Housekeeping, part 1

Posted on Tue Jul 13th, 2010 @ 8:38am by Commodore Samantha York & Colonel Damon Raine
Edited on on Tue Jul 13th, 2010 @ 9:20am

902 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Transitions
Location: Captain's ready room
Timeline: Current

Damon was lost in thought as the turbolift shot through the starship at an astounding speed emitting nothing more then a very faint hum.

He was considering what the cause was of his currently soured mood; the conversation with Lorne or his predisposition even before he left his office. This thought spiraled into another one; what if he had been in a better frame of mind before entering the brig? Likely if he had been in a better mood he would have responded differently or perhaps found some way to turn the visit into a positive experience. Or, it could have put him in a bad mood...

The turbolift suddenly chirped, breaking Damon free from his thoughts. He looked at the panel indicating the approach of his destination. The lift decelerated at nearly break-neck speed but to Damon it felt like nothing more than a very slight shift in speed due to the inertial dampeners. The doors in the lift parted revealing the command bridge of the Calypso.

Damon stepped out on to the bridge and gave the ops officer who noticed his arrival a curt nod before moving down the laneway. He looked over at the Captain's chair and noticed the absence of the Commander. His feet shifted direction and continued passed the chairs until they reached the door at the far side of the bridge. Damon's hand brushed over the panel toggling the room's chime and waited for the response.

"Come in," Sam said. When she saw Damon she stood, smiling, then noticed his mood. She walked around the desk and gave him a hug. "What's the matter?"

His mood improved considerably with her in his arms, though he still felt weighed down.

"The day is pitted against me it seems." He gave her a tired grin "Nothing really, just frustrating is all."

Sam led him to the couch and sat down. "Tell me about it."

Damon found himself a comfortable spot before speaking. "I'll be happy when we finally get out of dock and into space again, Sam. I know this is a new ship and proper procedures need to be met before we can disembark, but the amount of paper work involved is astounding. I thought the Orion had a heavy paper trail, it pales in comparison."

"Me, too," she replied with a sigh. "I spend most of my time filling out forms and approving transfers. It's crazy. I'll be happy to get back to some semblance of normalcy." She looked at him for a moment, noting the stress. "But that's not all, is it?"

"No, it isn't." He suddenly felt bad for being the bearer of bad news considering her extra workload. "The Calypso's security chief has gotten himself into trouble." He reached down his leg and pulled out a small PADD from his lower pocket. He handed it to Samantha feeling like the report would do a better job explaining what happened then he could.

"I just came from speaking to him in the brig. It doesn't look good." Damon said as he watched her read over the incident.

The more Sam read, the more her mood matched Damon's. "You're right. This is not good. What did he have to say for himself?" Although she wasn't sure what could explain discharging a firearm in engineering.

"Nothing in the way of a good reason. He disrupted the entire department for the sole purpose of making a statement. What really concern me weren't the action, but his attitude about it. He seems entirely complacent for the action, he didn't even so much as offer an apology."

Sam dropped her head onto Damon's shoulder. "Oh, dear." Her options were shrinking. Now she was wondering how she could keep him from a dishonorable discharge and time on a penal colony. "What do you recommend?" Maybe, between the two of them, they could come up with something workable.

"Well I guess that depends. Do you want him to continue as your security chief or offer him to the JAG?"

"That's the question, isn't it?" she said, shaking her head. There were times, like this, when she wished she didn't have to be the one in charge. "He and John both got a bit carried away with the ghezun infestation. Now this. I don't know if this is a carryover from that or a sign of problems to come."

"I worry about that as well. The fact that he chose to have himself remanded into custody says a lot. He knew it was wrong before he did it, but damned be the consequences. He went so far as to even joke that his incarceration was a nice way to get time off. Personally I wouldn't want someone like that running a department, let alone the security and safe keeping of the ship. He has already shown once that he cares more about himself then others."

Sam knew Damon was right. But she still felt responsible for Jaxara. He was her responsibility and she wasn't ready to toss him out, even though she wasn't sure how far she could trust him. She just looked at Damon and nodded.

He didn't have to be half Betazoid to read where her mind was going. Her body language said it all. "You're going to keep him on, aren't you?"

(To be continued...)

Major Damon Raine
Marine CO
USS Calypso

Commander Samantha York
Commanding Officer
USS Calypso

 

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