Spoiler: //ATTACHMENT// prelim-estone.sessShow <NORTH> Please state your full name and rank.
<STONE> Lieutenant Commander Eleanor Alice Weiss Stone.
<NORTH> Thank you. You were in attendance of a recent mission to a border trading station in which a person, referred to colloquially as 'the Mistress' was taken prisoner. Is that correct?
<STONE> It is yes.
<NORTH> If you would, please recall the events of that mission, starting from the actions that resulted directly before the prisoner's capture.
<STONE> I had made contact with 'the mistress' and it seemed to be going according to plan until an Ensign started a fight with a number of bar patrons which ended up with her shooting the contact known as 'Winters' point blank with a shotgun, this then resulted in a fight with the pirates which then resulted in the disabling of the one known as 'the mistress'. And then capture.
<NORTH> What was the action that resulted in the disabling of the target?
<STONE> An EMP detonated which disabled the targets powered armour which made them inmobile, thus allowing for capture.
<NORTH> Can you please narrate the events and interactions that occurred from that point onward, through your return to the ship?
<STONE> After the target was disabled, I attempt to ascertain information relevant at the time due to information that 'the mistress' let slip but was stopped by Captain Timoreev, at that point he gave the order to contact the Klingon ship and have them destory the escaping pirates before we were able to gain information about what thier plans where, after our return to the ship I immeditatly went to the brig to ascertain the status of the prisoner as security measures were put in place.
<NORTH> According to the after action report filed on this incident, after the target was disabled, there was quote... A debate between the senior officers ensued as to how they should process the incarcerated pirate boss end quote. Can you recall what this description refers to?
<STONE> Yes I can. I wanted to persue questioning quickly before any immediate information we were persuing became out of date or irelavant when the order to the klingon vessel was given. But Captain Timoreev wanted to resolve the issue of the pirates on a short term bases with a torpedo solution. And move the target to the brig of the Valley Forge before questioning and once the information we needed to salvage something of the primary objective had became out of date.
<NORTH> What exactly was the information you were hoping to discover through immediate interrogation of the prisoner?
<STONE> Information about the mission that the pirates where embarking on, but now that mission will be scrubbed due to our actions and we have lost another possible lead.
<NORTH> Please recall for me the state of the prisoner after she was disabled.
<STONE> She was immobilised in her powered armour, as she lay on the floor. Apparently in pain, though there was no evidence supporting that.
<NORTH> Are you certain?
<STONE> Yes, bar the targets on words and actions, there was no further evidence of pain.
<NORTH> Captain Timoreev's report indicated that the target was unable to speak properly, emitting sounds of suffering, and that she implored the gathered officers to kill her and end her suffering. It surprises me that an intelligence officer would not identify these as evidence of pain. Did you not observe these same signs?
<STONE> I did Commander, but I have observed first hand and employed similar signs of pains in a belivable attempt to express pain when there is none. So to me there was no sign of realy physical pain, but if the Captain had not given the orders he had, and it had continued. I would have been reevaluating the situation as it proceeded.
<NORTH> Which orders are these, exactly?
<STONE> There orders in which he takes over the operation, which until this point I had been leading, and requests that the Klingon ship not let the pirate vessels leave the station and for the target to be moved to the brig of the Valley Forge.
<NORTH> Were those the first orders he issued during the mission?
<STONE> They where, until this time he had remained a bystander.
<NORTH> He issued no other orders prior to this? Not even a suggestion for you to consider?
<STONE> He gave no orders or suggestions prior to this.
<NORTH> Very well. Then after Captain Timoreev gave his orders, what was the sequence of events from there?
<STONE> The klingon ship fired at the pirate vessels and destroyed them, then after that we beamed out the hostage to the brig and then we beamed out as well.
<NORTH> And what was your reaction to these orders?
<STONE> I belived that the course of action that he wished to follow would not benefit the resolution of the primary objective, however the rest of the away team had already began to follow his orders.
<NORTH> Did any of the other away team members show concern for the prisoner's state?
<STONE> None that where directly involved after the target was disabled, I belive the ensign may have voiced concern sortly afterwards.
<NORTH> You are saying Ensign Laruyo showed concern after the target was disabled?
<STONE> Yes, though am unsure how much of it was because the Captain showed concern and she only showed concern once he had, as she was also the one to cause the situation to become violent.
<NORTH> Was there anyone, at any point, who demonstrated an interest in exploiting the prisoner's disabled state?
<STONE> Commander with respect, 'exploiting' can be rather subjective to the individual as I belive from the Captains response my questioning he belived I was trying to exploit it.
<NORTH> What do you mean?
<STONE> The Captains response clearly saw my actions as explotative where in fact I was only trying to salvage what I could of the primary objective.
<NORTH> What response are you referring to, exactly?
<STONE> He responded negatively towards my actions, accusing me with his body language and eyes, along with what he said of abandoning starfleet morals and regulations. Where he further went to imply that I would use torture on a prisoner.
<NORTH> When was this?
<STONE> Shortly after the target was disabled and I was attempting to question them.
<NORTH> You previously stated that he had not made any suggestions prior to his orders to the Klingon vessel. Are you departing from that now?
<STONE> Apologies, these where both at about the same time in the course of events.
<NORTH> Would you care to revise the record?
<STONE> No, no I would not.
<NORTH> Then what was your reaction to Captain Timoreev's negative response, as you refer to it?
<STONE> I was disapontted that the Captain did not see the bigger picture as a Captain should, and I did not belive the orders he gave were correct but I went with his orders as contesting them at the time would only have cause more damage to the mission.
<NORTH> You are referring to his orders to the Klingon vessel?
<STONE> I am, yes.
<NORTH> If Captain Timoreev had not taken over the mission, what would your course of action have been instead?
<STONE> An attempt to track the pirates to allow for a new avenue to gain further investigation and question of the target to gain information of the pirate mission she had spoken of.
<NORTH> What if the prisoner was uncooperative?
<STONE> I would have begun standard procedure for field agents in HVT recovery.
<NORTH> Which is what?
<STONE> Disable, restrain and extract. And as she was already disabled and her armour rendered her restrained, I would have had her extracted to a secure location to persure further questioning.
<NORTH> But if I'm not mistaken, you recited that there was some urgency to address the pirate vessels that were departing at roughly the same time?
<STONE> Yes, and if we were unable to get the information on thier heading from the target I would have requested the Klingon vessel remain cloaked and follow the pirates.
<NORTH> I see, a'right. I have no further questions for you at this time. Do you have anything you would like to add for the record for now?
<STONE> In regards to this, no.
<NORTH> Ending recording.
Spoiler: //ATTACHMENT// prelim-esharpe.sessShow <NORTH> Please state your full name and rank, for the record.
<SHARPE> Major Elizabeth Leah Sharpe.
<NORTH> Thank you, Major Sharpe. Please verify for me: you were recently in attendance of a mission to a border trading station in which a person, referred to in reports as 'the Mistress', was taken prisoner. Is that accurate?
<SHARPE> It is yes.
<NORTH> If you would, please recall the events of that mission, starting from the actions that occurred directly before the prisoner's capture.
<SHARPE> Some Ensign started a fight with some of the patrons, before drawing her shotgun and shooting an associate of the target. I am still unclear on who gave her authorisation to carry such a weapon, but it was at this point that the target returned to the area with a compliment of pirates that surrounded the Ensign, and the SFI officer along with the asset that had arranged the meeting with weapons drawn. This is when I moved to get into postion behind the pirates for when the sitaution inevitably escalated. The SFI officer attempted to difuse the situation but that proved to be imposible and we had to resort to violence to disable the pirates, 3 of which I neutralised before the rest fled after I neutralised the 3rd pirate and thier weapons had already failed after the EMP went off. This is when we aquired the target as a prisoner.
<NORTH> And when in this timeline did the EMP go off, exactly?
<SHARPE> A few moments after the combat started.
<NORTH> Before or after you neutralized your three targets?
<SHARPE> After I had neutralized the first target but prior to the second.
<NORTH> M'all right. Please narrate for me the events as they occurred from that point onward, up to your return to the ship.
<SHARPE> After the target was downed with the EMP, I first made sure that the target was secure and no longer a threat and maintained control of the HVT until I was ordered otherwise. The SFI Agent and the Captain had a disagree ment on how the situation should be handled. I agreed with the SFI agent as it made the most tactical sense at the time and she was the officer in charge of the operation. However, the Captain clearly disagreed and took matters into his own hands by giving his own orders counter to the Agents orders and effectively staging a coup taking command of the team and requesting that the Klingon ship destroy the escaping pirates without attempting to take prisoners. After this, this was when we returned to the valley forge with the HVT.
<NORTH> I see. Can you clarify what the contents of the argument were between ... I assume this intelligence agent was LCDR Stone and the Captain in question was Captain Timoreev.
<SHARPE> They where yes. And I can, they disagreed on how to question the HVT with the agent wanting to persure imediate question to attempt to be able to track the pirates so they could attempt a new infiltration or such, where as the Captain appeared to favour the quicker solution to the pirate problem, and didn't appear to see the need to question the HVT until much later.
<NORTH> Can you comment on the reasons LCDR Stone had wanted to question the target immediately?
<SHARPE> From what I observed and overheard, she appeared to wanted to attempt to salavage something of the primary objective after Ensign Aruyo made it imposbile to complete, in the sense of being able to get someone inside of the organisation for the long game.
<NORTH> And Captain Timoreev was against this for what reason?
<SHARPE> I do not know for certain, though his words appeared to imply that he was against the question purely because the target appeared to be in pain, beliving that he had the moral high ground. Despite the losses and sets back he may have caused down the road.
<NORTH> What was the condition of the target, in your estimation?
<SHARPE> Disabled, immombile, lucid and secured.
<NORTH> Was the target in pain?
<SHARPE> The were disabled, immobilised, lucid and secured.
<NORTH> I understand, but was the target suffering from pain?
<SHARPE> I can't give a 100% honnest answer as I am unaware if they were in pain truthfully
<NORTH> Was the target giving any indicators that you would normally associate with pain?
<SHARPE> They were giving of signs you may associate with pain yes. But I do not know if they were in pain.
<NORTH> What sort of signs?
<SHARPE> The rather standard and basic signs one would associate with pain, moaning, asking us to kill them. The standard.
<NORTH> Do you customarily ignore these indicators of pain from other sentients when you are on duty?
<SHARPE> That depends on the situation Commander. There have been times when I have ignored these signs as the mission was to important to put at risk.
<NORTH> Very well. Did anyone else, besides Captain Timoreev, show concern for the prisoner's state?
<SHARPE> The Ensign showed momentary concern after the Captain had voiced his.
<NORTH> How did the Ensign show concern?
<SHARPE> She voiced concern along the lines of 'I agree with the captain'.
<NORTH> And what was your response to that concern?
<SHARPE> I did not give it a response, as it was not my concern to deal with what an Ensign did or not agree with espically after they shot first and could have killed someone. I was making sure the HVT remained secure, along with the area while the SFI agent and the captain disagreed.
<NORTH> During this disagreement, did Lieutenant Commander Stone show any evidence of concern for the prisoner's well-being?
<SHARPE> She did yes, she seemed concerned that she would be unable to question the target if they detoriated too far.
<NORTH> What did she say that gives you that impression?
<SHARPE> It was more a gut feeling I had from her words, and less anything she actually said.
<NORTH> Are her words not something she actually said?
<SHARPE> It is hard to explain, she never said anything pointing towards her caring but none the less I got the feeling.
<NORTH> That is an extremely difficult observation to draw any real conclusions from, Major.
<SHARPE> Yes, Yes it may be. But it is my observation non the less.
<NORTH> You stated that the Captain disagreed with LCDR Stone's orders. What were the orders that LCDR Stone gave, exactly?
<SHARPE> She was attempting to proceed with the questioning on the HVT but the captain ordered otherwise and the destruction of the pirates as they fled.
<NORTH> So these were not orders, exactly, she was simply questioning the target?
<SHARPE> She had given orders in terms of securing the contacts but they were promptly ignored after Captain took direct command after he did not like the orders and questioning
<NORTH> What questions did LCDR Stone ask before the Captain cut her off?
<SHARPE> She was attempting to question the HVT about the mission she had mention and the heading of the pirate ships.
<NORTH> Yes, you said that. What was the question she asked? Or started to ask?
<SHARPE> She had asked something along with lines of 'You mention something about a mission' something like that.
<NORTH> And what was the prisoner's response?
<SHARPE> A mumbled response and that was when the Captain butted in before a question could be asked to get an answer.
<NORTH> M'all right. What was it that Captain Timoreev interrupted with then, at that point?
<SHARPE> With something along with the lines of 'That is enough, we can not question her at the moment' or something along those lines.
<NORTH> I see. What was your reaction to that?
<SHARPE> Personally in my distrustfull nature, it seemed a bit conveintly timed that was when he decied to stop it, but I held my piece. As the agent was already in disagreement and I had a job to do.
<NORTH> What do you mean, conveniently timed?
<SHARPE> As in it was timed before we could get an answer and then he gave the order to tidy up lose ends.
<NORTH> I'm afraid I do not understand what you are insinuating, Major. What motivation would the Captain have for specifically thwarting the prisoner from answering?
<SHARPE> I do not know, I am just a distrustfull person of people I don't know.
<NORTH> M'all right. What was LCDR Stone's reaction to the Captain's interference, then?
<SHARPE> She was annoyed and angry but she remained perfesonal until after we returned to ship.
<NORTH> So in between Captain Timoreev's interjection about no longer questioning the prisoner, what happened then?
<SHARPE> After the Captain interjection and taking command with his orders, the HVT was transported and contained on the Valley Forge and then we followed behind.
<NORTH> So in the entirety of these discussions, you never spoke?
<SHARPE> At what I considered to be the hieght of the disagreement, I interjected that if the Captain has such a big problem he can raise a formal complaint once we complete the mission.
<NORTH> You said that? What were you referring to, exactly?
<SHARPE> When the Captain seemed to be getting angry, and to me on the verge of a snap, due to the fact that the SFI agent wanted to continue to with questions after he had decided it was enough. I felt that if it continued down that path that we could lose control of the situation and I may have had to disable the Captain until the mission was resolved. But he was able to brought back onto track.
<NORTH> And how exactly was he 'brought back onto track'?
<SHARPE> With my reminder that we had a mission to complete and that he could put in a complaint later, though I do also belived that it served to do similar for the agent.
<NORTH> What was it that you said, exactly?
<SHARPE> Something along with lines of 'Captain, if this is such a problem you can raise a formal complaint once we have completed this damn mission and don't have a prisoner lieing on the damn floor in between you.' though I did sound a lot more frustrated and annoyed.
<NORTH> I see. And this was the only statement you issued during the proceedings?
<SHARPE> Yes, minus a few exclimations prior when the combat started.
<NORTH> M'all right. At any point, did anyone resist Captain Timoreev's orders?
<SHARPE> No, I did not agree with them nor did the agent but I followed his orders non the less.
<NORTH> Did he issue you orders specifically?
<SHARPE> He did, he ordered me to stop securing the target and back off from them. Before he ordered me to arrange transport for the target and the team.
<NORTH> When did he issue that order exactly?
<SHARPE> Once he had given the order to the Klingons to destroy the pirates.
<NORTH> M'allll right then. I believe I am out of questions for you at this time. Do you have anything you want to add for the record?
<SHARPE> None at this time.
<NORTH> Ending recording.
Spoiler: //ATTACHMENT// prelim-laruyo.sessShow <NORTH> Let's start wi' your version of events, starting from whennnn... there was an EMP blast that disabled the target, correct?
<ARUYO> Yes Commander, there was, it was thrown by the person called Winters whilst we were all engaged in a firefight with the Mistress and her guards.
<NORTH> Right. Start from there, if you would. Recount everythin' you can up until you returned to the ship.
<ARUYO> Erm, okay, so, the EMP grenade went off, and it disabled the Mistress; she was wearing armour you see. Now when the grenade went off, I believe the armour began to crush her or something. I suggested that we take the armour off her so that she would not be hurt. Captain Timoreev agreed with my proposal, but we were stopped by Major Sharpe and LCDR Stone, who seemed rather happy that she was in pain because it seemed to be the best way to get information out of her. We were then informed by Winters that if we did remove the armour, we would kill her, so instead the best course of action would be to beam her to the brig and remove her armour there. Captain Timoreev did eventually do this, but at one stage, Major Sharpe and Commander Stone were readily disobeying orders from Captain Timoreev, even though he had given his orders strictly. I agreed with Captain Timoreev, that we should ease the suffering of the prisoners since she has rights, but I didn't want to overstep my bounds futher, as I already thought that my actions may have hindered the mission. I don't know who was in Command of the Mission, but I thought it was Captain Timoreev since he had seniority. It is because of this that I thought the two officers were acting very unbecoming of Starfleet. Eventually though, through continued orders from Captain Timoreev, the Mistress was able to be beamed up safely. There was also the matter of the two guards who had run away from the firefight. They had gotten into ships and were trying to escape, but the Daramar intercepted them and shot them down before they were able to leave. We then beamed Winters and Seelix up to the brig, and then beamed up ourselves. Because of my percieved misconduct, I reported myself to Captain Timoreev on the way back.
<NORTH> You say that ... Major Sharpe and LCDR Stone seemed 'happy' that the prisoner was in pain. What did they say or how did they act that gave you this impression?
<ARUYO> There were a number of things that I can remember, though I have to apologise if I do not get them exactly correct...I also want to add, that I don't want to blame any of my fellow officers, but I want to report things as I saw and understood them. So first of all, when Captain Timoreev went to remove the Mistress' armour, Major Sharpe actively stopped him by putting her arm in front of the Captain. Next, LCDR Stone did mention something along the lines of someone being much more receptive to questioning when they were in pain. When Captain Timoreev suggested that we should power up the armour a little to stop any contractions or whatver it whatever it was that was hurting her, LCDR Stone told the Captain she would not be doing that, and Major Sharpe said that the Captain should remove himself and file a complaint later if he did not like it. LCDR Stone said that it was what got results, to which Captain Timoreev replied that this was not how Starfleet operated. This is when Winters informed us that the Mistress was an Elaysian and the environment in the suit kept her alive...actually thinking back on it, when the suit was disabled, the lack of environmental controls is probably what was causing her the pain. Anyway, Winters suggested that we beam her to the brig and lowered the gravity. After this, Major Sharpe or LCDR Stone had no objections that I could see, and followed orders, allowing the Mistress to be beamed up.
<NORTH> Your accounting is impressively detailed, Ensign.
<ARUYO> I just recounted it to Captain Omar the other day...and my memory is fairly good, given my skillset a pilot. And also, that's from what I can remember, I'm was in quite a bit of mental distress at that point.
<NORTH> ... You stand by these statements, of LCDR Stone saying that someone in pain is more receptive to questioning?
<ARUYO> Yes Commander...I can remember that I was shocked to hear that...like I said, that isn't what I see Starfleet as doing. The Mistress was a prisoner and she had rights, which includes making sure she is not in pain.
<NORTH> Do you recall either LCDR Stone or Major Sharpe telling Captain Timoreev to stand down, because they work 'differently' from the way the rest of Starfleet does?
<ARUYO> No, I don't think so. They did argue about the definition of torture vs interrogation, but I don't think that LCDR Stone or Major Sharpe said anything about working differently to Starfleet.
<NORTH> M'all right. So I have already have preliminary interviews with both LCDR Stone and Major Sharpe. According to LCDR Stone... Captain Timoreev gave no orders or suggestions until the very end of the mission, and then... they were not orders regarding the prisoner, but rather orders to the Klingon vessel that was accompanying the mission. This is rather ... contrary to your account. Are you very certain of your version of events, and Captain Timoreev's actions?
<ARUYO> Yes Commander.
<NORTH> Is there any reason you can come up with for why the accounts might be different?
<ARUYO> I can't speak for LCDR Stone's account, but I can tell you now that I have been as forthcoming as I can about my response. I know that I made mistakes of my own during that mission, which I have not tried to conceal or distract from. As I recall, my account is correct. I have no proof only speculation, but perhaps LCDR Stone's version of events is told through the eyes of someone who may have been under a lot of stress and frustration at the time, due to the fact that we had failed our primary objective, and was wanting to rectify that by questioning the Mistress as fully as possible However, after the event, she could have regained her sense of composure and omitted any evidence, on purpose or by accident, that could have made her actions seem wrong. Alternatively, maybe she just didn't remember correctly.
<NORTH> I queried LCDR Stone on the condition of the prisoner. She claimed to notice the signs of pain and suffering, but stated that she felt the prisoner was feigning them.
<ARUYO> She could be correct. I was not near the prisoner whilst LCDR Stone, Major Sharpe and Captain Timoreev were. I could only go off what I heard from them... But then again, her pain was seemingly confirmed by Winters, who told us that she was an Elaysian and the only thing keeping her alive was the suit of armour, which was now disabled. Having been the person who turned on the Mistress and disabled her armour, I don't know why he'd lie about her being in pain?
<NORTH> Why indeed.
<ARUYO> I don't want to look like I'm pointing fingers at my fellow officers Commander. But this is what happened that day, I am certain of it, I'm sure whatever reason Major Sharpe or LCDR Stone had to act this way, was, in their mind, justified for the success of the mission. It just was, to me, and I'm sure Captain Timoreev, not right.
<NORTH> And yet we all have a responsibility to police our own, Ensign.
<ARUYO> I...voiced my concerns as best as I could Commander. I know what I've been taught. Fortunately, Captain Timoreev thought the same as I did, and being the ranking officer, he could do something about it.
<NORTH> This is further speculation, unfortunately, but what do you imagine would have happened instead, had Captain Timoreev not been present on that assignment?
<ARUYO> I believe the Mistress would have been made to talk, and should the interrogation have failed, one of two things; either she would have died from her pain, or she would have been beamed away. I doubt that Major Sharpe or LCDR Stone would have let her die intentionally.
<NORTH> Do you think that they would have been willing to use excessive and unauthorized force to get answers from the prisoner?
<ARUYO> From what I saw that day, yes...wait what do you mean excessive and unauthorised? If that means, were they likely to let her face the pain there and then to get answers, yes. If you mean taking her to a cell and extensively torturing her, then no, I don't think they would do that. Or at least, I hope they wouldn't...
<NORTH> At any point during these events, did you ever feel that Captain Timoreev was out of control?
<ARUYO> I think that maybe he was taken aback by the fact that the officers refused to follow orders, but he was quick to get a hold of the situation because the officers did end up following his orders.
<NORTH> Hmm. That's not quite what I mean.
<ARUYO> Oh...erm...sorry.
<NORTH> Major Sharpe implied that Captain Timoreev was losing control of his temper, effectively, and interfering with the mission's success. Or, well, the mission's operations. Did you have a similar sense?
<ARUYO> Captain Timoreev did began to lose control of his temper when his orders weren't followed, yes. But that was due to the fact that the two officers were considering something that isn't ethical, not because he was emotionally involved with the mission. I don't believe his emotions interfered with the mission at all; he had kept a calm head throughout; when facing the Gorn, when confronted by the mistress and the firefight...it was only when his orders were disobeyed, and that the alternative was to let the prisoner suffer, did he begin to get angry...does...does that answer the question?
<NORTH> That was perfect, yes. You mentioned, also... specifically, which orders did Captain Timoreev issue that the two officers refused to obey? If you can recall the precise wording, that'd be especially useful, but the idea of each order is the important part.
<ARUYO> To keep their guns trained on the Mistress whilst he tried to power up the armour a little bit, so that the armour wouldn't crush the prisoner and stop causing pain.
<NORTH> And do you happen to recall what it was that they said, or reasons they gave, when they refused the order?
<ARUYO> I believe that LCDR Stone said that 'we will not be doing that' and Major Sharpe agreed, saying that if the Captain did not like it he should file a complaint. When Captain Timoreev said that 'we do not inflict pain on people,' the LCDR replied that 'it was not torture, just advanced interrogation.'
<NORTH> Major Sharpe indicated that when she told Captain Timoreev to file a complaint... it was in reaction to him being argumentative with LCDR Stone about the mission operations. Her quotation was something roughly like... quote Captain, if this is such a problem you can raise a formal complaint once we have completed this damn mission and don't have a prisoner lying on the damn floor in between you, end quote.
<ARUYO> Not as I saw it Commander. The complaint was directed to Captain Timoreev in regards to the order not being followed. Even if the Major's quotation is accurate, I don't see how that changes anything...the Major noted the prisoner on the floor, the correct proceedure would have been to take the prisoner to the brig to question her there, not on the floor of a mission area. Even if the prisoner was not injured. Her quote should have been aimed at LCDR Stone, not Captain Timoreev, in my opinion.
<NORTH> Very well. M'all right, Ensign, you've been most helpful. I have no further questions for you at this time. Do you have anything you'd like to add for the record before we conclude here?
<ARUYO> No Commander...if I do remember anything else, or am able to get anything more concrete, should I get in touch with you, or should I leave it alone?
<NORTH> Youuu ... can write it down and maybe keep it in your head and if I end up following up with you, then you can bring it up then. At this point, however, I think it may not be necessary.
<ARUYO> Thank you Commander, there is nothing else.
Spoiler: //ATTACHMENT// followup-esharpe.sessShow <NORTH> First off, shortly after the EMP blast. Captain Timoreev ordered for the prisoner to be removed from her armor and he even tried to move towards the target to do this himself, but you prevented him from doing so and refused to comply with the order given. What was your reasoning for refusing and why did you prevent him from doing it himself?
<SHARPE> I did this for a number of reasons, firstly Lt. Commander Stone had given indication that she wanted to question the HVT right away, and second it was clear that it was the suit that was restraining the HVT, so too remove them from the armour would bring in additonaly securement concerns along with maintaining the secuirty of the starfleet officers. So it made the most tactical sense to keep the HVT contained within the armour until security was no longer a concern, or it was going to cause further containment issues.
<NORTH> So then, does that mean the target was not actually completely disabled, given your continued security concerns?
<SHARPE> The HVT appeared to the be fully disabled but my concerns for security do not stop when they are disabled from an EMP. As I was unaware of the features of the armour incase it had a backup system to power it back up at all.
<NORTH> Then wouldn't the more tactically appropriate decision be to remove the target from the armor and take that out of the equation?
<SHARPE> It may seem that way, but no it would not have been. As while the HVT was disabled on the ground I had her secured, and had target weakpoints of her armour in case of her reactivation so I was certain that if where to happen, I could stop the HVT from becoming a threat.
<NORTH> Captain Timoreev also issued an order for you and LCDR Stone to train your weapons on the target, while he attempted to give the target's armor some power, in order to ease the target's suffering. What was your reaction to this order?
<SHARPE> I belived it was a tactical error and poor judgement of the situation on the captains part due to the same reasons why I stopped him the first time.
<NORTH> Did you express this opinion to the Captain in your refusal?
<SHARPE> I belive I voice my concerns to the captain that this was a tactical error, yes.
<NORTH> Is that what you said, that it was a 'tactical error'?
<SHARPE> I said something to that effect yes.
<NORTH> I see. All righty, Major, that's all I have for you. Thanks fer yer time.
Spoiler: //ATTACHMENT// followup-estone.sessShow <NORTH> So. In our first interview, you stated that you attempted to interrogate the prisoner while CAPT Timoreev offered nothing until he issued orders to the Daramar. However in my interviews with others, both MAJ Sharpe and ENS Aruyo reference you arguing with CAPT Timoreev, immediately following the prisoner being disabled. So would you please re-state and clarify what occurred right after the prisoner was disabled?
<STONE> I may have been unclear in my prior statement but he offered no orders or suggestion for orders prior to him taking command of the situation. But once the target was disabled, I attempted to question them but the Captain stopped me from continuing the questioning with his orders. Which I still do not belive were the correct course of action or benifical to the completion of the mission.
<NORTH> And which orders were these exactly, that stopped your questioning?
<STONE> He gave direct orders to stop the questioning, and to begin prepartions to move the target to the Valley Forge where any complaint I would have made with those orders to the captain would be ignored or not taken serious, and then gave orders to the Klingon ship to destroy the pirates.
<NORTH> What was your reaction to his orders to stop the questioning?
<STONE> I was displeased by it as it resulted in the primary objective having to be listed as a failure. But I said at the time that if he did this the primary objective would fail, but he continued none the less. So I was forced to follow orders.
<NORTH> During these proceedings, you said that it is easier to extract information from a prisoner who is in pain and that this technique 'gets results'. Where else have you previously used this tactic?
<STONE> With respect commander, I do not belive that information is relevent to this questioning.
<NORTH> No? Are you refusing to answer?
<STONE> I am yes, until such time as I am made aware that the situations, if any, where this has been done have been cleared for access.
<NORTH> Do you understand what you are insinuating with your response?
<STONE> I belive I do yes, how about you clarify what you belive I am insinuating?
<NORTH> Questioning prisoners who are in pain, or even in any question of it, is illegal, Lieutenant Commander. There are no exceptions and I don't care *how* secret or classified your mission is. It's not done and the fact that you cannot even put up a pretense of never engaging in such is extremely concerning to me.
<STONE> That may be how you see it Commander, but I do know starfleets and the Federations stance on the matter and that is why I would not comprimise the standing and reputation of Starfleet or the Federation.
<NORTH> Yer the one who's jeopardizing the standing and reputation of Starfleet, officer. By not repudiating these methods, wholesale.
<STONE> What would you have me say then Commander, that even the idea of it is barbaric and anyone who does it or even considers it is less than human and should be condenmed for it?
<NORTH> Yes, actually. Do you disagree?
<STONE> No, no I do not.
<NORTH> No comment on what 'advanced interrogation' techniques refers to, then?
<STONE> They are simply what they sound like, I took advanced classes in interogation techniques and that is what I was refering to.
<NORTH> Certainly. Please explain one of these techniques to me, in detail. Your favorite one, perhaps, or the one you find most effective.
<STONE> Oh Commander I am sure I do not need to do that or if we have the time to do that, this class took an entire year. And a lot of the techniques are hard to describe as they involve observation to certain stimuli in the lines of what questions to ask, or what you say.
<NORTH> Hopefully one thing you remember from them is how they can be as easily applied to members of your own organization and not just prisoners of war, then.
<STONE> Of course, though if that was to be the case the person that was being interogated would already have to be considered a criminal or prisoner.
<NORTH> Well, at the rate we're going. MAJ Sharpe feels CAPT Timoreev was spiraling out of control emotionally and that he was subverting your authority, to the point where he might have needed to be disabled. Did you also have this impression?
<STONE> I agree that was subverting my authority by taking command of the mission, yes. But in regards to if he had to be disabled I am unsure, if it had progressed further he may have had to have been restrained and or removed from the situation, then yes I did also have that impression.
<NORTH> Do you feel that would have been the likely result, had you continued to refuse his orders?
<STONE> Theoritcally that is a possibility yes.
<NORTH> M'all righ'. That's all I got for you, officer. You can go.
<STONE> A pleasure to be of assitance Commander.
<NORTH> Uh-huh.
