Admiral Chat

[Cptn Elias Moore 0]

"Mr. Moore, just what in the hell is going on over there?" Admiral Gardner barked.

 

Elias had expected no less harsh a greeting from Gardner. He was seated behind his desk in the ready room, addressing his computer terminal. The screen was split in two--Admiral Leonard on the left, Admiral Gardner on the right. How appropriate, he thought.

 

Elias maintained a strict business face. He was not about to play wordgames with Gardner, not now. "I've got teams aboard Defiant, including the MACO's from your latest transport. They're affecting repairs and tending to the wounded. It will take a few days to render her spaceworthy again."

 

"You know what I mean, Mr. Moore!" Gardner, of course, looked furious. But Elias noticed that his face was more sunken, with dark bags hanging under his eyes; he looked weary, as well. "You fired your phase cannon at one of our flag vessels. This is a very serious infraction."

 

"I would imply no less, Admiral." Elias recognized that Gardner's wording and tone were directly accusatory, even though it was ridiculous to consider that he would have willingly fired on a Starfleet vessel. "Which is why I have not hesitated to commit every resource at my disposal to aide Defiant and her crew. I also have the crew remaining here on Challenger investigating the attack."

 

"The attack that never should have happened!" Gardner replied. "That weapon, with its power requirements, could not have charged and fired without your being aware of it and able to stop it, not to mention the navigational adjustment that allowed you to aim the weapon in the first place."

 

"Captain, I believe you mentioned there was a loss of computer control?" Leonard spoke up quickly to cut off Gardner's tirade. He was getting across, without indicating directly, that fault was not placed on Elias' head by the entire Admiralty.

 

"That's right, Admiral. We've determined that Mr. Nagen planted instructions in our computer which were initiated when he escaped. The adjustment and weapon discharge have been tied to these instructions." Elias specifically neglected to mention the Bridge lockout since it was caused not by Nagen, but by two of his own officers. It left a major question that he was hoping the Admirals would not press... and a major issue that he still intended to press upon Connor and Montague. If not for their interference, this disaster might have been avoided. Such reasoning could lead one to believe that the engineers were involved in a conspiracy with Nagen, but, regardless, the Admirals would both demand that they be recalled to Earth. "We believe this was a distraction created so that Achilles might escape."

 

"Nagen is one of the finest engineers the Corps has produced!" Gardner replied. "He wasn't assigned to this project for nothing!"

 

"We are, of course, investigating his motives in this, Captain." Leonard again dove right into the conversation. "We've sent requests along the diplomatic channels to Bolarus. Unfortunately, these requests take a great deal of time to resolve, especially with worlds that haven't joined the Coalition. We're still waiting to get in touch with his family. Hopefully, we'll be able to gain some insight into how such an updstanding individual could have gone off the deep end like this. It's certainly not difficult to believe that a person of his engineering capabilities could have pulled off a sabotage like this."

 

"The cloaking device, Mr. Moore." Gardner now jumped in, sounding as if he was looking for new issues to pester about. "Is it in tact?"

 

"Lieutenant Williams assures me that it has not been tampered with." Elias replied. "Mr. Nagen took some scans of the device, but we sequestered his scanner when we had him in custody and we still have it in the armory. He didn't offer much resistance to this, so we can't be entirely certain that the cloak was his target."

 

"Or he could simply have a backup of the scans!" Gardner replied at no less than a shout. "Such information could be damning to us, Mr. Moore, and now he's out there on a vessel that you allowed to escape, free to share such information with whomever he'd like! How was he allowed to gain entry to the chamber?"

 

Again with the irritatingly accusatory wording. Elias had been fully prepared to weather it, however. He was also prepared to continue dodging any attention on Connor and Montague's roles in this incident. "The sensor logs show that a rather common anti-security device was used. We have that stored in the armory as well."

 

"I'd like a copy of those sensor logs, Mr. Moore."

 

"Admiral..." Elias took in a deep breath and chose his words just as carefully as he mantained his business-like tone. "Do you believe that my staff and I are not capable of conducting this investigation ourselves, or do you not trust us? I thought it to be accepted by all parties, including Captain Hard himself, that none of my people intended to cause any damage to Defiant or any harm to her crew."

 

Gardner looked to be on the verge of an outburst before Leonard quickly answered. "Of course that is accepted, Captain. It's just that when you're sitting in our positions, you see, you're distressed by something like this happening to one of your premier starships. I'm just as anxious as Admiral Gardner to do whatever I can to figure out what happened. But we're more than willing to leave you and your crew to your own devices, isn't that right, James?"

 

Gardner was looking more and more livid at Leonard's interruptions, but he was doing his best to keep himself in check. "We will expect frequent reports, Mr. Moore. Your failure to contact us in the wake of the attack is an oversight that we expect never to be repeated."

 

"I'm sure Captain Moore was quite bu--" But Gardner's half of the screen went black before Leonard could finish. The Admiral sighed and shook his head. "I apologize, Elias. He's been under a lot of stress with matters back here being as they are."

 

"I happen to agree that some of the blame in this lies on me, Admiral."

 

Leonard chuckled warmly. "Spoken like a true Captain. But don't do that to yourself, Elias. This incident was beyond your control, and your reaction to it was admirable."

 

Elias knew otherwise, knew about the side to this story that was still unspoken. He simply frowned in response and attemped to switch topics. "About Admiral Gardner... we never got a chance to speak--"

 

"Uh, hahum." Leonard cut him off and made a shifty glance. Of course... command channel, could easily be monitored. "Not now, Elias. I'm afraid I have some pressing matters to attend to. It never ends here at headquarters."

 

"Oh, right, I understand. It's not that important anyway. I'll leave you to your business, Admiral."

 

"And I'll leave you to yours, Captain. Good luck out there and keep us informed about the investigation, otherwise we'll get jumpy." Leonard smiled and cut the comm.

 

Elias picked up the Enterprise model sitting at the front of his desk. He had helped build Enterprise, and the model served as a reminder of what he had accomplished, a reminder that he belonged here. With everything that had happened the past couple days, he wasn't so sure anymore, and the model wasn't helping to bolster his confidence.

 

So many NX ships being built now. What was Gardner building?

 

Elias rubbed at the base of his nose, fatigue beginning to tug at him, with no respite to be enjoyed anytime soon. Random thoughts were zigzagging through his brain... Connor, Gardner, Julie, Sergio, Nagen, Montague, Cole... he knew he'd have to focus before leaving the ready room and returning to the fray. There was still much to be done to restore Defiant and her crew, to investigate the attack, to locate Achilles' trail.

 

Gardner had made no hint at punishment for the attack. He intended no punishment. His chiding sounded genuine, but it lacked a certain sincerity... it was a demonstration... he was putting on a show... for whom?

 

Elias shook his head and rubbed at his eyes now. He would have to stop by the mess and grab a cup of coffee. There's something he wouldn't enjoy. Julie was usually down there; every time she saw him, she would give him the same cold look before darting into the galley. And the coffee... would only make his mind race even more.

 

What was he doing so close to the Romulan border? Why hadn't another ship been sent?

 

"Captain, you're needed on the Bridge."

 

The comm jolted Elias back to crisp reality. He replaced the starship model, found his composure, and marched back out into the maelstrom...