Jessica didn’t know if Emilio was around but she always assumed he was lurking just in the shadows at all times. Most people would think the hulking mound of muscle was sent by Aedan to keep tabs on Jessica. The truth was Jessica had a really hard time adjusting to life in the spotlight as Aedan’s wife. In the early weeks of their dating, the rag mags followed her and took pictures trailing her every action better than any intelligence operative. With the design of the Outpost, controlling the public was harder than if one served on a battlecruiser. Emilio was put in place by Aedan to give Jessica a semblance of privacy when he could. Zachary would know this and after his little accident of falling down the casino steps, she doubted it would be him even in this public of a place. Going about her normal routine, Jessica stopped by Luxe to get her nail fixed, grabbed two coffees at Been There Brewed That and headed for a seat in the promenade. Five minutes later a dark-haired bubbly nurse from medical popped into the seat across from her. Jessica looked up and didn’t reconize the woman. Here we go, she thought slipping into her critical role.

“Hello, Jessica. Ariel,” she greeted the XO in an upbeat perky tone introducing herself. “It’s so hard being new on the station. Thank you for meeting me. Heard the charity event well? ” Her tone was very casual as she picked up the coffee on the table meant for her.

“Last night was off the hook Jessie.   You know that right?  It took me three hours to get patch back up and my knee still aches a bit.    Can we say your husband is a bit overzealous with his methods?    It’s like he works for us,” Zachary’s voice came in low and deep from across the table. There was a hint of awe and respect in his voice if you knew the guy well enough.  

It took Jessica a second to figure out what was occurring. This was getting way to clandestine for her tastes. Her eyes drifted down the young woman’s uniform until she spotted it. Micro transmitter and Ambient sound dampener. At least Zachary still had a few brain cells left after being in the field all these years. The woman across from her moved her lips as if speaking but the only sound was Zachary‘s voice between the pauses.

“The night took an unexpected swing but all parties involved seemed to have had the experience to write home about. The smart ones took their wallets and headed home probably never going to come back again because I am not inviting them. I can’t deal with the uppity drama,” Jessica took a long drink of her coffee and contemplated what to do next. This is going to be far more complicated than she envisioned.

“So how are we going to do this? I’m not quite thrilled with the idea of having your husband break something else and we need to talk. I wouldn’t be here if we didn’t…unless you asked me,” Zachary’s tone was curt but carried the charismatic melodies which imparted a sense of trust when paried with the correct verbiage.

Jessica only knew one woman by the name of Ariel. Making sure they were on the same page she raised the cup to her face so no one could read what she was saying. No one in their right mind would ever zero in on this conversation in the promenade however when you were a spy you learned never to take a chance because someone was always not in their right mind. Lauren never contacted you unless she wanted something. Outside the immediate crew on her ship, the woman was like a wraith. Jessica had heard Lauren left the Chimera after some incident with a security officer named Rand but then Lauren went off her radar. Mainly because Jessica did not want to keep her on her radar; however like a bad penny people tend to show up right when you didn’t need them to. “So how is Lauren doing?”

The woman named Ariel continued to chatter away about mundane girly things such as nails, hair and who recently was voted the hottest man walking into Sickbay as Zachary supplied the real information from his transmitter. “She needs you to contact her however due to your delicate situation she knew enough not to call up and say hey it’s me Lauren want to meet for drinks.”

Jessica stifled the urge to groan and slump back in her seat. Meeting Lauren Shan was probably the worst decision she had ever made in her life. However, they were a few people she could turn her back on and Lauren Shan was one of those people. “I’m going to check my schedule,” she said uncovering her mouth so if anyone cared enough to pay attention to their conversation the brunette’s replies seemed to match Jessica’s on the surface. “I’m back at work in two days so I can look into it on Monday,” she answered casually.

“No it needs to be before then. Like in the next hour or two. I have a shuttle waiting. I trust your husband as far as I can throw him. Meet me at docking port 18. We will pop off the station for a little privacy, do one spin around the planet and then you can be on your merry way,” Zachary replied his voice thick with sarcasm. He knew as well as Jessica did when Lauren said hello you never got away with just a small catching up.

“That is not going to work,” Jessica hit the table and laughed as if replying to the pretty brunette across from her. “I have plans I can’t just drop them and run like I did before I got married, had a baby, and started a life which I actually enjoy.”

“Just remember you have a husband and a life and a baby,” Zachary’s words resonated far more than she wanted to admit. She also knew the implication of everything he just said to her.

“Fine, I’ll make it work but it has to be now and not an hour from now,” Jessica said firmly looking at her watch.

“You always do,” Zachary now had a slightly flirtatious tone to his voice. “That’s why you were always so good with what you do and why if you snapped your fingers he would take you back in a second.”

” Thank you but I’ve had enough of dealing with heartless pilgarlics in my career already.”

The subtle click indicated Zachary was gone and now the young woman across from her continued as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. Downing her drink she looked at Jessica and smiled. “I always respected you,” she said for getting up and walking away from the table.

Lt. Commander Jessica Teller XO