Revenge.

Posted on Tue Mar 14th, 2023 @ 10:11am by Commodore Mikhail Babanin

Mission: Wrath of the People
Location: Starfleet Judicial Centre. Offices.
Timeline: Mid-trial.
1513 words - 3 OF Standard Post Measure

Commodore Babanin sipped his melted Andorian ice water as he read over the trial documents for the Kane case. The testimony so far had been mixed; certainly he'd scored some hits but he'd also had his share of misses. He was doing well, but not so much so that he could be confident of a win. Setting his glass down on the leather coaster, the timing of the comm chime was so precise that he thought a moment that the former had caused the latter. "Da?" he answered, pressing the return button.

"Commodore. Captain Bennett to see from Starfleet Intelligence", the familar voice of his administration staffer told him.

He had been half expecting something like this, given the sensitivity of the case. Someone from intelligence to guide him on what needed to be left out of testimony, areas to stay away from, probably even sharing some secrets; such was the Commodore's importance to this case. "Ya ya, come" he responded.

Babanin rose as the Captain entered his office, both men extending their hands to shake; "Keptin. How can I help?", asked the Commodore, curious as to what secrets he was about to be brought into.

Bennett regarded the Commodore with some dubious skepticism; he was by reputation a pompous arsehole and sickeningly arrogant. Unfortunately, he was a useful asset at this time; whether he knew it or not. "Commodore Babanin. Thank you for seeing me. I appreciate you're a busy man".

"Not at all" the Russian replied, resuming his seat and gesturing for the Captain to do the same. Having spent decades dealing with liars, Mikhail could well recognise a man carrying secrets, and Captain Bennett fit the mold perfectly. "May my aide get you a refreshment?".

"No, thank you" Bennett flatly, not missing the only reason Babanin had offered was to be able to demonstrate that he had an assistant to do such menial tasks as getting drinks. "Commodore, as I'm sure you've already deduced I am here regarding the Kane trial, I -" he was cut off by Babanin raising a hand and smugly smiling; it was all he could do not to leap across the desk and throttle the shit of a man.

"Comrade please..." Babanin dragged out as he spoke, feigning a disinterest in whatever was coming from the Captain and placing a wholly farcical barrier to uphold the pretence that he didn't want to know whatever Bennett was about to tell him. "...as you know I cannot discuss ongoing trial".

Bennett curled his toes within his shoes, almost as if it were a way to physically diffuse the rage in his fingers. Surely it wouldn't be investigated that closely if Babanin were to fall from his office window and his body were to wash up a few miles down the Argentinian coastline....surely.... "Commodore. Sir..." he reached across and handed the PADD he'd been carrying to the colossal arse across the desk from him. "This says you can".

Babanin practically peed with excitement as he read the PADD. He mumbled the pertinent bits aloud as he read. "Special Order 975467...prisoner J. Kane...to divulge as necessary....classified SECRET....Captain Timothy Bennett, Starfleet Intelligence...". He was so exhilarated to have been brought into this fascinating web of secrets, this world of espionage, sabotage and mystery, that he failed to spot the lack of an authentication key before he handed the PADD back.

Bennett smiled briefly, his gamble on Babanin had paid off so far. The man was so obsessed with his self importance and romanticised idea of being part of an intelligence operation that he hadn't realised the order was absolute crap, typed out by Bennett in the PADD's word processor on the air-tram ride from the transporter hub. "Sir. What do you know of Admiral White?". As was his method, Bennett laid out the pathway and allowed the subject to lead the way.

Babanin reclined slightly in his chair recalling the name; "White...he is on house detention; a secret Court Martial resulting in mandatory retirement and discreet imprisonment at home. Captured by Keptin Kane for operating a renegade operation out of the Rondac system". It was as much as he knew truthfully, whilst he was aware of the case outline he had nothing to do with the White prosecution, although based on what little he did know, Admiral White had escaped punishment for the sake of military secrecy.

Bennett nodded; "Indeed sir. Admiral White, prior to his more recent activities, has long been a strong proponent of scaling back Starfleet operations in the ninth fleet area. As you may know from the news media, he frequently made comments regarding the tremendous deployment of resources to an unstable region, and often called on policy makers to withdraw from the region to leave it to sort itself out". He paused and watched Babanin for a reaction.

The Russian Commodore in turn nodded thoughtfully as well. "Da...I remember this".

Continuing, Bennett resumed as if he hadn't missed a beat. "Candidate Nerak, or Admiral Nerak at the time, was an equally vocal proponent of Starfleet withdrawal from the region. He regularly supported the Admiral's stance publicly, and is known to have met the Admiral on many occasions. Starfleet warned the Office of Democratic Services of this, but they were so busy falling over themselves to have a Romulan elected to the Federation Council, that ODS Directors completely disregarded the security reports".

Babanin had by now leaned forward without realising, hanging on every secret word Bennett espoused. "This sounds about right Comdrade-Keptin..." he acknowledged grimly.

"You understand that I am saying, Admiral White and Candidate Nerak have a history, which very much centers around Jacob Kane..." Bennett planted the seed then sat back and waited.

Mulling it over, the variables began to churn in Babanin's mind. "Hmm...You are suggesting that Keptin Kane did this to kill Nerak? To awenge the losses in the Titania system...what was that ship called...?" he tried to recall from the pre-trial reports about Athena's mission to Titania... "uhhh the Avalon?".

"And the Pico", Bennett confirmed and expanded.

"Pico. I do not know this wessel...?" Babanin enquired.

"A ship commanded by a friend of Kane's, destroyed as part of the wider activities Admiral White was involved with. And possibly Nerak as well..." Bennett again planted the seed, and watched it grow.

"Da I see..." the Russian mulled audibly. "Two wessels lost, and a Starfleet Admiral at the root of it. Possibly with the collaboration of the Romulan candidate...This was rewenge, clearly." He concluded. Kane was clearly avenging the deaths of the Pico and the Avalon crews, by targeting Nerak; a way to get even for the lack of punishment against Admiral White.

"That is one theory". Bennett confirmed. Again waiting for the seed to sprout in his colleague's mind.

"Comrade-Keptin...surely not." Babanin queried, as his mind raced and locked onto the only other remaining theory he could think of.

"Consider this - " Bennett began, sitting forward so he was just perched on the edge of the seat. "Captain Kane personally disrupts and nigh on obliterates a high level conspiracy to create the conditions with withdrawal from the ninth fleet AO; he is almost single handedly responsible for bringing down Admiral White, who he then sees get off scott damn free. To top it off, the man who was possibly a co-conspirator is all but guaranteed a seat on the Federation Council". Bennett adjusted his seating position, aware he was nearly slipping off the seat. "In what is an undeniably risky move, Nerak arranges for a bomb to go off and suddenly every finger points at Kane. He's either killed outright, or he is destroyed piece by piece in a public tribunal to be sent off to die in prison."

Babanin exhaled deeply, spinning a little in his chair as he reclined it back as far as it would go. "Aye yaye...." he murmured. "This changes nothing though Comrade..." he eventually spoke. "This is speculation. What would you even want me to do with this, ewen if I put any faith in it, which I do not..." he warned.

Bennett rose and gently tapped the PADD against his other open palm. "Just keep it in mind as the trial progresses. And start to ask questions. Put pressure on the Nerak relationship, and we'll see if we can't flush out someone who feels that pressure...".

Babanin rose as well, sensing this conversation was coming to a close. "I promise nothing Comrade. I only seek to find the truth here."

"Then find it" Bennett countered. "Or an innocent man may be destroyed, and a genuine threat may be left at large...". He nodded at the Commodore; "Good day, sir". He left the room and headed back to San Francisco, leaving Babanin to stew on the chaos he had thrown into the man's musings.

As Babanin watched Bennett leave, he flopped down on his chair and exasperatedly sighed. He opened the comm line to the aide's desk; "Chief; wodka. Now".