JDL | Com Ravnsson, PontBrillant | "Down That Darkened Road"

Posted on Mon Apr 2nd, 2018 @ 7:14pm by Commodore Aksel Ravnsson

Mission: Lacuna

"PontBrillant er på Vindicator." PontBrillant is on the Vindicator. The raspy voice of his aid alerted Aksel to something new going on, or at least what the aid thought was new. The cold gray eyed El Aurian could only sneer as he worked to tie a proper windsor. If he was going to continue this charade, he would need to speak with the firestorm herself, dull her senses. Any second now that woman was going to come unglued and hurtling out of the gate hell bent for vengeance and answers. The last thing he needed was that degree of attention or trouble, especially when everything was so close to going through.

In twenty-eight hours, thirty-seven seconds, the women would be auctioned off and sold off to interested collectors from the furthest reaches of space. Their DNA would have been combed and injected into the bodies of those who didn't make the trip and dumped on a small moon not far from the station, burned to where the only hope of identification would be DNA. There'd be funerals. People would weep. Somewhere down the line the Stenellis would add value by bringing her child into the world, but most importantly... The Empress would be an unstoppable force and, unlike the Phoenix, he had no intention of stopping Xue'Daio Nox's rage.

"So?" He finally said in response, tugging his tie into place. "Han er en gammel ven." He is an old friend. He mused, catching his aid's eyes in the mirror, "Gamle venner vil altid være venner. Han kan og vil blive brugt." Old friends will always be friends. He can and will be used. in fact he smiled at this. PontBrillant had always been a brilliant agent, and now he was poised in a perfect position to keep an eye on the Phoenix for him.

Turning he finally faced the aid and sighed, holding out a large, weathered hand, "Fik du det?" Did you get what I asked for?

"Ja." Yes. The aid responded, revealing a small hypo and placing it in his master's outstretched hand. She'd never feel it.

"Har du dobbelt kontrol med doseringen? Jeg vil ikke have kvinden død. Jeg vil have hende ... Bøjelig." Did you get what I asked for? Did you double check the dosing? I don't want the woman dead. I want her... Pliable. Aksel responded, pocketing the item.

The aid chewed their lip for a second before replying, "Ja, men du skal vide ... Alle rapporter er, at PontBrilliant er sød på Ivanova." Yes, but you should know that according to all reports, PontBrillant is sweet on Ivanova. he tried to explain as best he could.

"Så ser jeg ham, før jeg ser hende." Then I'll see him before I see her. Aksel's eyes closed, annoyed with the set back, "Se hvad han ved. Hvad han er villig til at dele." See what he knows, what he's willing to share.

-=- Vlimar temporary quarters -=-

"And, this is the initial report on the crew, with relationship annotations." the young Lieutenant Townsend stated to Vlimar. The man was sitting in a couch in his apartment, as he was getting brief by his subordinate. "Anything else you need from me, V?" asked the young woman, joyfully.

"No, no, that's all Elli. Thank you." he stated as he offered a quick smile for the woman.

"Is there anything else you may need?" she asked, rapidly.

Vlimar slowly looked back at the woman's eyes. She seemed in an hurry.

"No, you can go." he replied.

"... because I have a date tonight with this guy, I know nothing of him, it was the funniest sit...", the woman started blabbing, before the man interrupted her.

"Elli, please, spare the details..." he replied, offering her another smile.

"Yes, of course." replied the young woman, nodding. She offered a smile, turned and left the quarters.

Vlimar laughed a little, grabbed his padd and immediately left his quarters. He would not be caught spending too much time there if he could help it. His destination? Chez Jacques, a small French inspired café where there was only three tables, potable croissants and decent coffee.

As he arrived at the shop, he sat down, waved at the waiter and waited for his usual order.

---

That had been less than an hour prior, leaving Aksel time to finished getting dressed and preparing his final plans for subduing the Phoenix long enough to have things go his way. Finding PontBrillant wasn't exactly hard either, fine French cafe's were a rarity that deep in space. There was only one on Cold Station Theta, and it was precisely there that he found the man. "By the stars, I'd heard rumor you were around, old friend, but I hardly thought them true!" Aksel's greeting boomed as he approached the table the Frenchman occupied, "It's been what... Fifteen years? You look damn good."

Vlimar stopped mid-sip of his coffee. The voice was unique, easily recognizable. A smile appeared on his face as he slowly set the cup back onto its saucer.


“Aksel, old friend.”, he said, standing up to salute the approaching man. “Thank you, you, in exchange, look horrible.”, he replied, with good humor, a smile well perch onto his mouth. “What are you doing here?”, he asked.

The salute returned, the El Aurian could only chuckle at the well turned jab. PontBrillant had always been a bit of a character, his good humor quite predictable in nature. "I should ask you the same, but since you must know, I'm here cleaning up a bit of a mess." The inherent distaste failed to color Aksel's own smile and seemingly good mood, "I'm on my way to see Commodore Ivanova, actually. Speaking of her, I've heard that the two of you know one another. You sly bastard."

Vlimar smiled slightly. The slight jab relating to his relationship with the Commodore was in good sports, Vlimar had built a reputation not relating to his actions, but rather to his cultural origins. He liked to entertain women, he liked to be bold and charming. It was well known.

“Well, I do know her.”, he replied, then trying to change the target of the discussion. “What kind of a mess did you cause, now?”, he asked, winking. “Anything I can help with?”, he asked.

"Not my mess, not this time." Aksel took a seat across from the Frenchman, gesturing with an exasperated sigh, "This station managed to have two Starfleet officers kidnapped, two females no less, in under twenty-four hours. No one seems to be able to make heads or tails of it and one of them belongs to the good Commodore who I hope can make my job much more simple." Much more simple, indeed. In less than an hour she'd be out of the running and sidelined from work for at least a couple days and that, he'd long ago decided, was perfect form. "Anyway, I've heard she's exquisite and newly on the market. Any tips?"

Vlimar took his seat back at waves at the waiter to bring a coffee for the El Aurian, as Aksel was speaking. Vlimar nodded at the news of the kidnapping, he was already aware. “Well, she is a no-frill commander, the less you say, the better it is.”, he responded as he took a slight sip of his coffee. “After all, someone like her doesn’t get to where she is by wasting time on window dressing facts.”, he added, smiling.


Vlimar then looked back at Aksel, advancing slightly on his chair. “Last I heard you were on a fast track for… partnership.”, said the man, obviously speaking about S31 hierarchy. “What happened with that?”, he continued.

No bite on the bait left Aksel intrigued all the more. The wheels in his head were ever turning, putting puzzle pieces together with precious precision like well oiled clockwork. Vlimar was playing the game of coy, moving his pieces across the playing board with a dismissive hand and doing everything to show nothing when nothing meant everything. "No-frills you say?" He nodded, appreciating the coffee that was quickly dropped off, his gratitude shown to the waiter with a small nod and grin. "She's the daughter of Admiral Hark, progeny of a Commander in Chief that had no idea she was his pup until she'd already rose to super stardom within Starfleet. You're right. She didn't have time to window dress facts, she came up the hard way." True, true, and true again. He could respect that level of moxie in anyone, especially a woman. "Malone liked her, but Malone liked anything that had a decent rack." He scoffed, settling into his coffee for a sip, "Interesting that she married Captain Neyes. More interesting that they've divorced. Does the ship suffer for it?" A good question, it would help him figure out just how deep the rift may go and how vulnerable the Phoenix may have been. How easy it would be to get his job done.

But then came a question that left Aksel with a wider smile, "I direct Starfleet Intelligence and Captain Dunross has disappeared. I think we both know the answer to that question, Vlimar." Speaking lightly of the Section 31 director previously in charge. Words about the agency were quiet and hushed. They neither existed or didn't exist.

Vlimar laughed at the comment relating Malone. He remember his not-too-subtle way of showing preference. The first instinct would have been to deny knowing anything about the Commodore’s past life, as any person trying not to over commit in a discussion would, but he knew who he was talking to. The usual self-protecting reflexes that one would undertake in a conversation did not apply here, there was a way and a mean to find the truth, so one needed to be careful how they would answer to such comments. Stating knowledge could be as bad as pretending ignorance. A fine line.


“In reality, I was retired until few months ago, Aksel. I *just* came back to help the Academy with some specialized training, so have been out of the loop, slightly.”, he responded to the man. “However, I doubt that her… personal situation affected her management of the ship.”, he added, after a little reflection, done while taking the last sip of his espresso.

“But, again, what do I know?”, he asked, smiling, leaning back on his chair. As Aksel mentioned Dunross and his demise, he nodded, gravely. “A shame for all.”, he stated. “However, I’m sure his replacement is quite an asset for the organization.”, he concluded.

A nod, nothing more, was given and Aksel processed what he needed to from the other man's flippant and vague words. "I'd heard rumor that you were a bit sweet on the woman." He chuckled and shrugged, "One never knows what to extrapolate from rumor and conjecture anymore, old friend. Either way, I'm glad that you've returned to Starfleet in some capacity." It was his turn to enjoy his beverage, a social cue pointing to his level of relaxation, "I'd like to think that Dunross's replacement is an asset. Especially since I have to look at the son of a bitch every day in the mirror, but that's a discussion for another time." The Norseman grinned wolfishly as he rose from his seat, "We'll have to do this again soon, but now if you'll excuse me... The Commodore awaits." Somewhere below his feet rose a rumble that shook the porcelain cups as they set on their saucers, and as the gray man made his way through the promenade, the sounds of hushed panic began to reach his ears.

All he did in return... Was smile.

---

Commodore Aksel Ravnsson
Director, Starfleet Intelligence
Starfleet

Vlimar PontBrillant
Civilian Contractor
Starfleet