A Matter of Trust

Posted on Mon Jun 22nd, 2020 @ 5:29am by Commander Mindo & Lieutenant JG Aeryn Jameson
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 4:52pm

Mission: New Moon Rising
Location: Engineering
Timeline: Current

A Mission Post by Lieutenant Mindo & Lieutenant JG Aeryn Jameson
Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Engineering
Timeline: Current
Mon May 14th, 2018 @ 4:05am

Mindo felt like his eyes were bleeding. In addition to the stress of repairing the ship, he was now bogged down with the duties that came with the Executive Officer position. He hadn't slept in a while, and his alcohol level was beginning to drop. This he knew would affect his thinking, and if he didn't break for a drink soon he probably wouldn't have the competence to carry out his duties.

He scratched his head furiously as he picked up another PADD from another Department Head. Reading these usually fell to the Executive Officer... which Mindo now was. And he took the position seriously. His first priority was to the ship and what crew was left aboard. Mindo had been pushed to his limit before, and while he wasn't there yet, he needed a break soon.

The sound of the chime on the door broke his concentration. "Dammit," he said under his breath before shouting, "Enter!"

Aeryn walked into Mindo’s Office she’d sensed something about him when she’d let her barriers down on the bridge and needed some answers, “I’m sorry to intrude Lieutenant, may we talk for a moment?”

Aeryn paused for a moment, “I sensed something... unusual from you when I was on the bridge & I was hoping you could put my mind to rest.”

Mindo closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "Now isn't really the time, Counselor, unless you believe it's an emergency."

"It's not an emergency but I do consider it important" she looked at Mindo. "I can always bring the matter to Commander Nash's attention if need be Lieutenant" she folded her arms across her chest and waited for Mindo to respond.

Mindo threw down his PADD on the desk. "Fine," he said, putting his hands on the desk. "Let's talk. But don't do this 'I'll tell daddy' routine again, or I will call your bluff and make you do it anyway."

"I'll tell daddy routine!" Aeryn looked at Mindo surprised she'd never seen him in this kind of mood before, "Exactly what is going on with you Mindo & don't tell me you're just busy. I am after all just trying to help you."

Mindo was silent for a few seconds. He looked up at Aeryn, a blank expression on his face. Maybe her being here is a good thing, he thought. He stood and went to the small table to his right. There were a few bottles of various drinks and two glasses.

"Can I get you a drink?" he asked. "I usually keep orange juice here for when Cailus drops by, or I could give you something stronger." He selected a bottle containing a purple liquid and proceeded to pour himself a glass.

"A juice would be lovely thank you" she smiled relieved that Mindo had calmed down, "I can feel that you're not comfortable with this but I can't ignore what I sense and to be honest what I sensed from you..." she shrugged her shoulders, "I can't explain why it alarmed me all I know is that it did"

Mindo poured the Counselor an orange juice and set the glass opposite from him on his lowered desk. "Please, have a seat," he said, motioning to the chair on the other side of the desk. Mindo took a long drink from his glass and sat down as well.

Aeryn took a seat as offered and reached for her glass of orange juice, she took a sip then placed the glass back down on the desk.

"I don't think anyone here knows of my rough history in Starfleet," said Mindo. "Not everything is laid out in my file. There are plenty of omissions, I'm told; not just of my time at the Academy, but also aboard other starships. Trust is a big issue with me. It's nothing personal. I'm sure you understand."

"Of course" Aeryn nodded, "be assured what is said between us will remain between us."

Mindo nodded. "Yeah, I've heard that one before."

Aeryn could have argued the point but she didn't bother.

Mindo picked up one of the PADDs on his desk and keyed in a few commands, then turned it and tossed it in front of Aeryn. "I got this message a few hours ago," he said.

There was an encrypted message on the PADD from an unknown sender. The message was short and to the point. "Tornado decommissioned. Be careful who you trust. You are not alone." It was signed, "A close friend."

Aeryn looked at the PADD then at Mindo, "Okay... So this is strange to say the least, surely you don't think anyone on the Pandora..." She let the sentence trail off.

Mindo shook his head. "I ran a quick trace on it. It did not originate here. I haven't had a chance to run any thorough scans as apparently there is a damaged ship which I am responsible for repairing." He emptied his drink and set the glass down on the desk. "This is the first communication I've had from someone not on this ship. Until today I could neither send nor receive any off-ship messages, and news of the Tornado has been blocked from this ship by an external source. Until today."

"Why now?" Aeryn looked at Mindo, "Shouldn't we bring this to Commander Nash's attention? You know you can trust him the same can be said for any of your friends aboard the ship."

"The only person I can trust on this ship is not my friend," said Mindo. "And right now, he's missing."

Mindo stood and went to pour himself another drink. "Commander Nash is a good man, and yes, a good friend. I trust him with my life. But that doesn't mean I trust him. I've had friends turn on me before. I've had superior officers walk all over me and my dignity before. I actually trusted them. In some cases, I even defended them. Then pow, I'm demoted and they're dead. Dead at the hands of the one person I thought I could trust over everyone." He took a drink and sat back down. "There are secrets, dangerous secrets, that boarded this ship the second I stepped off the shuttle. And now this message. Who could have sent me this message? What 'close friend' do I have out there?"

Aeryn shook her head she didn't know what to suggest, "So I guess this means you're trusting me?" she looked at Mindo, "I know I didn't leave you much choice but to tell me but considering what you've showed me..." she paused for a moment, "Do you trust me?"

Mindo took a drink, downing his glass and setting it on the small table next to his desk. He then sat down. "I trust you with this information," he said. "I also trust you when you say this is confidential. But if you are involved in this, I haven't given you any information you don't already have. So either you knew all of this coming in here, or this is your first time hearing it. Regardless, I trust you with this information. Because in both scenarios, it's in your best interest to keep it secret."

Aeryn sighed "Fair enough Mindo" she offered a smile, "I know you won't believe me but I honestly don't have anything to do with whatever is going on"

Mindo pointed to the PADD. "So what do you make of this message? What's the best way to handle it? Apparently it's causing me a great deal of stress, otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"The best way to handle it..." she looked at Mindo, "since you don't trust anyone enough to tell them about it I suggest we wait and see how this unfolds, if it comes out then at worst I end up with a reprimand for suggesting such a course of action, at best I get to earn your trust."

"So just put it aside and not worry about it?" Mindo asked. "I'm afraid you've wasted your time here, as that was originally the course of action I was going to take. Except now someone else knows about it." Mindo eyed the Counselor carefully. "You want me to trust you? You just made it to the top of the list of people I can't trust."

"I do believe I said that you should tell Commander Nash but you refused that action, what else do you want me to suggest Mindo?" Aeryn sighed, "I'm a Counsellor what else am I supposed to suggest?"

Mindo put his head down and rubbed his temples again. When he spoke again he spoke quietly. "You're right, Counselor. You're just doing your job. I know that. But do you see what this does to me? How am I supposed to deal with such paranoia?"

"Paranoia is exactly what this person wants" she sat back in her seat, "if you turn against your crew mates and start second guessing everyone then you're giving this person just what he or she might be wanting. You need to tell Commander Nash, you can trust him Mindo he'll know what to do."

"Perhaps," said Mindo. "Nash hasn't ever given me a good reason not to trust him. I suppose that's as good as any reason to trust him. But this can't get out. I'm going to trust you with this. I owe you that chance. I'll talk to Nash when the timing is good. Right now we have too many other pressing things to handle. What do you think?"

Aeryn nodded, "Good enough but when you decide to speak to the Commander include me in the meeting okay?" She smiled, "for now if you need to talk about it you know where to find me."

Mindo nodded. "Thank you, Counselor."

Aeryn stood ready to leave, "No Thank you Mindo" she smiled, "I'll try my best to help I promise" with that she left him to his work.