Icebreaker (part 1)

Posted on Thu Aug 25th, 2016 @ 10:57am by Commodore Samantha York & Commander Alexandra Vance

1,010 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Shadow Dance
Location: CO's Ready Room
Timeline: Immediately after "Getting Answers"

ON

Moments after Tate and Munich left the ready room, a familiar beam of blue light filled the ready room materializing a familiar face. Still adorned in her black jumpsuit, Alexandra Vance appeared in her now traditional manner stepping towards York once the beam dissipated.

"Hello Samantha, can we talk?" She asked with a warm smile not befitting her usual cold exterior.

"What do you want to talk about?" Sam asked, not so sure she liked Alexandra's new method of getting around the ship.

"Well.." Alexandra began showing signs of awkwardness. She usually tried to keep things professional, real interpersonal relationships took time with her, but Sam deserved the truth, she deserved more then the sudden exit she got. "We never talked, since my return and I am inclined to feel I owe you a little more then the silent treatment. The least I could do for not being confined to the brig I suppose." She snickered.

Sam indicated the seat Jennifer had recently vacated and took her own seat. "Okay."

Alexandra took the seat offered letting out a long drawn sigh as she sat down. "I don't even know where to begin. Apologies for using the site to site transport? I'm sorry I brought a twisted sociopathic monster onto your ship? I don't believe there are any words in any language that could justify the treason I have committed against this ship and crew." Her voice was somber and filled with regret.

Sam nodded. "You didn't trust us enough to tell us what was going on. You and your father are very much alike. Both of you think you're above the law, that you can handle anything on your own. You're both wrong."

"Trust has nothing to do with it Samantha. I wanted her away from this ship, I wanted her sick obsession to die with me. You have seen what she does, perverts innocence, destroys lives. I can put a lot of things on my conscience or whatever is left of it but that wasn't one of them. I've destroyed one ship, not this one." Alexandra replied showing signs of becoming upset.

"Not from lack of trying," Sam replied. "Did you not think that Morat would target everyone you came in contact with? You left Beckinsale and you left this crew with no idea what was going on," Sam said. "And before that, you continually treated me and others on this ship like we couldn't take care of ourselves so you had to do it. You seem to think that no one but you can handle anything, Commander. Time after time, you've been proven wrong and you still think it all comes down to you."

Alexandra sighed once again. "Morat, until a few months ago was always fixated upon myself. Everything she did was a message sent to me, trust me she made sure I knew that. Then, it stopped. Her behavior became erratic even by her standards. It's like her goal shifted and now she found a new focus. Like I said before it's like she is an entirely different person. My hope was that by leaving this ship, Morat would finally fade away. That did not happen and there isn't a moment that goes by that I don't hate myself for what I did.....I let her win." A tear fell from Alexandra's unaltered eye.

She quickly wiped it away clearing her throat. "As for the rest of it, old habits die hard. When you have seen the kind of things I have, you are weary to let your friends go off. Samantha York you probably have one of the more sound minds I have seen in a Commanding Officer. Having served beside you, I've learned a side of Starfleet, of humanity I never saw before. It's not that I don't trust you, it's that I couldn't stand the thought of losing you. Working with Intelligence, going into the field. You're it, everyone relies on you, your actions, your decisions. Mess one up people die. That can't happen to you Samantha. We both know I wouldn't be fit to Command this ship, this is your ship and yours alone. I did what I did because I never wanted to find myself in that chair without you. I've already lost so much, enough is enough."

On one level, Sam understood what Alexandra was saying, but on another, she saw the flaws in her logic. "You don't keep people safe by treating them like they aren't capable of taking care of themselves. That's how you drive people away," she said. "I have no proof, but I honestly believe you were never the ultimate target of Morat. If you were, she would either kill you or target the people around you. I think she's targeting you to punish someone else. So, when you left, she went after others. If you'd trusted me enough to tell me what was going on, I might have ameliorated the situation. Instead, you disappeared and let your father and someone you consider your sister to think you were dead."

"I am not proud of it, not one bit. Now I'm left to sort out the pieces of what is left. Then, I'm not really sure. For all Morat has done, she's the only thing that drives me now." Alexandra replied.

"That's just as dangerous, if not more so," Sam replied. "You don't want to become like her. Let someone who can do more take over. Right now you should be focusing on finding Sergeant Beckinsale."

"Speaking of which." Vance replied dismissing whatever emotions she had at the moment. "We have determined how Sergeant Beckinsale got off the ship. A medical shuttle had arrived on the Calypso two weeks prior dropping supplies. It seems the Sergeant was able to acquire a stealth suit from the Intelligence stores and use it to board the shuttle without anyone including the crew being aware. My father is currently tracking the whereabouts of said shuttle."

(To be continued...)

Commander Alexandra Vance
Former Executive Officer

Commodore Samantha York
Commanding Officer

 

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