Posted by Lieutenant Commander Peter Sigmundsson (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Back on the Atlantis…Peter Sigmundsson and Katla Odinsondottir…when the past does not match the present or the future on USS Atlantis on USS Atlantis

Posted by Captain Kelly Bordeaux (Commanding Officer) in Back on the Atlantis…Peter Sigmundsson and Katla Odinsondottir…when the past does not match the present or the future on USS Atlantis on USS Atlantis

Posted by Captain Kelly Bordeaux (Commanding Officer) in Back on the Atlantis…Peter Sigmundsson and Katla Odinsondottir…when the past does not match the present or the future on USS Atlantis on USS Atlantis
Posted by… suppressed (8) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Pellan Vell motioned the next Galactic Union officer forward as he approached Peter. “Lieutenant Commander Sigmundsson I would like to present Katlya Odinsondottir. She is part of our data analysis team.”

Peter blinked in mild surprise at the introduction. That was one hell of a coincidence, and when he turned to look at her he blinked in surprise again.

“Pleasure,” the woman extended her hand. Even though she was rather tall for an average human, Peter’s height dwarfed her five foot 8 inch frame. She had a classic nordic appearance with dirty blonde hair pulled back into a loose braid that hung on one side of her head. The braid did not match the formality of her uniform. It was looser with small wisps of hair framing her face. Her eyes matched the iced blue of the glaciers of Iceland. Her uniform was in stark contrast to her pale skin tone. The uniform was a coat and pants set made of what looked like black leather. The cut however wasn’t the sleek lines many others wore but looked more like a functional coat one would wear outdoors. “Please call me Katya,” she stated and gestured to one of the nearby shuttles.

It took a lot to pull Peter out of his rhythm and everything about their Data Analyst seemed designed to throw him off his game but he simply moved on, slightly unfocusing his eyes and smiling and joining her.

“This should be fun,” she said as they walked to the vessel. “Do you like jokes,” she asked him. “If so I have one.”

Peter raised an eyebrow as he looked at her, his smile still there “Love a good joke”

“Two spies walk into a shuttle. They don’t say anything. Just exchange glances.” The joke ended by her reaching the shuttle entrance and giving him a subtle eye glance to take two seats in the back. There was nothing hostile or deceitful in the act. In fact it was far more playful making fun of the odd situation they were in. Both Katla’s career path and Peter’s tended to be more cloak and dagger. She had never been introduced to another spy so blatantly and then told to go play nice and answer questions. Usually it was the other way around were she found a target, earned their trust, and got the information she needed.

Peter snorted lightly at the joke, it wasn’t really funny but it did sound like something a group of operatives would think of.

Moving to the back of the shuttle in the seats she indicated, Katla sat down. “I do hope we will talk over the next few hours. Random eye glances can be so hard to interpret.”

Katla Odinsondottir

Peter shrugged, “I don’t mind asking and answering, it’ll certainly save on time. Tell me, does your intelligence service have lectures on the different languages you need to learn? Like six hours spent listening to an instructor from three generations ago telling you the importance of reading any and all languages important to your job?

CIO

“See right there. We do have a similarity between our cultures. In the Galactic Union all members are required to speak Galactic Standard which,” she leaned closer to Peter slightly, “is quite the conundrum in our hallowed halls that you speak it.” She was stating the obvious. Federation Universal translators could decipher any language as long as it was programed into the linguistic files. “See in the Union every citizen learns Galactic Standard as part of their formal education. To preserve cultural identity, planets are allowed to retain their own languages. Our Regional Governors all hail from that region and tend to know more than one language. Due to our size we have several planets dedicated to linguistics to ensure communication is fluid throughout the Union. The mystery is how do you speak our language?” The question had the self confidence those in the intelligence field mastered. She did not give the root of their common language equal footing but claimed it as their own with the Federation using it. It was subtle but subtle things tended to sink into minds more easily than overt bragging.

Peter raised an eyebrow at her explanation. he was always surprised, and not so much at where the Union did not have technological advancements. They could apparently traverse galaxies but couldn’t figure out something, at least to him, as simple as instantaneous translation. A lingua Franca was certainly useful, but not enough to innovate. “I am Oz the great and powerful” He muttered and stretched “I don’t speak your galactic standard” They didn’t have enough data to support a true study of the standard language of the union, but hopefully, when this was all over, they’d have more information “We have a piece of technology called a universal translator, the UT creates a translation matrix from oral or written examples. Some languages are more difficult than others but each language improves the formation of a matrix, heuristic technology.”

Katla hid her surprise at this statement rather well but Peter may or may not have noticed the slight widening of her eye muscles showing her shock or her sudden quietness as she became lost in her own thoughts. The key to being a successful spy was never showing surprise however even the best spies were blindsided at times. Katla was younger then Peter but not by more than a few years. By experience however, he did hold many more years. The concept that the Federation had a device that could translate any language without teams of linguistics engineers and then years of someone mastering it was an amazing piece of technology. That was if Peter was telling the truth and not spinning a yarn to try and gain an advantage. Her planet’s language was ancient in the Galatic Union with very few individuals actually speaking it. It was one of the reasons they often employed the people of her planet in intelligence. They could speak openly and few if any had the ability to translate what they were saying. Of most of the codes the Galactic Union used in combat, her language had turned the tides in many conflict. “Ertu víkingur? Því þú hefur rænt hugsunum mínum síðan ég sá þig fyrst.” Katla threw out a common phrase used among her people. It was mainly used among those at the local pub or teens trying to win the heart of another. Her point was to see if they really could translate a sentence at will. If they could it would not only prove Peter’s statement but have a far more reaching piece of intell. One of their most top secret code languages could be broken simply by listening.

Peter barely managed to stop himself from flinching as she spoke, he’d set his translator to ignore several languages, his home tongue and the other Nordics as well as Federation basic and a few of the Federation Languages he spoke. It was pure chance that this wasn’t translated. He turned his head and smiled “It can’t translate a language without a basis, if your standard is related to that language then the UT would only need a few more examples or some standard language information from your people, It’s technology not magic” The lie was easy but a chill ran down his back, It was a bit formal and the accent was slightly off but that was Icelandic, his mind raced for what this could possibly mean, he’d also need to lock down any information on his home country which would require some tradecraft to do right in front of the spy next to him.

There wasn’t a trace of acknowledgement on his face hearing her statement. Katla didn’t expect anything less but one could never be too careful. Picking up a piece of plastic like material, she scratched down a sentence. ᚱᚢᚾᛟ ᛟᚱᚢᚷᚷ. “Please give that to Chancellor Vell,” she said calling over an attendant that was moving about the shuttle ensuring everyone was comfortable. She didn’t give an explanation as to what it said nor did she intend to. Peter was too smart to fall for a falsehood.

Peter glanced at the writing, and again, he was happy she wasn’t looking at her because he couldn’t stop the look of genuine surprise. He’d learned about old runes in elementary school; he couldn’t read the entire message, but he knew enough that the first word read something like Rune in the plural. He quickly memorized it and would look it up later. Why would she write down that message, and why was he meeting with someone so connected to him personally? Either this was the greatest coincidence in the world, or someone was messing with him.

While they talked the shuttle made its way to the hangar of the Altantis. Everyone came off the shuttle in their respective pairs. She watched as the Atlantis crew led her fellow officers off the shuttle and down various corridors. She was vague interested in where Peter was going to take her since he was her tour guide. “So where to,” she asked with an eager smile. It wasn’t false but natural. It was not often one got to participate in a First Meeting like this. She herself had only been on one other one and it was within her own galaxy.

Peter shrugged massive shoulders “We can start with my office, I can show you how my side does our work, perhaps you’ll learn something or perhaps you’ll teach me something”

CIO

“Oh I am definitely learning but with being a data analyst that is my job. I do not expect you to roll out the red carpet yet but I am authorized to talk some shop.” The longer she was with Peter the more Katla realized how dangerous the man could be. He had an easy charm and was easy on the eyes. These were two attributes the Union employed when recruiting for their own rank and file. No one tended to approach a hunched over toothless hag that was bitter and grumpy. People did approach one who was pleasing to the eye and easy to talk to. Katla knew Peter was taking in every details like she was so she started with the side door since front door conversation would be a steel vault and the back door conversation would be expected.

“So what made you want to become an officer in the art of seeking intelligence to preserve the stability of your nation.” Katla was direct in her question but also friendly. She needed to establish a baseline for them to work off of and she was rather interested in his accent. It sounded vaguely familiar but strange enough that she could not place it. To her it was more like an ear worm of a long forgotten song. It gnawed at her subconscious but not enough to be on the front of her radar.

Katla

Peter chuckled “One moment please, gotta prepare my team for our visit” He said amicably and tapped his badge =^=Sigmundsson to Intel office, Mike, I’m bringing in a cousin from the Union, prepare a welcome, and make sure to clean your desk. Kindly put away my home files and prepare a light lunch for us, standard Federation welcome=^= He hadn’t had time to come up with a code so he started simple, Mike was code for Mission to signify a secondary importance to his message, Cleaning desk meant simply putting away any classified information, the tricky bit was putting away his home files. Peter didn’t have any home files, but his Second would be able to read that any information on him and his home should be locked away. Simple tradecraft and without the cultural background on Human military and intelligence history, it would be difficult to read into.

Peter turned his head to Katla again “Right, so to answer your question, I didn’t. I graduated from the Security Division and spent my first years of Service as a Security Grunt. There was a war twenty-something years ago where I did some light Intelligence work. After the war, I retired from service and went into private service, cargo transport. I did that for a decade or so, and during that time, I started some more Intelligence work. Then I returned to Starfleet as a Security Chief again. Technically, I’ve only been an Intelligence officer for the last fifteen years or so and only a decade as a dedicated Intelligence Officer. I really just got into Intelligence because I was already working so much for the service. And you?”

CIO

“I was born into this career,” she said. “My planet is called Niflheim. It is an arctic world so we don’t get too many visitors because of the climate. In the Galactic Union some planets due to cosmic location, culture, or planetary resources become designated for a singular purpose. Our planet tends to produce data analysts because there is not much to do besides read and learn. That is not to say we don’t have outdoor activities but it is cold,” she let out a laugh. “Over the centuries, our biology also adapted to climate as compared to other humanoid species in the Union. We have a higher Basal Metabolic Rate which translates to our bodies producing more internal heat. This also earned us the nickname heitblóðugur which means hot blooded.”

Peter nodded slowly as they entered directly into his office. There was another entrance to the Intelligence office proper where his team was situated, they’d be listening in and recording their interaction from there. He’d finally managed to rein in his suprises so he simply inclined his head at her description of her homeworld and their nickname. Internally, he was more upset than he’d been in ages and was already imagining ways to force the information but he discarded those thoughts quickly.

Entering the office, Katla looked about causally as Peter led him into his office. Unfortunately it was a non descript office at first glance with a basic desk, chairs, and a few things scattered about the room so that it did not echo or feel like an interrogation room. Taking a seat in one of the chairs, Katla found it far more comfortable than it appeared. “We are also one of the original members of the Galactic Union. In fact there is not a time when our history has a record of not being a part of the Union.”

“How old is your Federation?”

Katla

Peter sat in his chair and put one leg over the other “The Federation was founded a little over 240 years ago. There were four founding species: my species Humans, the Vulcans, the Andorians, and the Tellarites. They were all older species, having been travelling the stars long before us, we only achieved warp travel about a hundred years before the Federation was formed. The Vulcans were the first species that made contact with us and were instrumental in our growth. That interaction is what started our whole philosophy of space travel. Federation space now encompasses over 150 members and affiliates and over 8000 light-years of space.” He only added background to emphasise the growth of the Federation, from Species to a hundred and fifty in just over two centuries.

“I’ve got a package of mathematical information for you to standardise into your own. A single human life span averages around 120 years, although the natural lifespan was closer to 80 and a maximum of 100 and change.” He opened a drawer and picked out a PaDD and drew something “This is our equation for the speed of light, you can use it as the standard to get any of our mathematical measurements” Speed of light was a constant at least in this Galaxy, he wrote the simple C equation, they could get more detailed information elsewhere but he didn’t want to waste time teaching another member of the Union their standards for measurement. He did note that her people had no records before the Union, which was concerning if their planet was not colonised by the Union, it alluded to state-controlled records alongside their Religious Fanaticism.

CIO

Now it was time for Katla to hide her surprise. The writing system was completely foreign even the numerical one. What he was sharing could have been the keys to their kingdom or a well wished sentiment of not letting the door hit her backside on the way out. Her instincts led Katla to believe Peter was trying to be pleasant so she nodded as if she understood everything he was showing her. Luckily he gave her enough talking points to avoid the ones she did not know.

“Our life spans are similar however it depends on the race. Most of us average about 100 years. There are a few notable exceptions but there are outliers in any population. Our history spans millennia. Our creator Gods are Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu. They were two brothers that started creation however like all families, one day they quarreled about who had the most power. They fought and one became the Lord of Wisdom and all things good. One because the God of anger and war. Both brothers created legions of followers and fled to opposite ends of the cosmo creating an army that one day meet in battle. Everyone in the Union believes in these two but we worship Ahura Mazda. Ahura Mazda created seven great civilizations from which everyone in the universe descends from.”

“Now one day there was an apocalypse. These seven great civilizations took to the cosmos and settled into the seven galaxies of the Union: Vela Astria, Sigalis, Draconis, Maelstrom, Aquarii, Véhlíf, and the Perileos Cloud. In each of these galaxies, the followers of Ahura Mazda flourished making alliances with the civilizations already there creating the Galactic Union. Our society is ancient and so much of it is a mixture of lore and faith. What we all are connected by is the holy quest to prevent Angra Mainyu from destroying us again.” Katla had the look of a true believer in her eyes but not the same radicalization of the Elders. She believed in the Union’s mission no different than every officer felt who served in the Federation. She looked at Peter to see if there was a flicker of understanding in the mountain of information she just dumped on him. If he could understand the history, the Union would work on his acceptance that the only road forward was with them.

Settling back in her seat, Katla let out a small smile. “It is no secret we are a religious society but are you?”

Katla

Peter dind’t react much beyond a polite nod and a look of someone listening with interest. It wasn’t that unusual a creation myth, a story to explain their origin, a holy mandate of unification through whatever means were possible. A way for organised religious leaders to assert control over the masses, indoctrinate them with faith. The Elder he’d met and ultimately killed most likely at least he thought to himself, had the zeal of someone who knew how to use faith to control others to their benefit, bend the powerful to their will. The bile in his stomach churned at the thought, “No, not as much, at least not humans. There are many spiritual societies within the Federation, and Religion is by no means illegal; it’s just not practised. In our corner of the Galaxy, there are still surviving religions. Bajorans worship celestial beings that live in a wormhole, Klingons believe that they killed their gods thousands of years ago, and Vulcans are deeply spiritual, although they don’t practice any specific faith. Humanity alone had dozens of Religions by the time of first contact in hundreds of iterations, and through the thousands of years of human history, there have been countless religions that ruled.”

Peter paused before continuing, “We Starfleet officers are scientists, we use the scientific method to form hypotheses and establish theories. We explore the unknown and learn all we can.” He interlocked his fingers “We’ve met some of our old gods, and we were unimpressed”

CIO

“Of course. They had to be false Gods. God does not show himself like a waiter one calls with a snap of their fingers. God requires faith in his followers no different than a commander requires faith in his troops. I am going to make an assumption but your Captain does not control your entire Federation?” Katla paused long enough for Peter to refute or confirm her statement.

“That means the person that controls all of this is somewhere far away and probably doesn’t know anyone past their inner circle on a personal basis. When you are given an order or mandate you don’t ignore it unless it comes from your leaders lips but follow it because your Captain relays it. She in turn gets her command from up the line but even she probably doesn’t get a direct mandate from your leader. All of this rule following is built of faith in a sense. As for the science aspect,” Katla wore a genuine expression of interest in her questions. “Is the Federation not able to accept that evolution and religious faith can exist in the same space and theory for how sapient beings came to exist in the universe?”

Katla