Caught in the Act
Posted on Thu Oct 27th, 2022 @ 2:52pm by Lieutenant Colonel Shaun Bradley
1,157 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Roll With It
Timeline: MD2 - 0600 hours
Nick had been deep in sleep. He had pulled the double shift the day before, the last of his shifts for the week. Still, the computer alert beeped insistently. “Computer, end communication and send to messages,” he said, his voice sounding sleepy.
=/\= Unable to comply. Level one communiqué from Lieutenant Colonel Bradley. =/\=
Nick sighed. “Shit!” he answered the computer’s response.
Nick jumped out of bed, pulled on a white t-shirt and sat before the computer. “Answer call,” he said.
A short ways away, a console fixated on the face of a tired looking man, who was half squinting at the face that appeared now. Shaun himself was in the rising sun still, and had taken the moment to put on his sunglasses before making the call. Staring back at the Ensign was the annoyed face of the Marine, masked behind the large and cliche aviator lenses. "Good morning Ensign, I hope you slept well."
His words were sweet, almost kind, but carried with them a level of venom just below the surface that accurately portrayed his mood. "Well rested? Enjoying your morning off?"
“Yes sir,” Nick responded in the traditional fashion. Already his mind was racing with question like; why is the XO calling me on my day off, why is he calling so early. What does he want, what did I do and so many flooding in that he couldn’t qualify them because he didn’t recognize them as questions.
After a short sputtering of I‘s and uh’s, his mind finally grasped onto something he could ask, “Is there something I can do for you today, Colonel.” He knew his fake smile looked just that and strained.
"I got an interesting call this morning," the Marine said, staring back at his own display. "Due to the current situation there is a great deal of information rolling around that needs to be manually reviewed. Sensor logs, incoming and outgoing shuttle data. Security footage." He paused, letting it settle. "And during one of those reviews it came to my attention that there was a very interesting series of events that happened in the brig. You were on duty during that time, between seventeen hundred and twenty one hundred, were you not?"
“I worked a double shift, sir,” Nick answered. “0700 to 1900 hours, Colonel.” Nick wasn’t certain but he thought he knew where this was going. If the XO had noticed, it could get bad.
Making notes off screen, it confirmed what the Colonel already knew. A quick hum to himself, and he nodded. "That matches with my notes already," he said, flatly. "And in that timeframe is there anything of interest you'd like to report?"
“Report, sir,” he questioned. “We had a guest, per Lieutenant Issacks. I was told he was being held at our discretion, but not on criminal charges. I joined him for a ‘movie’, an old Earth entertainment type they use in the Neutral Zone. Just before my shift was over, his cell was cleaned and I turned him over to his next keep, sir.” Nick had a mixture of curiosity and fear on his face. He knew trouble coming a mile away. “I did file a duty report, Colonel.”
"You did, you did," the Colonel said, his face imperceivably shifting in annoyance as he squinted. "My concern, Ensign, is the fact that you spent a period of your duty shift inside the cell with the prisoner. Quite comfortably one might add, according to the security logs. And while your report and your recount is truthful, it is not one hundred percent accurate." He allowed a silence to fall, not so the young man on the other side could speak, but so that his own words might take a moment to settle in. "Setting aside the fact the individual is a potential risk to security, there is a degree of dress and decorum we expect as member of Starfleet. And entering the cell of a member of a known organization that is, at best, antagonistic to Starfleet operations to cuddle up and watch a movie is extremely unbecoming of a member of the Security forces of this outpost." I should expect a Fleeter to understand at least that, he mentally bit off and kept to himself.
"I have reassigned you on the duty roster, you'll no longer be on brig guard duty for the foreseeable future." The words lost the venom and tone, and instead came out flat and uninterested. "I've already sent a letter to your superior explaining as much."
Nick could feel his face flushing, not with embarrassment, but anger. “If I may, sir, I’d like to correct the idea that I was consorting with an enemy or antagonist,” Nick paused, and though he was out of uniform, he adjusted his t-shirt indignantly before continuing, “I was told he was a guest, sir. I felt it a minimal risk to interact based on that information.”
Knowing he was going to regret it, Nick bolstered himself for the next part. “To imply that I ‘cuddled up’ to our guest is not only offensive, it is inaccurate. Respectfully, sir,” he concluded, trying his best to keep the anger and defense from his tone.
Shaun slid the sunglasses off his face, his eyes meeting the young man's for the first time. They were narrow, and angry. "I expect very little from Starfleet security, but I expect the truth," his words were low, quiet, and barely more than a growl. "I had a good look at the security feeds Ensign, I got a good eye for what this looks like. Do you want to try your story again?" When the man failed to respond, the Marine nodded. "Then we will reassign you."
Nick stood proudly. “Of course, I accept the reassignment of my duties on the roster, sir, and any reprimand you deem necessary. I would ask the you remove any reference to ‘cuddling’, sir. At most, we shared popcorn, not a milkshake and two straws, Colonel.” This time there was a hint of venom in his voice at the end of his sentence.
A vein twitched, and Shaun replaced his aviator glasses, and stared for a long moment. "If I wanted your opinion Ensign I would send it to Starfleet Command and have them ship it back to you to regurgitate. But since you asked so nicely, I will remove your reassignment. Effective immediately you are relieved of your duties and are to report to the brig. Maybe some time there will cool your head." He paused, watching the colour drain from the Ensign's face. "And if you so much as think of not showing up in the next fifteen minutes, I will have a party of Marines waiting for you. They will be happy to show you the way." With that the line went dead, leaving Nick staring at a blank screen.
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