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Post by Lieutenant Victor Springfield on Jul 12, 2016 12:38:00 GMT -5
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Post by Lieutenant Victor Springfield on Jul 12, 2016 12:13:10 GMT -5
Victor put down his PADD after composing his reply to Admiral Compton. He sighed softly and undid the collar on his jacket before pouring himself a glass of scotch. He kicked his legs up on the desk and sparked a menthol cigarette, ruminating on the events of the day. He looked over and saw an old paperback book laying on the shelf next to him -- it was a gift from a friend, many years ago. He flipped through the pages, thinking it was so very odd that it seemed excusable to sock another officer in the face, but a cardinal sin to inquire about it. What a world we live in, he thought.
His eyes flicked past the many verses in the book, until his eyes rested upon one in particular. Deuteronomy 16:20: "Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you."
Victor wasn't sure what he believed, although he somehow knew there was a higher power out there. A universal lawgiver, perhaps... one that would bring all evil to account. Human justice could be corrupted by favoritism or bias, but maybe there was something even greater. What a wonderful thing that would be, Victor thought.
Then again, he pondered, if we were all brought to account, we would all be condemned.
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Post by Lieutenant Victor Springfield on Jul 12, 2016 12:02:13 GMT -5
TO: Admiral Compton's Office, 22nd Daedalus Omega FROM: Lt. Victor J. Springfield, Esq. RE: Incident Report 2420-109
Good morning Admiral,
I must say, it was such a pleasant surprise to receive a personal response from you! I thought that, given your busy schedule, one of your many administrative aids would have handled my simple inquiry. The fact that you found time out of your day to compose such a lengthy response is a testament to your leadership, and you should know that I very much appreciate your attention to detail in this matter. Please forgive me, I'm somewhat starstruck.
I am more than happy to answer your questions, but I fear that you've misunderstood my letter completely!
"So if I am to understand your letter, somewhere within in the first 24 hours of this incident, you had some kind of run in with the ship's Exec who somehow hurt your feelings so badly, you took it upon yourself to by pass your chain of command, the ship's captain who has not even had a chance to speak to nor investigate this matter herself and run and tattle to me?"
The answer to this question is "No." While I appreciate your concern for my feelings, I fear that you are reading something into this letter that simply isn't there. Believe me, I know that there are many over-emotional officers who can confabulate imagined slights and see problems where none exist -- I assure you, I am not among them!
"I also wish to know, As of this time are you seriously trying to now register this as a complaint about a Chief of Security who by the time of your letter has probably not yet even met with his captain over this 'incident', let alone finished filling out his initial incident report?"
The answer to this question is also "No." In fact, I do not remember mentioning our Chief of Security at all.
"You have to be kidding me with this, right?"
The answer to this question is also "No."
"On a more personal note Lieutenant, the next time you name a command level officer in such a backdoor little whine to me or anyone in my command, the way you just name dropped your own ship's exec, you better bring more to the table than vague innuendo about their alleged implied misconduct to get your way addressed. If you don't, I'll personal snap your little world back to reality so fast, your grandchildren will be born dizzy."
I must deeply apologize if you, for some reason, saw my letter as a complaint -- or as you put it, a "whine." The only whine I enjoy, my good Admiral, is the kind that comes with cheese.
Ultimately, you did provide an answer to my question, which I am grateful for. I look forward to future interactions with your office. Fondly, I remain as always
Very truly yours,
/s/
Lieutenant Victor J. Springfield, Esq. Starfleet Diplomatic Corps Office of the Judge Advocate General
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Post by Lieutenant Victor Springfield on Jul 12, 2016 7:47:52 GMT -5
TO: Admiral Compton's Office, 22nd Daedalus Omega FROM: Lt. Victor J. Springfield, Esq. RE: Incident Report 2420-109
To whom it may concern,
This letter regards Incident 2420-109, which was an alleged physical assault between two senior staff members on the bridge of the Sentinel during Alpha Watch (assault consummated by battery on a superior officer.) I am sure that the Sentinel command staff has already briefed Fleet Command on this incident, so I will not dwell on details. My question is whether I will be needed to defend this case. The Executive Officer of the Sentinel, Commander Shantal Arnimane, implied that there will be no repercussions from this event. I wanted to confirm that whether I, as the ship's resident JAG officer, should begin preparing a defense or not. As always, I remain
Very truly yours,
/s/
Lieutenant Victor J. Springfield, Esq. Starfleet Diplomatic Corps Office of the Judge Advocate General
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Post by Lieutenant Victor Springfield on Jul 11, 2016 21:31:52 GMT -5
"Duty and obligation are kinda da same thing dhere slick...", Shantal arrived in the brig unannounced. "I dinna think there vwill be formal charges filed quite jet mister, maybe dat is how things go down back at command, out 'ere...we tend to be made of sterner stuff an' takes a bit more fer family ta get da book thrown at dhem." Looks then both over, "If da lady vrequires jur...expert council, I assume she vwill let ju know, jes?" Victor had a look on his face that could best be described as a mix between flabbergasted and offended. "It takes a bit more for family to..." he couldn't even complete the sentence. "That's not... that's not how it works. If someone gets out of punishment, it's supposed to by the rules... not because of..." he shook his head and went for the door, muttering something about how Admiral Compton was right.
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Post by Lieutenant Victor Springfield on Jul 11, 2016 16:39:51 GMT -5
Victor sighed. "I'm not saying you should hide from your actions. I'm saying that I might have a way to mitigate your punishment. Maybe turn a career-ending stunt into nothing more than a reprimand, if I'm lucky. Trust me, I'm going to help you. However, I'm not going to do it in a deceitful way that hides what you did." He groaned. "What could possibly motivate you? What could be worth socking the Operations officer right in front of everyone? You have an excellent record. By all accounts, you're a fine officer. This doesn't add up."
Victor seemed genuinely perplexed.
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Post by Lieutenant Victor Springfield on Jul 11, 2016 16:23:00 GMT -5
Victor smiled at her. "Lieutenant, there's nothing 'all right' about what's up here." He tapped his head. "But this isn't about me. I'm trying to help you here." His voice almost took the tinge of a pleading tone.
"Don't forget that I walked in on a fight between you and Cameron and Walker. That's what I was basing my conclusion on, but at the same time, I know that I don't have all the facts. I don't have ten percent of the facts. Trust me, I know that there is a great deal going on with the Sentinel that I am not privy to. Maybe I haven't earned whatever credibility I need to find this out. But, like I said, this isn't about me. It's you. You may very well be charged with a crime, and it's my duty -- my obligation -- to give you the best legal defense I can. I won't be able to do that if you won't give me the information I need."
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Post by Lieutenant Victor Springfield on Jul 11, 2016 16:11:19 GMT -5
Victor blinked and shook his head.
"So why did you do it? What's going on between you and Walker that would prompt such a public display of violence?"
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Post by Lieutenant Victor Springfield on Jul 11, 2016 15:54:34 GMT -5
Victor leaned forward in the chair, resting his hands on his knees as he talked, seemingly not caring that she remained standing.
"Why did you hit Lieutenant Walker? Were you fighting with her for the affections of Lieutenant Cameron?"
He watched expectantly for her answer.
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Post by Lieutenant Victor Springfield on Jul 11, 2016 15:36:02 GMT -5
Victor dragged a chair from the corner of the room and placed in front of Decia's cell. He sat down and looked at her, motioning toward the bench in her cell. "Take a seat," he said. "We need to talk about what happened on the bridge."
He tapped a few buttons on his PADD. "I'm the only JAG officer on the ship, which means I'm your defense counsel. You haven't been formally charged with anything, and we might be able to pull some strings at the last minute, but I need to know exactly what happened between you and Walker that caused this fight."
He paused for a moment.
"I need you to be absolutely truthful. Everything you say to me will be held in complete and absolute confidence. I give you my word."
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Post by Lieutenant Victor Springfield on Jul 11, 2016 14:58:44 GMT -5
My work PC:
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Post by Lieutenant Victor Springfield on Jul 11, 2016 14:51:47 GMT -5
Victor trudged through the halls of the Sentinel, in a brisk walk toward the brig. He reviewed his PADD as he walked, re-watching the security video of Decia socking Walker in her face, occasionally glancing upwards to ensure that he didn't run into anyone. He sighed. Assault consummated by a battery, and it was enhanced by the fact that Walker was a commissioned officer. This was going to be a tough one.
Eventually, he reached the brig. He gave a nod to Sebetharen as he walked inside, taking a glance at Decia before looking at the security officer.
"Mister, can you step outside for a moment? Attorney-client confidentiality. I'm sure you understand." He motioned toward the door as he turned to Decia, looking at her expectantly.
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Post by Lieutenant Victor Springfield on Jul 11, 2016 6:26:54 GMT -5
USS Sentinel NCC-99014 Personal Log
Lieutenant Victor Springfield - Diplomatic Liaison Officer
Stardate : (After the "A Cheesy Apology" text RP, but before the 7/10/2016 Sentinel episode)
[Log Begins]
Victor is sitting at a desk in his quarters with the lights dimmed low, and nearly concealed by a mist of cigar smoke. A lit Churchill cigar hangs in his mouth, and it's about 50% burned down. A glass of Jonnie Walker Blue rests on his desk, which he occasionally sips from. Music plays softly from the back of the room...
"Didn't expect this as a first assignment." He ashes his cigar. "The People are definitely... uncooperative when it comes to diplomacy. Looks like some form of internal strife or conflict between their various divisions of society. Not the kind of issue I like to get entangled in." He sips from his drink. "I don't like to engage in more than one negotiation at a time, if I can avoid it... and that's exactly what we have here. They have no single representative or representative group, which makes it an inherently unpredictable situation."
"To make matters worse, we have another... element at play here. This group, called the People, bear a strong resemblance to what we might consider demons. The same goes for our..." he sighs "honored guest called K'rika. In fact, I've consulted my copy of Tobin's Spirit Guide --" he motions toward a dusty tome on his shelf "-- and it's confirmed... what we're dealing with is more than just an alien race. Nobody seems to believe me that K'Rika is a potential hazard. I fear that this will be a serious problem down the road."
"And if diplomatic hardship and demons weren't enough, there's some amount of domestic turmoil taking place on the other side of the deck. I walked in on Lieutenants Cameron and Walker having a fight about something or other... seems like Lieutenants Decia and Walker are fighting over the guy." Victor sighs and ashes his cigar. "I tried resolving the situation, but I clearly didn't have enough credibility with the actors to establish a dialogue. That's the thing... you need a certain amount of... social latinum to cash in at the door, just to get inside. There's a cover charge, you know. That's something most people don't understand. Anyway, it looks like I don't have enough of that social latinum quite yet. Too bad... I might have been able to do something about it. God, it reminds me of the fights I used to have with Robin. Of course, and this is to my credit --" he took the cigar out of his mouth and sipped from his drink, which was clearly not his first drink of the night. "-- there was no other woman. Not that Robin ever believed that, but was the truth, damn it." the glass clinks back to the desk a little too loudly, which causes Vic to jump a little bit. "I wonder what she's doing these days, if she's still on Earth. She always said she wanted to see the stars." he set his jaw as he thought about it... he never took her on assignment, so did he deprive her of that? Was that why she left? he shook his head.
"Doesn't matter now, I guess. It's been three years. I can't..." the next few words were clearly hard to pronounce "waste my time... dealing with it. We've got bigger problems anyway, and I think it takes the form of The People and K'Rika. I think it's a little naive to allow a... demon on board the ship in the first place. Who makes these kinds of decisions, anyway?" he groans.
"I should get back to work. See you later, alligator." he smiles weakly and reaches over to shut off the screen, after which...
[End of Log.]
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Post by Lieutenant Victor Springfield on Jul 7, 2016 14:51:56 GMT -5
Victor sighed as the doors shut in his face, right as he was composing his response. He shrugged, and sipped his drink as he walked off, back to his quarters. "Can't win them all," he thought as he mused over his own broken marriage. God, Jon and Alice were going down the path that he and Robin had tread years before...
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Post by Lieutenant Victor Springfield on Jul 7, 2016 14:50:37 GMT -5
Victor kind of hovered in the doorway, his glass in his right hand, as he looked at Jon with a concerned expression. With his left hand, he gave Jon some incomprehensible hand signs reminiscent of a baseball coach. He was also mouthing some words, something like, "I'm here to help you buddy." He gave more hand signs.
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