In The Line Of Duty
Chapter I
May 2407
A security prison space station in the Widow System
Jimmy Nichols, former Eclipse mercenary, sits, eating his prison lunch in the chow hall or so the prisoners call it.. He's been in the facility for almost twenty years and has hated every minute of it. He doesn't think he deserves to serve his two twenty-five sentences in a maximum security prison. He didn't kill anyone, attempted to and failed. Even the kidnapping ended up as a failure as well. Nothing Jimmy has done in his life has turned out well. He failed at being a merc, his orders were to eliminate Kaja T'Soni. The asari is still breathing.
All Nichols wants to do is get out of prison and finish his job. Maybe then he can go back to Eclipse or another Terminus System merc group. He doesn't care which one as long as he can get paid for hurting people. There has been whispers of either a riot or a prison break, but Jimmy wants in on which ever is going to take place. The time has long past for him to seek his revenge on Kaja T'Soni. Della Appleton has already paid her price for being a narc and killing his cousin, Anika Franzen.
He's still debating what to do about Dr. Cassandra Mitchell. All they tried to do was get her away from T'Soni, so he could kill her. Things didn't turn out like they planned and because of that he is spending is 'quality years' in prison. He can't blame Dr. Mitchell, but he does blame T'Soni even though every thing went fubar because of Della's actions, not Kaja's.
Rocco, Jimmy's cellmate sits next to him at the table, "So, Jimmy, still trying to figure a way out of this joint?"
Scraping the last bite of applesauce from his tray, Jimmy answers, "Of course, who isn't?"
"True," replies Rocco as he shoves a spoonful of macaroni salad into his mouth. A few bits miss his mouth and stick to his unshaven chin. He smacks the noodle off and shovels another bite into his mouth. He says while his mouth is still full, "I'm hearing things. Things you might want to start paying attention to."
Jimmy looks away while Rocco eats. The short, husky size man is a very sloppy eater with no manners to speak of. Same thing three times a day for the past six years. Rocco gets as much food on his face as in his mouth. "I've been hearing it. I might have a way in. I need to talk to a few people first."
Rocco stays silent and chews his food when a guard walks by their table. Once the guard is out of ear shoot, Rocco says, "I fucking hate that guard. I so much want to shank him" The con points to his chest. "Might want to hurry, I'm hearing it might happen sooner than later."
"I'm already working it, so don't worry. I need to get out and take care of some business," says Jimmy. He takes his tray to dirty dishes area of the chow hall. Instead of rejoining Rocco, Jimmy walks over to another con, Jax Litner.
Jax Litner, leader of the most feared gang in the prison, sits at a table with the several gang members, eating their varren meat sandwich. Lucky for Jimmy, they like him enough to leave him alone. Jimmy never asked to join and Jax never offered, but they do business often. Jax says when Jimmy sits across from him, "Need something, Nichols?" Litner never looks at Nichols, but knows it him.
"Yea, Jax, I was wondering if there is anyway to get me transferred to laundry detail. I've asked the unit supervisor and all that bitch does is laugh at me. Like she does to everyone else." Jimmy hopes Jax can get this done. Litner is the oldest serving inmate in the prison and is very capable of pulling strings for the right price."
"Laundry?" asks Litner. He scans the hall and see why Nichols wants a transfer to laundry. There is a break being planned and it's being planned by people who work the laundry. It seems to Jax, Jimmy wants in on it. "Never mind, I get it. What do you have to offer me? That's a big order and hard to fill."
"I'll give you what you want if you help me get transferred to laundry," replies Jimmy.
A guard walks by the table, looking at Jimmy talking to the gang leader. Jax's eyes follow the guard, but his head never moves. He looks at Jimmy with a smug grin on his scarred lips. "I know you, Nichols, you don't have a dime in your prison account and you steal or trade for everything you have. You don't have enough credits for this job and you don't have anything of value to offer me. Or do you?"
A few gang members circle around Jimmy. "Yea, I'm broke, so what. We've done plenty of business in the past. What's the problem?" asks Jimmy as he shrugs his shoulders. He's starting to feel boxed in and this is not the first time, Jax and his boys make him think they were going to do something to him. They haven't in the past and Jimmy doubts they'll start now.
The guard walks back by the table, "Break it up, NOW!" No one moves. One inmate stares at the guard, daring him to do something to him. They out number him six-to-one. The guard repeats himself, "I said, break it up, NOW!" The guard steps closer to the crowd around Nichols. One inmate takes a half-step to his left then instantly gets put into a stasis bubble along with two other inmates who stepped closer to the guard.
A buzzing sound is heard in the chow hall, every inmate remains where they are with their hands in the air. Doing anything else causes the stasis bubble to appear. Inmates, who get put into stasis bubble go on report and most end up in solitary confinement for forty-eight hours. Those who get put into the stasis bubble too often get transferred to the super-max area of the space station.
The space station has four sections with each section is a stand-alone unit. The Citadel Council commissioned the space station in 2255 to house the galaxy's criminals. The Widow System in the Serpent Nebula was the perfect locations since the Reapers moved the Citadel to Earth's orbit. The only thing in the Widow System is the mass relay. The prison has a mix species fleet protecting it from pirate attacks. If the Boltzmann System wasn't also in the Serpent Nebula, the relay would only function if an authorized ship needed to enter or leave the system
Three sections are the actual prison and each section is a different security level. Level One houses the low risk, non-violent criminals. The inmates in that section usually commit some type of white-collar crime, like fraud or embezzlement. Level Two houses the more violent offenders and the security level is at maximum. Prisoners don't get as much freedom in the Level Two unit as the Level One prisoners, but they get more than the Level Three prisoners, which get none. They are housed in an individual six-foot by eight-foot cell with a tiny table, stool attached to the floor, sink, and toilet The bed is attached to the wall with a thin mattress and pillow. They get one-hour per day recreation time, no visitors, no interaction with anyone or anything in the galaxy. They only see a different guard throughout the day to bring meals, take them to the shower, and to their rec time. The inmates do have access to books via a data pad connected to only the library network. Any inmate who gets caught tampering with the data pad loses their library privileges.
Once you get transferred to Level Three, it's nearly impossible to move back down to Level Two. Level Two prisoners are allowed visitors, to interact with other inmates, and get two-hours of rec time each day. The cells are ten-foot by twelve-foot and house two inmates. Inmates who display good behavior are allowed to watch extranet vids approved by the warden once a month. There is more restrictions in the Level Two unit versus the Level One, but fewer restrictions than Level Three.
Level Four is the civilian unit. It's really a big city with plenty of shopping and entertainment. There is a huge atrium where many families bring their children. With the station being alone in the Widow System, the Council understood there is a need to make the station as liveable as possible. The station holds thousands of inmates and has thousands more living/working there. Each military rotates their units from the station and no guard is stationed there for more than three years. By keeping the guard units fresh, it has led to less corruption with the guards. They don't have the luxury of time to get comfortable with dealing with the population in a negative way.
The buzzing in the chow hall ends once the guards remove the inmates, who got put into stasis. The other inmates are escorted back to their cell block. Jax tells Jimmy as they walk to their unit to come and see him during rec time. During the hour break between lunch and rec time, the inmates are locked in their cells. Most inmates think it the longest hour in the day, sitting in their cells, waiting sixty minutes for the doors to open again. It's torture, pure torture. There isn't anything the con can do about it either. They don't make the rules, the prison warden does and that person is appointed by the Council and serves a five-year term. If the warden does well enough, the warden would get appointed for a second term. This happens very rarely.
The rules are set by politicians and the rules haven't changed since their creation in 2255. A few lawsuits over the years have been filed and every one ended in denial. There hasn't been a new suit in several decades. Most prisoners feel they are treated well. Better than some prisons in their home systems. The old human saying still rings true, you can't please everyone. The inmates get three meals a day, a hot shower, clothing, and a bed to sleep on. The guards are not abusive and if one is abusive, they are relieved of their duty. They are firm, but fair. It's what they are told during their processing when an inmate first arrives at the station.
Rec time varies for each species. The turians tend to go the gym area and spar against each other in hand-to-hand drills. There is also a boxing ring for organized matches between cons. All interaction between the cons is highly supervised. Not only are their guards in the gym with the cons, there is also video surveillance with guards watching the monitors around the clock. They were meticulous when putting in the surveillance cameras, so there are no blind spots anywhere on the station. Even Level Four has surveillance cameras in the public areas.
The salarians tend to hang out in the library reading the limited number of books available for the inmates. New material is hard to come by. There are hundreds of books in the library, there are no actual books. Everything is restricted to data pads and no inmate is allowed an omni-tool. If an inmate gets caught with one, it lands the inmate in solitary confinement for forty-eight hours. Besides the salarians, the volus and a few other species also use the library during their rec time.
There is an area in each unit which looks like an outside yard. There is a half-court for basketball and there are always humans playing basketball every day. Some times a turian will join. It's not a game native to Palaven, but that doesn't keep a few from trying it. This is the area during recreation time Jax and his followers hang-out during their free time. Some play hoops, while others only watch. Today, Jax is watching, not playing.
Jimmy walks over to where Jax is sitting, watching a two-on-two game with one team being turians and the other team being krogan. Jax motions for Jimmy to sit next to him on the bench. "If I decide to help you, Nichols, I have a job for you..." The con looks around for any guards and when he see the two guards on the far end of the yard, he continues. "...once you get out."
"Okay, what's the job?" asks Nichols. The two cons talk while watching the basketball game between the turians and krogan.
Jax and Jimmy both lean back with a fist covering their mouths when they say, "Oh damn," when a krogan attempts an inside move causing the turian to fly in the air. Surprisingly, there is no fighting between the two. The krogan offers his hand to the turian and helps him up. Since the genophage cure, the relations between the two species has improved tremendously over the centuries. It shows in the prison because there are few fights between them.
"You have some business on Elysium?" asks Jax
"Yea, I do." answers Jimmy. He watches the krogan shake hands with the turians then both groups leave the court to give it to the six humans waiting to play.
"Follow me, Jimmy. We can walk and talk," comments Jax as he gets off the bench and starts walking around the yard. Jimmy follows and listens carefully to Jax explain how he is going to help him get off the station and out of the system without getting caught.
Elysium
Detective Kaja T'Soni sits at her desk, filling out a report from the latest case she caught. Her partner, Detective Ben Livingston sits at the desk next to Kaja's. He is also filling out his report for the same case. The suspect is locked up and waiting for transport to the colony's jail to stand trial. They've spent the past forty-eight hours on stake-out, trying to catch the suspect. The past two days are catching up to her and to her partner, Ben. Both detectives want to finish their paperwork and head home, but Kaja can't because she is needed in court in two hours. The asari only needs to give her testimony about another case, then she's headed home for the day.
The unit's commanding officer walks into the squad room. "T'Soni! In my office, now!" orders Captain Richard 'Dick' Tish. His tone sounds angry, but Capt. Tish always sounds angry.
Ben gives Kaja a sympathetic look when he shrugs his shoulders at his asari partner. Others in the room, turn their gaze to the asari, each giving her the same sympathetic look. Every detective in the unit has faced Captain Tish's wraith. No one in the squad likes him and most find his first name fitting. Kaja inhales deeply to calm herself before going into her CO's office. Tish makes everyone's life pure hell and she hopes she hears something soon about her results from the Sargent exam she took over a week ago. As much as she loves working with Ben, she wants away from Captain Tish.
Kaja enters Tish's office, she stand at attention in front of his desk. "You wanted to see me, sir?" The asari feels like she is back on Thessia serving under Matriarch Jilianea.
"Yes, Detective, sit." Captain Tish points to the chair across from his desk. Det. T'Soni sits in the chair. She remains silent, waiting to see what Tish wants or needs from her. She hopes he has news about the results from the exam. "I have some news for you, T'Soni. The desk Sargent is posting who passed the Sargent exam. I wanted to congratulate you myself for having the highest score. So, congratulation, Sargent. The top fifteen people are getting promoted and you'll get your choice of assignment. Top score gets first pick."
Kaja sits in the chair, stunned. Speechless too. She's ecstatic about passing the exam, absolutely stunned she got highest score. "Thank you, sir," says Kaja when she finally manages to say something after several seconds of awkward silence.
The human across from her only grins at the asari, "Have you finished your report, Sargent?"
"No, sir, I have not," says Kaja while covers her mouth while she yawns.
"Don't you have a hearing in a few hours, T'Soni?" asks Captain Tish.
"Yes, sir, I do," replies the asari.
Dick Tish nods at the newly promoted Sargent. "Go home, shower, get cleaned up then head downtown. Talk to the Deputy Chief Perez before you have to be in court. The report can wait until tomorrow. Tell Livingston he can go home too. Good work, Sargent. Congratulations again.
He wasn't sold on having an asari with a bum shoulder in the department. Even though she passes every shooting score requirement without any problems with both pistol and SGM. He has gone over her file thoroughly after he took over for Captain Perez. Detective T'Soni has the unit's highest case closing percentage and the highest gun range scores. Impressive, then he saw the asari doing her job on a daily basis. Her file is impressive enough, but her daily work is even more impressive.
He has noticed her unique ability to dissect a crime scene. T'Soni sees things other detectives miss. It's not because the other detectives are sloppy, she sees little things and more times than not. Those tiny details have made cases. Tish wonders if her military training taught her how to dissect a crime scene or if it's Kaja's decades in the field. Either way, he's glad the department hired her and he hates to lose her.
Kaja gets out of the chair saying, "Thank you, Captain. I felt I did well on it, I didn't expect the highest score." She walks back into the squad room with all eyes on her. She has a smirk on her face when she grabs the jacket hanging off the back of her chair. "Ben, we can head home."
"Good, I'm beat and sleep sounds good. I know that smirk, Kaja. I take it you passed the exam." Ben pushes his chair away from his desk as he gets up. He puts his jacket on and the partners leave the squad room together.
Kaja says, "Yea, I did."
They stop to look at the list the desk Sargent posted. Top name is Detective Kaja T'Soni. Ben smacks his partner on the back. "Top dog. Nice. Drinks on you later, Sarge."
As they depart the building, a few uniform offices clap when Kaja walks by. A few yell out their "Congrats" to her. The attention isn't something Kaja is used to and receiving it causes her to blush. "You bet. I'll see you tomorrow, Ben. I want to stop by the museum to talk to Cass before heading home."
Kaja gets into her car and heads to the museum to talk to Cass. She's not seen her bondmate for over two days. Kaja always makes sure she keeps Cass informed on what she is doing. The messages might be cryptic in nature sometimes. Lucky for Kaja, Cass is understanding even though the boys don't understand why she's gone for days at a time. Karrera doesn't like her father being gone for days at a time either, but does her best to understand. The youth knows Kaja is returning and won't abandon her like her mother did. Cass always tells the kids when Kaja's been in contact. Kaja keeping in constant contact has made things easier on the family, but she feels she's not home enough for them especially Karrera.
Her promotion to Sargent and getting top score should allow her to move behind a desk. That is the perfect situation for her. Not all the desk jobs are day shifts and she needs to take that into consideration. What good does it do for her to move behind a desk if the deck job is second or third shift. The asari parks in the lot next to the museum. Kaja realizes suddenly how tired she is and her day isn't over with yet. Yawning as she enters the museum, T'Soni walks through the museum to the back.
Dr. Cassandra Mitchell walks from the back and runs into Kaja. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see..." Cass doesn't finish her sentence when she sees the asari she ran into is her wife. Giving Kaja a tight hug then a quick kiss. She grabs Kaja by the arm and leads the asari to the other side of the door. They kiss passionately when the door closes. "I'm happy to see you, sweetie."
Kaja sneaks another quick kiss on Cass' lips before saying, "Not as happy as I am. I got the highest score on the Sargent exam. I can't stay as long as I want to. I need to go home, shower, change clothes, then go downtown. I'm needed in court in a few hours and I was told to talk to Perez about my new assignment."
Cass' face light up with pride when Kaja says she passed her exam and with the top score. "See, you worried about it for nothing. I'm so happy for you. You studied hard for that exam."
A smirking Kaja replies, "Thanks. I gotta go. I love you, Cass. I'll try to be up when you get home."
"I love you too, Kaja. See you when I get home. If you are not up, trust me, I'm sicking the twins on you," teases Cass as she walks Kaja back to the front door.
Laughing at her bondmate, Kaja responds, "Oh, I'm sure you will too. See you later." The asari gets in one more quick kiss before she walks to her car with a pep in her step.
After a quick shower, Kaja changes into a purple suit with yellow pinstripes. It's her nicest and favorite suit and one she only wears when the occasion calls for it. Testifying in court without returning to work is one of those occasions. Looking in the mirror, the asari notices how tired she looks. She's getting a second wind since taking her shower. Sitting, waiting for the prosecutor to call on her to take the witness stand will suck any remaining energy she has left. Being up for two days is taking it toll on the detective. Glancing at the bed as she walks past it, Kaja thinks it's looks very inviting. However, duty calls and Kaja always does her duty to the best to her ability. She checks to see if her case notes are still on her omni-tool, they are. She's afraid she might forget which case she is testifying about.
The newly promoted Sargent grabs a banana before leaving the house. She gets in the skycar and heads downtown to talk to her former CO, Deputy Chief Perez, about her new assignment. Luck is with the asari today. After talking to Perez, Kaja crosses the street from the Police HQ to the courthouse. The prosecutor is talking to his assistant when Kaja walks by. He informs Sargent T'Soni the suspect took the plea deal, so they don't need her to testimony today.
Kaja is elated, she can go home and get some sleep before her bondmate and kids get home from work or school. She thinks about which position to take during the drive home. There is an opening at the Academy for an instructor. Chief Perez thinks Kaja is the perfect person to fill it. One of the classes she would teach is how to dissect a crime scene. There isn't another cop on the force who can dissect a crime scene like T'Soni. The other position keeps her on the streets and away from home more, but that position has piqued her interest, running an undercover squad.
With Kaja's dossier, those are the two positions, Perez wants to move her to. T'Soni knows Cass will want her home daily. She worries being an instructor at the Academy won't fulfill her like being undercover would. Kaja wonders what her father would do in her situation? Now isn't the time to put serious thought into her decision. She wants to talk to Cass first and she is too tired to think clearly on the subject.
Once, she gets back home, Kaja hangs her suit back up and puts on a IPD t-shirt with a pair of shorts. She flops on the couch and turns on day-time trivia game show. The questions are mostly useless trivia and some are very obscure questions which usually yields a wrong answer. Kaja falls asleep during the first commercial break and sleeps soundly until her family comes home.
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A/N: New multi-chapter for you. I will post one chapter a week. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, trust me, plenty more to come.
Yes, I know some of you want more, but I don't have this story completed yet. I have jury duty starting tomorrow and if I get selected to serve on a case, there will not be a new chapter next week. I won't have time to work on it if I'm at the courthouse all day. I work nights.
I should have started this story next week, but forgot about jury duty when I said I would post it this week. Hopefully, I'm not needed for a case and can go home tomorrow and start working on the chapter I'm not quite done with.
If I don't post next week, I will on 4 March. Promise.