Debriefing of Richard Allen Cleary, Stardate 87476.3

Interviewer: [Steps through doorway and takes a seat.  Sets a PADD down on the metal table and taps at it for a moment, then looks up.]  Please state your name for the record.

Cleary: [Clears his throat.]  Richard Allen Cleary, Captain, serial number VN459-T660RS3.

Interviewer: [Taps PADD.]

Cleary: [Clears his throat more loudly.]  I’d like to speak with the commanding officer of this facility.

Interviewer: [Looks up from PADD.] Ah, yes, absolutely, Captain.  In due time.

Cleary: With all due respect, Mr…ah…I don’t believe you introduced yourself.

Interviewer:  I didn’t, Captain.  I’m sorry, but you must understand that time travel is neither easy nor straightforward for anyone involved.  We are obligated to make certain you are who we think you are and who you say you are.  In the meantime, we will take all necessary precautions to protect your time and ours.

Cleary: I’ve been on this station for at least 12 hours.  If you don’t know who I am by now, I can’t say much for all your 25th century technology…

Interviewer: [Returns to tapping on his PADD.]  Were you in command of the USS Exeter, NCC-1672, on Stardate 12123.69?

Cleary: [Sighs.]  Yes.  You might have discovered that by talking to the Skipper of the…ah…Erbrus, I believe it was called.  Or don’t you actually talk to each other in the future?

Interviewer: When you were fourteen, you were injured on a camping expedition with your family.  How many stitches did you receive in your leg?

Cleary:  Eight.  And I burst my appendix when I was sixteen, fractured my arm when I was 25, and broke a rib when I was 37.  My favorite color is blue—navy, not robin’s egg—my favorite book is Flint by Louis L’Amour, and my favorite drink is coffee, with sugar and milk.

Interviewer: I’m sorry Captain, but please restrict your responses to the question I ask.  They’ve been selected purposefully.  Anything other than the requested information will, unfortunately, draw out this debriefing far more than I think either of us would like.

Cleary:  I understand your caution.  I understand the need to make certain I’m not controlled by an extraterrestrial parasite or a shapeshifter or whatever sort of monster you’ve discovered during the last hundred and fifty years.  But the Starfleet regulations of my time, at least, gave me the right to speak to the commanding officer of this station, and I’d like to exercise that right.

Interviewer: I can appreciate your discomfort, Captain…

Cleary:  Again, with all due respect, I’m not sure you can.  In the last day, I lost a significant number of my crew, saw two of my best officers killed by a Klingon boarding party within a few kilometers of this supposedly top-secret station, and had my ship stolen from under your noses.  I can’t even inform the families of the departed what really happened to them or share the sense of duty and bravery they showed in their last moments.  As far as anyone out there knows, it was a stupid accident.  And I don’t know if any of this really matters because we’re all dead anyway, aren’t we?

Interviewer:  Ah, well…yes…

Cleary:  And if you decide I’m not who you think I am, I assume you’ll either keep me locked up here forever or make my presumed death into a real one…

Admiral Bailey:  [Steps into the room.]

Interviewer:  [Turns around, surprised.]  Admiral…

Admiral Bailey: I’m sorry to interrupt. 

Cleary:  [Stands at attention.]  Sir!

Admiral Bailey:  At ease, Captain.  [Turns to Interviewer.]  And would you mind giving us a few moments alone?

Interviewer: Ah…we were just…

Admiral Bailey:  Thank you.  I didn’t think you’d mind.  [Holds door open for Interviewer.]

Interviewer:  Ah…no…no…I’ll just attend to something else for a moment. [Gets up slowly and leaves.]

Admiral Bailey:  [Sits.]  I’m sorry to put you through this, Captain.  It’s not the way I’d like to welcome our guests, or recognize the service of the officers who join us.  [Looks around the small room.]  You all deserve better than this.

Cleary:  Thank you, sir.

Admiral Bailey:  This is a Starfleet operation, but we’re not alone.  We’re cooperating with a number of agencies, and our protocols don’t always match up.  Project Christopher is a work in progress.

Cleary:  I can understand that, sir.  And I appreciate hearing all this from you directly.

Admiral Bailey:  It’s the least I can do, Captain.  We have to be very cautious here.  The stakes are extremely high—not just protecting the Federation, but persevering the timeline and not attracting unwanted attention from more powerful species or temporal agencies of the future.  But, I think we have enough information to know you are who you say you are.

Cleary:  Thank you, sir.  It’s good to know I’m me.

Admiral Bailey:  [Chuckles.]  I’m sure it is.  But you are likely to feel, well, lost for a little while longer.  It’s something we’ve seen often.  You have a lot of adjusting to do.  There’s a staff of councilors assigned to you and your crew, and I’d recommend you talk to some others who’ve been rescued from the past, like yourself.  I believe you’ve already met KATRA, yes?

Cleary:  Yes, sir.  He struck me as someone who belonged in the future.

Admiral Bailey:  Indeed, Captain. 

Clearly:  And, sir, I’d like to make some arrangement to honor the crew that died aboard the Exeter.  If we can’t let their families know about their sacrifice, we can at least recognize it ourselves.

Admiral Bailey:  Yes, yes, of course, Captain.  The resources of Mariner 10 are all yours.  Now, maybe you should get some rest.  You have a lot of work ahead of you.

Cleary:  Yes, sir.  I can handle hard work, sir.  It’s the sitting and waiting that’s the hard part.

Admiral Bailey:  Absolutely, Captain.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have plenty of work of my own to do.  [Stands and extends a hand.]  It’s an honor to have you aboard.

Cleary:  [Stands and shakes Bailey’s hand].  Thank you, sir.

Admiral Bailey:  [Turns to leave.]  I hope you’re ready for the future, Captain.

Cleary:  [Grinning.]  I think the better question, sir, is whether the future is ready for us.

by Dan (mygod_itsfullofstars) on 2011-09-08 02:05:37