You Rang?

Posted on Wed Jul 23rd, 2025 @ 3:55am by Lieutenant Commander Hadir Prenar & Lieutenant Laural Hawke & Lieutenant JG Vanya Karolyi

1,424 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: A Day In The Life
Location: Chief Intelligence Officer's Office

Vanya was the first to arrive at Hadir's office. He almost never called for her--or had her do much of anything. Granted, there wasn't much for intel to do right now, and it gave her time for some of her...other projects--but she wasn't used to having so much free time on her hands.

She paused at the door for a moment, wishing she could gauge his mood, then she rang the chime.

Walking up to stand beside Vanya, Laural gave her uniform a brush down, "he called you too, did he?"

She nodded in agreement. "He did. I'm Vanya, by the way. You're Laural, right?"

Hadir stood behind his desk and went over the plans for Adna Station. It was not everyday that he was given permission to destroy a station. Yet here it was and he would be lying if he said he did not feel giddy about the prospect. The question at hand was how would they achieve their goal. As he pondered this with his hand on his chin the chime rang. Hadir knew precisely who it was. "Do come in ladies, do come in." As soon as the two women were inside Hadir spoke with that wolfish ear to ear smile that only Cardassians could have. "Computer sever all sensors to this office, seal the door no entry or egress without my expressed authority. Begin logging all keystrokes on the SCIF independent mainframe." The computer chimed its acknowledgement. "Now ladies do sit down. We have much to discuss. We have a mission." The sheer excitement in his voice could not be contained.

"Sounds like fun," Vanya replied, catching some of his excitement. She was more curious now as it took a lot to excite her boss.

Still, she couldn't help turning to Laural and saying. "Do you feel like Little Red Riding Hood? That grin of his is suspicious."

Laural gave a smirk, “Nah, that expression means we’re in for something interesting.” She said, sitting forward in her chair, “I’m guessing this isn’t a standard intelligence gathering mission.”

"With that grin? No. This is going to be epic." And Vanya could hardly wait to hear what it was.

"Ladies allow me to introduce you to Adna Station." An image of the station appeared on the screen behind his desk as Hadir spoke. "This is a facility that has fallen into some disrepair as of late. So, much so that it seems that Admiral Adler would like it removed from the galaxy. It seems that she has tasked us with this. Now, normally I do not enjoy this kind of work. But, tell me how often do you get permission to destroy a space station."

That was definitely something Vanya hadn't done before, and it was intriguing. "What is so dangerous about the station that an admiral wants it destroyed? Is it data or something supposedly more dangerous?"

Laural looked more nonchalant about the situation, "or is it something the admiral wants covered up? Some secret they don't want exposed just yet?"

"That would be a mighty big secret to destroy an entire station." Then Vanya had to smile as she answered Hadir's question. "This will definitely be a new experience. I admit, I'm looking forward to it."

Hadir smiled and punched in his clearance code. "Ladies allow me to introduce Admiral Tobias Beckett, retired. He had a dream, albeit a misguided dream but a dream nonetheless. He envisioned a station run by holograms. Well what do you think would happen in that situation. As happened many times before the holograms over threw their oppressors. The holograms began to gain sentience and so the station was shut down and buoys placed. However, Mr Beckett was not happy with that. So, he attempted salvage after his retirement which lead to a number of deaths. It seems now that Admiral Adler wants the blemish on the record of Starfleet erased for all time."

"Erased. For all time." Vanya shook her head. "Those who do not learn from history..." Her voice trailed off. She didn't think she needed to finish the old quote. "How does he want it to disappear? Black hole? Send it into a sun? Or..." Hadir's glee told her the answer. "Blow it up." She raised an eyebrow. "He didn't say we weren't allowed to gather data first, did he?"

Laural shrugged, “a level 10 tri-cobalt torpedo should do the trick. Something that could’ve been done ages ago.” She said, looking to Vanya, “but I get the feeling there’s more to this. Why would he go back for data on a failed experiment. Did he want to try again?”

"And that is precisely why I want to get the data first. if nothing else, it needs to be archived."

Hadir was proud of his team. Nothing got by them and as Intelligence Officers that is exceptionally important. "Indeed, he thought with the data he could make improvements and get it done. Fool me once as the old saying goes." Hadir turned to Vanya. "You know you would have made an excellent Cardassian. We are going to take all of the data, or as much of it as we can, and keep it in storage for any use we may need."

"Excellent." Vanya grinned. "I know just the place to store it." It was one that had been carefully cultivated for years and would be perfect for storing data that wasn't exactly under Starfleet's control.

“We’d need a hydra virus to wipe the computers after we’re done, I might be able to throw something together” Laural commented, trying to think ahead

Vanya raised an eyebrow. "That's one way, but there are others. And, depending on how the station is to be destroyed, we may be able to do both at the same time. But if Lieutenant Prenar thinks it necessary, I can get one." She had access to a collection of viruses and may still have that one. She was also aware that in most cases the data would have to be wiped before the station was destroyed, but there were a couple of--innovative ways to do both.

"Yes we are going to wipe the computers once we have the data. Anything that is an actual AI file will not be coming with us, and will be destroyed. If any of this gets out or taken, I am sure you understand the ramifications. So, a wipe of the computer just in case something escapes the explosion." Hadir stood and began to pace, it was something he did when he was deep in planning. "Officially, the three of us will be going on leave. The Captain will authorize the use of a shuttle and off we will go."

Hadir stopped pacing and leaned on his desk. The expression on his face was the kind that Cardassians had when you knew there would be no discussion. "If anyone finds us, and tries to take any of this data from us they will be killed. It does not matter, who they are, or who they work for. They will die. The security of this information is of the utmost import. It is worth more than anything including our lives. I say this because I want you to know what you are in for. There is still time for you to back out of this mission and that will be that."

Vanya simply raised an eyebrow. "I'm going with you."

Giving it a moment's thought, Laural shrugged, “In for a penny, in for a pounding”

"Very well. The operation will commence 0800 on the morrow. Between now and then you will develop your NOC and gather what you will need. Pack light. I don't think I have to tell you that this conversation never happened." After a moment Hadir looked toward the door. "Dismissed."

Laural looked over at Vanya with an exaggerated confused expression, “wait, what were we doing here again?”

"We were just given permission to go shopping." Vanya stood. "If I have to pack light, I need new clothes." Hers were not designed to help her blend in. However, she knew just what she needed. And how to get it.

Laural shrugged, "Yea, guess i'll only use the smaller suitcase for this one"

"Nah. A backpack works better. And it's easier to run with it on your back than carrying a suitcase." With a blithe smile, Vanya headed to her office to pack as that was where she kept the things she was likely to need.

 

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