Posted by Lieutenant Devon Rand (Intelligence Officer) in Rand meets Jessa … When the past doesn’t match the present…or the future
The crew that Rand walked past were just a blur as he headed to the Sickbay where the girl was kept. Many of them smiled and greeted him, then paused with a frown as the Bajoran officer simply walked past them like they didn’t exist. Right now, they didn’t, and Rand needed them to not exist. The meeting had made it very clear what he was to do and what his priorities were, but like all Intelligence meetings the illusion that the brass knew what the hell they were talking about was thick. This one had been no less vague under the impression that Intel knew exactly what was going on, and while they had given him instructions, the information and tools they provided were lacking. They were always lacking on the front line which was the exact reason Officers like Devon Rand were put there. Jobs had to be done and people that could do them, had to be used.

It didn’t mean he had to like it, but it was his job. In a way, that made the Bajoran ex-Security Officer, Ex-Resistance member, Ex-Police Commissioner who now worked for Starfleet Intelligence, the perfect agent. Loyalty was in the eyes of the beholder.

The doors to sickbay opened and Rand stepped through, letting them slide closed behind him as he looked for either Evrilla or Lauren. Rand knew that the girl was well enough to move, Sickbays own medical reports said so. Now, Rand needed to know more about why she was here, and he needed that information from one of those who had arrived. Judging by the incident in the transporter room the adults were dangerous and unpredictable so, the clear place to start was the kid. Hopefully the multitude of Starfleet personnel trying to figure out what was going on in their own ways hadn’t damaged the childs trust or ability to communicate beyond repair. Hopefully Rand was able to offer her something that she wanted in return for the information she wanted.

He was about to find out. His eyes came to rest on the section the girl was being held, and he began to walk towards it. Everything in his body language spoke of the man being exactly where he was supposed to be with every understanding that he had the authority to be there. Rand was working.

Lt Devon Rand, Intelligence

Jessa’s eyes flew open first hearing and then seeing the man standing in her room. From her point of view, the man looked like the rest of the people on the crew with dark hair and average height. The only difference she readily noticed was with ridges on the bridge of his nose and an earring on his right ear shaped like a serpent with a curled tail. Even though she was still groggy from sleeping, Jessa’s mind was already turning. Mardusk had threatened someone was coming for her yesterday on the observation deck. Jessa wondered if this was that man. If it was, she was not going to leave the room quietly. Tensing her body Jessa didn’t say anything waiting for the man to announce his purpose in the room.

“Who are you,” she spoke in a steady tone.

Jessa flinched slightly as he tossed a pair of shoes and a new set of clothes towards her. Catching them, she lifted the shirt up looking at it. She could not read the writing but recognized three of the letters across the front from Tatly’s name: Atlat. The pants had the same print down one leg. “I am not leaving this ship without a fight,” she looked at Rand. “Not without the Elders.” Jessa looked outside the door seeing Reed and O’Neill talking to the medical staff. Since they were not barring Rand’s entrance to her room, Jessa assumed whoever this Rand was, he was permitted access to her.

Picking up the clothes, Jessa exited her room heading to the small bathroom, she had been using since she arrived. Dressing quickly, Jessa brushed her teeth and pulled her hair back into a ponytail before leaving the only area she had any privacy. Exiting the bathroom, she noticed Rand was no longer in her room but chatting with O’Neill and Reed in the center of sickbay. The tone and body language of the men suggested to Jessa they were acquaintances or maybe even friends.

“I’m ready if you are,” she glanced at O’Neill wondering if this would be the last time she saw the man. If it was, part of Jessa would be sad. Of all the people she had met, only Reed and O’Neill had been with her every day. She had no doubts they only saw her as a job, Jessa only saw them as her jailors but there was a comfort in the familiar.

“Hey handsome,” Lauren called out just as Rand and Jessa prepared to leave the room. “I found the coffee you left me along with breakfast,” she alternated her hands showing the drink and food. ” You know what I say about do gooders. Do good things for me and I will do good things to you. Be home at seven and be prompt.” She gave Rand a smirk before hiding her smile behind the cup of coffee Rand had brought her. “Oh and be back by nine-thirty. No later.” Lauren didn’t announce that Jessa had to be back for her ten o’clock appointment with Rinker. Sometimes it was better for Jessa to not know the details about everything.

Jessa walked in silence with Rand a few feet before testing the waters of a conversation. “So you and Lauren are an item,” Jessa asked as the turbo doors snapped shut. Normally Jessa was taking in every detail she could when she left sickbay. Today however she was on edge. At some point, they would try to remove her from the ship and Jessa needed to be ready for it. That was why she concentrated so heavily on the people around her instead of mentally mapping out the ship.

Jessa