Part I: Madness
Disclaimer: I don't own either Star Trek: Deep Space Nine or Star Trek Voyager. I also don't own the Trek novels Behind Enemy Lines or Tunnel Through the Stars. The character of LTJG Henry Tresckow is my creation.
Summary: The visit by a Cardassian diplomatic mission to Deep Space Nine following the Dominion War is a historic visit but will a lone assassin disrupt the mission? Will Cardassian war crimes from the period go unanswered?
---
"I was not angry since I came to France until this instant!" - Henry V, Act IV, Scene VII
2375: Henry Tresckow snapped awake with a start. He was still in his guest quarters onboard the USS Goliad.
A short and stocky brown coated Staffordshire Bull Terrier sat up as it noticed its master was awake. Henry smiled wanely at his pet as he scratched the animal behind its ears.
"I miss her, Jock." Henry said as he stared up at the stars. The dog licked his master's hand and brushed up against his legs.
"You know what you must do..." A voice sounded.
"Who? What? Who's there?" Henry said.
"Your beloved was taken from you. And with her hope for a future. For children. And you know who is responsible? Aren't you going to do something about it?" The Voice asked.
I must be going mad. Only the insane hear voices. Henry thought.
"You're not mad Henry. Since when has madness sounded so logical." The voice said.
"Wh-what? I have done something about it! I've urged my superiors to continue the investigations into the atrocities of the Cardassian Tunnel Through The Stars project. They've turned me down." Henry said, speaking to nothing.
"Then your superiors aren't the way to go. You know what you must do. Kill them..." The Voice said.
"The Cardassian delegation on Deep Space Nine? Yes. Key figures that had a hand in the project. Gul Jassad. Gul Evek." Henry replied.
"Yes. Kill them. Bring justice to their victims with their deaths." The Voice continued.
Henry stared into the nearby viewport and saw his own reflection. The reflection of eyes that burned with hate. The Cardassians took his beloved. They would pay.
---
Seven Hours Ago, San Francisco, Earth 2375: The rainfall mattered very little to the man walking down the street. He paid no attention as it soaked into the Starfleet uniform he wore nor as it soaked into the red wavy hair atop his head. Grief propelled him towards the Dominion War Memorial Plaza, a memorial for all the Starfleet personnel killed in the war. A war the man had never really stopped fighting.
He scanned the names laser etched into the marble before settling on one. Deborah Kelley. He closed his eyes as he remembered the notice.
He knelt on one knee as his fingers gently ran across the name and in the solitude of the rain he spoke, "There's something I've got to do Deborah. I've tried. I've tried to open an investigation to what happened. But they refused to follow up. I know now what I must do. But whatever happens please don't think less of me, beloved."
In the rain the Lieutenant Junior Grade Henry Tresckow walked off to the nearby transporter terminal to catch his ride on the USS Goliad to Deep Space Nine.
He paused just long enough to see the reflection of a gaunt face with a pair of pale blue eyes staring back at him, seeming to have been set deeper into a head topped by touseled red hair.
---
2368: Cadet Third Class Henry Tresckow stood up behind the chair where Cadet Second Class Deborah Kelley sat.
"Fair Catherine, and most fair," Henry began as he turned to face Cadet Second Class Danielle Kernan, "Will you vouchsafe to teach a soldier terms such as will enter at a lady's ear and plead his love-suit to her gentle heart?"
"How was that?" Henry asked the two other cadets.
"Huge improvement. You do excellent with the battle scenes and your Saint Crispin Speech was great but you didn't do as well with the love scenes." Danielle said, "But can you try not to break character next time?"
She noticed her roommate smiling and blushing. Henry definitely put a lot of effort into the act of his lines. Perhaps a little too much. The way Henry spoke his lines was definitely with a lot of passion.
"Let's get back in character. After all this is a big scene in the play." Deborah replied. Am I reading too much into the delivery of his lines? Is it mutual?
"Your majesty shall mock at me; I cannot speak your England." Deborah said.
"O fair Katharine, if you will love me soundly with your French heart, I will be glad to hear you confess it brokenly with your English tongue. Do you like me, Kate?" Henry replied.
"Pardonnez-moi, I cannot tell vat is 'like me.'" Deborah said.
"An angel is like you, Kate, and you are like an angel." Henry said as he moved a bit closer to Deborah's chair.
"You know," Danielle said, "I think you guys have that Katherine and Henry scene down pat now. You actually bring a great energy to it."
"Thank you." Henry replied.
"I'm gonna leave you guys alone." Danielle said as she walked out of the room, leaving the two alone.
"Henry, please tell me I'm reading you right. You've been using lines from the play we're both acting in to try and woo me?" Deborah said.
"Yes." Henry replied and then added, "I said so, dear Katharine; and I must not blush to affirm it."
"Very clever." Deborah said and closed the last steps between them as she kissed him.
Henry guided her into his arms and closed his eyes as he deepend the kiss...
---
USS Goliad, 2375: "Vengeance is a meal best served cold. You must be cold and utterly remorseless. Don't see the Cardassians as sentient beings. They are vermin to be exterminated." The Voice said.
"My assignment on Deep Space Nine gives me perfect access to strike the blow I desire." Henry replied. I don't care that I seem to be hearing voices. This voice, whoever he is, understands what I lost and that vengeance is the only way.
"In my opinion the Dominion didn't go far enough in obliterating the Cardassian vermin from this galaxy. The traitors should have been obliterated to the last child." Henry said.
---
Two days later the USS Goliad docked at Deep Space Nine as an interim stop to drop off a few personnel including the OIC of a security detail for the Cardassian delegation visiting Deep Space Nine.
Henry Tresckow scanned Deep Space Nine, the site of his future act of vengeance...
Disclaimer: I don't own either Star Trek: Deep Space Nine or Star Trek Voyager. I also don't own the Trek novels Behind Enemy Lines or Tunnel Through the Stars. The character of LTJG Henry Tresckow is my creation.
Summary: The visit by a Cardassian diplomatic mission to Deep Space Nine following the Dominion War is a historic visit but will a lone assassin disrupt the mission? Will Cardassian war crimes from the period go unanswered?
---
"I was not angry since I came to France until this instant!" - Henry V, Act IV, Scene VII
2375: Henry Tresckow snapped awake with a start. He was still in his guest quarters onboard the USS Goliad.
A short and stocky brown coated Staffordshire Bull Terrier sat up as it noticed its master was awake. Henry smiled wanely at his pet as he scratched the animal behind its ears.
"I miss her, Jock." Henry said as he stared up at the stars. The dog licked his master's hand and brushed up against his legs.
"You know what you must do..." A voice sounded.
"Who? What? Who's there?" Henry said.
"Your beloved was taken from you. And with her hope for a future. For children. And you know who is responsible? Aren't you going to do something about it?" The Voice asked.
I must be going mad. Only the insane hear voices. Henry thought.
"You're not mad Henry. Since when has madness sounded so logical." The voice said.
"Wh-what? I have done something about it! I've urged my superiors to continue the investigations into the atrocities of the Cardassian Tunnel Through The Stars project. They've turned me down." Henry said, speaking to nothing.
"Then your superiors aren't the way to go. You know what you must do. Kill them..." The Voice said.
"The Cardassian delegation on Deep Space Nine? Yes. Key figures that had a hand in the project. Gul Jassad. Gul Evek." Henry replied.
"Yes. Kill them. Bring justice to their victims with their deaths." The Voice continued.
Henry stared into the nearby viewport and saw his own reflection. The reflection of eyes that burned with hate. The Cardassians took his beloved. They would pay.
---
Seven Hours Ago, San Francisco, Earth 2375: The rainfall mattered very little to the man walking down the street. He paid no attention as it soaked into the Starfleet uniform he wore nor as it soaked into the red wavy hair atop his head. Grief propelled him towards the Dominion War Memorial Plaza, a memorial for all the Starfleet personnel killed in the war. A war the man had never really stopped fighting.
He scanned the names laser etched into the marble before settling on one. Deborah Kelley. He closed his eyes as he remembered the notice.
He knelt on one knee as his fingers gently ran across the name and in the solitude of the rain he spoke, "There's something I've got to do Deborah. I've tried. I've tried to open an investigation to what happened. But they refused to follow up. I know now what I must do. But whatever happens please don't think less of me, beloved."
In the rain the Lieutenant Junior Grade Henry Tresckow walked off to the nearby transporter terminal to catch his ride on the USS Goliad to Deep Space Nine.
He paused just long enough to see the reflection of a gaunt face with a pair of pale blue eyes staring back at him, seeming to have been set deeper into a head topped by touseled red hair.
---
2368: Cadet Third Class Henry Tresckow stood up behind the chair where Cadet Second Class Deborah Kelley sat.
"Fair Catherine, and most fair," Henry began as he turned to face Cadet Second Class Danielle Kernan, "Will you vouchsafe to teach a soldier terms such as will enter at a lady's ear and plead his love-suit to her gentle heart?"
"How was that?" Henry asked the two other cadets.
"Huge improvement. You do excellent with the battle scenes and your Saint Crispin Speech was great but you didn't do as well with the love scenes." Danielle said, "But can you try not to break character next time?"
She noticed her roommate smiling and blushing. Henry definitely put a lot of effort into the act of his lines. Perhaps a little too much. The way Henry spoke his lines was definitely with a lot of passion.
"Let's get back in character. After all this is a big scene in the play." Deborah replied. Am I reading too much into the delivery of his lines? Is it mutual?
"Your majesty shall mock at me; I cannot speak your England." Deborah said.
"O fair Katharine, if you will love me soundly with your French heart, I will be glad to hear you confess it brokenly with your English tongue. Do you like me, Kate?" Henry replied.
"Pardonnez-moi, I cannot tell vat is 'like me.'" Deborah said.
"An angel is like you, Kate, and you are like an angel." Henry said as he moved a bit closer to Deborah's chair.
"You know," Danielle said, "I think you guys have that Katherine and Henry scene down pat now. You actually bring a great energy to it."
"Thank you." Henry replied.
"I'm gonna leave you guys alone." Danielle said as she walked out of the room, leaving the two alone.
"Henry, please tell me I'm reading you right. You've been using lines from the play we're both acting in to try and woo me?" Deborah said.
"Yes." Henry replied and then added, "I said so, dear Katharine; and I must not blush to affirm it."
"Very clever." Deborah said and closed the last steps between them as she kissed him.
Henry guided her into his arms and closed his eyes as he deepend the kiss...
---
USS Goliad, 2375: "Vengeance is a meal best served cold. You must be cold and utterly remorseless. Don't see the Cardassians as sentient beings. They are vermin to be exterminated." The Voice said.
"My assignment on Deep Space Nine gives me perfect access to strike the blow I desire." Henry replied. I don't care that I seem to be hearing voices. This voice, whoever he is, understands what I lost and that vengeance is the only way.
"In my opinion the Dominion didn't go far enough in obliterating the Cardassian vermin from this galaxy. The traitors should have been obliterated to the last child." Henry said.
---
Two days later the USS Goliad docked at Deep Space Nine as an interim stop to drop off a few personnel including the OIC of a security detail for the Cardassian delegation visiting Deep Space Nine.
Henry Tresckow scanned Deep Space Nine, the site of his future act of vengeance...
Great sequence with the rescue/salvage/recovery operation in what remained of the fleet battle, your descriptions of the carnage in the aftermath were chilling.
