Posted by Civilian Jessa Novar (Child) in Rand meets Jessa … When the past doesn’t match the present…or the future

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 Evrilla. 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 he wanted.

Noting the Security Officers outside the door of the girls room, Rand made his way first to Laurens desk. Lauren would be starting in around ten minutes he knew, her shift was about to begin and after the previous night, Rand suspected that she would be getting as much sleep as she could. That would mean a rushed coffee and no breakfast for her, so he placed the takeaway cup of strong, rich coffee and a donut on her desk ready to surprise her. After talking with Lauren the previous night as they lay in bed, the idea Lauren had had was perfect now for what Rand needed.

If it was going to be all he needed, 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.

“I’m sorry Sir, Authorized personnel only,” the Security Officers hand came up indicating that Rand needed to stop. Immediately, Rand held out his authorization chit so that O’Neill could scan it. “Luckily, that is exactly what I am,” Rand answered with an expression that fell somewhere between I’m working here and We’re both just doing our jobs, don’t be a dork about this, you know me. Starfleet Intelligence had bumped up Rand’s Security Clearance levels so much so that even Rand was slightly surprised when both of the Officers double checked their scanner, then promptly stood aside for him.

Walking into the room, Rand stood just inside the door and looked at the girl. She looked far younger than he expected, even the intelligence dossier that they had been compiling on her didn’t do her youth justice. “By the Prophets, how did you get mixed up in this?” Rand muttered under his breath. It wasn’t loud enough to be heard clearly, but his voice seemed louder than he intended in the quiet of the room.

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.

Rand said nothing, he just waited for her to wake up enough to really react to him. Let her talk first he thought, let her take some control. Instead he stood, relaxed, on this inside of the door. One hand on the strap of the bag over his shoulder.

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

“My name is Rand,” he answered and smiled lightly in introducing himself. “I’m a Lieutenant here on the Atlantis. I brought you something.” Opening the flap of the satchel he carried, he pulled out shoes and exercise sweats, fresh underwear, a hair tie suitable for sports. Each one he dropped lightly onto the end of her bed before stepping back and nodding to them. The clothes were all the same colour with printing on the side. On the top, was a hard plastic patch that looked the same as the metal comm badges that the people on this ship wore on their uniforms. “Put those on Jessa, we are going for a walk.”

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.

“That’s good to know, thank you for warning me.” Rand’s thanks was genuine, that was exactly the sort of thing he needed to know. One piece of the puzzle was in place, now for the rest. That was easy, perhaps this wasn’t going to be so difficult after all. “I’m not taking you off the ship, I have no intention of doing that,” Yet, not yet. “You and I are going to the ships gymnasium, one of them anyway. Lauren tells me you’ve been stuck in here too long and are getting a little bit bored, no way to burn off all that energy you young women have, am I right?” Now he did smile, “So go put those on, do your hair and I’ll be waiting.”

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.

“Here she is now,” Reed said to Rand and O’Neill, who both had their backs to the door. At that, Rand turned around to face her, bag still on his shoulder. “Ready to go?” Rand asked her.

“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.

“Alright then, come and walk beside me. Lets go and burn off some calories shall we?” His tone although light, made it a statement rather than a question and as Jessa moved towards him and they turned for the door, both of the Security Guards stayed in place. “O’Neill and Reed are going to follow us in a minute. They’ll wait outside the gym till we’re done and I can walk you back here. Best I can do, even I can’t escape the rules most of the time.” Rand’s smile was almost childlike, as if avoiding the rules was a game that he enjoyed playing. He wouldn’t lie, he wouldn’t have been in Intelligence if he didn’t enjoy breaking the rules from time to time. The only rules he didn’t break were his own.

“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.

He shoots, and he scores! The crowd goes wild The mental imagery ran through Rand’s mind as he turned to Lauren’s words. Oh yeah, I got brownie points with the good woman and and and, I get to do my job. This is a good day. “Hey gorgeous,” Rand answered very clearly not caring that they were in ‘work hours’, “How could I not bring my favourite woman coffee and breakfast? After all you do to me? Seven, no later, we have a date.” Rand finger gunned at Lauren but grimaced, “Why you gotta go give us curfew? Nine thirty? Come on Jessa, we won’t get to grab a Taco after our run if we dawdle.” At the door Rand turned back to Lauren and smiled, “Nine Thirty, no later.”

Leading Jessa out into the corridor, they headed towards a nearby turbo-lift in silence. Let her make the conversation Rand thought, Let her talk to you, let her relax and lead the conversation.

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

“Oh so you’re on first name terms with Lauren?” Rand smiled and glanced at her, “That means she likes you. See she tells everyone to call her Lauren but if that person isn’t nice or hurts people, she becomes Dr Shan. What colour lollipop did you take?”

As the doors opened and Rand led Jessa out, he looked at her again but for longer this time. “Lauren and I are an item, yeah. We have been for quite a few years now. I met her on another ship when I worked in Security, like those two back in the Sickbay that have been watching you.”

“We’ve been a lot of places together, Lauren is a very, very strong woman and she cares a lot about people, especially young people.” Rand put his hand on Jessa’s shoulder for a moment as they walked, “and can I tell you a secret? She’s told me that she cares a lot about you, she got real sad when you got hurt.”

The doors to the gym appeared around the curve of the corridor and Rand pointed at them. “That’s the spot. This is where we come to exercise, burn off some energy. Lauren said you’ve been in bed too much for a young person lately so we thought that bringing you out for some exercise was a good idea. It’ll just be you and me in here, nobody watching you and we can put some laps in. You look like a runner, do you play sport where you come from?”

Lt Devon Rand