Unconventional Asset
Posted on 11 Aug 2025 @ 10:25pm by Vice Admiral Sidra MacLaren & Captain Sabrina Corbin
802 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
Assignment: Arawyn
Location: Starbase 369
Timeline: 242508.11
=/\= MacLaren’s Office – Starbase 369 =/\=
The office was still carrying the faint trace of Gareth Rhys’s presence; not physically, but in the way a conversation with someone like him left your mind running calculations long after the door shut. Sidra keyed in the last notation to his provisional orders, blacked the console, and tapped her comm.
=/\= MacLaren to Captain Corbin. Please report to my office. =/\=
The channel closed before Corbin could answer.
Sidra straightened the edge of a padd on her desk, then turned her chair toward the viewport. She wasn’t expecting trouble from Corbin over this assignment, but she wasn’t expecting blind agreement, either. A Sovereign-class captain had every right to know when an operator like Rhys was coming aboard.
The chime sounded a few minutes later.
“Enter.”
The door parted to admit Captain Sabrina Corbin, crisp in her uniform and carrying a travel crate with a set of green-gold feline eyes peering through the mesh. The muffled sound of a displeased mrrrp came from inside.
Sidra’s brows lifted a fraction. “I trust your first officer hasn’t been replaced with this.”
Corbin set the carrier gently on the deck beside her chair as she took the offered seat. “Not unless Starfleet has radically rethought its personnel policy. Routine check-up. He’s far less cooperative than my crew.”
A corner of Sidra’s mouth twitched before her expression settled. She brought up the orders on her padd and slid it across the desk.
“This isn’t a formal introduction so much as fair warning. Gareth Rhys will be joining the Arawyn before you leave port. He’s not Starfleet anymore, and any information you find on him in the personnel database will be old. You will, however, find the results he delivers worth the accommodation.”
Corbin leaned back slightly, her gaze flicking to the padd and back. “And what sort of accommodation are we discussing, Admiral?”
“The kind that comes with fewer rules and more reach than your standard intelligence officer,” Sidra said evenly. “He works in spaces my people can’t touch without half the quadrant knowing we’re there. I’m placing him with you because I want that reach, and because your ship’s profile lets him operate under a certain… cover.”
“That’s one way to phrase ‘unconventional asset,’” Corbin said, crossing one leg over the other. “Does he come with a full crew, or is he a solo act?”
Sidra’s gaze didn’t waver. “He comes with an AI partner. Advanced, integrated, and non-standard. They’re a package deal. I’ve already authorised the modifications to give them secure access to ship systems, under your oversight, of course.”
Corbin let out a slow breath, her mind already cataloguing the potential impacts on her department heads. “And if this partner of his starts getting underfoot?”
“You’ll handle it,” Sidra replied without missing a beat. “I’m not asking you to change how you command your ship. I’m asking you to give him room to work in the places my own people can’t go.”
Corbin glanced down as the carrier emitted another mrrrp of protest. She gave the mesh a reassuring tap, then looked back at Sidra. “And I assume this isn’t about just one mission.”
“No,” Sidra admitted. “This is about keeping a constant ear to the ground in a region that’s been left to its own devices for too long. The Traxati are only part of the problem. There are factions out there who see the Arawyn as a prize or a threat, sometimes both. Rhys will help us hear the whispers before they turn into open fire. He may come and go, though, as you return here. He has his own ship and crew. There is no set time for this assignment. When it stops being beneficial for either party, it will cease to be.”
Corbin’s lips pressed into a thoughtful line. “I’ll want regular briefings from him, and from you, on anything that touches my ship or crew.”
“You’ll have them,” MacLaren smirked at the demand from the Captain, appreciating it from her. Sidra said. “And you’ll find he’s more forthcoming than most in his line of work. His loyalty is transactional, but his results are consistent.”
The cat in the carrier shifted, tail flicking against the mesh. Corbin rose, lifting the crate by its handle. “Then I suppose I’ll make room for him. But if he starts nesting in my ready room, he’s yours to house-train.”
Sidra’s mouth curved into something just shy of a smile. “Duly noted, Captain. Dismissed.”
Corbin inclined her head, then turned for the door, feline in tow.
Captain Sabrina Corbin
Commanding Officer
USS Arawyn
Vice Admiral Sidra MacLaren
Epsilon Fleet Commander
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