"The Investigation Continues, Part II"

[Thoros 0]

Thoros stared blankly at the computer screen. He had been at it close to an hour, with a short break halfway through, and had gotten nowhere. Just more questions, which was all he seemed to have. His anger had died down a bit, now leaving him a bit grumpy. Grumpy at Trenton and Chendral for starting it, grumpy at Security Chief Marx for his orders, and grumpy at the Marines for what they did. Especially grumpy at Swan. His knuckles were turning white as he gripped the console hard, considering his orders from Commander Marx. Not good ones. Not good at all.

 

Basically what Thoros could figure was they meant 'do anything to find out who the saboteur is, but don't tell me how'. Thoros had tried to report the prisoner abuse to the Commander, but he didn't want to hear about it. Thoughts ran through his mind, and he didn't like them. Maybe the Commander was worried about his own skin. Marx was down on the planet right now. They could break the rules, find out who sabotaged the ship, and have a couple of Ensigns (again, whatever that equals in the Marines) to cushion his fall when Starfleet heard about it. Marx could probably get away with a reprimand. Thoros could get kicked out of Starfleet. Right now he didn't care what happens to Swan.

 

But it wasn't his career being put on the line that angered him. Just everything he believed about the Federation being put into question. He believed the prisoners had certain rights; rights that they didn't have currently. The Federation didn't abuse prisoners. Swan did. And Thoros didn't care if she wasn't in Starfleet, she still belonged to the United Federation of Planets. The day that it was allowed do something so unethical was the day he quit Starfleet. He could hear his father, the diplomat, screaming at him for allowing the "interrogation" to happen.

 

Personally, Thoros wasn't even convinced that anyone actually sabotaged the ship. For all he knew the engineers both could have both made a mistake. They were traveling at warp nine point nine nine nine, with experimental technology. Which made him wonder again, why was Trenton in the brig. As he reviewed what happened at the computer, all he could figure out was that Trenton didn't follow protocol, and made a mistake. Maybe confine him to quarters, but not arrest him. The Orion though, he could see why she was put in.

 

Thoros thought back to the two prisoners. He wished they could have been more cooperative. While he knew they wouldn't be admitting what Swan wanted to know, they could have at least answered the questions they did know. If they hadn't done anything they could have acted like Starfleet officers and cooperate. Instead all he got was Trenton pointing fingers all day, and Chendral crying like a baby. Both had disgusted him. He hadn't cared about the Orion at all in the "interrogation" room, unlike what Swan thought, and Trenton was just a pain.

 

Perhaps one of them was a saboteur. Maybe they were unwilling accomplices. There was plenty out in space to choose from. Mental brain twisting, some form of space symbiosis. Even a spy aboard the Arcadia. Someone with carefully planted evidence to point suspicion to someone else. Mostly what puzzled him was why someone would sabotage the ship, why someone would want it light years away. He could then have an easier time finding out the who. Thoros sighed and shut off the computer. He had just added more questions.

Edited August 30, 2006 by Thoros