After the conduits overhead stopped creaking menacingly, Jesa's life seemed to settle down a bit---seemed, was the operative word in that sentence. Especially since Jesa had discovered that the energy transfer conduits overhead were making creaking sounds, and that if she stood up and stretched her arms out to the sides, she could almost touch both walls of her so-called office. Some Admiral was most definitely getting her back...

But she worked quietly anyway, trying to get as much paperwork done as she could. Fifteen minutes ago, some enlisted crewmember, in fact, the same woman that had packed up her belongings in the ready-room, dropped off another armload of padds. Again Jesa neglected to even get her name, much to her own annoyance. She could have done a cross-reference through the Isannah crewmember database , but that seemed like a silly amount of work for something so meaningless, and she already had enough work as it was.

About twenty minutes later another figure walked by the fish-tank window, this one clad in the red colors of command. Upon glancing up, Jesa realized it was Darel Rich, the second officer. The broken chime tried to chime, forming a kind of strange chirp-croak. "Come in." Jesa said, and the doors opened... halfway, becoming stuck with about fifteen inches of clearance.

Jesa looked up at the doors, giving an "oh well" half-smile and shaking her head. Rich took one look at the doors and forced them open the rest of the way with one hand. Jesa looked up at him as he made his way in, and motioned for him to have a seat. "Rich... I wanted to apologize for my words to you last time, while I still believe I am right about the matter, I was displacing emotions onto you and that was wrong of me. I'm sorry about that."

He seemed surprised. "Oh, well, that's alright. I'm sorry for my words. That personal attack wasn't called for." He spoke, softly.

Jesa looked at his face, but he looked down at the table for a moment. "What would you like to see me about?" Jesa asked finally, after he had sat there in silence.

He looked up at her. "Commander... she lives." He said simply.

Jesa just sat there in silence for almost a full minute. She was going to stand, but realized there was no place in this matchbox of an office to stand. She knew exactly what he had done, disobeyed her direct order, coerced Faulk... most likely Faulk, into performing the procedure, and basically put her in a very bad position. "How is she?" Jesa asked finally.

"Stable... she's stable." Rich said.

"Who did you use?" Jesa spoke, carefully choosing her words.

"Alexandria Robinson..." he returned simply.

The Commander took a deep breath, the consequences and repercussions still racking up in her mind, over this one simple action. "You... have put me in a very bad position, Darel Rich."

"I had no choice," Rich said.

"The family arrived on the station yesterday, apparently in preparation for holding a funeral according to the family's beliefs," Jesa looked at Rich "What am I supposed to tell them?"

He only looked up at her, not even offering an opinion of how she should get out of this sticky situation that HE had the GAUL to put her in without thought to anything but himself. She felt anger rising in her again, but she realized it would be no use at this point. What was done, was done, and there was nothing else to do but deal with the situation as it stood now.

Jesa only sighed, willing herself not to get involved in another argument. Now the consequences would be faced. "This is beyond my jurisdiction, Rich... you've interfered with not only the personal rights of an individual that had no say in the matter, not to mention at least six other moral and ethical reasons why you shouldn't have done this. This isn't in my court and I can't really do anything for you..."

"I know that, sir," he said, his manner was quiet, but not meek. Jesa knew he fully believed what he did was right and would do it again.

Anger was somewhat restrained within Jesa, but completely absent from her manner. "I guess on some level it may have been right, believing as you do... but by everything else, it was still wrong. And because of that, you'll suffer for it. I don't need to tell you that your career in Starfleet is over, perhaps even criminal charges will be brought." Jesa stated, not taking any joy out of saying it. "I suppose I am disappointed, Darel, but not all that much surprised."

His eyes flashed, and he looked up at her. "Wouldn't you have given up everything you had to save Gear, the person that you loved?"

Surprise emanated through Jesa's being for a moment. Of course he didn't know, so she kept the expression completely off of her face. "Yes, I would throw away this uniform and everything else with it to save Buck..." Jesa answered quietly.

"Then how is that different than what I did?" Darel said angrily.

"It's... only different in that I don't believe holograms are, and can be, sentient beings. And you believe the opposite. And nothing we say will convince each other that we're wrong." She said, looking up at him, somehow finding a way to keep a compassionate stance, and still hold her authority. "But what we can agree on right now is there is a young woman, who is living and breathing, down in the Sickbay facility, who is scared and in need of a lot of help right now."

He straightened and pulled his uniform tunic down. "So, where does that leave us, Commander?" He asked.

"We both do... what must be done." Jesa said, softly, straightening and rising to her full height. Her tone grew formal, but not taking any pleasure in this action.

"As of this moment, you, Lieutenant Commander Darel Rich, Second Officer of the USS Isannah, are relieved of all duty, and subject to the immediate removal of all rights and privileges of your rank as an officer of Starfleet. Your access to all shipboard material is denied and you are to be held until such time when a hearing will be convened to determine what actions should be taken against you. Do you understand?"

"Understood," he said, but it was easy to see he wanted to say a whole hell of a lot more by the defiance in his eyes.

"You are confined to you temporary quarters here on the Starbase until I can inform the family, the creator of LAURA... if she doesn't know already, and Command of this... incident. Do not leave your quarters to see her, Lieutenant Commander. The moment I know that you've done that, I *will* put you in the Starbase brig myself."

"Jesa, she can't deal with this alone! I have to be there to help her!" Rich said, urgently. "She needs me!"

Jesa's voice grew cold, "Do you think you are the only competent counselor on this Starbase, Darel?"

His anger was restrained, but a twitch in the muscles of his jaw told Jesa all she wanted to know about what he was thinking. She continued on, as though that last exchange had not taken place.

"I trust you can find your own way there, without need of an armed escort." Jesa said, willing to allow him at least some dignity in this.

"Yes.... Sir..." he added, as a complete afterthought.

"Dismissed..." She said, and watched him turn towards the door. "Darel," she said softly. He turned back to her. "I promise I'll keep an eye on her myself... alright?"

"She will appreciate your concern, I'm sure," he said, a fair amount of sarcasm in his tone.

Jesa shook her head slightly, unable to refrain from adding one last thought. "You've likely just destroyed everything you've worked for... I hope that it was worth it in your eyes."

"I know it is," He said, "And I will be back."

Jesa realized his answer would have been her own if she had faced loosing Buck. She couldn't honestly say she would have had any more respect for other people if his life was hanging in the balance. She looked down towards the desk, truly sorry for how things had turned out. But upon examining everything that had happened, she couldn't see anything else in her power that she could have done. She had done what she had to do, in response to what he did... and thought he had to do.

The only question was... how to handle the family...

Loaded: 05.02.2004