round 9 Cmdr. BLUEHEAR & Ensign Kirosa: A Strongly-w​orded Discussio

[Minxing Shimisi]

(Deck 6, Crew Quarters – USS Atlantis)

IC:

KIROSA: Computer, where the hell is the captain!?

::It was evident at this point that Kyla was furious with some recent news that she had been given that she was off the security detail of the captain. For whatever reason, for whatever happened to her before today, this was it. Enough was enough and she was going to front the captain out about it, in private possibly, but failing that, she would do it in front of the [...] crew, her career was on shaky ground right now (as far as she knew) so why should she try and salvage it if even the CO was against her?::

::Once the Computer has given her the Captain's location she was out of her quarters like a torpedo. The look of utmost, suppressed rage on her face, the stride showing that she was going to either kill or at the very least maim. Even though she was bound by the rules of that uniform that was what she wanted to do. She rounded a corner and stepped into the nearest Turbolift, silently thankful it was empty.::

KIROSA: Computer, close and lock turbolift doors!

::The computer complied, the doors closing shut and a dull 'clunk' sounding the doors weren’t opening anytime soon. The next thing she had to do was get the Captain to actually speak to her in private. Tapping her commbadge.::

KIROSA: =/\= Chief Kirosa to Captain Blueheart. =/\=

::She waited for a moment to allow the Captain to do whatever he felt was more important before he replied to her::

BLUEHEART : ::pausing after hearing the word “chief”:: =/\= Blueheart here. What can I do for you, Ensign Kirosa? =/\=

KIROSA: =/\= Captain, can I speak to you for a moment in private? =/\=

BLUEHEART: =/\= What is this about? =/\= oO Actually I sort of know.. I think.. Oo

KIROSA: =/\= Captain! =/\= ::Her tone had now become more forceful, the slightest ebb of her new-found rage starting to surface and lace itself into her voice now.:: =/\= Can I speak. To you. For a moment. In Private? =/\=

::Yes it sounded intimidating, verging on threatening, but she didn't care. She wanted answers and she was going to get them. The only sense about her would rather this happen behind closed doors than in front of the crew and cause any further irreparable damage to her short-lived career.::

::The tone of the Orion’s voice said it all. It was evident she had learned of the switch in the chief of security position. Raj didn’t consider it a demotion at all and it definitely wouldn’t say so in her personnel file. Yet that tone. That tone implied the officer considered it a demotion, of losing face, a conspiracy. Whatever the reason behind the insistent, forceful tone of her voice, Raj didn’t like it one bit. In fact, he found it annoying, if not disrespectful. Thus, he surprised himself when instead of lashing out at the security officer, he went into his Counselor mode. Fighting fire with fire will only get everyone burned - including the ship!::

BLUEHEART: ::neutral tone:: =/\= Come to my ready room now, Kyla. =/\=

::The commlink went dead. Abruptly.::

BLUEHEART: oO Yup. Definitely calls for some soothing ambient music and chamomile tea. Oo

::Kyla heard the link go abruptly dead from the Captain’s end. Despite her rage she was silently thankful this potential explosion was going to happen behind closed doors rather than on the bridge. She was angry, yes, but she knew this sort of thing would demolish crew morale if it happened in front of them.::

KIROSA: Bridge!

::Didn’t take away the fact that she was still angry at this entire situation. She had actually been trusted with something, for the first time in her life since the Academy, and now, to her, it had been betrayed by being stripped of it simply because she ‘blinked and missed’ the attack in Engineering. She was new to this, so wasn’t she allowed or afforded the odd mistake now and then? But evidently not in her case, be it she was Orion, or stereotyped, or new or for whatever reason, the trust placed in her had been betrayed… and to Kyla, that was enough reason to be furious.::

::She held trust as something close to her heart. She had to trust the Orions that lived in the Settlement just as they had to trust her, she also, for now, foolishly thought that Starfleet would be the same… apparently not. All this as well as other lingering thoughts and events just causing her anger to stew, to boil and threaten to ruin her.::

((Bridge - USS Atlantis))

::It wasn’t long before the doors opened to show the bridge. Kyla wasting absolutely no time in exiting the capsule and striding with purpose across the bridge and towards the ready room, pressing the call button to the room with some force she was lucky not to have broken the panel::

::It wasn’t long before the door chime chirped. Perfect timing too, for the tea was ready and Vangelis was piping in through the audio system.::

BLUEHEART: Come.

::The doors opened and the evidently furious Orion stepped into the room, her ears caught the sound of the music in the room, more-so as the doors closed behind her… for now, given her temperamental state, she thought it was just noise and nothing else as she looked towards the captain.::

BLUEHEART: ::remaining standing:: Please, ::beckoning with his hand:: come, have a seat. ::He gestured to the seat in front of his desk.::

::She didn’t respond because she still felt that angry. But rather than cause more trouble than she had intended, she bit down on her tongue before walking towards the chair and sitting in the offered chair.::

::The CO waited for the Orion woman to sit before doing the same.::

BLUEHEART: Chamomile tea, Kyla?

KIROSA: I’m not thirsty, but thank you anyway.

::After sipping from his own cup, he placed it aside before leaning slightly forward in his seat, elbows rested on the cold surface of the desk, hands clasped in front of him, with a pleasant smile and neutral, unassuming eyes.::

BLUEHEART: So,.. what can I do for you, Kyla?

KIROSA: You can start, sir, by explaining why you’ve betrayed the trust you put in me at this morning’s briefing.

::Blunt and to the point, she saw no point or reason in beating about the bush so got straight to the point. if she had to clarify on her meaning, she gladly would. be it her foolishness or nievitee, she was expecting the same from the captain::

BLUEHEART: Betrayed you? I don’t understand..

KIROSA: Okay, more bluntly is why rescind my Responsibilities as Chief of Security?

BLUEHEART: Ah.. that.. Sure you don’t want some soothing tea before that? Okay, never mind the tea. Um.. I’m not sure if you’re aware of the.. incident we had in Engineering. The chief engineer was injured and is currently in Sickbay. Fortunately, his injuries are minor.

::Rather than reply, Kyla instead listened to this part… but THEN she started to think: if that were the case, standard procedure dictated that she be informed straight away, and yet… not a peep until some time after, meaning there was clearly still a ‘racial issue’ somewhere… only going further to fuel the anger-induced state that she was in right now. Rather than

BLUEHEART: With the Ambassador on board, I felt it necessary to have a senior officer head the department. The decision was purely based on diplomatic circumstances. Your expertise and dedication to the Security team never came into question.

KIROSA: You’re making this sound like I blinked and missed in the worst possible way, sir… how is this not bringing my Dedication to my Security Career, as short as it is, into question?

BLUEHEART: By providing transport for the Ambassador, we are indirectly representing the Federation. Whatever we do and say will be noticed by the Grenushi, and later, the Krayav. A good impression of our professionalism will increase our chances for economic and political cooperation in this region of space in the future. That’s why I need Cmdr Dickens heading Security for now.

KIROSA: So… what? This is your way of saying ‘I don’t want you heading up my security Department’?

BLUEHEART: Again, I assure you, Kyla, that this gesture on my part is in no way undermining your ability to lead the department. Nor will it affect your chances of promotion later. In fact, with my years of experience in Starfleet, I can safely say that I see a great and bright future for you in SF. You can be sure of that.

::Not bloody likely was all she could think. She didn’t have the captain’s ‘experience’ on the matter and she wasn’t clairvoyant, so there was no way for her to know this might be standard practice for some of the Commanding Officers, but to Kyla, who led a more simpler life, she couldn't’ stop bringing it back to one simple thing: Betrayal. She had grown up, having to learn how to trust the people around her and asking only the same of her in turn. Trust was a big thing for Kyla, perhaps the biggest… and not only a week fresh from the academy that aspect of her had been insulted and broken (from her point of view) and the captain had the gall to think this wasn’t as bad a thing as she was making it out to be.::

BLUEHEART: Take it as part of your learning curve. Learning how sometimes we all have to grit our teeth and step aside for diplomatic or political reasons. I myself have been in your shoes many times before. We are a paramilitary organization after all. The Federation still comes first. ::sipping his tea:: I hope that answers your question, Kyla? ::He peered from over the rim of his cup of tea.::

KIROSA: Oh no, sir. ::She then pushed up out of her chair… she had heard enough from her perspective and was about to jump to all the wrong conclusions, only she didn't know that was going to happen.:: No I… I don’t see this as a learning curve… if anything it’s just confirmed the belief that you’ve just betrayed both my trust and the trust you actually decided to put in me simply because you're trying to hide the truth you think I’m completely incapable at this job.

::He felt his emotions roiling inside him. The last time he was emotional, let his guard down and become driven by his feelings, it had led to a mutiny and a court martial hearing. Something he would never let happen, he had vowed to himself. He decided to keep silent and let the Orion ensign carry on her verbal assault on him.::

KIROSA: NO! No, it’s bad I enough that I have to learn this through some written announcement, but what REALLY makes me so angry about it all is that you, my own commanding officer, couldn’t even be BOTHERED to take the time to tell me this to my face!

BLUEHEART: oO I am in the midst of wording my speech, actually. Oo ::He stared at the empty cup on his desk, not saying anything.::

KIROSA: I get it, Alright! Yes, I’m new, little only a week out of the academy. Yes. I’m an Orion, which practically turning every other head I’ve walked past since the Academy and who knows what else to the more hormonal persuasion. You can dress this up all you like, but if this boils down to some simple, stupid reason as to my inexperience or my Racial inheritance, then it’s clear I have been so DELUDED about the Federation and it’s beliefs!

::When he finally spoke, his voice was forced to be monotonous. Clear, but monotonous.::

BLUEHEART: I’m not dressing up anything. What you see is what you get.

::As he stood up, he smiled at her.::

BLUEHEART: Counselor’s office. 0800 hours tomorrow. It’s a request, not an order. ::He turned around, his back facing her, to bring the empty cup back to the replicator.:: Dismissed, ensign.

::His hands were trembling as he set the cup down. The roar of blood in his head drowned all other sounds and he forgot the world around him for what seemed like an eternity.::

::If the captain was done here, then she couldn't’ see any reason why she should stay in the room. She turned and just strode out of the Ready Room, back across the bridge and back to the Turbolift. If this was the final say, that she had been ‘requested’ to see the Counselor tomorrow morning, then that was an easy thing to resolve.::

KIROSA: Computer. Whatever ‘request’ has been made of me to see the ship’s Counselor. I want it declined in the nicest yet strongest possible manner without me getting into more trouble.

COMPUTER: Acknowledged.

::It was at that point Kyla just needed something to do, something to help her relax and calm herself, and she knew talking about it wouldn’t help anything, she had tried it with the highest authority on the hsip and all it got her was that ‘session’ she just threw away. Talking never helped her because, most of the time, there was nothing TO talk about… she needed something she knew, something familiar…::

KIROSA: Holodeck one.

::The computer chirped and the Turbolift hummed into life, plotting the most direct route through the Turboshafts back down to Deck 5. If she was off Security Detail, then she may as well use this newly acquired free time to stop her from making any grave mistakes in the future.::