06-12-2024, 03:51 AM
There was a long enough pause between them that Damian started to worry that perhaps he’d crossed the line somewhere. His eyes watched Tyra’s as she scoped him out. When she shifted her glass, it brought a raised brow to Damian’s face, and that was before she started pulling the pips from her collar. Never, not once, did any Captain he’d ever been under command of do something like that even in a casual conversation. The clank of each pip had an effect, though he couldn’t help but admire the dramatic flair just a little.
"This isn't a captain and commander conversation. Just Tyra and Damian."
Ah shit, here we go…
Tyra immediately made a good point, one that Damian hadn’t considered in all of his ruminating on the matter of the cloak. Jenny had been blindsided just like everyone else. It didn’t really make Coleman feel better about it though. In fact, it simply raised a specter of another color that he simply had to put to the back of his brain. Jenny and Tyra had years together, on wilder missions than he and Tyra had worked. If she hadn’t told her, he certainly wouldn’t have had a hope in hell of getting told either. Crawford pushed her argument of plausible deniability being the best option, though she had prefaced it with the ol’ ‘rightly or wrongly’. Tyra had made the decision, and she made the best one that she could with the circumstances, and the knowledge she had at the time. It didn’t mean Damian suddenly agreed with it, nor did it fix the matter wholly either. It did give him more to chew on, and tamed the more angry side of his feelings about it.
“...they're trying to dig up my skeletons too… they're asking questions about things that predate me ever taking command. Things that should be long dead.”
That led Damian to take another good sip of his drink. Now things didn’t feel so odd for him. It wasn’t just his past that they were looking into, but perhaps everyone within the Artemis Command structure. Coleman wondered if any of their Department Chiefs had anything of value to hide from such an investigation, aside from Elias. He certainly did.
Listening to Tyra speak more, her eyes finally moving toward something else, Damian let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding in. It was bullshit, the way they were propagating their witch hunt. There was doing the right thing, and then there was doing the right thing. And sometimes that didn’t fall into a category covered by protocols, codes, and manuals. You just did it, and hoped that you wouldn’t have to do it that way again. Without thought, Damian mimicked Tyra, taking a sip at the same time she did. Though what he didn’t match, was Tyra’s small chuckle.
It was the topic of Ju that came up next. Perhaps she meant to draw his ire some by using a particularly inflammatory way of bringing Ju up. Even if Tyra hadn’t meant to do it, it raised Damian’s hackles some. They hadn’t been ****ing at all. Was there some feelings that he hadn’t quite figured out? Sure. But all they had been doing was talking and writing some correspondence to one another. Damian had given Ju very little in their relationship, and Ju had given him everything. She listened to him, without judgment, and talked to him about things that weren’t work related. They laughed and shared memories with one another, and it was just about one of the greatest things that Damian could have had. Someone, outside of the ship, that he could just be only Damian with, not Commander Coleman, or First Officer. It was a rare thing, he had quickly realized shortly after departing from DS9, to find friendship and solace with someone else who didn’t need to be herded, reviewed, or commanded.
Tyra hadn’t stopped at making insinuations. Instead she heaped on more, incorrectly assuming that he would have tried to take whatever upper hand he could against her when it came to Ju. Damian would have preferred she approach him, because at least then he could have leveled with her. Told her about Ju. Worked out some of the different emotions he was feeling. And maybe even get her expertise on handling things if everything got more serious. Tyra brought up both rank and age, and at that he did nod.
When Ju and Damian had first met on DS9, it had been happenstance, a serendipitous moment that he had even bumped into her and Miss Galactic Glitter Girl. There hadn’t really been an intention of it being anything more than just a chance encounter and some lighthearted fun. Though, when Miss Allergic to Alcohol passed out, it was almost like the galaxy had pushed Damian and Ju together even more. Protecting Premier Passyouty meant both Ju and him spending even more time together, bonding over trying to keep the glitter fairy out of the brig under the harsh gaze of Captain Jennifer Braggins. Everything else just happened to blossom from there.
Regardless, even someone completely enamored could have seen the optics. Damian had considered them too. Yet, at first, it didn’t seem like a problem. They were just friends, hanging out, chatting, writing to one another. Did it toe the line on fraternization? Coleman had to admit, it probably went a little over the safe course. After all, how many Commanders just ‘hung out’ with Ensigns? It frustrated him, because Damian didn’t know quite how to handle it. While Tyra paused, he couldn’t help but take a good swig of his whiskey, and then sought a refill as he rubbed his face. Almost in time with him sitting down, Tyra began to speak again.
Damian could see it from Tyra’s side, even if something within him didn’t quite like it. He supposed it would have been the same for him. If he’d approached Tyra on something, Damian would likely put more stock in it, and it would change how he thought about the issue. With her going straight to Ju, someone she didn’t know at all, the information would be fresh and easy to examine.
“Once upon a time, I was a very, very young officer head over heels for her first officer…” Damian’s right brow jumped at the admission.
Continuing to listen, the shock wore off and his brow dropped. Eventually he nodded, not out of understanding, but out of appreciation for Tyra giving him a glimpse as to how her past colored everything. Silently, Damian cursed himself. The biggest sin, aside from the obvious, had been in not seeking Tyra out sooner. Then he cursed himself again for letting his feelings and pride get in the way of gleaning hardfought wisdom from someone who had plenty of it.
At some point, before Crawford had finished speaking, Damian had gone back to looking at the fresh golden liquor in his glass. There were so many conflicting thoughts and emotions running through him, and he honestly thought a glass or two would’ve helped to clear those out some. It hadn’t. They were all still there.
“I should have come to you sooner about all of this,” he admitted suddenly, looking up at Tyra.
“I’m no stranger to on-board romancing, and I’ve had plenty enough to know how tangled it can all get if you aren’t careful. I mean, you’ve known about them. Or, if not, I’m sure Cera had given you a heads up; it isn’t as though I’m very secretive about my relationships. Problem is, actually the good thing is, I never dated in my department and never cavorted with anyone within my chain of command. So if worse came to worse, things could get broken off and it would never really affect much.”
“Ju…” he used her first name, dropping the rank and family name from it all. It was the more honest thing to do, and would give Tyra more knowledge into where things sat for Damian.
“...it hadn’t started out as anything more than an acquaintance turned into a friendship. I mean, if Jenny hadn’t gotten mad at Ichika passing out because she had an alcohol allergy, we might not have bonded the way we did. It kinda grew from there. It was all very innocent. Just us hanging, and talking, having some food. I felt like I could just be someone who I wasn’t on the Artemis. I didn’t have to be Commander Coleman. I could just be Damian. It is great, and refreshing. We are still figuring out what there is between us…”
There was only a brief pause as he considered something.
“...and whatever that is, I will be sure to keep the two sides separated; work life and private life. I don’t think you would have approved Ju’s transfer if you didn’t think I could do that. And I will definitely follow the chain of command that you’ve arranged so that there is no conflict of interest.”
Now, there was a longer pause, as Damian weighed whether or not to ask Tyra more. Was it prying if it was something she had already offered up in the conversation? Perhaps she was expecting him to ask. Either way, Coleman decided it didn’t hurt to at least posit the question but also offer her a way out of answering it; not that Damian could hold Tyra’s feet to the fire if she truly didn’t want to answer something anyway.
“Now, I’m having trouble imagining a naive and giddy Tyra," he lightly joked before continuing in a more serious tone,
"and you absolutely don’t have to answer this if you don’t wanna. But the thing that happened between you and that First Officer… what happened? Is there something I should know that would help me? Someway I can protect Ju from something similar? Or is it just straight up ‘don’t do it’?”
Coleman wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answers to his questions, particularly the last one. Though his last question might cause Tyra to roll her eyes, because it was a relatively moot question in all reality; that path was already being traveled by Ju and Damian.
“Cause I do care about her,” he was honest, both hands subconsciously cradling his glass gently.
"This isn't a captain and commander conversation. Just Tyra and Damian."
Ah shit, here we go…
Tyra immediately made a good point, one that Damian hadn’t considered in all of his ruminating on the matter of the cloak. Jenny had been blindsided just like everyone else. It didn’t really make Coleman feel better about it though. In fact, it simply raised a specter of another color that he simply had to put to the back of his brain. Jenny and Tyra had years together, on wilder missions than he and Tyra had worked. If she hadn’t told her, he certainly wouldn’t have had a hope in hell of getting told either. Crawford pushed her argument of plausible deniability being the best option, though she had prefaced it with the ol’ ‘rightly or wrongly’. Tyra had made the decision, and she made the best one that she could with the circumstances, and the knowledge she had at the time. It didn’t mean Damian suddenly agreed with it, nor did it fix the matter wholly either. It did give him more to chew on, and tamed the more angry side of his feelings about it.
“...they're trying to dig up my skeletons too… they're asking questions about things that predate me ever taking command. Things that should be long dead.”
That led Damian to take another good sip of his drink. Now things didn’t feel so odd for him. It wasn’t just his past that they were looking into, but perhaps everyone within the Artemis Command structure. Coleman wondered if any of their Department Chiefs had anything of value to hide from such an investigation, aside from Elias. He certainly did.
Listening to Tyra speak more, her eyes finally moving toward something else, Damian let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding in. It was bullshit, the way they were propagating their witch hunt. There was doing the right thing, and then there was doing the right thing. And sometimes that didn’t fall into a category covered by protocols, codes, and manuals. You just did it, and hoped that you wouldn’t have to do it that way again. Without thought, Damian mimicked Tyra, taking a sip at the same time she did. Though what he didn’t match, was Tyra’s small chuckle.
It was the topic of Ju that came up next. Perhaps she meant to draw his ire some by using a particularly inflammatory way of bringing Ju up. Even if Tyra hadn’t meant to do it, it raised Damian’s hackles some. They hadn’t been ****ing at all. Was there some feelings that he hadn’t quite figured out? Sure. But all they had been doing was talking and writing some correspondence to one another. Damian had given Ju very little in their relationship, and Ju had given him everything. She listened to him, without judgment, and talked to him about things that weren’t work related. They laughed and shared memories with one another, and it was just about one of the greatest things that Damian could have had. Someone, outside of the ship, that he could just be only Damian with, not Commander Coleman, or First Officer. It was a rare thing, he had quickly realized shortly after departing from DS9, to find friendship and solace with someone else who didn’t need to be herded, reviewed, or commanded.
Tyra hadn’t stopped at making insinuations. Instead she heaped on more, incorrectly assuming that he would have tried to take whatever upper hand he could against her when it came to Ju. Damian would have preferred she approach him, because at least then he could have leveled with her. Told her about Ju. Worked out some of the different emotions he was feeling. And maybe even get her expertise on handling things if everything got more serious. Tyra brought up both rank and age, and at that he did nod.
When Ju and Damian had first met on DS9, it had been happenstance, a serendipitous moment that he had even bumped into her and Miss Galactic Glitter Girl. There hadn’t really been an intention of it being anything more than just a chance encounter and some lighthearted fun. Though, when Miss Allergic to Alcohol passed out, it was almost like the galaxy had pushed Damian and Ju together even more. Protecting Premier Passyouty meant both Ju and him spending even more time together, bonding over trying to keep the glitter fairy out of the brig under the harsh gaze of Captain Jennifer Braggins. Everything else just happened to blossom from there.
Regardless, even someone completely enamored could have seen the optics. Damian had considered them too. Yet, at first, it didn’t seem like a problem. They were just friends, hanging out, chatting, writing to one another. Did it toe the line on fraternization? Coleman had to admit, it probably went a little over the safe course. After all, how many Commanders just ‘hung out’ with Ensigns? It frustrated him, because Damian didn’t know quite how to handle it. While Tyra paused, he couldn’t help but take a good swig of his whiskey, and then sought a refill as he rubbed his face. Almost in time with him sitting down, Tyra began to speak again.
Damian could see it from Tyra’s side, even if something within him didn’t quite like it. He supposed it would have been the same for him. If he’d approached Tyra on something, Damian would likely put more stock in it, and it would change how he thought about the issue. With her going straight to Ju, someone she didn’t know at all, the information would be fresh and easy to examine.
“Once upon a time, I was a very, very young officer head over heels for her first officer…” Damian’s right brow jumped at the admission.
Continuing to listen, the shock wore off and his brow dropped. Eventually he nodded, not out of understanding, but out of appreciation for Tyra giving him a glimpse as to how her past colored everything. Silently, Damian cursed himself. The biggest sin, aside from the obvious, had been in not seeking Tyra out sooner. Then he cursed himself again for letting his feelings and pride get in the way of gleaning hardfought wisdom from someone who had plenty of it.
At some point, before Crawford had finished speaking, Damian had gone back to looking at the fresh golden liquor in his glass. There were so many conflicting thoughts and emotions running through him, and he honestly thought a glass or two would’ve helped to clear those out some. It hadn’t. They were all still there.
“I should have come to you sooner about all of this,” he admitted suddenly, looking up at Tyra.
“I’m no stranger to on-board romancing, and I’ve had plenty enough to know how tangled it can all get if you aren’t careful. I mean, you’ve known about them. Or, if not, I’m sure Cera had given you a heads up; it isn’t as though I’m very secretive about my relationships. Problem is, actually the good thing is, I never dated in my department and never cavorted with anyone within my chain of command. So if worse came to worse, things could get broken off and it would never really affect much.”
“Ju…” he used her first name, dropping the rank and family name from it all. It was the more honest thing to do, and would give Tyra more knowledge into where things sat for Damian.
“...it hadn’t started out as anything more than an acquaintance turned into a friendship. I mean, if Jenny hadn’t gotten mad at Ichika passing out because she had an alcohol allergy, we might not have bonded the way we did. It kinda grew from there. It was all very innocent. Just us hanging, and talking, having some food. I felt like I could just be someone who I wasn’t on the Artemis. I didn’t have to be Commander Coleman. I could just be Damian. It is great, and refreshing. We are still figuring out what there is between us…”
There was only a brief pause as he considered something.
“...and whatever that is, I will be sure to keep the two sides separated; work life and private life. I don’t think you would have approved Ju’s transfer if you didn’t think I could do that. And I will definitely follow the chain of command that you’ve arranged so that there is no conflict of interest.”
Now, there was a longer pause, as Damian weighed whether or not to ask Tyra more. Was it prying if it was something she had already offered up in the conversation? Perhaps she was expecting him to ask. Either way, Coleman decided it didn’t hurt to at least posit the question but also offer her a way out of answering it; not that Damian could hold Tyra’s feet to the fire if she truly didn’t want to answer something anyway.
“Now, I’m having trouble imagining a naive and giddy Tyra," he lightly joked before continuing in a more serious tone,
"and you absolutely don’t have to answer this if you don’t wanna. But the thing that happened between you and that First Officer… what happened? Is there something I should know that would help me? Someway I can protect Ju from something similar? Or is it just straight up ‘don’t do it’?”
Coleman wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answers to his questions, particularly the last one. Though his last question might cause Tyra to roll her eyes, because it was a relatively moot question in all reality; that path was already being traveled by Ju and Damian.
“Cause I do care about her,” he was honest, both hands subconsciously cradling his glass gently.