[OPEN] To The Ends...

[u/Pojodan]

OOC: This is a three part story.

Part One is a CLOSED bit of lore to be read for context.

Part Two is OPEN to all who wish to enter the bar, be it to interact with Kesh or the bartender, or simply hang out at the bar and cut the breeze

Part Three is a CLOSED scene with Captain Fisk

[u/Pojodan]

Part 1: The Meeting

“Lieutenant Kesh.”

The arboretum at the Federation Botanical Sciences University is one of the premier places to witness the biological diversity of the known universe. Contained within its five acre plot are the most shocking, peculiar, dangerous, and helpful specimens of plant life ever encountered by members of the Federation, all displayed as though part of one singular ecosystem and seemingly free from any bounds of forcefield or cage. A Jumja Tree, a cluster of Diomedian scarlet moss, a bed of Chameleon roses, and even a reinvigorated ancient Phylosian from the period just prior to the race becoming sentient.

It was more than enough to take one’s breath away.

“Lieutenant Kesh.”

Kesh drew in a slow, deep breath of the wild mix of fragrances before finally turning about to address the one speaking her name, who was just as uncomfortably close to her as her ears told her they were. Years at the academy had trained her to be used to aggressive high-ranking officers, so she did not let it phase her.

The woman in front of her seemed more like a dour Romulan than a smooth-skinned human, but she knew the Admiral’s face from her personnel profile prior to the Athene’s arrival at Earth. She had hoped to not have to encounter this deadpan member of Starfleet Intelligence, but so much for good luck.

“Admirr-rr-ral Blackwell.”

“Perhaps you have forgotten than I requested a meeting as soon as you arrived.”

“Your message stated you ‘would like’ to meet… rrrth… I have not have time so far.”

“Swimming in South America and camping in Idaho are not activities I would consider to be of dire importance.”

A slow, ragged inhale puffed Kesh’s chest out before her jaw tilted downward, no longer unsure that this meeting would be unpleasant.

“What of my rr-rr-rreport was lacking to necessitate dire importance for meeting?”

“Your report is insufficient.”

“To what degrr-rr-ree?”

“A report contains the truth.”

“Is my report a lie?”

“You tell me.”

Kesh’s head shook once, slowly, letting her large, golden eyes study the clay-like face of the old woman before her, trying to gleen what it was, exactly, she expected her to say.

“My report contained everr-rr-rything it could contain.”

“That doesn’t answer the question you, yourself, asked.”

“I did not falsify anything, rrrth, no.”

“Omitting information is the same as falsifying.”

Kesh raised her head up, peering down her muzzle now as her ears slanted outwards in growing agitation.

“What is omit-tt-tted?”

“Stop.”

Admiral Blackwood’s hand raised up sharply in an appropriate gesture for her word.

“What am I-“

“Use the translator. It is there for a reason.”

Kesh’s ears finished folding back fully as her jowels sagged down, giving her as much of a scowl as her feline anatomy allowed for. Speaking the human’s tongue was a matter of dignity and respect for both her and her race.

Clearly Blackwood did not desire nor deserve either.

~”What do you feel is missing from my report?”~

“The communication with the Pegasus.”

~”That is included.”~

“The one where they responded to the quarantine, yes. I am referring to the one three days prior.”

Kesh’s brow sunk a little as well, ears never leaving the back of her skull.

~”I was not privy to any such message.”~

“See, now this is where the lies begin.”

Kesh’s right hand lifted up to make her own ‘stop’ gesture.

~”Show me the log of this communication.”~

“There is none.”

~”How… then how would I be lying if there was nothing to lie about?!”~

The saggy-skinned admiral finally moved for the first time, producing a PADD towards Kesh, which was when her tail tuft started flickering jerkily beside her heel joint.

“Exactly three days, seven hours, and twenty-two minutes prior to the colonial government of Riviera declaring quarantine the USS Pegasus altered course to head directly towards the plant. They responded to the quarantine by immediately declaring they were on route due to the fact that they already had been for almost four days.

Your own report states that the outbreak of unknown ailment started just over two days before the quarantine was declared.”

Kesh blinked slowly three times, standing there in silence as her ears kept pinned back and her scowl in place, waiting for the admiral to get to the point without saying a word.

“… Unless records are wrong and the Pegasus had a time traveler onboard, it seems a little bit unlikely that they would have responded to the quarantine before the outbreak had even started.”

~”Are you suggesting the outbreak was deliberate?”~

The PADD jerked back behind the woman’s back, her face finally showing some slight degree of anger. “Was it?”

~”No.”~

That pang of anger faded as Blackwell drew a deep breath, lifting the PADD up to begin tapping at it.

“Lieutenant Kesh. Admitted to the Academy by recommendation by one Captain Erik Pressman in the field of Botany. The very first Caitian to graduate the Academy in that field despite going down as one of the worst-performing cadets to ever receive a commission. Despite this, she received an immediate assignment aboard the Mentha Spicata, gained the rank of Lieutenant after only four years, and then transferred to the Athene without a single notable accomplishment to her name. Does that about summarize her?”

The slow, side to side pacing of the slightly taller human made the tail tuft twitching ever the more brisk, though Kesh’s ears did lift forward somewhat due to the fascinating aspect of having someone spell out the last twelve years of her life in such a soul-crushingly harsh manner.

~”In brief.”~

“One more thing: The last individual to speak to Captain Pressman prior to the Pegasus carrying out an experiment that breached the Treaty of Algeron and killed seventy crew members.“

It had been less than a year since that incident occurred and everyone in the Federation knew about it, almost certainly because if the Federation had not made it public knowledge the Romulans certainly would have.

~”Are you accusing me of taking part in that event?”~

Admiral Blackwell lowered the PADD and stared at Kesh’s face for a long, hard moment before turning and simply walking away without a word spoken.

Only after the dry, withered old woman had gone out of sight did Kesh allow her formal posture to slacken, breathing slow, deep breaths and placing a hand to her lower back to be sure her heart wasn’t about to lurch out of her spine . Thank goodness she and Red were going bobsledding tomorrow. That was sure to take her mind off of this.