Choice Evidence

Posted on Tue Jun 18th, 2024 @ 4:34am by Lieutenant JG Mia ‘Banshee’ Amaro & Chief Petty Officer Kozakura Kikuchi & Commander Ichika Misono

1,934 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Junichi Koyama

True to her word, Mia had jetted towards the shuttlebay under as high a speed as she could justify to make the turn. As the shuttle came in for the landing, she finally set the autopilot for the final touchdown before standing and heading towards the back hatch, triggering it to open before she popped out, the satchel over her shoulder and throwing a brief salute to the Ensign that had taken over as Officer of the Deck when she'd left the ship, her assistant. She tapped her badge, "Commander Misono, I need to see you, like right now, right now. I can't tell you how important it is over a comm."

=A=Wait, what-?!=A=

There was an audible sigh on Ichika's side of the line.

=A=Alright; meet me in my office in 10 minutes; Misono out.=A=

"I'll be there in two." Mia responded, then clicked off the comm and took off at a jog in the flight suit, holding onto the satchel as she did so. It was actually two and a half minutes before she ended up outside Ichika's office door and she settled in to wait, suddenly becoming aware that she still had her sidearm in the holster... Maybe no one would notice?

"Come in," Ichika could be heard answering.

Mia didn't pause more than the fraction it took for the doors to start to open and she was inside in a heartbeat. There was the smell of a light sweat on her as well as something else, something more martial than that.

"Computer, seal doors," Ichika ordered the moment Mia crossed the threshold into her office. "Authorization code Misono-4-0-9-Amethyst-3-Rose."

The doors slid shut with a hiss before Mia had the chance to react.

Mia glanced back across her shoulder at the sound of the sealing doors, then back over at Ichika, "Commander, ma'am-" She got cut off.

"Lieutenant Amaro, let me make one thing crystal clear," Ichika began. "Those doors are going to open on my command only, so I would advise you not to try anything funny; you and Lieutenant Sinclair are already in enough trouble as it is, heading down to the surface without our authorization and aggravating an already delicate situation. You'll be lucky to walk out of this with your Starfleet commission still intact, so I'd suggest that you don't make this any harder on yourself than it needs to be."

"Commander, it's my fault and mine alone." The pilot came to a half-attention in front of the desk, "I decided that there wasn't enough time to discuss with the rest of the staff a plan to go down to rescue Lieutenant Reno, so I blackmailed Lieutenant Sinclair into going down to the detention center with me." Mia steeled her face as she gave only a small falsehood to the matter, "And it's a damned good thing I did. When we found her, Reno had already been tortured and was 'bout to be raped, ma'am, an' I don't think they were gonna just let her go after that neither. If that means I get kicked out of the Fleet? So be it." She unslung the satchel that was over her shoulder and put it on the desk, "Did get somethin', don't know what's in there, but one of the assholes had it on him."

"And at what cost?" Ichika was quick to point out. "Did at any point you stop to consider the repercussions that your actions would have on our relations with the Gamma Zendorians? Or the fact that Lieutenant Reno was well aware of the risks that come with working in intel? Or the fact that if Lieutenant Sinclair was really being brought against her will, she could've at any point made an effort to stop you?"

"An' do you think I cared?" Mia snapped back, "Look, C'Mander, we just fired a planetary barrage at this place, goin' down there to look for Reno is a drop in the bucket compared to that. Hell, we didn't know if we were gonna even find her, but I decided to take the chance. An' you think that Jane wasn't gonna jump at the chance to go save her? A little emotional blackmail to get her to watch my back and she was putty in my hands." The pilot gave a shrug, "But I gotta question for you, Com-mand-der: Were you willing to abandon that girl on the ground just to keep from pissing them off that little bit more? I heard the call from Akagi, we knew they had her an' knowing the risks or not, if they knew she was Intelligence, YOU know what they were like to do about her. And you'da been right, Ichika, she's a bloody mess, literally."

"Except that Lieutenant Reno understood that her position could've been compromised at any time," Ichika replied. "It's just one of the risks that comes with this line of work, knowing that one day you may have to give your life in order to protect the secrets that you keep!"

"Think I don't know that? You know the average lifespan of a fighter pilot that sees combat? It's better now when there's no actual war, but unless you're really hot with a stick, you get blown outta space." Mia spat back, "Tell me to my face that you think we shoulda let Reno stay down there, Ichika. Are you truly that heartless? Don't say that she knew the risks, of course she did, we all know the risks of our jobs. Did you want her to stay in these asshole's hands?"

"Absolutely not." Ichika responded. "However, with the situation already as tense as it was, a more logical approach was required, rather than something rash and emotionally driven!"

"Rash and emotionally driven worked for me." Mia retorted, "'Sides, if I waited, she'd be dead now. Glad I did what I did, now, with respect, wanna open that up and see if what we found was worthwhile?" Mia forced a smile and gestured to the satchel.

"I assure you the evidence you have provided will be considered in your trial." Ichika said. "Until then, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney of your choosing. If you do not have a preference of attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand your rights as I have read them to you?"

"I understand and I have no preference of attorney, Commander." Mia said solemnly, "Am I gonna be under arrest, or can I go to sickbay to see how Reno is doing? I was gonna go anyways, as I said, I blackmailed Sinclair to go with me because I knew I could. My responsibility, Commander, ma'am." The use of the last word was so far out of character for her, the respect of the matter.

"We shall see to it that Lieutenants Sinclair and Reno receive the proper medical care that they require," Ichika assured her. "And I will speak with a licensed representative of Starfleet Legal Services to ensure that you are furnished with an attorney in time for your trial. Now, if that will be all, Lieutenant, I'd advise you to sit tight and wait for security to arrive, because that door's not opening until I say it is."

"Ain't goin' nowhere until you say so, Commander." Mia agreed, then smirked and chuckled, "Betcha if I went to Commander Anzai she'd be giving me a high-five right now even while waitin' for Security."

"I think you underestimate Commander Anzai," Ichika argued before the door chime alerted her to Security's arrival.

She glanced up. "Computer, unseal doors."

The door slid open and Mia had to look down at the redhead that made her way in and who glanced over at Ichika before shaking her head at the pilot, "Knew it was going to be you. Somehow, someway, I knew you were trouble. Hands."

Mia debated being funny and raising her hands up high and way out of reach of Kozakura, but instead behaved and offered the small security officer her hands, to which she expertly attached cuffs, "Tell you what, Kiki, let's make a quick stop and I'll show you what trouble can do." The Hispanic woman waggled her eyebrows.

Kiki blushed, but looked over at Ichika, "Ma'am, anything else before I take her to the brig?"

"Lieutenant Amaro did hand me this bag while we were awaiting your arrival," Ichika explained, indicating towards the satchel. "She claims to have obtained it off of one of the guards down on the surface; I elected not to open it until you got here, in case it was some sort of trap that Lieutenant Amaro might utilize to facilitate an escape."

"Is that true, ma'am?" Kiki gave Mia a nudge even as the pilot's jaw dropped open in non-feigned shock.

She looked at Ichika, then the diminutive security officer, then back, "You gotta be kidding me! I would NEVER set a trap about somethin' like this! I came straight here after getting back on board, didn' stop anywhere else. This was off the first asshole I had to shoot when we got to where 'Lisha was, looks like they were truly about to rape and get rid of her and were just cleanin' up anythin' incriminating. I have no intentions of running away, Commander, it's truly safe to open up, don't think they had any thought it would be captured."

"I'll believe that when I see it, Lieutenant," Ichika stated, before turning to Kiki. "Chief, you might want to take a step back, just in case."

Mia shrugged and stayed right where she was, so Kozakura stepped back and to the side, putting the pilot's bulk between her and the desk.

And with that, Ichika delicately undid the strings to the satchel and carefully turned it over, allowing for its contents to spill out onto her desk.

Datacards spilled out onto the table, along with a small sack that clinked like gold pressed latinum. Mia leaned over slightly to get a look at it, plus the paper notebook that fell out as well. "Well, C'mander, some of that stuff looks mighty interestin'."

"Indeed," Ichika surmised, before turning her attention to Kiki. "Chief, once Lieutenant Amaro has been locked away in the ship's brig, I want you to see about running these datacards through with an encryption specialist, see if we can decompile some of the information stored on them."

"Of course, Commander." Kiki responded, scooping up the datacards and depositing them back in the satchel, then taking Mia's elbow, "Let's go, Lieutenant."

Mia resisted briefly, but only long enough to look Ichika in the eye, "C'mander, tell the Captain that it was MY idea to go after the Lieutenant, because it was. My doin', not Jane's."

"I will make a note of your testimony for when your case is brought before a JAG, Lieutenant," was all Ichika was willing to say on that matter.

She turned to Kiki. "Take her away, Chief."

"Yes, ma'am." The short security officer exerted a bit of force to guide Mia towards the door, "Lieutenant, come with me, please." And she went, unresisting.

END:

***********
Mission Post By:

Commander Ichika Misono
Executive Officer
USS Myogi

Lieutenant Mia Amaro
Fighter Pilot
USS Myogi

Chief Petty Officer Kozakura Kikuchi
Security NCO
USS Myogi

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