Quid Pro Quo

Posted on Sat Nov 16, 2019 @ 4:47pm by Captain Maritza Soran & Civilian Jason Haines

730 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Doors of Perception
Location: Commlink / Soran's Office
Timeline: MD 16, 1130

[ON]

The silence of Soran's work was disturbed by Yeoman Zita's voice. "Sorry to bother you Commander, but Captain Daniels of the Marseille on the line wishing to speak with you. I told him you were busy, but he was insistent."

In the privacy of her office, Soran rolled her eyes, what would he want? "Did he say what about?"

"Something about needing a favor", she replied.

"Alright, put him through."

An older gentleman, maybe sixty-years old with short dark hair with a fair amount of grey in it and a goatee appeared on the screen. He was relatively handsome.

"Commander, thank you for taking my call", he said. "I am Captain Aaron Daniels of the Marseille. I must say, you have a pretty eager Yeoman. She was quite persistent in trying to keep your schedule on track. Given that, I won't waste your time. I need a favor from you."

Soran allowed herself a smile. Zita wasn't in Claude's league, but she tried hard and that was always positive. "I'm making no promises, but I'll hear it."

"Well, it has come to my attention that you may have an individual that you are trying to figure out how to free up his future shall we say", Daniels replied. "I hear he might not be quite suited for an installation such as yours. I think I have a place to put his talents and attitude to good use. I am asking you that you release him to me and if you are planning on filing any charges, just to drop them. I get him out of your hair, give you a lead on a couple of intel officers that will be a better fit, and I owe you a favor or two."

Soran frowned. "Mr. Haines is unreliable, and liable to have loyalties entirely elsewhere. I strongly recommend you use the intelligence officers you have."

Daniels laughed, "Oh, I know how to handle a Haines, Commander. Both his father and his uncle were students of mine during their academy days. Trust me, I am sure dealing with the Lieutenant will be easier than dealing with either of those two. As far as misplaced loyalties, that will come to an end quickly, trust me."

Maritza raised an eyebrow. Something about the man seemed off, he seemed almost keen to get his hands on Jason, and Know how to handle a Haines? That didn't sound suspicious at all. She decided she didn't want to play his game.

"With all due respect, sir, Mr. Haines may be a problmatic officer, but he is my problematic officer, and his presence is needed here."

Daniels smiled and replied, "Commander, as I said, I don't believe the Lieutenant is well suited for an operation such as yours. For my operations however, he will fit nicely. The people under my command need to have a certain degree of flexibility in their day to day routine. And you Commander do have a reputation for being able to hide broom sticks in certain places we won't mention. For an individual, who beyond being a touch spirited, is otherwise a good officer, a standard operation such as yours, can stifle the spirit that makes them as success in operations such as mine. We swap, it's a win-win for Starfleet and both of our operations. If we don't, you won't get as much out of the Lieutenant as could be gotten."

Maybe not, but she wasn't going to hand him over on the whim of a captain she'd never heard of. "Mr Haines was demoted to Ensign this morning sir. In light of that, I doubt he is suitable for your requirements any more sir."

"Well, given all the opportunities in my ship", Daniels relied. "I'm sure Ensign Haines will get that pip back in no time."

If you want Mr. Haines, Captain, then by all means submit a requisition through OPM. I will abide by any transfer orders once passed through my chain of command."

"Very well", Daniels said. "I was hoping we could come to an agreement, but you seem to be steadfast against this. Call me if you change your mind though."

With that the screen went blank and left the Starfleet logo staring at her.


[OFF]

Captain Daniels
USS Marseille
NPC, APB Lieutenant JG Jason Haines

Commander Maritza Soran
CO
Deep Space Five

 

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