Rug Dance

Posted on Thu Jun 23rd, 2011 @ 5:52am by Admiral Kathryn Burke & Captain Jackson Hawkins

1,475 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Winds of Change
Location: Admiral Burke's Office
Timeline: Morning Following Darmon Delay Prior to Issuance of General Order 001

ON

Kathryn Burke couldn't believe the report that crossed her desk marked "Urgent." She had to read it over twice. Insubordination? False Accusation of a superior officer? Unlawful detention? Disrespecting a superior officer? Redress of Injuries to property? ? Conduct unbecoming an officer? These were all serious charges, and all directed at Commander Krang Darkmoon.

She tapped her combadge. "Burke to Captain Hawkins. I'd like to see you in my office at your earliest convenience." She sounded calm, but there was an edge of steel to her voice.

Hawk acknowledged the order. "On my way Admiral..." Standing from his desk, the Captain grabbed his service jacket from the back of his chair and put it on, leaving his office, the command complex, and making his way down to the Admiral's office.

When Millie saw the Captain she simply waved to the Admiral's door.

Hawk, continued into the Admiral's office.

Kathryn looked up when Captain Hawkins walked in. She indicated the seat across from her desk, her expression stern. When he sat down, she slid a PADD across the desk to him. "Explain."

The captain furrowed his brow and began to read. "Okay... I'm not sure where he can get a charge beyond perhaps a false accusation charge which isn't really a crime..."

"I wasn't privy to the conversation, Captain. I received a very irate communication first thing this morning asking why someone was preventing Morgan Damron from leaving the Starbase. She filed charges stating that she is being unlawfully detained and because of that missed an important meeting with a client. She claims the detainment cost her billions -- for which she demands redress. She also threatened to pull her support from several key projects." The Admiral had gone on for a good fifteen minutes on how detrimental this would be to Starfleet in the short term.

"Add to that Darkmoon falsely accused the Admiral of taking a bribe and was insubordinate to a senior officer ... there's more, but I won't go into it. And if that weren't enough, I have a stack of complaints and charges from the local businesses on Typhon of harassment and illegal imprisonment by security."

Kathryn folded her arms across her chest. "Not only am I getting a list of complaints and charges from the locals, I'm now getting them from Starfleet Command. Clean up this mess. I want Darkmoon to send an apology IN WRITING to the Admiral. He is to apologize for his insubordination, his disrespect and his false accusation." She hoped that would appease Admiral Willoughby and get him off her back.

"As for you, Captain, I want you to begin an investigation into why security sees fit to detain shuttles and shut down businesses -- and there better be a VERY good reason."

"Permission to speak freely Admiral?" Hawk bit his lip, wanting to say more, but giving Burke the benefit of the doubt that she would listen to reason.

"Granted." Although, from the look he was giving her she wasn't sure she wanted to hear it.

Hawk signed. "What we have here is the perfect storm. Commander Darkmoon was ordered to enforce all of the station regulations on the books. That order stemmed from an incident during a staff meeting where the station engineer decided to commit battery against another officer. I wanted the Commander to enforce the regulations because such breeches are unacceptable. Admittedly, Commander Darkmoon took my orders a bit too literally and didn't exercise professional judgment in the application of regulations. That situation has since been resolved, apparently after the situation with Morgan Damron but prior to our conversation today. Captain Johnson and Commander Darkmoon had a conversation clarifying my orders. We will continue to stringently enforce the regulations on the books, but I will be made privy of situations where discretion is applied. The goal Admiral is to get the station in some sort of reasonable order after the departure of Commodore Fannin. The most reasonable way, in my opinion, was enforce the regulations on the books and we will be modifying them as needed." The Captain paused as he shifted in his chair. "As to Commander Darkmoon accusing the Admiral of taking a bribe, admittedly it doesn't look good when you've got Morgan Damron calling in favors from a guy she's personally doing business with. In virtually every other context a person of power would have to recuse themselves from the situation because they've experienced personal gain or benefit. So it causes some concern. And the fact that Admiral Willougby got involved in the situation gives us serious pause as to the question of influence peddling. I don't see how I can, with a straight face or clean conscious, punish Commander Darkmoon for getting the crime wrong but the behavior correct. Especially when he was following legitimate orders to follow the regulations on the books."

"I would not call this a Perfect Storm, Captain. Perhaps bad judgment on your part by going too far to enforce every single rule on the book sno matter how old or how overlooked. Do you realize there are laws on the books that go back centuries? I think, perhaps, under the circumstances you should also send a letter of apology to the Admiral. As Darkmoon was following your orders, he won't be brought up on charges. And whether this matter was resolved after the Admiral's call does not nullify the fact that you still have a mess to clean up."

Burke pulled out another PADD and looked through it. "As to your allegations against the Admiral, did you bother to review the conversation? Morgan Damron is a civilian. As a civilian she is entitled to contact whomever she pleases to lodge a complaint. The Although calling Darkmoon directly was not going through the chain of command, Admiral Willoughby was within his rights to do so AS LONG AS he didn't proceed to break a law after that. There was no order to release the Damron shuttle. There was no demand to give her favors. The Admiral said that the Damron shuttles had never had a problem before. He said there would be an investigation and if Darkmoon was NOT correct in his detainment, there would be consequences. None of this is influence peddling, Captain. Damron's call can be seen as a complaint. The verbal complaint was followed by a formal one. She could have called the President of the Federation or the Empress of Romulus if she chose and it would not have changed anything.

"However, the fact that Darkmoon wrongfully accused the Admiral of taking a bribe without sufficient evidence to back it up is a crime under Military Law. So is insubordination and Conduct Unbecoming." She knew the Captain was used to running a Starship on the fringes of known space where he rarely came in contact with people, but she never dreamed it would cause this degree of trouble. "Your opinion is duly noted, Captain, but you're wrong. Calling for an investigation because Damron called and complained does not fall under the category of influence peddling. You are so focused on her that you fail to see that the charges filed are serious indeed. Far more serious than any perceived misuse of a personal contact. You've adequately cleared Darkmoon of most of the charges, but neither of you are in the clear as yet. My orders were simple enough. I want you to look into the matter and send me a report. And I want an apology from you and Darkmoon. Under the circumstances you are both getting off light."

"I'll take it under advisement Admiral. Is there anything else I can help you with?" Hawk had no intention of letting the issue die here. He would end-run Burke if he had to, and seeing that she was set on having it her way there was no room for compromise despite his attempt. But he was ready to get out of her office as he was sick of her tone. She had been put in this position by Willoughby because he was a spineless leader and didn't have the integrity to put the issue back in the hands of the person responsible, namely Hawk. Willougby wanted his cake and to eat it as well, something Hawk was not about to give him.

Burke watched the Captain for a moment before responding. "I'm not a fool, Captain. Take that under advisement as well. Oh, and I'll be leaving the Starbase next week to tour the Fleet. You'll report directly to Captain Fawkes. Dismissed."

"Thank you Admiral. Have a safe trip. We'll look forward to your return." Hawk smiled pleasantly, the wheels in his mind spinning at full speed.

OFF

Admiral Kathryn Burke
Deputy Commander-in-Chief
Theta Fleet

Captain Jackson Hawkins
Commanding Officer
Starbase Typhon

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