“Aston Lynch was asked by the President-elect to come up and meet with a few CENTCOM officials to begin the transition of civilian oversight from the old Confederacy to the new and improved Federation,” Pike said. “And no, I’m not actually performing the duties of a real aide … I needed to speak with Marcum alone and his time is as regimented now as Wellington’s, not to mention all the eyes that report on his movements.

“Anyway, when you were in there with him and Pitt, was the term Prometheus brought up at all?”

“No, it wasn’t,” Celesta shook her head. “What is it?”

“In addition to being a mythological figure out of Earth’s very ancient past, it’s the codename of a project that’s being run so black that I can’t even figure out who the principals are or where it is,” Pike said.

“Why are you asking me?” Celesta said. “I spend all my time on the bridge of a starship on patrol, not sitting in oversight meetings about Fleet projects.”

“Marcum knows what it is and we think he’s being fed information out of that project that pertains to the situation with the Ushin and the Darshik,” Pike said, his tone deadly serious. “This coincides with rumors of secret shipyards putting out a new generation of starship far more advanced than anything flying currently and the disappearance of your old boss.”

“What do you mean ‘disappearance?’” Celesta asked. “Jackson Wolfe is back on Earth … I just talked to Jillian a few months ago.”

“You may have talked to her, but she wasn’t on Earth at the time.” Pike shook his head. “Jillian and the children also packed up and moved to Arcadia while the provisional government was setting up before New Sierra was selected as the capital. She was heading up the training program for a new branch of service last I heard, but Jackson isn’t there with her. It could all just be marital troubles, but it’s a bit too convenient for my liking.”

“This feels like you’re chasing ghosts,” Celesta scoffed. “Have you even been back to The Ark recently?” She was referring to a once-ultra secret planet that had recently been renamed ‘Arcadia,’ in some sort of not-so-subtle tribute to the lost planet of Haven. Personally she thought the name was ridiculous as well as being just a lazy phonetic extrapolation.

“I just returned,” Pike said. “And you’re probably right, but just the name Prometheus leads me to believe that someone involved is likely from Earth. That’s just not a name that crops up in the enclaves and those who have heard of it are clueless about the reference.”

“So what do you need from me that requires this sort of cloak and dagger routine?”