It's a lonnnng way down from here

[Atragon9 0]

::Sitting in the back of the long-range shuttle, Inspector General Stephan Morris cannot seem to keep still in his seat, shifting and adjusting constantly. He looks out the viewport and immediately looks back down into the cabin, as if fighting a feeling of vertigo. He tries to read PADD reports, but still can't stay focused. He reaches for a personal recorder and thumbs the control circuit::

 

Stephan Morris personal log, Stardate 50901.17, en route to Starbase-9 and Manticore. I am trying to remember how I ended up with my job twisting into what it's become and why I find myself constantly ... in space. ::he makes to look out the viewport and changes his mind, looking back into his lap:: I was called in to investigate corruption charges against Elaine Jaffe while she was Consul General, back in 50604. It turns out that the CG before her, George Melville, was also involved in corruption, somehow even after his death in 50208. ::shakes his head:: I don't know if I'll ever get used to Black Ops.

 

Anyway, after the Jaffe debacle, the Fed Council decided that they needed an IG more than a CG. It was hard to turn down the opportunity of elevating the office and giving the IG corps more authority. Yet, it turns out that Council still needs someone to do some CG work, so I keep finding myself offworld and I *REALLY* don't like space travel. Sue I would travel for some investigations, but more often than not, the target of my investigations was brought to Earth. Now, I'm some sort of ambassador of secrets for the Council and I can't stay put.

 

Case in point, here I am, out in the ... middle of nowhere in space. The shuttle provided for my travels is nice enough, but I'm still stuck in this tin can for long stretches of time with nothing to see but the blackness of nothing all around me. I don't deny the need for me to be here, and I don't shrink from the task at hand when I get to Manticore. I just wish this ship could come to Earth more often.

 

::Pulling a PADD up from his lap:: Yes, the new Dorsal Mod for Manticore is coming up right behind my shuttle, that's good, since this schedule is pretty tight. I wonder how the crew will take to this latest mission. Heck, I wonder how they keep taking all of these missions! I had to review their records as part of my Jaffe investigation and I have been sending them on their missions since. It's a wonder how they don't crack under the strain we have to put them under. On top of that, Wolfe has to go all Khan on me and torture Atragon and give him brain damage! I swear if we didn't need Wolfe sometimes, I would have him out scrubbing deck plates! So now he's been knocked down to Commander and his ship doesn't move a micron without orders from me. Pffft, orders from me, when did I become a leader of fleets? ::squints his eyes and forces himself to peer out the viewport:: Probably the same I started being a rocket jock and flying around the galaxy.

 

::He sighs, heavily, and thumbs off the recorder::