Judgement – Some Things are not always what they appear
by Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC) & Commander Karen Villiers & Commander Chelsea Dunham

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Title   Some Things are not always what they appear
Mission   Judgement
Author(s)   Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC) & Commander Karen Villiers & Commander Chelsea Dunham
Posted   Fri Jan 14, 2011 @ 10:36pm
Location   Captains Ready room
Timeline   SD35 22:55
(Go with the flow on this one, hopefully we can resurrect the pirate plot line)
OK, moved the timeline up to late evening and added a prequel to have Tasha & the serving XO ready in the Captains office. Added Chelsea as she is the Temp XO.....


On:
Her comm chirped as Flight sent through an urgent message to the Captain.
=^= "Understood. I will meet them with the XO in my ready room. Try to delay them for just a few moments whilst I get ready. Tahir out." =^= She closed the comm and rolled of the sofa, dispensing the PADD to her side as she tapped her comm to Chelsea.

=^="Commander Adams. Meet me in my ready room, stat." She closed the comm before Chelsea could reply and grabbed her jacket as she left her quarters.

Chelsea acknowledged the call and set off, arriving at the CO's rooms within five minutes. She rang the chime and was admitted, taking a seat where indicated and silently awaiting more information.

* * * * * *

Tasha leapt the stairs to the upper tier and acknowledged the Commander as she pushed open the door to her office.

"Sorry Commander, I don't know what the urgency is, but there is a contingency already on their way up here. Something about Lieutenant Wallace, that's all I can tell you at the minute." She advised as she ordered a hot sweet black coffee for herself. "Tea?" She offered Chelsea.

"Yes please Captain, Terran Redbush please, sweet and with milk" Chelsea replied.

As she ordered the beverage, the doors swung inward.

The quartet of intelligence officers looking haggard and fully jacked up on multiple caffinated beverages stormed through ops like a herd of raging bulls. As they stopped at the door to the ready room they decided to for go the normal and proper protocols and simply opened the door and entered, realizing that security was going to show up Chief Ayers spoke an override code out then addressed the Captain and XO.

"Lieutenant Wallace has been captured by the pirates working in this region."

Tasha threw a look to Chelsea as she tapped at her desk console and entwined her fingers together and lay her clasped hand upon the polished table before drawing her attention back to the intelligence officers.

Martina spoke next as the mission orders appeared on the captains terminal "Lieutenant Wallace was summoned by Star Fleet search and rescue to attempt to make contact with the research vessel Malcolm who was monitoring the highly unusual electro static activity in the Paulson Nebula, when they failed to check in after forty-eight hours."

The captain hardly had time to work up a reply before the next officer spoke.

John who was looking the worse for wear and tear spoke next "While this was unfolding three suspects we've had under surveillance for being contacts to the pirates left the station together, which is a first for these three." John paused then resumed "neither have been seen since this situation began to unfold."

Craig spoke next and with some authority "Then forty seven minutes ago a Klingon ship found an escape pod with one crewman aboard" Craig paused to catch his breath "He managed to escape in the lone pod before the pirates took the ship in tow, The Klingons are bringing him here for a debrief as we speak."

Tasha waited to see if any further information would be forthcoming, as so far she had not been able to draw a breath to speak. She scanned the orders on her screen before rising to her feet.

"We have a prisoner incoming, we have a missing intelligence officer and only now you choose to inform me?" She tutted as she moved around the desk and sat on its edge. "First, I want a full report on the events leading immediately up to Lieutenant Wallaces 'abduction' then I want secure room set up for the prisoner. I assume you will want to interrogate him, but I want it done by the book." She said sternly, not wanting another blemish on the records for unsavoury persons to use as leverage.

"Commander," She leant towards Chelsea, "I want a full medical examination carried out on the Pirate before anybody talks to him." She turned her attention back to the lead intelligence officer. "When I say by the book, I mean by the book. I want full monitoring and a complete and uninterrupted recording. Every word, breath and action is to be laid to the ships memory core and sealed according to protocol. Do I make myself clear?" She stressed eyeing each of the intelligence officers before her.

"Crystal, Ma'am" Chelsea replied, nodding her understanding. "Do we know when we can expect our *patient*?" she asked.

"The survivor is due in two hours, and I've taken some precautions to keep this low profile." Chief Ayers said "To prevent any additional leaks, the four of us will be the security detail for this matter, station security can't be trusted, and we don't know who the fourth contact these pirates is, but considering how easily they caught the lieutenant we can not take this matter lightly."

Martina spoke next "We have one other matter to address; Lieutenant Wallace will be interrogated, and in all likely hood there could be a raid on the station."

Her arms came across her chest. "A raid?" Tasha asked more than replied. "If so, then I want security and the marines readied. Intelligence cannot contain this themselves." She ordered with a severity that was cordial.

"We've planned for that Captain, Darson and Dorian only need to know the basics, plus we need to know where the security leak is between the two departments." Chief Ayers said.

"At least we will rob them of the element of surprise! By the way, I think Lieutenant Trellis would be in charge as Commander Gabriel is unavailable." Chelsea commented and added an update.

"Commander Adams is correct," Karen said as she steepled her fingers, "Dorian Gabriel has been relieved of duty pending trial. But why are we so sure that Security is the leak? There are several departments involved in this venture, not to mention the Romulans and the Klingons."

Tasha added before the intelligence officers began.
"My concerns exactly. How can you be sure the leak is in the security department? There is more information going through unsolicited channels on this station, so much so I often wonder how this station can maintain its own atmosphere and gravity. Contrary to Commander Gabriels current incarceration, I trust him. I also trust Colonel Darson and all my department heads. We are all more than aware that the Romulan embassy has means of knowing what goes on here before we do, but if they were the source of a leak to the detriment of the station, then they would have already uprated their own security status." She stated as she shook her head and began to gently scratch at the back her neck and fought to keep her hands from running upwards through her hair and toy with the band that held her hair in check. "No, there is a advocate at work here, but not to the usual regimes who have something to gain." She cast her eyes across the intelligence officers.

Chief Ayers spoke first, "Incident number one that indicated we have a security leak was a shipment of industrial replicators to the Laurencian colony, the only departments involved in there transfer and shipment were security and engineering, the freighters were hijacked within twelve hours of leaving he station." Craig paused "The second incident was a supply of medical equipment, the medical department and security were involved, along with a marine squad, once again the shipment was hijacked with in twelve hours."

Marina spoke next, "three emergency fusion reactors were hijacked while in transport from starbase one-eight-five, these were being transferred to us once again only the marines and security knew specifics on the transport schedule, all other departments only knew they were being transported."

Rhiana spoke next, her pointed ears poking through her long black hair "The last incident that points to a leak in either the marine or security sections was the hijacking of a freighter loaded with two hundred phaser rifles, sixty crates of type one concussion grenades and twelve litres of bio-memedic gels."

"In conclusion in all instances of freighter assaults on cargo of some military value only security and the marines knew the shipping schedule and the departure times." Craig sat down the PaDD he had been working from and spoke again "Another odd event is the disappearance of three of our suspected contacts shortly after the most resent hijacking, that makes too long of a list of coincidences, and now one of the stations senior staff has suddenly disappeared, that's not a coincidence that's a problem."

John who had kept silent to this point spoke next "Last thing we need is another bombing or an assassination attempt on someone, for all we know Lieutenant Wallace is dead or being tortured so we can't sit here much longer" John paused "He's risked his life more times than I know of, we owe him." he said emphasizing that last point.

Rhiana looked at John then at the three senior officers "I first met Mr Wallace as a child, he rescued my family from a damaged shuttle adrift in the neutral zone, my parents were attempting to flee the empire for some reason, I owe him the most here, so if nothing is done then I'm going to do something."

"Nobody suggested doing nothing," Karen said, she did not care for the emotive twist to the woman's argument; gratitude was no reason alone to launch a rescue mission. "A joint operation is already underway, there may be scope to hive off a smaller craft, but if your suspicions are true it should not be from the marine contingent. What about common threads between Engineering, Medical, Ops that tie in with Security and the Marines," Karen was not ready to rule out that angle just yet, "family members, friends, the sort who might think what they are saying is innocent without being aware that someone close to them is abusing their trust?"

"The only other clue we have that its the marines and security is the communication logs." Rhiana added "A marine communications specialist and a security detail both were on duty when Mr Wallace was called away by search and rescue so he becomes an easy target for our pirates."

"Combined with the frequent abuse of special communication channels by Colonel Darson, members of security and strategic operations, something like this was bound to happen, and I'm afraid it could escalate to something far more extreme." Craig said seeing the visible chill on the other officers

Tasha had to admit to herself, if not aloud, that there was a definitive link between the Security department and the hijackings and the kidnapping, but she too was not about to let anybody head off on a emotive rescue mission. Tasha was glad that for the moment, Karen was here to counter balance her.

"Ensign t'Sahen, whilst normally I would applaud any attempt at a rescue mission, we need facts before we act. That is what your department is here for, to furnish us with those facts and though I am loathe to admit it, you have proven beyond doubt that there is a very strong possibility that we have a mole in our midst."

Tasha turned back to the desk and her hands splayed out as she rested her weight upon it looking back at her reflection in the polished table. "Fact 1," She began, not turning around, "We have an incoming prisoner who needs to be interrogated. That is in hand. Fact 2, we know we have a pirate link in this somewhere but where and why is yet to be determined." She eased herself around and faced the gathered company, now resting herself on the edge of the table as her arms folded across her chest.

"Our next actions, should be firstly to determine where the leak is coming from and plug it. We must also garner any information we can from the prisoner as to the possible whereabouts of Lieutenant Wallace and you as intelligence officers are tasked with that. He must be found before he is subjected to any act of violence against his person and I re-iterate, the prisoner is to be contained and treated correctly." Her eyes went from person to person. "Fact 3, there is a fair list of contraband and there has to be a market for it out there. Go find the market!" She remarked.

Craig took a PaDD from a crewman "One of our suspected contacts is dead, they found him down on the lower decks." Craig paused "Ensign Thurgoode is in custody."

"Micheal Thurgoode?" John stepped back, "He works the customs and cargo center, but that's too easy, something else must be up."

"Customs," Karen said slowly, "What about Ops? There's nothing gets in or out without ops knowledge in terms of ship movements - they knew about the Romulan Ambassador's cloaked ship in the internal bay when no-one else did, they co-ordinate the comings and goings of all vessels, be they alien, starfleet, research, merchant, civilian or marine, and be default all the data from one shift is passed on to the next and so on, its the only way a facility like this can function without pileups and prangs. A leak in Ops wouldn't need to know anything about the cargo, just the registry then to tie that up to the docking schedule and pull out the registered flight path."

"Ma'am if Mr. Thurgoode is the leak we need to know what he's told them." Marti said "Lives are now at stake."

Chief Ayers looked around the room, "If we're going to do something we need to move quickly, we don't know who else is compromised."

Tasha nodded at another valid point and hid a yawn behind her hand.

Martina spoke thinking about the one thing that had been forgotten "We'll need the cargo manifest of the freighter that was attacked from the Romulans."

The day was catching up on Tasha and though this was far too important to leave, tiredness was creeping in with a vengeance.

"Good suggestion. Chelsea," Tasha slipped by calling her by her name instead of her rank, "can you arrange an autopsy on Thurgoode. It is a little too convenient to be coincidental. Let's get the prisoner secure, then we shall begin a thorough purge of all the stations shipping logs for the last seventy two hours. Scrutinise each log carefully and tag its route through the communication channels." She glanced at the clock. "It's now near twenty three ten and the next twelve hours are going to be critical and in less than that, we have the trial procedure to initiate. Midday tomorrow, we should have a clearer idea of what our next course of action is to be. Agreed?" She asked, feeling the need for her bed.

Chelsea nodded. "Acknowledged Captain, leave the autopsy to me, and the medical - I'll have them both done by 10.00am. May I suggest we reconvene here at mid-day and if the trial is underway by then, those of us who aren't needed in court will be here and we can still take a look at the emerging picture even if we have to defer the final decision to the CO when she gets here, if that can't be immediately? Does that suit everyone?"

"I can call a recess if needs be," Karen said.

Tasha looked at the Intelligence entourage, awaiting their final say.

Marti looked around "The Chief and I will keep digging around in the computer system, see if we can find the specific data the Lieutenant had on our pirates, Rhiana and John are going to continue to prepare for a rescue mission and a briefing for when we can go."

Tasha nodded her approval. "then we are dismissed until midday." She shepherded them towards the door, eager to get to her bed.


Off:

Captain Tasha Tahir

Commander Chelsea Adams
Second Officer & CMO

Commander Karen Villiers
Executive Officer

Intelligence Dept:
Ens. Rhiana T'Senan

Ens. John Maxwell

Ens Martina Perth

MCPO Craig Ayers