Unity – Off the Record
by Lieutenant Vincent Tan & Arrival Thomas Whitlock
Post Details
ON:
Vincent rubbed his eyes as he read through the cargo manifest for the third time. After the all the disruptions to the station's daily routine lately, he had a massive backlog of official and unofficial paperwork.
His strategic operations duties had been attended to first, although he did have to pass over some of the more mundane things to LTjg Bennett and LTjg Serine. It had the effect of making his department slightly unhappy with him, but it eased his workload somewhat and they needed something to do. Starfleet was not paying to paint their nails and gossip all day.
And now, Vincent had time to do what he was sent here to do - investigate the allegations of corruption, smuggling and espionage. So far there had been many instances that had made him suspicious of a foreign plot, such as sabotage and the like. Furthermore, he just didn't like the look of the Cardassian ambassador, Tharek. Something about the way his eyes looked over the civilians as he walked through the Promenade, like a predator looking disinterestedly at sheep.
With a long sigh, he placed the manifest back into its folder and took out another one. He had decided that the espionage angle, whilst extremely important, was just too heady for him at the moment and seeing that he now had no way of transmitting the information out, there was little point. At least with smuggling, he could take some more direct action.
It was a tough task and a menial one, but it wasn't the sort of thing he could handball to someone else. He took a sip from the cup of coffee on his desk and began to peruse the document. He was halfway through a consignment of pickles when he heard his office door chime.
Thomas had sat in his cramped office and filed his latest story before sitting back and scanning through the list of the bases officers. He'd met most of them at one point or another but there were still a few he hadn't talked to yet. As he scanned the list, his eyes settled on Strategic Operations. Nodding to himself, he stood and walked out of his office. He paused briefly to speak to a few people then found his way to the office of one Vincent Tan. He pressed the chime and waited, mentally berating himself for not looking at the man's profile before coming here.
Placing the sheet aside, Vincent shouted out an authoritative "Enter", before leaning back into his chair. Surely his deputies hadn't run into trouble already.
Thomas stepped into the office and paused to look around. Smiling, he stepped forward, extending his hand. "Hi," he said, "Thomas Whitlock. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"You are interrupting nothing," Vincent said, doing his best impression of a Jedi mind-trick. He took a quick look up and down at his guest's attire. He was clearly not in Starfleet. "Who are you? What are you doing? This is a restricted are..."
"Thomas Whitlock," he said again. "I was just looking around and thought I'd stop by and say hello."
"Alright, "Thomas Whitlock". Hello," Vincent said facetiously. When he saw that his guest was not content with a single word, he gave a deep sigh. "Oh, I expect you want to sit down?" He indicated the chair opposite his desk. "So what is it you want to talk about?"
Thomas nodded and moved to the chair. "What exactly do you do here?"
"Here in Strategic Operations, we perform operations that are, er, strategic," Vincent said without much conviction. "Sorry. But there's not an awful lot going here. It's really all just traffic control - freighters, fighters and frigates. No one's really asked me that question before. Why the sudden interest, Whitlock?"
"Just being sociable," Thomas replied. "I'm just trying to understand what the different departments do," he added. He paused and looked at the other man more closely. "You look familiar. Have we met before?"
"I don't think so, Whitlock. You're too young to be a veteran of the Dominion War," Vincent said nostalgically. "And I can't honestly say that I've had anything to do with the media before or since the Dominion War. Besides, I don't like the pushy, liberal galactic media types who interrupt my work unannounced. I read what you wrote about the Romulan Ambassador the other day. Sensationalist and gushing at the same time. What was it? - "Starfleet Mistreats Honoured Guest" and didn't you call her "our dear friend"? I suppose you would describe an upright Starfleet officer like me a "violent bigot" who is more interested in "tracking Romulan ships to be shot down" than "opening arms in galactic co-operation and universal brotherhood?"
"You obviously missed the point of that story," Thomas said to him. He looked at the other man more closely. "I know I know you from somewhere. Have you ever been to Starbase 68?"
"I don't think so, Whitlock," Vincent said patronisingly. "Although what that has to do with anything is beyond me. I thought you wanted to say hello and find out about my department, not interrogate me as to my background."
"I meant no offense, Lieutenant," Thomas said to him. He looked around the room again and nodded. "What else can you tell me about your department?"
"Well, you'd be right in thinking that we track Romulan ships to be shot down. Cardassians, Ferengi, anyone really. You see, we control the traffic and the space around DS5. Anything moves too fast, too slow, where we don't want it and we take it down. Nothing flies in this space without my department knowing and doing something about it. You might want to talk to Dunham of the air wing if you want details on the actual shooting."
Vincent paused to take a puff. "Off the record now, Mr Whitlock," Vincent said, affixing his sternest gaze upon the young journalist. "There have whispers about how some of these ships my crew track aren't what they seem. I am, Mr Whitlock, talking about smugglers and pirates. What can you tell about smugglers and pirates?"
"I'm not familiar with any organizations like that in this area," Thomas said, surprised by the question. "Then again, I haven't been in the area long."
"Well, if you do hear anything..." Vincent smiled. "And if I hear anything newsworthy, you'll be the first to know. As long as my name isn't mentioned and my words aren't twisted out of context. Is there anything else I can do for you, Whitlock?"
Vincent took immediate advantage of Whitlock's silence. "No? Good. Well, as always, it has been a pleasure talking to a member of the press. Now, if you don't mind showing yourself out, I have a lot of work to do."
END
A JP featuring;
Lt. Vincent Tan
Chief Strategic Operations Officer
Thomas Whitlock
Journalist
by Lieutenant Vincent Tan & Arrival Thomas Whitlock
Post Details
| Title | Off the Record | |
| Mission | Unity | |
| Author(s) | Lieutenant Vincent Tan & Arrival Thomas Whitlock | |
| Posted | Fri Sep 03, 2010 @ 2:12pm | |
| Location | Strategic Operations Office | |
| Timeline | Interlude SD 28 Late Afternoon |
Vincent rubbed his eyes as he read through the cargo manifest for the third time. After the all the disruptions to the station's daily routine lately, he had a massive backlog of official and unofficial paperwork.
His strategic operations duties had been attended to first, although he did have to pass over some of the more mundane things to LTjg Bennett and LTjg Serine. It had the effect of making his department slightly unhappy with him, but it eased his workload somewhat and they needed something to do. Starfleet was not paying to paint their nails and gossip all day.
And now, Vincent had time to do what he was sent here to do - investigate the allegations of corruption, smuggling and espionage. So far there had been many instances that had made him suspicious of a foreign plot, such as sabotage and the like. Furthermore, he just didn't like the look of the Cardassian ambassador, Tharek. Something about the way his eyes looked over the civilians as he walked through the Promenade, like a predator looking disinterestedly at sheep.
With a long sigh, he placed the manifest back into its folder and took out another one. He had decided that the espionage angle, whilst extremely important, was just too heady for him at the moment and seeing that he now had no way of transmitting the information out, there was little point. At least with smuggling, he could take some more direct action.
It was a tough task and a menial one, but it wasn't the sort of thing he could handball to someone else. He took a sip from the cup of coffee on his desk and began to peruse the document. He was halfway through a consignment of pickles when he heard his office door chime.
Thomas had sat in his cramped office and filed his latest story before sitting back and scanning through the list of the bases officers. He'd met most of them at one point or another but there were still a few he hadn't talked to yet. As he scanned the list, his eyes settled on Strategic Operations. Nodding to himself, he stood and walked out of his office. He paused briefly to speak to a few people then found his way to the office of one Vincent Tan. He pressed the chime and waited, mentally berating himself for not looking at the man's profile before coming here.
Placing the sheet aside, Vincent shouted out an authoritative "Enter", before leaning back into his chair. Surely his deputies hadn't run into trouble already.
Thomas stepped into the office and paused to look around. Smiling, he stepped forward, extending his hand. "Hi," he said, "Thomas Whitlock. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"You are interrupting nothing," Vincent said, doing his best impression of a Jedi mind-trick. He took a quick look up and down at his guest's attire. He was clearly not in Starfleet. "Who are you? What are you doing? This is a restricted are..."
"Thomas Whitlock," he said again. "I was just looking around and thought I'd stop by and say hello."
"Alright, "Thomas Whitlock". Hello," Vincent said facetiously. When he saw that his guest was not content with a single word, he gave a deep sigh. "Oh, I expect you want to sit down?" He indicated the chair opposite his desk. "So what is it you want to talk about?"
Thomas nodded and moved to the chair. "What exactly do you do here?"
"Here in Strategic Operations, we perform operations that are, er, strategic," Vincent said without much conviction. "Sorry. But there's not an awful lot going here. It's really all just traffic control - freighters, fighters and frigates. No one's really asked me that question before. Why the sudden interest, Whitlock?"
"Just being sociable," Thomas replied. "I'm just trying to understand what the different departments do," he added. He paused and looked at the other man more closely. "You look familiar. Have we met before?"
"I don't think so, Whitlock. You're too young to be a veteran of the Dominion War," Vincent said nostalgically. "And I can't honestly say that I've had anything to do with the media before or since the Dominion War. Besides, I don't like the pushy, liberal galactic media types who interrupt my work unannounced. I read what you wrote about the Romulan Ambassador the other day. Sensationalist and gushing at the same time. What was it? - "Starfleet Mistreats Honoured Guest" and didn't you call her "our dear friend"? I suppose you would describe an upright Starfleet officer like me a "violent bigot" who is more interested in "tracking Romulan ships to be shot down" than "opening arms in galactic co-operation and universal brotherhood?"
"You obviously missed the point of that story," Thomas said to him. He looked at the other man more closely. "I know I know you from somewhere. Have you ever been to Starbase 68?"
"I don't think so, Whitlock," Vincent said patronisingly. "Although what that has to do with anything is beyond me. I thought you wanted to say hello and find out about my department, not interrogate me as to my background."
"I meant no offense, Lieutenant," Thomas said to him. He looked around the room again and nodded. "What else can you tell me about your department?"
"Well, you'd be right in thinking that we track Romulan ships to be shot down. Cardassians, Ferengi, anyone really. You see, we control the traffic and the space around DS5. Anything moves too fast, too slow, where we don't want it and we take it down. Nothing flies in this space without my department knowing and doing something about it. You might want to talk to Dunham of the air wing if you want details on the actual shooting."
Vincent paused to take a puff. "Off the record now, Mr Whitlock," Vincent said, affixing his sternest gaze upon the young journalist. "There have whispers about how some of these ships my crew track aren't what they seem. I am, Mr Whitlock, talking about smugglers and pirates. What can you tell about smugglers and pirates?"
"I'm not familiar with any organizations like that in this area," Thomas said, surprised by the question. "Then again, I haven't been in the area long."
"Well, if you do hear anything..." Vincent smiled. "And if I hear anything newsworthy, you'll be the first to know. As long as my name isn't mentioned and my words aren't twisted out of context. Is there anything else I can do for you, Whitlock?"
Vincent took immediate advantage of Whitlock's silence. "No? Good. Well, as always, it has been a pleasure talking to a member of the press. Now, if you don't mind showing yourself out, I have a lot of work to do."
END
A JP featuring;
Lt. Vincent Tan
Chief Strategic Operations Officer
Thomas Whitlock
Journalist