Exchanging Adventures

Posted on Thu Jul 16th, 2020 @ 7:13pm by Commodore Jacob Kane & Commander Taeler Santu M.D.

Mission: In the Family
Location: CO's Ready Room, Deck 1, USS Athena
Timeline: Post-Mission
1600 words - 3.2 OF Standard Post Measure

With one hand Santu was holding a bottle of spring wine and two traditional Bajoran glasses. There wasn't really much that reminded her of home, but the time spent back in Shakaar after her incarceration was one spent steeped in Spring wine. She knew it wasn't the best and most healthy way to cope with stress, but it was the one that was the easiest for her in that moment. It wasn't all good memories and experiences, but at least it was home. She hit the chime on the Captain's ready room and waited for a response from the inside.

"Yes...come in." Kane had undone the collar of his uniform. After meeting with the other members of the landing party (and their hanger-on) he'd been pretty wiped-out from the whole affair. And still had to deal with some of the repercussions. He managed a rare faint smile as he spotted the bottle in Santu's hand. "Like all good First Officers, you know exactly what your Commanding Officer is thinking..." he remarked, motioning for her to start pouring.

Santu had gone slightly more casual than just an undone button. She was wearing a Starfleet academy hoodie over some wide flowing pants that seemed to be made from a fairly thin fabric, "they drill that kind of stuff in you during XO 101," she quipped in response right before she set the glasses down and poured a slightly larger that'll appropriate amount of the Bajoran wine in it, "this is the real stuff, none of that replicated junk, so..." she placed the bottle down and raised one of the glasses, "to our health, I believe the saying goes."

"Indeed." Kane lifted the other glass and took a mouthful. It was stronger than he expected, but he held it down. "Mmm. That's pretty good. One day you'll have to tell me where to get a bottle," he remarked. "The end of our first full mission together and we're washing it away with booze. A sign of things to come?"

"Oh, by the emissary, I hope not," Santu took a sip and let herself sink down in the seat, "I'll make sure there's some more bottles in my next order." She then smiled a bit, "although it could be a positive thing, a tradition of sorts. Next time you bring some booze from your homestead," her eyes narrowed a bit, "what would you bring?"

"A tradition. I like the sound of that," he nodded, approving. Setting the unfinished glass down a moment he considered. "I'm fairly partial to a glass of Tranya once in a while. There's a blend an old friend of mine introduced me to, somehow they mixed it with Andorian Ale. You serve it ice cold. Practically freezes your tongue, but a surprisingly effective combination." He tilted his head a little. "I'll have to see if we have any in the shipboard stocks."

"That does sound good," Santu agreed, "so.." She hesitated a bit, she wasn't really looking forward to having to debrief on all the things that happened on the surface, "what happened out here?"

"All the fun and games," Kane replied. "We figured-out who attacked us. And discovered Duke Alonso of Paratus and his rebels hidden away on the moon, which drew the attention of the Queen's forces. I guess that's why negotiations didn't happen as planned." He shook his head. "Thankfully we figured out that the Prime Directive wasn't an issue so I threatened to lodge a couple of torpedoes in their tailpipes, which did the trick."

Santu took a sip of the wine and allowed it to roll around in her mouth for a moment as she processed the summary of events, "who did you threaten? Queen or Duke?" Her eyes narrowed a bit, from the atrocities she had witnessed planetside it could've been either side that had become unreasonable, there didn't seem to be much supply of coolheadedness down there.

"Both, in the end," Kane replied, sipping the drink. "The Queen's forces were pretty spineless. The Duke's men weren't interested in talking." He shook his head. "Neither would have made particularly good friends." He put the glass down. "Speaking of friends, I see you made a new one."

"Well," Santu thought back to the introduction to the operative, the fact that she callously vapourised two people because it was less work than to pull their bodies aside. She had seen such callousness towards sentient life before, she had recognised the blatant disregard of it and it shot chills down her spine, "I would definitely not use the phrase friend." She was reminded of the Gul in the camp that had insisted on being called a friend of the prisoners, he had always said that he was so benevolent towards them. Insisted that he was doing everything for their own good. Even during the flogging. Especially during the flogging. Santu turned pale and quiet, staring at the pink liquid of her spring wine as if in a trance.

"That's a shame," Kane remarked. "Because I've asked her to join the crew." He let that one hang in the air, waiting for her inevitable response.

Santu snapped from her phased out state, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"She's staying." Kane held up a hand, expecting the protest. "I know what you're thinking. But she's capable, efficient, and she got your team out of a bind. Besides - I've made it clear she reports to you."

With a shake of her head Santu concluded her protestations, she knew it was pointless, "I would strongly encourage you to read the debriefing on how we got out of that place," She finished the spring wine in one last fell swig, "I will also be making that part of a report I will provide to Starfleet Intelligence, so that they get a view on how she conducts herself in the field." She sighed and put the empty glass back on the table, "I'll also have a conversation with her myself."

"Should I ask Lt Sar to send a security team with you too?" Kane asked, a little smirk on his face. With a shake of his head he finished his glass. "Don't blame yourself for anything that happened down there, Santu. I trust you did everything appropriately. Take some time before you have that chat, okay?"

It was odd to hear anyone call her by her given name, it had been so long. She wasn't really sure what had kept her from building those kinds of relationships but for Bajorans calling someone by their first name was a big deal. She decided that now was not the time and place to insist with him to refer to her as Taeler, "I don't think that'll be necessary. Just know that if you find me dead somewhere, she did it." She looked at the empty glass and sat back in the chair to let out a sigh, "It's not so much what happened or what I did. It's more that it reminded me of a time back on my own planet. Those were not happy memories." She shook her head again, she probably shouldn't be going into all of this with her Commanding Officer, "the way she acted was a painful reminder of the brutality some people are capable of."

Kane leaned back in his chair a little, his previous smirk gone. He was aware of her past, but not of how it would impact her view of the situation on the planet. Besides, he was a fighter himself, not a counsellor. Sometimes circumstances required a response that was greyer than most people would like. "The Paratans will one day see these events as history-defining, much as they were on Bajor. Your people endured a lot. But you endured. That's the important thing. Learn from it, and grow from it." He nodded at her. "If you do one day want to sit in the big chair, your past is something you need to harness rather than fear."

"We made it through, that much is true," Santu realised that it seemed like she was stuck in the past, that it was affecting her this much still. Under normal circumstances it didn't bother her, it was just the combination of the situation and the person she was confronted with on the planet. And now she was asked to work closely with them on the ship she wanted to start calling home, "I've learned a lot from those times, and for the most part, it's a strength. In this case, it wasn't."

He let her ponder her own reflections in silence for a moment, not wanting to intrude too strongly. "If you're concerned, I suggest you take some time with Counsellor Savin. He's not necessarily my cup of tea, but he seems to be competent at his job, and certainly better than I am at this sort of thing." He slid the glass back across the desk. "I hope the next time we share a glass you feel as happy with your performance as I am."

"I'll be fine," Santu forced a smile on her features, "It's good to be back on board and to receive the support and confidence from my Commanding Officer." It wasn't much, "Of that at least I'm glad." but it was something.

"As am I." Kane nodded, motioning to the drink. "The next one's on me."

"I'll hold you to it," Santu smiled and got up from the seat, gave a sloppy salute before heading in the direction of the exit, "have a good night, Commander Kane."

"Good night, Commander Taeler.