Interlude – An Offer
by (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian & Commander Karen Villiers
Post Details
Girauna made her way to Villiers' office shortly after persuading Gabriel to go to bed before he made his situation a hell of a lot worse. She needed to talk to Villiers, to see if she could be persuaded to accept her help, to let her work the other angles of this case, the ones that pointed away from Dorian Gabriel. ~If nothing else, maybe she'll agree to let me see the evidence against him and anything else they have and I can work it from outside.~
Standing in front of Villiers' office she took a deep, nervous breath and wiped a bead of sweat from her bald head, ~Never been nervous about a case before. Of course, I've also never been fighting for a friend's life before either.~ She rang the chime and waited patiently for Villiers to let her in, hoping she would find her offer wasn't falling on deaf ears.
"Come," Karen called. Splitting her time between Ops and the JAG office was going to be a thing of the past before long, if only temporarily. Until then she was open to representations and here it seemed was another one. "What can I do for you?" she asked the Deltan waving her hand towards the seat opposite.
"Actually, Commander, I would like to do something for you." Girauna smiled as she sat, "My name is Girauna, and I currently work for the State Department, but my experience is as an investigator. I've worked for both Starfleet and the San Francisco PD homicide division, and I'd like to offer my assistance in your current homicide investigation."
Karen raised an eyebrow. "Which investigation would that be, Girauna?" she enquired. "I'm a lawyer, not an investigator."
"The murder investigation involving Lt. Cdr. Gabriel." Girauna answered, "And, you're right, you are a lawyer, not an investigator, all the more reason to accept my help."
"I'm not at liberty to comment on ongoing cases, as you will know if your background is as you claim it to be," Karen said. "I you have information pertaining to that matter, I am able to hear it, though I can give you no opinion on its worth, and no guidance to any future case."
"Commander, don't stonewall me, please." Girauna sighed, "Look, I could have gone over your head and the State Department would've backed me, I chose not to because I'm not here to step on your toes or anyone else's, but, the fact remains that I am worried that this is turning into a witch hunt and I for one don't want to see Dorian turned over to the Romulans for a politically motivated made for TV execution without knowing for certain that he committed the crime he's accused of. I've read up on you before I came here, everything I've seen tells me you're a fair and reasonable person, so why not let me help you so we can all come out ahead in this deal?"
Karen leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingers. "Actually, Girauna, you could not have done that, or if you did it would not make or have made a blind bit of difference to the case you allude to. If you have something to share, then share it if you think it will aid the alleged case."
Girauna was tempted to ask the snot nosed bitch across the desk from her if she wanted to put her latinum where mouth was on that one, but chose not to digress into an angry exchange with an obstinate bureaucrat intent on handing an innocent man to the Romulans for execution yet, "Look, Commander, I'm trying to work with you here, don't make an enemy of me. We are on the same side here. Right now all I have is my instincts, without which an investigator is nothing. Every instinct I have tells me Dorian is innocent, and I intend to prove it. Now, we can do this one of two ways, we can work together on this and when it's all said and done you'll probably reap a lot of rewards from it. Option two is I do this without you and when it comes down to where the rubber meets the road and Dorian Gabriel is cleared you'll find yourself about as popular as Joe McCarthy or the Salem Witch Judge in the circles of power here in the Federation. I don't want us to be adversarial, Commander, believe me, but I will do whatever it takes to make sure that Dorian Gabriel isn't executed in a Romulan PR stunt. So, I'm asking you again, can we help each other?"
Karen got to her feet. "Gabriel's guilt, or innocence will be established on the basis of evidence and in the courtroom. You are entitled to your opinion and to present it to me, but as adjudicator, I will remain neutral, and will not work with anyone in any way that will compromise my neutrality. Understood?"
"From what I've been told my Gabriel, who I know and have worked with for years, your neutrality is already compromised." Girauna snapped back, now on her feet, "And you seem to have forgotten, Commander, that's a Starfleet uniform you're wearing, not a Romulan one."
"Your duty is to the Federation, Commander, nothing and nobody else." Girauna continued, she could see what Dorian was talking about now, it seemed like everyone on this damned station was bowing down to the Romulans' every whim, "And when I'm done clearing Dorian, I'm going to take down your Romulan friend along with the real killer, and then you can explain to Starfleet Command why you betrayed your oath to protect those you serve with."
"Do not presume to tell me what my duty is. The evidence will be what I base my judgement on. Justice is blind," Karen said. "And if you plan to come back here, keep your language, your temper and your personal feelings under control. They have no place in the JAG office."
"Someone needs to tell you, you've apparently forgotten." Girauna shook her head, "Okay, so it's the hard way, works for me, Princess. Tell you what, you're a beautiful woman, Commander. Shame your attitude sucks." With that Girauna turned to leave, she'd go around, over, or through Villiers if she had to now.
"Look in the mirror, Honey, before you start criticising my attitude," Karen said, "Take whatever route you wish, the brick wall will still be there. Don't bruise your face on it too hard," she said with a shake of her head.
Girauna didn't bother to reply to that last comment, she wasn't going to feed into that woman's ego trip, though she did wonder to herself if Gabriel was right and there really was something in the water on this station that made everyone betray Starfleet and join the Romulan cause.
OFF
by (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian & Commander Karen Villiers
Post Details
| Title | An Offer | |
| Mission | Interlude | |
| Author(s) | (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian & Commander Karen Villiers | |
| Posted | Sun Jul 25, 2010 @ 6:46pm | |
| Location | Cdr. Villiers' Office | |
| Timeline | after "Help Not Wanted" |
Standing in front of Villiers' office she took a deep, nervous breath and wiped a bead of sweat from her bald head, ~Never been nervous about a case before. Of course, I've also never been fighting for a friend's life before either.~ She rang the chime and waited patiently for Villiers to let her in, hoping she would find her offer wasn't falling on deaf ears.
"Come," Karen called. Splitting her time between Ops and the JAG office was going to be a thing of the past before long, if only temporarily. Until then she was open to representations and here it seemed was another one. "What can I do for you?" she asked the Deltan waving her hand towards the seat opposite.
"Actually, Commander, I would like to do something for you." Girauna smiled as she sat, "My name is Girauna, and I currently work for the State Department, but my experience is as an investigator. I've worked for both Starfleet and the San Francisco PD homicide division, and I'd like to offer my assistance in your current homicide investigation."
Karen raised an eyebrow. "Which investigation would that be, Girauna?" she enquired. "I'm a lawyer, not an investigator."
"The murder investigation involving Lt. Cdr. Gabriel." Girauna answered, "And, you're right, you are a lawyer, not an investigator, all the more reason to accept my help."
"I'm not at liberty to comment on ongoing cases, as you will know if your background is as you claim it to be," Karen said. "I you have information pertaining to that matter, I am able to hear it, though I can give you no opinion on its worth, and no guidance to any future case."
"Commander, don't stonewall me, please." Girauna sighed, "Look, I could have gone over your head and the State Department would've backed me, I chose not to because I'm not here to step on your toes or anyone else's, but, the fact remains that I am worried that this is turning into a witch hunt and I for one don't want to see Dorian turned over to the Romulans for a politically motivated made for TV execution without knowing for certain that he committed the crime he's accused of. I've read up on you before I came here, everything I've seen tells me you're a fair and reasonable person, so why not let me help you so we can all come out ahead in this deal?"
Karen leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingers. "Actually, Girauna, you could not have done that, or if you did it would not make or have made a blind bit of difference to the case you allude to. If you have something to share, then share it if you think it will aid the alleged case."
Girauna was tempted to ask the snot nosed bitch across the desk from her if she wanted to put her latinum where mouth was on that one, but chose not to digress into an angry exchange with an obstinate bureaucrat intent on handing an innocent man to the Romulans for execution yet, "Look, Commander, I'm trying to work with you here, don't make an enemy of me. We are on the same side here. Right now all I have is my instincts, without which an investigator is nothing. Every instinct I have tells me Dorian is innocent, and I intend to prove it. Now, we can do this one of two ways, we can work together on this and when it's all said and done you'll probably reap a lot of rewards from it. Option two is I do this without you and when it comes down to where the rubber meets the road and Dorian Gabriel is cleared you'll find yourself about as popular as Joe McCarthy or the Salem Witch Judge in the circles of power here in the Federation. I don't want us to be adversarial, Commander, believe me, but I will do whatever it takes to make sure that Dorian Gabriel isn't executed in a Romulan PR stunt. So, I'm asking you again, can we help each other?"
Karen got to her feet. "Gabriel's guilt, or innocence will be established on the basis of evidence and in the courtroom. You are entitled to your opinion and to present it to me, but as adjudicator, I will remain neutral, and will not work with anyone in any way that will compromise my neutrality. Understood?"
"From what I've been told my Gabriel, who I know and have worked with for years, your neutrality is already compromised." Girauna snapped back, now on her feet, "And you seem to have forgotten, Commander, that's a Starfleet uniform you're wearing, not a Romulan one."
"Your duty is to the Federation, Commander, nothing and nobody else." Girauna continued, she could see what Dorian was talking about now, it seemed like everyone on this damned station was bowing down to the Romulans' every whim, "And when I'm done clearing Dorian, I'm going to take down your Romulan friend along with the real killer, and then you can explain to Starfleet Command why you betrayed your oath to protect those you serve with."
"Do not presume to tell me what my duty is. The evidence will be what I base my judgement on. Justice is blind," Karen said. "And if you plan to come back here, keep your language, your temper and your personal feelings under control. They have no place in the JAG office."
"Someone needs to tell you, you've apparently forgotten." Girauna shook her head, "Okay, so it's the hard way, works for me, Princess. Tell you what, you're a beautiful woman, Commander. Shame your attitude sucks." With that Girauna turned to leave, she'd go around, over, or through Villiers if she had to now.
"Look in the mirror, Honey, before you start criticising my attitude," Karen said, "Take whatever route you wish, the brick wall will still be there. Don't bruise your face on it too hard," she said with a shake of her head.
Girauna didn't bother to reply to that last comment, she wasn't going to feed into that woman's ego trip, though she did wonder to herself if Gabriel was right and there really was something in the water on this station that made everyone betray Starfleet and join the Romulan cause.
OFF