05-23-2026, 07:02 PM
== Command HQ ==
As soon as the sun hit her face, Tyra's lips had pulled from a thin, pressed line into a full grimace, even as she snapped sunglasses into place. The relief from the sun did little to relax her expression, her jaw remaining clenched and an active threat to her teeth.
There was a steady flow of personnel coming up and down the steps to a building that Tyra considered to be a waste of braincells and air. Whether it was her severe expression or her ground eating steps, the crowd parted like the Red Sea as she descended, likely the safer option for everyone. Until it didn't, that was.
Her current impediment stood on one of the lower steps, facing the top of the stairs, unmoving like the rocky outcrop holding a lighthouse at the edge of a bay. She knew Thomas would send someone to meet her, likely anticipating the outcome of this particular meeting, but she'd assumed it would be Bryan or even her father. Either Thomas was scrapping the bottom of the barrel for available moral support or he'd finally come to accept that sometimes she needed the coarser influences in her life.
Logan's lips, pressed together like hers, quirked to the side just a little as he looked at her after she'd nearly run straight into him. Because of the steps, she was nearly eye to eye with him.
"Fancy meetin' you here," Logan drawled as he turned to match her direction of travel. "Suitably crushed by the boot?"
Tyra shook her head slightly. "Oh, you know, just taking beatings in the name of upper echelon politics."
The meeting had been more of a flogging with the numerous admirals present sending pointed jabs at each other with Tyra stuck like a kid between divorcing parents. It wasn't her fault that she'd been used as a piece on the chess board of high level admiralty politics but they certainly seemed to be willing to punish her for it all the same. Bill's warning before the meeting had been to just grit her teeth and bear it with the knowledge that the worst had already been squashed behind the scenes. She had gone in with only a marginal amount of trust in that analysis.
"No good deed goes unpunished, hm?" Logan leaned down to peer at her hands dangling at her side. "Knuckle raps or did they pull out the big guns? Still have a ship or will you be slumming it with yours truly again?"
"Still have a ship but was told in very clear language that I better be on my best behavior or I'd end up in this Hellhole permanently," she commented dryly, waving towards the building behind her vaguely.
"That seems rather generous of them. I assume there's a catch?"
"Oh, no. They were extremely benevolent. I only have to complete a 40 hour refresher on policy and procedure, prior to launch, and 80 hours of command recertification during our mission. And whatever other benevolent tasks they think of in the meantime," Tyra answered, dropping down to the next step.
"Ah yes, bringing down the hammer of policy to crush you into a mold. I'd advise you don't drink the offered Kool Aid or agree to the lobotomy," Logan offered with a wider grin, nudging her with his elbow.
"If it's not coffee flavored, you know I'm not accepting it," she answered, bumping her shoulder into his and offering the first hint of a smile.
"Don't say it too loud or they'll figure out a way," he warned good naturedly. "Speaking of coffee, how about a final act of rebellion before you become a model captain with the required stick installed? I happen to know a place with very generous pours of...enhanced coffee," Logan suggested, offering her his arm with a sweeping gesture as they reached the bottom step.
"Enhanced, huh? Sounds like exactly what a model officer would drink at 1000 on a Tuesday," she laughed before grabbing his arm and giving it a tiny tug.
"Absolutely, ma'am. They don't have me working out of the finest closet in Security HQ for no reason."
Logan briefly tapped her hand, a reassuring gesture, before he tugged her in the direction of an establishment she knew pretty well. It would be okay to let Logan distract her for a few hours from what felt like an insurmountable hole but she knew she could only ignore this mess for so long.
"Do you remember that one time--"
== ETL ==
As soon as the sun hit her face, Tyra's lips had pulled from a thin, pressed line into a full grimace, even as she snapped sunglasses into place. The relief from the sun did little to relax her expression, her jaw remaining clenched and an active threat to her teeth.
There was a steady flow of personnel coming up and down the steps to a building that Tyra considered to be a waste of braincells and air. Whether it was her severe expression or her ground eating steps, the crowd parted like the Red Sea as she descended, likely the safer option for everyone. Until it didn't, that was.
Her current impediment stood on one of the lower steps, facing the top of the stairs, unmoving like the rocky outcrop holding a lighthouse at the edge of a bay. She knew Thomas would send someone to meet her, likely anticipating the outcome of this particular meeting, but she'd assumed it would be Bryan or even her father. Either Thomas was scrapping the bottom of the barrel for available moral support or he'd finally come to accept that sometimes she needed the coarser influences in her life.
Logan's lips, pressed together like hers, quirked to the side just a little as he looked at her after she'd nearly run straight into him. Because of the steps, she was nearly eye to eye with him.
"Fancy meetin' you here," Logan drawled as he turned to match her direction of travel. "Suitably crushed by the boot?"
Tyra shook her head slightly. "Oh, you know, just taking beatings in the name of upper echelon politics."
The meeting had been more of a flogging with the numerous admirals present sending pointed jabs at each other with Tyra stuck like a kid between divorcing parents. It wasn't her fault that she'd been used as a piece on the chess board of high level admiralty politics but they certainly seemed to be willing to punish her for it all the same. Bill's warning before the meeting had been to just grit her teeth and bear it with the knowledge that the worst had already been squashed behind the scenes. She had gone in with only a marginal amount of trust in that analysis.
"No good deed goes unpunished, hm?" Logan leaned down to peer at her hands dangling at her side. "Knuckle raps or did they pull out the big guns? Still have a ship or will you be slumming it with yours truly again?"
"Still have a ship but was told in very clear language that I better be on my best behavior or I'd end up in this Hellhole permanently," she commented dryly, waving towards the building behind her vaguely.
"That seems rather generous of them. I assume there's a catch?"
"Oh, no. They were extremely benevolent. I only have to complete a 40 hour refresher on policy and procedure, prior to launch, and 80 hours of command recertification during our mission. And whatever other benevolent tasks they think of in the meantime," Tyra answered, dropping down to the next step.
"Ah yes, bringing down the hammer of policy to crush you into a mold. I'd advise you don't drink the offered Kool Aid or agree to the lobotomy," Logan offered with a wider grin, nudging her with his elbow.
"If it's not coffee flavored, you know I'm not accepting it," she answered, bumping her shoulder into his and offering the first hint of a smile.
"Don't say it too loud or they'll figure out a way," he warned good naturedly. "Speaking of coffee, how about a final act of rebellion before you become a model captain with the required stick installed? I happen to know a place with very generous pours of...enhanced coffee," Logan suggested, offering her his arm with a sweeping gesture as they reached the bottom step.
"Enhanced, huh? Sounds like exactly what a model officer would drink at 1000 on a Tuesday," she laughed before grabbing his arm and giving it a tiny tug.
"Absolutely, ma'am. They don't have me working out of the finest closet in Security HQ for no reason."
Logan briefly tapped her hand, a reassuring gesture, before he tugged her in the direction of an establishment she knew pretty well. It would be okay to let Logan distract her for a few hours from what felt like an insurmountable hole but she knew she could only ignore this mess for so long.
"Do you remember that one time--"
== ETL ==