It's an Intel Thing

Posted on Sun Feb 12, 2017 @ 5:10pm by Lieutenant Commander Alex Rho & Commodore Michael Aravan

Mission: An Orion to Die For
Location: Intel Chief's Office
Timeline: MD 4 || 1130 hours

When the turbolift stopped, Alex stepped off and looked both ways down the corridor. There was no one to be seen in either direction, so he activated his personal transporter and beamed himself to his office. Alex settled down behind the desk and waved his hand over it. The holographic projection came up and Alex touched a few locations to get to the communication screen.

"Computer, secure this office and turn off all recording devices." After several beeps and a few more commands to disable his backup recording devices, the Intel Chief's office was just as secure as his interrogation room. Alex moved his fingers over the communication part of the screen and manually entered his access codes in order to link his 'console' with the department's dedicated Intel Communications Facility. He was going to use every little bit of Intelligence encryption and security he had access to. Alex then set an encryption on the encrypted subspace channel before he opened it. Contacting Admiral T'Ral at Starfleet Intelligence was nothing to sneeze at, as the humans said.

Alex touched the holographic button that would begin the transmission and waited for the Admiral's response.

Due to their distance from the nearest subspace receiver and the bounce through a series of relays, all of which required authentication, finally the symbol of the UFP vanished and the face of the elderly Vulcan Admiral came on the screen. "Yes?" he asked while glancing to the side before he looked back, the delay now coming in seconds instead of minutes. "Lieutenant Rho, is it?"

"Yes, it is, Admiral," answered Alex. He fully expected that Admiral T'Ral had his file opened somewhere. That was just natural for an Intelligence officer, if he was performing his job with due diligence. "Lieutenant Alex Rho, Chief Intelligence Officer on the USS Triumphant. Live long and prosper," Alex added, rendering the Vulcan salute.


T'Ral gave a nod and raised his right hand in the Vulcan salute. "Peace and long life," he intoned before he set his hand down. "What brings you to the halls of Intel to the point where you reached me, Lieutenant?" he asked as he glanced to the side again and shook his head before looking back at the screen.

Alex had noticed that the Admiral had looked to his side a second time and wondered. "It was a long trek, Admiral," he began. "But what specifically brought me to you is a need for some intelligence. We began with precious little, but have obtained some from a few different sources. We are in the Orion sector and have been told of a Syndicate fleet that we may very well come up against, but we don't know it's composition or coordinates. I was wondering if, perhaps, you might have the information we seek."

"Hmm," T'Ral mused, looking tired but his eyes were as sharp as ever as he reached to activate something outside of the field of view. "At last reckoning, there are the following known ships in the Orion sector. A Kneg'Var Warship, a Vor'cha attack cruiser, a Romulan D'deridex Class, a Ferengi D'Kora Class troopship, and a Cardassian Galor Class with a complement of at least twenty-four Hideki Fighters. Rumors have it that the D'Deridex is a shell which they use to frighten enemies based on the latest Intel reports, but that could have been solved by now. They are also likely to have other ships which we know nothing about. The Orions have long been unwilling to share anything with the Federation or those who do not have a need to know, even among their own leaders."

Alex nodded and made notes of what the Admiral was saying regarding the Orion fleet they might go up against. Plus, it might help with his talk that he and Xylia were supposed to have with Vash. "That confirms what we were told about the different classes of ships. Our informant didn't reveal that bit of information about the shell of a ship, though. If it hasn't been fixed, that could prove handy. As far as their locations, we suspect them to be near Stameris. Can Starfleet Intelligence confirm that or is that something we'll get to confirm?"

"With the current state of affairs with the Triumphant being in Orion space," T'Ral said. "You can imagine what kind of stink the Orions are raising. Our operatives have gone quiet ever since Orion Sector Tactical Command was taken and destroyed. However," he paused and glanced off to the side again. "You may wish to inform your Captain that Admiral Grant has been taken into custody as a potential sympathizer. Somehow, someone got to him and was using his codes to make changes to our network in Orion space, so I'm afraid you're on your own. Tell me about your informant."

Alex took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Admiral Grant...changes to our network...operatives gone dark...this didn't sound good at all. And he knew that Captain Aravan wasn't going to be happy. "Well, sir, that may explain why we started out with very intel. But we can make it. I've been in worse situations. As far as our informant, she is an Orion woman by the name of Vashkele. We know nothing else of her except that the information she has provided so far has been accurate."

"I'll have my people look into her and see what we can dig up," the Admiral said. "Have you ascertained how she has came to hold this information or anything on her background?"

"No, Admiral," replied Alex. "Though, during the initial interrogation, I was able to force a trust between her and the Assistant Chief of Security. She seems to be the only one Vash will trust with information at this point. Using that, I should be able to find out how she knows what she knows. She's at least more talkative than the Farian we have in Intel Secure Holding. In fact she has established a pattern of sharing information. That, along with the shaky trust, should prove beneficial."

T'Ral frowned and looked at the screen. "You look Human, but you're Ullian, are you not?" he asked.

Alex noticed the frown from the Vulcan and was caught sideways for second. "Yes, I am."

"Are your people not well known for your impressive telepathic ability, Lieutenant?" T'Ral asked him.

"My genetic heritage is very well known for that, sir," said Alex. He suspected that he knew where the Admiral was going with this. "I have already entered the minds of both the Orion and the Farian, but have gathered little. It would be an easy task to force way my in should I be under orders to use the full range of my Ullian telepathic abilities for the purpose of gathering intel for Starfleet Intelligence and securing the safety of this ship and crew."

"Consider where you are and who you are dealing with, Lieutenant," T'Ral said pointedly. "You are contacting me for information when you have the key in your mind to unlock nearly any door. I understand your hesitation, but your circumstances would seem to indicate something more is required. You are the Chief of Intelligence and have access to a wide range of tools, correct?"

Alex nodded. "Understood, Admiral." The key in my mind to unlock nearly any door... You fool, it was was simple as sedating them and walking through their memories. "And yes, I do, a very wide range of tools. This ship is outfitted with the latest."

T'Ral arched a white eyebrow and waited, saying nothing.

Alex grinned. "I will have more information for you the next time we speak, Admiral. Consider this to be one Starfleet Intelligence asset in the Orion Sector that has not gone dark. And on that note, you should know that the Farian I mentioned we have in our Secure Holding Facility is Raimus. The Triumphant is also in possession of his ship. His location is part of the information that Vash volunteered."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," the elderly Vulcan said. "The Captain has informed Starfleet of the capture of Raimus. Very good work. Is there anything else?"

Heh, of course he had already done that, thought Alex. "No, sir, there isn't."

"Then let me know when you know more," T'Ral said before the screen went back to the UFP symbol.

When the Admiral departed, Alex waved his hand and the screen disappeared back into the table. A couple of ideas came to mind regarding the wide range of tools at his disposal that would enable him to obtain the Intel he would need. Well, in addition to his own mind. He frowned as he thought about how Xylia would respond if she knew everything he had up his sleeve. But the safety of the Intel operatives in this sector along with that of this ship and crew came first. Gaining intelligence from Vash was second. And most people would think that Xylia came third. However, those were Alex's mission priorities. Anything outside of that was still up for grabs.