PHD #248: Hiccup
Hiccup
Summary: Sometimes getting the job done requires a little jurisdictional, inter-service tonsil hockey.
Date: 01 Nov 2041 AE
Related Logs: Metastasis and Canceron and Beyond
Players:
Leyla Lunair Marko 
Ready Room
With the hatches at the rear of the room, the walkways on both sides slope down towards the dais at the front of the room. The stadium seating forms a partial semi-circle around the speaking podium and provides enough seats for all three hundred members of the Air Wing. The walls are adorned with the patches of each squadron aboard and their mottos stenciled in white lettering above each one. Behind the podium is a set of large LCD screens that can display any matter of material from reconnaissance to maps to gun camera footage.
Post-Holocaust Day: #248

The ready room doesn't always function as a place for pilots to meet. Indeed, it seems as if it's become something of a catchall work and research room. And so it's been set up tonight, all of the screens lit up. Some with footage of the recent recon to Canceron, others with scrolling records of the raptor data. Al of which seems to have been replicated at a series of small tables that have been brought in, the sort of folding tables for single use. Maps and records of Canceron taken just shortly before Warday. Topographical and geological. Leyla is already in the middle of her review of the data. Scrolling and replaying data as she works out calculations on a tablet notebook set on top of one of the folding tables.

Ho-hum, another day, another duty. Remember the hero who had to push a boulder up a hill all day, only to watch it roll down when it reached the top? Marko's thinking about giving him a shout out at the next session in the Temple. "Okay, this is everything I could scrounge up from the files." he says, flopping a thick stack of printouts and photographs organized into various file folders. "It should be enough, 'cause if it ain't, I'm going back down to Intel and kicking someone's ass." he grumbles testily.

Not so much a hero as eternal punishment. Lunair wanders in quietly, her folder a bit smaller. She does seem concerned, quietly. She takes a deep breath and raps on the hatch at least. She smiles seeing Marko and Leyla but soon it fades in light of the subject. "I am seeing what the Marines have still, though - I suspect we only have what Intel gives us. They usually give us enough to shoot at whatever's bothering us."

"If Intel is holding back anything of their evaluation of the data from us, I'll personally go down there and rip them a few new ones." She might only be an El-Tee, but she has the CAG's backing, and she's not afraid to use it. "It's not as if we're not reviewing the data ourselves." Which is NOT something Leyla has or will be putting up for negotiation. They've already had one instance of data being 'misread' (thank you Bannik). Not going to happen again, "We run our own analysis, cross-check it with theirs, see what they missed, see if we could—" Leyla turns, at the sound of Lunair's voice, her words cutting off, before she looks back at Marko. "I thought you already had your 24?"

"Hunh?" Marko replies eloquently, too busy re-organizing the pile into something approaching orderly. "Oh..yeah, wait…I had 24 coming?" he asks, now thoroughly confused. "When did….? Why didn't…? Oh, never mind. I asked Lunair to drop by with the Marine's files. Mentioned the bit about the labs and whatnot on Sagittaron. Figured they might have more than we got." he shrugs. "Besides, we could use some fresh eyes on this." he adds. "Hell, we're all on the same ship, so it's not like we've got anything to hide."

Leyla takes a moment, looking between the marine JiG and the Navy one. "You asked her to bring back files from Marine archives? About this project?" Leyla's tone is quiet and even, as she steps away from the table she's been working at, a hand reaching for the remotes to shut down the screens still flooding with data, "A word, Flasher." Leyla steps aside, moving towards the front of the room, a gesture of her hand indicating for the man to walk with her.

Headtilt. Lunair takes a deep breath. "Well, I would be shocked if they didn't. As I said, they give us enough info to bother whatever's bothering us," She notes quietly. Then a shrug. "They might do it for security, they might know as much as we do." She glances to her folder. "I couldn't get much right away on my own." She is the bottom of the officerial totem pole as Marines go. "But. I am talking to the MPs. If any of us know, it's our MPs." She considers. Lunair takes a deep breath. "I -" She goes quiet. "I hadn't gotten them all yet…"

"Oh, Gods…here we go…" Marko sighs, moving to follow Leyla. "Okay, look, before you proceed to rip my bollocks off and jam 'em down my throat, hear me out." he says quietly but firmly. "We cannot get through all of this on our own. Well, we can, but it'd take forever to do it and we don't have forever to do this. If my suspicions are right, and I kind of think they are, there's a big piece of this puzzle that we've missed and it's somewhere in all of that crap on that table over there." he says, pointing. "We do not have time to play jurisdictional, inter-service tonsil hockey over this." he says flatly. "Frankly, that kind of thinking is what's put us in this mess to start with,"

Once Marko join hers, Leyla at least stays quiet long enough for him to say his piece, before she says her own, "This isn't about jurisdiction, Marko. This is about clearance for the recon review, and you know it. The Major assigned you to the Sagittaron installation review. That's your project. You were given permission to liase with the CMC as needed, to be able to get information and intelligence and review that in conjunction with the information we have from the other facilities we're found. Now, if you want to choose Lt. Lunair as your liason officer, that's all well and good, but you still need to go to the chain of command to get her assigned to that project. Contact the CAG and Boots, make sure they're okay with it, then formally request her be attached to the project by the CMC. Make sure she gets the clearance necessary. But no one has been cleared for the Canceron project, as yet, except Pens, Poppy and Pickle, and I haven't heard anything official about anyone being assigned to either of these projects. And getting anyone assigned to Canceron, since most of it involves a logistical review of possible ground deployment on Canceron, that should go through the Marine S3, Lt. Vanderberg. It's her call to assign someone from CMC to assist in reviewing that data." A moment, before she continues, "You can't just ditch regulations when you feel they're holding you back, Flasher. That's not how this works. You want it done right, you do it the right way."

Lunair goes quiet at that. "I was going to ask for Clearance from my SO as well, but I understand if that would cause issues. I am also willing to step aside." She takes a deep breath. "That said, fret not if it is too much trouble. I am willing to go." Lunair does add, "Vandenburg is new and likely still catching up on everything as well."

"Okay, okay…right." Marko sighs, shaking his head a little. "I'll get the word to the Brass and let them kick it around for a while." he says, clearly annoyed by what he feels is an unnecessary delay. "Sorry, Lun." he adds for his wife's benefit. "It was worth a shot."

"Don't sweat it, you were enthusiastic," Lunair smiles at Marko. She shakes her head. "I appreciate that and I am glad to help. I will contact my CO as well. Please let me know what yours say too," She explains. "Otherwise, I can leave you in peace for now, huh? Or bring in something for you to drink at least."

"Well, when last I checked, both of the Majors, as well as Boots were onboard. So I don't see any reason why we couldn't go looking for them now. Understand, Flasher, it's not that I want to prolong this project, or that I want to play…'inter-service tonsil hockey'. It's that I want to make certain that when this data is analyzed and these projects are turned over to command, that there will be no possible accusations of wrongdoing. No talk of things having been done outside of regulations, or proper procedures being set aside because someone grew impatient. As you said yourself, these projects are vital. We can't afford for them to be tainted by the appearance of impropriety. Now, let's go see if we can hunt some brass, shall we?"

"Well, let's go looking for 'em, then." Marko replies, nodding slowly. It's clear he understands where Leyla is coming from, even agrees with it on some levels. Doesn't make it any sweeter a pill to swallow.

"Sounds good," Lunair smiles. She does seem to understand and quietly accepts both of their positions. "Hopefully they won't be too busy," She considers. "But you have a point. Lawyers latch onto any small dent in a case," She ponders this. It's good that a lawyer does that but marvelously frustrating. "In any case, I am afraid the CAG and Boots would mostly be in your purview."

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