round 17 JP: Lt Cmdr Reinard & Sgt Gwinnett: "Digging out the issues.&#

[Sedrin Belasi]

((Captain’s Ready Room))

::Now that Greir had properly talked to Chen it had taken them barely a few minutes to work out how and who had played them both for fools. Greir was understandably very angry at himself for not spotting it and for being tricked; he was also very angry at Gwinnett for doing it. Having thought about it he wanted to know why she had done it. Chen said he’d had problems with her before and he was about to get to the root of it.::

Reinard: =/\= Captain Reinard to Sergeant Gwinnett. =/\=

::Gwinnett was just putting her equipment away at the end of her shift. She heard the chirp of her comm badge.::

Gwinnett: =/\= Yes, Sir. Gwinnett here.=/\=

::To Gwinnett it sounded very formal, so she figured that she’d better be on her best behavior. Normally things came through the major. This was unusual, but not totally.::

Gwinnett: oO This could be very good or very bad. Better play it straight.Oo

Reinard: =/\= I want to see you in my ready room immediately.=/\=

Gwinnett: =/\=Yes, Sir. On my way...=/\=

::Gwinnett hightailed it to the bridge, which she considered officer’s country. In fact, she had not even been on the bridge, but had studied the diagrams of every deck, and she made her way to the Acting Captain’s ready room. She buzzed the door, and then entered. She came to instant attention, briefly glancing in his direction.::

Gwinnett: Reporting as ordered, sir.

Reinard: Sit down, you have some explaining to do.

::His voice was firm and it was clear he was not in the mood for any more nonsense but stopped short of displaying the anger he felt. Gwinnett had a seat, but sat there rigidly.::

Gwinnett: Yes, Sir? ::Gwinnett was confused.::

Reinard: I’ll cut to the point. How about you explain to me why you’ve been deliberately interfering in the relationship between Lieutenant Chen and myself. ::He gave her a hard look that dared her to try and deny it.::

::Gwinnett could feel the boom being lowered on her. She was quickly trying to think of something that would get her out of this jam. She had hoped that Chen would transfer out, to get him off the ship but it hadn’t happened, she was now having to deal with her mess.::

Gwinnett: Sir....I might have stretched the truth a bit. ::She could feel it getting awfully warm in the office.:: I....

::She didn’t have a clue about what to say. It was like being caught red handed. She desperately wanted to shift her position, but it was like her feet were stuck in cement.::

Reinard: I want a complete and honest report Sergeant. What you did was completely wrong and unacceptable so I expect you to explain your actions.

::He wasn’t messing about here and wanted answers fast. He would be well within his rights to take the matter further and take action to have her disciplined for this. He couldn’t discipline her himself due to being involved in the case but someone above him could after the due investigation. He was pleased that she wasn’t out and out lying even if she wasn’t telling him everything.::

Gwinnett:Sir... Captain... I just don’t... I really don’t want to go into it. Their kind is so monstrous. So revolting...

::Just the mental image of Chen now occupied her mind, and the image of the Crazy that tortured her, it made her visibly shake. She finally got a grip on it and came back to office and Reinard.::

::Greir paid close attention and immediately picked up her comments. She wasn’t just implying she had a problem with Lt Chen but perhaps his entire species. If that was the case then she was clearly a racist and he wanted to know why.::

Reinard: Are you saying that you have a problem with Andorians?

Gwinnett: Sir... I respectfully... I really... ::The old nightmare, came back and she could almost feel the tentacles being wrapped around her body as the twelve year old.::

((Flashback - 14 years ago))

::Brooks Gwinnett had been mad at her father and had decided to teach him a lesson. She would leave the encampment and strike off on her own for a while, heading off into the no man’s land. This would prove that she was could be trusted to navigate more freely in and about the camp. She had mastered every weapon that she could physically handle, and while not a front line soldier, was capable assisting the dependents of the band of 50 or so paramilitary and their dependents. She was caught by a crazy on her return trip and knocked incoherent.::

:: She awoke bound in a dark cave except for a solitary light. She had been in there for hours when the Crazy came from the shadows. The creature had tentacles that came out of it’s hideous head that touched her and then wrapped around her. Brooks screamed only to hear herself echo in the cave. She could feel them all over her body as she struggled to get free. Finally with her mind on overload she gave one final scream and passed out. It was hours later that the ad hoc relief force finally homed in on her transmitter and found her in the cave, alone, cold and clothing in tatters. ::

((End flashback))

::Gwinnett hadn’t had the experience in almost 7 years. She had successfully pushed it back into her subconsciousness and buried it deep. He next words came out like a scared child.::

Gwinnett: I don’t want to be with a Crazy... I can’t... I can’t, not anymore, I won’t do it. It has to go... ::It was disjointed and then she realized what she was saying and she snapped back to present.:: Sorry sir... bad memories... ::Which was a vast understatement.::

::Greir didn’t like the way she was talking firstly because she sounded like a completely different person and secondly because of what she was saying about another member of this crew - as if he wasn’t even a sentient life form. Why would she consider him - or Andorians as a people to be crazy? She clearly had a big underlying problem and he was beginning to have a feel for the best way forward with this. First he needed more answers.::

Reinard: Let’s take this one question at a time shall we? Why did you do this?

Gwinnett: I wanted to get Chen off the ship. Sir.

::Greir was angry to hear that but pleased that she was honest enough to admit it at least. Perhaps there was still some hope for her after all.::

Reinard: Did you think about the consequences of your actions? They were not just limited to Chen whose life and career here you intended to ruin but also my own. Do you have a problem with me?

Gwinnett: I don’t have a problem with you. I just want him... gone. Not life taken or career ruined, bad memories, or dreams... not sure.. they rotate...::She looked confused, and her speech was disjointed, as she fought the images out of her mind.::

::Greir was concerned about the way she was talking. Bad memories seemed to be distracting her. Was she hallucinating? He couldn’t tell but she was behaving very strangely and knew something big was underlying all of this.::

Reinard: So who is crazy... Chen, me, the Andorian species or someone else?

Gwinnett: Sir... It is a sub species on Byzatium... an experiment, a terror. Nasty things.

Reinard: ::Leaning forward a bit:: What makes them crazy then?

Gwinnett: They were created by Omunics as slaves, mutated into whatever evil creature they could think about. Some of them just wandered the wastelands, their minds twisted, perverted. ::Her tone was unusually flat, and monotone. She was trying to hold in the terror of them and the things they did the rest of the population of Byzatium.::

::They didn’t have any subspecies like that here so Greir needed to find the link. What was the connection that made her think of them when she saw Chen. There was no way he could let this lie. If she had got her way and Chen had transferred this would have repeated the next the they got an Andorian on the ship. They couldn’t and wouldn’t ban Andorians from serving here and what of other species? How many more had the potential to remind her of these things she had left undealt with and buried?::

Reinard: Tell me about these bad memories.

Gwinnett : I don’t ever want to relive that experience again sir. Respectfully. No one should.::Her voice was firm and resolved.:: It was my bad, sir, I take and accept full responsibility. I will accept any punishment, but I don’t want to talk about it.

::Greir could understand and in fact expected that she didn’t want to talk about it but this problem was now affecting her working relationship with colleagues to the point where she would jeopardize their personal life and act vindictively towards them. Unfortunately due to the serious nature of them problem she was indeed going to have to talk about it and resolve it, whether she liked it or not. A slap on the wrist or some disciplinary action wouldn’t be enough to stop her behaving like this in the future. The underlying issue that was causing the attitude problem needed to be discussed.::

Reinard: What does Lt Chen, or is it the Andorian people, have in common with this sub-species that would make you behave like this?

::Gwinnett really wanted to bolt. This was striking way too close to the truth, bringing up memories that she had spent years trying to bury deep. Only her training, and having nowhere to run to, prevented her from running out the door.::

Gwinnett: I have nothing against the Lt. personally... too many similarities... Sir. ::She fidgeted a bit.::

Reinard: I find it hard to believe that you have nothing against the Lieutenant when you would act this way towards him. Clearly it’s something very personal, so tell me what similarities Sergeant. ::Insistently::

::The memory flooded back and again she was just a girl of twelve, seeing the head and the tentacles that reached out to her. She could feel the icky, things wrapping around her. She could smell it again.::

Gwinnett: ::Raising her voice a bit.:: The tentacles... I want them to stop... stop touching me. ::The voice was not of her, but of a child a long time ago. There was a pleading in her voice.:: They came out of the head. ::She couldn’t maintain her position, she looked for the nearest corner and started to move back into it. Only to stop and find herself in the corner. She looked around in confusion.::

::He immediately recognised what was happening and needed to halt it before matters became even worse. If he wasn’t involved in this he could have provided her with the counselling she needed. It was bad practice and against regulations for him to get involved. He needed someone else to do this. For now he needed to cool things back down again.::

Reinard: Alright stop. That’s enough for now. You are going to need counselling for this and I’m making it mandatory. I can’t provide it myself since your actions have impacted upon me and I am involved.

Gwinnett: Counseling? I haven’t had those thoughts in years. Don’t make me relive them again...please sir .::The words of counseling hit her like a bucket of cold water. She straightened up and moved back in front of the desk, now at attention.

Reinard: Something will be arranged as soon as possible and you’ll be called for an appointment. Should you miss any appointment made for you or your counsellor feels your issue is not improving, or is becoming worse you will be taken off duty until there is an improvement. Your negative behaviour and attitude towards Lieutenant Chen must cease immediately. He is not of this sub-species from Byzantium. He is an Andorian and unless there’s something you’ve failed to tell me - neither him nor his people have done anything to you to merit this. Should your behaviour continue disciplinary action will be taken. Do you understand?

::Gwinnett felt like this was almost a fate worse than death. A marine was going to see a counselor. It was so humiliating. She was sure that something like this would make it through the ranks. Gwinnett visibly slumped, as in defeat.::

Gwinnett: If... I have to sir.

:: For the bombastic, and over the top Brooks, the voice was low and withdrawn, all the moxie and energy had been taken out of her. She looked defeated after the reliving of the experience that she thought she had finally buried. Now to go into counseling about it, was the final straw.::

::Greir was getting fed up for her constant attempts to weasel out of it. He could well understand that a marine would see this as a punishment worse than disciplinary action itself. Nevertheless, whether she hadn’t had those thoughts in years or not something had caused this buried issue to resurface and it was causing her to actively attempt to ruin other, innocent officers careers and personal lives. So when he told her that this was happening and that it was mandatory, asked whether she understood he expected the appropriate response. He was beginning to wonder how much of that had just sunk in.::

Reinard: Don’t give me that Gwinnett, as a marine you of all people should know actions speak louder than words and yours have been unacceptable. Like I said this is mandatory. You will attend your appointments and you will cooperate in resolving this issue you have. It likely won’t be easy or quick to do but you’re going to do it because you need to for yourself as much as your continued career. Do you understand?

::Gwinnett had never really given much thought to the future or her career, like most of her kind life was simply a day to day struggle. Taking as much pleasure from it, and trying to avoid getting into too much trouble. It had been a pretty simple formula, and the marines tended to put up with a bit more of the rough and ready types. She had been dismissed from several jobs after leaving the home world because of her cavalier attitude, before enlisting into the marines. Gwinnett had been know to start fights and causing general mischief, but she had always performed her duty. ::

Gwinnett:oO Career? I thought that was only for other people. Both my father and brother is dead. Frankly I am surprised I am still alive.Oo

::Gwinnett also knew that despite the current down side, she knew that since joining the marines, it had also proved part of a family structure that she hadn’t had in a long time. The corps was the only thing that keep her functioning on a somewhat normal level. It provided her a framework, of some type, and she didn’t want to lose it..::

::It took her a moment, but some self respect finally returned to into her. She raised her downcast eyes and looked at Reinard::

Gwinnett: Yes, Sir. I will attend..::It wasn’t the normal forceful Gwinnett, but there was some determination behind it.::

::Greir resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It still wasn’t the answer he was looking for but he got the feeling that she understood the situation just fine. He would need to sort out the referral and get something arranged for her as quickly as possible. ::

Reinard: Right then, you’re dismissed.

::He didn’t even wait for her to finish leaving the office before snatching up his padd and beginning his report.::

A JP by:

Lt Cmdr Reinard
Acting Commanding Officer
USS Vigilant

and

Sergeant Brooks Gwinnett
Marine
USS Vigilant
Simmed by Eerie