Stress Comes with the Job

Posted on Thu Sep 10th, 2009 @ 9:19am by Captain Vorn Krace & Commander Acle Walex

Mission: Into a Devil's Heart
Location: USS Iapetus - Ready Room
Timeline: MD03 1248 hrs

Acle's face was set into that of a permanent frown as he walked out of his office, following the medical team as far as the turbo-lift. He awaited for them to descend before entering another lift. He keyed in the button for the bridge, but, before it could start to ascend, Acle entered the lock-out code for the lift. With the lock-out engaged, the lift would not move nor would the door open.

Acle allowed himself to sag against the wall of the lift, expelling a gust of air that he had not been aware that he had been holding. For just a brief moment, he allowed his face to show the weariness that existed beneath it, to show the sorrow that the past few weeks had established. Acle's eyes clouded over for a moment.

A long moment passed before Acle straightened, ostentatiously straightening his uniform from the single defiant wrinkle that had appeared there. His expression had smoothed, returning to its customary Vulcan imitation. Only his eyes still conveyed anything, and those only to ones who had the eyes to see.

=/= Walex to Captain Krace, I need to see you concerning the debrief. ==

=/= I'll be in my ready room=/= the Captain replied.

Acle engaged the lift again, following it up to the bridge level. He stepped out, eyes automatically taking in the sights of the bridge, scanning the consoles for any tell-tale alert signs, reading the officers manning them, and of course, basking in the sight of the viewscreen and the space beyond. He strode purposefully towards the Captain's ready room, nodding to the few crew members who looked up.

He entered the opening hatch and stepped inside. As soon as the hatch slid shut, Acle activated the locking device for the hatch. Then, allowed his mask to slip, ever so slightly once again.

Vorn noticed his friend's demeanor - a show of emotion that was almost as uncharacteristic for him than it would be for a Vulcan. "Acle. Is there something wrong, my friend?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

Acle went to one of the chairs in the room and sat, without waiting to be told to. "Aye Sir... One could say that. Petty Officer 3rd Class Williams is to be considered mentally unstable. Upon debriefing her, she was hysterical, suffered a panic attack, and began to rock herself back and forth whilst holding her hands to her ears. She seemed to fear some sort of physical attack from me or advanced interrogation techniques, neither of which are allowable by Federation Law."

Acle paused here, drawing a breath before continuing. "Being completely honest, the fact that it is against the law doesn't necessarily mean operatives don't do it... But, they will not conduct such activities on a Starfleet Ship. She was unreasonable, fearing death or worse for aiding Brown. She appeared to have no knowledge of UCMJ action or due proceedings. She expected retaliation for her hitting me as well."

Acle finished running through his mental check-list then stared into the Captain's eyes. "Ashley was a competent operator, well remarked on her dossier. She was a rising star in the intelligence field and has nothing in her records to indicate that this was coming. The only blemishes she has on her record is minor disciplinary actions for insubordination and one for striking an instructor. This does not excuse her from her actions in this case of course Sir... But it makes one wonder... What the hell happened to her since she left the Iapetus?!" Acle finally said, his voice raising as he neared the end of his report.

"Do you think it could be subterfuge of any kind? Could she be acting this way, to try and protect herself, or Brown?" Vorn asked. He certainly felt sympathy for his friend's emotions, but he felt the need to explore all avenues.

"No Sir... I do not. I have had some experience with this sort of thing. It was just to... Real. Of course, it cannot be ruled out, so therefore, I have revoked her security clearances as well as restricted her onboard movement. In addition, I will submit a report to my section chief, akin to the one I have just given you. Ultimately, her fate will be up to a Intelligence JAG court. I am sure you will be asked to submit a report as well. For now, her fate is up to you Sir. It would be well within your rights to have her confined to the Brig, I only ask that she be given full mental treatment."

Vorn nodded. "I'll ask Bradley to put her at the top of his priorities," he said, making a note on a PADD infront of him to speak to the counsellor. "What did you learn from her then, if anything?"

"Not much..." Acle muttered. He smiled wryly then said "Basically, Brown approached her with a claim for help. He mentioned someone he loved was in trouble, needed a pilot. This is where things become muddy... She said she thought it was a covert order for her to obey, someone high up gave Brown clearance, which he apparently showed her. I don't know how true that is, but, that is her story." Acle withdrew a small recorder from somewhere on himself and handed it to the Captain. "Here is the exact recording Sir. I apologize that I cannot get you any video recording, but, as you most likely know, there is not any video surveillance feeds in my office."

Acle continued with his story "I could find nothing about where Brown is or his destination. All the reports, both from what the petty officer said, or rather did not say, in addition to the reports from Starbase Ronin, indicate that he is still traveling alone."

Vorn nodded. "Thanks, I'll have a listen through this, and see if I can maybe pick up on anything else you might have missed," he said, holding up the recording in his hand. He sighed then, and rubbed his eyes, as though still tired from getting up this morning. "We still don't know why he did it, Acle. All we know is from assumptions and half-information."

Acle looked at his commanding officer, really looked, for the first time in a long time. Vorn and himself had been friends for a long time, dating all the way back to the time before Acle was even an officer. He himself had been to wrapped up to really pay detailed attention to his old friend, and it shamed him to think that he had not considered the impact this was having on him.

"Aye Sir..." he began, then decided to throw formality to the wind. "Vorn... How much sleep have you been getting?" he didn't really wait for an answer, but, continued on "Have you talked to anyone about this? You aren't blaming yourself are you?" the questions continued.

Vorn smiled at his friend's concern. "I've been sleeping fine, Acle. And no, I blame Peter for what he's doing. It's just... stressful, when a man you trusted enough to place as your first officer becomes the man you have to chase down. It makes one reevaluate how good a judge of character he is."

Acle did not say anything for a long moment, then said "I don't really have a good answer for that. Other then the rest of your crew is here for you."

Vorn's smile to his friend was almost an apologetic one. "Thank you, and don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Go on, go get some rest yourself. You look a lot more tired than usual yourself."

Acle snorted then said "Sleep is for the weak... Unless it is where you are concerned." he added with a slight smile. "I'll be taking a couple hours of personal time when we dock with the station, however. Mixing a little bit of business with pleasure. That will rejuvenate me some." Acle's face returned to normal, he felt himself shifting back to the business of helping to run the ship. "How long are we going to stay docked Sir?"

"I don't plan to stay any longer than we have to. We're going to find Peter's trail, and get on it," Vorn replied, his voice picking up more determination once again.

"Aye Sir. If you would have a look at these inventory sheets whilst I am here. I believe I have covered everything, but, they require your approval at the bottom here." Acle said, indicating the bottom of the data sheet. "If you would review this and then..." Acle continued, going on with the ship's business as usual.

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Captain Vorn Krace
Commanding Officer
USS Iapetus

Lieutenant Commander Acle Walex
Acting Executive Officer
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Iapetus