The slate grey door slid open, and the smug face of Admiral Pine looked back. The Admiral’s office was sparsely decorated, but there were a few random niceties that helped hide its true purpose. A framed picture, which stuck out as old fashioned, sat on the large slate desk displaying an image of the Admiral’s family. Several medium sized, metal models of historical ships were lined up along a shelf on the far wall behind the desk.
Leon strode forward, confident and with military precision. His mind quickly took in as many details as he could. His only option was to sit with his back to the door, something he despised doing, but he also knew it was partly an act of trust. Looking at the ceiling, he spotted the cameras that were traditionally set to record all conversations since the multiple spy incursions and assassinations, but Leon knew that none of them were showing a live feed of the office.
“Good day, Leon.” The Admiral said. A creepy grin slowly opened wide, almost dividing the rest of his face from his very strong chin.
“Sir? I didn’t know we were on a first name basis.”
“Would you rather me call you agent Gabriel or Captain Gabriel?”
Leon wasn’t used to being unprepared, and didn’t like surprises, he held his expression firm while trying to quickly determine all of the potential meanings behind the Admiral’s words.
“I’ve called you here because I have a new assignment for you. I want you to command the S31-Raven.”
Leon had known that Section 31 was expanding into vessels crewed by multiple people, but as a field agent, he was used to working solely on his own. He thought back to missions where he had involved others, including other agents, but they all felt like pawns in his master plan, instead of people he could trust and rely on. His training and experience had taught him to be weary of other people, and to be assigned a ship, even being in command, felt like a slap in the face.
“Sir, my record doesn’t seem to align with commanding a ship.”
The Admiral’s smirk dropped and his face lost all emotion. “You will command this ship. This is an order, not a choice.”
“I don’t think it would be wise to put six other agents under my command. I won’t concern myself with their safety, nor will I suffer fools.” After a short delay, Leon realized he was forgetting proper decorum and corrected the situation. “Sir.”
Admiral Pine’s reaction was one of slight shock, and seemingly to try to cover it up, he looked down at his pristine desk. It’s black surface reflected slightly in the overhead lights. “How do you know what the compliment is for the Raven?”
“Sir, surely part of why you chose me is because I am able to keep track of nearly everything that is happening, classified or not.”
The Admiral tapped on his desk, and a section came to life. An interface with information on it moved as he interacted with it. “What else do you know about the Raven?”
“I know it is a prototype, sir. First off the line with all the technology that we’ve recovered, reverse engineered, and developed ourselves.” Leon paused, waiting to see if he had said enough.
“Anything else?”
“Well, sir. I’ve heard that it includes technology from the future, brought back by Voyager from the Delta Quadrant. I’ve heard that there are several such ships in development, and that the technology being used on these vessels is being delayed when it comes to the rest of Starfleet.”
After finishing his speech, Admiral Pine shot up, straightening in his large, black leather command chair. “Very good and quite right. We wouldn’t want aliens gaining access to this technology, and so it will be stuck in research and development for a few years at least.”
Leon disliked giving out so much information. He usually chose to keep things to himself, knowing that knowledge was power. He also disliked bragging, and it felt like he was showing off to the Admiral.
Malcolm's Ramblings 