Tricked

Posted on Mon Jul 8th, 2019 @ 5:47am by Commander Logan Vance
Edited on on Sat Aug 3rd, 2019 @ 3:55am

Mission: Preludes
Location: Prana III, Cardassian Space
Timeline: 2385
Tags: Prelude

Tricked
Prana III, Cardassian Space
Year: 2385
Time: 0115
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Logan Vance lit the cigarette and put out the match. He wasn't a fan of smoking but it had been sold as a part of his cover. He'd done it enough he could sell it and not look green. Still, he'd held off for as long as he could before lighting it.

This would be one of his shorter missions. He'd be in and out in a couple weeks as opposed to six to nine months. As a result, his cover was less through and had to be rushed. Starfleet intelligence had stock identities ready to do for missions like this but they were always risky. They weren't as researched and they had less time to insert the profile into the area he needed to operate. The problem was, information like this didn't wait.

The Dominion War had been over for ten years now. Logan had only served on the tail end but his first few mission has been on Bajor and Cardassia. He'd seen the impact of it first hand, the death, and destruction. So with the ever-looming threat of re-igniting that conflict, Starfleet was very sensitive to any information that would point to that event.

And that was why he was here. A Vorta had contacted Starfleet Intelligence with an offer to trade intel in exchange for asylum with the Federation. Logan's job was to validate the information was real and if it was, smuggle the informant off the planet and back into Federation territory so Starfleet could take custody. That, of course, easier said than done but that was why they had sent Logan.

He was told the Vorta had no sex drive and that disappointed him. He's seen the informant's picture and she was quite attractive. They'd have a lot of time to kill before they were safely back in Federation space. They'd have to find some way to kill the time. Maybe he could test that theory.

"Excuse me…" a female voice whispered. Logan ignored it. He didn't want to look too eager or like he was waiting for someone to approach. No, he was just out on the street enjoying a smoke. Anyone who might be interested in that was no concern of his. "Excuse me!" she said a little more loudly.

"What…? You're talking to me?" Logan looked confused.

"I… I don't really know… I was told I'd find someone here I'm supposed to meet." The woman wore a long hooded robe to conceal herself and stuck out like a sore thumb. If she was this shitty at subterfuge, this was gonna be harder than he thought.

"Sorry, lady. You got the wrong guy." He could hear a nervous, if not frightened whine as she looked around for anyone else that might be her contact. Logan simply shook his head. She was supposed to greet him with a catchphrase. That had been the whole point of giving it to her in the first place. So they could identify each other without exposing their identities. He rolled his eyes. He would obviously have to help her out. "Listen, doll, how are you supposed to know who you're meetin' anyway?"

"Oh! Right!" It seemed to finally dawn on her. "I'm… I'm looking for the founders of the 5th street tavern…"

At least she got that right. He flicked the cigarette away. "Those guys are two streets over. I can show you," he gave the return call sign.

"Oh praise the founders, thank you!" she seemed overjoyed, loud enough to alert the whole street.

Logan sighed in frustration and grabbed her arm to pull her off the street. He stayed quiet until they were well inside the alley. "The point is to keep a low profile. You were loud enough to wake the dead," he whispered sternly.

"Not the dead. Just my friends," she replied.

When she said that, it only took a second for Logan to realize something was off. He released her just before she tried to slap some kind of device on his arm. She missed but then in a blink of an eye, she shed the robe to reveal a spry young woman that looked nothing like a Vorta.

"Brakka had to call in a lot of favors to track you here," the woman continued.

Logan recognized that name. It had been over twenty years since he'd heard it. "Whoever that is, I think you got the wrong guy. So why don't you run along while you still can."

"Oh sweetie. You didn't think we forgot about little ol' Devin, did you? And don't worry. After we're through with you, we have a special little surprise for dear sweet Kaitlyn." With that, she lunged at him with the device in her hand.

Logan dodged and delivered a blow to her head as she whizzed by. The woman was off balance for a minute but quickly recovered and came at him again. The pair traded blow and each time she swiped with the device, he was forced to parry or back away.

Finally, after about a couple minutes of this, he found an opening and struck her square in the face. He didn't like hitting women but when it came down to doing it to save his life he made an exception. She staggered backward and Logan spun on his heels to high tail it out of the alley. As he did so, he pressed the space behind his ear to activate his extraction message. He had no idea how close the team would be but with any luck, it was less than a day. He doubted he had much more time than that.

Unfortunately, he couldn't be more mistaken. He never saw the phaser that stunned him.

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Agent (Lt.) Logan Vance
Starfleet Intelligence