Only the Beginning

Posted on 28 Jan 2017 @ 5:29am by Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler

1,234 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Endgame
Location: Security
Timeline: MD 12 || 2100 Hours

Joey walked into her office and ordered the computer to raise the lights to ninety percent before moving over to the replicator to request coffee with cream and two sugars. It was going to be a late night for her, and the report she said would be ready hours ago hadn't even been started yet. The reason for that was simple enough, though. She'd been so busy with her normal duties that a full analysis of the scans from the scene earlier that morning wasn't even started yet, but that was all about to change.

Picking her coffee up, she moved over to her desk and set the steaming cup down before she removed her tricorder from her belt and removed it altogether. For some reason, tonight, it felt as though she had fifty extra pounds weighing her down around her waist, and it was making it hard for her to focus.

With her utility belt on the floor next to her chair, Joey settled down and turned toward her terminal to begin uploading all of the scans she'd gotten along with the ones Franklin had taken. Between the two, nothing would go missed, and she planned to go through every little detail with a fine-tooth comb. More than once if she needed to, and there was great potential for that.

The computer alerted her the upload was complete. It was now time for her to get her hands dirty, figuratively speaking of course.

Joey reached for her coffee and took a sip of the steaming liquid that she came to rely on lately as her fingers moved over the screen. Suddenly, the scene of Crewman Second Class Zh'rykreq lying lifeless on the floor was displayed before her. It was a scene that stuck with her throughout the day... plaguing her... taunting her. She hoped that once the analysis was complete, that would stop.

Minimizing the scans, she punched in her access code and began to go through Security logs. It was just as Richardson said. A huge portion of them were missing, indicating they'd been scrubbed... by Zh'rykreq. She didn't want to believe the Andorian woman was a Consortium sympathizer. The very thought of it caused bile to rise in her throat, but she quickly swallowed it down. Who in their right mind could sympathize with that kind of crazy? She'd answered her own question just then. The individual wasn't in their right mind, and it made her sick.

Despite her personal feelings, Joey had a job to do, and she planned to do it without bias.

"Computer... what authorization code was used to alter the ship's security logs between oh-seven hundred hours on stardate 65609.8 and oh nine hundred hours on stardate 65612.2?" She asked already knowing the answer, but wanted the confirmation.

The computer replied in her normal emotionless tone, and to be sure she had it right, Joey pulled up the personnel file. It was right there, staring her in the face. The code used belonged to the now dead woman. There was that sick feeling again. One of her own... betraying the same crew that trusted the Andorian woman to help keep them safe... Consorting with the enemy. Disgust ran deep, but with that question answered, she could move forward.

Joey found herself taking a few deep, calming breaths. It helped, though not much. She reached for a PADD to begin work on the report she was required to turn in even though there was a great deal of work left to be one. At least that was one item she could tick off of her mental checklist.

She set the PADD aside once again, then brought the image back up once more. The way the body was angled... the way the ladder had fallen... it all screamed accidental, but now that Joey knew Zh'rykreq was a Consortium sympathizer, she couldn't rule out murder.

Joey had all the proof she needed. A PADD containing Consortium details, questions about loyalty to the Federation and enough empty alcohol bottles to get a small army drunk. The smoking gun, however, was the fact she'd scrubbed the logs from her own terminal.

There were five hundred souls on board the Black Hawk, she couldn't rule out that someone found out and decided they'd do the Federation a favor. There was a handful of people she could automatically rule out, but proving it was going to be complete hell.

"I guess it's a good thing I'm used to long days," she muttered, taking another sip of her coffee to add emphasis to her statement.

"Computer... transfer scans to the training facility and recreate the scene," Joey said as she rose to her feet. She reached for her belt to put it back on and grabbed her coffee before exiting her office. It was a short trip to the training facility, and she was beyond pleased to find that the computer had everything ready for her. What didn't please her were a few officers that decided they wanted to be nosy.

"If you don't have enough to do, I'm sure I can find more work for all of you. Like spit shining my boots," she snapped.

The acting Chief watched them scatter, and the second the area was clear, she stepped into the simulation. It looked as real now as it did when she encountered it after the Captain's mast concluded. The only difference now was she'd be able to scrutinize every detail without interruption.

Hours passed by before she knew it, and she'd made no new discoveries. Except for one very minor one. One of the chemicals lying on the floor didn't fall in the same pattern as the others, but even that wasn't enough to prove someone had done this to Zh'rykreq. Joey wasn't even sure the autopsy would provide anything conclusive. The only thing that would prove was her cause of death was a broken neck.

Joey let out a frustrated sigh and tossed her cup into the recycler. "Computer... save simulation... authorization..." Once she'd given her authorization code and ordered the program to end, the Lieutenant made her way back to her office to finish her report and submit it. All signs pointed to an accident, even if she didn't believe that was the case. And why did she care when the deceased party turned out to be a sympathizer to the enemy? The answer was simple. Justice. There was a system in place for that reason.

She leaned back in her chair, her head leaning against it, and closed her eyes. Joey was beyond exhausted, and now she knew one of their own attempted to conspire to help a truly evil man escape. If Jackson managed to get free, he'd likely succeed in killing her along with countless others. The man had proven he would stop at nothing.

Despite their very major faux pas, Joey felt a bit safer knowing that Ricardo and Allen were going to be his guards for the time being. As long as the former Major stayed sedated as ordered, the entire ship and crew would be safe. While that offered her a little comfort, she couldn't wait for it to be over, and hopefully... the end was near. That was the last thought she had before exhaustion finally claimed her just after oh one hundred hours, and she fell asleep right there in her office.

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