JDL ~ MCPO Caine & PO3 duPont ~ "Getting Caught In The Rain"

Posted on Fri Feb 27th, 2015 @ 5:33am by Master Chief Petty Officer Rik Caine

1,691 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: A Spot To Kill

Rik had been all over the ship talking to the crew and making notes. He had one aim; finding out as much as he could about the Atlanteans and the planet they were in orbit of. He didn't like being in the dark and on the bench and this was the outlet for his frustrations. He had found out much and this hadn't done much to alleviate the niggling concern in the back of his mind. Entering his office he sighed and ran both hands through his hair, looking up he allowed a small smile to play over his lips as he fixed his eyes on the fedora and the lip-stained card tucked in the band. His thoughts turned to Amelia down there on the planet and the conversation they had had over dinner regarding the people. He sighed again as he moved to his desk, his thought process and the silence of he room ending abruptly as the terminal rose from the desk and it bleeped.

He had been expecting a call. Amelia had managed to send him a message to his terminal, standard encryption and nothing out of the ordinary to the untrained reader. It had started with sweet nothings and hoping he was ok. She'd briefly discussed some food item she'd tried earlier, general comments about future plans when she returned... He had smiled. It had been good to hear from her. He knew what to look for though as he knew if she'd just wanted to catch up she would have beamed up or made a voice call. This was text, encrypted; he knew how she must be feeling and knew what he needed to look for; the comment that was out of place but only to him.

Do you remember the rum we drank on our first meeting? I was thinking to make a call home and get some more when we go back to Federation space. There it was; the first part he needed to look closer at. He scanned and pulled out key words, his analytical mind deciphering meaning. Call. He was to receive a call. He had read on, the smile getting a little wider at a few more of her sweet nothings. The message had ended with a simple yet cheeky question that blended into her comments regarding their first night: If I said why don't you do it right, what would you say the woman was? the message ended. The response, he assumed, the passcode.

Typing the passcode, BETTING, into the terminal the call was connected; Rik, however, didn't know who was on the other end so simply said "this is Caine" and waited to hear the disembodied response of his caller.

"Good, I was worried she was going to leave me wandering out here waiting for your call," Cecil said, sitting down in the middle of the tall grass. He was near the tree line, but far enough out that no one should be able to hear him while using it as cover. Especially not with the anti-eavesdropping device he'd been given. "Waterhouse went from talking about wringing bronzed necks to giggling about puzzles and encryption, so I had no idea what to expect." He turned on his PADD after a glance around.

Rik couldn't help but feel a little disappointed - he had hoped to be hearing the sound of Amelia on the other end of the call instead, however, it was duPont. "Quite" he said before adding after a moment's pause "is everyone ok down there? Seem to be going to a lot of trouble to get this call operational". His voice had a note of concern as he spoke to the blackness of the screen and the Petty Officer on the end of the comm.

"Nothing has gone wrong, yet," Cecil insisted, flicking through the notes on his PADD. "They're doing everything they can to not let Ivanova do anything, be it related to Mikkal or her royal position. I'm trying to look up customs and law to see if I can find anything to force their hands... But I don't know what I'm looking for. Waterhouse though you might be able to help, or at least point me at someone who could."

Rik frowned slightly; he was concerned for the activity on the planet. He couldn't tell if that was because of the second hand stories he had collected earlier or Cecil asking him for legal assistance. "I only have a working knowledge of criminal law but I can see what I can do; what are you trying to find a loophole for?" He asked, his voice more serious than normal.

"That's part of the problem, I have no idea, and they're not members of the Federation, so their laws are foreign... But I seem to have unfettered access to their libraries, so if I have some help making sense of things... Maybe I can find something?" Cecil shook his head. "Waterhouse said I can send a file up over this link, so I can send up my notes... But I believe the end goal is to formally tell them Mikkal's status in the Federation system, calling for legal representation or a plea to take him home... And to set Ivanova up to 'rule' remotely, leaving a regent in her place or something?"

Rik tapped his chin momentarily and mused for a second. He wasn't sure if his legal knowledge would cut it but he'd be damned if he wasn't going to help as best he could. "Ok... Well you're going to want to start with any laws and regulations related to the monarchy, constitutional rights and governance. You're looking for anything that allows for the head of state to pass new law." He paused again thinking it over. "Let's start with that. If we can pull enough together you can send the file for JAG to put together a legal argument. I'll pull up some Federation textbooks - I know they're gunna have different laws but hopefully there's some similarities".

"If I understood it correctly, it sounds like the process to introduce and pass new laws is slow and complex," Cecil allowed. "As for the monarchy, there's a lot of talk of bond marks, and how the rule passes down the female side of a family line. I'll have to go back and dig more; I had hardly started to scratch the surface before I had to stop last night." Cecil couldn't help looking around him. Even though it didn't seem like anyone was paying him any mind, he still couldn't help but worry with how their hosts had been behaving since the team arrived. "Also, I think the bond mark is going to be a problem... but I'm not sure I can really talk about it." He lowered his voice as he said this, even though no one would have been able to approach him without disturbing the grass and making it obvious they were there.

Rik thought for a second longer than normal; while he made no audible sound his face had screwed up with annoyance at information he'd just been given. There had to be some way out, some loophole in the system... He racked his mind for criminal offences that could lead to a solution. He wasn't a constitutional lawyer, hell he wasn't even a lawyer full stop. Just a simple gum-shoe. "What are they like when it comes to criminal activity?" He asked after a moment conceding that the first track may lead nowhere.

"Outside of passive aggressive treatment of the away team, focused on Ivanova specifically, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with their society. I certainly haven't noticed anything below the board," Cecil returned, making a face and his voice betraying his lack of understanding for the quotation.

Rik considered the response "so there is a theory that the Commodore has done or could do something illegal by these people's standards and that could get her out... But we'd need to know more about their criminal justice system, how they treat the guilty and what dispensation is given to the monarch" he stated working through the fragmented legal knowledge he had.

"Punishments and special dispensation for monarch," Cecil repeated as he noted it in his PADD. "I think I saw a book that might have some info. How about we schedule a follow up for tomorrow, same time? I'll tell you what I find; you let me know if you think of anything else... Or bring in a JAG officer to help?"

Rik nodded slowly before remembering it was an audio only conversation. "Sounds like a plan - I'll see who I can round up in JAG and maybe we can conference again when you've dug some stuff up. If there's an option for a criminal charge to get the Commodore off the hook where monarchy is concerned and we can get her off the planet... We're looking good".

"Good, good," Cecil replied, almost absentmindedly. He'd been worried when Waterhouse had mentioned Caine's name when he'd said he could use some help or guidance, worried that her personal relationship with the man might have been coloring her thoughts, but this conversation had seemed useful, and hadn't been filled with needless questions to delay things. "Waterhouse said to try to keep the call short, less likely to be noticed. Anything else before I go?"

"Not a thing bo... good luck. I'll see who I can rustle up in JAG to help for the next time you call" he paused a second before adding "and tell Amelia the hooch was smooth and the hat fits like a dream; card was a nice touch and I'll thank her later" he concluded quickly knowing they were on the clock before cutting the call. Seemed like things were stepping up a gear and he knew what he needed to do next; find a lawyer.

=/\= End Log =/\=

Master Chief Petty Officer Rik Caine
Security Investigator/Chief of the Boat
USS Vindicator, NCC-78213-E

Petty Officer 3rd Class Cecil DuPont
Commodore's Yeoman
USS Vindicator, USS Vindicator, NCC-78213-E

 

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