"I was wondering if we could talk about the Brotherhood situation, particularly in relation to my investigation and what happened on our return to Spacedock."

"Proceed, Commander." By using rank it was clear that Smallwood was not going to make it easy on the Commander.

K'Tael was not intimidated by the Admiral's demeanor. They were both their to do their jobs. That did not mean they had to like each other. "Admiral, I am wondering if I belong as the head of this investigation."

"Why do you ask that, Commander?"

"Sir, the investigation is not limited to Spacedock, but my authority is. Even though I am the field officer and have been placed in charge of this assignment, my requests are dismissed as being absurd by officers who are not in direct knowledge of what is going on."

"As for the jurisdiction, Commander, you have the authority that you need. However, more importantly, you have the support and backing of your commander, Admiral Renaud, and Starfleet Command by way of my self and Admiral Lasiter. If you are not getting the cooperation that you need, then you come to us, and we will see to it that you get it. As to your other question exactly which requests have been ignored or dismissed outright? I am aware that you take exception to my decision to deny the backup you requested while en route from Mars, but what else has happened?"

"It is not so much what has happened, sir, but I can see that easily happening again. You are my superior officer, and I understand that I must follow orders, but I must be given the leeway I need to complete the investigation in an appropriate manner. I am not sure that that can happen if I must worry that all of my superiors might second guess my every decission." K'Tael hoped that Smallwood understood where he was coming from.

"If I am understanding you correctly, you expect to be able to operate independently from the chain of command?"

K'Tael shook his head. "That is not my intention at all, sir." He paused for a moment to try and think of a better way to express his thoughts. He was obviously not doing a good enough job. "I guess I am concerned that the situation is going to lead to someone getting hurt or killed because of a miscalculation or a disagreement about how to handle a situation. People are going to stay alive due to split-second decisions. What happened out there with my request for additional aid could have been a problem. I guess I need to know what my limitations are in reguards to my assignment."

(response?)

}}}=) Lisa

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