Snowfire and Kheren have an argument

 It was becoming a habit really, Snowfire ending up at the door to the Captain's ready room shortly before the ship departed. At least, given the last few missions, that was what it felt like to her. Not that it had been a bad experience the last time or two...but then this was different. Anyone who'd seen her on her way to the bridge after receiving word of some of the latest orders passed to members of the Circle would have been able to tell that. The few who'd seen her working out in the Horizon's gyms and training rooms would recognise parts of the gait, but very few of them were on duty for this shift. Crewmembers who would usually offer words of greeting to her had snapped to attention as she'd stalked along the corridors towards the bridge, moving mutely out of her way at her nod or occasional salute, and only long after she'd passed would conversation begin to move again.  The Circle had noticed it too, but they at least had been expecting it to some degree, and they'd taken the guillotine suddenness of her mental screens slamming into place far better than she'd hoped. A corner of her mind knew she was going to have to apologise to them later, but that was a small, dimly heard voice compared to the one driving her.

Whatever the reason behind it, the deck-talk passed the visible consequence swiftly along. Commander K'Leysha was pissed. And as her route become more evident, the number of people who she could be angry with steadily shrank until it could be only one person aboard the Horizon.

If the automated doors governing entrance to the bridge could not slam open, her entrance on to the bridge had a similar effect. No one aboard the Horizon had ever seen Snowfire angry before. Irritated, annoyed by some problem, but never angry - not like this. And those who maybe hadn't quite believed that she'd commanded ships of her own for almost a human century now knew quite well otherwise, for she wasn't even trying to dial it down. Her entrance onto the bridge sent every member of the duty watch straight to their feet, and they seemed to almost vibrate in the tension snaking between them as she crossed the room. The pace she took wasn't quick, but it was measured, like the movements of a hunting cat. Her hand came up as she approached the door to the ready room, and she hit the admittance stud with none of the worry that she'd once had. There wasn't any place for it in her mind.

It didn't take long for her to be admitted, and the moment the door had swished shut behind her - she wanted to make sure that this stayed private - she was already speaking. She needed to get these words out before she said something that she might really regret.

"Permission to speak freely, Captain?" She didn't say anything else. But then again, she didn't need to to make the initial point.

It was a rare occurence for Kheren to be surprised; but such was here the case. He didn't need his mastery of body language to understand that his chief sicence officer was angry; not only angry but angry at him. His stony face as usual said nothing but his antennae started to slowly flay this way and that in confusion.

"Of course, Commander."

"Thank you." Snowfire nodded to Ensign Blackbird, still holding her anger under tight control even then. "You may desire to dismiss your aide."

"Yeoman, you are dismissed."

With a slight pause of hesitation, the raven-haired woman nodded and left.

And with that, she...loosened the reins on her anger, holding up the PADD that she'd carried from her quarters, with the orders that she'd been passed by a member of her Circle. It wasn't illegal to pass such things on, and given her unique position aboard the Horizon where it came to this particular issue it could be seen as all but expected for this to have been passed to her. She crossed the ready room in a brace of furious steps, thumbing it on, and slammed it down on the desk in front of Kheren so hard that the casing cracked. A single night-black digit stabbed down at the passage displayed on the PADD, orders that Kheren could remember well as he signed off on them mere hours ago, and her voice was colder than the depths of space. 

"When I was first told of orders for members of the Circle to take part in telempathic screening measures against Federation citizens, I thought that it must have been a mistake - or have come from higher authorities - yet imagine my surprise when I find your signature upon them."

She looked down at the seated Andorian, eyes flashing with violet flame, and the irony of her words could have shattered glass as she cut straight to the heart of the issue.

"Where, exactly, within the principles of the Federation that you say you so espouse is there a clause that smiles upon manipulation of religious belief into a means to commit nothing short of rape?"

She could have continued, but she left it there. There would be time enough for all else, and the response to this was crucial.

Andorian blood was quick to boil when heated; Kheren found out that suddenly, his years of diligent practice of self-control under a Vulcan master were on the verge of failing him for the first time in many many years. Doctor Nasaro-Myth had feared this when Kheren had been finally returned from Undine form to his natural physiology; a physiology he had to enhance forcefully to succeed in retrieving the mutated Andorian. That was now what was asserting itself on his veneer of educated self-control... that... and painful thoughts that were not giving him peace since he had learned of his mission and in particular who it involved.

With obvious effort at keeping calm, he put his callused hands flat on his transparent aluminum desk, antennae pointed over his eyes at Snowfire.

"I do not know how your people do things, but we are not talking Klingon mind sypher, Romulan brainscans or Section 31 heated phaser under the seat here. I am sure you read our very strict protocol on the subject; we are not talking about ripping into a mind and scanning for every little dirty secret in someone's psyche. We are talking about a mental grid that would react only to thoughts of violence against this ship or this crew, nothing less, nothing more... which is even less than the routine use of available telepaths for interrogation of suspects or  against predicted attempts at deception done lawfully throughout the recent centuries. Captain Kirk used it with the help of his first officer Spock more than once; Captain Picard with his own counsellor Deanna Troi, like many other starship commanding officers, not to mention Federation Courts, did it routinely; and what they did was far more... intrusive than what I signed here. Even non-aligned representatives like Gropler Zorn of the Bantii at Farpoint Station knew and willingly accepted those proceedings... which themselves are still far less  than what respected Ambassador Loxanna Troi of Betazed does openly on a constant basis without starting any wars or secessions. What I am doing, Commander, is within Federation law and Starfleet rules."

His own words calmed him; but the fire was lowered, not smothered. There were other... embers unworded yet, heating still under the cold icy mask of his face. Their heat could be seen in his metallic-hued eyes, but that was not anything to quell the fire in Snowfire's if the words alone didn't...

"Telepathy and the regulated use of it to properly balance freedom and security are part of our History, culture and social norm among all of us people of good will, here in the Federation. I am sure you knew all of this well before you even accepted to join the officer Exchange Program."

Then his voice became suddenly as burning as hers as been cold.

"And as for Faith; under the Articles of the Federation, the right of any individual to beleive whatever one wishes to beleive in is respected, may it be the Prophets, the Ancient Vulcan gods or the Earthers' Tooth Fairy; but in no way, shape, manner or form, does any cultural or religious belief dictate or alter rights, laws and rules. And in Starfleet, regulations clearly state that, if someone's requirements from his own culture or belief can not be reconciled with his duties, that officer should either find the best acceptable way for oneself to put them aside... or resign."

Again he managed to calm himself once more, this time with a sudden genuine concern in his voice and his eyes. He was realizing that, as far as Snowfire Ke'Leysha's people were concerned, and despite her recent fascinating lectures on the subject, he knew in fact very little of her own culture and beliefs.

"Is that the quandrary you are troubled with, Commander?"

"You and yours know nothing of telepathy."

Snowfire had listened, oh yes she had listened, and somewhere deep inside she marvelled at the ability for one to become lost in justification. Yet that only added more fuel to the fire, and her tone swept aside the concern present in Kheren's voice as the same black digit from before stabbed down, highlighting the specific text.

"All members of the Horizon's Children cult - and I note that you do not even give them the courtesy of a less inflammatory term - are to be telempathically scanned by Security department personnel to ascertain their identity and intent in boarding the Horizon. Any who refuse to submit to this security protocol are to be denied entrance and returned to the starbase." She quoted icily. "Every example you have just given have involved either full choice on the part of the recipient or certainty beyond reasonably doubt that their words cannot be trusted without verification. Further, of almost all of these examples, it is not active scanning that is at work. Ambassador Troi's ability to read people is a result of nothing but highly trained passive empathy, I have read the reports. Her daughter uses the same techniques, as do the Federation Courts. And if it was only passive scanning that you were ordering, my words would be far less harsh."

She gestured through the walls of the ready room in the direction of the starbase and their passengers. 

"Yet it is not. You order that every member of a group of faithful - none of whom are guilty of crimes against the Federation - are to be tarred with the same brush as their extremist fellows who sought to oppose us in the sealing of the Azimuth Horizon. You say that your orders are non-intrusive, yet even if you are not aware of it that is a lie!"

The word slammed across the room like a thunderbolt, hurled without care into Kheren's teeth, yet there was far worse upon its wings.

It had been a good thing that Snowfire had asked for free speech in the formal manner of Starfleet; else Kheren would have shut her off instantly with authority... and not lash out with anger too long contained as he stood up, eyes burning, voice just as hot.

"Don't you understand who these people are? Three of them killed forty-two of my people and brought about the creation of the worst artificial lifeform ever seen in our History; three hundred of them almost caused the destruction of the entire universe for the sake of that faith of theirs... and now you would let three thousand of them have access to the single most powerful and resourceful starship this side of the galactic center?"

"These civilians are guilty of nothing more than following a faith that has hurt you, and in reacting with anger and not thought to their presence you betray a principle that lies at the heart of the Federation's very existence. Infinite diversity in infinite combination. And yet here you stand, demanding that those that are of one particular combination bare their souls - and active scanning of the type you have ordered is nothing less when name and intent are involved - as penance for their passage to paradise."

Kheren could have said that what he worded for the Governor's sake was not what he had actually ordered; the established passive protocol of his ship's security; but then again, his heart burning with anger, deep down he wasn't so sure anymore... and Snowfire certainly sensed it.

"And all this because you see in these innocents the faces of those who lost you the only crew to have died thus far under you command." Her hand rose, again the finger of night stabbing out, but this time it was accusing. For she knew her Captain's record well, had seen and indeed experienced the loyalty that he extended to his crew. And as any new member to a ship - had it really been almost a year ago? - she had made certain to study his record before her first mission under his command. It had been fascinating reading, but the key point within it had always been that loyalty. In most cases that was all well and good, but here? Here Kheren was confronted by those who could be seen as at the very least related to those responsible for the only deaths among his crew he had ever suffered. And that could - in fact, had - lead to problems.

"The decision of security for these people should never have fallen to you, for this very reason. And every word you speak to justify it speaks only to prove me right."

This time, the Andorian reacted with a visible jolt, as if actually hit by a physical blow. Suddenly he became as cold as a comet.

"Commander; are you telling me that I am emotionally compromised?"

The question was potent; acknowledging such a state was sufficient grounds under Starfleet regulations for a captain to be removed from command.

"Your examples are overwhelmingly of passive sensing instead of scanning, which goes far deeper than you can ever understand. Even where it is scanning alike to what your are ordering, the circumstances are utterly different. Interrogations of confirmed criminals, of suspects where it can be certain beyond reasonable doubt that it is required, or in situations where it was requested; none of which apply here. And yet that is not even the worst of it. The worst of it is what matters most, the way in which you have ordered this. You know, I am certain, that to the Children the worlds beyond the Horizon are their version of paradise. So, with anger that you could never fully express towards those who took their faith beyond the bounds of rationality, you demand that members of the moderate faithful suffer for pain they never inflicted upon you. Either they are barred from paradise, or they must expose their souls. That is no choice for those of faith, but it is not your place to inflict such a price. And never on innocents."

For a long moment, the Andorian remained silent, his eyes flashing between pure rationality and violent passion, between the whiteness of cold ice and that of molten metal. When he finally spoke, it was between teeth clenched as tightly as his callused fists.

"Commander... we must ensure the safety of the Federation; that is our very purpose. And to that end, I must ensure the safety of this ship and this crew!"

Snowfire looked back at the Andorian, sensing the boiling rage fighting with rationality, and though it didn't show the fire inside her softened slightly as she remembered similar conversations many years ago, where she had been the one on the other side of the desk. Kheren, for all his rising brilliance as a captain, was still innocent to the price that had only been levied against him once. A price that she knew well, despite her own skills as a commander. In her years as part of the IDF, there were many occasions on which her own emotions had threatened to override her reason. And, more often than she liked, it was not her that prevented that emotion from carrying through. It had been members of her staff, her XO or another of her command team, who had taken the issue to her and fought against it with all the passion and skill which she had called upon here. And, just as they had then - and she had on occasion before rising to command rank herself - she felt the picture in front of her click into focus. She knew where Kheren was now.

And her answer, when it came, was calm. Collected. And completely free of accusation.

"With the first link, the chain is forged," it was a speech well known to all Federation officers, required reading even now. "The first speech censured," she knew Kheren would know it, likely know its meaning and the reason she was quoting it to him now, "the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied - chains us all, irrevocably." Her eyes met the molten silver of her commanding officer once again, the fire in them undimmed yet somehow gentler. As if they knew the feeling of this moment, from both sides of the desk. And she kept talking, continuing into the words amended to the first quote in 2367. "Wisdom and warning. The first time that any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged." She nodded at the fractured PADD on the desk between them.

"Where it comes to these people, Captain, you are emotionally compromised. Through no ill intent, through the best of them in fact, loyalty to all those united in service to the Federation. But compromised, nonetheless. And, somewhere, you know that." She shook her head, errant threads of her white hair falling around her temples. "If you didn't, you would not fight so hard."

Jean-Luc Picard; he was the man who had said those words while his crew and himself had fallen prey to a paranoid witchhunt. But those words went far beyond a simple warning against institutional abuse or excess of power. They went to the heart of what the Federation was al about.

Jean-Luc Picard; with Jonathan Archer, another Human and another captain of the legendary USS Enterprise name, he was the role model for Kheren's entire career... his entire life. And here he was, thinking and acting as far from him as one could possibly be.

Slowly Kheren sat down, as if returning from some extenuous ordeal but still burdened with some heavy load. He slowly lifted a hand as if to ward off a blow and then looked up at his chief science officer.

"Alright, Commander; what would you have me do?"

"Treat them as the people that they are, pilgrims seeking a promised land in peace, and citizens of the Federation - to whom our loyalty was sworn when we donned this uniform." Snowfire replied, in the same calm voice. Yet the fire in her eyes had dimmed, from a bonfire down to a lone silver of violet flame dancing behind them. Warning, perhaps, of what had passed between them and that he should remember it well. Yet also accepting of it in some way, as only one who had known this pain themselves could be.

"I do not ask you to lessen your security aboard ship further than you would for that, restriction of entrance to engineering spaces and other vital areas of the Horizon is not simply a matter of security but of common sense to allow this vessel to function. But ensure that the security measure you and your wife put in place - for she could be in the same place as you - are driven not by the blindness of unexpressed anger or pain but by true need." She nodded again at the datapad. "And, if you will, leave the matter of telempathic security to me. My people know the intricacies of these things very well, and I can adapt one of the protocols I learnt to suit this situation. And I know the line where responsible security becomes needless prying down to the nanometre."

Her hand rose again, but this time the gesture was welcoming, an outstretched offer of aid. Truth be told, Snowfire was the best choice to implement such a procedure, precisely because of her past experiences with measures of the same type. And yet her next words spoke of a far deeper understanding behind what she'd done, and why.

"Everyone, no matter how virtuous, falls sometime. For evil is always possible, and goodness eternally difficult. Family are the people who help you pick yourself back up when you do."

Kheren stood up again, calmly this time but no less tense and went to his office window to gaze silently at the stars for a good moment. Just like them, he looked tranquil and peaceful but in reality was an inferno of burning energies colliding, fusing, exploding, every second on the verge of blasting oneself in all directions.

Finally, he turned and came back to face her. His voice had returned to it's usual deep softness.

"I hear you, Commander. I will defer to your expertise on this specific matter... and to the wisdom of your words."

Then he lifted a finger.

"But... do not inform our... guests of any change or detail of the proceeding. And do not think this is because I want to save face; I could not care less when it is about doing the right thing the right way, as you so aptly reminded me here. I want them on their toes, for a change. The more nervous they will be, the more hesitant any possible troublemaker will be; the more outraged they will be, the more eager they will be to leave my ship, thus for our mission to succeed... and... to go find bliss in their paradise."

"Acknowledged and understood." Snowfire paused, considering the endless blend of emotion swirling within the room, then spoke again. "But, if I may, talk to one of the counsellors about what happened. One who wasn't part of the crew of the Artemis." She nodded at the wreckage of the PADD on his desk before scooping it up, and her lips twitched in a wry smile "I can't go on breaking PADDs to get the point across, you know. Our Chief Engineer would never forgive me."

"Make an appointment, Captain." Kheren had heard this tone from Snowfire once before, on the promenade of Starbase 10 after the end of the mission to seal away the Horizon that had threatened the entire galaxy. "And convince Lieutenant Tyvya to go to one as well. Trust me, you'll be thankful for it in time."

"Healer, heal thyself," the Andorian simply retorted, antennae curving atop his head, in lieu of the smile his face could never make, as he pointed at the crushed PADD. "As for me, you come almost two years too late; that is how Tyvya and I first met Lyrya you know. You will notice that I did not break anything... and I am the Andorian in the room."

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