Stephen smiled weakly, his mind still fresh from his family's recording. "Hi, T'osa. Sorry to call you at work."
"You're fine," she replied with a gesture of her hand. "What can I do for you?"
He was really hoping she'd put them on a secured channel so they could speak freely. "Well..." he stammered, "I've got some... information on that... research... thing... we were talking about."
A moment of confusion crossed her face followed by a sparkle of recognition as she figured out what he was talking about. She bit back a laugh. "Right," she said with a smile, "hang on." She removed herself from the screen's field of vision and returned to her seat a few moments later. After pressing a few buttons of something just below her screen, she chuckled. "Okay, we're secure now. I hope you're faster on your feet than you are with your mouth." T'osa laughed more.
Kirk rolled his eyes. If one more person criticized his lying abilities, he was going to go off. "Whatever," he grunted.
"I'm sorry," she offered half-heartedly. "I should be grateful you're trying to help."
"That's better," he said with a half smile. Although he still didn't trust her, it was good to see her again. "I've got some info on the ship we shot up during the fight."
"Oh?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah. It disappeared." He added a smirk.
She cocked her head. "What do you mean 'disappeared'?"
"Well, we pulled its transponder code during the fight. When we compared it to the ships in the moon base, it didn't match any of the ships there... and our logs don't show it ever leaving."
She tried to think of possible answers. "Well, they could have just powered down the ship... but it still broadcasts with the batteries. It could have left under cloak..."
Kirk continued her thought, "but it wasn't in any condition to go anywhere, let alone with a cloaking device."
She nodded. "Which means... if it IS still there..."
"someone changed the transponder code to hide its presence." Kirk concluded with a knowing smile.
T'osa struggled to put her thoughts together. "I don't suppose you have the names of the ships that are suppsedly in the station..."
Stephen's smile grew. "As long as you've got a secure connection, I do."
She smirked. "I wouldn't be talking to you like this if I didn't."
Stephen pressed a few buttons on his computer panel. "There you go."
She nodded. "I have them. Let me do a little digging. I can't do anything through official channels because I'm not supposed to be looking into this stuff." She continued nodding. "I'll stop by tonight when I'm done here."
"Well, it's already evening here, so don't make it too late."
T'osa rolled her eyes. "I keep forgetting. How do you people get anything done if you only have twenty-four hours in a day?"
Stephen's face changed to mock arrogance. "Obviously, we're doing quite well. We've got a ship that can kick your best all over the quadrant." T'osa merely rolled her eyes. "You won't get in trouble coming here so soon, will you?"
She shook her head. "Remember, I'm supposed to be seducing you. I've been encouraged to see you as often as possible. Convenient, huh?"
The reality that he was still dealing with an accomplished spy struck him. For all he knew, she was still performing her mission by being painfully obvious to him. That WOULD, actually, be the perfect plan. "How could I forget..." he said off-handedly.
By the changed expression on his face, T'osa realized she had picked the wrong thing to say. Somehow, she was going to have to tell him what the rest of her mission was... but not now. If she told him, he'd never agree to help her. She was going to need his help to pull this off. Somehow, though, she was going to have to complete her official mission while accomplishing her personal mission... and not get Stephen caught in the middle. "We'll talk tonight." she said simply.
"Okay," he replied. The screen went blank. Stephen walked into his living area, collapsed into his chair and leaned his head back. "WHAT have I gotten myself into?"