RP Log: Caitians in the Cradle
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Stardate:
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| 2023-07-19 00:18 | |
LePage is working on something on his desktop terminal, but he stows that away. "What can I do for you?"
Worthington smiles as he comes in. "I've kept in the loop with everything. Captain would like some details with respect to the core transfer. How quickly can you get the portable core aboard Hadfield?" he asks.
"I can roll it on in twenty minutes, just a box on wheels" LePage remarks
Worthington smiles. "Excellent," he says, pondering. "We'll also need a better cover story than the original diplomatic one suggested. Something related to the computer systems. I was wondering if there are any components we would have difficulty replicating or fabricating, something that would not be easy for us to get out here."
LePage tilts his head. "I could do with some tritium processing wafers I suppose"
Worthington considers. "You'll know best. Our goal is to have the most plausible cover," he says, pondering. "I'm also considering who should be on the crew that heads back."
"Like I said, I'd feel better staying here in case anything pops off again" LePage says. "Maybe take Chief Petty Officer Sanderson, he's a good one"
Worthington nods in understanding. "I know all too well," he says, grinning. "He knows his stuff though. If you don't think he's involved, then let's add him to the list. I want commander Ki'Vek as well, and commander T'Shaav is going.
"I think that's a solid list. Sanderson should be good, I would have rattled him out if he wasn't. No patience for that kind of nonsense"
Worthington nods. "Excellent," he says. "Thinking to get as many positions filled by non-humans as possible, as I have the most confidence in non-human personnel due to the conspiracy aboard."
"Don't let that totally blind you" LePage warns. "You'd be surprised about who sympathizes for the strangest reasons"
Worthington nods, considering. "I know," he says. "Though I would be rather shocked. The humanists were basically, humans first, everyone else be damned, and openly had a disdain if not outright hatred for all non-humans."
"There's a spectrum. Humanists are towards that end, yes, but some want a return to the original alliances" Gordon explains. "Says that some of these new members don't deserve a place in the Federation they and their families built"
Worthington considers. "Hauser's group was a radical bunch for sure. The things they almost did. Do you remember the whole Romulan thalaron weapon conspiracy? Sure, they weren't above using other species for their ends. They did this several times, but only humans were allowed in the inner circles. I don't recall a single non-human from the garage for instance." He sighs. "Still, it comes down to just who the hell you trust anyway, and on a ship this large with so many people you don't know well, that's a tough one."
"Everyone is playing everyone and the motives get all mixed up" LePage agrees. "But Sanderson ought to be alright. If he's not, you can space him yourself" Gordon says, hard to tell if he's joking
Worthington nods. "I like him," he says. "Curses a lot for sure, but he gets to the point quickly and doesn't hold back."
"Mmmhmm. Good thing he has me to translate for him" LePage chuckles. Worthington grins. "Well, we have the cover story to arrange. Then, that minimal crew complament."
"Tritium wafers would be a good cover, say that our stock got destroyed and we can't manufacture custom parts without them" LePage offers. "Compartment fire or something"
Worthington considers. "I like that," he says. "Let's run that by the captain then."
LePage nods. "It's got my blessing"
Worthington looks around briefly. "Good then," he says. "We can contact admiral Kadn from near Pacifica. Hadfield's got a thousand light year comms range."
"He gave us the greenlight to visit" LePage says. "He'll want an explanation of what I couldn't say even in an encrypted comms message, so be prepared for that"
Worthington nods. "He's a trusted officer and friend. I'll give him a full briefing on the situation, privately, of course," he says.
LePage nods and gets up, walking over to a wall panel. He triple taps his commbadge and the panel pops open with a small hiss revealing a hidden compartment. LePage pulls out a stout glass bottle of Whiskey. "I'll also need you to send this along for him. As a thank you for his help"
Worthington smiles. "Warp core whiskey?" he quips.
LePage laughs. "I'd never give him my own handy work, we don't need to kill him"
Worthington laughs along with the other man. "Yeah, the last thing we want is to be arrested for murdering an admiral while we already have a conspiracy aboard," he says.
"No, this is just a personal favorite of mine" LePage says. "Good blended Canadian whiskey"
Worthington nods. "It's traveled a long way that's for sure," he says.
"Oh I have plenty. I'll never be without if I can help it" The Chief cackles. "But I can part with this one for such a big order"
Worthington grins. "Good to know," he says. "How about we prepare some of that antimatter poison you brew next door for those conspirators." He laughs again.
"Next door?" LePage raises an eyebrow. "You'll have to do a better job of finding my still sir"
Worthington chuckles. "Probably in another hidden wall compartment, somewhere on the ship," he says. "Knowing you, it's in the captain's ready room, or in deck 2 fleet command."
Gordon shakes his head. "Nothing so brave. I'm sure you could find it if you wanted"
Worthington chuckles. "Not high on my list of things to find," he says.
LePage nods. "Fair enough"
Worthington smiles. "Though, if my fighter runs out of fuel, I may look you up," he replies.
There is the taletell knock at the door, "Bewoop"
"Hah!" LePage laughs before the door bewoops. "Hmm, I'm popular today"
Worthington nods to the engineer. He rises to see who is at the door.
The door opens and a crewman 1st class steps in. A female Caitain. Her tail thwaps at the door as she steps in but not far enough, as she realizes the chief isn't alone, "Oh sorry sir, I can come back."
LePage shakes his head as he covertly closes a seemingly open wall panel. "No, not at all. What can I do for you Crewman?"
Worthington stands out of the way of the desk, nodding respectfully to the crewman. "Don't mind me," he says.
"Sir?" M'wer says to Worthington, "I'm interrupting you, not the other way around, sir." She steps towards the desk and presents a padd to LePage, "Those readings you asked for sir."
"Hmm?" LePage takes the PADD. "Did I?" he asks to himself, taking a look at the PADD. "I'm sure I did, just up to my neck in PADDs lately" he mumbles as he starts to read.
Worthington smiles to the crewman. "It wasn't too important. I'm not one to stand in the way of another's official duties. We were just wrapping up a conversation," he says.
M'wer doesn't depart after handing off the padd, she looks a little nervous. Perhaps the two officers make her so, or something else.
"Looks... nominal" LePage remarks. His eyes flick up to the Caitian. He looks over to Worth. "Anything about these readings need discussing?" he offers openly. "If it's shop talk, I'm sure we can let Commander Worthington go, don't want to bore him to death" he adds.
Worthington smiles to the pair of them. "I'll happily step outside if there's something that needs discussing."
M'wer is hesitant, her whiskers twitching something awful. "No sirs, its. I've not had anyone to talk to about it, and, its been bothering me sirs."
LePage's face softens up. He speaks calmly in a quiet tone. "Crewman, please treat yourself to the replicator if you'd like and have a seat, I'd be happy to discuss whatever it is. It's your choice if Commander Worthingon should stay" LePage says, going back to his seat behind his desk, standing behind it and waiting for the Caitian.
Worthington nods in ascent to both of them, letting LePage do the talking.
M'wer glances for a long time at the replicator, but decides against it. "Thank you sir, but no. There are rumours going around, and I was hoping you could confirm them, sir." she looks at Worthington, "Both of you sir. Its about Jenkins."
LePage raises an eyebrow and sighs. "I'll be as frank with you as I can be. I make no promises due to the nature of the active investigation. But if you're concerned about YOUR safety, you need to tell me... Go ahead"
Worthington nods. "Likewise," he says.
That thought hadn't even occurred to M'wer, "Am I in danger sir? So it is true, she was murdered?!" She buries her face in her forepaws.
"No, you aren't" LePage states evenly. "As for the latter..." He looks to Worthington for the official statement.
Worthington considers exactly what to say. To a trained observer, it would appear that he hasn't really talked about the situation publically. "The investigation is on-going," he says. "There have not however been any further confirmed acts of violence, and the crew from the top down is taking this situation very seriously. I myself am deeply concerned, and rest assured crewman, we are all working together to resolve this situation and keep you and everyone else aboard the Phoenix safe. Your fellow crewmates are here for you. I know how things like this can be terrifying, and if you need help getting through it, there are people here who can help you," he pauses. "Did you know much about crewman Jinkens by any chance?"
M'wer's whiskers calm a little, as does her tail. "We worked a few shifts together, but I wouldn't say we were close. Everyone has been so tight lipped about it all." She nods her head to Worthington, "Thank you for the reassurances, sir."
LePage purses his lips, his own brain spooling trying to speak carefully. "What can I do for you that would make you feel more safe?"
Worthington nods to that. "I understand how that can make someone feel, and I'm sorry that things are this way," he says. "It's a standard security protocol when dealing with such an investigation, and as you might imagine, such things of this nature are rare on starships." He considers. "Do you know anyone who perhaps was closer to crewman Jinkens? To be honest, there's a lot we don't know about her. On a ship this size, it's really hard to know the crew very well. If there was anyone we could talk to, it might help us track down those responsible and bring whoever is responsible to justice."
M'wer says, "I never got the impression she made close friends, sir. She kept to herself a lot, and I rarely saw her outside work. Everyone assumed she stayed in her quarters." She smiles at LePage, "Well sir, I hate working alone, there's noone to talk to. I wouldn't mind having a work buddy, at least until all this murder business is behind me, I mean us."
LePage nods at that. He thinks for a bit, clenching and unclenching his jaw. "Well... I know I could always use a hand or two myself, if that doesn't sound too boring"
Worthington nods. "Definitely sensable in my view as well," he says. "I remember, someone made a reference a ways back, the night it happened, about crewman Jinkens going on a date. Noone I've talked to though has any idea who that might be. Did she work on a regular team with a lot of the same people? That sort of detail doesn't tend to fit someone who stays in their quarters, so I must admit, it's a bit intreaguing to me, and the timing is of course suspitious. I definitely think working in pairs can definitely help with piece of mind and overall security."
M'wer just stares at LePage, "With you directly, sir? That would be such an honour, I could learn so much." She mumbles something about never having to clean something or other again, given the Chief wouldn't make himself do it. "That would be wonderful." Her mood certainly improves at the prospect. She casually says to Worthington, "I know Davidson asked her out, but she also said no to him. He made it sound like she wasn't even interested in males at all, but I think that was just his ego. He ended up getting with Mylaa anyways, so." she shrugs.
LePage raises an eyebrow and idly scribbles 'Davidson' into his PADD. "Of course. If it's one thing I've learned, it's that Caitians make excellent engineers. Who knows, if you're really tempted you might just end up with some pips. Not that you wouldn't make a good Chief Petty Officer some day either. For everyone else, I'll ask Chief Sanderson to draw up some buddy teams"
Worthington smiles. "The chief here will take care of it," he says. "Thank you for your insights as well. Just learning more about the situation down here is helpful for our investigation, so I appreciate your inputs there. Is there anything else that you think might be of interest to us?" he asks.
M'wer cringes a little at the mention of Sanderson, "Don't you find him a little brusk, sir? I know I can tell a mean tale from time to time, but", she is about to go on, then remembers she is talking to two senior officers about a senior petty-officer, and clams up, "But yes sir, whatever you feel is best. I do like the idea of having a work buddy. It will make some shifts just go so much faster, oh and, we'll get more done too, of course." She smiles broadly. She asks Worthington, "Interest, sir? Oh you mean." Her eyebrows shoot up, "I didn't mean to imply Davidson might have done anything, like I said, he's with Mylaa now anyways. So it wasn't a jealousy thing or anything, he was just, you know how men can get." She looks between you and blushes. "But I'll keep my ears open for anything, and bring it right to you." her ears wiggle.
"You can talk to myself or Commander Worthington... and if you're going to be working with me, you may be frank about topics. Chief Sanderson is... brusk, yes, but as far as I know he's a first rate fleeter" LePage states, leaving that she may correct him implied.
Worthington smiles. "I'm not playing the blame game quite yet crewman. Right now, I'm just looking for answers, and looking for anyone close enough to crewman Jinkens who could help me find some sort of motive and connection," he says. "It's a real mystery, and not the good kind I'm afraid. If you do see anything odd though, please let either the chief here or myself know. Anything security related you tell commander LePage will make its way to me. Of that I am confident," he says, smiling. "Again, thank you for your inputs thus far."
M'wer smiles, "Sure no problem sirs, and thank you both for listening to me ramble. I won't take up any more of your time, sirs." She waits to be dismissed.
"Your new shift schedule will be sent to you in the hour" LePage says. "You may go to quarters since I do work a decently long shift. We have a lot of ground to cover every day. And a lot of coffee to drink before I can function" LePage chuckles. "I look forward to working with you Crewman. Dismissed"
Worthington waves, and waits patiently for the caitian to leave before resuming the seat at the desk.
M'wer waves, then departs the office, her tail wagging along behind her.
"I'll admit" LePage says as the door wooshes shut. "I have a soft spot for Caitians"
Worthington smiles and resumes his seat. "We have to remind ourselves, that although they may resemble the cats we keep as pets on Earth, they are not, and are indeed their own, sentient race," he says. "I do remember Znaiyu though, especially from the Buran."
"Yeah, it's not the whole pet thing" LePage says. "I took the same species familiarization class in the academy as you.. No, it's mainly Znaiyu. Shame she transfered off before the mission..."
Worthington smiles. "Quite the up and coming engineer as I recall," he says. "Shame she transfered."
"So pardon me if I can get ahold of another seemingly promising Caitian for an assistant" LePage chuckles. "And I felt awful seeing her that shaken up"
Worthington nods and sighs. "So did I," he says. "People shouldn't have to live like that, not in Starfleet. I thought those days were behind us, but no. Some of our own have decided that they are not, and are terrorizing the crew now with the thought of what they've done."
"You gonna run down Davidson, just to check on things?" LePage asks.
Worthington nods. "I will indeed," he says. "I want his take on the whole thing. Maybe he knows something we don't, or people closest to the crewman. Either way, it's worth following up on. That's the whole reason for interviewing people down here in the first place," he says.
"Let me know... Davidson..." LePage scratches his head. "I don't think he's one of mine. We don't have any policies in Engineering about intradepartment fraternization, but most of mine don't tend to date in the same pool"
Worthington considers. "Could run a computer search," he says.
"Could do" LePage nods.
Worthington nods. "Assuming our friends haven't gone and tampered with any crew records," he says.
"I hope not" LePage groans. "That'll probably be a lot of the work I put her to is data verification..."
Worthington smiles. "I'm sure she'll love that," he says, knowingly.
"You heard that comment about not cleaning anything anymore?" LePage chuckles. "Poor girl, I don't know how to tell her that I've been wanting MORE field work"
Worthington grins. "I did," he says. "Luckily, that unenviable duty is outside the perview of the security department," he says.
"Uhhhuh" LePage rolls his eyes.
Worthington chuckles. "Ah well," he says. "I hope I'm not chasing wild geese down here. We need to catch a break on this damned thing and fast," he says.