From The Halls of SCIS and DTI: The Sinkhole, Part I

Posted on 18 Jun 2016 @ 5:22am by Lieutenant Benice Gyce Ph.D.

1,244 words; about a 6 minute read

Location: SS McKinley, SCIS CIC
Date: March 18th, 2383
Time: 1245 Hours

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In the busy techy amphitheater-like room, many officers of Starfleet's Criminal Investigative Service stood in front of their desks and watched as a young Gyce was acknowledged for her hard work by her boss, Commander Joseph Landy.

Every one was dressed in their basic duty uniforms. Avok himself, stood to the right of Gyce. She smiled, for throughout their short career together, her partner learned to understand her methods and she his.

"...and is with pleasure that I promoted Ensign Benice Gyce to the rank of Junior Lieutenant," Commander Landy announced and pinned the unfilled pip beside her solid pip. "You are now to be treated as any other lead detective."

"Thank you Sir," Gyce smiled brightly while she shook his hand. She knew the rank promotion was an automatic one though. Getting full lieutenant would be the hard one, and one she made a point to work her bum off for.

The whole room clapped, except for Avok. He never clapped. Vulcans rarely showed displays of emotion - at least they tried to tell themselves that. For Gyce, each facial tic they made meant some sort of emotional response. The slight bob of his head, for instance, was high praise.

It meant more to her that Avok approved over anyone else. He set the bar so incredibly high the past few years. He always questioned her motives to act quickly. She always lost too. It was only a few months ago she learned to temper those impulses to catch the bad guys so fast. Patience meant to see, hear, and read everything. Made sure the one you wanted, was indeed the correct target.

But she still felt Avok was judgmental of some of her decisions. Too often he commented on his discomfort with Gyce using her sexuality to advance a case. She would counter quite casually that he did not understand the need for it to happen. Of course the argument would generally turn into an intellectual battleground. And at the end of each argument, Gyce felt as if he saw her as a loose woman good at getting what she wanted.

Even though several of the analysts and detectives came by to pat her on the back, she would have liked some sort of high-five or hand shake from her partner. They survived nearly fifty fire-fights, a dozen knifings, and a deep fryer mishap. A few cases, Gyce found she was beside herself. An emotional wreck because those cases hit too close to home.

Avok, as much as he disliked her work ethics, never once thought poorly of her. Instead, he listened to her and offered sage advise. That made her feel thankful to have him as a friend. So much, she started toward him and opened her mouth to say something.

Unfortunately, the station went crazy with red alert lights and alarms. Commander Landy's voice took the forefront, "Analysts to your stations. Someone pull a tac screen on the center console. Agents and Special Agents, to the front."

Gyce found a spot by Avok as she walked down the stairs. She limped as close as she could to the center dais, where it was brightly lit with a holographic display of Earth. North east of the planet, a spacial anomaly was forming strongly.

"We've got chroniton fluctuations emitting from it... Some sort of temporal event," one of the analysts on the third row of computers, announced.

Gyce rubbed her temples. She was not a scientist, so she did not understand much, but many of the analysts in the room began buzzing with each other in excited conversation. Commander Landy went into his office to take a call from Sol Command. So Gyce knew something drastic was going on.

"You looked like you were going to speak to me," Avok pointed out in his typical monotone while he watched with Gyce as the temporal event grew bigger in size.

"I wished to thank you for your nomination," Gyce spoke but that was only the tip of the matter. The other detectives started to look at them, which made her feel uncomfortable. So much so, she dropped the subject and started to watch the scincey data off one of the analyst computers on the bottom row just to avoid their stares.

"Your performance in the last year was a twenty-point-six-three-percent efficiency increase, compared to your previous year's performance. It was only logical you be noticed for your hard work," Avok answered without any sign of discomfort.

"Ship's coming out," Gyce announced and magnified the holo display. "Triangular shape matches Vulcan design, but the power output is...."

"The technology is of the future," Avok confirmed as he too, looked over an analyst's shoulder. "Science vessel, judging by the lack of -"

He was cutoff as the ship's engines erupted into a massive fire and soon after a hail opened to all channels. "Mayday.... we're go... down."

The voice was chilling. And when the ship repeated the message in a loop, Gyce knew instantly who the male's voice was...

"Avok! Benice! Get to Sickbay deck six-seven-nine and meet the med evac unit at the ER entrance. DTI folks will be with you on this case," Landy barked out as he came from his office.

"DTI?" Gyce asked with confusion as she followed her partner in a painful speed walk out of the CIC and toward the turbolift.

"Department of Temporal Investigations," Avok answered. He was quieter than normal, but Gyce understood why.

"Kosst! They'll never let us investigate this case properly," Gyce swore, grimaced when she walked funny on her right leg, and turned left down the hallway until they stopped at the turbolift. "What do you think is going on?"

"I do not know," Avok answered honestly before they walked inside the lift. "Deck Six-hundred-seventy-nine."

"Commander Landy has you on the case..." Gyce smiled up at him. "I don't think we're going to fail this one."

"That is assuming no other division of Starfleet decides to fight our department for jurisdiction," Avok told Gyce while still doing his best to say little.

"Commander Landy doesn't know it's you, does he?" Gyce asked with concern. "You're afraid he will not trust your objectivity and pull you from the case."

"Would you trust my objectivity?" Avok countered.

Gyce had to think on that for several long moments. Then she said with a frustrated sigh. "I don't know. There are many variables we are unaware of. But I would like to think that no matter why your future self is here, he is here with good intentions."

"Do not let wishful thinking guide your actions," the elder Vulcan cautioned. "Everyone is capable of bad deeds. Even me."

"Everyone lies, everyone dies." Gyce nodded. A saying he told her many times in circumstances regarding unforeseen deaths and red haring chases.

When they got off the lift, which took several long minutes, they were met with a busy, chaotic medical staff running about. She saw and smelled the burnt skin of the older Avok be rushed by her. What took both she and Avok by surprise, however, was the little girl. Four, maybe five-years old.

It was unmistakable. Below the scorched face were nose ridges, pale skin, auburn hair, and pointy ears. The unconscious child was both half Bajoran and Vulcan. And that frightened her to her core...

 

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