A Final Solution

Posted on Sat Sep 21st, 2019 @ 2:40pm by Captain Alistar McKeon & Commander Isabella dei`Silvisi & Ensign T'Lara

1,345 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Acts of Contrition
Location: USS Endeavour - Commanding Officer's Ready Room

Isabella was still angry as she approached the doors leading into the commanding officer's ready room. She wrestled with her emotions, trying to place her anger back into check, but she was failing to do so because she was constantly replaying the recent conversation between her and Lieutenant T'Lara over and over in her mind. The Vulcan woman had managed to dig under her skin, burrowing like a parasite. Without pausing, Isabella reached out and tapped the door controls, not bothering to tap the chime but instead activating the doors and marching straight inside the ready room, with the impossible Vulcan behind her.

T'Lara had fallen in step behind the first officer, her face neutral and devoid of any expression. As they stepped through the doors and into the captain's ready room, she spared a brief moment to look around the room before she focused her attention on the captain himself.

"Captain, I have a situation that I require your assistance with," Isabella said as she stopped and stood before the commanding officer's desk, her voice filled with anger and harsh and snapping as she spoke. It was a tone she had never used, even when she had fought with her parents, and the weight of the emotion behind her tone shocked even her.

Alistar had been reading through the massive amount of reports that had piled up over the past few days. With repairs complete, the Endeavour was ready to depart. The Proxima was still lurking around, waiting for the Endeavour crew to finish the final systems tests before she departed, but the Freedom and her escorting ship had already departed. Another day or two and Alistar hoped that they would be underway to Inti Colony. The journey alone would be long and time consuming, but Endeavour was one of the fastest ships in the fleet and they had plenty of time. It had finally grown quiet on his ship and he was glad. Which was why he sighed heavily when Silvisi stormed through his door with another officer in tow, but he froze at the tone of her voice. Anger, something he had never heard out of his XO. Looking up, he leaned back in his chair and set the padd he had been reading down. "Alright, maybe we should start at the beginning," he said.

Casting a quick look over her shoulder towards the female Vulcan officer behind her, Isabella took a deep breath and squared her shoulders before she started talking, explaining in full detail the series of events that had occurred on the bridge. She spared no detail, giving a fully detailed and accurate account, almost word for word, and when she was finished she remained standing, realizing that her fists were clenched at her sides. Forcing herself to take another deep breath, Isabella slowly relaxed her hands and flexed them a few times.

T'Lara stood quietly, a typical neutral Vulcan expression on her face as the commander spoke. She didn't feel the need to explain anything, and considering the situation she was facing, it seemed logical to simply remain quiet and not speak until she was spoken to. Instead, she did replay the recent conversation over in her mind and after several moments concluded that it had been in her best interest to not be so open with her conclusions. She was brought out of her thoughts when the commander reached the end of her report and the compartment grew quiet.

Alistar listened closely to his XO as she spoke, and when she finished he instantly wished he could pour a double glass of the whisky from the bottle that was in his quarters. Instead, he pushed the thought away and leaned back in his chair, turning his gaze towards the lieutenant standing quietly behind Silvisi. "So what am I going to do with you Lieutenant?" he asked.

"I believe that question is rhetorical, Captain, as you being the commanding officer of this ship are allowed to make any adjustments you seem fit," T'Lara said. "I have only acted and spoken with the clarity that I have seen and understand from my point of view in as logical of a manner as I can conclude. I offer no defense for any offense I have cause."

"No matter what you do with her, Captain, I want to make one point very, very clear," Isabella said, casting a hard look towards the lieutenant before she turned back towards the captain. "I don't think it's possible for the lieutenant to continue to serve aboard this ship at her current position. This isn't the first incident, and with each incident the severity becomes more of a concern. I feel it would be best if she was assigned to a duty where she worked alone or with people who find it easier to ignore her mannerisms and attitude."

Alistar settled back in his chair thoughtfully and stared at his first officer, then at the helm officer, and finally back to Silvisi again before he sighed and nodded. "Alright. There is one thing I can do that will avoid making this a formal incident. And Lieutenant, I'm doing this because you haven't been on board long enough to know that this is not the ship to screw around on sometimes. So if you want to protest and try to make it formal, then you can walk right out of here right now and go pack because I promise you that you'll be heading to your next assignment on the Proxima. Effective immediately, you're hereby demoted in rank to the rank of Ensign on the grounds of conduct unbecoming of a Starfleet officer. Additionally, effective immediately, you're reassigned to Auxiliary Support Crew. Your first assignment in your new position will be to command the janitorial cleaning crew on the lower decks, a position you will hold until I think you've learned your lesson or you decide to do me the favor or requesting a transfer. Is that clear?"

"I understand, Sir," T'Lara said simply. It seemed logical to not say anything else, just in case either of the command officers decided to take the opportunity to blame her for continuing to ire them further.

"Good," Alistar said in a tone that indicated he wasn't in the mood for the conversation to go any further. "You will report to your new position tomorrow at 1900 hours. Dismissed."

T'Lara braced to attention and saluted before she turned and left the ready room. Her new position would ensure that she had little interaction with anyone else on the ship, and she wondered if that would be preferable. It would certainly be quieter.

Isabella watched the former bridge officer leave the ready room, slightly surprised at the outcome. She hadn't expected the captain to go quite as far as he had, but she wasn't about to complain, especially when he seemed to be in an extremely bad mood. Turning towards McKeon, she raised an eyebrow just slightly but said nothing. Finally deciding to leave the captain alone, she nodded her head slightly. "Thank you, Sir," she said quietly.

"That's what I'm here for," Alistar said, still not bothering to hide his anger. "If it's possible, I'd like to get through the rest of the day, maybe even the week, without any more personnel issues. Dismissed, Commander."

"Understood. I'll leave you to your work," Isabella said before she nodded and headed towards the door. She decided that it might be best to spend the rest of the day in the science labs and monitor the bridge from afar for a while.

Alistar waited until his first officer had left before he leaned back in his chair and sighed. Rubbing his face, he reached out and grabbed one of the padds from his desk. He was certainly hoping that things would start to settle down on the Endeavour and they could get underway again, he was ready to do something other than sit around in one place.



Captain Alistar McKeon
Commanding Officer

Commander Isabella dei`Silvisi
Executive Officer

Lieutenant T'Lara
Auxiliary Support Officer

 

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