Beg, Steal or Borrow – A Small Matter (Part 3)
by Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC) & Lieutenant JG Petro & Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & Klingon Ambassador Toran of the House of Moqrhat & Commander Isha t'Vaurek & Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Colonel James Darson & Lieutenant JG Opaka Jo'el & Lieutenant Jana Kasikova & Commander Chelsea Dunham
Post Details
OLD:
"Major, would you be kind enough to open the door and then you can recount your report." Davies said with a nod and the faintest register of a smile.
NEW
Darson grumbled and made a childish sound of indignation, “Of course,” he remarked in a perturbed tone, “make the cripple get up and open the door. Honestly, do you people have a shred of compassion for the disabled at all?”
Immediately after that he chortled and then burst into dark laughter as he waved a hand to forestall responses, “Haha…oh jeez, no…I don’t really want any answers to that question…I’ll get the door, Commander.”
He stood up gracefully and sauntered over to the door, cloak swishing in the air. He pressed the controls gently and set them to keep the door open, then turned back towards the table as he thought about how best to regale them with his tale…as well as show Commander Davies what real showmanship was all about. After all, muffins and fresh fruit were nice…but it couldn’t hold a candle to what he had in the box.
As he arrived back at the foot of the table, he reached down to where his large case was making a deep imprint in the carpet and grasped the rusty handle with his good hand as bent his knees slightly. With a small grunt and a heave of his arm, he lifted the case into the air, and over to the table in one motion.
The case came down with a crash and a thud, and the end of the poor beleaguered table creaked in protest and threatened to buckle under the weight, but held fast. Darson ran his hand over the top of it in a loving fashion as he ruminated in silence for a moment as he gathered his thoughts and let the tension build.
David was not best pleased about the treatment of the desk and he knew that Tasha would want to know what made the dents in its wooden surface.
"Anytime this morning would be good, Major!" Davies nudged Darson.
Darson nodded calmly and said slowly, “Hmm…where…should….I…begin? Ahh…you know, I may as well spare you all the entire back story and be brief. As you’re undoubtedly aware, there have been many recorded incidents regarding pirate attacks in recent weeks. I was assigned to this sector to combat this threat, so as soon as I obtained actionable evidence of a pirate base in the area, I scrambled a Task Force to go after them.”
He decided that since the whole affair at the pirate base was going to be classified anyways, and that most of the people in attendance wouldn’t understand the intricacies of a battle of such epic proportions, he decided to keep it simple, “Is anyone here well versed in ancient Terran History?”
Petro slowly raised her hand, having recently studied some of the material. "Ancient could cover a vast period of time." She pointed out.
Davies grinned as he rested back into his chair, mainly as ancient history was not his forte, though he did recollect something about the Eugenics wars.
Darson nodded his head in acknowledgement, “Well, then you should know that it holds that 2432 years ago, in the Terran Year of 47 B.C., Roman Emperor Julius Caesar set out on a Campaign to destroy Pharnaces II of Pontus. The entire Campaign lasted all of five days, one of the shortest military actions in history. After the Battle of Zela, where he crushed Pharnaces’ forces in the town of Zile, he sent back a message to the Roman Senate. This message consisted on only one line of text…just one. That line of text was ‘Veni, vidi, vici’.”
"I think I had that for lunch once." Petro said, hoping that her levity wasn't ill placed. She knew she wasn't very good at it yet. "Latin, right?"
Chelsea stifled a laugh behind a cough and an impromptu attempt to tidy her hair that brought her arm across her face to hide the grin that was struggling to be released. ~Lunch!~ she thought, highly amused. ~I *like* Petro, she's a dark horse. So serious, or so she would have you believe, and then out of the blue, a flash of wit and levelling that are totally amazing. I should spend time getting to know her better! I'd like that!~
Darson gave an arrogant chuckle, “For those of you who are not as well versed in ancient languages as I am, that translates roughly to: ‘I came, I saw…I conquered.’” Darson leaned forward and said calmly, “And that is exactly what I did.”
Gabriel rolled his eyes in disgust, but more so in annoyance. "Please Darson, don't break your other arm patting yourself on the back for an operation that you did not begin, nor did you execute by yourself you half-wit." Gabriel said as he raised from his chair. "The Base's location, the Legacy, all these things we discovered through the efforts of both my Intelligence and Rakka's Security Departments. The only purpose your rag-tag group of trigger-happy grunts served was to simply point and click" Gabriel said while pointing an accusatory finger towards the shorter man.
The small J'Naii turned her head to Gabriel. Was he now saying that Rakka did a good job?
Darson turned his head slowly to face the newly minted Chief of Security, “Mr. Gabriel,” he said in a condescending tone as if he was lecturing a petulant child, “We’ve already been over this…remember? So I’ll save you the humiliation by not discussing it again in a public forum,” he turned his attention back to the room at large, “Regardless of Mr. Gabriel’s delusions of grandeur, the point of the matter is that the pirate threat is gone. We captured their base, and it now flies the flag of the Federation. The prisoners we took are being transported back to Earth to stand trial for their crimes, and a claims service has been opened for any merchants who have had their cargo stolen.”
"What is your point Darson? Was your nonsensical diatribe germane in some form to the proceedings of this morning?" Gabriel asked. "Or we did just lose precious minutes of our lives while being held hostage to your strained attempt at earning the few slivers of approval and respect that you utterly failed to obtain as a child?" Gabriel inquired rhetorically using every word as a precise weapon against the man.
Darson cocked his head to the side as he stared curiously at Gabriel. The man seemed to be even more up in arms this morning than he was yesterday…if such a thing was possible. He chose to be silent and let the man get his anger out before continuing.
"Anybody who wanted to know the result of the assault on the pirate base could simply read a Padd and go on with their day." Gabriel responded while waving an arm towards the gathered officers. "Or perhaps we could travel to Sick bay and view the various officers that are now fighting for their lives as a result of the previous operation." Gabriel stated in an unappreciative tone.
Chelsea was surprised to find that Gabriel had noticed the other occupants of Sickbay when he had visited, especially as he had seemed so inconsiderate of them, however, as little as she had been impressed by the Chief of Security's attitude, she now found herself equally uncomfortable with Darson's high-handed treatment of Petro and in fact all of them. ~I wonder if these two realise how bad they're making themselves look right now?~ she wondered.
Deep in thought Isha only half monitored the posturing and crowing going on across the table, And they wonder why they were so vulnerable to attack. This pair could make a career on the stage. she twisted the little eight pointed star in her lap and shook her head gently rather wishing that she could come up with an excuse to slip away.
Da`nal too had had enough of the bickering. He had a ship to get ready for departure and all this useless squabbling was wasting his time. Unlike most of those assembled he was no longer under the Commander’s direct command. Standing swiftly as his hand slapped the table he spoke what the Ambassador had thought.
"It no wonder this station's security was breached! You are all so worried about one-upping each other, and too busy pointing fingers at each other that a Ferengi circus could have gotten past any one of you!" Turning to Davies, "Commander, I hope to serve with you again, but I have a ship to prepare for departure." With a respectful nod to Commander Davies he turned to the Ambassador. "When you are ready to come aboard Ambassador...feel free to contact me."
Davies did not dismiss Da'Nal, he did not need to, after all, he was present at his own behest. but offered "Good Luck Commander!" As the Klingon exited.
If the Klingon could actually read minds then she was in trouble, Isha thought. For once she chose to assume that it was coincidence that caused his words to match her own thoughts so closely. “Thank you, Commander Da'nal,” she said with a nod that could almost be interpreted as submissive. “I will let you know as soon as I am ready.”
Da`nal nodded in reply and walked out of Ops.
Jo'el couldn't get a word in edgewise before Da'nal was gone. I've got to talk to him before he ships out. See if he needs help moving...
Gabriel was about to respond when he stopped. For once the half-breed was right. He had allowed himself to fall for the Marine's prattling diatribe and allowed himself to give him attention. Gabriel looked down at the table in front of him and sighed deeply.
"Da`Nal is correct, Commander. I have allowed my own hubris to blind me from my immediate duties." Gabriel said softly. "I apologize. If there is nothing further, then I'd ask to be dismissed to attend to more pressing matters." He added.
Davies was actually enjoying the tête a tête in the beginning, but as it was reaching a crescendo, so Gabriel backed down, proving that he could act like an officer and David felt a tinge of pride at Dorians attitude.
"Apology accepted Commander, " Davies glanced at the clock with the proud smile, "You are dismissed, but I will be down to the Security office later this morning."
Darson waved a hand in the direction of the departing Commander, “Ladies and gentlemen, Commander Da’nal,” he deadpanned. Seeing no point in drawing this out any further due to the now thoroughly darkened mood in the room, and ignoring Gabriel’s comments, he said to the room at large in a more business-like voice,
“Well, that about completes my report…Commander, you will have a full AAR on your desk by noon with more details. However, there still remains one issue.”
He popped the seals on the large case with his hand and opened it up, towards him. As he looked into the confines of the case he said, “When we took the base, we contacted one of the transport companies with the news, so they could reclaim their lost merchandise. Apparently…there was also a large reward fund put together by a large group of the affected traders, for whoever found and stopped the pirate threat…private or otherwise,” He deliberately left out the fact that he had also collected several large individual bounties for many of the key members of the pirate group.
He spun the case around on the table with it groaning in protest once more and revealed that it was filled to the top with neatly stacked bars of gold-pressed latinum, “I met with a representative of the trader’s guild last night to formally accept the reward on behalf of Starfleet and the Marine Corp. I’ve had nothing better to do with it, so I’ve just been carrying it around with me. However, I don’t technically have the right to hold on to this for myself…not that I’d want to anyways. I already took all the spoils of war that were due to me. So Commander, I was hoping that you could take this off my hands...the one that works anyway.”
~Spoils of war that were *due* to him?~ Chelsea thought, wondering what he meant. ~Surely a Federation Officer wouldn't have anything extra *due to him* as a result of carrying out his duty? Perhaps I missed something? Is he a mercenary?~
Jo'el's jaw dropped. Before Federation admission, Bajor could have used that to house a lot of orphans. What did the Federation need latinum for? Well, then again, there were always things to be bought from foreign economies. He knew enough about the Great Material Continuum to grasp that concept.
David's eyes widened at the treasure trove, but they narrowed when Darson mentioned 'Spoils of War'. For some reason, his mind tracked back to the Admiral as his thoughts of promoting the Major dissipated immediately.
"Spoils of war Major?" David questioned, "If you have helped yourself to some form of recompense, then you are out of line. I think that Starfleet would be over joyed to hear that you are submitting an unvalued chest of latinum, but would be highly disappointed to hear about your reward!" Davies took a sharp intake of breath.
"I think we shall end this breakfast meeting and reconvene for the departments heads meeting at O eight Hundred." He did not await an answer from James, he was deeply pained by the Marine Co's admission.
The light-hearted breakfast with a view to bulking everyone's spirits was severely dampened. David decided to continue with them later that morning.
Standing, he tugged down his tunic. "Thank you for attending, each of you, your all dismissed." He said giving a respectful nod to Isha and making his way around to Petro.
Gabriel grabbed his padd and quickly exited the room before he throw a chair at Darson or merely strangled the man for simplicity's sake. However, he made sure to remind himself to have a chat with Petro in the very near future.
Davids hand fell on Petros shoulder and she shrugged away.
"Sorry Petro, I meant no harm. Will you stay behind a moment?" Davies asked.
Signatures please (With your new Ranks/positions) and thanks to all.
CO: Commander David Davies
Lt. Cdr
Dorian Gabriel
Chief Security
Major James Darson
Marine CO
Ambassador Isha t'Khellian
Lt. j.g. Opaka Jo'el
Master-At-Arms
Lt(jg) Jarred Wallace
ACIO DS5
Lt. Cmdr. Chelsea Adams
ACMO - DS5
Lt. (JG) Claire Mackenzie
Acting Chief Counselor - DS5
Warrant Officer Petro
Quartermaster - DS5
(Outgoing)
CO: USS Freedom - Commander Da'Nal
OOC: Remaining promotions:
Zorana
Petro
Darson
Wallace
by Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC) & Lieutenant JG Petro & Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & Klingon Ambassador Toran of the House of Moqrhat & Commander Isha t'Vaurek & Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Colonel James Darson & Lieutenant JG Opaka Jo'el & Lieutenant Jana Kasikova & Commander Chelsea Dunham
Post Details
| Title | A Small Matter (Part 3) | |
| Mission | Beg, Steal or Borrow | |
| Author(s) | Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC) & Lieutenant JG Petro & Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & Klingon Ambassador Toran of the House of Moqrhat & Commander Isha t'Vaurek & Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Colonel James Darson & Lieutenant JG Opaka Jo'el & Lieutenant Jana Kasikova & Commander Chelsea Dunham | |
| Posted | Sat Jun 13, 2009 @ 1:12am | |
| Location | Commander's Office | |
| Timeline | SD9 06:55 - 07:05 |
"Major, would you be kind enough to open the door and then you can recount your report." Davies said with a nod and the faintest register of a smile.
NEW
Darson grumbled and made a childish sound of indignation, “Of course,” he remarked in a perturbed tone, “make the cripple get up and open the door. Honestly, do you people have a shred of compassion for the disabled at all?”
Immediately after that he chortled and then burst into dark laughter as he waved a hand to forestall responses, “Haha…oh jeez, no…I don’t really want any answers to that question…I’ll get the door, Commander.”
He stood up gracefully and sauntered over to the door, cloak swishing in the air. He pressed the controls gently and set them to keep the door open, then turned back towards the table as he thought about how best to regale them with his tale…as well as show Commander Davies what real showmanship was all about. After all, muffins and fresh fruit were nice…but it couldn’t hold a candle to what he had in the box.
As he arrived back at the foot of the table, he reached down to where his large case was making a deep imprint in the carpet and grasped the rusty handle with his good hand as bent his knees slightly. With a small grunt and a heave of his arm, he lifted the case into the air, and over to the table in one motion.
The case came down with a crash and a thud, and the end of the poor beleaguered table creaked in protest and threatened to buckle under the weight, but held fast. Darson ran his hand over the top of it in a loving fashion as he ruminated in silence for a moment as he gathered his thoughts and let the tension build.
David was not best pleased about the treatment of the desk and he knew that Tasha would want to know what made the dents in its wooden surface.
"Anytime this morning would be good, Major!" Davies nudged Darson.
Darson nodded calmly and said slowly, “Hmm…where…should….I…begin? Ahh…you know, I may as well spare you all the entire back story and be brief. As you’re undoubtedly aware, there have been many recorded incidents regarding pirate attacks in recent weeks. I was assigned to this sector to combat this threat, so as soon as I obtained actionable evidence of a pirate base in the area, I scrambled a Task Force to go after them.”
He decided that since the whole affair at the pirate base was going to be classified anyways, and that most of the people in attendance wouldn’t understand the intricacies of a battle of such epic proportions, he decided to keep it simple, “Is anyone here well versed in ancient Terran History?”
Petro slowly raised her hand, having recently studied some of the material. "Ancient could cover a vast period of time." She pointed out.
Davies grinned as he rested back into his chair, mainly as ancient history was not his forte, though he did recollect something about the Eugenics wars.
Darson nodded his head in acknowledgement, “Well, then you should know that it holds that 2432 years ago, in the Terran Year of 47 B.C., Roman Emperor Julius Caesar set out on a Campaign to destroy Pharnaces II of Pontus. The entire Campaign lasted all of five days, one of the shortest military actions in history. After the Battle of Zela, where he crushed Pharnaces’ forces in the town of Zile, he sent back a message to the Roman Senate. This message consisted on only one line of text…just one. That line of text was ‘Veni, vidi, vici’.”
"I think I had that for lunch once." Petro said, hoping that her levity wasn't ill placed. She knew she wasn't very good at it yet. "Latin, right?"
Chelsea stifled a laugh behind a cough and an impromptu attempt to tidy her hair that brought her arm across her face to hide the grin that was struggling to be released. ~Lunch!~ she thought, highly amused. ~I *like* Petro, she's a dark horse. So serious, or so she would have you believe, and then out of the blue, a flash of wit and levelling that are totally amazing. I should spend time getting to know her better! I'd like that!~
Darson gave an arrogant chuckle, “For those of you who are not as well versed in ancient languages as I am, that translates roughly to: ‘I came, I saw…I conquered.’” Darson leaned forward and said calmly, “And that is exactly what I did.”
Gabriel rolled his eyes in disgust, but more so in annoyance. "Please Darson, don't break your other arm patting yourself on the back for an operation that you did not begin, nor did you execute by yourself you half-wit." Gabriel said as he raised from his chair. "The Base's location, the Legacy, all these things we discovered through the efforts of both my Intelligence and Rakka's Security Departments. The only purpose your rag-tag group of trigger-happy grunts served was to simply point and click" Gabriel said while pointing an accusatory finger towards the shorter man.
The small J'Naii turned her head to Gabriel. Was he now saying that Rakka did a good job?
Darson turned his head slowly to face the newly minted Chief of Security, “Mr. Gabriel,” he said in a condescending tone as if he was lecturing a petulant child, “We’ve already been over this…remember? So I’ll save you the humiliation by not discussing it again in a public forum,” he turned his attention back to the room at large, “Regardless of Mr. Gabriel’s delusions of grandeur, the point of the matter is that the pirate threat is gone. We captured their base, and it now flies the flag of the Federation. The prisoners we took are being transported back to Earth to stand trial for their crimes, and a claims service has been opened for any merchants who have had their cargo stolen.”
"What is your point Darson? Was your nonsensical diatribe germane in some form to the proceedings of this morning?" Gabriel asked. "Or we did just lose precious minutes of our lives while being held hostage to your strained attempt at earning the few slivers of approval and respect that you utterly failed to obtain as a child?" Gabriel inquired rhetorically using every word as a precise weapon against the man.
Darson cocked his head to the side as he stared curiously at Gabriel. The man seemed to be even more up in arms this morning than he was yesterday…if such a thing was possible. He chose to be silent and let the man get his anger out before continuing.
"Anybody who wanted to know the result of the assault on the pirate base could simply read a Padd and go on with their day." Gabriel responded while waving an arm towards the gathered officers. "Or perhaps we could travel to Sick bay and view the various officers that are now fighting for their lives as a result of the previous operation." Gabriel stated in an unappreciative tone.
Chelsea was surprised to find that Gabriel had noticed the other occupants of Sickbay when he had visited, especially as he had seemed so inconsiderate of them, however, as little as she had been impressed by the Chief of Security's attitude, she now found herself equally uncomfortable with Darson's high-handed treatment of Petro and in fact all of them. ~I wonder if these two realise how bad they're making themselves look right now?~ she wondered.
Deep in thought Isha only half monitored the posturing and crowing going on across the table, And they wonder why they were so vulnerable to attack. This pair could make a career on the stage. she twisted the little eight pointed star in her lap and shook her head gently rather wishing that she could come up with an excuse to slip away.
Da`nal too had had enough of the bickering. He had a ship to get ready for departure and all this useless squabbling was wasting his time. Unlike most of those assembled he was no longer under the Commander’s direct command. Standing swiftly as his hand slapped the table he spoke what the Ambassador had thought.
"It no wonder this station's security was breached! You are all so worried about one-upping each other, and too busy pointing fingers at each other that a Ferengi circus could have gotten past any one of you!" Turning to Davies, "Commander, I hope to serve with you again, but I have a ship to prepare for departure." With a respectful nod to Commander Davies he turned to the Ambassador. "When you are ready to come aboard Ambassador...feel free to contact me."
Davies did not dismiss Da'Nal, he did not need to, after all, he was present at his own behest. but offered "Good Luck Commander!" As the Klingon exited.
If the Klingon could actually read minds then she was in trouble, Isha thought. For once she chose to assume that it was coincidence that caused his words to match her own thoughts so closely. “Thank you, Commander Da'nal,” she said with a nod that could almost be interpreted as submissive. “I will let you know as soon as I am ready.”
Da`nal nodded in reply and walked out of Ops.
Jo'el couldn't get a word in edgewise before Da'nal was gone. I've got to talk to him before he ships out. See if he needs help moving...
Gabriel was about to respond when he stopped. For once the half-breed was right. He had allowed himself to fall for the Marine's prattling diatribe and allowed himself to give him attention. Gabriel looked down at the table in front of him and sighed deeply.
"Da`Nal is correct, Commander. I have allowed my own hubris to blind me from my immediate duties." Gabriel said softly. "I apologize. If there is nothing further, then I'd ask to be dismissed to attend to more pressing matters." He added.
Davies was actually enjoying the tête a tête in the beginning, but as it was reaching a crescendo, so Gabriel backed down, proving that he could act like an officer and David felt a tinge of pride at Dorians attitude.
"Apology accepted Commander, " Davies glanced at the clock with the proud smile, "You are dismissed, but I will be down to the Security office later this morning."
Darson waved a hand in the direction of the departing Commander, “Ladies and gentlemen, Commander Da’nal,” he deadpanned. Seeing no point in drawing this out any further due to the now thoroughly darkened mood in the room, and ignoring Gabriel’s comments, he said to the room at large in a more business-like voice,
“Well, that about completes my report…Commander, you will have a full AAR on your desk by noon with more details. However, there still remains one issue.”
He popped the seals on the large case with his hand and opened it up, towards him. As he looked into the confines of the case he said, “When we took the base, we contacted one of the transport companies with the news, so they could reclaim their lost merchandise. Apparently…there was also a large reward fund put together by a large group of the affected traders, for whoever found and stopped the pirate threat…private or otherwise,” He deliberately left out the fact that he had also collected several large individual bounties for many of the key members of the pirate group.
He spun the case around on the table with it groaning in protest once more and revealed that it was filled to the top with neatly stacked bars of gold-pressed latinum, “I met with a representative of the trader’s guild last night to formally accept the reward on behalf of Starfleet and the Marine Corp. I’ve had nothing better to do with it, so I’ve just been carrying it around with me. However, I don’t technically have the right to hold on to this for myself…not that I’d want to anyways. I already took all the spoils of war that were due to me. So Commander, I was hoping that you could take this off my hands...the one that works anyway.”
~Spoils of war that were *due* to him?~ Chelsea thought, wondering what he meant. ~Surely a Federation Officer wouldn't have anything extra *due to him* as a result of carrying out his duty? Perhaps I missed something? Is he a mercenary?~
Jo'el's jaw dropped. Before Federation admission, Bajor could have used that to house a lot of orphans. What did the Federation need latinum for? Well, then again, there were always things to be bought from foreign economies. He knew enough about the Great Material Continuum to grasp that concept.
David's eyes widened at the treasure trove, but they narrowed when Darson mentioned 'Spoils of War'. For some reason, his mind tracked back to the Admiral as his thoughts of promoting the Major dissipated immediately.
"Spoils of war Major?" David questioned, "If you have helped yourself to some form of recompense, then you are out of line. I think that Starfleet would be over joyed to hear that you are submitting an unvalued chest of latinum, but would be highly disappointed to hear about your reward!" Davies took a sharp intake of breath.
"I think we shall end this breakfast meeting and reconvene for the departments heads meeting at O eight Hundred." He did not await an answer from James, he was deeply pained by the Marine Co's admission.
The light-hearted breakfast with a view to bulking everyone's spirits was severely dampened. David decided to continue with them later that morning.
Standing, he tugged down his tunic. "Thank you for attending, each of you, your all dismissed." He said giving a respectful nod to Isha and making his way around to Petro.
Gabriel grabbed his padd and quickly exited the room before he throw a chair at Darson or merely strangled the man for simplicity's sake. However, he made sure to remind himself to have a chat with Petro in the very near future.
Davids hand fell on Petros shoulder and she shrugged away.
"Sorry Petro, I meant no harm. Will you stay behind a moment?" Davies asked.
Signatures please (With your new Ranks/positions) and thanks to all.
CO: Commander David Davies
Lt. Cdr
Dorian Gabriel
Chief Security
Major James Darson
Marine CO
Ambassador Isha t'Khellian
Lt. j.g. Opaka Jo'el
Master-At-Arms
Lt(jg) Jarred Wallace
ACIO DS5
Lt. Cmdr. Chelsea Adams
ACMO - DS5
Lt. (JG) Claire Mackenzie
Acting Chief Counselor - DS5
Warrant Officer Petro
Quartermaster - DS5
(Outgoing)
CO: USS Freedom - Commander Da'Nal
OOC: Remaining promotions:
Zorana
Petro
Darson
Wallace