round 1 Tallis and Parker - Showdown

[Toni]

((OOC: As you read this, please bear in mind that the writers behind Tallis and Parker have communicated extensively during the course of this JP, and are in fact on awesome terms in real life. They just like throwing their characters at each other every now and again for fun, and hopefully for your enjoyment. No animals were harmed in the creation of this SIM.))

((IC: USS Canis Major, Deck 1: Bridge))

::Ready and raring to go for the first full day aboard the Canis Major, Tallis and Toni had met Alucard on the way to the turbolift. Rhul found, to his surprise, that the noises the lift made were somehow less offensive, and the consoles on the main bridge were a positive dawn chorus to his ears as soon as the doors opened.::

Parker: Captains on the bridge!

:: Captain Turner made her way to her chair as Hannibal and Kamela formerly relieved their nighttime helm and navigational counterparts, the ships'

computers continuing their rhymthmic sing song cadence. He and Kamela soon had the updated ships' position and tactical situation in hand, as well as their distance from Betazed::

Turner: response

Kamela: We'll make orbit of Betazed in seven hours, twenty four minutes, Captain.

Parker: No hostiles in range, as far as I can tell, Captain...

::The Bajoran quirked an eyebrow upwards. Hannibal sounded almost disappointed; after all, he always seemed to be spoiling for a fight.::

Tallis: None outside the ship, anyway.

::Judging by the exchange of glances between Kamela and Hannibal, he had picked up on the laconic undertone of Rhul's comment.::

Parker: That would be correct, Captain...no external hostiles...::not missing a beat:: Internal ones tend to be the most...dangerous...they strike

quickly...brutally...and take no prisoners....sir....

::The smile on Rhul's face pulled taut as Hannibals' icy retort lowered the bridge temperature by at least fifteen degrees. This feeling was familiar; Tallis had felt it shortly after Parker's initial assignment to the Ronin before they had bumped heads for the second time, and way back on the Challenger when they had bumped heads for the first. Rhul hadn't taken all too kindly to Hannibal's lecture on what it meant to be Bajoran.::

Turner: response

Vess: response

::Indignant at Parker's blatant disrespect for a senior officer and still struggling to make sense of the emotions that had followed Hannibal's merciless gutting of his own father, Tallis found himself pleased as he managed to keep his voice almost dispassionate during his next request. Although Toni would unquestionably know that Parker was about to cop a dressing down, he was confident that the other officers would be less likely to appreciate the extent to which things could go.::

Tallis: ::From his position behind the command chair:: Captain, request permission to speak with Major Parker privately in your office?

Turner: Response

::As the Major rose from his seat in anticipation of the next order, Tallis managed to cut through his building rage to remember to complete his duty.::

Tallis: Ensign Massem, take over the Major's position.

Massem: Response

::As soon as the fresh ensign started for the forward console, Tallis strode for the lift.::

Kamela: Captain...request permission to........

Turner: Response

::Tallis wasn't surprised that Parker's partner would be joining them; he wasn't angry at Toni for granting her permission, and his respect for Kamela told him that she was probably going to attempt to mediate. Inevitably, though, there was little question whose side she would be on.::

Tallis: oO If I have to take them on two on one then so be it... Oo

((Turbolift))

::The lift doors closed to seal the three officers in a heavy silence. It bore down on them harder and harder, but each of them was too stubborn to bow, to proud to be the first to break the silence and betray the true nature of the situation to the rest of the crew, even after they had exited the lift. Tallis stormed ahead of the other two officers, determined to hold on to the role of the superior officer for as long as he could, but they were hot on his heels as he stepped inside the office.::

((Deck 5: Captain's Office))

::Grim faced and arms folded, Tallis stared right through Parker's smug face as he entered the office with Kamela alongside him. Once again, it was the overconfident marine who had seen fit to light the blue touch paper after all that had happened. Making disrespectful comments in front of the rest of the bridge crew was completely unacceptable.::

Tallis: Take a look at who's wearing which rank pips, Major. What you just did on the bridge was way out of line.

::This wasn't like their last disputes. Tallis's fury wasn't fuelled by the fact that Parker was questioning his integrity as he had on the Challenger, or by the fact he had decided to openly flout regulations by smoking in the observation lounge as he had on the Mercury. This fury was intense, burning with the raw emotion of crippling loss and one man's need to lash out at whatever he could to make himself feel better. He had been suppressing his feelings of berievement, trying to deal with them by forcing himself into a new daily routine, but Parker had blown everything wide open... yet again.::

:: Parker looked at the Captains pips, and as much as he wanted to spit on the deck in disgust, Hannibal knew he respected the rank, but at the moment, had little regard for the man wearing it. He pursed his lips as though to utter a growl, but instead, through gritted teeth, he spoke::

Parker: No more out of line than your shot across the bow, Captain.. I considered your actions...dishonorable....

Tallis: You're the first to talk about honour, about being a soldier. Tell me, Parker, where in the Marine handbook does it tell you that flouting regulations is the right way to go about your business? Or is that just something you pencilled in because it suits you? The great Hannibal Parker, rewriting Starfleet protocol because his galaxy-sized ego tells him that he's the be all and end all?

:: Hannibal held his ground, but he could see the rage burning in Tallis' eyes, and Hannibal knew neither man was going to back down. The conference room was now a battlefield, with no quarter given, no prisoners taken. For the two men, it was all or nothing. Hannibal took a step forward...::

Parker: Captain.... I have never disobeyed a lawful order, never not completed a mission, no matter its danger or difficulty. I'm very good at what I do, Captain, and I have never failed to do my duty or dishonor myself. Can you say the same, Captain?

:: Hannibal knew his verbal blast had struck home...Tallis Rhuls' failure to kill his father at the ski lodge was now front and center...::

Tallis: You're right, and I'm sure the court martials that you sat through on the Challenger will speak for that. How exactly did it feel to put Lex Menar in the mediplex?

::His bile-filled comment referred to Parker's turbulent days early in his career where he had found himself at loggerheads with the command staff more than once. Lex Menar, one of the ship's female security officers, had taken a disliking to Hannibal and found herself on the wrong side of a training session that got out of hand.::

:: Tallis had scored a direct hit, but it only enraged Hannibal further...::

Parker: Your father was a mouthy [...]...I guess the apple indeed does not fall far from the tree....

:: Before Tallis could speak, Parker unleashed another brutal broadside::

Parker: You dare to speak to me about honor, when the Prophets delivered the man who had caused you and your brother so much pain, who abandoned you when you were children to fend for yourselves on Bajor, what did you do? Whimper in the snow like a whipped dog! Even Captain Turner knew what she had to do when the time came. Soban knew what to do, and your father had him killed. Why didn't you, Captain...WHY DIDN"T YOU!!!!?????

:: Kamela held firmly to Hannibals' arm, as the two men were now dangerously close to each other and Kamela was doing what she could to get seperation between the two. If the Captain raised the ante, which was almost a sure bet, she hoped she could get between them before the combat went from verbal to physical....::

::Parker's tirade poured gas on what could only be described as a wildfire. Rhul's pulse raced in his temples as his eyes bored holes through Hannibal's. He wouldn't sit through one more lecture on morals from a man whose vision was skewed by violence and death. He exploded into a counteroffensive, his voice straining not to crack as he yelled his outrage at the object of his rising frustrations.::

Tallis: Don't you dare speak to me about the Prophets! Do you think because you're lucky enough to have worked with Kira Nerys that you're some kind of expert on Bajorans!? Is that it!? You don't know anything about my people, or my brother. And do you know what's worse? You stand there talking to me about duty when you don't even understand what it is! Tell me where in the Starfleet manual I can find the paragraph that commands me to kill! Tell me where it tells me that incapacitating an enemy for imprisonment is unnacceptable! That's exactly what I did before you careered into that clearing, pinned him against a shuttlecraft and made me watch while you gutted him like a fish!

:: Hannibals' fury was barely contained...he was barely aware of Kamela tugging against his arm, attempting to keep him from doing something which he was desiring to do more and more by the second..His reply exploded from him like a quantum torpedo...::

Parker: IT WAS WAR, [...] YOU! He was the enemy! You know why I could not let him go. You saw what that son of a [...] did to my father! What he did to my mother! You stand there, questioning me for what I have done?

::Tallis understood Parker's motivations for doing what he did all along, and had seen with his own eyes what his father had done to Hannibal's own, but it did nothing to quell the storm, and Tallis was far from finished.::

Tallis: I get that, Hannibal, but don't you think Starfleet Intelligence could have used to him to gather information about the rest of the Brotherhood? Did you stop to think about that for a second? Because I don't think I was the only one who was compromised out there. Don't think for one second that I'll believe you if you tell me that you were in control of yourself. You reverted to that same murderous [...] that we all know is deep down inside, just waiting to break the surface. You're a killer, Hannibal, and you're out of control. The uniform you wear is just a disguise, something that you take as permission for committing the heinous acts that you're so happy to tell everyone that you're good at!

:: Hannibal stood, his right fist curled into a ball, and his eyes narrowed, locking on to Tallis as if he were a target to be destroyed. Tallis was dangerously close to being obliterated, but somehow, Hannibal held it together, denying Tallis the outburst he so wanted...::

Parker: And just what the frak are you, Captain? You cloak yourself in the uniform of a Starfleet captain, but when the going got tough, you couldn't handle it. It's easy to be captain when you have a ship and crew to do your bidding, or men like me to do your killing for you...but when it comes down to getting down and dirty, up close and personal, I find you sorely lacking. You quit, Captain. You quit because you couldn't handle it. You quit because you lost a brother. How many other captains lost family members during the war captain? They didn't quit. Perhaps you never had what it truly takes to be a member of Starfleet....Your duty requires you to KILL THE ENEMY! He was in your sights, and you failed...

:: Hannibal was no diplomat, but he had come as close to calling Tallis a coward as he could...::

::The gargantuan marine had just shone the brightest light possible on one of Tallis's failings. With all of the momentum taken out of his argument for the time being, Rhul's voice dropped back to somewhere close to normal volume but his arms and legs shook from heightened levels of adrenaline. There was pure hatred for Parker in his eyes as he drove home his final point.::

Tallis: Maybe I am a coward if that's the way you're going to define it, but he was my father, Hannibal. I'm not going to stand here and argue that he had any right to go on living, because I'm not sure I could even convince myself. He was responsible for Soban's death, and now he's paid the price. But I didn't get to choose my father, I just got stuck with him, and what really gets me is that you know how hard I worked to stop him from doing the things he did. Why do you think I ended up in this uniform in the first place? Have you forgotten everything that happened aboard the Mercury? I doubt you have. So I guess what this comes down to is the fact that you can't understand why I'm angry at you in the first place.

Parker: No, Captain...I do not understand why you would be angry at a man who did his duty while you laid in the snow and did nothing....

::It looked, for all intents and purposes, as though Rhul had a bad taste in his mouth as the reasons behind his initiation of a cold war came to light.::

Tallis: It's because you repaid brutality with brutality. You're right, Toni knew what to do when the time came. She killed my mother, but it was quick, painless and I didn't see it. And although your motivations weren't exactly as dark as Kern's, what you did to him came close to being on a par with what he did to your own father. I was on the end of that knife as well, Hannibal, or at least I might as well have been. You're an animal, and I can barely stand to look at you.

:: Hannibal knew Tallis had crossed that line..there was no going back now. The man behaved like a coward, and now he was going to treat him like one...::

Parker: [...] you, I'm going to....

:: It was then Kamela stepped between the two men. She knew Hannibal could take no more, and Tallis was only inches from Hannibal killing him..::

Kamela: THAT'S ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!

:: Kamela stood between the two men, but her eys were fixed on Rhul's. She knew what was in Hannibals' eyes...she had seen it before, and she knew what it meant...::

Kamela:: quietly:: Hannibal....go back to the bridge....we will be along shortly.....

:: Hannibal wasn't budging, and he wasn't taking his eyes of Tallis Rhul either..::

Parker: I'm going to...

Kamela: Please, Ty...please.......

:: Hannibal slightly relaxed, then began to open the distance between the two men. Kamela looked back at him, his eyes still full of white hot rage...::

Parker: through clenched teeth:: I'll be at my station....

:: The doors opened and closed, leaving Kamela and Tallis Rhul there together. His eyes were still full of hate for the man she loved, but she was going to try to talk to him...::

Tallis: Listen, Kamela...

Kamela: No, Captain...this time YOU listen. I saw the tracks in the snow at the lodge. Kern...your father...was going to get away. If Hannibal had been twenty seconds later, he would have. You may have served with Hannibal, but I know him. There is a difference. He has been carrying around the pain of the way his father died for years, Captain...YEARS. Hannibal was born and bred a warrior, and whether you like it or not, Starfleet needs men like him..to do the things people like you consider to be...too difficult. Tell me Captain....how many times have you counted on Hannibal to do his duty? How many times has he saved the ship? His shipmates? When you left he fleet and YOUR OWN FATHER put a price on your head, who kept you safe on the Defiant until SFI could rescue you? How different would things have been on Duronis had he not been here? Hannibal is a killer, a rogue and perhaps many other things...and he trusted you...but you dishonored him by your failure you do what was needed. You did the worst thing that anyone could do to him, Captain......You owe, Captain, and you neglected to pay the debt.....

::And so it continued. Even without Hannibal Parker present in the room, it was still his unique code of morals that applied, his perception of what was right and wrong that was going to matter. This was still hostile territory.::

Tallis: ::Eyes narrowing:: I don't pay debts with lives, and I think you'll find that's true of most of this crew and if the both of you want to keep living your lives without giving anyone else credit for the things they do then that's fine with me. But let's face facts. Tallis Kern is dead, Kamela, and who killed him? Parker did. He got his chance to exact revenge. Kern didn't get away. If I had managed to finish what I started then I would have robbed Hannibal of that chance, and we'd still be here having the same [...]ed argument.

::There was regret in his voice as he continued but it still carried the same hard edge.::

Tallis: This ::he spread his arms, referring to the current argument:: was bound to happen the moment that my parents decided to go looting during the Dominion War. It was unavoidable. Yes, I'm grateful to Hannibal for keeping me hidden on Deep Space Nine and I'm more than grateful for what he's done in the line of duty. On some level, I know I'm grateful that he was there to do what needed to be done in that clearing, because if he hadn't have been coming then I would have had to finish it. But maybe, when you take a look at the big picture, I'm getting a little tired of him constantly lecturing on me on how I should and shouldn't be. First I was a traitor. Now I'm a coward, and every step along the way I get a little bit more of a lecture about things I know more about than he ever will. The Prophets. What it means to be Bajoran. And there's this continuing reference to my inadequacy to serve the uniform. Now if that was true, would I have ever earned a command? And while we're setting the record straight, I didn't quit the Mercury because my brother died and I couldn't handle it, I left to go and find him because he had been reported missing, not dead. If you can honestly tell me that Hannibal wouldn't have done that if he'd heard you had gone missing then fine, maybe I'll believe you. It's just way past time that he opened up his eyes and realised that some people are different from him, and that doesn't make them cowards, or traitors, or dishonourable men: it makes us diverse, which is the entire point of having a crew. Each of us has our specialties, each of us has a different personality. Except for those of us who are denied permission for that by Hannibal Parker.

::And that certainly started the ball rolling on a new train of thought in Tallis's mind. Why exactly did Hannibal judge him so harshly at every turn? Why did he have to fight tooth and nail to earn even a shred of respect? Was it really that Parker thought of him as the worst type of intergalactic pond scum, or was it for some other reason?::

:: Kamela listened to his reasoning, and she could see the heat in his eyes begin to cool. Hannibal was a hard man, and he expected those around him to be as tough in their own way. As she listened, she heard a man with far more held in that what had been revealed so far..::

Kamela: Captain, Hannibal is not an unfeeling man, or an uncaring one. He needs to know the truth...all of it......you should tell him...soon. Perhaps you also need to check your ego at the door too....

::Rhul tried to calm down, reminding himself that he was angry at Hannibal and not Kamela.::

Tallis: Well maybe you need to speak to him too. We can't keep banging heads like this. ::He folded his arms:: I know I didn't exactly cover myself in glory when it came to the crunch, but I did what I could, and if I hadn't found Kern then he definitely would have escaped. Hannibal's been carrying the pain of his parents around for years, I do know that. I've been carrying the shame of mine for just as long, and I don't for one second have any illusions about which one is worse. He wins hands down. I just... oO miss my brother so much... Oo

::The thought came involuntarily, suspending the end of the sentence and leaving the room in silence. Rhul fought down a well of grief as he realised that he had not only just put his finger on the exact reason at why he was so angry, but that he had also taken everything out on the man that least deserved it to happen.::

:: Kamela saw something in his eyes...but she was unsure of exactly what it was, but what she did know it was the thing that was underpinning everything that had taken place that morning. It wasn't about Hannibal and what he did...it was about the Captain. That realization burned in her and she did everything she could to not let it show. Hannibal had spent most of the last mission being a target, and he did not need to be attacked from those closest to him. The two men were extremely stubborn, which made what had to happen even tougher...::

Kamela: Captain....you need to tell Hannibal what you are telling me. I will talk to him...he will listen to me.....

:: She knew he was going to have to cool down...a lot before she tried to reason with him..and even that may not be a sure bet. Hannibal was stubborn and set in his ways, and his code of honor was similiarly unbreakable..but she had her ways....::

Tallis: I just wish everything could have started differently in the first place. Then Hannibal's parents would be alive, and I wouldn't be a devil-worshipper's orphan.

:: That would be partially true. Hannibals' mother was already dead when Tallis Meral and Tallis Kern desecrated her body, an it was indeed possible for Hannibals' father to have survived the war. Details aside, Kamela tried to impart some words of wisdom...::

Kamela: Captain...call it God, the Prophets, the Great Bird....what has happened has happened, and we have to live with the results. Hannibal is what he is, just as you are. Just as I am. We do the best we can with what we have. Hannibal will forgive you, Captain, but you have to tell him what you feel. This war between you has to stop. I know it will be difficult. :: blowing out a breath:: You know Captain...Hannibal would have gone with you to help you find Soban, and he would have done it because one of his shipmates...his captain...was in trouble. Yes, nothing would have stopped him from coming for me if something had happened to me. That code of his cuts both ways...

::Kamela could see the rage begin to fade from the Captains' eyes as she spoke, and she hoped that her softened words had made a positive impact. She knew what it was like to lose a sibling and her parents, lost to the Breen attack on Earth. The fact that the ship which killed them was destroyed was cold comfort...::

Tallis: I know... and the ironic thing is that I would have gone with him. Whatever he thinks of me, or however angry I am at him at the moment, I've never been his enemy.

Kamela: Hannibal is a good man, Captain...just as you are. Be honest with him...give him a chance to know the entire truth...I will do my part Captain if you agree to do yours...

::She knew if she could get Tallis to agree, that would be the easy part. Getting the man mountain to listen was going to take a bit of subtlety...::

Tallis: ::Resolutely:: You can count on it.

::And she could. Kamela had a way of putting a reasonable front on Hannibal's mode of operations, and she was certainly better at being diplomatic. Even after both men had blown their top, she had found a way to cut through to the root of things.::

Kamela: Allright:: smiling::...let's get back to the bridge before Hannibal and Captain Turner come running down here...

Tallis: That's probably a good plan. ::He returned the smile, the last traces of anger disappearing from him.:: I'd hate for an SAR team to show up.

::He was about to leave, but stopped to express one final sentiment.::

Tallis: I'm glad we got to talk things out.

Kamela: I am too, Captain. This is the longest conversation we've ever had without someone shooting at us...

::That drew a laugh; she was absolutely right. They had previously only ever met under wartime conditions, or something very close.::

Tallis: True. You certainly make a good foil between me and Hannibal. I'd appreciate it if you could help me smooth things out with him once and for all. I much prefer it when we're on the same page.

Kamela: Allright....deal. I'll be there for both of you... The two of you are opposite sides of the same coin... I'll bet once you two hash things out, you will be friends...

:: As the two headed for the door to return to the bridge, Captain Tallis Rhul had just one more comment, but it was of absolute sincerity..::

Tallis: As far as I'm concerned, we already are.

A JP by

Major Hannibal Tiberious Parker

2nd Officer/Chief of Strategic Operations/Marine Commander

USS Canis Major

Federation Embassy Duronis II

and

Captain Tallis Rhul

Navigation Officer

USS Canis Major

Federation Embassy Duronis II

Edited November 26, 2012 by Toni

[Jordan aka FltAdmlWolf]

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