By the time Tal'Ara turned in to her quarters for the night, she was exhausted. It had been a very long and tiring day of walking around the station and meeting people, most of whom she did not particularly care for. But this was the assignment.
Operation Viridescent Shadow.
Tal'Ara lazily peeled off her skin tight Tal Shiar jumpsuit and let it fall to the floor, fully exposing her pale grey-green skin. She then slinked into her washroom, and turned on the sink faucet.
It felt as if her troubles were washing away little by little with each splash of cold water on her face. She looked in the mirror at her wet reflection - her eyes had bags under them.
After a long, hard look at herself, she let out a big exhale. Then, she left the washroom, and begin rifling through one of her trunks. She pulled out a PADD - but not of Federation design. It was Romulan.
She approached her liquor cabinet, which was stocked full of ornate bottles of Romulan Ale in nearly every conceivable shade of blue. She reached for a sleek and narrow bottle on the top shelf. Its contents were a very faint, sky blue liquid. The year inscribed on the bottom was 2345.
Tal'Ara was no stranger to this routine. She took the bottle, a glass, the PADD, and like a zombie, made her way to her armchair.
She poured herself a drink and began typing on the PADD...
The silent typing continued for about 45 minutes and was accompanied by 4 drinks.
When she poured herself the 5th one, she turned on the PADD's microphone and began to speak:
"Operation Viridescent Shadow - Colonel Tal'Ara - first report. I have uploaded detailed schematics of the station, along with all public bands of subspace they monitor and broadcast on. It is too risky at this time to attempt a data upload via subspace, so that will have to wait until I have more knowledge of their subspace security systems. For now, I will store intel via biochip and deliver it physically when I am able to. The Andorian bartender has expressed interest in contacting D'Imus, the alemaster, which could be an opportunity to pass information. Other than that, all is going to plan. I have been acting extremely unfriendly, as to not gain any suspicion - they would surely see through a sycophantic facade. Better to act how they expect me to act. Commander Rai is cunning, and him being a Betazoid will mean I have to take extra precautions around him. The rest of his senior staff that I have met seem weak and unexperienced. We have a briefing tomorrow about the situation with the Orb, and I should know its destination shortly."
She paused for a drink.
"A personal note: The Andorian bartender..." she trailed off and took another drink.
"I should be careful around her too."
She ended the recording and pressed a few buttons on the PADD. A very small, circular microchip ejected from the bottom.
Tal'Ara took the chip and placed it directly on the skin right below her left ankle. She then entered a code on the PADD, and the small microchip drilled into her flesh, embedding itself in the bone.
She did not even flinch - she was so used to this ritual. The microchip was made from an organic, bone-like material, and was small enough to be put in the body without any visible marks, due to its autosuture function, which fuses the chip inside the bone and heals the entry point. And because of its organic composition and size, it would be virtually impossible to detect with any kind of scanning device. As a further precaution, it has a bio-electric feedback system, so that in the event Tal'Ara's death, the memory of the device would be wiped clean. And in the event of capture, well, all Tal Shiar agents are able to commit suicide on command, even while fully restrained.
A truly brilliant piece of Romulan ingenuity.
After the chip was in place, she wiped the entire log clean from her PADD, and began a new entry:
"First Officer Tal'Ara - personal log. Today was tiring. Getting shuttled around to and fro in this rat-trap of a station, filled with incompetence. I am excited for the opportunity to forge new allies with the Federation, but I have met nothing but negativity and animosity since I've gotten here. The people on this station clearly don't care for my kind, and I don't see any sign of that changing any time soon. Nevertheless, I will do my duty to the Romulan Star Empire and work with the United Federation of Planets to bring about a new era of peace... even if I cant stand these people."
She saved the entry and turned the PADD off.
The bottle of sky blue ale was nearly empty, so she figured she might as well finish it.
And with a very drunken and unsteady gait, she went for a much needed sonic shower, before finally heading off to bed.
Home 
