The Scoop

Posted on Monday, 7 September 2020 - 8:33am by Lieutenant JG Adrianna Eberhardt

Mission: Operation: Dreamweaver
Location: USS Standing Bear | + Various
Timeline: 2393 - MD 01

{ON:}

Gul Gopeth sat at his private console. He was not happy about the call he was about to make. He did owe the woman for saving his life and he hated owing people anything. He keyed in his code and then a series of other codes and waited for the face of Adrianna Baciami to appear on the screen.

"Good afternoon, darling," Baciami smiled, as she answered the call within seconds. She'd been at her desk, merely waiting for the call to come through. Her fingers had been tapping in a rhythmic pattern on the desk's surface as if to help pass the time between sending a few messages and awaiting a response.

Gopeth's eyes narrowed. "Let us skip the pleasantries." He sighed. "You said you wanted to make Order out of some chaos?"

"Don't remember upsetting you," she turned serious, slightly offended by his tone but continued, "yes, I need to track down and learn as much as I can about a visitor we've recently encountered. I've sent you a picture of him."

He confirmed it. "Give me am hour. I'll call you back."

Adrianna nodded, "thank you." She then closed the call and headed for the replicator as she found herself needing caffeine. The self reflection came with the sips. The woman might have been turning a corner with self-loathing but her name still had her loathed by association.

The call came in at exactly one hour. He waited for her to respond. He was, now, madder then a hornet.

Adrianna answered mid sip of another coffee. She swallowed and looked somewhat apologetic before saying, "find something unpleasant, I assume?"

"May I offer some free advice?"

"Not really, but go ahead," she replied.

"Walk away from this one Adrianna."

It wasn't in her nature to let things lie. She often used to get called the terrier when she was growing up: find a rat, hunt the rat, be willing to go into the rat hole and the bite the rat and not let go until the rat gives in. A smile caught the corner of her lips and a playful glint momentarily passed in her eyes, "advice noted. You have my intrigue. Tell me what you found."

"He is Cardassian even though he looks human and he's wanted by the Obsidian order."

"Name?" Adrianna nudged. She was going to have to go to Soral before Eyelaya. He did ask, after all, for her to keep an eye on her.

"Gaylen. He has a sister, Eyelaya. They've been looking for the pair. Their father was a Gul in the order. He helped save many a Bajoran during the occupation, worked with Starfleet. Their mother was a resistance leader on Bajor. They lost track of the girl on Vulcan. She was sited on DS9. Apparently she was altered too to look Bajoran on Vulcan."

Adrianna nodded, smiling a touch. The Italian considered her next words carefully. "Any idea on his current location?" she asked.

"Gaylen no. The woman Eyelaya, I think, is listed as having left DS9 but nothing further."

Adrianna decided to poke the nest. She was going to be disaplined but it wasn't as if she'd follow through. "You know, I bet he'd pay a lot to find her. I'm sure I could find her. Want to split it? I just need to know where he is."

His eyes narrowed. "I'm not getting involved in this. I suggest you let it drop as well." He shut the channel down.

Adrianna cursed in her native tongue and sat back in her chair. Soral had asked for this more or less. Though her 'mission' had also become a friend. She needed guidance. Soral first. She grabbed her PaDD making sure the call was on it and walked swiftly to Soral.

Soral sat in the mess. He rarely had time to sit and eat s he was enjoying this time. He'd be needed on the bridge soon but for now he'd enjoy his meal.

Having been to his office Adrianna tracked down Soral with the assistance of the on board computer. She looked a little concerned, "sorry for interrupting, sir. I've hit a moral snag." She sat down opposite him, sliding a PaDD over.

"Oh?" He pushed aside his meal and picked up the PaDD. "Tell me about it."

"You're little side mission that you set me," Adrianna sighed and paused. Saying out loud made her feel like an awful friend. She continued, "Eyelaya has no knowledge at present, but from an incident earlier, she may have had something sparked into the forefront. During the incident, Eyelaya said she knew someone, just couldn't place the face. I asked her if she wanted me to look into it because, you know, why not--for all I know it's someone that stole an apple from her once. Turns out, he's her brother."

Soral raised an eyebrow. He reviewed the PaDD. "Her brother. Fascinating." He compressed his lips. "She does not realize that he is her brother?"

"Not yet," Adrianna replied.

"Do not tell her yet. I need to check on something on Vulcan. Your sources said that the lost track of her there that she was altered there." Then he thought better of it. "Perhaps I an open some doors there and you can check on it for me."

She shifted uncomfortably, "I can try. No offence to yourself but I don't find vulcan they easiest to gain information from. It's either 'man splained' or completed omitted."

"Yes but there are sources...have you heard of the V'Shar?" He said referring to the group that rivaled the Obsidian Order or Section 31.

Adrianna thought about it, "sounds familiar, but I don't think so."

"Vulcan intelligence. Oh they deny any existence. They are real, however." He added a name to the PaDD. "Contact T'vir. He may be able to shed some light on things."

"Any insight into what he's like?" she asked, "doubt he'd be a person to flirt with or equally threaten. He just a professional contact? That'll make a refreshing change."

"Indeed. He is Vulcan very to the point. He is ... an acquaintance."

"Acquaintance," she repeated back, "fine. OK. Let me know and I'll get on it. Until then, you don't want me to say anything."

"Right now, no. When the time is right we will tell her."

Adrianna ran a hand through her hair. This wasn't going to be easy. She now considered Eyelaya a friend, not just assignment, "fine but when the time does come, can we leave out the fact that you sent me to keep an eye on her. I don't want her any more hurt, especially after the EMH's 'kind words'."

His face darkened slightly, "Yes that device .... I am still not pleased with it." He sighed. "We can indeed leave that fact out. The truth of it is you are keeping an eye out for her because you are her friend and that is what she will understand. Friends do look out for one another."

Adrianna nodded, "thank you, sir. I'll wait for your go ahead for contacting your acquaintance."

"Anytime you are ready. Just mention my name."

Reluctantly, she nodded and stood up, "Enjoy the rest of your break."

Soral, in that moment, looked tired. "Yes...break."

"Food and time, not breaking things," she offered a smile.

{OFF:}