Posted by Civilian Kara Nakuto (Consultant, Former CO) in The Heorot - the return of Kara Nakuto

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Peter Sigmundsson (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Viking shuttle bay - the return of Kara Nakuto

Posted by Civilian Kara Nakuto (Consultant, Former CO) in Viking shuttle bay - the return of Kara Nakuto
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
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Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

Peter let out a slight chuckle at her fluid temperament, some things never changed “Mostly good, my investigation into our former first officer didn’t lead to much, I met with Junior as we planned but it only led to more questions” He said turning around, walking as he talked “Other than that things have been mostly the same, I’ve been considering taking some leave, go meet some of my family.”

CIO

“Really?” Kara replied, all external matters regarding her current surroundings immediately forgotten as she remembered John McHarrie. At her last departure, she had been attempting to resolve a possible hostage situation involving John and a nefarious individual called Matthew Grimshaw, or ‘Junior’ as John referred to him. In the misery of her own interrogation at Starfleet HQ, the former CO had forgotten all about her one time friend and Viking CMO. It was a dangerously repeating pattern on the record of Kara Nakuto, how many former crew members she had lost…

“How is John?” she asked now, her tone guarded as she silently prayed to the gods for good news on the lovable Welshman, “Did…did he get free from Grimshaw? Are you still in contact with him?”

• Kara Nakuto (Consultant, Former CO)

“I am not in contact with him currently, we made a deal that I find James McHarrie and he’ll return John but when I stated that John was not a real hostage he made no real effort to deny it, I haven’t come across any evidence that James is alive but that’s to be expected.” He shrugged “I suspect that you were right and that John isnt’ a real hostage but I managed to stop Grimshaw from absconding.” He said quietly.

CIO

“James McHarrie,” Nakuto replied, as if the name disgusted her to speak it. “So he still has his grubby fingers all over the Viking? There was a great deal of excitement at Starfleet when his name was mentioned in regards to this ship.”

The half-Klingon lapsed into silence as she recalled the horror and alarm on the faces of her interrogators when she had spoken of McHarrie and his damned imps. And even now, as she once more gave thought to the matter, it was as if it took tangible form in the space around them. For in that moment, the air in the shuttle bay became noticeably colder, the shadows noticeably deeper and more impenetrable and the silence, the silence took on a countenance so heavy that Kara could no longer bear it.

After taking a long moment to scan the space for other entities, she took Peter’s arm and led him to the very centre of the room, where the shadows did not yet grasp. Almost equally his match in height, it was easy then for her to draw Sigmundsson close and place nervous lips against his ear.

“The question remains unanswered, Peter,” she whispered. “Is what curses this ship and torments its crew truly of supernatural origin? A dimension that interacts with the universe around it in a manner exceptional to all of our known laws of physics? Or…” she pressed even closer, “Are we simply test subjects, reacting as on cue to external stimuli that, while it might appear ethereal, has a very real and scientific basis and is being generated for no other reason than to push us to our limits? Are we no more than mice trapped in an ever-flooding tank, while the Federation itself looks on and waits for us all to drown?”

• Kara Nakuto (Consultant)

Peter looked around as his friend whispered in his ear, it was not a comfortable idea for certain. He allowed himself a moment to consider an answer “I can’t say for certain but that is part of the reason I am here. When I served here after leaving the Curie things were odd but not as bad as they are now, upon my return to active service and when they raised my security Clearance I took a closer look at the Viking’s maintenance records, something is holding us from repairs. My original theories stemmed from what we were investigating but now I’m not so sure.”

Peter crossed his massive arms and leaned in closer “How familiar are you with article 14 of the Starfleet charter?” He asked pushing the conversation in an uncomfortable direction, he knew that more people on this ship were aware of the organization than was normal.

CIO

Nakuto’s eyes widened slightly at Peter’s question, although in truth it was a theory already fielded previously by both Akorem Nevin and John McHarrie. She had just not been willing to accept, or even consider it, until now.
“Section 31,” she replied, confirming for the CIO that she was familiar enough with the stated article 14, although their role in this, if it did indeed exist, remained as yet a mystery. “I have reasons to suspect they had operatives take part in my interrogations, although I do not know if I gave them the answers they sought. But then…”
Her words froze on her lips as her focus was caught by movement from the control booth at the back of the room.

Silently shaking her head, the half-Klingon pressed a finger to her lips and once more took hold of Sigmundsson’s muscular right arm. As she began to lead him towards the exit, she roared loudly into the cavernous space, “I believe that my return deserves a toast! Let us go and find some bloodwine!”

As they reached the threshold and prepared to move into the corridor, Nakuto allowed her voice to fall back to a whisper.
“There are ears all around us, Peter. Our discretion when discussing these matters is imperative. Although I am sure you are already fully aware of that,” she smiled broadly at the CIO, although for a moment something else flickered briefly behind those sparkling, brown eyes. Suspicion? Questioning? What exactly was Sigmundsson’s connection to 31? Nakuto had never fully satisfied her own curiosity on this matter.

“I share your concerns on our maintenance schedule, or…lack of it,” she continued to explore his theory aloud. “For a time I believed I was being punished by Starfleet for my past…transgressions. But since conditions have failed to improve in my absence then I can no longer offer myself as the cause. Which leaves us with the question of why? Why would an organisation like section 31 be so interested in our battered little ship?”

• Kara Nakuto (Consultant)

Peter was silent for a few moments as he debated bringing up his theory on that particular matter. It didn’t take him long to decide “I don’t have any evidence supporting this but I think that there are many on this ship, far too many, who either have been, are or will be involved with Section 31. Most of the fleet isn’t aware of its existence, I know for a fact that my cousins I’ve told you about don’t know that it exists.” He scratched the back of his neck “The only reason I’m familiar is that they’ve tried to recruit me on three different occasions, beyond that I know hardly anything about them. But I’ve caught whispers on and around the ship.” This line of thought was extremely uncomfortable for him “I only know the group’s name because of my last out-of-uniform mission.”

CIO

The pair finally reached the mess hall, redesigned by Nakuto herself what felt like decades ago now. It brought her a certain degree of comfort, however, to see the walls of the Heorot still painted blood red, the standard federation seating still usurped by a singular, oaken banqueting table and at the head of the table - the throne. Her throne. Or…no, no longer hers but now belonging to another. Captain Ravenfall. The half-Klingon exhaled heavily.

Still, with loss of power came no responsibility and for Kara Nakuto that signified the dissipation of a previously crushing weight. Where once the lives of every man and woman on this vessel had been under her charge, now she held no more critical duties than to charge around the Heorot roaring battle cries and filling drinking glasses - a task she now attended to eagerly, leaping over the longship bar and rummaging through several crates for her prize - a dusty, unopened bottle of bloodwine.

Filling two tankards for herself and Peter, she regarded her friend from across the bar. His unease at voicing this subject aloud was palpable and Kara felt a slight wave of guilt for pressing the matter further. But she had no choice in the matter. What Peter knew, what he had experienced, could be vital to her understanding of the Viking and its curse.

Handing the Icelander a mug of the potent bloodwine, her voice adopted a more gentle and softer tone as she asked, “My friend, will you tell me? What did happen to you on that mission?”

• Kara Nakuto (Consultant)

Peter accepted the drink with a curt nod and a tense smile. He had expected the question, most people did ask what got him such hot water over two years ago “I told you about my mission to destroy the Takra cartel and the loss that followed” Peter tried to wash away the bitter taste that was forming with the bloodwine, it only helped marginally. He looked around the great hall and allowed himself a slight chuckle “you know my ancestors used to swear blood-oaths, similar to what Klingons do.”

He opened his right hand, showing a very small faded scar running across his palm unless pointed out it was mostly unnoticeable “Mostly great friends who shared a brotherly bond or foster brothers wishing to become closer. I made one with three of my cousins, we swore to always answer the call, to be there for one another and we have done so six times in the last thirty years since we made the oath. Well after Veronica I made the call.”

Peter smiled as he thought to his cousins, the sons of his father’s Brothers. He had no siblings so Adam, Baldur, and Magnus were his brothers. “We met on Orion and made our way to Quo’nos, there we purchased a Civilian freighter and made our way deeper into the Empire. The remnants of the Cartel had fled there thinking themselves safe from Federation hands, they were smart enough not to pester the Klingons. I used my underworld contacts to find the right independent space station where the surviving members made their escape through. After some gentle persuasion, we managed to squeeze out a new location, rinse and repeat until 6 bases later we found where they made their last stand.”

Another sip to lessen the bitterness “Well their last stand didn’t last very long after we were done they had been completely obliterated. We made our way back into Federation Space with the help of some stealthy friends and turned up on Risa where a crew of the Klingon bird of prey the IKS Chan’Dora was waiting as our alibi.” He turned the mug quietly in his hand for a moment “You have to understand that the four of us are experts in our respective fields, former soldiers and intelligence operatives that know how to cover our tracks, yet somehow Starfleet Intelligence had enough evidence to hold a private tribunal, I was being publically celebrated for my work so I was practically untouchable and all of us were decorated war veterans so they slapped our wrists in quiet and let us go.” The story was finally reaching its own point

“Afterwards I was approached by a man I knew as Commander Tzai, at three different times in my career he approached me with a small mission for Starfleet Intelligence and afterward tried to recruit me, each time I did the mission out of some patriotic duty and said no thank you, Special Ops was never my cup of tea. Then and there he explained to me who he really was and what Section 31 was, that I had worked for them those three times, the Takra operation had been engineered by them to run those criminals into Klingon space where they could be controlled more easily, that we had ruined plans years in the making during our mission. So now I owe them a favour.”

Peter