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"You can't see her," said the security officer outside the medical wing.
Mariner blinked at him. "What?"
"You can't see her," repeated the security officer slowly. "Contact with parties subject to inquiry is limited to involved parties, investigating parties, and family members."
Mariner clenched her fists. One of her best friends was in the hospital, and now this man was trying to tell her that she couldn't see her? They weren't even being allowed to message each other on their PADDs.
It wasn't like she was going to talk about the case. She just wanted to make sure her friend was okay.
The security officer's face softened slightly. "I'm sorry," he said. "But there are no exceptions."
#
Mariner is purging the calibration matrix with another ensign when Commander Blois, second in command on the Atlantis, walks in.
"Mariner, I need to speak with you in my office," she says.
Mariner tenses up. Is she in trouble? She thinks back to the past few days, trying to remember anything that could possibly constitute a breach of protocol.
She follows Commander Blois back to her office and waits by her desk as the commander takes her seat. This is only the third time she's ever been in Commander Blois's office, and the first two times were for mission briefings, not for whatever this is.
"You can sit down, Ensign," says Commander Blois.
Mariner swallows and sits. She can feel the edges of the chair digging into her shoulders. For a moment, the only noise in the room is the soft hum of the ship's systems and the tapping of the commander's fingers against her PADD.
"Mariner," says Commander Blois, "there's something I need to tell you." She hesitates for a moment. "You are aware that any member of Starfleet can designate others to be informed in the event of their death, correct?"
Mariner nods. She's half-expecting it to be one of her parents.
Maybe the commander just wants to remind her to update it. Maybe it's just a routine matter. Maybe no one is dead.
The commander pushes her PADD across the table. On the screen is the image of a Bajoran woman, dressed in the outfit she had worn at graduation.
Mariner looks up at Commander Blois. "What happened?" she asks softly.
The commander looks away. She opens her mouth, briefly, then closes it again.
"That's classified," she says eventually. "I'm sorry."
"That's bullshit," says Mariner.
Mariner draws in her breath sharply. She's never sworn in front of a senior officer before, save for her parents.
"I'm sorry," repeats the commander. "I'd tell you if I was allowed to."
#
Mariner and Beckett sat next to each other in Sito's dormitory, Mariner in her uniform and Sito in plain clothes. Sito's eyes kept darting to the badge on Mariner's uniform, then away.
"They're punishing you because of what Locarno did?" asked Mariner. "That's bullshit."
Sito shook her head. "It's not, Mariner," she said. "I could have refused, or reported him, or even just not lied to the inquiry board, and I wasn't brave enough. I'm lucky they didn't expel me."
Sito's hands were shaking. Mariner reached out to take them, looking Sito in the eyes. Sito was one of her best friends at the academy. Yes, she had made a mistake, but Mariner had made plenty of mistakes too. Locarno had testified that he bore primary responsibility; why did no one else think that mattered?
"Just because it's lucky doesn't mean it's fair," said Mariner.
Sito looked away. "Mariner, I got someone killed," she said. "I don't know why you're even talking to me. No one else is."
#
Sito's death may be classified, but that doesn't mean it's secret.
Sito was posted to the Enterprise. Starfleet ensigns are trained to keep confidentiality, but even so, any "secret" that an entire ship is informed of is going to be hard to keep from the rest of Starfleet. The Enterprise crew are some of the worst gossips in all of Starfleet.
It doesn't take her long to find it, hidden away as a short news bulletin between a discussion about a holodeck malfunction and a list of promotions.
On Stardate 47565, a Bajoran prisoner escaped from a Cardassian officer who was holding her prisoner. Her escape pod was shot down by Cardassian forces, and her body could not be recovered.
Mariner swallows.
What was Sito doing being captured by the Cardassians, anyways? The Enterprise is a scientific and diplomatic vessel, at least in theory, and Mariner hasn't heard anything about it undertaking military operations lately. Sito was a security officer, yes, but even security officers are rarely killed in the line of duty, and being captured by Cardassians goes well beyond rare.
#
"Mariner, I have something to tell you," said Sito.
It was a few days after Sito's graduation, and Mariner had come to help her pack up her dorm room and move out. Mariner had been expecting it to be an annoying, tedious task, but Sito was smiling the way she used to smile before the incident.
"What is it?" asked Mariner.
"I've been accepted to a post on the Enterprise after graduation," said Sito. "I — I wasn't sure anyone would take me—"
Mariner dropped the shirt she was trying to pack up and pulled Sito into a hug. Sito drew in a sharp breath, but after a moment she hugged Mariner back.
"I'm so proud of you, babe," said Mariner. "You're going to do awesome."
"Are you sure?" asked Sito softly.
"I'm sure," said Mariner. "I mean, you're a brave, tough girl who doesn't give up. They're lucky to have you."
#
Mariner is sitting in her bunk when she gets the notification.
1 new message from an external sender.
She frowns. Normally she deletes messages like this without even reading them. She's about to do the same with this one, when her eyes catch on "Sito" in the second sentence.
To: Beckett Mariner, USS Cerritos
From: Unknown Sender, USS Enterprise
I don't know how much you've already heard, and honestly I don't know all the details myself. But I know there are things Starfleet isn't telling us about what happened to Sito. I don't think she was "captured" exactly, if what the captain said is any indication. I think this was some kind of spy mission in Cardassian space, and it must have gone wrong somehow.
- SL
Beckett throws her PADD against the other side of her bunk. Sito was a scientist, not a spy. She should never have been in Cardassian space in the first place. The Federation isn't even at war with the Cardassians! What sort of spy mission — what sort of spy mission could possibly be worth something like this—
Jean-Luc Picard might be captain of the Enterprise, but that didn't give him the right to order Mariner's best friend to her death.
And if Starfleet thought they could get her best friend killed and cover it up, well, they had another thing coming.