Chapter Text
Starbase 8
In orbit of Memory Alpha
JAG Complex, Level Four
January 24, 2318 (Stardate 139001.4)
Seven days later, Leo sat hunched over at his desk in the second largest office of the starbase's JAG complex. He met with Major Bex, the marine attorney of Bolian heritage, who eagerly transferred her collateral office duties to him. Over the course of those seven days, he and Bex uncovered their shared interests and demonstrated great synergy. Unfortunately, their growing relationship was abruptly halted by the unexpected assignment of a field JAGMAN investigation to the starship Valkyrie.
Bex and her paralegal departed hastily, leaving Leo and the office understaffed for the remaining tasks. He submitted a request to the Detailer's Office, asking them to publish twelve job postings with Janeera's approval, outlining specific skill and duty requirements for each position.
"Sir, I have the personnel reports and evaluations for you," said Lieutenant (jg) Barzel Timel, the male Trill serving as his paralegal. “The captain is requesting that you review and approve on her behalf.”
Leo glanced up from his terminal and motioned for Barzel to join him, beckoning with his right hand. "Come in and take a load off. I could use a distraction."
Barzel followed the invitation to one of the two seats before Leo's cluttered desk. "She's keeping us on our toes, huh, sir?"
As he typed out a response to a memo, Leo spoke while his hands smoothly glided over the input. "Quite… the… taskmaster, yes."
"So…" Barzel began, drawing out his first word, "do you think she'll let you take a case?" When he finished speaking, he stared at Leo pointedly, scanning his expression for a response.
Leo fought the impulse to smirk at him. Spending working lunches and dinners together for the last four days allowed him to learn that he initially worked at JAG as an NCO before earning a correspondence degree in military justice and earning a reserve commission. “Juggling all this administrative paperwork and doing case prep seems overwhelming.”
Barzel murmured, "I guess you're right, sir."
Leo wondered if there was a betting pool about when he would take on his first case, noticing Barzel's disappointment.
“I'm not sure, sir...” Barzel's eyes flickered under Leo's scrutiny.
Leo grinned at the onset of his paralegal's discomfiture. "I'm sure the captain will eventually have me take on some cases once I put a serious dent in this pile. Until then, I'm happy to keep chipping away at the pile until we get it under control."
"But… you're a lawyer, sir. Aren't you eager to, you know… fight for justice?"
"Your wager must be on me getting a case soon, eh?"
Barzel averted his gaze, attempting to conceal any trace of guilt.
Leo chuckled. "Look, I'm content fighting for justice by doing this. This office can't function without the flow of papers. The law is always about paper."
"So, not soon."
"Sorry to disappoint you."
Barzel got to his feet and offered, "Can I get you anything, sir?"
"Only if you're getting something for yourself," Leo acknowledged. “Then, I would kill for a hot cocoa.”
"You got it, sir," Barzel nodded and left the office.
Leo exhaled deeply and resumed his work. Still, the solitude and concentration lasted less than three full minutes before he saw the visage of Lieutenant Alejandro Martinez staring at him through the transparent pane that looked out onto the office floor.
Martinez always waved at him through the window, instead of using the panel next to the door to announce his request to see him. Leo signaled him to enter via his own hand gesture, and within seconds, Martinez stood within the office, though maintained a respectful distance by intruding a couple of feet inside.
"¿Puedo hablar con usted brevemente, señor?" inquired Martinez in their shared language, meaning: "May I speak with you briefly, sir?"
Glancing at his terminal screen and realizing that he had made very little progress on the first report, Leo assessed the urgency of Martinez's tone. He decided he could use the distraction. "My office is your office, Ale-esé. What's up?"
Martinez crossed over to the empty seat that Barzel used, sitting down as he spoke. "I got this strange case from the marine holding company downstairs yesterday. An AWOL corporal got herself arrested and tossed in holding, and I got this anonymous message that she needed counsel. I was next in the rotation anyway, so I went down to talk to her, and she brushed me off. Said she was guilty of everything and sent me on my way."
Leo shot Martinez a smirk. "It sounds like a short case to me. What's strange about it?"
"I don't think it's that simple."
"Tell me."
"Do you recall your first day here? That D&D you helped me out with… you told me to go with my gut.”
“Right.”
"My gut’s saying something else is going on here. She's on a one-way trip to Andor. No matter what I say, she doesn’t care." Andor's rehabilitation colony had a reputation for being particularly harsh on marines undergoing discipline as they took it as a personal affront to the Honor of the Corps.
Leo leaned back in his seat to consider the case so far, and Martinez was correct in suspecting the behavior. "Interesting," he noted. "She being cagey about her situation?"
Martinez nodded. "Yes, sir."
Leo rubbed his chin and considered his workload. "All right, I can give you an hour, and that's it." He grabbed his uniform jacket and pulled it on. As he snapped the front together, he followed Martinez out of the office and onto the main floor.
Barzel found him in the middle of the bullpen and offered him a mug. "Sir, your drink?"
With a firm grip, Leo twisted it around to secure it by the handle in order to prevent any further burning of his fingers. He switched to Federation Standard and explained to Barzel, "I'm heading down to holding with Ale for a bit. Checking out something 'weird' about a case."
The mention of a case caused Barzel's lips to curl upward in a wide grin. "Does this mean you're taking the case?"
"This is one of mine," Martinez said.
Without waiting for dismissal, Barzel hurried to a desk within the bullpen and pulled aside an ensign to relay the sudden development as Leo and Martinez made their way toward reception and down the corridor. "Martinez's day in the betting pool," said the ensign's voice.
Martinez turned around, wagging his tongue at Barzel. He mouthed the words, "I win," along with his victorious expression. When he faced forward again, he paused as Leo had abruptly halted with a less pleasant expression than his.
"What did you win?" Leo asked in Spanish.
"The captain put in the pot two bottles of Aldebaran whisky."
Leo downed the rest of the hot cocoa in one long quaff before setting the empty mug down on Zenn's desk. He switched his language back to instruct her, "Sorry, Yeoman. Tell Barzel to clean it up for me?"
Zenn smirked. "Yes, sir."
"If I do this for you and you win, I want a bottle," Leo said, passing Martinez on his way out.
Martinez sighed. "Deal."
The starbase holding facility sat within the "spindle" of the base's construction. Leo and Martinez arrived via a long turbolift ride down from the top levels. When they stepped into the reception area of the holding facility, every guard on duty wore the midnight black battle dress uniform that marines typically wore as their uniform of the day.
The gunnery sergeant behind the desk, seeing two officers enter, rose to attention.
"Welcome to Holding, sirs," he said. "How may I help you?"
Leo walked up to the chest-high counter and gestured to himself and Martinez. "Here to see a prisoner you're holding. We're legal counsel."
The Gunny nodded his dark-colored head. "Yes, sir. Name of the prisoner?"
Leo turned to Martinez for the name, to which he helpfully supplied. "Angela Torres."
"Angela Torres," Leo repeated.
With a brief grimace, the Gunny responded, "I'm sorry, sir, but we're under orders not to allow Prisoner Torres any visitors."
Leo's eyes widened in surprise. "Who issued those orders?"
"The corporal's commanding officer, Captain Kline."
"Marine Captain Kline?" Leo sought reassurance that he outranked the officer responsible for the decision.
"Yes, sir."
Leo exhaled, sharing a quick, silent glance toward Martinez. Martinez responded with a subtle tilt of his head and widened eyes.
"Gunny," Leo tried another tactic, "is the Corporal under arrest right now? She's been read her rights as required by the Starfleet Code of Justice?"
The question led the Gunny to narrow his eyes toward the rank insignia on Leo's shoulder. "Sir, I'm not sure. I believe she has, but I would need to confirm-"
Leo cut him off. "You or someone in your unit informed her of her right to counsel, correct?"
"That is part of the wording, sir."
"It's one or the other, Gunny. You're telling me they have read her rights, among which is the right to counsel, or she was not read her rights, in which case this is an illegal arrest," Leo pointed out. "Which is it?"
The Gunny disliked the pressing question, so he glanced at his display hoping for an answer. "I can't speak to that truthfully, sir; I was not there when it happened."
"Okay, fine," Leo said. "Captain Kline denied all visitors, but she's guaranteed counsel under the law."
"Sir, Captain Kline… he's an officer," the Gunny's nervous tone underscored his response.
Leo closed his eyes, weighing his options. Ultimately, he stayed true to his nature, respecting the principles he held dear. "Gunny, I understand that Lieutenant Martinez and I may seem like a couple of assholes from JAG who took the easy path. I assure you, that's not the case. I'm a ring knocker."
The Gunny's lips curled into a fleeting smirk, a hint of amusement dancing in his eyes at Leo's unexpected use of a long-held pejorative term. The term "ring knocker," often used by the enlisted members of Starfleet to describe the overconfident and arrogant graduates of Starfleet Academy, slipped out of Leo's mouth, catching the Gunny off-guard. Witnessing an elite fraternity member openly acknowledging their status ironically surprised him.
Leo's voice carried a note of sincerity as he pressed on, his gaze steady on the Gunny. "I served on the line with the Marines, so trust me when I say that I understand your predicament with your chain of command. I'm not here to make your life miserable." His words held an earnestness that resonated with the Gunny.
"Understood, sir," the Gunny acknowledged, his tone remaining neutral but distant. The tension building up between them eased slightly as the Gunny processed Leo's words and acknowledged his understanding. A flicker of guarded respect glimmered in his eyes, indicating that Leo's empathy impressed him.
"Just take us to see Angela Torres, if you please," Leo directed. When he saw the conflict within the Gunny still causing a problem, he continued, "If Captain Kline takes issue, you tell him that a candy-ass light commander pulled rank on you."
The Gunny grinned and said, "You have served with marines. Thank you, sir, I appreciate that."
Leo reached into his pocket to pull his identification for the Gunny's records. "I'm Leo Verde. My office is up on four," he introduced himself, his voice firm and resolute.
"Gunny Tolliver, sir," the Gunny followed suit, keeping his volume low. Then he straightened his posture and snapped his fingers. Two junior NCOs stepped forward to either side of Leo and Martinez. "Take these officers to Prisoner Torres, now."
The two male corporals of differing heights cast a glance toward Tolliver in surprise before nodding. "Aye, aye, Gunny!" said the shorter one on the right. "Commander, if you'll follow the corporal?"