08-10-2024, 11:39 PM
Broad shoulders rose and fell as Mara kept up the deep breathing exercises. The hot-blooded Bandaran was doing everything she could to stay calm, but the meeting had her so riled up that her self-control was being sorely taxed.
How can they all just sit there? Crawford was more than just another CO. She put everythin’ on the line for this crew. And nothin’. Not one of them is showin’ the slightest hint of concern.
The holoprojector gave Mara something constructive to focus on. She didn’t see the beautiful colours in the same way as everyone else. Her appraising eye took in which parts looked capable of concealing ships and where combat between vessels might be impacted by unstable pockets of gas. The Security chief was well-drilled in combat in hostile environments and it looked like her expertise might be called on.
Assumin’ I get through this briefin’ without gettin’ myself fired.
Givens started the briefing, outlining what she had about the Hugora Nebula. Calleja’s brow furrowed as it looked like Cardassians were the enemy. They had proven themselves capable of some well-orchestrated dirty tricks and thundering incompetence, usually as part of the same conversation. Fighting them again meant the Artemis could expect some pain in unexpected places.
The door slid open in the middle of the sentence and Mara looked over. Cera Morgan looking pleased with herself wasn’t new or unexpected. But the woman that came in after her…
Mara’s dark eyes damn near popped out of her head at the sight of Tyra Crawford. The Captain looked tired and fed up, and judging by the exchange with Givens, no more in the loop than the rest of the crew.
The Bandaran was on her feet again, and she was straight to Crawford’s side.
“Cap’n. You OK?” she asked. There was concern in her voice, tightly interlaced with a barely repressed anger. “We were just told that you were on indefinite leave and sittin’ this one out. And now, well, here you are…”
The Bandaran’s hostile glare picked out Givens as the Amazonian woman turned to face the table.
“Can someone please start explainin’ what’s goin’ on here? And no more of this 4D chess bullshit.” Mara imbued that one word with all the venom she could muster. “I saw the look on your face when Tyra came back in here. You were just as surprised as we were. What are you? Some kinda plant, just playin’ at bein’ a CO so some arsehole with square pips can get his rocks off?”
Calleja’s anger was bubbling over as her frustrations mounted. She despised political machinations and had no patience for the Admiralty’s games. Most of all she deeply resented being toyed with like this. Being told that Crawford wasn’t going to be there had really hurt. But that had been a lie. And it was only the fact that Givens might not have knowingly told the lie that was keeping the Security chief’s fury in check.
How can they all just sit there? Crawford was more than just another CO. She put everythin’ on the line for this crew. And nothin’. Not one of them is showin’ the slightest hint of concern.
The holoprojector gave Mara something constructive to focus on. She didn’t see the beautiful colours in the same way as everyone else. Her appraising eye took in which parts looked capable of concealing ships and where combat between vessels might be impacted by unstable pockets of gas. The Security chief was well-drilled in combat in hostile environments and it looked like her expertise might be called on.
Assumin’ I get through this briefin’ without gettin’ myself fired.
Givens started the briefing, outlining what she had about the Hugora Nebula. Calleja’s brow furrowed as it looked like Cardassians were the enemy. They had proven themselves capable of some well-orchestrated dirty tricks and thundering incompetence, usually as part of the same conversation. Fighting them again meant the Artemis could expect some pain in unexpected places.
The door slid open in the middle of the sentence and Mara looked over. Cera Morgan looking pleased with herself wasn’t new or unexpected. But the woman that came in after her…
Mara’s dark eyes damn near popped out of her head at the sight of Tyra Crawford. The Captain looked tired and fed up, and judging by the exchange with Givens, no more in the loop than the rest of the crew.
The Bandaran was on her feet again, and she was straight to Crawford’s side.
“Cap’n. You OK?” she asked. There was concern in her voice, tightly interlaced with a barely repressed anger. “We were just told that you were on indefinite leave and sittin’ this one out. And now, well, here you are…”
The Bandaran’s hostile glare picked out Givens as the Amazonian woman turned to face the table.
“Can someone please start explainin’ what’s goin’ on here? And no more of this 4D chess bullshit.” Mara imbued that one word with all the venom she could muster. “I saw the look on your face when Tyra came back in here. You were just as surprised as we were. What are you? Some kinda plant, just playin’ at bein’ a CO so some arsehole with square pips can get his rocks off?”
Calleja’s anger was bubbling over as her frustrations mounted. She despised political machinations and had no patience for the Admiralty’s games. Most of all she deeply resented being toyed with like this. Being told that Crawford wasn’t going to be there had really hurt. But that had been a lie. And it was only the fact that Givens might not have knowingly told the lie that was keeping the Security chief’s fury in check.