I Fought the Law and the Law...

Posted on Sat Nov 9, 2019 @ 10:42pm by Lieutenant Jason Haines & Captain Maritza Soran

1,665 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Doors of Perception
Location: Soran's Office
Timeline: MD 14, 0900

[ON]

It wasnt Claude's unflappable calm that met him in OPS, but a Bajoran girl barely out of her teens who ushered him frantically towards Soran's office. "You're to go straight in. She's waiting for you."

"Crewman", Jason said. "Remember, refer to officers by rank or some less laid back than me will bite your head off. Confirm the identity of who you are letting in to see the CO. Last, breathe. You will pass out if you keep going like this. Now, thank you for the escort, I've got this."

She blanched. "Yes, Lieutenant, Sorry, sir. It's just everything's so new. It wont happen again sir."

Jason, nodded with a smile and gave her a thumbs up. He then straightened his uniform and entered the lion's den. He wondered just how poorly this was going to go as the probability of it ending well were small. Soran's voice on the communicator when she had ordered him to report had been extra terse.

"Lieutenant JG Haines, reporting as ordered Commander."

As usual there was nothing in the room beyond the desk and its chair, and the massive transparent aluminium window. It wasnt cold, but it felt it.

Commander Soran looked at him, "I've had Commader Ryan's report."

'That was efficient', Jason thought.

He didn't say anything as it had just been a statement. Given the dressing down he had gotten from her the other day he was going to be the good little 'junior officer', for now.

She let the silence stretch a moment.

"Well, I don't have much to say." She said. "I'm dissapointed. Especially with Temporal. I've cooperated with them fully. I will be raising a complaint."

Jason looked at her with a wary eye. It was clear he wanted to say something, but he was holding back. The thought bubble above his head was desparetly trying to transform into a speech bubble.

"You're looking constipated, Mr. Haines. Do you have something to say?"

"I have many things to say Commander", Jason replied. "However, with respect, as you clearly pointed out once this week, I am just a junior officer who needs to know his place. I figured if you wanted me to speak, you would have raised things in the form of a question for me to answer."

At least he's learning, she thought. "If it was just about you, you'd be on the next shuttle out of here."

Once again, she had not asked for any sort of response, so Jason said nothing and continued to stand quietly at attention. If she was going to continue this stupid game, Jason hoped that someone would initiate a fire alarm soon as he wasn't sure how long he could handle the stops, starts, and discipline probing moments of the conversation.

She ran a tired hand over her hair, until she hit the braids. "Don't think for a moment that I don't appreciate your actions in rescuing Dr. Wells. And don't think I don't know what you mean to her. But I want you to look on events from the point of view of my chain of command, and then answer the question, Do you have any idea at all what you've done?"

"From my limited perspective as a junior officer, from a completely linear view of your chain of command, I have given people below you and yourself, reasons to question my loyalty and whether or not they would want me on their team, making your job for assigning future away missions and a myriad of other responsibilities potentially harder", Jason said. "That in turn is going to make the people impacted by my decision look at you and wonder what you are going to do about it. Above you, once your reports make it to your superiors, they may question you as to what sort of operation are you running and what are you doing to fix things so this sort of thing doesn't happen again."

'And if I hadn't covered your ass, doing what I did, Alanna would be that bastard's slave', Jason thought angrily.

Well he was in the ball park, but, "This isn't about me either, Mr. Haines. This is about making sure Dr. Wells has the support she needs to recover. Support she needs from you. And that is going to be near impossible to arrange. A critical read of Ryan's report would given JAG a good chance at prosecuting you for mutiny, insubordination and failing to give due respect to your senior officer. And before you rely on the fact that you were on your way to Dr. Wells as your defense, remember that you admitted to Commander Ryan that temporal ordered you to secure certain personnel, killing them if it comes to it? You know that's an illegal order, don't you? It's extra judicial murder, Mr. Haines, and that is a war crime."

'And what you did was only create a hostage, invade a sovereign border, and circumvent another government's legal system', he thought sarcastically.

"I say this with sincere respect Commander", Jason began. "So, I apologize in advance if it seems otherwise. I know all you say there is true. So, you have to decide if you are going to submit the report as noted and speak with Commander Ryan and decide if there should be charges brought against me. If there are going to be any charges, let's get them taken care of on the station's terms and timetable. As far as my interactions with Commander Ryan on the mission, he never gave me an explicit order not to go after I told him I was leaving the team. I probably would have ignored it anyway and then damn straight you have me on the mutiny, but at that moment, I knew it was the right thing to do."

He paused a moment and then continued, "I'm not like most officers ma'am. Hell, most of my family line isn't. We have a genetic chronic insubordination issue I think. I'll follow orders, but if there is ever a moment when doing what is right conflicts with an order, I'll be doing what is right. It is why I came back in the condition I did. I had two opportunities that if I were to carry through with the order temporal gave me, we'd be having an entirely different discussion right now. But, I know what they asked was wrong. Whether it had been Dr. Wells or T'gan or anyone else, it was wrong.

I can't easily change anything I did and I don't think I would change anything about my actions, well maybe one thing, regardless I stand by my action. If there are consequences, then so be it. I don't expect anyone to shield me from my own choices."

Maritza rubbed at her eyes. At least he recognised that. "I need you to make a decision right now. Where your loyalties lie. I won't have anyone here who answer to anyone but me when it comes to their careers."

"My loyalties are to the Federation, Starfleet, and the station", Jason said. "How I am put to use here, sounds like it might be a discussion above my paygrade."

"Don't cheek me, Lieutenant, or you may just end up spinning dabo wheels in The Box."

'At least the rules in dabo are consistent', he thought.

"No, cheek intended Commander", Jason said. "I can say with all honesty, that given the parameters of my assignment I have been working in good faith for the benefit of the station. I have not let the assignments given to me by temporal to interfere with my intelligence work and vice versa, until recently that is. Then again it was only the day before my 'death' that being a 'care-taker' for lack of better words, for certain individuals, added to my assignment. And as much as you will want my loyalty to remain here, I imagine so will Temporal, so that is a discussion I have no power in controlling. I like it here, I like the people, so that means I need just to work for you. Assuming you still want me to work for you, then you would have to get Temporal's hooks out of me. I can't."

That would be a task and a half. she pursed her lifts. She had more than enough experience challenging the corrupt and it was a battle that took a lot of time and effort, physical,mental, and emotional to win. It had to be a battle she was certain she wanted to fight.

"I'm going to talk to Commander Ryan before I make a final decision. At best, you may be looking at loss of rank and a formal write up on your file. I'm sure you can imagine what the worst can be. I don't want it to come to that. But I also need to impress upon you the seriousness of your actions."

"Completely understood Commander", Jason said in simple acknowledgement.

'And what are you facing for your actions?', Jason wondered. 'Probably nothing. After all one can punch a civilian and get away with only a public relations tour, if you are the right person on the station.'

"Very well. You can go for now. I'm not going to confine you to quarters. I'm going to trust that you are a better man than to run."

"Thank you Commander", Jason said. "And there is nothing to run from."

He did a text book turn on his heel and left her office.

'That went better than expected', he thought as he left the command center. 'Now we wait to see how hard the other shoe falls.'

He caught the eye of the Commander's young Yeoman, gave her a wink and made a breathing motion as the turbolift doors closed.


[OFF]

Lieutenant JG Jason Haines
Chief Intelligence Officer
Deep Space 5

Commander Martiza Soran
Commanding Officer
Deep Space 5

 

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