SD 241212.31 JL Dar & Parsons (npc)

Posted on Mon Dec 31st, 2012 @ 5:11pm by Captain Olan Dar & Captain Robert Lansine

1,058 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Romulan Ale.. I mean Aide
Location: Vindicator / Earth

=/\= Bridge =/\=

One of the junior officers manning the operations station interrupted the relative silence of the bridge by announcing there was an incoming subspace signal from Starfleet.

Dar looked up from his padd, "On screen, Lieutenant." he had no idea what this could be. They had made their regular reports on time so this could be anything.

Gabriel had found time in between his meeting with Admiral Malone and his schedule call to the Vindicator to take a quick shower and change into a fresh uniform. In a day like this appearances could not be taken for granted. Sitting behind his desk terminal, Gabriel offered the surprised Captain a greeting. "Captain Dar, Commander Parsons, Starfleet Security." He would remain professional, but considering the gravity of the situation surrounding the Vindicator, especially her First Officer, Gabriel chose to stay away from platitudes.

Dar nodded to the man, "Commander. What brings you to my screen?" he asked casually, though he was somewhat suspicious about why Starfleet Security would be calling them as far out as they were.

Gabriel's plain expression became a pained smile as he looked out on the Vindicator's bridge and the rest of the junior personnel wandering about. "A rather pressing matter, Captain. Could we speak in your ready room?"

Olan paused for a moment then nodded, standing to head into his ready room. Once there he activated his desk console and transferred the communication there, "Alright, Commander. What is it?"

Gabriel paused for a moment, making sure no one else followed the Captain. "Your First Officer. Where is he?"

"He is currently leading an away team. Why?" Olan inquired politely but firmly.

Gabriel sighed heavily. The more he found out about this Robert Lansine the less he liked him. "On the Romulan Colony? Who else is with him?" The Security Chief pounded Dar with questions. With orders from the Commander of Starfleet himself, Parsons wanted to connect the dots to Lansine and get him back to Earth with as little trouble as possible. He didn't expect Dar to resist, but if he did, Gabriel was sure to bring the entire weight of Starfleet Security down on the poor Captain.

Dar had no patience for being interrogated by someone he out ranked regardless of which part of Starfleet they were from. Besides, a Commander from Starfleet Security had no direct authority over him, "Commander. I need you to explain to me precisely why you are so interested in the whereabouts of my officers. And if Starfleet Security has any concerns regarding my XO stop dancing around the point. Right now."

"Your man is wanted for questioning in regard to the attack on the Tholian Embassy, Captain Dar." Gabriel put it all on the table; if the man wanted to play straight and fair he'd be more than happy to oblige.

Olan raised a brow, "I am going to assume in regard to some information he may have which could be useful, as any other possibility seems highly unlikely since he's been no where near Earth since he joined this crew. In fact we've all been on the fringes of Federation space during that time."

Parsons paused and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Captain, I assure you, I've read your mission files prior to this call." The words betrayed a more annoyed attitude than patronizing one. "I would not be calling otherwise."

Dar nodded, "I will have Commander Lansine contact you as soon as possible to answer whatever questions you have." he was satisfied for now that all they needed from Robert was information.

Instead of frowning or feigning acceptance, Parsons continued to push. "No, Captain. The USS Kennedy and her Captain will rendezvous with the Vindicator and take Mr. Lansine into custody." The Kennedy's captain, Kayleigh Heifner, had already received her orders. Signed by the Commander of Starfleet himself, their mission briefing took the Intrepid-class vessel off their current scouting assignment near Trilista and towards the Vindicator's current position near the 'northern' section of the neutral zone.

Olan did some quick math in his head to figure out when he was likely to see the Kennedy. Trillista was more than 20 light years from their current position and without slipstream it would take that ship at most 3 days to reach them at an Intrepid's maximum speed. What the hell got under their skin so much they were wasting these resources in war time for what seemed to be a Q&A?

"I want a copy of those orders, Commander. In the mean time, until the Kennedy gets here I'll have Commander Lansine contact you to get some of your questions answered. Maybe that way you won't have to wait a week or more for him to reach a Starbase."

Parsons sighed heavily, this time audible over their communication. "As per SOP those orders have already been sent to your uplink." He made a small gesture towards Dar's screen, a small notification should have alerted the captain as to the arrival of the directive. "As for Lansine, save the subspace and forgo the communication. The Kennedy will be there to take him off your hands soon enough, Captain. Have the Commander ready for transport. My mission directives are clear, and so are yours."

The alert appeared moments before, no doubt somewhat delayed by the distance. He glanced back at Parsons, "Vindicator out." he said curtly and closed the channel.

As he leaned back to let the tension leave him he was still unsettled by this development. Parsons was less than forthcoming about the nature of the situation but since the orders did not contain instructions to put Robert in the brig right away he had to assume his XO had done nothing wrong. So why the big push to cart him back home in another ship just for whatever knowledge he might have?

Pulling the Executive Officer off a deep space exploration vessel in the middle of a mission this suddenly was unorthodox though not entirely unprecedented. So what had Starfleet Security said to the CinC to get him to sign off on such a drastic move?

"Dar to transporter room one. Beam Commander Lansine aboard immediately and have him report to my ready room."

His only option, talk to the man in question.

=/\=

Captain Olan Dar
Commanding Officer
USS Vindicator

Commander Parsons (NPC - Rob)
Starfleet Security

 

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