<USS Avalon> "Read Between the Lines"

“Read Between the Lines”
by Lt. Commander SG Anthony Manson
& Lieutenant Second Class Bryce Quinn



Bryce had his appointments laid out in front of him. A full day was planned with, he was sure, never-ending amounts of interrogation disguised as small talk and simple question. The weak minded who couldn't see that coming from a mile away deserved to be plasma conduit cleaners on garbage scows, but he wasn't going to say any more than necessary to usurp the information he needed from his targets. The next person on his list was Lieutenant Commander Anthony Manson.

"At the front of the action," Bryce said to himself as he noted the chime. This session would prove the most interesting. He looked at the meetings he had had previously with lower-ranked individuals and sighed - somehow a lowly ensign on deck fifteen didn't seem worth his time, but he digressed.

The chime rang as Anthony waited calmly outside. He hated meetings, formal meetings at any rate, and now that JAG had questions, it made him even more uncomfortable. He waited patiently.

"Enter."

Anthony tugged at his uniform for a moment and entered, noticing a man behind the desk with several padds on the desk.

"Commander," Bryce said, a fake smile on his face as he stood and extended his hand. "I'm glad that you could find the time to meet with me. I know that we are all busy and I hate to keep anyone from anything, so if we can just get straight to the questions you can get out of here fairly fast."

Anthony just nodded, taking a seat opposite to the Lieutenant. The newest addition to the Avalon aside from Jayden Cross. Unlike Cross, Quinn didn't harass the crew members for quarters.

"Mr. Manson, did Captain Ketchum ordered the Marauder destroyed?"

"Yes," Anthony replied plainly.

Bryce made a note, reading the young officer's emotional state. "And, just out of curiousity, what did you think of this order? Were you behind it? Were you questioning it? What were you thinking?" It was a standard set of questions, but the way to ask them was the key to a successful interrogation through conversation.

"I wasn't behind the order," Anthony answered, "but I didn't object to it either. As I saw it, there were two more powerful marauders that were beating us down. I find the Captain's orders within reason to defend ourselves."

He read the reports a couple more times, "At this point in the battle, according to official records documented by the crew, the Avalon had already completed its away mission helmed by Senior Lieutenant Elissabeth Marksbury and had retrieved the target. Now, forgive me if my ship comparison specs are off a bit, but an upgraded Intrepid-class cruiser can outrun a Ferengi Marauder any day. Why didn't you retreat?"

"We reported also that we were going to fly in and transport our away team. We couldn't run with the second marauder at our back, and our primary target at our front, weapons blazing, and having our shields down for the time it takes to get our away team- and not get even more heavily damaged ourselves."

"So, you annihalate a ship. You've got some of the best pilots on this ship, Commander, don't expect me to believe you can't out-manuever two clumsy Ferengi Marauders." Bryce chuckled internally to himself as he made a couple more obvious notes on his PADD.

"We didn't annihalate a ship, we defended ourselves in order to get out of their weapons. If two ships are coming down upon us from two ends, we had no other choice. Especially with one at our backs, engines would've been their prime target in order to disable us. And these Ferengi Marauders weren't clumsy."

"I can see the headlines now, Starfleet Intelligence Ship almost rendered helpless by Ferengi Marauders." Bryce sighed, shaking his head, "There is always another option, Commander, you have to open your eyes and see it. And, clarify this for me as well, right before Ketchum ordered the ship destroyed the word was passed on about Yeoman John Forester's death. Am I right?"

"Skip the sarcasm, will you?" Anthony asked sincerely, "and yes, the report showed that Yeoman John Forester died."

Bryce brushed off the first part of the Operations officer's comment, "So, right before the Captain makes a highly uncharacteristic move regarding the lives of possibly a hundred Ferengi, he receives word that a member of his crew has been killed in action. Doesn't that strike you as the least bit odd?"

"Why should it be odd when it's standard procedure for a report?" Anthony frowned, "And cosidering the Captain was thinking for the crew, I believe he did what was necessary. You do have the damage sustained during the battle. A few hits when our shields were down, and our engines would've failed us. The Ferengi weren't making passes to disable us, their patterns indicated they were coming in to destroy us."

"And the fact that the Captain had attempted to sponsor the Yeoman to Starfleet Academy? Forgive me if I see this as a vendetta for robbing a young man of his future. You know, as well as I, that revenge isn't a trait that a Starfleet Captain can exhibit." He narrowed his eyes across the top of the PADD at the Lieutenant Commander. "Don't you agree, Commander?"

"I wasn't aware that the Captain was a sponsor for the Yeoman, Lieutenant. But if you're implying that the Captain did this out of revenge, Im going to have to disagree on that. I still believe he did what he thought was best to protect this crew from the enemy."

"Well," Bryce began, making the final notes into his log, "If you still believe that after the information I provided to you, I guess that is why you haven't made it to second officer and were merely acting executive officer. You're dismissed, Commander, thank you so much for your time."

"It's a wonder how I became an acting acting XO, and the second completely skipped," Anthony said dryly as he got up, "either the second isn't doing his job right. Or I'm better."

"Or, perhaps it's another element of the Captain's inability to command. Commander Sierra has more commendations and skills under his belt then you could ever achieve." Bryce shooed him away almost with his hand, "Have a good day, Commander."

"Inability to command, is that what this is all about?" Anthony didnt let his own anger get the best of him. Not with this one at any rate, "Take that center seat, Lieutenant, even peace time, it's a whole new level than you'd possibly imagine." He walked out, leaving the Lieutenant to his own business.

"I've seen more than you could possibly imagine."



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