Quiet Introductions
Posted on Wed Jul 24th, 2019 @ 4:38pm by Captain Luka Mahone & Cornelius Warner MS
2,002 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Canary
Location: Mahone Residence
Timeline: MD01 2100HRS/2230HRS
Dark windows are a simple sign that no one is home, or at the very least, that person is already asleep. Cleared walks are a sign that someone cares to keep them clean, or at the very least, to have someone keep them clean for them. They also result in no footprints, something that suited Cornelius just fine. The Starfleet Officer in charge of that portion of Haumea, had been granted their own cottage, just out of sight of everyone else, just off a well lit walking path. It was nice, relaxing, and when no one was missing, easy enough to turn up the secluded part. Now, crouched by the front door with a small device that resembled a cranial attachment used by Starfleet medical, and a modified tricorder, Cornelius hummed a small tune to himself as the device did all the hard work. The truth was, standard Federation locks were about as tricky as a rubik's cube, tricky if you didn't know the trick, easy if you did.
There was a satisfying click, and Mister Warner pushed the door open easily, pulling his device off the panel, and stuffing both of them inside his waist length, caramel peacoat. Kicking the little bit of snow off his shoes, he stepped inside, letting the door close behind him, and relock itself.
The late night hours were not kind to Luka, especially now that he found himself at the colony fairly early in the morning, only to be stuck there until the wee hours. He had gotten into the habit of bringing along Lugh, the fluff ball of a malamute pup that he asked for and somehow, magically, was able to receive at such a young age.
It did also unfortunately mean that he felt more inclined to carry the ball of fluff under his arm as he approached his home, muttering sleepily as he fumbled with the small fob he was given by the security team. The cabin may have been a hundred years old, but somehow they swiftly managed to equip his home with state-of-the-art equipment. Why it happened to need an oddly-shaped fob that he could easily lose, that was another matter. They could have easily pulled DNA or some form of non-Changeling replicating biometric that he could not as easily lose, but his protests fell on mostly deaf ears. Oh well, the Security staff did know what they were doing.
As he clicked the door closed behind him, Luka set down the young pup before slipping his still-snowy shoes off. "Computer," he mumbled grumpily, "Lights please."
Squinting into the sudden illumination Cornelius stood from the chair he had situated himself in, and looked towards the door. "Captain Mahone, working these late hour cannot be good for you," he said simply with a smile. Before the man could react, he pointed to a small device on the table, no larger than a coffee cup. "Don't bother with Security, unfortunately in here your comms won't work," he said simply, the smile never leaving his face.
With a broad gesture to the rest of the living room, he pointed to the chairs, "Shall we have a seat?"
Eyes narrowing from where he stood, Luka folded his arms against his chest, slight frown on his features. His eyes shot down to the pup for a moment, muttering, before he looked back to the intruder in his home. "We can have a seat once you tell me who you are and how you got in."
"Cornelius Warner, I'm the owner of Silver Tongue Brewing," replied Cornelius, taking a seat himself, facing towards the Captain, and relaxing. "Speaking of, I left you a case in your fridge, a gift from me to you." He let a smile sit on his face as the silence built. When the Captain didn't say anything, the smile faded a few centimeters and he nodded. "No, I suppose that won't satisfy you, will it. I am Agent Warner, Starfleet Intelligence. I am the actual owner of Silver Tongue, but it is a deep cover created to get me into places. Command didn't want me to tell you I was operating here, but that's not how interdepartmental affairs should be handled."
At this point the smile had completely faded as he laced his hands together. "We uprooted myself from a very nice, close position to Earth because this sector is particularly civilian heavy, and having us close by gives us an ear on those affairs. As for why I am here?" he swept his arm around the room. "I deemed it better to make sure we weren't seen talking about such matters."
Intelligence. Luka all but kept the disgust from his features. He was beginning to hate the silver-uniformed types. None of them told him much of anything, unless they felt he needed to know. And, according to his one whole friend in Intelligence, he most certainly did not need to know. At least this 'Agent' seemed more forthcoming.
Nearby, the little floof of a malamute yipped at Cornelius, trotting over to inspect the newcomer. Luka gave a frown at the puppy, who's tail was wagging at the sight of someone new, before deciding to take a seat in one of the unnecessarily lavish Bolian armchairs that were gifted to him. "So, Agent," Luka pressed, "Why did Command decide to drop an undercover agent on me?"
Letting a low whistle out, followed by a short intake of air, Cornelius replied with "Well, you weren't supposed to be here. The problem is Starfleet Command saw fit to keep a Starfleet presence here. Truth be told, this whole operation was planned when you were supposed to leave on the Io. You were an accident, otherwise we would have allocated some regular Intel Officers. But, here we are. As to the reason I am here, it's because from here, I have access to the sector, and a region of space Starfleet thinks that either pirates or other undesirables might be moving through the system. And people like to talk to bartenders, especially in a place that's cozy."
Raising his hands in front of his body, palms out, the closed his eyes and bowed his head. "I'm not here to step on your toes. Hell, I would rather have nothing to do with the 'Fleet in general. But I also know that having access to all your assets is a good thing for any base Commander. So if you need anything from me, you just ask."
"I wasn't supposed to-" Luka pressed his lips together in a thin line. The ability he had gathered to not lose his cool under most of the pressure poured on him seemed to crash and burn with the Io. There were so many questions he could have asked, and boy did he want to. "Planned? We're worried about pirates now too?"
He was beginning to wonder if he had finished off that present of scotch that was thrown at him awhile back. At least the scotch didn't hide any secrets. "I thought there was enough nonsense going on with the ... Sons of Charon, right? Is that who we're looking out for? How many organizations are on SFI's radar? I know Haumea is ... in a good location for backwater dealings, but I didn't think it warranted someone undercover."
"Sons of Charon are an element we're interested in, for sure. Rumours abound that someone is smuggling weapons from the Cardassians to the Romulan Civil War. On top of that, independent operators have issues." Cornelius shrugged, a noncommittal gesture that could either mean he didn't know any more, or was choosing not to share. "As for me being undercover, it is more a matter of convenience for SFI than it is a necessity. My own trading permits and sales allow me to have access to areas otherwise hard to get to. For example, I am an importer of Romulan grains to make an ale. Which gives access to Romulus, as well as to two large shipping companies that, conveniently have an easier time moving through here."
"I'll be honest Captain, I don't want to keep anything from you, and I have no reason to. I would rather us have a great working relationship and be an asset to you than be a troublesome thorn in your side. While I work for Starfleet, I do legitimately own my business, and do make an effort to be a part of the community I am in." He frowned, and addressed his hand for a brief second, like he was checking for something. "Hell, I plan to leave the colonists alone as much as I can as well," he added. "This is a long term, undercover mission. Haumea is a small part of a larger puzzle for me."
"It's hard to leave people alone when you're serving them beer," Luka pointed out. He crossed his arms against his chest as he thought. "You're the first Intelligence agent who's come up to me and said that. Typically, I get told 'you don't get to know that.' Unless you're the Commodore. Secrets and I don't get along." There was a momentary twinge of guilt, before he managed a slightly more positive expression.
"I expect you know enough about the Colony already," Luka continued, making a surprised noise as the malamute pup leaped into his lap. "You'll want to get in contact with Seshi and Aarav Macae." He wasn't sure how much he should have said, eyes narrowing as he went to ruffle Lugh's ears. "Aarav is the one in charge of the saloon in town, but Seshi will hunt you down if you don't go find her first. She takes her job as councilwoman very seriously. And she's mother of an evasive SFI officer, so she knows how to find people. Mostly."
"Then I'll make a point to introduce myself,"replied the spook with a smile. "Oh, while I'm at it, I'll share some advice. No one knows how to pick an old school tumbler lock anymore, see if you can convince your engineering boys to put one in." Shifting in his seat, he rolled his shoulders forward, before leaning back in the chair. "As for secrets, I keep a lot, but I don't much care for them. The only one we ask is we keep this between us. As few people that know the better."
More secrets. Great. "... Right." He frowned at a thought. What was a 'tumbler' lock? Though, that likely validated the agent's point. He would have to ask Theo about those later. "I don't intend on spreading that we have agents hiding in the civilian parts of the colony. That'll start a riot."
With a broad, warm smile, Cornelius stood up and pulled his coat on. "Well Captain, I apologize if I ruined your night. I don't know what kind of beer you like, so I left a six pack of a variety in the fridge for you, come see me if you want to try a few more." Taking a few steps forward he extended a hand. "I do look forward to getting to know you better."
"You didn't ruin it." Luka mumbled, though by this point he was mumbling into a puppy's fur. It did not take him long to remove his face from the pup's fuzz, sitting upright and taking the offered hand in a firm shake. "We'll see where this takes us then, shall we?"
"We shall," responded Cornelius, pulling his coat closed, he crossed the room and stepped into his shoes. "Don't be a stranger Captain, I promise I'm not that bad once you get to know me." With that he opened the door and stepped out into the cold night air, and made his way back home. "I should get a dog," he mused to himself as he wandered down the road and off into the distance.
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