The Confrontation
Posted on Thu Mar 19th, 2020 @ 11:35am by Captain Luka Mahone & Lieutenant Theodore Winslow
896 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
Canary
Location: Security Offices, Command Center
Timeline: MD 03 : 0812 Hrs
Since his conversation with Sofia, Luka's cloud of guilt hung well above his head in an ever-present manner. To make matters worse, he had multiple questions about the block quarantine, whether it meant they would have to go through a medical examination, what other precautions they would have to take, and if they were about to drop dead at any moment.
He needed a break from it. Or at least some way to clear his head.
With a comment to Davna, he decided to take a small tour of the Command Center. It was something he had not done since the refit of the wreckage. Everything was shiny and new back then, or at least repolished.
It would be a pure coincidence that led him to the security offices. Surely, it had nothing to do with the lingering guilt. But he continued onward, absently asking one of the staff whether their senior officer had arrived for the day yet. He was lucky in hearing that Lieutenant Winslow had not yet arrived, but Luka could have likely chalked that up to Theo's need to change his routine due to lack of access to his space.
Thought resolved, Luka decided to wait in the man's office, sitting himself politely in the chair opposite Theo's desk.
Theo has spent ages trying to figure stuff out but nothing was coming to him so he finally gave in and headed to his office. It was out of the snow and ice so he would not freeze. He paused in threshold as he took in the man waiting for him. "With all due respect Sir. I am not in the mood this morning for a meeting or whatever this is." He muttered.
Filing away a note that he would have to maybe inform his crew that he was still Captain, Luka turned in his seat, shaking his head. "Mood or not, Theo, we need to talk. And I'd rather it not slip away any longer."
The Security Officer let out a long sigh before he moved and sat on the other side of the desk. Mahone never called him by his first name so it must be serious. "Then let's talk Sir." He murmured.
"I'm sure this morning was not the... lightest of awakenings, so I'll be as brief as I can." And Luka meant it, though he wasn't sure how in depth he was going to be able to be with Theo. He honestly had very little idea what was going on, likely due to the fact that he would have had more emotional investment in the investigation he had ordered. "And it's related, and I'm sure you have more questions than I can answer on that."
"You suspect me for something." Theo realised sitting back in his chair running his hands over his stubbled cheek finally waking up enough to think.
Luka raised his brow in surprise. How Theo came to that conclusion so quickly should not have thrown him off, but here he was. Thrown off. "... Me personally? No. But there was evidence found that links you to the ongoing investigation of the Io's crash."
Theo blanched a little at the realisation that he was being investigated. "I see. I... I um. I should not be in my office. Can you escort me back to my quarters or where ever you feel I should go?"
"I..." Luka's brow raised. He had not expected this reaction. "Lieutenant, I'm not exactly aware of the security protocol, but I'm not exactly wanting to tear you away from your job. The investigation that has been conducted is separate from your day to day operations. I... ah... am at a loss. In this instance, if it were you performing the investigation, what would you do?"
"I would be escorting me out of my office and relieving me of my duty. You have to protect your image and Starfleet's." The Security Officer said sounding crushed by the thought that he was pretty much being relieved of duty and he had done nothing wrong.
Luka's gaze narrowed. He could not tell if this was some confusing tactic or if the man in front of him was truly letting the investigation happen. The Captain expected more anger than he was receiving. Or any anger at all. But there was none. "... Then I suppose taking you to the temporary quarters is what we should do. At least, until we get this all straightened out."
Theo nodded and looked around the office for a moment before sighing. He actually felt defeated at that moment and that hurt that somewhere, someone hated him enough to set him up. He loved his job, loved how he got to help people but it seemed to someone it was not enough. He pulled his jacket off the hook and put it on.
Luka rose awkwardly from his seat. There was something very off about how this felt, and he knew Theo well enough. Part of the reason he had ordered this investigation was to clear the names of the people who were there. But this, like many other events, seemed to backfire. This would be the last mistake Luka made.
He frowned. "I'll get this sorted out as quickly as possible." Stated the Captain, voice low from the guilt he felt. "This won't be long, Theo. You have my word."
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