Who Carries that Big Stick? [pt. 2]
Posted on Tue Jun 16th, 2020 @ 11:03am by Captain Luka Mahone & Lieutenant JG Cabid & Consul Briya Valriya
851 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
What Lies Ahead, Between, and Behind
Location: Conference room, Command Center
Timeline: Canary MD 11: 1314 Hrs
“None of us have as much time as we’d hope for and no mater how much has been allotted to our stay on the Colony, I’d prefer to put it all to good use. If Captain Luka puts his trust in Mr. Cornelius, then so must we - to an extent.” Anubel continued her sour exchange, seemingly oblivious to the miasma of negative energy and discontent that lingered in her vicinity. “So tell me Mr. Cornelius, what else have you done with yourself, professionally speaking. Surely you were not always a brewmaster.” Anubel was focused on the information displayed upon her PADD, but looked up to judge the man’s response.
Finding an empty chair at the table, Cornelius spun it around and sat on it, it's back to the table itself, and his arms laid across it to prop himself up. "Before I was a brewmaster? Why, I was with Star Fleet Diplomatic, working as a data analyst, stationed on Romulus shortly before the disaster. I fell in love with a small local bar there and took to it on the weekends, helping around before I realized a career shift was in order." Half truths and partial lies, depending on who Anubel knew would depend if that story lined up. The downside to their game, that the department wasn't always fond of it's own internal affairs. "The Romulans are what gave me the idea for the names of my beers, the way they danced around each other in a heated battle of wits, it was so engaging. Not often we find that here in the Federation."
Agent Anubel was unphased and unimpressed. “No, not often. But even less so among those trudging along with their civilian vocations. Still, everyone must do their best and we should try to appreciate their attempts.” She lifted one of the finger foods from her plate, examined it and let it drop, brushing her hands together.
Resting his hands on the back of his own chair, Cornelius laughed. "I suppose you wouldn't understand, all rigid as you are Agent. But tell me about you Ms. Anubel, who is the woman behind that Starfleet Intelligence mask?" His eyes traced her faced, and he rested his elbows on the chair back and his head on his palms. "I bet you are secretly into dangerous sports, love the thrill of a genuinely exciting plot. Or maybe a spy fan, the works of Ian Flemming would suit you," he added. "A rugged Double-oh agent, fierce and no bullshit." There was a flamboyant twinkle in his eyes, as he looked towards Luka. "No, I suspect you are too professional to tell," he finally concluded, "too busy looking at the truth behind everyone else's masks."
As the pair continued their exchange, it was Agent Cabid who would remove himself from his distraction first. Anubel was not the only one who saw this to be odd. A good kind of odd for the good-natured Benzite, but odd all the same. His attention turned to the Captain, who sat a little ways off from everyone, arms folded as he watched the scene unfold. "Tell me, Doctor-can I call you Doctor?- among all the items we've heard about the colony, there is still much chatter in Intelligence about the crash of the USS Io. I've heard an alarming rumor that there's a suspect, but your investigation has stalled and your Chief of Security is detained in his quarters. To be frank on my questioning, why is that?"
Cornelius' attention drifted to the question, his eyebrow cocked. He knew the chief of security was being detained, but with other mysteries afoot he had ignored the going-ons of this Starfleet affair. But with Cabid mentioning it, he was suddenly a lot more interested. He had assumed the shuttle would be the main course of interest for the pair, but to ask about the Io well that was sure interesting.
Luka's gaze snapped away from his observations, blinking at Cabid. He should have expected that they wanted some form of update, but he had not expected they would do their research. He pressed his lips together, for a moment not responding to the question posed, waffling between dragging out an explanation or just being brief. He chose brief. "The investigation has hit quite a few snags," he stated. "So, when Lieutenant Winslow was having trouble, I ordered another investigation to run alongside it. Something more covert, with impartial investigators - as I'm sure you're aware, Lieutenant Winslow was on the Io when the incident occurred. Unfortunately, they discovered some evidence that suggested the Lieutenant played a part, and there were motions made to investigate his day-to-day. I had to put a stop to it when it got out of hand, and he voluntarily detained himself so the investigation could continue... But there have not been results in the past few days."
The Captain sat upright, the niceties of their little game wearing off. "Now, I'm sure there's a shuttle we'd all like ot talk about..."
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