JBL | "Discourse of Discussion" | CO, CMO, NPC | Cmdr Neyes, Lt Rofer, Lt Black

Posted on Wed Jul 17th, 2013 @ 8:18am by Captain Landon Neyes & Lieutenant Carrie Rofer M.D., Ph.D. & 2nd Lieutenant Jasmine Garza

1,911 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Secret Meetings
Timeline: Prior to the Hangar Deck breach

=/\= Sickbay =/\=

Neyes passed through the entry into Sickbay. Wasting no time, he made a bee-line for Doctor Rofer. He stood next to her outside the locked medical room, where first lieutenant Black was sitting inside. "How's our new patient, Doc. You spoken to her yet?"

Carrie jumped, the yogurt in her hand following suit, splotching big blotches over half her face and pieces of her uniforms. She turned, blinking rapidly.

"I was about to check up on her," she managed to mutter after realizing who stood in front of her. She grabbed for a napkin, then remembered she had none, and grabbed for gause instead, rubbing it over her face. "You can accompany me." she allowed, trying to decide how to handle a surprise meeting from the ship's Captain.

Poorly, apparently.

Neyes smiled, awkwardly, as he took in the robust peculiarity of the Doctor. It wasn't often he braved a venture down into the medical ward of any of the ships he'd served on. Added to the fact she was not entirely accustomed to serving aboard a military vessel, he would have to get to know her a little better. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to frighten you, Doc." He followed suit as they strolled through the large hospital floor.

"That's okay," Carrie nodded and tossed what's left of her yogurt to the replicator for recycling, "I should learn to be more resilient when jumped. It seems to be a needed trait on this ship," she muttered, remembering her first encounter with the new counselor, too, and considering for a moment whether she may want to enhance her uniform with bubblewrap.

"Before we go in," she paused not too far from the room where Tea was lying on a bio bed, "I'd like to point out that some of that woman's injuries seemed to be accidental, not all of them were." She gave Landon a grave look. "One doesn't accidentally cause scuff marks on their wrists, and unless her crime was eating particularly hard-shelled nuts, one doesn't usually chip their teeth accidentally either."

Neyes looked onward into the room, inside at the young woman he'd breifly 'spoken to' before she was treated for her injuries. "What are you saying, Doctor." He looked Carrie dead in the eyes, trying to skip past the dance toward her obvious implication the woman had been beaten.

All of the sedative that were given to Tea along with the concussion she got after being brought down by the Marines Tea was finally fully alert and pissed that she was locked up. Luckily she wasn't tied down to the bed so she could roam freely, but she wasn't doing much of that on the account of the several broken and bruised ribs.

Carrie looked up at Neyes in confusion for a moment, trying to analyze if he was playing some hide and seek game or if she really was in need of being more blunt.

It was her understanding that in Starfleet in particular, delicate phrasing was often valued more than blunt generalized statements. Apparently, that was wrong.

Carrie had no problems with that. She shook her head and looked up, straight back into Captain Neyes' gaze.

"I don't know what type of protocols the Marines are subject to, Captain, but that woman was clearly mistreated. Beyond the obvious fact she was beaten and handled roughly -- she was also practically dragged into the infirmary while injured, with potential head and neck injury -- which is against medical regulations, and with risk to her well being. I understand there may be exceptions to some rules," she made a face at that, but continued, "but I want my objections to be clear in this case. And formally noted."

Neyes' jaw tightened. His ice-blue eyes peeled away from the Doctor as he felt the blindingly strong urge to find Ellis King and throw him into the brig for his officers' complete lack of regard. He knew, though, it would accomplish little to solve their continuous problem of obedience in the Marine segment of the crew. It was in his opinion the ship would be in better shape if they were simply removed from under his charge, but it was not his decision to make.

"Understood, Doctor. I will make a formal report on your concerns and I will address them with the Marine Captain as soon as this mission is over." He said, "May I speak to the Lieutenant?"

Carrie glanced at her PADD and nodded. "She should be awake, but I would recommend against over exertion. We're still dealing with some residual damage from her concussions." She motioned for Landon to get in and followed, not really caring to check if he wanted her to. This was still her patient. In her infirmary. She was responsible, and she will damn well make sure her patient is safe, sound, and healing.

Tea stared at the door her spidey-sense going off knowing that either a doctor, nurse or someone wanting to interrogate her was on the other side. Sighing softly she wondered what she agreed to when she took this assignment. One she was not expecting to be beaten up by her own family but at the same time she did expect this kind of treatment.

Neyes was cool as he walked once again to the edge of the bed where Tea rested. "Lieutenant. Firstly let me apologize for any mistreatment you have received while on board my ship. How are you feeling?"

Carrie walked into the room behind Neyes and came to a stop near the instruments, keeping an eye on her patient, choosing to remain suspiciously cautious about her treatment.

Tea winced a little as she sat up in bed and stared at the two of them. "Not as bad as I did after finished some of my training." She said winking at Neyes, "and no apology needed I'm a intruder on your ship and the Marines did what they had to do to capture me."

Landon nodded, not breaking eye-contact with her. "The Doctor tells me your wounds will heal, but that does not excuse a beaten prisoner... Secondly, and I'm a little tired of the run-around so I'll get right to the point. You have something you need to say, and I need to hear it. So go for it, I'm listening."

"You can send and write whatever you want in your report, but I'll deny it. I'm not turning on brothers and sisters in green for what they were trained to do." Tea said looking especially at Carrie.

Carrie looked back at Tea with a mixed expression, somewhere between exasperation and bored disinterest; the kind of look an adult gives a child after answering - for the 104th time - the question 'do I really have to go to sleep?'

"As inexplicable as it may be," Carrie responded, "your loyalty is irrelevant. I already submitted my personal and professional outrage on the actions that were taken in so-called 'dealing' with you, based on the actions of the Marines and your medical condition as you were brought here. Whether you want to forgive, forget, and make up with your bullies is completely up to you. That, however," she gave Landon a look that oozed with baffled cynicism, "may lead me to suspect brain damage."

Tea just glared at Carrie apparently this women didn't get the concept of the brotherhood in arms. She than turned back to Landon, "I don't know what you want me to say I have my orders and I was following them to the "T" until all shit hit the fan."

"Cut the crap." Neyes leaned in a little closer. "I know you weren't assigned to the detail protecting our fake president. He turned out to be Starfleet Intelligence, you know. An operative on a mission to pose as the president for the rommies.

"It doesn't make sense to me, so this is where I'll need you to fill in some of the holes. You are not a presidential guard. He is not the president, and we're scheduled to rendezvous with a Romulan delegation in a short time. Obviously I can't do that. Who are you working for, and how did you people get past Starfleet security?"

Sighing finally knowing she was finally cornered, "this isn't a sanctioned assignment for me." She said looking at Landon, "I was following a lead and it led to your ship......so I forged some orders and got myself attached to the presidential security team as security assessor."

Tea decided to leave out that she knew that the president wasn't actually the president at this point it didn't matter. "But.......things didn't turn out the way I thought they would. StarFleet is up to something and it involves the destruction of the Vindicator."

Neyes felt his grip on the edge of the biobed tighten. Her word was certainly not going to suffice for him to simply believe Starfleet was about to turn their backs on him. A gnawing feeling was worming its way through his gut, however, and something led him to inquire further. "Starfleet isn't in the business of turning on its own people, Lieutenant. It's not as good at it as others."

Tea just scoffed but than winced from it. "It is when they know they're loosing face from their member worlds the longer this war goes on. They need something to garner some sympathy and a reason to continue to fight this war and what better way than destroying a large vessel with a lot of officers and enlisted personnel."

Landon couldn't take it on her word. His lingering suspicion continued to whisper in the back of his thoughts, but he would need more proof. "So you're here... to stop a plot against us. A plot conceived by the peacekeeping Federation. A plot to destroy us..." He scoffed. "Doctor, no more Marines. She is not to leave sickbay."

"I was here to stop a Vanguard plot but this is what I found instead, and you're damn right I'm here to stop it." Tea said looking at Landon, knowing she must look and sound insane, "don't take my word for it. That look in your eye tells me differently, you knew something wasn't right when you busted through the presidential blockade and your former CO told you the president wasn't the president."

All that while, Carrie stood silently in the corner, leaning against the bulkhead, listening intently to a conversation she found utterly disturbing. In fact, she was starting to wonder what she got herself into when she decided to take her mentor's advice and join Starfleet to begin with. So far, it seemed her world was filled with insane Marines, even more insane infiltrators with some weird honor-bound bondage fetish, and plots that would shame the Federation's most long-running soap opera.

Either way, this was not her business. Not until all those crazy people start getting hurt, and then, well... at least the world of Medicine - including Medical Emergencies -- made sense. For a change.

Neyes stood at the door with an inquiring expression, "This will sort itself out one way or another. Thanks for the chat, Ms. Black."

"Don't go anywhere."

=/\= END LOG =/\=

Commander Landon Neyes
Commanding Officer
USS VINDICATOR

Lieutenant Carrie Rofer M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Medical Officer
USS VINDICATOR

Lieutenant Tea Black (apb Aza)
Good Samaritan NPC
Starfleet Marine Corp

 

RSS Feed