The Shadow Knows
Posted on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 @ 5:59am by Lieutenant JG Mira Jayna
Edited on on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 @ 6:09am
612 words; about a 3 minute read
Mission:
Episode 7 - Home Again
Location: Empok Nor
Timeline: MD002 1310 hrs
Jayna stepped off the shuttle at Empok Nor, glad to finally be able to have space to breathe. It wasn’t that the shuttle was cramped. More that there were too many people in a small space for too long a time. It reminded her of her days before joining Starfleet where every seat had to be filled, and children had to sit on laps or on the floor at their parents' feet to provide space for more travelers.
The small brown-eyed girl stopped in front of her. She’d watched Jayna all that day, not saying anything. Jayna wondered what was so odd about her appearance? She looked like a typical Vulcan, at least on the outside. Perhaps it was the black leather pants she wore, or the matching leather vest? It wasn’t odd for her line of work, but maybe the girl expected something more from a Vulcan?
Jayna raised her hand in the traditional salute. “Live long and prosper.”
The little girl turned and ran off.
Jayna couldn’t help laughing out loud, which caused several of her travel companions to look at her. She’d been quiet for most of the trip, mostly because she had nothing to say. To her it wasn't so odd. She smiled, which got her more stares.
She shook her head. "Enough of that," she told herself and headed for the queue to make sure her bags were sent on to the Pioneer. She didn’t have many personal possessions, but she didn’t want to lose any of them, either.
While she waited, she pulled out a small square of blue paper and began to fold it into a bird.
“Can I have one?”
She looked down to see the little girl again and smiled. She was a pretty girl, even if a little too solemn. “Okay. Just a minute.” She made a few more folds and gave the girl a tiny blue duck. “Here you go.”
The little girl took it almost reverently. "Thank you," she said before walking back to her parents.
Jayna watched the tableau of parents and child with a pang of loneliness. She missed her parents, even after all these years. She and her twin had been orphans since childhood, thanks to the war. She turned away before anyone noticed her distress.
“I hope this isn’t a portent of things to come,” she muttered. She wanted this assignment to be one where she could really get involved and feel like she was a part of something. The ship was small enough, she thought, to make her not feel so much like a shadow. But then, that was her job, wasn’t it? To be a shadow? Someone who came and went, gathering information without being noticed?
Jayna sighed, wiped her eyes, and turned, once again calm and collected on the outside. She stepped up to the terminal. “Mira Jayna for the Pioneer.”
She was handed a PADD without the man even looking up. Yep. A shadow. What was that line from the ancient Earth vid someone had shown her in the Academy? Oh, yes. "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Only the shadow knows."
She looked up to see the family board another shuttle. Yep, she was the Shadow, off to do a shadow's job. At least it was a job she was good at.
She checked the PADD. The Pioneer was docked nearby. She'd check in with the Quartermaster and then find someplace to get a drink.
Warrant Officer Mira Jayna
HUMINT Agent, USS Pioneer
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