Interview Three - Gunnery Sergeant Kos
Posted on Sun Feb 16th, 2020 @ 1:06pm by Commander Arianna Frost & Gunnery Sergeant Roderik Kos
Edited on on Sun Feb 16th, 2020 @ 1:31pm
1,343 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Mission 0: Everybody Has A Story
Location: Arianna Frost's Office
As a former Securiry Officer herself, Arianna knew that burden that befell those in charge of a group's security. A single loss was never easy, but this many? She could only imagine how Sergeant Kos must be feeling. All the reports she'd read so far did not indicate negligence or wrongdoing on behalf of the Sergeant, which probably made the man feel even worse, she imagined.
Said man would be buzzing at her new office's door soon enough. So, Arianna tucked away sympathy and understanding under an aura of detached professionalism. She needed to be as impartial as she could where she could, and get this mess sorted out sooner rather than later.
"Alas, Murphy is just around the corner, I just know it..." she thought to herself as she set up the PADD with her notes and the PADD to record the interview.
The buzzer of her office sounded. Rodi stood at the other side of her door, dressed in a clean standard uniform, back straight, expression stoic. The pain buried under layers of discipline. He had made arrangements earlier this week and had requested and received his two weeks of leave. This was his last official duty before he was off duty.
Arianna stood up as he entered, "Sergeant, thank you for meeting with me. Please, have a seat. I'll try to be as quick as I can with this interview so that you may take your leave. However when you return, I may have additional questions for you. Is that alright?" She said, her aussie accent distinctive as she spoke.
"Yes ma'am." Rodi nodded and took his seat. He scooted to the table, rolled his shoulders and placed his hands on the table folded.
Arianna nodded, sitting back down. Reaching out she tapped on the left one of the PADDs on the side and dictated the stardate. "This is third preliminary interview for Internal Affairs Case File Number 457-Delta Eta-39. Investigating Officer, Commander Arianna Chelsea Frost with the Office of Internal Affairs of Starfleet. Officer interviewed is," she motioned for Rodi to state his name, rank and position.
"Gunnery Sergeant Roderik Kos, Starfleet Marine Corps. Security and Tactical Specialist, Memory Theta field team." Rodi replied. His internal considerations of the Commander had risen ever so slightly after he recognised her accent.
Arianna nodded as she leaned back, "tell me what happened, Sergeant. Start from the mission briefing."
Rodi started in cool, calm tones. "Captain Mrazak briefed us about a situation with the Lagashi concerning an incursion of a Species 8472 and its subsequent attack on the Lagashi. We were deployed to investigate. In the course of this investigation we encountered two Starfleet Intelligence assets, Arkady Sjet and Karna Zsan. We arrested and secured these officers on the Phantom, together with a Lagashi agent XiaoLi Zhan. We discovered that the incursions came from a Cardassian base, I'm afraid I don't recall the system name. To end the incursions a ground team was deployed with commanders Qiao and Fenia, Staff Sergeant Kel, Sergeant Thorsen, Corporals O'Bannon and Allen. We entered the facility, encountered the device faciliating the access of 8472 into our universe, and destroyed it. But we were engaged by several members of Species 8472. During this fight we lost our entire team, except for Commander Qiao and myself."
"I was under the impression that Lieutenant Zsan was part of your team, or became one aboard the Phantom as you arrived to the Song of Stars?" Arianna interjected, glancing at the second PADD at a few notes, then she looked up with a raised eyebrow.
After a long moment of silence, Rodi answered: "I'm not entirely sure when Lieutenant Zsan joined our mission ma'am. I do remember that he accompanied us on our visit to the big Lagashi Information storage building. And I shot him there."
Arianna nodded, "why did you shoot him, Sergeant? Mind you, there is no right or wrong answer. I'm merely compiling information on key areas that I feel are missing from reports."
"Sjet and Zsan were in a physical confrontation. We had to make our exit. We couldn't leave them behind, and I doubt I would be able to restrain both at the same time. Shooting felt like the safest way for all parties concerned." Rodi replied, giving a small shrug.
Arianna nodded, "I understand. How did you take the encounter with species 8472?"
"Not well." Rodi replied, his jaw muscles tightening.
"Can you please elaborate?" Arianna prompted.
"It lead to the death of a half dozen people I was in charge of keeping safe, people I quite liked." Rodi elaborated, chewing the words. "Were there specifics you'd like to know ma'am?"
"What of your subsequent interaction with them and Commander Qiao, and your rescue? Commander Mrazak's contribution to all of this?" Frost prompted.
"If I am honest ma'am, I don't recall much of what happened after the death of my team and commander Garai. I only remember that I felt a desire to kill more of them, but I followed Commander Qiao's lead and kept quiet." The cool tones had turned more clipped and angry at the recalling of the painful memories.
Frost nodded, "I understand, Sergeant. What was your relationship with Kazyah Lhinn?" Arianna decided to switch tactics.
"Adversarial at the start, relatively non-existent as our working together continued. Commander Lhinn and I did not really interact after he joined the organization. Before he did we had a fight that lead to my shooting him with a phaser, twice." The latter part having lead to a small hint of amusement in Rodi's voice.
Arianna nodded, "is there anything you would like to add, before we conclude the interview, Sergeant?"
"Yes ma'am. I'd like it on the record that I find captain Mrazak's leadership to be a danger to Memory Theta, Starfleet, but I consider it especially dangerous to the members of his field team."
Arianna nodded, "I see. Can you please be more specific, Mister Kos?"
"My team was sent into a derelict Starfleet ship infested with a hostile entity known as the Clock Makers to retrieve Red Matter, instead of having the ship destroyed. During the Lagashi incident Theta field team members were sent into a secure Lagashi Command structure to steal intelligence instead of using proper Federation channels. And I have my suspisions that Captain Mrazak loosed the Synchrony during his exile to Tartarus to get extracted out of the facility, though I have no proof of that last one."
"That's right, you were down there when the event happened, with the late Commander Garai and your troops." Arianna nodded, "what makes you suspect that the Captain is the perpetrator?"
"Yes ma'am. The Synchrony isolation systems had a security system designed that could only be opened from outside, and only by someone with a command level rank like Captain Mrazak." Rodi began flipping up fingers on his hand as he explained. "The containment breach happened in the sectors he was working in. He was almost completely alone for the extraction, meaning he would have a fairly high chance of survival. Just a variety of things that link up to very little proof and a high level of suspicion."
Ari jotted notes down quickly as Rodi spoke. "A loophole in clearance levels? Need to have it to work in the Facility, but also having to have it suspended pending investigation. Do you think Captain Mrazak is capable of exploiting it?"
"There is very little I do not think Captain Mrazak capable of. He thoroughly resented being sent down planet side, felt it was beneath him. So I am sure he would risk the safety of the people there to get back to the station."
Arianna nodded, "the more details you can give me the better," she said, readying herself for a far longer interview than she'd originally intended. Clues though that had been handed out and would be handed out though, were too good to just pass up. Clues that would give her research avenues to pursue.
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