The Tale Of Accountability
Posted on Sat Jan 25th, 2025 @ 5:25pm by Lieutenant Zharra Neerassi
1,572 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
S1E6: Where Skies End
Location: Auditor's Office
Timeline: MD 13 - Sometime after 'Clusterfornication'
Word spread fast from the incident in Ops. In two directions.
Direction One: "Oh fuck!"
Direction Two: "Thank fuck!"
Zharra herself didn't know which direction she should ally herself with, given the fact that she herself had only been there for a few days herself and was trying to make head and tails of this place. So far most of her interaction had been with Mayhew, and he was one stubborn bastard set in his ways.
Not that she judged him for it. She just didn't have a folder for him yet in her mind palace.
Speaking of persons for folders, Frost had instructed her to go meet with the Auditor sent by Starfleet Security. With herself being out of Starfleet for over a year, she didn't know as many people as she used to, so for all she knew it could have been anyone.
So, now, dressed in the gold and black of Security, which in itself felt weird, Zharra pressed the buzzer of the Auditor's office.
"Enter," Jack replied without looking up from the deskbound computer before him. Three empty coffee mugs, a tray of half-eaten goo and a blue steak accompanied by a dozen or more scattered PADD's littered the desk. His starfleet branded longcoat was dropped over the back of the chair in which he sat, his uniform jacket unzipped fully and the yellow collar of his undershirt loosened to the collarbone in an open v-neck.
Zharra stepped inside and then stopped short as she recognized the person. "Guv? What are you doing here?" She said before noticing his Starfleet markings. "Sorry, um..sir. SSA..." She grimaced at the habit of introducing herself as a Federation Security Agent, "Lieutenant Neerassi, reporting."
Jack stared up from the computer screen and blinked twice before he registered the point of confusion and managed a small smile. He stood from his chair and circled around the desk to extend a hand, "Commander Jack Lashmore, newly assigned headache and pain in the ass - others may call that an Auditor."
Zharra reached out with a grin and shook his hand vigorously. "I know who you are, sir. Any Driaanite worth their salt does." She said as she went back to 'attention'. "Thought you were retired though. Then again, I thought I was too, and here we both are."
"I've been told idiots never learn and repetitive nature is the first sign of insanity," Jack replied in jest as he returned to his seat after the handshake, gesturing for her to sit opposite of him as he lowered into his seat. "Guilty as charged, on all accounts."
Zharra nodded and took a seat. "My dad's always spoken with respect of you, sir. He's an Inspector with the DFP."
At that point Jack squinted his eyes slightly, eyeing her over before it finally clicked. ...the nose! After identifying the similar feature rather than the family name Jack nodded and slowly guessed, "...Viguv?"
The orion nodded eagerly. "Yes, sir. I can't begin to describe the elation when he told me that Reetorg went down, thanks to you and yours." Then she quickly collected herself. "But, you're not here to be waxed poetic about. Commander Frost said you wanted to meet?"
Jack had to force maintain a slight smile, the beginning and end of his time on Driaan was a lot more trying than had been made public. "Security only works with one word, Lieutenant."
Zharra nodded slowly, "accountability. I'll provide what answers I can, but I've only been here a few days so I'm not sure how much I can help."
Jack nodded, then shrugged. "The first part is more important, as much as I have to hover over everyone's business for the foreseeable future, I need someone hovering over mine. You're green and you're Driaan-born, that's two stubborn factors that display you're not prone to immediate bias - I hope." He nodded, more to himself, leaning back in his chair a little. "So...since your arrival here, tell me-" he gestured vaguely, "-everything of note."
Zharra leaned back, one leg crossed over the other, fingers interlaced on her lap and took a breath, then released it. "Have you ever had a feeling of being in a place filled with dread? I don't mean just due to what this place houses. It is where it is to do just that. I'm more talking people I've met so far. There is a tension and a sense of expectation of dread. Like they have seen too much, and are expecting something horrible to happen." She began.
Jack could relate, though he could not help a pun, "Of course. I've been married, to a Zara no less." His eyes widened a moment as if in temporary horror of a flashback before he faked a slight smile. "Specifics though, I understand in one or two things you immediately hit the deep end, perhaps start there."
The orion nodded, pushing the immediate questions of the horror Zara aside. "Yes sir. I was working the Organized Crime desk back at Fed Sec when I got an encrypted up to your eyeballs call from an old mate, Calderon Jarsdel. We worked a few cases together before, before he got taken down by the Lethean Crim Jumik. In any case, after not hearing from Cal for a few years, thinking he was dead, out of the blue, he reaches out, asking for a favor. He wanted me to do a welfare check on two of his coworkers. Well a co-worker and a girlfriend. Captain ben-Avram's ex and Nandi Chakma, the girlfriend. They were on assignments and went dark, he was getting worried."
As she spoke Jack sorted through the PADD's on the desk before retrieving one that seemed to match the events she was leading to, "continue."
"I owed him one, so I went to check in on the ex first," Zharra began, when I got there I got cornered by a spook who was also looking into it. Taline Anyx from Intel Spec Ops. Turns out she's the second person Cal sent. I knew someone else was coming, but I didn't know whom till I got there. He gave me a pass phrase to use, she had the reply, Bob's your uncle. Anyway, we inspected the room and it looked meticulous, like she hadn't been there in days. Which is weird, because there'd be particulates, dust, orion/human DNA deposits and what have you. It was wiped clean. When we went to Chakma's place. Kid was smart, she set up surveillance on herself and we were able to patch into the feed, we saw several masked assailants grab her. She managed to hide an iso chip under the mattress before they grabbed her. Anyx and I got a hold of the chip, but Anyx took possession. I 'think' she brought it with her when we came back with the Garlakes."
Jack mulled over the relatively casual way in which a chip of evidence had been handled thus far, "and that from your limited time here brings us to today?"
Zharra shook her head, "not yet. After what I thought was an info dump, a couple of days later, Cal reaches out again, from what I learned on Commander Frost's behest to extract Colonel Storr Garlake, Lieutenant JG Doctor Jaya Garlake and their children from their family compound in Laphalale, South Africa, as they were under imminent danger. I had no more details than that, other than to do it quietly. So I hired out a ride, swept it for bugs and by the time I got to the compound they were already under attack. While the attackers were dressed in romulan-style gear, they were definitely not all romulan. Anyway, we managed to get them and the kids out, and came straight back here. While I don't know the full story behind all this, what I do know is they needed help. So I asked to stay..." she spread out her arms in a 'here-I-am' gesture.
"Alright, so..." Jack placed the PADD in his hands down, "you're about as ignorant as I am on all this - I can work with that." Jack nodded to himself, "I do not want an assistant, however. I want an equal who would as soon put me in cuffs if it comes to it." he leaned forward a little, placing his hands together upon the desks surface. "You and I are pretty much the only two untouched by all of this," his eyes darted down to the PADD's, "I'd like to keep it that way as much as possible, however checks and balances...I'll send you a cheque if you keep my balance, hmm?"
Zharra nodded, "alright, sir. Commander Frost did say she will read me in, did you want me to request her not to until this is done to keep impartiality?"
Jack sighed, gesturing over the PADD's, "I'm still going through it all but apparently all the clearances have been granted and is active on this desk. I will need you to be as informed as I. As I learn, so will you. At least this way, there's full accountability and maybe...I don't stand alone in front of a firing squad for doing my job, hmm?"
Zharra chuckled and nodded, "yes sir. Will do." She said as she stood up.
Jack then dismissed her and she left his office.
RSS Feed