Chapter Text
Starbase 8
In orbit of Memory Alpha
JAG Complex, Level Four
February 17, 2318 (Stardate 139174.57)
Commander Leo Verde returned to the JAG Complex after meeting in the starbase's command conference room. Vice Admiral Pavel Chekov, the commanding officer of the starbase, had made sure to properly place Leo’s new rank insignia on his uniform. As he entered the reception area, Captain Janeera Ch’charhat, a tall and lithe Andorian woman, greeted him with a Cheshire smile.
As he got closer to her, she greeted him with a near-singing tone, “Morning, Leo.” Her ice-blue eyes drifted to the new rank insignia on his shoulder strap while her antennae twitched. She announced in a clear voice, alerting everyone in the office, “Congratulations on your promotion, Commander.”
Everyone in the bullpen and a few officers exited the small break area. A burst of applause filled the air.
Leo's blush deepened. With raised hands toward the impromptu crowd, he addressed them, "Thank you, everyone. Back to work." He turned to his boss and smirked. "Thank you."
"Oh, it's my pleasure," Janeera giggled. Holding her smile, she added with a somber voice, "You really impressed Admiral Devereaux."
He blinked. "Well… thank you, Jan," he repeated, this time in a somber tone.
She leaned in and lowered her voice. "Tell me, before Admiral Chekov arrived, was Thelk deranged?"
With a slight shrug, he admitted, "Not quite. He was ramping up, but Colonel Sullivan held him back."
She considered that momentarily, with a quiet "Hmm." Her tone suggested disappointment.
Leo tilted his head in askance. "What?"
"I wish I could've been there to see his face when the admiral walked in and promoted you, is all," she said with a smirk. "Thelk's a pompous idiot. Don't worry about him."
"Xaraq said the same thing. Not to worry about him, I mean," he replied, referring to the starbase's shore patrol commander.
"Ah." Janeera added, "Yes, well, it's a popular opinion. He is of little consequence." She moved toward her office but called back over her shoulder, "Oh, and come see me after lunch. Bring Reter."
Leo grinned. "Understood. See you, then." He walked past the reception desk and offered a warm smile to Yeoman Lara Zenn. Several people acknowledged him with a nod as he entered the bullpen before he entered his office.
Lieutenant (jg) Barzel Timel, Leo's assigned paralegal, entered after him. "Good morning, sir. Congratulations."
"Thank you," Leo replied cordially. "It was definitely not how I thought my morning would go."
Timel grinned. "I can imagine." He switched gears and got down to business. "Major Bex's JAGMAN wrapped up, but Valkyrie got called away on a distress call. They provided a short-range shuttle to deliver them to Starbase Twenty-Three, and if they can catch a ride on a long-range shuttle from there, it'll still be a week's trip back."
"A week?" Leo furrowed his brow.
"There's a chance that they might transfer to another starship, but a week is a good estimate, for now."
Leo let out a heavy sigh. "I guess that can't be helped. I hope now that Captain Reter's part of the team, he can pitch in. Hey, is Angela in, yet?" he asked, referring to Corporal Angela Torres, the marine who transferred to JAG to act as Leo's orderly.
Timel checked his PADD. "She needed the morning to transfer quarters. Her time in the VIP suite is up, but Tom Maroni found her some NCO quarters on level seven. She should be back here after lunch."
"Could you help her out and make sure she's not missing anything? The paperwork can be a little daunting for someone who's not used to it." Leo divided his attention between the conversation and the information flowing across his screen.
"Certainly," Timel promised. "We're meeting up tonight to go over some prerequisites for the criminal investigator course. A little study session."
Leo looked up. "That's very kind of you. I appreciate that." He returned his attention to the screen and noted, "Hey, my afternoon appointments are gone."
"I should have started with that, sorry. Captain Ch'charhat asked me to push your interviews and personnel matters until further notice."
"Why?"
"She didn't say. But, I suppose you'll find out at the meeting," Timel surmised.
Leo sighed, feeling his heart sink into his stomach. "We were going to interview some candidates for the open roles."
"Oh, the captain said she would handle that."
"Ohhh-kay," Leo weakly drew out the words. "I feel like I'm being fired or something."
Timel grinned. "Definitely 'or something,' sir. No way she promotes and then fires you in the same day."
"I'm sure she wouldn't." Leo touched his chest and sighed. The painful memory of being relieved of his duties aboard Hansen flooded back to him. He calmed himself with a few deep breaths and admitted, "Just a little trauma response from the last time a captain took away all my duties just before a meeting."
Captain Reter, the Edosian officer recently transferred to the JAG Corps from the starbase's marine garrison, plodded along using all three feet to keep up with Leo as they walked together. "Did she inform, advise, or notify you as to the substance of the meeting?" he asked.
With a simple shake of his head, Leo replied, "Not a word besides bringing you." He glanced down at Reter's uniform front and noticed his new JAG badge under the commissioned officer's version of the Starfleet Marine Corps Delta, Star, and Anchor. "The new hardware looks good on you, by the way."
Reter peered down at his chest briefly. "Thank you, sir."
"Call me Leo," he reminded.
They passed by Yeoman Zenn's desk, and before he said a word, she nodded and pointed to Ch'charhat's door. "Go right in, Commander," said the yeoman quickly. "She's eagerly awaiting you."
Use of the word 'eagerly' turned his head toward Zenn in curiosity. "Oh, my," he noted without breaking his stride.
They passed through the doors. Leo noted Janeera had a report on the large viewscreen behind her, showing the progress of a shuttle on approach to Starbase Eight. When her attention turned to them, she waved them over with her right hand. "Come in."
Reter replied in the marine fashion, "Aye, aye, sir."
She wasted no time in getting to the key aspect of the meeting. "Starbase Ten has passed one of their JAGMAN requests to us and I'm sending your team out there to deal with it."
Leo tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow. "I have a team? Wait… Starbase Ten? Don't they have their own JAG office?"
Janeera sighed, "Last month, I mentioned we were too short-staffed to take on all the requests for field investigations. We'd been passing a majority of them to other sectors, and they did us a lot of favors in taking them on while we worked on our numbers."
"I recall," Leo said as he remembered all the paperwork associated with those favors.
"Well," she continued, "since adding the two of you, my esteemed counterpart on Starbase Ten, Captain al-Adel, has called in one of those favors."
Leo frowned. "Uh oh."
Janeera sighed. "Couldn't put it better myself." She pointed to the screen behind her. "I recommend taking at least a legal specialist and a yeoman to assist. Your team will catch a lift on the shuttle Giamatti when it arrives in just over an hour. It will take a direct course to the starship Detmer, presently on patrol near the Neutral Zone, awaiting your arrival."
"I know that ship," Leo said, perking up when he heard the name. "She's a Georgiou-class light cruiser assigned to the Border Service. The CO is a Vulcan named Straat."
With a wary eye, she asked, "Is your relationship with Straat going to cause a problem, Leo?"
"Uh, no. Never met him," Leo assured her quickly after sharing a glance with Reter. "But,… his XO and I served together on Decker about six years ago. We keep in touch."
Janeera paused. "Sounds like a cordial relationship with their XO. But all the same, keep your attention focused on the investigation."
Reter asked, "Sir, might I ask the nature of the investigation?"
"Suspicious death," she replied, saying nothing more on the matter.
Leo nodded and shot a glance at Reter to stall for time as he considered his team. He decided, "We'll take Chief Saego. She's reputed to be amongst the best."
"You don't want to take Lieutenant Timel with you?" Jan’s surprise was evident in her tone.
"Oh, I absolutely would take him with us. But, Barzel's helping Angela with her application and studying for the exams, and I'd like for her have the best possible chance at getting into the criminal investigators school."
"That's very kind of you."
Leo held up a hand to dismiss her praise. "Totally self-serving. I want Angela as one of my team investigators later." He then asked, "Would you be willing to part with Lara?"
She cast a sidelong glance at him, expressing her annoyance at the request. Certain she would deny him her lead yeoman, Leo blinked when she relented. "Fine, take her. She's overdue for some sea pay, anyway."
Leo grinned. "Thank you, sir. It'll be helpful to have two experienced NCOs to hold our hands out there."
Janeera's eyebrows jumped upward as she recalled an important detail. "An agent from SDCI will join you for the trip. They'll assist with the investigation and make the arrests if necessary."
Leo whistled. The Starfleet Division of Criminal Investigations typically appeared when JAG investigations of a high enough felonious nature required them. "Wow, SDCI… how did you manage that?"
She replied, "Everyone owes me a lot of favors just for taking this job, don't you know?" Off his smirk, she tightened her tone to admit, "Detmer's mission is of significance to Starfleet Command. They offered a lot more than an agent if we needed it. Several Admirals have informed me it is critical we close this quickly so they can resume operations."
Leo noted. "So, we'll be on the clock. Understood."
"On the clock and with many eyes looking over your shoulder," she added. "Including mine."
Leo leaned forward slightly, with his hands clasped behind his back. "And all of this pressure on our first field investigation."
She grinned and settled back into her seat, looking very comfortable. "I know. Get used to it."
He smirked and shook his head. "Fair enough."
"All right, you two. Have fun. Safe journey." Both officers expressed their thanks. With the same hand she used to usher them in, Janeera pointed to the exit doors. "Get out."
With their bags packed and resting on the deck of the shuttle bay. Leo stood next to Reter wearing his civilian jacket and trousers. Reter wore his uniform and cast a questioning glance without saying a word.
Leo looked down at his attire. With his hands sliding down the front of the jacket, he explained, "I like to travel comfortably."
"I see that, sir."
"I think if you try it, you'll appreciate comfort on long trips. It's going to take us eight days at high warp to get to the border."
Reter considered that. "You raise a salient, interesting, and excellent point, sir." He glanced down at his bag.
Leo asked, "Trying to remember if you packed any comfortable clothes?"
"Indeed. I believe the closest set I own is my physical training shirt and trousers."
"We've got about ten minutes before the shuttle's supposed to arrive. You want to run downstairs and grab a couple of sets?"
Reter hesitated once more. His center arm stroked his chin as he considered his options. He decided, "I shall endure without. Better to remain here and await our transport."
"I'd offer you some of mine if they'd fit you."
"That's very generous, considerate, and kind of you, sir."
Leo smiled. "We're partners. You can call me Leo."
"Excuse me, sir," interrupted a deep masculine voice. "Civilians need to have a proper escort while on the flight deck. You'll need to return to the passenger lounge."
Annoyed by the charge made, Leo spun around to face his accuser, only to look up into the smiling face of Commander Trael Xaraq, the Betazoid Shore Patrol CO. "Damn it," Leo stopped short of giving him a piece of his mind.
They chuckled and said to Reter, "I thought he was going to reach for his badge."
"I nearly did!" admitted Leo, joining in the laughter. "What brings you down here?"
Xaraq held his smile and said, "Admiral Chekov mentioned during this morning's briefing that he had met you. He also mentioned that he promoted you."
Leo reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his badge case, which also displayed his new rank insignia. "Yeah, when I woke up this morning, I thought I they were going to send me packing back to Spacedock. My day certainly did not go as planned."
They reached over and placed a gentle hand on Leo's shoulder. "I wanted to say congratulations and good luck. Y'know, before you took off."
Out of the corner of his eye, Leo saw Yeoman Zenn and the Saurian Chief Legal Specialist Saego approaching from the doors. With a quick gesture, Leo asked Reter, "Could you square away those two for me, please?"
"Right away, sir," Reter replied.
Leo opened his mouth to correct him, but Xaraq beat him to it. "Call him Leo," they said.
"Thanks," Leo said.
"For which?"
"For coming down here, seeing me off… well, everything you've done for me the past few weeks," Leo said, while blushing under Xaraq's scrutiny.
They replied, "You're very welcome here. Like I said, I know a good officer when I see one. We need more like you around this place."
The base computer intoned, "Shuttle Giamatti, registry One Stroke Four Seven Niner One, is on final approach and will land at pad eleven. Passengers, please stand by for boarding call in five minutes."
"That's my ride," Leo noted awkwardly.
Xaraq dropped his arm and smiled. "So it is. Have a safe flight, and please hurry back."
Giamatti descended smoothly onto the landing pad and the hatch to the rear slid downward to take on the role of a ramp. Leo, Reter, Zenn, and Saego all waited for the side hatch to swing open and when it did, a stream of personnel stepped down and walked toward the reception area.
The computer announced, "Shuttle Giamatti is now boarding all passengers."
Leo led the way, carrying his large duffel over his shoulder. He scanned the interior quickly before stepping in to clear the hatch for those behind him.
Zenn noted, "It's pretty empty."
"Mostly," Leo said as he saw one person sitting in the front row. He stepped forward until he loomed large within their view. "Hello, Urs."
Agent Ursula Onyango of the Starfleet Department of Criminal Investigations leaped from her seat and practically squealed as Leo said hello. "LEO!" she screamed excitedly.
Reter, Zenn, and Saego remained standing at the hatchway, witnessing the apparent reunion.
Leo allowed the expected tight embrace from the taller woman. As his eyes barely cleared her shoulder, they locked onto his team through the strands of her jet black hair. "Good to see you, too," he said warmly, returning her hug with one of his own.
They slightly moved apart to meet each other's gaze. Ursula said, "I thought you'd be on the border somewhere."
"Oh, I guess you hadn't spoken to Keena lately."
She shook her head and gestured for him to take a seat nearby. "No, not for months."
Leo beckoned the three to join him, and they all took seats in the first row of the passenger compartment. "I transferred to Starbase Eight about three weeks ago. I'm in the JAG Corps, now." Before she could say anything else, he introduced, "This is my partner, Captain Reter, our paralegal, Chief Saego, and Yeoman Zenn. They're my team for this JAGMAN."
Everyone exchanged brief words of greeting, then Ursula reached into her front pocket to retrieve her credentials. "Agent Ursula Onyango, SDCI. I'm assigned to this investigation." Then she slapped Leo's arm playfully. "But, I've known this guy for five years. We worked together on a case, once. Been friends ever since."
Zenn wondered, "Just friends?"
Ursula grinned. "Friends. But if you mean what I think you mean, then no. You're more my type than he is."
The long look of appraisal from Ursula caused Zenn to blush. "Oh. Understood," said the yeoman weakly.
"Stop, you're making her uncomfortable," Leo said. To Zenn, he assured her, "She's all talk. Don't mind her."
Reter asked, "Agent Onyango, am I to understand that you did not anticipate, expect, or envision Commander Verde joining you on this assignment?"
Ursula cast a puzzled glance toward Leo before responding, "Correct, Captain Reter. My supervisor spoke with Admiral Devereux while we were on another investigation at Starbase Six." She let Leo know, "Your mother sends her regards, by the way."
"Thank you," Leo took the information in stride, suddenly curious why his mother hadn't informed her of his change in station. He saved that question for later.
"Anyway, Devereux requested a single agent for this urgent-none-more-urgent assignment and, at first, I thought I drew the short straw, but now I think I hit the jackpot," Ursula said with a grin. "I haven't breathed the same recycled air as this guy in what… three years?"
Leo thought about it. "Two years, nine months, and a couple of weeks. The Rough-and-Ready thing on Thirty Nine-Sierra was the last time we saw each other."
"That's the one," Ursula said. She turned to the other three and explained, "Big dust-up between two transient marine companies at the largest pub on the base. Lots of injuries and specious claims from both sides. Took us two weeks to sort it all out, and since his ship was in port for repairs for a month, Leo volunteered his services since the local JAG office was short on lawyers."
Reter noted, "The commander often seems to find himself engrossed within interesting, riveting, and fascinating cases."
Ursula's lips twitched as Reter's style of speaking intrigued her. Another glance toward Leo, and he gave her a single shake of his head with a closed eyed smile. She chose not to pursue it. "Our present assignment supports that supposition. Speaking of, I don't know if your CO briefed you or not."
Before Leo could respond, a junior grade lieutenant peeked out from the hatch leading to the large shuttle's cockpit. "Sorry to interrupt. Uh, we've finished taking on supplies and are ready to launch whenever you are, Agent."
Leo scanned the passenger compartment and realized no one else had boarded. He asked Ursula, "Private flight?"
Ursula replied, sotto voce, "You bet. First class all the way." To the pilot, she nodded, "Proceed, Lieutenant. Thank you."