[BACKPOST] The Damage of a Single Word

Posted on Sun Jun 21st, 2020 @ 5:18am by Cailus Griffin
Edited on on Tue Jul 7th, 2020 @ 1:23pm

Mission: New Moon Rising
Location: Pandora's Box
Timeline: Shortly after the Pandora's launch from the Luna shipyards

A Mission Post by Lieutenant JG Cailus Griffin & Lieutenant Commander Janet Glyndar
Mission: New Moon Rising
Location: Pandora's Box
Timeline: Shortly after the Pandora's launch from the Luna shipyards
Sat Jul 8th, 2017 @ 6:46pm


It was quickly becoming a tradition for Cailus. At the end of his day, before turning in for the night, he had started visiting the ship's lounge, often with some reading material of one kind or another. Today was no different; just as he had for over the last couple of days, Cailus took a seat at a small table next to one of the expansive viewports. With a cool drink in one hand, a PaDD in the other and the pleasant atmosphere as dozens of others chatted, he was quite content, winding down slowly after a hard day's work.

"It's nice to see you at green alert, Lieutenant" commented Janet as she walked across the room and headed over to Cailus. She made emphasis on his rank which had increased since the first day he had come aboard. "I find it difficult to get myself settled down from yellow alert" she added, holding a mug of hot apple cider in her hand. "How have you been dealing with the extra weight on your collar?" she asked with a small smirk sweeping up her face.

Cailus was so engrossed in his reading that Janet's words flew right over his head. It took a moment of belated looking around before he saw that the XO was standing next to him, and he promptly stood, his own cider coming dangerously close to spilling at the sudden movement. "Commander, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." At Janet's smirk, he visibly relaxed. "Promotions are much less dramatic the second time around, to answer your question. Care to join me?"

She nodded and decided to join him as invited. I do have to work on my social skills and get to know this crew. Otherwise, the Captain and I will not have the relationship we need with the crew she reminded herself. "I suppose you have a point. Once you've been promoted once, nearly anything further is simply another rung climbed on the metaphorical ladder" commented the Xenxian. "However, if you are looking for more excitement, you could always consider making the transition to another Department...like I ended up doing. It's a big change when you leave the tactical station and slide into a command chair" she said with a smile.

At that, Cailus couldn't repress a faint frown as he sat back down. "I figured out a long time ago that command isn't for me, sir." Pausing, he subtly assessed the XO, disconcerted by her quite blatant good looks. Unlike Shae, whom he'd always thought possessed a more subtle, nuanced beauty, Glyndar was a blazing sun in her appearance, made all the more obvious by her obvious fitness and warrior's grace. No wonder half of Security was raving about her.

Realising he'd been silent too long, Cailus hurriedly asked, "How is the Big Chair handling you, sir, if you don't mind my asking? This is a plum assignment."

Janet was struck with a perplexity as she attempted to wrap her mind around the term 'plum assignment,' both words she knew, the first being a fruit from Earth. "I am sorry, Lieutenant. I am not sure what you mean by plum assignment, but the job as First Officer is...different" she replied. "I have served as First Officer before in a temporary manner for a Galaxy class starship. It's a change. I prefer to be standing behind the tactical station and thinking about who I want on security teams. Now, I have to think about things like diplomatic procedures and crew morale" she said with a sigh.

"Sometimes, I think it was just easier picking up a phaser and shooting my problems away. Now, when I'm faced with a tense or hostile situation, I'm expected to defuse it with words" she added.

"Can't say I envy you there," Cailus said with a sympathetic frown as he nursed his drink. "I'll bet all that 'conflict resolution' rubbish they teach at the Academy doesn't matter one bit in the field." With an amused look, he added, "Well, you've got morale sorted, at least for Sec/Tac. At least half the blasted department is madly in love with you, and the other half, the ones who know your reputation...is there a stronger word than 'terror'?"

She smiled at the man's words. "You know exactly the right things to say to me" she replied blushing at the thought of her name still holding weight around the Department. "I am glad to be back on Pandora and more so, I am delighted to hear my name still means something around this starship" added Janet.

Bemused by the XO's blush, Cailus raised a solitary eyebrow as he took a sip of his cider. "I'm assuming you've seen a lot on this ship, sir," he said mildly.

Janet nodded and crossed her arms. "Actually, I have. A lot does not even begin to scratch the surface of what I have seen aboard the Pandora. She was previously assigned to the 47th Taskforce and later the 93rd before she made her way into the 72nd" explained the former Chief Tactical Officer. "She went through the Gavarian corridor before the Romulans and Cardassians decided to make it a micro war zone" the woman commented.

She shook her head. "I was with her during her tour with the 47th Task Force, but after we pulled out of the corridor, I ended up elsewhere" noted Janet. "Just a brief stint here and there, but enough to get the third pip and command experience under my belt" she added.

"Any advice for the new CTO?" Cailus asked with characteristic bluntness, though the tilt of his bearded head and the oddly friendly look in his eyes softened his words. "I've been a CTO on a heavy cruiser, but the old Churchill was much more heavily armed, relatively speaking. The Pandora is more like a giant sensor array with nacelles. Half the crew must be scientists in one form or another."

Janet nodded "There are plenty of things I can tell you, but the most important thing....no, the second most important thing I can tell you is just be yourself and run your Department how you need to run it. It will not be the same way I did things, but that's non of my concern unless your Department underperforms. Then, I'll have to talk to the Captain at the next crew evaluations" she teased. "Though the most important thing is definitely never let the Captain put himself in danger. And do not worry about me. I know you will because that's your job, but if you get in my way, I will give you a heeled boot to the ass" she said crossing her arms.

At the implicit challenge, Cailus looked even more disgruntled than usual as he looked back at her. Nobody would've known he was resisting the urge to grin, secretly quite liking the XO's attitude.

"Hell, sir," he grumbled after a moment, "at least you have a backbone. So long as you don't pull any Kirk-syle stupidity and try wrestling a Gorn, I'll trust that you can handle yourself in the field. I spent five years as a Security Chief on the Churchill, but never with an XO with tactical training. This will be new territory for both of us, I suspect."

She looked at the man and smiled. "And I have never been confident in other Security Chiefs before. I always watch my skin because of the incompetent garbage Starfleet Academy has been putting out in recent years. However, I think I can finally relax a bit more" she said scoffing. As if you will ever relax she thought to herself. "Just a good feeling about you. I think you'll do a fine job and won't end up goo underneath my shoe on an away mission."

Cailus' eyebrow raised once more, bemused. "Hell, Commander, you sound like an even worse boss than me."

"I am" she said sternly. "Though I admit being a mother has softened me a little. Personally, I don't like to see it as having been softened as just more diplomatic when dealing with children...which is exactly what some of those snot nosed 18 to 20 something year old brats are in your Department. They think they are some sort of hot shot because they carry a phaser and fire weapons during battle. They need broken down and broken in, nothing more and nothing less."

Finally Cailus allowed a truly evil smile to appear, and he glanced around the rest of the Box. The tables around him and Glyndar had emptied, to his amusement. Their combined reputations was having an effect on the crew, it seemed.

"Always good to meet someone who understands," Cailus said drily as he glanced back at Janet, his expression softening slightly as he realised. "I wasn't aware that you had children, Commander. I've seen a baby boy in Daycare...he's yours?"

"Yes, that green child belongs to me" she said with a nod. "Obviously he inherited his father's looks for the most part, but yes, I am a mother. They say childbirth can be one of the hardest parts of becoming a mother the first time. It wasn't. What hurt the most was walking away from the tactical console and the weapons lockers knowing I'll never really be part of that life anymore." she sighed. "Having him was my choice, but it was a career changer nonetheless."

Cailus sighed, his good humour vanishing. "But...worth it, though," he said tightly.

"Of course" she said reassuringly. Maybe she thought privately. It did mean leaving Security behind and making the switch to the command track albeit she personally had no interest in holding her own command one day. It just seemed like the most logical choice at the time. It was a step up rather than a step down or aside. "He is an excellent alarm clock as well. Gets me up a good hour or two before I'm scheduled to" she said shaking her head. "Yeah, I wouldn't change it for anything."

Cailus hesitated, merely nodding. The conversation was headed into some painful territory, and the silence dragged as he was locked in his own private thoughts.

Janet could tell something had occurred in the past few minutes of talking to the man. It was off putting, but she could not quite grasp what. She had studied basic behavioral psychology in her Criminal Psych and Criminology courses as part of her Starfleet Security training, but those were tools she accessed when in an interrogation or investigating a crime. This man was not in her custody nor was he a criminal.

She looked at him uncomfortably. "Lieutenant, I do not mean to take up all your time. If you need to be somewhere...?" she said gesturing to the door. "It's not that big of a starship. I'm sure you can find me if you need anything else" she added. She did not want to pry too much.

At that, Cailus jerked, alarmed that she'd noticed his fugue. "Ah...right, Commander. Sorry about that, personal junk. It was good to talk with someone of a like mind when it comes to the job." He stood hurriedly, taking the PADD and empty glass with him, but paused, and glanced back at her, his face once more impassive. "Ah...are you familiar with Lieutenant Brennan? Shae?"

Janet nodded "Yes, she's the freak...geek. The Science Officer" she said trying to recover from her poor word choice. "Yes, Lieutenant. I am aware of her. I cannot say I know her personally well but as I understand her, Doctor Oakley, and a few others of the crew came over as transfers from the USS Tornado. Yourself included if memory serves me correctly."

The answering glare from Cailus was pure venom, his top lip curled into a furious scowl. "That 'freak', Commander," he said coldly, "is my girlfriend. If I hear you refer to her in a disrespectful tone again, I will knock you on your ass regardless of the number of pips on your collar. Are we clear?"

Janet stood up promptly from her desk and glared at Cailus. "Lieutenant, you should thing very carefully who you threaten around this starship. Now, I do not know what kind of shit storm of a command they had on the Tornado but, you aren't in Kansas anymore" she said shaking her head. "And I will not be spoken to in that manner. I am sorry that I called your...lover, spouse, significant other or what have you a freak. But I have some discomfort with shape shifting species" she said chewing her cheek.

Be diplomatic. Defuse the situation she thought to herself. There was no need to rattle this hornet's nest any further. "We can forget about your threats and my bigotry, but I am partially aware there was a criminal investigation aboard the USS Tornado revolving Dr. Brennan, acts of terrorism, a hefty body toll, and I do recall seeing SECTION 31 slapped on that file as well. I know that she was more or less cleared of wrong doing and the full details are not for my eyes to see. However, you can be assured I still am wary. It's in my nature."

It took serious effort for Cailus to calm himself. He was completely still as he glared right back before covertly glancing around them. Sensing the tension, everybody within ten meters had cleared away, affording the two senior officers a measure of privacy. Cailus forced himself be neutral, to allow that frozen anger to fade, and he took a deep breath.

Composed, he took a measured step forward, almost but not quite invading Janet's personal space. "Look, Commander," he muttered quietly, still glaring down at her, "I am well aware of Shae's past. I was there on the Tornado. I ran the damned investigation. Now, if you don't entirely trust her, fine. If you don't entirely trust me, despite my record, fine. If I was in your position, I'd feel exactly the same way. I can even respect that."

Janet shook her head. "No, I do. I do trust you and I can trust your judgement. I just...not all the pieces fit nicely in that investigation and I have a hard time accepting anything but a perfectly closed case" she explained.

Cailus' eyes narrowed, his glare intensifying on Janet, not caring a whit that he towered over her, even with a good meter of distance between them. "What I will not accept, Commander," he whispered with furious intensity, "is any kind of bigotry, disrespect or mistreatment towards Shae. Regardless of my relationship with her, it's unprofessional and we both know it. You don't know the first damned thing about her. I've fought Klingons and Tholians, seen my ship burn around me, lost my family while I was stuck in blasted cryostasis, and that doesn't even come close to matching the junk she has suffered through. I will not allow you to add to that list."

She sighed and nodded. "I did not mean to offend you or her. My bigotry does not stem from a hatred so much as a distrust of shape shifters of any kind. Back home on my world, we are raised as children with stories of shape shifters, they take form of animals, people, anything they want and they are tricksters. Some are worse. Some go around as a sort of...sexual nymphs. Then there are stories about creatures who steal children" she shrugged. "I sometimes get stuck in the past with my culture and not in the present with the Federation's diversity."

Content with Glyndar's apologetic tone, Cailus took a half step back, nodding curtly as he put his hands behind his back. "Fair enough, sir. I can accept that." He glanced around more openly, glad that the little confrontation had been seen but not heard. "Before, I was about to suggest that you, Shae and I have dinner together, when our schedules permit. If you're comfortable with that, anyway. I've always thought that the best way to defeat such prejudice to challenge it head on."

"Guess I'm coming to dinner" she said with a nod. "I'll let you know as soon as I get everything in order around her and my schedule opens up" she said politely. "Until then, I'll try to purge my bigotry" she added.

"And I'll try to curb the insurbordination, sir," the Security Chief replied with an attempt at humour, forcing himself to relax. "Have a good evening, ma'am."

As he left the Box, Cailus sighed, rubbing his eyes as he walked. She really was an excellent XO, and Glyndar was very much like him in so many ways. Even so, he reflected wryly, that was a pretty disastrous start to a professional relationship...or even a friendship, if she could get over her prejudice.

And if you can stop over-reacting when it comes to Shae, you damned fool.