The Interesting Inquest

Posted on 31 Jul 2017 @ 1:30am by Commander Aren Ban & Vice Admiral Colin McDermott

3,149 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, Earth
Timeline: MD10, 0900

[ON]

"Commander Ban:" the message that had arrived in Snow's email had begun.

"The Board of Inquiry into the loss of USS Galileo requires your presence for an interview in Room E-1201 of Starfleet Headquarters at 1400 local time. Report to the board in your Class B duty uniform, unarmed. You will be depositing your PADD outside, and may be subject to search for surveillance devices.

"For the Board,
Commander James Aronson
Starfleet Personnel Command"

The room itself was standard, annoyingly so. There were no windows. The brightly lit room had a table, behind which Vice Admiral McDermott sat, flanked by two other officers, as well as a lone chair for the interviewee. Security personnel stood outside the door.

It was to this that Aren Ban was summoned.

Aren arrived will all due hast, though he couldn't help but muse that there hadn't been much for him or the rest of the crew to do until after he interviews. Aren took a deep breath and a moment to go over his uniform one last time, before pressing the door control, which indicated his arrival and request for admittance.

"Enter!" came the call. When Ban entered, he saw a disconcertingly unadorned room - the only furnishings the table with three chairs behind it, with Vice Admiral McDermott sitting in the center chair. A fourth chair sat on the opposite side of the table, set back from the table a bit so that its occupant could be easily viewed by all three persons sitting opposite them.

To McDermott's left sat a human female wearing a Starfleet uniform with Command Red and the pips of a Commander. To his right, a human male wearing the same uniform, but the pips of a Lieutenant. McDermott himself was, for an officer of his grade, in a relatively un-fancy uniform - instead of a dress uniform as some admirals preferred, it was the standard duty uniform, the only mark of his rank being the boxed pips on his collar.

Aren moved with practiced grace and speed. The moment he entered the room he made a strait line to stand before the Admiral. With the click of his boots, he came to the position of attention that would have made a Marine Drill Instructor proud. "Commander Ban, Aren reporting as ordered sir." He said in a neutral and confident tone, starting with his last name first before his given name.

"At ease, Commander. Don't sit just yet, though. To my left is Commander Heather George, Secretary for the Board of Inquiry. To my right is Lieutenant Jason Armage, my Flag Lieutenant and Aide de Camp, who'll be observing the whole process. Computer, begin secure recording and transcription of Galileo Interview Six, subject Varelli, encrypted at SEABASS protocol under authorization McDermott Tango Omicron Five." At the computer's beep of acknowledgment, he continued. "Commander, please swear in the witness."

Commander George nodded. "Aye sir. Commander, please state your rank, name, Starfleet Service Number, and last position of assignment for the record."

Aren didn't hesitate. "Commander Ban, Aren. CX-374-0109, Executive Officer, USS Tian An Men." Aren said, opting to go with his last official posting prior to being taken by the Kreanus Colony.


"Computer, verify identity of claimed individual against all Starfleet databases," George commanded. The computer beeped.

"Identity verified: Commander Aren Ban, Charlie X-Ray, three-seven-four-, zero-one-zero-niner, confirmed." the computer responded after a second.

"Commander, please raise your right hand. Do you swear that the evidence you shall give in the matter now under investigation shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

Aren followed the instruction, raising his right hand. "I do."

"Commander, you may be seated," Commander George replied. "Admiral, the witness is now sworn in. You may begin."

McDermott spoke, completing the ritual. "Very well, Commander." Then, looking to Commander Ban once both he and Ban were seated. "Commander, describe how you came to be present on Kreanus, please."

Aren sat as instructed. "Yes sir. Around Stardate 67844.9 myself and one other crewmen were passing near the Paulson Nebula enroute to the USS Tian An Men, in a Type 9 Shuttle, out of Starbase 234. We detected a strange set of readings emanating from the nebula. Before we could get a clear picture of what it was we were detecting, we were ambushed by a Klingon B'rel and were fired on. We weren't able to send out a distress signal before they beamed us aboard. Crewman Galihan died of his injures in the brig." Aren said pausing for a moment as he remembered trying to triage Galihan. "We...I was on the B'rel for about a day or so, before the Klingon's came to talk to me, and to take the body Crewman Galihan away. It was another two days before we arrived in orbit around Kreanus and I was transported to the surface."

"While you were on the B'rel, I presume by 'came to talk to you' you mean the Klingons interrogated you. How would you characterize those interrogations? Was physical or psychological force used or threatened at any time?" McDermott asked.

Aren sat quietly for a moment as he collected his thoughts. "It was a mixture of both, but nothing that would have been outside the purview of one of our interrogations. But, yes they did get aggressive. Their questioning was directed towards my...our purpose for being near the nebula. And positions of Starfleet vessels in the area." He had been surpised that they hadn't really tried to get classified information from him other than some half-hearted attempts.

"I understand. After your time on the B'rel, how did events proceed?" McDermott asked.

"I was transported down to the surface of Kreanus were I met with part of the leadership council. At the time of this meeting, it was a Romulan name Medera, where she informed me of my status at the colony, as a guest that wasn't allowed to leave or make contact with the Federation, and asked for help with help organizing some of the Federation personnel on planet to help with repairs, schedules, and the like." Aren said pausing for a moment. "That....conversation...lasted for a couple of days, before I agreed to help. She gave me limited access to the inventory database of the colony, and to personnel records. While we were essentially prisoners, and I was the ranking member of Starfleet at the time, I wanted to make sure that those under my charge were cared for within the requirements of the law." He remembered the look on the Commanders eyes, and even when some of the civilians asked for help. She had used children to socialite his assistance. "I started to create a work schedule, for those Federation personnel willing to give technical assistance that pertained only to keep the colony functioning, such as environmental and limited medical assistance. Under no circumstances were repairs made that would or could have been used for the express purpose of causing damage to people or objects. There were only a handful of us, less than a dozen, and we did this for about a month, before the crew of the Galileo arrived."

"How could you verify that the Federation personnel were not recruited, or coerced, into other duties that did not violate the stipulations you supposedly negotiated with the colony's leadership?" McDermott asked.

Aren raised an eyebrow at the admiral's question. "All the work that we did on the colony was only to those systems, and to those systems alone. No one was forced to conduct any repairs, it was completely voluntary. We are part of the Federation and Starfleet, and still upheld ourselves to that standard. If at anytime they were asked to do something outside of what our agreement entailed, then they were to cease work immediately. Before the agreement to provide limited aid was agreed upon, I brought the request to the others and it was something that we all agreed that we should do, as Starfleet. There were civilians asking for aid. It also provided the best chance to learn there systems and look for a potential escape. But ultimately, other than the word of the Federation personnel who provided the repair work and what I witnessed myself, I can't."

"Okay. Was there any way you could determine where the resources for this whole colony project came from originally? For instance, was setting on a planet inside Federation space an idea of the Romulan government, of a faction thereof like the Tal Shiar, or did it come about some other way?" McDermott asked. It likely didn't need to be said that the answer to the "who founded it and why was it there originally" question would help determine the UFP's response to the colony's existence.

"Many of the Kreaians are essentially political refugee's. Those who didn't agree, or acted against there home governments for personal reasons. Who can never go home, and just want to live there lifes in peace and quiet. As to where most of the original equipment came from," Aren shook his head, "Sir, it was a mess. Everything was cannibalized, a miss-mash of Romulan, Klingon, Ferangi, and everything in between. I think the only reason they didn't turn to the Federation for help initially is because of there own prejudice. In our time there I didn't find any evidence of the Tal Shiar sponsoring the colony or any one government or organization for that matter." Aren said.

McDermott raised his eyebrows. "So they managed to get across the Romulan Neutral Zone, our most heavily guarded frontier, and settle a colony in our space...and they had no help?" Beat. "You do realize how illogical...no, insane that sounds?" Beat. "Regardless, moving on. After the Galileo crew arrived on Kreanus, what happened then?"

Aren wanted to shake his head. He wanted to tell the Admiral that to think a defense line in space was impenetrable was insane. How often had the Romulan's and even Klingon's entered Federation space in the past hundred years? What about the Cardassian’s? Ships disappear and go missing all the time, with no trace of what happened to them. Instead Aren only nodded. "I know sir, and I agree; it does seem highly improbable. However, you asked if we found any evidence of assistance from outside sources. We did not, but it wasn't as if we had unlimited access to computer systems. If dialogue with Kreanus is ever established, that answer to that question may fully be realized.” Aren said, pausing for the briefest of moments.

“To answer the next question, once the crew of the Galileo was brought to Krenaus, I did my best to figure out what happened. Commander Madera gave me copies of sensor logs of what happened to the Galileo.” Aren rubbed the bridge of his nose before responding to what happened next. “Once I had had a chance to go over the logs, I meet with the crew, and as the ranking member of the Starfleet at the time, was responsible for them. I explained the situation as I knew it, and explained that I would do my best to get us back to the Federation. For the next week, we were able to treat and care for our injured, and did assistance in minor work around the colony, with the same stipulations as before. Though, being that we had more Starfleet personnel we were able to get a better look at the systems, we started to see what chances we had at an escape. At the end of that week, the remainder of the command staff met with Commander Madera and…the general. The commander asked the crew to assist with the colony, once we did so she would return all Federation personnel aboard the ship back to Federation space. The colony had been plagued by raids from Klingon forces looking for the general, they knew the general location of the general, but didn’t know exactly where he was. The overall mission was to travel to Qu’nos and ask the council to force the houses to stop looking for the general. Morale was at an all-time low, some of the crew had committed some pretty grievous offenses. One had synthesized, and threatened to use Nerhet syndrome, another had released some tribbles into a starships ventilation ducts, fights, civilians being injured, and I needed something that could give them hope. We accepted as it would ultimately allow us on a ship, which could get us back to the Federation.”

Aren took a deep breath before continuing. “I brought the request to the crew and explained the situation. Before the meeting concluded I was approached by several members of the crew, as well as some of those Federation personnel that had been on the colony for a while, that requested to stay on the colony. They were tired of fighting and getting shot, and just wanted to live their lives in peace. I didn’t have the people to make them come, so they stayed behind. By the time we boarded the Klingon starship that was when it was discovered that Admiral Saalm was still alive, and that she was going under the auspice of general herself.” Aren said. Remembering how he vehemently argued about that choice.

"Who stayed behind?" McDermott asked. "And why'd they choose to desert, if not completely defect? Somehow, 'they wanted a more peaceful life' doesn't add up under the circumstances." Beat. "After that, explain to me everything you know regarding Admiral Saalm's disappearing act, and her taking on the role of a Klingon General." Now he was being suspicious and not even bothering to hide it.

"It was two crewman, and an Ensign. Ensign Figerou, Jane resigned her commission on the spot, with Crewman Daniels, Clyde, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Wells, Steven. I did explain to them the consequences of there actions and they were fully aware. As to there true intent, I can't fully know why, only what they said. As I said before, I didn't have the personnel to force them to come along and through them in the brig, nor did I feel that the crew of the Galileo would have done that." Aren said, as he paused a moment to collect his thoughts.

"As to the nature of Admiral Saalm's so called, disappearing act, to my knowledge it was Commander Madera who rescued her the instant the Galileo self-destructed. She was in intensive care during the time the rest of the crew of the Galileo was on Kreanus. As to the rest, I wasn't privy to the information, and the Admiral wasn't very forthcoming with information." Aren said as he watched the Vice Admiral. "As to her reasoning for taking the roll of the general," Aren shook his head, "she thought it would integrate the Klingon crew and the Federation crew better. It was also from my understanding that she had ties with the Klingon Empire at one point, and felt that it would better allow the Klingon personnel aboard the ship to follow her orders. I vehemently opposed the idea, and she opted to dismiss my concerns, and while I didn't quite agree with her, conceptually I did understand." He paused for a moment, before continuing.

"We then spent the next day or so going over the crew rotations and getting the crew situated before before we departed Kreanus under cloak. We tried to reach out to the Federation, but the Klingon's were in control of all critical systems, and they thwarted all our attempts to bypass any blocks on the systems. Before we had to chance break through any of the systems we came in contact with the Sentinel, and ultimately led to damage to both vessels, when we neared the Klingon Neutral Zone. We made repairs as we proceeded further into Klingon space. Commander Chorah attempted to seize control of the ship in a mutiny attempt, which resulted in the death of several Federation officers and numerous wounded." Aren said, a phantom pain from the knife wound in his back briefly flared at the memory. "We were able to prevent the take over of the ship, but were ambushed by another Klingon High Council vessel. It fired on us and damaged us further, before being disabled by General Ko'raH." Aren said, trying to remember the events. He had been suffering from a stab wound, adrenaline, and blood loss jumbled his memory.

McDermott nodded, noticing the strain on the Commander's features. Remembering was sometimes hard after head trauma, after all. "And then you were picked up by the warbird that brought you to the Chaka. What can you tell me about that?"

Aren nodded. "That is correct. I recall both General Ko'rah and the Chancellor, the one from the other Klingon warship, had a fight of honor and the Chancellor emerged victorious. That was when the Commander Medara arrived with a Warbird and took us aboard. She brought the remainder of the Federation crew to the Chaka. The return back to Federation space was cramped, and uneventful, but that was to be expected. We, as well as the crew of the Chaka were under orders not to socialize and only interact while on duty. Once we arrived to the Starbase, we transferred over to the USS Atlirith, again uneventful. After a few days we arrived to Earth." Aren finished. wondering if there was anything else he could add. He didn't think that he had really left anything out.

"So far as the interview goes, one last question. Do you believe, in your opinion as a Starfleet Officer, Admiral Saalm is presently fit to command a starship?" McDermott asked.

Aren sat quietly for a moment, mulling over everything that he had seen of Admiral Saalm. "When I first encountered her, and some of her initial choices. No, I don't think she was. But, considering what was at stake, and how she handled herself the Sentinel,General Ko'rah and the attempted mutiny, yes she is. I would be honored to server as her executive officer."

"I see. Well, that ends our interview. Since you're my last interview subject, you get to tell the survivors of Galileo and Kreanus that their gag order is lifted, as are travel restrictions. They can all talk to each other again, but not about their interviews," McDermott announced. "You are, that said, dismissed."

Aren stood, coming to attention. "Yes, sir." With that he performed a perfect about-face movement and left. As soon as he stepped out into the hallway he left out a sigh of relief. He was still a bit nervous about what was going to happen to him, but at least it was over.

[OFF]

Commander Aren Ban
Executive Officer

Vice Admiral Collin McDermott
Starfleet Personnel Command Director

RSS Feed