Matthew Harmon
Intelligence
[TI42] Frontier's Most Malcontent Malcontent
Posts: 540 Likes: 18
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Intelligence Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Matthew Harmon on Jun 23, 2020 4:13:38 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]Judy leaned back in her chair. "Lieutenant, since, as you said, I have many problems, don't you become another one," she rebutted his point, "You can be angry about it, but at the end of the day, your illusory drinking problem is my concrete Starfleet image problem."Judy was mentally preparing to pull rank if she had to, but she didn't want to. "Now, we still need to talk about whether it truly is just an image problem, or whether I need to be worried about you personally, young man," she transitioned. "I'd rather get this talked out just between us, if that's all right with you."She could've made explicit the threat of counseling, but she chose not to. The fact was that, with his age so close to that of Gerald and Lawrence, and his anger and petulance, Matt Harmon truly reminded Judy of her kids in this moment.
Tag Matthew Harmon [First Officer's Office]"We're in the far reaches of nowhere," he exclaimed, "No one here cares about Starfleet's image, no one here will have their minds about Starfleet changed by a Lieutenant occasionally bringing a flask into his office." At this point he decided to change tack, this line of argument wasn't working. Though he wasn't too surprised, Eastman was a famously stubborn officer. "Fine," he huffed at the question about if it was just an image problem. "Yes, it is at most just an image problem. I function perfectly fine with or without a drink."
Tag: Judith Eastman
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Jun 23, 2020 4:33:58 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]Judy tapped her fingers on the desk. "If it was just a drink, sure, but we're not looking at just one drink after work to unwind, now are we?"She didn't have the need for subtext and innuendo in this case. Laying it out there was just as good. "Since you do carry a flask, I'd assume you're a regular drinker, as opposed to taking infrequent binges. Is that so?" she asked.
Tag Matthew Harmon
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Matthew Harmon
Intelligence
[TI42] Frontier's Most Malcontent Malcontent
Posts: 540 Likes: 18
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Intelligence Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Matthew Harmon on Jun 24, 2020 11:13:23 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]Judy tapped her fingers on the desk. "If it was just a drink, sure, but we're not looking at just one drink after work to unwind, now are we?"She didn't have the need for subtext and innuendo in this case. Laying it out there was just as good. "Since you do carry a flask, I'd assume you're a regular drinker, as opposed to taking infrequent binges. Is that so?" she asked.
Tag Matthew Harmon [First Officer's Office]Despite how frustrated and angry he was at this whole inquisition, he was at least relieved that Eastman spoke more literally and didn't beat around the bush too much."It depends on the day, depends on the mood. Some days I'll have a drink after work, sometimes I won't drink at all, sometimes I drink a fair bit. It entirely depends on how I feel, how thirsty I am and all that. If I need my faculties to be fully there, if I need to be fully alert I won't drink even if I want to. I am completely in control," he said honestly, or at least in his mind honestly.
Tag: Judith Eastman
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Jun 24, 2020 21:47:34 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]Judy was visibly perplexed, although not dramatically so, by Harmon's answer. "Under what circumstances do you not need your faculties to be 'fully there?'" she asked. "If you're feeling underused, idle, bored, in your current duties, I'm more than happy to find more engaging pursuits for you."Judy was sincere, and that came across in her tone and the forward-leaning posture she had assumed. The idea that an officer felt underused, or bored, in their post was a deeply undesirable one to her. While all the boring work needed doing, Judy sincerely believed that every person under her command deserved the opportunity and chance to branch out, challenge themselves, and be engaged, unless they did something to lose that. If Matt Harmon was drinking on duty out of boredom, this was a personal failure for Judy.
Tag Matthew Harmon
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Matthew Harmon
Intelligence
[TI42] Frontier's Most Malcontent Malcontent
Posts: 540 Likes: 18
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Intelligence Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Matthew Harmon on Jul 1, 2020 13:57:46 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]Judy was visibly perplexed, although not dramatically so, by Harmon's answer. "Under what circumstances do you not need your faculties to be 'fully there?'" she asked. "If you're feeling underused, idle, bored, in your current duties, I'm more than happy to find more engaging pursuits for you."Judy was sincere, and that came across in her tone and the forward-leaning posture she had assumed. The idea that an officer felt underused, or bored, in their post was a deeply undesirable one to her. While all the boring work needed doing, Judy sincerely believed that every person under her command deserved the opportunity and chance to branch out, challenge themselves, and be engaged, unless they did something to lose that. If Matt Harmon was drinking on duty out of boredom, this was a personal failure for Judy.
Tag Matthew Harmon [First Officer's Office]
Harmon rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure if she was genuine, or passive aggressively scolding him. Was she really so unaware as to his circumstances and history that she thinks she could possibly utilise him properly on this sorry excuse for a posting?
"Oh you can get my old posting back can you? You can reassign me to the Romulan frontier, the position I can best be engaged given my history and expertise? Or can you at least get me reassigned to a major fleet unit where I can actually be of use?" he said sarcastically. "No...I don't think you can. Instead I am stuck here on this worthless station in the middle of nowhere filling out entirely tedious reports about the miniscule amount of space traffic in this vacuous area, or minor political changes in fourth rate powers, or the petty crimes of two bit gangsters!" He was frustrated, angry even at the reminder of just how far he had fallen, just how underused and worthless he felt.
Tag: Judith Eastman
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Jul 2, 2020 3:09:46 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]
Judy appeared almost unfazed by Harmon's tirade, merely adjusting her glasses and leaning back when he was done. Somewhere between wartime service and 4 teenage children, she'd developed nerves of steel, seldom frayed.
"I know you'd rather be somewhere else, but if you feel underused, I can find some interesting tasks for you, believe me," she offered, his recent tirade barely registering in her courteous tone.
She paused briefly, to think of such a task. "You have a legal background, don't you?" she asked rhetorically. "I know it's less glorious and weighty work than managing spy networks on Romulus, but surely handling some of our legal caseload would be more interesting than getting buzzed before lunchtime."
Judy used to enjoy liquor herself, before she had to cut down to just the one drink. She didn't have anything against drinking. She just thought Harmon's particular habit was a little ridiculous.
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Matthew Harmon
Intelligence
[TI42] Frontier's Most Malcontent Malcontent
Posts: 540 Likes: 18
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Intelligence Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Matthew Harmon on Jul 19, 2020 5:09:44 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]Judy appeared almost unfazed by Harmon's tirade, merely adjusting her glasses and leaning back when he was done. Somewhere between wartime service and 4 teenage children, she'd developed nerves of steel, seldom frayed. "I know you'd rather be somewhere else, but if you feel underused, I can find some interesting tasks for you, believe me," she offered, his recent tirade barely registering in her courteous tone. She paused briefly, to think of such a task. "You have a legal background, don't you?" she asked rhetorically. "I know it's less glorious and weighty work than managing spy networks on Romulus, but surely handling some of our legal caseload would be more interesting than getting buzzed before lunchtime."Judy used to enjoy liquor herself, before she had to cut down to just the one drink. She didn't have anything against drinking. She just thought Harmon's particular habit was a little ridiculous. [First Officer's Office]Harmon slowly began calming himself down. It wasn't Eastman's fault. Hell, she was probably one of the better superiors he'd worked under. His anger and disdain wasn't anything personal against the Commander herself, it was at his situation, his new posting but he struggled to direct that anger properly and so often directed it at her and his superiors. He took a deep breath before replying, deciding to hear here out given that she appeared to be making a genuine effort to support him. Not that he'd openly acknowledge or thank her for that. "I do. I studied to be a prosecutor before I sought a commission when the war broke out," he nodded. Perhaps she was right. Maybe handling some casework would take his mind off things better than a drink. Or at least some of the time, enough to change things up and keep life somewhat more varied. "What sort of casework?" he asked, wanting some more details before he'd capitulate to her.
Tag Judith Eastman
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Jul 19, 2020 20:32:23 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]
"Look at that! My memory still hasn't failed me completely!" Judy exclaimed, a little self-deprecating joke at the expense of the Senior Moments to which she was predisposed nowadays. "Let's take a look at the current docket."
Judy stood up from the conference table and walked over to her desk. She retrieved a bundle of PADDs, all with a distinctive red case with white polka dots, and carried these over.
"Mabel color-codes these things for me. Her idea, too. She's remarkable," she commented as she set them down. "We have all the usual stuff, neighbor disputes, zoning on the Promenade, my conflict-of-interest forms," she skimmed the PADDs. "And then we have a few more interesting proceedings. We're still prosecuting some of the burglars from April[fn]Event: What You Seize Is What You Get[/fn], for example."
Judy handed one of the decorated PADDs to Harmon, with data on the prosecutions of Fatax, Hildi Garrett, Arnold Mercer, etc.
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Matthew Harmon
Intelligence
[TI42] Frontier's Most Malcontent Malcontent
Posts: 540 Likes: 18
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Intelligence Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Matthew Harmon on Jul 20, 2020 4:11:37 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]"Look at that! My memory still hasn't failed me completely!" Judy exclaimed, a little self-deprecating joke at the expense of the Senior Moments to which she was predisposed nowadays. "Let's take a look at the current docket."Judy stood up from the conference table and walked over to her desk. She retrieved a bundle of PADDs, all with a distinctive red case with white polka dots, and carried these over. "Mabel color-codes these things for me. Her idea, too. She's remarkable," she commented as she set them down. "We have all the usual stuff, neighbor disputes, zoning on the Promenade, my conflict-of-interest forms," she skimmed the PADDs. "And then we have a few more interesting proceedings. We're still prosecuting some of the burglars from April[fn]Event: What You Seize Is What You Get[/fn], for example."Judy handed one of the decorated PADDs to Harmon, with data on the prosecutions of Fatax, Hildi Garrett, Arnold Mercer, etc. [First Officer's Office]
Harmon wasn't expecting anything too exciting, but the prosecution certainly sounded like the least tedious option, and best suited to his skillsets. "I can take on the prosecutions. I have more experience prosecuting than the bureaucratic side, anyway," he said wording it so as to make it sound like he was doing the favour as something of an unconscious defence mechanism attempting to protect his ego. He had a quick skim of the PADD. "Has Security found anything more on if Fatax was running things or if there's a larger criminal enterprise going on?" if that was the case he would consider some sort of plea deal to get more information. Harmon was slowly becoming more comfortable here now that he was directing the conversation away from his drinking habits.
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Jul 20, 2020 18:14:35 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]
"As it stands, we haven't really been able to get much out of him," Judy explained. "His defense team is currently trying, and you'll have to forgive me for speaking layperson a little bit, they're trying to claim a sort of limited diplomatic immunity for all Ferengi businesspeople as representatives of the Alliance, which they and we know is a bunch of malarkey, but, if we can't get rid of it, we have to go to the District Courts in Cait to dispute the Immunity."
Despite being the daughter of trained lawyers, Judy was not herself a legal professional. Her main exposure to the law as an adult was her divorce, hardly a positive experience.
"In other words, they're stalling for time, and in the meantime, Fatax isn't talking. We're trying to somehow end-run around this thing without spending months with the District Court," she added.
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Matthew Harmon
Intelligence
[TI42] Frontier's Most Malcontent Malcontent
Posts: 540 Likes: 18
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Intelligence Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Matthew Harmon on Jul 21, 2020 7:40:39 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]"As it stands, we haven't really been able to get much out of him," Judy explained. "His defense team is currently trying, and you'll have to forgive me for speaking layperson a little bit, they're trying to claim a sort of limited diplomatic immunity for all Ferengi businesspeople as representatives of the Alliance, which they and we know is a bunch of malarkey, but, if we can't get rid of it, we have to go to the District Courts in Cait to dispute the Immunity."Despite being the daughter of trained lawyers, Judy was not herself a legal professional. Her main exposure to the law as an adult was her divorce, hardly a positive experience. "In other words, they're stalling for time, and in the meantime, Fatax isn't talking. We're trying to somehow end-run around this thing without spending months with the District Court," she added. [First Officer's Office]
Harmon contemplated his options for a moment. "The Ferengi code of honour looks down on outright theft, I could play that up," of course they had a far more limited definition of theft and illegal enterprises than the Federation, but breaking into a bar would probably fit. "Diplomatic immunity needs two basic things for it to work. It must be shown that Fatax was on this station as a representative of the Ferengi Alliance, and the Ferengi Alliance must claim diplomatic immunity. If they stay silent Fatax can probably stall, but if we get the Alliance to formally repudiate his claim then it can't hold up," he explained, "If we prove he was running a criminal syndicate and ban all associated persons from doing business on this station then if the Alliance chooses to pursue immunity they can be classed as associated and we can stop them doing business here, which is not good for business. We're lucky, Fatax isn't that rich, if we can make sure it's not profitable for the Alliance to defend him then we can force them to repudiate immunity and we can get on with quickly prosecuting him."
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Jul 21, 2020 14:15:12 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]
Judy allowed herself a pleased, almost maternal smile. She could tell Matt Harmon was going to have a... better than his usual time with this. "I look forward to the legal team meeting on Thursday, then. 1500 hours, at Conference Room 3," she said. "But, unfortunately, I'm not done torturing you just yet."
Judy adjusted her glasses and leaned forward in her chair.
"I've heard rumors, or allegations if you'd rather, about yourself and Ensign Hudson... as a couple," she addressed the awkward issue. "I have my personal opinions, but from a strictly professional perspective, if this is true, then I'd like to see all the proper paperwork filed."
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Matthew Harmon
Intelligence
[TI42] Frontier's Most Malcontent Malcontent
Posts: 540 Likes: 18
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Intelligence Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Matthew Harmon on Jul 22, 2020 12:38:38 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]Judy allowed herself a pleased, almost maternal smile. She could tell Matt Harmon was going to have a... better than his usual time with this. "I look forward to the legal team meeting on Thursday, then. 1500 hours, at Conference Room 3," she said. "But, unfortunately, I'm not done torturing you just yet."Judy adjusted her glasses and leaned forward in her chair. "I've heard rumors, or allegations if you'd rather, about yourself and Ensign Hudson... as a couple," she addressed the awkward issue. "I have my personal opinions, but from a strictly professional perspective, if this is true, then I'd like to see all the proper paperwork filed." [First Officer's Office]Harmon was preparing himself to be dismissed once Eastman gave him the time to report in for the legal meeting, but was soon hit by yet another accusation, this one with even less merit. Her mention of torture was probably meant as a joke, but it really felt more like an extra stab in the gut. A quite accurate description of this conversations turn. "There is absolutely no truth or basis to those accusations whatsoever!" he declared angrily and with gesticulation. And if they were you can get fucked with your paperwork, anyway. None of your business. He'd had some experience of what happens when Command Staff gets involved with relationships before. Indeed, that was how he ended up on this worthless station. "Chloe...Ensign Hudson," he corrected himself quickly, that can't look good, "Is my subordinate. I have two officers in my department, and she is the only one capable of any job. She is a skilled officer who I can see rising quickly through the ranks. I spend a lot of time with her because my department is so small and so I rely on her. I respect her skills and ambition and so I give her more responsibiliies than most ensigns because I know she can handle it. There is absolutely nothing going on!"
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Jul 22, 2020 19:56:08 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]
Judy sat unflinching through Harmon's anger. Being a mother to three boys, her assessment was that he was lying, but at the same time, she didn't find the rumors to be too credible. No, she could absolutely see Matt Harmon pursuing this relationship, but Chloe Hudson? No, she had a hard time seeing Chloe Hudson trying to sleep her way up the ranks, or dating with such an age gap. Harmon, as a corollary to that thought, didn't seem like the type to force himself on a subordinate, so there was either a willing (but problematic) relationship or none at all.
All things considered, Judy was of two minds. "She's very capable, I'd agree with that," she stated calmly. "But she's also young, and impressionable. She's practically a child... well, to me, you all are, but her more so than, say, you. Dating, not dating, it's kinda your job, and mine, to foster and develop her skills as an officer, and as a member of the workforce."
Judy adjusted her glasses.
"For someone like her, there is a sort of informal mentor role that exists almost of its own volition, and you, as it were, you are in this role by default. You have to figure out for yourself if you're... if you're there," she said.
There were words left unsaid, like "maturity" and "have your cake and eat it too". Judy couldn't level with a subordinate officer the way she would with her own sons.
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Matthew Harmon
Intelligence
[TI42] Frontier's Most Malcontent Malcontent
Posts: 540 Likes: 18
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Intelligence Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Matthew Harmon on Aug 3, 2020 6:37:55 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]Judy sat unflinching through Harmon's anger. Being a mother to three boys, her assessment was that he was lying, but at the same time, she didn't find the rumors to be too credible. No, she could absolutely see Matt Harmon pursuing this relationship, but Chloe Hudson? No, she had a hard time seeing Chloe Hudson trying to sleep her way up the ranks, or dating with such an age gap. Harmon, as a corollary to that thought, didn't seem like the type to force himself on a subordinate, so there was either a willing (but problematic) relationship or none at all. All things considered, Judy was of two minds. "She's very capable, I'd agree with that," she stated calmly. "But she's also young, and impressionable. She's practically a child... well, to me, you all are, but her more so than, say, you. Dating, not dating, it's kinda your job, and mine, to foster and develop her skills as an officer, and as a member of the workforce."Judy adjusted her glasses. "For someone like her, there is a sort of informal mentor role that exists almost of its own volition, and you, as it were, you are in this role by default. You have to figure out for yourself if you're... if you're there," she said. There were words left unsaid, like "maturity" and "have your cake and eat it too". Judy couldn't level with a subordinate officer the way she would with her own sons. [First Officer's Office]"With all do respect," he said through gritted teeth, "You're wrong. She is not practically a child. She is a Starfleet Officer, one of the more competent ones on board this station, and she deserves to be treated as such, not treated or coddled like a child, Commander." A lot of people seemed to see Chloe as a child, which irked Harmon who tried to treat her as he would any other officer bellow him. Well that wasn't entirely true, he had a respect and fondness for her he didn't have for many others. But he certainly never treated her as a child, or made an untoward advances. "I am aware of what my role is meant to be, and I do my best to fulfil it. I am not sleeping with her, or whatever you are implying."
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