Office of the Chief of Fleet Operations

E.J. shook his head in disbelief over the information supplied by Dr. Jovic and at the same time was proud of Cmdr Kee for being able to complete the mission assigned to Sutherland. The Commodore remembered not long ago when James was the Chief Science Officer aboard Oriskany at the rank of Lieutenant. The untimely death of Capt Harris elevated Sean Reich to CO and Kee was elevated to XO followed by a promotion. James had a lot thrust upon him and there aboard Sutherland it happened to him again. E.J. felt Cmdr Kee was the very epitome of an excellent Starfleet Officer and would see to it that he got command of his own ship someday when the Commander was ready.

Como Carpathia: Well James, I’d like to congratulate you on a job well done. You took a bad situation and turned it into a successful mission. When your time comes for you to be in permanent command of your own vessel, I’ll be sure to sign off on it right away. You’re an excellent officer, Commander and I just wanted to make sure that wasn’t eclipsed by the fact that Lou cheated his way into commanding Sutherland. What he did was a complete travesty to what we all hold dear and it will never be forgotten.

The Commodore looked over at Dr. Jovic next to praise her for the investigation into Lou’s medical records, as well as offer his condolences over what that incredibly rude child said to her.

Como Carpathia: Doctor, what can I possibly say? You’re investigative persistence has revealed an inconvenient truth about Lou Marino that had he not died by choking to death on a wad of improperly chewed marshmallows, we may have not known about his deceit until something horrible happened to Sutherland and its crew. Congratulations on a job well done, Dr. Jovic. We’ll be making sure you receive the highest commendation for your excellent investigation into this matter. As for what that girl said about the Romulan people deserving to lose their homeworld is disgustingly racist and I hope you know that none of us here have ever felt that way over the loss of Romulus. It was a devastation that was felt across multiple quadrants of our galaxy. You have my most sincere condolences over the loss of your homeworld and your family, Dragana.

E.J. looked over at Capt Zh’Osha and wondered what her take was on everything that was revealed in RAdm Martinelli’s office today.

Como Carpathia: I know you’re new here, Captain Zh’Osha, but what are your thoughts on all that you heard from Commander Kee and Dr. Jovic today? Hopefully you haven’t lost faith in Gamma Fleet over Marino’s deception.

The Division 1 Commander waited on the Captain to make known her observations of Cmdr Kee’s report on the occurrences aboard Sutherland as well as Dr. Jovic’s investigative discovery of Lou’s big lie that was his career. From what he knew about Capt Zh’Osha from the small amount of time they spent with her at lunch, she was extremely hyper-critical so E.J. was expecting her to pick apart what James had told them. Then as a follow up she’d point out all of our failings for not spotting Lou’s lies early on and never gave him command of Sutherland so blindly. The Commodore got ready to be offended by what Pi’Lar was going to say about everything she heard.
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Commodore E.J. Carpathia
Commanding Officer, USS Infiniti
Division 1 Commander, Gamma Fleet

The blue tinted woman listened rather intently as the Acting Captain gave what was a rather disturbing testimony of his accounts of what had transpired aboard the USS Sutherland under the, as of this moment, the black listed Mr. Marino's Command.

She was still holding the half empty bottle of wine from the Galleria, or rather, she was grasping at it so tight, her skin went a rather light magnolia color from the grip she was giving the neck of the bottle. She did not show this at all whilst the Acting Captain gave his account to the room at large, if anyone looked around at her she would show almost a heartless compassion upon her face, that is, unless they focused extremely hard on the antennae which trembled minutely almost vibrating.

Once everyone had spoken out about this, Pi'Lar turned to RAdm Martinelli.

Capt Zh'Osha: That, Admiral Martinelli, is the precise reason you need that program... Would anyone object to my smashing this bottle over Marino's stupid face?

Her voice was nothing more than a whisper. She remembered the early days on Andoria. A cheat would have been ostracized for copying from a fellow student, let alone their entire career.. Pi'Lar was more vexed than she had been up until this point. The disrespect that being had shown to the uniform, the fleet, Starfleet itself was reprehensible. In her mind, Lou didn't even deserve to be preserved for his family, let alone be given any kind of service or burial aboard this station... And Capt Zh'Osha was determined to make herself known to the Admiral regarding this matter once the investigation came to its predetermined conclusion.

Tony wasn’t too sure what Capt Zh’Osha meant by how this situation with Lou defrauding Starfleet had anything to do with Pi’Lar’s continuous Holodeck program running that put crews against other crews in Gamma Fleet in some kind of wargames. Had the Captain been drinking too much at lunch?

RAdm Martinelli: As much as we would all like to take a swing at Lou’s face with that bottle, it’s just conduct unbecoming of any Starfleet Officer. It may be common practice in the Andorian Imperial Guard, but we just can’t go bashing in the faces of the dead, no matter what their crimes. But I can understand your desire to do so. What I don’t understand is how your Holodeck program would’ve prevented Lou from obtaining the exam answers and falsifying his medical records. I don’t see how those two things connect. Perhaps you can enlighten us?

The Rear Admiral waited on Capt Zh’Osha to respond to the inquiry he put before her. If Pi'Lar had too much to drink, her answer would be amusing, however very unprofessional. Tony could see that Cmdr Kee and Dr. Jovic were looking forward to being dismissed and released of their responsibility to the USS Sutherland. RAdm Martinelli knew they wanted to get settled back in aboard the USS Oriskany and get to know their new Commanding Officer, Capt Calzada.
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Vice Admiral Anthony M. Martinelli
Executive Officer, USS Sutherland
Chief of Fleet Operations, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

The blue-faced woman turned a deeper shade of blue, if it were at all possible.

Capt Zho'Sha: Because, Admiral, while one may be able to obtain the answers required to master the written examinations, they would fail the practical aptitude test... Without the experience and qualifications, one cannot hope to scale the ladder of hierarchy... If he had run any of those programs, you would've known almost instantly that he didn't have the zest for Command!

The Captain smiled as she fingered the bottle imagining a face impacted by its blunt force trauma, and how that face could look better after being bashed in...

The Rear Admiral scowled at Capt Zh’Osha’s ignorance of Starfleet training protocols, but understood that she was a transfer from the Andorian Defense Force and was obviously clueless to how things worked back in San Francisco.

RAdm Martinelli: I understand your ignorance, Captain. You’ve never been through Starfleet’s Command Training Program, so you’re unaware of all the exams that take place on the Holodecks to show how officers behave under any given circumstances. So there’s a lot more to Marino’s wife obtaining the exam answers from some low-life Ferengi. Lou had to have the assistance of other officers at Starfleet Headquarters. This will have to be investigated immediately. But for now, if anybody has anything else to ask of Commander Kee and Doctor Jovic please do so now because I’m ready to dismiss them.

Tony waited for anyone else in his office to address Cmdr Kee or Dr. Jovic with any inquiries they had regarding the apparent cause of death of Louis Marino or if anything else was known regarding how he was able to fake his way into the Captain’s seat of the USS Sutherland.
_________________
Vice Admiral Anthony M. Martinelli
Executive Officer, USS Sutherland
Chief of Fleet Operations, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Aeryck was somewhat perturbed at Pi’Lar for the way she answered Tony. He was still a Flag Officer in Gamma Fleet and should not be addressed in that manner. Adm Arayuss did not care that Capt Zh’Osha had recently transferred over from the Andorian Defense Force; she should still know how to address a superior officer. Clearly this was an oversight on the Captain’s end and Aeryck wondered if her ability to follow orders was going to come under fire. The Admiral made a note to himself to have Lt. JG Russ get Capt Zh’Osha’s records from Andoria sent to his office so he could go over them himself.

As for Cmdr Kee and Dr. Jovic, Aeryck had no questions or comments regarding either of them. As far as the Admiral was concerned, they no longer had to deal with Sutherland for the time being and could return to their duties aboard Oriskany as soon as they were able to report to Capt Calzada.

Adm Arayuss: I have no further inquiries or comments to add at this time, Admiral Martinelli. If General Alderez, Commodore Carpathia and Captain Zh’Osha have nothing else to add, you can dismiss them from their duties from Sutherland and reassign them to Oriskany.

The CinC waited to hear if MGen Alderez, Como Carpathia or Capt Zh’Osha had anything to say to Cmdr Kee and Dr. Jovic. During that time, Aeryck used his PADD to send Andrea the message regarding the Andorian Captain’s records. If the Admiral found her to be constantly rude to her superiors, she would NOT be in command of Whitestar.
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Admiral Aeryck M. Arayuss
Commanding Officer, USS Sutherland
Commander in Chief, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

All Rex was thinking about was how Marino left the Wildcards behind and had to be told to stop Sutherland and allow them to catch up and land inside the Secondary Shuttlebay. The Major General was quite angry with the way Lou was able to finagle his way into commanding a Starship out here in the Gamma Quadrant, so the thought of watching Capt Zh’Osha smash her bottle of wine into the dead fraudulent Captain’s face brought him some joy.

MGen Alderez: I don’t have anything else to add, besides wanting to see the blue lady here break that bottle of wine across the dead face of Louis Marino, for risking the lives of my Marines out of such blatant ignorance. I think both Commander Kee and Dr. Jovic did a great job with their duties, I commend them both on their diligence and ingenuity.

The Fleet Marine Force Commandant looked over at Como Carpathia and gave him the look of NEXT! so they could finish up on the meeting and get back to their regularly scheduled duties. Rex wanted to meet with LCol Carrera and get a first hand report of what happened when the Wildcards were left behind by Marino. Then MGen Alderez toyed with the idea of letting the Lieutenant Colonel take a whack with Capt Zh’Osha’s bottle if she didn’t already break it in theory across his big melon head.
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Major General Rex Alderez
Fleet Marine Force Commandant, Gamma Fleet
SFMC, United Federation of Planets

E.J. expressed concern over the way Capt Zh’Osha spoke to RAdm Martinelli. Even though she was from a species well known for their constant feelings of superiority over other sentient beings along with their arrogance, it was no excuse to talk to RAdm Martinelli in that manner. Especially since she was unaware of how Starfleet trains its officers for positions of command stature. Louis Marino really pulled the wool over the eyes of those who were either not paying enough attention or who were made to feel pity for him into allowing him a passing grade. The Commodore had no further questions for Cmdr Kee or Dr. Jovic, but he did want to express how proud he was of them both for the work they’ve done.

Como Carpathia: Well, I would like to congratulate both James and Dragana for the excellent job they’ve done. I will certainly pass this on to Captain Calzada, so he knows what kind of officers he’s got working under him aboard Oriskany. David will be quite pleased to know how well you both did and how the Doctor was able to discover the falsified medical records of their so-called Captain. I’m really proud of both of you.

The Commodore looked over at Capt Zh’Osha and wondered if she had anything to say that wasn’t throwing blame at Starfleet for the falsification of records and the lapse in judgment on someone’s end for letting Lou Marino get his hands on a Starship to command. Pi’Lar was not in a position to be casting shadow on anyone for this considering how she passed out drunk from Andorian Ale in a corridor last week and had the word DRUNK written on her forehead. So she should be the last person pointing fault out on Starfleet, especially with a bottle of wine cradled in her hand. Being discovered drinking on the Bridge of Whitestar with DRUNK on her head would’ve gotten her replaced if it were solely up to the Division 1 Commander, but he did reserve the right to withhold any complicated missions from the ship and give Cmdr Ashborn a heads-up on how he may need to take over at any given time due to her over-indulgence with alcoholic beverages.
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Commodore E.J. Carpathia
Commanding Officer, USS Infiniti
Division 1 Commander, Gamma Fleet

The blue skinned woman looked back towards Como Carpathia and Dr. Jovic.

Capt Zh'Osha: Yes, but the Commander here was actually doing HIS job, the Captain was not... Doctor, has the accused been interrogated yet?

Pi'Lar pursed her lips and hoped she had not missed the chance to watch this special team in action.

The Romulan physician looked over at Capt Zh’Osha and raised an eyebrow. If the Captain was referring to Alana Thompson as the accused, it was being grossly misstated.

Cmdr Jovic: If you are talking about the child who was with Mr. Marino when he choked to death, she was questioned by Counselor Kestra Elbrun, a Betazoid. Nothing was discovered that lead us to believe there was any malice on her part in the demise of Mr. Marino. So unless you feel the need to beat some kind of confession out of her, I doubt there is anything left to be revealed in Mr. Marino’s death. I ruled the death his own fault through his own negligence by over-stuffing his mouth with marshmallows and trying to swallow them whole. Miss Thompson thought Mr. Marino was putting on a clown act to make her laugh and pretended to pass out on the floor. After the show, the child went to lay down on his bed and went to sleep. When Miss Thompson was alerted to the situation, she was completely unaware of Mr. Marino having choked to death. The child was rude and belligerent at first, but that didn’t constitute her being known as "the accused” of a homicide. Surely being rude doesn’t automatically make one guilty of a crime. You of all people should be aware of that, Captain Zh’Osha.

Dragana was sure the Aenarian Captain would pick up on the fact that the blue skinned woman was being rude and yet not being referred to as “the accused” of any crimes, like being drunk and disorderly. Dr. Jovic couldn’t help but notice how Capt Zh’Osha was cradling the bottle of wine like it was a newborn baby. The Doctor thought that was quite a pathetic display for somebody of Zh’Osha’s rank. Dragana felt sorry for the crew of Whitestar when they left SB34 on their first mission with this person in command of the vessel.
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Commander Dragana Jovic
Chief Medical Officer, USS Oriskany