Measured Trust
Posted on 06 Feb 2026 @ 8:31pm by Captain Sabrina Corbin & Commander Suzanna Batenburg & Lieutenant Commander Grayson McKinney & Lieutenant Commander Elias Harlan & Lieutenant Commander Riah Amberlyn XMD & Lieutenant Aev Flammia & Lieutenant Commander Adrian Sorvak
Edited on on 06 Feb 2026 @ 8:35pm
2,244 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission:
Lathira Shoreleave
Location: Observation Lounge
The observation lounge filled with quiet efficiency. Officers entered in ones and twos, taking positions around the long table or pausing near the viewport, the low hum of the ship filling the spaces between them. Suzanna Batenburg took her place without ceremony, standing just off Sabrina’s right. No one lingered in conversation. Whatever had prompted the summons was clearly not routine.
Sabrina waited until the last arrival stepped inside. McKinney’s presence was unmistakable, broad-shouldered and tall enough to draw the eye even among senior staff. He took a position with the others, completing the group. The doors sealed shut behind him, leaving the lounge closed and private.
“Thank you all for coming,” Sabrina began. “I know we haven’t met like this in a while, and we have some new faces since our last.” She nodded first to McKinney, then to Harlan. “Before we continue, I’d like you both to introduce yourselves.”
Elias leaned forward slightly in his chair at the observation lounge table, hands resting loosely on the surface, voice low and steady—professional without trying too hard.
“Lieutenant Commander Elias Harlan, Chief Engineer. I specialize in warp-field theory, emergency field engineering, and keeping ships breathing when everything else wants to stop. I’ve served on starships, fleet yards, and more refit docks than I care to count. If it moves, hums, or explodes, I’ve probably fixed it—or broken it worse trying.”
Grayson straightened from his position near the viewport, the motion drawing every eye in the room without effort. His warm baritone carried easily across the observation lounge, filling the space the way he filled doorways, naturally, inevitably.
"Lieutenant Commander Grayson McKinney, Chief Tactical Officer." His broad, handsome face split into an easy grin. "I've spent time with the Fenris Rangers, border patrol, and more boarding actions than I've had decent coffee. If it shoots, explodes, or needs stopping, that's my department."
He drummed his fingers once against the back of the chair before continuing. "I believe in three things: people over protocol, preparation over panic, and that there's always one more move left on the board, even when the board's on fire."
The grin softened into something more genuine.
"I'm here to make sure we all get home. Questions, concerns, or sparring partners, my door's always open."
Sabrina nodded to each of them in turn, her attention lingering on McKinney a fraction longer than the others. It was not scrutiny so much as acknowledgement. Regret flickered briefly that their first real exchange had to happen under circumstances like this, but there was no mistaking his presence. He had the kind of confidence that filled a room without effort.
“Commander McKinney,” she said evenly, “I regret that this is our first chance to speak, but we’re glad to have you.” Her gaze shifted to Elias. “Both of you. Welcome to the Arawyn.”
Elias nodded a quiet reply, looked around the room and did the same to the others.
Suzanna nodded to Harlan and McKinney, the CEO she had met, but not the new Chief TAC. It would be good to have a specialist in the role.
Sorvak glanced at the two new officers. He had never before served on a ship with such turnover.
Aev could feel everyone in the room, though only dimly, an unfocused presence, like a drifting cloud of gnats brushing against his awareness now and then. He offered a polite, almost perfunctory nod to the two new crewmembers, but his gaze lingered briefly on McKinney. There was a measure of relief there. Having a dedicated tactical officer at last meant one less burden on his shoulders. He’d managed the overlap: rotation shifts, tactical oversight, and now the strain of his newly altered reality. Yet, it had been a daunting prospect to continue doing so indefinitely. This would give him room to breathe, but the relief didn’t fully settle. Something about the new lieutenant commander bothered him, an indistinct tension he couldn’t quite name.
A murmur of brief acknowledgements followed. Nothing formal, just the quiet exchange of greetings between officers who would soon be relying on one another. When the sound subsided, Sabrina stepped forward, hands resting lightly on the edge of the table. The change in her posture was subtle, but unmistakable.
“What I’m about to say does not leave this room,” she said. “This information goes no further than this group.”
She paused long enough to ensure she had their attention, long enough for the weight of the words to settle. No one interrupted.
“Before this briefing, my yeoman and I spent hours reviewing movement records, transport logs, and transmission data to vet each of you.” Her tone remained level, factual. “That review was conducted at the direction of Admiral MacLaren.”
She did not rush the next part.
“A Changeling has been uncovered directly within Fleet Operations.”
She let the statement stand on its own, her gaze moving slowly around the table, observing rather than filling the silence.
“At this time, there is no indication that the threat extends to this ship,” Sabrina continued. “However, we will not assume that distance equals safety. Our posture is vigilance, not panic. Questions will come later. For now, you need to understand why this meeting is happening, and why discretion is non-negotiable.”
She straightened slightly, the room now fully hers.
“That is what I know. Right now.”
McKinney went still.
Not frozen. Controlled. The kind of stillness that came from years of threat assessment, now reflex. His hands, once loosely clasped on the table, shifted, fingertips pressed flat against the surface. His eyes tracked Sabrina's movement with absolute focus. The wry half-smile from moments earlier was gone.
Changeling. In Fleet Ops.
The words hit hard, like a photon torpedo in a sealed compartment. His mind raced through scenarios: compromised orders, fake intelligence, and who on the ship had been in contact with Fleet personnel in the last seventy-two hours. Every officer at the table was both an ally and a possible threat until proven otherwise. This wasn’t paranoia. It was tactical reality.
For three seconds, he didn't move. Then he exhaled, slow and controlled. The tension in his shoulders just enough to keep the room from tipping into panic.
"Well." His voice was low and calm, but there was an edge to it. "That's one hell of a welcome-aboard briefing, Captain."
He wasn’t being flippant. It was his way of acknowledging the situation, using gallows humor to recognize the seriousness without letting fear take over. He kept his eyes on Sabrina, watching her posture and the deliberate calm in how she held the room.
He leaned forward a little, resting his large hands on the table. The humor disappeared. His voice became clipped and direct.
"Fleet Ops. How recent was the contact? How deep does it go?"
He didn’t waste words, asking only what a tactical officer needed to start building threat matrices. He watched the others at the table, noting who stayed calm and who looked shaken. He was gauging the mood in the room as he processed the situation.
He paused, then spoke more quietly:
"I'm assuming we're moving to enhanced internal security protocols. Biometric verification. Randomized blood screenings."
Elias didn’t even need to think, his mind was already on the problem. “Doctor Jorik in sickbay has experience with both transporter traces and other forms of biometric verification. He helped develop a few of the processes enacted after the Frontier Day incident.”
He paused and added, “and there’s a few tricks we can probably do with the internal security sensors if push comes to shove.”
Dr Amberlyn leaned forward. "Actually, all our doctors and a few of our technicians in Sickbay have extensive experience with biometric identification and xeno-biology. Medically, I believe we are covered and we'll not hesitate to put that expertise to work."
The tension that rippled through the room at Corbin’s announcement turned the vague cloud of gnats into a swarm of mosquitoes. Shock, surprise, irritation, there was even a trace of fear. The emotions needled at Aev, sharper now, enough to draw a dull ache behind his eyes as the implant worked overtime to keep him steady. How am I supposed to learn to manage this on my own?
Aev drew in a slow breath, pressed his fingers briefly to his temple, and then looked to Corbin. “Captain, if I may.” He waited for her nod before continuing. “I understand the need for discretion. However, I recommend increasing our security posture. Changeling infiltration isn’t limited to personnel alone- they can transform into inanimate objects as easily as living targets. Additional scans could be conducted quietly by myself and a small number of senior staff.”
Sorvak waited for the other officers to fall silent before he spoke.
"Captain, if we assume anyone could be compromised, is it only logical that command must also be subject to verification. Has this been addressed?"
“Additionally, if a changeling is present aboard this vessel, it would not require sustenance nor create waste. I recommend examining crew replicator access and sanitation system usage for consistent deviations.”
"Captain," Amberlyn spoke again with a question. "Do we know how long this changling issue may have been active? What is the timeline we are looking at here? How and where was this discovered?"
Sabrina let the questions land without interrupting. She watched the room instead.
McKinney’s shift into stillness had been immediate and disciplined. Tactical instincts, sharp and already moving several steps ahead. Harlan had gone analytical, eyes unfocused for a fraction of a second as systems and contingencies aligned in his mind. Amberlyn was measured but clearly already cataloging medical pathways. Aev was fighting more than vigilance, that much was obvious, and Sorvak’s questions cut straight to structural logic.
This was exactly why she needed them all here.
She nodded once, slow and deliberate.
“Let me be very clear,” Sabrina said evenly. “What I’ve shared with you is the full extent of what I know.”
Her gaze moved briefly to McKinney first.
“Fleet Operations confirmed the presence of a Changeling within their command structure. I was notified several days ago, not of the identity, but of the risk. That was when I received authorization to quietly enhance select protocols aboard this ship. You may have already noticed some of those changes.”
She did not elaborate yet.
“To your question, Commander,” she continued, “Fleet has not shared how deep the infiltration goes, nor how long it may have been active. They are still assessing that themselves. I have not been given names, departments, or timelines beyond confirmation that it was recent enough to warrant immediate caution.”
Her attention shifted to Sorvak.
“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “Command was included in that vetting. Epsilon has cleared me.”
She paused, then added, deliberately.
“That said, I welcome independent verification. If any of you believe additional confirmation is warranted, you have my full consent. Transparency here is not a threat to authority. It’s a safeguard.”
She let that settle before continuing.
“To your point regarding sustenance and waste patterns, that is a sound line of inquiry. Any review of replicator access, sanitation usage, or anomalous consumption data should be conducted quietly and without broad system flags. I want patterns identified, not suspicions broadcast.”
Her gaze moved to Aev.
“I agree with your recommendation,” she said. “Security scans will be increased, but narrowly. You will coordinate with a limited number of senior officers only. No shipwide alerts. No procedural changes that would draw attention or speculation.”
Then to Amberlyn.
“Medical is authorized to explore biometric verification methods and sensor adaptations that can be folded into routine diagnostics, or wellness checks. If it looks like standard operations, it stays standard operations.”
Finally, she returned her focus to Amberlyn’s question.
“As for timeline,” Sabrina said, “Fleet has not shared how long the infiltration may have been active, nor how it was initially uncovered beyond confirming it was not an accident. That information is being compartmentalized, and I am pushing for updates.”
She straightened slightly, her hands leaving the table as she reclaimed the room fully.
“We are not hunting ghosts,” she said. “We are not accusing anyone. We are watching, listening, and verifying. Quietly.”
Her gaze swept the table once more.
“I want ideas. I want collaboration. I want creativity. But I do not want panic, rumor, or visible deviation from normal operations. The crew does not need to carry this weight.”
A brief pause.
“We do.”
And then, softer but no less firm.
“Bring me proposals that protect this ship without telling it why it needs protecting.”
Suzanna nodded to the words of the Captain, they had a very diverse crew, and she was sure they would come up with proposals. And most likely the combination of ideas would no doubt keep the ship safe. The Captain had verified so far that the crew that we left with were verified, but there were new crew that arrived that might be compromised. And as Sorvak had mentioned one might have come on board as a solid object. How we were they supposed figure that out?
Lt Aev Flammia
Chief of Security
LtCmdr Adrian Sorvak (APB Mira)
Chief of Science
LtCmdr Riah Amberlyn
Chief Medical Officer
LtCmdr Grayson McKinney
Chief Tactical Officer
Commander Suzanna Batenburg
Executive Officer
Captain Sabrina Corbin
Commanding Officer (hoping she didn't forget a signature)
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