Closing The Candy Jar

Posted on Sun Apr 6th, 2025 @ 2:32pm by Lieutenant Commander Aer Feshau-Patton & Colonel Jack Patton

1,542 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: History Speaks
Location: Intelligence Office - Level 5 - Faltan Station

Jack could not believe the nonchalance of the Captain. To allow this reporter to gain information about how the station operated and its policies was unheard of. Add to that mix this Candy Templeton had connections to the leader of the planet Faltan. A person who was undesirable to say the very least.

Well, the Colonel may be duty bound to follow the orders of Captain M'Mira. However, he was also duty bound to perform his own investigation. To that end he has ordered the Kingsmen to not speak with Candy Templeton without his expressed authorization. His next step brought him to the office of the Chief Intelligence Officer, his wife, Aer Feshau-Patton.

When Jack walked in the officer on duty came to attention. "Sir, is there something I can do for you?" Jack smiled at the Ensign. "At ease Ensign. Just came to see the misses." He walked into the inner office where his wife sat. "Morning my love. I see you are still glowing."

"I think that might be radiation." Aer joked a little as she tried to rise to her feet to greet her husband. The organisation of the stations intel department was a joke and how it had been let to fall this far was beyond her. A complete overhaul was needed and she almost felt this couldn't have come at a worse time being just under halfway through her pregnancy. "Please tell me you brought me snacks?"

Jack had something hidden behind his back. "What kind of husband would I be if I didn't bring you something." He produced a small tin filled with caramel popcorn. "I am always happy to spend some time with you, but this is not just a social call. There is something on the station I need to talk to you about."

"Jack..." Aer moaned. "We're just here. You can't have something I need to look into already beyond the mountain of a mess I've inherited." she gestured to the mess on her desk. "You brought me a bribe." she teased.

"We both have inherited a mountain of a mess. It seems that there is a reporter with close ties to the corrupt Faltan government. This reporter is snooping around the station for information about our plans and strategies. It seems to me that they can and would leak this information. The Captain on the other hand does not seems to care. Well I would like to learn all I can and if possible shut this reporter down." Jack smirked and gave his wife the look that he knew always won her over. "You know if need be there can be more caramel corn where that came from."

"She has ties to Governor Taga, or people within her government?" Aer asked with an arched eyebrow. From Aer's experience with reporters they often stuck their noses where it didn't belong but she did have a respect for them to some degree. They sought truth, or a good story, but either way they were like intelligence in how they gathered information. She'd had a few on her 'payroll' back on Poseidon Station.

"Can we leverage some information we have, some non-vital stuff. Sprouce it up and make it look more important and see if she'll give us some intel on the Faltan's?" Aer thought out loud, her mind was spinning with ideas.

She had moved over as Jack's looked washed over her. He tried it all the time and believed it worked. Most of the time she was already going to do what he asked because she wanted to, or saw the need for it, but she let him think he had the upper hand.

Taking the caramel corn she gave him a peck on the cheek. "How shut down do you want her? Like out of a job shut down, or like 'we lost her in a fire' shut down?" Aer asked nonchalantly as she popped a piece of corn into her mouth and awaited his answer. Her hormones had let out an uncharacteristic cold streak in her when it came to her job.

Jack snapped his fingers. "Yes, that's it we make her think that something that is not true is fact and see what she does with it. I have the perfect thing, The Kingsmen. She can be told that our mission here is a sign of military might on behalf of Starfleet and the Federation. There are plans and things along those lines. In fact we are here to simply set up a forward base of operations for marines in this sector. But, she does not need to know that. Ideally I would like her out of a job, but to do that I need information that would convince the Captain to kick her from the station. So, I would settle for simply not snooping around. She has direct ties to Governor Taga. I believe that this Candy Templeton is telling the Governor plans that we have here so the Governor can get what they want or need right under our noses."

"If we feed her enough bad information that she reports false stories, or fake news, then her credibility goes. If she had ties to Governor Taga then I doubt the Governor would want to be linked with someone who cannot be relied upon to give good information. If you want me to plant out there that The Kingsmen are here as a show of force I can do that no problem." Aer realised that she hadn't taken a breath and quickly took a few to flood oxygen back into her body. "Either that or I can befriend her, lull her into a false sense of security and make her disappear." she shrugged. "Accidents happen."

Jack rose, picked his wife up and spun her around. "You know I do love it when you are scheming. Both, both, both is good. Lets leak out the information and if that fails. Then we go with plan B." Fact was Jack was only half joking. He did not think this station and by extension Starfleet could afford a leak even to someone who may be innocuous.

"Be careful!" she yelped as he picked her up and spun her. "Do you forget I'm creating life in here!" Aer gestured to her abdomen as he face flushed red. Once he put her down she puffed air out as if exhausted by the very action. "Do you want them coming out with the intelligence of a Pakled?" she placed her hands on her hips as if to emphasize the question, and point.

"No ma'am." Jack said with a smile and a salute. Fact was he may be a Colonel but in their household Aer was the General. "She does have a news show that airs on the station. I believe it is weekly and it is called The Sweet Truth. I think it may be prudent to have one of your people keep an eye on the program and what she is reporting."

"I think I threw up in my mouth a little... either from the babies, or the name of that show." Aer's face turned a little sour. "I'll have someone take a look at it, maybe even get them on the production team." she put a strand of her back behind her ear.

"Brilliant! Simply brilliant!" Jack said with a smile as he scooped his wife into his arms and spun her around. "But, there is more. The idea that the Captain is so nonchalant about all of this rubs me the wrong way. I wonder if she is in on whatever the Candy is up to."

"Are you asking, not asking, me to open up an investigation into the captain?" Aer asked hesitantly. "We can see what turns up with this Candy, maybe look for information she shouldn't have see where that takes us. If she is getting paid then following the money is the oldest trick in the intel book."

"Opening an investigation into the Captain is too much at the moment. It would play our hand too soon. But, you are on the right track. Let's see where the investigation takes us. But, we cannot rule the Captain out entirely." There was a lot to process here, and a lot of things that can go wrong. Jack knew better than most that they had to tread lightly here.

Aer began to smile. "You know you look sexy when you're paranoid." she stroked a finger along his chin and flashed eyes at him. "I can lock this door you know... and the office is sound-proofed."

"You... I... can't resist that smile of yours." Jack said as he kissed his wife just like it was the first time.

As he pushed her back towards the desk her hand searched aimlessly across it looking for the lock button. A stack of PADDs fell from the table and made a mighty clatter as they hit the floor but Aer didn't care. Her body needed this. Her hormones had been all over the place recently.

Finally she peaked out one eye and spotted the locking controls. With a quick press the doors sealed and they would be alone until she deemed him ready to go...

 

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