Post by Isaiah Quinn on Sept 30, 2020 23:59:54 GMT
[ LT(JG) Joshua Niles - Battle Bridge, USS Mac ]
[...]
"Ma'am, I think Doctor Baker is right, we have to be careful. And even if we do have to work with the Nyberrite Alliance, we can't afford to really trust them either. With all respect to Lieutenant Quinn, it doesn't matter if Banks was acting alone or on orders from Vasser. A foreign government would blame Starfleet as a whole if one of our officers got caught red-handed sabotaging one of their ships, and they wouldn't make any distinctions between the officer in question acting independently or under orders. I don't think we can afford to do anything except pursue the matter to the fullest extent of every possible law and regulation. Not unless we want to tell the Nyberrites, and everyone else, that we, and by extension, all of Starfleet, will just let them get away with that sort of things."
[...]
"Ma'am, you're not the only one who dropped the ball here. We all underestimated just how willing, and how ruthless they were willing to get. I thought the security measures I suggested would have been enough, they weren't. And now, we have personnel on that station that we need to recover, and I would strongly against docking with them again, or even get within transporter range. We should recover them by shuttle, preferably remotely controlled."
[Battle Bridge, USS Mac]
K'Dex let his ears perk forward again, more comfortable with the settling of everyone elses nerves. "I will state, there was little danger of the transports in my opinion, but I'm more comfortable with the transporter system than most. Using the internal transporters means they have all of our safety settings, including scanning a clear area for transport each time. With that said" K'Dex raised a paw to finish, knowing that his thoughts would not be shared by the commander, let alone most of the others.
"With that said, I do disagree with having saboteurs during a training sim, unless the option was broached beforehand. I still don't have a clear idea of what happened in Engineering, but it seems to have been harmless. I don't like that someone was able to get in there though, and have more access than they did. I'll have more details once I examine it myself. As far as retrieving our crew, I would rather the shuttle be piloted. Considering how knowledgeable of our technology they are, I'd rather someone had eyes on the shuttle the whole time. If we're feeling quite defensive, I feel more than confident in transporting our crew from a shuttle, and not having it near the station at all." K'Dex wasn't quite sure how opinions were faring towards him at this moment, as he felt that the transporters being used in such a way was on him, let alone the chaos of whatever had happened in Engineering. It was part of his specialty, and he didn't bother to lock them out completely for the sake of convenience. Perhaps he just wasn't seeing this in as dangerous of a way as everyone else, and he should be. Either way, the paperwork after this of his analysis and failures would not be pleasant. Speaking of that, he'd need to make personal apologies to the transported persons... Quite an unpleasant evening in store.
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - Battle Bridge, USS Mac]
Judy settled in her chair once again and listened. There were diverse opinions on her bridge, and she liked that. She thought a few of them were naïve, but she liked that.
"Mr. Niles, the first rule of command is that the buck stops here. I delegate, because I trust all of you, but at the end of the day, every operation is my responsibility. We all should look to ourselves to how we might have done better, but as the officer in charge here, the buck stops with me. If Banks had managed to beam someone heavier-set into that weapons locker, the condolence calls would have been mine to make. That's how it is," she first addressed the matter of responsibility with a calm tone, seeking to educate her junior crew about these principles. Especially for those of them who had eyes for command, as she knew Joshua Niles to have, it was an important lesson.
"More saliently, gentlemen, you're right, we do need to be careful, but we also don't want to humiliate our crew as they leave. Let's send the Captain's Yacht, with everything but its navigational computer in a diagnostic," she responded materially to K'Dex and Niles. "Ms. Aravis, why don't you take point on that?"
Judy took a long sip of her decaf, relishing the caffeinated goodness.
"Mr. Quinn, you're absolutely right that it would be reckless and wrong to blame the entire Nyberrite Alliance. That being said, I know, from my kids, the tone that Ms. Vasser took with us. It's the attitude of someone who's very proud of something they just did that was wrong, and who thinks they're going to get away with it," Judy assessed, drawing on her rich experience as a mother of four. "We shouldn't blame the entire outfit, and we needn't be hasty, but I'll eat my glasses if Vasser didn't sign off on the infiltration."
She took off said glasses and began to gently clean the large lenses.
"I don't know whether Vasser signed off on every dangerous detail, but she's shown this lack of moral scruples, and we can't afford to overlook that when we get back home, either," she added.
Judy wanted to make her own perspectives heard, but not to smother the conversation. She sought not to charge headfirst at any perspective, but to build constructively.
[Battle Bridge - USS Mac]
[...]
" I know that this isn't the end of this matter and that we'll need to investigate fully. Might I suggest we start that now as we prepare to recover our crew and question Miss Banks and perhaps return to the normal Bridge, now that the simulation is over".
Thea knew that they could talk and talk about this for hours perhaps days and that was likely to happen but they also needed answers if they were going to sit down with the Alliance to discuss this and decide how their relationship was going to work in the future.
Isaiah listened as the debate unfolded among them all on the Bridge. He admittedly found himself intrigued by Commander Eastman's decision to discuss this all so openly. Typically, such a conversation was reserved for Senior officers. Granted, Isaiah still see himself completely in that light. Of course, that didn't diminish the contributions of all that participated in the conversation. He could see that K'Dex was more concerned about the 'how' rather than the 'what.' He seemed inclined to reserve most of his judgement until he could determine exactly what had been done and how the transporter systems had been accessed.
Lt. Niles made some valid points. This wasn't something that they could just let pass. Isaiah certainly understood that. And given that Banks was a Federation citizen, if this is what the JAG officer decided to pursue then, so be it. "I certainly agree that there should be consequences," Isaiah began, "however, I think we should keep perspective that our... relationship with the Nyberrite Alliance is bigger than this moment. Banks is a Federation citizen, and where she's concerned, we're well within our rights to prosecute. However, the Alliance itself is different. Any conflict pursued with them directly becomes more political than criminal."
The issue of Vasser was still one that Isaiah personally felt that he needed more information on. Somehow, having served with the woman, he wasn't ready to admit that she could be this reckless or merciless. Not in a training exercise, and not against the banner she had once proudly flown. Yet, his feelings weren't the determining factor in this scenario. The facts were. As Thea made the suggestion that they return to the main Bridge, essentially tabling the discussion for the time being, Isaiah turned his attention towards attention towards locking down his station to await formal orders.
Tag: K'Dex, Joshua Niles, Judith Eastman, Thea Baker