Introductions

Posted on Tue Jul 30th, 2024 @ 11:50pm by Lieutenant Jonathan Corwin & Pepper
Edited on on Thu Aug 1st, 2024 @ 12:04am

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Episode 2 - The Sins of History
Location: Defense Counsel's Office - Deck 6 - USS Artemis
Timeline: MD008 1400 hrs

Pepper had yet to meet the man she would be working with. It was mostly due to his busy schedule, but she had also spent much of her time so far getting familiar with the Artemis. However, it was time they actually met.

She checked his schedule to see when she could find him in his office and rang the chime.

" Enter!! " Came the response. Jonathan sat at his desk with a single light hanging from the ceiling shining on the desk, it was currently the only light source in the room. He heard the door open and didn't even look up to see who had entered. " Ensign, if those are the PaDDs on Bajoran law then place them on the desk by the others if you would please. " As he motioned to a pile of about a dozen PaDDs that he hadn't gotten to as of yet.

"I'm not the ensign, and I have no PADDs," Pepper replied. "I apologize for disappointing you." Although she really wasn't sorry. She had no desire to be an ensign. Nor to ferry PADDs around the ship. She wasn't particularly keen on desk jobs in general and this one looks particularly onerous.

Jonathan looked up with a surprised expression on his face and stood up. " My apologies... I thought you were someone else. " He glanced towards the ceiling. " Computer lights at seventy percent and turn off desk light. " He turned his attention to the unfamiliar face before him. " Once again my apologies, I am Lieutenant Jonathan Corwin, JAG Defense Council. " He glanced at her hand briefly. " How may I assist you today, Miss...? "

"Pepper. Just Pepper." She smiled. "And I could ask you the same question. I'm a private investigator. Specifically, your private investigator. I've been assigned to work with you."

Jonathan lowered his head and placed his hand over his eyes and chuckled for a moment and then looked back up. " Yes the Captain did inform me that I was going to getting an investigator to be working with me, but with all the studying that I'm having to do it slipped my mind. " He paused briefly. " I am studying Bajoran law due to our upcoming case. I haven't had to study this much law since I was in law school, That and the case will be held on Bajor. Please make yourself comfortable, Can I get you anything to eat or drink while we talk? " Glancing at the wall clock that he kept. " It seems that I've worked through lunch again, I think a break is called for at this time, Care to join me for a bite to eat? " He asked .

Pepper couldn't help smiling. She understood how hard it could be to learn new laws. Not as a lawyer, but as someone who wanted to know how to get around them. "Yes, that would be fine. I was going to eat after meeting with you, so the timing is good."

Jonathan walked over to the replicator. " Steak Medium rare 400 grams, baked potato with sour cream and butter on the side and sauteed mushrooms 100 grams. " What would you like for your lunch, Pepper? " He asked. I'm planning on having a beer to drink with my meal in a frosted mug, is that good for you or would you like something else? "

She thought for a moment. "Chef salad, lemon water and blackberry cheesecake." She smiled. "Thanks."

Jonathan placed Pepper's order first and brought it over to the table and then went back and got his meal afterward. He went over to a container and pulled out a beer and poured it into a frosted mug and put his food on the table across from Pepper. " So, let's get to know each other a bit better while we eat, I'll start first I guess. I went into Starfleet academy at age seventeen, got out at age twenty one and have been in active service to the JAG Corp for the past fourteen years. Most of those years were aboard Starbases or planet side advising Ambassadors on some frontier world and advising them on legal matters for federation aid to some worlds or working out trade agreements with other cultures. After the assignment was completed I was rushed off to another starbase as defense council once again. I'm always at my best when I'm representing a client to prove their innocence. Your turn for now, just the basics. We'll be working together for a while and we'll learn more about each other as we go. " He said with a friendly smile.

"I was orphaned as a child. After several bad experiences with foster care, I ended up joining a group of kids that lived on the streets. I learned to be a pickpocket and thief. When I aged out, I continued to steal for a living. And then a starship came to our world and I learned about the Federation and that there was more for me that just my homeworld. So, I hitched a ride to a starbase and learned to do security and became a private investigator. And now I'm here." She took a forkful of salad and chewed while she waited for him to say something.

" Sounds like you had a rough life growing up. " Said Jonathan. " But for all your experiences it forged and tempered you into what you are today, a strong and capable investigator who knows how to get the job done and take care of yourself when things get tough. I'm a fairly decent judge of character, and if I were to hazard a guess, I would say that you don't have a lot of friends, but the ones you do have you'd trust them with your life. We'll be working together for a while and I hope that one day I might be considered a friend to you. I to know what it's like to be backstabbed and betrayed, so at least we have some common ground to start with. I'll be counting on your skills and abilities and your investigational prowess to help me prove if a client is innocent or not. "

She had a rough life, but it would have been worse if she'd stayed in foster care, so she also considered herself fortunate--especially because she ended up here. "I'll do my best," Pepper assured him. "And no, I don't have a lot of friends." She smiled. She liked him, and thought they might work well together. "But I've never worked on a starship before, either, so we'll see how things go."

Jonathan chuckled briefly. " I'll let you in on a secret then. This is only my second Starship assignment. The rest of my career has been going in and out of Star Base court rooms or working at an embassy. This is my first time in a mobile court room and chasing down the criminals to bring to trail, so this is all very new and unusual to me as well. As far as I know we are the only ship in Starfleet that has this assignment. We'll see what the future holds and do our best, that's all anyone can expect of us. "

Pepper nodded. "True. But that can be said of any job." She took a moment to finish her salad. "So, what do you expect from a PI? Or from me in particular?"

" What do I expect from you? " Repeated Jonathan. " I know that you’re a savvy investigator and have a good reputation for getting the job done, If you weren't then Starfleet wouldn't have hired you in the first place and sent you here. I have hopes that we can work smoothly together as a team and help keep innocent people out jail or to lock away the monsters that prey upon the weak of society, beyond that for right now is uncharted waters as they say. "

Pepper nodded. "I can work with that." She could work with him, too. In fact, she looked forward to it. "Is there anything you need me to look into now?"

" Sadly, yes there is. " Replied Jonathan. He slid a PaDD across the table in front of her. " This is a file on Warlord Vamcet, He was a Cardassian Gul during the occupation of Bajor. He is believed to still be in hiding upon Bajor at this time. We had some Intelligence that there may be a close friend or relative may be helping them to hide from the authorities. He may have several bastard children that can protect him out of a sense of loyalty of him being their father. For those Bajorans that he favored during the occupation were treated quite well, to others he was a butcher. But before the trail can even begin, we need to locate him and bring him in and put him through both medical and psychological testing to assure that he is competent both physically and mentally able to stand trial to assure that he receives a fair trial under the law. "

She took the PADD and slipped it into a pocket. "I'll look this over and see if I can track down any potential allies. If nothing else, I should be able to rule out some of them." He was clearly good at keeping a low profile, but everyone made a mistake at one time or another.

" This is a matter that our Bajoran allies would like to see resolved and asked us to step in and help and keep this trial fair and impartial. The Cardassians would like us to turn over Vamcet to them so they could hold a trial and execute him under they're laws of course. But the federation has refused that request and plan on having the trial here. Of course, we already know what the verdict is if the Cardassians try him, it will be guilty of course. And if they execute him it will be to minimize they're embarrassment that he was caught, Still the Bajoran people deserve closure one way or another. "

"I agree. At least the Federation is known for following the rule of law." It was going to be difficult no matter what with emotions involved. "I'll do what I can."

"That is all anyone can expect is for people to do what they can. Keep me informed as to your progress." Jonathan replied giving a nod. "Thank you for coming in, I've been a bit preoccupied with all that is going on, and preparing for the upcoming case. I do look forward to working with you. " a smile surfacing.

"As do I." Pepper smiled back. "I think I'm going to like working here." She put her dishes in the replicator and selected recycle, then gave him a nod. "I'll let you know what I find." With that, she headed back to her office to do some research.

A Joint Post By

Lieutenant Jonathan Corwin
Defense Council, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit

Pepper
Private Investigator, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit

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