Stardate: 70129:1306
Title: Doppelganger
Author: Captain Khavok
Time: After "Weeping..."
Scene: Various on the Relentless


Relly's CEO was greeted with a shock when he arrived to physically check security surrounding the omega bomb. Not only was there no guard posted but the bay holding the bomb was unsecured. With a sick feeling Kal stepped into the small hold and found it empty.

"Vilmer to Adams, where is the security stationed on cargo bay two?" The blonde snapped covering his fear with more anger than he meant too.

[Begging the Lieutenant's pardon, but you dismissed us two hours ago.] Laurence responded as diplomatically as he could, wondering what had crawled up the CEO's cargo hold.

"Impossible, I was with an engineering crew the whole time," Kal returned.

[Uh... right, Sir. I've got your authentication on the logs right here.]

"Understood. I'll need to see the relevant logs, if you would be so kind."

[Of course, Sir,] Laurence responded, keeping his eye roll out of his voice.

Tapping his badge again the engineer said, "Maxine, we've got another problem. Would you run a diagnostic and tell me where the bomb is?"

[Sure, Kal. What's up?]

"I'll tell you when the scan is finished," the blonde said, his flesh crawling between his shoulder blades.

[The computer says it's right where it's supposed to be.]

Kal muttered something untranslatable in Ferengi and replied. "We've got a problem; according to security, two hours ago I dismissed security on the cargo hold and now there is no bomb here."

Maxine's feeling of deja vu increased as did her slightly nauseated feeling of insecurity.

[I'll inform the Captain. Will this day never end? That anthrax was tailor made to Merdlock. And it was done with our own equipment under our noses.]

"Ok, I'll collect the security detail and relevant logs and meet you in the Captain's ready room," Kal replied deliberately not asking the question foremost on his mind.

A few minutes later the officers assembled in the ready room. Captain Khavok listened in steely-eyed silence as his officers reported. Maxine sat uncomfortably through the meeting. The science officer was in a delicate position. Facts were rapidly adding up and her conclusions were becoming irrefutable. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, the Relentless' CSO knew who had perpetrated the crimes. The problem she faced was to reveal that information, she would have to reveal how she knew.

"How are things going with the Relentless, Mr. Tal?" The Captain asked.

"Captain, as well as can be expected for any young creature suffering abuse and betrayal. I believe we can eventually work her through this, as to any kind of time frame..." the Deltan spread his hands noncommittally.

Khavok looked expectantly at Abby who replied, "I agree with the Ambassador's assessment."

Alex was never sure later when he stopped thinking of Relly, even the sentient part of her, as a machine and started thinking about her as a member of his crew.

"I want the SOB who hurt her," Captain Khavok said flatly. "We need to find out who we are dealing with and try and come up with a way to stop them."

"I know of a person who might have the capability to carry out the attacks on Merdlock and the Relentless," Maxine stated at last.

"Who?" Kal exclaimed.

"John Galt. I don't know much about him other than rumor and innuendo. We think he's an assassin but we've never been able to prove anything. I can say for certain that he was able to take control of a large hotel on the Centrica when it mysteriously suffered from a string of accidents," Maxine said.

"I think I heard something about that," Kal said. "Didn't the head chef commit suicide over some bad press?"

Maxine shrugged.

"All right, we need to concentrate on what we can deal with. Maxine, coordinate with medical see if you can find anything linking the attack on Merdlock to this Galt character. Kal, figure out how to stop him from hitting us again," the Captain ordered.

"We'll consider this starbase hostile territory until we can rule out whether they intend to use the omega bomb or if we happened to intercept some sort of terrorist plot," Alex concluded.

As Alex wrapped up the meeting the door swished open and Admiral Foster strode into the room. Alex looked at her in shock; the Admiral Foster of this universe suffered from a loss of weight and it was evident that she had had little or no sleep. It was also clear that this was an extended pattern.

"Captain Khavok, perhaps you can explain why my orders weren't carried out," Admiral Foster growled. "You'd better have a very good reason unless you'd like to spend the rest of your career swabbing deuterium slush tanks."

Khavok looked at the panic stricken security crewman wondering what dire threat the Admiral had used on her. He then dismissed his officers who were all together too grateful to escape to high ground.

"Sir, we are in the middle of a murder investigation," Khavok replied.

"Hogwash and you know it. Where is the bomb?"

"What bomb, Sir?" Alex asked.

The Admiral's eyes narrowed as she realized the differences in Alex. Her face set as oddities in the ship that she'd dismissed became concrete; schematic differences in this Relentless, power outputs that didn't add up, the change in deckplans.

"Who are you?" Libby asked at last.

"I'm Captain Alexander Khavok of the USS Relentless. Perhaps a better question, Sir, is 'where am I from?'"


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Captain Alexander Khavok
Commanding Officer
USS Relentless
NCC-11966
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