Every Sherlock Needs A Watson
Posted on Wed Sep 21st, 2022 @ 6:52am by Rear Admiral Declan Ford & Captain Marc Kidd & Commander Abernathy Rice PhD
Edited on on Wed Sep 21st, 2022 @ 7:15am
2,163 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission:
The Hunt Begins
Location: Conference Room - Command Tier Deck 6 - Poseidon Station
Timeline: MD001 1400 hrs
Declan Ford sat at the table and looked out over the ships in dock. In the upper right corner of the window he could see the newly commissioned Luna Class USS Artemis. She was the ship that he had been granted to achieve his dream, a Criminal Investigation Service within Starfleet. The only regret in his head at the moment was that he could not command her, an Admiral's job was too fraught with meetings to run a ship. So he hand picked the command team. He let out an audible sigh as he turned away and looked at his computer screen. There he saw a side by side layout of two service records. "Captain Marc Kidd, and Commander Abernathy Rice." The latter being the brother of Commodore Rice the sector Chief. He read the records aloud as if saying their names would make the moment more realistic. Ford had summonsed them both to this conference room. "Reading about your accomplishments is one thing, however, if I am to trust you both with this mission I need to get to know the real you." He spoke to the empty room.
The ride from Earth was long and arduous for Marc. He was filled with excitement for his first command and wanted nothing more than to talk about it. However, the pilot that shuttled him over to Poseidon was not interested in small talk. As such the two week journey seemed to last forever as they went forth in silence. Marc made the most of it by enjoying all there was to see as he journeyed through the wormhole. Marc also read up on the specs of his new ship as well as what was public about Admiral Ford. That was the worst for Marc the fact that he knew the Admiral's secret and had to keep his mouth shut if he wanted this command. Public accounts said that Ford was a scary person, well according to reports anyway, and it seemed that the reports were right. From the moment he arrived at Poseidon Marc was inundated with meetings.
Marc stepped through the airlock from the Artemis and back onto the station, he wanted nothing more than a shower and a bed. It had been nothing but shuttles back and forth from the Artemis since yesterday. However, a Yeoman came to him and informed him that Admiral Ford wanted to see him right away. Marc sighed, asked the Yeoman to bring his bags to his quarters and went to see the Admiral. The voice from within the conference room said come on in. "You wanted to see me sir." Marc said as he looked around the room. "Yes Captain please have a seat, can I get you some whiskey. We might as well enjoy ourselves as we wait for the Commander." Ford replied as he turned his chair from the viewport toward his desk.
Marc was not fond of drinking with a man that he knew was a criminal but as he kept telling himself he had to keep up appearances. "I would love some Admiral thanks." Ford poured out three generous measures of whiskey on ice and smiled. The Admiral's smile was not a welcoming or mirth filled one. It was the kind of smile that would send chills up your spine.
These were the things that made Abe second guess his decision. The lab didn't require you to meet with brass in a conference room. Yet, this is what he chose, so he had to make this work. Gathering his thoughts and putting on his best game face, Abe entered the room. "Admiral, Captain," he nodded to both, "my apologies if I am late. I ran into someone on the station, we got sidetracked."
"No problem Commander... Please have a seat. Is there anything I can get you? A whiskey perhaps?" Ford greeted the newcomer with a smile and a small amount of his trademark charm. The charm that had gotten him far in Starfleet. Declan knew that Abernathy's brother was in command of the sector, and knew that was who he ran into on the station. "Commander, is your brother the Commodore doing well?"
"Tommy," he paused, "Tom is doing quite well and sends his regards Admiral. And no thanks, just a coffee please," he turned down the whiskey. He didn't mind a drink, but something about drinking while in uniform didn't settle right.
Marc had no idea who the newcomer was. He had not had a chance to review the crew files fully, and things seemed to be getting away from him. However, he assumed that this must be his new XO. Having the brother of a Commodore as XO could come in both handy and as a hindrance. He would wait to see how it plaid out. "Afternoon, Commander."
Declan raised his hands in supplication. "Gentlemen, please have a drink and a seat. Relax... I had merely wanted the two of you to get acquainted so we can get this little endeavor of ours on the road. It is imperative that the niceties get out of the way as quickly as possible. We need to board the crew and get out there..." Declan's voice seemed a tad strained with both excitement and worry to get his crew out there and on the trail of criminals.
With a small amount of trepidation, Marc took the glass and set in front of himself. He was a little taken aback that the Admiral had selected an XO for him. Marc had always been under the impression that he would be able to select his own XO. He smiled in the direction of the Commander. "Pleased to meet you, Commander. What brings you to the SCIS?"
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Captain," Abe replied, "I am sorry that we didn't have a chance to properly meet before this." The man sat down in a nearby chair as he looked around the conference room. "I have to admit when I took this assignment I never expected to end up here," he paused, "on his station, it's a bit... odd."
Declan already knew that Abernathy was the brother of Commodore Rice the commanding officer for the sector. Commodore Rice and Declan were on even footing as far as the chain of command went. Marc however, had little to no idea what Abernathy referred to. "His station? Not sure what you mean by that." Marc said as he took a belt of the whiskey. That was one thing that he and Declan had in common. They were both of the older school of officer, the space cowboys, some of the cadets said of it at the Academy.
"I took the Artemis for obvious reasons," Abe replied, "but somehow in the recruitment brochure, it failed to mention that I would be stationed out of Starbase 50. I was a bit surprised that was all." Abe looked at the two men, "I realize my command level experience isn't what you typically find in a lot of Officers wanting a position like this, so I am honored that I was selected." He smirked, "even if I am on my brother's home turf."
Now it all seemed clear to Marc, and there was part of him that was angry, albeit a small part. He did not want an XO that got the position on nepotism. Leave it to Declan to choose someone solely based on their relationship to the Sector Commander. It is sickening... Marc thought. "Well what about the recruitment did you like?" He said aloud when he had finished processing what had been said previously.
Declan raised a hand. "Gentlemen, allow me to assure you both that Commander Rice was not chosen because of his brother. He was actually chosen because having an Executive Officer who is also considered to be one of the foremost Forensic Anthropologists just makes the most sense."
"I assure you, if you thought nepotism played any part in this," he looked at the Captain, "then you don't know the Rice family that well. We are not exactly, what many would call close," he added. "And thank you, Admiral, I am not sure I would agree with the foremost, but I appreciate the compliment. In the end, the Artemis seemed like a logical advancement bridging command with my experience. I would have been a fool not to try for the role."
Marc breathed a sigh of relief that he would not have two Admirals breathing down his neck. However, the idea that Rice could be Declan's man still nagged at him. It would be something that would have to be figured out later. "I am sorry Commander but I had to ask. I am sure we will make good use of your anthropological background. I would expect you to lead the away teams and any excavations that may be needed for remains. Think of the Artemis as a mobile crime lab. As such we will of course have two teams. One that will work in the field and one on the ship." Marc explained how he planned on running the ship.
Declan sat back and listened as his two hand picked officers got to know one another. For the moment it seemed that there was a little trepidation and nerves but the Admiral knew that would get cleared up in due time. Now was the perfect time for people to get to know each other and their command styles.
"And that is why I took the job," he nodded to the CO, "it's the best of both worlds."
Marc was glad to see that he was on the same page as his XO. He judged by this short exchange that although Declan picked Rice to serve on the Artemis, Rice was genuinely interested in the work. This bode well for Marc and his plans for the future. "Outside of the brass most of what we do is going to be kept under the rug. I hope that you are okay with that." Marc thought that Abe was an up front kind of guy, so he wanted to make sure that he was on the level.
"I don't like things done behind closed doors," he smirked, "be careful; what is done in the dark comes to light sooner or later." He paused, "it's an old quote that I heard a long time ago. However, I do understand that at time certain discretion is needed in order to maintain the peace."
"Well I am glad to see the two of you getting off to a great start and ready to take on the task ahead. The Artemis launches in two weeks time, so I will leave you to your preparations. If you have no other questions you are dismissed. I will see you at the launching, if not sooner." Declan said with a smile. He so did love it when a plan came together.
"Thank you again, Admiral," Abe nodded, "Captain," he waited for the man to give any parting advice.
"Starfleet has always been about exploration, until now it has always been the physical exploration. Planets, stars, nebulae etc... Now we begin the greatest exploration of all, that of the criminal mind. May we all be spared the insanity that lurks within it." Marc spoke as if lost in a deep thought. The look of determination left his face quickly and was replaced with a smile. "Keep that in mind and I think we will all be well."
"Yes Captain," Abe said with a nod. He remembered one is his professors saying that biology gives you a brain and life turns it into a mind. This latest adventure would prove that to be true. He couldn't help but wonder what people they would run into and how their life formed their own minds
"Well I am glad to see the two of you getting off to a great start and ready to take on the task ahead. The Artemis launches in about a week, so I will leave you to your preparations. If you have no other questions you are dismissed." Declan said with a smile. He so did love it when a plan came together.
Marc turned toward the door with a slight smile. "Commander care for a tour of the ship. Perhaps a slight inspection to see where we are at. If we can get the ship ready we can get out there sooner." He motioned toward the door as he spoke.
"After you, Sir," Abe gestured to the door.
A Joint Post By
Captain Marc Kidd
Commanding Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Rear Admiral Declan Ford
Director
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Commander Abernathy Rice PhD
Executive Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
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