Knee Deep In It Now
Posted on Mon Jan 8th, 2024 @ 11:42am by Fleet Captain Maxwell Culver & Commander Lorut Vila & Commander Rylen Lyo & Admiral Albion
1,532 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Interlude
Location: USS Intrepid: Ready Room
Timeline: Interlude
Max was already in his ready room. The other two having arrived just a few short minutes ago. Max with a glass of champagne, Vila with Jumja juice -he thought - and Rylen with an espresso. The trio were awaiting the first time as a command trio to talk to their direct Commanding Officer, Rear Admiral Albion.
And, as always, as if the old idiom was true. Talk of the devil and he shall arrive. The comms flared a blinking button on the desk and an annoying sound to follow. Max touched the button and the Admiral was displayed for all to see.
Sat in his modular body, just this side of being the Borg, the giant cat wheezed and grunted. “Excellent, I have all three of you to blame. Just what the FUCK happened out there?! You would dare go around me to pull in the Opal for a dead planet?”
“Just where do you get off, Culver? I should have them rip the pips off your collar and chuck your ass in the brig!” Albion went pale and some medical technicians ran in to increase his oxygen blood flow. Even overdosing him on TriOx.
Vila, in a strange and perhaps out of character move, spoke next, brown eyes flashing with a pitch of anger. "What HAPPENED out there? What HAPPENED is that we had a First Contact situation go south, and we did what we had to do to save lives," she said. "Culver made the correct calls," she said. She stood up, pulling off her gold PIP. "If that means that he goes, I go, too. And remember-that's giving me EXACTLY what I wanted from jump. And YOU will have to explain that to YOUR boss," she reminded him. She was many things, but she knew the power she had-right now, she held the winning hand, and they both knew it-they both knew that him giving into her wishes would cost him HIS pips at HQ. Maybe not right away, but eventually.
Ever the face of calm, Rylen also decided to put in his two credits worth. “Commander Lorut and I do not see eye to eye all of the time,” he began. “But in this case, she is correct. The Captain had some tough calls to make, and we came through with an overall positive outcome.”
Max stood up and handed Vila back her pip. “I think this toothless, old cat knows exactly what happened out here based on my daily reports to Starfleet, including every special favor owed to me to get this job done with minimal support. Especially support from my commanding feline in control.”
“That said, WE got this job done with no damage to our Starfleet ships that wasn’t easily repaired. We’ve a new ally with open space to dozens of new sectors with or without Romulan permission and a planet, named Heliv, moving back into its orbit over the next ten years with enough ice floating above to recover the planet with about a ten percent increase in fresh water. And a people who can return home rather than be displaced forever.”
“You want to come for me Darth Vader, all dressed in your synthetic body that would have been outlawed three years ago by people like you? People with draconian laws and restrictions. You know where to find me, Borg Cat,” Max threatened.
“You think you’re safe, Culver, Lorut, basking in your safety of having one good mission outcome. Well, with the added rank of fleet captain and a half dozen starships under your command, Fleet Captain Maxwell Culver, see how safe you feel in THAT chair. I’d bet you won’t be feeling so smug in the not so distant future.”
And for you, his supporters, can you handle a starship without him? In the event he needs to lead from another ship?”
Max settled back into his chair. “With minor differences in command styles, I think Commander Vila would make an excellent captain for this ship and its crew. Pair her beside Commander Lyo and I’ve got no worries this ship will go from strength to strength, Admiral.”
“And, while you’re so giving, you’ll be trading your favors to restore the ones I just have out. It’s only fair,” Max completed, folding his arms over his chest as though the entire conversation had been said.
Vila took her pip back, and settled back in. She secured the round metal piece back to her uniform, but remained quiet, staring, unwavering, at the screen. Just like when she'd been hunting Cardassians. Don't bend, don't break, don't back down.
Suddenly, she realized what Culver had just said. HER? In charge of a starship? Surely, he had dipped into the bottle of Kanar she'd stashed in the compartment under the command chair. Or he was losing his mind. Did the temporal types ever lose it? Surely, they had to. But, still in flight-or-fight mode, she simply raised an eyebrow.
"It would only be my pleasure," she said. They may have gotten off to a rocky start, and she may not be the best person in the world to be on the Command track, but she knew two things: she had done it all herself, and she'd survived many things that no one should have to, and she'd survive this, too.
She glanced at the two men, and then resumed her cold stare.
The Caitian Admiral bared his teeth, as if Max and Vila were now reaching his point. Too much more pushing and the whole thing could collapse. Adjusting his uniform…an oddity as not all of his parts moved in tandem, but Max just held in his laughter while trying to keep a solemn mood among his command team.
“Fine. Your favors will be restored to you, Fleet Captain. As such, I, or my adjuncts, will be checking in with you frequently. Shall we say bi-weekly after your next mission.”
“I was about to speak to my own command team on that matter Admiral, unless we need to belabor this meeting any longer?”
“No, Captain, and do remember that you do not outrank an Admiral.”
“Except when we’re working as a team out here and direct contact becomes untenable, then my rank is equivalent that of an admiral…or do you not think I know regulation 42 of Starfleet’s Code of Command.”
“Very good,” Albion grumbled, almost choking on the slop they were constantly tube feeding him.
Max could more than tell the time to go. “Culver out.” He closed the secured channel before looking at the other two.
“So?” he asked. “Questions?” After his question he pressed a device in his pocket which gave him enough time to let the other two stew while he grabbed a fresh coffee.
Vila let out an audible breath. "Next time I see him in person, I should give him the Cardassian treatment," she muttered. "What the HELL are you doing?! I thought the point was to stay OUT of trouble, not invite it to our doorstep!"
“Apparently someone higher than Admiral Albion thinks we did a really outstanding job out here. At this point, we no longer need the Romulans’ permission to continue into the Beta Quadrant unabated. It’s a big victory for us, Vila. Are we at that point where I can call you Vila and you call me Max?” The device in his pocket buzzed gently. Not enough to produce a sound, just an already within his pocket. The room was now free of any recordings. A fun little gadget Max had acquired among the many.
"No," she said. "We are not. But yes, that is good news," she said. "And hopefully with our new allies in the Helivans, we can assure the BQ is..mostly safe. The AQ is full of weirdos, though, so keep that in mind," she said.
“Mmm,” Max agreed with her. “The parts of the Beta Quadrant we were able to keep are pretty healthy, so it’s good to know that those of us who grew up in this area are more normal the the AQ’s, eh Vila?” Max asked, pushing the new button she couldn’t check him on.
"Congrats, Lyo, you're in on it now, too," she said, a real smile playing at her face this time. It was a new thing - the first time they'd been a ‘team’. "Don't let it happen again," she said. "What were you going to discuss with us?" She said, directly aimed at Max.
“Details of our next mission to Kaitos,” Max answered, aware that all the listening bugs planted anywhere, including Starfleet’s own recordings, were inoperative at the moment. “Or, as most of us El-Aurians call it, ‘home’.”
“Kaitos is an M class planet colonized in 2345 in Halle System, barely this side into the Beta Quadrant. Kaitos has four moons and the solar system navigates around two suns,” Max started. It was a lot to discuss, but they would get through it fast enough. Hopefully before Max’s third cup of coffee.
RSS Feed