Shut Up and Eat

Posted on Tue Mar 11th, 2025 @ 6:21am by Lieutenant Alexis Ryan & Commodore Jacob Kane
Edited on on Tue Mar 11th, 2025 @ 6:24am

Mission: Pandora's Box
Location: Commodore's Quarters, USS Athena
Timeline: MD4 - Breakfast
2385 words - 4.8 OF Standard Post Measure

The hum of the turbolift against the back of her head was the closest thing to silence that Alexis had achieved in over a day. Though it wasn't exactly rare for the Lieutenant to pull double-shifts, there had been arguable cause beyond her own priorities this time and the coordination of such a multi-faceted team to deliver viable results in a timely fashion had ensured that nobody in her department had really got a lot of rest since welcoming the visitors on board. Most tedious was the constant need to put out spot-fires, and the additional vigilance required to make sure she corrected any attempts to undermine her authority on her own damn ship because some people weren't content until everyone around them was as miserable as they were. Professionalism. Alex had retaken the exam for that countless times over the past few hours. It was only a matter of time before she returned a failing grade.

As the lift came to a stop and the doors opened, Alex cracked open an eye in confusion and promptly closed it again as only a deserted corridor greeted her. The moment of inconvenience was a blessing in disguise, solitude permitted her a few seconds more of peace before mustering her composure for the first of the day's unexpected points of tension. Kane's request for an update wasn't unusual but the requested location had been enough to stop the Science Chief in her tracks, if only to shift focus to resolving the sudden rush of panic that threatened to preoccupy her. Professionalism. Jacob Kane was valedictorian of that particular college, and she'd forced herself to recall that he had hinted at least a couple of times at sharing a meal together. Breakfast was an odd choice but it was very like the man to seize the opportunity to mix business with...

More business.

With tired reluctance, Alex pushed herself off the wall and moved to wait for the lift to come to a stop again. This time, the doors didn't open directly, as privacy measures required access permission first. The scrape of a nail against the PADD in her hand added to the anticipation and Alex frowned at the sudden intrusion of concern regarding her presentation. They were in the middle of an emergency, Kane wasn't going to be surprised to find his Senior Officers looking a little ragged around the edges. Nevertheless, her free hand lifted to smooth back the wisps of hair that had escaped her braid and cursed her lack of forethought to glance in a mirror before setting off.

For Kane, the usual 'making friends and influencing' programme had originally been strictly evening meals, scheduled in advance, and spaced out enough so that he didn't have to play nice every day. Where this rule had slipped, however, was for his Chief Science Officer. The fact that he was more uninterested in scientific pursuits than anything else in the world made this a strange one. Even more strange was the weird subconscious familiarity he seemed to sense just beneath the surface. Halfway between being overly tense and overly relaxed, if there were such a thing.

The tea was already brewed when she arrived. Almost exactly on-time as always.

"I couldn't remember if you liked croissants or not," he said by way of greeting. "So there's other options if you need them..."

Though there had once been a time in her life where clashing with leadership was practically a given, it had been a long time since Alexis had suffered under nervous intimidation. Of more perplexing novelty was the fact that it wasn't the man himself that put her immediately on guard but rather the implied presumption of finding his preparation instantly recognisable. To the best of her ability to tell these days, she had no reason to suppose that Jacob Kane preferred pastry over bread and was left feeling as though she owed the man an apology for her initial affectionate amusement. This, she smothered quickly, tucked behind the levity of, "I don't think I've ever weighed in with an opinion but it doesn't look like I'll be spoiled for choice." Alex surveyed the spread. "I should have baked something."

"Nonsense," he responded curtly, motioning for her to take a seat in her usual chair. "Host's privilege." He slid two plates onto the table, pausing a fraction at the sensation he had done that more than a few times before, despite this being a rarity. "So, how are things working out with the Edison's Science officer? Playing fairly?"

The look shot across the table was, on closer inspection, significantly influenced by the unlikely existence of prior provocation. At the very least, it wasn't the kind of half-amused, half-warning stare an officer should be directing at their Commander, though it was constrained by a lack of surprise that he had chosen so swiftly to poke the freshest wound. "Lance is a saint."

The faint smirk on his face held only for a few seconds. "That she is. And I assume that means things are at 'mostly professional' status?" he pressed, extending the pot of coffee towards her mug in offer.

There was that word again. "There are no grounds for immediate court martial," Ryan replied as she lifted the mug to accept the caffeinated reprieve. "We can certainly hope that remains the case now that Lieutenant Kozlov has indicated she wishes to keep leading our investigatory team." Reaching across with her other hand, Alex settled the PADD beside Kane's empty plate. "No surprises," she added as a forewarning to her report. "We won't be able to submit any viable data until we've analysed what the relays are telling us. Lieutenant Kyan has provided a very thorough explanation of what she and Lieutenant Hadzin have extrapolated so far, we'll be ready for a closer look as soon as Zade gives us the all-clear." It was Ryan's turn to suppress a smile, and leave it to the Commodore's imagination to determine just how well the enthusiastic and boisterous Andorian was gelling with their senior visitor.

"Hmm," he nodded, sipping his own mug and welcoming the momentary hit of caffeine. "Seems like the two of you have coordinated things masterfully, as always. I won't pretend I'm not a little worried she's going to try to poach you again, especially given her Science Chief's, ah, 'personality'."

Ryan raised her eyebrows above a sip of coffee, which she chose to linger over out of a lack of urgency to put the man out of his misery. "I already declined when conditions were more favourable," she eventually pointed out, lips twitching. "Coercion under sufferance is only liable to make me more stubborn. Besides," Alex reminded him, "you have several distinct advantages." Several? An acceleration of heartrate became a momentary warning that she was being far too flippant but was also ignored as acknowledgement that it was too late now. "Your sensor array is far prettier than hers."

"You only love me for my sensor array..." The response came out without him even thinking, which immediately stopped him in his tracks. An uncharacteristic hint of red in his cheeks, Kane quickly sipped his drink again to conceal the moment of surprised confusion he was feeling. "Ahem. I mean, well...your loyalty is commendable, Lieutenant." Using her rank instead of her name felt forced. Maybe too deliberately. But it had already reached her ears and wasn't something he could reverse.

As reserved as she'd arguably allowed herself become, there was still very little in the universe that rendered Alexis legitimately speechless. Having already been in the throes of wincing at her own choice of words, the unexpectedness of having the banter thrown back at her in kind made for an awkward moment of silence that persisted well after Kane's attempt at rephrasing. Overwhelmingly, after the initial astonishment faded, Alex was plagued by the impulse to laugh and retreated to her own drink to escape.

It became the impetus for further action, the mug set aside and abandoned for the time being in favour of a small plate. Reaching across, Alex took a knife and balanced a croissant atop it, leaning across to deposit the pastry on Kane's plate, before retrieving one for herself. "I don't think a dedicated Science vessel would know what to do with me," she eventually confessed. "Though you are the flagship now," Alex reminded Kane, eyebrows raised for emphasis. "I don't think you'd have any trouble finding a replacement anymore."

"You've clearly not spoken to P'rel," he grumbled, setting aside the moment of overly-casual phrasing to pick up his breakfast instead. "My reputation doesn't exactly appeal to everyone. Especially those of a scientific persuasion." Another pause. "I suppose it's fitting that I got the former terrorist-turned-scientist for my crew."

The slice of knife through pastry froze mid-cut. Not for the longest time had the use of that term resulted in immediate anger but there was an instant where, possibly owing to recent provocation and a certain prosecution's dirty tactics, Alex could feel her hackles rise. A curt glance upwards caught the downcast angle of Kane's attention, however, more interested in buttering his own croissant than driving home a point because the man wouldn't have broken eye contact if there was any stern intent behind his words. Why do I know that? Forcing herself to relax, Alex continued to saw at her breakfast and sat both neatly-cut halves next to each other as she replied.

"It could be argued that I was an engineer first." The smear of jam was punctuated by a single huff of laughter. "Not strongly argued, mind you, by anyone other than myself at the time." Glancing across the table, she found herself adding, "I was a kid with aspirations beyond my capabilities."

He nodded sagely as he chewed down a mouthful and sipped his coffee. "That's at least something we have in common. Most of the crew, I mean," he added quickly, catching himself before it sounded like he meant otherwise. "That's what Starfleet is all about; aspiring to be more than what we're capable of alone." He huffed slightly. "Guess that's a message that gets a bit lost sometimes."

A slight tilt of her head sideways was a habit Alexis wasn't fully conscious of, a true indication that her attention was focused and that the current conversation was enough to push aside the myriad of other thoughts constantly churning in the background. Kane's comment was ambiguous enough to invite curiosity, the veritable carrot dangled before the donkey. "This mission is definitely a decent example of that," she eventually replied, hazarding a guess at what was troubling him. "There's not really a lot of scope for glory-seeking when you're dealing with something that can consume entire planets." She paused, considered her delegated counterpart for a moment, and immediately deadpanned. "Or at least, there shouldn't be."

"Indeed. We're all on the same team." He nodded, hoping that was a message shared by the other senior offices in the assembled starships. "More coffee?" he lifted the pot in offering, properly catching her eye for what felt like the first time in the conversation.

Something's bothering him.

Reaching across with her mug to accept the offer, Alex shelved consideration for how she'd arrived at that conclusion for another time and focused instead on figuring out how much it was her place to press him on it. Matters with Kozlov, Lance's aspirations, those had already been broached, which meant it wasn't either of those things. Nor was it the responsibility of commanding a coordinated mission, if anything that was likely to be a welcome distraction. She knew Kane's type; anything of actual concern was going to be the last thing he brought up.

He looks tired.

So do you, idiot.

"That obvious, huh?" The stretch of a thin-lipped smile accompanied a resigned huff. "Oh for the good old days of all-nighters and not sleeping for an entire weekend and still having the energy to spare."

"You know, if you're serious about one day landing a command of your own, this is the kind of thing you need to try to manage," he said. Having poured the refill, he topped himself up and sat back in his chair thoughtfully. "Treat it like a learning experience. A growth opportunity."

At least that was a legitimate conversation Alex recalled having before, though the prickle of irritation was a tad more forward than she usually even allowed herself in the privacy of her own thoughts. Averting her eyes to deal with the second half of the pastry on her plate as a means of redirecting the temporary flare, she remarked, "The lack of sleep or people's unwillingness to cooperate?" Try as she might, as she flicked her gaze back up to meet his, Alex couldn't contain the slight arching of her eyebrows.

"Yes." He couldn't help the thin smile that crossed his lips. The light-hearted and almost teasing response left the moment hanging a little as he gauged her reaction then reasserted some control over himself again. His eyes glanced downward and into his mug. He could have sworn this wasn't decaf; so why was he acting like...?

There had been a brief moment where years of very strict self-discipline had nearly won. Ultimately, pummelled into submission by the welcome sense of camaraderie that mimicked her youth well enough for her to pass it off as an association rather than a trick of recent events, Alex laughed. "Immaculate pep-talk."

"I hope you were taking notes." He sipped the coffee one more time. A very deliberate part of his mind consciously forced him to straighten his back, to set his posture back to a more steady bearing. "We, should, uh..." he motioned with his free hand, not entirely sure how to express the thought.

...shut up and eat. Wise man.

Rather than voice the words, Alex dipped her head in agreement and settled into the amusement that stirred naturally as she once again surveyed the amount of choice. If she didn't know better, she'd accuse the Commodore of realising she'd skipped the last couple of meals.

More than likely, it was just a lucky guess.