<USS Avalon> Covert Ops Interviews pt 2 - Ensign Kyle Fenner & WO Alexander Gibson

Covert Ops Interviews:
Part 2, Archers on the Parapets
By Ensign Kyle Fenner and Warrant Officer Alexander
Gibson

Ensign Fenner approached the office warily.  From what
he'd heard, the JAG was fishing for something, but no
one knew what it was, yet.  Reaching the doors, he
stepped through when they opened.

Alexander looked up at the visitor and then checked
his chronometer; Perfect timing.  Vevay was still
smiling like an idiot, so he simply nodded at the
Ensign and offered him the seat at the other side of
his desk.  "Thank you for taking the time to see us. 
Would you like a drink?"

Fenner took the seat while declining the drink.  "You
had some questions for me?"

Setting his own PADD to record, Alexander nodded.  "I
do.  Let me cut right to the point, Ensign.  We are
investigating the incident involving the death of one
of your yeomen, John Forester.  For the record, could
you please describe the events leading up to his
demise?"

"What is wrong with my official report?  For the
record, those are generally official record, what with
them being, well, 'official' and all."

"There is nothing wrong with the official report.  It
is a perfect description of the events.  What it does
not contain are the feelings of those involved.  Tell
me, what, exactly, was your relationship with John
Forester?"

"What is it that you are investigating?"

"I have told you, we are investigating the death of
John Forester.  In order to do this, we need your full
cooperation, Mr. Fenner."

Kyle looked directly into the questioner's eyes.  "Mr.
Fenner?"

Straightening himself in his chair, Alexander arched
an eyebrow at the young Ensign.  "Excuse my
impertinence, sir.  I am aware of the closeness of the
Covert Operations team that beamed across to the
Ferengi Marauder, but I must still investigate the
death.  This can either be easy and pleasant, or
difficult and painful.  Please help me, sir."

?It would be a terrible shame to have to report to
your lieutenants that you are exhibiting a behavior
problem, Gibson.?  Fenner continued while pouring
himself some water, ??If you are aware of the
?closeness,? as you called it, then I don?t need to
explain my relationship with Crewman Forrester.??  He
took a sip.  ?So why don?t you explain the relevance
of your question in regards to this investigation??

Alexander narrowed his eyes at the upstart of an
Ensign.  "I have been ordered to investigate John
Forester's relationships, his lifestyle and all of the
events leading up to his death; All of the events,
Ensign Fenner. Not simply the ones that occurred on
the Marauder.  If you are unwilling to aid my
investigation, I will be forced to take this to your
superiors."

Fenner smirked.  He held the grin for a bit before
responding, ?Empty threats just make you seem all the
more silly, Gibson.  I?ve been through this before,
the difference being that the other investigators were
professionals.  I have to wonder whether you?re lying,
or just naïve.  Or maybe you simply don?t care what
the point of all this is.  But what you?re
investigating isn?t so much Forrester?s death, as
whether Forrester?s death can be exploited.  We both
know his lifestyle, his haircut, and who or how many
people he was sleeping with doesn?t have a damn thing
to do with the fact that he was killed.  

?You think he died because he wasn?t ?ready? to go out
there?  He wasn?t hardened enough?  He died because
darts filled with nanobots and sedatives aren?t
naturally occurring bodily appendages.  What part of
military organization did you not understand when you
joined Starfleet?  What part of phasers, disruptors,
and photon torpedoes gave you the idea that a military
vessel was perfectly safe?  Do you think that
Forrester was naïve enough to miss all of that, and
also forego realizing that a special operations group
had some inherent risks?  Do you think he thought that
when phasers are slicing into corridor walls that they
would all magically avoid him??  

Fenner, red-faced, paused just long enough for a new
breath, ?Now I am going to ask you one more fucking
time, and you WILL answer without evasiveness. What is
the god-damned relevance of your question??

Alexander tried to keep the smug smile off of his
face.  Fenner had told him more in that little
outburst than any of the others he'd interviewed put
together.  "The relevance, sir, is that we believe
Forester's death had a direct bearing on Captain
Ketchum's order to destroy a Ferengi Marauder that
could easily have been outrun and evaded.  Is that
relevant enough for you?"

?Ah, yes.  We could have jumped into warp blindly, or
hoped to not get a plasma torpedo up the ass against
extremely questionable shields while we aligned
ourselves on an object-free vector and the nacelles
oriented themselves.?  He leaned forward, resting an
elbow on his knee.  ?And there isn?t any relevance at
all then to this line of questioning.  Why don?t you
skip the bullshit and ask me what you really want to
know??

Leaning steepled fingers on the desk in front of him,
Alexander smiled brightly.  "Well, perhaps that is the
easiest way.  Who fucked up, Ensign?  Why did the
captain get so angry?  Why destroy when he could
easily have just wounded?  What is the exact nature of
the relationship between John Forester and Keith
Ketchum?  But you can't answer these questions for me,
can you?" he said with a slight sneer.

?The covert ops team didn?t fuck up.  Perfect missions
only happen in controlled training environments, or
when the dice just can?t seem to roll against you.  As
far as your witch hunt goes, this ship was designed
for covert missions.  Hell, our covert operations team
was involved in the mission.  Clearly the fifteen or
so years of service that you have on me and are so
fucking mindful of, wasn?t enough time for a smug
little punk like yourself to look into the
implications of the ?covert? in covert operations.  We
needed the romulan, and we needed him for as long as
possible before anyone else could definitively say we
had him.  If we can?t sneak him out unnoticed, then
all witnesses need to be silenced.?  Fenner stood up,
bracing his hands on the desk.  ?Frankly, if the
captain hadn?t blown that ship up he would have been
derelict, so any relationships between the captain and
the crewmen are irrelevant.?

"I see."  Alexander rose to face Fenner.  "You are
dismissed, Ensign."

Fenner snorted.  "Dismissed, am I?  Thank you so
kindly for your permission."  He turned to the silent
petty officer.  "You just may have his job soon,
unless his superior can convince me to not file
charges for violations of article ninety and
ninety-two.  Have fun with your little witch hunt." 
Turning on a heel, he walked out the door.

Vevay looked over, a little bewildered at how badly
the interview had gone.  She was even more confused
when Alexander burst into peels of laughter.  "Aren't
you worried?  It's your career on the line."

"Worried?  I've had more impressive men than that
threaten to have me sacked.  And the most interesting
thing of all, he really thinks he can follow through
on it."  Chuckling to himself, Alexander clicked off
the recording and set about turning it into a report
for Cross.

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