[SSE] LtCmdr Sky Blake, "General Order 3."

[Deliera Jay]

((Esperance Star Station))

::For the most part, both crews got out unscathed by their experiences - no thanks to Commander Yeager. The Veritas had, however, suffered some serious damage. She couldn't help but wonder how their initial trip to Esperance would have gone had the Astraeus not become stranded thanks to its idiot commanding officer.::

::No matter. She stood at Astraeus docking port with Zhou, Ayden under Crewman Otrok's care for the moment, watching the skeleton crew and Veritas officers whom had assisted with holding the Galaxy class ship together disembark from the vessel. Martel gave her a nod, heading off towards her small team of engineers for a few hours downtime before they'd have to get back to fixing the Astraeus.::

oO Galaxy classes. Honestly, they're death traps. Oo

::They were unnecessarily large vessels, and the horror stories of more recent Galaxy classes undergoing serious damage during the line of duty, to the point of loss of life, had made her hesitant to actually board the Astraeus initially. She'd survived. Barely.::

::Her cuffs were warm on her belt.::

Blake: Commander Yeager.

Yeager: Response?

Blake: We met briefly during the aftermath of the attack. My name is Commander Sky Blake - I'm currently attached to the Veritas. Your crew have disembarked and the Astraeus is now in the custody of the Starfleet support annex here on Esperance Star Station.

Zhou: Response?

Yeager: Response?

::Before the man could spout more nonsensical comments, Sky had his wrists in cuffs, emerald eyes cold and holding no regard for the commander's comfort.

::Blake had no faith that Yeager's XO would 'handle' the situation, since neither of them seemed to understand the gravity of what had occurred, and given their roles in the disaster, it didn't seem right that Kreeta could handle his CO by himself.::

::She'd waited, having acknowledged Kelrod's orders, and waited until they'd arrived at Esperance - during which, a battle had taken place over who would get Yeager first.

::The Marshals had indeed noticed a commotion along the border, but they'd been too far away to reach the Starfleet vessels in time. Angered at the missed opportunity to prosecute a Starfleet captain, a newly promoted Benjin Ranjoes had conveniently contacted the Veritas, practically demanding Yeager's head. It had been an eventful conversation for Blake, having been ordered by the civilian director to carry out the arrest in leui of marshals aboard the Veritas. It was that order by Ranjoes that had made the red tape she'd been wrapped in by her Veritas crew members (more specifically, Kelrod) go away - as a ranger, she was required to carry out the orders of the agencies protecting her area of space.::

::Lieutenant Caide, in charge of the rangers in the area, had yelled for a good half-hour when she'd explained what had happened, but he'd been the one to call her first. First their own rangers had been involved in a botched covert operation, and now some two-beat Starfleet commander was violating territorial legislation. That the Trill had heard what had happened so quickly was a surprise.::

::That left the Esperance Starfleet Annex commander, whom had spent the skirmish looking after her toddler. Since Esperance had been the first thing Yeager had bypassed, Zhou had practically called dibs on his custody.::

::And now, Sky was not aboard the Astraeus, nor the Veritas. The Astraeus was no longer stuck in the Shoals, and its crew were safe from potential "hindrance to morale" - which was, she'd noted to herself, a nonsense excuse by the men trying to save this captain.::

::It was bad enough Sky had to square the Veritas pushing the warp five restriction with Ranjoes to rescue the damned idiots. Yeager was lucky she didn't make the restraint fields of his cuffs tighter.::

Blake: As the Starfleet Ranger currently patrolling the Bajak Laut sector, I am hereby placing you under arrest on behalf of the Colonial Coalition Marshals Service and Starfleet Security for knowingly violating general order three and the travel legislation of this region of space, endangering the Starfleet crews and civilian lives aboard the USS Astraeus and the USS Veritas, and resulting in near-destruction of Starfleet property.

Yeager: Response?

Blake: You'll be given the opportunity to dispute your arrest with Commander Zhou here once safely in the custody of his staff. But officers of the Colonial Coalition Marshals Service will be joining him to oversee your charges.

Zhou: Response?

Yeager: Response?

Tbc . . .

LtCmdr Sky Blake

Starfleet Ranger

USS Veritas

C238803SB0