Friend or Foe

Posted on Sun Oct 26th, 2025 @ 3:26am by Lieutenant Aubrie Fox & Lieutenant Dezkar Veen

1,805 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Children of the Stars
Location: Deck 06 - General Cargo Bay
Timeline: Current

The oversized doors to the Main Cargo Bay opened with an elongated drone. Dez walked through the opening, his long strides carrying him over the threshold with a poised confidence that conveyed determination. He exhaled slowly, letting his mind settle from a long day full of diagnostics and system calibrations that were little more than a standard monotony. This is life now, he thought to himself as he surveyed the Cargo Bay with discerning eyes.

It was early. He knew that Gamma shift would be on watch, and the odds of a fully staffed Cargo Bay were low. This he was counting on. The silence in the bay was eerie. Dez could feel the hum from the gravity plating, its drone the only sound reporting in the cavernous bay. He eyed cargo containers littering the deck like a dormant shipyard. Looking at the PADD in his hand, Dez began to cycle through the manifest, tapping the device as he searched through the data displayed. After an initial scan of the inventory, he walked quickly, purposefully to one end of the room. Starting at one end, he tapped the Data Display on one of the Containers, noting its content. Logging the results on his PADD, he moved on to the next. He continued searching the contents of the containers for some time, moving fluidly and systematically through them.

"Come on, Dez. Where is it?" he said to the empty room.

Aubrie’s footsteps echoed softly as she entered the Cargo Bay, her posture relaxed but alert. She leaned against one of the support beams, arms crossed, watching Dez move with methodical precision. “Looking for something in particular, Lieutenant?” she called out, her tone easy but carrying that familiar sharp edge.

Her eyes scanned the containers alongside him, noting his thorough approach. “You’re not exactly subtle about it, you know,” she added with a small smirk. “Whatever it is, I’m guessing it’s important if you’re willing to interrogate the entire cargo hold.”

She pushed off the beam, stepping closer with measured confidence. “Need a hand, or are you planning to wrestle every crate on your own?”

Dez stood still and silent, his eyes examining the Security Chief with a measure of skepticism. His normally stoic demeanor was rattled. Usually, he was much more careful. He cursed himself under his breath for letting his guard down. Crossing his arms, he leaned back against the container behind him, forcing his own flavor of charm to overcome the surprise of his visitor.

“Sorry, Lieutenant. Didn’t hear ya come in,” he said. He took a moment to appreciate his new visitor, but only a moment.

“Nah, I’m fine, really. Just lookin’ for some inventory items. Suppose it would’ve been easier to wait til morning when there’s somebody who knows what’s what around here,” he laughed, making eye contact.

Aubrie arched a brow, the faintest ghost of a smirk tugging at her lips as she folded her arms across her chest. “Didn’t hear me come in?” she echoed, her voice carrying that dry edge of amusement. “That’s either a compliment to my training or a warning sign about how focused you get when you’re chasing something.”

She took a few slow steps closer, the low hum of the deck plating filling the silence between them. “Inventory items, huh?” Her gaze flicked to the PADD in his hand before returning to meet his. “Funny thing about the manifest—Security’s got access to the same lists. And I don’t remember seeing any priority searches scheduled for tonight.”

Stopping a few feet away, she let the quiet hang for a moment, eyes narrowing slightly, but her tone still measured. “So… are we talking about standard inventory work, or is there something I should be curious about, Lieutenant Veen?”

Dez straightened, looking down at the Security Chief. She wasn't going to let this be, he realized. He paused, contemplating his next play. He had been in tight spots before—some he escaped, some he didn't. This seemed like the latter, if he was being honest with himself. His stoic expression broke into a guilty smile as he relaxed his rigid posture.

"Well, when you're busted, you're busted," he responded. "Alright, Lieutenant. Ya got me," he said, lifting his hands in feigned surrender. "I may have had some...personal items transferred over. Some things are hard to come by out there. And I'm a man who appreciates the finer things."

Dez waited, seeing how she'd respond. The silence hung like a cloud for what seemed like an eternity. He wouldn't let his charming demeanor falter, though. His facade remained intact.

Aubrie tilted her head slightly, the corner of her mouth twitching into a knowing smirk. “Personal items, huh?” she repeated, circling him just enough to glance at the nearest cargo tag. “You’d be surprised how often I hear that excuse—usually right before I find a case of unauthorized brandy or a disassembled phaser coil tucked between supply crates.”

Her tone wasn’t harsh, but there was that unmistakable authority behind it. She came to a stop beside him, arms still folded. “You’ve been aboard long enough to know the rules, Lieutenant. Everything that comes through this bay is logged, scanned, and cleared—no exceptions. Even for men with an appreciation for the finer things.”

Aubrie let the moment just long enough to make him sweat before her expression softened slightly. “Look, I’m not here to make your life miserable. Just… don’t make me have to file a report your first week on board, yeah? Next time, clear it through proper channels.”

She gave a faint grin then, her tone dropping into something more relaxed. “And for the record—if it’s coffee, chocolate, or good whiskey, I might understand the motivation.”

Dez sighed in relief. So she was a ball buster. Good to know. He glanced at the PADD and recognized the designation. It figured that he'd find his crate while the Chief of Security was scrutinizing him. Walking to the designated crate, he pressed the release mechanism. With a hiss, the lid dislodged, allowing him to lift it free. Retrieving an elaborately carved bottle, he presented it to Fox unashamedly.

"Andorian Ale?" he said. It was less an offer than an admission. "But if it's coffee ya like, I might know a guy." His expression was teasing, but his words sincere. In truth, he had someone for just about everything. He wasn't willing to divulge that to her just yet, though. Not until he determined if she was going to make his life more difficult, or more...interesting.

Aubrie blinked once, then let out a quiet, amused huff. “Andorian Ale,” she said, arching an eyebrow as the blue liquid caught the low cargo bay light. “You do realize that’s contraband outside of diplomatic shipments, right?”

Her tone carried the weight of her position, but the sparkle in her eyes betrayed her amusement. She stepped closer, hands on her hips, inspecting the bottle as though it were a piece of evidence — or maybe just something she hadn’t seen in far too long.

“Bold move, Lieutenant. Most people try to hide their smuggling attempts, not wave them around like a trophy.” She paused, letting her smirk turn into a faint grin. “You’ve either got guts, or you’re terrible at self-preservation. I haven’t decided which yet.”

After a moment, she nodded toward the bottle. “Tell you what — I’ll pretend I didn’t see it this time. But only if you promise not to ‘accidentally’ misplace any more inventory. And next time you decide to bend the rules…” She gave a teasing tilt of her head. “Make sure it’s something worth sharing.”

Her gaze lingered just a second longer before she stepped back, her tone softening. “Oh, and keep that coffee connection of yours close, Veen. You might just earn yourself a friend in Security.”

Dez chuckled, his amusement with the situation betraying him. He'd been around long enough to know that sometimes you just have to show your hand see what shakes out.

"Don't snub a good glass of this stuff so easily, Lieutenant. But I'll play. This'll be the last time you catch me with my pants down," he said, still chuckling.

Nestling the bottle back into the cargo container, he sealed the lid and moved to find the anti-grav lift. His eyes caught Fox's image out of is periphery and he stopped again, his gaze lingering just a moment.

"I think you'll be happy to have me around. At some point," he said, only somewhat in jest. "I'm a good guy to know."

With that, he moved in the direction of the lift and mounted it to the crate, ready to get it out of the hold before the local Sheriff changed her mind. He was lucky she was good-natured—something that he would not take for granted again.

Aubrie watched him with a measured calm, her arms folded once more as his words echoed lightly through the bay. The hint of a smirk returned to her lips as the anti-grav lift hummed to life.

“Confident, aren’t you?” she said, her tone caught somewhere between amusement and warning. “Good guys usually don’t have to tell people they’re good to know, Lieutenant.”

She stepped closer, stopping just short of the lift as it hovered into motion. “But I’ll give you this—you handled getting caught better than most. That counts for something.” Her voice softened just a touch, though the authority never left it. “Just remember: trust is earned out here. Don’t make me regret giving you a little leeway.”

As he guided the crate toward the exit, Aubrie called after him with a sly smile, “And if that bottle happens to find its way into the Captain’s private stores… I might be persuaded to look the other way again.”

She turned on her heel, her tone light but edged with professional finality. “Welcome aboard, Lieutenant Veen. Try not to make a habit of keeping me entertained.”

Dez watched as Lt. Fox left him to finish his task. Shaking his head, he laughed at the absurdity of the encounter. "Well, I'd say we're off to a stellar start," he said aloud to the empty bay. As he made for his quarters with the forbidden goods, his mind couldn't help but drift to the encounter and the image of Aubrie Fox. The one thing he couldn't rationalize was whether he'd just made an interesting and ironic friend, or something else entirely.


~~
Lt. Dezkar Veen
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Montana

Lt. Aubrie Fox
Second Officer / Chief Security Officer
USS Montana

 

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