SIM:Darwin-A/Getting to the questions
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((Conference Room 1, Deck 1, USS Darwin-A))
::With everyone ready the crew shifted some and Jansen watched the blue shimmering lights of Starfleet transporters sparkle into the room and deposit the two Laudeans from moments earlier. Neither seemed overtly agitated or distressed...yet anyway.::
Reinard: Welcome aboard the USS Darwin. Mister Abel if you would like to take a seat here we will begin in a moment. Mister Inala, this is Commander Brice you will be interviewed by her and her colleagues. ::Indicating the Haliian. ::
Brice: Welcome, Mister Inala. If you would follow me...
::Jansen moved with his section of the group and watched the forcefield go up and the four blobby hazy shapes move around before turning his attention to Commander Brice and her introductions.::
Brice: I am Commander Brice and this is Lieutenant Orrey...
Orrey: ::Jansen nodded his head to Kai Inala at his name.: Mister Inala.
Loren: Response.
Inala: Greetings.
::Kai brought his hand up in the Laudian greeting.::
Inala: As you know, I am Kai Inala, the Tenacity's first mate.
::Jansen sat down in one of the chairs and over the target of their inquisition. From his understanding of Greir he had a few avenues to consider as they started questioning.::
Brice: Now that introductions are out of the way and our crew is searching your vessel, are you still maintaining your innocence?
Inala: Indeed I am, Commander. Our reasons where legitimate as I hope you will understand soon.
Orrey: How long have you crewed with Captain Abel?
:: Jansen saw the man think for a moment, it was reasonable to not remember the exact date but Jansen has asked a fairly general question. ::
Inala: Hmm... It must be about three, maybe four months ago now? We haven't been in operation for long hence why our clients dictate quite a lot to us.
::Jansen nodded some and made mental note of the answers to compare later with the others on the side of the room. Perhaps there would be something they could use to their advantage.::
Loren: Response.
Brice: Please state your date of birth and your federation membership code.
Inala: I was born on the 28th of February 2353 and no one memorises their federation membership code. It starts or ends with 432GN, I think?
Brice: Sorry... you think?
Inala: ::slightly annoyed:: As far as I am aware, it is not a crime to forget a 10 character code. I actually filled out the paperwork on DS6 six months ago. Same time as the Captain, actually its where we first met.
:: Mentally Jansen recited his code to himself. It had been a requirement for Jansen to during primary school to memorize his own identification number, although he had to admit it probably wasn't so for everyone on board. ::
Brice: And your mission was?
:: Jansen watched the way the first mate replied to that question. It would certainly mark a shift in the conversation one way or another. ::
Inala: Mission? There was no mission involved. The job was to deliver an assortment of goods to Vega.
Loren: Response?
::Jansen again made note of the answer so he could check the star charts when everyone conferred later.::
Brice: And your cargo?
Inala: Fabrics, wines, that kind of thing. High end goods with far too low margins. Still, its what the client wants and we can't get better jobs without building a reputation. A reputation *you* have very possibly ruined, by the way.
Orrey: oO Yes glare,glare all you wanted to we reach out to you and you shoot at us. And we are at fault, not the damage of the docking array at the Starbase or the illegal cargo. Oo
Loren: Response
Orrey: And your reputation with Starfleet has little meaning to you?
Brice: So what were you concealing?
::Nice and direct, a good approach. Not the one Jansen himself preferred using but the two styles could complement themselves. Ensign Loren was offering some helpful insight as well. ::
Inala: Well... Hmm... We are concealing nothing.
::Now Jansen could see a very concerned or nervous shift in Kai's demeanor. He wondered though where the confident first mate from the view screen went.::
Brice: You know your questionable actions, we've listed them to you many times now. Do you really expect me to believe that those are the actions of someone who is "concealing nothing?"
Inala: Well... We did violate a few tax and safety guidelines. ::upping his voice into a hopefully convincing panic:: Nothing too bad, just a little bit off! We have to survive somehow, we have children to feed and a ship to keep up. I swear it was nothing more than the very basic liberties.
:: Basic liberties had to be merchant for clawing out anyone's eyes so that they made more money. Then again Jansen knew several merchants that were truly honest individuals so it would still not be right of him to judge. ::
Brice: Guidelines are there for a reason - especially safety guidelines. Violating them can endanger your crew, your cargo, and even your customers.
Inala: I realise that but... Something had to be done. Its not like we... I committed any major fraud, just a little... massage of figures here and there. A extra length of cloth here and there, lower heating in the hold than is strictly required. Nothing that would cause harm to the crew.
::Jansen found it interesting the quick change between indignant, agitated "honest" merchant to scared, nervous, "honest" merchant::
Orrey: So then, why break protocol and run from the Starbase? If all you had were a few cut corners?
Inala: Well, I wasn't lying about the client being quite insistent. Of course, that just led us to make a quick leave. I don't think I ever actually got word that the fed wanted to make a search of our hold... Maybe it got given to a crewmember a little lower on the pay scale who just didn't mention it?
Brice: So you were so ignorant of breaking protocol, of overriding docking equipment and leaving the station without proper clearance, that you answered our own attempts at communication after catching up with you with aggression?
::Jansen could certainly understand that sentiment from the Ensign. Someone calls you so you shoot at them. To the best of Jansen's knowledge pleasant society didn't function that way...even on the Klingon home world.::
Orrey: That is a good question. If that's the only reason you had for running why answer our hails with weapons fire?
Inala: We started before the hail reached us. Our coms array has a always been a bit off... and nobody was familiar with your ship type and you were approaching with armed weapons. We made a decision, a bad one perhaps but...
Brice: A very bad one. We are clearly a starfleet vessel, as confirmed by our transponder signal, and our arrival should not be unexpected given your abrupt and illegal departure from the station. Do you always fire first?
::Another Brilliant question. Obviously Commander Brice had practice with this before, hopefully it would end better then the last interrogation Jansen was involved in. Still Jansen kept his mind moving and the questions in a seemingly random order to throw off the subject.::
Orrey: Who were you delivering to on Vega?
Inala: No one. While we would do personnel transport if so chartered, we deal only in cargo. Of course if any crew members wished to disembark there and their contract was in order...
Inala: Any more questions?
Orrey: And how many children do you have?
Inala: Myself? None. However I do help support my Sister, a single parent back on Til'ahn - she has twins. There are several family men and women in our roster though, who do have Children themselves.
Brice: The dampening fields we detected would be unnecessary for extra cloth yardage and unlikely to help prevent detection of cargo hold temperatures. So... what are you hiding.
Lieutenant Jansen Orrey
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Darwin-A