It’s a Sticky Situation...
Posted on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 2:47am by Commander Owen Nash & Lieutenant John Sandoval
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:38pm
Mission: Death in Paradise
A Mission Post by Commander Owen Nash & Lieutenant John Sandoval
Mission: Death in Paradise
Location: XO's Office
Timeline: Current
After the recent meeting of officers in the Conference Room where Temple had revealed the details of the murder that had taken place and that the Starfleet crew was implicated, Owen had decided to go over the various reports filed by each department before the time of the murder to see if he could find anything...anything that would help.
He was on his second Black Coffee already, pouring over the details in his office. He was still trying to understand why someone would do this.
John Sandoval had been going over everything he knew so far, factoring in what he’d seen and experienced aboard Paradise Station. It wasn’t clear to him how this murder was even possible. Paradise Station was practically a security state. Why were there gaps in security monitoring where this could happen?
He had been summoned to talk about his report to Commander Nash. In all the time John has been aboard, he never had a one on one conversation with him. Despite the circumstances, he was glad for the opportunity. He slowly made his way, leaning on his cane a bit more than normal, to the XO office, chiming the door when he found it.
Hearing the door chime, Owen called out "Come in" before taking another sip of his coffee.
He stepped into the man’s office. “You wanted to see me, sir?”
Looking up, Owen saw Lt Sandoval walk in, noticing him leaning on his cane a bit more than he had when they were in previous meetings together. "Ah yes, Lieutenant, please come in, take a seat," Owen offered.
“Thank you,” John said and walked towards a chair opposite Owen’s desk. He gently lowered himself into the seat and rested his cane against the desk.
Owen picked up his spent mug and walked over to the replicator, putting his mug on the plate as it was reclaimed. "Can I get you a drink?" He offered
“Ginger tea, please,” John answered. “Is this about the murder?”
Owen ordered a new round of drinks from the replicator and brought them over to his desk, placing Johns drink before him. "It is, however, I also realised that I hadn't had the chance to properly get to know you since you joined the crew," he explained, sitting down and taking a sip from his own drink.
"To business first though," Owen began. "What are your thoughts on this sudden turn of recent events regarding the murder on that station?" Owen was curious to know what John thought of all this.
John took a sip of his tea before answering. “It’s a bad sign, no question. Regardless of how this ends, Katya won’t be interested in establishing diplomatic or business ties with the Federation any time soon. And if it was one of ours, I can’t see how we couldn’t leave them here. And after today, I wouldn’t say it’s impossible that one of us did it.”
Owen nodded as he listened to his colleague's thoughts. "I agree that Katya definitely won't want to continue establishing diplomatic or business ties with the Federation with the current situation and that's something that the Captain will have to deal with," Owen explained.
"This situation doesn't help matters at all and if one of our crew members is implicated, that will cause us a lot of problems here on the station, even more within the sector as we're the only Federation Starfleet vessel out here. Regardless, we'll do everything we can to defend one of our own...but the implication in a murder is something we will struggle with, considering the current tensions in the area."
Owen took a sip of his drink after speaking, considering the situation.
“Sir, if one of our crew is guilty, we may have no choice but to turn them over,” John said. “For one, this station can and will destroy us if we flee with a confirmed killer aboard. Also, what right would we have to protect someone who committed a serious crime here? This isn’t the sort of situation where something minor to us is illegal here.” He remembered the case of Rubicun III, a case he knew very well, where an Acting Ensign was almost executed for disturbing flowers. “We’re talking about murder. And they have the right to try and convict if the evidence is there.”
Owen nodded after John had made his comments. "Yes they do have the right to try and convict if the evidence is there," he agreed.
"It's a sticky situation indeed and one we really didn't need to have to face during a time when the Alrakis Pact is taking control of the area and Starfleet is clearing out. Having a Starfleet Officer implicated in a murder aboard the station would go a long way to aiding the Pacts position as well. It almost feels as if someone had a plan all along and has set it in motion to discredit us."
Owen didn't like it but what he sounded out seems to make sense on a very dark and scary level.
"In your experience, is there any room for negotiation here? Or are we simply in the position of having to play the game to their rules?" he asked.
“There’s some room,” John conceded. “We could seek assurances that their penalty was not too excessive. Guarantees that anyone we hand over be given a fair trial, access to legal defence, safety while imprisoned, and in case of conviction, that they don’t get the death penalty.” He took another sip of his ginger tea. “Make no mistake, sir, Katya holds a lot of power in this situation. We have some cards to play, and Captain Temple can play them well. If Lieutenant Griffin and yourself manage to find undeniable proof that it wasn’t any of us, then all the better. At least, as long as it doesn’t implicate Katya herself. Then we’re back to square one.”
Owen raised an eyebrow before admitting "Then both Griffin and I have a tough job ahead, but I can't think of a better man for the job."
Owen leaned forward in his chair. "I also wanted to apologise for not getting the chance to speak to you before. I normally try to catch up with all of the new officers that join the crew however recent events have wrecked my hopes for that," he offered
John smiled and chuckled at the situation. Indeed, John hadn’t been aboard for long, and since he arrived quite a few new officers had followed, and during that time it had been busier than normal. “Not a problem. I fully understand. I’ll give you the turbolift brief about me. I was a marine during the war with the Dominion. Got badly injured.” He gestured to his cane for emphasis. “But I survived when a lot of others didn’t. Got my PhD in Earth military history. Wrote the textbook chapters on the MACOs of the 22nd century. Didn’t want to work in a university setting though, so I joined Starfleet to wear Diplomatic purple. Three years on USS Saturn before coming here. How about you sir?”
Owen thought for a moment before answering.
"Myself? Well, I missed the war, however, my mother was on board one of the starships that fell in the first the Chin'toka battle. However, I consider myself lucky to have survived the Borg invasion several years back. That's something I never want to experience again," he admitted.
"I was was lucky enough to be able to serve on board two different Luna Class vessels, the Phobos and the Pandora. I was part of the Pandora's original crew under Commodore Merith before she was taken in for a refit," Owen explained. "In short I've been an explorer more than anything else."
“Explorers are what Starfleet needs the most these days,” John mused. “As the fleet seems to be focusing more on countering our enemies, we can’t forget our missions of peace and scientific discovery. So I salute your work as an explorer, sir.”
Owen raised his drink in salute to Johns comment. "Starfleet also needs good Diplomats and from what I've seen so far, your right up there with the best," he commended, knowing of Johns work on the station so far.
John smiled widely and politely bowed his head. “Thank you, Commander. I’m glad you think so. The Captain did the heavy lifting, but I think we saved a lot of Irokari lives this week. And my security attaché had high tea with the Irokari Chief this afternoon.” He lifted his hand. “Long story. But she learned more about the Irokari conflict and the role the Breen have played. They’re desperate, but as long as we don’t want to risk war with the Pact, there isn’t much we can do to stop them from annexing neutral worlds.”
Owen nodded solemnly. "That's often the price that we have to pay when it comes to trying to avert war with another power that wants to gain more territory," he agreed. "However a little knowledge gained isn't a bad thing either during this time...anything that can help us is a bonus."
With the murder investigation ongoing and the further movements of the Alrakis Pact, it was a tense time on board.
There were interesting days ahead.
