trans_9 | Last Minute Business [Closed]

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Last Minute Business [Closed]

Well. That was a really short vacation. But still a much needed one.

He was well rested and certainly in a much better mood. But he still had about a thousand things to do, and not much time to do it. His priority right now was hunting down the Main Armory... or what he thought was the Main Armory, rather, in Weapons & Possession. That was going to take him a few days.

Before he got to that, though, he had some business regarding some of the prisoners. Lyta Alexander was released to go, and two more, Tim Drake and Katara, were getting ready to be released. However, before he could let those two go, he needed to have a word with them, along with Dick Grayson and Sokka, since there were going to be conditions to their release.

He was patiently waiting in his office for the moment, and was hopeful that this bit of business could be done with quickly.

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Sokka wasn't exactly sure what Leon wanted, but he had a fair idea. Something to do with Katara. Hopefully they'd be letting her out soon. He was going a bit crazy not having anyone but Zuko to really talk to. He paused outside Leon's door and gave a rap before poking his head in.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, come in." He waved Sokka in and motioned towards the empty chairs on the opposite side of his desk.

"This shouldn't take long."

He also tapped the screen on his omnicomm briefly, signaling for Katara to be brought in.

"Okay." He stood awkwardly in front of the desk for a moment.

"What's this all about?"

Following suit, Katara also knocked on the door, waiting to hear what was going to happen. She figured she was either going to be told when she was going to be standing trial, or possibly she was going to be assigned to do some menial work as punishment. Either way, she was ready to accept her sentence.

What she was NOT ready for was Sokka being in the room too. What was going on?

"What this is about is fairly simple. We're releasing your sister into your custody, but there are a few strings attached."

He again motioned to the empty chairs.

"Have a seat, and I'll go over the details with the both of you."

Edited 2009-10-07 05:36 (UTC)

Sokka raised an eyebrow. The young man took his seat before he spoke, glancing over at Katara.

"What are these strings, exactly?"

She was SO tempted to roll her eyes. Released into custody. Like she was going to go off and start riots. But it was logical that the security team wasn't going to be concerned with what she was thinking except that she wouldn't be a danger to the ship.

And what were these "strings?"

She sat down, sighing. "Okay. What are the terms?"

"First of all, being released into your custody doesn't mean that you have to follow her everywhere that she goes, or keep any kind of leash on her, or that she's your slave, or anything of the sort. However, what this does mean is that you will be held responsible for everything she does." His gaze drifted from Sokka and settled on Katara. "That means if you get into trouble, he gets into trouble.

"We don't anticipate you causing any more problems, and that's not the reason we're doing this. I meant it when I said you were a good kid, but that you need to learn to make better decisions. What we're hoping for is that this will make you put more pause, more thought, and more care into the decisions you make. Because it's not just your butt on the line anymore, it's his too.

"And you, Mister Sokka, you're her conscience now. Your responsibility, above all else, is to help her make good decisions."

That was the thing main that he needed to get across to the two of them.

"Secondly, you, Miss Katara, in addition to your schoolwork, you'll be helping Dr. Grey in the medbay. She'll be glad to have a nurse.

"Thirdly, unless you're defending yourself from an immediate threat, if you're given an order to stand down from a senior officer, you stand down. We've already had more than enough senseless violence.

"Beyond that, your movements won't be restricted, and no further charges or punishment will be pending. You'll still have access to the same equipment and locations as the rest of the crew at large. Be advised, however, that the senior staff will be checking in on you and monitoring your situation.

"Do the two of you understand all of this? If you have any questions at all, now is the time to ask."

Sokka nodded slowly, considering.

"Yeah, I understand. We'll make sure everything is fine." He glanced at Katara again.

"There won't be any more problems. I'm sure."

While she hated to agree with someone punishing her, Katara could deal with this ruling. If anything, Leon was telling Sokka to so what her father and Gran-Gran had told him to do anyway: look out for his younger sister. She in turn was still going to be looking out for him too. She didn't like the idea that Sokka would be responsible for her actions, but in truth she didn't think it would matter soon anyway. The Yeerk thing was really going to be second to what was going to happen on the ship soon: she could feel that eveb if Sokka and Leon couldn't.

But chances were Leon DID, and doing this was just a way to make sure it didn't look like he was letting her free because she was a kid. As far as helping this Jean Grey in the med bay as a nurse, well, it would hardly be much of a stretch since she was a healer to begin with. He must have known that from watching her actions when people got injured during the fight for the Yeerk. Really, she could deal with this punishment. As it was, she missed Sokka anyway.

"I understand," Katara said. "And I will do my best to answer to my senior officer when it applies. When I say that, I hope you understand that means I'll act in the best interest of the people on my team, and make sure they have my loyalty in any situation. What it doesn't mean is that I'll blindly do whatever some officer tells me because they're older. I've told you I've been through wars, Leon, and that means, like you, I have to trust my instinct sometimes. But I promise you that you'll never see me act in a fashion rash enough that would jeopardize the people on this ship again. Whatever the security team might think of my actions, they were not to serve my own interests, and they won't in the future either."

Katara sat back down, her face stoic. "On a sidenote...please tell me when the trial decisions of the other prisoners happen. Some of them are my friends."

That little speech got, at best, an eyebrow raise from Leon. Though, strangely, there may have been a hint of a smirk there. Thought that could've just been the lighting. She was close to getting the point, but not quite there. Just a touch too busy being the defiant teenager to really listen yet.

But now wasn't the time to correct her.

"We'll keep you apprised.

"Now, before I let you go, there are a couple of matters I need to discuss with you. For one, your friend Aang.

"I took a look in the Statuary, and didn't find too much. But I'm having someone else look the room over. Billy Kaplan, teenager, kid is good with magic though." Or at least he says. "If there's some kind of mystical connection between Aang and the statues there, I'm hoping that he can find it and track that connection back to Aang. He doesn't know anything specific about Aang or this 'Avatar state' of his, at least nothing beyond what you told me. You might want to have a word with him, fill him in on as much information as you can so he'll have a better idea what to look for."

Edited 2009-10-08 04:45 (UTC)

Sokka nodded slowly, wincing as his sister gave one of her speeches. There was really a time and place for that kind of thing. When you were getting told off by the guy who could throw your butt in jail wasn't one of them though. He straightens in his seat as Leon finishes, though, and gives another firm nod.

"We'll go talk to him, see if we can get Zuko to come along."

Katara noticed the wince and didn't care. Sokka seemed to miss why she'd said it in the first place, and she was hardly surprised. After all, he didn't have anything to prove, she did.

But she forgot that momentarily when he started talking about Aang.

"We'll do that," Katara said, then paused. "Thank you Leon," she said. "I know it seems like I'm ungrateful, but I appreciate what you've done for me, I won't let you down."

"I know." He had high hopes for her. "And you're welcome.

"Last thing is that you should have a word with Mr. Reyes. He's been trying to find a way to get us to the bridge, and he's just about ready to go. He could probably use a hand or two."

That wasn't an order, but they may want to take that suggestion.

"Other than that, you're free to go. You can collect your omnicomm and other personal items at the front." And while he didn't say it, he hoped they would not have to have this kind of conversation again.

Dick paused outside Leon's office long enough to adjust the mask and make sure his hair looked presentable. No need to be appearing before the Head of Security looking windswept. Especially when there wasn't any wind to speak of in the ship.

Once he felt he was presentable again, Dick raised his hand and knocked on the door, waiting to be called in. It really was like being back on the 'Haven PD sometimes.

Leon would take that as a compliment.

Dick didn't have to wait long before being called in. After all, Leon was the one who told him to come down here anyway. The only delay was because he had to get someone to bring Robin to his office too.

Dick stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. "Hi, Kennedy. Got something we need to talk about?"

There was another knock at the door, and after a moment, Tim was admitted. He frowned a little in confusion as he regarded Dick and Leon. ...What was going on here? Sentencing? No--there would have been a trial.

"Yes, there is something we need to talk about." He motioned for them both to take a seat.

"The Command Staff talked it over, and after some debate, we've decided that Mr. Drake should be given a conditional release, and placed under supervision." He looked at Dick, "Specifically, your supervision." After all, Dick was effectively Tim's family. And unlike the Batman, he was also relatively sane.

Dick glanced over when Tim came in, then gave Leon his full attention. And raised an eyebrow at the the last bit. "Okay," he said after a moment. "What do I need to sign?"

As if he were going to say no.

Tim blinked a little in surprise. ...Really? He had honestly expected... not this. Trial, sentencing, and a longer jail term, for a start.

Not that he was going to argue, but...

"Why?" he asked, frowning.

Leon gave Tim something an amused look. Most people wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, especially in this instance. But it was a valid question; one that deserved an answer.

"Because what you need more than anything else right now is help. And punishing you severely for being young, messed up, and making a terribly stupid decision isn't going to help you in the slightest or teach you anything.

"That doesn't mean we're letting you're off the hook with only big brother looking over your shoulder. In addition to a full load of classes from Allen's school, you're also going to be spending your days assisting our Chief Science Officer, Luis Sera. Further more, while your movements won't be restricted, your access to equipment will be. Any weapons you carry will need to be approved by me, and for any other gear you carry, from smoke bombs to screwdrivers, will have to be approved by a member of the senior staff."

Dick frowned, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Kennedy, but I think that's maybe a little too harsh." He held up his hand. "I don't disagree that there should be punishment, because he's got extra training with myself and Batman to contend with, too." Which Tim had to be expecting. After all, Dick had already told him as much. "He never actually attacked Doctor Grey. In fact, the only person attacked in that altercation was Tim, and he did step away the moment Doctor Grey identified herself as a non-combatant. And, frankly, Kennedy, I'm not sure you know what sort of weaponry he might need."

Maybe he should have stood down and accepted it. And if Tim did, Dick would. But he'd fought hard to make sure Jason was in for the shooting over participation which he'd really not had. There was no way that he couldn't fight just as hard for Tim because one could definitely argue that he'd done far less.

Tim knew he should keep his mouth shut--he was getting off easy. Restricted access to weapons and equipment, he understood. He was Robin. He'd been trained by the Batclan and Lady Shiva. Almost anything could be a weapon--including his bare hands if it came down to it--and he had done wrong.

But.

"Classes?" he asked in dismay. "I already spoke with Allen about that--I've graduated high school already." He didn't mind spending the entire day assisting the science staff and going through whatever Bat bootcamp Dick and Bruce might have planned for him, but he really wasn't sure about the idea of having to repeat high school.

Weren't there rules against cruel and unusual punishment?

"One could also argue that for participating in the mess to begin with, he deserves much worse. But there's already been more than enough arguing about this all ready, that's why this part is non-negotiable," he told them in an even, but still firm tone. Which was a more polite way of saying that they needed to deal with it, or Tim goes back to his cell until they figure something else out.

"I won't leave the boy defenseless, but he won't have carte blanche over available weapons and equipment. He's lost that privilege for the time being. If you have suggestions for what he should use, I'll take them into consideration, but 'no' means 'no'." And that is about as close to a compromise as you're going to get from him on the matter, Grayson.

"As for classes, Mr. Drake, consider it a chance to get a head start on your college education. Besides, part of being a good detective is that you never stop learning."

Dick's frown grows, though he nods. "I'm sure this can all be reevaluated at a later date," he tells Tim, before looking back to Leon. "Though I expect you realize that it can't go on indefinitely. What sort of time scale are we looking at?"

And, of course, he's giving consideration to the weapons Tim will need. He's going to fight for the bo staff. No need keeping Tim from the one weapon he can defend himself best with.

Tim nods a little at Dick's words, but... really, he's a lot more okay with the idea of classes when presented the way Leon had done. It's just the idea of yet another new high school that he doesn't like. "As long as I don't have to take trig again," he mutters.

"And what about the others?" Tim asks, frowning. "I'm not the only young person who did something stupid in there." Katara and Leela are also down there, and Leela's not that much older than him, while Katara is even younger.

"This won't go on indefinitely." If it were, they would've just left him in jail. "But I can't give you a hard time frame, things being what they are on this ship. But for the immediate future, that's the situation, and we'll re-evaluate things as we go along." Though, God willing, in a few weeks time, they'd all be back home anyway, and this would no longer be his problem.

"The others you'll be hearing about soon enough, but for the moment it would be inappropriate for me to discuss their situation with you.

"Now, unless there are any further questions, you're free to go. Your personal effects are being held at that front." Including a not entirely emptied out utility belt.

Even if they had left Tim in jail, Dick would be pointing out THAT couldn't go on indefinitely, either. Not without a trial. It was going to come up with the rest of them eventually, too.

Dick nodded, dropping a hand to Tim's shoulder with a squeeze. "I'll be back for my shift later." Which would mean his usual walk through the cells to at least say hi to Jason and have a quick chat. No way was he letting Jason think he'd been forgotten about.

Tim nodded in acknowledgment of Leon's words. Of course he knew Leon wouldn't be able to discuss specifics, but he'd wanted to be sure that the others' cases were also being considered.

"Am I allowed to visit?" he asked. It wasn't that he had especially enjoyed jail life, but... he had friends that were still there.

"You can skip your shift today if you want," he told Dick. There wasn't much in the way of privacy down in the brig, and he figured there may have been one or two things Dick had wanted to say to Tim that he couldn't in front of the other prisoners. Besides, they might need some quality brotherly time anyway, or something. Leon could be a hardass when he needed to be, but only when he needed to be.

Tim's question he found odd, though, but he had no real objection to it. "If you want."

Dick bows his head in thought, then, "I'll still be by later. For a few minutes." Even if he wasn't on shift. Because, damn it, he was going to make an effort with Jason. Especially since Dick seemed the easiest way to get to him. "But I'll take you up on missing that shift."

Tim nodded again. "Thanks." He'd be back, then, depending on how long it took his friends to be released.

If they were released.

But they would be. They didn't really have the resources to keep them in jail forever.

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Last Minute Business [Closed]

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