Explain that! (Heather]

[Fells Halgerdur]

[station]

The hallway to Commander Masig Gronds office seemed to be especially long to walk today.
For the past two days this was bound to happen. A prisoner exploded in his presence and he was covered in bruises, lost some teeth....well....they were gone before the explosion...and more.
Questions would be asked and Fells had thought long and hard what to answer.
His file had already one big fat black hole in it and he surely didn't need another one. Not if he wanted to stay a member of Starfleet.
The Icelander knew very well that he had made mistakes and gone against protocol but how much could he admit? What had Crewman Petriel told the commander?

He was nervous when he stepped up to the door and it slid open.
"Commander? You wanted to speak to me?" He asked rather innocently. Hopefully the Tellarite had had a good breakfast and possibly some pleasure to be in a better mood than usually.

[T'Prina]

[NPC - Lieutenant Commander Masig Grond - Chief's Office]

Grond sat back in his large, battered leather chair, and looked up from the PADDs scattered across the top of his desk with a grunt.

"Don't try and be cute with me, Halgerdur. You know damn well why you're here." He grabbed his mug of raktajino in a meaty fist and took a long drink. The Klingon beverage was strong, but it could really use a little something more.

"The problem with doing stuff 'off the books' is it makes a crap ton of work for me." Grond set his drink down and slid a PADD across the desk for Fells to look at.

"See that? 'Failure to adhere to protocol,' and it's nearly straight down the page, as much as it's repeated. I'm getting the feeling that's gonna be the title of your autobiography some day. It's not just having your girlfriend patch you up. I don't give a crap about that nitpick bureaucracy. Hell, I don't even care that you roughed the bastard up. The damn security feed is there for a reason. To cover your ass!" A vein was pulsing on his forehead, as he grew more agitated.

"Do you mind explaining just what the hell you were thinking, Officer Halgerdur?"

[Fells Halgerdur]

[Gronds office]

The guy knew everything and had already painted a very nice picture of what had happened for himself. Unfortunately it was accurate, too.
How did he know about Lea, though? Had Tominsa or Petriel talked to him and given him details?
Fells face became hard as his mind was going a mile a minute.
"I was just asking that guy a few questions, when his head suddenly exploded, sir. It would be better to find out who pushed the button on that one....and I swear that wasn't me. Maybe we should focus on the actual bad guys?"
Distraction ....perhaps it would work.

"Did you already question the other officers on duty?" Fells grew very nervous. If Petriel gave Grond the whole story there was no use in denying anything.

[T'Prina]

[NPC - Lieutenant Commander Masig Grond - Chief's Office]

Grond sighed, and looked level at Fells.

"You know what really pisses me off? When people assume I got this position just because I'm a big, dumb, stupid-strong Tellarite. I am big, and I am just stupid-strong. But I am also no idiot. I asked you a question, not your opinion on the direction this investigation should be headed." He swung an arm out and gestured at the PADDs on his desk.

"These are reports from all over the station, I've got surveillance from the promenade, got the autopsy report. Let me tell you, the science squints had a field day with whatever that thing was that completely wrecked that guy's skull. It's clearly not an injury caused by a phaser, and you couldn't have beat him so bad his head caught fire. So consider yourself lucky there." Grond took another drink of his raktajino and looked over the mug at Fells.

"I'm gonna give you another chance to tell me your side, because I'm so generous, and I like having all the facts. The sooner this little inquiry can be done, the sooner we both go back to doing anything more interesting than staring at each other across my desk."

[Fells Halgerdur]

[Gronds office]

If the situation hadn't been so serious, Fells might have even enjoyed the dry humor of the Tellurite. Since he was being 'questioned' his own humor had run dry.
He tried hard not to make a face when a wave of alcohol laced breath hit him.
Then he decided to talk business, just like his boss.
"Look. I'm doing the best I can at my job. I've put myself in the line of fire more than once and I think I'm a good security officer. You're right. I do not follow protocol as much as I should but I get sh*t done."
His blue eyes had become cold and calculating as he tried to play his best cards here. Maybe this new superior would be the single one being, who actually appreciated the way Fells worked. Or at least tolerated it.
"That's why there is no camera feed of my interrogation. He talked though....told me that he was hired by a lady named Daphne and that she gave him the knife, which almost killed commander Hawke because he was contaminating the human race. He also said that Earth First's got a secret benefactor, who gave them money and weapons."

There was a dangerous spark in his eye when he became a little too self assured and raised his brows. "Show me one other security officer, who would have gotten answers this quickly....and matters were urgent. They don't wait until the captives get a proper interview."

[T'Prina]

[NPC - Lieutenant Commander Masig Grond - Chief's Office]

Grond grunted noncommittally and took another swig of his Klingon coffee. The kid just wasn't getting the real purpose of this little meeting.

"Look, Halgerdur. Did you get some answers doing it your way? Yeah. I won't argue the results. Would that bastard be any less dead if you did it another way? Probably not. Someone had better eyes on that situation than we did, and that just pisses me off." The vein above his eyebrow pulsed, and Fells wasn't the cause this time. Grond rolled his shoulders and continued.

"You got too much of that lone wolf mentality. Yeah, you got him to talk, but you could have easily wound up dead yourself. You need to stop treating rules like an inconvenience. I bitch about the paperwork, but my main concern is lives." He finished off his coffee, and set the mug down with a thud.

"It's better to learn this lesson sooner, rather than later. Keep acting cocky, and you'll make a bone headed mistake that gets you, or someone you care about dead." The statement was laced with his dry humor, but his eyes were dead serious. The man was speaking from experience.

[Fells Halgerdur]

[chiefs office]
Of course it was neither the time to contradict, nor mouth off nor anything else. He needed to comply. Inside he was pouting and getting annoyed though.
"I had to make a decision. At the time it looked like our commander would die if I didn't get answers fast. So I did what was necessary."
His expression was hard, arms crossed in front of his chest.

"I do agree that it would be advisable to follow the rules a little more though." Hopefully that would satisfy his boss, who already had more understanding that Fells was expecting and didn't seem to want to degrade or expel him for his actions.

"Sir, are you under the impression, that I'm not doing the best I can? I may not be following every regulation to the dot but I'm not straying from the law either. I'm always working in the best interest of the inhabitants of this base."

[T'Prina]

[NPC - Lieutenant Commander Masig Grond - Chief's Office]

Grond crossed his own arms, mirroring Fells, obviously not happy with the younger man's continued attitude.

"The only reason you're here and not on your way on the next shuttle out is that you're a damn good security officer. I'm not in the habit of letting competent people go. I think you get the point of our little chat today, even if I can tell you're chomping at the bit to tell me off. Even I was young and hot-headed at one point. Least I ain't young anymore." He gave a gruff laugh before continuing.

"You're back on duty, Halgerdur. Resume your usual shift, but you're on call during the contest. I can't let you off too light. Now get outta here. I got work to do, other than yelling at you. Dismissed." Grond waved his hand before returning his attention to the stack of PADDs with reports screaming for his attention.

[Fells Halgerdur]

[Chief's Office]

The situation was almost a little comical when the Lieutenant Commander also crossed his arms, set his jaw and frowned at Fells.
Fells held his gaze even though he felt slightly intimidated by his superior.
In his words he found a threat (to be removed from his job) but also the praise that he was actually good at it. Fells could only agree. He might be unconventional, and a rule bender, but he was good at what he did and also started to like it.

The man laughed at his own joke and Fells could see some similarities in their attitude and behavior. Maybe he'd be as grumpy and rough as the guy one day. At least he had a bit of appreciation for his men and a very strange sense of humor.
Frankly, despite the scolding, the security officer kind of liked the man.

All through the rant and screaming he kept a straight face and didn't blink more than twice.
Was it a good idea to mouth off now, that he'd gotten away with a mere slap on the wrist? Nope!
He quickly took a breath but there was a hint of sarcasm audible when he replied. "I'm happy to accept a few extra hours of work, thank you sir!"
Then he dropped his chin and turned away just to stop at the door once more.

For a moment he was searching for the right words, then he added in a sincere tone. "Lieutenant Commander, I do appreciate that you're letting me off easy."

[T'Prina]

[NPC - Lieutenant Commander Masig Grond - Chief's Office]

Grond just snorted, not looking up from the report he was reading.

"See how appreciative you are when you're getting called out of bed in the wee hours to deal with a drunk and disorderly. Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Halgerdur." He continued reading his PADD, pointedly ignoring the younger man now. There was too much crap to deal with and not enough hours in the day.