Earth (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 03 Jun 2017 @ 6:51pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Vice Admiral Colin McDermott & Rear Admiral Harold Doolittle & Rear Admiral Nathan West & Commander Aren Ban & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Commander Luke Wyatt & Lieutenant Amaranai Franklin & Commander Marisa Wyatt & Ensign Miraj Derani & Ensign Mimi & Ambassador Soral Varro & Lieutenant Min Zhao & Lieutenant JG Eelim Galan & Petty Officer 1st Class Eviess & Petra Varelli Ph.D.
Edited on on 03 Jun 2017 @ 6:56pm

3,052 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Earth - San Francisco, Starfleet Headquarters
Timeline: MD 01, 1336 hrs

Previously, on Earth (Part 1)...

When everyone else had gone through, Miraj was escorted from the bridge, by a firm but kindly security officer. She didn't know what sort of reception was waiting for her below. The Captain here had treated her with extreme caution, her part, however unwilling, in Chorag's mutiny had tarnished her, obviously. She had no idea if she was going to be similarly confined when she got onto the planet.

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

Earth - Starfleet Headquarters Auxiliary Complex, Transporter Room 12

Back in San Francisco at Starfleet HQ, the arrival of USS Atlirith had spurred a great deal of activity for all of the planet-side operations personnel. The large cruiser was busy offloading personnel and supplies which undoubtedly meant flurries of yellow-collared officers would have their hands full for the next several days.

In the headquarters' auxiliary complex, one of the transporter rooms was alive and well, buzzing with activity and the sound of transport cycles beginning and ending. Various civilian and Starfleet personnel entered and exited the room, among which were the Galileo survivors.

West stood back behind the other admirals, he was more of an observer to these proceedings as the Head of Starfleet Intelligence. He knew that there was always something that needed a scrutinizing eye when it came to the loss of a ship. As he had heard nothing from his reliable sources other than the Galileo was lost he wanted to see for himself and ascertain if the other sources that had spoken of some crew alive had been correct. He had, as always, passed on the information to the higher ups and they had deemed it 'non-actionable'. He grunted to himself as the idea of egg on the face of a few other admirals made him secretly gleeful.

"That pompous grey haired ass." he murmured to himself thinking of the Chief of Starfleet which received his reports and designated them actionable or non-actionable.

Doolittle scanned the crowd as he and the other two admirals waited for the arrival of the Galileo's crew. He didn't know any of them personally and he knew that was why he had been selected to serve on the board of investigation into the loss of their ship.

The last time he had been called to serve in a capacity such as this had been in 2388 - three years ago - and it had been right here in San Francisco just after he'd made Rear Admiral. The case had involved one Captain Madeline Sanchez and the loss of her ship, the USS Minotaur. It had been a General Court Martial and he had served as president of the court. Ultimately she had been exonerated and returned to duty, but where this case was concerned, who knew? Only time - and the evidence presented - would tell.

For his part, Vice Admiral Colin McDermott stood quietly, his face a neutral, practiced mask. He'd only been in the job of Chief of Starfleet Personnel for about 6 months, but already he was getting quite familiar with the routines that went into play when Starfleet lost a ship.

Namely, it was his job to be a bit of a jerk at first. He hated it, but it was necessary.

Saalm's distinctive green body was molecularly reassembled on the transporter pad with a shimmer of bright cyan particles. She briefly blinked to take in her new surroundings while also checking to make sure Snuffles had arrived safely at her side. For a pre-one-year-old targ pup, he'd been through his fair share of transports over the past months and seemed to be unfazed by them. He trotted his hooves lightly on the transporter pad before Lirha began to lead him towards the exit.

It was then that she spotted three senior members of Starfleet: two rear admirals and a vice admiral dressed in a combination of gold, red, and gray-collared uniforms. Such fanfare was unusual on a bad day, and she could only assume they'd come to greet her and her crew. Or imprison them.

Luke rematerialized next to Lirha and Abbey in a shimmer of light particles. He quickly took in his surroundings and was finally glad to be back on Earth but the situation was not ideal. Luke also noticed the number of admirals dressed in their array of different colors and Luke knew it wasn't just to greet them and give them their condolences about losing their ship and crew mates.

Marisa transported farther back in the group. She noticed the reception party and gave them a half-bow, even though she was unsure if they would notice. At this point, it was more important to be professional and to follow protocol. She moved off to the side to be out of the way and to observe, as was her wont.

Shivering slightly as the transport finished Mimi rematerialised, it felt good to be on firm solid ground again. Noticing the admiralty she quickly ran her hands down her fur and uniform straightening it out.

Allyndra went in turn. They had more or less set up groups such that each major group had a senior officer. The transport was quick, but she still hated that weird your here and sort of there feeling. None the less as she could now move she noted the flag officers awaiting. "ADMIRALS ON DECK!" she called and came to attention with a salute.

Aren materialized on the transporter pad with Allyndra and the rest of the crew. He noticed that there were two Admirals there, he knew that there presence wasn't typical. The call for Admiral on Deck resulted in an involuntary coming to attention. Aren wanted to shake his head.

Amaranai had made her way to the transporter room of the Atlirith and waited her turn. She had said goodbye to Lirha earlier and allowed her to head to Earth first - as the current commanding officer of the Galileo crew, it seemed appropriate for her to be first. Amaranai, as a lowly lieutenant, junior grade, could make her way down with the other crew. It took a few minutes of waiting before Amaranai was instructed to step onto the pad and prepare for transport.

The instantaneous transport was nothing new to the security officer but no matter how many times she did it, it was always an amazing piece of technology. Her vision cleared as the transport beam faded away, allowing Amaranai to notice there were added visitors in the transporter room.

She stepped off the pad and took note of the guests - high ranking Starfleet officials, most likely there to take the crew into seclusion to prepare for the inquiry that Lirha had talked about. Amaranai understood that it was a formality and had to be done considering the loss of the Galileo and the crew's disappearance, but she hoped that things would turn out okay, especially for Lirha.

Varro, Eviess, and Eelim had stayed back last. Eviess held JJ in her arms. The child would be given over to her grandparents. Varro and Eviess had cared for her for most of their trip back. Varro knew he couldn't have cared for JJ without Eviess. He knew nothing of kids. He was glad that she would be going to her grandparents though. The child had suffered way too much in her short life, the loss of both parent had hit her hard and the usually vibrant JJ was quiet and withdrawn for most of the trip.

When the light took her, Miraj held her breath, expecting to see more dour faces in mustard trim looking for her at, instead, when she came through, it was two white coated orderlies with the logo of Starfleet Medical Centre stitched onto their scrubs that stepped forward for the last member of the crew. She felt a wave of relief that she wasn't immediately going to be incarcerated. With a bit more hope, the youngest member of the Galileo crew stepped down and joined them, knowing it wouldn't be long before she'd be getting treatment for the life- shattering brain damage she'd sustained on the DuJa'Q.

The small cadre of three Starfleet flag staff had initially gone unobserved by Saalm. Upon hearing the call to attention from her CMO, however, her eyes quickly scanned the small crowd and identified the other admirals present. While some of her crew had stepped to attention, she walked forward to the three of them and came to a halt in their presence. The Orion spread her feet, clasped her hands behind her back, and held her chin high while making sure she had a good grip on Snuffles' leash.

"Admirals," Saalm greeted respectfully. "I'm Rear Admiral Saalm of USS Galileo and these are the survivors of my crew," she explained with a brief motion of her head to the other Galileans around her. "Permission to return to Starfleet Headquarters?"

"Welcome home, Galileo crew; Permission granted, Admiral Saalm, but don't leave just yet," McDermott began, before addressing the entire group. "Starfleet Command is greatly interested in the investigation into the Galileo's loss and the events that have transpired since then, and is eager for it to get underway as soon as possible.

"For those of you who do not know, I am Vice Admiral Colin McDermott, Chief of Starfleet Personnel, the head of Starfleet's Personnel Command. Beside me is Rear Admiral Harold Doolittle, who will be assisting me in the investigation, and Rear Admiral Nathan West, Director of Starfleet Intelligence, who will also be assisting.

"Before I release you for in-processing to Starfleet Command, some brief housekeeping matters.

"First: As of this moment, you are to have no contact with anyone else who was present aboard the Galileo or rescued alongside her crew until orders to the contrary have been received from myself. And I do mean 'no contact' whatsoever. None. Failure to abide by this order for any reason will be punished not only as insubordination and violation of a lawful order, but as obstruction of justice.

"Second: You are expected to be available for debriefings and interviews, as well as medical and psychological examinations related to the investigation, promptly. As a result, you may not leave San Francisco for any reason until cleared to do so by my office. Quarters will be provided.

"Third: Until the completion of this investigation, you will all be assigned to administrative duties at Starfleet Command. You'll be expected to report to work every day at 0900, and clock out at 1700. You are not on leave.

"Fourth: You may not discuss this investigation with anyone not assigned to it by me. That includes, most especially, the media. If there are any leaks, for any reason, of any kind, I retain the right to punish all of you, collectively, until the leaker identifies themselves.

"Sorry, but these restrictions are harsh because they have to be. We are required to go over the loss of the Galileo and the events following in the most extreme detail. When we are finished, a preliminary report will be presented. At that point, any proceedings following on from the investigation will begin.

"With that, you are all dismissed."

Harsh? That was an understatement. Petra was looking forward to a real break, not to being confined and put to work at Starfleet HQ. She smiled at the man next to her. Well, there were still a few things she could enjoy.

Varro and Eviess and Eelim looked at one another. The orders were quite harsh.

Varro, however, understood and was prepared to obey. It was vital to the investigation that the Admiral's would be conducting.

Eviess was mad. She had looked forward to sitting down with some of her crew friends and taking. She had especially wanted to talk to Allyndra about her medical condition.

Allyndra took a deep breath. "Understood, however will be allowed to contact our respective governments. There is much back home that I need to attend to as well."

"No, Commander, you will not. The need for reliable testimony, unfortunately, must take precedence," McDermott replied.

Amaranai stood toward the back of the group, having let those ranked higher than her to step forward. She knew she was an important member of the crew, but in the eyes of the admirality in front of her, she was just a lower officer.

The brunette listened to the admiral and was disappointed that she and Lirha would not be able to talk to or be with each other, but Amaranai understood that Lirha, or all the crew, would be the one receiving the most scrutiny. Amaranai knew it was best but she still didn't have to be happy about it. Though, there was a glimmer of joy as she thought of their two bodies combining once they were allowed to be together again and that would have to be enough to sustain her for a while.

Min wasn't happy with the orders the Admiral had given her family lived in the Bay Area, and she wasn't explicitly blocked from visiting her family, she could at least see her daughter and catch up with family. At least until told otherwise.

Aren listed quietly. While the situation wasn't unexpected, it still wasn't something that he had fully been prepared for. He still was a bit concerned as to his current status. Technically, Aren was the executive officer of the Tian An Men but the Kreanus incident muddled that water as well as prevented him from reporting in. And it had been well over two months since he went missing, he was certain that Captain Mills had replaced him by this point. He looked around at the rest of the crew for a moment, they all had been considered as missing, until recently. But all that would be taken care of in due time.

Marisa's heart sank. So, this was it. They were all going to be sequestered, questioned, and then transferred. She blinked several times to clear her vision. It would not do for her to show weakness now. Later, when she was alone, she could give in to her emotions. Now, she had to simply follow orders.

West stood behind McDermott and allowed him to speak first before commenting.

"I for one, Admiral am pleased that you and as much of your crew as is here managed to return. I look forward to reading your report." West nodded to Saalm.

"Thank you, sir," the Orion acknowledged to the intelligence chief. She'd been out of the loop for the past few months but had no trouble spotting the head of Starfleet's Intelligence division. Afterall, she'd served as an Intel officer for several years before her assignment to Galileo...but that now begged the question as to why the SFI director had taken a personal interest in their return. "I'm afraid my report will be..." she paused to search for the right word, "complicated," she decided upon. "But that's why you're here, yes?" she tried to deduce in a polite yet candid manner.

West nodded "Complicated is to be expected with the loss of a command." He remained elusive as to his reasons for taking an interest, namely the Romulan he was curious.

She swallowed back a small lump in her throat that'd formed at the mention of losing her command. Saalm wasn't sure if he meant the destruction of her starship or perhaps a future permanent ban for any future starships. Both were unpleasant to think about. "Will you be conduct my debriefing?" she asked in a quiet voice while stepping closer to the older admiral for a semblance of conversational privacy.

West took her by the arm lightly and moved her away from the other Admirals as he shook his head, he turned to the other Admirals and smiled at them.

"Pardon us, with your leave Vice Admiral." West nodded to McDermott but didnt wait for a response.

Once they were a 'safe' distance away he spoke as he shook his head. "No, that's the purview of the Personnel Department. I'm here for other reasons." he lowered his voice "What do you know of the Romulan defector?"

He could only mean Valdran, and even she was a mystery to Saalm. Lirha knew she'd worked for Kreanus as an assistant colony administrator -- that much she was certain of -- but her knowledge of the woman's past was non-existent at best. "Not much. I was hoping you could determine that for us... All I know is of her involvement with the independent government we encountered in the Paulson Nebula. I don't know what Valdran's allegiances are or why she's here...but she must have a reason for voluntarily arriving at Starfleet HQ."

West nodded and remembered back to a time when he was still an operator with SFI. He had help with a mission on Romulus. He had offered asylum to a Romulan woman that had helped him.

"I'm sure she does and I'll just have to figure that out myself. Thank you Admiral, I'll keep an eye out for you but no promises."

Saalm supposed that the truth would come sooner than later. Now that they were back at Starfleet HQ, any secrets that someone might be hiding were bound to be revealed in short time. The Orion gave a respectful nod to the Intelligence director while knowing full well that the least of their new administrative troubles were just beginning. Out of one fire and into the next.

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer

Lt. jg Amaranai Franklin
Assistant Chief Security / Tactical

Nathan West
Rear Admiral
Chief of Starfleet Intelligence
Starfleet HQ

Commander Aren Ban
Executive Officer

Lieutenant JG Marisa Sandoval
Counselor

Petra Varelli
Forensic Anthropologist
[PNPC Sandoval]

Cmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Second and Chief Medical Officer

PO2 T'Lin
Biochemist
[PNPC Warraquim]

VADM Colin McDermott
Chief of Starfleet Personnel
Starfleet Command

RADM Harold J. Doolittle
Starfleet Bureau of Personnel
Starfleet Command

Lieutenant Min Zhao
Chief of Operations

Ensign Miraj Derani

Ambassador Soral Varro
Diplomat

Lt. JG Eelim Galan
Security Officer
[PNPC Varro]

PO Eviess
Medical Officer
[PNPC Varro]

LCDR Luke Wyatt
Strategic Operations Officer

LT Tuula Voutilainen
Medical Officer

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