A Matter of Trust, Part I: Curiosity

Posted on Sun Mar 29th, 2026 @ 11:28pm by Lieutenant Alexandra Blackstone MD/DSAPM & Lieutenant JG Jezra Siv MD & Captain Remy Johansen & Civilian Aetan
Edited on on Sun Mar 29th, 2026 @ 11:51pm

1,908 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Peril at the Unification Accords
Location: Praetorian Warbird Vindex and USS Astrea
Timeline: MD 11, 1200 Hours (After Revelations)

* * * Praetorian Warbird Vindex * * *

"Are you ready yet?" Joreel asked Aetan. The Vindex had received information from their eyes aboard the Astrea about an actionable target, and only moments ago received word of an opening as the target entered the ship's holodeck. The two were with the weapon, which occupied the centre of the room.

Aetan said nothing. He was on his knees, eyes closed, head bowed, and fingertips pressed lightly together. He wore a garment over his shoulders that resembled a Vulcan prayer robe, except it was blood red and had the markings of the ancient tongue. The mark of Shariel, the old Vulcan god of death, adorned the back. He needed just a few minutes to focus his mind for what was to come. It was an archaic ritual, and perhaps not strictly necessary, but Aetan made a point of doing it every time. Finally, he opened his eyes and nodded to Joreel. "Begin assembly."

The weapon, or "curiosity" as Aetan affectionately called it, was a small, metallic orb adorned with the markings of the Vulcan priesthood. It was suspended at eye level by anti-grav support beams, literally floating in mid air. It was as ancient as it looked.

At Aetan's assemble command, two flat, metallic disks descended from the ceiling. Each resembled a crescent moon. They halted on either side of the orb, then began slow polar orbits around it. Over the top and under the bottom. The orb began to sing with a gentle, ethereal hum.

"Assembly complete," Aetan reported over the open comm. "Ready to deploy."

While waiting for Aetan, Joreel found his hand fiddling with the knife in his pocket. A family heirloom, passed to the first child to make their first kill. When the scientist reported that he was ready, Joreel tapped his communicator with his other hand. "Sub-commander, we are ready."

"Do you need me to hold your hand in order to do your job, Sublieutenant?" came the reply.

Joreel held his tongue for a couple seconds before he pushed out a simple "no, Subcommander" through his teeth. To restrict his autonomy in this assignment, then to respond in a tone that judged his competency, was certainly a decision. But voicing his opinions of her audacity was a surefire way to get jettisoned, if she was merciful. He moved to the controls, entering in commands with a little more force than necessary. "Deploying the weapon."

Aetan was ahead of them. At the first word out of Minatha's mouth he had already placed his hand on the orb, his fingers lightly touching the metallic surface in the same manner as a Vulcan mind meld. The hum from the orb changed tone. Now it was deeper. He breathed in deeply and closed his eyes again. "My mind is unbound. My thoughts are unconfined. I seek another with which to merge and become one."

Another minute passed by.  Aetan maintained his focus. If Joreel or the bridge were offering any more comments then he didn't hear them. He thought of the Astrea, currently cruising near Barisa Prime with over eleven-hundred souls aboard. Eleven-hundred minds. She was the largest ship in the vicinity. This shouldn't be difficult. He reached out to her, making his way through the fabric of thought like a man wading against a river's current. Yes, he could sense them now. His mind passed from the coldness of space and through the ship's bulkhead. He hovered through Astrea's corridors, seeing nothing but sensing everything. This was exhausting. It took a great deal of concentration. He had to find another mind in which to anchor himself. Preferably a pliable one. 

A woman in a Starfleet uniform rounded the bend of the corridor. Her gait was prompt and purposeful. Her eyes were fixed on a PADD that she held in her hands. Aetan slipped into the woman's mind, being as subtle as possible. It was like stepping through an open door. He permeated her mental galleries until he felt a firm connection. Now he was anchored to her, looking at the world through her eyes, hearing what she could hear. A silent passenger in her mind of whom she was unaware. He could relax now, but only a little. If he stayed with her too long then she would start to feel the effects of their connection. Uncomfortable effects at first. Then eventually, something worse.

Aetan saw what she was reading on her PADD. The port nacelle's plasma injectors were running at 280 kilopascals above threshold. She had new pre-stage intermix calculations that would hopefully correct the problem. So, a propulsion engineer of some kind. A busy one. Guiding her might be difficult. Aetan severed his mind's connection with her and passed through another bulkhead. The engineer, still going over her calculations in her head, continued on her way to the turbolift. 

Aetan found himself in a darkened room. He sensed another mind in here, and swiftly anchored within. Sight, hearing, and other senses were cut off. The anchor's thoughts were disconnected, fluid, and slow of rhythm. Not an alarming sensation at all, but pleasant. The man was asleep in his bed. Alone. 

Aetan smiled. This was a good opportunity to re-try something he had attempted in the Curiosity's early lab tests. Before the Tal Shiar had stepped in and ordered him to move on to "more useful applications." A pliable mind was what he needed. If he was cautious, then a sleeping mind might be exceedingly useful. He penetrated the unconscious man's motor cortex, seeking out the speech centers.

"Aaahm," the man said gently. His eyes remained closed. His mind and body remained comfortably asleep. "Aahm-pey." 

Aetan clenched his jaw. It was the same as the lab tests. In a sleep state an anchor's mind was more yielding, but exerting control over it was as difficult as...well, carrying a sleeping adult. Focus, he reminded himself. Don't lose the connection. Give me your mind. He pushed harder. 

"Computer," the sleeping man said in a dry-throated croak. He didn't stir, completely unaware that someone else was borrowing his mouth.  

The computer chirped and awaited a command. Aetan resisted the urge to laugh in triumph. Focus!

Next question. Again delivered in a raspy, almost spectral voice. "What is my name, rank, and position?"

"Warrant Officer Thane Quintan, Supervisory Technician, Stellar Cartography."

No one of consequence, Aetan thought sourly. He would press ahead anyway to see what he could dig up. "What is my level of security clearance?"

"You are authorized to Security Level 3 within your department. Access to higher levels requires the approval of a command-rank officer."

Hmm. "What is the status of the investigation into Ambassador T'Varel's death?"

"The investigation remains open and ongoing."

"Tell me in detail what the investigators have found."

"Access to evidence, witness interviews, and forensic data is restricted to authorized personnel only."

I was afraid you'd say that. Aetan grunted under the strain. Trying to gather information while using this gentle sleeper was growing difficult. Meanwhile, the sleeping man, Thane Quintan, turned over and exhaled deeply. Aetan had to make some headway or move on. 

"Who on this ship is authorized to view that investigation file?"

"Captain Johansen, Commander Spello, Lieutenant Commander Andersen, Lieutenant Commander Xalanth, Doctor Siv, Lieutenant--"

"Pause," Aetan said through his sleeping mouthpiece. The ship's Captain. Now there was an idea. She was likely on her bridge. If he could anchor into her mind, then he might learn all sorts of useful information. If her mind was docile enough, then he could influence her decision-making. And if she resisted, then he could perhaps induce feelings of paranoia and despair, just as he had with the pilot of that Nidean freighter. Aetan smiled at that. Getting one of his loose ends to kill himself had been a genius play. He imagined getting Captain Johansen to do the same. Surely she had easy access to a phaser? 

Aetan sighed. No. Minatha would never sign off on that. She was too afraid of making bold moves. As evidenced by her last order to him, which smacked of fear and self-preservation. He wasn't even sure she fully realized the possibilities they had unlocked on this mission. The Curiosity was proving to be a triumph. Amusingly, it was not a new idea. It was as old as the sands of Vulcan itself. 

He would leave the Captain in good health. Pity. Perhaps one of the other officers mentioned would be useful. Maybe the ship's doctor? A look at the Ambassador's autopsy report would be a good place to start gathering intel. They could glean a lot from that. "Computer, where can I find this Dr. Siv?"

"Dr. Siv is currently on deck 7, holodeck 3."


* * *USS Astrea* * *

Jezra exited the holodeck with Alex and Remy, with the former pausing to remove the isolinear chip from the slot in the access panel and extending it toward Remy.

"I'm going to Intelligence now," Remy stated to the two physicians as she took the chip from Jezra. "Like I said, we'll need more than a holodeck recreation of a memory to go off of. We will see if they can back up any of what we just saw. Find something solid for us to use."

"Aye, Cap'n." Came Alex' response. She thought for a moment upon where she would head and decided that her quarters might be the best destination and turned herself toward that goal.

The two doctors were walking down the corridor of Deck 7 with the awkward silence that followed a farewell followed by walking in the same direction. The program Alex had shown left a lot to digest, and Jezra had several questions.

"What the hell is this research you've been doing??" Jezra abruptly asked, curiosity getting the better of them.

Alex paused, looking at Jezra with a guarded expression. She stopped in the hallway mid stride and it took her a moment to speak. She had not realized that she had mentioned her research in the CMO's presence and she was presented with a predicament of sorts now. Her mind raced for a moment and then she took a breath to steady herself. Best place to start is to assess the damage.

To be continued in Part 2


Sub-Commander Minatha ir'Ra'tleihfi i'Liorae-sihaer
Commander Officer
PWB Vindex
Tal Shiar
(NPC of Alexandra Blackstone)


Doctor Aetan
Tal Shiar Officer
PWB Vindex
Tal Shiar
(NPC of Sakkar)


Sub-Lieutenant Joreel tr'Rehni
Tal Shiar Officer
PWB Vindex
Tal Shiar
(NPC of Jezra Siv)


Lieutenant J.G. Jezra Siv
Chief Medical Officer
USS Astrea


Lieutenant Alexandra Blackstone
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Astrea


Captain Remira Johansen
Commanding Officer
USS Astrea

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