Setting things in Motion

Posted on 01/31/2024 @ 10:38am by Commander Aer Feshau-Patton & Commander Tatiana Dragos

2,534 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Mini Mission: Lighting Up Shadows
Location: Aer's Quarters
Timeline: Mission Day 10 Of Pages

It was 10:00 am and a woman bearing a gift stopped at the door of Aer and Patton's quarters. The woman was Commander Tatiana Dragos, part of Star Fleet intelligence. Dressed in casual clothing that of a pair of black slacks and a light blue top and runners, Tatiana took a moment or two to make certain she looked presentable before she shifted the wrapped present to her left hand and then pressed the chime with her right.

It was unusual for Aer to be in her quarters at 1000 hours but the day itself had been quite strange to begin with. Waking up to an empty bed, no Jack, always felt so. Like the day wasn't going to get any better even though she was not on duty today... was she ever off? A question for another post...

As she drank her tea she sat at the small dining table in her quarters looking over Federation news bulletins to see what was going on in the galaxy outside their little bubble. She had been reading about an increase in seemingly random attacks on worlds and ships with Starfleet torpedoes in recent weeks. Aer shook her head as the chime on her door rang.

"Come in." she said softly but still loud enough for the person on the other side to hear.

Tatiana stepped in, taking a quick look around then turned her focus to Aer. "Ah good morning, Aer, where is your husband? I've brought a gift for the two of you. Hopefully I am not disturbing you. I just wanted to say Congratulations on your wedding." Tatiana having a warm smile.

"Tatiana." Aer said excitedly as she got up and moved across the room to greet her. She gave her a small hug, tight quick squeeze and released her. "Jack is off on some secret mission he can't tell me about." she rolled her eyes. "But thank you. It means a lot that a lot of people were there, and that you could attend given your attention should be on more pressing things." she implied her nephew being more important than her wedding. "And you're not disturbing me, please come and sit down. I'll pour you a cup." she indicated to the table with a pot of tea on it.

Tatiana gave a nod and returned the embrace that Aer gave her. "As for my Nephew, he seemed to be rather busy and unavailable. I did get a message from my other Nephew that he was alive and well. No other details, just that he was alive and well."

Tatiana placed the present to one side and gratefully accepted the cup of tea that Aer had given her. " So Jack is on a secret mission, right after your wedding night? Then again I have heard that a Marine, much like someone in intelligence seems to be always on the job, right?" taking a sip of her tea.

Aer's heart panged a touch at the mention of Stefan. There had been something there that if Jack had not been in her life it might have worked but in this life it was just not meant to be." Well, that's great news... about Lucien." she made sure to clarify. "Just knowing they are alive after many years must feel amazing."

Aer sighed, "Yes, well apparently it couldn't wait. Something came up and I'm sure it has to do with Captain Harrington, I could see it in his face and how he felt. There are some things that are easy to hide but from an empath and your wife not so much." she mused as she stared into her cup as if lost at sea. "But yes, I suppose you are right we both lead busy lives..."

"Well, besides my bringing a gift for you, there is another reason why I am here. I've been assigned temporarily to the station. Which means I am under your command as well as, Lieutenant Na'Vassa's. There is also the other fact of, the Unseen." Tatiana letting that hang in the air for the moment while she sipped her tea.

The Unseen were not common knowledge and Aer was caught slightly off guard by her mention of it. She'd either been very naughty and been digging in files she shouldn't have been, or Starfleet Intelligence had let her in on what Aer's main investigation was in the region. Without noticing Aer's hand slid to her stomach. The last time she'd messed with them it almost cost her her life. "That's... great." Aer said hesitantly, her mind still picturing the Klingon, his laugh echoing in her mind like a reminder of failure.

Tatiana had noticed Aer's movement towards her stomach. "Starfleet Intelligence had spoken to me about being here to help you out where that is concerned. Also I had heard what the Breen had been wanting from you, and wanting you as well. Don't worry I haven't been snooping around your work place. Even if I am capable of doing so, I do have some code of ethics." Tatiana giving a teasing wink. "And I will reiterate 'some' ethics." her face then went a little bit somber. "A message for you as in; you need a team, to assist with this investigation."

Aer nodded. "I have been going at it pretty much solo from the beginning. I did ask SI (Starfleet Intelligence) for help months ago after I managed to capture Dr Rik but I assumed that fell on deaf ears." she sighed. "I guess I forget how much 'red tape' it takes to get something moving and I don't mind questionable ethics when something this dangerous is in play." Aer paused for a moment. "What do you know about the Unseen? Did they fill you in a bit, or are you flying blind?" it wouldn't surprise Aer if she had been tossed in the deep end as SI likes to do.

Tatiana gave a slight click with her tongue and a wry twist of her lips. "They only told me that I was to get the information from you. Thus making certain that you divulge just how much you wish to do so. And that I wasn't a know it all." her face brightening up with a bit of amusment. "Guess they are trying to keep me in line as it were."

Aer got up and moved across the room towards her desk. She removed a box from a coded drawer and then placed her palm on the box, punched in another code and it opened to reveal small discs. Moving again towards Tatiana, "These are my files on the Unseen, what I've managed to get so far." she popped on in to a wall console.

"They seem to operate in a hierarchical fashion. The 'Shadow Man' at the top as King and the others tapering down. Those at the back line of a chess board being his lieutenants and pawns well, pawns." she reached over and grabbed her coffee to keep her hands warm, as well as to sneak a quick sip. The chart showed the assumed movement of power. Shadow man at the top offset by the queen and then a line from rook (castle) to rook (castle) and then pawns beneath them.

"The Shadow Man has never been seen, always speaking to those beneath him from a dark and hidden place or filter on his call. His voice is also altered. Think what Captain Archer spoke of when he had runs ins with the Suliban. Which also makes me worry about time travel, but I've not felt anything yet."

"I do hope the Suliban are not involved. Just would make things even more difficult." giving a bit of a frown with her comment. "Please continue, I am familiar with others who like to remain anonymous."

Aer nodded. Many criminals likes anonymity, others likes the flash and splash of a 'front page'.

"Before the Breen attack on the station I had identified one of his lieutenants, Dr Rik. He was on T'Shon Station performing experiments on thalaron styled weapons, and well, just research in general on that type of radiation. After the whole Praetor Shinzon incident that radiation makes Starfleet twitchy and I don't blame them. But anyway," she shook her head as she was beginning to segway. "I launched a mission in the USS Caliban with a few crew, captured Dr Rik and acquired his tech and research before coming back here and handing him over for questioning. He sadly died in custody not so long ago." she didn't mention she'd copied his research and information for leverage purposes at a later date if needed.

"Out of curiosity, this Dr. Rik was he Breen or something else and did he have a specialty he liked to indulge in?" Tatiana asked, she was having to play catch up now.

"He was a Breen, yes." Aer replied. "And if you mean like a professional speciality for indulging then it would have been his ability to made weapons that housed radiation as a payload, hence the thalaron."

"Thalaron, please refresh my memory about that." Tatiana requested settling herself a bit to make some notes as to what Aer was telling her.

"Thalaron radiation is a nasty thing. It has biogenic properties meaning it can consume organic materials at a subatomic level. Thalaron's unique properties allow its effective range to expand almost without limit, meaning that even a microscopic amount can be incredibly dangerous." Aer explained. "The Federation banned it back in the 70's." she added.

Tatiana sucked in her breath through her teeth when she heard that. It dredged up a memory of a conversation she had with the triplets, and a finding that they had made when looking over a planet. "Good heavens, I completely forgot about that nastiness. And here I am in Intelligence and don't remember that." she grumbled slightly. "Or I just forgot the name of the substance."

"That's alright." Aer replied. "Can't remember everything all the time. Nasty business nonetheless. Was a top priority to get it off the streets so to speak. Anything that can wipe out all organic life on any scale..." she trailed off and made a face. "But yeah, that was my last mission. I'd been following up something closer to home recently."

Tatiana listened intently, crossing her leg over the other and linking her fingers together in her lap. "What is the current project you have going? I had asked Stefan but he was rather closed mouthed about it. He told me straight out that it was for you to reveal and not him."

"Weapons sales, arms trafficking." Aer said simply. "Some of our torpedoes were stolen a while back and I tracked them to a cargo bay. One of our own was doing this but I botched the surveillance and he was killed and I was stabbed in the abdomen for my troubles by a large and powerful looking Klingon. It is my belief that this is part of the Unseen network. They have their hands in most things. I took out their science division so to speak with Dr Rik, whom they will replace, but I've seen an increase in weapon sales chatter in the region."

Tatiana gave a nod, her leg uncrossing and setting down on the floor, she leaning forward slightly. "I had heard about that much. It has been strange, and there has been rumors of extra clashes in different areas of space. Do you believe that is also connected to the Breen attack that happened?"

"I don't see a link between the Breen and the weapons trafficking." Aer answered honestly. "That's not to say one wont turn up with a bit of digging but my analysts haven't came up with anything yet." she sighed. "The Breen attack I believe was retaliation for the capturing of Dr Rik. Not because he was part of the Unseen, but more so because he was a Breen and one of their own." she shrugged.

"Who would know the thinking of a Breen, I wouldn't but perhaps there are those who do." Tatiana giving a shrug in return. "Alright, so now here we are, needing to chase down details of the Unseen. We will be needing to get a team together to continue on, to do some digging around. Perhaps some suggestions? I do have one possibility, a Lieutenant Kailu Grekas."

"I don't even think the Breen do half the time." Aer sighed.

Listening to what Tatiana said she felt a shiver go down her spine at the mention of Grekas. Aer had heard of him, a Toan'ta.

"How do you know Lieutenant Grekas?" Aer asked not giving much away at this point. "And what kind of skills do you think he would bring to our team?" she placed a stray hair behind her ear, one that had fallen across her eyeline as she turned her head.

"He seems to have an instinct for finding out information that others are not able to do so. Granted you seem to have that ability as well. Just there are differences to what you both can do. Sort of a yin and yang aspect. I came across him, at one point of time, he bearing a piece of vital information that helped me complete a mission. Then he slipped back into the night. I can send out a message to see if he receives it and makes contact." Tatiana stated.

Aer thought for a moment. In all honesty she could probably use as much help as she could get and it would be interesting to see this man up close. Would she be able to trust him? Did she actually trust anyone beyond Jack? Those were questions that would go unanswered at the moment. "Please send the message. Idle hand are the devils playthings after all, to use a Human phrase, and I'd rather have an extra set to help us."

Tatiana gave a nod. "I'll get that message sent out. Any others you can think of to pull in for the team?" This was Aer's turf and Tatiana wasn't going to overstep on matters at all.

"I'll look into some people." Aer replied cryptically. She hadn't given much thought into expanding her team beyond herself but Tatiana was right, it was time. "Its not that I don't trust my department, but its that large that leaks are bound to happen and it can put them in danger as much as the operation itself." she defended how it looked from the outside.

Tatiana held up both hands, "Aer there is no judgement here." catching the tone of the Chief of Intelligence voice. "I get it and I very much agree. And I am glad you haven't shot the messenger either." giving a wink. "Let me know when you are ready to meet next, and we'll go from there." Tatiana finished off her tea. "I'll take my leave then."

"I never shoot first." Aer teased. "Most of the time." she chuckled and rose to her feet. "Thank you for coming by, Tatiana." they walked to the door and as it opened Aer placed a hand on the woman's back. "I'll be in touch."

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