Infinity's Arrow - Part Nine

Posted on Thu Apr 15th, 2021 @ 4:34am by Commander Morae Stormstout & Commander Jackson Antilles & Lieutenant Commander Meslina Amakawa & Post Captain Tirion Fordring

Mission: Mission 108: Grains of Sand
Location: Various Locations - USS Infinity
Timeline: 1145Hrs - October 21st, 2393

Amakawa regarded the large Vrykul female before her as she nodded her head. "I still have much to learn about security," she admitted while the large female nodded. 'You'll be fine Meslina. You're just being too hard on yourself." she commented with a gentle smile. The sound of the turbolift doors opening and closing with another officer emerging in silence, he wore tactical purple rather than medical teal, it was a rather odd look for Commander Jackson Antilles but then the permanent scowl he wore on his face was almost a permanent feature these days. "Ladies." he addressed Stormstout and Amakawa both at the same time. "What am I interrupting?"

Stormstout was the first to answer. "Oh, nothing of importance, other than my conquest of the universe..." the massive female commented. "There is no need to bow before me." she added with a smile on her lips.

Antilles smiled while he regarded the massive woman before him, it was not something one saw often enough on his face. "Commander, working with you is good for the soul, see to it you never change," he commented in a rather dry tone of voice.

Amakawa regarded Antilles. "If you don't mind my asking, why the switch from medical to tactical?" the small Trill woman asked in a gentle tone of voice, she did not understand his reasons and she wanted an explanation, she was hoping that he wasn't interested in vengeance as while it was easy, it was also costly in terms of the toll it could exact from the person seeking it.

"Because I wasn't getting what I needed," Antilles answered. "The Klingons took me from my kin, my hearth, and home. I expected this blue uniform to protect me. When it failed, I came face to face with some bitter truths in life. I became convinced that I had to become more self-reliant. I did not know if rescue would come... Eventually, as time passed, I came to realize that everyone else considered me so well hidden that I was either dead or nobody would ever come to look for me." Antilles explained. "So I did the one thing nobody expected... I lied... I learned to lie... I played the part of a beaten man, resigned to the sanctuary of his work, healing those who had been injured in the combat rings, most of the time, I did not have the proper medication to do so."

Amakawa had no idea that his issues went this deep or were this profound. "Go on... I'm sensing you got a lot more you wish to say on the matter... We're listening." she encouraged him in gentle tones.

Antilles regarded the small Trill woman before him, he knew that she wasn't the only one who had this question so he decided to tell her, and everyone else present exactly what he wished to say, he nodded his head. "I made myself indispensable and all the while. I laid the groundwork of my revenge on House Te'Kevek, for what they had done to me and all of the others they had consumed in their mindless quest for power and money," Antilles explained. "I was able to convince these traitors to the empire that they needed to load me and as many as possible onto several freighters and move us out of harm's way." he continued. "That's when the Infinity showed up. I wanted her to blow us all out of the skies... Then when she didn't I led an uprising to try to regain our freedom, the Marines from the Infinity joined us."

Stormstout regarded Antilles, she could easily see the fire that drove him but she needed to be gentle with him. "Now you'll never permit yourself to be taken by anyone else ever again... or anyone else around you to face the same unjust fate, so long as you have the power to prevent it." it was not a statement as Stormstout regarded him. "You sound much like Tirion Fordring when he led us to victory over the Vauxhall Sodality. The cost of that war was stupidly high... and by all accounts, he still pays for it."

"By any means necessary Commander," Antilles answered quietly. "My brother is married to one of his daughters. Tirion is a good man and I'll have words anyone who says otherwise." as he regarded her for a moment.

Stormstout smiled, despite the black cloud of doom presently hanging over the bridge. "I served with him during the war... While he gave the order... I pulled the trigger... That is something that torments me often... as I was the one who murdered an entire planet... You won't need to have words with me, Commander... I have my own demons."

For Amakawa this was all a major revelation for her, from both officers. "I'm sorry... I didn't know."

"Never apologize for seeking knowledge Meslina," Antilles answered quietly. "You didn't know... I don't talk about it... and maybe it's time I said it... I already said much of it." he commented. "Now I take this post to protect my family... If anyone wants a piece of them, then they'll have to go through me!" he smiled. "So I will do so. For as long as T'Shaamet wishes me to do so..."