Wanting Answers
Posted on Mon Apr 1st, 2019 @ 6:06pm by Fleet Admiral Gregory Maddock & Senior Captain Connor McKinney M.D. PhD & Captain Madeline Sanchez
Edited on on Mon Apr 1st, 2019 @ 6:06pm
Mission:
Ready For The Weekend!
Location: Magellan Station Meeting Room
Timeline: 2388/08/30 1040 (Sat. Aug. 30 2388 10:40am
Previously… https://sereneco.myrpg.space/index.php/sim/viewpost/324
After arriving to the station, Connor and Maddie were suddenly pulled into a meeting having to do with the changes at Starfleet HQ, ones that were costing the Academy some key personnel. Geminik’s sudden appointment as the Colony’s administrator was brought up and the conversation quickly became heated, with Connor getting out of his seat, needing to be talked down by Brady.
The meeting ended and the door closed, leaving Maddie and Connor alone in the conference room, having been told to stay. It felt too quiet. Feeling ashamed and embarrassed, Connor ran his hands down his face, before leaning forward to elbow the table, folding his hands in front of his mouth.
"Talk." Maddie said very softly as she moved to sit up on the table next to his chair. She wanted to hear his view of things now that they were alone and could talk freely.
Connor swallowed, and then lowered his hands to the table surface while looking at them. " It's trust...Maddie. I know I've told you before, how it's always been a difficult concept for me 'n' it's something I have to work very hard towards, when it comes to...when it comes to trusting anyone. More so when it comes to trusting myself. There doesn't need to be a reason. It just doesn't come to me naturally."
"And because they've pulled the rug out from under us you're finding it difficult." Maddie nodded in understanding, realising now that this went deeper for him than just the anger that she was feeling.
"Yeah," he nodded and then shook his head while looking over at her, "Geminik Odar is an honorable man. He doesn't deserve my mistrust..nor yours, Maddie. We were out of line."
"It's the whole situation that I'm angry at." Maddie sighed, "How many more people are they just going to take away from us? Don't they realise that we have cadets to train and now we don't have enough quality people to do it?"
Connor nodded, understanding, and immediately after running a hand down over his jaw, got out of his seat. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he said quietly heading away, and went through a door on the other side of the room that lead into a small corridor with restrooms.
"Okay." Maddie nodded, watching him leave and wishing that she could make things better.
A short time later Greg returned, another admiral, a Trill man (with Vulcan ears) was with him. "Captain Sanchez," he questioned as they entered the room, "Where's Doctor McKinney?"
"He's in the bathroom." Maddie replied as she stood up and came to attention.
"At ease, Captain," Greg nodded, slightly looking 'yeah, right' about her standing at attention out of respect as he started to turn away. She was still reminding him of one of his ex-wives as he finished turning towards the other man. "Rear Admiral Nikael Jodn, Magellan Campus' assistant dean, Captain Madeline Sanchez."
"Captain." Nikael took a step forward to extend out a hand to shake hers.
"Admiral." Maddie shook his hand and smiled warmly.
Watching them both, Greg continued, "Admiral Jodn is this fleet's search and rescue operations director."
"You're in charge of searching for Connor's brother...and the rest of the crew that are missing." Maddie stated, reminding herself that it wasn't only about Alex.
"I am. I'm here to fill you both in on the recent developments," Jodn's replied, his eyes going briefly over to Greg, and then took a seat, Greg directing Maddie for them to do the same.
In one of the restrooms Connor stood pressing his hands on the edge of a sink, frowning as he looked in the mirror at his reflection. Not only was he feeling confused, but angry too, frustrated with intrusive thoughts trying to rationalize why, and that's what he was finding really disturbing. His eyes going downwards, he shook his head, "No, not going back there."
"Remember what I told you." He heard his voice, but it wasn't him that was talking. He looked back up at the mirror and who he saw wasn't him either. It was Alex, and he flashed back to when they were teens, to when Alex had spoken through the door of the bedroom that he, Connor, had locked himself into..
"Who have you always been able to trust, Connor?"
"You, Alex!"
He'd been surprised to find an actual sink with real running water along with the usual sonic one. And so blinking back tears, he leaned over it now, turning on the water and placing his hands together, began splashing his face.
"Then trust me now."
Connor nodded, then grabbed a towel to pat dry his face, before heading out of there.
Walking back into the meeting room, Connor slowed down his walk as he saw the three of them sitting there. His heart beating in his chest, he looked at them all questioningly.
"Doctor McKinney, welcome back," Greg said to him and then directed to the seat next to Maddie's, "Please take a seat."
Looking at Connor with a frown for she could almost feel the tension reeling off him, Maddie smiled at him and patted the seat next to hers.
His eyes narrowed at Nikael Jodn, who was regarding him back, Connor did as he was told. The two men had already met earlier that week, and it didn't go very well.
Before he could say anything, Greg started, "Rear Admiral Jodn is here to give you an update on the Armstrong situation."
Connor stared between the two of them, "Have they been found?" his eyes filled with hope.
Maddie sat more upright and settled her gaze on Greg, willing him to give them good news.
Greg shook his head at Maddie, in answer to her question.
"If that was the case, Doctor, I would have told you the moment you entered the room," Nikael said, matter of factly and then frowning, began to explain, "What we have found is a gravimetric shear, a subspace sinkhole, one large enough to hold a medium size solar system. We believe the pods with the missing crew were pulled inside."
Looking away immediately, Connor ran a hand over his mouth and chin. "What's being done," he asked, struggling with his composure. "What's been ordered 'n' what's being done to find them?" His eyes returning to Nikael, he looked like a man demanding answers.
"We've sent in several multispatial probes into the shear, but there's been nothing so far. Doctor, without something from them, a distress beacon, this could take weeks."
"Then you take weeks...if that’s what it comes down to," Connor replied, and then seeing Jodn's expression, "What aren't you saying?"
"The shear is growing," Nikael answered, "It's only a matter of time before it swallows the very system the Armstrong was destroyed in unless we destroy it first."
Leaning his elbows on the table, Connor started rubbing his forehead. Thinking about what he had thought Alex had been trying to tell him, he looked lost.
"Connor," Greg said gently, dropping the formalities to get his attention, "there's still time. 'We' haven't given up."
"We haven't" the younger admiral agreed. "Starfleet Command's been informed, and I'm doing my best to give us as much time as I can. The Armstrong's own specialists are working out a way to shorten the time it may take to find them. We also have a plan, once we do, on getting them out of there."
"Tell us more. Just what is this plan?" Maddie asked with determination as she glared at them, her entire body tense out of concern for the man by her side.
"Actually, Captain, the plan belongs to a Lieutenant Commander Beto Castilian," Nikael replied to her, "He's volunteered to go into the shear to provide a means for a signal to transport them out."
"Seriously?" Maddie looked surprised before asking herself just who she was kidding. If she still had command of her own ship, she'd be volunteering to go herself. They were Starfleet and it was what they did. Overcome all the odds.
The dawning was written all over her face, so instead of responding to her, Nikael asked Connor kindly, "Anymore questions, Doctor?"
Shaking his head, not only in response to the Admiral, but to the voices of doubt in his head, Connor took in a deep breath. "No, Sir," he said quietly, looking as if he'd gone somewhere else, although his hand had reached over to grab onto Maddie's. Then he looked over to Greg, "Are we dismissed?"
Greg nodded, "Yeah. Hold it together and you can stick around."
Connor only nodded in reply and the two Admirals started getting out of their seats when an urgent voice came from Nikael's combadge.
"Operations center to Admiral Jodn."
He tapped his badge. "Jodn here."
"Admiral, we just received a broken transmission from the USS Norway. You're going to want to hear this."
"On my way." Jodn was heading towards the door.
Connor was already out of his seat and right behind him until Greg stepped in the way.
"Not yet," Greg said, stopping him. With the swish of the door opening and closing, Jodn was gone.
His jaw tightening, Connor was anxious and irritated, that much was clear.
Greg continued to stare at him closely, "Give the man a few minutes to do his job and I promise you we'll find out what's going on." He looked at him expectantly until Connor nodded, turning away to run a frustrated hand through his hair.
"Okay," Greg watched him for another moment before turning to Maddie, "Keep him here until you hear from me."
"I'll try to Sir." Maddie nodded, not sure that she could stop Connor doing anything if he put his mind to it.
"That's an order, Captain," Greg said firmly as he headed out of there.
Captain Madeline Sanchez
XO/Assistant Dean
Magellan Campus
Doctor Connor McKinney
Dean
Magellan Campus
Admiral Gregory Maddock
CO/SCE Liason
Magellan Station
NPC'd by Kim
Rear Admiral Nikael Jodn
SAR Director
Starbase Phoenix
NPC'd by Kim
