Senior Staff Briefing - A lot to discuss

Posted on Sun May 19th, 2024 @ 11:45am by Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson & Captain Gary Taylor & Commander Kyle Reece & Commander Sthilg & Lieutenant Colonel Azhul Naxea & Lieutenant Commander S'hib & Lieutenant Commander Alicia Kelea-Salik & Lieutenant Commander Rin & Lieutenant Anna Esquivias & Lieutenant Thor Magnus & Consul Andrinn Orin & Lieutenant N'vok Holv & Lieutenant JG Miraj Derani

Mission: Season 6: Episode 4: Memory Lane
Location: Briefing Room
Timeline: MD-3 days 8h00
3471 words - 6.9 OF Standard Post Measure

Phoenix looked around at the gathered officers. She knew the past few weeks had been rough on all of them. Their combat with the Thai'hea was weeks behind them, yet issues from the rescues still bubbled.

She stood and waited a beat before speaking. "Sensors have detected a massive nebular ahead and from the readings, we believe there is a planet or two within it. I have instructed our helm to make for it. We have been granted permission to jump to warp 5 for longer periods of time, which we thank our engineers for. I would also like to thank Lieutenant Esquivias for agreeing to take on the Operations Team. Now, we have a few other issues to discuss, and I know most of you have opinions on the fact that we have a Cardassian Gul on board, and I would like you all to take a deep breath and one by one, I will listen to you all. And I would like to remind each and everyone of you, that we are all being held to the same laws as you would like to hold the Gul to."

She passed out PADD's with the Gul's file on it.

Now that Gary was back in his position of XO, Kyle had moved back to his seat as Chief Tactical Officer. While the past several months had been a rollercoaster of stress, he felt that he had done as good a job as he was able in the many different seats he had occupied.

Picking up the PADD, he glanced through it, to see if there was anything new. He then placed it down and waited for the others to speak.

Back from his time in sickbay, Gary sat in his customary seat. He looked over the PaDD containing the Gul's file and sat back. It seemed to be the standard Cardassian fare. More importantly the Elysium had found another orphan in its long journey home. He looked about the room, waiting to hear how the others felt.

"The Gul is a high security risk," Rin stated matter-of-factly. "The Federation was the enemy when he was last in the Milky Way, and he is not a man who changes his mind easily on such matters. While we are likely his only way home, that will not stop him from gathering intel on us. He will undoubtedly being making contingency plans in case things do not go his way, as well as plans to enact against us - the enemy - once we get him where he wants. He is old school Obsidian Order. He can play the long game. He will try and turn us on each other. He will make use of every piece of information we give him."

"I strongly recommend keeping him confined to quarters," Rin continued. "We have the legal right. There is a warrant for his arrest. But if we're going to let him walk around, I recommend at least 4 security guards on him at all times. Two can be too easily overcome, and in a moment of distraction he could too easily slip away. The moment he gets loose on this ship he will become a high priority threat."

"This is not today's Cardassian. This is one from 2373. He sees us as the enemy, and it is folly to not see him as the same." With that, Rin waited to see what someone would say next.

N'vok reviewed the information, "In general, I must agree with Commander Rin. This Cardassian is listed as a war criminal in our records and should be confined as such. But we do need to learn what, if anything, he has learned about the slavers and local space."

S'hib sat there listening to Rin and then N'vok with a frown that you could cut Dilthium with, it was not a pretty sight.

"He should be in my brig," He huffed as he tossed the PADD down, fearing that if he held onto it any longer he would snap it in half. "Period!"

He shook his head, wrestling with the colourful words dancing on the tip of his tongue. This shouldn't have even been up for debate he thought.

"He might be a war criminal. But, even war criminals still get their day in court. I concur with keeping him under wraps, but as Commander Rin said, he might try to gather information on us. Why can't we do the same with him? I'm not saying to do anything unethical, but to learn more about pre-Dominion War Obsidian Order could be valuable information for the Federation, I'm sure that there's plenty that we don't know about the Order," Andrinn put in when there was an available opening.

Sthilg was tapping his artificial arm on the table again and again. It was very itchy. " Is he aware of what happened to the Cardasssssian union sssince his abduction?" he enquired.

"That's a good question. I don't see anything about how much he knows about the current situation within the Alpha and Beta Quadrant. Do we know how much he knows?" Andrinn asked as he looked through the PADD that provided with the Gul's information.

"Logically, we can ask him," said N'vok "Equally logically, he has no reason to believe reports of Cardassia's fall or the Dominion War. If one had not experienced it first hand, it would seem . . . improbable." He tapped the datapad. "While he certainly knows of the Dominion, the rest would likely seem like a fantasy concocted to try and deceive him into revealing State secrets."

"I suggest we give him access to the general history and information files, he can make of them what he wants," continues N'vok, "and confine our questioning to what he knows of the local sector. He has every reason to want to help us escape the Slavers and their allies."

Alicia sat listening to everyone’s comments. “This is a difficult situation for everyone. Emotions are running high, and that doesn’t help either. It would probably be best to keep the Gul confined for his own safety, if nothing else.”

Kyle spoke up, looking over at Sthilg. "When the Commodore and I visited him in sickbay, with S'hib, we gave him a PADD that contained the current state of Cardassia, after he vanished. So, he does know. Now, whether he believes what we've told him," He shook his head once. "That's a different story. I do concur that, as a war criminal, who has a legal warrant out for his arrest, we need to play this very carefully. While he has no allies on this ship, we don't know whom he has in this galaxy. We need to ensure that he is living in a box, where he can't reach outside Elysium. Then," he paused a beat, "A decision needs to be made. Do we hold him in confinement for the rest of our journey? Or do we hold him over for trial for his crimes? Not taking away from the JAG personnel we have aboard, however, are they experienced enough to judge a war criminal of his caliber? Will they be able to bring the Bajoran people the legal justice that they deserve?"

"As a diplomat, I don't even think that I have the ability for that kind of justice. But, we don't want some sort of vigilante justice either," Orin said, feeling the emotions of the room.

"Putting the prisoner on trail here would be a breach of his rights, he would have no ability to mount a proper defense and to provide information or witnesses," says N'vok. "As inconvenient as it is, I believe any trial will have to await il our final return to Federation space."

Which was a valid point. Phoenix looked towards their Marine CO. "Colonel. Your thoughts?"

It was visibly obvious that Naxea was doing her best not to scream at each person in the room. Just the thought of the man walking the corridors of the Elysium enraged her. "You want my thoughts? Kill the bastard. Now. He's as evil as they come. This...man...led a death squad, that not only was merciless against Bajorans, but he is also responsible for killing my father and torturing and raping my mother in which she conceived a child from, unknown to him. Might as well kill him now because of he somehow does make it back to Bajor, he certainly won't live long enough to stand trial."

“What do we tell crew members?” Thor asked. “I just want to be clear on everything.”

Phoenix held up a hand stopping Thor's question and focused on Azhul. "Colonel, I understand your reasons, I have read the file backwards and forwards. I have read everything about the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor and I fully agree that a trial would probably a waste of time if he was on Bajor.
But, We are not Judge Jury and executioners."

Her gaze swept across the Senior staff. "We have already dealt with people being accused and considered guilty." Hanging there unsaid was the words that, it had been a major clusterfuck which ended with the then chief of security and assistant chief in a lot of trouble.

Her gaze lingered on S'hib for a moment then moved to the next officer. "We all know what happened to the last person accused of a crime on this ship. I do not want a repeat of it. And to be frank, a Warrant is not a guilty verdict. And while I believe you Colonel,"

Phoenix's gaze returned to the Bajoran. "You are one lone witness. A trial needs to balanced. He will have no one to speak on his behalf. It would be what humans call a Kangaroo Court. And I personally refuse to allow any of my crew to be apart of that. And should anyone on this vessel see it fit to attack the Gul for any reason, I will have them in the brig so quickly they will wish they had not done so." there was the warning.

"We will tell the Crew that he is a rescued Gul, who due to concerns for his safety, he will be kept under guard. 6 guards will suffice for each shift. Commander S'hib, You will make sure all of your officers maintain the proper standard as per the Federation Law."

S'hib glanced at Naxea, his gaze brief enough that she didn't notice. "Yes, Ma'am..." He said, the words leaving a very bitter taste in his mouth.

"He will be granted the ability to visit Civilian based areas and his computer access is locked to basic Level. Avalon is watching his usage. And she is watching everyone's interactions with him." Phoenix added at the end.

Gary had listened in silence as one after another the senior staff had spoken on Desek, The consensus was to keep him locked up and away from the crew. An opinion he could identify with. However, the commodore felt differently and while he understood her desire to be fair, he was usure anything positive would be gained. "You have made your orders crystal clear Commodore. No one will disobey them."

"Commodore, I would like permission to interview Desek to see if he can provide any insight into the Slavers and the various groups that the Slavers interact with," said N'vok.

"We already have someone set to debrief him," Rin said.

Alicia looked towards Phoenix. “Commodore I’d like to speak with Desek, Given the changes to Cardassia since his incarceration he may need someone to talk to. I also want to speak with you Colonel,” she looked towards Naxea. “Given these events I’m not making it a request, it’s compulsory.”

"I am so sick of you wanting to coddle a murderer and rapist!" Naxea stated, slamming her hand down hard on the table. "Don't tell me you understand how I feel or that you understand the Occupation of Bajor by reading a damn PADD!" Naxea moved and headed for the door.

Phoenix did not stop her. Instead she said "Everyone has a right to believe I am wrong but disobey the orders given, and you know the consequences. Do not become what you hate Colonel. Do not give him the satisfaction of being right about the Bajoran people."

"As if he'd be right even if she had killed him!" S'hib snorted angrily as he stood, rocking the conference table as he did so, he had heard quite enough from the Commodore.

"Make no mistake, I will follow my orders, Commodore, to the letter!" S'hib bellowed the universal translator struggling to mask the loud guttural tone of his native tongue.

Then his voice dropped, pausing to scoop up his PADD. "But I wouldn't have those orders if he wasn't what he is... And you know it, all of you do!" he scowled, pointing his PADD at everyone seated.

Another intensely awkward moment passed and he gave one last disappointed look at Phoenix before bulldozing his chair out of the way and walking after Naxea, muttering Sequellian obscenities as he approached the door.

Alicia rubbed the bridge of her nose. With the high emotion in the room, and aboard the ship in general it was difficult to block it all out. One thing was for certain she had her work cut out for her, especially where Naxea and S’hib were concerned.

Miraj had watched the exchange, see the tension of everyone caught between opposing beliefs and desires, and contemplated everything that had transpired in the last few weeks, and a theory had formed. She raised her hand. "Ma'am, I think there's something else we should consider about all of this."

“I trust this crew,” Thor added, “Let’s listen to the boss and at the end of the day, we will succeed.”

Phoenix would deal with the Colonel and the Chief of Security later but now she looked at Miraj. "Go on Lieutenant Derani. "

Miraj took a deep breath, "Well, i think this whole situation has just had too many coincidences. All the people we've met just happen to be from our part of space, and just happen to have connections to us? An alien species raiding our galaxy for three hundred years and Starfleet kept that a secret?"

Miraj shook her head. "Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead, because only dead men tell no tales. If you stack up all the coincidences we saw in the few hours we were on that planet? Well, i think if I typed it out on that screen," she waved at the large view screen on the wall. "I think I'd run out of screen before I ran out of zeros, even with small type." She gave a shrug. "Its beyond reality. So I don't think this is real. Nothing's been right since we got that thing out of the junkyard. What if we're all caught in some sort of hallucination? A virtual reality trap where something messes with us by dredging up our pasts? So maybe what we do with Desek doesn't matter, because he isn't real. None of the last few weeks are real."

"Well, the crew has seemed to have heightened emotions since we were snatched out of our own galaxy. Everyone has been on edge and that includes harming one of the crew too. While it would have to be investigated, what Miraj says might have a bit of weight and cause people to become....a bit more hostile than usual. that's why I don't want to see vigilante justice onboard, no matter the justification," Orin replied, watching as everything unfold.

Gary looked at Miraj, "Are you serious? I take that back, let me rephrase. You can't be serious. All we've experienced is a dream. The collision with the filament, the damage to the ship, the dead. Lia being placed in stasis." Gary shook his head, "Sorry Miraj, I don't buy it."

"Not the collision," Miraj insisted. She was pretty sure that was real. And everything that had come just after. "Just everything from when we picked up that device. When everyone's dreams started going nuts. It was after that all the co-incidences started piling up in insane numbers."

"Even if such were true," says N'vok, "which I would say there is compelling evidence against, we would still be bound to act in a moral and proper fashion. I have no reason to believe that any of the charges leveled against our Cardassian guest are untrue, but he still deserves the presumption of innocence and the quest for truth our legal system is built around."

"I think the thing that worries me is that, just like the bad dreams recently, our emotions could be as easily manipulated by a species like the slavers. The slavers put up a fight when we took some of their slaves, but not as much as it appears they could have. Why is that? Could it be due to the fact that they already know something about us through the species they've taken and they could be using our emotions to manipulate us? Miraj might be onto something, even if it's something that could be explained a bit differently," Orin offered up, trying to think of a few scenarios.

"I think what we all need to do, is stop from becoming paranoid. I was ill during the last mission. So, I'll need to read the reports on it. However, some plausible reasons for the slavers not putting up the fight that was expected is they have something else waiting for us. Or it is already on board with the number of prisoners that were rescued." Gary spoke from his place at the table.

"Or the slavers didn't put up a fight because we did nothing to warrant such," Rin said. "A third party set off multiple explosions on their station and significantly damaged or destroyed what may have been their long-distance method of transportation. We, on the other hand, rescued a handful of slaves. They were responding to the bigger threat, and that wasn't us."

"Lieutenant N'Vok work with Lieutenant Derani around this, Lets make sure okay?" Phoenix took a breath. "Counseling has reviews coming up so please make sure your teams are going to counseling and medical. With that, dismissed."

Getting up from her seat Alicia couldn’t help but wonder if Miraj was onto something. Hopefully she was wrong or there’d be a whole ship full of people in need of speaking to a counsellor, there were quite enough already.

Kyle rose as well. He couldn't believe what had just occurred, between Naxea and S'hib's outburst, and young Miraj's statement. He had been toyed with before, by the Q itself. To this day, he could still remember each time he had been killed and brought back to life. There was no way that this was a simulation. This was real life. He made his way out to his station on the bridge and took over from the young ensign that had been manning it.

Anna rose. She was a little embarrassed she had had nothing to contribute. She knew she was qualified but it was taking her some time to find her feet here. Everything was very new and she had been slightly taken aback by the intensity of the discussion. Feelings were clearly still running very high.

Andrinn sat for a moment and didn't know what to do or even think at the moment. He just wanted everything to be okay and for the ship to be back in its own quadrant. After several people made their way out of the briefing room, Andrinn got up and and made his way down to his office. He wanted to figure this out...whatever it was.

OFF

OOC Desek's File
Born on Cardassia to a prominent military family in 2337. He attended the military academy on Cardassia from 2354-2358. Served as a Tactical Officer aboard the CUS Terak from 2258-2362 where he participated in several battles against Starfleet in the Border Wars. In 2362, he was recruited by the Obsidian Order due to his service and family connections. Most assignments during this time are classified by the Cardassian Union. He led an intelligence gathering team on Bajor in 2366-68. During this time, it is unknown how many Bajoran died or disappeared due his actions but he quickly became feared among the Bajoran people. Two years after the Cardassian Union withdrew from Bajor, he was given his own command, the CUS Dertak in 2370. The Dertak was assigned to border patrol and Intel gathering missions. The Dertak was believed to be destroyed and all crew killed in 2373.

Desek had a wife, Seliak who he married in 2369. Unknown to him, he is the father of Colonel Azhul Naxea's half brother Dajeem.