round 6 JP Cpts Jalana Rajel & Sal Taybrim - Captain to Captain

[+ Hutch]

((Subspace Airwaves - between StarBase 118 Ops and the USS Constitution-B))

::In his office, Captain Sal Taybrim gently flicked through the reports that had finally concluded in the wake of a full investigation into the actions of the so-called Jenatris Confederation (a clever cover name for the nefarious Orion Syndicate). He felt rather privileged - his place as the commanding officer of StarBase 118 Operations gave him a wide overview of the overall picture. The intel tower had generously given him a broad understanding of the puzzle pieces that had fallen into place, allowing them to focus in on some corrupted Starfleet officers and some Orion Syndicate fronts. And now it was his turn to give a call to a friend and offer her an expanded understanding.::

Taybrim: Computer, please connect me to Captain Jalana Rajel, USS Constitution-B. Secured channel.

Computer: Complying…

::There was a flicker of the viewscreen as the interior of the USS Constitution-B came into view and focused in on the Trill he was seeking.::

Taybrim: Captain Rajel? ::He offered a gentle, relaxed smile.:: Captain Taybrim from StarBase 118 Ops.

:: Jalana had worked on some reports and requests after a few crewmembers had left the Constitution and was surprised to see that she received a call from Starbase 118. She had been there not that long ago and one of her crewmembers had been transferred to the station as well. There hadn’t been a problem already, right? The smile on the ginger’s face on the other side relaxed her though. Possibly not. :: 

Rajel: ::smiling:: Sal, such a nice pleasure to see you. 

Taybrim: It is good to see you, too! I hope things have been well with you? ::His dark eyes were smiling.::

Rajel: They have been… ::It was that pregnant pause of a CO who had not found the right word to describe the chaos and insanity that was Starfleet life yet. :: … busy. How has it been for you?

::Sal leaned back. Busy was...completely accurate. It seemed there was always more work on the plate of a Starfleet officer, a commanding officer even moreso.::

Taybrim: Not bad. But things are moving - lots of change, for good and bad. It is sometimes exhausting to keep up with it all.

Rajel: I believe I know what you mean. ::She paused briefly.:: Please tell me Rustyy hasn’t blown up the station yet. If he has arrived yet that is. 

:: She wasn’t sure if he had the luck to get there with a QSD equipped ship or not. :: 

Taybrim: ::That brought a smile to Sal’s face. Rustyy had, in fact, arrived and everyone on Ops was getting used to the unusual new chief engineer.:: He arrived safely and no, nothing has blown up. He’s currently shoring up a bunch of civilian racers for a very important intel operation. We are quite happy to have his help!

Rajel: That is good to hear. I have no doubt he’ll be in good hands with you and your crew. ::She tried not to show how much she would miss that man and kept the smile on her lips. :: It is a surprise to receive your call. It is as if you knew that I’d want to call you as well. 

Taybrim: ::he offered a light chuckle:: I would blame telepathy, but in this case it’s just a canny coincidence. And a happy one at that. So, Captain, what is on your mind?

Rajel: Please you first, what can I do for you, Sal? 

::he offered her a reassuring smile, the sort of expression that said ‘I promise this is less painless than it could be.’::

Taybrim: Ah, it is more a sharing of information. I hear you recently had a run in with the minions of a Nacien Rixx?

:: Jalana raised her brows, and leaned back in her seat, possibly looking way more relaxed than she felt at the mention of the name she had only read in an after-report, received after delivering the detained members of the Orion Syndicate. ::

Rajel: The head of the operation on Dagorin VI?

::He leaned forward on his desk, nodding slowly.::

Taybrim: Correct. Rixx is a high level power in the Orion Syndicate. He tends to operate out of the Trinity sector, but he has a far reach an sticky fingers for all manner of criminal enterprises.

Rajel: ::A slight chortle came over her lips.:: Sticky fingers. Shouldn't have put them in those trees. ::Taking a shallow breath she got more curious.:: Did you by any chance have received any more intel about the tree sap they harvested on Dagorin?

::The tree sap from Dagorin. As soon as the Constitution had reported to Starfleet samples of the sap were sent off to all manner of scientific and medical experts who swiftly returned interesting news on the stuff. In its raw form it was mild, but when refined through heat and the application of certain chemicals it was a terribly addictive and dangerous component of the street drug ‘All Time High.’::

Taybrim: The refined sap is a key component in the street drug ‘All Time High.’ We’ve seen a marked increase in ATH use and abuse on the Federation border worlds and the independent colonies. It’s become a major problem in the last 18 months. The discovery and subsequent destruction of the Dagorin refinery had put a major damper on the ATH distribution in the Trinity and neighboring sectors. 

::From everything he had heard the Dagorin mission had been hard on the Constitution, which meant Sal felt it was even more important to communicate what a big change they had made in the quadrant.::

:: Jalana had heard about it being a component of the drug. She believed that Mark Two, their rather sentient EMH, and Alize Sorenson, the Forensic Doctor, had spoken about it briefly. Though the distribution and its extent had been unknown to her. If she was honest she had not heard about it before at all, which made her wonder if she just had missed it because of her change in position, or because it had not reached their ship. ::

Rajel: These are marvellous news, Sal! I will have to let my crew know. It'll do them good to hear that their hardships have not been in vain.

::Sal offered a gentle nod. He hated hearing that they had been caused hardships in the first place, but hopefully this was one problem that had been put to bed for a long time.::

Taybrim: Certainly not in vain. There continues to be a decrease in the drug trade. Thousands, perhaps millions of innocents will be spared the spread of ATH.

Rajel: What about Rixx? Any chance that he'll face ... how do human say? ... the music?

Taybrim: Ah, that is the more curious outcome and the reason I really wanted to touch base with you. Starfleet intel tracked Rixx’s call to Dagorin - presumably in response to the Constitution arriving in orbit - back to the planet Raskor I. Raskor has a small Starfleet embassy and Rixx was allied with a corrupt Commodore named Allan Kinney. Kinney was the command officer over the majority of the Jenatris reach, including StarBase 118.

:: The Trill blinked and stared at Sal blankly. A Starfleet Commodore was in cahoots with the Orion Syndicate? Why would anyone join a constitution like Starfleet and then turn around and work against them? For a terrorists organisation like that? Why not leave and then work with them? .oO Power Oo. She was pretty sure that several past lives in her just turned their back to Kinney and that behaviour. ::

Rajel: That ... ::She let go of a trill curse word, before realizing something. She raised her head to look at Sal.:: Wait, you said was.

::Sal drew in a long, slow breath. As with all stories involving villains, whether they were a criminal syndicate entrenched in a bunker or a Commodore behind a polished desk - all of them included hardships for upstanding crew.::

Taybrim: Commodore Kinney ordered the USS Albion on a suicide mission to engage with a rogue Romulan warbird. Obviously we survived, but we were at a loss for evidence to incriminate Kinney until the information from your mission started coming in.

:: Their information? Her heart beat a little faster. It was great to see a mission succeed, to know they had spent their time for a good goal. But to hear that it was part of something bigger, something that had an influence across the fleet, or even on one other person outside, was a thrilling feeling. She sat up straight her face lighting up. ::

Rajel: It helped?

::Sal leaned back and breathed a sigh of relief. Even thinking about that mission made him tense and he knew it had a happy ending.::

Taybrim: Yes, with that evidence we were able to present our case to Admiral Hauke. And with the help of Fleet Captain - now Ambassador Kalianna Nicholotti - Commodore Kinney was forced into resignation.

:: Kali. A smile washed over her face. She knew the woman, before and after her death and return. She hadn't had much to spend with her after but at least she'd met her on the Apollo, even though Kali didn't remember her. It was good to know that she had found a place to be. ::

Rajel: I am glad to hear that. With the evidence and testimonies it may be possible to get Rixx where he belongs as well. Has he been caught yet?

Taybrim: No, Starfleet Intel hasn’t caught Rixx… yet. But his main personal shield is now gone and he’s on the run.

Rajel: ::Smiling she leaned forward.:: If there is one thing I've learned as a cop, it is that people on the run make mistakes. Sooner or later.

Taybrim: That’s what intel said, too. ::he offered a slow nod of assent.:: I believe they will find him sooner rather than later.

Rajel: I certainly hope so. Please if you hear anything about that, let me know?

Taybrim: I certainly will. ::He promised with a gentle, but firm tone.::

Rajel: ::leaning back in her chair rather casually.:: You know, if you always bring such good news, you should call more often. Actually... you can do that anyway ::chuckling::

Taybrim: I will make a point of it! ::he smiled back in a wide, gregarious manner:: Now, you said you had information for me?

Rajel: What? Oh yes, my call. I actually have a favour to ask of you. It's about Rustyy.

::Sal’s eyes lit up. Rustyy Hael had quickly fallen in with the StarBase 118 Ops crew and had proved himself a valuable officer extremely quickly.::

Taybrim: Ah yes, Commander Hael. ::Sal was a bit more formal - not knowing Rustyy quite as well. Yet. Give it time and a shore leave.:: What’s up with Rustyy?

Rajel: Well, Starfleet has awarded my crew the Shadow of War Service Ribbon, but Rustyy left before I could give him his. I was wondering if you could give it to him for me.

Taybrim: Of course I will. I will also happily pass on any messages.

Rajel: ::Smiling broadly.:: Thank you, Sal. Please tell him we miss him, including his 'girlfriend' Conny. ::She made quotation marks with her fingers.::

::Sal nodded and offered the Trill a reassuring smile.::

Taybrim: Of course. And I promise, we’ll take good care of him. 

Rajel: I have no doubt you will. It's quite easy to grow fond of him and his uniqueness.

Taybrim: All the more reason you should bring your entire crew to dock for a visit!

::Starbase 118 wasn’t too much out of the way. Well, it was a bit out of the way; but they also had state of the art engineering resources and many ships stopped for upgrades, refits or just repairs.::

Rajel: ::Exhaling:: Yes I really should do that. I can't wait to see the Ashalla District again as well. I don't know when, but I will return and bring a ship full of people with me. ::smiling::

Taybrim: Anything else?

Rajel: ::Leaning back with a relaxed smile.:: Not at the moment. ::Then she remembered.:: Oh, I have received your files for the Temple's Reflection pool configurations, but I haven't had the time yet to give it to our botanist. I should do that. ::Smiling::

Taybrim: No worries. ::he chuckled a little.:: We had a ...small incident... involving a high profile pet getting loose and taking an unplanned bath in the pool, so the monks ended up draining it to do restorative prayers and cleaning. I’m sure they will greatly appreciate assistance when they fill it up again. ::He smiled, there was good humor behind his eyes. In the aftermath almost everyone could laugh at Duchess’ journey.::

Rajel: I'll let you know how that goes. Now I shouldn't keep you from your work any longer.

Taybrim: Thank you for taking the time to chat with me. ::He smiled gently towards her.::

Rajel: Thank you again for updating me. It made my day.

Taybrim: I’m always glad to make people’s days. Take care, Jalana - and may we see each other in good health again soon!

:: She couldn't help it but that smile seemed to be on her face forever now. When the screen turned black again she leaned back and closed her eyes with a relieved exhale. This had to be the best outcome she could have wished for. ::

-----

JP by

Captain Sal Taybrim
Commanding Officer
StarBase 118 Ops
E239010ST0

&

Captain Jalana Rajel
Commanding Officer
USS Constitution B
Image Team Facilitator
A238906JL0