Queen’s Knight, Part 2: The Obvious Plant

Posted on Mon Apr 26th, 2021 @ 9:55pm by Lieutenant Frederick Carlow

Mission: Heroes of the Hov'hurgh
Location: Admiral’s Ready Room, USS Infinite Diversity
Timeline: 2409

Fred tore a scone in half and took a small bite, quite satisfied with the flavor. “SO I am guessing they never made it home. At least not in this timeline?” Oh he knew they could have and there not be a record, or could have went back and formed a new timeline where they had been quite successful. Answering those hypotheses seemed like something for far future historians to resolve.

Realizing just how moot the last question was, Carlow tried to refocus on the task at hand albeit in his own way. “So I am going to be escorting you over there right?” The old explorer wanted to make it clear he did not want to be left behind for this kind of momentous occasion.

“They just reappeared,” T’Vyn answered, then took another sip of her tea. As she lowered the cup, the Vulcan admiral continued, “Though the details of their journey are rather unclear at the moment. That is one of the reasons for accepting this invitation.”

There was another brief pause as the light-eyed psychologist studied Carlow, “Actually, that is only a superficial duty. You are to act as my diplomatic attache. Your mission, should you choose to accept it,” there was a slight twitch to the edge of her brow as she spoke, as she knew of his love for old Earth vids and games, “Will be as my eyes and ears on that ship.”

It was like Frederick had been hit with a phaser on full stun. His eyes opened wide like a lemur caught in the headlights. His mind froze as it wrapped around the words that had come from the woman’s mouth.

The look on her face. The use of something from his day and age. His memories raced backwards in time recalling the many times he had seen that eyebrow flex in that certain way, and she had made what seemed like such trivial statements. His next words came out more stammered than he meant. “That’s...that’s from Mission Impossible...that was..some kind of wise crack...right?” The white-haired scientist suddenly realized just how wrong many people may have been about this child of logic.

He even remembered a few times that eyebrow had raised in response to an offhanded comment of his. Being fueled by disinformation he believed, at the time, that she was being condescending towards him like a parent would be to a child. Now he could see that it might have meant that she had found something to be funny. Even if only in a groaner sort of way.

“Are you really so surprised?” The Vulcan woman asked, again accompanied by that subtle flick of her eyebrow. Admiral T’Vyn set her mug on the desk in front of her, studying the shocked look and rushed stammer as she continued, “Do not feel too badly though. Most do not grasp the idea that I do understand the concept of humor, until they have worked with me for far longer than we actually got the chance to. Some of the newer crew members are still getting used to the Vulcan Admiral that tells jokes. They do not seem to know how to react, and that is what is quite intriguing to me.”

In truth, there were numerous reasons for her behaviors, most of which were geared towards fostering the sense of trust that made a loyal crew. A Vulcan that did not seem to mind being laughed at was a bit of a rarity. She met everything with the same, solid serenity that they always expected and it gave them a sense of having a sturdy footing, no matter what the situation was.

However, if T’Vyn were honest with the world around her, they would know that she used the sense of enjoyment that she got out of a simple smile, to bolster that steady presence that they all depended on. It was a rather symbiotic relationship that thrived under her command and it was one of the reasons that they were able to operate in secrecy to the extent that they did.

Scratching his snowy scalp, Fred decided to compartmentalize this new information. He chuckled inwardly to himself that at least this time his mind was thrown off topic with help. So refocusing the way his new Captain had showed him so many years ago, he said, “Eyes and ears, huh? I’m guessing you mean something more than paying attention at the dinner table.” Also, to him, it not only sounded like she needed someone she could trust. T’Vyn likely had crew members who had served with her longer. It sounded like she needed someone expendable.

One thing was for sure T’Vyn was setting up for a game of chess that he was unsure of what the stakes or rules were. That did not matter to him. Carlow no longer gave allegiance to the Federation or many of the beliefs he once held. His last light in the darkness of space was now his last Valkyrie.

“Very much so, Frederick. I will be attempting to install you on their ship on a more permanent basis. A deep cover assignment, if you will. On the face of it, you are the direct link to me on a diplomatic level. At the base of it, I require knowledge of what is going on. It is very unlikely that they will share all of their plans with us, and being caught off guard is not something that is acceptable to me,” the pointy-eared Admiral explained.

The honey-colored gaze of the Vulcan woman never left the time-tossed scientist’s face, and as though T’Vyn had read his very thoughts, she continued on, “There are a number of reasons for my decision to choose you for this task. Your loyalty is of paramount importance. Your desire to survive, coupled with a desire to reduce collateral damage should the need for violence arise. You think on your feet, outside of the proverbial box, and are actually rather skilled at avoiding capture. You are able to get along with a multitude of races simply from an innate curiosity, and your experiments have left you with enhanced mental and physical capacities, which will likely be required at some point when serving on this particular, mixed, crew.”

She had really said a mouthful there. Spying on a ship full of Klingons on a ship the size of a town. Likely with the calamities they faced under heavy guard. So a few small questions came to mind. “Are you going to try and place me in the ship’s crew? I wouldn’t mind serving with them for a while. Hmm maybe as a waiter or something most folks wouldn’t want as a job or maybe even a merchant. Between the things I would like to market and what you might be able to give me access through the Virtual Bank system they have now. Also I am wondering how I would be able to report in to you. Klingon vessels in general are notorious for checking odd frequencies and so on.” Of course he knew she would and might have worked all that out already but the idea alone had gotten him quite excited.

Of course T’Vyn was dead right about his love of the other races. Already he was wondering if this might give him the opportunity to gain another cultural outfit. Maybe a suit of Klingon armor. There was also the food and beverages. More importantly made by Klingon hands. Heck now he might be able to try things mildly toxic to humans. Frederick also had a saying. ~One never knew an enemy until they had met face to face. In fact, the people of an enemy might not be.~

The Vulcan admiral let Frederick ramble a bit, remembering back to the days that she had first begun his training. His mind still wandered to odd places and many considered that trait to be the sign of a small mind. However, she knew better. The petite psychologist had spent the beginning of her career avoiding too close of a mental contact with the time-tossed scientist, concerned that his chaotic mental state would unbalance her. But she was a far different woman than she had been all those years ago.

“The plans have been made, Mister Carlow. Your official duty is to be my assigned attache’, though it is likely that you will be put to work in one department or the other. Everyone earns their keep on a Klingon vessel and hers is no different,” T’Vyn explained, watching him closely as she spoke, “You will be expected to send bland reports. Anything of priority will be handled in a much different fashion. That will require that something be restored to you that was taken out of spite and anger.”

The lieutenant's face became a bit sullen. So there it was, the multi-spectral, planet-sized panda floating in the quadrant that no one spoke of. He could only guess from T’Vyn’s reaction that she had found something in those tests she had run so long ago. Something that likely had not been done by his shining angel. For him it was more disappointing than anything else. It was just yet another point that those people had not trusted him, likely thinking he would go screaming back as soon as he could find transport, just to try and empower himself once again.

All that aside, T’Vyn had never let him down in that way. The white mousie wondered what method she was going to use to fix things. Perhaps she planned a mind meld of her own. Many times he had hoped she would use that ability on him, thinking at least one other person in the universe would remember his history.

Diplomatic Attache Carlow, working towards a more balanced and peaceful universe. Fred really liked the sound of that. “So what will you be wearing to the dinner?” He asked as he ran his fingers through his stark white goatee. After all, he need to coordinate his outfit with her’s if possible.

TBC