<USS Avalon> "Dissention in the Ranks"

Dissention in the Ranks
by Lt. Jayden Cross, Petty Officer Vevay Davis and Warrant Officer Alexander
Gibson

The call from Cross had come in the middle of breakfast. Alexander still
wasn't talking to her, so Vevay simply took the remains of her barely
touched food to the recycler and headed out. The walk to the office was the
shortest it had ever been. Vevay felt things could only get better from
here. She was staying on the ship, she was in love. What could possibly go
wrong?

Knocking three times on the door to the inner office, Vevay smoothed down
her uniform and waited. She was trying not to grin like a fool, but it
wasn't working all that well. Cross called her in and  she stood to
attention.

"What can I do for you this morning, sir?"

As soon as the door shut, Jayden looked at the idiot grinning in front of
her. "Care to tell me just how many people you're fucking that's involved in
this investigation?" The words were deliberately cold and calculated. She
expected to be lied to, but the shock value of the question would be
priceless in getting the truth to cross Vevay's face.

"Uh... uh... sir?" The world crashed down around Vevay's ears. She tried
desperately to rebuild her mask of professionalism but it just wasn't
coming. "W-what do you mean?"

"I believe the question was pretty blunt."

Too fucking right it was. "One sir."

Narrowing her eyes, Jayden asked, "Which one? The Captain or Harak?"

Vevay's face slowly began to go red. Swallowing back her angry response, she
said, "Harak."

Jayden threw the PADD with Harak's interview at Vevay. It clanked off the
edge of her desk and tumbled to  the floor. "Useless. Not only is it full of
a bunch of dramatic bullshit about Harak being Forester, but it's
inadmissable because the interviewer was fucking the interviewee."

"Not at the time of the interview, sir."

"Can you prove it? Will it not cause a shadow of doubt that you were whoring
around before? It won't stand." Jayden stood and paced behind her desk
angrily, wishing there was something to hit. Or someone. Where's Quinn when
you need him?

"The interview was conducted in a professional manner." Vevay's boiling
point was just about reached when she finally blew. "And I'm not a whore,
sir."

"Maybe you should tell that to the man turning my outer office into a
florist's shop."

"I didn't solicit the Captain's attention. Fuck this, I didn't solicit
anyone's attention. Me and Ffej, it's different, it won't affect the
investigation, I'm sure of it." She sounded needy and pathetic. It revolted
her. Standing a little taller, Vevay said,  "The Captain is a very sweet
man, just because you want to screw him ten ways from Sunday, doesn't mean
he's actually guilty."

Whirling around on Vevay, Jayden hissed, "You know as well as I do what our
orders are, Ms. Davis. We're not here to 'screw him', we're actually here to
try and save his ass. If it were possible. We may persue things
aggressively, but it's to build an airtight defense case, which is not going
to happen because one of my department is fucking around with my
investigation." Then she unleashed all her anger in one torent as she
screamed, "If he's such a 'sweet man' you shouldn't have helped to put the
nails in his coffin. Do you even stop to consider how your actions could
effect those around you?!"

And there it was, Vevay found her mask, put it on and stared at the wall in
front of her. "My actions were not a deliberate attempt to undermine the
investigation but I am aware of how they have. That is why I am tendering my
resignation  from JAG."

"Accepted. And if you hadn't offered it, I would've called for it, Vevay. I
trusted you. And now everything has been compromised. Everything." Jayden's
arms were gesturing wildly and there was none of that lawyerly control. 
"There is no way that we can come out of this well. Ketchum will go to
trial. There's no way around it. And even if Bryce and I could've put
together a decent defense, you were there undermining it all along." She
sighed loudly and kicked her chair back away from her desk, rolling it half
way across the floor. "Do you have any idea how frustrating this is?"

"No sir, I have never been in a position to understand such things, sir. May
I leave now sir?"

"Sir, sir, sir," Jayden mimicked. "I really hope you're really fucking happy
with your new little boyfriend Vev, because if I have anything to do with
it, your career is over." She slammed her hand down on the desk and
muttered, "Can't even use the damn  Harak interview." Then sitting back in
her chair again, tirade over for the moment, Jayden took a very long moment
to appraise the woman across from her. "You're relieved from all duties
pending the outcome of my communique with Captain Scott. Get out.
Alexander!"

Spinning on her heals, Vevay didn't even bother to look at the Warrant
Officer on her way out of the door.  All my fault, fuck it, all my fault.
She'd screwed Keith all by herself, she'd contructed the gallows, put the
noose around his neck and was waiting for the order to pull the lever. There
was no way to fix this, no way to save him. She didn't give a flying fuck
about her career, not any more, but she'd tried to help Keith and managed to
fuck it all up.

Alexander watched in mute shock as his assistant marched by, noting the
angry tears already streaming down her face. He stood and swept into the
inner office. "Sir?"

"Don't 'sir' me Alexander," Jayden pouted. "Just make me feel better  now
that my whole investigation has gone to hell.

Bending down to retrieve the PADD containing the interview, he read the
first few lines as he frowned. "It is perhaps not the end of the world that
this cannot be used. If we are truly here to save Captain Ketchum, the extra
proof that this interview implies that Forester was indeed his son would
only add more to the offense, would it not?"

Sighing, Jayden said, "Yes, probably, but it does little to help. That fact
will be admitted and the prosecution will see that interview anyway with all
the paranormal Harak as Forester shit which just makes him look unstable."
She shook her head, defeated. "It's not good, Alexander. No matter what. And
I hate losing."

"Why does the prosecution need to see this interview?" He continued quickly
before she could say anything. "I know that they expect to see an interview
with Ensign Harak, but why this one? All we need to do is conduct another
with you as point and  submit that. I know that is not technically allowed,
but only the four of us have seen this and I'm sure the Ensign would
appreciate the opportunity to prevent further question into his mental
health."

"It's not really going to matter either way. He'll just answer the questions
like all the others, which doesn't help our case any." Jayden rubbed her
temples with her fingertips. "Just... stop talking about it and do something
to make me feel better. Sing me a song, do a little dance. Whatever," she
whined again.

"I don't dance," he said flatly. "But I do sing in a very talented
Barbershop Quartet back on the starbase. I'm sure I could ask the computer
to fill in the extra parts if you would like to hear my version of 'Daisy
Daisy.'" Smiling over at her, he stretched out one hand and began to sing in
a classic baritone.

Jayden burst out laughing. She hadn't expected that. "Ah, Alexander, you're
a piece of work. Don't ever fuck me over, honey. I need you too  badly."

"No intention of it, sir."

"Good," she said wearily, propping her feet on the corner of her desk.
"Because I'm on the edge of a nervous breakdown." Suddenly she swung her
feet into the floor. "I'm going to the lounge to pretend to get drunk. Tell
Quinn I'm looking for him if you actually see the bastard." Hurrying past
Alexander, Jayden went on, hoping to put this day far, far behind her.

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