Ivale

Posted on Sun Dec 15th, 2024 @ 12:58pm by Lieutenant Ayryn Trynn M.D.

726 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: A Silence of Friends
Location: Holodeck 1
Timeline: MD002 0620 hours

The view was breathtakingly beautiful… 

Reaching the summit, Ayryn was grateful for the chance to catch her breath as she completed the last section of the climb.  The trail, which had brought her from the tranquil lakeside to the highest spot on the island, had been demanding but entirely worth the effort.  

Overhead the lilac sky was cloudless, promising a perfect day while a cooling breeze provided relief from the heat of the twin suns which were now almost directly overhead.  Which meant her vantage point allowed her to see for miles in all directions.  The hills and valleys, full of lush flora and fauna, to the purple hues of the sea which stretched on as far as the eye could see in all directions.  

Remote.  Isolated.  Peaceful.

Perfect.

Closing her eyes, Ayryn breathed in the air.  In and out.  Slowing her breathing and heart rate, returning it to her resting state.  All while music continued to play through the old fashioned headphones she wore.  

Moment of relaxing over, she reminded herself she did have the holodeck all day.   And while she had come here to give herself a good workout on the challenging terrain, she had also come here to work.

Slipping off her backpack, she pulled out her PaDD and found a spot in the sun to settle down while she caught up on some reading.  She had reviewed the records kept by her predecessor and most of the official accounts of the recent away mission, but not all.  The problem with reports was … well, the formality of them.  Often the emotion, either around the events themselves or the aftermath, was missing or diluted.  

Which meant that while it was possible to create a good picture of what happened, the ‘why’ wasn’t always quite as obvious.  And in this situation the why fascinated her.  

The away team's actions, for which Harrison Knox had taken full responsibility for, had perhaps created unintended consequences.  One, of course, was the commander's demotion from First Officer.  Something he seemed to consider fitting.  The question now was what next for the ship's Second Officer?  It was entirely too early to tell and one brief meeting was in no way sufficient to assess his abilities or - 

Her train of thought was interrupted as her music was interrupted by a small chirp, her PaDD notifying her of an incoming message.  Calling it up, she arched an eyebrow in a distinctly Vulcan manner as she saw the familiar name - Ivale .   Curious, she turned her attention to the message itself, which was just a single letter followed by a number and nothing more.

E4.

It was concise but efficient.  If perhaps far from original.

In her minds eye, the letter and number had morphed into a familiar antique chess board adorned with  hand-carved pieces.  The perfect symmetry broken by the one white pawn which had advanced two places to the centre of the board.   It was now her move.

Tilting her head she frowned, debating how to proceed. Unwilling to engage at all.  

It had been many years since she had even heard Ivale's name, slightly longer since had any actual contact with him.  A former patient, he had taken a liking to the game of chess while receiving treatment, and it had been one of the few ways to truly engage with him.  In his mind he was offering insights into his psyche to keep his opponents - usually members of his care team - off balance.  To encourage mistakes. 

Often it was a successful tactic and often he fabricated the stories he would tell, yet he knew he held the power and amongst the manipulation and the lies would be some small kernels of truth.  Yet always with some cost. And the last she had heard, he was still in the care of Doctor Vokar and his team on Betazed, with no access to external communications.

Which left her with two pressing questions. How had he managed to send her this message?  And why now?  

Gathering up her belongings, she hastily threw them into her backpack as she stood, ordering the computer to save and end the programme.  Whatever was going on, she had a feeling it wasn't good and she needed to get some answers, starting with her former colleagues on Betazed.

OFF

 

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