The Great Escape

Posted on 11 Dec 2012 @ 2:09am by Crewman Athlen & Captain Jonathan Holliday

8,485 words; about a 42 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: USS Galileo, Deck 2 - Brig
Timeline: MD13, 0945 hours

[ON]

Maenad had deliberately gotten up early that morning for a special occasion. Really, it wasn't all that special in relative terms, but to her it was special nonetheless. The night before, she had received a message from Crewman Athlen; apparently he had read something that she had written and wanted to discuss it with her. He didn't tell her what it was, either, which made it all the more exciting. She had written a few dissertations and countless papers and contributions to various journals, including three books of her own, but she had no idea what it was he wanted to talk about.

Of course, not being able to refuse a book talk on her own book, even if it was fairly well unknown made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. If he wanted to trash everything she had said, whatever it may have been, she wanted, would have loveD, to hear it. And if he wanted to praise her then, naturally, she wanted and would have loved even more to hear that too. Always trying to be as modest as she could, she would have been a liar if she had ever said she didn't like being the centre of academic attention.

She was sitting on her sofa with a thesis on the myth of Vulcan logic in one hand and a cup of Earl Grey tea in the other, her legs tightly crossed. The thesis was one of her own, though fairly dated now. To her, it was one of the best and most important works she had ever written. In fact, before she had been called to the Galileo, it was the subject of the research she had been doing on Vulcan; it served as the inspiration for the much larger and more detailed next book she was to write. Regardless, she thought that of all the things she had written, considering the encounters with Liyar that she had with Athlen present, he would probably be most drawn to her extensive research on Vulcans.

In the background was playing Camille Saint-Saens' Septet in E flat Major. The morning sun shafted bright beams of warm light into her quarters, made fresher by the many plants she had. On her glass coffee table were a few of her writings that she had had a passing thought might have been interesting to the Rigelian, whom she had come to notice was rather late. Fifteen minutes late, in fact. That was unlike him, especially without notice. He might have been... jolly, but he was never late because of it.

"Computer, where is Crewman Athlen?"

"Crewman Athlen is in the brig," the computer said. And it didn't laugh.

Maenad's face twisted into a look of utter disbelief. "What?" was all she could sputter several seconds later.

"Crewman Athlen is in the brig," the computer told her again.

"The brig?" she said aloud. She lowered her book, staring across the room at the far wall. She slowly set her tea on the sidetable and placed the now empty hand in her lap, her frown becoming more intense. Well, she thought, this certainly ruined everything. Either Athlen was a damn fool or that bloody Cyrus Kiwosk decided to pick on the smart kids again. Well not today, not on anybody in her department. Cyrus or not, if she didn't think that Athlen should be in there, whoever had done this would feel her frigid wrath.

Maenad dropped her book on the empty cushion beside her, uncrossed her legs, and stood all in one single motion. She fixed her black skirt that fell to just above her knees, then rolled up the sleeves of her pale yellow blouse to her bony elbows. She marched into her room, being conservative in style meant that she had to cover her legs, and hurriedly pulled on a pair of tights. She forced her feet into a pair of brown derbies by her door and stormed into the corridor.

Stepping into the turbolift, it occurred to her that she was on holiday and out of uniform. She didn't care. That made no difference to her. Technically, everybody was on holiday so she had just as much right as anybody, certainly as much, more even, than whatever goon had ruined her morning. But, she thought, if Athlen had landed himself in there with good reason she would never look at him the same way again. She so much hoped that that was not the case.

"Deck..." Maenad started to snap, but realised that she had no idea where the brig was. "Computer where is the brig?" she practically shouted.

"The brig is on deck three," the computer seemed to be enjoying itself.

"Fine, take me there," she didn't realise the volume of her own voice. The ride was only a matter of seconds as it descended one level. The doors opened. Maenad burst out in a furious stride until she reached a doorway with a single security guard standing in front of it.

"Step aside," she told him, obviously looking at the stubs of his shaved head. Classic, she thought.

"Excuse me?" he asked, not moving.

Maenad narrowed her green eyes on his. "Get out of my way," she looked at his neck, "Crewman, I'm Lieutenant Panne, chief science officer, and one of my men is being detained, of all things, in here. Now get out of the way,"

He frowned and took an extra second to do the smart thing and step aside, though he had no idea what was going on inside Maenad's head. She moved past him and stepped through the doors, seeing a row of cells. There was a guard at a control panel off to the right and a guard standing in front of the control panel at the cell furthest from where she stood. It did not need saying that all of the other cells were empty. She walked, her back straight and her face stone, to the distant cell where she knew Athlen was being held. "Lieutenant Panne, chief science officer," she said without looking at the guard. "Now get the hell out of here."

The security officer walked over to accompany the other man at the main control panel. Once he was gone, all the while Maenad maintained her glare on Athlen in his cell, she finally spoke. Her hands behind her back and her legs together, her eyebrows straight, her eyes dark. The dim lighting of theroom and the glow of the blueish forcefield whitened her skin and exaggerated her features with shadows. "Mister Athlen, there had better be a good reason for being in here," she said with a hushed monotone iciness.

Athlen was pale. Even moreso than usual, it made the pronounced greenish hue of his skin look sickly and chartreuse under the heavy yellow-blue lighting. He was sitting on the floor, hands dug into his knees and eyes closed. He flinched noticeably at Maenad's voice before he opened his eyes and stood to his feet quickly, bowing his head. "No," he said with a shake of his head. "No. I was talking to Lieutenant Liyar, in the mess." His voice was low, and he'd went formal. "We were going over," he tilted his head, and outright crossed his arms to avoid the appearance of looking discomposed, "Philosophy." He laughed a little shallowly. "You know how that is. I mean it was fine, but irritating. Which is fine, because we had a holodeck session. That is the point." Athlen was genuinely confused, and obviously distressed. "I got up, and said that we would fight later. Just, sparring, t'an krila," he said, describing the Rigelian word for Inferior/superior complex-spar. "Like always. And then I ended up in here." He paced while he talked, his shoulders hunched. "The security officer said I threatened someone and littered? He knocked into me. I was holding soup. I forget what else." Athlen was outright rambling. "I was not threatening him. I didn't mean anything bad. I am really sorry." He found the ground was very fascinating to look at. "Lieutenant Liyar told them it was fine, but they said that wasn't a fact, and told him to stop defending me." Athlen growled a little in his throat. "This is a disaster!" he burst out. Obviously, whatever he used to get composure wasn't effective inside a holding cell, and his body was vibrating with stress.

Maenad hadn't flinched once during the entire understandable blabbering that Athlen had just sputtered. A normally well-spoken, incredibly intelligent, and good-natured man reduced to... reduced to this. And for what? She believed every word he had said; she had no reason to doubt his honesty, and if he were lying he was smart enough to know what kind of repercussions there would be. He might have only known Maenad for a short period of time, but she knew quite well that people weren't indifferent as to whether they were on her bad side, even if they were only acquainted with her. She wasn't unpleasant, but she gave the impression that was very capable of being so. What amazed her most about what she could string together from Athlen's ramblings was that he was locked up like a rabid dog for littering and being sarcastic. While littering certainly was an offence, it didn't take a genius to figure out that it wasn't a criminal offence, it was a civil one. And civil violations meant fines; on a starship and in a society where fines had no meaning, it meant rations or restrictions on leisure - not jail. And sarcasm was certainly no crime on any level of justice; they weren't in the Cardassian Union, for god's sake. Above all, the fact that Athlen had stared at the floor for nearly the entire time, when normally he maintained eye-contact, said that he was truly baffled.

After a good ten seconds of standing there, watching him and considering all that she had heard, Maenad finally called over the guard. "Release him," she said, turning her head to look the young man in the eyes.

"Sir?" he asked, clearly hesitant.

"Do you not speak English?" she asked him flatly. "Or do I need to repeat myself?"

The guard looked mixed. "I will get Lieutenant Stone down here for you," he said.

"Now you listen to me, crewman," Maenad turned her body to face him, but kept her hands behind her back. If someone were standing behind her, they would have seen that one of her hands had formed a fist so tight that her knuckles were practically bursting through the skin. "I don't care who put this man in here. And contrary to whatever ideas of service and honour you have in your head," one long arm shot out to point at Athlen, and one long bony finger too, but her eyes remained locked into the guard's. "This, perhaps if it is not too difficult for you to understand he, is a living, breathing, free-thinking, sentient being with the same rights and privileges as you have." She replaced her arm at her side, her other hand clenching her wrist behind her back. "This was done illegally," she shrieked at him, but still held her authoritative composure. She let the pitch of her last word hang in the air for a moment, the buzzing of the forcefield then seemed many times louder for several seconds. "Your keeping him here makes you an accomplice in the violation of so many protocols that to read them all at your court-marshal would take more time than you have days left to live, so I suggest that you stop wondering about short-term notions of orders are orders and do what I say."

Meanwhile, Athlen blinked in part relief, part confusion. He didn't expect Maenad to come to his defense, but he couldn't say he was ungrateful for her now. The cell's harsh lighting reminded him of Senyo'tor in the very worst way. He watched as she gradually became more and more irritated at the crewman, and then as the crewman finally answered. His answer made Athlen sag a bit. Pacing the cage, his mind supplied unhelpfully, with a bubbling of images and sensations to accompany it. He stood silently, refusing to let it show, give these people more of an excuse to think less of him.

"Security to Lt. Stone," Davis said hitting his commbadge. "We have a situation in the brig that requires your attention." He received a terse response and turned back to Lt. Panne. "You'll need to speak with Lt. Stone," he said while not adding or Lieutenant Rhodes or Lieutenant Rice or Chief Kiwosk or anybody but me.

Jeremy ended the transmission as the turbolift doors opened. He nodded to a security officer passing him in the hallway. "Might want to be careful with that one boss," the officer said as he continued toward the turbolift. Jeremy frowned at that as he stopped in front of the doors to the security office. Steeling himself he entered.

Aside from the accused and two security officers, was a woman he thought looked familiar in some way. She would be more attractive if the blouse she wore wasn't two tints too yellow for her pale skin and her face wasn't twisted into such a fierce scowl.

"I'm Lieutenant Stone," Jeremy said as he saw Davis walk away from the cell that held Crewman Athlen. "How may I provide service?"

"Where's Lieutenant Parker?" Maenad replied airily, first looking at the ceiling then into the stranger's brown eyes.

Jeremy frowned. "I am unable to answer that question, perhaps if you direct your inquiry to the computer, he could be located via his commbadge?" He looked past her for a moment.

"She means Parker as the Chief, sir," Davis said, trying to hide his smile at his boss's answer. He thought Stone was being deliberately sarcastic rather then merely answering a question.

Athlen just stared, clenching his jaw against the torrent of confusion at Stone's presence. He didn't notice that his hands had clenched into fists and when he did, he deliberately relaxed them. The absence of his psi-stone had his composure lacking.

"Oh," Stone said. "I'm the new Chief of Security and Tactical Operations aboard the Galileo. What is the nature of your business in the security office?"

Maenad frowned. "But what happened to Parker? I thought..." she stopped. "Are you responsible for this injustice?"

Jeremy blinked several times as her regarded her. "No," he said, "I bear no responsibility for Parker's dismissal as the Security Chief. I have merely been reassigned to the Galileo as his replacement. Though, from what I am becoming to understand his own ineptitude was a major determining factor in his reassignment elsewhere."

Maenad's frown became more intense, almost confused. What? she thought, then realised that once again her thinking aloud had caused confusion. For the first time since she had learned of Athlen's jailing, a slight grin formed on her lips, but only for a second. "No," she said, closing her eyes. "I mean are you responsible for this injustice?" She pointed to Athlen in his cell, not taking her eyes from the new security chief.

Stone moved from the center of the room to the security console as he spoke. "I am unable to answer the question you pose as your premise is flawed. There is no injustice in the arrest of a person violating Federation law and Starfleet regulations." He began running calibrations on the subsystems for the security fields, to include the privacy modes. He noted several abnormalities in the readings early this morning while going over the systems and wanted them corrected. They presented a clear security risk.

Did this man really have so little interest in what was going on that he could just nonchalantly mosey his way over to a computer, as though she had vanished into thin air? Maenad stood there and watched him, a growing look of incredulity spread across her face as he distanced himself. After a moment of disbelief, she marched to the console with her arms rigid against her sides, her hands still in fists. "Are you telling me that spilling soup, speaking passionately of philosophy, and inviting a friend to a regular t'an krila is grounds for incarceration? I'm not a security officer, but I know that those are not reasons to be locked up like some kind of animal," she shrieked at him from the opposite side of the console. Her voice was shrill, but not unbearably loud. She restrained the full volume of her anger. Without missing a beat, however, the enraged woman persisted. "Now you had better release my crewman, for you have already wasted both his time and mine, making him late for a meeting we had scheduled for 0930, or I will be forced to bring Commander Holliday down here."

Without looking up from the console Jeremy asked, "I presume by your statement of what you believe to be facts you are a witness to the incident and wish to file a statement? I will first need your name to make sure the statement is coordinated with the case reports." He motioned to Crewman Davis whose eyes went wide and shoulders slumped as Stone spoke, "That officer is available to take your statement. However, for your demands to release Crewman Athlen." Jeremy looked up just long enough to say "No," before returning to the console.

Maenad hung her jaw open, amazed at the size of this man's ego. A sudden rush of adrenaline began to rush through her veins, and she felt her right hand go numb. She nodded once, twice, and then a third time. "Parker's ineptitude," she exclaimed sarcastically. Maenad walked around the console so that she stood next to the careless indignant man, facing his side. She so badly wanted to slap him as hard as she could. She had slapped many people in her days, and she thought at that moment that if she could only have ever hit one man in her entire life, it would be the one standing there now. She instead reached into her breast pocket and removed her commbadge.

"Commander Holliday to the brig at once," she said, her tone grave. She then replaced her badge in her pocket. "Commander Holliday is a reasonable man," she whispered to Stone before there came a reply. She gave Stone a terse smile, like the kind a sibling would give after telling mom about the other's trouble. Maenad spun on her heel, her skirt fluttering with her, and she walked over to Athen's cell. "Don't worry, Mister Athlen. The Cardassians haven't conquered us just yet," she gave him a reassuring smile, but her eyes were no more pleasant.

That last line caught Jeremy's attention. His eyes narrowed as his breathing slowed. "Just what would you know about Cardassian captivity?" he asked, wisely cutting himself off before adding you shrieking harpy.

Athlen cleared his throat. "Excuse me -" he interrupted them both, looking rather out of place, but wanted to make mention of it before Stone or Maenad left. "I asked the brig officer earlier - he insisted that I ask Lieutenant Stone directly." He addressed the security officer then. "You took my bond-clasp when you put me in here. It is, a necessary item." He gestured slightly. "In terms of, health. Function. May I have it back?"

"All requests from prisoners are to be done on a formal request form," Jeremy said, "Starfleet Security protocol 37, section 10, paragraph 1. Place your request in the proper format backed by certified documentation regarding its significance on 'health' and your matter will be considered." Jeremy's tone was harsh now as he came around the security console and glared at the thoroughly disagreeable woman waiting for her response. If she thought arresting Athlen on criminal charges was injustice what would she make of the Cardassian 'hospitality' of their prisoners?

Davis may be a lower ranked enlisted man, but he'd served long enough in Security to recognize a situation about to go south. He moved closer to the cell, closer to Lt. Panne as a precautionary, protective move. Though she would probably put him on report for it.

"Then I will need a form," Athlen pointed out crossly, folding his arms over his chest.

"Ath," Davis said to the crewman, "Chill for a bit, okay? I'll take care of it, okay?"

Athlen nodded mutely, closing his eyes.

Having spent more than enough time with the Cardassians, including being in their captivity, Maenad knew quite well what she was talking about. She felt no need to explain herself; she completely ignored the question about what she knew about Cardassians. Instead, she eyed this Davis guy who had taken a few steps closer to her. Her expression dared him to do anything to her, but she said nothing to him. She actually felt sorry for the young man, having to be part of this massive charade. Also ignoring Stone's comments in regards to Athlen's bond-clasp, she would save her protests for Commander Holliday.

Having been summoned from his quarters, John had hurriedly leapt from his breakfast and virtually sprinted down the hallways towards the nearest turbolift, scrambling to pull on his uniform tunic as he did so. A dozen thoughts had run through his mind as to why exactly he would be summoned to the Brig so unexpectedly. Luckily the Brig was only a single deck below him, rather than across the other side of the ship, and the journey was relatively short.

Stepping through the doors into the security office and the contained Brig, Holliday was surprised to find such a collection of crew, including two senior officers waiting for him.

"I...assume there hasn't been a riot or something aboard ship that I'm not aware of? It's not usually part of my morning routine to be summoned down here Miss Panne?"

When Commander Holliday emerged through the heavy-set doors of the brig, a wave of sudden relief washed over the stiff science chief. Maenad moved past Davis, flicking her wrist at him to get out of her way. "Commander," she greeted him halfway, striding quickly toward him. She was looking forward to seeing the commander's wrath, and her voice had garnered a sort of distant excitable pleasantness. "My Crewman Athlen, here, has been incarcerated for having a heated discussion in the mess hall with his good friend Lieutenant Athlen. In the process, a bowl of soup was spilt. He has also been denied access to his bond-clasp, which he requires for his health and well-being, the denial of which is a direct violation of his rights as Federation citizen. I have demanded his immediate release, as we have work to do, and," Maenad turned around and presented Lieutenant Stone a few paces away with one long arm, "Mister Stone refuses to comply," she turned away from the security chief and replaced her arms behind her back, waiting to see what sort of expression was about to play out on Holliday's stern face.

It seemed very much to John that he had been pulled into a debate between two squabbling department heads. Whilst usually he would have left shipboard discipline in the hands of Security, the Commander wanted to know more about why exactly one of his crew were sat in the Brig on charges that as far as he was concerned would not usually even merit a slap on the wrist.

"Lieutenant Stone - your analysis please?"

He ignored the newcomer for a moment as he kept his hands tightly behind his back, trying to slow his breathing and remember all the things Mulgrew told him about times like this. He could feel himself trembling and walking the edge of losing that control that he had worked so hard over the years to gain back. To the shrieking harpy he said, "You will address me as Lieutenant Stone, as per protocol. I would tell it to you, but you would only forget it under the weight of your own self-importance. However, as you are not Captain Lirha or Commander Holliday, you have no authority over me, therefore making the use of the honorific 'mister' improper in accord with my rank and position."

He turned slightly. "Officer Davis, remove this woman from the security offices. Her business here is concluded." He hoped she resisted his officer, physically, he would be more than happy to introduce her to some real injustice.

He turned back to the newcomer, his hand tapping against the other on his lower back, still breathing heavily while he fought to stay balanced. He had no idea who this person was, his XO was not just off ship but off world and Jeremy was not given a date for his return. However, he did recognize the red collar and the rank pips and that was enough. He took a half step back and his eyes went to the empty brig cell at the far end of the room.

"Commander," he said, realizing his tone was less respectful than it should be and took in a deep breath to try to pull back. "Commander, this person, who is neither a victim nor even a witness to the incident in question is in error. I arrested Crewman Athlen this morning after he threatened Lieutenant Liyar to a physical confrontation while holding a makeshift weapon. This came after Crewman Athlen, on two prior occasions did disturb the peace by shouting at Lieutenant Liyar, even standing in a threatening manner prior to making actual threats. During his threat, he accosted Lieutenant Liyar with a bowl of soup, making actual battery upon the person of Lieutenant Liyar, a Starfleet officer and diplomat, sir."

The recitation of events helped to calm him somewhat.

It seemed the situation around here would quite easily evolve into fisticuffs if Holliday did not assert his authority with due haste. The fact that so many officers were trying to throw their weight around was enough to make the Commander debate simply throwing all of them in the Brig to cool off. Sadly, Galileo didn't have an adequately large on-board facility to accommodate that particular thought.

"Stand down, Mr Davis." John began, immediately refusing the allow the removal of an officer from his presence without his direct request.

"In fact...dismissed. I will deal with this. Return to your duties elsewhere." The Commander finished. There was no need to have additional bodies in the room that were simply there to follow orders. This was a debate for his senior staff, and not for the junior members who were around him.

Davis felt like the proverbial deer in headlights. Here was Commander Holliday ordering him to leave but his Chief had also given him an order. To carry out the one would violate the other. He turned to Jeremy for just a moment. Fortunately his Chief nodded toward the door, relieving him of the problem. He tried to make sure to walk slowly toward the door, to make it seem less like it was - fleeing.

"Threatening a diplomat with a makeshift weapon is a serious allegation...however...I wish to know the details."

Crossing the chamber, John stood directly in front of the forcefield that was successfully keeping Crewman Athlen isolated from the rest of the ship. He found it hard to believe that one of his crew would suddenly commit such a serious offense, and he wanted to know more.

"Explain yourself Crewman. What is going on here?"

Athlen made a noise that sounded very suspiciously like a growl. "Make-shift weapon," he repeated flatly. "Standing in a threatening manner." He stood, then, eyes narrowed. "Actual threat." He was finally losing his own cool. When Holliday spoke to him directly, he took another deep breath. "Sir. T'an krila is specifically outlined in Starfleet regulations in the section of interspecies conflict resolution under Vulcanoid Rigelian. Sorry, I'm not - I don't - this isn't, some kind of political thing. It's natural, and normal, for Rigelians. Lieutenant Liyar is fully aware of it and it's noted, publicly, on record, dozens of times. Lieutenant Liyar also told him that, in front of everyone, but I guess he did not hear over the sound of his own ridiculousness. He was also the one who knocked into me, tackling me without warning and resulting in the make-shift weapon, which was a bowl of soup," he finished, dangerously close to losing control. "And sorry - sorry - he took, my bond-clasp, and now I'm -" He broke off, and shrugged. No excuses. "Nevermind. My emotional facilitation is compromised as a result. I should - do better. Sorry."

John could not help but feel a little sorry for this individual caged up in front of him. Although the Commander had been somewhat briefed on the nature of Rigelians and their service within Starfleet, he had to admit that his knowledge was a little patchy in areas. What he could see however, is someone who was scared, and somewhat disorientated.

Nodding to the crewman, John turned on his heels and returned to the gathering of his senior officers in front of him. It had been a while since he had needed to act as the diplomat, but practice was certainly worth taking up.

"Lieutenant Stone - the bond clasp that you confiscated from the Crewman - I assume it is in storage somewhere?"

"Sir, as per procedure it is placed into valuables storage with the remainder of Crewman Athlen's personal effects. I run a proper operation here, sir," he said, a bit more terse than he realized, but also glaring at Maenad. As soon as he realized, though, that he had raised his voice to a superior, he dropped his gaze to the ground, tensed and took a half step away from the Commander.

"Very well. Please return it to Crewman Athlen. I wish to question him myself and cannot do this effectively when he is in a heightened emotional state."

"Sir," Jeremy said, still on the edge of terse and defiant, making part of him expect to be hit with a pain stick or a club at any moment, "the piece of jewelry in... that piece of jewelry could be used to cause harm to one of my officers or to Crewman Athlen himself. Starfleet Security Regulations Regarding the Safety of Prisoners states-"

He narrowed his eyes as he was cut off. Though highly agitated by the entire situation and not yet having a chance to calm down, this was almost normal for him. He was used to being cut off by Chief Alexander.

"Lieutenant Stone I gave you an order - if you can't follow it then hand over your commbadge and get off my ship." John interjected. Usually he would not have hesitated to allow an officer to continue their explanation, but in this case the XO simply couldn't see a reason to deny the Crewman's request.

"Yes, sir," he said, almost mumbling at this point. He stared at the panel containing the lockers and closed his eyes while he tried to remember the access code. His hands shook more noticeably as the numbers weren't coming. He knew them. He knew them! He used the lockers just this morning to put things away! Frustration rose with panic as he felt the eyes on him, thinking him incompetent and foolish.

He muttered under his breath as he retrieved his PADD from the console and looked up the numbers, finally obtaining the piece of jewelry indicated.

Preparing a second PADD he opened a narrow opening in the security field. "You will need to acknowledge receipt of the property back."

Athlen stalked over and took the PADD, not bothering to look down at it, but maintaining a level stare at the security chief. "I will acknowledge it when it is given back to me." He eyed the slot bluntly. "And it is not a piece of jewelry," the Rigelian corrected, equally terse, "It is a psionic stone, and it is necessary to me."

Jeremy glared back, in the mood to take up any challenge that the prisoner wanted to issue. However, he was also very much aware of the Commander's presence and being watched. "Negative, Crewman, you acknowledge receipt you are getting property back, or I'll put it away and make a notation in your file of your refusal to follow procedure."

"I don't care." Athlen's visage was somewhat more vicious than usual. "My family take precedence," he said vehemently. "You will have to excuse me if I do not take your word at face value." He forced himself to speak levelly. "You could easily refuse to give it to me once I've signed this. You clearly don't have a vested interest in helping me. I want assurance. "

Turning slightly to Holliday, however still not looking directly at the Commander, "Sir, I can only allow so much violation of security procedures. I will stand for any discipline you wish to mete out for following that procedure, but I will follow it, sir. I would just request that you acknowledge responsibility for violating protocol, in protection of my officers, sir." However, remembering Holliday's words from earlier, he removed his commbadge and held it out to the Commander.

"Let the record show that I take responsibility for any and all actions which occur within this office during this discussion. No member of the security staff shall be punished for anything that occurs as a result of my overriding of standard protocol."

The XO announced, as if he were stood on some great podium addressing a great office such as the Federation council or the board of Admirals. It didn't matter that he was only in the small Brig of a Nova-class starship, the feeling was the same.

"Now I trust that gives you sufficient protection to put that commbadge back on your uniform, Lieutenant Stone?"

Jeremy reattached his commbadge and handed the jewelry and PADD with the property receipt form to the Commander. As soon as it was out of his hands, he stepped to the console and took out his own PADD, stabbing at the screen as he typed out a note: Speak to Cmdr Holliday re: need for DHs authority to follow protocol, regs, procedures without being overriden by jackass fill in commanders on a personal whim.

Then he made sure to watch the exchange with Athlen. This Commander might be some hippie, free love, Security hating bleeding heart fool, but he was still a person in Jeremy's jurisdiction and therefore Jeremy was under the aegis to protect him. Even from his own stupidity.

As soon as the clasp was returned, Athlen took the stylus and signed over the PADD with a thankful nod. It seemed as soon as he touched the stone at the side tension began to leave him, though he was still highly wary. "The next time, if you see an item with this symbol on it, please look for the corresponding record." He showed the clasp again, turning it over to reveal the embossed red + on the side of it. He then attached it to the opposite side of his tragus at the qui'lara point there, closing his eyes against the outside world and summoning the charge radius of energy from within his own core to reach out and touch the familial ties within him. The difference was almost immediately noticeable.

"I trust that will deal with the most immediate problem Crewman?"

Athlen nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Now... are you in a fit state to explain the situation. Did you indeed make a threat towards Mr. Liyar?"

"I'm - thank you," he repeated, taking a few moments more to reign in his composure.

John was glad to see the look of calm began to spread across the Rigelian's body. He might not have known exactly what its purpose was, but he knew full well that the Rigelian government were generally more than vocal when it came to their species being mistreated - the last thing Holliday wanted was a diplomatic incident on his vessel.

Maenad stood slightly behind Commander Holliday, watching everything unfold. She knew he was a reasonable man. Although he seemed scary when he came into her office to meet her, he had reassured her that he was a good man. She had looked up his file and saw that he had an exemplary background in security, and given that he was only a couple of years older than her and already a commander, and a first officer, had to count for something. Her jaw remained sharp but her lips were no longer pressed; she was pleased that Athlen had had his stone returned. She looked to the floor again, and stood a single step closer to Holliday's side, feeling a coming victory for herself and, of course, for justice.

Sufficiently (for the most part) capable of speaking calmly once more, Athlen straightened, holding his hands behind him the same way he'd seen his superiors do when they were being professional. "No threat, sir. T'an krila is the Rigelian word for inferior-superior spar, between subordinate and superior officers. As I said, before," he started, and he sounded much more in control and even formal, rather than the snarling tones of earlier, "It is under interspecies conflict resolution in every Starfleet manual published after 2372. It is also an accepted regulation to engage in sparring regardless, but t'an krila is specific to rank disparity, for tension, disagreement, or simple meditation."

Athlen couldn't resist making an odd hand gesture here and there though while he spoke. He realized he sounded a bit like he was on a soap box but at this point he didn't really care. He wanted to explain it as fully as possible so they knew what he meant, so it wouldn't happen again, so they wouldn't think he was dangerous.

"I don't mean to get political. I'm - sorry, I know the Rigelian Consulate is - well -" he shrugged, remembering well the enraged face of Councilor Vro. "I didn't mean it as a threat, and Lieutenant Liyar did not perceive it as a threat. It wasn't said hostilely, in fact it was said in lightness. He has confirmed that. I'm sorry, I worded it poorly, but it was a semantic error. That's it. My bearing was perfectly fine. Forgive me if I do not consider standing up in a threatening manner," he bit out more harshly than intended, "To warrant incarceration. I said we would fight later and then I ended up in the brig. T'an krila is like meditation, or kya'shin for Vulcans. The medical data is all available in the database. Rigelians are not very common in Starfleet, for the reason that our mode of emotional control is different to other Vulcanoids. The amendments to the regulations were added so that Rigelians can serve to their fullest capacity."

The use of such specific terminology meant that Jonathan had to go silent for a few minutes whilst his head digested the information that was currently working it's way into his memory. It seemed that whilst on the surface it was possible to convey the words being spoken as a threat, they were in fact a simple cultural misunderstanding. Something that every Starfleet officer was trained to try and avoid at every cost. However with such a diverse and multicultural society, it was sometimes possible to blur the lines between cultures.

"Thank you Crewman. Wait here."

With his thought processes complete, Jonathan moved back towards the assembled pairing of his Security Chief and his Chief Science Officer. He wasn't entirely sure how best to handle this, afterall, he had two department heads to keep happy, as well as the consulate of an alien species who would no doubt hold him responsible along with Starfleet if anything more should come of what appeared to be a cultural misunderstanding.

"Crewman Athlen states that this is an error stemming from our understanding of Rigelian custom. He also states that amendments were made to the Starfleet regulations governing interspecies relations to account for this possibility."

John sighed, before rubbing the bridge of nose with his thumb and forefinger, silently thinking as to how he was going to finish off this little speech that he had just begun.

"Lieutenant Stone, whilst I applaud your attention to duty and your actions to ensure the safety of a member of the Starfleet Diplomatic Corps, I do not believe that Crewman Athlen was acting in a malicious fashion. Therefore I would ask that you drop the charge and release the Crewman from his incarceration."

Jeremy couldn't believe his ears. He really couldn't. Based on the accused's excuses the Commander was going to just have him released? Having seen none of the evidence or reports? Just "I'm sorry, for being bad, but that's my culture " and it's set him free time? "Sir, I'm going to have to protest this decision. According to Starfleet Manual of Cultural Diversity, Appendix 16, Rigelian Customs, Paragraph Fourteen: Any Rigelian subordinate who has obtained previous permission to seek T'an krila from an approved superior may at any time make a formal request commiserate with Rigelian custom. Said formal request must accompany proper respect due to the superior as well as state the desire have T'an krila resolution. Crewman Athlen states he understands the regulations as well as the customs, yet he did not make a formal declaration, he threatened to 'fight' Lieutenant Liyar in a hostile manner. There was no respect, no formal declarations or fulfillment of required dogma."

Athlen seethed. "--Right." He glowered, rather impressively, for his shorter stature. "And it could not possibly have had anything to do with the fact that it has been a long standing arrangement which is fully documented. You've never even read my file, or else you would clearly have recognized the universal medical requirement symbol, so don't even act like you are all suddenly Mr. Starfleet Cultural Diversity. It has been declared, and is long standing. The end."

"To allow him to now claim that his 'intentions' were honorable and he followed his people's custom as a means of absolving himself of the responsibility for his actions is not only flying in the face of the same regulation he is relying on to support his cause, it sets a dangerous precedent aboard this ship allowing for blood feuds--"

"Blood feuds?" Athlen was incredulous. "With all due respect, sir, you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, so take the philosophy somewhere else. Considering the tenets of t'an krila are psionic in nature, it is impossible to misinterpret or dangerously precedent anything, and if you have a problem with the regulation, deal with it yourself!"

"Species eating species--"

"--Is this person actually serious?! You're actually serious!"

"And any other manner of," here Stone, not realizing he was sermonizing himself, spit out the word as if it were the most distasteful thing he ever had in his mouth, "anarchy and renders all regulations, protocols and procedures null and void!" His voice rose from his normal attempt to calm to just below shouting, as his face reddened. "Sir," he spat out before taking a breath and blinking. "Respectfully, sir."

Taking a moment to steady himself, John tried to put on his most diplomatic tone of voice before replying. The Lieutenant's devotion to the regulations was admirable, and had made a definite positive impression on the Commander, something he would remember for a long time.

"Mr Stone - the Crewman said that Mr. Liyar didn't take the act as threatening, and he isn't pressing any charges, is that correct?"

Jeremy clenched his hands behind his back, his body virtually vibrating with indignation at this point. What had happened to the idea of law and order? What happened to a trial with a presentation of facts and evidence rather than this... this...THIS travesty going on before him! "Sir!" he said, trying with every bit of his willpower to keep the utter contempt he felt for this bleeding heart fool in front of him from lacing his voice, "That is irrelevant! The state presses charges, not the victim and if you had any sense at all you would-" he stopped snapping jaws together so tight he managed to bite the side of his tongue. The taste of copper flooded into his mouth as he took another step away from the commander, shaking his head. It was going wrong. So very wrong and early. It was only his second day aboard the ship and already it had gone terribly wrong! "No, sir," he muttered, still tasting copper. "I don't believe Lieutenant Liyar would have pressed charges if it were up to him."

"Then there is no need to pursue this further. If our diplomatic officer does not want to take this beyond a minor misunderstanding, then there is no need to continue along this route."

Jeremy trembled, his breathing shallowed as he looked everywhere but at Holliday. "Commander," he said, still trying to recover from his earlier unintended outburst. "This is a matter for the courts to decide at this point, sir. You can't just come in here and ask the accused to excuse his own behavior and expect for order and justice to have any meaning in Starfleet or the Federation!"

"No but I can come in here and order a Lieutenant to follow the orders of a Commander with the authority of the ship's First Officer. If you want to take this further then you are more than welcome to contact Command and have my decision reviewed officially."

"Yes, sir, I'll have one of the men take care of it right away, sir," Jeremy said, wouldn't want a criminal to have to suffer any consequences for his criminal behavior! Oh heaven forfend that should happen!

"Lieutenant Panne, as Crewman Athlen's senior officer, I would like to recommend that at your next earliest convenience you remind him that he should brush up on his own cultural etiquette before publicly demonstrating his own... so that events such as this can be avoided. I don't know about either of you two, but I certainly don't want to start every morning with a trip to the Brig."

"Yes, commander," she nodded, turning on her side to face him. She was so thrilled that she wanted to kiss him, but she stopped herself, and fell back behind him, replacing her hands behind her back. Holliday had just earned an immense respect from her that took many several months. The disgusting words that fell from Stone's mouth, she was just glad that Commander Holliday were there to retort them. Anarchy? She would have preferred anarchy to living on a floating police state; she trusted her crewmates, and she knew that they looked out for each other. The previous mission had attested to that if anything ever could. Although she had never heard of Galileo before being posted to it, and only having been aboard for nearly two weeks, she was thoroughly convinced that she would trust her life with anyone one of the ship's crew. She found it contemptible that their own security chief was more concerned with jailing and abusing his fellow crew than he was about creating a safe and positive atmosphere. Her thoughts turned to Lieutenant Parker and the shy smile he had given her; it was unfortunate that he had to leave, she thought.

"Well then in that case.... Computer override holding cell forcefield and deactivate - Authorisation Holliday 4-7 Omega."

After a moment's thought, the computer bleeped in reply, and the audible fizzle as the forcefield disappeared from view filled the room, leaving nothing but an empty space where it once stood.

The crewman stood, his hands shaking and he pressed them together, one on top of the other, to avoid the fact that they were. He tried imitating a stance of calm. As soon as the field was clear, he stepped out, pressing his back against the other wall, the one not in the brig, and breathed calmly. Peace, Athlen. We are here. Peace. The words in his mind worked considerably better to straighten him up and he looked at Holliday.

"Crewman." Jonathan began as the Rigelian stepped free from his confinement. "I won't be doing this every time you land yourself in hot water - remember - just because something is catered for in the regulations doesn't mean that it's going to go down well every time - understood?"

"Yes, Commander," Athlen said with a nod.

Maenad gave Holliday an appreciative smile, but said nothing to him in fear that it might give the impression she thought he was playing sides. "Mister Athlen, I believe you're late for a meeting," she said dryly to him.

"Yes, Lieutenant Panne. I shall need just a little time, before our meeting. An hour should suffice. May we postpone until then?" Athlen asked, his voice calm.

With a shrug and slight frustrated shake of her head, Maenad closed her eyes. "Sure," she said in disbelief. "I'll be in my quarters," then she turned to face Commander Holliday head-on. "Commander," she gave him an appreciative nod. Then she turned in Stone's direction. "Mister Stone," she said flatly in his direction, then made a brisk pace out of the brig back to her quarters.

Jeremy punched his chest to activate his commbadge and recalled Davis to process the paperwork on Athlen's relief. Without waiting to be dismissed, he went to his office and sealed the door behind him.

[OFF]

Commander Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer, SFC
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Maenad Panne
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Jeremy Stone
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

Crewman Athlen
Sociologist, SCC
USS Galileo

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