NT Dossier Files: David B. Cain

[KingMorshu]

//OFFICIAL NANOTRASEN DOCUMENTATION. SECURITY CLEARANCE LEVEL FOUR REQUIRED//
//SYSTEM STATION ZETA-SECURITY INCIDENT-BOARD OF INQUIRY//

Board Personnel:

Overseer 5821-44 //NAME REDACTED FOR SECURITY REASONS// (Abbr. O5)
Advisor Karina Harrell (Abbr. Harrell)
Commander James Braxton (Abbr. Braxton)
Subject of Inquiry:
David B. Cain (Abbr. Cain)
Stenographer Robert Clayton present for documentation purposes.

The following is a transcript from the Board of Inquiry concerning the incident on System Station Zeta. Said document should be kept in subject's personnel file, and is to be considered for when necessary. Portions have been redacted for security reasons. Personnel with a security clearance of level five or higher may request the full document.

Subject Record:
Name: David Brock Cain
Military Service Record:
Age 18 enlisted into United States Aerospace Marine Corps. Highest Rank attained: Gunnery Sergeant.
Notable engagements: Zanzibar Land Conflict, Eastern Centre Uprising, Wilderness Campaign
Notable Awards and demerits: Navy Cross, Bronze Star, Commendation Medal, Purple Heart (x2), Combat Action Ribbon, Expert Pistol Qualification Badge. Forfeiture of pay, Reprimand (x2), Restriction to limits.

Nanotrasen Service Record Notes:
Signed on for civilian services, received engineering training. Currently employed in Nanotrasen Security.

//TRANSCRIPT BEGINS//

Braxton: Stenographer, begin recording. Board of Inquiry for the incident on //REDACTED// is now in session. Present is Overseer //REDACTED//, Advisor Harrell, Commander Braxton, and the subject of inquiry, David Cain. The purpose of this board is to determine the possible unauthorized execution of //REDACTED// by David Cain acting as Head of Security. Mister Cain's record has already been reviewed and documented by this board, and will be taken into account by all members.

Cain: (unidentifiable muttering)

Braxton: Something to say already, Mr. Cain?

Cain: This is a waste of everyone's time. I did my job and should be back on duty already. You should be thanking me.

Harrell: May I remind you, Mr. Cain, this is an official inquiry. We've taken many witness statements, reviewed footage and done our due diligence. The death of a member of command by your hands is something the company takes seriously.

Braxton: Mister Cain, give us your version of the events as you recall them.

Cain: It was a normal shift like any other. Started like I normally would, checking in-

O5: We don't need your whole day, Mr. Cain. Just the event and anything you think relevant.

Cain: Alright...I got an emergency alert from Officer //REDACTED-WILL BE REFERRED TO AS O1//, in customs. Officer //REDACTED-WILL BE REFERRED TO AS O2// was the first on scene. O2 radioed in that the Head of Personnel had taken O1 hostage with a firearm.

Harrell: Yes, the Predator revolver. I'd like to know how he got hands on that. Your report mentions nothing about that.

Cain: Correct. I have no idea how he got the weapon.

Harrell: Unfortunate, let the Board note Mr. Cain failed to provide any explanation in how an unlicensed firearm was present on the station.

Cain: Advisor, you ever stay on one of these stations?

Harrell: Of course I have. Your point?

Cain: My point is if you have, you'd know it's impossible to track down every bit of contraband, and if I tried, I'd turn the crew against us in a heartbeat.

Harrell: You're saying  you're not doing your job?

Cain: I'm saying you're out of touch. You have no idea the kind of job we do out there on the frontier, and it's foolish to think I'd know, much less find every scrap of contraband on station. Stick to pushing pencils and let me do my job.

O5: (unidentifiable whispering to Braxton)

Harrell: Mr. Cain! You'll show-

Braxton: That's enough. We're off the point here. Continue, Mr. Cain.

Cain: When I arrived on scene, //REDACTED// had the firearm pointed at O1's head and had a hold on him. I ordered O2 to take a defensive stance while I engaged in dialogue with //REDACTED//.

O5: We just need the bullet points, Cain. We've reviewed the footage.

Cain: I asked them why they were doing this, and told them to drop the weapon and we'll work this out. I didn't want to see anyone get shot. //REDACTED// said they had no choice now, and admitted to two other slayings that took place on board.

Braxton: This so far lines up with the footage we have. Continue.

Harrell: Hold on, what did he mean by "no choice"?

Cain: I don't know, he didn't care to explain it to me. I could tell by the look in his eyes, he was going to carry this out.

Braxton: That's when you fired?

Cain: No...either his gun jammed or he misloaded it, but he pulled the trigger. I then took the shot. It was obvious he was inexperienced with firearms.

Harrell: You responded with lethal fire?

Cain: He already admitted to slaying of two others, and the firearm could have very well worked on the next trigger pull. I made the judgement call.

Harrell: Your "judgement call" resulted in the death of a member of command, an officer, forced one officer into retirement due to injuries, and cost plenty medical resources!

Braxton: Let him finish, Advisor.

Cain: I don't remember much after that. Woke up in medbay after the blast and...you know the rest.

Harrell: Were you aware //REDACTED// had a //REDACTED// and a //REDACTED// implanted in his body?

Cain: No, not until after. That's impossible to know visually. I'm sure you're aware of that.

Harrell: You're treating this official inquiry rather flippantly, Cain. Don't you have any regrets in your actions? Are you not bothered by the damage to company property and personnel?

Cain: Regrets? No...you have seconds to make a choice, and I stand by it, but don't you dare suggest I'm not "bothered" by the loss of those on my team. It's my responsibility, and I take that personally.

Harrell: I'm telling you-

Cain: I'm telling YOU, you don't want to go down this road with me, Advisor. The company doesn't write letters to the family when an officer doesn't come home, and they sure as hell don't provide much compensation. I do. Maybe these things wouldn't happen as much if the company actually followed decent hiring practices. That would explain how you got this position..

Harrell: Mr. Cain! I will not-

Cain: Write down whatever you need to, Harrell. Maybe use that pencil and actually do some good and draft an official fund for those that fall in the line of duty instead of making us rely on charity.

O5: That's quite enough, from all of you. I think everyone's made their point. I just have one final question, Cain. Were you aware //REDACTED// was //REDACTED//'s son?

Cain:...no.

O5: I see. Do you have anything you'd like to say before we make our disciplinary decision?

Cain: I did my duty and my job. You don't always have time to think things over, but trust me...I always think about it later. While it's very unfortunate lives were lost, I think we probably saved more. I did what I had to do and I stand by it.

O5: Very well, this board will now recommend a course of action in this matter.

*Stenographer notes approximately four minutes of hushed discussion among the board.

Braxton: While split, the board has reached a decision. This board finds that David Cain acted in the best interests of the company, if a bit heavy handed. No charges will be filed, however, this board reserves the right to reopen inquiries at any time, on orders of Nanotrasen Administration, or if more evidence comes to light. Cain, you are free to return to your duties.

Harrell: Rest assured Cain, I'll be keeping an eye on you.

Cain: Feel free, Advisor. You'll probably learn something.
//TRANSCRIPT ENDS//

[Fredric]

Oh boy oh boy gotta say this was fun to proofread it for you, really love how David is portrayed in this he's exactly how he is ingame.
God had so many goosebumps and wheezed a lot at his comebacks and overall snarky demeanor it turned out awesome!

[KingMorshu]

(To be a three part story. Any characters referenced besides my own in game, are not a caricature or reference to anyone or any character on Goon servers. There will be one exception in further parts, but I have full permission to include them in this manner.)
Part One:

**USS Amata United States Navy transport ship. Location: Deep Space**

Master Sergeant David Cain sat up and wiped the sweat from his brow. The gym on board the USS Amata was small, but had all the proper equipment. He'd been at it for nearly an hour, until the comms rang out, requesting his presence on the double. He sighed and toweled off the best he could. No time to shower, he thought. He'd been with the 4th Reconnaissance Battalion for some time, and while his rank would normally keep him out of the field, the Corps was in desperate need of those with field experience, and he had plenty. Same thing for the officers...he'd been under three new lieutenants in the past year. Most considered it a footnote on to higher rank, others served out their commission to get better jobs, like in Nanotrasen for instance. As he walked the decks of the ship to the officer's quarters, he hoped this lieutenant had his head on right. He knocked on the door. A young voice rang out, "Enter."

The lieutenant's quarters were small, but larger than Cain's. Being a senior NCO, he actually got his own room, as opposed to the bunks his squad mates had to share. The lieutenant's desk was immaculate...almost as immaculate as the man himself. Shaved blonde hair, perfect uniform and...young. Very young. Various degrees and awards hung on the walls, with the customary flag and USMC flag on the walls. The plaque on the desk read "LT Roger James." Cain approached the desk and snapped to attention with a parade ground worthy salute.

"Master Sergeant Cain reported as ordered, sir."
"At ease, sergeant," James replied. Cain relaxed his posture. He studied the man...and the room. The picture with his commission indicated he was a fresh graduate...right out of Annapolis. Great, he thought to himself. Another butter bar. He just hoped this one had some sense.
"Thank you for coming so quickly, Cain," James said. "Figured I should brief you about the mission ahead." James pointed to stack of files on his desk, gesturing to Cain. "Everything you need is in there. I assume you know about the situation on Ichor IV?"

Cain looked over some of the files. It was all there. The rebels had sized all the major cities, and only a few holdouts of loyalists remained, and were quickly on the verge of being overrun. This entire expeditionary force had been put together to end the rebellion.
"I have, sir," Cain replied, still looking over the files. "Talks have failed, time to put 'em down."
James frowned. "Not quite how I'd look at it, but...I guess we're past that stage now. This is a black operation, and you have two objectives. One, the rebels have fortified the cities with anti-missile and artillery emplacements, meaning we can't soften them up before the ground assault. Your team is take out these sites, with minimal casualties."

Now it was Cain's turn to frown. True, he didn't like collateral damage either, but looking at the files...these sites were right next to all kinds of civilian structures. It was almost going to be inevitable...
James didn't give him a chance to say anything. "Your second objective is the woman, Nicole Anderson. Anderson is currently embedded in City Sector Two, with the rebels. High command believes she has vital information that could end this uprising quickly, and thus, we need her extracted."
Cain studied the picture. Brown hair, mid to late twenties perhaps. He committed her face to memory. James began flipping through the other files, once again frowning. "Some squad you got here...especially this Gage character. How is he still in the service?"

It was true, John Gage, or "Hardboot", the squad's heavy weapons specialist, had a thick file. Insubordination, drunk on duty, dereliction of duty, you name it. He probably owed Cain his career...what was left of it. While he was hard to handle sometimes, you wouldn't want anyone else watching your back when things hit the fan. Cain took no small hits to his own reputation standing up for the man...but he didn't want to talk about that now, so changed the subject.
"Sir, my squad is still under strength. Three person team is hardly enough."
"True," James replied, nodding. "It's why I've had a corpsman assigned to your squad."

Cain instantly was not happy about this. He was glad to have an addition of course, but it was customary for an officer to consult with the NCO about their own squad before selecting a replacement. Either the new lieutenant was arrogant enough to think he knew best, or even worse, didn't fully consider the matter. James pushed yet another file towards Cain, gesturing to him to look at it. Thomas Kilgore, HM3: Hospital Corpsman Third Class. Little lacking on his weapon scores, but high marks on the technical side. Also very young...and it looks like this would be his first time seeing real action. He could get his measure of the man later, meeting him face to face.
"Any questions, Sergeant?"
Cain raised an eyebrow...he had a thousand questions. What contents of the armory would be available to him, what was the estimated strength and disposition of the enemy...and what was the plan? All he was given was objectives. While this might have been acceptable from someone further up the chain, for the lieutenant to not even give the most basics stunk of the highest incompetence. Unless...
He already knew the answer, but he asked anyway. "Sir...are you coming with us?"

James shook his head. "No, sergeant. I'll be running C&C here on the ship."
Cain narrowed his eyes and an unbidden sneer came to his face. He knew he shouldn't say anything, but most days, he just couldn't help himself.
"Permission to speak freely, sir?"
"Granted."
"...how many combat drops have you done, sir?"

The lieutenant paused for just a moment, but replied with a smirk, "Twenty seven, all successful."
Cain tilted his head. "I'm not counting the sims, sir."
Instantly the lieutenant's smirk faded and his face went a darker shade of red. "I'm doing my duty within the bonds of the service, Cain," he snapped roughly. "I'm getting the impression you don't like me very much, sergeant."
Cain knew he shouldn't press, after all, this man might very well be his only link while him and his team were on the ground, but he just couldn't help himself. He'd seen this far too many times before. A young officer who didn't take any of this seriously. This was just a stepping stone onto higher rank, or another career. He probably didn't care what happened to him or his squad, so long as the mission got done and he could take a favorable report to command.
"Is it required...sir?" Cain said in an even tone, but leaned forward so he was now towering over the man. "You plan to drop us in there, with no plan whatsoever. You have not advised me of near anything of the enemy, and you stick a new team member on the squad, with zero of my input. You know what these drops are like, sir? Anything can go wrong, and we could use all the help we could get down there. You won't be down there, where the metal meets the meat...sitting all comfortable up here." His voice was rising now, and his eyes were locked on the man, who while was red faced and bulging at the collar, Cain could see it behind his eyes...fear. The man was afraid of him.

"So no, sir," he all but snarled. "I don't like you, but you'll be the only one up here I'll be able to talk to, and that could mean life or death for my team down there." He leaned even closer to the lieutenant, fixing him with a gaze of pure contempt. "I pray to God you'll be looking out for us, because if something happens to my team because you drop the ball...you better hope something happens to me too."
This was a rank violation of so many articles Cain could not keep count in his head. Threatening a superior officer, for any reason, would likely carry dire consequences. Cain had mostly stopped caring about them...he was the one responsible for his team, and he would make sure they were looked after.
James' eyes were wide, and instead of the reddish color, it had now all but drained from his face. His mouth gaped open for a moment or two, before his composure somewhat returned.

"Y-you..." he managed to stammer. "You and your squad are at liberty until 18:00 hours tomorrow. Report for your final briefing then." Cain's gaze never left the lieutenant's, until the call of "dismissed" managed to pass from the lieutenant's lips.
Cain snapped off a salute, and exited the room. While what he did was rash, he couldn't help but feel some satisfaction in the matter. He reached into his pocket, and finding his cigarettes and lighter, fired one up as he went down the halls. Come of that what it will, that was a problem for another time. He had to brief the team about what they were up against.

To be continued in part 2!