[Starfleet Command, Earth] After getting off the comm. with Captain Ripley, Harper headed over to the office of Vice Admiral Lara Arn, whom she knew from her time as the Fifth Fleet Commander. Arn had climbed the ranks quite a bit since then, and was now a ranking member of Fleet Operations. She was also relatively young for holding such a position. But then again, Harper was relatively young herself, and so were many of the other ranking officers in Starfleet thanks to the series of wars that had been fought by the Federation in recent history. "Evelyn," Arn said as she walked into her office. Arn had helped Harper get acquainted with things at Starfleet Command just after she had transferred, and they had become relatively good friends. "Admiral," Harper said. "Mind if I speak to you a moment?" "Of course, have a seat," Arn said. "What's on your mind?" "The Marduk," Harper said. If Arn was surprised she didn't show it. She simply smiled and leaned back in her chair. "I figured you'd hear about it sooner or later," she said, "given your connections with the SSF." "That is part of the reason I was brought here, isn't it?" Harper asked. Harper currently served on the staff that oversaw Starfleet's covert operations. "Yes." Arn said. "Among other qualifications," she said. "You've been involved extensively in covert operations from very early in your career," she added, referring to Harper's time in the SSS. "You obviously know about the Marduk. I'm curious as to why I wasn't informed of the situation at Einhoften." Arn shrugged. "You can thank Charles Delgado for that," she said. "He managed to convince the Chief of Fleet Ops to keep a tight lid on the matter, and inform only those who were absolutely required to know." Admiral Delgado was another ranking officer in Fleet Operations, and senior to Arn. Lara didn't care much for him, and neither did Harper. He was the one who responsible for getting her reassigned to Starfleet Command in the middle of a tense situation in the SSF. "I assume Admiral Arin was among those who were required to know?" Harper asked. Lara nodded. "Yes, he was informed. He passed the information on to Colonel Cole. Aside from him, there are a few others who know, including a number of people in Starfleet Security who first became aware that the base had gone incommunicado." She paused. "The Einhoften project was beyond top secret, and Delgado wouldn't relax the security level much." "So that's why pieces of the report were blacked out prior to being sent to SSF Command," Harper said. "Yes," Arn said, though Harper hadn't asked a question. "Who started the project?" "I don't know," Arn said. "Believe it or not, I don't even have sufficient clearance to access all the information concerning Einhoften. I don't know the origins of the project." "Delgado?" "He's taken an interest in it, but I wouldn't say he was the source of it. I don't really know. I can only speculate." "So let's talk about what you do know," Harper said. "You want me to discuss classified information with you?" Arn asked. "Whatever information I'm cleared to know about," she responded. She wasn't going to ask Arn to break the law and release documents that were above Harper's security clearance. "I wouldn't ask anything more." Arn nodded. She picked up a PADD on her desk and spent several moments tapping at the display. When she was satisfied, she handed it to Harper. "That's as much as you're authorized to know," Arn said. "You can keep the PADD and go over the information as much as you'd like." "Thank you," Harper said, and she reached over and took the PADD from the Admiral. She looked down at for a moment, and then back up. "Why was the Einhoften project so hush-hush?" she asked. "Because of its nature," Arn replied. "It's mission. The possibilities if it succeeded...the possibilities if it failed." She shrugged. "Maybe something more than either of us know." Harper shook her head. "All this intrigue reminds me of--" "The Secret Service," Arn completed. Not many people were aware that a secret service had once existed, though it was now a thing of the past, with the SSF replacing it. Arn was one that was. "Yeah," Harper said. "Whatever you plan on doing with that information, keep it to yourself," Arn said after a moment. "And don't let Admiral Delgado be made aware that you have it. I don't trust that man as far as I can throw him." "Neither do I," Harper said. She thanked Arn again for providing her with more information concerning the Marduk, and then made her way back to her office. --== End Log ==-- <<Trying to be a little creative :) >> Major General Evelyn Harper Command Staff Starfleet Command