THEY'RE ON HOTH

Posted on Tue Apr 12th, 2022 @ 11:03pm by Evanna Belyaev & Captain Reuben Gregnol (Mirror)

Mission: Mission 15: Adrift
Location: Captain's Office
Timeline: 2397
2644 words - 5.3 OF Standard Post Measure

In the entire time she had served on the ship, (which was actually considerable for Evanna, who had a penchant at least in her youth for never staying anywhere longer than a few months at at time), the Science Chief had never been given cause to approach the Captain's office. She knew where it was, quite specifically in fact; for reasons that became abundantly clear after spending any time around the woman at all, Evanna was quite meticulous about memorising the ship's schematics, in much the same way it was usually a good idea to know your surroundings when you were limited in your options for escaping them quickly. There had just never been consideration from her predecessor that rated her higher than a glorified secretary and, probably just as likely, Smithson had been just smart enough not to trust Belyaev enough to give her any reason to speak to Gregnol at all. As it was, she had Bridge training and experience and yet had very rarely been allocated the Science terminal despite being official Assistant Chief, and so when she stepped into the Command sector now, one might have expected a degree of interest and curiosity from her; what was actually visible was stone-cold aloofness.

It wasn't the presence of animosity so much as the absence of anything that could be translated into a reasonable, observable emotional presence. It was quite a handy demeanour to cultivate; she had just walked past several conversations that had abruptly stopped when she drew close and yet nobody had seemed quite willing to actually acknowledge her presence. Averted eyes, the sudden need to appear to be very efficient. Had there not been adequate reason to maintain her composure, Evanna might have seen fit to enjoy a private smirk at the tension that radiated from the junior officers in particular. Unnerving people when you weren't a telepath took practise and dedication; eventually, her reputation paid off.

What this all meant, of course, was that by the time she pressed her hand to the panel that would let the office's sole occupant know that she was waiting for permission to enter, Evanna had successfully fended off any nosey-parkers who might have wanted to think silly thoughts about why certain Lieutenants were suddenly visiting the Captain after such a long time of never doing such a thing. She stood and waited patiently, impassive and unreadable to the end despite the fact that there was really only the potential for dust mites to be impressed by her stoic persistence.

The Captain bodyguard looked the woman up and down before emitting her to the room when the voice beyond called her in. Gregnol looked up over from the window he was staring out to look at her. "The Palace is beautiful." He said bitterly wishing he was not under the gaze of it then and there. He wanted to go off and get answers from the information on the PADD and he was pretty sure it was why the empress was keeping him there. The longer he stayed the less likely he was going in all guns blazing. He glanced back at the window for a moment before pushing himself off it giving her his attention. He looked tired and drawn but if people did not know him they would not have batted an eyelid at it. "You have news?" He asked keeping to standard for the moment.

Evanna stood as she often did in his presence, at least when engaged in professional matters; one hand behind her back to rest a fist comfortably against the base of her spine, the other only absent from the same position because it held a PADD. Feet slightly parted, posture swept upwards but stopping just short of being ramrod rigid. A sturdy, dependable block of ice. A single nod acted as a response to his query before Evanna held out the information she was carrying. "I would like to meet their cryptologist one day; their methods are..." The blonde paused, allowed her gaze to drift towards the ceiling as she chose her next words carefully, and then smirked without altering her facial expression at all when looking back to him to conclude, "Creative. And, I believe, Cardassian." It was silly, of course, to have a favourite kind of nemesis but there were several races that typically proved the most worthy. "I retrieved what I could before the degradation made it impossible to decipher anything further."

The man let the amusement rise across his face for a second before he turned it inward again. It was not something he rose to often but seeing her choosing words so carefully amused him as he was a man who recognised greatness even in an enemy such as a Cardassian. “What caused the degradation?” He demanded taking the PADD.

"Intentional self-sabotage," Evanna responded calmly. "The firewalls protecting data extraction and manipulation resemble Cardassian techniques, though it's been a while since I've seen anything this sophisticated. We were fortunate enough to retrieve as much as we did, their layers of protection are often touted as being impenetrable." And yet, she had got through, at least enough to dredge them out a starting point. "The moment the data was extracted, deletion protocols were already activated. I stalled what I could."

It explained her willingness to defy what he'd nearly made an order and work through the night on the project. Waiting would simply have left her with fractured files that would have taken days to repair, if that had even been possible. Evanna didn't like to admit defeat but she saw no point in making a task harder than it needed to be.

"And I have repaired and restored everything that could be retrieved. Should we encounter other opportunities to tap into their databases, I have several techniques that may make this process easier in the future." Her blue eyes held his, confident without being demanding, but Evanna's message was clear; call me next time.

"Typical Cardassian," Gregnol admitted with an almost growl. He could recognise greatness but also annoyance as how typical it was of them. "This confirms my theory that they have gotten stableness in that they are getting more sophisticated and targeted." He mused starting to look at the information that he had been given. It was star charts but not a region he was familiar with.

"I ran integrity checks but I have not analysed the data itself with any depth." This, more than anything, was meant as a reassurance. Evanna had played a great deal of her hand already, had revealed a capacity for skills that perhaps sat outside the normal realm of scientific endeavour, but what was yet to be established but bound to be abundantly clear eventually was that she had an internal personal code for this kind of work. Perhaps not entirely moral, though there was nothing gratuitous about Evanna at least, but strict and disciplined and structured nonetheless. One of the most fundamental, pivotal tenets was to only know as much as she needed to, to get the job done.

The man said nothing other than grunt a reply of listening, he was was trying to work out the star chart in parallel to where they were. He pulled up the data on his console and created a hologram around them showing the star system that the information revealed might be a place for rebels. “Know anything about Hoth?” he finally wondered. It sounded familiar but it was not a colonised world of the empire, just an outlying world of no consequence.

The Science Chief didn't rush to respond. A slight narrowing of her eyes suggested introspection, and an attempt to turn over the pebbles of knowledge in her mind to find the necessary connection. Like Gregnol, the planet's name seemed familiar, but anyone with a passing appreciation for navigation and stellar cartography could memorise the name of planets, planetoids, moons, asteroids, whatever had been discovered and given a designation. That didn't mean the place itself warranted a reputation.

Quietly, Evanna moved to consider his extrapolated projection, her own icy gaze darting around before it settled on the star system in question. "Not a particularly hospitable region." A lifted index finger traced a line back to the system's small star and Evanna's gaze darted between several of the closer systems by way of comparison. "Stellar Cartography would need to confirm but this appears to be a white dwarf." Finally, a crack in the façade; her eyebrow raised. "I take it Hoth is far from a tropical destination then."

"It will be very cold. No sunbathing for you unless you want to freeze to death or get frostbite." He said with an almost appraising look over her for a moment before he returned his attention to the charts. "It would make sense for the rebels to try to settle in a place where it is perceived would be too inhospitable to the Terran empire." They were fools for believing that as the empire would go any where to stop rebels.

"I prefer snow to sand anyway." The faint gleam in Belyaev's eyes conveyed humour, though the bulk of her attention was still fixated on the star chart. "It seems to be the only planet within range of adequate heat levels to sustain any kind of life. A desolate region, coupled with uncompromising terrain, would certainly provide them with additional security."

"Duly noted, your preference." He said simply as turned his own attention back on the hologram. "Agreed. They are getting more tricky in figuring out. I will pass this on. Hopefully, we will be allowed to follow its line of investigation and get out from under the imperial palace." He said trying to not seem too excited over that concept.

A flick of Belyaev's gaze saw her peer at her Captain through the pinpricks of light that made up the holographic star chart. The tiniest tug of amusement adjusted the curve of her lips but, in typical fashion, her eventual retort was entirely professional, at least on surface level. "Expediency is surely warranted; it won't take them too long to realise we have caused a major security breach." A brief flare of mischief was immediately accompanied by, "Though I'm sure your absence will be sorely missed by some."

“I will still need to wait for permission.” The man said not brave enough to deny the empress. “Why I want to leave. I am attracting too much attention which is exactly what the empress wanted but still.” He mused with a shrug shutting down the hologram to look at the woman. “Did I hear a small tone of jealousy there?” He said a tone of mischief around him as well as her now.

An imperious eyebrow raised, though far from offended, Evanna seemed more tempted by mirth. "I think you're mistaking me for someone with a far more elevated status. I am no regent, sir." Direct eye contact became the central point of otherwise muted flirtation.

“Oh, now we are touching a nerve.” he carried on with a grin thinking of the Andorian regent. She would be there at the requested party that he needed to attend.

Evanna's amusement was smoothed away under a look of controlled sanguinity, the epitome of a feline observing a particularly futile attempt by a competitor to distract and disarm. It was still a playful expression, imperious and graceful all in the same breath, and the fold of the blonde's arms across her chest only added to the boldness of her retort. "Would you like me to send her recommendations?" Her lips twitched. "I'm sure she'd be delighted by your change of heart."

It was, of course, only a conversation to be tolerated, by either of them, because of how far from the truth it clearly was. As a tease, Evanna would weather it, perhaps even enjoy it, because jealousy, of all the pointless emotions, was perhaps her least favourite. Only school children would interpret a single event as a proclamation of fidelity, after all, and Evanna really didn't have that much time to dedicate to coveting another's time nor loyalty. She had shown a willingness to breach professional boundaries; whether or not he ever strayed in that direction again was entirely up to the man himself.

Gregnol smirked, the amusement evident on his face as he watched the woman carefully. He did not need a jealous woman and knew she was perfect in that respect, he was not going to destroy her so easily with carelessness. "You can give it in person. Get dressed in something more..." he paused narrowing his eyes. "Less, something less than that. I have to attend an event... you are coming with me." He said simply.

It was an order, Evanna knew enough to recognise one even despite the odd context. Given the nature of it, and were she actually inclined to try, there may have been some scope to request reconsideration, but she wasn't a woman easily intimidated by others and knowing that the Andorian regent would likely find her presence utterly infuriating was more a reason to accept than protest, at least in Evanna's eyes. Nevertheless, she regarded her commanding officer through the sparkle of keen intellect for a moment, an attempt to decode his intent, and eventually settled on a faint smile as her first response. "You really do enjoy stirring the hornets' nest."

Gregnol let out a bark of laughter as she finally answered his order. “No, I do not enjoy being a pet when I belong out there tracking down rebels.” He said, not adding that he wanted to be out in the universe to get answers for what had happened three years ago.

That much at least made sense. Evanna was no fan of grandstanding either and saw Gregnol's current predicament as further reason to avoid rising too far in recognised prominence. The scientist, for all her skill and tenacity, had developed at a very early age a rather unique capacity to revel in her own successes without the need of outside validation. As such, Belyaev's career, such as it appeared in official documents, spoke of efficiency and dedication but mentioned none of the very specialised talents that allowed a person to, say, crack Cardassian security protocols overnight. She had no time for external accolades, certainly not when the interfered as much as the Captain was currently experiencing.

And yet, here he was, dragging her into his limelight.

She regarded him with raised eyebrows, still amused but likewise resigned. "How much time do I have?"

He could almost hear the cogs moving in her head as she considered her options. He had left her no option with an order but it was still amusing to the man that she was whirling through everything. “Two hours.” He said simply tugging his uniform down into place. As he looked at the PaDD again, the smile faded slightly.

"Then I had better get started." Belyaev's tone, whilst light, also held a degree of gentle retreat. She, more than most, recognised a brooding desire to be left with one's own thoughts when it was frowning at a holo-display in front of her. Gracefully, she adopted the stance that was typical of her when awaiting orders; hands clasped behind her back, posture straight to accentuate her slender neck, and an impassive expression that almost extinguished the twinkle in her eye. All things considered, she possibly didn't need to wait to be dismissed but Evanna waited nonetheless.

Gregnol looked up seeing her still there waiting for her to direct her. “Go. Time is limited.” He instructed. He still had many thing to think over before he played politician that night.