Making Amends

Posted on Thu Aug 11th, 2011 @ 12:51pm by Commodore Samantha York & Colonel Damon Raine

1,372 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Shades of Gray
Location: CO's Quarters
Timeline: Current

ON

Samantha returned to the Calypso, but not to the bridge. After her visit to the governor of Michnar VII and his two stooges, she had more questions than answers. There was something wrong here. The governor was lying to her about something, but she wasn't sure what.

She went straight to her office and began reading every report and piece of data she could on the subject. In the back of her mind, though, was the last conversation she had with Damon. She needed to talk to him -- to make amends.

When she finished reading over the data it was well into Beta shift and Damon had left the bridge. He'd probably gone down to the Marine deck to work out.

She stepped onto the turbolift. "Computer, where is Commander Raine?"

"Commander Raine is located on deck 14A - Marine traning facility." Came the automated response.

"Send him a message. Ask him to meet me in my quarters in one hour."

She stepped off the turbolift and headed for her quarters to make preparations.

One hour later, the table was set, the lights were low and several candles flickered in the dim light.

Damon took his time getting to Samantha's quarters. The Marine gym was one of the few places he still felt comfortable on the ship and the routine helped him to think. The automated request further put him off.

He returned to his new quarters on deck nine and took a shower and changed before he started on his way to Samantha's quarters, 15 minutes past the time she requested. He hated being late for anything, but under the circumstances he didn't mind this time.

He pressed the chime on the outside of her door and waited for the response.

"Come in," Sam said, surprised he didn't just walk in as usual. This was not starting out well.

"Hi," she said softly, unsure how he'd react.

Damon saw the way the room was set up and figured what this was about. "Hi." He parroted. His arms folded over his chest and he leaned up against the wall beside the door. He wasn't sure of what to say, especially since he was still unhappy about the way they last parted company.

"Do you want to hear what I learned on Michnar VII?" she asked, hoping to ease into the evening.

He stood there for several more moments before speaking. "Yeah, I guess so." He walked over to the table and sat himself. He had no interest in what she discovered on that planet, but he knew it was his duty to be kept up to date. He folded his hands and put them on the table.

Sam sat down across from him and took a deep breath before explaining. "I have no idea how the government can get anything done. The governor is a joke. He has no idea what's going on. He relies on three assistants for everything. One of them seems to have disappeared -- not the same way Kyt did. I wouldn't be surprised if he's the one who really knows what's going on." She looked at Damon to gage his reaction before continuing. "Wexler was no help. He said nothing the entire time we were with the governor."

"Well, then it seems your trip down to the surface was a complete waste of time." Damon said as he pulled his hands back to himself.

"Not completely. We wouldn't know what a mess the government was in if I hadn't. We'd still be thinking the governor was competent." She shrugged. "At least now we know there's something wrong with the government as well."

"And that wasn't information you could have discovered while still on the ship?" He asked, still sore about it.

"No. They weren't talking to us, Damon. And what little they were saying was filtered so carefully we would never know. We -- I -- had to meet them face to face to see what was going on." She sighed and got up to stand in front of him. "Damon, I had to go. I'm the Captain. It's in the job description. I have you to help keep me safe and keep me from doing anything too stupid."

"And yet when I asked you not to go, you did anyways. Just how exactly am I supposed to keep you from doing stupid things?" He asked.

He had a point. "Damon, I do listen to you. This time, I felt that I had to go. The word I got back was that the governor would talk to no one but me. When Wexler asked for the governor to meet here, there was no response. Starfleet sent us here to work with the government and distribute supplies. I had no reason to think there would be a problem." She ran a hand through her hair. "And there wasn't. I also learned something invaluable. Something we would not have found if we kept working with middle men. I had to meet with the governor." It didn't seem to be helping. "I trusted you to pull me out if things went bad."

"Oh sure," He started, throwing his hands up 'you trust me to pull you out. Do you have any idea what that does to me. I don't trust myself to be there in time."

Sam got up and walked around the table to face Damon. "I don't expect you to be perfect. I know you can't be everywhere. I know there are times when I have to put my life on the line -- it's part of the job. I know there's always a chance things will go wrong. But you also need to know that I listen to you. And I take extra care because of you. I love you. That makes me more cautious than I used to be. There are times when both of us have to take necessary risks. I deemed this one of those times."

"Except now I can't be there when you end up making those decisions."

"So, what do you suggest?" she asked quietly.

"The hell if I know." He said, looking back to the table set in front of him. He knew he was being unreasonable. He couldn't ask her to sit back and do nothing anymore than she could ask him, it was a part of the service that they both accepted. He just somehow thought that it was easier to deal with when he was a marine and could be at her side. "I supose," He started after a moment of thought "we could try chaining you to your chair." He quipped.

She pretended to consider that for a moment. "I'm not sure it would work very well. Not unless you were right there to hold me down," she teased.

"You keep this up I might have to." He shot back.

Sam leaned close and whispered, "Promises, promises."

"Don't you try to butter me up." He said. He picked up a folded napkin and lightly tossed it at her. "I'm still angry at you." He couldn't help but smile.

"I know you are," she said, catching the napkin, wadding it into a tight ball and tossing it back at him.

He did nothing to stop the napkin as it bounced off his head and landed in his lap. He shook his head while still grinning and brushed his hair back out of his face. He was unaccustomed to it being so long, like much else since leaving the marines.

Sam ran her fingers through his hair, smoothing it back. She liked the extra length. "It's no fun if you just sit there," she said, rubbing her nose against his.

Damon sighed as he relented. It was no use staying angry with her, she always knew how to defuse him. "Fine, you win...This time." He closed the remaining gap and kissed her.

Sam finally felt like she could relax. She didn't like arguing with Damon -- it always made her miserable. "No, my love," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "We both win."

OFF

Captain Samantha York
Commanding Officer
USS Calypso

Commander Damon Raine
Executive Officer
USS Calypso

 

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