"Birds flying high, you know how I feel..."

Posted on Tue Jul 2nd, 2024 @ 5:35pm by Lieutenant Drevas & Commodore Finchley Kerr

1,270 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The 'Eagle continues.
Location: Mess hall, USS Blackeagle.
Timeline: Current.

The doors to the mess hall opened and Finchley walked in. Looking around, he chided himself on not being there earlier as he'd wanted to do because now it was packed out.

He'd intended to breakfast an hour before, but like a magpie to a shiny object, his attention had been caught by a report that had come in and before he realised, the said hour had passed by.

"Oh well" he shrugged, then walked across to the replicator. Trying to decide what he wanted, his thoughts flitted between porridge, cereal or fruit. In the end, he came down on the side of porridge. Taking the bowl from the replicator, he turned and began looking around to see if there were any free seats. Finally he saw one, and began walking towards it, occasionally nodding a good morning to others as he went.

Stopping at the table with the free seat, he looked at the Kelpian sitting there and asked, "If the seats free Lieutenant, may I?"

"You may." Drevas nodded at the other. "Your company is welcomed." The fleet intelligence officer. Interesting. He found himself wondering what this man was like off duty - he'd been pleasant so far, but that could certainly change at the drop of a hat. It happened with some people.

"Thank you" Finchley replied, taking the seat at the table. "It's not very often an Intelligence Officer here's the words 'your company is welcomed', normally people make any old excuse and scurry off, but then, the perception of the Intelligence Office is we're all 'spooks' or 'ghosts', living in the shadows or skulking round the corner."

He laughed, "Truth be told, we're just like any other department, but with more toys..."

"I've met several intelligence officers over the course of my career; I notice that many people seem to have it in their heads that such individuals seem to be out to monitor and categorise everyone. I can't figure out why." Drevas shrugged. "I have also learned in that time that they are people as you and I are - not that said perception has ever changed." Following a brief pause he added wistfully, "I dated one at my last assignment. She moved back to Vulcan to undergo the kolinahr, however, and there went our relationship. I suppose there are always other fish in the sea..."

Inside, Finchley was smiling at the wistfulness of what had just been said. "Indeed there are, many more fish."

At that point he held out his hand, "Sorry, I've been remiss, Finchley Kerr, Chief Spook."

"Lieutenant Drevas. Chief of tactical and security." Drevas shook the hand offered to him. "I suppose we'll be working together quite often. Intelligence and tactical officers do go hand in hand when it comes to away missions."

"Not just when it comes to away missions Lieutenant" Finchley replied, "Intelligence and Tactical work together in a variety of situations. Plus, it's not just Tactical situations, it's also broadens out into Security. Oh, don't get me wrong, that's your department, what I mean is a sharing of information to help. Anyway, away from duty, as I don't know many of the new crew, may I ask what interests you have?"

"I cook or read - more so the latter. Fresh ingredients can be hard to come by or so I've learned." Drevas replied. "There really does exist truth to the idea that food tastes different when you've made it yourself. There's that personal touch, I suppose - rather than the recipe being the same every single time." He shrugged. "How about you?"

"Well, I must admit, cooking's never been my forte" Finchley replied, "though I have tried, just never been very good at it. My main interest, as boring as it may sound, is archaeology."

"Really, now. Have you been on any archaeological missions in your career?" Drevas asked. "Was that what led you to become an intelligence officer, by any chance? There are some aspects of archaeology and anthropology that lend themselves to intelligence fieldwork, or so I hear."

"Well, yes and no" Finchley replied, "I've always had a fascination for the past, not just back on earth, on other planets as well. I feel that sometimes, unlocking the past can, to a degree, help with the present or even the future. I was very fortunate to be on Talag Prime when Professor Bechstein was there with a student class. They'd been invited by the Primus for a summer dig. Thing is, a 'summer' on Talag Prime equated to two years on Earth. Some miners had be coring when they came across a chasm that hadn't shown up on their scans. It turned out there was something in the surrounding rock that deflected the scanners, anyway, they dug into it and came across a burial site. As I was guest of the Professor, he invited me along to see the dig, boy was I amazed at what they found. The chamber was large, seventy meters across, thirty meters high...with about twenty sarcophagus. Of course, the Professor had to get permission from the Primus to examine them, and he agreed providing we had a 'teller' with us, the 'teller' was a kind of official who reported back to the Primus daily on what was happening. Well, the bodies were so well preserved because of the lack of moisture, and clothing and jewelry artifacts were astonishingly well preserved. I spent five days on the dig, something I'll remember for the rest of my life. In regard to it lending itself to intelligence fieldwork, yes, I suppose it has, though I've not really considered that till you just mentioned it, so thank you."

Drevas listened intently and with great interest. He nodded when Finchley was finished. "Has anything come of your findings? There must be a paper on it somewhere, surely, with such a monumental discovery. I am no archaeologist, but I do quite like reading about scientific works and findings - especially those relating to culture."

"I do believe Professor Bechstein wrote and published a paper on the dig,though where it was published I really don't know" Finchley replied, "I don't know if Starfleet archives would have any information on it, I didn't inquire as I had a first hand account of the early proceedings. Failing that, contacting the Talag Prime authorities may help, they could have information to share. The thing is, you don't have to be an trained archaeologist to do things like help out on digs. I mean, if I'm honest, at best, I was an enthusiastic helper...but the Professor was kind enough to take time to give me helpful information and guide me through the process of the dig. Tell you what, if you're up for it, the next time I get the opportunity to go on a dig, I'll let you know and you can decide if you want to volunteer as well, how's that?"

"That would be lovely. Though I am content to merely read about the findings afterward." Drevas replied. "For now, I am pleased with my lot in life that I now have - and I've not been long in my current position. I would like to explore it and see where it takes me before exploring other avenues."

"I wasn't asking you to change add to or change career paths Lieutenant" Finchley replied, "it was merely an invite to partake on any future dig I got invited to, look, just forget it. My shift starts shortly, I'm going" he added, standing up, leaving his untouched food on the table and walking off.

 

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