[Back post] Questions and explanations
Posted on 16 Nov 2022 @ 9:39pm by Lieutenant JG Faith Benson & 2nd Lieutenant Cassandra Mathews
2,547 words; about a 13 minute read
Mission:
General Sim Postings
Location: Recovery ward sick bay
ON:
Cassandra was propped up. They had just finished some physical therapy for her stab wounds and she was chewing on ice cubes to help with the swelling and discomfort in her throat from having been nearly strangled to death. C'Tirr wasn't back yet. She imagined he had quite a bit to get done having just got a board before the shit show had taken place. She sighed wondering just how much trouble she had managed to get herself into this time. A soft knock on the frame of the room made her look up. She smiled on impulse thinking her brother had returned finally. Though there was indeed a security officer it was most certainly not C'Tirr. She swallowed hard, her heart fluttered nervously in her chest as her mouth went dry. She had been expecting an officer to come to investigate. She couldn't understand just why she felt so suddenly afraid. Maybe because she knew she was going to have to live through it all again. Maybe that's what she was afraid of? That somehow having it written down made it feel so much more real.
"Please come in.' Cassandra finally said. Extending an invitation to the lady security officer with her interesting eyes a violet color. The shade complimented the lavender hues of the room in a way that Cassi had never seen before in her life. The curiosity of it helped with her anxiety, oddly enough. "There is a chair over here." Cassi motioned to the seat her brother usually occupied to the right hand side of her.
Indeed there were going to be questions. Hopefully they were just follow ups. Faith knew how some people felt around these situations. Given her time, and other aspects of her own life, Faith tried to make it easy. It didn't always happen that way, some decided to be difficult.
She actually like the lavender color to be honest. It went with her own eye color in fact. Moving to the offered seat, setting the PADD down in her lap once she'd sat. Crossing one leg over the other at the thigh.
"So where would you like for me to begin?" Cassandra asked.
"Well you know, obviously there's all the written reports. The number of people involved. Even statements at the time or shortly after the incident. Or any incident even." Faith didn't touch the PADD in her lap yet.
"I think a lot of times, that's not fair. "Some people will say what they think is wanted to be heard. Some will say whatever to cover their ass. Some don't know what to say. They are in shock or tired, or been press so much while all of that is going on. The real story doesn't come out until later, then it can be to late."
Faith motioned out with a hand, "So, now that there's been time, think of this like your first time being asked about it. Level headed, no adrenaline rushing. Straight from the beginning, thirty minutes before it started, Lieutenant."
"Okay." Cassandra took a deep breath and thought back to the time in question. "I had just left the cargo area. I was going through the things stowed away from when my brother and I left a year ago to bury our parents. My brother had a box of hard files he was keeping as proof against Rhys Antako for multiple murder charges. He had found evidence linking him to several unsolved murders of investigators and numerous other victims. I needed to get them and take them to my MXO Lt. Falk. She was going to help advocate for me in helping get Rhys put away so he couldn't hurt anyone else again." Cassandra explained.
She took a sip of her slightly melted ice. It helped sooth her rough voice. "I couldn't locate the files. So I was on my way back to tell the MXO this when I noticed Rhys was following a young security officer." Cassandra chewed her lower lip feeling the icy fear roll through her,. Even just the memory of it raised the hair on her arms. "I wasn't sure what to do. I know now that I should have told someone. I was just afraid that nobody would believe me in time to help her." There was a almost haunted look to her face as her mind kept pushing the memory forward like a scary movie in hyper detail.
"That's when she had walked over to that guy, the engineer officer. Haze I think his name was. She talks to him. I didn't hear what was said I was to far away. But he fiddled with her phaser a bit and then they went to leave. I thought that he might give up for then and I could maybe let someone know what was going on. But he started to follow her again. I panicked and I tried to umm. . I spoke with Rhys to try and distract him to maybe buy some time to let her get some distance. But that engineer had come back and he sa Rhys being... Being a creep and had come to tell him off for scaring me and that girt.". Cassandra sorta smiled at how foolish but brave Jorel had acted trying to standup for her. What it almost cost him in the end though. The smile faded at that thought.
"Rhys he um. He doesn't like to be told off. It's against his rules." Cassi said, her tone betrayed a deep rooted fear. "I knew then that , that that poor man was going to die and quickly too. Because nobody breaks the rules and lives ." The tears were unexpected. It was like trying to talk around a rock in her throat. But it was hard to think about Rhys with out remembering her unfortunate luck at being his unwilling guest in his makeshift playroom on Cait for weeks. Cassandra knew the rules intimately. So did her brother. Her fingers began to tremble.
"So I decided I would just continue to follow Rhys. He hadn't done anything yet so I wasn't sure if I had grounds to report him or not. At least nothing that was going to stick. And I was just so scared." Cassandra explained as best as she could.
"Okay," Faith still hadn't touched the PADD, yet again. Regardless of she should probably be writing this down. She didn't really need to. Listening, and her expressions were not stoic. Not at all. Of course one may expect some Security Officers to do that. Or for them to fake sympathy and emotion in ones favor, or against it.
Sometimes there wasn't any point in that. Faith would put down everything later, she had to. Unnecessary at the time. Getting up and moving to sit on the edge of the desk. Reaching for anything like a tissue, not finding one, she just reached and used the back of her index finger to wipe the tears away. "Obviously there were things that were out of your control. Given to what it lead up to. You are right thought, you should have reported it. I'm not sure to say if your following made it worse or Haze made it worse. Or both, or neither."
Cassandra flinched at first. Her hand had grasped the officers wrist instinctually. Cassandra just as quickly let Faith go. The gesture was one of kindness. Cassandra had to tell herself. "Sorry. I'm not use to humans touching me." She hoped she hadn't hurt the officer. She let Faith wipe her tears. When she had finished Cassi gave a small, "Thank you." Not just for understanding but for the officers kindness.
Faiths arm paused there when it was grabbed, she already knew there wasn't much of a threat there. or at least not right now. She also could take care of herself and stronger than her frame appeared to be. "You're welcome."
Cassandra sat back. Trying to gather her wits. She felt like her mind was a blender filled with broken glass. Buzzing and circling, threatening to break free and impale her with a thousand cuts. Should she tell them about the tapes? Was she ready to face that hell again? No. No. Let C'Tirr tell them. She couldn't face the things that those recordings had burned into her mind. Hell was truely repetition. The repetitive screams of the helpless, the tortured, the dead. Knowing that your turn was coming and being just as helpless to stop the pain. She made herself drink a sip of water.
Faith leaned back a little, "What would help more now, is if you can think of minor things. Something that seemed completely insignificant. A conversation, a gesture, even one sentence."
Cassandra shook her head. It was all so muddled the closer it came to the attack. She closed her eyes trying to think of something to give the detective. Her mind danced around the subject. The trophies?, but she didn't know exactly what C'Tirr had done with them. Or the case files that linked this whole nightmare together? "I don't know.." she felt guilty for not knowing. She wanted to give them something they could use.
"It's fine. I'm sure something will come to you later at some point." Faith pursed her lips a little for a moment. "What about any of the images bring something back?" Sliding a PADD down.
"I think he was here looking for his trophies. I can't think of any reason else he would come here so boldly. He was a serial killer... I ... I am just glad he didn't kill that girl or that engineer." Cassi said. She was tired her throat ached. "My brother, C'Tirr he use to work a case on his last duty station, a murder. I think that's why he came after us."
"Hmmm. I'll have to look into that then. See what all I can dig up on my own." Faith leaned back a little bit.
"There was a Court hearing in San Francisco. I tried to bring a case against him. Mathews vs Antako docket #131-DV3022. Someone was covering for him, I think." Cassandra licked her dry lips. "I'm not crazy. He .. he was a monster." She wished her traumatized mind would stop skipping around. Everything seemed valuable and yet there was just so much. It extended far past just this incident. "I'm sorry I am not being very helpful am I?" She laughed at the understatement. A raspy dry cough of a laugh. She wasn't being any damn help at all. She felt the tears. Crying and laughing but nah she wasn't crazy... Right?
Faith listened and just jotted down the information as it came. Giving a shake to her head, "I don't believe you're crazy. You're being rather helpful actually. I did also say I would help and look into it after all." Not refraining to if necessary, again, to file any tears away. Or at the least give her something to do it with.
"My brother C'Tirr will be the one to talk to about Private Antako. He ummm he is the one who started to put it all together. I think he was sent to the Tomcat by his last CO." Cassandra felt another warm tear fall down her face. C'Tirr didn't know that his old friend Commander Warren was dead yet. One of many bodies left behind by Rhys. His family was missing. Cassandra couldn't bring herself to think about the horror they must have endured. If the time lined up the way she thought it might then it's likely they died shortly before C'Tirrs parents had been captured and killed. Her heart ached as she remembered the sight of their broken bodies laying on the ceremonial slab. It made her angry all over again. "There is just so much to tell. I don't even know where to start. Because it was happening long before I was involved." The shame, the guilt. But no real remorse. He'd never kill again. That would have to be enough. "He's dead." She whispered to herself. Reminding herself for comfort.
"That probably should have been lead with to be honest. So now I know I'm not going to be looking for an assailant that is actually alive." Granted Faith would have found that out later to anyway. "And see, you're still remembering other things just from talking about it. That's good. Gives me to work off of also from the start. Just remember you can call me or come find me if you remember anything else you think might be important, the littlest detail. Even if you don't think it's important."
Cassandra had details, "I do remember things,. They are just disjointed in my head. It's as though as much yi try to remember it my mind it's ummm.... It's trying to hide it. I remember being kidnapped, being held for what feels like forever." Fear crept into her voice now and then hairs on her arm and neck rose slightly. She covered her mouth involuntarily. No she wasn't going to talk about that. Slowly she let her hand slide down. If for no better purpose then to allow her mind to move forward. "I thought he had killed my brother. He ummm tricked Rhys into thinking that he was starving enough t..too.. have gone feral, Rhys wanted to watch him kill me and eat me." The machine monitoring her vitals began to beep a bit faster as adrenaline swirled into her blood stream. Just remembering the ordeal. She shook her head. She needed to talk about it. Needed to get it out to help. "Instead he umm, he got me out. I got free.". Now where to go? Talk about the trophies? What she saw in the files? The court hearing? The coverups? Where?
"That kind of trauma can be unsettling and take awhile to recover from." Faith gave a nod, given she understood that all to well herself. Not the same way, but still the experience of something that damning. Giving a look to the monitor on the bio-bed a moment. "I can come back later if you need to rest."
"That would be best for now I think. I'm very sorry. Normally I don't rattle so easy but ..." Cassandra shook her head painfully because again she lacked adequate words for what she was feeling and she was surprisingly exhausted already. " I'll come see you once I have recovered a bit more."
Faith stood up, leaving the cloth that she'd put down for Cassandra to use instead of Faith continuing to reach and wipe the tears away. "Well just worry about getting better at this point first. There will be plenty of time for the rest later."
She looked for something to actually write down on, not a PADD. Scribbling and leaving it on the tray next to Cassandra's bio-bed. Once had left out of sickbay and Cassandra picked it up, it read 'Holodeck 3, Thrusday, 1800. Zombies.'
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