A Terran Inquisition
Posted on Wed Mar 23, 2016 @ 9:42am by Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Lieutenant JG Zayna Malik & Civilian Melvyn Raddon
2,488 words; about a 12 minute read
Mission:
Pangaea (Wrap up)
Location: Raddon Corporation General Office - Main Promenade
Timeline: MD 12 - 0900
"Look, Sh'Treen, you are starting to sound like one of those environmental fanatics. Unless they actually have legitimate *proof* of a piezoelectric effect happening to their planetary core, the Prime Council of Seterus IV is overreacting." The middle-aged man said from his chair as he stared intensely into display screen before him. "I do not care what the Prime Council *thinks* will happen. Unless they can produce some sort of definitive evidence, then we will continue with our expansion of the Dilithium Processing Facility on Seterus IV." The man continued.
"The Raddon Corporation produces Dilithium, not excuses." He said as he reached to deactivate the communication link. Just as the screen snapped to the logo of the Federation, it was instantly replaced with that of the image of a bright and young human female.
"Mr. Raddon?" Vespa, the assistant stated. "I have two station security officers here to see you." Vespa stated matter-of-factly.
Raymond raised a slight brow as he stood. "I'm on my way, take them to conference room 3." The young executive said as he made his way around his desk and proceeded to the intended destination.
Exchanging a look with her fellow security guard, Annora wondered how long they would be kept waiting in the conference room. She was pleasantly surprised when they were met in short order.
"You think they will give us any trouble with the rumors?" Zayna asked as she scanned the room and found no active listening devices.
"It's possible, you have the same intel I did. Guess we'll see if he lets anything slip."
"Ladies, welcome to the Raddon Corporation. I am Raymond Raddon." He said with a generous smile. "Now, what did I do in a past life to deserve being in the presence of such ravishing beauty?" He said charmingly.
Ignoring the flattery, she jumped right into introductions. "I'm Lt Tessaro, this is Lt Malik. We're here on business not a social call."
Zayna briefly looked at the old man the classic cloak of charm and hospitality was almost nauseating, but nothing she had not seen many times over. She chose however to remain silent and kept looking around as if she was ignore him while Annora did the talking.
Raymond smiled, although in his mind he was already becoming annoyed with first the interruption in his day, and second the blunt nature of the women in front of him. Despite having the same blood flowing through his veins, Raymond lacked the patience that his father, Melvyn, possessed.
"Well Ms. Tessaro and Ms. Malik, how can I help you all today?" He said as he took his seat at the head of the conference table.
Ignoring the disuse of rank, after all some civilians were uncomfortable with it even without having anything to hide, Annora answered the question.
"With all the chaos going on with the planet and the sudden influx of visitors to the station, we're making sure any security concerns are properly addressed."
She kept her opener fairly neutral on purpose, no need to spook the man right away.
Raymond leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Concerns?" He said slowly. "I can't think of any immediate security concerns. The Raddon Corporation takes the safety of its guests and corporate assets very serious." He said. "Our Lead Security works hand-and-hand with the station Marshall in that regard. So far, no one of importance has made any complaints known." He added with a casual smile.
Raymond wasn't dumb. He knew that station security had a particular purpose for coming to his office. However, if she wasn't going to come forth and say it, then he wasn't going to say it for her.
Zayna's eye fell on a lovely bright painting of what seemed to be a vague phoenix bird, it was quite hard to tell exactly, but it is what she made out of it. "How much is that painting worth?" she asked pointing at it. Partly curious, but also to put Raymond out of balance which might make it harder on him to tell a lie when Annora took the word again.
Raymond smiled. "My father brought that with him from his childhood home on Rhy'Lin. It's been within our family for generations. That type of human craftsmanship is truly priceless." He replied.
"I've seen a Romulan painting once, similar design, they do like their birds." Zayna said, the note of human craftsmanship being priceless got her curious.
Raymond continued to smile; however, he was becoming annoyed by the woman's dilly-dallying. "Ms. Tessaro, I'm certain that you did not come all the way to my office just to discuss art." He said as he leaned forward in his chair. "Perhaps. . .I could interest you in a much more lucrative endeavour?" He said in a lower, but direct tone.
She highly doubted he had anything worthwhile to offer, but Annora decided to string him along a bit.
"And what would that be?"
"Come work for the Raddon Corporation, of course. Our corporation has a reach that extends well beyond this station." He said as he brought up a holographic projection before the conference table. "The Raddon Corporation is invested energy exploration throughout known Federation space." He said as he switched to another screen.
"We're currently looking into expanding further operations into the Beta quadrant." He said as he looked back at the women. "We could use Humans with your sense of duty and your experience." He said with an inviting tone.
Annora held back a laugh. She had been on the job for less than a day, and already she was getting offers to leave Starfleet. It was doubtful he knew anything about her background than what was obvious from her appearance and uniform.
"Mr Raddon this may come as a surprise, but I've spent more time working for an outside security organization, than I have in Starfleet. While it had it advantages, there are reasons I switched to wearing this uniform. Why should I give it up to escort your employees?"
Zayna just laughed out loud for a moment, "First off if I need money I just phone home and I get more transferred to me in a minute than your little company is worth, secondly offering security personnel on the job anything means we can charge you attempt to bribery. We add those to discrimination charges to your company, but for now we would like the security footage of warehouse 56A, 87C and loading dock 3D, I am sure my boss can fill you in with all the details on why we would like those." Zayna said taking off the gloves. They had reports of some cases of abuse to non human species, but lacked direct evidence.
Raymond laughed. "And so we come to the center of the shrubbery maze..." He said as he shifted his gaze between the two women. "You came all the way down here to ask me about security information regarding some random warehouse within the civilian loading docks?" He asked as he took a seat and continued to maintain eye-contact with Zayna.
"Tell me. . .what are these 'reports' you have received? You'll have to forgive me if I'm not jumping to me feet in outrage that someone other than humans have become the subject of Federation neglect on this station." He said with an obvious edge to his voice.
Annora reached into a pocket and pulled out her challenge coin from West Point. The coin made a loud clanking noise as Annora slammed it on the table before sliding it across to Raddon.
Raddon caught the coin in his hand and observed it within the palm of his hand for several moments before looking at the Officer before him. "Your point, Lieutenant?" he asked in a less than enthusiastic tone.
"My point, is that when Starbase 1 was attacked we were prepared to go after the Romulans alone if need be. The coalition was less than a year old, so no one expected them to support us humans in a war. But they did, and their troops fought and died just like we did."
Annora wasn't yelling but her tone of voice showed she meant business.
Raddon slammed the coin down onto the table. "Save me the lecture on Terran History, Ms. Tessaro, I'm well aware of it." He responded. "I'm also aware that the same aliens who made up that 'coalition' did nothing while Humans gave their lives to prevent the Xindi from slaughtering every human in the galaxy." He said, his voice rising.
"Where was that coalition during the third world war? The Vulcans watched from afar as our planet slowly died in nuclear fallout. The only reason they even graced us with their presence was because we as humans successfully traveled at warp speed." He said to both officers.
"Human tenacity and determination is the reason we are the heart and soul of the Federation, darling," He said as he forcefully to the Security Officer.
Zayna leaned against the table watching things unfold she had a feeling Annora could handle herself and if she played it well enough they might finally get a foot in the door and unraffle the shady sides of Raddon of which Zayna knew there were more than a few.
Annora cringed a bit at being called 'darling' but for the time being let it slide. "On that you'll get no argument from me. As for the third world war and the Vulcans, I wasn't there. Although the lingering affects could still be seen. I don't blame them for staying away, we were actively killing our own people by the thousands if not millions."
She couldn't believe she was defending the Vulcans. Perhaps she was adjusting to the new era better than she expected. Placing the coin back in her pocket, Annora addressed his statement about the Xindi. "I suggest you check your historical database. I personally talked with several people who were on the Enterprise for the showdown with the Xindi. We had help from the Andorians. Granted it was one ship, but sometimes that's all you need."
Confusion danced across Raymond's face. "That's impossible. The Xindi attack on Earth was over 235 years ago. The last survivor crew member of the NX Enterprise died over 150 years ago." He said incredulously. "Perhaps, sweetheart, you observed some previous recording or interview on a holodeck in some museum." He added, rather dismissively.
"Now, since you have refused my offer of employment, then I can only assume that there is very little else for us to talk about." He said as he began to rise from his chair.
"Mm you seem awfully sure of all that you say and believe, sadly not all is what it seems on the surface now is it? I think you would do well to learn that lesson in the next second or two." Zayna said moving to block the direct path out of the room without actually blocking it.
"Or else you'll do what, Lieutenant junior grade Malik?" Raymond said, taking pleasure in emphasis her status as a junior officer. "You have no warrant, which inherently means you have no probable cause that any crime has taken place within my company. Therefore, I do not have to, nor shall I consent to, give you any video belonging to the Raddon Corporation." he said pointedly.
"As it stands, you two have no other reason for being here other than to ask for a video, which I will not hand over, or. . ." he said as he shifted he glanced to the other officer.
"You just enjoy being in my presence, not that I could fault you, of course." He said smugly. "Power is a natural aphrodisiac. . ." he commented.
"Like it or not, you are on a Starfleet run station. Therefore it would do well to co-operate with us, especially considering most of the Command Staff are non-human."
It was a last ditch effort, but Annora tried to appeal to his fear of aliens.
Raymond's eyes lit up. "Oh, believe me, I fully understand just how deeply enriched this station is within the control of unsympathetic entities." He replied.
"The station is controlled by a murderous Romulan, our Engineering and life support is controlled by a Reptile in a special suit," He said referring to the Chief Engineer and station Commander. "I can't even say I feel safe with our current Security Chief considering his half-breed daughter was caught performing sexual favors on a Ferengi who was holding children hostage!" He said in an exasperated tone.
"And now he's sent you two to step on the necks of any Humans who fail to comply, just like two well-trained jack-booted thugs." Raymond said, referencing the mid-20th century term for authoritarian figures.
Realizing further discussion was useless, Annora ignored his comment.
"That's your opinion sir, and you are free to it. If you get the chance, I suggest you check out my public service record, as well as news reports on the Sundsvall. You might be surprised at what you find. In the meantime, feel free to contact security should the need arise. Good day."
Raymond watched the two officers get up and walk towards the exit. "Unfortunately, ladies, I have a corporation to run and I'm much much to busy to visit you all at your office." He said as he stood. "But I'll be sure to send our Lead Security Consultant if there is anything else we'll need. I'm sure your office is familiar with him. . .Dorian Gabriel." Raymond said with that same smug, self-satisfied grin.
Zayna ignored Raymond she had no idea who Dorian was anyhow and once outside of the room and out of earshot she spoke up, "Confident liar he is, but spooked with our visit."
It was certainly an interesting meeting. "He did seem a bit spooked. In my experience they either slip up or back down while the perceived threat dissipates. Of course the man's already paranoid so we'll see how he responds."
Annora wasn't going to worry too much over the meeting, but the company was a group to keep tabs on.
As the doors closed behind the two women Raymond drummed his fingers on the surface of the mahogany oak conference table as he thought over the meeting that had just transpired. Obviously, the security officers were on the trail of something. But what? Raymond knew the best way to find out was to first find out who exactly he was dealing with.
"Vespa, I want you to begin researching Starfleet Officers MACO Officers by the name of Lieutenant Annora Tessaro. Starting looking around the time period of the NX Enterprise. " He said aloud into the nearby comm unit.
Raymond Raddon
Senior Vice President
Raddon Corporation
Lieutenant Jg. Zayna Malik
Security Officer
Deep Space 5
Lt Jg Annora Tessaro
Deputy Security Chief
Deep Space 5
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