Rescue (Part 1)

Posted on Sat Jan 8th, 2022 @ 8:52am by Captain Maho Takahashi & Lieutenant Commander Tristana & Lieutenant Alisha Reno

1,654 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Christmas Vacation
Location: Security Office

It had been a couple hours since Jane had been called to the Security office and Alisha had gotten worried, so she did one of the several things she always did when she was worried… She checked the incoming reports that were routes from all over the sector. One of them, very recent, was even flagged as ‘potential smuggling operation’ with a header that described the location as being on Myogi herself. The Intelligence Officer opened it and blanched as she read the description, “No way…” She muttered, then had to stop and think for a few moments.

Just like any plan that was suddenly required, this one was put together in mere minutes, Alisha brushing down the uniform she’d just put on, making sure it was as spotless as she could make it before picking up her PADD with the requisition form on it and striding quickly to the turbolift. It was just a couple more minutes before she was walking into the security office nexus where she KNEW Lieutenant Tristana was located, her head swiveling until she saw the security chief and unerringly making a direct line towards her, “Lieutenant, ma’am, may I have a few moments of your time?” She asked in a no-nonsense voice, no trace of emotion.

"Si, senorita: (Yes, ma'am:)" The security chief responded. "What can I do for you today?"

“Thank you, ma’am.” Alisha gave a brief smile to recognize the sacrifice that Tristana was making to talk to her, but it vanished again almost immediately, “I was trying to find Lieutenant Sinclair, because I require the use of her services. I have been summoned to Earth for a classified briefing and I need a fast shuttle and a pilot to fly it.” She held out the PADD she’d brought with her, “So I was surprised when I found out that Sinclair was in the brig, ma’am, but I require her release. I have a requisition filled out appropriately, Ma’am, so if you’ll have the Lieutenant brought here, we can be on our way.”

Tristana took the PADD with the request for Jane's release on it from Alisha.

"Senorita, (Ma'am,) I'm afraid you'll have to find a different pilot:" She explained, denying the request. "Lieutenant Sinclair is being held awaiting trial on numerous charges, including treason against the United Federation of Planets. If it helps, I've heard that Fujiwara is a pretty fast boy... For a limping hunchback, that is."

Treason? Alisha raised a mental eyebrow first, nothing in the brief summary report said anything about treason or anything that could be construed as such, but she only let one eyebrow rise a fraction of an inch, “I’m certain you must be mistaken, ma’am, regardless, it’s Lieutenant Sinclair I require because of her flight capabilities.” She paused for a moment of consideration, “I would, of course, assume responsibility for maintaining her in custody for the duration of her time off the ship. The problem I have right now is timing and The Lieutenant is the only solution, ma’am. If not, I’ll need to communicate with my control officer to explain why I won’t be on time, with your presence, ma’am.”

"Well, senorita; (ma'am;)" Tristana said. "I'm sure your control officer will understand once I tell them all the things your star pilot stands accused of, and why it is a rampant security risk to release her on parole before her trial. But, it's not just me you'll be speaking to them with..."

Tristana tapped her combadge.

=A="Commander Takahashi, can you come by the security office when you have a second?"=A= She said.

=A="Of course:"=A= Came Maho's voice in response. =A="I'm on my way."=A=

"That's fine, ma'am." Alisha stated, a chill running down her spine. It wasn't a bluff that she was running about her 'control officer', just that she was expected on Earth imminently. She needed to pass a message, and there would be only one way to do it now, then hope that Captain Azalea Martine, her instructor from the Academy in all things Intelligence, was willing to help. Of course, she would, though, and then Alisha would owe her a favor. "Should we wait for the Captain before I make my own call? Or should I get Captain Martine on the line while we're waiting?"

"Commander Takahashi never liked walking in on meetings in progress." Tristana responded. "Let's wait for her."

Minutes later, Maho came through the doors of the security office.

"What seems to be the problem, Lieutenants?" She asked.

“Ma’am,” Alisha began before Tristana could speak, “I have been summoned to Earth for a meet that cannot be performed on comms due to classification, and I intended to use our best pilot to ferry myself there because of time constraints. The Lieutenant here,” She made a respectful gesture to Tristana, “Has informed me that Lieutenant Sinclair is under arrest for treason, and informed me that I cannot utilize her even if I assume responsibility for her custody in the meantime.” All she was doing was stating the situation thus far in a calm, soothing tone that didn’t place any sort of emphasis on her own, personal, feelings on the matter, “I understand the need to not allow Lieutenant Sinclair to go gallivanting about while her innocence or guilt is being determined, however my summons is rather time critical. I was about to contact my control officer when the Lieutenant summoned you, ma’am, in an effort to clear up the situation.”

Maho perked a brow, curious as to why Lieutenant Reno desperately needed Lieutenant Sinclair specifically to attend this meeting when there were pilots on the Myogi who could get the job done almost as good as her.

"You do realize Sinclair isn't the only pilot on this ship, right?" She asked. "I understand that you and her are romantically involved, but there are other pilots capable of getting the job done in a similar, if not identical capacity to Sinclair: Fujiwara, for instance; he's come a long way, and I'd certainly trust him to get me to a meeting with the Admiralty on time. I'm curious, Lieutenant, to hear your reasoning as to why you need Sinclair, and only Sinclair, for your mission to succeed."

“Yes, ma’am, in a similar but not identical capacity as Lieutenant Sinclair.” Alisha’s tone showed she was not flustered, but inside her heart began to beat slightly faster. “My reasoning for requesting Lieutenant Sinclair is is threefold, ma’am. Firstly, Lieutenant Jane Sinclair,” She emphasized Jane’s first name, “Is a very well known shuttle racer, both in and out of the Fleet, ma’am. Given my verbal order to fly to Earth immediately, I presumed that speed was of the essence. No doubt Ensign Fujisawa is a skilled pilot, but I was aware of Lieutenant Sinclair’s reputation before I made her acquaintance, where I hadn’t the Ensigns.” She took a momentary pause, “Secondly, ma’am, Lieutenant Sinclair does some maintenance and reads all reports on her small craft, so she would be aware of the best craft to use in this particular situation.” Another very slight pause and Alisha’s face broke a slight smile for a second before returning to serious again, “Lastly, and as a fringe benefit only, ma’am, as you e pointed out, the Lieutenant and I are in a relationship, it would have been nice to spend some time with her alone, ma’am. My primary focus were on my first two reasons, however, to facilitate my transport time.”

"Also, Lieutenant; it shouldn't take me getting involved to remind you that while you're on the Myogi, you answer to me, not some Academy commandant sitting behind a desk." Maho stated. "And that a member of the command staff should be first notified of any unexpected Intel-related excursions; as it stands, this is the first time, to my knowledge, that any member of the command staff has heard of this meeting."

“Yes, ma’am, I do answer to you, however I’m constrained to remind you that as far as I’m aware, I am not in the chain of command to assume command excepting in dire emergency when no other capable officer is available. This is deliberate, to cut an Intelligence Officer out of that chain, so that the information I provide you can be done without any potential corrupt bias that would put myself in some sort of advantageous position. I am intentionally put into a neutral position.” Alisha had to word things carefully, because she didn’t want to cause any further rift between the Fleet and Intelligence, though they were indeed one bad the same, “Captain Martine isn’t just the Academy’s senior Inteligence instructor, ma’am, she is also one of the senior Intelligence officers in the area and is used as a common point of contact for ships in the region. My duties aren’t just on board the Myogi, ma’am, my skill set is also one that may be called upon if they are required for investigations in my local area.” She stopped to take a breath, “And while yes, standard operating procedure is for the ship’s commanding officer to be informed of these sorts of summons, it is typically done by the requesting officer. I don’t know why you weren’t informed, ma’am, however that isn’t under my purview. I assumed that the appropriate notification was sent, because that’s the way it’s supposed to happen. If you weren’t informed, I don’t have the reason why. I’m not refusing to tell you why, ma’am, I genuinely don’t know why.”

To be continued...

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