Damage Control

Posted on Tue Jan 6th, 2026 @ 9:32am by Deirdre Arlen

296 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Second Light
Location: SB 369

=/\= Promenade =/\=

Deirdre and Marken were seated at a table at the edge of one of the cafes along the Promenade. There were quite a few Starfleet personnel around them, but Deirdre had chosen a table against the wall, where she could watch the other tables.

She would have usually met up with Holt in her office, but she was spooked. This was a Starfleet base and after the visit from that Internal Affairs officer, her office suddenly didn't seem like the safe space it usually was.

"You told a Starfleet Commander that you can't help her?" Marken whispered. Despite knowing it looked suspicious, he looked behind him, to ensure he wasn't being overheard.

Turning back to Deirdre, he continued. "Do you have any idea how that reads?"

"I have a pretty good idea," Deirdre quipped. Then she turned serious again. "So now what?"

Holt stared at his coffee. "Maybe we can still fix this."

"I'm not going to help Starfleet, no matter what they want."

Holt took a deep breath. "I'm not talking about helping. You want to A," he counted on his fingers, "make sure Starfleet doesn't peg you as noncooperative."

Deirdre shrugged.

"Right, and B, ensure your ships aren't fired upon."

Seeing there was no response from Deirdre, he pushed on. "You need to contact the Stargazer, find something you can give them." He raised a finger to cut off Deirdre's objections. "Then you contact that Commander again, and try to be more helpful."

"But-"

"I said 'try'."

Deirdre shot him a glance.

Then, after a while. "Fine."

"Good," Holt returned to his coffee. "Because the last thing you'd want is for Fleet Command to focus on you."

"Yeah, I got that." Deirdre got up. "Thanks, Marken."

=/\=

Deirdre Arlen
Arlen Transit & Freight

 

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