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[Kel Riever]

Morgan

The intern jumped, gasped, "Tea!  Coffee!  Right away!" and promptly scuttled out the door to Amy's office.

Their was a slight crease in one of Morgan's brow as he watched the intern go, then he turned back to Amy, hiding his concerns.  He couldn't cover up his small sigh though before he started talking.  "Amy, heading off the ship like that," Morgan started, then choked down what he wanted to say in order to get done what he had to, "You left us concerned.  Not that we think you can't handles yourself, but it went unannounced."

Whatever Amy was doing wasn't likely going to be good for someone Morgan knew.  The flurry of activity in the front, the yelling at the intern, it confirmed at least his feelings.  "All of this," Morgan looked around the office, "Is nice.  You've got your hands full.  I get it.  But..."

Morgan had to, he didn't want to but he had to.  He looked Amy in the eyes and knew what he was saying wasn't a like but it was misleading and he was sure it would come out later.  He leaned on a chair and rest his weight on one leg.   "But I thought you were coming with us."  Morgan did his best to put the slightest tinge of disappointment in his voice.  "Besides I know someone who'll miss you very badly if you're gone."  Sure, Amy would probably think it was Morgan, even though he wasn't referring to himself.  "Whatever is going on her, can't it wait?  Can't it be done from the ship?

"You've got a lot of news to cover, but how much can you really do from here?  If you want to get a front row seat, you've got to be with the action, not hiding behind a desk, anyway."

Jenus

It took three seconds for Jenus to decide she didn't like the way Anika was acting.  But in seconds four and five, the Commando actually switched the decision on how she was going to react, not necessarily for the better.  But the two of them were alone and there wasn't anyone to worry about other than perhaps a possibly nosy VERA.

In a voice that made it impossible to tell if she was mocking an enthusiasm, or really was showing a side of herself that hadn't been seen, Jenus said.  "Oh, are you the appointed person to determine what happened with that woman on board from the lounge?"  The friendly demeanor, if one actually did know Jenus, was really so she could play it either way.  Abruptly, Jenus took one of the other chairs in the room, brought it towards Anika, kicked her feet up on a nearby table and crossed them, leaned back on two of the chair's legs, rest her hands together over her tummy and looked up.  "Oh, it's good to get some things off my chest."

Rotating her head up towards Anika and batting her eyelids, Jenus smiled and spoke in confidence.  "I've been meaning to sit down and talk with someone about this.  No offense, it wasn't meant to be you...I have this question about your...background...still.  Good thing there's only one of you, that's about all the galaxy could handle, right!"  She held up one hand briefly and said, "Sorry, that's personal.  Let me get to it.

"I'm walking down the hall and I must have forgotten there was supposed to be a guard or two standing outside the lounge.  Or did I find that out later?  Whatever!  I get there and it so happens nobody is guarding the lounge, but the door is locked and someone is yelling to get out from the inside and so I open the door.  You know me, I can handle anything so I wasn't worried about that.  Turns out that this human is on the other side, going on about how she's supposed to see the Spectre or Captain Stone or something like that.  She isn't armed, hardly looks dangerous, and, well, there's no reason not to believe her.  If there was a guard there, sure, I'd have figured she was some sort of prisoner, but there wasn't so the obvious conclusion was that there was a malfunction."

This was a lot of words for Jenus and she was having a hard time not boring her own self.  But she decided to steal a page from Textbrain, and her ability to hold long conversations.  It was going to be worth it in the end.  "Right, so I'm walking with her to the hangar which would be the place these people would be, you know, if they hadn't already gone off on their mission.  What do I know, right?  I want to make her happy, I'm just a grunt.  Maybe Septerax can explain it.  Either way, she shouldn't be so deep in the ship so getting her to the hangar is a good move for everybody.  Then Essul Ran'Perah comes shouting up the hallway about trouble and I can see that he looks at this human like a threat."

Jenus motioned over her body with a hand.  "You see all of this, right?  It's a weapon, honed, trained, perfect.  I do a lot of work to keep it that way.  You may think I'm bragging but really the point is, this body knows what to do when it needs to be done.  I shove her to the floor, harmlessly of course, I know what I'm doing.  She's a leaf, anyway, falls to the floor no problem.  More importantly, no marks.  And I ask if she's some sort of infiltrator or something.  Essul may be inefficient but he's not a liar or a phony."

Moving to wrap her fingers behind her head and leaning back a bit further in the chair, Jenus nodded to Anika.  "You're like that a little bit too.  I mean, all right, we don't see eye to eye.  Literally because you are too tall, but figuratively too.  Still, I don't think you are a liar.  You're a good soldier, all that meat on the bones, waiving your giant machine gun around.  You kill things you see without needing to think about it.  That's good.  Anyway, if the guest didn't decide her best course of action was breaking out a can of irritant, then it might have gone better for her.  But resisting military personnel on a top secret ship when they've come across the most dangerous threats known, that's not a good idea.  Personally I thought she got off lucky.  Could have been shot dead.  Wouldn't have a chance to complain about it then, would she have?"

Jenus looked up innocently at Anika, waiting for a reply.



 

[Redbelle]

Anika typed as Jenus spoke and when she was done, Anika looked over her notes and nodded. "Good. Thank you Jenus. That was helpful". She paused. "I do wonder about a few things though..... You said that from your perspective, to twist your words a bit, you saw her as harmless and un-threatening. Both are judgements that later appeared to entirely accurate and they came from you..... But given your assessment of the reporter's threat level why did you later  acquiesce to Essul's assessment of the level of threat she posed to the ship? When did you give Essul your assessment based on your interactions with the reporter"?

[Redbelle]

Amy actually laughed. "Hiding? Morgan, sweetheart. I'm flattered your thinking of my safety but.... Well did you forget? I only went on that ship to get you and.... that woman on board with a recruitment drive aimed at C-Sec. You turned me down. Though I'll let it go after all.... I wouldn't want things to get awkward between us". She smiled and leaned forward and was stopped when she felt her clothes begin to tightened around her bust as she did.... She really had to change soon but for Morgan, it was discomfort she could stand.

 

"And since that possibility has gone by the wayside I need to keep my eye's open for new stories. I almost had one too. Your Captain and the Spectre going to visit the consort together? I can only imagine what I would have found if I'd been able to get a trip over. But alas.... Another story erupted quite out of the blue and now I'm covering that. Don't you worry though. I'm nearly done. The office ought to be able to push this now I've got the right people on the case. My soundbites and interviews are done, edited and in the can. Now all I need to do is wait for the results and believe me.... I think you'll be pleasently surprised to learn that my trip with you was far more accomodating than the hour I spent on the one shadowing you all the time. I hate to speak ill of soldiers and the job they have to do but the amount of common sense aboard...... Well let's just say this. On your ship I saw good people working, being friendly, making time, not throwing me to the floor....". Her cheeks turned a little red at that but she pressed on"...... A stark contrast versus that other ship".

 

She got up from behind her desk and stepped over to where morgan stood near her door and placed a hand on his chest. "Now, why don't you tell me why you really came here Mr Morgan. Wanting me back on the ship? Well I can see why you would want that but I'm a professional journalist. Always looking for the next story. If you have one I'm all ear's.... Unless you want to cast away all this pretence and tell me what you really came for".

 

Leaning into and around slightly Amy reached for the lock on her door which was exactly when the door opened and the intern came in carrying four lidded cups cluthed in her hands. As if sensing the door swiinging open from behind Morgan stepped forwards and tried to keep Amy from being hit by raising an arm to draw her back with him. Unfortunately, he moved to slow and Amy skidded across the arm that threw her off more than she'd intended and she had to stumble forward to keep from falling which is where she met the intern who had barreled inside so fsat she only saw Amy when it was to late.....

 

Both collided and tea and coffee flung itself up between them, soaking both who howled as hot beverage soaked their fronts as from outside Amy's office, the noise suddenly went dead.

 

Through gritted teeth, Amy looked up and through her doorway she saw people staring at her. Her. In her new suit outfit, dripping with rapidly cooling drink as the intern sidestepped around her and looked down at her top, hands fluttering in a vagouely comical manner to fan the liquid. Her face dead white as she realised what had happened and who it had happened with. Amy however grabbed the door and swung it shut so forcefully that the glass rattled in it's frame as a split, together with a audible cracking sound, shot up the glass that miracelously did not shatter as Amy turned to the intern. Eye's full of fury and fire. She made to move forward but a drop of coffee on her top lip hit her bottom as she began to speak and her tongue tasted the rich flavour that made her growl.

 

"....... No sugar. Clear your desk. Your fired".

[Kel Riever]

Jenus

Jenus twisted a corner of her mouth in thought.  "Well, you know what we do, having to make split second decisions with lives on the line.  I'm supposed to trust the second in command of our team, without question.  Who am I to argue with him?  Besides, he was partially right, wasn't he?  The woman sprayed him in the face with that can of irritant.  You even saw that, said he was crying.  Obviously, the woman wasn't completely harmless.  If we were in space, can you imagine how may people that might have affected running through the vent system before it was dumped?"

There was an alert from Jenus' Omni-tool indicating she should get to the conference room for a meeting with Selani.  She ignored it for the moment, righted herself on her chair before standing up, put her hands behind her back and wandered in close to Anika.  Tilting her head, she peered up and said, "So, what do you think of my protocol?  Have any suggestions on improvement, big girl?  At least I didn't act out in anger, because, well, don't you just want to reach out and punch someone sometimes?"

[Kel Riever]

Morgan

Sonofa...SONOFA...

Remain calm.

Morgan sighed.  "Let's...Let's not overreact."  There was a box of tissues on Amy's desk, the closest thing to grab to help.  Morgan took it, yanked out a fistful, and wiped where things looked worst, while not going anyplace ungentlemanly.  "You're all working at a fast pace, mistakes happen, it's human."

Boy, Amy did not look happy.

"It's fine, really," Morgan attempted to smooth things over.  "Look, it isn't engine oil, or coolant."  He then looked at the intern.  "Help, would you?"  He handed her the box of tissues.  Unfortunately that left Morgan empty handed, and besides his shirt, he didn't really have anything to soak up spilled coffee, mostly in gesture as the damage was done.  So he went to the coat closet in the office and opened it, looking for something.  Of the rather nice outfits hanging there, he saw one that was torn up.  Well...  Morgan grabbed the least expensive looking piece of cloth from the torn outfit and went over to continue dabbing at Amy.

"Sit down, we'll get you sorted out."  At least Morgan's vest could cover a chair seat so he did that before helping Amy to sit in it.  Thankfully, the intern wasn't worrying about the coffee on herself, but trying to help Amy.  Morgan began his conversation to try and at least get things going back his direction.  "You do a lot, Amy.  Probably too much.  You've got this story on your mind, you're wrapped up in it, it makes sense.  But don't you think you have more work to do?  What happens when this report is done?  The ships leave, you stay here, that's it, the end.  It doesn't last, right?  Now if you're with your subject, then you've got something to keep talking about."

Morgan stopped for a moment and stared at Amy, for emphasis.  "I can't sign some contract with you, but...I can't stop you from just doing your job as long as you follow the rules, right?  That's not up to me, that's up to the Captain.  And...you can handle the Captain, can't you?"

This is going to get worse before it gets better, Morgan thought to himself.  The intern was furiously patting down Amy as if her life depended on it.  She looked up at Babylon, with the kind of terror a twenty year old feels when they think the one opportunity of their life to make it big is on the line.  "Miss Babylon," the intern begged, "Please give me a chance to fix this.  You know...you know the man understands that...that it's important for you to be around people.  Front line, Miss Babylon, Khalisa Al-Jilani, always the place to be she said and...and we all here know she doesn't have a tenth the talent as you!"
 

[Redbelle]

Anika raised an eyebrow. "No... I don't. Not these days at any rate but back to the subject matter. Following order's is of course important but so is communicating with your superior officer to pass on information they need to get a handle on the situation so they can make good decisions.... I'm going to ask because I think this will come up later.... Did you, at the time of the incident, believe the person you were escorting to be a threat to the ship and crew. Or did you believe she was not a threat to ship and crew.... Putting aside the small bottle of mace in her possession"?

 

Anika leaned back in her chair and then she noticed her Omnitool flashing at her after she'd set it to silent. "Huh.... Guess we're out of time. Look, Jenus..... I'm getting a picture of what happened and it looks like a lot of people messed up. Mistakes piled on top of mistakes that allowed this incident to happen. The problem is that there's a good chance it's not going away any time soon. And it could get worse. Bad enough that if you don't take it seriously it could be bad for you and everyone involved. You know that right? Pleeease tell me you realise that".

[Kel Riever]

"Sure," Jenus said, "Serious as a heart attack."  She wasn't a threat, then she was.  Then we made sure she wasn't."

Jenus looked down slightly at Anika now that she was sitting and the Commando was standing.  "But I'd hate to think some civie is going to make us stop trusting the interpretations of our superiors.  If that happened, where would it end?"

There was a narrowing of Jenus' eyelids as she seemed to take some inward pleasure.  "Good talk, Too-Tall.  You want to talk more about this, you hit me up, anytime."

With some swagger, Jenus headed to the door out.  "Sorry, poor choice of words there, at the end."

[Redbelle]

"Damn right she doesn't". Amy half growled, half sighed. "A self study media enthusiast who got lucky on a few scoops and rides that fame like a white horse where-ever she goes. She didn't study four years in Newsroom Production and Media aethetics to get where she is.... No siree she just bats her eyelids and glides through while the rest of us have to do the hard work. I bet she's never checked a source in her life. Just throws it all on black and wins the lucky breaks. Well it'll catch up with her. Just you wait. You know she hangs about in the wards? Never once seen her do Vox Pox. Bloody extra net wannabe. You know I worked for Fox once? Six months internship and they never went easy on me the way I go easy on you....". She said glaring at her intern. "Always got their coffee's on time and never spilt any on the talent! That's a skill in corridors that busy. And I got out fast. Just enough to get a reputation as a serious journalist but not enough to get tarred by the Fox brush!. Independent! Able to work for anyone. Most of all myself! But I work for everyone! Trying to get the stories though so I can enjoy the glow of doing a good job while the studio and people in it gain a rep for just being there at the time.... You want to go far in this business? Three simple rules. Never stop looking for the truth for your viewers. Never be told what you can and can't report. No one decides what questions a reporter can ask. Break that, and your a mouthpiece. Not a journalist and mouthpiece's are the worst kind of reporter. And third...... Never get caught alone in a room with someone who you know has romantic intentions towards you..... It.... changes you..... Really.... changes you....".

 

Amy looked over to where Morgans hands were dabbing her down and suddenly she realised just where he was dabbing and stood up fast as a shot that she nearly knocked both of those over. "Alright fine.... One more chance. Screw up and it'll be the last thing you ever mess up in this line of work..... You focus. You do a steller job. You shine in this role.... Maybe you belong here..... Maybe".

[Redbelle]

Anika unfurled herself from her seat and stretched. "Hold up. I'll walk with you. Getting cramped. Everything in this ship is to damn small. The chairs, the tables. Even the bunks. I have to sleep with my feet sticking out when I'm in my quarters. You heading to see the Captain"? She asked as she walked next to Jenus.

 

"You doing okay by the way? I've been hearing things about you lately. Some trouble in the hanger earlier"?

[Kel Riever]

Morgan

"Yes, Miss Babylon, and may I say that if it wasn't for this inexcusable mistake of mine that you look smashing in your new outfit!"  The intern fiddled with her long blonde pony tail, as if she completely forgot she was drenched in a coffee/tea combination.  Still dripping, in fact, as the content of the cups ran down her totally ruined business suit and dress.  Morgan wanted to shake his head as she really put the pathetic voice on.  "Ma'am, no one could possibly stand next to you when it comes to proficiency with the media, if you'll forgive me to say.  I work tirelessly for your benefit and am thankful every minute I have the opportunity to.  May I fetch you, please, everything you need to put you back in tip top shape?  You won't regret giving old Regina here a second chance!"

Morgan couldn't help but ask the intern, "Regina, is that your name?"

"Yes, Regina Upton!  I tell you, Mister, there's not a better person than Miss Amy Babylon herself to direct things, put things right, and work under."

Morgan nodded his head slowly, saying to himself, I'm sure....

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Make them wait," Selani thought. "Make them wait and think about why they're gathered. Watch them on the security camera. They'll know what this is about when all of them are together."

 

Selani gathered her notes from the rumors. She had VERA display the security camera video of what exactly happened, but wanted to hear things from each of the people involved. She'd have words with the Spectre when she returned as well. This whole thing was sh1tstorm of the worst proportions and they happened on her ship and on her watch. This "civilian comfort by design" crap on a military vessel had made people soft. "I can't do anything about the design, but changes need to be made around here. Maybe in dry dock they can make a few  modifications. I'll make the request."

[Kel Riever]

Jenus

S**t she wants to talk!

Jenus couldn't exactly blow her off.  Well she could but she found herself curious, and as stupid as she thought she was being, she decided to wait up for Anika.  "Ah...yeh, well, you have to understand Red.  Sometimes..."

Jenus walked alongside Anika, keeping the tall woman in the corner of her eye.  "So we went on a bit of a ride with Irina's jet bike.  She really hasn't had a shot riding it since Duellos.  Might have possibly broken a traffic rule or two on the way back in.  And possibly had a bit of a delayed braking in the hangar on landing."

Then something Anika said finally poked her interest.  "Did you say you heard things about me lately?  You mean about the bike, right?"
 

[Redbelle]

"Like the bike. Like the rider. Like you've been getting friendly with someone who can give you high speed thrills. A ship this size? Rumors spread around quickly and I'm worried about the amount of gossip going around about you in particular. I know you don't want me in your squad but we're still crew mates assigned the same basic tasks. So if you feel like you need to talk to someone outside of Team Boom, I'm here. You could always start with why you keep apologising for dropping punch remarks in whenever you and I talk. I get the impression there are things you want to say that you feel you can't.....". She looked over at her. "How long have you been holding back"?

[Kel Riever]

Anika and Jenus had just arrived outside the conference room.  No one was in the passageway at the moment, but a person had to whisper to avoid being overheard, which is what Jenus did. Rather, she nearly rasped under her breath as she let some of her anger loose.

"I don't need someone to talk to anyone." (Jenus, creature of denial) "If someone's got a problem with me, they can say it to my face.  If they're too much of a coward that they have to say it behind my back, then I don't care, unless I find out who it is and then they're going to get what's coming to them!  My business with Red is my business, unless she or I want to say something about it."

For once, Jenus didn't seem to blame Anika, though.  "Ship of unprofessional home spouses, if that's the case.  Wouldn't be surprised, even if it is one of the most advanced ships in the galaxy.  Xanthe Remi used to know how to run things and when we did things we kept it amongst ourselves.  Make enough exceptions and pretty soon there are no rules."

Jenus turned to Anika, in a much less antagonistic way then, and her rasp became a whisper.  "I don't care if you're on the team.  I mean to say that's up to you.  I'm not going to keep you off it unless you do something entirely stupid which, I admit, you haven't done yet.  Do you want us is the question.  And I'm sorry, but that includes all of us, whether you don't like me, or Tallis, or Ereba, or Iole, or you do.  You may have a huge mutant head, but I see that at least whoever grew it did at least one or two things right.  And get used to the way I say things because that's a compliment coming from me."

It was a pretty accurate statement.  Maybe once Jenus gave an actual real compliment with no backhand, to Johnny when they had boarded the shuttle after the last firefight.  Otherwise, pretty much every bite of Jenus came with a lot of lemon.  Her eyes lost a bit of their hard glint, and she looked around, still making sure nobody could overhear.  "I don't know how this meeting is going to go down, Too Tall, but I wouldn't be surprised if some discipline got handed out by Selani.  It's a good thing.  All that matters is nobody takes the blame alone.  That's the varren's *ssh*le that brings a team down.  We all step up and take part of the blame.  That's what they want to see anyway, the leaders who know what they are doing.  As far as civies roaming this ship go, between you and me, just keep them away from me.  Nothing good is going to come from having me near a puffy, whiney, button pusher who's out of breath after running a Presidium block."

Jenus seemed to catch herself for a minute.  "Well, there are exceptions, but let's just leave it to the ship for now.  Keep them away from me, for their own sake.  I'm too much for them."

[Cknarf]

Johnny

 

Biting his bottom lip, Johnny concentrated hard on the mirror. He glanced briefly to his left, as one of the sinks farther down was turned on. While he preferred to do this in relative privacy, that just wasn't an option. This job required ample lighting, something that his quarters didn't quite have. Thinking nothing of the asari, he got back to work...

 

Until a sink on the right side came to life. He looked over to see what appeared to be the same person.

 

I would have seen her in the mirror...

 

He looked back to his left. Raising one expertly-tweezed eyebrow, he looked right again, and chuckled lightly, as he came to the realization that there were twins aboard. After confirming that he was, in fact, not going crazy, he continued. And so did the twins.

 

It's sure taking them a long time...

 

Johnny began to feel uneasy, as the sinks continued to flow. Looking back to his left, he made eye contact with the first. This whole time, she hadn't even been washing her hands, just letting the sink run as she gawked. On the right, he saw the same thing.

 

"Can I help you?" Johnny asked, gesturing between them with his tweezers.  Any other time, the non-confrontational marine likely would have extracted himself from the situation, but this was important. His desire for flawless brows overpowered his natural timidness.

 

Almost immediately after he acknowledged them, both sinks shut off simultaneously.  Maintaining their gaze, the asari regrouped, and finally left.

 

Johnny just shook his head, and focused back on the mirror.

[Kel Riever]

Tallis

Tallis showed up next to Vayne.  She'd slipped into the ducts so fast, both Arian and the krogan almost didn't see her.

"Go?  Go?"  Tallis asked, gesturing forward through the ducts.
 

[Redbelle]

Anika was silent for a moment. Then said, "If you don't want to talk, that's up to you. But if you want to listen I'll be bold and say taking up the leadership of your team was a mistake. Your a leader now. People look to you for an example. If you can't set one then don't be surprised if the people around you won't hold themselves to standard you rely on. On Earth there's a saying that a person who rebels against authority just loves to stick it to the man. Now though, you've taken a step closer to being the man. The one in power. Those who see your authority will take their ques from you. Other's will scrutinise you. If your serious about being charge of your team, its time to think about them".

 

They neared the conference room and Anika placed a hand on the doorway to block Jenus from entering momentarily. "The reporter fiasco was a series of mistakes you weren't responsible for but added to. But your Asari military through and through. Essul is not. Normally you might just get a slap on wrist but this, on top of the biking incident on the Citadel and the hanger? The team might protect you but you certainly aren't protecting them from having to cover for you. Your exposed. Out in the open. And your asking the rest of us to break our cover and join you in the killing field....."? Anika let a tone of disapproval into her voice. "If you expect to drag your team after you every time you get in over your head that's your business. It happens. I know. You want the team to show solidarity when your in trouble in your role as team leader? Make them team leader's too. Otherwise your exploiting them in your position as team leader and shirking your duty to keep them on the straight and narrow by dragging them after you". She took her hand off the doorway and shrugged. "But then.... you have a team of loyal, trustworthy friends you know will back you when you have good ideas..... I just hope you that if you don't listen to me, you'll listen to them when they tell you which idea's are the bad ones".

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Janiri - Conference Room

 

Selani entered the conference room and found everyone she had VERA contacted there: Essul, Jenus, Anika, Yeoman Triana, Serviceman First Class Serenia. Jenus called everyone to attention. Selani left them there and stood across the table.

 

“There are a number of problems I’ve had with the lack of discipline on board this ship recently, but I’ve let them slide due to the number of civilians on board. Some of you are civilians under the authority of the Spectre. Some of these civilians are former military and should know better,” she said. “The Spectre may be in charge, but everything that happens on this ship reflects on me as a Commander in the Asari Navy.”

 

She paused a moment before continuing. “There was an incident in the Shuttle Bay earlier, and the Quartermaster gave a mealy-mouthed account of exactly what happened there like he was covering up for some members of the crew whom C-sec happened to catch on a civilian camera taking a joy ride on a jet bike. The Quartermaster claims to not know what happened to the jet bike. Apparently the heat generated in the shuttle bay for a few key seconds was so great that the security cameras couldn’t catch who exactly was responsible or there’d be some butts in a frying pan right now, so I’ll have to accept his explanation,” she sighed. “I suspect it involved one or more people in this room. That was a breach of military protocol and will not happen again on my watch. If it does, any of those involved who are under my direct line of command will be busted in rank. Is that clear?”

 

Jenus stood in silence, eyes straight ahead.

 

“That’s enough on jet bikes,” Selani said and looked down at her notes then up at the group. “Now to the matter at hand. How did a reporter get aboard this ship? What in the Void was she doing aboard? And who was on duty guarding the airlock?” Selani asked.

 

There was dead silence in the room.

 

“That’s right. No one,” she answered her own question.

 

Serviceman First Class Serenia stepped forward. “Permission to speak, Ma’am.”

 

Selani tilted her head. “Go ahead, Serenia.”

 

“I observed Spectre T’sarius escorting the human female to the observation lounge,” Serenia said.

 

“Did you see if the person in question had a valid visitors badge?” Selani asked.

 

“Yes, Ma’am. I did observe her. She did not have a valid visitor’s badge, Ma'am,” Serenia said.

 

“And you didn’t say anything?”

 

“No, Ma’am. She was with the Spectre, Ma’am.”

 

“And then what happened?”

 

“The Spectre left her in the lounge, locked it, and asked Yeoman Triana and I to guard it, Ma’am,” Serenia said with her eyes straight forward.

 

“And did you?”

 

“Yes, Ma’am.”

 

“Thank you, Serviceman,” Selani said. “Does anyone care to enlighten me as to what happened next?”

[Kel Riever]

"Ma'am!" Jenus answered.  "I was on the scene next, the door was locked, and someone on the other side sounded like they needed help.  I opened the door and found the human guest on the other side, claiming she needed to see the Spectre immediately.  I did not know how long she'd been in there.  She seemed harmless, and..." Jenus eyed the two who she now knew were supposed to guard the lounge. "Without any protest as to otherwise, I took the civilian into my custody with intention of following protocol and securing the unknown passenger aboard the vessel."

Jenus didn't worry about the guards, VERA could confirm where they were.  But she did wait to see if Essul would volunteer the next part.  Her face hard as iron, she stared straight ahead.  

[TheMajonese]

On the citadel

 

Arian hadn't changed his mind; he didn't follow Tallis and Vayne even though he had told the krogan that he was going to help. But Vayne certainly didn't need two bodyguards that followed him everywhere. He turned to the shop owner. "You didn't see us in here...", he said with a snarl and the look on his face alone made it sound like a threat. Then he turned around and quickly left the shop. 

 

While Arian moved through the crowd he looked for the turian and his blood pack bodyguards so he could follow them.

[Cainhurst Crow]

"Yeah...we go now..." Vayne said as he walked ahead, turning around to walk towards his distenation, taking a second to rememmber where it was he was heading before.

 

"Don't worry. I wont..." The Shopkeeper said as he closed the hatch, moving the crate back over it. Joram Talid and his bodyguards left the shop they had chatted up, heading to one accross the street as he entered the place, "Greetings...sir. Mind if I browse your wares a bit?" He asked the human as she looked behind him to the guards he had.

 

"Why...no, not at all...help yourself." She said hesitatantly.

 

"You sound nervous? Does helping someone not human make you uncomfortable?" Joram asked as he looked back to one of the mercenaries, "Did you hear what she just called me, Garm?"

 

"Sounded like she called you Cuttlebone, Mr. Talid." The guard said.

 

"What? I did no such thing!" She exclaimed as Joram stared her down, "I...Please....I'm not looking for any trouble..."

 

"Neither am I, I assure you. But as a concerned citizens of this community. I have to ensure the safety of my fellow citadel citizens from any threats. Especially discrimination from the most recent up and comers..." He said as he held out his talon, "Perhaps a donation might persuade me to look the other way of your blatant racism...after all, who are the turians down in c-sec going to believe? Me and my witnesses...or you?"

 

Below them, a krogan and an asari moved unseen and unheard. Passing them by for a few blocks before they came to an exit. Vayne shouldered the grate open and stepped out, coming out near an empty stairwell as he looked behind to tallis.

 

"...I'm...sorry you got mixed up in all this..." He said, not sure what else to say as he looked down to the ground, "You and the kid...I'm too old to be dragging others into my own messes like that."

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Essul had been uncomfortable the moment he'd arrived at the conference room. He knew what it was about, and likely what it would mean. He let out a sigh as he spoke.

 

"Permission to Speak, Ma'am." Essul said as he looked to her, taking a glance to the others as he got the permission after jenus. "When I had completed the paperwork and report filing, I had spotted Serviceman First Class Serenia and Yoemen Triana and asked them what was going on in the lounge. We conversed, and moved away from the door as to not create an obstruction of the hallway. During this gap, I suspect was when Jenus arrived on the scene..." Essul said as he looked to her, knowing what would come next.

 

"I heard someone, apparently the reporter, shouting down the hallway. Coming back around, I saw the lounge was unlocked. I jumped to the conclusion that the reporter had broken out somehow, and that the scream might have been from a member of the crew taken hostage. It would not be absurd, given the nature of the missions we have taken part in, nor the enemies we have accumulated, that someone might try to infiltrate this ship....In my haste, I allowed my fear to cloud my judgement. I ordered Yoemen Triana and Serviceman Serenia to call in an alert to the ship. I took off to locate the reporter. And when I did, she was down the hall, accompanied by jenus..."

 

The moment of truth was now, and depending on how he worded his next sentiments, it would most likely change what happened. He knew what he had to do, even if he didn't like it. The truth, and nothing but the truth, simple as that.

 

"I ordered her to get on the ground. Jenus aided in subduing her to the ground as I pinned her, and began to question who she was, and what she was doing...when I began to suspect that I had made a mistake, I tried to help her back up, while keeping a grasp of her in case she would attempt to escape or draw a weapon...She drew a pressurized can of irritant and sprayed it at my face to try and escape...and after that, the others began to do their part in subduing her and escorting her back to the lounge...while I went to wash out the spray..." He said.

 

There would be no finger pointing. No accusations hurled about who was more responsible for this or that. Much as essul wanted to raise the point about Jenus's actions, this wasn't the way he wanted it done. Nor was it the place to air out grievances, instead of revealing truths of what occurred.

[Redbelle]

Anika then held up her tablet and added. "Pardon ma'am. But to paint a clearer picture as to what the reporter.... a Ms Amy Babylon. was doing on the ship in the first place I think I can shed some light on that. Having once been a part of the crew of the Medusa I was able to squeeze an old ship mate who tells me that Babylon literally packed up and left the ship in a hurry. I'm not privy to information contained in the message but I did see a transmission between the Janiri and the Medusa that occured before Babylon left the ship".

 

Drawing a quick breath she went on. "Captain Stone was over here with Spectre Naleena and it seems they met Babylon. At least, Naleena met her. The details are fuzzy without their statements but shortly after that meeting the shuttle they boarded left. On it were Naleena and Stone. Along with two other crew members from the Medusa. A woman who is only known as Babe..... Her record is a little fragmented so finding information on her is difficult to say the least. And Miss Priss. Another woman who joined us after the Medusa hulled a hostile ship and rescued it's crew. Some were let go. Other's were absorbed into the crew on a criteria of filling skill shortages in the crew and the weight of the records of those Jess wanted. Some she let go. Other's she let stay. Priss was one of the good ones".

 

Moving on Anika looked down at her tablet. Then looked back up. "Suffice to say, and this is just guess work at the moment. New's of the trip reached Babylon's ears. She came over to see Jess and Naleena. Naleena, possibly Jess too, decided they didn't want her along for the ride and left her here. As for how she got aboard, someone had to have cleared her. The airlock doors aren't just left open. As a reporter however it's possible she sweet talked someone into it. Maybe she tricked them? Again, I don't know. All I know is what Essul and Jenus have already told you along with details of the incident. You'll be happy to know the irritant used in this encounter was a watered down over the counter civilian make commonly sold to women and men who feel the need to carry for their own safety. If she'd gotten her hands on the stuff we use..... Essul would be in the medical bay right now".

 

Setting the tablet down Anika looked up at the Captain. "As for my part in this? I came along at the end of the encounter and identified the reporter. I didn't know her long before I transferred over to the Janiri but...... Well..... You should probably ask Captain Stone how she came to be aboard the Medusa. Jess tends to give me these cues that some-things I'm better off not asking about and with Babylon those cues came over loud and clear. Something about an encounter at the TerF office with Babe was all I gathered. Anyway, I came in. ID'd Babylon. The situation broke up and I believe she was escorted off the ship by Irina. Babylon it seemed couldn't wait to leave".

 

"So in summary, Babylon came over to see Naleena. Naleena refused to transit her and left her in the conference room. Essul met the guards. Jenus met Babylon. A situation ensued that I witnessed the end of and Irina escorted Babylon off the ship. I'm still working on the details of events to build a clearer picture but so far..... I can't identify a key cause to this. The communication between Medusa and Janiri seems to have been the point of origin of this incident. Everything else seems to be a case of wrong place, wrong time".

[Kel Riever]

"Ma'am," Jenus added, "I am fully responsible for the takedown.  Once I saw my comrade in trouble, and that the woman might have a weapon, I moved to neutralize her."  Maintaining her stare forward, she stated, "If the woman was injured, that fault lies with me."  

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Selani stood stoically in front of the group using all of her discipline to contain herself. One could, however, see the fire in her icy blue eyes.

 

“So let me recap the events. Ms.Babylon, a reporter associated with Terra Firma, just walked aboard the ship, was never properly checked in, and then was met in the observation lounge by Spectre T’sarius who then left….” Selani paused. “You see this is what bothers me. The check in procedure. Does someone else want to say anything before I continue?”

 

Yeoman Triana finally spoke. “Ma’am, Ms. Babylon announced herself at the airlock requesting to see Captain Stone. I met her there, and she started talking and walking. Then Spectre T’sarius contacted me on the com and ordered me to escort her to the observation lounge where she would meet her.  I followed her orders, Ma’am.”

 

“Who alerted Spectre T’sarius?”

 

“I did, Ma’am,” VERA said.

 

“Of course you did,” Selani remarked.

 

Triana continued. “After Spectre T’sarius completed her interview of Ms. Babylon, she left the lounge, and posted Serviceman Serenia and me there as guards and locked the door. Shortly after that we were met by Essul Ran’perah and he asked us what was going on in the lounge.  With the door locked and Ms. Babylong in the lounge, we assumed the Spectre had temporarily detained her there. We moved aside so as not to obstruct the corridor. The rest you’ve already heard, Ma’am. I’m responsible for not properly checking her in and issuing the visitor’s pass, Ma’am.”

 

“I’ve seen the security camera vid, and it looks quite interesting,” Selani said. “So at no time did anyone decide it would be a good idea to contact the commanding officer of this ship 1) notifying her that the Spectre had detained someone let alone a reporter in the observation lounge; 2) before opening the door to said lounge and let Ms. Babylon out; and 3) even bothered to notify the commanding officer that there was a potential security breach – I found out about that through the grapevine; 4) and then let Ms. Babylon off this ship without an apology from the Commander for her mistreatment as part of the damage control for the political shitstorm this created. From here on in a situation like this I am to be kept in the loop, is that clear?

 

“The Spectre and I will have words. Triana, Stasia, you’re on report. There’s another person involved who isn’t in attendance - Irina Sloane. Someone inform her that the Spectre will be dealing with her. The rest of you, get out of my sight. Dismissed.”

[Redbelle]

Anika unfolded herself from her seat as she stood. Seemed to find herself at a loss for how to depart from the captain's presence for a moment, then gave her a salute and turned to depart, her tablet by her side as she head for and walked out the door. Stopping a few steps outside, she paused, shook her head and breathed.

 

"Lucky".