Military Intelligence!

Posted on Fri Dec 11, 2020 @ 1:51am by Lieutenant JG Finchley Kerr & Commander Ajani Carter

Mission: Episode 1: On Stranger Tides
Location: Captain's Readyroom
Timeline: MD 03
2205 words - 4.4 OF Standard Post Measure

The Devils Brew had just arrived, the larger ship was going to be doing a detailed investigation of the attack ship and will remain on station for a few days getting more readings about the black hole and the creatures that called it home. The Eagle was due to continue on, Carter was disappointed that they couldn't stay and investigate the creatures further, but they were not kitted out to mount such an expedition. The Devils Brew had aboard a number of specialized runabouts so they would be able to get much closer.

"Anyway" she muttered to herself coming out of her reprieve. There were a dozen open screens floating above her decks, she was expecting her two arrivals, the Eagle's Intelligence Officer and the ships new Chief of Engineering and CoB.

Man he was dog tired...felt like he hadn't slept in what felt like forever...in fact, he was sure that sleep was a myth, dreamed up by people who wanted everyone to think there was comfort at the end of the day. Simple answer was, there wasn't, at least, not for Finchley Kerr...the universe had once again conspired to ensure he had cramped uncomfortable 'quarters' [ha, that was a joke!], unable to stretch out length wise or vertical. Now he had to report into his new posting...which was the...was the..."EAGLE!" he said out loud, snapping his fingers at the same time. An Ensign who had at that point drawn level with him shrank against the wall, believing that they were about to be attacked.

"Shorry" was the sound that came out of his mouth as he held up his hands in apology at scaring the unfortunate Junior Officer..."I mean slorry" he tried to correct himself..."Oh, man....I mean SORRY" he finally got out, then shrugged his shoulders and continued on his way. Eventually, he found his way to the room he was meant to be at. Looking down at his crumpled uniform, he could only imagine the scarecrow sight he must have looked like. Licking his fingers, he tried in vain to smooth out some creases, but in the end gave up. He reached forward and pressed the door chime and waited for an answer.

As the door chimed Carter closed the screens before her, leaving only the desktop controls which hovered an inch or so above the table. Everything was holographic, only the desk and chair were real. Well, her consoles were holographic at any rate.

"Come in" she said, the screen on her door showed it to be her new Intelligence Officer.

The doors opened quicker than he was ready for them to do so and Finchley kind of fell through them as he'd been leaning to get a little support, believing he'd be waiting a few moments for an answer. The fall forward became a faint, and the faint became trip and the trip became an elongated stumble and the elongated stumble ended in a ram against the desk, followed by a groan and an "Oh ya fuuuuuu...I mean...that hurt!"

Looking up, Finchley straightened the best he could, considering the pain he was feeling, which really wasn't straight at all and said "Lieutenant Junior Grade Kerr Sir, your new Intelligence Officer, reporting in from that awful bloody shit heap that brought me here, aptly named funnily enough, The Devils Brew."

Carter and Starfleet Intelligence were not on good terms, as a general rule she distrusted them. Then again it was also possible that once one reached command level they find that SFI are not as useful a department as they should be. That said they did have the intelligence she needed and the only way to access that information was by having a line level officer aboard.

"The Devils Brew is a fine ship Lieutenant" She was maybe a little cold with him, "As is her commander." She swiped her hand over her desk and the interface disappeared. Ajani sighed, "Take a seat Kerr, can i offer you a cup of coffee?"

~Does it come with frost~ he thought to himself. "I prefer to stand Sir, if it's all the same with you" Finchley replied "and I'll take an cup of Kona please" he finished.

Carter nodded and tapped on her seemingly plain desk, before them both resolved a steaming cup. Her was a blend of tea from the Trill home world that she found rather tasty. "Let me start, I am Commander Carter, the CO of the Eagle, my past experiences with SFI have not been happy ones. I am going to assume that you have meet this kind of resistance before and i really hope you understand that as far as i am concerned you are a member of my crew. I need to know that i can relay upon you to put this ship and crew first."

She looked at him expectantly at him, they had much to discuss.

"I'm Lieutenant Junior Grade Kerr, Commander..." Finchley began his reply "...and yes, you're not the first Starfleet Command Officer to" ~how had she put it~ "show resistance to my department section being on their ship. As we're being frank by the sounds of it Sir, I can assure you that my first priority is, and always will be, to Starfleet Intelligence, the department I serve within, and they will always come first. However, as a current serving member of your crew as well, I will do the very best job I can to serve in the capacity for which I've been sent here."

Finchley understood the reluctance of trust that Starfleet Officers had towards the Intelligence community, however, it was that Intelligence community that also allowed Starfleet Officers and crew to sleep safe and sound at night because it was they who, the vast majority of the time, kept the boogey man from the door. They were the one's who served as the souls of the damned and who knowingly went into situations to keep the Federation and it's citizens safe realising they may not return alive or return at all. They were never thanked, the vast majority of the time they were never trusted, yet they were still willing into hell to put their lives on the line for everyone else's sake.

"How can I serve you Sir?" he asked.

"Sit Kerr" she said with more warmth in her voice. "Now that is out the way I want you to know that i do understand the position you are in. I also thank you for your candor. You, no doubt have your own duties from SFI. As for what you will do on the Eagle, well you understand our mission I shall need intelligence which to act upon. There is a great deal we do not know and the Union is not being helpful in that sense. As for the Eagles crew, they are off limits to your investigations unless I know about it before hand"

Her past encounters had included a SFI investigation into a member of the crew, while it had been authorized no one aboard had been in the know and it had resulted in many of the senior staff requesting reassignment, and a number of false arrests. SFI were great at their jobs, but the kind of investigation skills that they excelled at were not the same as those of a police detective or security.

"Am I explaining this well enough?" she asked of him, Ajani had not had this talk with anyone before.

"Like I just said Sir, for the time being I prefer to stand" Finchley replied "It's nothing personal, it's just that I'm a little...'stiff' from the cramped conditions I was forced to use on The Devils Brew. I wasn't given much, if any, choice, it was using what they gave me or being crammed into a four by four foot cargo box and the lid being shut and locked. You think you don't like Starfleet Intelligence Officers, they positively exuded hatred, almost wore it as a badge of honour one might say."

He shifted position slightly as he continued "You're correct Sir, I do have my own orders from SFI, some of which you realise I can't share, but suffice to say it's not relevant at this particular juncture with the mission in which I'll be helping you. Dependent upon what, if anything, we find those orders will need to be revisited. Just before I left to come here, I was asked to relay a message to you by SFI central, the message is...'Pirates now in Sector two, possible arrangements for pick up'...that's all they said. I did a little digging before I came here, and from what I learned, the Union and these pirates have some close contacts, and a surprise or two up their sleeves. One of those pirate ships we managed to catch, well, when I say catch, I mean recover the debris from their small craft after it was destroyed in a fire fight when it wouldn't stop to be boarded, had a 'big' surprises for us. It had a falsely sent decoded Starfleet document, allegedly giving the routes of our patrol ships...only it wasn't. This means someone from our side gave them the information. I aim to find out who it was, and how they got it out to the pirates."

He lifted the small PADD he had with him up and offered it to Commander Carter saying "This is an authorisation for me to question anyone I see fit to, no matter who they are or where serve. To answer your question Sir, yes, you're explaining yourself well enough, however, like you, I have a job to do, and nothing will stope it. I'm not callous though, I will of course keep you informed of any discoveries I make, and if any of it leads to any of the crew serving under you, I will bring it to you first, but I shall do my duty. I would like to think you realise this and are clear on that point Commander."

Carter wanted to stand up, but she wont be intimidating him any time soon. Even if she had seen a good deal of combat she knew she wasn't an intimidating person. Instead she remained seated, "As you know" she started carefully, "The authority of a ships commander is absolute. Your blanket authorisation doesn't counter that simple fact. This said, my clearance is high enough that anything relating to our current mission and my crews current assignment can be ran past me before you act. If it is a case that i do not have the clearance for then you seek authorisation from your SFI supervisor and then contact me." It was a standing order held over from Earth's wetbottom navy, but was still held in high regard in the Fleet.

"Of course Sir" Finchley replied.

His short reply told her she might have been a little hard on him. "You will be happy to know you get senior officer quarters and an office. As a consensual of your clearance and the sensitive nature of your work your office will have a number of general security measures. If the need arises for someone other than you enters your office any active screens and consoles will lock down to standby with only your access code breaking the lock down, and I mean if there is a medical a emergency. Your door will be locked with only you and emergency access able to open the door. I assume you will put your own security i place, for your safety i would like the emergency access to remain in place but other measures are up to you"

"Were there any other questions?"

"I have no questions Commander Carter" Finchley replied "I was told to report here to you because I was to be given a briefing on the USS Eagle next mission and then work out how I can aid that mission" he finished.

"Then i shall not keep you from your quarters any longer. Please do keep me informed. Your quarters are on deck two and your office is within the Security facility on deck three. Check in with Chief Sanok when you have had a chance to rest."

"Yes Sir" Finchley replied, turned and left the office.

She nodded, hoping a little she had not alienated her intel officer. She watched him leave and then reactivated the screens and continued her reading.

As he walked back towards the turbolift, in his mind Finchley went back over the meeting he'd just had with the Captain of the USS Eagle, it hadn't gone well, he realised how much Commander Carter didn't like any SFIO and felt he'd been leant on hard and the Eagle rule book handed to him so he was left in no doubt as to who was boss. He now knew how the lie of the land was, he knew he had information he had to find and orders he had to follow.

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Lieutenant Commander Ajani Carter
Commanding Officer
USS Eagle

&

Lieutenant JG Finchley Kerr
Intelligence Officer
USS Eagle