Needing help

Posted on 04/13/2024 @ 12:48am by Captain Cara Letsul & Lieutenant Commander Jezka Joah

3,032 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Pages...
Location: Cara's Office
Timeline: MD 006 1400

Cara stepped out of her office and looked towards Station Operations. She drew in a deep breath or two, feeling a weight upon her shoulders. K'doc was busy working on both the disappearance of Harrington, or he was but most importantly working to solve the case of the death of Jackson Porter. That was still in progress. Jack was currently headed out to go find Harrington with his team of Marines. Raphael, he was on some project, and couldnt' be reached as of yet. She hadn't tried too hard, she had gotten the sense that something was up that he needed to attend to. She still needed to let him know about Harrington's disappearance.

Cara rubbed her hands together as if to warm them, it was for her a way to take down her stress. Stress... she gave a slight sigh, Cara had a few of her department heads working on the mystery, however she needed more help. Her eyes panned over the stations then paused on a person in the colors of Operations. Operations her mind went to their Chief of Operations, Commander Jeska. He was a great help during the Breen attack. Tapping on her commbadge Cara sent out the call.

"Commander Jezka, this is Captain Letsul would you come to my office please.”

It took a few seconds before the reply came in. ”Of course, ma’am. If you would give me, say, 5 minutes to finish this calibration I’m working on.”

"Go ahead Commander, I'll have some tea waiting if you so choose." Cara stated, then set about to make some tea in readiness for Jezka to arrive. She even included some tea biscuits. Granted she wouldn't mind something just a wee bit stronger but she needed her wits about her for this particular situation.

As promised Jezka appeared at the office of Captain Letsul on time. His hand reached for the chime while he wondered what she wanted to talk about. The Operations department ran pretty smoothly, considering after all what happened and the amount of work that followed from that. So he couldn’t imagine that would be the subject of conversation. After the chime activated he waited to be invited in.

The door opened immediately as if set for his arrival. Cara was there having just poured herself some tea. "Thank you for coming Commander." she said with a slight smile. "Please, have a seat and would you like some tea?"

“Please.” Joah sat down in one of the chairs Cara hinted at. Tea would be a good change after the two raktajinos he had this afternoon.

"As you are probably wondering why I've asked you to come meet with me, I am going to take you into strictist confidence." Cara adding some honey to her tea.

Joah let out a soft sigh “I’m not sure if this should worry me or not. In my my book secrecy doesn’t have a good reputation.”

"Well you have a point. There are things that can't be said due to the panic that can happen." Cara gave a little bit of a sigh, a furrow appearing in her brow. "The help I need, is helping me run the station. I prefer honesty and I would like you to know what was up. Hence the secrecy. However I can be quiet and not keep you in the loop, but do you want to be kept in the dark or do you prefer to know why I am asking you to help me run the station?"

Cara took a sip of her tea before she added "As of right now, I am now the CO of the station. You are an intelligent man, if I am the CO of the station currently and I am looking for some help, would that cause you to think over why I am asking you for your help?"

Instead of answering Cara’s question Joah came with his own. “Ma’am? You’re the CO of Poseidon station now?” He leaned a bit forward. “Where’s Captain Harrington?”

"He is no longer on the station, Commander, he has been taken. Hence my reason for asking you if I can have you in my confidence. The circumstances are a little delicate. There is indications that the perpertrator of this action is the Romulan Ambassador. However we can not prove that and can't risk a diplomatic issue as it would throw us into a war at the moment of which we would be ill prepared." Cara said firmly.

After hearing all this it was clear to Joah that there still was a lot happening behind the scenes to which he wasn't privy to. On the other hand, he wasn’t the person to stick his nose into businesses where it didn’t belong. Well, mostly. Some situations were just too tempting or simply demanded further investigation. “In other words, shit hit the fan..or is about to. ..As Humans tend to say.” A sheepish smile formed on his face. “Sorry for the words.”

"We are already in deep doo doo, remember the illustrious author, Jackson Porter? He has been murdered. The investigation is underway, as to who could have done the deed." Cara stated then took a drink of her tea finishing off her cup. She moved to pour a bit more tea. "And as for your words in essence yes it could be stated that way. Oh don't worry, I am not offended." she drew in a breath as if to focus herself. "I am not one to think I can handle all of this by myself, I can't. I am not some superwoman, one who can run things all by myself. I have people here who are quite capable in helping the station to continue on despite problems arising."

“I did hear some rumors about Mr. Porter, but didn’t know what was fact and what was fiction.” Joah picked up his own cup of tea as he realized the beverage was about to get cold. “So, I guess the question is, what do I need to do?”

"I need help in keeping the Station running, Commander, Patton had some business he needed to attend to off the station, and I do not know when he will be back. This is why I am working on gathering a support team" There was more that she could say, Cara just didn't know how much she could mention. "I am asking if you can help me as a temporary Executive officer." Cara added.

It took some effort to keep the tea inside his mouth. “Ma’am!?” Joah had expected more paperwork or, worst case, taking over some diplomatic duties. Being the XO, even temporarily, meant he would be a public figure, working in the spotlight most of the time. Being the center of attention was not, and never had been, one of his ambitions.

Cara leaned back in her chair taking another sip of her tea, her dark eyes taking in his reaction. She responded quietly, "I do hope that you will help me out in this."

A long sigh escaped Joah. “Why do I get the feeling No is not a option?” Right after he’d said that he slightly raised his left hand, indicating he didn’t mean to be rude. “I mean, yes,…of course I’ll help you. But I can’t say I’m happy about it. About being Executive Officer I mean.” There was a slightly concerned look in Joah’s eyes as he looked at Cara. “It is temporary, right?”

"It is temporary, don't worry about that. I needed to make certain Commander Feshau-Patton is able to take care of her duties and projects she needs to do, plus you and I are more often on this deck." she rose from her chair, to look out the window. "Besides the things you did during the Breen attack, I saw your strength and your knowhow. Hence the other reason I am requesting your help." Cara turning towards him a pleading in her eyes.

Joah chose not to comment on Cara’s remark about his skills. He was talented when it came to fixing stuff and creating something out of nearly nothing, but he was no superman. For some reason he didn’t understand, the look on Cara’s face gave him flashbacks of the faces of people on Bajor during the occupation. Something in her eyes looked familiar. “More bad news?” he said gravely.

"The author, Jackson Porter that we were asked to show VIP status, he is dead. An investigation is being conducted as we we speak." she drew in a breath. "I am seeing great flurry of backlash from Star Fleet. Harrington being gone, though that isn't common knowledge and then there is the fact, that there is going to be a statement made about Jackson Porter's demise, a bit of a scandal is going to probably hit the station. Probably a cry to find out what happened. I am not looking forward to dealing with that, but it needs to happen."

“It certainly isn’t going to be pleasant. I think it’s safe to say that’s a fact.” Joah placed this now empty cup back on the table. “But I think the fallout is better handled by someone that has a good amount of experience in diplomacy.” It was still unclear to him what this other reason was for which Cara needed his help.

Cara took in a deep breath then said, "Okay, with Harrington having been kidnapped, the suspect being Ambassador Loval, and Patton going after Harrington, I am calling in for reinforcements. That is you. And I do have others, as I have mentioned Aer and there is Mattix. Basically pure plain and simple I need you to stand at my side, and keep me sane." half joking but not either. "You have that air of calm repose which helps to keep things in balance. I don't know what there maybe on the horizon, just something in the air."

So this request was of a more personal nature. “If you’re looking for an advisor, someone to offer his own opinion or alternative view, then I can do that.” Joah stood from his chair and joined Cara at the window. “Ma’am, it’s obvious something has you worried. What is it?”

"This whole matter has me worried, Commander, time is of the essence to solve who killed Jackson Porter. Then we have Harrington having been taken off the station. Oh and another matter that is coming up is, K'doc's mother is coming to the station. Also... " She drew in a deep breath, "I have a question for you, has your Assistant Chief of Operations approached you about studying the Breen tech we have close at hand? "

“No, not yet. I’m assuming she’s still trying to figure it out. Much about the Breen is still unknown, so I’m not surprised that also goes for their technology.” Joah said. “Has that research become a priority recently? If so, then I didn’t get the memo. ..Or I missed it.” He wondered if Cara understood what a memo was. It was an archaic description used way back on Earth. It was something he learned about some years ago.

"There wasn't a memo sent out, for it being a priority, K'doc had come to speak to me about the idea of doing research on the Breen Tech. He feels that it would be a good idea to research it on the side. I am just trying to make certain that we're not going to be more scrutinized by Star Fleet than what we are dealing with currently. Since you are the Chief of Operations, I am just making certain that you knew what was going on. There is a bit of tech that is available to be studied. Just that there is certain protocols to be followed, like going up the chain of command. I feel that she should have actually spoken to you about it, before going directly to K'doc, if she hadn't spoken to you about it, that is."

“I’m aware that Lieutenant Beauvoir is keen on researching the Breen technology that was left behind. She’s a capable officer and I’m giving her a lot of leeway to get things done.” Joah folded his arm and leaned against the wall near the window. “I’ll talk to her to see if she’s got something tangible.”

Cara gave a nod. "Just as long as you are aware of what is going on, I have no worries then. I feel like I am just playing catch up and I hope to get ahead of the matters at hand. And I feel that I am gaining my footing on things here, but one step at a time."

“That’s usually a good plan. It always worked for me.” The smile on Joah’s face is vanished and was again replaced by a look that radiated professionalism. “So we’ve covered the Breen technology. What is the next thing that should get our focus?”

Cara gave a return smile, then she remarked, "There is digital journal that was Jackson Porters. And right now we're not able to open it, perhaps you can link up with Ellery Rosa and add some of your team to get it opened and it displayed in one of the holosuite? There must be someone in the security department there. Hopefully it can shed some light as to who may have killed him."

“Ellery Rosa, the stations Assistent Chief Science Officer….” Joah said as he was thinking aloud. After their meeting in one of the shops on the Promenade he’d looked her up her file. In hindsight, maybe he shouldn’t have done that. “I’ll put one of my team on that job.” His thoughts went back to something what Cara had said. “Strange that no one has been able to open it. Civilians usually don’t use very complex locks.”

"I agree they do not, however, Jackson Porter when I took him on a tour of the station seemed to have some information that he should not have had access too." Cara giving a frown. "And when I tried to coax some other information, he was rather evasive. He did turn a white as a ghost when the meniton of a trill, named Ragnur came up. So there is a reason of why the digital journal can not be open. The man is er was a great puzzle and seems maybe a person to have been wary of."

“The plot thickens.” Joah said with a serious undertone. “Do we have any hints that could help us crack the code or do we need to start from scratch?”

"We're going to have to start from scratch. There hasn't been any clues found as we know of. His belongings are still being examined by the forensic team, hopefully there will be some clues there to help us." Cara stated.

“Well, I don’t want anyone to get in their way so if the team needs us they can give us a call.” Joah said. “Maybe if we work together we can solve it faster.”

"Commander Jezka, we need some of your team to help out, as well as some from science. And have a dash of security as well. This is what I am asking, please. I need you to collect them and get started on cracking that thing open. Maybe even get someone in intelligence as well. If you can crack the code then that is good as well. I am asking you to be lead on this one." Cara stated.

Joah was a bit taken aback by the Cara’s reaction. Maybe she was under too much pressure. He wasn’t sure. “Alright,..okay. I’m only trying to help here.” he said in his defence. “I’ll stop by the various departments to create sort of a think tank. There’s got to be way to open that journal.”

Cara opened her mouth then paused. She did catch JJ's reaction to her own. "I am sorry, I truly am. The disappearance of Harrington and the murder of Porter is causing me to.. be a bit stern. Yes, we can work together on this. All of us. I'm also slightly worried of the next step I need to take and that is letting the newsreporters and other social media know that Jackson Porter is deceased. For now, one step at a time."

“Leave it to the diplomats, I’d say. Breaking the bad news I mean. There’s a chance it turns into a virtual minefield. Or bring one along with you when you meet the reporters.” Joah gave his honest opinion. Senior diplomats generally knew how to play the game of damage control.

Cara gave a smile, "That is an excellent suggestion as per bringing someone along. Either way, it will happen. And I do thank you for agreeing to help me in this, Commander, even though I er, verbally twisted your arm." giving a wink and a teasing smile.

“Well, I like where I am. Focusing on building and fixing things. That’s where I’m good at. I can save the day, so to speak, while not having to be in the spotlight all the time.” Joah explained, thereby making a leap of faith that Cara would would keep it to herself. “But, that doesn’t mean I can’t go out of my comfort zone if it really is necessary.”

"And this is extremely necessary." she drew in a breath, letting it out slowly. "Thank you Commander Jezka. Now time for us to move forward and get things solved and resolved." Cara stated.

“It won’t be fun, but I agree. The sooner the better.” was the short reply Joah gave her before he left her office.

---

Captain Cara Letsul
Acting Commanding Officer
Poseidon Station

Lieutenant Commander Jezka Joah
Chief Operations Officer
Acting Executive Officer

 

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