Explain Yourself

Posted on Thu Jul 10th, 2025 @ 9:56pm by Commander N'Garzi Zora & Lieutenant JG Nayisa Wrea

Mission: Pandora's Box
Location: USS Athena :: Zora's Office
Timeline: MD6
2007 words - 4 OF Standard Post Measure

After confirming that Zade was alright, Nayisa decided to take a detour and de-stress in her quarters for a minute. With all the running around that she had been doing, on what only counted as an extended nap over meaningful sleep, followed by experiencing one of P'Rel's interrogation methods first-hand, her nerves were frayed and she needed just a moment to collect herself. Locking the doors to her quarters behind her, she pulled the communicator from her uniform and loosely held it in her hand as she walked to her bed. Arms extended, she then flopped forward, her body bouncing slightly as it hit the mattress, and she let out a heavy sigh as she felt the stress start to melt away.

The communicator then chirped, shattering the moment.

Her dissatisfied groan was muffled by the mattress, and a few seconds later she turned her head and thumbed the communicator in her palm. "Wrea," she answered.

"I would like to see you in my office."

Turning over so she was facing up, Nayisa rolled her eyes when she realised that her stress wasn't over just yet. Why the hell did Zora want to see her? She was being a good little spook, following rules and staying out of trouble. "Do I have time to finish what I'm working on?" she asked.

"Don't keep me waiting too long," Zora replied before the line went dead.

Even though the Commander wouldn't hear her, Nayisa still mumbled out a "yes, ma'am" before burrowing her face back into the mattress, letting another groan escape her. A couple seconds passed before she pushed herself upright, attaching the communicator back to her uniform. Doing a quick stop by the bathroom, she ruffled up her hair and let it flop to the side before she left.

A couple minutes later, the infiltration specialist came to a stop outside the office door and rang the chime. No assumptions, she told herself. Zora sounded annoyed, or perhaps stressed, but their current situation was hardly normal and this meeting could be for a number of reasons.

But if she had to guess...

When the door opened, Nayisa put on her usual smile and strolled in. "Good afternoon, Commander," she offered, already trying to gauge just what mood Zora might be in.

"Lieutenant," Zora said curtly, looking up from the monitor on her desk. She pressed a few buttons and the screen returned to the Federation insignia before fading to black. Leaning back slightly, she crossed one leg over the other. "I believe you have been to see Lieutenant Zade. How is she doing?"

Zora's slightly informal body language did nothing to ease the tightness in Nayisa's chest at the question. After P'Rel's manipulation of their friendship, she felt she had to remain on guard in case the same tactic was used again. Of course, she didn't show it, instead maintaining her "at-ease" posture. "She is awake and as stubborn as ever, ma'am," she replied, letting her smile reflect some of the genuine concern she had for her friend. "But she looks better than I expected after hearing the initial reports."

Zora could feel Wrea's unease, no matter how well she tried to hide it, but did nothing to make her feel more comfortable. This wasn't a social call and she wanted the Lieutenant to know as much. "Did she have anything to say about what transpired on the surface?"

The intelligence officer's smile faded, showing more of her true feelings: concern, frustration, exhaustion. It was a surprise she wasn't twitching from the amount of caffeine she had consumed over the last 24 hours. "Nothing substantial, unfortunately. All she remembers is chasing down raiders, not the explosion or the aftermath." An undertone of disappointment weaseled its way into Nayisa's words. She was hoping that Didrea would be able to say more, but concussions didn't care about investigations. "I was surprised that she was able to give some visual descriptions of the raiders she does remember, but with her concussion on record, the statement would need to be thoroughly cross-referenced before it is used in the investigation."

"I see," Zora replied. "Hopefully, given time, Lieutenant Zade will be able to recall more of what happened and we'll get some more pieces to this puzzle." She looked down and picked up one of the PADDs from her desk and started pressing some of the buttons. She wasn't doing anything of any great importance, but she wanted time to pass. She read an incident report from the USS Sprunce and then checked the duty roster for the following day. Just as she could feel Wrea was about to speak, she snapped her head up. "Who is Darius Wulfe?"

Whatever Nayisa was going to say sputtered out at the question. Mentally, she cussed out P'Rel, even though she gave the Vulcan the freedom to make her own judgement calls. In any case, she didn't know how much P'Rel spilled to Zora, and felt like she was doing damage control all over again. No assumptions. "He's a criminal," she answered simply. "Why do you ask, if you'll pardon my curiosity?"

"Just something that P'rel mentioned," Zora answered, keeping it purposely vague. She knew that Wrea was doing the same but the intelligence officer's tactics didn't faze her; she had, in fact, expected them. "And how is he connected to you or this ship?"

Nayisa adjusted her shoulders as she thought of a reply. For once, there wasn't something cunning or witty waiting for the Commander. "The connection is indirect. It's a hobby of mine to study the case files of those on Starfleet's wanted list. Helps me identify patterns before they become problems. We're sitting on the exact type of goods he would go for, but I've yet to see anything concrete to suggest that he's here." Now if Zora had asked about 11 hours earlier, she might have gotten a different answer, but this version of the truth was what applied to present.

"And that involves Lieutenant Zade, how?" Zora asked as she placed her elbows on her desk and steepled her fingers.

Nayisa shifted, an air of discomfort quickly settling into her body language. That explained why Zade was so tense when she snuck a quick look into sickbay from her quarters. "Zade is only connected because she has a personal history with him. I will recommend that you get the whole story from her, Commander, but Darius almost killed her. That kind of trauma doesn't simply go away." She gave a shrug, her eyes drifting to the desk in her discomfort. "I wasn't there when it happened, but I saw the aftermath, in the hospital. It was bad, and I resolved to help her find him. If I could identify his patterns then maybe... maybe I can do my part to prevent him from doing to someone else what he did to her."

"I see," Zora replied simply. There was a crease in her eyebrow as she tried to ascertain just how much Wrea was holding back. "And this vendetta you have against this rogue operative, just how far will you let it take you? Do I need to be worried?"

"No, ma'am," Nayisa answered with a shake of her head. "My involvement in this is not out of revenge, it is for intel. I have been careful to remain objective, specifically because I know that my relationship with our security chief can bias my judgement. I of all people should understand the consequences of decisions made without a clear head." While the First Officer was well within her rights to be suspicious of a grey uniform, Nayisa was truthfully answering her questions and made sure her expression conveyed that. "I have been relying on my colleagues for second opinions, specifically those who I know have no personal or professional attachment to Didrea."

"But not that of the Commodore or myself?" Zora asked, a note of disappointment in her voice. She was trying to gauge if Wrea were able to be objective, especially where her best friend was concerned. This wasn't the first time that the pair of them had caught her attention, and it was her job to reduce the harm they may inflict on the ship or themselves. "What would you do if you were me?" She asked, changing tact so quickly she hoped to catch the Lieutenant off guard.

For a couple seconds, Nayisa said nothing, taking her time to think of an answer. She had considered several options, from telling Zora and P'Rel everything at the cost of losing her access to Mosaic, to saying nothing and risking charges for allegedly interfering with an investigation. Somewhere, there was a middle ground between the two. "I'd do what you are doing now, looking for answers," she finally answered, her tone a little softer and hopefully more receptive. "I get it. You have an officer already on your list for causing trouble on your radar again."

Nayisa paused again, weighing her options. Not that it was a high bar to step over to begin with, but Zora seemed like she'd be more receptive than P'Rel. "I considered you and the Commodore, but you still have the professional connection with her. I needed true objectivity. Also, with the status of our mission, I didn't think this was worth bothering you for, especially since this is a time where answers are more valuable than speculation. So..." Nayisa took in a hesitant breath, "I requested help from a colleague at Starfleet Intelligence, someone who doesn't know our security chief's history with this Darius guy and doesn't have any standing relationship with her that may bias the results."

"I see," Zora said simply. She leaned back in her chair and seemed to be pondering something before she spoke again. "For the record, you don't get to gain more pips on your collar without being able to create and maintain a certain level of objectivity, but..." She held up her hand to stop the counterargument before it began... "I do understand your point." She let out a heavy sigh and stood up so that she was eye-to-eye with the silver-haired woman, almost eye-to-eye.

"My people are listeners and with that comes instinct and intuition. I trust that the information you hold and are keeping is best left in the dark on a need-to-know basis. And I trust that you are doing everything in your power to safeguard not only your friend, but the lives of this entire crew." She searched Wrea's eyes for any sign of deception but found nothing. If anything, this might be the most honest conversation they had ever had. "I am going to allow you to proceed but if things start to get out of hand, I will have to intervene. I am putting my faith in you, Nayisa. Do not make me regret this."

"Thank you, ma'am," Nayisa replied with a polite nod. As tempting as it was to make some joke about how if Zora did end up regretting this, she had Nayisa's permission to jettison the intel officer out a torpedo tube, it certainly wasn't the time. Unfortunately, it was yet another humourous prod that would never see the light of day. "In the interest of transparency, I can keep you updated, and of course if there are any changes, either as new information to the pirate attacks or a change in my objectivity, you will be the first to know."

"I'll hold you to that. You may leave," the first officer replied curtly. She watched as the silver-haired woman turned and left the room, leaving Zora alone with her thoughts. She hoped that she had made the right call. She wasn't used to second-guessing herself, normally allowing her instincts to guide her through the toughest of decisions. Wrea was a gamble, a huge one. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer to the goddesses that she had backed the correct targ.