Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in Shuttlebay - You Want An Anomaly? Here You Go…
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Posted by Chief Warrant Officer Kodek Vonn (RTF Commander) in Shuttlebay - You Want An Anomaly? Here You Go…

Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in Shuttlebay - You Want An Anomaly? Here You Go…

There was a long pause, the Breen not moving… not reacting… just… standing. Finally the long silence was broken but the sound of Vonn’s voice.

“I am not like many Breen. I am very much like others. The Federation know little to nothing about us… you, despite your studies… know little more. But your issue, Captain Cobb, is not with me. I didn’t destroy your ship. I didn’t kill your crew. The Breen Confederacy did that… and I am not, nor have I ever been, a member of that organization.” There was another long pause.

“I know enough!” Cobb protested into the silence, until it swallowed him again, the Breen’s words like a raging current against his previously ordered thoughts. “But you are right,” he added a few moments later, much of the confidence, and volume, suddenly dissipated from his tone, “you are not the one who destroyed my ship. You are not the one who killed my crew. I would have ended you already if you were.”

“As for whether or not you can trust me… no. I would say that you cannot. But again, that has nothing to do with me. You don’t know me. As that is the case, then the lack of trust has nothing to do with me, everything to do with… you.”

Vonn, RTF Commander

Another laugh, although this one swelled with rage and frustration. Not entirely due to the creature standing before him but for the whole miserable, contemptible swamp that was the ARU.
“Aye,” the captain replied, for the first time turning his back to the Breen and settling himself into a seat, before offering, with a nod of the head, permission for Vonn also now to sit. “I can not trust you. Nor, I imagine, will you come to trust me. You may not be the nemesis I have spent my entire life preparing to cross swords with. But prejudice is an alluring trap. It consoles us with promises of safety and protection. It distracts us from discharging old traumas and instead convinces us to fashion them into walls. Until we get to a point where those walls are so bloody high we can no longer see aught on the other side.”

Vonn moved, slowly, to sit and the synth-voice said “High walls prevent vision and inhibit knowledge of what is outside of those walls.”

The old man released a heavy breath, one hand raking through his long, silver hair. “There may yet come a time when I find the strength to tear down those walls. But today is not that day.”

Once more he fixed those cerulean blue eyes on the Breen.
“But then trust, I have come recently to learn, is a commodity in scant supply around here. The very organisation we both now work for seems crafted from a web of lies, deceit and mistrust. So if trust is slow to develop between us then, I say that would place you on par with pretty much everyone else on this bloody ship.”

A glance to Rauuhl and he was quick to add, “My First Officer excepted, of course.”

“So if there is to be no trust,” Cobb attempted to bring his monologue to a conclusion, “then on what basis should our relationship be built? On co-operation, Mr Vonn. On each of us doing our part to achieve the larger goals of the ARU and the more immediate aims of the Leviathan herself. In truth, these things that we face, that we capture and contain and share our ship with every day, every single one of them brings peril and terror the likes of which the Dominion could only ever have dreamed! So as long as we share the same mission of locking these things down while protecting the maximum possible number of crew, then I think we will get along just fine.”

“To be honest, Captain, the larger goals of the ARU mean nothing to me. My job here is simple. Track, contain, and keep contained those entities and individuals deemed problematic due to their nature or abilities. That is all. Politics and bureaucracy are not my concern.”

Reaching into his pocket, Cobb withdrew an antique, pewter flask and uncorked it. For a moment he considered offering it to the newcomer, but the seemingly impenetrable helmet forced him to retract. Instead, he brought the flask up to his lips and drew deeply.

“Which brings me to my next question, Mr Vonn,” he asked, re-corking and pocketing the bottle as he spoke. “If you are not yourself an anomaly then, what is your prior experience with them? I am presuming there is some reason, aside from tormenting your new commanding officer, for the ARU to assign you here?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Body still and motionless, the artificial voice replied “I was not assigned by the ARU. I have been sent by Captain Grant Marshall. Whether or not my arrival here was deemed necessary by the ARU or him alone I do not know. As to my qualifications, I was most recently assigned as the Head Guard on an Intelligence Prison vessel. We held several individuals that would have undoubtedly found their way here.” It was odd that anyone would come right out and admit that Intel had prison ships, even though it was known by some and speculated by many. It was even more odd that anyone would admit to having been complicit in working on one. “Prior to that my profession was that of my clan-mates before me; I hunted sentient beings. ‘Bounty Hunter’, I believe is the human term. In that line of work, I garnered experience in retrieving many forms of life. I have also been thoroughly briefed on the nature of your current specimens and detainees. I was also briefed on your issues with the Breen, although I believe my being assigned here is not entirely related to your own personal issue.” and there was a pause.

“I am simply here to perform a role. Whatever else may come of my presence here has nothing to do with you and I, Captain Cobb. I would suggest you discuss the matter with your superiors… particularly Captain Marshall… and leave me to do my job without unnecessary distraction.”

Vonn, RTF CO

Zachariah’s laughter echoed around the otherwise silent room.
“Marshall is not nearly so powerful as he seems to think he is. If you are here then it was by the hand of the ARU and make no mistake about that.” He peered intently into the visor, as if he could see right through it to whatever form painted the eyes beneath. “No matter what Marshall might have you believe otherwise.”

“Captain Marshall’s enormous and dangerous ego aside, I will reiterate that I have never been directed by anyone else besides him. And what I believe is that I am here to lead the RTF. No more, no less Captain.”

But already his mind grew tired of dwelling on the man. Of far more interest to Cobb was the Breen’s revelation on his former assignment.

“A prison ship, eh?” he mused now, reclining back in his chair as if he were across from an old friend, mugs of ale and a roaring fire by their side. Although neither was fool enough to declare a truce.
“I don’t suppose there is much difference to be found between your former ship and this one. We both deal in capture and long-term containment. That precarious balance between deprivation of liberty and protection of the innocent. I wager you may find some of our methods equally justifiable in their barbarism. As we shall no doubt find of your own.”

The Breen didn’t move, but the voice said “What becomes of the anomalies once they are contained is outside of my purview. Your methods are therefore none of my concern, Captain.”

Cobb offered a final shrug and then got to his feet.
“Appearances possibly to the contrary, Mr Vonn, I assure you that I am no fool. I know that, when the time for action comes, your authority over your team and your mission outranks even my own. So I do not propose to make any suggestion on how you should go about your business here. And I would expect that the same courtesy will be granted in return by you. The Leviathan is a big ship, Chief. I reckon we can both do our duties just fine without the necessity of crossing paths.”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Vonn didn’t rise to meet the Captain. The voice said “While the ship is large, it is much smaller than the galaxy we live in. And while you may not wish to deal with… my kind… I will still be here, Captain. So I would ask you to speak wholly and honestly in front of myself and your Executive Officer… do you plan on trying to kill me, sir? I do not care one way or the other. I simply wish to prioritize tasks while I am here.”

Vonn, RTF CO

Zachariah turned and stared down the Breen the best that he could from his own, diminished angle.
“Do you take me for a coward, Mr Vonn?” he bellowed, his voice clambering to a height that his mere 6‘2 frame could not. “Suspect me so weak beneath the shadow of your presence that I will seek to finish you before I crawl out into the light? I would not waste my energy on such a futile task.”

“Clarification. That is all… Captain.” the voice replied flatly.

Once again he turned his back towards the Breen, a slow, determined tread carrying him away from the table and towards the exit of the room. On the threshold he paused and once more turned to face the other.
“But I might suggest checking my helmet before pulling it onto my head each morn. On a ship full of anomalies such as this, one can never be quite sure what might have made a nest for itself inside.”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

The helmet followed Cobb as he moved. At the parting shot to Vonn, the Breen actually moved… the shoulders shrugged.

“I’ve eaten worse.”

Vonn, RTF CO