Part 9: Revelation

Posted on 28 Sep 2016 @ 6:46pm by Commander Langdale Wiggins & Lieutenant JG Braxton MacKenzie & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Greg Mitchell
Edited on on 30 Sep 2016 @ 1:19am

1,824 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 12 - Recluse
Location: USS Galileo - Security Office Interrogation Room
Timeline: MD -06 03:30 hours

[ON]

As Wilson led the Petty Officer and the Commander to the interview room, he spoke to Nelis. "Ok, first question. What the hell is my name?"

Nelis' lip twitched. "Wilson, Sir." She sat down in the interview room. She'd always liked Wilson. For sure he'd understand her.

Wiggins took a seat in the corner. In order for him to maximize his skills he wanted to be able to read both of them during the interview. It helped give him a baseline and also allowed him to observe and allow his intuition to fully come into focus. It was moments like this that he wondered how he'd ever go through life if he'd lost this ability. He covered a smile at Wilson's first question, took a deep breath, and stared at Nelis' face in concentration.

Nelis felt a bit unnerved that the XO was there. Something about the man's eyes. She glanced at him nervously and then back to Wilson. "So...I don't understand why I'm here. I showed up after the fact." She tried to lie but deep down she knew that the walls were closing in. It was just a waiting game.

"Well, ma'am, I hate to put you through this." Wilson smiled, "Don't worry, it's a routine procedure. We question everyone who may have been in the area at the time."

That was a partial lie. While it is procedure to question any potential witness, even Wilson was beginning to catch onto the fact that she seemed overly eager to leave and extremely jittery. And for all Chief Mitchell's faults, he could tell the look of suspicion on the man's face whenever he talked to her.

Wiggins continued to sit without saying anything. He'd leaned in so far he needed to prop his elbows on his knees. His hazel eyes never left Nelis' face.

Nelis was getting upset. This was ridiculous. It didn't take a genius to know they thought she was guilty. "What is wrong with you all! I did you a favour!"

The small noise that clicked in Wilson's head was very similar to tires screeching when someone jams on the breaks. He stopped writing on the PADD with the stylus and looked up at the Petty Officer. "I'm sorry, what?"

She sighed frustrated. "Damn it you act like the Cardassian being in sickbay is a bad thing. He is Cardassian! Don't you know what they did? How they treated the Bajorans, and their acts with the Dominion? Hell that Cardasssian's father was Gul Galan. The second in command at the Kendra camps. Gyce and I both suffered because of scum like that. So am I sorry to see him in Sickbay...no."

Wilson just looked over at the Commander, in shock and disbelief in a moment, before looking back at the Petty Officer. He had known her longer than Chief Mitchell had. While she had some bad things to say about Cardassians in the past, he always thought it was just discrimination and nothing she would act on.

"Nel...you're joking right? Please tell me this is a joke. I find it hard to believe that you would do this." The security officer asked.

"Why? He's Cardassian Wilson! Did you not hear me? He is the son of Gul Galan." Nelis all but screamed at him.

"That's.....Nelis are you kidding me? That's like saying every single person who is a Muslim is responsible for 9/11. That's stereotypical, racist, and just plain stupid." Wilson, shook his head in disbelief. "This is insane. Do you understand the seriousness of this? Do you understand what this means for you?"

It took Wilson a moment to realize, being a Bajoran, she may not know what 9/11 was. "That's.....a very very horrible event that happened in the early 21st Century."

As much as Wiggins wanted to know the motive behind any crime they were suspecting her of, he wanted to redirect the interview to questions and answers again. He didn't want to get too sidetracked with her ridiculous ideas of revenge and hatred -- something he couldn't even fathom having grown up on Earth in the heart of the Federation. There were protocols and he needed her to say the words he'd been listening for since he sat down. Wiggins straightened in his chair and crossed his legs. He leaned his arm over the back of his chair casually but interlocked his fingers. "Nelis..." Wiggins waited for her to look him in the eyes, "Did you attack junior lieutenant Eelim Galan?"

Nelis looked at both men. "He's a Cardassian and the son of Gul Galan. I did you all a favour! I can't believe you can't see that!!" She as getting hysterical. "Can you see it?!"


"Nelis..." Langdale said again, this time pausing when she looked at him again. With a calm voice, one more suited for a diplomatic officer dealing with a sensitive negotiation, he said again, "Did you attack junior lieutenant Eelim Galan?"

Nelis looked at the commander. The man made her nervous. "Figure it out." She said defiantly.

Wiggins shook his head in disappointment. "We have Nelis but you're not making this process any easier on you." He'd given her all the opportunities he was willing to give to make this process go easier. He was normally a patient man, but not for this. The XO stood from his spot in the corner and covered the distance to the table in a few short steps. He placed his hands on the top of the table and leaned down to look Nelis in the face. His eyes shifted colour as he stared at her and when he spoke, he spoke to Wilson as if she weren't there.

"Wilson, get Mitchell down here please and explain to him the new evidence you have uncovered. Then escort Nelis to the brig. Have counseling perform a psych eval immediately. I want to know what level of mental illness we're dealing with here." Wiggins spoke quite calmly given how furious he was feeling about this moment. Only the subtle shifting colours of his eyes betrayed how he felt. "Do a full sensor sweep of her quarters too," he added, "if you haven't already. I'm going to check in with sickbay and then the admiral to discuss formal charges."

Nelis glared at the man.

Wilson looked down at the desk, then slowly looked back up. After a few seconds, he tapped his badge. "Wilson to Chief Mitchell."

After a few seconds came the response. =^=Go ahead, Wilson.=^=

"Chief, we've got....I need you to come to the interview room immediately." Wilson responded.

=^=....it's the Petty Officer isn't it?=^=

"Aye chief."

=^=Son of a bitch, I knew it. I'm on my way.=^=

"Acknowledged." Wilson said, then looked at Nelis, some sadness in his eyes. "Why Nel? Why would you do this?"

"Come on Wilson! He's a Cardassian you saw what they were like and the son of monster! What was I suppose to do. I saved my crew."

It took a couple of moments until Mitchell finally arrived. After stepping through the door, he stared at the Petty Officer for a moment. Then he spoke to Wilson without taking his eyes off of Nelis.

"Report."

"Petty Officer Nelis has confessed her crime to us of her own choice. She was not under arrest so her confession is admissible without rights being read." Wilson responded.

"Nelis confirmed she was the attacker?" Greg asked.

"In so many words," Wilson responded. "She didn't exactly mouth the words 'I attacked Lieutenant Galan'."

"It doesn't matter." Greg said, leaning over and putting his hands on the table while staring right into Nelis' eyes. "We've traced the log tampering. The address used to commit the tampering was scrubbed well, but we finally managed to pinpoint it as an access code by the Petty Officer." He finally looked at Wilson, "We also got prints from the armory. There was an unscheduled access around the time the knife used in the crime went missing. The prints were found around the spot the knife was originally. They belong to Petty Officer Nelis."

He looked back at Nelis. "We have enough to hold her. But the big question I have is, why? Why would you risk your career? Your freedom? Just to attack someone because they were a species you didn't like?"

"It's not the reason. Damn it! Don't you people see? He is Eelim Galan, son of Gul Galan the monster of Kendra province. I saved Gyce and this crew. You all should give me a medal! I did you a favour. Cardassians are bad news!" She glared at him.

"Do you understand how stupid that is, Petty Officer? That's like saying every Japanese citizen in World War Two was responsible for Pearl..."

"I already used an Earth metaphor, Chief." Wilson commented.

"Damn it Wilson!"

Nelis sighed. "I don't understand you all." She turned away. "I was at the Kendra camps you know." She said.

"I've ordered a psych eval on the petty officer," Wiggins said calmly from his spot near the exit. "When you've compiled your evidence and reports I will liaise with Admiral Saalm and JAG." Wiggins looked at Nelis and opened his mouth to say something. Instead he closed it with a shake of his head and a look of disappointment.

Wilson looked away as Greg spoke.

"Aye sir." Greg said to Wiggins, still staring at Nelis before speaking to her again. "Whatever you thought was 'helping' us, you were completely wrong. You tried to kill a fellow crew member. Someone who has had background and psych checks. Someone who has decided to put the lives of Federation citizens above his own. And most importantly a Security Officer. One thing I hate the most from criminals is a cop killer. And if Galan dies, you will be hearing from me personally."

Greg finally stood up from his leaning position. "You broke the law on MY ship, MY jurisdiction. And you repeatedly lied to me. But you know what really gave it away for me? It was your eyes. I could read you, as can all good police officers. I knew you were hiding something and I couldn't prove it. Whatever you thought this would accomplish, you were wrong. Your career in Starfleet is over." He turned to Wilson, "Step outside, officer. I'll arrest her."

Wilson stood up, staring one last time at the Petty Officer. "Damn it Nelis." He turned and exited the room.

Greg took out the rights card, something all law enforcement officers are required to read from, and read her rights off starting with the one to remain silent.

[OFF]

---------

CWO3 Greg Mitchell,
Security Officer,
USS Galileo

&

Commander Langdale Wiggins
First Officer
USS Galileo

&

PO Nelis,
Petty Officer,
USS Galileo
(PNPC played by Braxton MacKenzie)

&

Officer Wilson,
Security Officer,
USS Galileo
(PNPC played by Greg Mitchell)

NPCs - Jensen, Nelis, Wilson

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