A Matter of Trust

Posted on Wed Sep 20th, 2023 @ 2:12am by Captain Isabella Perry & Verrana Nemis & Commander Riko McCord
Edited on on Wed Sep 20th, 2023 @ 2:15am

1,378 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Rescue
Location: WV Nomad, Bridge
Timeline: MD 6. 12:25

Hearing a growling in someone's stomach, McCord didn't sit down at her station, but said, "Shall I replicate some breakfast for us? All our supplies are loaded and we can have anything that's reasonable. I might have borrowed a few recipes from home, and maybe some from Orchids & Jazz," she smiled slightly, remembering that she'd actually convinced Podkayne to nab a few of those.

"That would be great Riko, I am starved," Isabella replied as she sat down in the Captain's chair of the Nomad. "You may not believe this, but Riko is an amazing cook. This a skill one needs when traversing the cosmos on business."

Verrana took a seat at one of the tactical stations and examined her surroundings. She had to admit she was pretty impressed with the ship they were sitting in. Never before had she seen this design of vessel. Again, she saw the distinct signatures of multiple technologies, but she knew she had made a mistake earlier. It wasn't a hodgepodge, someone had taken their time and made it all seamless. Verrana, re-focused on Isabella, now more curious than ever.

"Isabella, what is this? What is going on here?" Verrana asked.

Isabella noticed the lack of jocularity in Verrana's voice now. Sensing the seriousness of her question.

Knowing she wasn't needed for this part of the discussion, McCord walked to the replicator in the back of the bridge and began to order up platters of bacon and hash browns; a quiche with Swiss cheese, celery, and green onions; and a platter of apple fritters. Since she liked the smell of coffee, though she didn't drink it, and she had Orchids & Jazz Special Blend 3 on hand, she started a pot of that, too. She thought it was better made in a pot, with real ground coffee, than in a replicator. At least it smelled better.

As each thing was finished, she put a warming cover on it and carried it to the table and chairs between the science and communications consoles, at the back of the bridge. The last thing she made was her own spearmint/lemon tea and carried that cup to the table, announcing, "All who are hungry need to assemble at the table." Even Podkayne came up from the lower deck to join them.

"Thank you, Riko." Isabella said as she took some bacon and hash browns. The newly minted commander of this mission was so thankful for Riko. Riko knew these were her favorite breakfast items to get her brain going.

"Verrana, we aren't going to beat around the bush with this, but first I need you to sign these." Isabella handed Verrana a PADD with the words NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT at the top.

"Are you serious?" Verrana asked as she took the PADD and read the top-stated verbiage. "An NDA? I am almost insulted that you would give me this instead of trusting me enough to talk to me." Verrana tossed the PADD on the tactical console in front of her. She looked over to Riko and then to Isabella. Letting her gaze burn into the eyes of her technical wife.

McCord shrugged. "Everyone who works with us has to sign one." She made a motion between Isabella and herself, "Even us. It's non-negotiable from the higher ups. Of course," she said nonchalantly, "there's the option of not signing ... or of breaking your word later."

"Verrana, can you not take this so personally? Look around you, this isn't going to be some mission where I have to worry about myself. Operational security is going to be paramount for this to be a success. Look at it like this. I trusted you enough to call you here, to ask you to be a part of this, didn't I? Sign the NDA, and all will be clear. I promise."

Riko watched the Romulan thinking. For a spy, her face was fairly mobile, and even with her training, emotions were leaking through. Probably they wouldn't in a tactical situation, but right now, she thought she was among friends, and her guard was down a little. Yet she was protesting the NDA. What was behind that? Maybe she already had buyers for any tech she discovered during their missions, or intel that could be useful to someone. How will I ever learn to trust her, at this rate? she wondered.

As they were finished eating, McCord stood and cleared the table, wrapping a few leftovers and tossing the balance of materials used into the replicator for recycling. Nice not to wash dishes!

Verrana sat at the table, staring at the PADD in front of her. She did not like having to sign the NDA, because she didn't know what she was signing away. Could this be an opportunity to make a serious score in Latinum? Would this be an opportunity for her to stop drifting from place to place and finally find a real home? Her home on Romulus was not in the cards anymore, since she was considered a traitor to her people and not welcome there. But she knew this had to be important for Isabella to have called her here for this talk. And have her sign an NDA no less.

"Fine!" Verrana said as she grabbed the PADD and started carefully reading the NDA. From moment to moment, Verrana would look up at Isabella, and then to Riko with looks of astonishment. "Uhm, this is very thorough and hard. Prison time for violating this seems to be the highlight here." Verrana signed the NDA and slid the PADD on the table.

"O.K.. What is this mission?" Verrana asked, looking at Riko and Isabella.

McCord raised an eyebrow at her boss, content to have her lead. She was a little astonished at the fast capitulation of Nemis, but maybe she realized she wouldn't get anywhere being obstructive. Would she keep her word,? That was Riko's big question.

Isabella gave a half smile and then looked over to Riko. She knew Verrana would be curious, but didn't quite know what her reaction would be.

"Starfleet has tasked me to assemble a crew of my choosing to essentially run covert missions on behalf of the Federation. These missions will mainly be intelligence-gathering missions. But we have full authority to act on any intelligence that is deemed a direct threat against the Federation and its allies."

Isabella stood up and walked over to the replicator and ordered lemonade. She took a sip of her drink and tried to gauge Verrana's response.

"I am in command of the vessel, and Riko is my second in command." Isabella gave a head nod over to Riko. "Orders from Riko are like orders coming from me." Isabella looked over at Riko, nodding for her input.

"Even so, we tend to come to agreement by not hastily making decisions," McCord assured Verrana. "For one thing, there are times when we will have to sit on what we know, follow a string to see where it leads. For another, it's like my grandmother said. 'Decide in haste, repent at leisure.' And we may not have any leisure to make up for mistakes we make in haste. So, we tend to go a little slower, and be a little more sure before we jump off a deep end."

Isabella continued smoothly from where Riko left off. "We will be running under the covers as smugglers. This, our ship, is WV Nomad. It's one of Starfleet's highly classified Dark Knight Class Starships. My brother, Henry, has modified it specifically for this mission, hence the different technologies mixed together. On paper, we are no longer Starfleet officers. Unofficially, we are working for the Federation. I asked you here because I trust you. That trust goes deeper than a handler and an operative relationship. You have sacrificed much for me. That bond is why I am asking you to be by our side as our tactical officer, our guide to Romulan politics and information, and whatever else comes along the way."

Isabella looked over at Riko, and although she was not a telepath, she could sense the confusion and curiosity coming from her friend and Second Officer. Perhaps she hadn't understood entirely why Isabella had wanted Nemis on board?

 

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