Covert Mission 4 - Log 5

[John Randall 0]

OFFICIAL LOG

LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL

USS CHALLENGER

 

(Personal Log Stardate 11601.01)

 

The negotiations resumed the next day with not a whole lot of ground being gained. Each side took firm stands and would not give an inch to the other. A break was called for after 4 hours of bargaining and arguing, and the teams adjourned to a nearby antechamber for some refreshments.

 

John grabbed a glass of sparkling water and sat down on a nearby sofa. He sipped his drink, his eyes constantly roving around the chamber. The Romulans had not missed his demeanor at the negotiations; many glances had been cast at the Challenger engineer, and many whispers had been uttered, all of which Randall had ignored for the most part.

 

But there was one exception; a very pretty Romulan female had begun watching him as of late, and she gave the appearance of being extremely interested in the Starfleet officer. She saw him sit down on the sofa, and detached herself from a group of Romulans, slowly walking toward him. John saw her coming, but pretended not to notice until she was standing directly in front of him. He looked up and met her dark eyes.

 

"You are an aide to the Starfleet admiral, yes?" she said into her translator, and John nodded. She smiled briefly at him, and he raised his eyebrows. "Is there something I can help you with?" John asked, and she smiled again. "I was wondering if we could talk for a moment, is that the right phrase?" she replied, and John nodded. "Please sit down," he said, and she sat next to him on the sofa.

 

"I am T'Mira," she said, and looked at him inquiringly. "I am John," he replied, and she smiled. "I am pleased to know you," she said. "And I you," he said. "What did you want to talk about?" She was about to reply when a shadow came over John, and he looked up into the face of an irate Amanda Richards. "Lieutenant, you are required to report to Admiral Baldwin at once," she gritted, and John nodded.

 

He turned back to the Romulan female. "Duty calls, I'm afraid," he said, and she smiled, nodding at him. "Nice to meet you," he went on, and she said, "It was nice to meet you as well. Perhaps we can talk later." "Perhaps," echoed Randall. "Excuse me." He arose from the sofa, and was quickly taken by the elbow by the angry security chief.

 

"What the hell was that about?" she whispered angrily as she led him away. John shrugged. "I don't know, you showed up as I was asking her exactly that," he replied. Amanda shook her head angrily. "I don't want you associating with any of those....people," she gritted. "I don't see how you can even stand to be around them, from what you've told me."

 

John actually smiled at her. "I probably would have found out if you had showed up a little later," he said, and was rewarded with a swat to his chest. She glared up at him. "You better not be taking this lightly, John Randall," she said. "There's a lot at stake here." John suddenly stopped walking, which caught her off guard. When she turned to look at him, she was shocked by his expression, which now matched hers in anger. His eyes were chips of ice as he stared at her.

 

"No one knows better than I what's at stake here, Lieutenant," he growled, and Amanda's eyes widened at the steel tone of his voice. "I don't take anything lightly about these green-skinned bastards," he continued. "It's all I can do to keep myself from drawing my phaser and blasting the whole lot of them straight to hell. So don't worry, my priorities are perfectly clear and in place. Now, if you'll excuse me," and jerked his arm free of her grasp. He stared at her for a second, then stalked toward a door which slid open at his approach. He went through the door, and it slid shut behind him.

 

Amanda watched him go, and suddenly her eyes were brimming with tears. The John Randall she had gotten to know had disappeared in those last few seconds, and she had no doubt she had just caught a glimpse of his dark side. She made her way back to her security team, now more worried than ever about her new friend. She was very apprehensive about him; she didn't know how much longer John could hold back his feelings of vengeance, and she was scared of what might happen if those feelings were ever unleashed.

 

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The negotiations resumed 2 hours later, and it was a repeat of the morning's proceedings. Suddenly, one of the Romulan aides got to his feet, and asked to have the floor for a few moments. The request was granted, and he began to speak. He concluded by suggesting that the team from the Federation should actually lay eyes on the prize they were bartering for, and both sides agreed.

 

The Romulan chief negotiator spoke into a communicator, and a door at the far end of the west hall opened. Two Romulan guards and what appeared to be a human female walked through the door and made their way toward the meeting room. They walked into view, and everyone stared at the trio.

 

The human female stared straight ahead as everyone looked at her. Admiral Baldwin regarded her with mixed feelings; relief she was still alive, anger at her betrayal of the Federation. He looked over toward where John was sitting, and his eyes widened in alarm at the look on Randall's face.

 

John was staring at the female in shock and anger. He knew this was the woman who had betrayed his father. The shock was: he knew her. The name Martha Braxton had meant nothing to him; he knew this woman as Martha Turner, a friend of the Randall family on Centaurus. His uncle Cole had once courted this woman, only to lose out to James Braxton, an officer aboard the USS Tobias, a Starfleet border patrol vessel.

 

John stared at Martha, and wondered if the older woman would recognize him. If she did, the mission might be in jeopardy. He was sure the Romulans knew full well who he was, but apparently the ones here hadn't recognized him yet. A moment later, his worst fears were realized; she had been looking at the people gathered, then her eyes met his, and widened with recognition.

 

"My god, it can't be," she croaked, and all eyes in the room were upon her. She took several unsteady steps toward John, who knew there was nothing he could do but watch her approach. She stood in front of him, and raised a weatherbeaten, wrinkled hand to his face. "Johnny?" she queried in a small voice, and they were the center of attention now.

 

"Oh, Johnny, is it really you?" she went on, and Randall couldn't answer her. "What are you doing here? Why are you in a Starfleet uniform? The last time I saw you, you were still in grade school." Then her eyes widened in shock and dismay, and she withdrew her hand. "Oh my god, you've come for me," she quavered, and the Romulans instantly came to their feet.

 

"M-Marcus was your father, wasn't he?" she whispered, and tears began to roll down her cheeks. "I-I always thought Cole was your father," she cried through her tears. "Oh my god, what have I done?" she sobbed, and the Romulans were staring suspiciously at the two.

 

"Who is this officer that you know?" roared the senior Romulan aide, and John cast a desperate glance at Baldwin. The admiral knew the cat was out of the bag now, and tried to intervene. "We were hoping it wouldn't come to this," he began. "The human female and this Starfleet officer are family. We were not going to use this as a bargaining chip, please believe that, but I guess it's out in the open now."

 

The Romulan glared for a moment, then his expression softened a bit, and he nodded. "I see," he said. He walked over to Braxton, and took her by the arm. "What is this man to you?" he asked her not unkindly, and she stared at John, tears still flowing down her cheeks. "He is my----my nephew," she sobbed, and the Romulans stared at Randall. The senior aide said, "Nephew?" and looked at John. "She means she is my mother's sister," he explained, and the Romulan nodded.

 

"Ah yes, the extensions of the human family can be as complicated as our own," he said. Braxton then stepped forward and put her arms around John's neck, sobbing into his shoulder. It was all Randall could do not to recoil from her embrace, knowing he had to play out the charade now, and he slowly forced himself to put his arms around her.

 

The Romulan said, "I think we should adjourn the proceedings for the day, and let these two talk to each other; it has obviously been a while since they have had contact. We will resume in the morning." Baldwin nodded. "As you wish," he said, and the teams rose from their chairs. The Romulan then turned to John. "We will allow you to converse with your family member, but it will be supervised. However, we will not monitor your conversation, the supervision will be visual only."

 

John nodded. "Thank you," he said. "I have much to discuss with my aunt." Braxton looked up at him at that remark, then buried her head in his shoulder again. The Romulan nodded. "I'm sure you do," he said. He turned and rapped out an order to the guards, who stepped forward. They motioned for Braxton and Randall to accompany them, and the four made their way back down the corridor, the door opening, then sliding shut behind them.

 

Amanda quickly made her way over to Baldwin. "Admiral, is it true?" she inquired anxiously. The admiral shrugged. "I don't know," he said in all honesty. "It's evident they know each other; for all I know, she really is his aunt." Amanda shook her head, her eyes filled with worry. "This is bad," she said, and Baldwin nodded. "I couldn't agree more, Lieutenant," he said, and meant every word of it. This threw a giant monkey wrench into the whole mission, and he was sure John was just as much aware of it as he was.

 

END LOG