JP - CPO Ral Shal, LTJG Nilsen - Snitches get stitches, so don't tell Sherlock - Part 2
Lhandon Nilsen
((OOC: Part 1 found here)) (( Cupboard called Boatswain’s Office, Deck 6, USS Artemis ))
Chief Ral closed the channel and looked back to PADD on her table. She needed Savel and Chevalier. She needed to kill two birds with one stone, as she did not want to have anything to do with Article V of the Guideline on Starfleet inter-division cooperation in criminal investigation downwards.
oO This will be a good s-show Oo
She opened a drawer on her desk and took out a bottle of vintage black Kanar dusted with glass. She immediately placed the bottle on the table but checked the glass against the light to see if some civilization of her own had already arisen in it. The undershirt sleeve was enough to clean.
Chief poured herself a glass, checked the smell and the colors, and then took a sip. Technically, what she intended to do now was against the guidelines, Article XVI, section 3b, subsection (viii), but there was a guideline, and there were good relationships and decency in scratching each other's backs when it came to quartermaster’s network.
You never know when you will need something, so favors were always in short supply and high demand. And warn fellow non-commission officer about eight circle of hell was a thing around the corner that was favor of her to collect later.
Ral took one more sip before she turned back to her computer and started looking for the name of her counterpart at Octavia E. Butler.
oO Here you are… Lieutenant Tobats… chm…interesting, officer… precisely that type of interaction I wanted to avoid, but here we are… Oo
Chief opened the channel, and the Federation logo with a notification about “awaiting connection” was the only companion at the moment. Subspace was moody today. It took more than a couple of seconds before the name came with a face—except it did not. The display still showed the Federation logo, and the text on the screen changed from “Awaiting connection” to “Connected.”
Ral: Lieutenant Tobats? Hello, Chief Ral Shaw, quartermaster at USS Artemis. We have a situation here that I thought you should know about before security and SFO start knocking on your door.
The text on the screen changed to “On hold.”
Computer reproductor: Thank you for calling USS Octavia E. Butler. Your call has been forwarded to another recipient. Please remain on the line, as we value your call.
Ral paused, a little taken aback by what had just happened. She inhaled, exhaled, and refilled her glass full while she listened to some kind of “calming music” and waited to be connected.
oO This is going to be interesting. Oo
Moments later, a different officer was connected. This time, the camera was on. He appeared to answer from his PADD.
Nilsen: This is Nilsen, what can I do for you chief.
Ral would see a taller officer, one who looked like they spent way too much time in the gym. He had brown curly hair that was hell to maintain and spoke with an accent that had Eastern European influences, but had been filtered. His home planet was originally settled by people from the aforementioned part of Earth.
Ral: Eehm, Lieutenant Nilsen… ::tries to be not apparent as is she looking at the OEB crew manifest she is rolling through at PADD:: I was calling to Lieutenant Tobats regarding one discrepancy in the shipment we were holding for Butler and…
oO Yup, here. Lhandon Nilsen, Lieutenant JG, Acting Assistant Chief of Operations. GREAT… Oo
Nilsen: Hold on, let me get somewhere quieter.
Nilsen's background showed he was working in the middle of their operations center (OC) the two deck nerve center for the entire operations department on the new Sagan Class vessel. There were glimpses of the holographic displays, work areas and the mezzanine that seemed to encircle the center of the OC from what Sal could see in the background.
The screen flicked off for a moment and when it returned, the background noise was gone and Nilsen was standing in an office off to the side. He had transferred the call to a console on the wall and was standing in front of it.
Nilsen: Sorry about that Chief, so you were saying?
Ral: Just that I called Lieutenant Tobats about the audit results we made here at Artemis as a favor between us quartermasters. I wanted to inform him we needed to confiscate one crate of yours we transport as loose cargo… ::gaze to the side of the screen:: …technically not yours, but the original place to deliver was USS Oumuamua, but we understood each other. Crate… Delta Victor Three Five Seven Zulu Zulu. EPS control units, eighty-four pieces. We found the discrepancy in inventory altogether with another crate from the same pickup point of origin. Maybe… Security will contact your department regarding the details of your order. I just wanted Tobats to know for him to review the paperwork… so if you can relate the message, sir, I will be glad. Thank you.
Even Ral’s face was hard as a rock, and with her strong South Bajoran accent hidden a lot, the way she worded what she said was weird. And when she slipped and mentioned the involvement of Security and doing a favor to Tobats, she could tell everything straight away.
But she smiled as a good girl who does not hide anything while hiding a bag of candy behind her back, pretending to be not suspicious at all. Plus, smiling wasn’t visibly her thing. She looked like a piranha, smiling at Lhandon when she was caught before she could bite into her prey.
Nilsen: Ah…and my life is about to get ten times more complicated now won’t it? :laughs: Chief, I owe you a drink.
Ral's lips trembled as she bit down on them, her eyes darting away from the camera's view. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to steady her nerves before returning to face Lhandon's image on the screen.
Lhandon noticed that Ral wasn’t in the best mood, he recognized that look. That’s the Ops look of “warp plasma is about to hit the proverbial fan”
Nilsen: Are you alright mate?
Ral: Yes, good. Something like that, sir. ::sighed::
Nilsen: Well I appreciate the heads up. It’s good to not be blindsided for once.
Ral: I know you should have heard this from our ACOO, but here we are. I cannot share the details with you before we make an official claim and serve our findings to our own and Starfleet Security so they can make an independent, impaired review and their own investigation, but our conclusions touch your ship. Little…
As Ral was speaking, the sound of the doorbell interrupted her.
Ral: A second, please, lieutenant.
Nilsen: No worries mate
She muted the call, but the camera was still on. As she spoke, it was difficult to discern the identity of the person she was addressing. However, whoever they were, their news clearly wasn't positive.
Ral: ::muted, lipreading:: …quick…call…ok…what?...you find…no?...DS9 too?!...
After a few moments, Chief retrieved a box-like object, which appeared to be some sort of device, and displayed it for the individual outside the camera view. The woman's face became more animated, her expression revealing a mix of curiosity and concern. Notably, the object was absent on the table previously, indicating that the visitor had brought it with them and had given it to Ral for examination.
Ral: ::muted, lipreading:: …this?...ok, lock…cargo?...I’ll come… ::nodding::
Ral turned her eyes back to the computer and noticed the icon and her face still streaming on the side. She got stuck momentarily, but then she just tapped the keyboard and unmuted herself.
Ral: So, lieutenant, I will need to go. A little complication came to light just a moment ago. We found another contr…in our common issue. A new connection has arisen. I need to call DS9 and… ::unconsciously she turns her hand around on the camera as if searching for the right words:: …clear one mistake in our deliveries, so… May I call you later?
Nilsen: Of course…but before you do. ::Quieter:: My little brother Madison works on DS9 for Bajoran Security. He’ll be able to help us, and on ops honor, you can trust him. In the meantime, I’ll turn that crate around. We’re at DS14 right now.
Ral: Does he? Ok, that sounds good. I will contact him about our new issue and will share information on the previous. ::winks:: It was nice talking to you, lieutenant. Ral out.
((Operations Centre, Office 2, Deck 7, USS Octavia E Butler))
As the screen switched off, he had a thought. Shaw said it didn’t come to them, but he wondered, with the repairs needed to the Oumuamua and the transfer to the Octavia E. Butler, if it was the perfect time to slip something through.
Lhandon got up after a few moments, took his PADD, and headed towards the cargo bay.
While it wasn’t on his ship, he had a thought. What was that number again? Delta Victor Three Five Seven Zulu Zulu - DV356ZZ. He elected to do this manually; he wondered if a direct search would trigger something that he didn’t want triggered.
And should he tell Sherlock? He thought about that…maybe…but also, if there’s nothing there, she’ll hunt him down and eat him for supper, and the remains of his corpse would be thrown into the warp plasma manifolds. But if there is something there…
So, he made a plan. It wasn’t a great plan, but he hoped that it meant that none of this messy business would have to come to the OEB.
(end for part 2)
TBC
--
Chief Petty Officer Ral Shaw, PNPC
Boatswain & Quartermaster
USS Artemis-A
Simmed by Jaseb Chevalier, A240009JC1
&
Lieutenant JG Lhandon Joseph Nilsen
HCO & Acting Asst. Chief
USS Octavia E Butler
O240007LN1
He/Him/His (Both player and character)