Explain Yourself

Posted on Tue Feb 19th, 2019 @ 3:33am by Mackenzie Bergman & Commander Jacob Bannerman & Lieutenant JG Joey Corwin
Edited on on Tue Feb 19th, 2019 @ 3:35am

Mission: Ready For The Weekend!
Location: Campus Security
Timeline: 2388/08/30 0900 (Sat. Aug. 30 2388 9:00am)

Sitting down at her terminal, the first thing Lieutenant Reign did was go over the reports, messages and alerts from the previous shift. Even though there were plenty to go over, it was the requirement of the Chief of Security and she was grateful for her stein of coffee that was ever present on her desk.

"Let's see...cadets sneaking out after curfew. Cadets trying to get personnel to do favors for them. One of the instructors had a little too much to drink and needed an escort back to their apartment." She yawned and took another drink of her coffee as she went down the list.

"Who is communicating what to do and why?" BJ asked when she pulled the list of correspondence up that had been sent to and from Security. It was normally the duty of the Assistant Chief, but she felt she had a little time to do some extra for Lieutenant Corwin until she got into the swing of things. Standard reports of activity, requests for a Security detail at the Science building, a communique to Operations for more parts for the campus armory. She yawned again before she saw the next item on her list.

It seemed that Lieutenant Corwin had sent a file to Mackenzie Bergman, the owner of the White Lotus Spa and Salon before leaving for duty for the day. She switched back to the requests and didn't see anything coming from Ms. Bergman in regards to Security other than a general message to all personnel that the White Lotus was open for business. Maybe Corwin had requested an appointment, but why would she do it while working?

Using her override command, BJ opened the message and saw that it was a video file attached with no message with it. "Okay...this is odd," she said as she opened the file. A minute later she blinked, her coffee forgotten as she saw what was on the screen and who was on it. "This matter is still under investigation and Corwin sent it to a civilian? No. We can't have this."

Lieutenant Reign double-tapped her combadge, opening a channel that would go campus wide. "Lieutenant Corwin, report to the Campus Chief of Security office. Thank you."

Joey tapped her comm a single time after receiving the request from the Security Chief. "On my way, Lieutenant." She said, tapping it once more to end the transmission. She was out running patrol for what felt like the thousandth time already, but that just wasn't the case, though she was extremely grateful to have a chance to move back indoors. Of course, she wasn't going to leave her station without someone taking over for her, so for a second time, she tapped her comm as she began to walk in the other direction. "Martinez? Cooper? I need you two to finish running my patrol. Start at Phlox and take it from there. You know the drill."

It didn't take long before she was walking into Security and standing outside of BJ's office. She had zero idea what she was needed for, but being the Assistant Chief, she was required to come running whenever the Chief wanted her to. Extending a hand, the brunette tapped the sensor on the panel next to the door to let BJ know that she had a visitor.

"Enter," BJ said, still looking at the file on her screen. It was part of the same file that had been marked as Under Investigation that had been brought to the attention of Captain Sanchez the day before. Reaching for her coffee, she found the taste bitter instead of invigorating and set it back down again, wondering if it were her mood or a fault of the replicator.

Lieutenant Corwin walked into the office and stood on the other side of her desk with her hands behind her back. "You wanted to see me, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, Lieutenant," BJ said as she came to her feet and swiveled her terminal around so Joey could see the file on the screen. "Please explain to me why you are sending material marked under investigation to a civilian."

Leaning in, the taller woman looked at what she was seeing on the screen, a brow arching as she did so. "I'd be more than happy to explain if I knew what you were talking about. I wasn't even aware there was material marked as being under investigation."

BJ pulled up the full file that was under investigation and showed it to Joey. "I figured that you would have noticed since you have access, Lieutenant," she said. "Cadet Liza Anosov threw herself at Commander Bannerman and he made no move to reject her prior to PO Three Carpenter intervening. Cadet Anosov is currently awaiting punishment from Captain Sanchez pending the investigation. A clip from this video was sent to Ms. Bergman at the White Lotus Spa and Salon from your terminal, using your access codes last night. Did you give your authorization codes to someone, Lieutenant?"

"Why would I give anyone my access codes?" Joey asked. It was clear she was growing agitated as each second went by. "I wasn't even near my terminal when that file was sent. Check the timestamp, along with the logs of where I was. Hell, you can even check the security footage. If I'm going to be accused of this, let's just get it out of the way and do it, shall we? No sense in beating around the bush."

BJ nodded. "You are correct, Lieutenant Corwin, but it was a question that I am required to ask. However, you bring up valid points." She accessed the logs of the day before and requested the activities of her Assistant Chief. Seeing that Joey was out on patrol at that time and that she had reported in at a checkpoint less than a minute after the file was sent, the Chief raised an eyebrow. "Okay...you are clear...but what we now have is a secondary investigation to launch. I apologize."

"I appreciate your apology, and I accept it." Corwin said. "Ms. Bergman and I had an altercation, and I might be an evil bitch when it comes to certain matters, but even something like this is beneath me. I would never send something marked as being under investigation to anyone, much less a civilian. If I find out who did this, and decided it was a good idea to set me up to take the fall, I'm going to become the Queen of Hearts. Heads are going to roll."

"No, they are not, Lieutenant Corwin," BJ said. "We are going to do this by the book. I won't have my Assistant Chief going vigilante on someone. First, was there anyone else involved in the altercation between you and Ms. Bergman, and second, was there any witnesses present?"

"Commander Bannerman was present." Joey replied. "It happened in Dev's Place, but not around a lot of people. I suppose anyone could have seen it."

"Then Commander Bannerman would be the most likely person to call in," BJ stated. "Since you were involved, I'd like you to stay as well and fill out a report on the incident," she said, grabbing a PADD and handed it to Joey before she tapped her combadge. =^=Commander Bannerman. Please report to the Campus Chief of Security immediately.=^= She really hoped that the man didn't want to play twenty questions again before being ordered to cooperate.

"Why would Commander Bannerman be the most likely person to call in? You don't think he's the one trying to set me up, do you?" If that was the case, she'd break his pretty boy nose and face her time in the Brig like any good woman would.

"No, but I do need to know if he has made any enemies of other females on the campus," BJ said.

=^=If this is to go over the whole cadet thing again I'm not interested.=^= Jake growled as he helped Leo hold the new part of his fighter's wing in position so that it could be fixed.

"Wow...she's really on your tail about this one huh boss?" Leo grinned at Jake which only earned him a scowl for his trouble.

BJ sighed when she heard Bannerman's response and tapped her combadge again. =^=Commander Bannerman, there is a matter involving Security that requires your immediate attention. Report to Security now.=^=

"Sorry Leo...looks like you're gonna have to hold it and fix it at the same time." Jake sighed before replying to BJ =^= On my way and it better be good. Bannerman out.=^=

"Hurry back...hopefully you'll still have your tackle intact." Leo grinned at Jake then ducked to avoid the swat that he knew would come.

Moments later, Jake was outside the security office and tapped the chime for entry.

"Enter," BJ said, looking at Joey. "Remember, don't let your temper get away from you."

Joey moved over to the side to give Jake room to stand, repeating to herself that excessive force was not allowed. If it turned out he was the one setting her up, though, all bets were off.

Stepping inside, Jake looked at BJ, totally ignoring Joey as he said "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Commander," BJ said, turning to face him. "I think you should be aware that there is a possibility that you have an enemy on the campus. A clip of the incident with Cadet Anosov was sent to Ms. Bergman from Lieutenant Corwin, but records verify my Assistant Chief was in another location at that time. Do you know of anyone who would attempt to sabotage you in any way?"

Jake stiffened and said "I know that someone sent it to her." he ran a hand through his hair and began to pace, "Truth be told I thought it was you." he glared at Joey, "In fact, I was gonna conduct my own investigation later today." he added pointedly, not caring that this was their show. "But no, I don't know who else would be out to get her or me."

"Why would I send it to her? I don't care enough about you, or her, to sabotage whatever little game you're playing with her."
Joey snapped.

"Hold your temper, Lieutenant Corwin," BJ said. "You knew that someone had sent this to Ms. Bergman and you didn't report it, Commander? This is the second time that you have not reported an incident. Do you truly wish to have this become a pattern that has the potential to go into your permanent record?"

"You think I care?" Jake asked, shooting a look at Joey and adding with a growl "And it's not a game."

"Commander Bannerman, answer the question," BJ snapped, her temper starting to fray around the edges.

Joey was doing her level best to keep her temper, and mouth, in check, but it was a battle she was losing. And once he said what he did, all control just snapped. "It isn't a game? Wow, you've known her what, two minutes, and now you're suddenly madly in love with her? Imagine that. You were just letting a cadet paw away at you without making any attempt to stop her from doing so. Hell, if whatshisface hadn't even walked in, you would have had that little tramp bent over those crates faster than anyone else could blink. Because you're a whore. And a whore can't change overnight." Now that she'd gotten that off of her chest, she crossed her arms and turned her attention back to anyone but him.

A muscle worked in Jake's jaw as he held back the hundreds of things that he wanted to say right now and he paused to reign in the temper that was about to erupt. Pausing for a few moments he turned his attention back to BJ, ignoring Corwin?s outburst completely as he said "No...I didn't report it. Like I said, I was going to look into it myself."

"Enough, Lieutenant!" BJ snapped at Joey before turning her attention back to Bannerman. "The last time I checked, Commander, I'm the one in charge of Security and that includes investigations. You are the Flight Instructor on this campus, not the Intelligence department and you aren't in my department as being an Investigations officer. So what gives you the right to take matters into your own hands?"

"More experience than both of you two put together." Jake replied coldly and meaning every word, "That's what gives me the right. That and the fact that I protect the people I lo...care about."

"Oh, you're not kidding. I think you've got more experience than everyone on this campus put together." Joey muttered, but it was clear enough that he could hear it. "The fact of the matter here, no matter my personal feelings toward Commander Easy over here, is someone is now trying to sabotage me. I'm not going to sit back and let that happen."

"I said that's enough, Lieutenant," BJ said, turning her attention on her Assistant Chief before looking back at Bannerman. "An incident happens to you or someone you lo...care about," she rolled her eyes. "then you bring the matter to Security and we will be the ones handling it. You are an instructor, nothing more and nothing less, regardless of your rank. You will not look into these matters yourself. You will report incidents to Security as they happen, and you will follow the rules and regulations concerning such things, or I will report you. Do I make myself clear, Commander?"

Joey took that moment to make herself scarce until she was called back in.

"Perfectly." Jake growled, fixing BJ with a glare that would wither a lesser person. Was she kidding him? Just an instructor? Last time he looked he outranked her. Didn't that deserve a little respect? "Can I go now Ma'am?" he asked, sarcastically opting to play along with the fact that somehow he was her subordinate.

BJ ignored his glare; she had beaten Jem Hadar with a phaser rifle that the power cell had ran dry on. Picking up a PADD, she handed it to him. "I need a full report on the events as you saw them happen in regards to Ms. Bergman. I will be calling her in next to take her statement, Commander." Throughout, she had referred to his rank and acknowledged that, but in the current matter, she was the Chief of Security and it was a Security matter.

"Another report?" Jake looked at her incredulously, "Can't you just record this stuff and put it on record?" he asked, "Or do you have some kind of fetish for paperwork?" he raised an eyebrow in enquiry.

"Actually, it's PADDwork," BJ said. "And I have to say, I absolutely love it," she said sarcastically. "Are you going to play twenty questions like the last time you had to fill out a report, Commander, or can we make it much easier this time?"

Jake looked at the PADD for a moment, ignoring BJ's question before saying "I want to be here when you question Mackenzie."

"That's fine, Commander," BJ said and double tapped her combadge. =^= Mackenzie Bergman to Campus Security, please.=^=

Mack looked up from what she was doing when the call came through. It wasn't everyday when she felt like she was being called into the principal's office because she did something wrong. "I, er, okay." Letting Lou know she had to leave for a bit, the redheaded woman made the trek to the Academy Campus Security and stopped short when she spotted Joey waiting outside, her eyes falling to the phaser at her hip. Was she going to shoot her in the face with it like she'd thought.

Joey looked to the smaller woman. "I'm sure you were summoned here, and as much as I dislike you, I'm not going to go out of my way to torment you."

Canting her head, the petite woman moved to the office door and slipped inside, not feeling any better at what Joey had to say. When she saw Jake, she blinked. "Er, what's going on?"

"They found out about the security feed that you were sent." Jake replied as he turned to face her, looking up from the PADD that he had been working on.

"That is correct, Ms. Bergman," BJ said, getting a PADD for her. "Commander Bannerman, yourself, and my Assistant Chief seem to be the targets of an unknown person or persons. I realize that you are a civilian, but it would be greatly appreciated if you would take the time to report such incidents so they don't occur again."

"I had every intention of filing a report, Lieutenant, but I'm sure you can understand that I'm rather busy." Mackenzie stated. "I wasn't aware that such things had time restraints on them."

"When something of this serious nature occurs, the sooner it's reported, the sooner we can get it resolved," BJ told her, handing her the PADD. "If you'll just put in the details of receiving the file and sign off on it, you can be on your way."

Taking the PADD from BJ, Mack kept her attention on her. "So basically, you want me to put in that I received a file from a security officer, give the time and date and sign off on it?"

"Specifically that you received it from Lieutenant Corwin," BJ said. "Logs indicate that Lieutenant Corwin was on patrol and had just logged into a checkpoint less than a minute after the file was sent to you. I am going to have the matter investigated thoroughly."

"Imagine that." The redhead said as she started to write the report. There was no love between her and Joey, and there would likely never be.

"Thank you, Ms. Bergman," BJ said as she waited for the reports to get finished. She was extremely grateful that Commander Bannerman didn't see fit to conduct his own investigation of Ms. Bergman while she was there. She sat at her terminal and pulled up a new incident report, adding in that the Commander had stated he planned on doing the investigation himself and that it was the second time he did not follow proper protocol.

"You're welcome." She said, finishing up with the report and signing off on it. It was kept short, sweet and to the point without anything unnecessary taking up space. Leaning forward, she placed it onto BJ's desk. "Everything you wanted is in there. Is there anything else you need from me?"

Accepting the PADD back, BJ shook her head. "No, that is all," she said.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to wait for Commander Bannerman so we can leave together."

"Oh I'm just about done here." Jake replied as he handed the PADD back and said "I trust we'll at least be kept informed considering we're the victims here?" he stood as if spoiling for another fight.

BJ accepted the PADD back from the Commander and inclined her head. "You will be notified the moment we find out more, Commander, Ms. Bergman. You may go."

"Oh...uh?? Jake turned back to BJ just as he had turned to leave, "I'd suggest you keep an eye on Corwin if I was you...she assaulted Miss Bergman in the bar. Just thought I'd let you know given that you've told me to report everything I know." he added nonchalantly deciding that he might as well get Corwin in trouble whilst he was at it.

"As the incident wasn't reported," BJ said nonchalantly, "What can be done about it, Commander? Or do you wish to press charges, Ms. Bergman?"

"She threw a drink in my face, but I'm not filing a formal report, either. What Commander Bannerman just said is off the record, and no, I don't want to press charges." Mack replied with the shake of her head. "I have no desire to cause anyone any trouble."

"Fair enough," BJ said, making a mental note to bring that fact up to Joey. "Then you are free to go."

"Later Boss." Jake said with a mock salute before taking Mack's hand and heading out the door, totally unwilling to show the Security Chief any respect. She'd have to earn it and right now she hadn't at all.

Slipping her hand into his, the redhead walked out of the office with the Commander, staying on his other side to avoid Joey altogether.

Joey watched the two of them walk away. "Mark my words, sweetheart. He's going to end up breaking your heart. He's a leopard, and we all know they can't change their spots."

Mack rolled her eyes and kept walking.

"Lieutenant?" BJ said. "You can come in now."

Joey pushed herself away from the wall and walked back into BJ's office, allowing the door to close behind her. All in all, she thought she did well in the way of keeping her cool, all things considered. "So, what should the first order of business be, Lieutenant?"

"The first order of business is controlling that temper of yours," BJ said as she got a fresh stein of coffee. "The second order is finding out who is responsible for trying to set you, Commander Bannerman, and Ms. Bergman up."

"I've already made plans to speak with the counselor regarding some issues, and that was one of them." Corwin stated. "I'd prefer not to get into those at the present moment if that's at all possible. They're personal, and this is a professional setting."

"Of course," BJ said as she sat down and took a sip of her coffee. "The first order of business of the investigation is running a full check of anyone who has had access to this system since the campus became operational. I know that's a big order, but we have full teams for to take care of that. The second is to do a full sweep of the campus for any surveillance equipment, which is much easier with our sensors, assuming they're not compromised as well. The third order of business is to find anyone who has a grudge against Commander Bannerman. After that, we'll sort out the results and take it from there."

"Anyone who has a grudge? Seriously? How about the countless women he's decided to nail since he's been here?" Corwin asked. "As you and I both know, I don't fall under the list of suspects considering I wasn't anywhere near the Security offices when the video was sent. I suggest you have Bannerman compile a list of women he's screwed and we can take it from there. We can automatically knock off those who have an IQ of a battery, though."

Starting to take a drink of coffee, BJ nearly spit out as she started laughing, sputtering in the process. "I have a feeling that brains isn't high on the list of attributes that he looks for, Joey. You do have a point in the fact that they could be eliminated...unless they talked someone else into doing it for them."

"BJ, we're talking about the IQ of a dinner plate here. They wouldn't be smart enough to convince themselves to put panties on their ass and not their heads."

"You assume they wear panties," BJ pointed out. "Still, all they'd have to do is cry in someone's ear and flash a little action with a promise and boom! Got a sucker."

Joey sighed. She wasn't sure if BJ realized it or not, but she'd just made their investigation that much harder. "You have to be such a killjoy, don't you? You do realize what you just said makes everyone on this campus a suspect?"

"There has to be some women who didn't sleep with him," BJ said before she realized that Joey wasn't in that category. "We're going to give ourselves headaches thinking about this. Let's setup the sensor scans and begin to see who all involved here has the clearance to access feeds or override command codes."

"Yeah, you and probably one or two other smart women on campus. And maybe a few cadets." Corwin stated. "That seems like the best place to start in this instance."

"We can rule out Cadet Anosov. She tried and you were most likely correct about the Commander bending her over the nearest surface if Petty Officer Carpenter hadn't walked in," BJ said. "You get started on accessing the personnel records for anyone with high Security clearance and I'll go and get things set up for the sensor sweep." She thought for a moment. "Get the Intelligence Instructor, too. He'll have an idea of what technology might be used or how to access certain things."

"I'll go speak with the Intel Instructor now, then I'll start the sweep of personnel records." Joey said. "How much information should I disclose to him?"

"Only what you feel he needs to know," BJ said. "He'll probably have a lot of questions, so tell him that we want him because he'll be likely to have more answers than we do, which is why we need him."

"Got you. I'm going to speak with him now." She said, waiting for the official dismissal. Heads were still going to roll once she found out who had done this to her.

"Dismissed, Lieutenant," BJ said as she sipped her coffee. "Let's get this investigation going."

"You have no idea how bad I wish we were concluding it already." Joey said, turning to walk out of the Chief's office. Next stop, the Intel Instructor.