Intelligence Banter

Posted on Sun Nov 15th, 2026 @ 9:50am by Lieutenant Kate Kono & Ensign Aidan "A.J." Reid & Lieutenant JG Benjamin "Ben" Dalton

1,306 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Another Tin Man
Location: Intelligence Office
Timeline: Current

Ensign Na’Riss, her slender frame poised with Vulcan discipline, would not have described her temporary reassignment to Intelligence as a source of happiness. To deem it beneficial and agreeable was, however, an accurate assessment, and as close to enthusiasm as she would permit herself to express. She sat at the vacant desk, its surface still holding the faint energy traces of the officers who had occupied it before their deaths: first Kevin, then Lucy.

“Listen now,” AJ said, his Jamaican cadence warm but insistent. He leaned against forward at his desk, his tall, athletic form relaxed but his expression earnest. “All I’m sayin’ is you have to be at least a little superstitious ‘bout takin’ dis post. Is not that I don’t want you here… you know I love havin’ ya near, but dat desk? Dat desk carry bad luck. Bad vibes, serious.”

Na’Riss did not lift her gaze from the console, her fingers moving with efficient precision across the interface. The standard Vulcan haircut framed a face of composed focus.

“Your belief in Terran superstition is not logical,” she replied, her voice even and measured. “However, I… value you nonetheless. This department required assistance due to insufficient personnel. The implication that the shortfall extends beyond mere staffing inadequacy appears self-evident.”

AJ pushed his rolling chair away from his desk and came to a stop beside her. He crossed his arms, his tone shifting into playful challenge. “So you tellin’ me, with all your Vulcan history, all those space missions… an’ after we just deal with a ghost ship where one a your engineers get possessed by some hell-spirit demon… you sittin’ there tellin’ me all obeah and hocus pocus is just illogical?”

Na’Riss paused. Her dark eyes lifted from the screen to regard him. She took a slow breath, then glanced toward Ben, the Executive Department head, her expression neutral yet seeking either corroboration or intervention, while AJ watched, certain and smiling slightly.

The doors slid open with a soft hiss. Kate stepped through, her eyes taking in the tableau: Ben seated behind his polished obsidian desk, his posture rigid as he observed AJ. AJ, in turn, stood facing Na’Riss, one eyebrow arched in a distinctly challenging expression.

“Have I interrupted at an inopportune moment?” Kate inquired as the door sealed shut behind her.

Na’Riss turned in her chair, her hands clasped neatly behind in her lap. “Lieutenant Reid is attempting to persuade me that this desk generates supernatural tension within the Intelligence department. His premise is based on the illogical correlation between its continued existence and the unfortunate demise of all its previous occupants.”

Kate exhaled a puff of air, her smile turning into a playful smirk. "Okay, so, like, I'm totally on team 'a desk is just a desk'," she chirped, "but also, hello-yeah-yeah? Maybe consider the other person's vibe?" She winked at Ben. "No shade.. your takes are usually fire!"

AJ’s smug composure broke into deep, resonant laughter at this abrupt pivot into absurdity.

Kate bounced across the room and wrapped Ben, who was simply spectating, in an embrace of considerable force.

Ben's arms were up and around Kate in an instant. His hold snug but not tight. He leaned forward and kissed her lightly. "This is unexpected but I like it and for the record. I understand AJ's reasoning but come on its a desk. Would you feel better if e preformed and exorcism on it?" He asked half seriously.

Kate perched on the edge of Ben’s lap, wiggling her fingers toward Na’Riss’s desk in a theatrical, spell-casting motion. A soft giggle escaped her. Na’Riss observed the display with an expression of pure neutrality, her gaze lingering a calculated amount of seconds before pivoting to address AJ.

“It is a logical conclusion,” Na’Riss stated, her voice devoid of inflection, “that the votes of the many outweigh the votes of the few. Or the one.” The observation was delivered with a precision that made the faint upturn at the corner of her lip seem like a data anomaly.

AJ rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, his rich Jamaican patois filling the room. “Alright, alright! Di majority have spoken.” He pointed a long, dark finger in Na’Riss’s direction as he used his feet to scoot his chair back toward his desk. “But mek sure yuh extra careful! Mi cyaan lose yuh.”

“Your concern, while emotionally driven, is unnecessary. My presence will remain a constant variable in your life,” Na’Riss replied. “Its value is derived from non-biased, logical perfection.” AJ couldn’t determine if her statement contained humor or was merely a fact.

“Dem seh inna di meeting if di Romulans a come to di party?” AJ asked.

The question made Kate draw a sharp breath. She shook her head slowly, her shoulders lifting in a helpless shrug.

“I don’t know,” Kate said.

Na’Riss’s head tilted a precise two degrees. “Clarify: what, precisely, was communicated?”

Kate’s shrug became more frantic, her head shaking with increased vigor.

“Well,” AJ said, his brow furrowing in confusion, “den wha’ di rass dat meetin’ was for?”

Kate continued shaking her head, a steady, nervous motion. “Just… be on your toes,” she murmured, finally standing from Ben’s lap. She brushed a quick kiss against his temple before moving toward her desk.

“Solid advice any day, Lieutenant,” AJ said.

Kate swung her upper torso to meet Ben’s gaze as she sat down at her desk in the office.

“… all we can really do is monitor the long-range sensor arrays and ping any colonies within hailing distance for status updates and comms traffic. But there’s nothing out here Tactical hasn’t already flagged and relayed to the bridge long before it hits our screens.” Kate lowered herself into her chair, the worn cushion sighing under her ninety pound frame. Her fingers moved across the terminal, waking a constellation of amber-lit processes that bloomed across the dark glass of her display.

Ben nodded. "So we do what we always do. We watch. we observe and we give advice, warnings to the command team whether they asked or not. To give them a more complete picture of the situation."

Na’Riss lifted her chin, her dark eyes locking with AJ’s across the room as he turned toward her. A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched the corner of her mouth at the exact moment his own lips curved in response. Kate watched them, the unspoken current between them as real and certain as the low hum of the ship’s engine. She saw how Na’Riss’s shoulders relaxed just before AJ shifted his weight, how her fingers stilled on the console a heartbeat before he spoke. Kate bit her lip, curious about the mechanics of such a bond but unwilling to invite one of Na’Riss’s thorough, uncomfortably detailed explanations. She turned instead to Ben, who was studying a navigation readout with quiet concentration. Their understanding was quieter, built on shared glances and the brush of a hand against an arm, but no less certain. When he looked up and met her eyes, warmth spread through her chest, solid and real.

Ben's smile slowly spread across his face. His eyes held desire for only her. His eyes drifted to AJ an Na'Riss before snapping back to hold Kate in their gaze. He continued to gaze at her before his right eye winked at her though his facial expression never changed. The wink certified their connection to each other as it was a private expression, gesture meant only for her eyes. When he winked his hand extended to her, for the sole purpose of completing their connection. They complimented and completed each other and it was good and right.

 

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