Counter-Mission

Stefen and T'Kul had both been debriefed separately about the mission to the Omega base in the Gamma quadrant. After several hours of intense questioning, they were finally re-united in the mess hall, where after a good meal they were escorted back to the briefing room, where they had started almost half a day ago.

The room was again in semi-darkness and three figures sat at the far end in silhouette. Taking a seat at the table, they both had two Padds in front of them. T'Kul picked up the top Padd and activated it, reading the report it contained.

“Those are your reports for Starfleet Intelligence.” One of the voices, sounding metallic announced. “Luckily there was very little that was required to be removed, but we must be careful.”

“What about this second Padd ?” T'Kul enquired, picking it up.

“Those are your new orders.” A second voice announced. “The Leviathan has been assigned a diplomatic mission, to take Ambassador T'Plek to Starbase 901 where she will be negotiating with a representative from a race known as the Axtilities.”

“Axtilities…!” Stefen announced. “…. Never heard of them.”

“They are a race from the far side of the DMZ that was created after the battle with the Mullurans.” The first voice stated. “They have attempted to contact several races, including both the G'Kar and Mulluran. The Mullurans destroyed the Axtilities envoy and the G'Kar are in no position to help, but passed the request onto us.”

“So what do there Axtilities want ?” T'Kul asked.

“Assistance in fighting a war.” The second voice replied.

“They want our help in fighting a war !” Stefen exclaimed. “What about the Prime Directive, not to mention the fact that we would be putting the Federation at risk.”

“What do we know about the Axtilities ?” T'Kul asked. “And what about the race they say they have been fighting ?”

“To be honest, we know very little about the race the Axtilities have been battling against, but we have some Intel on the Axtilities themselves from one of our operatives.” The first voice reported. “All the information is in the Padds.”

“Your mission will be to travel to Starbase 901 and rendezvous with this agent, who has been working on the Starbase covertly for sometime, gathering information.” The second voice stated firmly. “You are to work with this agent and ensure that the negotiations are completed successfully, but also that you gather as much information as you can about the Axtilities and their foe.”

“Understood.” T'Kul replied. “How will we contact this agent ?”

“Freelancer will contact you when the Leviathan arrives at the Starbase.” The first voice said.

“Freelancer….” Stefen exclaimed.

“You have heard of this agent ?” The first voice enquired nervously.

“Only by reputation.” Stefen admitted. “I once worked with a Section 31 operative named Vaughn and he mentioned another agent called Freelancer. He didn't give away too many details, but reading between the lines, he was definitely impressed.”

“Freelancer is Section 31's longest serving agent.” The first voice announced. “Freelancer was around when Section 31 was formed and has proved time and time again their worth to both the Federation and Section 31.”

“What race is Freelancer ? El'Aurian, Vulcan ?” T'Kul asked. “If they were around when Section 31 was formed, they would be well over two hundred years old by now.”

“We don't know Freelancer's race nor their exact age.” The second voice admitted. “But they have provided Section 31 with information, time and time again which has saved the Federation from collapse.”

“This discussion is getting pointless.” The third voice, who had so far remained silent announced harshly.” There will be no more talk of Freelancer, you have your mission, so go do it.”

Stunned and a little shocked by the outburst, Stefen and T'Kul rose from their seats and after picking up their respective Padds headed out of the briefing room. Within ten minutes, they had been transported back to Starfleet Headquarters, where they headed for Starfleet Intelligence and submitted their respective, ‘censored' reports.

After that they went their separate ways, T'Kul returned to the Leviathan, whilst Stefen decided to use what little time he had back on Earth to visit an old friend.