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Glad to see they haven't put you out to pasture flying a desk just yet. 

Alex allowed both to speak, prior to standing slowly, gazing down at both the Romulan, and the Augment. Both experts in their perspective fields, both far too secure in their own importance. Enough was enough. "Lieutenant Jiseth, I am well aware of the homicide onboard, and the investigation at hand. Neither the CMO nor Alpha are considered suspect. And Lieutenant Nevir is with the Captain right now, I suspect, explaining your theory. Thank you for bringing me up to speed. However, regardless of your intent, my order for you to apologize to the deck detachment stands. Considering that an official complaint has been made, and there is holorecording evidence of your outburst, it would only be reasonable for this...correction, be made. You can make it part of your effort to draw out the suspect if it so suits you. Report to the bridge afterwards. Dismissed." His tone left little to argue against, and he waited for Jiseth to leave before speaking again.

[XO's Office]

Always a pleasure to meet a representative of an invertebrate species... But how this one got three pips is beyond me.

Jiseth clicked her heels together and briefly stood at attention before stepping around her chair and placing her hand softly on Zero's shoulder. It remained for the shortest of moments before slipping away as did the rest of her from the office. Talking to Wu was a flamboyant waste in her mind, but as much as she detested his pettiness, she had to respect the rank. For as long as his lasted anyway.

[Shuttlebay]

The Romulan had stopped by her quarters and cleaned up with a new uniform on. Her crimson collar may as well have been colored with Human blood. Aside from the distant sounds of various hand tools, nothing concealed the sound of her legs as she neared. The crew she had scolded had stopped and looked at her. One ensign seemed a bit too chipper about the thought of having a superior officer having to belittle herself to placate their wanton sense of self-importance.

"I apologize for my outburst. It seems that my dismay at the events of today have caused me to act unprofessionally. There's a certain standard that is to be expected on this ship, it is after all the flagship of the task force."

"Why, thank y-"

"Shut your mouth, Ensign."

His slight grin faded quickly and her baleful stare locked to his eye and then every one else of the deck crew. She held out a PADD that she had behind her back and marked each of the profiles of the individuals who stood before her.

"In my professional opinion, you have not lived up to the standards we expect of you. I am rescinding the maintenance certificates each of your possess and once we dock back at starbase, you can find reassignment on a ship that might be more suited to your caliber, such as a mining freighter or garbage scow. If you want to stay on this ship, I suggest you earn that privilege by finding out how every single system can go out at once. This may seem harsh, but it is fair. After all, what occurred today could be considered criminal negligence and I would rather give a chance to those who can prove themselves rather than put you all in the brig to await court marshal. Certain luxuries will still be available to you. The maintenance logs for example, shuttle schematics, camera feeds of who was working when. Time however, is not a luxury you have. Now go."

For a few seconds they stared blankly at her, but this was no joke or empty threat. Aviation had a long history for mechanical mishaps killing perfectly good pilots who never stood a chance at triumphing over the laws of physics when certain components failed. Like hell she or any of her flyers would befall a similar fate if it were preventable. She gave not the slightest hint of remorse as they put away their tools and filed out toward the corridor. In her head she made a mental note of which she was rooting for to solve the mystery. Some she hardly knew at all on a personal level, but was usually confident in their work.

[Bridge]

When Jiseth arrived she moved to the helm station just as the Captain went by toward the turbolift, but did not take it. She scanned the various displays and noted that nothing was out of the ordinary. Standard orbit. Impulse engines at idle, warp nacelles on standby. Trajectory with barely a hint of eccentricity. It would have been helpful if she had been given orders other than to try and work and play nice with others.

There as a Nebula-class named Farragut and it's basically a Galaxy.

As Jiseth spoke, Zero had to admit some confusion to herself.  Depending on which way one interpreted Jiseth's words, she could either be trying to incriminate the Augment, or incriminate the CMO.  The latter she had no opinion on.  What humans did or didn't do generally went over the top of her head anyway, so there was no point in dwelling on it any futher.  The notion of Jiseth incriminating her, on the other hand, was somewhat more puzzling.

"I fail to comprehend.  Why would I wish to end the life of a member of the crew whom I have no relationship with beyond being familiar with his medical file?  I was simply performing my duty.  There were no other considerations.  What would I have to hide?"

[XO's Office]

Jiseth snapped her thumb and middle finger, leaving her index one to point towards Zero.

"That's precisely it. You wouldn't. Some might say you don't work and play nice with others, but that's about as grievous of a sin as it gets. So it very much sounds like the CMO was over-reacting because while I should be in here with her, I'm not..."

Her eyes focused back on Wu, though not in her usual intent to fire disruptor blasts. If anything, she was tired. Tired and restless from the amount of time she was still confined in a soiled flight suit as well as this office.

"...And at least I have a bigger picture in mind when I fly off the handle. There's more at stake than just a reputation or hurt feelings. Can we agree on that?"

"Commander, perhaps you should not involve yourself in matters which require intellect of a certain degree.  Medical had been ordered to perform an autopsy on a corpse for which I was the first responder.  Given the state of emergency on the vessel due to the presence of diplomats, it was imperative to determine whether the death was due to murder, accident or natural cause.  Lieutenant Vaughan's tardiness delayed that determination and as such, I began to make a visual appraisal while in no way compromising the evidence.  For that, I was severely chastised and confined as one would a naughty child.  If Lieutenant Vaughan has no use for me, I would rather she asked for my transfer in lieu of her current behaviour."

[XO's Office ]

Jiseth's heart stopped for a moment. Seeing Zero annoyed and, in her own way, standing up for herself harked back to the memories of when they first met. Also of when the Romulan first came to the Discovery to interview the officers and crew about the Augment for potential reassignment to the Churchill.

Emerald eyes looked toward the ceiling as she pondered through her own paranoia. At the present everyone was guilty until proven innocent as murder was rarely if ever justifiable and to be quite honest with herself she did not have much inkling to trust personnel outside of her own department. However, even they were in a poor light given the events of the day.

"Huh... You know, at first I thought it was incredibly suspect that Vaughan had dismissed the only person with a mind within ten parsecs that could meet or exceed her own. To do an autopsy without another medical professional present seems too much like an opportunity to hide evidence, but I suppose the defense of the CMO would be she could have thought the same of Zero. But that's being charitable, I think. Could just as well say that Vaughan didn't want Zero to find something which means she's a possible accomplice. Just speculation."

"As for you," Alex turned his attention to the Romulan pilot, "it's not everyday the deck crew gets chewed out by an officer who's responsible for them now being stuck on two weeks doubleshifts. You were upset. I get that. But if you want to be an officer on this ship, I expect you to lead by example, not by fear and intimidation."

His tone sharpened slightly. "Lieutenant Jiseth, you will first go to sickbay, accompanied by Doctor Alpha, and have your facial injury treated. You will then return to the shuttlebay and apologize to the deck crew for your unprofessionalism and outburst. Report to me directly on the bridge afterwards. Alpha, until I speak with Doctor Vaughan, consider yourself returned to full duties. Report to your post, after you take your dog back to your quarters."

He pulled a blank PADD out from his desk drawer, quickly accessing and downloading the autopsy report. Sliding it across the desk, Alex nodded towards it. "Go over that, and see if anything was missed. If you do find something, please don't rub it in Doctor Vaughan's face. Bring it to myself and Captain Briggs instead. Questions?"

[XO's Office]

The Romulan's face went neutral, though she was woefully beyond any desire to play nice with anyone.

"Sir... You should know that the away team and I all concur that the Theseus was sabotaged. Nevir is speaking with the Captain as we speak regarding the component which caused us to lose, well, everything. Warp core scrammed, auxiliary power nil, hell if it weren't for the manual standby systems we'd be dead right now. The component in question was not one easy to find nor manipulate..."

Her fists clenched as she kept her eyes on the Commander as an icy rage in her chest began to churn like a Siberian blizzard. Hurt feelings were the least of her problems. As far as she was concerned, her whole damn squadron was grounded until they checked every single circuit and bold on every single ship in the hangars.

"...Then we return to find out there was a murder on board. It means that potentially all shuttlecraft have been compromised and, potentially worse, that one of my people was committed the act. My outburst gave the appearance that I was upset over an accident; it doesn't reveal my hand. However, what bugs me more is that this could have been overlooked. Someone saw something and didn't say anything. I expect to have a long talk with Ferris about our security procedures and for the record, fear and intimidation are poor adjectives. We seek to kill bravery, you know this. We drill the hell out of everything so that when something does occur we're not caught flatfooted. It saves lives, Commander. Now..."

Jiseth leaned forward slowly and stood, the whining buzz of the servos in her legs clearly audible.

"...Will that be all, sir?"

Although she still didn't look all that convinced by Jiseth's speech, especially the part about not being a tool to be used, but Zero took a deep breath and put it to one side in her head to be analysed later.  Slowly, tentatively, she reached out a hand to Jiseth's.  Their fingers touched and she withdrew slightly before strengthening her resolve, pressing forward to curl her fingers around Jiseth's until they were holding hands.

Holding hands.  Hardly a great step toward undoing the damage done to her ability to form physical romantic relationships, but it was better than she had been able to do only a week or so ago.  Being able to initiate physical contact... She just hoped that Jiseth wouldn't reject it.

"Will such a response be adequate?  Will it not be considered... flippant?"

[Outside XO's Office]

There was a gentle squeeze of Zero's hand and as she looked down at both of theirs together. For a moment she had to remind herself this was not a hallucination brought on by the injury to the face. She glanced at the door for a moment and returned her attention to the Augment.

"Flippant is a good description. Trick is to do it with a straight face. Just look focused like you're working on your research, but don't day dream while standing there in case he asks anything. I tend to go rigid like when I was a plebe cadet at the Academy when I'm at attention and it seems to work because I appear receptive, even when I don't agree with them. Saved my butt a couple times with Grix on the Churchill. Pretty sure you'll have an easier time than I will. A combination of short temper and big mouth isn't the most conducive to pleasant conversation."

In a very small, hesitant voice, she asked:  "Surely a... bad doctor would not be able to attain the post of chief of medical science aboard a star ship?  I continue to demonstrate many faux pas in my interactions with my colleagues.  How can I be assured that this was not my fault?"

[Outside XO's Office]

"All it means is they can pass a test. Tells us little of how they work with others, which in an operating room is what matters most. Far more than some wanton sense that they're the captain of some ship and you must obey every little thing they do. You're a doctor yourself, not a tool."

Her expression softened as she allowed herself several deep breaths to cool down. There was her smirk making a return as well, tugging at the right side of her lips.

"I think you worry too much about how you interact with others. Another idea put in your head to make you feel like you'll never be a normal person, but it's simply not the case. I've seen you with other medical staff before. Hell, you've gone this long in Starfleet and no dishonorable discharge or rank demotion. The biggest problem I have is the CMO won't even speak to you, they're having someone else do their work for them rather than build a functioning team. I suppose in the grand scheme of things, this won't be so bad. We'll just nod our heads, say our yes sirs, and go home. How does that sound?"

The expression on Jiseth's face was one that shamed Zero further.  She hadn't intended to cause the Romulan any distress, but it seemed that she had inadvertantly done so.  Humanoid interactions and emotions, despite all of my studies, remain as elusive as ever.  She rested a hand on Ghost's head, listening to the happy thump of his tail against the deck plates.  At least canine behaviour is relatively simple to decipher.

She was surprisingly astute in pinpointing the dead crewman as a cause for her confinement to quarters, evidenced by a slight raising of both pale brows.  "You are correct.  I was assigned to the autopsy to determine the cause of death and, as the Chief Medical Officer was tardy, I began a visual examination of the subject while refraining from making physical contact as instructed.  It would seem that was cause enough as upon her arrival, she contacted security to have me removed."

[Outside XO's Office]

"Just for that? Absurd!"

Shaking her head, Jiseth ran her fingertips along her eyebrows toward her ears before rubbing her temples in small, circular motions. If an FO did her preflight checks and prepared the craft before her arrival, she was grateful and usually impressed by the act. Emergencies could not be left to those sitting around waiting to be told what to do. Though they were from different fields, the requirements for adequate communication and logistics was one of the overlaps between flying and medicine.

Punishing someone for doing their due diligence was anathema to the standards the two women held themselves to and it made Jiseth's blood heat as if under a gas stove.

"For the future, there are some people who like to be in control at all times. They're terrible at communication and they act like their ideas are the only ones that matter, even if they're wrong. You may refer to such people in your field as bad doctors."

"I do require measurements from you in order to progress to more advanced levels of my research project," Zero agreed, wondering how long this meeting was going to take.  She wanted to get back to her data files sooner rather than later and get back into it.

"Seeing as I was forcibly removed from my duty post by two security officers, I do not foresee this being a brief scolding."

[Outside XO's Office]

Emerald eyes squinted and lips knotted in a flash. It had been ages since either of them had a reprimand that required a command level officer be involved. The only time she had ever seen security officers take Zero was to see Corinth. This was suddenly a rather uncomfortable situation and Jiseth was quite flummoxed.

"So... What did you do that caused such a harsh rebuke? You've never removed an organ or limb or done any experimentation without the patient's consent. Or is it something else? I overheard some people talking about a dead crewman. Surely you're not caught up in that."

"I do not currently have the required equipment to repair the damage, but I will be able to once we have regained our quarters," Zero replied.  She did raise an eyebrow at the mention of losing yet another shuttlecraft.  Jiseth was building up quite the graveyard of hulls to her name.  The expression was soon replaced by one of faint chagrin as her presence there was questioned.  "I have been placed under confinement for the majority of the day.  I believe that is why he wishes to converse with me."

[Outside XO's Office]

"Just as well..."

Jiseth rolled her head around from side to side before lowering her chin to her collar and lifting it back up. It was like two mischievous school girls waiting outside the principal's office in the Romulan's mind. This thought brought a smirk to her lips at the very least and a slight sigh of relief.

"...I wasn't planning on doing anything else for the rest of the duty period except keep an eye on the PADD for updates from the CFO? Perhaps assist with your research before I start making dinner. Assuming we get out of here in one piece."

Her pale grey eyes immediately zeroed in on the emerald blood on her mate's nose and stepped forward, placing her hands on either side of Jiseth's face, tilting her head back and side to side in order to examine the damage done.

"What occurred to incur such an injury?" she enquired.

[Outside XO's Office]

"Tsh. I ran into the front door like an idiot, forgetting we keep it locked. My apologies, e'lev. It was careless."

Her eyes went to the side to keep watch on the door to the office, but also to not look directly at the ceiling lights. There was still a great deal of pressure in and around her nose. The headache was a less than pleasant accompaniment since she had again had a slip of the mind and forgot to take anything for the pain. Luckily the best doctor she had ever known was looking her over.

"I um... Well, it wasn't my fault, I think... but the Theseus crashed on the planet, probably why the Commander wants to see me. Might I ask for something with the new legs-wait what are you doing here too?"

=^= "Acknowledged," =^= came the grumpy reply.  Logging the progress she had made in her research and filing it away in her private servers before pushing herself to her feet.  Doing so disturbed the pile of white fur at her feet, who also jumped up and wagged his tail.  Zero watched him for a moment, the expression of canine hopefulness that he might go for a walk clear on his face.  I am currently in sufficient trouble, she thought to herself.  No need to add to that trouble by taking a dog with her to a meeting with the first officer.  On the other hand, if she was already in enough trouble, she couldn't really get into any more, could she?  And since Callion was still with the ship's day care service, there was no need for the canine to stay behind to guard the little girl.

Ghost started doing a happy dog dance as soon as she picked up his lead and clipped it onto his collar before leaving her quarters, making her way through the ship to the First Officer's office, where she pressed the chime.

The Romulan had tiptoed over to their kitchen as was well into downing a large class of water. It was cold and beyond refreshing. So much so that she choked when she heard the door open and quickly looked over to see the doctor and canine departing.

Guess I'm sleeping in my own quarters tonight...

"Wu to Jiseth. Report to my office. Out."=/\=

Oh great! Now I'm in trouble at home and at work...

On my way.

She looked at her self in a small mirror on the wall and dripped some of the water onto her hand to clear up her face. Hardly enough time to properly get out of the flight suit and she wondered what he could possibly want that could not be handled over a PADD message. After finishing the contents of her glass, she made her way to the corridor.

For most of the way she had been getting somewhat confused looks and noticed others looking back over their shoulders. One crewman asked if there had been a fight, to which the Romulan made no reply. A turbolift ride later and down the hall she received an inkling as to what might have been going on. Zero was at the XO's office too. And Ghost. She stopped next to them, but kept a respectful distance.

"...Looks like we both got into a mess today, huh?"

Zero tag

Never one to be happily roused from her research, Zero was rather annoyed by the call coming through the computer.  For all her intelligence, it was taking a frustrating amount of time to study the cybernetics required for Jiseth's artificial limbs, knowledge that she needed to assimilate if she wanted to be able to offer a better solution.

The fact that it was Alexander Wu calling did mitigate her annoyance a fraction, seeing as he was one of the few people to have shown her some modicum of kindness during the short time they had served together on the USS Discovery in previous years.  It was, however, only a slight mitigation especially since he happened to be asking the impossible of her.  Reporting to his office meant leaving her quarters, which was forbidden at that point.

=^= "Alpha to Wu.  I am currently confined to quarters and therefore unable to aquiesce to your request." =^=

[Alpha's Quarters]

There was a wave of relief washing over as Jiseth neared the doors. It vanished just as suddenly as she slammed into them. One thing she was still getting used to was the fact that this one living space had to have tighter security than the photon torpedo magazine or antimatter storage units. As she reached out and punched in the code to the key pad, she could most definitely feel a head ache coming on and a rush of hot moistness in her nose which trickled down in a green stream from her right nostril.

As the door opened, the Romulan stepped through holding the bridge of her nose with one hand and the other wiping the blood from her upper lip. It was a far from graceful way to end the day, but at least she was home. She dared not sit in any of the furniture in her muddy flight suit and decided the safest bet was to remain by the front of the room.

"Snowflake! Pointy ran into the doors again. Also... I lost a shuttle today."