In the Running: Background Check

Posted on 14 Mar 2022 @ 7:50pm by David Minton & Yuliette Marayan

Mission: M3 - Into the Deep
Location: OC, Promenade
Timeline: tbd
922 words - 1.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Yuliette adjusted her dark shades and paced herself for the Kiosk. She tried to look as bored, indifferent and aloof as possible in line until she reached the Kiosk.

A young human with a bobbing adam’s apple behind his collar met her with a smile. “Good afternoon, Miss. My name is David Minton. I’m a Civilian Affairs agent. How may I assist you today?”

“Yes, my ship was diverted here for repairs.”

“Oh,” David nodded with understanding. “You must be with the SS Wishbone folks that just came in. It’s an ironic name.”

“What?”

“Well, wishbone, you know, the part of the turkey you break for luck? I mean, I’d never name a ship wishbone. It’s like asking for breakdowns, I think.”

The woman in the sunglasses stood motionless and David wasn’t sure his joke landed well. His adam’s apple bobbed under his chin and he cleared his throat. “Where was it you said you were going?”

“I need to be on Zito III before the 23rd to make my connections.” She kept the directions simple, not interested in divulging the entirety of her planned journey.

David drew up the listed seats the computer had and narrowed it down to ships between Loki and Zito. The scheduling calendar shifted into view and he focused. “Wellll, there’s a Fleet resupply leaving tomorrow at—”

“No.”

“Oh…kay. A postal carrier with a couple of free berths is heading out later this week, but it won’t arrive until the 25th.”

“That’s no good.”

“That’s all I have.”

“Check again.”

David pursed his lips and then closed the holo window before reopening it, exactly as it was, and giving a minor headshake. “No, I’m afraid nothing new has come up since I checked last.”

His good humor was lost on the woman and she looked visibly upset, David assumed with him. She was shaking as she leaned into the counter, both palms down on top of it and insisted, “There has to be something!”

“I’m really sorry. The resupply is the best I can find. If you want an unlisted private flight, you’ll have to book with the travel agency.”

“Where?”

“It’s not far, just on the other side of the Security Office, same level, you’ll see the—”

The woman was already gone and David was speaking to the back of her as a man with a crying baby took up her spot and said, “Do you have a dispensary on the promenade or am I expected to take him to the fleet medical office?”

David looked concerned. “Is this an emergency?”

“To hear him tell it! Kid is teething and I’m all out of numbing gel for his gums.”

David smiled as he looked up the protocol to direct a parent of a teething baby. “My dad always used whiskey on my kid sister.”

“I could use some myself,” laughed the tired father.

Meanwhile Yuliette weaved through the waiting lines around the Kiosk and ducked past security, careful to keep her face covered and avoid looking at anyone directly. When she came to some holographic banner displays in the pathway she simply walked reverently right through the light shows of exotic locations full of lush plantlife, like some supernatural goddess displeased with the universe that presented itself. The display auto switched to a breach on the shore of the Violet Sea of Trill, but she didn’t notice it in her wake as she let herself into the Travel agency.

A Yridian woman in a suit turned in a central desk chair and greeted her. “One moment, an agent will be with you shortly.” She promised.

Yuliette looked around at the frosted privacy walls where others were currently meeting with travel agents and then paced in front of the waiting room chairs, the Yridian’s eyes racing her repeated path.

“If you like, I can preprocess your travel credentials until an agent becomes available,” offered the secretary.

Yuliette chewed the side of a fingernail in thought and then as if overcoming some inner hurdle, dug through her bag for her ID chip. It had, afterall, just cleared the check at the boarding ramp. What was there to be worried about?

She slid it over the desk and the Yridian entered it in her station. From behind her shades, Yuliette watched as the woman processed the entry and began a new client file.

But the Yridian, being well trained as her people were in information sciences, ran an additional company history on the client, just to be sure there was no previous record of the client having worked with them before. What she discovered was a file in an old database for a deceased person with an identical identification sequence.

When the Yridian looked up again, Yuliette smiled nervously.

“Just one moment,” said the secretary with an unaffected expression while silently opening up a ticket with security for a background record check on one supposed Miss. Neone.

Something struck Yuliette as off… she was already waiting, but being asked to wait again? For what?

When the Yridian receptionist looked up again, the waiting room was empty. She raised a wrinkled brow as she held the suspect ID chip and reserved it to one side. "Security will be asking after that," she said to herself with some pleasure in having done sufficient research to turn up the discrepancy. She was nothing if not thorough in all her work...