A Bug in the Plans

Posted on Wed Apr 8th, 2020 @ 4:20pm by Captain Abigail Laurens & Lieutenant Farizah Alani

Mission: Dead Moon
Location: Security Office

It was late as Abigail entered the security office. She knew that Lieutenant Alani was still in her office, courtesy of the ships computer, but she was also hoping to find that there fewer bodies in Security than during the height of alpha shift. She needed to speak with her Security Chief, but she wasn't yet ready to deal with the reactions from the general crew.

Already word of their situation had started to spread through the crew. Even the largest starships had rumor mills that operated at beyond warp speed when there was something interesting going on. While most of the gossip had so far been largely incorrect, she knew there was already dissention among the ranks when it came to those who were actually in the know.

Pausing at the door and knocking lightly, Abigail waited until Farizah finished what she was doing and looked up, motioning for her to enter. "Lieutenant," the Commanding Officer offered a weary smile. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."

Farizah Alani had been looking over security team response times from her predecessor's past reports when the knock at her office door caught her attention. Though the feminine aroma had been a precursor to the knock. Once her head moved upward and she locked eyes with the visitor, Farizah smiled. "Captain," she replied addressing the human woman with warmth and admiration "What a pleasant surprise" added the Security Chief.

Lieutenant Alani immediately gestured to an empty seat in her office. She was genuinely surprised yet delighted to see the Commanding Officer of the starship Astraea. "Please make yourself at home. Can I get you anything to drink?" she inquired trying to be the best hostess she could be. Something told her the Captain had something on her mind it wasn't sunshine and rainbows.

"You know, a chai latte would be amazing," Abigail breathed and then laughed softly. "I feel so under caffeinated today, honestly, I think at this point my body is functioning on sheer adrenalin."

"Oh I got you covered, Captain" Farizah said standing from her seat andheading over a few steps to the replicator. It would have been barbarism for then not to have a replicator in the Security Chief's office. Fortunately, starship designers were splendid deities. "Two chai tea lattes, hot" she said ordering beverages for the two of them.

Farizah passed over to the Captain and took the other back behind the security desk and sat down in the seat. "Adrenalin can be delightfully deceiving, but nothing beats the deception of caffeine" the Security Chief added with a small smile. She put the mug to her lips and allowed the aroma to overtake her other sense as she took a sip.

Abigail held the mug to her lips for a moment, blowing across the top of the liquid before she took a sip, a soft sigh escaping her lips. "May the Gods help the universe the day the caffeine runs out," she said with a soft laugh.

The Bolain laughed softly as well. "Oh well if the Gods of the universe cut me off from caffeine, they will meet a similar fate to the old gods of Klingon mythology" replied Farizah making reference to the tales of how the Klingon gods were slain by the ancient Klingon warriors.

Leaning back in her seat, Abigail kept her hands wrapped firmly around the mug, contemplating for a moment. "Lieutenant, do Bolian's believe in the theology of the inner voice?" she asked quietly.

"We're Bolians, Captain," replied Farizah with a smirk. "galactically known as one of the most annoying species with our flamboyancy and natural gift of an everlasting yap. We simply are not know for shutting up" added the Bolian poking fun at the sterotype associated with her species. "Bolians tend to believe in a sort of strongly vocal intuition that cosmically, things will happen as they should. It's part of what we use when we finds mates and expand our relationships."

Abigail offered a slight smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes. "You know that moment when your inner voice starts talking to you? Telling you something isn't right? Then it starts throwing red alert klaxons your way, just to make sure you're paying attention?"

"Oh yes I do" replied Farizah nodding in full agreement. "My advice would be listen to them. I made the mistake of ignoring mine once or twice, and it was nearly fatal" the Bolian confessed. "What is that inner voice telling you, Captain?"

There was a long moment of silence as Abigail turned the mug in her hands, watching the liquid swirl within. "I need your assurance that anything spoken in here, now, stays strictly between us," she finally said quietly.

"Oh this ought to be interesting" said the Bolian, lifting her mug of latte to her lips and taking a deep sip. She sat it down and admired the Captain for a brief moment. "There's an old earth expression 'loose lips sink ship' and though I would not normally encourage sharing secrets with a Bolian, my people do proudly have one of the most secure banks in the galaxy" she said with a small smile. "Captain, whatever you say in the confines of this office will not leave this office" added Farizah.

"The Admiral that is coming with Starfleet Intelligence," she paused, taking another sip of her chai. "I'll be honest, I don't trust him. He has a history of improper conduct, he's just one of those people that never gets caught. I have a feeling that he knew the origins of this vessel before we were sent to find it, and I think he deliberately chose the Astraea to go after it because he doesn't expect me to go against him." She paused again, another sip. "I expect that when he realises that he isn't going to get the ship, he's going to be far from happy."

Lieutenant Alani cocked her head in response to each little detail that the Captain had to say about the man in question. She had to admit that it was disturbing to hear. "I understand what you mean, Captain. You think this admiral has woven a web and has sent the Astraea into the web" she stated. "Does he have a personal vendetta against you?" asked Farizah curious if this was personal in nature of if the admiral was just twisted in some fashion.

"Last time I saw Lockwood he was a Captain," Abigail said quietly. "He was touted among Fourteenth Fleet as being the CO who could get things done. He didn't care about the cost, and there never seemed to be evidence of his exploits. He is smart. He chooses his crew carefully, and they're usually just like him."

She paused for a moment. "He... he is just not a pleasant person." Abigail took another sip of her chai before looking across at Farizah. "I want the observation lounge bugged, but not through the primary communications or security systems. I want something small, undetectable and reliable, and I want someone watching the entire exchange in real time when it happens, just in case."

Farizah understood the request...she was not certain it was an official order though the build up to it would seem to indicate this was off the record. "I think the adjective you are looking for is asshole" the Security Chief said, using a Bolian term that the universal translator colorfully drew a match to. "You want something small and nondescript. I know of a few Ferengi devices that would probably do the trick. Sometimes even they need help lobesdropping. There's also a Flaxion device I'm aware of though that one is also an explosive...I'm thinking that's a bit overkill on this little request?" Farizah jokingly inquired.

"How about we hold that one over as a just in case," Abigail replied with a vague smile. "But I trust you can see to the arrangements Lieutenant? Promptly, and of course, discreetly?"

Farizah blushed, her blue cheeks turning a sort of violet. "Like a thief in the night, Captain" she said practically giddy over the whole thing. "They will not suspect a thing. It will be unnoticed and carried out flawlessly" the Bolian said making the gesture of an Italian chef kiss, bringing her fingers towards her lips and unleashing a snack. "Spionaggio delizioso" she added.

Abigail bit back a laugh at the reaction. "Well, I'll leave you to it. Though, not to put too fine a point on it... but you have about 45 minutes," she added. "Do you need anything else from me?"

"Nope" replied Farizah crisply, standing up from her seat and gesturing towards the doorway. "The less you know about what I'm going to do in the next thirty minutes or so, the better. What you don't know about, you cannot confirm nor deny."

The commanding officer gave a quick nod. "Thank you Lieutenant, if you need anything just ask." Without waiting for a response she turned on her heel and walked out of the office.