Take Two

Posted on Sat Mar 12th, 2011 @ 1:18am by Lieutenant Cedric Shepherd & Captain T'mpest Michaels

1,090 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Triad
Location: Security Office, USS Ranger
Timeline: Very shortly after Take One

"Commander, thanks for coming in," said Shepherd, rising as Michaels entered the office and indicating a chair, which Fletcher adjusted slightly for her convenience. "Please."

T'mpest nodded and took a seat. "You wish to speak to me about Doctor Mar?" she asked. It was the most likely reason for his desire to talk with her.

"Yes, sir," replied Shepherd as he and Fletcher seated themselves. "Please explain to me the incident with Doctor Mar on the bridge."

"T'mpest, please. I don't like being called sir. Or ma'am." She smiled apologetically. "I walked onto the bridge and Doctor Mar was in full rant. So I... calmed her down." Her expression turned more serene, more Vulcan. "I felt it was the logical thing to do at the time." She tried very hard to keep the impish twinkle out of her eyes.

Shepherd smiled at the logic, and thought a moment. "How did you handle her body after you had," he considered a word, then shrugged, "calmed her down?"

"I set her carefully in a chair and informed sickbay," she replied matter-of-factly. "I did not wish her to be injured."

"I'll need you to produce a formal statement to that effect," stated Shepherd.

"There's not much to report. She was yelling at the Captain. I chose the most logical, efficient way to deal with the problem." T'mpest shrugged. "If you really need a formal report, I'll fill one out, but I really don't have much more to say than that."

"Oh, I can appreciate the simplicity of the event," Shepherd chuckled. "It just means I have good news and bad news. Which would you like first?"

"As I'm sure they both relate to the good Doctor, it doesn't matter," she replied. "I'm sure she wants me keelhauled. Is that the bad news?"

"It's the start of it," Shepherd nodded. "Can I offer you something to drink?" he pointed casually at the replicator slot.

"Apricot juice, please," she said. "So what is she charging me with?"

"Well, she's got a menu to select from," Shepherd replied as he rose and stepped to the replicator. "Most of it's not going to stick. Civilian personnel aren't really permitted to accuse Starfleet officers of things like dereliction and incompetence. That's got to come from higher up the command chain, though a civilian harping long and loud enough may prompt command to take a closer look." He handed her the glass of juice and moved to return to his seat with his own ice water. "The big one's Assault." He settled into his chair again and took a momentary swig.

"Ah," T'mpest said. "Technically she might be able to claim that. You can also say that I was removing a hindrance from the bridge when the Captain was clearly needing to focus elsewhere." She shrugged. She hadn't thought through her actions, but if she had, she'd probably do the same thing. "You said there was good news?"

"The good news is that you're not going to get railroaded out of the fleet. I don't see it happening," Shepherd shook his head for emphasis. "The real bad news, though, is that there's bound to be an investigation. Mar's too highstrung to not file a formal complaint listing all kids of things on you, the Captain, me, or whoever. The issue isn't that you're guilty of anything--while the act itself is textbook Assault, extenuating facts don't support the charge. The issue is escalation of present troubles. There's already an investigating officer on board. It'd only take a matter of seconds for her orders to be amended, and then the witch hunt's on, and Captain Halliwell might be the one on the gibbet by the time it's over."

"Captain Halliwell has done nothing to warrant an investigation. If they wish to investigate me, then I'm fine with that." She looked Lieutenant Shepherd in the eye. "I assessed the situation and made a choice. I don't regret my actions. Nor do I excuse them. If there is to be an investigation, then so be it."

Shepherd looked a touch perplexed. "You don't have to explain yourself to me, T'mpest. I asked you in to discuss formal statements because it's the best we can do." He sat back in his chair and continued, "the worst case scenario goes like this: Mar files a complaint, and it starts percolating through the chain of command. Then the artifact turns out to be everything she claims, and she gains fame and accolades for the discovery and the advancement it brings the Federation. Because she's now famous, Command feels it must listen to her complaints, and Kendrick's investigation parameters are broadened. At that point any number of us could become directly involved, and it all revolves around Captain Halliwell and her methods, competence, or what have you--we serve on her ship, under her rules."

He twitched a finger back and forth between the three of them. "The best that we can do to prepare for a contingency like that is to do everything by the book. There can't be any deviation from regulation or protocol in the way this incident gets handled--anything like that and it can start reflecting on the Captain, and we all know that's unacceptable. It's my duty to compile the complete incident report, so I need to be sure your formal statement regarding the encounter is in the file."

T'mpest nodded. She pulled a notepad and pen out of her bag and began to write; Shepherd and Fletcher sat silently as she composed. It wasn't very long, but it was concise. She signed it and tore off the sheet of paper, handing it to the Lieutenant. "Here you go."

Shepherd quirked a smile. "I've seen you do that dozens of times, and it's still odd," he quipped as he took the page. "We'll get this in the report."

"Too many digs with no electricity and no PADDs," she grinned. "It has come in handy on at least one away mission -- power dampening field took out everything."

Shepherd set the note partially under a PADD on his desk and sat back in his chair again, casual and friendly. "Now I have to remind you formally that the ship has a security department whose job it is to get people like Mar off the bridge when they're being stupid. All they need is an order to do so. Please think of us next time you get an itchy pincher finger?"

"As long as the need isn't urgent," T'mpest promised him.

 

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