Black Fig & Bloodlines

Posted on 2025, Sun Jul 27th, @ 8:46pm by Lieutenant Ariana Tessaro

375 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: Episode 1A "Shadows of the Empire"
Location: Earth | Rome – Vatican District
Timeline: Present

Setting: Dusk meeting in a shadowed courtyard near the Vatican Intelligence Exchange Archives

It was just past 2100 hours. The air in Rome was still warm, laced with citrus trees and old stones baking off the heat of the day. A breeze stirred the long shawl draped over Lieutenant Ariana Tessaro’s shoulders as she sat on a wrought iron bench under the fig tree. The fruit was ripe. Overripe. Sweet and sour on the breeze.

She checked the time. The contact was late.

Not unusual. Not unexpected. But annoying.

The chapel bells tolled distantly behind her — ceremonial and hollow. Around her, the courtyard stayed quiet. No tourists. No noise. That in itself was a sign.

She didn’t glance up when the figure approached. Slim. Male. Civilian clothes. Cheap cologne trying to cover Romulan musk. He sat beside her like a man unsure if he’d earned the seat.

“You’ve been busy, Ariana,” he said, voice smooth, practiced.

“I’ve been on leave.”

“And yet here you are. Rome. Alone. With old ghosts.”

She finally turned her head, met his eyes. Pale green. Untrustworthy. “You said you had something.”

The man hesitated. Then handed her a datachip the size of a fingernail.

“No names,” he said.

“There never are.”

“But you’ll want to look at the Argent files. Section 47 is deeper than you think. And the intel you’re chasing? It’s not just Starfleet’s problem anymore.”

Ariana didn’t reply. She tucked the chip inside her wrist-band comm and stood without another word.

As she turned to go, the man called out softly, “Your mother would’ve told you to walk away from this.”

She paused. Just for a heartbeat.

“My mother believed in duty. Even when it cost her everything.”

“And you?”

“I believe in finishing what she started.”

Then she was gone. Into the shadows. Into the data. Into whatever web this was spinning beneath the surface of her real job.



Tessaro’s Personal Log – Encrypted | Eyes Only

Contact verified.
Asset shaky, but intel feels clean. Cross-reference 'Argent' with Leonidas crew movements and Deep Archive patterns.
File indicates potential threat intersection with ongoing missions.
Must review in secured environment.

…I don’t like how close this is to us.

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