Secrets and Lies

[Ln X]

Chapter 9, part 2

Outside of Megan's quarters, Ezri and Odo stopped.

“This will be interesting,” said Odo, as he tapped the door chime.

“Enter!” said Megan quietly in a subdued way.

Ezri and Odo walked in, and Ezri saw Megan lying down on a sofa.

The sofa was next to a window that looked out towards the docking ring of the station. Megan had been clearly crying, and her face looked blotchy. However with the arrival of visitors, Megan straightened up on the sofa, and sat very rigidly upon it.

Ezri sat down on a chair, her expression became slightly more gentle, whereas she noticed Odo maintained his rigid stance. She decided that she would be less forceful in the way she asked Megan questions. “I'd like to ask some more questions concerning what happened when you were conducting your away mission on Tau Primia.”

“I'd told you what happened,” replied Megan angrily, she was not looking at Ezri or Odo. “Jack and I were detected by the Cardassians!”

“You forgot to mention that you were actually covertly monitoring the prison and either you or Jack tried to assassinate Bordak!” said Odo angrily.

Something seemed to change in Megan's face, she looked almost wretched. She stood up and placed a shaking hand to her forehead, as if trying to steady herself, and then her hand lowered. “I couldn't believe what Jack did,” she whispered.

“Why didn't you tell us that Jack tried to assassinate Bordak?” said Ezri, an edge to her voice.

Tears welled in Megan's eyes. “Because...” Megan paused and she sat back down upon the sofa and bowed her head slightly. “Because I was trying to convince myself that Jack didn't assassinate Bordak. You don't know how much despair and pain I've suffered from in that prison. It was so bad I forgot who I was. The past seemed meaningless...”

There was anger and self-disgust in Megan's voice, and she continued to stare at the floor. “The truth is I've only recently recalled the moment when Jack tried to assassinate Bordak, I somehow suppressed the memory for two years. In a way, I was trying to protect Jack, and it was so stupid!”

Megan lifted her head to look at Ezri, and the despair was all over Megan's face. “Jack and I were more than friends, we were... lovers. I should have told you the truth immediately, but I couldn't...”

When Megan fell silent, she then hung her head in shame.

Odo's expression though did not soften. “Then you were an accessory to attempted murder,” he said harshly.

Tears were now pouring from Megan's eyes, and she nodded in a miserable way.

Ezri continued to question Megan. “I want to ask you again why a neural depolarizer was found in your brain.”

“I told you, I don't know why!” said Megan loudly, and she looked trapped.

“Section 31 agents have neural depolarizers implanted inside of their brains,” explained Odo. “Why else would a neural depolarizer be planted inside your brain?”

“I'm not an agent of this Section 31!” exclaimed Megan, sounding desperate. “I told you, I don't even know what Section 31 is!”

Ezri decided to risk it and explain to Megan about Section 31 as Megan had to know. “Section 31 is a secret spy organisation and it is part of the Federation. It carries out all sorts of missions designed to safeguard the Federation. Personally I think all the evidence shows that you are a Section 31 agent.”

Megan though shook her head but Ezri continued regardless. “Jack has claimed that you tried to assassinate Bordak, is this true?”

However hurt Megan looked, this question seemed to totally shock her “He's framed me!” she whispered in tortured tones.

Ezri kept up the pressure upon Megan. “How do we know you are telling the truth?”

“Please!” pleaded Megan. “I have never disobeyed orders or killed in cold-blood! Jack tried to assassinate Bordak not me!”

She then completely broke down in front of Ezri and Odo.

“He's betrayed me,” she sobbed, “and now I'm going to be blamed for his crimes and for the consequences of his actions! I always dreamed of leaving that prison...”

The despair vanished as anger rapidly came onto Megan's face. “But I didn't expect the person I trusted most to frame me!” she added fiercely.

She leapt off the sofa and Odo moved over to block her. “I'm going to kill that bastard!” shouted Megan.

Odo though restrained Megan and she struggled hard against him. “You'll do no such thing,” warned Odo. “Calm down.”

All the fight drained from Megan. She went limp against Odo and Odo backed away, though he still blocked the exit.

“It's hopeless,” said Megan in a quiet and shell-shocked voice. “Jack is going to walk away a free man.”

Ezri decided that Megan had been put through enough. “That will be enough questions for the day,” she told Megan, though she did not seem to hear Ezri.

Megan walked away from both Ezri and Odo completely oblivious to them.

With the questioning over, Ezri thought it was best to leave Megan's quarters and she gestured to Odo to do the same.

When they had left Megan's quarters, Ezri did not feel at all happy about what she had discovered. “Both our two suspects have each implicated the other for the attempted killing of Gul Bordak!” she said disbelievingly.

Odo however did not seem all that surprised by this. “This is what I expected, and there's no way to prove which suspect is guilty. They could both be guilty, for all we know.”

Ezri was not convinced by this argument. “But Megan seemed genuinely convinced that Jack betrayed her.”

The look that came upon Odo's face was if Ezri had said something really stupid. “She could have been acting up, or she was being sincere, but I just don't know. I’ve afraid captain that I've seen too many sob stories of hardship from criminals to believe in such tales.”

And that's the problem, thought Ezri, do we punish both of them or let them go free? Just where is the justice in that?


***


Inside the security office, Ezri and Odo were summarising what they had found out from questioning Jack and Megan. Ezri was sitting down, looking thoughtful, while Odo was at his desk reading security reports.

“We have two suspects,” said Ezri, her voice musing. “They both accuse each other, and without concrete evidence, there is no way to tell who is telling the truth.”

Ezri felt stumped, she was a captain not a detective.

“Maybe,” commented Odo, and he then looked up from the reports. “But what are our suspect's motives for attempting to assassinate Bordak? We know that Starfleet Intelligence ordered Felpes and Smith to survey the prison. Now why would Felpes, or Smith, completely compromise the mission and attempt to assassinate Bordak?”

“They could be working for another intelligence agency,” said Ezri, “an agency who wanted Bordak killed... perhaps the Cardassians wanted to bump off Bordak?”

“Or maybe the Federation?” suggested Odo.

“I know what you're getting at,” said Ezri, “and we've considered this Section 31 theory before and it hasn't really gotten us anywhere.”

“But this would be the sort of operation that Section 31 carries out. It is a simple assassination, and Bordak is a direct threat to Garak's hold on power.”

Ezri teased out Odo's reasoning. “Given Section 31's known activities they could be supporting Garak, for their own twisted reasons... Assuming that Felpes and Smith are Section 31 agents. But we still haven't found any evidence to prove this assumption.”

Inspiration lit up in Odo's eyes. “Section 31 may try to contact their agent, in fact they may have already done so.”

For the first time, Ezri felt this investigation was going somewhere, and they had made a small breakthrough. “So all we need to find is evidence of a secret transmission. But tracking down who received this transmission is going to be very difficult.”

Odo's eyes gleamed in anticipation of this task. “But not impossible.”


***


Odo waited in the ascending turbo lift, and was busy thinking about his strategy to prove which of his suspect's were guilty. He had a hunch, and like in so many of his investigations, his hunches often proved correct. When the turbo lift came to a halt, he walked out and onto Ops. He then headed over to Max who was working at the science station.

When Odo was nearby did Max look up. “Constable do you need anything?”

“I need a record for the last seven day's worth of transmissions received and transmitted from this station, for all frequencies and band-widths.”

Max stood up and went over to the master control console for DS9's computer. “The transmissions records will be stored in the primary memory banks of this station's computer,” he said, while his fingers punched in the relevant commands. “Nog have you got a memory decompiler?”

“What for?” came Nog's voice to the left of Max.

Nog's head was partially in the interior of a console he was fixing, and he had toolbox close by him.

“I need to download the last seven day's worth of transmissions sent from this station,” Max told Nog.

“Give me a second,” said Nog, who removed his head from the console and straightened up.

He then examined the open toolbox to find the necessary tool, eventually Nog found what he was after and walked over to Max.

“Here you go,” he said, passing to Max the memory decompiler, a small but long cylindrical device with a diode on the end.

“What type of transmission are you searching for?” asked Nog, who was now looking over Max's console.

“Ask Odo,” said Max distractedly, since he was concentrating on one of the console's screens.

Odo quickly explained to Nog what he was searching for. “I'm looking for transmissions which were sent to Felpes' and Smith's quarters. Plus any transmissions sent by Felpes and Smith.”

A few moments later and Max then told Odo what he was doing. “I'm running a fractal algorithm to correlate all known transmissions that feature Felpes' and Smith's surnames and their full names. This shouldn't take to long.”

Max stared at the information flashing before his eyes. “Nothing,” he said disappointedly.

“Try a message-to-destination algorithm,” suggested Nog.

“Okay,” replied Max, inputting the new commands. “Felpes' and Smith's quarters have only one console to receive transmissions... Again nothing.”

There was a stumped look on Max's face, but Odo was not about to give up this easily. “Have there been any communications outside of the usual subspace bandwidths?” he asked.

“About fourteen,” said Max, “all of which are Ferengi subspace bandwidths.”

“Quark...” growled Odo. “But are there any anomalous communications?”

Before Max could reply, Nog answered Odo's question. “We're going about this the wrong way, let us assume these transmissions are disguised as fluctuations of natural background radiation. The first way of disguising a subspace transmission is to set its frequency just out of phase to the background radiation in the universe.”

“That can't have happened,” said Max confidently. “I have this computer program where the station's sensors are monitoring the background radiation. The station's sensors would have detected the signal, since it would be slightly out of phase to the background radiation.”

It was Nog's turn to look stumped. “Beats me,” he said, “how many other ways can you disguise a subspace message?”

“Particle harmonics...” said Max, his gaze losing focus.

“Which are?” asked Odo, and he did not have a clue what Max had said as he was not a scientist.

Max jerked out of his trance. “Every atom has electrons which conform to standard orbits,” he explained, “though you can't exactly fix their position, you can generally determine it. So you get an energy field, which fluctuates at a constant oscillatory rate; this is electron orbit harmonisation.”

This did not make much sense to Odo. “How does that help us to find a disguised transmission?” he said, slightly impatiently.

“If the harmonics were altered then the transmission would mimic the electron orbit harmonisation. This would briefly excite the electrons and cause energy fluctuations.”

Max's hands flew over the console, which he was using. “Now going over the records there has only been one source of these energy fluctuations, due to the resonance of harmonics, and that is in Smith's quarters. This has happened twice over the last two days, so he has received two transmissions.”

Max looked rather smug about his discovery. “Interestingly, the harmonics have periodically reversed, which means Smith or whoever it was sent a transmission to someone.”

The smug look then faded from Max's face. “Unfortunately, I can't analyse the transmission's contents, since the transmission was a live feed. Each change in the harmonics produces each consecutive part of the transmission. So the transmission cannot be recorded and stored.”

Max removed a padd from a compartment below his workstation, and compiled all the relevant data concerning the transmissions. He then handed the padd to Odo. “Here is all the data concerning the transmissions.”

“Thank you,” said Odo.

He returned to the turbo lift, with the padd clutched firmly in his right hand. “Promenade,” he told the computer the moment he stepped foot onto the lift.

The doors closed and with a little jolt the turbo lift descended. Odo started teasing the new information through in his mind and he realised Jack was the Section 31 agent. While the evidence would not be enough to charge Jack with the attempted assassination of Gul Bordak, it was good enough in Odo's eyes to show that Jack was guilty.

It was thanks to Max that Odo had made this breakthrough. Though Odo had no real opinion of Max, though he did think that perhaps Max was somewhat naive and a little green and inexperienced as an officer. Still he seemed like a decent person, though that could not be said of Jack however...

 

[Ln X]

Chapter 9, part 3

Ezri was sat at her desk completing reports, and she looked up when Odo entered her office. “What do you have Constable?”

“With some help from Nog and Weatherby, I've managed to detect secret transmissions being received from inside of the station, and even one transmission being sent out from the station. Smith received them in his quarters and sent one transmission to someone... More than likely Section 31. Unfortunately Nog and Weatherby could not access the contents of these transmissions, so there is no valid evidence that the transmissions were from Section 31.”

Inwardly Ezri quenched her disappointment by the fact that this lead had yielded no substantive results. “Even so,” she said, “doctor Bashir did not find any evidence of a neural depolarizer in Smith's brain, and as far as I know no one in Starfleet or any other Federation organisation, except Section 31, uses neural depolarizers.”

At that moment, Bashir entered the office, his left hand was holding a vial. Bashir's eyes were bright with excitement, and his face looked flushed. It seemed that Bashir had run all the way from the Infirmary.

“Sorry to disturb you captain,” said Bashir sounding slightly out of breath. “But after reexamining the scans of Smith's brain, I discovered that he does have a neural depolarizer.”

“How could you overlook a neural depolarizer which was lodged inside Smith's brain?” asked Ezri a little harshly.

Embarrassment crept onto Bashir's face. “Initially I looked for an electrical device, but Smith has something remarkably different. He has an organic neural depolarizer, and this is a very tiny gland inside his brain, which contains a neural agent. This gland can only open with small amounts of sodium methanocide. Upon realising this I ordered Smith to undergo another medical examination, and discreetly removed the two parts for this organic neural depolarizer.”

Bashir opened the vial, placed two small organic components upon the desk, and he then picked up one of them. “Just inside his neck, embedded in his left common carotid artery there was a tiny container of organic material. I could not explain it at first, and it seemed like a small thing as sodium methanocide is an inert chemical. When I found the hidden gland all of these mysteries made sense.”

“How does Smith trigger the release of the sodium methanocide?” Odo asked.

“The triggering mechanism is a DNA key,” explained Bashir, “although I didn't find one on Smith. All he would have to do is to insert the one centimetre long needle to his lower neck, next to the left common carotid artery. That would release the sodium methanocide and activate the organic neural depolarizer. He would lose consciousness in about less than a minute, while death would follow after twenty minutes.”

The excitement faded from Bashir's eyes when he realised who he was standing next to.

Just like that, the tension levels in the room shot up, with Ezri looking somewhat awkward, while Odo rolled his eyes out of exasperation.

“I see,” said Ezri, after a while. “You're dismissed doctor.”

Even after Bashir left Ezri was still staring at the door which he had walked out of. She felt not only embarrassed but very uncomfortable next to Bashir's presence, worse still she found it distracting and her mind tended to wonder to other things. Like it is doing right now she sternly told herself.

Odo broke the silence. “Smith has received secret transmissions, and he has a neural depolarizer. The evidence is mounting that he is a Section 31 agent.”

Ezri came out of her reverie and nodded slightly in agreement. “Which is a strong enough motive for the attempted assassination of Gul Bordak,” she said carefully. “That was Jack's mission and the reason why he was on Tau Primia. So Smith is our suspect, and not Felpes.”

“I'm certain of it,” said Odo.

With her mind made up, Ezri stood up and came over to Odo. “I think it's time we questioned Smith again,” she said very seriously.

Odo nodded his agreement, and the two walked out of the office. This time they were armed with the information and evidence to really put Jack under some pressure.


***


When they reached the door to Jack's quarters, Ezri and Odo did not even bother to wait for Jack to invite them in. Odo overrode the door's lock, and he entered the room first followed by Ezri.

Once inside, Ezri spotted Jack standing stock still and looking mildly surprised.

It seemed he was in the middle of something, perhaps walking to another part of his quarters. Jack though quickly regained his composure, and what surprise he had quickly vanished.

“Have you arrested Megan yet?” he asked.

This comment made Ezri's eyes flash with anger. “You are the one who is under arrest,” she said.

“For what reason?” demanded Jack, looking bewildered by this.

“You received two subspace transmissions,” explained Odo, “and you sent out a disguised subspace transmission.”

Odo paused. “Why the need for such secrecy?” he added, his voice deceptively calm.

Ezri piled the pressure upon Jack. “Further more doctor Bashir found evidence that you do have a neural depolarizer, albeit an organic one. Only Section 31 agents have neural depolarizers, but you should know that.”

Jack's face was blank, and devoid of emotion. “I have no idea what Section 31 is.”

Momentarily Ezri scowled, and she was sick of Jack's lies, so she then proceeded to remove her comm badge. “What I'm about to say is off the record,” she said coldly.

Her voice then became warmer and more persuasive. “Jack, there's no point lying to us, we both know there is no way to prove who tried to assassinate Bordak. It was either you or Megan. However, actions speak louder than words, only you have received secret transmissions. You've framed Megan to maintain your subterfuge.”

“You have no proof of that,” said Jack, and he just stood there rigidly.

Ezri dropped the warmth from her voice. “Megan told me that she and you were in a relationship, is this true?”

Jack's eyes narrowed as if he did not approve of that question. “Yes, what has that got to do with anything?”

“You loved her right?” asked Ezri.

“I once did,” said Jack coldly.

Ezri looked seriously into Jack's eyes, not breaking contact. “Well Megan is in her quarters, she’s probably sobbing and reeling in shock from what has happened. It seems she is convinced that you have framed her, and she must be thinking that she will be punished for your supposed crimes.”

For one small instant, there was guilt in Jack's eyes, but Ezri continued on in a heartless voice. “Of course what does it matter to you if she gets charged with the attempted assassination of Gul Bordak? She will lose everything, spend a lifetime in-”

“Enough!” said Jack forcibly.

He was breathing out deeply as if to calm himself and for the first time Jack looked troubled.

Now that Jack had dropped his lies, Ezri pressed forward her advantage, and she dropped her heartless voice. “If you still care for Megan, if you actually love her, then you will proclaim your guilt. Don't make her suffer because of your mistakes and crimes...”

These words deeply impacted Jack, his face saddened and his eyes shone with guilt. “I love Megan,” he told Ezri, “but it's been an unusual relationship, until now we have both kept it a secret. I never told my commanders in Section 31 that I was in love with her. I was thinking of leaving Section 31 just to be with her but now that is impossible. I betrayed her trust in me from the moment I fired that phaser rifle at Bordak.”

There was self-disgust in Jack’s voice, and his mouth contorted with self-anger. “Section 31 gave me orders to frame her for the assassination of Bordak.”

“I had no choice...” he added and looked at Ezri imploringly, as if asking for her forgiveness.

“You had a choice,” said Ezri coldly, “and you chose to betray Megan instead.”

She paused and looked grimly at Jack. “I'm placing you under arrest for breaking orders, attempted murder and conspiracy against the Federation... Take him away constable.”

“This way, please,” said Odo.

Jack complied without resistance and the look of sorrow still lingered in his eyes.

When Odo and Jack had left the room, Ezri stood there contemplating what Jack had done. It was unthinkable for her to betray her friends, the people she cared about, just to save her own skin. Ezri could not begin imagine what Megan was going through, but she could do one thing to lighten Megan's burden...

 

[Ln X]

Chapter 10, part 1

Ezri stood outside of Megan's quarters and she pressed the door chime. There was no answer, so Ezri pressed it again, but still there was no response from Megan.

“Computer,” said Ezri, “open the door; authorization Ezri alpha zero five omega nine.”

The door opened and Ezri entered, almost immediately her eyes spotted Megan who was slumped onto a chair. Ezri had never seen such a despondent person in her life.

Megan turned to look at Ezri, and the anger built up on her face. “Have I been charged yet for a crime I didn't commit?” asked Megan bitterly.

“Jack has confessed, he is being charged for the attempted assassination of Gul Bordak. All charges against you have been dropped.”

Relief broke across Megan's face, and her mouth opened in surprise. “Thank you captain,” she said quietly.

“I'm truly sorry for your ordeal,” said Ezri gently, “if there is anything I can do, just ask.”

Megan remained silent as she considered the offer, her head was bowed down and her hands were resting upon her knees. “I suppose there is one thing you could do for me, and that is to send Starfleet Intelligence a message.”

Now Megan lifted her head to look at Ezri in a very weary manner. “Tell my superiors at Starfleet Intelligence that I'm resigning from my post, and that I'm through with being a spy.”

“I will,” promised Ezri. “On a different note, what do you plan to do with your Starfleet career?”

“I'm thinking of resigning,” replied Megan, “and travelling back to Earth, to contact my mother.”

Megan went silent, her hands were slightly knocking together, and it seemed she was holding back from something. “Captain can I talk to Jack?” she then asked, and this sounded more like a plea than a request.

Ezri looked into Megan's eyes while she considered Megan's request. “Of course,” said Ezri after a while. “If you feel that is the right thing to do... Jack is in the holding cell room next to the chief of security's office.”

Having obtained Ezri's permission, Megan visibly relaxed and she closed her eyes and breathed out deeply. “Thank you,” she whispered.

With nothing more to say, Ezri decided to give Megan some privacy, and she left the room. She would never forget the pain in Megan's eyes. Ezri sincerely hoped that she would never suffer from the kind of ordeal that Megan had gone through.


***


Megan walked down the narrow passageway leading to the holding cells with a heart full of apprehension. After Jack's betrayal, she did not think she could bear to even look at Jack, but she needed an explanation from him. Jack's betrayal was the greatest agony for her. It was just as terrible as the two years she spent in the Tau Primia prison. She entered the spacious room and there directly in front of her was Jack, sitting down inside the holding cell.

Jack looked bored, though he lifted his head and then stood up as Megan approached his cell. “I didn't think you would come.”

Pain and anger contorted Megan's face, and she even hated it when Jack spoke. “For years I turned to you for help,” she mused, “I trusted you. You reassured me that staying in Starfleet Intelligence was the right thing to do. Was everything you said to me just a lie? Do you even love me?”

Jack looked very wounded at hearing this. “I couldn't tell you that I was a Section 31 agent,” he explained. “I seriously considered leaving Section 31, and you and me leaving SI, so that we could pursue our relationship without all the secrecy. I love you Megan and I sincerely mean it.”

“Then why did you try to frame me?” asked Megan despairingly.

“I was under orders from Section 31, they wanted me to frame you. I'm sorry for what I did,” said Jack imploringly.

Megan refused to accept Jack's answer. “Because of you I was tortured for two years by Gul Bordak!” she hissed. “I suppose you didn't really care what happened to me in that prison.”

Now Jack's face became very pale and he seemed almost afraid of Megan's wrath. “That is not true!” he said passionately. “It was terribly painful for me as I watched you suffer on a daily basis!”

“Oh you say that,” said Megan viciously. “It is your way of easing your guilt.”

Jack looked away from Megan and he had been rendered speechless. Finally he turned around to face Megan again, and he looked a shell of his former self. “I want you to have something.”

“What is it?” asked Megan.

“In my quarters you will find a small subspace communicator, it's hidden inside the replicator. I want you to use it, that's if you want to contact me when I'm back in Section 31.”

There was something rather disturbing in what Jack had said. Megan realised that Jack expected to be free from custody sometime soon. “You seem awfully sure of yourself that you won't be put on trial,” she said coldly.

Jack laughed. “I will not even be going to a trial,” he said jokingly.

Fury flared up inside of Megan, the very thought of Jack walking free made her blood boil, and she walked away in disgust.

“Megan don't leave!” implored Jack. “I'm sorry!”

Megan felt the tears well in her eyes, and she turned around to confront Jack. “I never want to see you again!” she said fiercely. “And I want you to ask yourself why you betrayed me, and why you broke my heart!”

She walked out of the room, with her face totally wet from tears.

“Wait don't go!” said Jack. “Megan!” he called out, but Megan had already left the room.

So angry and upset did Megan feel, that her vision became blurred. She was not aware of other people, and fully oblivious of the people staring at her as she strolled along at a brisk pace. Megan returned to her quarters, how she arrived there she did not know. Her legs moved automatically and she felt truly detached from her body. Because of Jack, Megan realised that she could never trust people again. Once inside her quarters, Megan flung herself onto the bed and lay there looking up at the ceiling.

For some reason, the face of the person who rescued her from Bordak popped up in her mind. What's he called? she thought. Max Weatherby, that's it.

Max had come by two days ago to visit her, he seemed like a pleasant sort of man. One thing she could not understand was why she felt comfortable talking to Max. But after Jack's attempt to frame her and the rumours that must be circulating around about her, Megan wondered if Max would ever talk to her again...


***


Day 13, 0200 hours

Ezri was sleeping in her quarters, when the computer told her that admiral Ross was waiting to talk to her. She stirred, rubbed her eyes, walked over to her desk in her pyjamas, and activated her laptop mounted on the top. Admiral Ross's face appeared on the screen. “Admiral Ross,” she acknowledged.

Ross looked just as tired as Ezri, though his eyes bore out a certain alertness. “I'm sorry I had to call you so late in the night. However I need you to transfer Jack Smith immediately off this station and to the star ship Pandora. It will be arriving at this station in thirty minutes time.”

This seemed like a very unusual arrangement to Ezri. “And Smith will be sent to Earth to await a court martial?” she inquired.

“Affirmative,” said Ross.

Ezri though did not feel satisfied with Ross's answer, she decided to take a risk and speak her mind. “Despite Smith being a Section 31 agent?” she said almost blandly.

Ross did not look surprised to hear this. “I've checked the personal files, Jack Smith is a Starfleet officer and a member of Starfleet Intelligence. You must be-”

Ezri did not buy this explanation, and she could not believe Ross was being so blatantly deceitful. “I'm sorry for interrupting admiral but Smith confessed to being a Section 31 agent. As such this changes everything, I need your reassurance that Smith will be tried for his crimes.”

Again Ross did not look bothered at Ezri's impertinence. “I can assure you that Smith will go to trial. Now I want this conversation classified, and your investigation of Jack Smith to be made classified immediately. It would be very bad for Federation/Cardassian relations, if the Cardassians discovered about the attempted assassination of Gul Bordak by a rogue Starfleet officer.”

Ezri could not believe what admiral Ross had ordered her to do. “Why all this secrecy?” she asked angrily, before continuing on. “If Smith was simply a renegade officer, then it would not be Starfleet's fault for the incident on Tau Primia. Classifying this information seems like a... ”

She paused, daring to utter the words that summed up the admiral's orders. “Cover-up to me.”

This time Ross looked angry. “You have your orders captain,” he said with a voice full of warning. “Classify this transmission and the investigation; failure to do so and you'll be demoted to the rank of an ensign. Do I make myself clear?”

Ezri backed down, ultimately she could not go against Ross's orders. “Yes admiral,” she said reluctantly.

The screen became blank, and Ezri sat there fuming, she knew what was going to happen. When Jack would be on board the Pandora, another ship would arrive to collect him. Eventually at some point, Section 31 agents would escort Jack off this ship.

Jack would have escaped from justice despite him ultimately being the cause of the Tau Primia incident. Damn Section 31! thought Ezri. They’re starting to really compromise the integrity of Starfleet and the Federation, as well as messing around with my job...


***


In her quarters Megan laid down upon the sofa, it was her favourite place to rest and to think. All she wanted right now was to be left alone. The door chimed and Megan closed her eyes, maybe the person would go away... The door chimed again, she ignored it.

She did not want to talk to anyone, not even Max. The door chimed a third time and she became seriously annoyed. The door opened and at this point Megan had had enough. “Whoever you are-”

She paused when she looked at the person standing in front of the door. “Mum?” she asked, while she tried to comprehend the person standing before her. She had not talked to or contacted Sarah in years, and she had been of sorts estranged with her mother.

“You never come to visit me,” said Sarah, with a small smile. “So I thought I would visit you. I can come in can't I?”

Megan nodded, she was afraid of what her mother might say if she refused to let her in.

Sarah hugged Megan briefly. “I'm so glad to see you, these last two years have been... tough.”

An awkward silence then sprung up between the two, the silence that represented the estrangement, so Sarah continued talking. “Captain Dax told me what happened to you, in that Cardassian prison camp. I don't know what to say...”

Sarah looked sadly at Megan, and a great amount of pity and sympathy resided in those eyes.

“You have no idea what it was like,” said Megan tensely. “And you don't want to know either.”

This rebuff seemed to make Sarah mildly agitated, and only increased the tension in the room. “Why did you ignore my letters?” she finally asked. “Ever since you joined Starfleet Intelligence, you didn't contact me once for over three years.”

“It was my job to keep a low profile,” explained Megan. “You didn't approve of it, and I figured if I had to contact you then you would ask what I was doing. At the time, I was... troubled. I'm sorry I ignored you and it was something I deeply regretted during the time I spent in that Cardassian prison.”

Though Megan looked angrily at Sarah, really she was disgusted with herself.

Now Sarah started looking at her daughter carefully. “You've changed,” she said after a while. “That sweet and innocent girl I once knew is gone.”

Megan could not tolerate such emotive sentiment. “She grew up and learnt never to be so trusting and naive ever again!” she said harshly.

At this Sarah looked taken aback. “You trust nobody, not even me?” she asked.

“When the man you love betrays you, it's hard to trust anyone.”

“And why didn't you tell me about this relationship?” asked Sarah sadly and her face again became full of pity. “I'm your mother, why were you hiding things from me?”

Megan then realised just how much she had hurt her mother, and because of this her mother deserved an explanation... “Jack Smith, the man I once loved, was the only person I really trusted,” she explained while her eyes became wet with tears. “For a while I couldn't even trust you.”

Slowly Sarah moved over towards Megan and then hugged her. “I wouldn't do anything to harm you,” whispered Sarah, she then placed her hands around Megan's head. “Do you understand that?”

Grief came surging through Megan and she started sobbing. Being with her mother seemed to bring all the bad feelings out of Megan, like extracting poison from a wound. “I do,” she said in a choked voice. “But I feel so alone. I don't have any friends, and I have this terrible gnawing feeling inside me.”

After a while Sarah released Megan. “You stupid girl,” reprimanded Sarah. “I'm your mother, and I'll always be your friend.”

Sarah sat down on the sofa, and Megan did the same, and she cuddled up to her mother. In a way Megan was a like small child as she lay against her mother, holding on and trying to find some comfort. She felt Sarah's fingers running down her hair back and forth. It felt very relaxing, and Megan started to recall the good times she once had with her mother all those years ago.

“What are you going to do next?” asked Sarah. “Are you staying in Starfleet?”

“I don't know,” said Megan miserably. “It's hard to think about the future right now.”

“Your not one to lie idle,” said Sarah wisely. “You've always been hard working, doing nothing makes you restless.”

Megan knew this to be true, still a lot of things had changed inside of her, and had her hard-working qualities been changed as well? She was not sure about that. “I'd only stay in Starfleet if I had a posting that was dull and permanent,” she said after a long silence.

“You don't mean that,” said Sarah dismissively. “Why not work on this station? I've noticed quite a few vacancies for Starfleet officers, this place doesn't seem popular with them.”

Megan scowled briefly, not this place surely... “This station is of Cardassian design, it reminds me of that awful prison. I couldn't work here.”

“It may look Cardassian, but the crew working here are not. I've seen some of the senior staff, they seem like decent folk especially that Trill captain, Ezri Dax. You need to learn how to trust people again. It was the Starfleet crew of Deep Space Nine who rescued you after all.”

“I know,” said Megan miserably, though to trust was the thing she feared the most. “I suppose right now I don't want to remain idle, moping about what happened in the past. I need to do some form of work to distract myself from the emotional pain.”

“So you are going to stay on board this station?” said Sarah shrewdly.

Megan detached herself from her mother and looked at the floor. “I'll see how it goes,” she said with a shrug. “If it doesn't work, I can always come back to Earth.”

Upon saying this, Megan turned to face her mother. “Oh yes... I promise to you that I will keep in touch on a daily basis.”

“That's much appreciated,” said Sarah smiling. “I might visit you from time to time.”

Silence fell between the two and Megan savoured the moment. For a few seconds, she felt content and safe by having her mother so close, it felt as if nothing could harm her.

 

[Ln X]

Chapter 10, part 2

Day 14, 1200 hours

Bashir, Kira, Nog and Max were sat at their usual table in Quark's bar. The mood between them had been gloomy for the past five days. The loss of life on board the Defiant, the Liberty survivors, the missing Cardassian ships, the suicide bombing, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding Megan's involvement in the whole affair regarding the Liberty all weighed on their minds.

Nog was the first to break the silence. “I'm telling you Felpes doesn't deserve to wear that uniform. She completely broke the Prime Directive and who knows how many Starfleet regulations she broke in the process.”

“I know,” said Bashir, though he did not appear to be convinced by this. “But she's been through a terrible ordeal.”

“What do you expect if you are working with Section 31?” said Nog.

“Ssh!” warned Kira and she looked around, to make sure nobody was listening in on the conversation. “We shouldn't be talking about this, we don't know the exact details of the investigation. If captain Dax and Odo have allowed Felpes to stay onboard this station, then it is more than likely that Felpes was never a Section 31 agent.”

“Are you saying that Felpes was not responsible for the attack on the Liberty?” inquired Nog.

“We don't know if she's guilty or not,” said Max quietly. “Smith has left this station but Felpes hasn't. It seems to me that Smith is the guilty one.”

“Max you're a good guy, but you are somewhat naive,” said Nog, in a friendly sort of way. “It seems to me that Dax and Odo were forced to classify the investigation, in other words it's some sort of cover-up.”

Max felt embarrassed by Nog's comment, and he changed the topic. “On a different note what was all the fuss about the Arrettia massacre? I hear you three mentioning it occasionally.”

The mood on the table dropped further and Nog looked very tense. “Listen if there's one topic you should never talk about with the captain, any Starfleet captain for that matter, it is the Arrettia massacre!”

“Why?” asked Max still frowning, he had heard of the name but did not know the entire details about this event.

Kira let out a brief snort of derision before she answered Max's question. “Because it was a terrible humiliation for the Federation!” she paused and laughed bitterly. “Let's just say that the Federation became a bit too good intentioned when they were given the stricken Cardassian Union aid fifteen years ago. There's that human saying; the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

“Well some hard liner Cardassians took grave offence at the Federation aid being provided to Cardassia. So they managed to whip up popular support calling for the Federation to be ousted! Well it reached fever pitch when Gul Bordak ordered his troops to ransack the Federation embassy building on Cardassia and butcher everyone who was working with and for the Federation. 450 Federation and Starfleet personal were killed, along with dozens of other Cardassians working in that building. It wasn't pretty.”

She looked around, making sure nobody else was listening in on their conversation. “Not many people know this, but the Starfleet captain, who ran the embassy, was killed by a mob of angry Cardassians gathered outside of the building. He was ripped apart, literally, by their bare hands.”

Kira grimaced and looked a little disgusted, before continuing. “That's why captains are so edgy about the Arrettia massacre, because one of their own was brutally killed. So Bordak caused a revolution and the democratic government of Cardassia fell. What's embarrassing is not that the Federation got kicked out of the Cardassian Union. The really embarrassing thing is that the Federation's top person to bring about the democratisation of the Cardassian Union was the instigator of the uprising! Guess who it was?”

“Who?” asked Max.

“It was Garak,” answered Kira.

“Never!” said Max disbelievingly.

He may have known Bashir, Kira and Nog for over a year, but he had little knowledge of the secrets that the three had. Secrets which had accumulated after 24 years of working on and living on board DS9, as well as being privy to much sensitive information disclosed in senior staff meetings...

“Oh yes,” said Kira. “One of the Federation's most highly praised Cardassians, winner of five peace prizes, created one of the most unprecedented revolts of the century!”

Max let out a low whistle. “That's embarrassing!”

Kira looked around again to make sure nobody was eavesdropping upon the conversation. “Of course don't repeat what I said to anyone else, have you got that?”

“I won't,” promised Max.

Bashir somehow looked even more gloomier than usual. “It sure is embarrassing,” he explained to Max. “Even worse Garak became in effect dictator of the Cardassian Union. So all of the Federation's hard work at democratising Cardassia was in ashes, and a new stand-off began.”

Max thought hard about what Bashir had said. “But Garak must have been protecting his position! He realised the danger to his leadership and took a gamble!”

A smug look came to Bashir's face and he was clearly impressed by Max's quick grasping of the topic. “That's precisely what happened, and so for fifteen years DS9 has been at the forefront of a cold war. Nothing serious has happened, but there's been a lot of posturing... On both sides.”

Kira was now grimly smiling. “There's only one good thing that has come out of this situation, and that is the Bajoran government decided the stand-off was a major reason to build a Bajoran military fleet, to protect Bajor from any such threats. Because of the Cardassian troubles, Bajor has become much stronger for it.”

The look of smugness displayed by Bashir became replaced by a crestfallen look. “I thought I knew Garak, I thought he had changed for the better, but I guess I was wrong...”

Kira raised her cup. “To better times then?” she suggested, while toasting.

“Better times,” said Bashir, Max and Nog in unison as they raised their cups.


***


Megan, Haydra and six of the Liberty survivors were gathered around the living room in Megan’s quarters, and now that Megan knew the truth she felt obliged to tell her former crew mates the actual account of events that lead to the attack on the Liberty.

She could not reveal to them Section 31 and instead implicitly referred to it as a ‘rogue agency’. The more she talked, the grimmer the mood became, and finally when Megan had finished there was a stunned silence afterwards. Megan gazed from left to right to glean the reactions of her crew members, and a few were silently crying, while the rest of them had that dead look. A look only spending time in Tau Primia prison could give.

“I still can't believe it...” said Haydra in a low stunned voice. “Jack tried to kill Bordak...”

Haydra looked at Megan almost beseechingly. “Why?”

“I can't tell you much because I'm under orders from captain Dax, but what I can reveal to you was that Jack worked for a rogue agency loosely affiliated with the Federation.”

The look on Haydra’s face distorted into disgust and anger. “What kind of Federation agency goes around assassinating people?”

Megan chose not to answer that question, the less she had to think, and let alone talk, about Section 31 the better. “If I had known what Jack was intending to do... Well perhaps none of this would have happened, and we would all be on the Liberty.”

One of the people in the room, a male who Megan knew as Stensor Gomez spoke up. “Where is Jack?” he asked of Megan.

“He's been sent off the station and he is heading back to Earth for his court martial.”

“A pity,” growled Gomez, and his hands curled into fists. “I wish I could strangle Jack with my bare hands for betraying us all.”

“Don't we all Gomez,” said Haydra wearily.

At that Gomez stood up, and he was quickly followed by four others.

“Are you leaving so soon?” asked Haydra, who looked a bit shocked by this.

“I've heard enough...” said one person bitterly, and the dead look on his face became even more pronounced. “What Felpes told us has thoroughly depressed me, it just makes everything that we have endured so much more worse.”

One by one, the five people filed out of the door, and when the door closed, only Megan, Haydra and Cotore were left.

Megan’s attention was instantly diverted, when she heard Cotore burst into tears. Hearing Cotore’s soft sobbing was terrible to Megan, and it made her want to cry as well.

“I'm sorry Cotore for telling the truth,” said Megan softly. “But you all had to know, it was your right to know.”

“It would have been better not knowing...” mumbled Cotore, and she pulled out a handkerchief and blew her nose.

When she was done, she then looked at first Megan and then Haydra in a part admiring part disbelieving way. “How do you cope with the monstrosities inflicted upon you? You Felpes, and Haydra, how do you put on such a brave face about things?”

That was one question Megan would not answer, and instinctively she looked to Haydra.

Finally it was Haydra who answered the question. “Felpes once told me some days ago when we were in the prison, that the only thing we all had left was defiance. She told me that the Cardassians had only truly broken us when we lost the will to resist, to struggle on. Conditions were terrible and inhuman-” And now Haydra stared proudly at Megan. “-yet my former first officer still wanted to live and not give up! I wouldn't have made it without Felpes.”

“There were times when I almost gave up...” said Megan dejectedly, and so low was her mood that she decided to change the topic. “Erm Cotore... where are you staying when you leave this station?”

“I'm going home to Adjaron Four, and I’m living with my parents again. I'm taking an indefinite leave of absence...”

“Are you coming back to Starfleet?”

Cotore initially hesitated, and her eyes seemed to recall everything bad that had happened to her. “I don't think I am,” she replied, sounding even more upset. “I can't go back not after Tau Primia...”

Haydra seemed to take this news the worst as she gazed very sadly at Cotore. “You were a good officer Cotore and a valued one as well, being Doterian you only needed an hour of sleep... Indeed I barely recall an instance of when you became tired.”

“I wish I wasn't Doterian,” said Cotore despairingly, and she gave Megan and Haydra a torturous look. “I was awake for longer and I saw more pain and suffering. You humans, you sleep for over one third of the day! To escape from reality for so long is a gift in that prison.”

That was one way of looking at it, and the more Megan thought about, she recognised that Cotore was right; sleep was a gift to escape the horrors of that prison.

“Myself and Haydra, we barely slept...” said Megan some moments later. “We couldn't...”

In a sombre way, Haydra nodded and she shifted her attention onto Megan. “I hear from captain Dax that you are staying on this station to work?”

“I want to work and feel useful,” answered Megan, while she ignored Cotore’s shocked expression.

Haydra regarded Megan as if she were mad. “If you don't mind me asking, but aren't you pushing yourself too hard?”

“When I'm working I don't think about Tau Primia so much. Besides I don't want to spend every waking hour going through in my head every terrible thing that happened to me in that beastly prison!”

Now Haydra was giving Megan a look of the utmost admiration. “I guess I don't have your iron-willed resilience. I'm taking a one year leave of absence, head back to Earth, and reunite with my family.”

For the first time, Haydra smiled a little from the very mention of her family. “Doesn't it feel wondrous knowing you're going to see the people you really love and care for again?”

Both Megan and Cotore automatically nodded to this, and it made Megan think about the warmth and love she felt for her mother. Such emotions made her feel human again, and that was such an amazing thing.

“My mother is on board this place,” said Megan with some fondness, “and I can safely say without her things would be much worse for me.”

Another silence followed this, as each woman contemplated matters.

“Are we all going to stay in contact with each other?” asked Cotore. “I mean there are only seventeen survivors from the Liberty, I would like to think that after our imprisonment there is a bond between all of us, and as long as we stay in contact-however occasionally-that bond will remain.”

“Cotore's right,” said Megan, “where possible, we should send messages or visit our comrades.”

All eyes were now on Haydra, and she looked rather partial to this idea. “I think I will try to organise how we contact each other. I am your former captain after all, and captain's keep their crew together.”

Privately Megan was glad that her former colleagues would not simply go their separate ways and never contact or talk to each other again. They shared something truly terrible, but they were bonded through pain and despair. But Cotore was right; the bond would remain if they concerned themselves just a bit for each others wellbeing...


***


Day 15, 0900 hours

Ezri's concentration on the padd she wrote on became broken when Megan entered her office. Megan was in her Starfleet uniform and she stood in front of Ezri's desk rather rigidly, waiting for her orders.

Resting the padd against her desk, Ezri looked up to face Megan. “Sit down please,” she said, briefly gesturing with her hand for Megan to do so.

When Megan had sat down, Ezri continued. “Well Ms Felpes have you decided on what to do with your career?”

“I want to stay onboard DS9, but I'm not sure if there is a relevant posting for me.”

Despite Megan's uncertainty, Ezri had a talent for assigning crew members to their posts. “I hear you are skilled at astronomy and physics?” she inquired.

“Yes captain,” replied Megan, nodding a little. “I have degrees respectively in maths, astronomy, physics and chemistry.”

“Hmm... There is a vacant position for head of astronomy, it seems no one wants this job because it is so dull. But there is-”

“I'll take it,” said Megan, who looked a lot more upbeat. “I've checked up the requirements, and it isn't as dull as you point out. Under that job and given my rank, I would be the chief science officer for this station.”

“Actually lieutenant commander Max Weatherby is the station's chief science officer and the chief science officer for the Defiant,” said Ezri, correcting Megan. “You'll be reporting to him.”

Megan did not seem put off at all. “Understood,” she said nodding.

“Dismissed commander,” said Ezri.

Megan walked out of the office and she looked briefly at Kira who had briskly jogged up the steps to the office.

Kira strode inside and everything about her looked angry and tense. She seemed almost ready to berate Ezri, when Ezri cut in. “I know what you are going to say; you don't trust Felpes.”

“No I don't,” said Kira heatedly. “Because I'm not sure whether Felpes is guilty or not, but you do and that concerns me.”

Ezri struggled to find the words to reassure Kira. “Despite the investigation being classified and the rumours circulating amongst the crew, I can assure you absolutely that we can trust Felpes.”

“But is Felpes fit for duty?” asked Kira. “Having spent two years being tortured inside a Cardassian prison, Felpes is a very tortured soul and more than likely emotionally troubled, is she even stable enough to be working?”

That observation was way off the mark as Ezri thought Megan seemed quite normal. “I remember quite vividly 24 years ago the young Bajoran major who was second in command of DS9, who seemed very uncomfortable with her post,” she said reminiscently.

“I remember her anger, discontent and bitterness and I see the same woman standing right in front of me. You want to know what I see?” Kira remained silent, waiting for Ezri's answer. “A wiser, calmer and more contented woman; time can be a great healer.”

“It can change nothing sometimes,” pointed out Kira.

“Perhaps,” said Ezri, cocking her head a little to the side as she considered this. “But I see potential in Felpes, and ultimately we will see who is right about Felpes.”

Ezri then thought about her own life; she knew that she could command DS9 and handle the many responsibilities that came with such a job. But could she rekindle the friendships she once had onboard DS9 seventeen years ago? A sudden idea struck her.

“Nerys,” she said before pausing, as she formulated her apology. “I'm sorry I didn't stay in contact with you, it was my fault. Seventeen years ago I was trying to forget about DS9, and all the people I knew in this place. That was a mistake. DS9 reminded me of Bashir, and I can't forget or act as if he and other people I know of don't exist.”

She looked at Kira directly in the eyes. “I want to be your friend again.”

Kira continued to look at Ezri without breaking eye contact, there seemed to be understanding, even forgiveness, in Kira's eyes. “It's all right,” she said gently, “you don't have to apologise.”

“Thank you,” said Ezri softly.

“Listen Ezri you wouldn't mind having lunch with me at the Replimat?”

Ezri suddenly felt a lot happier. “I'd love to,” she said.

The two women briefly smiled and Kira then left the office to return to Ops.

At long last Ezri felt that she was finally starting to get to grips with her tattered personal life. More importantly she was beginning to dispel some of her own personal demons.

 

[Ln X]

Epilogue

Megan and Sarah walked slowly, side-by-side, along the Promenade, and there was a certain sad aspect about both of them. The two then stopped outside of a round door, leading to one of the crossover bridges, and Sarah looked very reluctant to leave.

“Are you certain you don't want me to stay here longer?” she asked Megan.

“I am,” said Megan quietly, and her mind was absolutely made up.

In a spur of the motion sort of thing, Sarah then moved forwards and hugged Megan. “Oh I am so glad to have you back again in my life! To know that you are alive...”

Sarah stopped hugging Megan, but rested a hand firmly on Megan’s left shoulder, and she looked at Megan proudly. “You're going to get through this, I know you will.”

“It's going to be hard,” said Megan, and she felt her very nervousness churn in her stomach. “But aside from you, my Starfleet career is all I've got left.”

“Don't stay here just to work!” said Sarah, who both looked and sounded rather disapproving. “Get to know people, make friends!”

“When I'm ready,” replied Megan in a far stronger voice.

“When you're ready.”

Megan managed to smile at Sarah, it was a sad smile, but it was her way of displaying her love for her mother. “I'll contact you everyday.”

“Thank you, because if you don't I will!”

“Don't worry, I don't want to be estranged from you anymore! You've already done so much to help me in these last couple of days.”

There was a brief silence, and Sarah seemed to be dawdling. “Well I need to get going otherwise I'll miss the transport ship.”

“Goodbye mum,” said Megan solemnly, and her smile had now disappeared.

Sarah though then hugged Megan again.

“Mother!” protested Megan, who ungratefully took this hug. “You're embarrassing me!”

With Megan’s discomfort, Sarah desisted. “Like all good parents do!” she cheekily said.

The cheeky expression then turned into something more serious, more parental. “Good luck Megan.”

And with those final words, Sarah headed to the circular door, and when it parted sideways, she stepped forwards, with a very resolute and dignified posture.

Megan knew how hard it was for her mother to leave the station, and she knew that Sarah wanted to spend more time with her, to look after her. But Megan wanted to recover in her own way, and not be constrained by anyone. She really did love her mother, and could understand Sarah’s inclination to be super-protective, especially after all the terrible things Megan suffered from.

However Megan knew only she could get back on her feet again, and try to rebuild a life that was destroyed in the Tau Primia prison. Perhaps Deep Space Nine would provide what she was looking for...

With one last look at Sarah’s retreating back, Megan moved on, and with each step she felt more certain about her decision to remain on this station. She had to live life, not build up to it, but live it right now, at this very instant...

 

[Ln X]

And that is the end of Secrets and Lies. I hope you enjoyed the story. If you want to read more stories from the DS9: the continuation series it belongs to, simply click on the link below in my signature.

Plus here is the complete list of all my stories in my series:

Season 1:

Secrets and Lies

Shallow Rights

Vacation

Bad Blood

Outlier

Devolution

Gold Rush

Medical Pariah

Commitment

Ménage à Trois

Tip of the Iceberg

///

Season 2:

Survival

High Stakes

Running the Gauntlet

The Price of Sanity

Cloak and Dagger, part 1

Cloak and Dagger, part 2

To be Over

Knowing Oneself

Reunion

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Order of Things

Qualms

Missing Link, part 1