Revelations

Posted on 27 Feb 2019 @ 8:10pm by Captain Akio Tachibana & Lieutenant Junior Grade Wyndsor Emerson, Ph.D. & Lieutenant Junior Grade Eira Cortez

Mission: Ka Hakaka Maikaʻi - The Good Fight
Location: Captain's Ready Room, USS Hawaii
Timeline: A few days after The Second Battle of XFY

ON:

Overall, Wyndsor was feeling relieved. Things were still a mess and loyalties were being questioned left and right, but they had battled and were doing their best to hang on. Wyn hated to trouble the Captain but there was some unfinished business that needed to be dealt with. Eira Cortez had agreed to come clean about the blackmail she'd experienced ever since their talk in the brig, and the counselor feared the longer it was left on the back burner, the more likely Cortez would lose her nerve.

It was the reason they were here now, when all was still so chaotic.

"Are you ok?" Wyndsor asked, turning to Cortez, her voice soft and measured with concern.

Cortez nodded and closed her eyes while taking a deep breath. It would be good to finally have everything in the open, but it still didn't help her situation on how to save her brothers. "Yep, I'm fine." Everything she knew that was going to come as a consequence of her talking would be a small price to pay.

Wyndsor nodded and hit the chime to Tachibana's office door. It was now or never.

Akio was still reeling from the consequences of battle. He shoved a PADD off his desk in a fit of anger. His right hand rubbed his forehead with the ends of his fingers as he stood.

"Enter!" he commanded before bending over to pick up the PADD that was the target of his frustration.

Cortez walked in with Emerson next to her and saw the Captain, “We apologise for coming in at a time like this sir. Are you ok?”

Wyndsor didn't need psychological training to see Akio was frustrated, and given all they'd been through, for good reason. Still, it was Cortez who'd asked if the Captain was ok, and Emerson saw no reason in interrupting his answer.

"Yes, please, have a seat," Akio tried to put on a strong face.

There was obviously more going on with the Captain than he wanted to share in that moment, but Wyndsor made a mental note to talk to him about it privately later. For now, she sat as directed and broke the ice.

"Sir, the two of us wanted to meet with you today to discuss Lieutenant Cortez' recent behavior. She shared some things with me while she was still in the brig that shed light on her recent actions, and we both agreed you should be made aware of them, as it may change your perspective completely." She cast her eyes toward Cortez, not wanting to put her on the spot, but also knowing she was really the only one who could explain.

"Explain," Akio said.

Wyndsor looked over at Cortez, encouraging her to begin speaking. Emerson was capable of explaining, of course, but she didn't want to automatically speak for the other woman, as if she weren't in the room. Control had been taken away from Cortez up to this point, so the last thing she wanted to do was reinforce that by talking for her.

"I know a simple 'I apologize for my actions in the most recent events' won't quite cut it here, so I'm not going to say it." Eira looked directly at the Captain, "Three years. I've done things I'm really not proud of, and been put in situations I wouldn't want anyone else to be in if they had a choice." She could feel her voice starting to rise but willed it be calm because Eira knew it wouldn't do her any good to look like she was starting to lose it.

"My brothers, Aiden and Dustin, got themselves mixed up in something really bad and now they're being tortured for it. My name and details got thrown in during their interrogation and now I'm being blackmailed into co-operation. Otherwise they both die." Her hands started fiddling with the sleeve of her jacket. "If I co-operate, the tiniest chance of a normal career and life goes down the drain because I've betrayed my Captain and his trust. If I don't co-operate, whoever it is holding my brothers and torturing them will have the chance to kill them. So what do you think I'm going to do with these choices presented to me? They're all I have." Her voice was quiet and sad.

Akio was surprised. It all made sense now... yet the details were like an alphabet soup.

"Lieutenant, how do you know they are being detained?" Akio asked neutrally.

"I received a video from someone anonymous." She looked down at the ground and then back up, "It showed them looking like they've been beaten because they're stubborn and obviously not co-operating, and the voice speaking is directed at me. I've tried everything to find out who it is, but they've covered their tracks unbelievably well."

"Cortez, you should have let us know sooner. We could have helped you. Do you have the video with you?" Akio asked.

Out of her jacket, she pulled the PADD that she carried everywhere with her, "Here you go. When I was first put into that cell, Lieutenant Cassidy came to see me and I sort of broke down and confided in him about a lot of the stuff, including showing him that video."

Akio made a mental note to speak with Cassidy about his secret.

"Very well. You have my assurance I will do everything in my power to get your brothers back. Yet, it is important we know everything. Keeping secrets from each other does not help the situation. Is there anything else you want to reveal to us, Ms. Cortez?"

"I don't believe there is, no. I do take full responsibility in regards to my actions, and whatever the outcome is, I'm more than willing to accept it. I just want my brothers to be safe." She shifted her weight onto her right side. "I'm tired of it all, I'm paranoid, and I want to go back to a normal life. Is that too much to ask for?"

"Do you think someone on the Wyoming had something to do with this? Is that why you sided with them?" Akio asked, wondering if he was still paranoid about that situation.

"It wasn't anyone from the Wyoming, I know that much. They were on the outside wanting to get inside information on the Wyoming's captain. I just played the part I was instructed to, and rode out the consequences for it." She appreciated the concern and help he was offering her, but didn't know how far that would get her in the grand scheme of things.

How could Cortez know it wasn't someone from the Wyoming if her role was to side with them? Akio wondered.

"Very well. Is there anything else you think we should know?" Akio asked, keeping his thoughts to himself.

"Not that I can recall, sir." Cortez shook her head slightly and clenched and unclenched her hands. She felt like she had said too much about everything already and could feel the tension of shutting herself down coming back.

One didn't need to have knowledge of behavior to see how agitated Cortez was. Emerson could understand the feelings on both sides of this conversation, but she couldn't help but feel protective of Cortez, who had been placed in an impossible situation. "You don't have to face this alone, Lieutenant. We will give you all the support you need."

"Thank you. I do appreciate it." Eira nodded her thanks and kept her head bowed, staring and picking at the dirt under her nails.

"If anything else comes up, Lieutenant, please do not wait to tell us. Bad news does not get better with time," Akio said sternly.

OFF:

Akio Tachibana, CAPT, SF
CO

Eira Cortez, LTJG, SF
AINT

Wyndsor Emerson, Ph.D., LTJG, SF
PSYCH