Under The Bus

Posted on Aug 22, 2014 @ 12:21pm by Commander Jacob Crichton
Edited on on Aug 22, 2014 @ 12:21pm

Mission: Absolute Power

= Under The Bus =
(cont'd from "Playing Dumb")

LOCATION: Starfleet HQ, EARTH

SCENE: Board’s Chambers

STARDATE: [2.14] 0819.1525



Jake stepped into the room and made his way up the aisle, flanked on either side by rows of empty seats. At the far end, seated behind a table, sat his three inquisitors: Halle and Martine struck him as decent enough people (though with the Neo-Essentialists conspiracy making Jake look for bogeymen beneath every bed, he wouldn’t have bet his life on it), but Edgerton was also there. The admiral’s expression was neutral, but his eyes seemed alive with predatory interest, giving Edgerton the air of an old and hungry crocodile.



If Martine and Halle were really on the level, Jake wouldn’t have to worry about them. Their questions would potentially be dangerous, but they should at least be predictable. Edgerton was a different story. The dissenting stories from the rest of the DISCOVERY’s surviving crew had raised the canny old admiral’s suspicions, and it wouldn’t take much to clue him in to exactly how much Crichton and the rest actually knew.



But Edgerton’s hands were tied, too; he couldn’t have the truth just spill out in front of Martine and Halle, not if they really were loyal to the Federation. His questioning would be deliberate, but tactful, and that was something Jake could use to his advantage if he played his cards right.



Jake’s eyes met Edgerton’s. Neither man’s expression changed, but behind the admiral’s eyes, Jake imagined he could see something start to uncoil. Something hungry, and angry, and maybe just a little bit afraid. Edgerton being afraid was good, but it was also dangerous.



**Well keep looking, you old son of a bitch,** Jake thought as he stepped into the witness box. **Let’s see who has the best poker face.**



“Thank you for joining us today, Commander,” Martine said. “Please, be seated.”



Jake nodded and took his seat. The court recorder stepped up, right hand raised, and indicated for Jake to do the same.



“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”



“I so swear,” Jake said. His tone and expression remained even. So far, so good.



“Please state your name, rank, and current assignment for the record,” Halle asked.



“Jacob Crichton, Commander,” Jake said. “Most recently assigned as Chief Engineering Officer, USS DISCOVERY.”



“And at some point, you received a field reassignment to the USS CENTURY,” Edgerton said. A sidelong glance from Martine told Jake that he wasn’t the only one who heard something accusatory in the admiral’s tone.



“That’s one way to put it,” Jake said.



“And how would you describe it?” Edgerton asked.



“The best of a collection of bad options,” Jake said.



“Commander, please give us your account of events leading up to the destruction of the USS DISCOVERY,” Halle said.



“Our assignment was to investigate a subspace signal coming from deep within the Beta Quadrant,” Jake said. “We traced the signal to K-60-Alpha, a gas giant with its own powerful gravitational field…”



The story rolled out the way Kane had instructed. Jake’s tone and posture suggested this was a story he was getting tired of telling. It sounded good to him, it sounded authentic… they’d never guess how many times he’d practiced it with Xana before the inquiry. Jake would never be the politician his wife was, but he was a fast learner, and Xana had prepared him well.



“…and when we realized the gravitational shearing had exacerbated the damage by the asteroid hit, we quickly weighed our options,” Jake continued. “Escape pods were the first choice, but we were worried they’d get trapped in the gravitational field and pulled down to K-60-Alpha-12. Getting marooned way out there would have been a death sentence, so we realized our only hope was to make a run for it. The only ship nearby with enough power to escape the gravitational field was the CENTURY, so that’s where we went.”



“And may I ask how you were able to restore power to the derelict CENTURY?” Halle asked.



“We did a cold fusion start of the warp engine,” Jake said.



Halle, Martine, and even Edgerton all exchanged glances. Jake was glad to see Edgerton caught off guard, though he wondered how the other two admirals would react.



“Commander Crichton, you’re aware that a manual restart of a warp core as you described it considered only theoretically possible?” Martine asked.



“Not anymore,” Jake shrugged.



“You really expect us to believe this?” Edgerton asked.



“Why would I lie?” Jake asked. He wanted to stare Edgerton dead in the face as he asked this, but such an overt display would almost certainly alert the rogue admiral, so he let his gaze drift evenly between the three of them.



“I’m sure that is not what Admiral Edgerton is implying,” Martine said. “But it’s unusual when part of a senior officers’ report includes flouting of the laws of physics.”



“Nobody asked for my input when they were writing them,” Jake said, managing a convincing grin.



“Commander Crichton, I suggest you take this inquiry seriously,” Edgerton glowered.



“If you’re asking me if I could do it again, I’d say I wouldn’t want to try,” Jake said. “Satisfied?”



Martine and Halle looked over at Edgerton, who sat back in his chair and didn’t say anything else. When they were satisfied that Edgerton had nothing more to add, Martine looked back to Jake.



“Commander, as I’m sure you’re aware, a large portion of the DISCOVERY’s crew failed to evacuate to the CENTURY in time,” she said. “Reports indicate that most of the survivors were science officers and members of your engineering teams.”



“I’m glad we saved as many as we did,” Jake said. “As for the ones who didn’t make it… I wish we could have done more.”



“That’s my concern, in fact,” Martine said. “Many of the survivors are members of your engineer team. In a crisis situation, with a warp core breach imminent, how do you explain why so many of them were able to escape, while other departments suffered more extensive casualties?”



An icy lump seemed to form in Jake’s stomach. He’d expect curveballs from Edgerton, but this was something he hadn’t considered. Standard procedure would have had Jake and his team working to maintain the DISCOVERY’s warp core for as long as possible, to allow for the evacuation of the rest of the ship. For so many engineers to have survived while the rest of the crew hadn’t… it was a discrepancy that wouldn’t be so easy to explain away.



“My team did everything they could,” Jake said.



“That wasn’t the admiral’s question, Commander,” Halle said. Crichton dared a quick glance at Edgerton, who seemed to be staring at him with controlled, yet intense, interest.



“If the destruction of the DISCOVERY occurred rapidly enough to claim most of the marine compliment, the security teams, and indeed most of the ship’s crew, how do you explain why most of your department survived?” Martine asked.



“I… can’t,” Jake said. “I’m sorry. Things happened very fast, we didn’t have a lot of time to--”



“Would you say you’re a good engineer, Commander?” Edgerton cut in. Jake could see the predatory glee in the admiral’s face now; Martine had drawn blood with her question, something that Jake and probably Edgerton himself hadn’t expected… but now that blood was in the air, Edgerton couldn’t help but try to spill some more.



“I’d let my service record speak for me,” Jake said. It was a careful answer, but he wasn’t sure where Edgerton was going with this and didn’t want to say something he would regret.



“According to your testimony, not to mention your report, part of your escape involved a manual start of a ship’s warp core, something that most of your peers would say is practically impossible,” Edgerton said.



“Most would, yes,” Jake said.



“But not you,” Edgerton said. “Even in engineering circles, you must be quite exceptional, Commander.”



“My mother used to say I’m as sharp as a steel tuxedo,” Jake shrugged. He tried on another grin, but this one didn’t feel as genuine.



“Indeed,” Edgerton said. “So you can understand why I find what appears to have been a sudden lapse in your judgment so troubling. Not to mention a breakdown in official procedures.”



“Admiral Edgerton,” Martine said, looking over at him. “May I remind you that this is a Board of Inquiry? Commander Crichton is not on trial.”



“Not yet,” Edgerton said.



“Strike that from the record,” Halle said, frowning at Edgerton.



Edgerton didn’t even spare Halle a glance. He had Crichton on the ropes, and he wanted to score a knock-out if he could.



“Your report indicates that the DISCOVERY suffered an asteroid impact shortly before its destruction, correct?” Edgerton asked.



“Yes,” Jake said.



“And that damage from this impact, combined with gravitic forces generated by the gas giant, eventually caused the DISCOVERY’s destruction, correct?”



“Yes.”



“Then perhaps you can explain why an engineer as ‘sharp’ as you failed to recognize the danger from the initial impact?” Edgerton asked, appropriating Jake’s own word with barely contained delight.



“Sir, I--” Jake started.



“And perhaps you would care to explain why, while your own ship bled from a mortal wound, you and your teams focused on salvaging the CENTURY?” Edgerton asked.



“I was ordered--” Jake began again.



“Commander, isn’t it true that a Chief Engineer’s first duty is to see to the safety of his ship?” Edgerton asked.



“Yes,” Jake said.



“And that this duty takes precedence over special assignments, except when under direct orders from a commanding officer?”



“Yes,” Jake said again.



“Did Captain Kane order you to prioritize salvage of the CENTURY over the safety of the DISCOVERY?” Edgerton asked.



“No sir,” Jake said.



“I see,” Edgerton said. He managed to keep the smile off his face, but not out of his tone. “So then, Commander, the failure to recognize the danger the DISCOVERY was in until it was too late was yours, wouldn’t you agree?”



“Admiral Edgerton,” Martine said harshly. “That is enough.”



“Just a moment,” Halle said, looking at Martine. “I would like to hear the answer to Admiral Edgerton’s question.”



“Commander Crichton is not on trial here,” Martine said again. “We are trying to establish a clear view of the facts, not establish guilt or place blame.”



“Just the same, I think Commander Crichton’s expertise makes his answer to such a question quite relevant to our aim here,” Halle said.



“The Commander may of course refuse to answer,” Edgerton said, “as is his right under Article--”



“I’ll answer,” Jake said. “Just stop talking about me like I’m not in the room, huh?”



Martine hesitated, still looking at Halle and Edgerton, but she saw no softening of either man’s resolve and eventually she relented.



“Very well,” Martine sighed, looking back at Jake. “You may answer the Admiral’s question, Commander.”



Jake sat silently for a moment. His mind was racing, tracing the potential outcomes of his possible responses. The discrepancy existed, no way around that now. If the official story was that the DISCOVERY had succumbed to hull-breaches after an asteroid strike, that put the blame almost squarely on Jake’s shoulders. It was his job, after all, to make sure exactly that kind of thing *didn’t* happen.



Of course, the truth was that the asteroid impact had not caused as much damage as they were saying, that the DISCOVERY had not suffered a sudden and unstoppable cascade of hull-breaches, and even if it *had*, Jake was either unconscious, locked in his quarters, or marooned on the garden-moon; he was not in a position to have done anything about it, in any case.



But that was the story they couldn’t tell. Edgerton was suspicious- hell, the son of a bitch probably already *knew* what happened- but now Halle and Martine had their doubts as well. If Jake was going to stick to the story, it meant that someone was going to have to take the blame. He sighed.



“The fault was mine,” Jake said, his eyes dropping to the floor. “I should have been aware of the danger. I should have brought it to Captain Kane’s attention sooner. And I should have been in Engineering, holding the ship together while the rest of the crew escaped.”



There was a long silence in the chamber. Even Edgerton seemed surprised. Halle and Martine both seemed to shift uncomfortably in their seats. Jake brought his eyes up again to meet Edgerton’s gaze, and this time he didn’t bother looking away. The official story was intact, so it was technically a win for the good guys, but Jake’s admission had been a sacrifice play and both of them knew it.



“Thank you, Commander,” Martine said. “That will be all.”



===================================================================

NRPG: The official story remains intact, but at a cost. I’m seeing some career trouble in Crichton’s future… and don’t forget, Edgerton still has one more chance to get at the truth.



CHRIS: Tag!



Shawn Putnam

a.k.a.

Jake Crichton, Commander

Chief Engineering Officer

USS CENTURY