Posted by Civilian Kara Nakuto (Civilian, Former CO) in CIO’s Office
Snip

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Peter Sigmundsson (Chief Intelligence Officer) in CIO’s Office

Posted by Civilian Kara Nakuto (Civilian, Former CO) in CIO’s Office
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

Peter was slightly startled by the knocking. He still hadn’t gotten used to knocking on a starship but with the Viking’s systems on the fritz ever so often it was more and more commonplace. He pressed a button closing the Nakuto file and turned to face the door “Enter” He wished he could be surprised by his sight but it was inevitable. He immediately perked up, practically jumping out of his chair.

“Captain” He calmed himself with a single breath “It’s good to see you again” He half-smiled like he used to when they’d served together. He gestured to the seats on the other side of his desk “Please, sit. Would you like some Coffee?” He took a step to the replicator “Do you still drink raktajino? I’ve gotten fairly lucky with this replicator since it usually works” He was nervous for the first time in a long time. Probably the first time in Twenty years that he was nervous just facing a superior officer.

Peter Sigmundsson

Nakuto stepped into the room and silently observed Sigmundsson for a moment before stating, “Stand down, Lieutenant. I am no longer your Commanding Officer.”
The bitterness in her tone was unmistakeable but there was something else tinging the edge of her words. Relief? Or was it merely apathy, the acceptance of one who had nothing else to lose.

Peter relaxed, but only slightly. However, he couldn’t help smiling ever so slightly.

Of course, being relieved of command did come with certain…privileges, like an absence of need for formalities. Which could possibly explain why the half-Klingon’s next move was to sit herself in one of the offered chairs and stretch out like it was her space to claim. Explain too the extraction from beneath her slightly tattered jacket, now devoid of any rank insignia, of a large bottle of bloodwine.

“I would say the occasion calls for more than mere coffee,” she continued, uncorking the bottle and allowing the iron-rich aroma to tease at her nostrils while she looked expectantly towards the CIO for glasses.

Impossible for the man to read, in that moment, Nakuto’s true intent. A measure of his sense of duty and moral character? A test of his courage and warrior spirit? Or simply two old friends toasting an unexpected reunion?

Peter moved back to his desk and opened a drawer, taking out two dark glasses and placing them on the desk. He was now standing on the other side of the desk, leaning in on the edge of the desk.

“I am…alive,” Kara stated triumphantly. “I have survived. Although I do not doubt there are some onboard this ship who wished otherwise. A year of absence can be like a lifetime, the changes affected in that time numerous and…unsettling. I have no call to question Starfleet on their decision to replace me, but…I resent the degree of relish that no doubt accompanied the task.”

And now she was on her feet once more, pacing, in the manner of a caged animal constantly testing the bars that held it captive.
“It seems I have acquired a certain reputation for…desertion. But those who accuse me could not begin to comprehend my reasons for doing so.”

Peter only listened. She seemed to have something she needed to get off her chest. Maybe she had doubts, maybe it was just words she felt needed to be said. In any case now was not the time to speak.

Turning to face Sigmundsson once more, the half-Klingon closed the distance until they were mere inches apart. Her height losing out by a full 8 inches to his own powerful stature, still she stood strong and confident. Challenging.

“I left the Viking to save those souls all else would have abandoned,” she roared. “I left the Curie to lure away an enemy that would have destroyed you all. Do you have any questions to ask on my motives, Lieutenant?” she dared him to ask while being devoid of any doubt that he was more than up to the task.

Kara Nakuto

Peter looked down at her and was reminded of their first meeting. A newly fangled Commander and a junior Lieutenant. Still, he’d never felt like he was looking down at her despite his size, she somehow managed to look him directly in the eyes, sometimes even look down on him. The mark of a Commander, but this one had a less than stellar reputation, not unlike his. “Only that you call me Peter” He gently took the bottle and poured into the two glasses “Or Lieutenant Commander. I haven’t been just a Lieutenant for a while now” He smiled slightly amused as he handed her a glass.

Nakuto emitted a roar of laughter, then, reaching for the offered glass, she held it aloft as she declared, “To your promotion then, Lieutenant Commander.“

“Captain, when we first met I was returning after nearly a decade of staying outside Starfleet. Four years later I left service once more until this year. I’ve had a longer Career outside of Starfleet than in. You left for duty, I left my duty.” He raised his glass “So no I don’t have any questions. Only joy at seeing a friend alive that I’d buried.” His smile became more sombre as he thought of one year earlier during his recuperation on Earth when he was informed of his old Captain’s demise.

Peter

Her glass drained, she quickly refilled it to the brim before silently indicating for the CIO to do the same. Swallowing her second draught more slowly, she languished in the task of observing him closely. He had spoken true when he declared his time away from Starfleet to be as notable, and possibly as controversial, as her own. It was one of the many things that had initially drawn her towards him on their former vessel - a shared connection between two black sheep treading career trajectories that found them balancing always on the edge of disgrace but somehow managing to claw themselves back into the light. She had trusted him back then, trusted him with enough conviction to have him lead her security team. And suddenly she felt a most desperate longing to trust him again. But did she dare take the risk?

And in truth, what would be the price if she were wrong? She had already seen everything she had ever worked for stripped away from her. A lifetime of battle and toil torn from her hands in the blink of an eye. If Peter Sigmundsson had truly been placed here by those who wished to destroy her then he would find his arrival had come far too late in the game. For destruction had already been brought by her own hand, more powerful and damning than anything they could have enacted upon her.

In that moment, as the heat from the bloodwine scorched a trail along her throat, she resolved to cast her fears and suspicions aside. Already she was finding herself a stranger amongst a crew who had once been family to her. More than rank and title and position, what Kara Nakuto needed right now was an ally and a friend. Perhaps most fitting that he be one who danced amongst the shadows.

“So, Peter,” she began, relaxing back into her chair and offering him a wide grin to serve as a peace treaty, “what brought you to the Viking? It had often been my own experience that those doomed to serve here had been ordered to do so due to certain…infractions on their record. My own former placement as Captain notwithstanding. So, what did you do to piss off Starfleet sufficiently to end up on this godsforsaken ship?”

Kara Nakuto

Peter smiled at her comment as he took his first drink of the Bloodwine. He’d come to really enjoy stronger alcohol and the sweetness of Bloodwine was always appreciated. With his penchant for drinking Romulan ales and other highly intoxicating drinks, he’d gathered quite the palette for exotic drinks.

“Actually it was quite the opposite.” He sat down on one of the chairs opposite his desk, gesturing Nakuto to do the same “When the Curie was decommissioned I was temporarily reassigned to the Olympic as a junior officer. Hatori and I were trying to make things work” He shrugged “It didn’t work but I was offered Security Chief here on the Viking in ‘87” Now was the best time to tell her everything, a full picture would make things clearer. “It was under your predecessor. I left for personal reasons in ‘89 and started… investigating a disappearance of an old friend” It was difficult for Kara to read him, but in that moment his eyes seemed sad.

He took another sip before continuing “This leads me to a small Criminal organization, the Takro Cartel. I started working my way up the Criminal food chain until I got the right peoples attention. I,m however, also go the attention of Starfleet Intelligence. They noticed what I was doing and offered me their support, raised my security clearance and rank and helped build a solid foundation for a disgruntled former Fleeter. With their support, I was accepted into the group and for over two years I worked my way up to the left hand of the groups’ leader. Long story short I compromised my cover to stop an all-out assault on the Federation by my comrades. This led to the arrest of almost every major player in the Cartel. I spent most of the last year in between a hospital bed and a courtroom as a material witness.” He paused again and looked into his drink.

“After a wealth of commendations and meetings with the higher-ups I was offered a small team of my own and any position on any ship, even XO on some frontier cruiser. But I saw that Captain Ravenfall had requested an Intelligence officer for her crew, No one was going to take it so I jumped at the chance to go back to familiar ground. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as familiar as I’d hoped” He pointed to the dim lights as he took another sip. Much stronger than he anticipated, he was going to need to be more careful “Command’s always had a soft spot for me, War Hero from a good family. They tend to just ignore my decade out of service. I’ve never been a big subscriber of hope but I believe that we might tear the Viking out of its shame and back into the good graces of the fleet” He was getting more sentimental as he grew older. Maybe if he had focused more on his career he’d probably be a Captain by now, definitely a full Commander with a good record. Not Intelligence Officer hiding on the Viking.

Peter