=-=
"Recruited"
[Previous post: "Not Even A Nice Place To Visit",written by the Amazing Jessica]
=-=

Setting: USS ANUBIS, IGC
Stardate: 30145.1000

The entire room was dedicated to Intel work, to listening in on conversations and observing others without their knowledge.  Shar'El felt a little bad at being here doing what she was, studying the crew of the ANUBIS without their knowledge.  The equipment at her disposal had been meant to be aimed to planets or other ships, not to be used within the ANUBIS, still it was a good way to perform some tests.

These people would in time come to know her, but she wanted to have the advantage of knowing them first.  The experienced CO, the troubled Ops, the imposing FCO, the unique Shillian, the fiery CEO, the strange CMO and the confident CNS.  Each one had hidden memories that the ILO would sooner or later discover, not because she wanted to use this knowledge against them, but because she knew the power memories could have over people.

=-=
FLASHBACK

Some cultures believe that people are nothing more than memories given form. They are what shapes us and drive us to succeed or fail in whatever we attempt.  Shar'El understood this very well having memories that in the greater scheme of things should never have been hers.

The senior staff of STARBASE 118 had been beyond kind and generous in taking her in when her own people had turned their collective backs on her.  That single memory had forged an impenetrable barrier between the child and what should have been her people.  That emotional wall only grew over time leading Shar'El to withdraw onto herself.  Part of the reason had been to distance herself from her race, but she also wanted to protect those who had been so kind to her.  Whatever reason why she had been abandoned as an infant had been hers and hers alone to deal with.

Countless people had gathered at the graduation ceremony, everyone cheering for the accomplishments of the family member.  Shar'El did her best to block the waves upon waves of memories from the crowd around her.  Even her classmates were inundating her with memories, some happy, some not so much.

At the end of the ceremony, the mental storm finally subsided enough for Shar'El to ear a specific memory, one that concerned her directly.  That single memory was followed by several others that touched in various ways her life at the Academy. As she turned to discover the source of these unexpected relived thoughts, the grinning face of an elderly Admiral stared back at her.

"Do I know you?"

"You do not, but as you have gathered I on the other hand know you rather well."

More memories came into focus from the Admiral; all of which had been about her.  Shar'El could not remember ever having seen this man before, but it was perfectly clear that he had been around since pretty much her entrance at the Academy.

"What do you want from me?"  The question seemed out of place when spoken by a telepath, unless that telepath was Ullian, limited to reading the memories of others.  What surprised her even more had been just how many such memories this unknown man possessed of her.

"I am here to help. To offer you a place where you can be yourself and help the Federation in ways that you never could have imagined."

Flashes of a distant hidden base and dark powerful ships came into view, even if only for a brief moment. The Admiral had been well trained in blocking his thoughts and memories from outsiders, and Shar'El believed that those images she had seen had been allowed for her benefit.

"Why me?"

"Your unique skills for one," the aged Admiral said with a smile.  "Your need to have someone help you focus on your future instead of your past for another.  What I am offering you is a chance to have a future free of whatever past you believe you are carrying with you."

"Sounds mysterious."

"More than you can imagine," the Admiral grinned, holding the mental block against Shar'El's intensified scan.

"All right, I'm in."

The face that had been touched by time quickly returned to a cold expression as a single memory took form in his mind, a memory specifically allowed for Shar'El to pick up on. The memory had been clear and specific and offered everything that she needed to take advantage of the offer that had been made.  The USS ANUBIS would be her ship with a universe of new memories for her to explore.

=-=
Tiffany Reeve

Ensign Shar'El
Intel Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS