Posted by Ian Kerby in Faye’s Quarters- This is the Delta Quadrant Calling

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Faye Calloway (Counter-Intelligence Officer) in Faye’s Quarters- This is the Delta Quadrant Calling
(snip)

Faye all but sighed, despite her grin. “Stark Nightstalker. I had a feeling I’d not be able to sneak up on you. I figured this would be better than trying to sneak aboard the Athena and risk my life. I mean, I’d like to not leave my soon-to-be husband a widow so soon into our marriage.” Underneath her casual words was a thrill, both about her impending nuptials and the whole idea of working with Nightstalker. That and she was curious what sort of reputation would precede her this time.

Stark’s midnight eyes twinkled =/\= Oh please do sneak onboard, I haven’t had a decent attempt made in over a year and I’m getting rusty. I tend not to kill these days, too quick, too final and lacking in the ability to gain relevant info. I think I’m finally growing up a little =/\=

“So, my guess by your reaction is you know some of the plan, and that I’m joining the Athena’s crew. Has Intelligence bothered to share any details with you, or do you need me to read you in?” Calloway folded her arms on her desk, leaning in slightly, adopting a conspiratorial expression.

~Faye Calloway, Counter-Intelligence

=/\= Yes, I haven’t been this excited since I vacationed on El Adrel. However, my dear, I’d love to hear a summary in your own words, so much more full of life than dusty stolen reports =/\= He settled back into his worn and scratched leather chair with a look of great expectation.

Stark Nightstalker CIO

Faye chuckled. =/\=Alright, settle yourself in, this could take a bit,=/\= she said as Tess shifted her position and hopped down into Faye’s lap. She looked down, snorted, and then looked back up at Stark. =/\=Don’t worry about Tess, she’s sworn to secrecy,=/\= she added with a glimmer of mischief.

=/\=So, exceptionally long story short, I did a covert mission for Intelligence a few years ago and it went very badly for me in the end. I was captured and held by the Tal Shiar for nine months. I can leave you to your imagination on that one. But suffice to say I’m lucky to be alive and have my mind intact. But as a consequence I have permanent damage to my amygdala which deals with emotional regulation. As a result, the Borderline Personality Disorder I was diagnosed with years prior to that mission is likely to be permanent. So yay me,=/\= Faye said with a genuine grin. =/\=Despite that, and because of my high information recollection skills plus the fact that my brain is full of information that Tal Shiar put there, Intelligence and I are permanently more cozy than we’d like to be. They sent me to the Manhattan to test out a new information protection redundancy system that I helped design. I’ll go into the detail when I do the briefing after I arrive, but I will be managing the installation of the same sort of system on the Athena. Given the Athena’s penchant for getting itself into trouble I pitched the idea to Command as a safeguard and they agreed. Luckily for me. It made me transfer easier to negotiate.=/\=

Stark nodded but his dark eyes seemed to soften ever so slightly. No one walked away from the Tal Shiar without eliciting at least some respect and empathy.

Faye paused and took a sip of water before she continued. =/\=But when I came to the Manhattan I was given secondary and classified orders. I was told to do a security check on all the senior staff and because of these orders was told to keep my security installation project on a need to know basis and to not share my security audit orders with anyone, not even my captain. And well, it’s Intelligence. I didn’t like the orders, but I knew this assignment was my last chance to stay in Starfleet on my own terms. Another really long story short, it turns out that my handler, someone I have trusted with my life, was a döpplganger planted by a group we call The Shadow Syndicate. They are more or less thiefs who take technology and ideas, and barter information. Not unlike the Orion Syndicate, but they operate entirely underground. With help and a very risky plan on my part, we were able to expose the traitor and capture him. Intelligence has been cleaning up the mess from that infiltration ever since, and I’ve been cleared of any suspicion.=/\= Faye grinned openly. =/\= And… go ahead, hit me with the zillion questions I’m sure are now on your mind.=/\=

~Faye Calloway, Counter-Intelligence

Stark nodded and the white scar above his eye seemed to glow in the dim lighting in comparison to his midnight fur. He steepled his paws and began to speak.

=/\= Let’s start with this one. All of your worldly possessions are in your cabin when they call abandon ship. You have time to take one thing only. What is it and why? =/\=

Stark Nightstalker CIO

Faye grinned. =/\=Well, I can probably exclude Tess here, since she’s a sentient and chooses to be my companion, but honestly? Nothing. If there’s anything in the last few years that I’ve learned it’s that I have everything I need already. But if that isn’t a good enough answer, then I’d say my case of seeds. None of them are rare, but they were either given to me, or I collected them from my own cultivation. They’re my reminder that given the right conditions I can plant myself anywhere, and I might need that reminder when I get to the Athena more than I am already anticipating.=/\=

~Faye Calloway, Counter-Intelligence