“I say sparse, I’m not really one for decorating , more concerned with work than material things.....anyway you didn’t come here for small talk, am i right? How can i help you?”
And he was really good in reading faces! Well, he had to be in his job, Valeria thought.

He said noticing the small box that Valeria was clutching.
Lt Marcus Kane
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Manhattan

“I also don’t put much value on material things… except if they remind me of moments in life when I was really happy. Those make me smile and my body releases endorphins, same as the human body does, and those endorphins improve the overall body chemistry which has been proven to be good not only for mental, but also physical health....” she trailed off. She wasn’t here to give a psychomedical lecture for crying out loud. She blushed again and looked down at the box.

“Sorry. I tend to ramble when I feel awkward.” she placed the box on his table between them. “It contains a data crystal that was handed to me by Trill intelligence. They told me to give it to you only and in person and that this was approved by Starfleet Intelligence.” her eyebrows scrunched up in a look of irritation.
“I have no idea what is on it and the box is secured with a lock, the key can be obtained from your superiors, so I couldn’t check.” she said and then her eyes went wide and returned to his “not that I tried!” she added hastily.

Dr Doctra, CMO

“Ah yes I was expecting that data crystal, I was informed by my boss about it”

Marcus said retrieving the box from the table , he had noticed that Valeria was nervous , even before she had told him herself which he respected by the way, it wasn’t often he got to meet someone that was so open about their emotions

Marcus let out a small chuckle

“It’s ok you can relax , I wouldn’t blame you for being at least a little curious , you were obviously trusted otherwise they wouldn’t have asked you be the carrier ofthe package, all that said you understand why I can’t reveal anything to you at this time? , I will of course look at the data crystal in private when our business is concluded”

Lt Marcus Kane
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Manhattan

Her smile returned. She really liked the sound of his chuckle and the way his professional demeanor slipped a bit when he laughed. It did indeed relax her.

“Strangely, I feel relaxed. Just a bit awkward. I’m almost sad my first Intelligence mission is already over.” now she chuckled in her deep timbre voice and the light caught in her amber eye, making it appear almost golden. “And I totally understand. In fact my curiosity in regards to the box…” and here she made a short pause, emphasizing the last five words “…has already died down. Whatever Trill intelligence is up to, I’m sure it’s above my pay grade so to say.” she said and stood up.

“It was nice talking with you.” she said and blushed yet again. “Don’t… be a stranger.” she added, and that was as far as her courage carried her.

Dr Doctra, CMO

OOC: Ok, since I’ll have a busy week ahead of me, I’ll give you the content of the data crystal right now. I also put it in Valeria’s profile so you can look it up whenever you need to. The decryption of the data requires Marcus’ personal security code:

STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE MISSION BRIEFING - TOP SECRET

^^^ For the eyes of Lt Marcus Kane, CIO USS Manhattan only ^^^

== Involved parties:
This is a joint intelligence operation between us and Trill Intelligence, represented soley by the
Director of Trill Intelligence: General Torbin Far
and supported by the Vulcan intelligence agency V’Shar, represented by
Subcomander L’Kal.
Both can be approached for your counsel should the need arise, on a mutually encrypted high security transmission using the encryption codes attached to this message for identification and decryption.
Subcommander L’Kal has authorized you to alternatively communicate with Diplomatic Attaché Tuvock, who will be briefed on the mission only after your decision to bring him in (and considering the consequences to all involved parties).

== Mission background:
At some point in the near future, a Trill vessel will deliver the Trill symbiont Rul to your ship, that requires urgent joining with a trained host and approval to use Valeria. The official record of Rul’s previous hosts has one retracted entry, the previous host Damien Rul. Attached to this data crystal is the full record, including this host. You are the only one aware of this previous host!
Even the crew of the Trill ship is not aware of it.
Upon joining, Valeria will gain the memories and possibly some skills of all previous hosts, as well as some of their character traits.
She has been groomed (without her knowledge) to receive this specific host and should be able to handle the harsh impact, however this is not secured.

== Your mission:
You are to gain Valeria’s trust, monitor her closely and aid her in integrating the symbiont’s memories. 
If the previous host’s personality overwhelms her, you are to take the necessary action in order to safeguard the crew. Valeria can die in the process, but the Rul symbiont has to survive at any cost, otherwise it will trigger serious diplomatic problems with the Trill.
Be aware that Damien Rul was considered an extreme security threat and strong personality. More intel can be obtained from General Torbin Far.
If, however, Valeria manages to integrate the symbiont’s previous hosts into her commendable character, you are to extract the intel of Damien Rul’s knowledge and experiences from her, step by step. Said knowledge is highly sought after by all involved parties! Also the Vulcan government is after some information held by the previous host Kalen Rul.

== Intel clearance level: Command and involved parties as necessary:
= The CO and the XO can be made aware of your mission at your own digression on a need to know basis.
= The COS can be made aware only if the joining goes badly and she becomes a security risk.
= The CNS should NOT get involved. She doesn’t have the necessary security clearance level according to the V’Shar. How you manage that is left to your creativity and skill. Feel free to collaborate with Tuvock on this.
== Most importantly: Valeria is not to find out about this mission, nor the fact that she has been groomed to take on this challenge since a young age by Trill Intel. It is our estimate that this would antagonize her and push her to allow Damien’s personality to overwhelm her.

Good luck Lt Kane. We realize this is a challenging and hopefully long-term mission, but we have the fullest confidence in you. We made it clear to General Far that we do not appreciate her being placed into Starfleet under the circumstances, but we have to deal with the situation now nevertheless and ideally try to save Lieutenant Doctra’s life.

Commodore Smith,
Director of Starfleet Intelligence
PS: This data crystal will self-delete 30 minutes after first access