The Trouble with Trouble

Posted on Wed Jul 6th, 2022 @ 3:47pm by Lieutenant Commander Felicie Rivero & Chief Petty Officer James Calmara

The redheaded Chief of Security meandered through the station toward the Dockmaster's offices. While she was still on duty and this was an official visit, she was enjoying being out of the office for just a while. She was tempted to stop and get a coffee on the promenade, but that was likely pushing her luck. Still, it was just pleasant... and over far too soon as she arrived at her destination. With a sigh, she moved through the outer doors, offering a smile to the assistant at the front desk before walking along the corridor toward the office of the Dockmaster, knocking on the glass of the door before walking in. "Got a minute?"

Staring at a screen with the various ships in dock verse berths available, trying to understand who he was likely to be dealing with frequently, who were the regulars. The were fairly evident, their requests be it for supplies or parts or maintenance almost always only just exceeded what could be reasonably accommodated. Those who had never used the Starbase on the other hand had a list as long as an arm, one that would invariably be cut down after a discussion, occasionally a heated one. He was staring at the details of one such ship when the knock on the glass caused him to look up, the opening question had him leaning back a little as he gestured to a chair, “All most never. But have a seat anyways Commander.” his response while honest was not unkind or cold.

Stepping into the office, Felicie slid into the seat he had offered. "I thought I'd let you know we had another incident with Captain Gworski," she said, leaning forward and offering a PaDD to him. "I had a security detail go through his cargo prior to departure. You'll find a full list of the confiscated contraband in the PaDD," she said calmly. "I think we'll need to rethink his docking arrangements in the future."

The name caught his attention straight away, he was still grasping for the why as he took the device and started flicking though, attempted smuggling, his eyes widened a little at both the type and quantity of items. "That makes three times in as many searches he's been caught out, your customs folks are on point, and Gworski's probably getting greedy as well." He commented thoughtfully, placing the device down, turned his attention to penalties. "We can either restrict his crews movement and have cargo movement done by us or revoke his docking privileges entirely, both for a six month period." He offered two possible sanctions, the former would entailed more work for the starbase crew, operations personnel in particular, the later shifted the problem elsewhere, he was still undecided if that was a good thing or not. "I'm leaning towards the former, we can keep a lid on illegal trading that way, not just shift the problem to someone else, what do you think?"

"Works for me. Do me a favour though? Let's not tell him until next time he docks," Felicie said with a grin. "I'm happy to take the brunt of it, it would be absolutely my pleasure. Once he's docked, before he unloads or loads anything I want him signing a contract with us that allow us full access to search any and all cargo at any time we please, so long as he's within vicinity of the station. Let's tie his hands legally."

"I think I can work with that." James said calmly and then flashed a smile in return. He was well aware the one constant in traders life was the contract. An extremely useful mechanism, used the right way. "His face when he realises there's no other choice will be a picture for sure. I'll make sure the berth he uses is on manual, allow you and your people to be in position. Oh I'll have a chat with the ops section chief, given them a heads up about the slight extra work load, a couple of mine will probably pitch in as well." He commented, bring up points as they occurred to him, he leaned back into his chair with a shrug. "As long as he's easier to manage, that's the main thing."

"I'll make sure there's security staff on hand any time he docks, just to be on the safe side," Felicie added. "Not that I expect him to be overly troublesome once he realises that he's effectively been neutered, but I would prefer to err on the side of caution, especially where the wellbeing of this crew is concerned."

"Never a dull day on the docks." The man repeated a little awkwardly before adding." But its always a positive when the Head of Security says stuff like that." James remarked genuinely, before lapsing into silence, it was often a point of difficulty for him once installed business had been discussed, where to go next. He was about to ask if there was anything else when he remembered, he had something to ask. "Oh while you're here, I have a ship in dock that I can't move, the combination of a recently dead master followed by an ownership issues, would you be able to tell me if either of the corporations have been flagged by starfleet security?"

"Sure, give me some details and I can look it up for you once I'm back in my office? Dead master? Did the death occur here on the station?" Felicie's interest and curiosity were clearly piqued by the information.

“Unfortunately yeah, apparently they had a massive and fatal aneurysm to the brain as the vessel in question was going through the docking process.” Calmara related with a hint of sadness at the timing of the man demise. “Now the companies, we have. Verences Shipping Solutions, now they have been in touch, and are eager to resolve the matter shall we say.” James pulled a face at this point, their contact had been daily and sometimes with a rather abrupt staff member.” On the other hand Tumeris Mineing Corporation, is proving difficult to get hold of, comm attempts end in an automated response system that ‘assures you that your comments have been logged and will be felt with promptly” I’m still waiting on a reply.” There was a shrug and an eye role as he repeated the prompt that came at the end of any contact attempt with this particular company. “Any leg up I can get will be much appreciated.”

"Verences?" Felicie's brow furrowed slightly. "That name sounds oddly familiar..." There was a momentary pause. "Send the details through to me, I'll take a look into it when I get back to my desk and let you know what I find out, but we should be able to resolve the situation easily enough."

The offer of assistance even if it was just a bit more information brought a smile to the chiefs face, he switched his attention to his display and called up the standard information, that was for the most part publicly available, but also a few extra bits. "Sending it though now, I've also put on the contact logs between our people and theirs and my own notes, probably not necessary but its there anyway."

Felicie nodded slightly. "It shouldn't be too difficult to resolve. Worst case scenario we can always move the ship for now and have it quarantined until we can get it sorted so that the docking port is free and clear for you. I'll let you know once I've had a look into things." She exhaled slowly. Another task to add to the ever growing list. "Now, is there anything else you need from me or mine in the immediate here and now?"

"That sounds like a good workaround, I'll keep trying my end as well." He responded, freeing up the docking space was always a good thing, and maybe now some answers could be obtained and not just the silence he was greeted with, he gave a moment of thought to the follow up before coming back with. "Nothing else to add at present."

"In that case, I'll leave you be," Felicie said with a grin as she stood up. "I'll let you know when I know something more about the ship, but, otherwise, you know where to find me if you need anything. Usually hiding in a jefferies tube avoiding the never ending stream of stupid."

"It's the place to be, to evade the stupid." Calmara responded with a half serious look and a nod before breaking back into a grin. "I'll keep an ear out for your call, thank you for stopping by."