Private Eye

Posted on 05 Apr 2024 @ 8:20pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Morgan Tarin & Lieutenant JG Rafe Caradec

2,191 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: USS Galileo-A, USS Galileo-B - Crew Quarters
Timeline: MD 04, 1412 hrs

[ON]

Rafe coughed through the smoke and winced as the sweat seeped into his eye as he vacated sickbay. The B definitely took a beating, but darn it if that girl wasn't tough! The additional help of the A's personnel and firepower was the difference it seemed. The Celeste had proven invaluable in the deflector dish repairs before the skirmish. And the Chief, Sera, that girl knew what she was about! He was thankful to be surrounded by competent officers and crew. He thought this was the best crew so far, except for maybe the Admiral. The jury was still out on her. He really didn't know her and his time was short, very short.

Rafe quickly took a shower and figured now was as good a time as any to see if he would be successful or not. "Caradec to Admiral Saalm", he spoke as he entered his quarters. He needed to speak to her right away, immediately.

He had the replicator make him two energy bars. He was almost falling over from exhaustion. He ripped open the first bar and started eating as he made his way to the desk in his living room to take a look at the timeline information he currently had.

A short delay of several seconds ensued followed by the distinctive airy and accented voice of the Orion commanding officer. "This is Saalm...go ahead," was the inquisitory reply.

"Admiral, I need a brief moment to speak with you, privately. It's urgent!", Rafe said, looking at the timeline, wondering where it could have happened.

Urgent. Wasn't everything urgent, every day of every hour since the Federation had been thrust into war against its two greatest adversaries? Saalm's voice took a more measured edge. "I will relocate to my quarters and initiate a secure channel in five minutes," she reinforced, completely unsure of what this conversation would entail. Many moments passed before her distinctive Orion inflection sounded over the comm again.

"Go ahead, Lieutenant. What is this about?"

Rafe paused, sitting at his desk, reviewing the facts as they were laid out before him. "Admiral, thank you for your time. Without any further delays, as you may be aware, I was stationed at Cold Station 31 before everything turned into an inter-dimensional free for all that we wanted to be a last contact scenario. I feel I am uniquely qualified to detect any unusual information regarding the leaking of information that caused your timeline to unfold the way it has. That being said, I would like your permission to carefully go through all the information the Galileo-B has on the Cold Station 31 files, and I do mean ALL, their exposure, and add that to ours on the Galileo-A. Since I was there before the crew of the Galileo-A rescued us, I feel I offer as much as a comprehensive view as any of us can have regarding the handling of the Cold Station 31 logs, including all debriefings up to the destruction of the logs and data.

I'm your bloodhound, Admiral. Let me follow the trail.", Rafe paused. He had made his case. While he did want to desperately save his own skin, with the reality of the situation the Federation now found itself in, his own saving paled in comparison to the dismantling of Starfleet. The timeline had to be reset. He had to correct Starfleet's trajectory and right the course of history.

There was a momentary pause while Saalm reflected on the request from the nearby starship's conn officer. "If my memory is as good as it used to be, you were one of the three survivors Galileo recovered from the station...along with the two scientists, Mulder and Quil. Yes?" Though she hadn't been in command of the Nova-class during the ill-fated expedition, she remembered reading the after-action reports, and her present-day-Starfleet's best temporal scientists and historians had done their diligence recalling the specific circumstances and personnel involved in the Cold Station 31 experiments.

"Yes, Admiral. That is correct.", Rafe replied. "I feel since I was a part of that mission, I need to put this to bed. It's a loose end and, personally, I don't like loose ends. And Starfleet's future, ALL of our futures, may depend on it." Unfortunately, Rafe was not exaggerating that last point. He sincerely wished he was.

Saalm pushed her emerald fingers through some of the straight black and gray-striped hair along her temple while she considered the value of contributions this junior lieutenant could make to the current ongoing investigation. "Commander Wyatt, Lieutenants Vala and Ullswater, and two more science officers from your vessel have been working together in one of our labs over the past two days...in an attempt to explore an 'alternate' option to resolve this timeline," she revealed. "Your presence on that cold station - are you suggesting you can identify a specific culprit in the data dissemination? Something we may have overlooked, or do not have knowledge of?"

And there it was, the question he was trying to avoid. In an attempt to divert the spotlight from him, he said "Maybe not necessarily intentionally overlooked. Since I've been involved in covert operations, even on the fringe of them, I've made it my practice to be extremely detailed in my observations. I knew the scientists' and engineers' work patterns, even down to their normal body motions, their speech patterns. If there is something to be found, I'll find it. I promise you." Rafe stated. This was the truth, or as much as he could share with her without receiving a court martial. But if he was correct, he could save Starfleet. "If you have suspicions of me, I don't blame you. You didn't get to your rank by being careless. However, you can check my record and you'll find you have nothing to worry about."

The Orion's light and accented voice replied over the channel, "...Suspicions of you?" She frowned. "No. You are a Starfleet officer. Should I possess them?" It was a rhetorical question which she didn't require an answer to, but one which came in the wake of Caradec's slightly dubious comment. Another short silence of pondering manifested before Saalm spoke again. "Have you relayed this request to assist in our investigation to your captain, yet?"

"Not yet, Admiral, but I would be happy to bring her into this conversation now if you like. In fact, I welcome it. I rely on her counsel.", Rafe said.

"Standby." While the rear admiral was amenable to the conn officer's request, it needed to be with consultation from the helmsman's direct chain of command. Saalm could ultimately use her rank authority to override her fellow captain, but such a unilateral decision would be foolish except in the most extreme of circumstances.

Another delay ensued, this one close to a minute. The LCARS communication screen suddenly blinked then displayed a three-way channel with Tarin's face now present. "Admiral. Mister Caradec. What I can I help you with?" she queried the two in her distinctive dry inflection.

"Your lieutenant has approached me with a...unique request regarding the ongoing investigation of the temporal timeline we're currently engaged in. Perhaps he should explain it himself." That was Saalm's cue to Caradec to speak his mind to his own captain.

"Captain, as the Admiral has mentioned, I approached her with a request of allowing me to aid in the investigation of the origins of the temporal situation we find ourselves. As I was the longest on Cold Station 31 and being privy to all the briefings as well, during and post operation, I feel I would be the most qualified to examine and look for any irregularities in the history logs, video, media, etc. Having studied the movements, voice patterns, etc., I think I would be able to find any anomalies in any possible communication logs as well. Finally, I want to mention, the only reason I went directly to Admiral Saalm was for brevity of time. We don't know precisely how long we have in this timeline. But at the Admiral's request I expressed I was more than willing to bring you into the conversation. I trust you, Captain. I trust in your counsel, as well as the Admiral's. I may be able to make the difference in identifying if Starfleet's future, now our history, was inappropriately altered.", Rafe concluded.

Tarin rubbed her chin while she thought more fully about Galileo-A's present situation here in this new forward timeline. What her senior conn officer had remarked was indeed true - he was one of only three recovered personnel from the cold station which most likely meant he had intimate knowledge of its operations and personnel. And compared to the two scientists being held in the brig, he was a far more honest and ethical individual than they. Yet, his request prompted an important question she couldn't suppress. "You're certainly the most qualified of our crew to spot any anomalies," she agreed with a nod, "but your request suggests you believe the admiral's team - and Starfleet's temporal scientists - might be wrong about their projections..."

"Not necessarily wrong, Captain. I just feel I would be able to see things they would not, based on my time with the crew, studying their habits, working areas, etc. If there's some indication, even in their communication logs, I'll find it.", Rafe assured her. "But, I can't help if I don't have the access."

Exhaling a short breath, Tarin replied, "One moment," before temporarily cutting his comm feed in order to speak to Saalm in private. "Admiral, are you comfortable with this? Do we even have the time to review your - rather, Starfleet's - historical records of the Cold Station 31 incident?"

The Orion tilted her head slightly to the side then raised her eyebrows with an expression of subtle uncertainty. "Perhaps. It may be a futile effort, but because I have already granted several of your crew permission to investigate our temporal calculations, it would be hypocritical to refuse any additional perspectives at this present junction." Saalm then narrowed her light green eyes at the Human commander. "In regards to time...well, it has always been our enemy...as you just witnessed. Now that the Romulan scout vessels have located our position, it won't be long before their warships arrive to destroy us. And with Galileo-A's warp core gone, we don't have the luxury of fleeing from combat. Our choices are limited."

Tarin rubbed her forehead then bit down on her bottom lip, a distinctive quirk she possessed when processing stressful conundrums. "I can spare him for 24 hours. Darius and Sylver will cover his duties while he's gone. But no longer."

An accepting nod from the Orion was the full extent of her approval after which Tarin reconnected Caradec to the three-way channel. The -A captain was the first to speak to the man.

"I'm approving you for a 24-hour transfer to Galileo-B to conduct your investigation, beginning immediately. I can't afford to have you over there any longer so make it quick and find whatever you need to as soon as possible."

Saalm then added, "My first officer, Commander Wyatt, will be your liaison and meet you upon your arrival. He possesses full security clearance and will assist you in your research to help you find the information you seek."

He kept his face as calm as he could, but inwardly he felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders. At least now, he could have the access necessary to see if the information he handed over to be sent to his wife was the cause of the information breach."Thank you, Captain Tarin, and thank you, Admiral Saalm. I hope this brief investigation will yield positive results for all of us, and for Starfleet! I'll be transporting over immediately. Caradec out.", Rafe said. Once the communication links were broken, he had a huge sigh of relief!

Rafe sat on the edge of his seat, in front of his LCARS display at his desk. He was literally shaking due to the high stakes with which he just gambled. Now time to do the best investigation of his life, as not just his reputation, but the future of Starfleet's timeline depended on it. Standing up, he took one more glance at the display of his timeline information that he had recorded so far and downloaded it to a LCARS PADD. He saw himself in the mirror, straightened his uniform and mumbled to himself, "It's no longer about you, pal. This is for all the marbles. Let's go!" He walked back to his desk and took the PADD in hand. Looking at it briefly with trepidation, and wondering if he would ever see his quarters again, he walked out the door.

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-B
[PNPC Tarin]

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lt. JG Rafe Caradec
Senior Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A

RSS Feed