Enter Stage Right
Posted on Fri Dec 20th, 2024 @ 7:37pm by Lieutenant Commander Corin Layal & Captain Kiyoshi Shingoen
Edited on on Sun Dec 22nd, 2024 @ 1:15am
2,273 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission:
Episode 2 - The Sins of History
Location: Starfleet Headquarters - San Francisco -
Timeline: MD010 1155 hrs
Kiyoshi Shinogen had been more than surprised when his mother reached out to him. It had been three years since any communication had taken place and that had been lukewarm at best. He'd thought that they might have gotten over the changes he'd made in his life, or the fact that he had chosen the profession that he had, but that had not been the case.
Which made her contact all the more surprising and almost off-putting. When he heard the reason it was disturbing to him. His father was ill, he'd been told and possibly dying. His relationship with his parents, especially his father was complicated, but they did love each other after a fashion.
Requesting a leave was easy enough and it had been granted. He had already been given a new Permanent Change of Station to the USS Artemis, the trip to Earth had been nothing more than a, very long detour.
Now his leave was over and he was headed to his new assignment. He was going to be a warden. It was not an entirely different MOS than he'd filled before, but it was different enough to be a challenge. He enjoyed challenges.
The reunion had, as he'd expected it would be, had been bittersweet.
His uniform, which he hadn't worn his entire leave was back on and it made him stand out. There was only one other Marine in the entire lounge area as he was waiting for a shuttle to take him to Jupiter Station where he would then catch a transport to the Artemis Another thing that made him stand out was the 4"x 20" box he was carefully carrying.
Lieutenant Commander Corin Layal stepped off of the transport just as they were announcing that they were boarding the shuttle for Jupiter Station. Not knowing how many times they had called for passengers to board she set out at a brisk jog to make sure she didn't miss the flight. The only belongings she was bringing with her were in a sling pack over her back and in a shoulder bag. She also carried a PADD in her hand.
Layal's eyes were on the open port ahead as she made her way through the terminal, she almost didn't see the Marine who was standing in front of her. Layal stopped herself abruptly before crashing into him out right, but not before coming uncomfortably close to knocking them both over.
"Sorry about that. I left in a bit of a rush. You okay?" Layal asked, taking a step back, relaxing now that she could see her ride was still boarding passengers without haste.
Instinctively he reached toward her as she entered his personal space, but he stopped himself just before his hands reached her shoulders and she pulled away.
"I'm fine," he replied a friendly smile turning the corner of his lips up.
"You catching the shuttle too?" he asked pointing toward the port.
"Yeah," she answered breathlessly. "Hitching a ride to Artemis. Their prosecutor had to leave mid-case, so I'm jumping in. Just found out this morning. Hence the rush. I wasn't sure how late I was."
His eyes grew wider at her revelation. "That is where I'm headed too. What a coincidence, but I've known for a few weeks. I'm going to be the warden there.
"I guess we're on the same team so to speak."
Layal smiled. "Well nice to meet you. I don't know how long I'm staying. This is just a pop-up assignment." She made a gesture with her pack showing she'd packed light. "Do you like working in corrections? I always thought that would be hard."
"I'm afraid it's a more permanent position for me," he replied as he began to thread his way through the growing throng giving her the opportunity to follow behind him if she wanted.
"I have had my share of it in my career. It beats breaking up bar fights, but in all honesty I'd rather be doing investigations, but orders are orders."
"Well if you are going to be a warden, I'm sure the Artemis has to be one of the more interesting places to work," Layal commented trying to be positive as she stayed tucked in behind him. "At least I'd imagine that things change up a little more frequently than they would in your typical prison. I can't imagine the goal is to keep inmates much longer than they are needed for trial or transport."
"That is a correct assumption, at least from the research I have done, and it should be interest..."
His words were cut off as a large Orion bumped into them without apology or even a word, before pulling away.
Layal checked her bags and pockets as the line moved forward. "You still have everything?" She asked. Layal glared at the Orion as he continued walking as if nothing had happened.
Kiyoshi did a quick inventory as well and found nothing missing either. "People should be more careful," he commented. They passed the checkpoint where their credentials were scanned when he turned to her and asked, "So, how long have you been a prosecutor and are you sure this is just going to be temporary?"
"Oh gosh. Most of my career. Fifteen years, give or take?" Layal responded. "I did some civil work for a short bit, but always came back to prosecution. And yes I'm sure. I'm just doing the JAG office a favor while they go through applicants for their permanent replacement."
"You said you prefer investigations, so I take it you've done a few things in your career so far?" Layal asked.
"I have," he agreed. "I've been an MP for all of my career. Several millennia ago, one of my direct ancestors was a Samurai, a code of honor and all of that. Not sure if being an MP qualifies me as a warrior in the same way, but I am good at it and enjoy it. I'm no Vulcan, but I'm pretty good at reading people which is what makes me a good investigator and interrogator. But guarding prisoners isn't all that bad. What made you leave private practice?"
As they stepped onto the shuttle, Layal found some open seats and secured her backpack in overhead storage, keeping her shoulder bag and PADD. "Oh, I was never in private practice. I went into Starfleet as soon as I could, thinking investigations, but a couple of professors suggested law school so I did it. Starfleet lawyering isn't all prosecution and defense," she said as she was sitting down. "There's asylum requests, contracts, advisory positions. I was in a civil assignment on DS9 for a couple of years. It wasn't terrible - those are usually a little bit of everything and never the same thing twice. But, I just love the white hat of justice too much. And the courtroom too much. I could never be a defense attorney."
"I guess we all have our preferences and desires," the Marine said as he stowed his own gear, taking extra precautions with the package he'd been holding.
"I think ifI were a lawyer, I'd be on your side of the aisle. It's just not my choice for a career. I did date a law student once though."
"It's not for everyone. Thank goodness for that. I don't know that lawyers are always the easiest people to get along with," Layal admitted. "I do read reports - especially the intriguing or exciting ones and sometimes think I missed out on living a more adventurous lifestyle. Then inevitably I'll come across something where the marines or security officers are getting thrown up on by someone in custody, or chasing down some perp through a cave walking through bat and rat feces and getting bit by who knows what and I'm like, 'Nah, I'm good.'
"Well so far, I've not had any bat or rat feces so I guess I've been lucky. On the other hand, I've had more than one drunk throw up on me. And, I've gotten my nose broken more times than I like to admit. Still, I wouldn't want to do anything else. So, I guess we're like each other that way."
"Any idea what's next for you after your temporary assignment?"
"Back here," Layal responded. "I'm stationed at Command with the JAG office there."
"I hope things work out the way you expect. Do you have any hobbies? What do you do for fun? If that's not too personal."
"Well this isn't a reassignment, so I don't see why it wouldn't. There are plenty of prosecutors gunning for the position," Layal explained. "I just don't fancy myself having security officers in my direct chain of command - the Captain and the Admiral running the Artemis. Neither are lawyers. I get that most attorneys don't go through the command process to Captain a starship, it's just always seemed like an unusual setup since they started the program. In my experience if we had cops running our cases for us, it would be a legal nightmare. Anyway, That doesn't matter to you. You asked about hobbies."
"I like to read, go to the theater - musicals mainly. Workout classes. I've been into kickboxing lately. What about you?" She asked.
"We should spar sometime," he suggested, I practice a couple of martial arts styles."
"Yeah sure. If I have any time, I'll take you up on that. I don't know how busy I'll be," Layal responded.
"I like musicals too. Have you heard of this really old Terran play called Rent? I created a holoprogram of it. Do you sing?"
Layal let out a soft laugh. "Sing? In the shower all the time. It's funny you've mention that one, a friend showed that to me in law school. Great soundtrack. Really emotional. I didn't get most of the references, but it reminded me a lot of what I know about Syndicate ran worlds so I pulled a lot out of it anyway. I've rewatched it since researching more about Earth in that era. It's really something that there were people who were able to make art like that and put it out there, yet it was well over a century before society connected with any of it."
She shook her head. "Your holoprogram. Do you play a character?" She asked.
"I've played a few different ones, but my favorite is Roger Davis. He is the most challenging dealing with a disease that was so devastating and deadly at the time. I would not have wanted to live then, for many reasons."
"He was the most unhappy and cynical of the characters. Do you like tapping into that part of yourself?" she asked.
"There was a time when I was quite miserable and even... well anyway, sometimes I just need to be reminded how far I have come."
"Even what?" Layal asked. She was nonconfrontational with the way she asked. Rather she came across like a concerned friend even though the two had just met.
"Even suicidal," he supplied after a brief pause. I was a very different person back then. "I haven't had such thoughts for years, thank the Universe, but that play is a reminder of how certain people were once treated."
Layal reached over and placed her hand on the Marine's forearm. "I'm Layal. And for what it's worth, I'm very glad that you're still with us today." She gave his arm a gentle squeeze before letting go.
He smiled at her words. "Thank you. I'm Kiyoshi. It's good to meet you too. We are probably going to be working together a lot. Are at least until you are reassigned."
" Are you thirsty? Would you like something to eat?"
Layal shook her head. "I'm fine for now. It's a short enough flight. I'll just wait until we change ships. I'm going to have a lot of reading to do. I don't know if you've been following what they've got going on, but I have some catching up to do."
"I have not," he admitted perhaps I should catch up as well. Any place I should start?"
She reached into her bag handed him a PADD and spoke under her breath. "It's become pretty clear that a Cardassian war criminal faked his death and may be tied to a rash of Bajorans that have gone missing recently. They took him into custody yesterday. That's why I'm rushing out."
He took the PADD from her and gave it a cursory glance, before pulling out his own PADD. "Mind if I transfer this, so I can examine it more closely?"
"Can I see your PADD?" Layal quickly checked that it was Starfleet issue with no apparent jailbreaks and assigned to Captain Kiyoshi Shingoen. Once she was satisfied she handed it back with a smile. "Sorry, you know all the security training we have to through. Sure, go ahead."
"No need to apologize. I'd be concerned if you didn't check." He replied as he took the PADD back. "This guy sounds dangerous, I'm glad security is so tight on the Artemis."
"Yeah," she said somewhat flatly. "Looks like we both have some reading to do."
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Commander Corin Layal
Judge Advocate General, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Captain Kiyoshi Shingoen
Prison Warden, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
RSS Feed