[BACK POST] What's Past is Prologue

Posted on Sunday December 11th, 2022 @ 9:50pm by Lieutenant Commander Paul Sharpe
Edited on on Saturday December 24th, 2022 @ 5:04pm

3,202 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Concluding Affairs
Location: Various
Timeline: Stardate 238211.24 - 237706.15

[ON]


- Stardate 238211.24 - Earth -

Sharpe was on his third year at the academy and due to some operational experience on the training vessel is called into the Academy Commandant's Office, thinking that he was in trouble but upon arriving and being admitted into the Commandant's office finds out that he was called in by SFI, he had no idea as to why SFI would want a novice, they had plenty of agents, but as he was soon to find out the operation he was going to be asked to do involved using his unique skill set was the key to why SFI had sought him out.

His unique skillset while not legal would be required, and he was assured that he would be back in time for his operational training cruise. Due to the nature of the mission, it would not be entered on his service file; not the one for all to see, but the one only SFI will have access to. Now he sat when instructed to and listened to what his commander was saying and asking of him.

“Mr Sharpe, I hear that you have some…. Familiarity with computers and their workings, how would you like to put them to good use?” Commandant Jenkins asked.

Sharpe gave the Commodore a guarded if somewhat sceptical look.

“Why would S.F.I want someone like me. When you have plenty of agents who are experienced in the area you are asking me to do and in what exact way would I be needed, Sir?” Sharpe asked.

“We need someone to infiltrate a newly discovered criminal organisation here on earth, they have already made inroads, and alarmingly so and they have ties to someone high up in the Federation council or in that area. We do not know as they are wily and well insulated, so we cannot touch them without solid evidence and that is something we do not have at this current moment in time” Jenkins said.

Looking at the Academy Commandant wary “So where do I and my… Um, unique skill set to come into this?” He asked.

“We want you to go into this organisation as an up-and-coming computer hacker. We will give you a credible background, which is shady enough to allow you to be accepted, this mission will not show up on your official service record” Jenkins responded.

Sighing heavily as he sits back and folds his arms “What exactly is it you need me to do Sir?” Sharpe asked secretly dreading what was being asked of him.

“We want you to gain this group's trust and find their computer system and download all their data onto an encrypted portable drive, the details on how to pass it on will be explained to you. Then extraction of your person shall be carried out as soon as it is feasible” Jenkin’s easily answered.

Shifting in his seat, yes he was definitely not going to like this assignment “estimated length on my duty sir?” Paul asked.

“About two months tops” the Commandant responded and then studying the young Cadet he asked “any other questions Cadet?”

Paul looks at the Commandant as he thinks, and then finally answers “No sir, nothing more sir, oh when does this take effect? How come you did not choose someone with more field experience than me?” He amended his initial comment.

“We will have operatives in there with you, but we like to make sure we have more than one avenue of getting information out; you will not be alone in there, but you will also not know who the other agents are, undercover do you by any chance remember a Shawn Goodman and any more questions?” The Commandant asked the young cadet.

Thinking after hearing this “Vaguely I remember him, the guy was a year ahead of me in school, but he and his parents moved away that same year, he was nice enough to talk to and when I talked to him he was always nice to me, but I never mingled with him, at best we are acquaintances, nothing more; why sir?” Sharpe asked.

The Commandant looked at Sharpe for a lengthy period as he studied the young man, he knew that what he was asking was a lot, especially for one so young.

Jenkin’s looked at the young Paul Sharpe “he will be your contact and help you out should you need it. He has been in deep cover for ten years and has integrated into the Orion Syndicate organisation, he is trusted by them so he will be the one that they will most likely send as the first contact; we had him circulate your name. *pause* Right then, here is what we will make this group think, SFI will put out the word that you were cashiered from Starfleet; the file we want them to see will be a clone of your actual one. The real one will be sealed and put on a secure server so when they do a search of your file they will see that.

There was a long pause…

Looking a bit lost “Ok” he said shrugging “looks like I do not have much of a choice, Sir! oO so why did you volunteer me for this mission before asking me? You spooks are a piece of work you know that? Oo Sharpe thought to himself. He was not stupid, he did not know which intelligence agency this guy was from. “Well sir what made you think I would agree to this in the first place?” he asked.

Looking at the young man sternly “two days from now, get your affairs in order; and remember, you cannot tell anyone not even your girlfriend, understood?” Commandant Jenkins asked.

Still looking puzzled and wondering why him he simply responded “Yes Sir, anything else?” He ended by asking a question.

Looking at the Cadet “No we are done here, dismissed Cadet” Jenkins responded and watched Sharpe stand and leave his office.

With that, Sharpe stood and left the office, thinking about the task he had been given.

- Welsh hills three days later -

Paul was ambling through the streets of his home town; hands in his pocket, shoulders slumped, it was the third day after his dismissal from the academy, from the moment he was asked to go undercover SFI drilled into him how to walk and act after being booted. Paul knew that his false file would by now be airtight he also did not know how long it would take before he was approached by the group that had been causing Starfleet so much trouble.

On the fourth day of roaming the streets finding no luck with work in any form, it seems part of his cover was to be blacklisted. Sharpe was sitting at a small restaurant looking into his mug of tea when he noticed a shadow standing over him, then just as quickly sitting opposite him.

Paul looked up and studied the guy, he was well dressed, but had a look and way about him, both in his body language and his actions. To make himself seem authentic he had forgone regular shaving and now looked the part of a down-on-his-luck ex-Starfleet Academy Cadet who had been dishonourably discharged from the Academy.

The stranger ordered a drink and when the waitress had left to get his order he looked at Sharpe and said to the young man “You look slightly worse for wear friend, why are you so blue?” He asked.

Looking up oO who is this guy Oo Sharpe thought to himself “I have a severe run of bad luck, otherwise, I am five by five, anything I can do for you stranger?” He asked the newcomer.

The stranger looked at him and took in his appearance oO being booted from the Academy must have hit this lad hard! Oo the stranger thought to himself.

Looking left and then behind him and only pausing to nod and accept the drink he ordered then waited till the waitress had left. “I represent a group of people who are interested in your skill set Mr Sharpe,” he said.

Paul looked up honestly surprised by the stranger using his name, he did however have to use all his Vulcan training, however, limited to control his yipee reaction as the next part of the plan was set in motion.

*Grumpily* “what is it?” Paul asked finishing his drink.

“I cannot tell you more until I know you are with us and vetted, but those that I work for are interested in your skills and we would like to hire you for those skills,” the stranger said.

“What is it you want me to do exactly?” Paul asked the stranger.

“Your skills in computing, you have no ties with Starfleet anymore and from what your file says you were blacklisted for trying to release information to the public, you think they should know and other stuff which warranted punishment but not what you got,” the stranger said.

“Ya Think! I cannot even get a low-level job, because those people blacklisted me, so yeah it was harsher than it should have been, but at least I do not owe them anything, so I am assuming these employers of yours work outside Federation- space! Hmm and how much would I be paid for my time?” Sharpe asked.

After a moment of thought, the stranger put a piece of paper in front of Sharpe “be at that place tomorrow at that time and remember to destroy the piece of paper” the stranger said finished his drink and paid for it before leaving without another word.

Paul picked the thing up and thought it quaint that it was done in an old-fashioned way, but they needed to get him off the earth and to where they operated.

- New Sydney -

One and a half months later on the planet New Sydney at an unknown location Sharpe was still being tested, they trusted him enough to bring him into the Syndicate on a basic level, but he currently had no knowledge of any higher workings as of yet. He had been taken in on his skills alone, but that was only part of the reason he knew. But eventually, he proved his worth when he proved that he could hack the Tal’Shiar information database, he could not help but notice that the other's eyes lit up with glee.

A Week into working for the Syndicate Paul was hacked into the Romulan Tal’Shiar database and it was a miracle that he found the password, so knowing the Tal’Shiar would be quick to plug the leaks, so he downloaded all the data he could, he was doing this he sent copies to his private server. As predicted the Romulan secret service plugged the leak and he was asked to try the Klingon Security database, this went on for other Empires Starfleet included. One mission for the Syndicate he went on was to Galen Four, and this is where he saw the more insidious side of the underworld, while he did not like his actions as he was undercover he had to control his thoughts, but it proved informative and he blind-dumped all copies of his actions to a secure databank that he had access too.


This went on for months, and the longer he remained the more he learned, one-day he got word that he was about to be extracted, so he copied all gathered data and sent the original data to Starfleet, he was however unaware that now his usefulness had been used up, his employers were planning his demise, he was unaware of this, but external security forces of Starfleet were moving in ready. Paul was resting in his room when the door burst open members of the organisation he worked for came in firing, the beam his where he was laying but months of living as an outlaw had honed his reflexes and he was behind his bed as the beam struck the bed where he was laying.

He cursed a blue streak and reached for the disruptor pistol from his bedside table alcove pulled it and fired two quick shots one after the other and his two would-be assailants fell down dead, he got up cursing as he quickly got dressed and packed what little he got and left his accommodation leaving the bodies where they fell, but stopping only to take whatever latinum they had and then he walked calmly into the night, he went around the corner just as the second team arrived and found their dead compatriots and wondered where their quarry had gone. Sharpe laid low for a couple of days before he was met by his extraction team, where he gave them the location of the cell he was assigned to, so while the snatch teams took care of their quarry he was pulled back to the waiting ship where he was debriefed and allowed to freshen up, he was glad to shave off his beard and moustache.

-Four months later - Federation Criminal Court - Earth -

Sharpe had been under deep cover for six months when everything came when his mission was attained and he sent word for extraction, Starfleet Security located his cell and arrested those who surrendered, Sharpe knew these Security Officers did not know or have knowledge of who he was and what his task was, so they arrested Sharpe too, even Goodman got caught Sharpe expected to be greeted by some intelligence agents, he was in luck the planetary security officers were also deep cover operatives and they took Sharpe to a safe zone where he would be debriefed, some of those he had worked with were good sorts, they fell in with the wrong crowd, so while they went to Starfleet cells, he was returned to SFI for a debriefing.

A couple of months later the Federation Judicial trial took place, Sharpe was unaware that someone in the observers was a parent of one of those that would be put on trial and thus he had made an enemy, sadly he was unaware of what future hurt he had let himself in for.

-Judicial Hall - Earth -

The head judge finally entered the hall of justice and stood there, he looked at the orderly.

The moment the judge entered the Orderly spoke “All rise for the right honourable Judge Pennance” when the whole room was standing the Judge stood in front of his chair and looked eyes with the orderly and nodded, then the orderly spoke “All sit, the Judge and Council will now hear the charges against the Accused” he said.

This trial was a little unusual as standing on the accused podium were eight terrorists, due to the nature of the trials, this one was kept behind closed doors and there was no Federation News Service allowed as one or two were sons of influential Federation Council Members, so out of respect the proceedings were a closed-door affair.

The Prosecutor stood and spoke in a clear voice “In reference to the judicial document number 238303.15-49-Alpha-Beta-990, the charges on the eight standing before us; these charges are as follows. *pause* All accused did willfully and knowingly commit acts of sabotage, murder, fraud, kidnapping and a host of other unspeakable acts, saying this two of them are being given the benefit of the doubt on the sabotage and murder charges and will face a further trial at a later date” he said and the two prisoners who had important parents were removed from the room. “Those that remain have been proven guilty of all charges,” the Prosecutor said.

The Judge looked over at the Prosecutor “Charges have been noted, bring out the witness” the Judge said and with that, the accused looked at the new arrival in shock. Out came the young computer hacker who had been with them and in a Starfleet cadet uniform no less and now clean-shaven and with straight shoulders, all looks of his former posture were replaced by a straight back and some Second year Cadet pips on his collar.

The remaining six Orion Syndicate members one the leader looked at this young man differently, but the leader was disappointed the young man had potential, but he was a natural spy he could only guess what effort went in to make him appear to be a washout, he looked at them all could see he did not have hate in his eyes, it looked like sadness, with a hint of he had done his duty so as far as he was concerned he was not at fault, duty was duty and the group leader understood this, but the other five he sensed anger and betrayal, now he stood on the witness stand and made an oath, to tell the truth, and so on.

The trials lasted for about two months, Sharpe only had to give evidence once, then it was a final debrief as his real file was restored and he returned to the Academy to finish his training. The cell members ended up in a Federation Prison for two years, then as they also committed crimes against the Klingons they were sentenced to life on Rura Penthe after they finished their term in a Federation prison. Starfleet Intelligence poured over the data Sharpe had squirrelled away and made available to them along with the cypher key to allow them to access the data.

The Section head looked over the data and whistled in amazement “that kid managed to get more data in his few months undercover than any of our agents could, make a note to use a similar plan for future use for our undercover agents” he said “Sir, do you think Cadet Sharpe would transfer to Intelligence? After all the kid is a natural” another Agent asked.

The Section Head looked at his subordinate “Sadly I do not think so, the lad is too security focused but I agree he is natural, also did you know he is dating an Ambassador's daughter, who is a Marine?” the Section Head asked. The Agent looked a little surprised but shook his head and both returned their attention back to the data with the Section Head wondering what really happened to the young lad while undercover, he seemed a little different in his debriefing.

Finally, back at the Academy, Paul found that he had been dropped back a year, but only because of the undercover mission he retained his education credits, but he made a few new friends and he found that he could interact with the Vulcan Cadets, all had heard rumours of Cadet Sharpe’s undercover duty and possibly the reason he was knocked back a year, this made him a sort of celebrity.

-Stardate 237609.01-

Cadet Sharpe graduates top of his class as an Ensign and takes up extra courses when finally on 237706.15 he completed his extra courses and was assigned to Utopia Planitia as a Computer technician and this was where Sharpe’s history took off.

[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Paul Sharpe
Chief Engineer
USS Poseidon

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