Fallout

Posted on Wed Jul 22, 2020 @ 5:31am by Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Commander Caleb Ryan

1,097 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Et In Arcadia Ego
Location: XO Office Deck 12
Timeline: Day 3 10:12 hrs

Heading up to the Command offices, Annora was pleased to see the door to Commander Ryan's office was open. Poking her head in, she lightly knocked on the frame.

"You have a few minutes, Commander?"

“None at all. Completely swamped, Lieutenant,” Caleb said, flopping down a two of diamonds onto the solitaire array on his desk. It was one of those days he’d gotten everything needed done early, mostly because Commander Soran tended to try and do everything herself, even though he could help. But it was too early for him to call it a day and maybe spend the time in the holodeck riding.

“What can Ah do for ya, Lieutenant?” Caleb asked, sweeping up the cards and leaning back to look at Annora as he reshuffled everything. The lights flickered in one of those periodic brownouts they were still having from that crystal infestation, but then settled.

His office looked much like it did when he was working in Security, which made sense. She ignored the flickering lights; they were intermittently flickering all over the station. "I can see that," she responded with a chuckle. "Have to keep your card skills intact. Never know when they might come in handy."

Pulling up a seat, she let him know why she was there. "You've had more experience with this whole serve and protect thing than I have. With everything that's happened recently, I wanted to pick your brain a bit."

“Yer welcome ta what’s left of it,” Caleb offered, putting the cards aside. “After raisin’ a teenager an’ enterin’ the datin’ scene again, Ah’m not so sure it ain’t just a buncha mush up there,” he admitted.

Annora shook her head at the response. "I haven't recently reentered the dating scene and have no kids, so I can't speak to the mental toll..I'll have to take your word for it. Guess I'll start with an open ended question. What's your take on the current security onboard DS5?"

Caleb considered. “By Starfleet standards, we’re adequately staffed,” he hedged. “We seem ta have a few more of the unusual problems than most, though. Part of that is the foreign national presence on the station. Most don’t have that. It adds a jurisdictional wrinkle to everythin’. If ya’ll’re talkin’ about what happened on the Prom, Ah was mighty proud of ya’ll that ya got it under control so quickly. It didn’t turn inta a riot -- not much, anyway. There wasn’t no lootin’ or loss o’ life.”

"True," she admitted. "It could have been a lot worse, especially considering the Cardassians tried to call in their own security team. A handful showed up, but the others were kept away from the scene. Between the possibility of tangling with Captain Torena's Marines, and Lieutenant Winters threatening to throw them all off the station, I'm not sure they would have pressed the issue even if the turbolifts were operating. It also helped we held the home field advantage. Unlike going after the freighters on what proved to be a wild goose chase."

Caleb nodded. “Do we need ta have a conversation with the Cardassians again about just where their authority ends?” he mused. “Or do ya think they got the message?

"Nah, I think they were just rattling their sabers. I reminded them that we couldn't pull that stunt on a Cardassian station and the same rules apply here."

Natalie paused. "They'd be foolish to actually try anything. I don't see what it could accomplish. Honestly, I'm more worried about the Earth First terrorists."

Caleb nodded. “Cardassians are basically a known quantity,” he agreed. “An’ they can be expelled anytime we like. The Earth First blend in. They’re citizens, so they have more rights. A lot more hoops we have ta jump through ta deal with them,” he admitted. “Not as easy ta spot, an’ they rile up the other side. An’ they know how ta use the system.”

And therein lay the problem, not the legality so much as the ability to blend in. "Exactly. So how do I deal with that? There's been at least one Starfleet ship supporting them, possibly two freighter crews, and Petty Officer Wallace. It seems that until they announce themselves, there's little to suggest their fanaticism, and often by then it's too late."

“Can we get anyone inside?” Caleb asked. “They recruited Wallace. Can we get one of ours recruited?” he mused.

It was a somewhat unorthodox approach, but one that might work. "Maybe, find a willing candidate to make some public complaints. See if that gets the attention of our radical friends out there. In the meantime, how do we ensure no one else has been turned?"

“Ash Danrisa got in on the Svikari,” Caleb noted. “Though he’s probably burned by now. He might have an idea on how ta contact them, though,” he mused. “As for others...without extra legal measures, Ah’m not sure how much we can determine. Ain’t no law against associatin’ with such sentiments. It’s when they cross that line. Best we can do is maybe trace associations. Watch who goes inta the Dilithium Chamber, scour some of the personnel files for any red flags. See if Counselin’ has heard anything, though they may be less than cooperative,” he admitted. “The fact is, our hands are kinda tied with Federation citizens.”

"I'm not about to start a witch hunt; might prove some of the very things Earth First is preaching. As for Counseling, that would probably violate confidentiality. We'll just have to be extra vigilant without crossing into paranoia. Thanks, Commander. I'll let you get back to activity. Although if you get bored enough, you're always welcome to join a patrol.”

Like it or not, he had a point about their hands being tied with regards to how drastic of measures they could take to flush out any potential sympathizers.

Caleb smiled. “Ah just might take ya up on that sometime,” he told Annora. “Mah legs could do with a stretch, an’ there’s only so much sittin’ behind a desk a man can do. An’ sometime you gotta join me on a ride in the holodeck,” he invited.

She agreed with him on that sentiment. It was one of the reasons she still joined the patrols on a semi-regular basis.
"Deal. Once power is fully restored, we can go ride horses. See you later Commander, and thanks."


Off:

Commander Caleb Ryan
Executive Officer

Lt Annora Tessaro
Chief Security Officer

 

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