’s a rather large amount of money.”
“I should hurry,” Sophie replied. “My Cardassian contacts are meeting me soon.”
Parente didn’t reply as he stood up, glanced back to where Bobbi was watching, then left, Thokov trailing behind.
Bobbi stayed put. Her job now was to wait for Sophie to leave, then track her to wherever she was staying.
Bobbi spent an hour watching Sophie through her sniper scope. Unable to figure out what the traitor was up to, Bobbi had no choice but to remain in place and wait for her to leave.
Finally, two Cardassians, dressed in civilian clothes, arrived and sat down in front of Sophie. Bobbi continued to watch. Since the Cardassians had their backs to her, she had to rely on lip-reading what Sophie was saying. She was clearly negotiating for the sale of the files.
After several minutes of back-and-forth, the taller Cardassian handed Sophie a PADD. She pulled a smaller datapad from her jacket. She started to hand it over.
Bobbi didn’t hesitate, she fired her rifle. The energy pulse shattered the pad and hit Sophie in the chest. The woman slumped forward, a large burn decorating the front of her shirt.
The Cardassian scooped up the PADD he’d handed to Sophie whilst his companion looked around, trying to spot the shooter. Bobbi remained absolutely still, barely breathing. Finally, she watched the spoon-heads hurry off, leaving the dead woman behind. Bobbi scrambled to her feet, hid her rifle under the cloak and scurried from the building.
Swiftly crossing the street, she approached the body. She hadn’t intended to kill Sophie, merely to destroy the datapad. Bobbi looked at the dead woman, then as she saw a group of Chalnoth approaching, she hurried into the crowds thronging the streets.
It took Bobbi another two hours to finally make it to the city’s spaceport and the non-descript battered shuttle that the three Starfleet officers had flown in on.
Bobbi entered the cockpit to see Parente looking expectant.
“Sophie’s dead,” she told him.
“What the hell happened?” Parente demanded. “You were supposed to follow her, not kill her!”
“She met the Cardassians,” Bobbi snarled. “An hour after you left, two of them showed up. They haggled over her fee and then she started to hand over a datapad. I shot the pad to stop the Cardies getting it, but the pulse hit Sophie and killed her. The Cardies took back the PADD they gave her and booked. I got out and spent the last two hours trying to get back here.”
“Why would she meet the Cardassians?” Parente asked.
“Because she wasn’t being straight with you!” Bobbi shouted. “She probably told you what she wanted to see how much Starfleet would pay to get the files back, then use it as leverage with the Cardassians. She was negotiating with you in bad faith, she strung you along!”
Parente sighed. After several moments of silence, he turned to the controls. “Strap in, Lieutenant, we’re leaving.”
Moments later, the shuttle took off and climbed for space.
Bobbi sat in the back of the cockpit, contemplating the fact that she’d never killed a human before and wondering if she’d do it again.
Bobbi March will return…
