Varro Debrief Part 1: Diplomatic Immunity

Posted on 29 May 2017 @ 5:02am by Ambassador Soral Varro & Captain Amber Austin M.D.
Edited on on 09 Jun 2017 @ 5:45pm

1,665 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Earth - Starfleet HQ, Captain Austin's Office
Timeline: MD 06, 0900 hours

ON:

Amber moved from the replicator to her desk carrying a large glass of sweet tea. She took a sip as she looked down at the PADD on her desk. The survivors of the Galileo had arrived and she had gotten her marching orders. Her first interview of the day was one Ambassador Soral Varro. An atypical hybrid of Vulcan and El Aurian, tall and thin, and the thing that thrilled her the most was he had a built in tell. His eyes which are normally green will change to ice blue when his emotions spike. That would make it easier for her to read as she interviewed him. The hard part will be to decipher if the emotions are a typical response to relived memories or if he's hiding something.

She grabbed the PADD from her desk and exited her office to head down to interview room 2 where Soral should be waiting. As she entered she plastered on her own stoic face and peered over her glasses at the man across the table and nodded.

"Good morning Ambassador, I am Captain Amber Austin of Star Fleet Personnel Command. I will be handling your debrief after the Galileo incident. This is all regular and routine were just here to figure out what happened." she finished as she moved to the other side of the table and placed the PADD and drink down.

Varro had arrived yesterday for the debrief only to be told that he had paperwork to do first. He'd spent hours writing his statement and then been told to come back in the morning. He'd spent the last hour in this room. Varro paced the small room. He looked at himself in what he knew was probably a two way mirror, tacky if you asked him. He smiled at his reflection. He liked the beard coming in. He'd trimmed it just so and the grey hair that he'd had come in after his cardiac episode made him look distinguished...at least in his mind.

He heard the doors whoosh open and took his place. He looked at the young woman who entered, red hair and the expression on her face said she could chew him up and spit him out. He wondered if he'd have to call in diplomatic immunity on this one. He would have chuckled but this was no laughing matter. He gave her very Vulcan nod. "I will of course endeavor to make this speedy and as detailed as possible."

Austin nodded "My thanks Ambassador. Again I want to reiterate that this is just a fact finding debrief. I'm just trying to piece together what happened so that Star Fleet can endeavor to ensure that it wont happen again. Would you like some refreshments, some water perhaps before we begin?" she watched him coolly as she sipped at her tea and seated herself across from him.

"Water with a slice of lemon would be nice." He sighed and shifted back in his chair. "Where would you like to start Captain?"

She tapped in his request onto her PADD and transmitted it to her yeoman who within a few moments arrived with the water and a lemon slice bisected onto the edge of the glass.

"To begin I would like to start at the beginning. Tell me about the events that lead up to the destruction of the Galileo." her voice took on the sweet tones of sonic honey.

Varro wondered if this was some kind of test. "Madam I was not on the ship during that period. I was already on that cursed planet." He knew that she'd read the report. This was a tactic he used himself. Start with a misunderstanding and then move in for the trap. "I was stationed on New Romulus as the Ambassador there. I, of course, used my diplomatic charm on the wrong person and the...um...how shall I put this in simple terms? I pissed off someone high up in the brass. They reassigned me to the Galileo and while on route to Starbase 234 my diplomatic aid and I were surrounded taken prisoner and dragged kicking and screaming to Krenus. I was there months before the Galileo crew arrived."

She nodded "Ok, well tell me what happened when you arrived on Krenus up to the point where the crew of the Galileo arrived."

Varro studied the woman. He sighed. "Well when I arrived they put both me and my assistant through a nightmare interrogation, apparently diplomatic immunity meant nothing to those savages. Anyway after that we were given medical attention and shown the mines to work there. I learned early on that those wretched souls were doomed to run out of resources. I was approached by a Romulan and told about some High Council issues, of which I wanted no part in it. I was injured in the water plant and was developing a nice infection that would have lead to sepsis and was doing a damned good job of keeping my wound filthy until the Galileo crew showed up. Not only was my cousin, the chief science officer at the time, there but also a good friend of mine."

She nodded "About when did they show up after your initial incarceration?"

He ran his fingers through his hair. "I think was there about four months...maybe a week or two shy of four months. By that time my diplomatic aid had already fallen in love with the planet, she had a thing for lost causes." He said.

Austin nodded "Four months, and what happened once the crew of the Galileo was introduced to the planet?"

He sighed, "At first nothing. They were secluded and given pretty rough treatment. Finally when the questions stopped they were allowed in medical and their wounds tended to. Their ship was destroyed and they were given time to bury their dead. Like me they were approached to help with the High Council situation. Some Honour war..." He shook his head, his eyes turning a light shade in between green and blue. "What the crew had to endure no one should. On top of everything they were used as pawns, they thought their CO dead, they were micro chipped like animals. But they fought to keep sane and to keep going. I must commend each and every officer."

Amber nodded and noted his words down then changed subjects "So tell me how well were your injuries mended?"

"Doctor Allyndra did a great job when we got to the Klingon ship." He touched his side absently. There was a tiny scar but other then that it was well healed.

She nodded again "I'm pleased to hear it, now as you may or may not know I'm a Medical Doctor and one reason why you were assigned to me was because of the injuries you sustained after the incident but before you were returned to Star Fleet. As such I have been read into your medical file and I want to assure you that I am bound as much by doctor patient confidentiality as your PCP. Having said that I would like to ask how your feeling now."

Varro shrugged, "If you are referring to the cardiac episode a few days ago, I am recovered. That episode was brought on by high stress and I fully tend to lower my stress level once this is all done." He paused, "Physically I am fine." Emotionally was another story.

She nodded "It pleases me that your doing better." She caught his absence of a remark about his mental state and chose not to push on that. She'd rather the interviewees underestimate her.

"Now once more from the beginning please, so I can make sure I have the timeline correct. When were you captured?" She smiled sweetly at him as she continued with her notes.

Varro looked at her. "I assure you my story will not change as we go on." He held up a hand, "Interviewing a diplomat can be infuriating I know, especially one as good as I am and that's used every trick in the book. However, Madam, I was there about four months, a few weeks perhaps shy of four months prior to the Galileo crew. I was re-assigned to Galileo from my posting on New Romulus. I was on my way to Starbase 234 with my aid and we were taken." He sat back sipping his lemon water.

Amber savagely suppressed a snort at the rather cocksure Ambassador. He was funny at least and she allowed a slight smirk to come across her face as she changed tacks.

"How long, during that time, were you incapacitated due to injuries?"

"Well I was fine when I arrived got injured in the mines and let it fester." He said matter of fact like.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Varro asked. "It was an accident injury when one of the machines didn't close correctly."

"Why did you let it fester?"

"I found it the logical choice. It was either continue to live on that horrible planet or let the wound fester and have it not be a problem. My life was my own and I was not going to spend it there." He said.

Amber noted down the answer and looked at him "So you chose to let the wound infect and fester rather than attempt to get help for it and assist the prisoners with planning and making good on escape?"

"Nobody wanted to escape." He simply said. "When Galileo came I knew that I had to help in any way that I could. It wasn't just me anymore. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one." He said. "Galileo crew needed all the help they could get. I had the wound looked at eventually while we were on the Klingon ship. Doctor Allyndra did an excellent job." He said and shrugged.

OFF

+++
Amber Austin
Captain
Senior Interviewer
Star Fleet Personnel

&

Ambassador Soral Varro
Diplomatic Officer
Earth

RSS Feed