Growing Concern

Posted on Tue Sep 28th, 2010 @ 6:14am by Vice Admiral Iluvar & Commander Earlond & Commander Christopher McNeil & Lieutenant JG Malia Jacy & Lieutenant JG Hannah Andeti

Mission: Episode 1.3 - "The Time of Trial"
Location: Orient Express Lounge
Timeline: Mission Day 03, 0940 hours

ON: [[Orient Express Lounge, USS Pandora, Mission Day 03, 0940 hours]]

Kevin (NPC) moved his glass around a little, watching the dark green liquid swirl around inside for a moment. He lifted it to his mouth, swallowed a little, and winced slightly at the bitter taste. "If you ask me, there's something more going on here," he said, looking around at the others seated at the table with him.

Myrin (NPC) lowered his own drink and eyed the crewman for a moment. This wasn't the first he had heard of these sorts of suspicions but he hadn't yet decided just how he felt on the matter. "What makes you say that?"

This man was supposed to be a ship's counselor, yet he didn't seem to have any inkling of what had been going on. If he had, Kevin doubted that he would have even asked such a question. "You're kidding, right," Kevin asked in a low voice, "The XO's been relieved of duty and confined to quarters, the CMO isn't anywhere aboard ship, and now the admiral's locked himself away and left Lieutenant Commander Fala in command. You can't tell me you don't think there's something going on..."

"There's definitely something going on," Tracy (NPC) agreed, looking at Myrin. "Haven't you been talking with the XO? What would he do to be relieved?"

"What makes you think that?" Myrin asked redundantly throwing a glance to Tracy. "I don't think the Commander would willingly talk to a counselor if his commission depended on it, let alone an ensign." He scowled, still annoyed by this Kevin's complete lack of subtlety. He pushed his lips into a smile and eyed him from over the edge of his glass. "Of course I'm aware of what's happened and that something . . . unusual is going on. That isn't exactly a revelation to anyone here. The question is what do you think is behind it?" He glanced around the table, addressing the question to anyone who would take it.

"Maybe the XO did something?" Tracy suggested. "And he's probably good friends with the CO, so maybe they're both in trouble for the same thing."

Myrin considered this for a minute and then shook his head. "I think it more likely that the commander acted alone. If they were both in trouble for something I would imagine they would take the time to show their solidarity. I don't see the Admiral punishing someone for something he is also guilty of, he's no hypocrite."

Smiling, Kevin took a swig of the liquid from his glass. The counselor seemed to be coming around. At least he was beginning to acknowledge that there was something going on. "I heard that new chief engineer, Lieutenant Warrington (NPC), talking to the assistant chief," Kevin said, "and it sounds like the admiral has been spending a lot of time on the station since we got here. What do you suppose that's about?"

"Well obviously it's meant to foster exactly the conversation you pecking hens are having now," Velia (PNPC) spoke up from where she'd been leaning in the entryway with a shake of her head. "Did it occur to any of you that it's incredibly possible that the CO is defending the Commander as we speak? You know, it also wouldn't be the first time that Starfleet had bypassed a CO if they found the first officer of a ship more ... mmm ... accommodating." Her tone was laden with implied knowledge; when really she just wanted to see how far outside of reality the gossipers would be willing to go. She moved into the room, replicated her own mug of coffee and then took a seat next to Myrin, glancing at him briefly in hello before leaning over the coffee and savoring its scent. "Of course, what would I know. I'm just the lowest on the Intel totem pole." Catching Kevin's eye, she winked.

"Do you know the Commander?" Tracy wondered. The new arrival was unfamiliar to her, but she didn't want to sound stupid by asking who she was; hopefully, it would turn up later in the conversation.

Velia snorted, then thought better of her action and tried to cover it up with a cough. It was against her very fiber to speak ill of the man, being her superior and all but on the other hand ... there was that nasty honesty complex. "We've met," she replied and brought the mug to her lips. Her large dark eyes took in the young woman and Velia couldn't help but smile. The girl was almost like a small mouse or hare, and a small part of Velia took pleasure in eying the young woman so intensely. She always wondered what people were thinking when faced with that sort of scrutiny.

Tracy looked straight back at Velia, meeting her gaze with a defiant look in her eyes. She wasn't going to be intimidated by some spook.

Kevin rolled his eyes. He was starting to wonder if any of them were going to take him seriously or if this was all just a form of entertainment for them. "I think you'd all be a little more concerned about the changes that have been going on around here," he said, shaking his head slightly.

Myrin was only barely controlling his amusement and finally broke out a sharp laugh. "Of course we take it seriously, Ens Moretti is just trying to wow you all with her fabricated importance." He grinned at the young woman before returning his attention to Kevin. "Well, what do you think is going on here?"

Kevin wasn't sure, exactly. He had been hoping that the others might have noticed something as well, but it didn't seem to him like they were aware of what was going on. Maybe there wasn't anything going on. People got reassigned all the time. It was part of being a member of Starfleet, you went where you were ordered to. People had a right to privacy. It seemed like the higher up on the command chain you got, the more difficult it might be to get some privacy. Maybe the admiral was just taking a well needed break.

Still, it seemed like there had been a lot of shuffling in the Pandora's command staff in the last few days, not to mention this whole situation with Commander Earlond. It was getting harder and harder for Kevin to believe that these things weren't related.

Seeing the man's uncertainty, Myrin spoke up. "Well, let's consider the facts. First we're involved in a pointless mission involving the Romulans." He rolled his eyes slightly. "The second in command disappears with no apparent reason and the commander is put under house arrest before the lovely Commander Fala is given his job." He leaned back and swirled his Scotch, watching the ice cubes dance and melt. "And now we're ordered to return to starbase. The private dick in me wants to say that the commander - Earlond that is - must have murdered the doc and is now being rushed off to court martial." He grinned. "But seeing as Cmdr. Earlond has too much respect for the Admiral to do anything particularly rash somehow I think personal motives or vengence is out. So, what would a fairly rational, if not entirely normal man like the commander do to get confined to quarters and demoted?"

"I disagree," Velia intoned to Myrin. "You should know better than most, counselor, that it's almost always a personal motive at the root of a decision. Morality, loyalties, the things that make us what we really are ... guide us in almost everything that we do. I'd say that most officers are faced with a crisis of conscience at one point or another, and at the end of the day we all do what we have to do. I think the real question we should be asking is," she eyed the small group and paused for a long swallow of cooling coffee. "What would a," struggling to keep the disbelieving tone from her voice, "'fairly rational' man do in the face of such a decision?" Velia wasn't sold on Earlond being fairly rational or entirely normal; and she was willing to bet that he'd never given Myrin a personal tour of a holoprogram or the counselor wouldn't feel that way either.

"Does anyone know what he's like?" Tracy asked. "I mean, I've heard some things, but does anyone actually have first-hand experience?"

With a shrug, Velia drained the cup. "How do any of us really know what someone is like?"

"He is a competent officer and loyal to his commander," Ensign Karag growled from his seat a few tables away. He was growing tired of listening to this prattle. "He is also loyal to those under him. That is all that truly matters."

On the far side of the room, Yuris (NPC) watched the small group from where he stood behind the counter. The El-Aurian had been observing the junior officer's conversation at a distance for some time. It was clear to him that they were concerned and there was no doubt in his mind that their concern was centered around recent events. Afterall, these were uncertain times for the Pandora and her crew. They had every right to be concerned...

OFF

A JP by:

Ensign Myrin Nezar (NPC)
Counselor
USS Pandora
Played by: LtJG Andeti

Ensign Velia Moretti (PNPC)
Intelligence Officer
USS Pandora
Played by: Lt. JG Malia Jacy

Ensign Karag, son of Klagir (NPC)
Security Officer
USS Pandora
Played by: Cmdr McNeil

Crewman Kevin Jacobs (NPC)
Repair Specialist
USS Pandora
Played by: Capt Iluvar

Crewman Tracy Taer (NPC)
Shuttle Pilot
USS Pandora
Played by: Cmdr Earlond

and

Yuris Eldar (PNPC)
Orient Express Lounge Manager
USS Pandora
Played by: Capt Iluvar