Person(s) of Interest

Posted on 22 Sep 2016 @ 1:50am by Lieutenant Colonel Cassandra Blackburn & Lieutenant Commander Geraldine "Geri" Severide

2,412 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Errand of Mercy
Location: Intelligence Department, USS Redemption
Timeline: ED4

Cassandra Blackburn was beginning to develop a headache on her way back from sickbay to her quarters. She didn't get them as often as before her enforced treatment by Starfleet medical, but when they did come, they were severe. She had avoided mentioning her headache to the duty nurse as she had fixed her hand - she fed her a lie about how she'd caused it. Sleep is what she needed. As she turned through the last corner of the corridor, she found Daniel Sutherland lurking outside.

"Oh, God." She said, lacking patience. "What do you want, Sutherland?"

"Sunny disposition as always, Major." He replied. "I'd like a word."

She walked past him and into her quarters, not replying. He followed, uninvited, but also unchallenged. She dumped herself onto the sofa.

"Settled in, huh?" He said, looking at the sparse room with the unpacked storage boxes. She unbuttoned her collar.

"What do you want?" She asked again.

"The President's promise wasn't unconditional, Major. It's not good enough that you just exist on the ship like cargo - you have to actually do your job. You've hardly been inspiring with your engagement in the mission thus far."

She sighed again. "And you're here to make sure I perform, I suppose?"

"Indeed. No mission performance, no deal. No deal, no discharge. No discharge, back to Luna and -"

She held up her hand to interrupt him. "I get your damn point." She snapped. "I'll try harder." Sutherland looked unconvinced.

"Well, we're likely to run into trouble when we reach the planet. Maybe for your first piece of good work you should meet the new intelligence head, brief her up on, say, your knowledge of Joe Fursman or the Ee."

Blackburn scoffed. "I've already given everything I know about him to Starfleet."

"Wouldn't hurt to hear it from the horses mouth, so to speak" Replied Sutherland. He frowned as Blackburn started to remove her boots. "I believe she's at her desk now, actually."

Blackburn stopped and grunted at him. "I'm really starting to not like you, Sutherland" She said, pulling the boot back on.

* * *
Blackburn's collar was still undone when she entered the intelligence department. She saw a hassled looking Chief sat at a desk. He saw her, stood up, and looked her up and down. He was remarkably short.

"Can I help you?" He asked, sneering.

"Yes, could you nip down to ship's stores? I think they could issue you with some height." She smiled at her own wit. He did not.

"What did I tell you about that door Chief? Were my orders not clear enough or do I need to find a new way to communicate with you?" Geri stated coldly from across the room locking her cold stare onto the Chief.

Once again he found himself checking the access protocols once again. Somehow, this marine had clearance. "Her clearance level matches the criteria." he reported.

"Really? Perhaps the janitor has clearance as well. Shall we bring him into our operations?" she responded.

The chief walked over to Geri and showed her his PADD. "Look ma'am, she shouldn't have that level of clearance, that's intelligence level." he whispered to her, his back facing the marine.

"This ship is just full of surprises, as you were." Geri said softly allowing the Chief to step aside. "Please Major, step into my office." she said motioning the marine towards it.

"Well, as long as we don't invite the janitor" Replied Blackburn, following. "Seriously, Chief. Stores - height." She winked as she passed him. He looked furious.

"Height seems not be the only thing he is lacking." Geri responded as she entered her office moving to her chair and taking a seat. She waited for the marine to take her seat across from Geri. Many questions entered the mind of the Intelligence chief, but questioning was an art and information gathering took patience. Geri was however able to sense the woman was frustrated about something, she hoped their conversation would shed light on this. "To what do I owe this visit to Major?"

"Oh, I'd thought I'd pop down, say hello, ask you how it's going." Blackburn smiled halfheartedly. "But whilst I'm here, I don't suppose you've run into Daniel Sutherland yet, our resident representative from the President herself?"

"A political aide is of little interest to me unless perhaps it should be?" Geri inquired.

"Oh, he's more than an aide. He's her eyes and ears on board this ship. Anyway, he's insisted that I come speak to you about the head of intelligence of the sixth fleet." Her eyes narrowed. "His name is Fursman. Joseph Fursman".

"I've heard the name." Geri replied. It was a bold face lie. She had infact spent years with the company becoming a thorn in the man's side. Countless operations were thwarted in part to her involvement. She in part held the man indirectly responsible for the Argenta incident.

Blackburn narrowed her eyes a little. Surely the head of shipboard intelligence knew more about Fursman? She hesitated - not sure what to say next. "He's a former Starfleet security officer" She said, slowly. "He served on the USS Odyssey - we have a history. Mostly bad. Sutherland thought I'd be able to tell you about him - God knows why, I've already told SF Intelligence everything I know about him."

"Sometimes the facts do not reveal the entire story into a person, it is also good practice to check back with an interviewee to ensure that all information was divulged in the first round of questioning. All beings tend to forget things especially if a great trauma is involved. The untrained mind is a fragile creature, it does not always heal as fast as it's exterior counterparts. Why do you believe this Sutherland wishes you to speak with us about Fursman?" Geri asked.

"Because he's a bloody id-" Blackburn stopped. She wasn't sure if she should be offended or not - she didn't consider herself fragile, despite the evidence to the contrary. She recomposed herself. "Because, I assume, he thinks that we'll run into him or part of his network when we get to our destination."

"Do you know if his concerns lie with the interests of the President? Or is he more concerned with you?" Geri asked taking a mental note of the marine's moment of irritation.

"He's the eyes and ears of the President on this ship. His interest in me is the same as everyone else: My connection to Fursman. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here, and once this mission is complete, I won't be here." She sighed. "Sutherland's here to make sure I play ball."

"What exactly is your mission?" Geri asked.

"My mission?" Blackburn asked, slightly taken aback. She wasn't sure how to answer. "The ship's mission is some kind of medical rescue. My mission..." She trailed off in thought. "My mission is to forget all this crap and go home, to be honest."

"I find that hard to believe major." Geri said tapping her console as she began reviewing the information on it. "Tell me about your connection to this Fursman. Start from the beginning."

"What do you mean you find it hard to believe?" Blackburn suddenly demanded, realising that she had misinterpreted a conversation for an interrogation.

"I find it hard to believe you were given command of a marine company and then expected to simply disappear like a ghost. Such an act would raise too many questions therefore I am led to believe you have been brought here for something more, whether you are aware of it or not." Geri replied matter of factly not missing a beat. Whatever was going on outside the bulkheads of this ship, the rabbit hole was getting deeper by the moment.

Blackburn flushed red with anger. "I am here because, in order to soothe his guilty conscience over his debacle at Thorlas III, our intrepid executive officer got a favour out of his friend the president, no less. She forced me here. Why she would do that, I have no idea." She stood up to leave. "But I'll tell you this: if you want to 'debrief' Fursman, you'd better get to him before I do, because there won't be much of him left to debrief when I'm done."

"Major please." Geri replied rising from her seat as she approached the marine. She had to withhold a smile as she was finding the XO seemed to be the bearer of a great amount of dirty laundry. "I have no quarrel with you, I am just a curious onlooker looking for answers and you are my best source."

Geri gingerly stepped closer to the marine moving in front of her giving her a smile. "Perhaps I could interest you in a chai tea? It helps relieve stress."

Cassandra hesitated for a moment, remembering Sutherland's warning to co-operate. She sighed, plonking herself back into the chair. "That sounds dreadful. I'll have some." She continued. "This is a sensitive matter for me, I don't intentionally set out to fall out with people, you know... well, most of the time."

Geri could easily sense the woman was only carrying on the conversation because something, or someone was forcing her to. Her connection to Fursman was undoubtedly an integral piece in whatever political game the President of the UFP was playing. This ship was harbouring far too many secrets, a dark world of it's own. It was time to sift through the filing cabinets.

Setting the tea in front of Cassandra she took her seat behind the desk once again focusing on the marine. "You won't have that problem with me, I'm not sensitive. Now with regards to Mister Fursman, given your record someone has gone through a great deal of effort to bring you here and to this post. What do you believe, even if hypothetical is special about your connection to Fursman that would require someone with a great deal of political pull, to tug on those strings? IF perhaps our friend Mister Sutherland was looking for something, what do you believe that would be?"

"I think that I'm their only connection to him. His family is dead and there are no other serious relationships that I'm aware of. He's contacted me in the past - maybe they're hoping that he will again. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm being monitored on this ship anyway." Blackburn looked around the room. "Yes, PALLAS, I'm talking to you." She said loudly to the invisible AI.

"PALLAS has no connection to this area, it's a security risk I cannot afford." Geri commented. "When you are here, what is said is only between you and I."

Geri let that sink in for a moment before continuing. "When did he last contact you?"

Blackburn smirked for a moment. PALLAS was everywhere: she was sure of it. "I last saw him on Thorlas III. Six months before that. He ranksacked my quarters."

"Your quarters? Here on the Redemption?" Geri asked perking a brow looking up at Blackburn.

"Yes. We were in Earth orbit. I was debriefed by SF intel at the time. They think he was looking for a backdoor into our network. No idea how he got on the ship, he was beamed away and never caught."

"The head of the sixth fleet's intelligence undoubtedly has limitless resources, I would not rule out the use of cloaking technology or long range transport. The details of how are of little importance. What is important is I understand exactly who this man is and why his connection to you is so vital." Geri paused for a moment. "Why you Major Blackburn? Why not, Captain Ashcart? Or anyone else on this ship. Why does the head of the sixth fleet's intelligence connect himself to you. IS this simply business, or perhaps something a little more personal?" Geri said perking a brow.

Cassandra shuffled uncomfortably in her chair. "It's personal." She finally admitted. "He and I... We had a history but it was a long time ago." She paused again. "It's like he's trying to make a point, I guess."

"It's not an uncommon motive, I've seen it countless times. Tell me, were you ever romantically involved? I ask because in order to understand whatever point he is trying to prove I have to understand the relationship you have with him and what drives him. It can also help bring forth his undoing, love is a tool easily manipulated and extorted." Geri replied.

Blackburn shuffled uncomfortably in the chair. "Yes, but it wasn't love, on either side." She lied. "He ended it when his parents were killed. They were shot down on a civilian transport early in the Dominion War.

"Wanna try again?" Geri quipped. "I've made a career studying people and finding answers. Attempting to deceive me will do no one any good." She made another note in her PADD. "Was the relationship reciprocal?"

Geri was becoming increasingly interested in this woman now showing at least genuine interest in the topic. Something about her just nipped at Geri's curiosity as if to beckon her to a light at the end of a dark tunnel.

Blackburn suppressed a prang of anger. "There was a relationship. We were involved. He terminated it. I accepted that eventually." It was the most she was willing to give.

Geri could sense the Marine's anger as apparently as she would sense a fist hitting her face. Cassandra did nothing to hide this but she was still holding back.

"I would like to assist you in locating Mister Fursman." She stated simply.

"We don't need to. I guarantee that he'll find us." Blackburn replied.

"Well then." Geri smiled. "That makes my job a whole lot easier."

"I know." Blackburn replied, getting up. "Do you mind if we catch up the rest of this later? I have a bit of a headache coming on. Not your fault, mind. I'm just tired."

"Of course not." Geri replied as she too was getting weary and needed time to further study this Fursman.

"Thank you." Blackburn nodded as she withdrew out of the office. She massaged her temples for a moment before spotting the chief observing her from a distance. Blackburn mouthed the word "height" at him as she walked out of the department and into the corridors of the ship.

-------------------------------

Major Cassandra Blackburn
Marine Detachment Commander

Lieutenant Commander Geraldine "Geri" Severide
Chief Intelligence Officer

 

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