Office of the Chief of Fleet Operations

James walked with the Lieutenant JG to the doorway of the Office of the Chief of Fleet Operations and saw Adm Arayuss, RAdm Martinelli, Como Carpathia of Infiniti and Capt Zh’Ohsa from Whitestar sitting in the Rear Admiral’s office. The Commander thanked Lt. JG Russ for the escort to the entrance to RAdm Martinelli’s office before entering and introducing himself to those who may not know who he was.

Cmdr Kee: Thank you, Lieutenant.

The Acting CO of Sutherland walked into the office and stood before everyone who was seated in the office and introduced himself.

Cmdr Kee: I’m Commander James L. Kee, Acting Captain of the USS Sutherland. I’ve come to give you my first hand knowledge of the events of our mission to Sector Epsilon to secure the retrieval of the abandoned vessels in the Zathura System…along with the death of Captain Louis G. Marino.

The Commander saw a vacant chair and wasn’t sure if it was for him or for somebody else that was meant to be part of the inquiry hearing. Being unsure, James remained standing and waited to be addressed by one of the administrative officers in the room. Cmdr Kee never met Capt Zh’Osha before but assumed she was here because of her Aenarian abilities to read people with her inherent intuitive skills. But James was aware that Adm Arayuss would be able to pick up on any deceit should the Commander choose to hide something. The CinC’s psionic skills were the stuff legends were made of, even though they were classified. People still talked about them, even if it was just to speculate.
_________________
Commander James L. Kee
Executive Officer, USS Oriskany

Before anyone else could say anything, Aeryck called to Lt. JG Russ and asked if she would retrieve MGen Alderez so he could attend the inquiry hearing. The CinC wanted all of the Administrative Staff members in attendance to hear Cmdr Kee’s debriefing, especially what happened to Capt Marino.

Adm Arayuss: Hold on one moment, James. Lieutenant Russ, please be sure to let General Alderez know the debriefing of the Acting Captain of Sutherland is starting and to come to Admiral Martinelli’s office right away, thank you.

With that, Lt. JG Russ disappeared from the opened doorway to collect the Major General. The Admiral already started sensing the feelings Cmdr Kee was having, even though he hadn’t started to give his report on the events in Sector Epsilon yet. James was an excellent officer, honest and hard working, so Aeryck did not expect there to be any deceit on the Commander’s part. The CinC knew the report he was about to hear from Cmdr Kee was going to be the honest truth, so he wasn’t worried about being lied to.
_________________
Admiral Aeryck M. Arayuss
Commanding Officer, USS Sutherland
Commander in Chief, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Andrea stopped in her tracks as she was about to walk away from the entrance to RAdm Martinelli’s office. Hearing what Adm Arayuss asked of her, the Lieutenant JG smiled as she gave her response to the CinC.

Lt. JG Russ: Yes, Admiral. Right away, Sir.

Proceeding down the corridor, Andrea made her way towards the Office of the Marine Detachment Commandant. That way Lt. JG Russ could inform MGen Alderez that his presence was requested in the Office of the Chief of Fleet Operations.
_________________
Lt. Junior Grade Andrea M. Russ
Administrative Assistant, Starbase 34

The Major General peered into RAdm Martinelli’s doorway after walking down the corridor with Lt. JG Russ from his office. Rex could see Adm Arayuss, RAdm Martinelli, Como Carpathia and the Aenarian CO of USS Whitestar, Capt Zh’Osha, along with Cmdr Kee standing in the center of the office. The Fleet Marine Force Commandant entered the Office of the Chief of Fleet Operations and greeted everyone.

MGen Alderez: Hello everyone, thanks for inviting me to sit in on this hearing. Is this chair for me?

Rex took a seat in the chair and waited for the meeting to continue. He didn’t need the ability to read minds or body language to see that Cmdr Kee was wishing he was on the Bridge of Oriskany and finished with this inquiry. It was completely understandable, but this was necessary to determine there was no one at fault for the death of Capt Marino.
_________________
Major General Rex Alderez
Fleet Marine Force Commandant, Gamma Fleet
SFMC, United Federation of Planets

Aeryck was pleased when his friend, Rex, arrived in Tony’s office. The chair was indeed for the Major General, so Adm Arayuss pleased that he sat down in it. Now that they were all present, the oral report being given by Cmdr Kee could continue.

Adm Arayuss: Commander Kee, please continue…

The Admiral waited on the Acting Captain of Sutherland to give his report on the mission to Sector Epsilon. It was obvious by the arrival of all of the abandoned vessels via tow ships their mission ended in success, but Aeryck was curious how it all came to be and how Capt Marino’s death played a part in it.
_________________
Admiral Aeryck M. Arayuss
Commanding Officer, USS Sutherland
Commander in Chief, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

James recalled the events of their mission to the Zathura System in Sector Epsilon as best he could for Adm Arayuss, RAdm Martinelli, MGen Alderez, Como Carpathia and Capt Zh’Osha. The Commander wanted to make sure he left nothing out, so he proceeded with his oral report in great detail.

Cmdr Kee: Thank you, Admiral Arayuss. Well, the mission started off routinely with us going about our normal routines until we reached the abandoned vessels orbiting the Class J planet in the Zathura System in Sector Epsilon. While we were there we came across an Orion ship filled with religious zealots lead by a Captain Narrad-Sar who were out to destroy all the ships because they felt the Deltaurans were demons coming through to destroy the galaxy and the vessels were open portals to the Hell from which they came. Captain Marino was very diligent in standing against them till it was discovered they were only trying to protect the area from another Deltauran incursion. Once he explained to Captain Narrad-Sar the Deltaurans were all destroyed, he quickly complied and removed the matter/anti-matter explosives from the ships.

The Acting CO of Sutherland let that sink in for a few moments before continuing…

Cmdr Kee: After the four Orion ships departed, Dr. Jovic, Counselor Elbrun, Mr. D’Shoua, Mr. Joffee and I beamed over to the SS Oruga and searched the vessel for any survivors. While searching, we detected the life sign of a young female who came out to greet us. Her name is Dorothy Louise Ramsey, but she goes by the name Tootie. She was the only survivor we found aboard that ship that we found. Yeoman Panettiere has been charged with bringing Tootie to her family, so that’s what they’re doing now. The Captain then decided to move onto the next vessel which was a further distance away and left the Wildcards behind to catch-up with us. When Colonel Carrera revealed to Captain Marino that the SA-43X’s are nowhere near the speed of a Starship at full Impulse, he stopped Sutherland and allowed them to land in the Secondary Shuttlebay. When we arrived at SS Mariquita we were able to detect another young female survivor and Counselor Elbrun suggested we just beam her directly to Sickbay for Dr. Jovic to look over, but Captain Marino got agitated with the Counselor and all of us for not wanting to transport over there and got up and went over himself and found Alana Thompson, a morbidly obese girl who claimed she was a princess and commanded to be treated as such. According to the Doctor she was terribly overweight due to her compulsive eating and lack of exercise. Alana was very rude to everyone, especially Dr. Jovic, saying the Romulan people deserved to lose their homeworld. None of that bothered the Captain and he invited her back to his Quarters for something to eat. After some time had passed, I asked Lieutenant Panettiere to check on Captain Marino and that when he was discovered dead.

After seeing the surprised reactions from everyone in the Office of the Chief of Fleet Operations, James continued…

Cmdr Kee: The Doctor was immediately summoned to the Captain’s Quarters by the Yeoman and when Dr. Jovic arrived she discovered that he suffocated from a large wad of marshmallows in his throat. That Alana was asleep in his bed in what the Yeoman referred to as a “full belly coma”, completely unaware they were there. After I was called down there Dr. Jovic told me the drawers in the morgue weren’t large enough to accommodate Captain Marino’s body so we had Yeoman Panettiere go to Sickbay and assemble a stasis chamber for us to beam the Captain’s body into. Once Jansen let us know it was ready, Captain Marino’s body was transported inside the portable chamber the Yeoman constructed with the assistance of the nurses and medical technicians in Sickbay. Afterwards, the Doctor and I decided to wake Miss Thompson, with the Counselor present…but that was right when we got the transmission regarding the memorial service for Captain Adonis. The Doctor and I went straight to the Bridge and participated in that.

The Commander concluded his report after pausing a moment in honor of the memory of Capt Adonis since he was aware that he was a close friend to Adm Arayuss and Como Carpathia.

Cmdr Kee: After the memorial, Counselor Elbrun and I returned to the Captain’s Quarters and Kestra woke Miss Thompson who was incredibly belligerent towards the Counselor for waking her during a “good dream”. The child told Kestra she thought Captain Marino was acting like a clown and pretending to choke to make her laugh, then pretended to pass out from choking so she thought it best to ignore his foolishness and decided to get some rest since she was already so full from eating the s’mores. It was an incredibly self-centered act not to check if the choking was real and call for assistance. But that’s a spoiled so-called princess for you. While I was temporarily placed into the role of Acting Captain, I made Mr. Boffi the Acting Executive Officer and he did a brilliant job as did everyone else aboard Sutherland in light of what happened. When the last of the abandoned vessels was on its way back to Starbase 34, we returned as well. If you have any questions, please ask away and I’ll answer to the best of my ability.

James stood there and waited on any questions that would be coming his way. He was sure somebody would have something to inquire about even though he gave them as detailed a report as possible. Cmdr Kee looked into the eyes of everyone there to show them that he was as honest as they come and took the role of Acting CO of Sutherland very seriously, but really looked forward to returning to Oriskany as Executive Officer. That ship was his home and James was really looking forward to working with Capt Calzada aboard The Big O.
_________________
Commander James L. Kee
Executive Officer, USS Oriskany

Just as Cmdr Kee finished addressing Admirals Arayuss and Martinelli, MGen Alderez, Como Carpathia and Capt Zh’Osha, Dr. Jovic barged into the Office of the Chief of Fleet Operations to deliver her findings on Capt Marino. The Doctor had been investigating how he came to be a Commanding Officer in Starfleet when he seemed so medically unfit to serve, but she found her answer and had to report it at the inquiry hearing with the Acting CO of Sutherland.

Cmdr Jovic: Sorry for the interruption, but I found it mandatory that I report my findings on Captain Marino! It seems he was never given medical clearance for the position. The Captain’s wife was a care giver for his ailing father, who recently passed away, and she forged documents to get him into the Command Training Program, which I discovered after many conversations at Starfleet Headquarters that he did not complete! Apparently, he paid some Ferengi for the answers to the exam! So Mr. Marino did not legally obtain the rank of Captain, nor did he earn his position as Commanding Officer of the Sutherland. Going further into his past it became known to me that this was his method of obtaining promotions. According to Starfleet regulations, had he not died in his most untimely way, he would’ve been dishonorably discharged from service. Mr. Marino was indeed inexperienced and not qualified to be aboard the Sutherland as Captain. I thought this would be relevant to this inquiry as well. His wife, Nannette has confessed to assisting him with the forged medical documents and helping to find the Ferengi Merchant that sold him the answers to the exam. Mrs. Marino feels had she not helped her husband live his dream of being a Starship Commander, he would still be alive today, at home with his family. This seriously taints the memory of Mr. Marino and I point out that his cause of death was his own ignorance of stuffing too many marshmallows in his mouth and trying to swallow the entire amount before it was fully masticated.

The Doctor stood beside Cmdr Kee and was prepared to answer any questions that should come her way. Dragana could see by all the faces in the room that the news she brought was an incredible bit of information for them to digest. Also noticeable was the look of betrayal on the face of James, he followed Mr. Marino’s orders fully and to find out he was a fraudulent Captain had to hurt him. It explained how the inexperience and short temper was so prevalent in Marino’s actions, since no Captain in Starfleet would’ve made the errors he made.
_________________
Commander Dragana Jovic
Chief Medical Officer, USS Oriskany

The Admiral was thoroughly disgusted with the information supplied by Dr. Jovic. He really thought of Mr. Marino as a friend and to be lied to so badly really shaken Aeryck to his core. They hadn’t really spent any time together personally, mostly through correspondence, or the Admiral’s psionic abilities would’ve detected deception from Lou. Nevertheless, Adm Arayuss felt betrayed and also wanted to know what Ferengi is selling exam answers for officers in the Command Training Program. He wanted to find out who this merchant was and have him and his all his test answers confiscated, along with having his finances as well. Some time in a penal facility would be good too. But they would have to catch him in the act. Something which needs to be undertaken by Starfleet Security as soon as possible.

Adm Arayuss: Well isn’t that a kick in the pants! We’ve all been duped by that clown into thinking he was ready to command the Sutherland. Lou certainly won’t be getting any honorable memorial on this Starbase. We’ll have him shipped back to his family and let them deal with his dishonor. They can dispose of the body anyway they feel is appropriate. I can assure you Starfleet will not be hosting any part of it.

Aeryck calmed down a bit before he continued…

Adm Arayuss: Commander Kee, thank you for the well informed account of what happened aboard Sutherland. I’ll make sure you get a commendation for you bringing back the ship in one piece, undamaged, with your crew intact. You won’t be penalized for the death of Marino since he basically killed himself with his own over-indulgence. I’ll be sure to give commendations to all the volunteers who worked with you in such a smooth manner, as well.

The Admiral looked over at Dr. Jovic as he continued speaking…

Adm Arayuss: Thank you, Doctor for your excellent investigative skills and bringing this to our attention. It looks like for the time being, Sutherland will sit inside the Space Dock for now until a real Captain becomes available to assist in keeping the Federation’s interests secured here in the Gamma Quadrant. I’ll be sure to issue you a commendation as well for your hard work in getting to the bottom of the big lie that was Louis Marino.

The CinC looked over at Tony, Rex, E.J. and Pi’Lar to see if they had anything else to add to the meeting.

Adm Arayuss: Does anyone else have anything they wish to ask or to add? If not we’ll adjourn while I contact Starfleet Security and get them on finding that Ferengi Merchant.

Aeryck waited on the others to speak up on all they heard from both Cmdr Kee and Dr. Jovic during the inquiry. If they had anything they wanted to say to either of them, this was the time. Adm Arayuss was sure with the news the Doctor supplied, there would be plenty to say from RAdm Martinelli, MGen Alderez, Como Carpathia and maybe even Capt Zh’Osha. Pi’Lar always seemed to have something to say, it was in her Aenarian nature. So for her to remain silent would be shocking to say the least.
_________________
Admiral Aeryck M. Arayuss
Commanding Officer, USS Sutherland
Commander in Chief, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Tony was glad Cmdr Kee cleared up everything that had to do with the death of Lou Marino. The Rear Admiral could no longer refer to Lou as Captain or any other rank that he didn’t obtain through his own actual merits. Marino was a cheater and no longer worthy of any rank title earned from Starfleet. RAdm Martinelli was extremely grateful to Dr. Jovic for uncovering the dark truth regarding this travesty. Who knows how long it would’ve lasted or the disastrous results that could’ve come from Lou’s overall lack of true command experience. Whoever was going to be the next CO of Sutherland was going to have to have their credentials fully investigated after this shadowed revelation.

RAdm Martinelli: Thank you both for your reports. They’ve been duly noted. Someday we’ll get a new Captain for Sutherland, so until then we can use it for possible training exercises until a permanent crew can be assigned. The ship won’t waste away; I’ll make sure of that. I’ve got no further questions for either of you. You’ve both done very well. As Admiral Arayuss has said, you’ll both receive commendations for your excellent service to Gamma Fleet.

The Chief of Fleet Operations began making notes on his PADD for the commendations to be issued on record for Cmdr Kee and Dr. Jovic. They both truly deserved what they would receive from the Admiralty staff here on SB34. RAdm Martinelli looked over at MGen Alderez to see if there was anything he wanted to add or ask of the Acting Captain and Chief Medical Officer of Sutherland, before they were remanded back to their duties aboard Oriskany.
_________________
Vice Admiral Anthony M. Martinelli
Executive Officer, USS Sutherland
Chief of Fleet Operations, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

The Major General was furious with what he heard about Marino being a fraud! If Lou was still alive, Rex would contemplate punching the fake Captain right in his fat face! How dare he put the lives of the Marines aboard Sutherland in jeopardy with his lack of experience! Leaving them behind like that was downright ignorant! Rex was fuming mad and couldn’t think of anything he wanted to ask Cmdr Kee or Dr. Jovic at this time. MGen Alderez did agree they should both be commended for their excellent work and ingenuity with finding out Marino’s deep secret.

MGen Alderez: I’m very appreciative to the both of you. Commander Kee, you finished the mission and brought the ship, my Marines and your crew home in one piece. Dr. Jovic, you’ve uncovered a disgusting truth about Lou Marino and his lies to get to the Command Chair aboard Sutherland. It was just to fulfill some wild idea of his that he was qualified for the position, and then when the training didn’t go his way, he cheated to make it through. Plus having his wife fraudulently alter his medical records to show he was capable of being a Captain is another kick in the nuts! I really don’t have anything else to add at this time.

Rex looked over at Como Carpathia as if to say NEXT! It was the Commodore’s turn to add his opinion to what they learned about the so-called Captain of Sutherland. The Major General was still steaming mad and almost wanted to go punch a wall, but that was considered barbaric behavior and this wasn’t his office, after all. The Fleet Marine Force Commandant looked around the room at Adm Arayuss, RAdm Martinelli, Como Carpathia, Capt Zh’Osha, Cmdr Kee and Dr. Jovic, seeing if they were as steamed at Lou as he was. It was evident they were perturbed at the very least, so Rex hoped the Admiral would follow through on the investigation into finding the Ferengi that sold Lou the exam responses and hang him up by his lobes!
_________________
Major General Rex Alderez
Fleet Marine Force Commandant, Gamma Fleet
SFMC, United Federation of Planets