Posted by Lieutenant Tom Jarvis (Internal Security) in IntSec Office/Tom’s Quarters

“Fine,” she said feeling Tom remove her hand from his shirt. “Wherever but we need to make the call now before Hoffman does something that is going to require me to get a lawyer to defend my actions.” It was clear Vanessa was infuriated as she made a shooing motion for Tom to lead the way.

When we get there I need you to open up a comm line to Judge Wilkins, O’flannery at the fourth precinct, and Father 0’Boyle of the Immaculate Conception on tenth street not first street,” she rattled off names as she walked. “Do you need me to write this down or are you getting all this?”

Vanessa Slade. cns

Tom lead the way. It didn’t take long before they were in the corridor of a section of crew quarters.

Tom entered a door and inside was a very sparsely appointed room. An entertainment system along one wall, a rug with large pillows opposite the entertainment system, and a desk with three chairs. One on one side and two on the other.

“Oh we are in your quarters,” she said looking around the room. It was not that she was bothered being there. She had just assumed the man had an office somewhere and not the necessary equipment in his room for what she needed to have accomplished. Looking around the room, she took in all the details. It was so minimalistic in design that Tom could probably move out with only a bug-out bag instead of the customary cases and duffles most people owned. It also appeared very clean. From her experience, men tended to only have quarters this clean when they were expecting guests or had a partner who kept it clean. So much of Tom was a mystery when she put all the notes about him on the table. Vanessa had been on the ship for about a month now and for the life of her, she could not ever have remembered meeting him before. When she returned back to her office, she would look up his dossier. Right now though she had more important things to worry about.

Tom indicated a seat at the desk as he went around to the seat on the other side. With a gesture, holo-panels seemed to rise from the depthless black surface of the desk as Tom dropped into his seat.

From her indicated seat, Vanessa watched the partitions close off a section of the room. It made sense with his profession but again something she would never have expected. Curiouser and curiouser, she quoted Alice in Wonderland to herself.

“Open channel, priority IS3.” he spoke clearly.

“Biometrics confirmed.” came a voice form nowhere, “Passphrase…”

Tom was feeling a bit dramatic and play straight to Vanessa with his reply.

“Unbearable, isn’t it? The suffering of strangers, the agony of friends. There is a secret song at the center of the world, Vanessa, and its sound is like razors through flesh.
Come, you can hear its faint echo right now. I’m here to turn up the volume. To press the stinking face of humanity into the dark blood of its own secret heart.”

Vanessa could believe that Tom was actually saying this to her until… “Passphrase verified.” replied the voice, “Parameters?”

“Okay Tom that is one hell of a password,” she joked more sarcastically than humorously. “I thought mine was complex with a number, capital letter, and special character.”

“Judge Wilkins O’Flannery at the fourth precinct and Father 0’Boyle of the Immaculate Conception on tenth street.”

Algorithms would extrapolate the individuals they were trying to reach and the IS3 priority would bring up the Internal Security splash screen as well as playing the notification chime at a very noticeable volume.

The holo-panels that lit up for the communication showed Vanessa waiting for the connection.

• Tom, IntSec

As she waited for the comms to connect, Vanessa looked at Tom. “Is all this…typical?” Her gesture and expression showed Vanessa’s question was an honest one. This was the first time she had ever been on a ship where space was at a premium. On Earth, one could just expand an office or move to a larger space if needed. On a ship that was impossible.

Vanessa Slade CNS