Shut up and get on with it

Posted on Tue Jul 21st, 2020 @ 4:59pm by Lieutenant Commander P’rel M.D

Mission: The Shadow of Arachne
Location: Officer's Quarters
Timeline: MD-01
1250 words - 2.5 OF Standard Post Measure

P'rel sat quietly in the quarters she had been assigned to by the quartermaster, the stars passed by the window she had requested and offered a gently pulsating light to the otherwise darkened room. How it had come to this, she pondered ruefully. Her life, her career, everything had been going so well - her ethnographic assignments, her apartment in London on Earth; and now she was assigned, somehow, to this warship.

Her meeting with Commander Kane had gone less than stellar, and her meeting with Commander Taeler even less so. All in all, it was shaping up to be a somewhat unspectacular week. She glanced downwards to her left shoulder, and for a strange moment felt a pang of loss at the uniform. Being based at Command, her shore uniform was red; though she was now a fully activated intelligence officer again it would return to the drab grey. There was no ambition, she had always thought, to seek command; though the most fleeting of affront to her ego had certainly flashed into her mind. "Never mind", she said, to the empty room. "Computer, subdued illumination please"; her order was acknowledged with a chirp as she rose in unintentional timing with the activating lights, and crossed the room to a large screen on the far wall. Typing in her access codes, she opened a channel to Starfleet Command.

The Command logo appeared on the screen briefly, before an empty chair blinked into view, a shoulder bag just visible upon it's seat peeking out from the line of the desk - "I'm going home" the empty chair said to her, a male voice faint from distance then continued "what is it?" - a slender, handsome man walked into view. He was wearing a Starfleet overcoat, the red command piping just visible alongside his four pips. The man removed the bag and sat, though forward, and clearly not settling in for a long conversation.

"Are you aware of my present circumstances?" the Vulcan asked, reasonably sure what the answer from Captain Bennett would be.

"Yep. I signed the order myself, Py" came the reply, somewhat more enthusiastic than she had anticipated.

"Tim..." P'rel began, before she halted her verbal advance in response to a raised hand to silence her.

"Don't even - nothing will change. There's no logic in protesting." Bennett said, cutting her off.

"Knowledge is power, as one of your philosophers stated" came P'rel's response, her head cocked to one side without meaning to, "surely I can know why". She stated, rather than asked. She had some fairly significant leeway with Bennett, she could cross a line that few others could, but when she reached 'her' line so to speak - that really was it. The discussion would be over.

"Look, Py, it's simple" he did actually recline a little in his chair, nearly bumping his head on the bookcase behind him filled with career momentos - one of course she instantly recognised from the Warspite. "And i say simple, in no small part because I have my husband's Leek and Potato Pie waiting for me at home and I want to get there quickly - ok?"

P'rel nodded - she had a great deal of respect for Timothy Bennett, and now was the time to listen.

"You've been in the solo field for too long now. You haven't served aboard a starship in what, 20 years?"

"22" she corrected him bluntly.

"Exactly" Bennett continued, rifling through his bag for something. "It's not that you're not good at your job - because you are - but your space tenures have been stretched to the limits. I warned you I couldn't keep you out of deep space forever."

P'rel noticed that he had retrieved a PADD from his bag, and set it face down onto the desk - she assumed it was an integrated comm panel as her message retrieval alert began to blink at her from a button at the side of the screen. She looked at the Captain quizzedly.

"The Athena is en route to USS Pico, they've been out of contact with Command for a few days now and Athena picked up a distress call. If you haven't logged for duty you wouldn't know - but anyway, read the report". P'rel activated the retrieval protocol and began the subspace downlink from Bennett. "Look, this is one of those times you're going to just have to shut up and get on with it" Bennett said in a more relaxed voice, leaning forward; "Not every ship is the Warspite and not everyone you meet is going to die - ok?"

P'rel noted his somewhat transparent attempt to 'read between the lines' and comfort her presumed anxiety. "Well that depends on the competence on your Commanders doesn't it?"

The line was becoming dangerously close as Bennet firmly said "Kane is one of the best, Lieutenant. He's coming up fast, you could do a lot worse".

The use of 'lieutenant' was a warning shot, but she ploughed on regardless; "Not Kane, that Santu woman...Taeler...whatever she's called" P'rel protested.

"She's a fine officer too from what I gather, you could learn a lot from her." Bennett said with a raised set of eyebrows, a warning to stop.

"She's an idiot!" P'rel exclaimed, losing her composure momentarily.

Bennett looked her dead in the eyes - "That will be enough." The line had really been crossed now. "This is why you're there. You've rubbed too many too far, and I can only protect you so much - get on with it. They're a brilliant crew on one of our best ships - learn to work together, change your reputation, and we'll look at bringing you home. Is that understood Lieutenant?"

P'rel snapped to attention, in what would often be a drilled reaction in most people it was a conscious act of deference for P'rel. "Yes, sir" she replied, as Bennet's figure was replaced by the Command logo again.

Well that was it, she was stuck there. There was no logic in trying to get out of it now; Tim had been her last shot and it was probably a good while before she could ask for a favour again. The downloaded file activated; a report from Starfleet Intelligence on the recent attack on Starbase 50. She would read it fully later, after something to eat, but she quickly flicked through for any pertinent bits of information. Something which Bennett had flagged caught her eye. Expanding the heading, she rapidly read through the section of the report. Coincidences were possible, but in P'rel's experience less than probable - and the appearance of the Pico, whom they were now apparently heading to, in a report on a separate regional conflict was very much improbable.

Something made her stop, she re-read the line. And again. She even read it once more to be certain she hadn't missed or mixed up a word. Food would need to wait, she tapped her comm badge "P'rel to Captain".

"Kane here" came the reply.

"I must see you in your ready room immediately. P'rel out" - she didn't waste time waiting for a response. Kane was obviously one of those pragmatic individuals she could get on with for the most part. If she told him she had to see him immediately, Kane would know it had to be immediately for a reason. Saving the report into her operational files, she headed out the door towards the ready room at a rapid pace.