From: neale@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Neale Davidson)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: STMOW 8/20
Date: 30 Jul 92 02:58:11 GMT
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center


 
  - STAR TREK     ----------------------------------------------------
  - MORALS OF WAR ----------------------------------------------------
 
  Part Eight of Twenty
  (Not Including the Prelude)
 
  Disclaimer : This is fan-zine material, which means that it's
  neither cannon nor seeking to be. I'm doing this for fun.
 
  --------------------------------------------------------------------
 
  CHAPTER EIGHT
 
        "You wish to interview these three?" Saavik demanded.
  "Because you have found a correlation between them and the
  ship's reported malfuncitons?"
        Riley frowned at her reaction. Even though the
  intelligence committee gave him much leeway in these matters,
  Riley thought it neccessary to talk to Saavik first. Now he was
  regretting this decision. "I have some evidence, and even more
  suspicion, but I need these interviews to confirm my
  suspicions."
        Saavik didn't let her emotions escape from her, though
  she her feelings were in a bit of a jumble about her First
  Officer. "Do you consider your request logical?" she asked
  coldly. "It is not neccessary to disturb our already stressed
  crew based on emotional beliefs."
        "I have never been known to confuse my emotions with my
  professionalism, Captain," Riley replied in a voice which even
  made Saavik take pause. "I am well versed in these matters, and
  I conclude that my judgement is sound."
        Saavik stepped back at that. "How would you be so well
  versed, Commander?" she queried, hoping to gain a little
  insight, now that the opportunity was ripe. "I have seen
  nothing in your record to indicate that you are an expert at
  sabotauge and infiltration."
        Riley turned away, mostly out of self-disgust. Things
  were coming to ahead, and he wasn't sure if he could handle it.
  "I cannot discuss the matter of my record," he muttered
  angrily.
        "As Captain of this vessel, it is my right to know all I
  can about my command crew," Saavik stated matter-of-factly.
  There was no denying the ring of truth in her voice.
        Riley felt the world collapsing around him. "I can't tell
  you, Saavik," he spoke through gritted teeth. "I want to, but
  I'm under orders not to." If Saavik was more accustomed to
  reading the emotions of others, she would have noticed that his
  temper was flaring. She would have known that he was tearing
  himself apart between duty and righteousness.
        But she didn't. "I order you to disclose to me the
  details of your record," she demanded in her cold tone. It was
  all that Riley could take, and she soon became painfully aware
  of it.
        Riley punched the wall, hard. His powerful fist tore
  through the wall plating in front of him with such force as to
  make Saavik jump back. "My god," she muttered as he slowly drew
  his fist from the hole. "No human could ever do that."
        Riley composed himself, still angry with his actions. "I
  am an officer in Intelligence Command," he coldly explained.
  "My orders are to determine the nature of the ship's
  malfunctions and the disappearance of the USS FEARLESS."
        Saavik stepped back in disbelief. She suddenly realized
  that she had been a mere pawn in some larger plan. The thought
  angered her. "You've been assigned here, under me," she began
  tight-lipped. "But you were working for Intelligence all
  along." She paused, letting the meaning of his words sink in
  even more. "You lied to me," she finished, mournfully.
        "It gets worse," Riley muttered. "I was ordered to
  circumvent your command." He took a deep breath, staring
  directly into Saavik's now-saddened eyes. "Even if it meant
  taking command of the ENTERPRISE away from you."
        Saavik looked stunned for the first time. "I wasn't
  supposed to be the captain of this ship," she slowly managed
  through her mixed emotions. "You were, weren't you?"
        Riley stepped over to her, gently placing his hand on her
  shoulder. "No," he quietly said to her. "You are the Captain of
  this ship. I never wanted to take that away from you."
        "Why not?" she asked, fighting back a tear, trying
  desperately to hold off her emotions.  "It isn't logical for me
  to remain Captain of this vessel under these circumstances. You
  should assume command."
        "I can't, Saavik," Riley tried to explain. But the time
  for words had already been past. He turned her to him, noting
  that a single tear began falling down her cheek. He slowly
  wiped it off of her.
        The two stood staring at each other for several moments,
  not being able to communicate verbally with one another. Saavik
  had nearly been broken. "Why did you decide to tell me,
  William?" she finally asked.
        Riley stepped away from her for a moment, ingoring some
  of the feelings that were flowing through him. "I couldn't hurt
  you anymore," he queity replied. "I had to choose between
  keeping my orders, and you."
        Saavik raised an eyebrow at that. "You chose me?" she
  questioned. "That was not a logical decision," she indicated,
  knowing full well that logic was not amoung Riley's reasons.
        Riley again turned away. "Let's just say that I saw some
  things in you which reminded me of other things," he
  noncommittedly replied. "I can't say anything more."
        Saavik nodded, and allowed herself time to compose
  herself. "If you were to assume captaincy of this ship," she
  began honestly, "I would be honored to serve under you."
        Riley smiled, knowing full well that it would soon come
  to that. "Thank you," he replied, again looking into her eyes.
  He wanted to say more, but knew he had said too much already.
        "Go ahead with your interviews," Saavik started again,
  this time assuming a more professional posture. "I should trust
  the judgement of my First Officer."
        Riley nodded but said nothing else in reply. Saavik
  slowly stepped from the room, dimming the lights as she left.
  The first officer found himself watching her the entire time
  he possibly could. "There is more between us than you could
  possibly know," he finally said.
 
        Saavik returned to her quarters, a bit confused by her 
  feelings about her First Officer. He had just violated orders 
  for her benefit by revealing who he was and why he was aboard. 
  She couldn't answer why, but she realized that she would have 
  done the same for him.
 
        Of the three interviews, Ravis's came first. Riley 
  figured that this would be the toughest of the three, since he 
  had very little to go on.
        Ravis walked in, quite exhausted from his day thus far, 
  and not wanting to have it last too much longer. "You wanted to 
  see me, sir?"
        Riley indicated the chair across from him and Ravis 
  obeyed the subtle order. "I'm reviewing some records, and since 
  the computer is damaged, I'm going to have to supplement 
  information with some interviews."
        "Sir, I'm sorry, but I'm needed in engineering, could 
  this wait?" Ravis asked. His voice was genuine enough, though 
  it was painfully obvious that his mind wasn't on a faulty 
  conduit.
        Riley crossed his arms and reclined a bit. "You've been 
  working very hard," he began with a slight smile. "Think of 
  this as a break."
        Ravis's expression went slightly confused, but 
  straightened out before it would be considered offensive. "I 
  will try, Commander."
        "I just spoke to sick-bay, Doctor Matthews says that 
  Deuce will be fine," Riley began a bit off-topic. "Deuce only 
  suffered from some toxic fumes and passed out. Matthews pumped 
  him clean."
        Ravis breathed a sigh of relief, but went to shock after 
  a moment's consideration. "Then, you know about us, sir?"
        Riley nodded in the affirmative, which embarrassed Ravis 
  somewhat. "There are very few secrets on a starship, Ensign. 
  Eventually, everything gets found out," Riley replied with a 
  slight bit of warning.
        Ravis took pause with the statement, and Riley took quick 
  note of the reaction. "I understand, sir, I will try to be more 
  discreet."
        "I could care less about your sexual practices, Ensign, 
  so long as they don't interfere with your professionalism." 
  Riley's comment was pointed, again alluding to something wholly 
  different than the matter at hand. "When you let your emotions 
  cloud your judgement, you can make mistakes."
        "I'm not sure what you mean, sir," Ravis replied, a bit 
  concerned with the conversation's tone. "I have done my best 
  to act professional at every level of my duty."
        Riley looked over Ravis, looking for signs of 
  over-nervousness, trying to see if Ravis would slip. So far, he 
  had only slightly, becoming too paranoid about the questions 
  put to him.
        "I'm just offering advice," Riley began again. "When a 
  person becomes close to someone, he has a tendancy to put 
  professionalism aside in favour of that someone." Riley 
  conviently ignored the fact that he had just described himself. 
  "I would appreciate you being more careful. If something had 
  happened at your post in engineering when Deuce was injured, we 
  wouldn't be around to discuss this matter."
        "Yes, sir," Ravis conceded. "Am I dismissed then, sir?" 
  he asked, looking forward to returning to engineering with a 
  clear head.
        "You are dismissed," Riley replied cooly as he readied 
  his notepad for his next interview. Ravis stood and headed for 
  the door. ~Goodbye, Secundam,~ Riley ended as Ravis left.
        ~Goodbye, Commander,~ Ravis replied without thinking. His 
  reply was in perfect Romulan.
 
        When Grissom entered, only a moment or so late, she was
  shaking. Riley had noted her uneasiness with him before, but it
  was even more pronounced now that he and she were alone. Riley
  cursed at himself for his negligence in this matter. "Sit
  down," was all he could manage.
        Grissom did so, and Riley couldn't help but notice how 
  much she was shaking. "It's fine, Miss Grissom, I only need to 
  ask you some questions."
        "Yes, sir," she said, gripping unusally hard on her 
  chair. "Though I must inform you that I have several things in 
  engineering that need to be attended to."
        Riley opened his notebook and keyed in his security code. 
  "I've looked through your record, and noticed that there were 
  some things marked 'Private'. May I inquire as to their 
  nature?" he began as politely as possible.
        Grissom gave a worried look. "I would prefer that you 
  didn't, sir," she stammered. "There are some things in the 
  record which I don't want publicized."
        Riley already had an inkling as to what those things 
  were, but held back any comments. "I was reviewing your records 
  from your previous assignments. Captain Heito gave you very 
  high praise," he tried.
        "I'm sure he did, sir," she replied with a wavering 
  voice. "I do have things to attend to," she added, hoping to 
  leave the room with some of her dignity still intact.
        "This will only take a couple of minutes, Lieutenant," he 
  politely replied.
        "Sir," she replied, trying to get the nerve to state her 
  true feelings, "I mean no offense. But I cannot be comfortable 
  remaining alone in the same room with you."
        Riley went deadly silent for a moment. Grissom wasn't 
  just afraid of him, she was intimidated by him. "Look 
  Lieutenant," Riley tried, hoping to ease the tension in the 
  room. "Miss Grissom, I didn't call you in here for any reason 
  other than determining the identity of the saboteur."
        Grissom's eyes widened at that. "You mean," she stammered
  in a bit of shock. "You think that I could be the saboteur?"
  she continued with a bit of mild disgust. "I will have you know
  that I've been twice decorated for meritourious service as well
  as recieving efficiency ratings well into the nineties on every
  tour." She went into frenzy now, taking Riley aback. "How could
  you think that I would do something like that?" she demanded.
        Riley sighed, for once letting out a little emotion. "I
  never seriously considered that you were the saboteur. But my
  evidence doesn't disclude you, so I have no option but to use
  this interview."
        Grissom looked in disbelief at her superior officer. "I'm
  sorry, sir," she finally replied after several seconds when she
  collected herself. "I didn't mean to go off-line like that. The
  engine room has been keeping me on edge."
        Riley fought down the impulse to comfort her, knowing
  full well how she would take the overture. Instead he merely
  dismissed the incident. "Lieutenant, it didn't happen. Don't
  worry about it. But I do expect to be treated with proper
  respect."
        Grissom stood up, starting to excuse herself. "Yes, sir,
  and if you don't mind, sir, I have several things which need to
  be attended to."
        Riley nodded, though Grissom was already walking out the
  door. He decided that something would eventually need to be
  done about her attitude.
 
        Monroe entered the conference room, as ordered, at
  precisely eighteen-hundred hours. Riley was sitting at the main
  desk, and offered a chair to the Ensign.
        As soon as Monroe took his seat, Riley slowly stood up.
  "I apologize, but I'm getting a bit stiff from all of the
  sitting I've been doing lately," he started with a false
  humour.
        "No apologies needed, sir," Monroe piped up, though
  somewhat nervous. "If you will pardon my insistance, may I
  inquire as to why I was called down here?"
        "You may inquire," Riley replied flatly. Monroe looked
  confused for a moment. "It was a joke," Riley added when he
  noted Monroe's lack of response.
        "Sir?" Monroe queried with a bit of distance. Sarcasm was
  apparantly lost on him.
        "Ensign Monroe," Riley coldly began. "I have been
  reviewing personell records, and your name didn't come up."
  Riley folded his arms, letting the young Ensign know exactly
  how deep his hole had been dug.
        Monroe flustered for a moment, unusure as to how Riley
  could even access the computer records from what was left of
  the machinery. "I don't know what you mean, sir," he tried.
        "I mean, you must have transfered to this ship shortly
  before we set sail," Riley replied, though his tone alluded to
  another meaning. "I am requesting your records from Star Fleet
  Command at this time, but I was hoping you could fill me in
  with some information."
        Monroe drew in a breath. It was obvious he was nervous. He
  indeed had something to hide. "What do you need to know, sir?"
        Riley paced the room for a moment, allowing Monroe to feel
  even more flustered than he already was. "What ship did you
  serve on before transferring aboard?"
        "I served on the ANTARES, under Captain Jameson, sir,"
  Monroe blurted out.
        Riley paused for another moment, allowing the answer to
  dig into his head. "The ANTARES? An EXETER class ship, right?"
        Monroe looked confused for a moment,  but quickly
  straightened himself out. "Yes, sir. She had one of the best
  engine rooms of the fleet," he replied, giving an act of pride.
        But Riley was undaunted and continueud with the
  interview. "I served with Jameson when he was one the HOOD
  before his big promotion to Captaincy. He was an excellent
  first officer."
        "I imagine he was sir," Monroe replied with a smile.
  "Though I would say that you handle things a bit more properly
  than he did."
        Riley looked Monroe over again, which made the Ensign
  shake with fear. His superior was deliberately dressing him
  down, and that was not to be taken lightly. "What was your
  officer effeciency rating aboard the ANTARES, Ensign?" the
  First Officer queried from out of the blue.
        "Eighty-six percent, sir," Monroe quickly blurted. "It
  would have been higher, except that I wasn't used to the
  ANTARES navigation systems until some time into my tour," he
  added for explanation.
        Riley nodded his head in acceptance. "Very well," he
  finally commented. "You are dismissed then. I hope the records
  problem will straigten out. We've had some trouble with
  getting the computer system on-line, so your records got lost
  in the shuffle."
        Monroe nodded and quickly stepped out of the conference
  room. Riley carefully watched him leave, and continued to watch
  the empty hall until the doors closed.
        "Ninety-six degrees in here and he didn't break a sweat,"
  Riley muttered when he figured that the room was safe. He now 
  had all the proof he needed for security.
 
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