The Morning Review - 0013
Posted on Fri Aug 21, 2026 @ 4:01pm by Lieutenant JG Natalie Cross & Ensign Cameron Hale & Staff Warrant Officer Mara Venn
1,235 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Jubilee
Location: DS5 - Intelligence
Tags: the-morning-review
The doors parted with thirty seconds left on the clock. Cam stepped through carrying a PADD in one hand, looking less hurried than someone cutting it that close probably should have.
Mara was already seated at the table, several reports arranged neatly in front of her.
Natalie sat a few seats farther down, attention fixed on the PADD she was reading.
Mara glanced toward the chronometer. "Cutting it close."
Cam looked at the time as he pulled out a chair. "I'm on time."
"You are." Mara said.
"Why did that sound like criticism?" Cam asked.
"It wasn't." Mara answered.
"That somehow made it worse."
The corner of Mara's mouth lifted as she turned her attention to her PADD.
"For the record, some of us don't feel the need to arrive twenty minutes early." Cam said
"Some of us like being prepared." Mara fired back.
"I'm prepared." Cam said.
Mara looked at him.
Cam picked up his PADD. "I'm becoming prepared."
Natalie looked up from the PADD. "Now that Ensign Hale is becoming prepared."
Cam looked over. "I said I was prepared."
Mara picked up her tea. "You revised that statement."
Natalie ignored them both. "Anything from overnight that needs immediate attention?" She asked.
Mara shook her head. "Nothing on my end."
"Same." Cam said.
"All right. Let's see what everyone's worried about today." Natalie asked, looking at Mara.
"Cardassians moved three patrol vessels overnight." She paused, skimmed over her notes. "Two of the vessels are scheduled for maintenance. The third appears to be covering the patrol area they've left open."
"And here I was hoping we'd start with something exciting." Cam said.
"Any additional ships moving into the area?" Natalie asked.
"Nothing I've seen." Mara said. "Routine rotation." She added.
Natalie nodded.
Mara moved to the next report. "Ferengi freighter was flagged entering Federation space yesterday. Declared cargo mass was off by almost 11 percent."
Cam raised an eyebrow. "11? They must be smuggling something."
Mara shook her head. "Captain declared the containers of industrial coolant by dry mass instead of loaded mass."
Cam looked disappointed. "That's it?"
Mara nodded. "That's it."
Cam leaned back in the chair. "Two threats to the Federation successfully defeated before breakfast." Cam caught the smallest hint of a smile from Mara. He leaned forward, pointing at Mara. "See, that's the attitude I've been trying to bring to these meetings."
"Your turn, Mr. Hale." Natalie looked to him.
Cam straightened slightly. "I've got a Klingon diplomatic transit request. Minister Korvek, minor official out of the Ketha Province. He requested clearance to cross Federation space yesterday afternoon."
"Reason?" Natalie asked.
"Family wedding." Cam answered.
Mara looked at Cam. "A wedding made it into Intelligence?"
"Apparently we're very thorough." Cam replied.
"Anything unusual about the request?" Natalie asked.
Cam shook his head. "Filed through the proper channels. Traveling aboard a registered civilian transport. Passenger manifest checks out. Diplomatic office confirmed the wedding." He paused. "Bride is his niece. Ceremony is in four days. I can get you the menu if we really want to dig into this."
"We don't." Natalie said.
"Good. I was worried you'd say yes." Cam said.
Natalie gave him a look.
Cam moved onto the next one. "More interesting. Koralis Four missed two scheduled subspace check-ins yesterday. Small Federation agricultural colony, population just under nine thousand."
"Cause?" Natalie asked.
"Relay failure. Starfleet Communications restored contact about three hours ago. Colony is fine. They're complaining about having to replace a transmitter that's apparently been giving them problems for six months."
"So resolved." Natalie stated.
Cam nodded. "Completely."
Mara looked toward him. "Anything that isn't resolved?"
Cam glanced down at his remaining reports.
"Depends how you feel about a Bolian trade delegation accusing a Tellarite shipping company of deliberately mislabeling fertilizer."
Natalie stared at him.
Cam set that PADD aside. "I'll take that as a no."
Natalie made a note on her PADD before looking back toward Cam. "Anything else?"
"One." Cam replied.
There was something in the way he said it that caused Mara to glance up.
"Three requests for high-resolution cartographic data were processed through the Federation Navigation Service over the last sixteen days. Different buyers, different systems, no obvious connection between them. All three requested the same region." Cam paused. "Calder Reach."
"Where's that?" Mara asked.
Natalie pulled the map. It took her only a few seconds to find it. There wasn't much to find. A scattering of uninhabited systems, a handful of surveyed planets and several established transit routes running along its outer edge. No Federation colonies. Nothing that immediately explained the interest.
"What did they request?" Natalie asked.
"First buyer wanted updated navigational charts. Second purchased stellar survey data going back thirty years. Third requested geological and planetary survey records for six systems inside the Reach." Cam answered.
"Any of it restricted?" Mara asked.
"No. It's all commercially available." Cam said.
Mara leaned forward slightly. "Who are the buyers?"
"A Federation mineral survey company, an independent shipping consortium, and a Ferengi investment group."
"Any connection between the three?" Natalie asked.
Cam shook his head. "Not that I could find."
Natalie studied the map for another moment. Three purchases of publicly available information wasn't intelligence. Companies bought survey data every day for reasons that never amounted to anything. "Anything happening out there?"
Cam shook his head. "Not according to Starfleet."
Mara reached for the report. "Send it to me."
Cam slid the PADD across the table. "You think it's something?"
"I think I don't know why three unrelated organizations suddenly care about the same empty piece of space."
Cam considered that. "Maybe someone found somewhere nice to build a resort."
Mara looked at the map. "In Calder Reach?"
"It'd be very exclusive." Cam said with a smile
Natalie closed the map. "Put it on monitor."
Cam's expression shifted slightly. "The resort?"
"The Reach, Mr. Hale." Natalie said.
"Right." Cam nodded.
Mara was already making the notation. And with that, Calder Reach joined the considerably long list of things Starfleet Intelligence wasn't particularly worried about yet.
"Anything else?" Natalie asked.
Mara shook her head. "Nothing worth keeping you here for."
Cam raised a finger.
Natalie looked at him.
"Depends how seriously we're taking the theft of seventeen cases of Saurian brandy from a civilian transport."
Natalie sighed. "Security."
"They already have it." Cam said.
Natalie glanced at him. "Then why do we?"
Cam glanced at the report. "Captain claims Tal Shiar was responsible."
Mara looked over at him. "For stealing his brandy?"
Cam nodded. "Apparently they're attempting to undermine his business."
Natalie held out her hand.
Cam passed her the PADD.
She read perhaps three lines before sliding it back across the table. "Security."
"That's what I thought." Cam said.
Natalie gathered the PADDs in front of her. "Then we're done."
Mara stood, taking her tea with her. Cam remained seated for another moment, looking through his reports.
"Thirteen reviews." Cam said.
Natalie glanced toward him.
"We still don't have a name."
"We have a name." Natalie stated.
"The Morning Review isn't a name." Cam protested.
Natalie headed for the door. "It's on the calendar."
"That makes it official." Mara said and followed Natalie out.
Cam watched them leave. "I work with very unimaginative people."
A post by
Lieutenant JG Natalie Cross
Intelligence Officer
Deep Space Five
Ensign Cameron Hale
Intelligence Officer
Deep Space Five
Staff Warrant Officer Mara Venn
Intelligence / Encryption Specialist
Deep Space Five
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