Ginell sat up on the edge of her bed as the voice of Captain Thiren woke her in the middle of the night and told her to report to his quarters immediately. The sound of urgency in his voice is what really startled her awake, otherwise she might have shuffled there in her nightgown. She proceed to get dress in her uniform, then headed out down the corridor to the turbolift. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but in all the time she’s known the Captain, if he had that urgency tone in his voice, she knew it was going to be something she didn’t like. 

Finally arriving at Kosev’s door, she hit the door chime and was told to enter. Walking in, she immediately saw Kosev sitting at his desk, and Savar sitting at the chair across from him. They both stood to greet her as she entered, which made her raise an eyebrow, “Captain? What’s going on?”

“Take me through how we met, Commander.” Kosev asked, now facing directly towards Ginell. 

“Why? What is going on?” She asked again. 

“We insist, Commander.” Savar said, drawing his phaser and pointing it at the first officer, “Answer the question, please.”

Ginell couldn’t believe what was happening right now. Not only was one of her closest friends holding a phaser pointed directly at her, but Kosev, someone she’s grown to trust and respect over the years they’ve served together, wasn’t reacting to stop it and had the most stern look on his face that she had never seen before. Seeing no other option, she obliged and answered their question.

“Stardate 62392, U.S.S. Proudmore, though of course I was Naiella Daan then. We served together for three years on that ship before I was fatally wounded on an away mission in 2388.”

“I could’ve read that in your service log, tell me something that only we would know.” Kosev said coldly, Savar still pointing his phaser at her.

Ginell looked equal parts worried and annoyed, then relented, “What no one knows is that you stayed with me and held my hand the entire way back to Trill. You could see how terrified I was, so you dropped everything and stayed with me until the very end. That’s something I’ll never forget and that I’ll always be grateful for, especially for our conversations on the way to Trill.”

Kosev immediately relaxed and was so relieved, motioning for Savar to put away his phaser. He sat back down behind his desk, and motioned for both of them to sit as well. He was so elated that the two people he trusted more than anyone were both cleared, but it didn’t make their next task any easier. Ginell took her seat, and immediately roared, “Now that whatever that little show was is over, you mind telling me what the hell is going on?”

“I’m sorry, Daan, but we couldn’t take any chances.”

“Chances about what?”

“There is a strong possibility that there is a changeling onboard the Pioneer.” Savar said, not even shifting his gaze or raising an eyebrow. 

Ginell was so stunned that she paused for what felt like an eternity. ‘Oh great, this is just what we need’ she thought to herself. She took a few more seconds before she said, “What do we know so far?”

Savar spoke up again, “Unfortunately, at present, not a great deal. We discovered Lieutenant Edren unconscious in his quarters. Further examination revealed that the counselor was attacked a drugged with some kind of chemical agent that Doctor Broll has, so far, been unsuccessful at counteracting.”

Kosev then sat up and put his hands together on his desk and interjected, “We don’t have a lot to go on at present, it’s true, but the pieces seem to line up perfectly. There is no logical reason why the Counselor would be a target for an attack like this, unless the perpetrator was attempting to hide.”

“I’m not sure I’m following that line of… logic.” Ginell said as she watched the Captain.

“Edren is the only Betazoid on board. If there is someone on this ship that would be attempting to sabotage this mission, he would need to be dealt with before the saboteur could make their move, otherwise Edren would easily read them and they’d be discovered.” Kosev said, hoping he wasn’t sounding as crazy as Ginell’s face made him seem. 

“Given the nature of our mission and our enemy, it is logical to assume, for the moment, there is a strong possibility of a changeling infiltrator on board.” Savar said, putting his hands together in his lap.

“I can see where you’d come to this conclusion, but I would have appreciated more concrete evidence if I’m going to have a phaser pointed at me in the middle of the night.” She snapped, giving Kosev a stern look before continuing, “I do agree that it is highly probable, but I also think we really don’t have enough to go on presently.”

Kosev nodded, “Agreed, this stays between the three of us for now. I don’t want to alarm the crew unnecessarily before we even get to Saxue if this all turns out to be some enemy Edren made before reporting aboard, but under the circumstances we cannot afford to take any chances. I want each of you to keep your eyes open for any irregularities among the crew. If anyone is late for their duty shift, or if they’re not acting like themselves, maybe forgetting details or past conversations, we need to know immediately. There is too much at stake for the Pioneer to fail this mission.”