Inquiries

Posted on Wed Mar 8th, 2023 @ 9:26am by Lieutenant Commander Diane Doctrine

Mission: Evacuation

ON

In her inner sanctum, as Diane liked to call her office, she was busy collection and collating information she’d gained so far on the list of people Commander Wagnor had given her. The first four names were dead ends… literally. Three had been killed in action, one died in an accident from radiation exposure. She made a mental note to check that one closer, sometime accidents weren’t always just accidents.

She focused on the last two names. Elic Lemfoe was listed as missing in action and Crom Wagnor, whom Diane suspected had the most priority on Soran’s list, was shown as missing presumed deceased.

She was studying the holographic bulletin board with all the data she’d collected so far when the comm channel on her desk beeped for attention. “Computer, mischief managed.” The display turned off as she sat at her desk to answer the call. What immediately caught her attention was the caller’s identification was blocked. The next thing she noticed was no origin was listed. My inquiries have attracted some attention, she thought to herself. She tapped her console to answer.

She turned off her video feed and answered the call with voice only. “You have reached Lieutenant Commander Doctrine, who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”

"I'm transmitting my clearance code, call me… Othlin." The voice had an unusual pitch making it hard to determine the age or gender of the person speaking. The speaker had a slight accent, which indicated they were not using the universal translator. "Who are you working for?"

“Provided you are who you say you are, in this particular case, your brother. He’s been looking for you for some time and he’s enlisted my help.” Diane answered evenly.

"I wish I was," the voice said. "However many of the people marked MIA are gone, the Angosians Government won't update those records because they don't want to admit how much they lost. So it's awkward for everyone when someone marked as missing or dead finds their way home. You know Wagnor was marked KIA until recently? There are some very powerful people who were hoping he and I would stay that way. Some of them are in your government, you might want to watch your back."

“I always do,” Diane replied keeping her tone neutral, “If you are not who I was told you might be can you at least pass on a message to Crom Wagnor if it’s possible?”

"I'll take your message, but I have no guarantee anyone in this life can deliver it."

“Just tell him that his brother, Soran, is looking for him,” and that’s all she said and waited for a reply or some reaction that might give a clue the name was recognized.

"I will help if I can," the voice said. "You would look less suspicious if you spend a little more time with the Angosian archives. It might help you understand the officer who stands beside you."

The reference to the Sentinel's Credo did not get past Diane. She had done some studying on that particular group in her efforts to find the people on Soran's list. "I shall definitely do that," she answered, "Can you offer a time or location I should focus on?"

"Davin III, a lot of details have been redacted. I think you'll be able to put things together, they were both there. That's where Crom Wagnor was last reported to be, personnel loss was well over fifty percent. Neither side considered it a victory." The voice paused. "Some would feel strange the number or Wagnor's comrades that have died even for wartime, those numbers are high. Can I give you a message for Soran."

“Of course,” she answered while taking notes. Diane was surprised, usually masked voices from untraceable origins weren’t so forthcoming or helpful… or was he tossing out red herrings? A question for another time she decided.

"If you are not recording this please begin to do so now," The voice instructed. "Things are moving in the house of the dead, the Ren remains unforgiven; Tehto."

Diane had been recording the whole thing to play back to Soran and get his thoughts. “All right, I have no idea what that means but it is recorded as you requested.”

"Good," The voice said and the call ended.

Diane saved the recording on her secure server and went Commander Wagnor's office. Wagnor sat doing paperwork when he heard the chime, he sighed. He'd asked not be disturbed, so this was going to be important.

"Come," He called as close the file he was working on.

Diane walked in, "I hope you're not too busy. I have some news."

"I welcome a distraction," Soran moved to the replicator. "Can I get you anything?"

“A coffee sounds good,” she mentioned as she pulled out a PADD and placed it on his desk, “I had a most unusual call a few moments ago. There’s a recording on here you need to listen to, there’s no video, it was a voice call only.”

Wagnor raised an eyebrow and he brought two cups of coffee to desk. "Let's hear it."

Diane tapped the screen of the PADD and the recording of the entire conversation played.

When it was finished Diane commented, “It seems some of my inquiries may have ruffled some feathers.”

Soran sat silently for a moment, "I don't suppose I could tell you that vocal analysis will be useless, he was using some sort of filter. I'm fairly certain I know which one but that's not going help us really either. Even with the filter I can tell they’re Angosian, their accent plus the fact that he was quoting the book Joth. The use of my personal nickname could just be a coincidence."

Diane nodded in understanding.

He looked Diane in the eye he wasn't sure how much he should tell her. If he told her all of his suspicions it might color her investigation, he need someone who could be more objective. He also honestly didn't know how much of his activities were in those files and what she would find. "What's your impression of our mystery voice."

“Well,” Diane chewed the inside of her cheek once before going on, “It seems they are willing to help. He didn’t threaten anything and gave us another avenue of information to look up, however…” Her lips twisted as she thought again of other possibilities. “There’s also the chance they were tossing red herrings at us… to send us in a useless direction and waste our time.”

"If we were to take this person at face value," Soran said quietly. "The suggested reading is just to throw off whoever might be monitoring us. If you read the file with that in mind, you should be able to see through whatever the red herring might be. That message for me is a little harder to decipher, it could be nothing, but that's not likely. They called themselves Othlin that tells me that it is someone familiar with my old unit."

“I see your logic and I’ll make sure to cover my tracks better… Didn’t you tell me Othlin was an alias your brother used at some point?” She asked. “Who else would know that tidbit?”

"A few possibilities come to mind," Soran leaned back in his chair. Dav Zayner would totally use that alias if he was trying to get my attention, or it might not be an alias. Thatha had family. They had written her off and didn't much care for me but they did exist."

Diane's head tilted as she digested these new tidbits. "I'm curious as to why Thatha's family would contact you. You told me died in your arms. If they don't care much for you, why try and make contact?"

"Thatha’s family has a lot of power in politics, so they have a stake in the Angosian bid to join the Federation." Soran said.

Diane put her finger across her mouth as if to say 'shhh' as she thought. "That's interesting," she commented at length. "What do you think is going on?"

"That last part, could be wishful thinking." Soran looked away. "That message they had for me... It's a quote from an ancient text that most of our legends and folklore come. The Ren come a character in some of those stories. Ren in a nickname I've had for years. I'm unforgiven. "

“Is that what your nickname means?” She asked curiously.

"The Ren is anamorphic being in several stories. In children's stories the Ren brings comfort and guidance to the lost and wounded. The most popular interpretation is 'the Weeping Ren' Who weeps for the suffering in the world and guides souls to the afterlife. That quote refers to the oldest know tale of the Ren. He was a commander in a long forgotten war, he failed his…"

Soran paused trying to think, "I guess demigod is the closest translation. He was curse to watch over the wounded and dying of every battle and bring the soul to the gate where he would never cross. The name was given to me because I have sensitive eyes that water easily and I play a mouth organ. Though my life seems to line pretty closely to the tale."

“If I didn’t know better it seems we’ve found some kind of clue?” Diane offered.

"Whoever sent this message knew me or ar least of me during my military service," Soran said slowly. "They also have connections in Starfleet Intelligence, I've long suspected that the Federation was watching the Angosians for sometime."

Diane’s eyes narrowed. The wheels in her head were spinning now. They seemed to be getting to the crux of the issue. “What do the Angosians have that the Federation wants so bad they’re willing to, shall we say, overlook some inconvenient history? If we can figure out that I think we can unravel this mess.”

"Experienced soldiers and the process to make more," Soran said.

"You make it sound like Starfleet isn't enough," Diane's brow furrowed, "I know Starfleet's primary job is exploration *but we haven't failed yet at defending the Federation."

"The Federation hasn't had a full scale war in almost a century, we barely had enough fire power to stop the Borg. The Dominion is a battle hardened ruthless foe," Soran said quietly. "I'm not saying Federation can't win but they're going to need as much help from more warlike peoples as they can get and Starfleet knows that. My people could be a great asset incoming war, but they must answer for and put right their wrongs."

Diane rubbed her chin, "It makes sense. The Federation isn't always as squeaky clean as it likes everyone to think."

"Times of war bring out the best or worst of all involved." Soran shook his head. "That message is a warning to me, if we pursue this any further it could be very dangerous. I don't know how far the corruption in Starfleet goes but my people won't hesitate to eliminate anyone in their way. If you want out now is the time, I won't think I less of you. You have a child to think about and this is not your fight."

Diane tilted her head. She was not one to back down from a fight but Soran was correct, she did have Toby to think about. “I have one more question, we’ve mostly established the Federation wants Angosians as soldiers, what do you people get in return?”

"Stability," Soran said. "Postwar Government politics are a house of cards."

“But the Federation doesn’t interfere with local politics. Joining won’t necessarily bring stability to the local government,” now her head tilted the other way, “Unless the Angosians ask for a mediator or ambassador to help settle the disputes. There are a lot of layers going on here,” she admitted.

"Yes, there are." Soran nodded. "Like I said this my fight, you can walk at anytime."

It was difficult for Diane to resist a mystery. "We may not always agree on things but you are a shipmate. If I can be of further assistance in this matter, just ask."

"Thank you," Soran smiled. "Let's keep this under wraps for now."

Diane's smile had a sly quality, "No problem, discretion is my middle name."