Follow Up

Posted on Sun 25th Feb, 2018 @ 11:32pm by Lieutenant JG Kellian Michaels & Lieutenant Commander Andrew Eberstark

1,005 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: A Phaser as Deadly as a Candlestick

After escorting Agent Pantoufle to the infirmary, Kellian headed back to Eberstark's office and knocked. The SCIS agent had been...odd, even in a Federation full of beings who might seem odd to humans from Earth.

Cursing at the console again, Andrew threw another PADD across his desk, inadvertently hard enough to hit the desk and then land on the floor. Rising to pick it up as he heard his door, he sharply yelled, "Come!"

He realized the tone of the outburst and immediately shook his head and sighed, trying to refocus. Standing back up after picking up the PADD, the doors hissed open revealing the now familiar face of Lieutenant Michaels. Nodding at the man while turning to sit back in his chair, Andrew straightened his uniform and took a calmer tone, "Lieutenant. Have a seat. I trust our Agent made it to her destination?"

"Safe and sound in the company of Dr. Addams. Wish I could be a fly on the wall," Kellian said. He retook the seat he had vacated earlier. "So...Is it just me, or did she seem dressed just a little too after-five for your typical SCIS agent?"

Andrew gave a smile, "Me too, Lieutenant. Me too. And as far as SCIS agents go, her appearance was a bit atypical to be sure. She nailed the dry, serious tone while showing an attempt at humor routine though," leaning back in his chair thinking a little more on the question, "What's on your mind?"

"I was afraid for a moment there that she might be the killer and might be playing both of us," Kellian admitted. "I remembered from the initial examination of the body that Dr. Addams suggested the killer might be tall. And then, here comes Pantoufle to collect the body, our primary source of evidence. Right height range, decent...assets, and I would definitely believe that that woman could kill neatly and professionally with a stiletto. It rattled me, and I wondered if I was just being paranoid. Before I even brought her to you, I verified her identity through Starfleet Personnel. I need a reality check. Am I being ridiculous?"

Andrew raised an eyebrow as he listened to the Lieutenant's reasoning. By his own admission it was somewhat far fetched that the killer would be able to successfully pose as a SCIS agent. There was also the thought in his head that she could actually be an agent and also the killer covering up her tracks. Leaning forward, he thought of the time he approached Kellian's former superior officer with topic such as this and couldn't help but flash a smile at the role reversal, "There's a fine line between paranoid and trying to cover all possibilities of a situation. I'll admit, the sudden appearance and circumstances regarding it were a bit odd and I'll agree that she would probably be close to the profile of our killer, but unfortunately that's circumstantial evidence, I'm afraid. There's also the fact that as a SCIS agent, her request of information and her assumed lethal capabilities fall in line with her current position."

Hesitating, he placed his hands on his desk, "As odd as that scenario sounds, there isn't anything to disprove what you're suggesting, although you may be letting your imagination run a little wild. Did she mention or do anything else suspicious while you were escorting her to Dr. Addams?"

"No, she was perfectly fine, very professional. Even if I did feel tempted to call her Jessica." Kellian added that last under his breath.

Andrew nodded and smiled, "I share your concerns with finding our woman, but in this case, I'd say that we may be better off focusing our energy into other avenues of this investigation," pausing, "Not saying we should dismiss your feeling, Lieutenant. Let me know if you think of or see any other suspect activities from our agent."

Kellian nodded. "Thank you for letting me vent. We'll see what comes of all this. For now, I'll keep an eye on her but not consider her a suspect unless I have something more than coincidence to go on." He glanced at his chronometer. "I appreciated the meeting, sir. It went better than I suspect my next meeting will go."

"Of course, Lieutenant. It's always good to talk though a situation like this with somebody else. And I second that," Andrew frowned again at his PADD that remained intact despite his outburst earlier, "I have to head down and take care of some personnel issues with some enlisted crewmen. Should be fun."

Kellian gave Eberstark a surprised glance. "I'm off to do the exact same thing, actually. I have a couple of enlisted who think it's cute to backbite and instill a sense of "competition" among everyone else against other departments--not the healthy, fun kind."

Andrew grinned, "That kind of attitude is found in almost every department with enlisted crewman I'd imagine. Some just have the mentality of having a chip on their shoulder, looking to prove something and want to stir the pot. Normally their bark is worth than their bite. Just have to make sure you catch them before it has a chance to fester," thinking a moment, "Let me know if their "competition" includes my department however. Wouldn't want our people to clash because of a couple of instigators, would we?"

"I wouldn't want that at all," Kellian said. "Until we get a replacement security chief my plate is full, and I want the number of fires I have to put out to be reduced as much as possible. Cooperation between our two departments helps both of us, especially with this weird uptick in the murder rate."

Nodded, Andrew replied, "Couldn't agree more. And I would like to think that if we do our jobs, this rate you mention will just be one outlier and we can get back to a little normalcy," giving a small grin, "Such as squashing some personnel squabbling."

"Amen to that," Kellian said. "See you later, sir."

 

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