Reference Check

Posted on Sat Oct 3rd, 2026 @ 10:36pm by Lieutenant Sornax & Lieutenant JG Aiden Poe

1,840 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Echoes in the Triangle
Location: Chief's Office | Science Wing | Deck 6 | USS Arcadia

ON:

Harold Blake sat in his office on the USS November, staring at the Denobulan that interrupted his day. His Yeoman had put the call through from a USS Arcadia. He racked his brain as to why he'd be getting a call. Commander Blake was both the XO and the Chief Science Officer of this ship tasked with research. His mind was occupied, but he would give his time to this man. "Lieutenant..." He checked the computer again. "Lieutenant Sornax, right? How can I help you?"

Sornax had been spending time in his new office, and he would have added some personal mementos if any still existed. Instead, he had focused on reading through recent reports compiled by the scientists of his department and the corresponding personnel files for each member of the team. The one that was next to him on his desk belonged to the very officer he had committed to digging into further, his assistant department head.

The door was closed to the office for privacy as the screen on his workstation console connected up the November and showed the emblem of Starfleet until it was replaced by the image of an officer who seemed less than excited to be interrupted. “Apologies, Commander, my name is Lieutenant Sornax, and I’ve inherited the science department aboard the Arcadia. I was hoping I could ask you some questions about one of the members of the department.”

"Oh sure. One of those calls. We've had seven transfers from here to different ships." He smiled. "Who'd you get? Peters? If so, send him back." He laughed.

“Wait, seven people have transferred off of the November? I do hope everything is okay over there, Commander. The whole fleet seems to be having a rough time this year.” The science officer wondered what had happened over there before focusing again on the matter for the call. “Actually, I’m reaching out about an existing member of the crew, Lieutenant Aiden Poe. I understand he served under you for a while.”

Blake seemed to look around. He pressed a button on his desk, making the doors hiss closed. "You got Poe boy? How's he holding up after everything?"

A frown formed across his face as the Commander seemed to refer to the scientist quickly with a deep familiarity. But perhaps there was more to Aiden Poe than met the eye; there was only one way to find out, though. "To be honest? He's overly eager to please, way too handsy, and a walking pile of nerves that is probably going to end up in sickbay after he breaks something during his next fall. I'm curious how he has made it as far as he has. Did you promote him to assistant department head?"

He smiled. "Yup! That's sounds like him. He is...an acquired taste but yes he's eager to please. He is a hugger...that's for sure but he has a big heart and is good at his job. Now as far as I know he was transferred because y’all needed an archeologist..." He seemed to scroll through something. "One sec...my clearance may... be..." He grinned. "Ah! Looks like they temporarily put him as department assistant chief until they got a science officer head...so that would be you." Blake leaned back. "He is a bit clumsy but that boy has a spooky gift. That was part of the reason I transferred him, more for his safety then because I didn't need him here."

Sitting in silence. The Denobulan listened as the Commander explained much of what he knew already about Poe. He wasn’t going to be so rude as to say so however, instead offering a thoughtful nod as he made notes. “That propensity to hug people ended up with a formal discussion from the command team to my understanding. It’s something he’s been ordered to stop doing without permission. I’ll be honest, I just never expected an assistant department head to comes with so much…personality shall we say.” Sornax reached out of view for a moment to the side of his desk where he retrieved a cup of coffee he had been working on. Taking a drink, he focused his thoughts and continued on. “What spooky gift are you referring to Commander? No one has mentioned such a thing to me. Right now, I’m trying to understand just how talented Poe is and whether to keep him in place as my assistant.”

He sighed. "That kid honestly loves everyone, even those who hurt him." He paused as his lips pressed together. "So Poe is one of the best archeologists out there because he can sense...things. We were at a dig and he knew exactly where things were. It's like he can energetically link to sites and it helps, a lot." He paused taking a drink. "But it's more then that he has these...episodes where he sounds like he's a thousand year old wise monk. He calls it picking up on shadows, but it's like he is able to read people. That's what got him in trouble here. Some of my department, I'm ashamed to admit, bullied him. I tried to stop it but it got out of hand. Poe fell off some dig scaffolding and was in a coma. He woke up just shortly before the transfer. I don't know what happened and everyone remembers things differently but..." He sighed again. "That boy was like a son to me. He's never really had a family that loved him and maybe I tried to create a family environment but failed."

“Wait, you’re telling me that thing where he suddenly sounds wise and mature beyond his age is tied to a gift where he can sense things? Does he actually know this is happening?” The Denobulan asked in clear surprise. “You have to forgive me, but he did that exact thing with me while we were talking in my office. My mind had wandered to my previous posting for a moment and then he just, well he did the thing you mentioned. Completely threw me off.”

“I am sorry to hear that he had a rough time with the rest of the crew on your ship. I can tell you he’s already dealing with that here with the assistant chief engineer. But, if he’s as talented an officer as you say he is and just needs a little guidance then I guess I’ll do my very best with him. I just needed to understand him I suppose.”

"You're right he will need support." He sighed. "And to answer your previous question...no he has no memory of what he says he just kind of gets in this state with his eyes wide and they get....really purple. He never remembers what he was thinking or what he sees or however he gets the input. He did that with me. I was thinking about my son and a fight we had and he just zoned out and gave this really wise and I have to admit helpful speech." He studied the science officer. "Just look out for him. He's sensitive. As for this assistant chief fellow...maybe talk to him? Poe is an acquired taste but he does not deserve to get bullied. When I saw it I tried to cut it off but we had the worse case here. I lost an officer I needed to keep him safe." He paused. "There is something else but...mind you I have no proof and nothing like this has been seen in his species before at least not on the record."

Sornax once more wrapped his hands around the coffee cup and held it, enjoying the warmth it provided as he spoke with the Commander. “Sir, if there is more I should know about Lieutenant Poe, I respectfully ask you be straightforward with me. I can’t help him or run this department properly if I’m kept out of the loop.”

Blake sighed. "He can move things...small things without touching them. He does it unconsciously..."

If Sornax had not seen the many scientific wonders that he had in his career already, he would have thought that Blake was pulling his leg. But the truth was that telekinetic individuals had been documented inside and outside of Federation space, just like telepathic individuals and races. In fact if he recalled correctly, he had heard once that supposedly some priests on Vulcan exhibited the ability. Still, this was a series thing to consider about an officer under his command. “Commander, is this a natural ability that his people can exhibit or was Poe exposed to something that granted him these skills?”

"For his people it's...rare but they are not fans, from what I gather. There is not much known about his past but he opened up to me once when the department bullies thought it would be fun to get him drunk so he can make a food of himself. He told me he left his planet because of the ability...and there was a larger incident on the ship. One of his bullies the one who pushed him off his scaffolding was thrown across the room...nobody laid a hand on him. It was the one and only time I saw this used on a large scale. My guess is it was emotionally heightened."

“This is the kind of thing that I wish was in a personnel file for a crew member.” Sornax said with a sigh as he leaned back in his chair and began to think on the details Commander Blake had given him. “The fact that he seems to be a target for bullying is a concern I’ll have to address. He may need some confidence boosting, I just need to decide who is best for it. Anyways, I thank you for the information Commander. I won’t take up any more of your time.”

Blake gave a nod. "Can I ask a favour?"

The lieutenant raised his brows but gave a nod. “Sure thing Commander, what’s on your mind?”

"Keep an eye on Poe. He's a good kid. And let me know time to time how he's doing."

“Well that’s quite a simple request, I can assure you I’ll be keeping an eye out on him. Two of them when I can spare it. And I’ll make sure to keep you apprised of how he is doing. And again, thank you for taking my call.” The Denobulan replied.

"Anytime." He smiled. "Well back to the rat race for me."

With a nod Sornax closed the communication and the image was replaced once more with the logo of Starfleet Command. Well that was the first thing off his list this morning. Now to deal with the report he has received from security overnight.


OFF

Lieutenant Sornax
Chief Science Officer
&
Commander Harold Blake (Played by Lt. Commander Walker)
Executive Officer, USS November

 

RSS Feed