Ignorance and Bliss

Posted on Mon Apr 20th, 2026 @ 9:04pm by Ensign Aidan "A.J." Reid & Ensign Kevin Mitchell & Lieutenant JG Benjamin "Ben" Dalton

1,708 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: The Shuttle Incident
Location: Intelligence Office - USS Washington
Timeline: current

Ensign AJ Reid hunched over his desk, eyes narrowed at the sensor readings from their last encounter with the unidentified shuttle. Through his peripheral vision, he caught Lieutenant Dalton checking the chronometer for the third time in five minutes, jaw muscles visibly tightening at Ensign Mitchell's continued absence. AJ offered what he hoped was a reassuring nod.

""De man probably be lookin' ova dem engine plans in de eatin' area, sah," he said, the words rolling with the rhythm of Kingston streets, fingers already discreetly tapping a message to Na'Riss beneath his console.

When his PaDD vibrated with Na'Riss's response—that Mitchell was currently entangled with the newly transferred operations officer… AJ's loyalty evaporated like atmosphere from a hull breach. His lips pressed into a thin line as he made a silent promise: next time Dalton asked, Mitchell's recreational activities would become public knowledge. AJ returned to his readings, shoulders rigid, knuckles whitening around his stylus as he maintained his professional composure by the thinnest of margins.

Ben shot AJ a look, "Look AJ. I know Mitchell as well as you do and I appreciate your loyalty to him but he isn't worth it and i guarantee you he isn't reading any engine plans. If he isn't here in the next minute, I'm calling Grayson.''

AJ's head snapped up at the whisper of the glass sliders parting. Kevin sauntered through the doorway, his shadow stretching across the polished floor tiles. With a lazy grin spreading across his face, AJ raised his juice bottle in an exaggerated salute.

"Eh mon! De gateway to Intelligence Department swing wide open, but not a ting of it come through, yuh see?" AJ flashed Ben a grin that lit up his whole face, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "De department get nuttin' good from dis presence, y'know," he said jokingly. Only half-jokingly.

"Sorry I'm late sir I was—" Kevin stammered, but never finished.

AJ sat down in the chair behind his desk so dramatically that the sound interrupted Kevin while AJ leaned back and tilted his head. "Listen me now, mon," he said, his verbal lilt rising. "If what come outta your mouth don't match what already in my head, I gonna squeal so loud the rats themselves gonna cover deah’ ears." He flashed a bright, exaggerated smile that didn't quite reach his narrowed eyes. "We clear, star?"

Kevin clamped his mouth shut, abandoning any explanation to Ben. His reputation was already circling the drain so why make it worse? A smug warmth spread through his chest as he savored his perfect crime: the runabout's sabotage had gone undetected, with Kate, the Captain, and their entire crew blissfully boarding the vessel without a whisper of suspicion. The program had already deleted itself by now. The ship would return to dock gleaming and seemingly untouched, his handiwork invisible to all eyes. His shoulders relaxed as he exhaled slowly, picturing their ignorant faces. Now if only Kate would hurry back! Then he could finally escape AJ's constant nagging about his tardiness, those irritating reminders that pricked at him like splinters under his skin.

Ben looked at AJ and then Kevin and shook his head. He had no problems with AJ who was proving invaluable but Kevin was a different story. He was a slacker, doing jobs half ass. he would talk to Kate about him and recommend he be transferred off the Washington.

AJ leaned forward with a sly grin. "Ya finish trackin' dat ion trail from de shuttle? Map out where it coulda gone?"

Kevin's fingers danced across his PaDD, tapping it twice against the polished surface. The air shimmered as a hologram materialized; a cobalt blue grid of stars and trajectories rotating slowly in the center of the room. Kevin stood, his face bathed in the azure glow.

"Only two possible destinations unless some ghost ship snatched it up," Kevin said, pointing to pulsing red markers. "The starbase we visited, and Starbase Mortimer. Records show one Starfleet vessel docked at Mortimer yesterday is now bound for Earth."

"I want dem logs cross-referenced wit' any passengers dat might've slipped aboard," AJ said, he almost danced in place with his happy disposition that lit up the room while he worked his mind. AJ pushed off his chair and perched on the edge of his desk, muscled arms folded across his chest. "Find me if Lieutenant Commander Tappin' was one dem."

AJ leaned over toward Ben, his sun-weathered face crinkling as his eyebrows danced expectantly.

"Too bad de Runabout out on mission. We coulda run 'er down like hungry dogs after a rabbit, ya know?" AJ's white teeth flashed against his dark stubble as his lips spread into a mischievous grin.

Despite his annoyance with Kevin, Ben smiled at AJ's cheerful bantering. "I do know, perhaps another time." He suggested with a smile.

AJ tipped his chair back on two legs, balancing with the casual confidence of a man who'd never once toppled over.

"Listen me now, with de Captain gone pon him little adventure an' Kate nowhere 'bout, we should seize de holodeck like true pirates, ya know? After Kevin finally decide to complete him work… Sometime before de next ice age, I hope." He winked at Ben before turning back to Kevin. "Me an' Ben gwaan start de party early, den you can roll in late as usual. We promise no nasty surprises—not like dat time with de Klingon opera singers." He leaned forward, chair legs hitting the floor with a thump. "Or bring ya new hot Ensign friend! We got plenty questions 'bout how she manage to find anything attractive 'bout ya miserable self. Dat alone worth a scientific study, seen?"

Kevin's face flushed crimson. "Oh, go jump out an airlock!" he spat. The stylus sailed through the air like a miniature torpedo, missing AJ by centimeters as he ducked dramatically, chair tipping precariously backward. AJ windmilled his arms, nearly toppling before catching himself on the edge of the console. His laughter erupted in breathless wheezes as he clutched his belly, tears streaming down his cheeks, his whole body shaking so hard his chair began to skid sideways across the carpeted floor.

Ben chuckled at AJ and his rich laughter. "I'm sure any story Kevin comes up with will be most entertaining to say the least."
He finished with a grin.

Kevin glanced up at AJ and Ben, their casual banter fading to background noise as his fingers quietly accessed the personnel file. The screen illuminated his face with a cold blue glow.

Gina Jaye. The data scrolled before him: 21, Academy graduate, Red Squadron—but it was the department designation that made his pulse quicken. Intelligence. Not Damage Control. His stomach tightened as he tapped through additional screens. Just one extension course in Damage Control? Why would someone with that background be assigned here unless... He shut down the dossier, mind racing through possibilities, each more unsettling than the last.

"Either of you hear about new intelligence officers coming aboard?" Kevin asked, keeping his voice deliberately casual while his thoughts screamed warnings.

"Ya still on board, no fresh intelligence to be found, yuh know?" Then he caught Kevin's expression, and his smile crumbled like sand. "Nah, man... why? Somethin' we should be knowin' 'bout?"

Kevin's stylus rat-tat-tatted against the desk, his knuckles white around it. "Oh nothing..." he said, voice carefully level despite the cold sweat beading at his temples.

Ben shifted his gaze to Kevin and his reply. He couldn't place it ...yet but something was off with Kevin. He had always been a slacker and now lately more than ever. He made a silent promise to keep his eyes on the man.

Kevin's only response was a slow blink and a shake of his head. His fingers moved methodically across the console, erasing all traces of his investigation into Gina's background. The data had confirmed his suspicions: her expertise lay in intelligence operations, not damage control as she'd claimed. Three nights of tangled sheets and whispered confessions, yet she'd never once mentioned her true specialty—not even when Kate's elite crew aboard the Washington came up in conversation. *Too convenient*, he thought, leaning back in his chair. *Too calculated*. Tapping was orchestrating this from Starfleet Command, using Gina as her pawn. Not surveillance—that made no sense. Intelligence already had access to all his reports. Even Section 31 knew where he stood. *If they want to play this game, I can match them move for move.* What troubled him most was how genuinely he'd come to care for Gina. Behind whatever mission she was running, he'd glimpsed someone witty and perceptive, someone whose laughter had begun to matter to him.

A pity, really. Gina's warmth against his chest at night had become...not unpleasant. If he could pinpoint when she planned to eliminate him, he might extend their arrangement—postpone her inevitable "accident" aboard the Washington. He pulled her classified file back onto his screen, the blue glow illuminating his face as he scrolled, searching for any clue about her mission parameters. How many more nights could he justify? How many more times could he trace the curve of her spine with his fingertips before duty demanded he either jettison her into the void or reconfigure the cabin sensors to mask the energy signature of a disruptor? She deserved better than becoming just another cold case in Starfleet's archives—but sentiment was a luxury he couldn't afford.

AJ's thick accent boomed across the room. "Eh mon! De ghost of Kevin finally showin' up to haunt him desk! What miracle bring yuh from de land of de livin' to de prison of work?" His laughter grew even heartier when he realized Kevin's face was actually bent in concentration over something important for once.

Kevin's furrowed brow and tight-lipped concentration melted away, replaced by the slow bloom of a conspiratorial grin as he clicked "delete browsing history" and shared a knowing chuckle with his coworker.

Ben just listened and observed. AJ was solid, a good agent. Kevin was all about do a job quick so he could go back to goofing off or doing something he wasn't suppose to be doing. Ben would continue to watch.

 

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