A Quiet Evening, Interrupted

Posted on Tue Jan 21st, 2020 @ 12:36am by Captain Alistar McKeon & Commander Isabella dei`Silvisi & Grace Winters PhD

1,252 words; about a 6 minute read

An air of calm and quiet had settled over the Endeavour, and while she agreed with the captain that vigilance should be maintained on the ship at all times, Isabella also had to admit that it was nice to finally relax for a while. She had finished the evening shift by keeping watch on the bridge while the captain relaxed and was finally ready to take the rest of the evening to do the same. As the night shift officers and crew exited the turbo lift and began to relieve the current crew who were on duty, she stood and offered the senior officer a smile and a nod. Knowing that the ship was in good hands until the morning, Isabella started towards the turbo lift with her mind already focusing on the rest of her evening. She had dinner planned, along with a few hours on the holo deck.

A beeping caught her attention just a few steps away from the turbo lift doors and she paused as the ensign at the operations station frowned. "Commander, we have an incoming transmission from Inti Colony. It's Miss Dawson, and the transmission is marked urgent."

A feeling of dread filled Isabella as she knew that someone, somehow, had managed to get into trouble on the planet already. "That certainly didn't take long," she muttered softly under her breath. Raising her voice, she continued. "Keep her on hold and prepare to route the transmission to the captain's quarters," she said. Trying to keep her demeanor calm and collected, Isabella hurried into the turbo lift and from there she went directly to the captain's quarters. Arriving at McKeon's quarters, she sighed and pressed the door chime.

Alistar was sitting on his couch, finally relaxing for the first time probably since he had assumed command of the Endeavour. He had tuned his guitar and played for nearly an hour, then showered and now he was sitting, enjoying the quiet and reading. The thought of going and enjoying some time on the holodeck was also a thought but he had a few days to decide. So naturally when the door chime rang he glanced up from his book with an instant aggravated look. He knew, didn't think but knew that there was trouble. "Enter," he said as he stood and set his book down.

Isabella entered the captain's quarters and tried to give Alistar a disarming smile. She ended up with the feeling that it was more of a simple, friendly smile that apologized for the interruption, but either way it was clearly obvious that she had interrupted the captain in the middle of his attempt to relax. Seeing the book, she clasped her hands behind her back. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, Sir, but Miss Dawson from Inti Colony is on hold for you. I haven't spoken to her; the transmission was marked as urgent and I assumed you would want to take it personally."

"The administrator?" Alistar blinked and then sighed and shook his head before he walked over to the computer console built into the wall. He could guess what had happened, but he could still hope that he was wrong. Tapping the controls, he activated the channel and the screen came to life with the image of Dawson. "Ms Dawson, please tell me this is a social call."

"I'm afraid it's not a social call," Abby began. She hesitated for a moment. "The Inti Marshall has two of your officers in custody. It seems they got into a bar fight with some civilians that were here to look over our farming techniques."

Alistar sighed heavily and he turned briefly to give Silvisi a stare before he turned back to the screen. "I'm almost afraid to ask but which officers and what are they being charged with?" he said, although he was already mentally putting a list of the potential officers in his head.

Abby looked down at her PADD. "Lieutenant Commander Jera'turak Ros and Lieutenant Commander Akira-Ri Sato. From witness reports, three men asked the women to join them, and it escalated into a bar fight."

"Oh, great," Alistar muttered as he sighed again and shook his head. "How bad are the charges?" he asked. Knowing his officers, he could guess who threw the first punch, but he would need to read the report first before he decided how to proceed.

"Is there a recording or at least a notarized transcript of the incident, Miss Dawson?" Isabella asked. She wasn't sure if such items would help in the case, indeed it could very well work against the Endeavour's officers, but she felt that the truth in its entirety should be known before any punishment was decided. Knowing the captain's feelings towards such breeches in discipline, especially among officers, she felt that someone needed to try to keep everything in balance.

"Outside of the plaza, the spaceport, and the Marine base, there are no cameras or recording devices," Abby began. "We have reports from a dozen witnesses, along with those of the five involved. I'll send them over. Right now, they're in the brig. Charges are disorderly conduct and brawling."

Alistar tapped a command into the controls on the view screen and read the text file that came up. Reading it carefully, he nodded and turned back to Dawson's image. "Were any other officers from the Endeavour present?" he asked.

"Yes. Your Kev Walker. He went to get drinks and when he returned, he was knocked out by one of the three civilians. He's currently in our medical facility. He should be released shortly."

"Very well. I'd like him to return to the ship and report to me as soon as possible. As for the other two," Alistar paused. "Are you bringing them up on charges?"

"Unless you'd rather do it," Abby said. "I can defer punishment to you. Otherwise, they can spend a week in the fields or working for the owner of the bar and grill."

"If you'll release them to my security officers, I'll conduct a full captain's mast in the morning," Alistar said. "If you would pass all information regarding the case to me, I'll review it immediately."

Abby was more than happy to let Captain McKeon deal with his officers. She had enough on her plate at the moment. "I'll have everything ready within a half hour. Once the paperwork is filed, I'll contact the ship so you can transport them aboard."

"That sounds like a plan. I'll be sure to copy my report to you as well once I'm done dealing with this situation on my end. I do apologize for the trouble this has caused you and your staff. This will *not* happen again," Alistar said, his voice a hard growl by the time he reached the end of his last sentence.

Not by his crew, but Abby was pretty sure there would be something before long. "It's fine. Being on the fringe of nowhere, things happen. I'll send the report and your officers as soon as I can."

"Thank you Ms Dawson. Endeavour out," Alistar said before he reached out and tapped the comm controls to end the transmission. Shaking his head, he sighed. "Commander, thank you. Have security bring Sato and Ros to my ready room first thing in the morning. Dismissed." As his first officer left, he sat down at his desk and activated the desktop monitor. He had some research on Starfleet regulations and a long night of little or no sleep ahead.

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