Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in Starbase 173 (2398)-Gambits

(snip)

“Fair,” he said with a nod. “Commander Leroy Strickland, at your service,” he said with a flourish of a hand and a bow.

Faye almost snorted. “Leroy…” she said with some amusement.

“Hey, don’t mock. My mother’s father had that name and he was a great man.”

Faye held her hands up. “My mistake.”

“And she admits it. Huh. Wonders never cease…” Strickland eyed her intently and then slid a small object across the table, its polished metal surface clinking on the metal worktable.

“What’s that?” Faye said, seemingly unimpressed.

He offered her a lopsided smirk before turning on the ball of his foot and heading for the door. “I heard you like puzzles. Come find me and you can tell me all about it.”

Faye didn’t even have a chance at a rebuttal before he disappeared.

There were games and then there were games. This seemed to be something else entirely. If anything she likened it to a test, but she wasn’t entirely sure if it was one she wanted to pass or fail.

Eighteen minutes and thirty-eight seconds after Strickland had tossed the metal object her way, Faye was moving through the starbase with clear purpose. A turbolift ride and a winding corridor on a deck she couldn’t say she had visited very often and she came to stop in front of a door. She keyed in a code. It slid open.

Stepping in, Faye found the commander sitting at a desk, the guest quarters decidedly bare. He swivelled in his chair and looked at her a moment before breaking into a wide grin.

She tossed the device at him. “You insult my very high intelligence.”

Strickland just laughed as he caught the metal object and waved her over. “Probably. But that wasn’t the intent or the purpose.”

Arms folded across her chest, the scientist glared. “And what exactly was the purpose? And who are you anyway?”

He leaned forward towards her, gazing up intently. “You know.”

“Ugggh, seriously? Why me? In what distorted reality would I ever have anything to do with Intelligence? Or they would want anything to do with me?” She was seriously disgruntled, especially since she had figured out a long time ago that despite her best efforts to keep her identity as a former Maquis a secret, they had always probably known and still let her into Starfleet. Humbling perhaps, but also it was the realization that right now someone had focused their attention on her and that was the last thing she needed. It never boded well.

Strickland turned the device in his fingers. “We have need of someone with your… unique skills.”

Faye snorted. “Uh huh. Last I checked, my right hook only ever got me into trouble.”

Leroy laughed. “Goodness I hope it doesn’t come to that. Especially since this would involve a bit of training with a small marine contingent. Wouldn’t want a repeat. Femur fractures are nasty.”

All her bravado faded in an instant. “How did you-”

“Don’t insult our intelligence, Calloway,” he said more seriously.

“Fair enough.” But Faye was wary now. They knew things that weren’t on any record. So that begged the question about just how much they actually knew about her. It certainly was an uncomfortable thought.

Strickland got up and waved her over to a couch. “Come on, join me and have a drink.” He looked over his shoulder. “Whiskey. Draylaxian? Aldebaran? What’s your poison?”

The urge to up and leave was very strong and the better part of her judgement told her that that was the best option here. And yet she found herself still standing there, glaring at him. It was a low blow and he knew it. “You’re lucky I don’t have a bottle in hand or I’d aim it at your head. And you’d have deserved it.”

Strickland was silent as he rummaged through a small cabinet and pulled out a bottle of something blue and went to grab a couple glasses. “Have a seat, Faye.”

“I didn’t realize we were on a first name basis.”

“We’re going to need to be.”

“Says who?”

“Says the Agent-Handler rulebook. The unofficial one, of course,” he said with a wink.

Faye just stood there completely astounded. “You have a lot of nerve.”

“I know.”

She shook her head. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t just walk out of this room and pretend you don’t exist?”

“Because despite the well-crafted facade, you are bored to tears here and you need to be doing something more worthy of your experience and that exceptional brain of yours.”

To be continued…

~Faye Calloway