CAPT MirazuniAyesha walks to the office and rings, politely waiting for a response.
LT StrayThere’s a 3 hour short wait as the lawyer finishes up his message before he stands to greet the arrival. “Enter,” he says aloud, prompting the door to open.
He flashes a weary smile at the woman, motioning for her to enter and then offering his hand to shake, “Captain Mirazuni, I presume?”
CAPT MirazuniAyesha enters, looks around briefly, and then takes Stray’s hand, shaking it once quickly before taking it back.
“I am, yes. Lieutenant Stray?”
LT Stray“That’s me,” he answers, motioning to the comparatively less formal table before taking a seat at it, himself. “I’ve read over the relevant reports and Command’s initial filing. Frankly, I’m less than impressed. It seems to me that you acted well within your command authority.” He queues up a recorder on a PADD and sets it between them. “Could you give me a quick rundown on what happened out there? Particularly if there’s anything that might have been…” he makes a motion with his hand, “… omitted from the report. Faulty memory, or perhaps didn’t seem important at the time? As well as any perceptions you might have about why this investigation is taking place? Anything at all you can think of.”
He pauses a moment, “To be blunt, the more you can tell me, the better job I can do defending you.”
CAPT MirazuniAyesha nods and sits, crossing one leg above the other.
"The mission was to deliver a rotation of researchers to the Federation’s First Contact Outpost on Gartan II. Our shuttle was modified before departure to make it invisible to the passive scans of their satellites, and the pilot was given their scanning path so they could navigate a safe path through the system to the transfer point. It was routine, normally done by the research team’s own shuttles but as we were travelling that way, we gave them assistance. A few of the science team from DS13 and some Captains were going to observe the running of the Outpost and to give insight onto the new technology being used for stealth surveillance of the population.
"The first thing we picked up when arriving in the system was a broadcast from the planet declaring war on an unknown entity. Scans revealed debris scattered in orbit of the planet, both native and Federation. My main focus was to understand what was happening, so we hailed the research team on the ground. They revealed that a malfunction on one of their probe’s thrusters made the probe collide into a native satellite, knocking both from orbit and back to the ground.
“The Prime Directive had already been breached and now my job was to ensure contamination of the planet was minimal, and save the researchers on the ground. My team on the shuttle had a range of experience, with two captains, excluding me, a commander, and two ensigns. Had it only been us on the shuttle, we would have continued the mission in a professional and calm manner, as we were all Starfleet trained. We did however, also have the group of researchers, who were not Starfleet trained and had no idea of the gravity of the situation. I asked Captain Skye to inform the researchers what had happened, but I think that was an error on my part; as soon as they heard the news, they became very vocal, and that was becoming an issue,” she says, looking to see if Stray had questions at this point.
LT StrayStray nods along, briefly pausing to ask, “Were transporters not an option for some reason?”
CAPT MirazuniAyesha shakes her head. “No, the research team on the station informed us that we could not use transporters if we wanted to remain undetected; now that the natives on the planet were actively looking for anomalies and disturbances with their satellites, it was impossible to remain undetected. The shuttle, as it stood, was outside their scanning ranges so we were, at that point, undetected. To get closer to the planet to initiate transport would mean revelation. In preparation to remove contamination and debris, I had signalled to the U.S.S. Bark, the Endeavour’s escort ship, to hasten to the planet, as the Bark had more storage capacity than the shuttle and if we were going to beam the Federation debris and outpost to away, it would be easily stored in the Bark. The ship would take time to arrive though, and it was clear that time was not on our side,” she explains.
"My telepathic abilities are rather sensitive on account of my dual heritage. I take a neurosuppressants to keep my abilities from hindering my ability to command. Between the fear and hostility I could garner from the natives on the planet, and the hostility of the Federation researchers in order to continue my duties without incapacitation, and to maintain cohesion on the shuttle so that we could do our jobs, we had to calm them down. I told Captain Skye to inform the researchers that if they did not remain calm and settle down, we would have to sedate them. After that, the researchers remained calm and it allowed for the crew to continue to come up with solutions to the issue.
"Captain Skye and Captain Tungsten were in favour of just retrieving the researchers and withdrawing. It was postulated that modifications could be made to the shuttle to allow stealth entry, but we would reveal ourselves as soon as we began to beam up the researchers. All plans neglected the contamination left by the outpost and the debris. We also did not know how long the modifications would take; +
CAPT Mirazuni"As far as I knew, there were no engineers amongst the crew. The longer we took to save the researchers, the greater the risk that the natives would find them first, and act in a retributive manner, as stated by their broadcast.
"I became a doctor to save lives, and that has always been my goal. I did not want the researchers to die, nor did I want the natives to believe that there were alien entities out there ready to kill them. Their development had already been altered before we arrived into the system. I had a choice; do I leave these natives, who already knew there was alien life out there, to develop thinking that space was hostile, and that they needed to be hostile to survive? Or do I make First Contact, to a native population that was more scared than than vengeful, and explain that alien life was peaceful? I reached the conclusion that a peaceful First Contact would allow the population to develop in a manner closest to their development pre-incident, and be better than a hostile First Contact where the natives’ development had been skewed militaristically because they thought they had been attacked. I acted to save lives, both at the present, and in the future.
“After I gave the order to make First Contact, the other officers followed the orders I gave them. We moved in range, transported the researchers up, and thus, revealed ourselves to the natives. I hailed the leaders of the two largest factions and made brief first contact, explaining that the satellite incident had been our mistake, that we came in peace, and that alien life was not hostile to them. After the transmission had been sent, we waited for a response. This was the part that was the most tense and I was prepared to act in self defence, if they had fired on us. They did not; they replied to us in kind and we were allowed to withdraw safely, with no loss of life. As I stated in the report, the first contact teams could go and allow the natives to develop in a way less altered by us,”
LT StrayStray makes a few notes on his PADD as the Captain tells her story.
“So the native population, upon your arrival in the system, was already broadcasting an open declaration of war against an unspecified alien aggressor, later determined to have been us accidentally. Can you confirm if the broadcast was intended for their attackers? Or was it directed internally and we were simply able to intercept it?”
He continues, queuing up a second question, “Also, just for my clarity, were you still on the bridge of the Endeavour when these events took place? Or had you and the officers listed departed on the shuttle already, with the civilian researchers? Or, some were in one location, others in another?”
CAPT Mirazuni"It was certainly an internal broadcast. I’m not sure if they intended for their attackers to listen in, but it certainly wasn’t hidden,"
“The Endeavour herself was nowhere near us. She was continuing her patrol and we departed on a shuttle to drop the researchers off. The Endeavour would have had trouble staying undetected anyway,” she says. “So this all took place when all the officers, myself, and researchers were on the shuttle,”
LT Stray"Hm," the man muses to himself, “Suppose that would have been too easy.” There’s a pause as he makes a new note on his PADD.
“Still. You’re fairly well covered on both General Orders one and four by the circumstances. Though… you brought up your telepathic abilities a moment ago, linking that to a need to potentially sedate the research team on the shuttle with you. Could you elaborate on that?”
CAPT Mirazuni"When detecting strong emotions at close proximity for extended periods of time, I start to experience headaches. I can offset it to a certain degree with neurosuppresants, which I do. However, this is not a permanent solution and a high dosage can leave one unconscious. The true solution is to move away from where the emotional issues are coming from, which in this case, were the research staff. They were justifiably concerned about their project, but that concern was building into anger and frustration. This was a delicate situation. My incapacitation through telepathic distress would have caused the situation to worsen. As would attempts by the researchers to take matters into their own hands, which I did detect one of them thinking. A thought itself is not a crime, but we could not deal with the issue if it did come to that. My statement to sedate them came with the intent to calm the researchers down so that we could get on with our jobs. I did not hear anyone relay what I said to the researchers, so I assume that the researchers heard me and calmed down themselves. Whatever the case, they were not an issue to me or the rest of the crew going forward."
LT StrayStray takes in a long breath, thinking that over. “You may have a vulnerability here if Command elects to pursue an assault charge. We’d have a hard time convincing most officers that a threat of sedation was warranted under the circumstances. Especially if it becomes clear that it was an overreaction brought on by telepathic stress.”
He rubs the side of his head, “Are there any documented cases in your service record of incidents where your judgment was impaired by similar stress?”
CAPT MirazuniAyesha raises her eyebrow. “Not to my knowledge. There have been times where I’ve stepped aside and given command to others because of it; I know when I am impaired and I am not going to make decisions if I can’t,”
LT Stray"That’s good," he answers idly, “We’ll want to avoid bringing up this subject at all, if possible. If it does come up, you may be asked to justify why you felt it necessary to make such a threat. I’d like to make sure you have an answer prepared for that question, as it’s the most likely to hurt you, legally.”
CAPT MirazuniAyesha just gives a nod. “Understood. So I take it that the deposition is more than a Prime Directive inquiry?”
LT StrayStray shakes his head, “Not currently, as far as I’m aware. But there’s essentially no chance that a Prime Directive charge makes it to court martial in this case. Your biggest risk is that someone else being interviewed mentions the incident with the civilians and provides the prosecutor the opportunity to change focus.” He shrugs, “It may not happen, but I much prefer to be prepared.”
He touches a control on his PADD, then motions to her, “Let’s get started. I’m your commanding officer. Tell me, why am I hearing that you threatened to incapacitate a bunch of civilian scientists?”
CAPT Mirazuni"They were becoming violent and were risking the entire situation. Had they be allowed to continue, there was a real possibility of the officers on the shuttle needing to resort to non lethal force to stop them,"
LT Stray"Violent how? With whom? To what end?"
CAPT Mirazuni"At first with the officer assigned to inform them of the situation and then with the members of the team inside the shuttle. Their priority wasn’t to preserve General Order 1, but to ensure decades of research did not go to waste and they would have been prepared to take the shuttle down to the planet to do so,"
LT StrayStray speaks slowly, leadingly rephrasing for her, “So you believed them to be an imminent threat to you and your team, and feared that they were going to attempt to take control of the shuttle by force?”
CAPT Mirazuni"Yes,"
LT StrayStray nods again, “Good. Remember that, in case the question comes up.”
He leans forward to switch off his PADD. “During the deposition, it’s important to keep a cool head. I know, you’re a Captain, that’s what you do, but you’d be surprised how many people make mistakes in these kinds of interview settings. Choose your words carefully, and don’t be afraid to check with me before answering if you’re uncertain. If I interrupt you, or answer for you, that doesn’t mean you’ve done something wrong, it just means I’m making sure you don’t walk into a trap.”
He offers the woman another faded smile as he leans back, “On the whole, I think you’re going to be okay. Do you have any questions for me?”
CAPT Mirazuni"Less so a question and more of an observation, if you’d humour me for a moment. I do not wish to accuse anyone of anything, but I find this matter to be highly questionable. For this mission, my report states that a Prime Directive breach occurred before our arrival. The outcome of my report is that the office of the admiralty interview members of the away team, and then ask for a JAG review of the matter. I have still yet to see another report filed.
"Another incident earlier, in which I reported a breach of the Prime Directive, and still believe it to be a breach of the Prime Directive, occurred by the commanding officers of that mission, there were no interviews by the office of the admiralty, and reports were filed after the mine, alluding to the fact that they had been asked to do so. There is no JAG inquiry and the captains are given a verbal warning, which stated that the admiral had repeatedly told captains to be careful in the Kelterre and Doza sectors.
"Whilst these incidents are unrelated, and I don’t mean to reopen closed cases, it very much seems to me that I am being used as a scapegoat and to be made an example of because of the historic failings of others. I have been a Captain and in this fleet for approximately six months, and whilst I am not against a review occurring, especially when it involves General Order One, I feel that more leniency has been given to the captains who have been in this fleet longer and have a longer service record.
“This could just be me over analysing the details and could just be a large coincidence. But being placed on administrative leave gives you time to think and I would feel amiss if I didn’t communicate my thoughts to you,”
LT StrayStray leans back and folds his arms, “Do you feel that you, specifically, are being targeted for discipline for some reason? Or is it simply, if you’ll pardon the paraphrase, ‘others got away with it before, I should too’?”
CAPT Mirazuni"I very much like to hope it isn’t the former, and I highly disagree with the latter. I would just like to be assured that I am not being disadvantaged and that I am treated fairly and evenly. I have no reason to believe that I will be treated differently, but as I said, there seems to be a disparity. If this does go further, I would like some transparency from the admiralty to make sure I am not being disadvantaged, or indeed, given an advantage over others,"
LT StrayStray smiles weakly, shaking his head a little, “Captain, the fact that we’re talking is your guarantee of fair treatment. Command doesn’t have any obligation for transparency outside legal proceedings. Suspend several officers on what may very well amount to no charges filed may have been an overreaction, or overcorrection after previous incidents, sure, but it’s still well within Command’s prerogative. No one’s been jailed or demoted. I suggest you continue to prepare for the deposition, and then find a good book to read while we wait for everything to be resolved. Okay?”
CAPT Mirazuni"If you do have any book recommendations, please let me know. Preferably not paper books," she adds.
LT Stray"Afraid not," he answers, standing and offering his hand, “Not enough hours in the day. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, ma’am.”
CAPT MirazuniAyesha stands and takes the hand briefly again. “Thank you for taking the time to represent me,” she states. “I appreciate your time, regardless of the future outcome. I shall see you at the deposition?”
LT Stray"Of course," he nods, leading towards the door. It’s not rude, exactly, just anticipatory. He’s probably got other clients, after all!
CAPT Mirazuni"Then I wish you a good day," she says, exiting. She wanted to get out quick, mainly because she wanted to wash her hands, making a mental note to bring some handgel next time.
LT Stray"You as well," he answers, shaking his head and returning to his desk as the door closes.
