08-04-2024, 08:01 PM
When Cassandra had first begun her position with the committee, she had struggled to understand and empathize with the crews she evaluated. She'd mistaken crew devotion for a blind loyalty that she just hadn't been able to understand; then again, her career had been built upon short stays with little opportunity to develop such devotion or loyalty to a supervisor. That wasn't to say she hadn't appreciated some of her leaders and even considered some of them as mentors, who she still spoke to. However, their transfer or replacement would not have invoked a deep reaction from her, not like she witnessed here and not like she'd witnessed countless times by now.
In fact, there was only one time she could think of where the crew had reacted positively to their commanding officer's removal but they'd baulked when the first officer hadn't been named the new commanding officer immediately. Fortunately, Commander Bav'lit had excelled and earned his fourth pip, allowing her to escape with her head attached. That actually had probably been her worst experience to date, though it seemed Artemis wanted a shot at the top spot.
While she didn't think the Liberty was in any way comparable to the Artemis' situation, she couldn't forget the analogy the Liberty's Chief Medical Officer had used during a meeting. The young man, wise beyond his years, had likened her position to that of a step-parent. While she had the responsibility and the authority, sometimes it was just better to let the "real" parent handle the issues instead of coming in like an authoritative wrecking ball with none of the respect or experience needed to be effective.
And that was why Cass remained utterly silent as the scene in front of her unfolded. She'd taken the half step backwards to place her shoulder blades against the wall, her arms crossing as she leaned back. Her right ankle crossed over her left in a position that likely came off as laxed but was truthfully a preparation for if she had to step forward. Her expression was impassive as she watched Coleman step in, using his size to try to put a stop to the tantrum in progress.
For a moment, she thought she was going to witness the knuckleheaded decision that would bring the house of cards down in a record breaking 10 minutes. It seemed almost inevitable as she ticked off each pre-attack indicator that Calleja could send up and the security officer in her wanted to step in and defuse it. However, the realist in Cass understood that her intervention would likely be a match lighting a powder keg so she stayed immobile, merely watching as the young engineer attempted to intervene as well.
She was already silently dictating her message to Anderson in which she changed her consensus about the capabilities of this crew to functioning under their current mental states when someone found the pressure valve and that just enough air out to keep the tank from blowing apart in spectacular form.
“Sorry. I got distracted and thought we were done,” the chief of security explained, though it was the weakest excuse Cass had ever heard. In fact, she'd liken the entire tantrum to a child trying to test boundaries and she was certain there was a psychologist out there willing to compare a command change to the breakdown of a parent-child relationship. Unfortunately, as someone who didn't have children and didn't have a healthy relationship with her parents, she wasn't exactly the best person to take that analogy and find the right solution.
“Let’s get it over with, shall we?”
"Well, if we can keep the theatrics to a minimum from here on out, maybe we can eventually 'get it over with' but that's up to y'all," Cass stated, the dry sarcasm mixing seamlessly into her normal tone. Her dark eyes found Coleman's for a moment before she pushed off the wall.
"Here's the deal: we have a mission to brief and I am not repeating this briefing because people were too deep in their feelings to pay attention. We have two options: we can continue on and get this over with so that y'all can go decompress for a few hours and come back in the morning with better attitudes and a smidge more professionalism or we call it for the night but y'all are here bright and early tomorrow morning for the briefing."
"Personally, I'd rather get this over with and rip this band aid off but I need y'all focused and I need you paying attention. If that can't happen tonight, say as much and we'll handle this after you guys have your heads on straight."
== Tag! ==
In fact, there was only one time she could think of where the crew had reacted positively to their commanding officer's removal but they'd baulked when the first officer hadn't been named the new commanding officer immediately. Fortunately, Commander Bav'lit had excelled and earned his fourth pip, allowing her to escape with her head attached. That actually had probably been her worst experience to date, though it seemed Artemis wanted a shot at the top spot.
While she didn't think the Liberty was in any way comparable to the Artemis' situation, she couldn't forget the analogy the Liberty's Chief Medical Officer had used during a meeting. The young man, wise beyond his years, had likened her position to that of a step-parent. While she had the responsibility and the authority, sometimes it was just better to let the "real" parent handle the issues instead of coming in like an authoritative wrecking ball with none of the respect or experience needed to be effective.
And that was why Cass remained utterly silent as the scene in front of her unfolded. She'd taken the half step backwards to place her shoulder blades against the wall, her arms crossing as she leaned back. Her right ankle crossed over her left in a position that likely came off as laxed but was truthfully a preparation for if she had to step forward. Her expression was impassive as she watched Coleman step in, using his size to try to put a stop to the tantrum in progress.
For a moment, she thought she was going to witness the knuckleheaded decision that would bring the house of cards down in a record breaking 10 minutes. It seemed almost inevitable as she ticked off each pre-attack indicator that Calleja could send up and the security officer in her wanted to step in and defuse it. However, the realist in Cass understood that her intervention would likely be a match lighting a powder keg so she stayed immobile, merely watching as the young engineer attempted to intervene as well.
She was already silently dictating her message to Anderson in which she changed her consensus about the capabilities of this crew to functioning under their current mental states when someone found the pressure valve and that just enough air out to keep the tank from blowing apart in spectacular form.
“Sorry. I got distracted and thought we were done,” the chief of security explained, though it was the weakest excuse Cass had ever heard. In fact, she'd liken the entire tantrum to a child trying to test boundaries and she was certain there was a psychologist out there willing to compare a command change to the breakdown of a parent-child relationship. Unfortunately, as someone who didn't have children and didn't have a healthy relationship with her parents, she wasn't exactly the best person to take that analogy and find the right solution.
“Let’s get it over with, shall we?”
"Well, if we can keep the theatrics to a minimum from here on out, maybe we can eventually 'get it over with' but that's up to y'all," Cass stated, the dry sarcasm mixing seamlessly into her normal tone. Her dark eyes found Coleman's for a moment before she pushed off the wall.
"Here's the deal: we have a mission to brief and I am not repeating this briefing because people were too deep in their feelings to pay attention. We have two options: we can continue on and get this over with so that y'all can go decompress for a few hours and come back in the morning with better attitudes and a smidge more professionalism or we call it for the night but y'all are here bright and early tomorrow morning for the briefing."
"Personally, I'd rather get this over with and rip this band aid off but I need y'all focused and I need you paying attention. If that can't happen tonight, say as much and we'll handle this after you guys have your heads on straight."
== Tag! ==