What Actually Happened

Posted on Mon Sep 22nd, 2025 @ 10:37pm by Lieutenant Adrianna Baciami & Lieutenant Commander Sabastian Walker

1,146 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Vinyl and Void

[For context, read post: Gorn but not forgotten]

Adrianna sat at the diner table with Vance. It wasn't the same, she still wasn't feeling great, but she was trying to add a sense of normality between them. At least, she had slept better the night before after their conversation. She seemed a lot less heavy hearted, although it was clear that work had been hard that day. Vance had spotted it and had questioned, to which Adrianna had explained about Sabastian being a ‘stronzo’ during the meeting and that she would had to suffer consequences for lashing out, even though she felt justified, but also that she'd spoken to him and now they had an understanding.

She'd ended with, “equally, the idea of Gorn in general– let's face it, I don't have a good track record. Gawd knows I'm probably a wanted person there. ‘The woman who blew up a military base’, or ‘the woman who attempted to kill Xra’kot’, or perhaps, ‘the woman who succeeded in killing him’-- although, technically, I didn't. But it was my plan and I was the reason he got killed. Wait...” Adrianna paused, suddenly realising that it may have been a missing piece to his memories. She'd merely gone MIA from the Pendragon, she'd almost blown her cover because of his questions that day, "to confirm-- every lie that I told you whilst undercover-- I don't get in trouble format, anymore, right?"

Vance laughed. "I'm a big boy. I think I can handle it."

Adrianna chuckled, "well, I lied about what happened when I was MIA. Remember when we were dropping weapons at that Gorn military base. Kra'kot demanded that because you were late you'd let him use my translator skills for a few days. I checked in, mostly, but the final day, before everything blew up-- mm-- wasn't because Kra'kot was being mean. Well, he was, but it didn't happen how I told you." She mulled over a bite of food before adding, "StarFleet actually owe you for blowing up that base. I mean, you didn't do it, but you inadvertently taught me how."

Vance got up and got a glass of whiskey. "Okay...." He said sitting down. "I'm fortifying my courage." He giggled the glass.

Adrianna grinned, "a few weeks before that drop, you rigged some poor soul's ship to blow who didn't pay. I was your look out as you did it. I simply reapplied that knowledge."

He groaned. "Please tell me you didn't...."

Adrianna snorted, "I was set to check in with you and Lutz in a few hours. I snuck out of the room they gave me through the air vents and rigged the place. Started in engineering and then moved further afield. The explosion from engineering happened a lot sooner than it did when you did it on the ship. I don't know what I did wrong. Either way,.if it didn't go off when it did, Kra'kot would have skinned me alive. Some security persons found me playing with some wires in a hatch just down the corridor from engineering. Would have been my final charge otherwise."

Vance puffed up his cheeks as he held his breath. "Okay...I'm okay. I won't say a thing." He had to bite the inside of his cheek. "Okay, go on."

Adrianna nodded,"So, when I got caught I was dragged to Kra'kot. He thought it was you that had told me to do it. He was so angry. But, he could see that you were a man in love and therefore decided to not go after you, just use me as an example. I mean, what other translator knows how to rig a base to blow? It had to be a captain like you." She paused, "I never corrected him. Which is why you became an enemy of Gorn pretty quickly after that." She shrugged, "sorry."

He groaned. "You know how long they were on my ass?" He threw his head back and let out a growl that turned into a laugh. "You're lethal lady!"

She snorted in amusement, "you don't know the half of it, amore mio. What I will say though, is that you did it to yourself-- if you had not have forced me to learn when we were on that ship..." She paused, "Fleet gave me orders just to kill the guy and potentially steal war plans. I probably wouldn't have walked out of that alive if it had not been for you teaching me. It was a suicide mission at best."

"Then how can I stay mad." He said. He paused and thought a moment. "Anyone else I should worry about?"

"One that your sister will learn about soon enough but only for comedic reasons," Adrianna chuckled, "remember the captain of the Ragnar?"

"Yes..." He said somewhat hesitantly.

"You always used to ask for me to translate whenever we were with him," Adrianna sipped her drink, "I don't know why. He spoke perfect standard. Long story short, he was also doing a delivery to Kra'kot. He got me the tools I needed... That was why your safe was empty. You never changed your safe code. So if he's around..."

"I think we should end this discussion before I totally go nuts." He groaned.

Adrianna smiled at him, "when you're on your death bed, or me on mine, I will tell you the truth about everything. Everyone you assumed were allies who were actually Fleet. Everyone. I'll help you make sense of it all."

He groaned as he ran a hand down his face.

She looked him over, "when you first found out that I was a fleeter, you must have known that there would be a lot that I lied about. As much as you loved me, there had to be some sort of question in your head about how much of it was real. I'm surprised you've not asked more questions since returning to reality." Adrianna shrugged.

He looked at her. "I trust you. Simple as that."

Adrianna was silent for a moment and looked back at him. Her smile faltered. It wasn't that she didn't believe him, she did-- what she didn't understand was what got him to that point. "The only thing that I would trust, if I were in your situation would be to trust that I would lie to you," she commented before adding, "in all of my reports, I always described you as the reason that the expression 'you're either really brave, or really stupid' exists." She leaned in and kissed him softly, "you're a better man than most, amore mio."

He shorted. "I see myself as both brave and stupid so there goes your saying." He laughed and kissed her back. "Let's just say I trust your soul."

"I have a soul?" She teased at her own expense.

"Indeed. A beautiful one."

 

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