01-24-2026, 10:59 PM
Tyra cracked a grin at Mara's answer, remembering her own days of having to keep the peace with a disfunctional Getty crew and then, an even less functional Avenger crew. While it had been a nightmare at times, she hadn't appreciated the simplicity of that role enough, particularly compared to the current situation.
“Definitely not here for another go-round. More of a social call,” the Lieutenant said. “We got so much goin’ on, and… well… So much of it I made worse before we left dock,” she admitted with a decidedly sheepish expression.
Her blue eyes slowly scanned Mara, assessing her quietly. Under that chagrined expression, there was an evident exhaustion, which Tyra suspected was probably shared across a good chunk of her staff. Tyra certainly felt like she could feel it in her bones and she was starting to wonder if it would ever go away.
Before Tyra could comment on the briefing incident, Mara continued on. “But I can’t imagine bein’ smuggled onto your own ship was any fun at all. And now we’ve smoked a Klingon pirate crew and watched as a moon full of clones took their own lives. That’s a lot in a few days, even for us and even without all the catastrofuck behind the scenes. I just wanted to see how you were? I know I ain’t the first person anyone thinks of when they want someone to talk to. But you’re more than the CO to me. And if there’s anythin’ I can do, even if it’s just be here whilst you vent, I’m here.”
“Sorry, I’m ramblin’,” she said. “But I hope you get what I’m tryin’ to say?”
Tyra's grin had turned softer, almost affectionate, even as she chuckled and waved off the apology. "Sometimes, rambling is preferable to silence so I think I can forgive it. And some company would be appreciated."
She waved for Mara to take a seat in the living room while she moved towards a large wooden cabinet between the living room and kitchenette. She's grabbed her glass from her desk on the way.
There was the tinkling of glass as she procured a bottle from the cabinet and poured herself some more amber liquid.
"Would you like some?" She asked, gently shaking the bottle of bourbon. Normally, she would have poured a second glass without asking but no matter how hard to wracked her brain, she couldn't remember ever seeing Mara with an alcoholic beverage. In fact, she remembered Cera crediting her with the hot chocolate bar at their last holiday party.
"Or anything from the replicator?" She added quickly.
Once the drinks were sorted, she settled onto a corner of the couch, her feet tucked underneath her.
"When I was a newly minted Chief, I worked for a very good Captain. He'd been a Chief like me and as luck would have it, he made my life hell regularly. Not purposefully, usually at least, but just because he couldn't stay out of shit."
She paused to take a sip of her drink, the little burn causing the slightest of smiles. "I think we can both agree that he rubbed off on me," she commented with a self-deprecating smile.
"We came to an agreement early on; there was a time and a place for the knockdown drag out disagreements and those weren't in the public eye. That was actually easy once there was trust because yeah, he was going to do what he wanted to do but he was also going to let me do what I [b]needed[\b] to do."
"Eventually, we started a tradition of debriefing after missions, nothing formal. Just drinks and some peace. That way, we could unload whatever disagreements we might have swallowed down for the sake of keeping a united front without letting it fester. It usually devolved into either war stories or drinking stories but we became friends. We managed to get through a war and some nasty situations without killing each other..."
Her smile was wistful for a moment. There were lots of things about that timeframe that she wouldn't mind forgetting but the people had made everything bearable, even when she's spent a good amount of time tearing her hair out over someone's questionable ideas. Then again, she was returning the favor in spades.
Her shoulder half shrugged. "What I'm trying to say is that I know I expect a lot and I know I don't make your job easy. I appreciate the care you put into your job and I don't expect you to suffer in silence forever, just maybe during briefings," she grinned at the last bit.
“Definitely not here for another go-round. More of a social call,” the Lieutenant said. “We got so much goin’ on, and… well… So much of it I made worse before we left dock,” she admitted with a decidedly sheepish expression.
Her blue eyes slowly scanned Mara, assessing her quietly. Under that chagrined expression, there was an evident exhaustion, which Tyra suspected was probably shared across a good chunk of her staff. Tyra certainly felt like she could feel it in her bones and she was starting to wonder if it would ever go away.
Before Tyra could comment on the briefing incident, Mara continued on. “But I can’t imagine bein’ smuggled onto your own ship was any fun at all. And now we’ve smoked a Klingon pirate crew and watched as a moon full of clones took their own lives. That’s a lot in a few days, even for us and even without all the catastrofuck behind the scenes. I just wanted to see how you were? I know I ain’t the first person anyone thinks of when they want someone to talk to. But you’re more than the CO to me. And if there’s anythin’ I can do, even if it’s just be here whilst you vent, I’m here.”
“Sorry, I’m ramblin’,” she said. “But I hope you get what I’m tryin’ to say?”
Tyra's grin had turned softer, almost affectionate, even as she chuckled and waved off the apology. "Sometimes, rambling is preferable to silence so I think I can forgive it. And some company would be appreciated."
She waved for Mara to take a seat in the living room while she moved towards a large wooden cabinet between the living room and kitchenette. She's grabbed her glass from her desk on the way.
There was the tinkling of glass as she procured a bottle from the cabinet and poured herself some more amber liquid.
"Would you like some?" She asked, gently shaking the bottle of bourbon. Normally, she would have poured a second glass without asking but no matter how hard to wracked her brain, she couldn't remember ever seeing Mara with an alcoholic beverage. In fact, she remembered Cera crediting her with the hot chocolate bar at their last holiday party.
"Or anything from the replicator?" She added quickly.
Once the drinks were sorted, she settled onto a corner of the couch, her feet tucked underneath her.
"When I was a newly minted Chief, I worked for a very good Captain. He'd been a Chief like me and as luck would have it, he made my life hell regularly. Not purposefully, usually at least, but just because he couldn't stay out of shit."
She paused to take a sip of her drink, the little burn causing the slightest of smiles. "I think we can both agree that he rubbed off on me," she commented with a self-deprecating smile.
"We came to an agreement early on; there was a time and a place for the knockdown drag out disagreements and those weren't in the public eye. That was actually easy once there was trust because yeah, he was going to do what he wanted to do but he was also going to let me do what I [b]needed[\b] to do."
"Eventually, we started a tradition of debriefing after missions, nothing formal. Just drinks and some peace. That way, we could unload whatever disagreements we might have swallowed down for the sake of keeping a united front without letting it fester. It usually devolved into either war stories or drinking stories but we became friends. We managed to get through a war and some nasty situations without killing each other..."
Her smile was wistful for a moment. There were lots of things about that timeframe that she wouldn't mind forgetting but the people had made everything bearable, even when she's spent a good amount of time tearing her hair out over someone's questionable ideas. Then again, she was returning the favor in spades.
Her shoulder half shrugged. "What I'm trying to say is that I know I expect a lot and I know I don't make your job easy. I appreciate the care you put into your job and I don't expect you to suffer in silence forever, just maybe during briefings," she grinned at the last bit.