Diplomatic Shenanigans - Part I

Posted on Tuesday August 31st, 2021 @ 9:13pm by

Mission: Jeepers Creepers 2: Creepers In Flight
Location: Intelligence Offices
Timeline: Current

::ON::

Jordan finished her impromptu meal break with the new XO and was just as concerned with the upcoming conference, if not more, than before. Taking the man's suggestion, she immediately forwarded a message requesting an in-person, secure, meeting with the intelligence officer. She gathered whatever information she had available about the houses that she knew were sending representatives until she received a response.

Sitting at her desk poring over a report regarding one of the nearby planetary systems, Sakaan looked up at the ping of a message at her desktop interface. In the privacy of her room, she permitted herself a small scowl at the thought of her work being interrupted, then opened the message and scanned its contents.

The Vulcan huffed lightly, and sent a cordial, if brief reply, inviting the Chief Diplomatic Officer to visit the Intelligence Centre and her own domain. Sakaan ensured that the Chase had the appropriate clearings to grant her access to the sealed suite of offices and analysis equipment and awaited her arrival.

It was about an hour before Jordan was able to finish gathering the data she wished to discuss with Sakaan, with multiple interruptions from her own staff. As she made her way into the Intel division, she looked around, eyes wide and curious. She kept a respectful distance from the crew working in case they were doing anything sensitive but her own curiosity was piqued by the emotional hum that flowed like an undercurrent in a river.

A crewman noticed her arrival and greeted her politely, if a little quiet, and ushered her off the Intelligence Centre's floor, dominated by a large holographic map of Deep Space Three's immediate vicinity. The crewman escorted her to Sakaan's office flashing her a brief smile and a "just over there, ma'am," in a strong Liverpudlian accent, before moving off.

Spotting the bright purple of the Diplomatic Officer's uniform, Sakaan went to greet the younger woman at her door. "Lieutenant Chase, a pleasure to meet you properly at last," she said in a flat tone, extending a hand in greeting.

Jordan reached out to take her hand in a firm shake. "Same to you. I apologize for the late request to meet like this. I appreciate your cooperation to fit me into your schedule," she smiled, her free hand's fingers tapping nervously on the PADD it held.

'It was the logical move to make - there is little time before the conference. If I've assumed correctly that is what you want to discuss?' Sakaan nodded in return at the smile, noticing the tapping fingers. "Would you care for a tour of the facility? I have ensured that your clearance covers anything you may see outside of the classified briefing rooms. There won't be an incident of, what is the phrase, 'if I tell you I will have to kill you' if you do choose,' she said with a micro-twitch of her lips.

'I have taken the liberty of inviting our new Deputy Chief. It may be he has a useful third set of eyes on our issues,' Sakaan said as the door to her office chimed once more and she instructed it to open.

Jason walked in fully aware he was late, "I do apologize, Mr. Agular was in a talkative mood and I had to make a valid excuse to get away." Jason extended his hand to greet the newcomer "By the way, I'm Jason Elliot."

'No need to apologize,' replied Sakaan. 'I am sure the conversation was beneficial to yourself and us. Would anyone care for refreshments before we begin?'

"I could use another coffee, I have a feeling today is going to get longer," Jason said without trying to be ironic

Jordyn shook the man's hand with a nod before turning back to Sakaan. As much as she wouldn't mind more coffee herself, she declined. "Thank you, but I am well right now."

Nodding, Sakaan ordered a coffee and a Dejarok tea to be brought to the office. "Well then, we should commence, no?" She brushed her fingers across the console in front of her, bringing it to life, and activated a holomap centered on Deep Space Three in the Armagosa System. "This is us. Obviously," Sakaan observed dryly. "The Armagosa system is at the far reaches of Federation Space in the Beta Quadrant. Towards the Galactic Center, to the 'north-west' of us if you will, the remains of Romulan civilization, collapsed and eating itself at present. Towards the Galactic Rim our old friends, the Klingons. Aggressive, emboldened. To the Galactic East of us, the Shackleton Expanse. An unexplored potentiality of resources and civilizations to exploit or befriend."

She knew it was melodramatic, but she thought that lent well to any Intelligence Briefings. "There are also pirates," she added, almost as an afterthought. "The Conference has been called to bring order to the local sector."

"That is where things get interesting, I think we're dealing with three possible factions of pirates too." Jason said then taking a massive haul on his coffee "I'm still in the preliminaries, and some of the sensor logs are incomplete so I'll be doing some interpretation of the data."

'Thank you, would you care to - ' Sakaan looked up as the door chimed once more, frowning. No one else had the clearances to get this far. Apart from ... 'Enter!' she called, sharp for a Vulcan.

Yuri made his way inside as he was given permission to enter. The tall and well-built Russian Officer instantly made a move towards the desk ."I do believe as Chief of Intelligence I have to be informed of all meetings relating to recent events correct?" He asked as he then approached. "Because last time I checked I had a higher clearance level."

Suppressing the urge to shrug dismissively, Sakaan merely said, 'I retain my clearance. This meeting was arranged prior to your arrival.' She continued coolly, a micro-twitch of a smile crossing her lips, 'I saw no reason not to carry on with the meeting as the necessary expertise was already gathered, and doubtless, you would need to recuperate after your long journey.'

[To Be Continued ...]

::OFF::

Lieutenant Yuri Koloff
Chief Intelligence Officer
Deep Space Three

Lieutenant Jordan Chase
Chief Diplomatic Officer
Deep Space Three

Lieutenant JG Jason Elliot
Intelligence Dept
Deep Space Three

Lieutenant Sakaan
Mission Adviser
Deep Space Three
[NPC Lt. Cmdr. Ithar th'Shrannok]