The End Justifies the Means

Harris wondered what would be revealed today in the inconspicuous warehouses that contained many of Section 31's training facilities. He had an assignment to hand out. He was confident that the agent he had in mind would fit to the task.

It had been hard to win her over almost a year ago, but her firm belief in duty and honor had been the clincher. Her very first assignment had been to recover stolen plans from Starfleet's Weapons Complex. He had needed someone who was able to blend in, predict behavior, work alone, and could act their way out of a tight situation. The stolen plans had been tracked to an outpost trading facility known for unsavory characters selling questionable items. She had been armed only with a description of the target. He had expected the assignment to take at least a month. She had returned with the target, the plans, and his ship in two weeks. The eyes he had on the outpost told him she was efficient and hadn't raised any suspicions in her apprehension of the target.

She seemed like the optimum agent, but he still had questions on her background. Her father was Doctor Allen Donovan, noted Starfleet Scientist that focused on Anthropology and Exobiology. Her mother was a bit of a mystery. She was humanoid, but not human. Trian Donovan had come from Ireland, but they could not find any definitive records on her family. Trian had died when her daughter was only four years old.

The agent had abilities that couldn't be explained. She healed quicker than normal and had a high tolerance for pain. She was very perceptive when it came to reading people and predicting their reactions. She was very strong and had a high endurance for running. Her hand to hand combat was amazing - he'd seen her take down four assailants by herself. The fact that she was a MACO and excelled at ground warfare was a definite plus. He had wondered how many of these abilities she had were inherited from her mother's species. They had tested her blood against all known species in the Interspecies Medical Exchange database and had come up with nothing. He'd slowly been putting her through random tests, to see how she would react to certain drugs and circumstances.

He looked at the large monitor as two men took her into a room, unconscious, and propped her up in a plush chair - the only item in the room. Today, he was going to find out how quickly she would wake up, re-orient herself, and escape the room.

He touched an icon on the panel, "Begin simulation."

One of the men pressed a hypo to her neck and injected the drug, then they quickly left and sealed the door.

Lt. Kaitlyn Donovan woke up with a start. She quickly looked around the room. Hadn't she just been somewhere else?

She quickly stood up and went to the door. Locked. No windows, metal walls, one light fixture on the ceiling, and one chair. She paced off the room. Nine feet by twelve feet. She walked to the door again and pulled off the panel from the wall. She definitely wouldn't be able to open the door from the inside, but she could stall someone from entering the room. She quickly pulled out a handful of the circuitry wires and left them dangling out of the panel.

She pushed the chair to the wall and climbed up and stood on the back of the chair. She pushed up the ceiling tile and moved it aside. She reached for the ceiling frame and pulled herself up and used the wall to gain her footing. She braced one arm on the ceiling frame and the other across the opening, then pulled her legs up. She looked around the ceiling access for a way out. She carefully crawled twenty feet and looked through a vent and found a room with a bed, desk, and computer. She removed the vent and quickly dropped down into the room.

She checked the door to make sure it opened, then quickly had it shut. She went to the computer to try to access the building's schematics.

The monitor came on and she stepped back quickly because of the words that flashed across it.

Congratulations, Lt. Donovan.

She blinked as everything came back to her. It was just a simulation. She turned around as the door behind her opened.

Her handler, Harris, stood in his non descript black uniform and nodded to her. "You did well, Lieutenant. You escaped in less than two minutes."

She watched him closely, her mind still felt like mud - but she didn't want him to know that. "If I'd had another few minutes, I could have downloaded the schematics of the building." she said.

He shrugged, "That's not what we were testing today. Maybe another time." He indicated for her to walk with him. He watched her surreptitiously as they continued down the corridors. He could see her pulse still working overtime by the vein at her throat and her green eyes still looked a little dilated. He was impressed that by the time they got to his office, she had gotten her pulse to return to normal and her eyes had cleared. He indicated for her to sit down in the chair across from his desk as he sat down.

He nodded, "You have done very well in your trainings and on the three missions you have completed for us. Do you feel you are ready to track down and capture an assassin?" he questioned her.

Donovan raised an eyebrow, "What species and where?" she asked.

"Human, and here on Earth." he stated.

She nodded, "Who's the target?"

"We have information that the assassin is after Admiral Forrest in order to disrupt the Warp 5 program and the launch of the Enterprise." he said.

She frowned, "Even if Admiral Forrest was assassinated, the program would still continue." she pointed out the flaw in the plan.

Harris nodded, "But he is a big proponent of the program and we're sure he's just the first of many targets." He watched her closely, "You know Admiral Forrest well?"

"He and General Casey were both on the Review Board when I went through the Military Science program at Stanford." Donovan stated. The thought that someone was targeting Admiral Forrest did not set well with her. In fact, she was very angry, but she schooled her facial expressions and controlled her blood pressure by taking controlled breaths.

"The most likely place for the hit will be a public event. In two weeks there will be a ceremony after the testing of the Enterprise's warp engines. You will need to be assigned as Admiral Forrest's personal security." Harris said.

She agreed, "That will be fine. It will take me a day to find out all the holes in his security."

"How do you want to play this out?" he questioned her.

"Normally, the Admiral would just assign a Starfleet Security detail and not accept a MACO. If we tell General Casey of the assassination plot and he recommends me to the Admiral, I think he'll be more receptive." Donovan explained to Harris.

Harris nodded slowly. He didn't normally like to include anyone on his operative's missions, but General Casey did allow her to work for the Section when they needed her skills. "Doesn't Admiral Forrest know your father?"

"Yes." she replied and wondered how that fact was relevant to the situation.

Harris grinned, "Okay, let's go brief General Casey and get you in as Admiral Forrest's personal security detail."