A Bit of History
(Or a spy in our midst)

      Dr. Darvis enters Commodore MacLarens office and pulls up a chair. "You asked to see me Sir??" she asks as she props her feet up on a cask of Bloodwine.

   MacLaren tosses a copy of the ´The Romulan State Watchtower´ at her. The paper is open to the entertainment section with the top story being about Captain Von Matic's first day on the job. MacLaren gives her a look and asks, "Care to explain this, Darvis? Or should I call you Dragona?? Since that is the name of the author."

   Renee licks her lips and looks around nervously, "You don't really think I'm the author of this piece do you? Come on, I don't even have pointy ears!"

   "Renee, I've known you were a Romulan for years. Just like I know about Cadet Porter's prosthetics. Up until now it hasn't been a big deal, but now I need to know why you're here and who your feeding information too." Smiling, MacLaren says, "Why don't you tell me a story Dr. Darvis."

   She gives him a dark look and goes to bar to pour a drink. "I'm not terribly surprised you found out about me. Care for a drink Sir?"

   MacLaren smiles, "Should I worry about you poisoning it?"

   Laughing, Darvis hands him a Yukon Torpedo "Not really, since I barely passed Poisoning 101 and failed Poisoning 102 in Tau Shi'ar's Intelligence Analysis Division Training. I understood all the theories of intrigue, but I've never been up to Romulan standard. For some reason, I seem to be the only the Romulan alive who can not tell a convincing lie."

   "How the hell did you make it though the program then?" MacLaren asked.

   Darvis smiles wickedly, "I was fantastic at oral exams."

   Sitting back down, Renee continues. "Anyway, the Intelligence Division was the only way my family could get rid of me. Having a daughter who was found in bed with Senator T'Shaz wife and gardener at the same time was a bit of an embarrassment. The Division thought it was an asset since they wanted T'Shaz under their thumb. Well, that and the fact I had some medical training. After my training and a few botched missions I was placed on the USS Essex. I posed as a half Romulan name Dragona, and was posted in medical. They wanted information on a few of the officers but it wasn't thought of as high priority, so they sent me. My superiors figured that even if my cover were blown no one would really notice. Besides, it made it much harder for Senator T'Shaz to find me on a ship full of more aliens than a Federation embassy party; the Essex was called 'The Zoo' for a good reason. By the time Porter figured out I was a spy, I was sick and tired of the Intelligence Division. Four years of writing reports that no one bothered to respond too will make you feel that way, besides you humans really know how to have a good time. So Porter and I started to feed false information to the Division. You should see some of the things we sent them. Needless to say I found Porter very satisfying in many ways so when it became apparent that the Zoo was falling apart and staying aboard the Essex was becoming dangerous for many of us; I left with him. Not long after that we found ourselves signing aboard the Casual. Together we have been sending reports back to the Division about the Casual and Relaxia, with modification so my people don't know too much about us, until recently."

   "Until recently?" MacLaren frowns, "What happened?"

   "Well it seems that the Division recently had a spending review and the funding for my information was cut off. I believe my superior kept me on staff for the entertainment value of the reports more than anything else." Renee chuckles.

   "So how did the ´The Romulan State Watchtower´ get this information?" MacLaren asks.

   Laughing, Dr. Darvis says, "Well when my funding got cut off, I owed Porter a rather large sum of credits due to a bet. While I could work off the debt in the usual fashion, it tends to take the fun out of straining my throat muscles. So I figured I could sell the reports to the 'Watchtower' and make a tidy profit. Plus it was fun, I'm just sorry it has to stop."

   "It doesn't have to stop. Why don't you keep writing under the pen name Dragona. I would hate to see you too far in debt to Porter. Besides," MacLaren smiles, "guests from the Romulan government have been up 20% since you started journalism."

   "Wonderful Commodore!" Renee pours another drink for them. "Is there anything else then?"

   "Actually yes" MacLaren says smiling, "I think Relaxia should get 10% of your writing profit. That is the standard fee for background material I believe."

   "Of course Commodore" Renee lifts her glass in a toast. "I do believe that would qualify as a ´maneuver worthy of a Romulan´!"