Epilogue to Episode 2/Prologue to Episode 3

[Amanda Rose]

[T-Prime]

[Amanda Rose]

[T-Prime]

[Amanda Rose]

[T-Prime]

[lucasausems]

Luke had run into Keth. It took him a moment to overcome the shock of such an event. Keth was a mysterious creature. Keth raised questions, simple questions like: "OH GOD WHY!??? Questions like: "HOW CAN YOU MAKE A FISH BREAK THE CEILING THAT SHOULD BE SCIENTIFICALLY, PHYSICALLY AND META-FICTIONALLY IMPOSSIBLE!!!!"
But also: "What would Keth do when confronted with a fast moving red dot?" "Does Keth have a bed or does he prefer a box?" "Does Keth see us as HIS human slaves?"

But the most daunting question of all: "Can Keth haz cheezeburger?"

YES. YESSSSS!!! Keth can most definitely have a cheeseburger! In fact Luke didn't mind a cheeseburger himself, he didn't like himself smelling fishy.

Luke waited patiently for the Furry Fiend to finish asking his question, upon Luke answered:

"I know what that Red Button does, the one with the hamburger mark on it. Would you like to press the red button Keth?"

tag Keth

[Sjet]

Keth had been warned about red buttons...A LOT.

That buttons flushes coolant through the reactor: dont push the red button.
That button turns off the gravity: don;t push the red button.
That button opens all the air locks and pressure doors within the starbase, and will remove all the air so quickly everyone will implode and die messily: don't, for the love of God and all that is holy, push the mother truckin' red button.

But now...now there was a red button that not only COULD be pushed by Keth, but one that did not result in all of the people on the ship dying a painful 'splodey death! It was a miracle. It was a sign from a divine power! It was the universe aligning in just the right way that allowed Keth in this one, glorious fraction of times infinite expanse...to push a red button without consequence. It was, to use a single word: perfect.

Boop! Click. KA-think.

"Todays meal is a ground beef patty on a white flour roll, enjoy your meal."

Boop! Click. KA-thunk.

"Todays meal is a ground beef-"

Boop! Click.

"Todays mea-"

Boop! Cl-

"Todays-"

Boop!

"Tod-"

Boop! Boop! Boop!

At his feet a dozen boxes now rested, and soon they rested on the tables, and in the laps of mess hall users. Lucas found himself holding an entire stake of them.

TAG-The maker of the monster

Ensign Keth Soban
Security
USS Legacy

[Amanda Rose]

Whitney was sitting as his desk with a crocodile grin was on his face. Khangura had finally snapped as he had hoped. She struck him while they were both on duty. He was injured. He was treated. Now, it was time to take advantage of it.

Turning on a video recorder, he called over the comm, “Ens, er, Lieutenant Khangura to Engineering. Please report to the Chief Engineering Office.”

Well, it had come. The dread that had been gnawing at her insides for well over 2 days had finally come to fruition. She had avoided the mess, avoided everyone, and had written a few logs, or at least started them before prematurely ending them, and deleting them again. She looked at herself in the mirror, looked at her newly acquired and soon to be rescinded Lieutenant’s pips, and the uniform she had worked so hard to attain.

“On my way,” she said curtly, knowing full well that she was a hair’s breadth away from a court martial hearing and getting sent home.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she imagined it; empty, devoid of anyone; sterile, isolated. Alone. She grinned wryly without humour at her reflection. Kind of like here. She instinctively reached out to stroke the bulkhead of Frankie and found a calmness that settled within her. She was meant to be out here… but perhaps, after she was released, she might go work in Starship construction or something similar.

She walked resolutely down the corridor, smiling at Keth and Luke as they spoke in the hallway, sidestepping them easily as she made her way down to Engineering. She didn’t think they noticed, and then, just as though it were magic, she was standing in front of the door to the Chief Engineer’s office.

She pressed the chime once and waited.

A very secure and delightfully smug voice responded, “Come in. Please do come on in.”

Nav stepped in, and as the door slid open, she kept her head held high, keeping in full attention as she approached his desk. “Lieutenant Khangura reporting as ordered, Sir.”

The crocodile smile remained. “Please, sit.” He gestured at a couple of chairs that were before his desk. “I wouldn’t want you uncomfortable.” His words conveyed anything but a soothing tone.

She moved to parade rest, and then stood down. “Thank you, Sir,” Nav said formally and sat, straight-backed on the chair across from his desk. Her eyes were cool, expression neutral and she waited, knowing that what was coming was going to make him happy, and her life in Starfleet a distant memory.

For the first time in her life, she was glad her family hadn’t lived to see her utter failure, and her personal disgrace.

Whitney grinned at Nav. He could see that she knew her head was on the chopping block. “I found something very interesting while walking through the ship’s video logs. Do you recognize this?” Before Nav was a freeze frame on a PADD of Nav’s fist striking Whitney’s face.

“Very well, Sir,” she replied easily.

“I presume that you have an explanation for your behavior,” he answered, poison dripping slowly over every word.

“Yes, Sir, I do,” Nav said and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “During the incident with the Orions, you used your security codes to override the engine orders from the Bridge and steered us directly at the planet where we ended up.” Her voice never wavered, and her eyes never shifted. “Then you began a descent sequence to take us onto the planet’s surface without orders.”

Her finger rolled across the screen and backed up the image to several seconds before. “Here is where I tried to reason with you about your actions…” and she froze the image as the Lieutenant was in mid lunge at her. “And here is where you tried to forcibly remind me who was in charge.”

She let it continue to play. “Then, I hit you, Sir.”

Whitney’s voice glowed again as he took the PADD and tapped it a couple of times. “I think that you have a poor memory, Lieutenant Khangura.” He turned the PADD around and revealed a screen that showed Nav lunging at him and Nav pressing in codes that would have caused the Legacy to go to the planet. “I will have to add that to the list of charges for your court martial.”

Nav’s eyebrows raised in some surprise and a cold smile lifted on her lips. “You do that, Lieutenant Whitney. And I shall have someone with a great deal more expertise than yourself to debunk your very poor attempts at framing me for this act, which I was attempting to prevent.”

Her eyes remained cool, and her voice dipped almost imperceptibly. “Ensign Osswell was taking the ship down to the surface, and the Captain and the CO both requested my assistance in convincing him from doing so.” She blinked twice and looked him directly in the eye. “Which you were completely complicit in and were doing without the Captain’s orders or consent.”

Her back remained straight and her face impassive. “Perhaps you could note that in the court martial transcript as well?”

“You have a very unique memory, Lieutenant. And Ensign Osswell’s memory would certainly be questioned. So, who do you think Starfleet would believe? A seasoned officer as myself or a young upstart like you?”
“I think that Starfleet would believe the truth, Sir.”

He took the PADD back and manipulated it. He then showed the PADD to Nav. On it was a message to Captain Jackson requesting a hearing on the court martial of Lieutenant Khangura for striking a superior officer.

“I would expect that Captain Jackson will be down here shortly. Either them or security. So, you should really hold tight.”

“Of course, Sir,” she said and remained in seated attention. She had nothing to lose. Where was she going to go? And she was in fact guilty of striking him. She knew this was coming, and all she felt was a bit of biting sadness to have disappointed the Captain, and to have let down the crew of the Legacy.

They were headed home anyway, so it would work out for the best for everyone, wouldn’t it?

It did not take long. The door to the Chief Engineer’s office opened but it was neither Security nor Captain Jackson that entered….

Commander Phil Wilson strode in. “Whitney, Khangura - ideal, the very people I need to see. Now, what is this I’m hearing about… charges?” He arched a single eyebrow, being careful to leave the question wide open for either to chip in and keen not to display any hint of preference.

Whitney sat at his desk, a bewildered look on his face. He silently wondered why the Captain was not here. After all, if the Captain had come and bailed Nav out of her predicament, then he could assert that there was favoritism. This, however, was different. The XO was here. What did it mean?

He straightened himself at his desk and cleared his throat. “Um, yes, Commander. Ens, er, Lieutenant Khangura struck me during the course of duty. That is a direct violation of the code. She should be court martialed.”

“I see,” Phil acknowledged the man. He turned to Nav. “Lieutenant - did you or did you not strike Whitney?”

Nav nodded once. “I did indeed strike LIeutenant Whitney, Commander.”

Quickly, before Whitney could say anything smug, Phil added, “And what were the circumstances that led you to do so?”

“Under the influence of the Orion pheromones, the Chief had programmed not only our navigation to the Orion’s planet, but also our descent to it.” She took a deep breath and continued. “Neither of which he had received orders to do. He was irrational and threatening, so I struck him so we were able to maintain the Legacy’s orbit.”

Phil turned back to the Chief Engineer. “Were there any witnesses to this… altercation… who can corroborate your version of events?”

Whitney puffed and told the Commander. “Of course I have corroborating evidence.” He handed Phil the PADD with the altered data.

Phil watched the playback. It was powerful stuff, but nevertheless seemed out of character. Perhaps…

“Have you seen this, Lieutenant? If so, do you have any comments to make at this time?”

Nav nodded. “I have indeed seen the playback, and am confused as to how the differences from my recollection and the visual evidence occurred.” She looked at the Chief pointedly and then returned to the neutral look on her face.

“And did any other crewmembers witness this? Is this…” he indicated the PADD, “the sole evidence?”

“Ensign Osswell who had colluded with the Chief in order to change the heading and orbit of Frankie, I mean the Legacy.” She looked at the Commander. “He had needed my… assistance… to follow the Captain’s orders.” She bit her lip. “I believe, Sir, that both you and the Captain had requested it, and I spoke to him over the comm.”

It was a nagging sensation… How could Whitney have changed the recording? He had NOT been the voice of reason, and had been actively disobeying orders and put Frankie and his crew in direct danger. Had put them ALL in danger… She began to consider possibilities as she waited. Was his hatred of her so large that he was willing to do anything to discredit her? How could that help the ship, how could that be right? If it was the playback that held her career in the balance, she believed that he would do anything to have her removed from the ship… would do anything to make sure she would never work in Starfleet again.

She didn’t mind meeting the punishment for what she had done; but what she would not do was get railroaded by the person who was supposed to mentor her, help her grow, attain her full potential, encourage her. She still didn’t understand it, but she had to find a way to discover how, not figure out why someone might dislike her to such an extent.

“It was the pheromones, Sir,” she blurted out. “The Ensign wasn’t responsible for his insubordination.” It hadn’t been insubordination she knew as she used that specific term. It had been a violation of a direct order, and could be considered mutiny. Acting on his own without orders… They had executed officers for such a thing. This wasn’t his court martial, and she would not throw anyone under the bus for her actions. But she wanted them accurately recorded… it nagged at her as the wheels continued turning.

Whitney crossed his arms and smiled. “So, you admit to having a co-conspirator, then?”

She stood then, eyes flashing but the rest of her face still implacable. “I beg your pardon, Lieutenant?” she asked, her voice quiet and assuming. “Are you accusing the Commander and Captain of something as well, since they were the ones who contacted me during the incident to speak with Ensign Osswell directly after you and he had attempted to redirect the ship?”

She turned to the XO. “This communication should also be part of the logged items in the computer from the Bridge, Sir.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, resuming her seat once more. “As well as hopefully the entire Bridge Crew’s recollection during the incident.”

One more thought crossed her mind. “And Ensign Wetzler who was present in the Cargo Bay with me as we were dealing with a number of things… she heard the request as well.” Mind you, that was after the Chief had been dealt with, but this whole thing smelt more and more like a witch hunt with her at the centre of it. Was the Chief really questioning the recollection of the Captain and the man standing there?

“I accuse the Captain nor the Commander of nothing,” Whitney replied dangerously. “Only you.”

Nav blinked, and turned to the Commander, almost helpless with the turn of events. If the Chief had tampered with the logs, if the recording were compromised… he had effectively ruined his career over an Ensign -- all right, Lieutenant -- who could have helped the ship. Her face no longer placid, she was exasperated. Before turning back to her accuser, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and replaced the visage of calmness. “Understood, Sir.”

Not an acceptance, just an acknowledgement. This was going to get messier before it was resolved.

Although his brain had admittedly been fogged by the pheromones, Phil recalled vividly the moment they realised Oswell was attempting to land the ship. As he thought through the moments surrounding it again, he frowned and reached for the PADD.

“I will be needing a copy of this…” his fingers danced over the controls, sending a duplicate to his own account. There was something… something he couldn’t put his finger on, but he knew would could. “I should have a recommendation for the Captain shortly. In the meantime, you will both continue on active duty, but will be rostered on separate shifts and both of you will attend Sickbay for a full screening prior to your next rota. Come along Chief - we’ll get you seen first. They can check if you sustained any injuries.”

“Injuries? From what? The Lieutenant striking me? Or do you suspect something else?”

“Useful to know either way, I’m sure you’d agree,” Phil waved an arm toward the door, ushering Whitney ahead of him.

Whitney gave a sharp, pointed look as he was ushered out of the room, wondering what the Commander was doing and what his next move might be.

He walked in silence as he headed to Sickbay. A group of people could be seen in another location. From the conversation that filtered across as a nurse hastily pulled across a screen, one could determine that they were working on Vivyra.

The nurse approached the two and asked, “What can I do for you gentlemen?”

“Full checkup and screening, please nurse,” Phil replied. “I want a full report of any biochemical inconsistencies and any injuries, however minor. I appreciate that may take some time…”

The nurse gave Phil a shrug and said, “Very well, Commander. You will have a report in about a half hour.”

[T-Prime]

As TK and Astra conversed, the Commander and Lt. Whitney strode past them into sickbay.

That's convenient. He thought.

"Get me a full report on Wetzler's mission. Have the science people scour what data we did salvage, if you haven't already, and get me a tactical analysis of whatever they decipher. I have to speak with the Commander."

TK didn't bother with a formal dismissal, he just spun around and headed back inside. There was at least one groan of frustration from the medical staff who saw him return.

"Commander. A moment of your time?" He requested.