Epilogue to Episode 2/Prologue to Episode 3

[Cmdr Phil]

Whitney was just leaving sickbay when the Commander arrived. His face was beat red and he was holding his arm as if he was severely wounded. "That was quite unnecessary. I told you that I was up to date on my shots. And, as expected, nothing wrong with me."

Phil smiled. “I’m delighted to hear it, Lieutenant. Still, better safe than sorry, eh?”

"So, when will you be starting the formal proceedings against Lieutenant Khangura. The sooner, the better, in my opinion."

“Of course, of course,” Phil nodded sagely. “With the footage you have provided and the forensic report I’m about to collect, I have a feeling we’ll have everything we need to ensure that justice is fully served.”

Whitney blinked at him, twice, before taking his leave and heading back to his quarters to recover. Phil watched him go before he headed into Sickbay. It was strangely quiet - no one was being treated at the moment and with the changeover of CMO, was operating on minimal staff. No wonder they had been particularly thorough with Whitney - it had probably been the highlight of their otherwise boring day. He settled for leaving a message for the report to be sent to him, in full, as soon as it had completed processing, then headed back to the meeting room.

TK was waiting for him there.

tag - TK

Phil opened the door and the two men headed in to discuss matters more privately.

tag - TK

As soon as Phil’s fingerprint hit the screen, the monitor flashed up that the report had been delivered. He called it up.

“Be interesting to see if Whitney’s bruises actually match up with the action as shown on the screen,” mused Phil. “If he’s been that clever, I’ll be impressed, but it would rather be the icing on the cake.”

[T-Prime]

[Cmdr Phil]

"I don't think it'll be a hard sell to have the AJAG recognize Parker as an expert witness. He can do the testimony if you decide to send this to a Court Martial."

"Then that is exactly what we shall do," Phil nodded to TK, "Very good work - thank you."

tag - TK

Taking his leave, Phil headed directly to Cindy's quarters. He knocked - although it was close enough to duty time that she was unlikely to be... entertaining... the last thing he wanted to do was to interrupt anything... sensitive.

tag - Cindy

He handed her the PADD, oblivious to her state of disarray, waiting a moment or two for her to take in the interesting parts of the report.

"So," he tipped his head slightly to one side, with the smile of a tiger, "How do you want to do this...?

tag - Cindy

[Amanda Rose]

[T-Prime]

[KendleRJ]

"And look! Now she's seething. Seething, Lucas! It's like her entire face is made of pain and she wants us to know of its every exquisite detail!" he slapped Lucas on the back again. "You lucky guy you!"

Luke didn’t feel happy. At all. In fact he felt rather the opposite. Many a thing can be said about Keth, but there was one thing no one could disagree on: Keth was a brutally honest individual. It might have been covered up in silly questions, unreal assumptions, emotional outbursts, sobbings, laughter or fits of anger, but that didn’t make it any less true.

How long had Luke and Nav been running circles around each other? And how obvious was it really to the rest of the crew? Questions.

Questions Luke had always avoided and denied when an answer was trying to creep up to the surface. Even when the whole ship had been raging with hormones, he had managed to bury his feelings so deep that in the end he only had made half a fool of himself instead of a complete one.

Another question was, what was Nav’s take on all this?

Both of Nav’s eyebrows went up in surprise and consternation. Keth was definitely barking… um meowing… up the wrong tree. She was an Engineer, head stuffed in a conduit somewhere, busy repairing, replacing, working… how could she get involved with or even be involved with someone other than the ship? Frankie was a demanding and just host… and besides, Luke… well he didn’t like her at all. Look at his face… downright upset.

It was presumption, wasn’t it? Clearly it was. “I don’t know about that, Keth,” she said, stepping closer to the machine. “You seem to assign things to me,” <that I don’t even see myself>, “that aren’t obvious to anyone else.” Crouching down, she began assessing the damage, glad to have her face turned away as she blushed fully and privately. Not something she felt like sharing, not something she wanted to be idiotic about.

She recalled the one blip that surprised her greatly during the whole Orion incident: he had called her out specifically. She had talked him out of landing the ship, SHE had managed that. Her hands had the tools, her eyes gazed in the right direction, but she had yet to do a thing. Perhaps it was because she wasn’t really focused on the task at hand.

“Let me take care of this, will you? I mean, honestly, this might be the last thing I do aboard Frankie, and you’re focused on…” she cleared her throat. “Keth, you’re not helping, and Luke? I’m sure that I don’t know anything that Keth is referring to.” There, let the man off a hook instead of leaving him writhing at the end of it. Who knew if she’d even be on the ship once they’d docked? There was a court martial looming in her face and that would do no good for him to consider… shaking her head slightly she pushed that thought clean out of her head.

There, that would clear it up, wouldn’t it?

She laid a hand on the deck as though to draw strength from the ship itself and tried to focus on repairs and Engineering, and remaining in the moment before she gave way to emotions she was not prepared to deal with in the Mess.

Of course this would be her reaction. Nav was a very private person, shy, uncomfortable when talking about feelings, especially when brutally confronted with them in all splendor, like Keth just did. She’d deny anything, bottle it up and keep it under lock and key as long as she felt exposed and naked to truths she’d rather not hear.

Everything about Nav’s reaction made it clear Keth had hit a nerve, and looking at the way she was trying to completely disappear into that wall Luke felt he had to do something before things were said and done that were to be regretted by all.

He made his way through beefburgers and packaging and positioned himself between Keth and Nav. Turning to Keth he said: “Keth, I appreciate what it is you’re trying to do, but this is not the time, nor the place. It is… a private matter.”

He then remembered he was still holding Keth’s dessert, and promptly offered it to the big cat as a peace offering. “How about you and I go to the Bridge while having some delicious dessert, hmm?

Tag Keth

Thankful that Keth agreed and didn’t make any more fuss, the two of them left the messy mess. However, just as Luke passed Nav, he leaned over and whispered in her ear: I like you, too…

Her eyebrows shot up and her face turned a deeper shade of red which might have been felt if anyone were close, or seen through her hair if anyone had cared to look. That was NOT the intent, that was not the implication… and that…

Well, it was nice to hear. Just… not right this moment. She waited until she’d heard everyone retreat before resting her forehead on the cool metal surface of the wall, clearing her mind once more before dealing with the much-needed repair.

Tags

A JP Brought to you by Luke and Nav and the letter L

[Amanda Rose]

"This is my fault, really. I promoted Nav to Assistant Chief. He's jealous. Isn't it obvious?" She looked at Phil, looking for some sort of absolution.

“A little healthy competition never hurt anyone, especially in an assistant post - it’s not like she leap-frogged him,” observed Phil.

"I think we have to give him a choice. Transfer or resign. IF he chooses neither, then it will have to be a court martial. I'd rather spare him that if we can. Maybe you should make it clear what you have found if he gives you trouble to give him a last opportunity.... And then, well, we have to find a new chief engineer...."

Phil glanced over his shoulder, double checking the door had fully closed. He didn’t like to have to do this, but…

“No.”

“No? What do you mean, ‘no’?” She tilted her head to the side curiously and suddenly felt like a puppy that had its favorite bone taken away.

He hadn’t used this tone of voice on her in years. Not since she had handed in an essay on Kahless the Unforgettable that was not only several hours late but mostly based on a low-budget dramatisation.

“I mean, no. You are being soft on him because you think you’re somehow responsible for this. You aren’t. He is well over the age of majority and able to make his own stupid-ass decisions. He chose not to settle for being grumpy, or maybe bitter, or even vitriolic. He went all the way to lying - yes, I know it’s a strong word, but it’s spot on in this case - absolutely bare-faced lying to not just one, but two senior officers, unauthorised breach of ship’s secure data and intentional modification of same.”

He paused for breath.

“So, no - he cannot be offered a transfer. I will not wish that on anyone else. Resignation, dishonourable discharge or - if he actually wants a fight - court martial. Those are his choices. Now, do you need me to handle this, or are you going to be able to look him in the eye and tell him that? As he is department head, it should come from the Captain...”

Cindy stammered, “But...but...but, it would ruin his career and Starfleet is already short on people. It is slightly my fault. I could have not forced Nav into the Assistant Chief position.... And...and...and…. Doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance?”

“Someone who has that blatant a disregard for security and honesty would be a liability to Starfleet. We may be desperate, but there still have to be standards,” Phil stated firmly, then seeing the disappointed look on her face, added, “and besides, do you want to explain to Williams why you let him off lightly after that….?”

“Is it a blatant disregard for security or honesty? Or just someone who has gone to extremes over a personal problem?” Cindy’s head dropped. That was it, wasn’t it? Someone who would go to such a length just because he did not like her choice. What else would he do if he disagreed with something. A trust had been broken?

“Standards. Yes, there have to be standards. But, I wish I could find a way to give him another out and save his career. Perhaps a psychological? A leave of absence could be obtained during treatment, right?” She gave a hopeful but weak smile.

It brightened further when she stated, “And as to Williams, when is he ever happy? I swear, I am going to make it my mission to make him smile.”

“Good luck with that one,” Phil grunted. “And as for the psyche getout…” he signed, why was it so hard to say no to her? “I guess you had better discuss that with our new CMO, but you’ll need to get Whitney to acknowledge it first. Hopefully, he will - it’s his only lifeline.”

Cindy nodded happily and she beamed as she stated, “Yes, yes. Could always state it was a psychological imbalance potentially caused by Vivyra’s presence. After all, he was not the only person who acted irrationally during that time. Had we not kept Nav focused on Luke, we could have landed on that planet with much worse consequences.”

Cindy quickly gave Phil a hug, exclaimed, “You’re the greatest, Phil!” Then, she darted off to find Whitney.

[Amanda Rose]

Squash with Williams was never dull. However, Cindy knew today’s match would be different. Sure, Whitney’s name was no longer on the active duty roster but she had not sent out the official word that Whitney was being reassigned to base for psychological evaluation and potential reassignment.

Williams was not likely to be happy and she knew it. Now, she was going to see his reaction to it. Whatever it was, she was sure that she could handle it. After all, it was not as if she had never had a fight with a man before. After this match, unless he brooded like a woman, the fight would be over and likely forgiven, forgotten, or an understanding reached. And, how could Williams really complain? It was not as if he had not been in trouble before. Hopefully he would understand the need for Whitney to have a second chance.

For squash, Cindy tied her hair back in a tight pony tail. This made her look more stretched than her height normally did. A pink headband stretched across her forehead to keep sweat away from her eyes. When Williams arrived, she flashed her pearly whites and asked, “Ready to get your ass handed to you?”

TK had been having a surprisingly good day. Breakfast was hot. His overhaul of the tactical systems had been scheduled. Nothing had exploded. And he hadn’t been shot, stabbed, punched, thrown, or otherwise inconvenienced. Not too bad.

Currently he was on his way to the gym for another squash match with the Captain. And while he still believed her tactical abilities bordered on gross incompetence, and her leadership style lacked… leadership, he had to admit; the woman knew how to hit a ball.

The Captain’s greeting was expected; even a bit clichéd.

“Put up or shut up.” He replied and tossed her the ball.

Cindy snickered. “Your funeral,” she told him. She set up for the serve and struck the ball with great skill and speed. It bounced against the front wall and took a wicked turn towards a wall after bouncing once.

She had little doubt that Williams would stretch for it and reach it under normal circumstances but she took the opportunity to say, “So, about Whitney….” There was some mischievousness, trepidation and cheerfulness all mixed in her voice. An odd combination for sure, but somehow it was all conveyed loud and clear. “Thought you might want to know how that all worked out….”

A respectable first serve. Certainly not easy, but far from impossible. He did indeed have to stretch for it, and he did indeed reach it, with a light tap; just enough for a drop shot just above the tin.

Cindy’s comment didn’t distract him from the game, but he did reply.

“Well?” He prompted tersely, not willing to waste extra words on the topic.

How did he get that shot? Cindy wondered as she realized that her thought caused a delay in her reaction. She took a quick step forward and lunged for the ball. Her racquet got onto it and forced the ball back off the wall and towards Williams.

She turned her head and by looking at the ball, knew that this was a point she was going to lose. A shot with any power would be too much for her to recover. She tried scrambling to her feet, deciding to save the full news. “He will be leaving the ship….”

TK took two easy strides into position and swung with all his strength. The point was his and they both knew it.

“Good.” He replied simply, as he went to retrieve the ball.

Cindy gave Williams a short smile, knowing that the full news would come out shortly. This game was about to get rough, not that she minded.

She took her position awaiting a serve, “I thought you would be happy to hear that. Naturally, I think that we will have to promote Nav to Chief Engineer. I thought you might like hearing that, too.”

TK Shrugged.

“Makes no difference to me who you put in charge as long as it’s not some pencil-necked bureaucrat more interested in forging his own little empire than keeping this wreck in one piece.”

He tossed the ball in the air a few time to gauge his swing while Cindy set up to receive.

“The Lieutenant is competent enough, but a bit green though. You sure she’s ready to be in charge? She seems a bit too soft-hearted to make the really hard decisions, and too non-confrontational to enforce her orders.”

“Is anyone ready? Let’s face facts, Williams,” Cindy said as she crouched and maneuvered to return the serve to come, “Starfleet was decimated after Nero. There are so few of her caliber. I think she can do it, as long as you don’t bully her to death with defense systems. We are not a tank, remember. We are an exploration vessel.”

“I’m not going to bully her as long as she does her job. I might be a tactical officer, but I understand basic damage control priorities; Hull integrity and life support, propulsion, then weapons. I’m not as gun crazy as you people seem to think, but I can promise you that before our 5 years are up, you’ll wish we were a tank, more than once.”

TK slammed the serve to the far side of the court and prepared to seize centre position when Cindy went for her return.

Cindy easily reached the far side and put a spin on the ball hoping the ball would take an unexpected turn after bouncing off one of the walls. She knew that TK had seen this before but it would likely put him out of position for the next volley. “You always plan for the worst and insist the worst is going to happen,” she chided gently. “I do not think the universe is out to get us. It is out there for us to discover.”

TK was forced to abandon his advantageous position to successfully hit the ball when it veered off in an unexpected direction. He swung backhand, propelling the tiny orb past Cindy to the far side wall where it ricocheted to the front and back toward TK.

He didn’t bother pointing out that it was his job to plan for the worst. He simply said; “I was at Vulcan.” to explain his perpetual pessimism.

“It’s not the universe I’m worried about. It’s the people in it.”

If Nero proved nothing else, it was that there were people in the universe who would destroy you simply because they could. Even when the universe gifted him with the opportunity to warn his people and avoid the tragedy that led to their destruction he still felt the need to murder billions of innocents who had done nothing wrong, and who would in the future do everything in their power to help, all to avenge an avoidable fate. The universe was indeed a wondrous place with endless mysteries to discover, but only if they could survive the madmen and idealists long enough to get there.

Cindy leapt like a gazelle and pounced on the ball, placing a drop shot that she knew would win the serve. “Yes, people are definitely a concern. However, I believe that most people are worthy of a second chance.”

She picked up the ball and prepared to serve. “That’s why I’ve allowed Whitney to withdraw from Legacy for a psychological and a transfer. I figure he was acting under the influence of our resident Orion.” Knowing that Williams was going to be exceedingly angry and that the game would likely get very physical, she quickly served the ball hard and fast.

The ball sailed right past TK. Instead of swinging at it he turned to face Cindy. One hand was on the handle of his racquet, the other was on its head. The knuckles were white, while the rest of him was turning a shade of red that humans were never intended to be.

“You did what?” He asked in a dangerously calm tone, completely at odds with his physical posture.

“Point for me,” Cindy replied happily, ignoring Williams’ tone and question. “You seem to be really off your game,” she told him, gathering the ball, prowling as a lioness might when stalking her prey.

“This isn’t a god-damned game! You don’t have the authority to preempt a criminal investigation.” TK snarled, “Whitney can’t pawn off responsibility for this on the Orion. No one else compromised restricted ship’s systems and performed intricate asks of fraud in order to advance their own petty agenda against a fellow officer. This is squarely on him.”

TK turned away for a moment and took one step away, before suddenly changing his mind and spinning back around to confront the captain.

“I know Starfleet is hurting for personnel, but how the hell did you get command of a starship?” he demanded brusquely, “How can you expect anyone to respect you after this decision gets out?”

He shook his head in resignation. A part of him wished he could be disappointed by this revelation, but he had seen too much of Starfleet’s upper echelon fail to meet his once naive expectations.

“And what about Nav?” He quickly changed his tactics to play on the soft-hearted Captain’s empathies. “The man was a hair’s breadth from ruining her career.”

And evidence strongly suggested that he hadn’t been treating her very well even before that.

“Are you going to tell her that his punishment for that is one step BELOW a slap on the wrist? Where’s her justice?” He demanded thrusting his racquet at her.

TK shook his head again as he stormed to the door. He paused for a second, about to say something else, but in the end he decided she wasn’t worth the effort and simply left.

Cindy shouted after Williams as he left, “Ever consider that it is your self-righteousness and your unwillingness to think outside the box is what continues to get you demoted and thrown off ships?!” She hung her head out the door and yelled after him, “So much for my professional courtesy.”

She headed back into the squash court and smashed the ball into the far wall, frustrated. She knew she did the right thing for Whitney, Starfleet and Nav. She just knew it. Why couldn’t Williams see it?

Once she spied the ball, she grabbed it again and smashed it again into a wall, imagining that it was Williams’ head. “Damn you, Williams! Everything worked out and with so little harm to anyone! Can’t you see that?!”

She bashed the ball again as it came near her. There was no technique to her hitting the ball. It veered back at her and struck her on the left thigh. That’s going to leave a welt, she thought to herself. Damn it! Why is he the only person that is ever dissatisfied with me?

[T-Prime]

TK paced in his quarters. He couldn't believe that even Cindy could be so clueless as to believe Whitney deserved anything short of a General Court Martial.

He grabbed the nearby bedside table and threw it against the wall in anger. Though what he really wanted was to bash the Captain's head against the wall until some of the naivety was knocked out. Had this been any other CO he'd already have checked himself into the brig for doing exactly that. Perhaps his proclivity against assaulting women was a factor in how had had gotten this posting.

TK slumped into the chair at his desk. Well, if the Captain wouldn't see sense, and he couldn't beat any into her, there was only one distasteful option left. Though it galled him to do it, TK collated his notes and all the evidence he and his team had uncovered about the event and transmitted copies to the Head of Starfleet Security and the Judge Advocate General's office.

TK actually felt sick. This kind of politicking was one of the things he hated most about the upper levels of Starfleet Command, but he'd be damned if he was going to let Whitney waltz off the ship and continue his bullshit elsewhere.