Joint Duty Log - Cmdr Ivanova, Cmdr Archer, LtCmdr Dahe`el, Lt Waterhouse - "Leave Yourself Behind"
Posted on Mon Jul 28th, 2014 @ 7:01pm by Commander Amelia Waterhouse & Admiral Rochelle Ivanova & Commander James Archer
2,574 words; about a 13 minute read
Mission: In the Dark
She could hear them following her, their words encouraging her to wait longer before returning to much more than light duty on the bridge. They said that they had it under control, that Commander Archer could stand to be kept pent up a little longer, or, if she'd ordered it they'd escort him to his quarters. Rochelle wouldn't have it. Not a word of it, not even a single simple syllable, was allowed to sink in as she stormed the corridors well aware of how frail she appeared and how, quite literally, she'd been dead on a biobed not that long ago.
"Step out and you two? Stand outside with him." She ordered away the security officer standing watch and the man and woman behind her before finally coming to a halt in front of the shimmering force field that contained the devilishly handsome intelligence officer. Right behind her? The footsteps of her escorts followed suit and she paid them no mind as she studied him the way one would study a predator at the zoo. "Is there something you want to tell me, Commander?" She questioned, lifting her jaw to eye him sidelong, "particularly why you used my ship to take out two Romulan vessels and a Federation starship? Because I know I'm damn curious about the reason and could use a good bedtime story."
James, still lying on the bunk, smiled when he heard Ivanova's voice, "Rochelle, aren't you looking ravishing this evening?"
"It's Commander Ivanova, not Rochelle." An indignant snort ripped from the little woman at hurricane pace, "You're a man of action, Mr Archer, lies do not become you." She all but drawled, resting her weight on one hip, folding her arms across her chest. "Now tell me... Why did you commandeer my ship and try to start a war with thedecisionlans? Hmm?"
"Well then, please forgive me, Commander," James retorted with a sarcastic bow. "Last I checked, the Captain of this vessel was male in gender," James raised a brow and cocked his head to the side, "Is there something you're not telling us, Your Highness?"
A slender red eyebrow arched high and Rochelle's eyes narrowed a she watched his little display, "It's with regret that I inform you that Captain Landon Neyes is no longer a part of the Vindicator." She swallowed the ball of sadness that welled in her throat at such a sentence and quickly fought to gain control over the pinpricks of hurt that danced precariously along the bridge of her nose and into her eyes. "So I repeat, why did you commandeer my ship?" For once she was glad for Archer's caustic nature, it gave her a chance to recover and focus on something else.
"That is most unfortunate. Well, Skipper, you might want to pull up a chair for this one."
45 Minutes Later
"... and that is why I destroyed THREE Romulan ships and the McHenry."
Rochelle sighed and shook her head, turning away from the man in the cell. "Civil war." She mused out loud, her tongue worrying her upper lip, "I suppose I'll contact Admiral Malone, let him know of the Vindicator's position in the entire matter." She hugged her arms tighter to her, running thought patterns over in her mind as the room began to slowly spin -- at least for her. "Commander Dahe`el, Lieutenant Waterhouse," She called, pressing her combadge, "Step into the brig, please."
The Commander moved to the control panel "Don't make me regret this," she said as she issued the command for the force field to drop.
Almar stepped through the door of the brig and drew himself up to his full height, his shoulders stretching out and his frame widening.
Amelia exchanged a look with the security officer as he continued to stand just outside the brig. She directed a nod to him as she passed through the door herself. She sympathized with him, she remembered when she'd been the lowest rung when command staff blew through on a mission, during her occasional stint in starships when not assigned field work. You always did as you were told, never questioned without very good reason, and were often left in the dark with the paperwork.
She came to a stop just to one side and slightly behind the Cardassian. Amelia took in the fact that Commander Ivanova had lowered the brig's force field, and her security officer training kicked in. She evaluated escape routes, improvised weapons, and threats to the commander subconsciously even as the Intel officer in her realized that Commander Archer seems to have made his intended point to Ivanova well enough for her to take it at some degree of face value. She stood straight and waited; she was now the small fish, so wait was all she could do presently.
Looking up at her two most trusted, Rochelle heaved a tired sigh. "It seems that we've been plunged into civil war where one side is backed by Romulans." She began, gingerly stepping away from the panels and leaving Archer free, "And... There are decisions to be made that some will not agree with." The little woman paused, studying the Intel officer's face for a short moment. She knew if she chose to align the Vindicator with the Federation she'd never live to see the order through. Run for deep space and she'd be considered a coward. "The Vindicator will defend Starfleet. I'll contact Admiral Malone at once and we're to prepare to depart for his location as soon as I have it." Lucky for her, her heart was still in the good fight.
It was all Amelia could do to not sigh with relief over Rochelle's decision. When she'd found out that Vindicator hadn't been aware of recent events because of what had been happening on the Flying Spaghetti Monster forsaken hunk of ice the command team had been missing in action on, Amelia had been worried about having to handle the possibility of her friend choosing the wrong side. She certainly wouldn't have executed the petite fire kissed woman, but Commander Archer might have been ordered to do so, and Amelia was still learning about the Cardassian engineer.
"What do we want to do with crew who may not back the fleet, ma'am?" It was the first concern the wispy Intel officer had, now that she knew the commander's intentions. "I can coordinate with security... Or hand pick a team of there's any reason to be concerned about any of their loyalties," Amelia quickly volunteered.
Rochelle held her hand up to hit some imaginary pause button, "The crew of the Vindicator is loyal to her command team. I know this ship, and her crew, like the back of my hand. We don't need a brute squad. Anyone who feels uncomfortable with our current plan on action will be given the chance to leave and you will treat them with dignity. They're not criminals and we'll be long gone before they get anywhere that can cause any harm to us." She was drained, the minimal adrenaline mustered by the thought of handling Archer had already begun to filter out of her system and left devoid of energy. At forty-eight hours past resuscitation, it was a small wonder that she'd even managed to march down there to begin with. "I expect a full report on this in my hands by the end of lunch today, Commander Archer." She added, eyeballing the cocksure intel officer.
"It's already done," James replied as he handed her a PADD. "However, I have to agree with Waterhouse. There are over 1200 personnel on this ship. How well do you know every single one of them? I think a group of hand picked crew would be a really good idea, at least to protect vital areas of the ship."
Taking the PaDD, the Commander nodded and looked to the Cardassian and Pond, "Fine. With dignity and respect." She reiterated.
"As further precaution, external communications need to be locked down, sent through intel for verification, and finalized by you before transmittal. I know it seems intrusive, but we really don't need some crewman, right out of basic, wanting to make a name for himself, letting the Federation know where the fleet is located."
With a sigh, her attention snapped back to the intel officer and considered him for a long moment. "Everyone outside of the command team will have their communications monitored."
"Do we have anyone else on this ship that specializes in encryption? I'm less informed on the breaking end of it, usually just encrypting my own stuff in the field... but I can coordinate a code breaking team, in case someone tries to get something out encrypted," Amelia volunteered.
"I would also like to point out one of the other communications we received on an open channel, not too long after Malone got his message out to the fleet," the Cardassian replied as he slipped a padd out from his jacket, he'd decided to stay silent for the most part, until he had something constructive to say, "The fleet's location is hardly a secret, the Klingon Empire declared their independence and their support of Malone and Starfleet, they also declared that any ships loyal to Starfleet will find safe harbour in their space."
Rochelle swallowed hard and nodded, "If it's been put out there, they all know." She said, reaching to pinch the bridge of her nose, trying to force her growing headache to yield. "I need..." the woman shook her head as the room began to spin. "I..." again she stumbled over her tongue, looking to her advisors with confusion alight in her eyes while her vision swam, blending their faces with the lights and each other.
For the second time in mere moments, she'd come to the conclusion that she'd done too much too soon. Her body wasn't ready for the wars her mind waged against the universe. "I need..." the words once more failed her, this time ending with the sound of her breath catching and her trembling knees buckled, sending her towards the floor.
When Rochelle had started to waver, Amelia moved closer, and as the tiny commander's knees buckles and she headed towards the floor, Amelia was there to stop her fall.
"You need to rest," the willowy woman said. "I think the three of us can handle this, and keep you informed?" Amelia looked to Archer and Dahe'el, realizing she was probably speaking out of turn, but she was concerned for her friend. The two of them could chew her out later for all she cared. As long as Rochelle was somewhere she could rest first.
The Cardassian was slightly slower to react, but propped himself under Rochelle's shoulder and lifted her back to her feet, his bulk providing a very stable platform for her, "Help me get her to her quarters," Almar said as he gave a look towards the door.
"No," Rochelle shook her head, struggling against the hands that gripped her, "Not to my quarters, to my ready room. There's too much needing to be done and I need to contact Malone."
"Okay, ready room to call Malone, then you rest," Amelia insisted, scooping Rochelle up into her arms. It scared her how her friend felt like a doll. "And don't you argue with me, or I will get a doctor to declare you unfit for duty, don't make me do it." Amelia headed towards the door, not giving either man a chance to object. She only hoped they'd take the opening she gave them and get things handled while she handled the fire kissed commander.
"One last thing, Rochelle. As head of ships Intel, I'm taking charge of the ships Security forces for the time being." James looks towards Amelia, "Lieutenant, escort the Captain to her ready room, make sure she has what she needs to be comfortable. Do not let her weasle her way out of resting. Once she's settled, gather your team and post armed guards at all vital and sensitive areas of the ship, with orders to stun if necessary. For now, we have a 'no kill' order in place." James then looks to Almar, "After the Captain sends her call to Malone, I suggest radio silence until we reach our destination. If there is nothing further," James nods to the other three, "I'll be in my office." James pivots on his heals and makes his way to the nearest turbo lift, "Oh and Waterhouse, you are a member of intelligence, dress like it."
The Commander nearly shrilled as her friend effortlessly hoisted her up into a honeymoon hold, the clip holding her hair up releasing and clattering to the deckplates below. Looping her arms around Pond's shoulder's her eyes flashed murder towards Archer's retreating form. The entire ordeal was an embarrassment, rubbing her raw as she was forced to rely on others when she needed to be the strong center. "Next time I hear orders coming from him I'd better be dead and haunting this place." She all but hissed, an errant wave of red cascading across her eye. "Don't let anyone see this."
"Do you want me to put him back in the brig, ma'am?" Amelia offered with a smirk. She was a little irked by his chastising her for actually wearing her uniform. Right now, anything that keeps the wheels moving was needed, and the uniform kept the wheels moving with the other departments. They knew what to do with a person in uniform, they didn't know what to do with a spook in civies. "And unless you're gonna authorize a site to site, you're stuck with me pacing through the corridors like this. I'm not gonna risk you taking a tumble."
"Let him go." Rochelle shook her head tiredly, "It's not worth it and he's the best intel has aside from you and some upstart on the Enterprise. He knows we need him. Big mistake." She sighed, resting her head on her friend's shoulder. She knew that authorizing a site to site would cause more suspicion and raise more rumors that it warranted. Quietly she reached for Almar, "Run interference? The crew doesn't need to see me like this. I know Waterhouse can get me up there quickly and relatively quietly, but they need to be looking the other way."
"I can do one better," the Cardassian replied as he reached up and tapped his comm badge, tracing the route they would have to take to the turbolift from the brig in the air with his finger, "This is Lieutenant Commander Dahe'el. can all crew evacuate the corridors in section alpha four forward on deck 18, we're about to run tests on the environmental controls, doors will be sealed until the tests have been completed," he stated before moving to the main console and bringing up the internal sensors, double checking the route was clear before locking out the doors, "You have three minutes, turbolift three is on standby at the end of the corridor."
"Thank you." The Commander managed a smile, grateful for the effort and the consideration the Cardassian had given her. She'd praise his ingenuity later.
=/\= END LOG =/\=
Commander Rochelle Ivanova
acting Commanding Officer
USS VINDICATOR
Commander James Archer
Starfleet Intelligence
USS Vindicator Chief Intel Officer
Lieutenant Commander Almar Dahe'el
Chief Engineering Officer
USS VINDICATOR
Lieutenant Amelia Waterhouse
Infiltration Specialist
USS Vindicator
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