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"Reflections in the Mirror" Rating: PG-13 Author's Notes: Please leave a review! Thanks! Two Admiral Henry Archer stared at the top of the new warp core aboard Challenger. The glowing cylindrical tube stretched towards the ceiling, and was easily double the size of the old core aboard Enterprise. Even now, the contained power within it filled him with awe. Then a muscle in his neck spasmed and snapped him back to reality. He winced and rubbed it with a sheepish expression. “Pain in the neck?” asked a dry voice. The English accent only made the question even drier. “Ha, ha. Very funny, Stuart.” Archer glanced sideways at Admiral Stuart Reed. The man who was Queen Diana's former Minister of Security was just as entranced by the new technology as Archer was. Although the man was now retired, he still held himself ramrod straight due to his training in the Royal Navy. Reed's face softened as he said, “She's quite a beauty, isn't she.” “Yes, she is.” Archer chuckled and added, “I'm glad we were able to get the test runs done as quickly as we did. I think Challenger and her sisters will do well.” “I'm sure Paxton would be pleased to hear how his contribution have sped things up considerably.” Archer gave his old friend a sharp glance. “What is it between you and John, Stuart? Every time I see you two in the same room, the temperature goes arctic. Paxton isn't that bad.” Reed shifted uncomfortably and replied, “He just seems a bit...well, smarmy for my tastes.” “He's got to deal with politicians and smarmy goes a long way, unfortunately.” He assessed the Englishman's expression and asked, “It has something to do with Malcolm, right?” “Paxton approached both of my children, actually. He wants Maddy to work as an art requisition specialist for his personal gallery and Malcolm as the head of his personal medical staff.” Stuart's answer surprised him. “When was this? John's never said anything to me.” “Very recently, when Malcolm returned from Vulcan. My son had been treating Minister V'Lar and Paxton's been very interested in his work on Vulcan physiology.” Stuart winced at the thought. “Paxton doesn't seem to understand that Vulcans consider certain things to be...private. I don't think I've ever seen Malcolm so angry.” Archer rolled his eyes. “I'll talk to Paxton. He'd asked me why the Vulcan Ship and Operations Ministry was so closed-minded about the Warp 5 Project at first. I think he gets carried away by his enthusiasm sometimes and he doesn't understand that Vulcans are just as possessive about their technology as Humans are. Vulcans are a lot more diplomatic about it.” “Paxton's always made me nervous, Henry.” “It's your security instincts on overdrive, Stuart. Relax.” When that happened, Stuart tended to become more paranoid than usual, and he double-checked and triple-checked everything. He'd passed that attention to detail to both Maddie and Malcolm, and it served them well in their chosen professions. Archer sighed mentally. Thank goodness Mary's there to get the whole lot of them to lighten up. It saves them from being such a dour bunch. A new voice interrupted, “Am I disturbing you, sirs?” Archer grinned as the newcomer walked towards them. “Ah, Captain Mayweather. No, we're just making the last visual inspections. And may I congratulate you on your promotion?” “Thank you, Admiral Archer.” Travis's dark skin hid his blush. “It was difficult to leave Enterprise, but I'm glad we're going to be working close with Captain Sato in the near future.” “What do you have for us, Captain? More specs?” Reed asked, gesturing at the pad in Travis's hand. “Not exactly, Admiral Reed. This is the analyses of the radon we picked up from Pyrithia. I think you both would be interested in what came up.” Travis handed the pad to Reed, and Archer looked over Reed's shoulder as they glanced over the details. “Huh. This is quite interesting,” Reed said, when they were finished. “Are you sure about these readings?” “Double-checked them and triple-checked them before I gave them to you, sir. Seems like radon's good for more than just artistic value. Its molecular structure is similar to an element we already know.” Travis grinned widely. “Dilithium.” “Of course! I should've seen that earlier!” Archer's voice trembled in excitement. “Sonek---he's the main developer at the Vulcan's equivalent of our R&D department---was experimenting with similar materials in his lab. Unfortunately, his first prototypes burned out while he was testing them...if we had something like this---” His mind was already working out the equations. “Looks like the matrix might be more stable...we'd have to compensate for the coefficient factors and the rate of power transfer, but---” Reed shot Travis a humorous glance. “Look what you've done, Captain. We've lost him already.” Travis's grin grew wider. “Look at it this way, sir: he'd be busy and stay out of trouble.” “Yes, there is that. I suppose that will be a relief to the Universe in general.” His tone was dry as ever, but Travis heard the exasperated affection underneath. “Let's take this to the Chief Engineer's office, Henry, before Lieutenant Commander Hess starts moving in the rest of her gear. Engineers tend to be possessive about their workspaces as well, from what I've heard.” Hoshi winced as Colonel Amanda Hayes completed her inspection of the cabin. The attackers had left it mostly intact, although she'd have to replace the front door, several windows, and the bedroom walls. Amanda had discovered several of the small poison darts and had the investigative team send them away for analysis. They'd also found DNA evidence, which was being analyzed at the moment. It was comforting to Hoshi to see her mother-in-law in her element, but Amanda's cold demeanor reminded her too much of Matt whenever he'd slip into his Armory Officer mode. “At least they spared most of the china,” Amanda quipped, but the attempt at humor fell flat. “This place means a lot to me, and if they destroyed it---” She left the sentence unfinished, but the icy tone made Hoshi shiver. “Any idea of who might have followed you here?” “None. The only ones who knew I was here were you and Max Forrest,” Hoshi answered, her tone just as calm. “And if it wasn't for Porthos, I could've been hurt or killed. He warned me someone was coming.” “Remind me to give that dog all the cheese he wants.” She sighed and rubbed her tired eyes. “There's been a lot of unrest ever since you came home, Hoshi. Many people blame the Vulcans for what happened to Columbia, and the media's having a field day.” Her eyes flashed as she added, “Not to mention Terra Prime.” “Do you think it was members of Terra Prime?” “We'll find out as soon as those DNA analyses are complete and we compare them with what we've got in our database. It's too dangerous to stay here, Hoshi. I remember when someone tried to kill you and your bridesmaids before you and Matt got married. Max and I have arranged for you to go back to San Francisco.” Hoshi's mouth twitched at the memory. “Hide in plain sight? It seems like they can find anyone with all the resources they seem to have.” Amanda laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I didn't think you'd want to burrow into the ground like a gopher. Besides, if it was Terra Prime, and if they see you're safe and sound, they'll know they weren't successful---” “Colonel? Got those results you wanted.” Trip Tucker came up with a pad in his hands. He'd heard the news of the attack from Amanda and had flown to Colorado as fast as he could with Nate Kemper in tow. Kemper was now making sure the area was secure from curious rubberneckers. Hoshi was glad both men were here. Amanda all but snatched the pad, with Hoshi looking over her shoulder. Trip's face was neutral, which was a really bad sign. It meant he'd found something quite disturbing. “Old friends,” Amanda murmured. It was a statement, not a question. She looked up at Trip, who said nothing. “I thought you and Matt had told me they weren't around anymore.” “They weren't. Far's we can tell, they're a new bunch with the old name. Someone decided to bring 'em back with a vengeance. Quite convenient for an organization like Terra Prime.” “Who's back?” Hoshi demanded. “Who are you all talking about? Who's trying to kill me?” “They're called 'The Circle'. Originally, they had nine members, all recruited from various branches of Earth's military. Went all the way back to the Eugenics War. Anything that needed, ahem, 'quiet resolution' was up their alley. Eventually, they had to disappear, 'cause people wanted to keep their secrets and the Circle knew too much.” Trip shrugged. “Later, we found out that out of the nine of 'em, one of 'em survived that purge. She trained her kids in the family business, and those kids trained their kids, and so on, for nearly four generations.” Amanda shook her head. “Children. They used children to do their dirty work, Hoshi.” Hoshi frowned and said, “I've never heard about them until now.” “You wouldn't have. They were pretty secretive...think of 'em like ninjas. To make a long story short, they crossed the wrong people and it got to the point where Starfleet Security had to step in. By that time, though, most of the damage was already done. They'd been hunted down, one by one, and killed. We just ended up cleanin' up the mess.” “And now, they've come back and targeted me. Why?” Amanda scowled and shook her head again. “I can think of several reasons why. You're the captain of the first Warp 5 starship. You're friends with the Vulcans, the Andorians, and the Tellarites. You're highly placed in Starfleet. That's just for starters.” Hoshi thought about Amanda's words. Matt had known many people during his time in Security; he rarely talked about them, though, and had never mentioned the classified missions he'd taken part of. It made sense that he'd made powerful friends...and equally powerful enemies. Did someone have some kind of grudge against Matt...and since he was no longer alive, had decided to take revenge against his widow? She swallowed hard and wished her husband was here. If anything, to strangle him. What did he get into that would make someone want to kill his family? A thought occurred to her. Trip would know. Nate Kemper probably would, too. They were all in Security at around the same time. I'd doubt Matt would've told his mother about what happened. She would've gone ballistic and sent in a MACO battalion. Amanda was still talking. “I know you're going to hate me for it, but I'm going to put you in protective custody, Hoshi. We're going to San Francisco, and you're staying there until Enterprise is out of drydock. No arguments.” “And how long is that going to take?” Hoshi demanded. “What...two, three months? Longer?” “Hoshi, I'm doing this for your own protection.” Her mother-in-law speared her with a long look. “Please. I don't want to lose you, too.” She opened her mouth, then closed it again at the pain in Amanda's voice. Then Trip cut in with, “If it's agreeable with you, Amanda, Nate and I can be her personal security detail. If anyone decides to do anythin',” and here, Trip's expression became fierce, “we can do somethin' about it. Hell, I owe Matt big, and if anythin' happened to her, he'd kick my ass so hard it'd bounce off Saturn's rings. 'Sides, I can't think of anyone else who'd be good for the job. That is, if you'd have us, Hoshi.” Hoshi sighed; at least Trip and Nate were good company, as well as good at their jobs. She couldn't think of anyone else she could trust to protect her. Except for Matt. She ignored the hollow ache at the thought. “Of course, Trip. There's no one I trust more than you.” “Then it's settled. Lemme go find Nate, and we'll set everythin' up.” Trip winked at her. “Don't worry, it'll all be taken care of.” He went off to find Kemper. She sighed in exasperation, but still managed to give Amanda a rueful smile. “Thanks. I know it's for my own good, but it's maddening when you have to do it.” Her mother-in-law gave her a sage nod. “Like Trip said, don't worry. We'll find these people and stop them before they hurt anyone else.” “They did what?” John Paxton scowled at the person at the other end of the comlink. “I gave specific orders not to harm Hoshi Sato. I have plans for her.” “The ones who failed have been dealt with accordingly, Mister Paxton,” said the dark-eyed woman. “It was supposed to be a quick operation and they botched it completely. My contacts in the Earth News Network know how to keep this from the airwaves. At least, if they know what's good for them.” “They'd better. I don't need any more complications.” Paxton smiled grimly. “Hayes had the utter gall to get himself killed before I could do anything to him, but there are still the others. Tucker and Kemper, Harris and Nechayev. And of course, Hayes's widow. But personal vengeance aside, there are still other things to be done. Are our agents in place?” She nodded. “They are, and the evidence is being compiled as we speak. Once it becomes public knowledge, there won't be any opportunity for the Outworlders to defend themselves.” “Good. You can always count on the public to make the politicians think twice about whom they support. Let me know when all is in order. Then, we'll go into phase two of the operation.” “Acknowledged, Mister Paxton.” “We'll talk again. Paxton, out.” He cut the connection, then leaned back in his chair. The steady pounding in his temples had become a dull throb and no amount of analgesic could counter the pain. His time was almost up, so a quick resolution was in his best interest. Paxton shook his head. Jarvis Pryor had told Tucker about his involvement with Terra Prime; unfortunately, the former Enterprise crewman had suffered an "accident" on his transfer to Starfleet Security. With Pryor taken care of, Paxton was eager to get to the next person on his list. Trip Tucker. Since Hayes is no longer with us, you'll do as a substitute. And as an added bonus, I'll make sure Hoshi Sato is present when your debts finally catch up to you. She doesn't know about your time in Section 31, or of her late husband's adventures, either. I think it's unfair to keep such a loyal friend in the dark for so long, don't you think? Yes, loyalty was a rare commodity these days, which made it even more devastating when it was shattered because of hidden lies. |
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