The Captain's Hand

Posted on Sat Jun 8th, 2024 @ 9:34pm by Captain John Theisman & Lieutenant Commander Ryssa Toric & Lieutenant Tristan Balor & Lieutenant JG Élan Val

1,826 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Upon Wings Anew
Location: Captain's Ready Room

ON

As soon as she was free, Ryssa went straight to the captain's ready room to report on the arrival of Jaeih. She would prefer to deal with the argument herself, but knew that the captain needed to know, and she needed to be the one to tell him. As soon as she rang the chime and was granted entrance, she stood before Theisman's desk and gave him a full report.

John had been in a somewhat decent mood, but it grew darker with Commander Toric's report on the incident in the transporter room. He felt his temper rise along with his blood pressure, and he was clenching his fist by the time she was done. It took him nearly seven minutes to bring his temper back down to a manageable level before he could speak. "Did either of them make any attempt to actually go beyond just words?" he finally asked. "Or was the entire incident simply verbal?"

"It was verbal only. In the end our guest left on her own with my blessing," Ryssa replied.

"But for once it wasn't a Romulan that got out of line, and the fact that it was Starfleet officers acting like children is what I'm not happy about," John said. As he spoke, his mind was running full speed as he thought over the possible outcomes. Most captains would have already thrown both officers into the brig and contacted the SFJAG office for a consultation, but there were a few COs like him who preferred to try to handle mild to moderate situations. Both needed a stern lesson, and John wasn't likely to be in a better mood the next day to deal with it. He finally reached out with his hand and dropped it onto the comm panel built into his desk. "Lieutenant Commander Tristan Balor and Lieutenant Elan Val are to report to the captain's ready room immediately," he said. Glancing over at his first officer, he waved her to a seat before turning towards the view port.

Ryssa nodded and quietly took a seat.

Élan had barely had time to arrive at the science lab and settle in before the captain's call came over the intercom. She had been expecting it, but not quite this soon. With a sigh, she logged out of the console she had been working at and stood, feeling the eyes of the other science officers in the lab on her as she smoothed her uniform jacket down and stepped towards the door. The small size of the Hyperion meant that the trip was a short one, giving her barely enough time to calm her nerves. Arriving at the ready room door, she rang the door chime and stepped inside. As she stepped towards the desk, Élan noticed that Commander Toric was sitting down as well, but she focused her attention on the captain as she braced to attention.

Tristan walked out of the holodeck, easing his sword back into its back sheath, before fixing his hair. He was hoping to let out his frustrations in the holodeck, but the call to report to the Captain's ready room cut that exercise short. The Dreq'an stepped away from the doors, taking a moment to end the program and put his gloves back on, before proceeding as ordered. On the way, he made no eye contact with anyone. Acknowledged no one. It was as if he was walking through an empty ship where he was the lone crewman. After stepping off the turbolift he made his way to the Ready Room and tapped the chime, before stepping in, his expression cold and unassuming. It was here he finally nodding his head at the Command Staff gathered and stood at attention.

John kept his gaze towards the view port for a few moments before he started drumming his fingers on the desktop as he turned to regard both of the officers standing at attention. He was usually more relaxed in his interactions with the officers under his command, however Commander Toric's report on the incident had settled under his skin and not in a good way. "So," he said. "What am I to do with the two of you?"

Élan remained frozen for the space of a heartbeat or two before she stirred. She could feel the concern from Val which matched her own on what the captain might be considering. "Sir, by Starfleet regulations, both of our actions can be considered grounds by which we would both face a Tribunal for the charges of conduct unbecoming of a Starfleet officer," she said clearly.

Tristan was quiet. His eyes and head shifted slightly when the Lieutenant began to speak. Starfleet regulations. Tribunal. Conduct unbecoming of a Starfleet Officer. This could only lead to one thing. Tristan felt his honor creeping through and he couldn't let someone else get hurt, in anyway, over his own actions. He cleared his throat and prepared to fall on his swords. "Sir, if there is to be a Tribunal, than it should be for one officer only. The Lieutenant was only responding to my actions. Using whatever justification she felt she needed, it was still due to me, so I should be the one whose actions and behavior you should be dealing with."

"It takes two to argue." Ryssa couldn't help voicing her opinion.

"But it only takes one to start it." Tristan replied quickly. He looked over to Ryssa and continued. "You there, Commander. It all began when the Lieutenant offered to escort the Romulan Commander and I objected, stating that I would do it. She found that suspicious and felt I have an ulterior motive. I told her what it was but that reasoning did not appease her suspicions and the verbal joust ensued." He paused slightly and looked to the Captain. "I will admit that I did not believe her talk of not wanting to be treated like just another Romulan. That she was... different. I heard it all before from them. When they came to my homeworld and asked if they could setup an area to collect some of our resources. When they were denied, it all changed and they took it all by force. So, you can understand why I did not believe her, but I was willing to hear more from her. That was my plan. It was thwarted." Tristan looked over to Lieutenant Val, as he let out a soft sigh, only to add. "She accused me of being dishonorable. My people take such an accusation seriously. So, you see, the fault was more mine then hers."

"Captain," Élan spoke up, feeling a warm supporting sensation from Val as she did so. "However the incident started, and for what-ever reason it escalated, I will willingly take full responsibility for my actions and accept my fair share of any punishment that is warranted. Both of us are guilty for the incident, and we should both face the consequences."

"You'll both face consequences," John said, unable to keep the anger from creeping into his voice. Standing, he moved around his desk to stand before both officers. After staring at both of them for a long moment, he continued. "There will be no tribunal. However, that doesn't mean that the two of you will be getting off without punishment. The Hyperion will be heading into unexplored regions of the Beta Quadrant, which mean that the first impression of the Federation will be us, and by extension the two of you are included in that. Fortunately, Commander tDhar's first impression of Starfleet officers wasn't the two of you, however you've both managed to insult the uniform you both wear with your disagreement and furthermore you did it in front of other Starfleet officers and your fellow shipmates."

Pinning Balor then Val with a hard glare, John continued, knowing that they were both going to be upset. "Commander Balor, as a command level officer you should have thought of some way to diffuse the situation yourself, and while I'm sure Lieutenant Val didn't make it easy for you you should have put in an effort. Part of being a command officer is to be able to find an alternative to conflict, which isn't always possible but is part of Starfleet guidelines." Turning to Val, he felt his expression harden even more. "And you, if I'm not mistaken one of Val's previous hosts was a Starfleet officer. Which means you already have an entire lifetime of being in Starfleet to draw from and instead of trying to find a better way to resolve the situation you escalated the incident into a situation that has brought us all here to this moment. To say that I'm disappointed with your actions would be a bit of an understatement at this time."

With a heavy sigh, John turned and returned to stand behind his desk once more. Still standing, he continued before he could talk himself out of his decision. "For your actions in the transporter room, I hereby order that both of you be demoted in rank by one grade, pending a review by the executive officer in four months to be restored to your current ranks with a satisfactory report following said review. You'll both retain your current positions as department heads, and you'll both spend the remainder of today confined to your quarters and fined one months wages."

Tristan remained calm, but inside he was angry. He did try to pull things back. He made his point several times that he had no ill intent, but the Lieutenant kept pushing and pushing. A part of him wondered what the XO actually did tell him, but another part of him felt like it would be a losing battle regardless. There was no winning in that situation. But still... the concern of the Romulan was brought up. That is what kept that angry inside him boiling. It all began with the Romulan.

Élan, still standing at attention, tightened her hands at her sides briefly then forced them to relax while her eyes stared straight ahead at the bulkhead behind the captain. Saying anything further might provoke the captain into adding more, and angering anyone else further wouldn't do anything but hurt her more. She could feel a mixture of feelings from Val, which only added to the emotions she herself was feeling. Inwardly, she was grateful for the fact that she would be confined to her quarters for the day, since she would need to meditate in order to calm both of them.

John finally sat down in his chair and leaned back just a little, his gaze never leaving the two officers. Glancing towards Commander Toric, he wondered what exactly her thoughts were for a moment before he turned back to Balor and Val. "The two of you are dismissed," he said flatly.

 

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