The Tapestry

Posted on Tue Jan 3rd, 2023 @ 5:21pm by Commodore Jacob Kane & Marcus Blake
Edited on on Tue Jan 3rd, 2023 @ 5:21pm

Mission: Wrath of the People
Location: Starfleet Headquarters
Timeline: MD-01
720 words - 1.4 OF Standard Post Measure

The USS Athena had been docked less than 4 hours when Kane had been summoned to report back his findings at Starfleet Command, a small panel of Admirals and Commodores spent thirty minutes grilling him about the events of the Titania system, before reiterating the requirement that said events remained classified.

Finally freed from all of the red tape, he was taking a moment among the gardens to loosen some of the tension that had been building up from the entire affair. The need to constantly keep reporting back to the Admiralty wasn't the problem. It was their repeated need to remind him of his station throughout. Questioning his judgement as though he was supposed to predict the future. Half of them had forgotten what it was like on the frontlines.

"Plerumque homines magis sollicitant quod videre non possunt quam quid possunt."

The voice that broke into his silent contemplation sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it until he turned and saw the face smiling over at him. A man he'd met once before, on a shore leave break away from the ship. The very same man who had given him a cryptic warning - one that had led him to Admiral White's clandestine schemes.

"'As a rule, men worry more about what they can't see than about what they can'," the man explained. "Julius Caesar. I believe that was the book you were reading, correct?"

"Corvinius," Kane said. Not a correction at all, but a recollection of the alias the man had provided.

"Almost," the man nodded, a twinkle in his eye. He held out a hand. "Marcus Blake. So good to meet you again, Captain."

Kane cautiously eyed the hand. This man was enigmatic, for sure, but hadn't shown himself to be in any way adversarial. At least not yet. Finally, he took it and shook. "Marcus Blake...the politician?" The pieces clicked in his head. He'd heard of Blake but never seen any pictures or much publicity beyond a vague recollection of the name being discussed in relation to the Federation Presidential elections.

"Don't let that scare you, Captain. I'm not really your typical bureaucrat." Blake smiled broadly. "Although I am in the running for a potential Federation Council seat in the next few months."

"Thinking of a run for the presidency in a few years, if the media are to be believed."

"Now Captain, you and I both know that it's wise not to believe everything you hear," Blake smiled.

"Speaking of which, the last time we met you had some very interesting information to share. Regarding some deeply classified and dangerous activities. What was it you said - leaving some breadcrumbs?" Kane noted, watching for a reaction. Blake just kept smiling, a classic politician's move if he ever saw one.

"Ah yes. The 'grand tapestry'. Well, it got you to where you needed to be, didn't it? I recognised that you were quite good at following clues, and it seems I am a reasonable judge of character after all, hmm?" Blake touched the railing nearby and glanced out across the campus and the enormous red bridge that stretched just beyond. "It's difficult to know who to trust these days. What is it coming to when you feel like you can't trust the man standing next to you?" he asked. His smile faded just faintly.

"If he keeps coming out with top-secret information from seemingly nowhere..." Kane replied. "You tell me."

"I already did, Captain." Blake returned to the cryptic smile. "I hear that we'll be standing alongside one another in a few days, actually. At the Academy graduation? You're giving a talk to some of the cadets. I'll be along - for the publicity, of course. Starfleet trends reasonably well with certain groups."

"Then I suppose I'll see you there, Representative."

"My friends call me Marcus, Captain." Blake patted him on the shoulder. "We're friends, aren't we?"

Kane didn't reply, nor did he have a chance to as Representative Blake moved on without waiting for one. Kane watched him go, still sensing that strange ambiguity about a man that he'd only met twice and was now revealed to be in line to become a seriously influential figure in Federation politics. Whether that was a good or bad things remained to be seen.