Lt Commander Serala: Detained
Jim Davis
(( Serala’s Quarters, Deck 3 Cabin 3-0204, USS Atlantis ))
((Time Index: Day five of shore leave))
Serala: :: standing with such anger the chair flew backward :: I will show you barbaric, you hhakh’kllhe nohtho susse’thrai! I’m going to reach through your chest and tear out your spinal column and shove it up your ⎼
Perkins: ::resolute:: Well, thank you for that spirited example.
Thoran: Commander! Contain yourself.
Having had duty ingrained into her since birth, Serala drew up at the command, her anger not lessened but held in check only by her obedience to duty. However, she was beyond being able to speak Federation Standard.
Serala: Aue, Eriov’leih rekkhai. Ssuaj-ha. (( Romulan (lit.): Yes, Captain-sir-Commanding Officer. I understand. ))
Thoran: Continue with your assessment Commander.
Perkins: ::palms raised up:: I don't presume to offer any motive or lack thereof, sir. That would not be my place. I am only a humble Engineer, doing my best to assist the professional investigators. I certainly did not ask to be placed in the middle of this by way of a broken nose and multiple phaser wounds.
Suddenly the internal ship comms system chirped.
Voice: =/\= I'm sorry to interrupt, but we thought you would want to be informed that we've already found something. =/\=
The slimeball almost smirked as he set his glass down on the Captain’s desk as if to put the final nail in the coffin and rose to activate the viewscreen. Onscreen, two figures were rifling through drawers and compartments, examining weapons equipment, scanning PADDs with their tricorders and generally making a mess of the Security Office. A third face was looking into the screen receiver. He was slim, and his beard was stubbly like it hadn't received attention in days and he had a certain casual air about him that made him seem either tired or bored.
oO Oh, this ought to be good. Wonder what Maddi thinks. Oo
Perkins: Yes, so what is it that you have found, Henry?
Voice: Uhh it's Harry, actually. I've already told you-
Perkins: Yes yes, what is it then?
Serala: Your searching the Security Office?
Perkins: If you truly have nothing to hide, I fail to see the harm.
Thoran: Commander Perkins, that office contains sensitive information. I do not appreciate you or your goons taking matters into their own hands.
Perkins: Did you not say you would be remaining impartial? Perhaps there was a misunderstanding, I'd thought that would mean you would want to know all the facts and not to interfere with the investigation.
Harry: We anticipated you'd call her up for the discussion and waited for her to leave the office before we beamed in. There was a chance she might destroy evidence if given the chance. ::he paused, then added:: I'm sorry sir, I was under the impression this was all cleared with you beforehand.
oO And now the veruul has overstepped. The Captain should be less willing to entertain his shenanigans after this. Oo
Thoran: What is it you have found.. Harry.
Harry: I found something odd tucked away in one of her drawers, a striking symbol which I didn't recognize, so I ran it through the database, standard procedure. ::He held up to the screen a small pin bearing a Romulan symbol on its face.:: Sir, have you been reading reports about the rising activity of the splinter group N'Ventnar, aka Bared Fang, here in the Expanse?
Thoran: I cannot say that I have. Perhaps you would care to fill me in?
Harry: Apparently this is their symbol. Reports indicate it's quite unusual to come by it in the flesh and live. File goes on to say they're a shadowy group of assassins and dissidents beholden to no real authority. ::exhaling breathily while reading from PADD:: Let's see, motives unclear, brokerage of temporary alliances, deep cover infiltration, contract killing, obsession with Romulan honor and tradition, and an exhibition of high-level mastery in hand-to-hand combat and other martial arts.
Serala: Is that all, Lieutenant? Are you sure you haven’t left anything out?
Harry: I'm just reading from the PADD, ma'am.
Perkins: ::with an astonished look:: My word. Caught red-handed. I can hardly believe it. And to think you were boasting about your great skill as a martial artist only a moment ago? Too perfect. Or am I just "confused" again after the little concussion you so kindly bestowed? Do we need to review another security video and watch old Henry here pull the evidence out from your desk-drawer so can cry more wolf about forgery and do you want to go straight ahead to the song-and-dance about planted evidence or whatever it is you can come up with?
Serala: :: A huge grin spread across her face like a cat who has cornered a mouse :: One, that is no longer my office. I don’t have one. Two, that brooch is part of an ongoing investigation into the unsolved attack on one of Atlantis’ officers. Lieutenant Kiliak, in fact, who you were so eager to have arrested not long ago. Right before the station disappeared. What a strange coincidence, Commander. Just another one in a long list of coincidences involving you and this ship.
Thoran: Oh? Please share what you know Commander.
Serala: It’s quite simple, Eriov. I have been investigation Commander Perkins for some time on suspicion he might be linked to the Consortium. I have no conclusive evidence, only a string of coincidences like I said. But I don’t believe in coincidences. And this many is far too hard to believe. But that is for another time. In any event, Lieutenant Kiliak came to me some time back claiming to have been attacked by several Romulans. She showed me that brooch which I immediately recognized. The investigation is still open, although the trail has gone cold.
The Captain leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk and clasping his hands together. She drew herself up to attention, sensing that he was about to render a decision.
Thoran: You two with your actions have put me in a very difficult position. Commander Perkins your actions in searching the Security Office were completely out of line. You have violated my starship and that I cannot allow.
Perkins: Response
Captain Thoran held up a hand to stop more of Perkins’ lies and prevarications.
oO Good. He sees what kind of kllhe nohtho Perkins is. Oo
Thoran: Regardless how noble your intentions, or whether you thought you were being helpful, the matter still stands. You have by proxy, breached a secure area and conducted an unauthorised search. Made worse by the fact Commander Serala has not been Chief of Security on the Atlantis since before Deep Space Twenty Six reappeared.
He paused then turned to her and she knew by the look on his face that he wasn’t done.
Thoran: Commander Serala, I will be conducting a full investigation into your conduct aboard the station.
Serala: Yes, Commander. I understand.
Thoran: Until the investigation is complete, you are to be confined to the Atlantis and you will be placed under guard, with a security detachment accompanying you outside of your quarters. You are not to speak to any of the crew that were involved on the station.
The decision hit her like a slap and her jaw dropped open in disbelief. He didn’t believe her. Her honor had just been damaged. And she had told the truth. That idiot Perkins had won after all.
oO And he’s placing me under guard. Like a criminal. Doesn’t he know what this means for me? Oo
Her head dropped in shame and defeat.
Serala: As you wish, Captain.
Between the incipient rage she was feeling for Perkins and the shame and dishonor she felt from the Captain’s decision, and possibly due to her raging hormones from the pregnancy, Serala found herself fighting to keep from crying. As it was, her voice had cracked and there had been a slight warble in her response.
Perkins: Response
Thoran: Commander Perkins, I will be speaking to Commander Cotard and Commander Barod on the station. You are to be confined to the station until the investigation is concluded. Similarly you are not to speak to any of the crew that were involved on the station.
Well, there was that much at least. That meant he wasn’t completely sold on the veruul’s side either. Maybe her honor wasn’t in tattered ruins. Yet.
Perkins: Response
Thoran: That is not all, and need I remind you Commander, that I am the senior Starfleet officer in the region, with the loss of the station’s commanding officer. I will decide how to deal with your trespassing and unauthorised search later.
Perkins: Response
Thoran: Response
Serala waited until Perkins had left, escorted by his own security officers, then turned to the Captain. She hadn’t been dismissed yet, and while she wanted to protest and try to plead her cause, she decided it would be best to keep her mouth shut in that regard and request to be dismissed.
Serala: Am I dismissed, Captain?
Thoran: Response
That hurt. The loss of confidence from her Commanding Officer was just one more nail in her honor’s coffin. To think, she had just explained the other day to McKnight about the importance of a dathe’anofvsen and now she was on the verge of having to use it...again. Her head once more hung in shame, and the tears pooled in her eyes. However, she refused to let him see her cry.
Serala: :: softly :: Aue, Eriov.
Having been dismissed, she left as quickly as she could. Somewhere along the way a security team, led by Davis, had met her. That was another shame. She had trained these people. Davis had been her favorite. And now, they were treating her like a prisoner. Once she reached her quarters, she found Stevok there waiting on her, alerted to her distress by their bond, and she fell apart in front of the only person she felt comfortable doing so with.
Atlantis Staff Member
A239412S10