Lay of the land

Posted on Sun May 17, 2020 @ 10:46pm by Lieutenant Yukiko Winters & Lieutenant JG Natalie Cross

3,377 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Et In Arcadia Ego
Location: DS5 Deck 19
Timeline: MD 3 0800

Silk had made an appointment to visit with the Intelligence officers. She had gotten a reply back for meeting with a Lieutenant Cross at 0800.
Silk was more than ready early and the drug had worn off and a decent night's sleep and she was ready to go with no headaches. She looked into the mirror and nodded that she looked stract enough, she had cut her hair down again figuring it made her look a little less young. While she had had it that way back in the Academy the other bits of changes did not make her look like a boy quite that much. She studied herself for a second more before heading toward the door and then consulted her PaDD to make sure she had the directions down. Nodding her head, she again chuckled before opening the door and said to no one but herself, "Shields up!".

Crowds were just a bit thinner than when she arrived. While she had been to other star bases before, there was always an ebb and flow of beings. This time in the morning the late party goers had crashed, the shifts were changing so fewer passengers and crew deboarding to the station. No, it was mostly beings headed for work for the most part.

She made her way to deck 19 and informed the being there that she had an appointment with Lieutenant Cross. As she waited, Silk ran through the basics that she had pulled up. Human, female, fairly tallish, black hair, hazel eyes, not married, deceased parents like herself but had spent most of her career in Intelligence. No mention of black ops, but then again that was never quite mentioned though there was a leave of absence in there which was indicated as mental rehabilitation. That might be the truth but it also might be cover for something else. "Well," Silk sighed thinking to herself, "it is what it is and not my business unless it needs to be."

Early morning was the norm for Natalie. She had been in her office for several hours now. Mostly reading and replaying to number of messages she had received through out the night. But this morning, the second think she did after getting her coffee was to read the bio of one Lieutenant Winters, the new Chief Diplomatic Officer. She had looked at it once before when the transfer papers came thought. A task normally performed by one of her many staff but in a case of a senior officer it was different.

Nonetheless, she remembered seeing the name Eastern Horizon in the bio, and that fact stuck with her. She might be a Diplomatic Officer now, but she was cut from the same cloth herself. After a bit she put the bio aside and concentrated on her other work. That was until she was informed that Lt. Winters was here. She cleaned up her desk a little then stood up, and headed out into the lobby to meet her.

Natalie smiled stepping out of her office and towards Silk. "Lieutenant Winters, pleasure to meet you." She extended her hand towards Silk. "I'm Lieutenant Cross."

Silk smiled as well and took the hand. "Silk if you do not mind. Picked that one up in the Academy and just hung onto it and seems more a part of my name then my formal name, ma'am." She let the hand go and said. "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. As I am sure you are aware of, I did a bit of my career in intel as well. So as being a diplomatic officer, thought to get sort of a lay of the land, try to get up to speed. The captain gave me a brief update."

"I can oblige with that request but only if you promise not to call me ma'am." Natalie smiled and motioned towards her office. She never felt comfortable being called "ma'am" but being part of Starfleet she had learned to live with it. "Please come on in. Would you like anything to drink?" She offered as the two of them stepped inside the office. The office was decent size. There was a desk in the middle with her chair behind it. In front of it was two chairs for visitors. On the right side was number of screens in various sizes. They were dim at the moment but normally would display anything from station information, to investigations they were working on, most wanted and such. On the left wall was the replicator. The office lacked any personal belongings and that was by design.

"Very good lieutenant," Silk said not wanting to use a name unless given permission. Though she had turned down other offers this time she decided that she would take something. "Oolong hot, no sugar or milk please." As the other woman went to get the refreshments Silk glanced around the office. She noted the lack of personal items. Someone had thought about things as personal decorations gave away hints of a person's interest, pictures that of loved ones, little cues that one could potentially use. The screens were dimmed but obviously security feeds or tapped into the security network. She wondered if her own place might have that. More than likely it would but not quite so many and probably more subtlety done. After all, she reasoned, with other factions more than likely coming into her own office, it would not look too diplomatic to look like she was spying on them. She would not need some of that anyway and she could always get what visual and voice she needed from here.

Silk took the tea and nodded and then indicated one of the two chairs as a sort of unspoken question if she could sit. As she took the chair holding the tea she said, "I think it is only fair to answer any questions you have about me first before I ask any questions."

Natalie took her seat. A cup of coffee in her hand. A second one of the morning. The previous evening had been somewhat rough. The dreams tend to come and go and right now they were defiantly coming. She took a sip of her coffee before setting the cup to one side of her desk. "You mentioned that the Captain had given you a brief already, I'm curious to know if she covered anything related to the various factions we have here. I'd hate to bore you with the same information."

"A Ferengi lady ambassador which I found unusual but then again Zek's reforms have been having an effect. She sounds typical Ferengi though, profit motivated. I am a pretty decent Tongo player so maybe see what I can do with that. The captain said that she could handle this Charg fellow. It was the Romulans that she was most worried about and I do not disagree. I believe she said the main one is Tuvan. Basically she just did not trust him at all. That was pretty much the extent. Of course, i got a quick synopsis on this Pangea and the portals and can see where there could be a major problem."

A smile formed on her face; it seemed that part of the standard operating procedure for the Captain was to bring up the distrust surrounding the Romulans, and just like Silk, Natalie couldn't disagree with the notion. "Outside of the Romulans, Cardassians and Klingons also have a presence here on the station. On the Cardassian front, Legate Turvan was recently removed from his posting as the Ambassador and replaced by another named Lim." She grabbed her coffee mug, and took another sip. This time she didn't put it right away holding onto it. "Klingons on the other hand are personal friends of the Captain; so we are treading lightly with them."

Silk made a mental note on both account. "Klingons generally are not too subtle in my experience. Anyway, you are correct, I am here mostly for the Romulan contingent. The whole culture developed around subterfuge. As I told the captain, 'Telepathic moral rule 8: Telepathy may only be used in negotiating only if all sides are informed and agree, or the negotiations can turn hostile with relative ease and one or more sides absolutely cannot be trusted.' As for Romulans, they can get hostile with relative ease and they certainly cannot be trusted by much. Since very humans have telepathy I am sort of the hole card. Romulans have been trying to acquire the ability but so far have not made much progress."

"Well, I will assist you in any way that I can with whatever you need. All I ask in return is that you keep me in the loop. I'd hate to be caught off guard, if you know what I mean." Natalie sipped on her coffee again.

"Thank you lieutenant. I will make it a top priority. Anything else you want to know about me?" Silk asked appreciatively.

"Based on your service record, it looks like you've had an interesting career so far but what I'd be interested in hearing about is your time aboard the Horizon." Natalie fully understood that Silk would probably decline sharing details about the Horizon. It is an Intelligence ship after all. "But, I understand this might not be the place nor time for that conversation; maybe sometime over a drink or three." She wasn't the type to usually be this comfortable around others to where she suggesting such activities but she felt comfortable enough with Silk at this point. She usually did around other Intelligence Officers.

"There are some things I am not allowed to talk about as you can understand. However, I will be more than happy to talk about what I can." Silk replied without being defensive.

"Of course, I understand. I apologize for bringing it up." For a brief moment she felt rather foolish for even suggesting such a thing. However, it was out there now, and that moment faded just as quickly as it appeared.

"No fine, basically it was a moving casino ship that allowed us to get into areas outside of Federation space. Prime mission was to capture the head of a cartel that operated weapon running into Federation territory and between rival powers. Secondarily, it was to gain any other knowledge of other activities going on." Silk chuckled slightly. "I got to really hone my gambling skills especially Tongo. I promise not to try to fleece the station inhabitants too much."

Why does it always have to be a cartel...? Natalie asked herself reflecting back on her own experiences with a group of individuals that decided to do business inside of Federation space. She let out a soft sight as she brought herself back to now. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. It's really more the Security Chief you have to worry about."

"Oh?" Silk questioned. "Does he have a gambling problem or just does not like gambling? If you do not expect that there will be hard feelings, some fights, and other problems especially on a station like this which has decks worth of establishments then I think you got the wrong the job." Silk observed.

"She actually, Lieutenant Annora Tessaro is our Chief Security Officer. And um...she doesn't strike me as an individual that would have a gambling problem herself." She didn't know the Chief on a personal level per say. It's all been very professional between them. "It's probably sad to admin, but I've never learned how to play Tongo."

"It is a difficult game to be sure. I had to pick it up and there were more than enough ears to stroke on loosing but one cannot 'read' Ferengi, not even surface thoughts. However, they love their latinum and games and talk when either or both are involved especially Tongo. Almost an addiction to most of them." Silk replied thinking back over the past for the moment.

"They are an interesting bunch." Natalie thought for a moment. "Maybe the holodeck has a tutorial on Tongo seems like a valuable skill to have especially on a station like this one. Or, maybe I just need to learn how to stroke an ear."

"Oh I would be happy to teach you both and you won't have to stroke my ear to learn the former." Silk laughed. "When I got back from Betazid, I wanted to learn bushido, Japanese martial arts," Silk explained. "My mother had been a geisha and she wanted me to learn her profession as her atori, that means successor, in order for me to pursue bushido. I agreed. Geisha if your are not familiar are trained to be hostesses, entertainers in all sorts of ways," Silk made a little shrug. "So between someone who could read minds, trained as an entertainer and knew enough to physically handle myself I got shunted fairly quick to this line of work. Now it is more soft words to try to keep everyone from killing each other and if need be a few punches to the appropriate places when that does not work."

"I would greatly appreciate that but only if you have the time of course. I find holo-graphic tutorials to be slightly like reading a manual." Natalie smiled. She nodded as she listened to Silk explain some of her background. "Pardon my ignorance but I thought that being a Geisha was a lost art form..."

"Almost is but there are pockets of traditionalists. While it was before the great Kyoto earthquake, the previous wars and disasters, along with that make some people reflective and even more so of wanting to preserve a bit of the past and history. A sort of this is where we came from, and this is who we are though now a part of something greater. Not sure if I quite explained it properly and some people feel that way more than others. I suppose it is a bit like some of the practices on Vulcan and why Klingons still prefer bladed weapons. It is just a part of who they are and where they come from."

Natalie nodded. "That makes sense. It is nice to see that we can continue to carry certain aspects of culture throughout history. One shouldn't forgotten where they came from." Natalie hadn't grown up in a culture rich family. No traditions or stories to carry forward. She thought many times of building a family tree. It would help with her identity but work also kept her busy.

"Some places and beings are more attuned to that sort of thing. I think a good balance, for there are some that decide that tradition is all important and then close their eyes and thoughts to newer ways of doing and thinking." Silk sort of got the sense the lieutenant did not have much of that background.

"Change is inevitable. One must either embrace it or be left behind. Now the tricky part is not to embrace it too quickly or too late." Natalie said with a smile. It wasn't like her to go down the philosophical path. She caught herself before she got too deep. "I think I'll do some more research into Geisha way of life when I have some time."

Silk smiled and nodded. "On a more serious note though Lieutenant, how is your telepathic blocking? Not everyone is Fleet, and as such adhere to the so-called codes."

"It's fair." Natalie responded. The question didn't necessarily surprise her especially with Silk's background. She's had plenty of training on telepathic blocking, but outside of that she was a willing participant of a off the books kind of research into telepathic blocking and other things. A time she'd rather forget than be reminded of.

Silk nodded and then asked, "If you agree can I see?"

The idea made her feel uneasy. Uncomfortable. She shifted slightly in her seat debating the merits of allowing Silk to attempt her telepathic probe. Natalie looked across the desk at Silk, and nodded. "Ok, sure." She agreed with it was obvious that she wasn't comfortable with it.

"If you would rather not, I can understand," Silk noted the uncomfortable look. If you where not used to such things it could be scary. "I will not go looking for things. Let's see if you can hear me through whatever blocks you have, how does that sound? This is how it will work. I will just send a simple phrase and increase it until you can hear me. That should give me an idea of just what you have and in turn just what I can do. If that works for you, then just nod your head once you are ready."

Natalie closed her eyes momentarily. Prior to hercaptivity she wouldn't have been uncomfortable; but that experience changed a lot. As she opened her eyes, she nodded to Silk giving her permission to test her telepathic blocking ability. She said nothing just watched Silk patiently.

Silk sat back and did a preliminary. That brief sort of, kind of 'hello' that would be normal to most people receptive. She could 'feel' the resistance and then begin to concentrate on getting past that. The phrase was just a simple one, a little stupid, but just "can you hear me now." There was the running of numbers, and other things that helped keep a non-telepath shielded. It was good, this woman had training and had worked at her craft. Silk slowly began to ramp up her 'send'. Medusans were very strong telepaths but could only communicate with someone as strong, they did not have the ability to really communicate well otherwise. Silk had sat up and shifted forward she finally saw the woman nod and then quit and sat back again. "Good, very good when you have your concentration. If I might perhaps I can show you some things later that will indicate someone trying to do something."

The uneasiness that Natalie felt with the situation disappeared as the exercise came to an end. "Thank you, I would be okay with that." She replied. It had been some time since anyone had tested her in such a manner, and she felt that Silk went a bit easy on her. Natalie appreciated that, and hoped in time that she would be okay with pushing the limits.

"Well then lieutenant, any more questions for me?" Silk asked. She did not use any further telepathy but allowed a very gentle calm empathy sort of flow outward. She had found that that helped with people not comfortable with mind to mind contacts. She pulled from a bit of training as a geisha utilizing the memory of gentle breeze scented with cheery blossoms, the sound of trickling water over stone, and the calming presence of a zen garden. The images would not be there unless the lieutenant was still sensitive but just the feel of calmness.

The calm and relaxing feeling was slightly surprising but welcomed. She took it in. The uneasiness she felt was all but gone now. She looked at Silk wondering if it was her doing but said nothing. She gently shook her head. "No further questions, at the moment at least." She stood up. "Thank you for coming and introducing yourself. I am glad you stopped by."

Silk stood as well letting everything mentally go. She was starting to get a headache already, nothing too much, but every time she used a bit it was always the same. It was better ever since the Medusan but while she was strong on one side, she was weaker on the other.

"As well," she replied. "Hope we can work together more." It was meant both as what they had explored but also on a professional department to department basis. "Now then, looks like I am scheduled for a medical," she glanced at the PaDD. She made a polite nod and then because of the session she decided that she needed to show her gratitude. She stepped back and made a formal deep bow then straightened and departed.

[OFF]

Lt. Yukiko "Silk" Winters
Chief Diplomatic Officer
DS5

LT. JG. Natalie Cross
Chief Intelligence Officer
Deep Space 5

 

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