Identifying One's Sandbox

Posted on Tue Jul 14, 2015 @ 9:09pm by Lieutenant Cassandra Kennings

881 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: All this has happened before...
Location: The Gardens
Timeline: After briefing

Cassandra rounded the table quickly, but smoothly, inserting herself near Nina as they walked out. As Nina got into the turbolift, Cassandra jumped in as well. "Gardens," she said to the lift, then glanced Nina's way. "Would you mind joining me? I need your opinion on something."

"On what? Get another cryptic message from your secret admirer?"

"Not as of yet," Cassandra said. "But there's an officer who you may want to keep an eye on. I thought it be best we discuss the situation in private."

"Oh? Who?" she asked, as the turbo lift came to a halt.

"Come see for yourself," Cassandra said, stepping out of the lift and walking at a brisk clip to the bay.

As the two entered the bay, Nina looked around and didn't see anyone. "We're the only ones here. What's going on?"

"Hang on," Cassandra said. "She's in here somewhere...." she turned slowly in a circle and then stopped in front of Nina, holding up her gold compact and flipping it open, letting Nina see her own reflection. "Ah, there she is." Cass and, grinning. "Knew I'd find her." She snapped her compact shut and put it back in her handbag. "Now, why don't we sit down, and have a chat?" She gestured towards a nearby bench.

"I'm fine," Nina replied. She hated when Cass did things like this.

"Somehow, I knew you would say that," Cass said, sitting down. "And I might agree with you if it weren't for your attitude during the briefing. So, what's eating you?"

Nina sighed. "That jackass Taggert is what's eating me," she snapped. "He keeps information from me and my department, basically rendering the Intel Department useless."

Cass nodded, sitting back. "I can see how that is frustrating. And when you had it out with him, what was his reasoning?"

"I haven't had it out with him. But at every opportunity he attempts to make me look useless to the captain and the XO."

"Ah I see," Cassandra said, tapping her finger on the side of her nose, knowingly. "So you haven't had him say he's doing it, or spoken to him about him doing it, but deduced it nonetheless." She gave Nina a sympathetic smile. "I know it can be hard finding someone plowing in your field, but could this be a case of 'old habits die hard'? Taggart used to be the Intel Officer here, correct? Granted, he should be coordinating with you, but that could be oversight on his part, not deliberate exclusion, right?"

"As an officer in Starfleet, he should know his duties. I used to be in Security, but you don't see me doing security duties. And the Captain used to be Intel but you don't see her taking over Intel assignments. I can't be the only one recognizing this," she commented, nearly yelling now as she paced back and forth.

"Maybe not. Or maybe it's his bailiwick for a reason we don't know. What I can tell you is that seething about it here isn't going to solve anything." Cass stood up and smoothly injected herself into Nina's pacing path, draping her hands behind her back and looking Nina in the eye. "Perhaps we should sit down with him, or with the Captain. You have every right to insist on being allowed to do your job effectively and if there was an oversight on their part, intentional or otherwise, you have every right to complain. I'll go with you if you want and support you all the way, but you need to take a breath and do it calmly."

Nina felt like shoving the counselor out of the way for a split moment but sighed; she was beginning to see Cass as a friend and knew she meant well. "I'll be fine. I just need to blow off steam to clear my head."

"All right," Cassandra said, "let's go let off some steam. What are you in the mood for?"

She shrugged. "I would suggest a workout but I need to focus my time on the Bethesda."

"Well, we'll compromise. When you get to the point where you need a sounding board to work through some thoughts on the mission, come find me and we'll get some exercise while we talk. It's good for the thought process," Cassandra said. "In the mean time, when you walk out these doors, you are going to do so with one objective: Do your job the best you can, and fuck the rest." She folded her arms. "Clear?"

That comment actually made Nina smile. She hadn't expected the counselor to make such a statement, but she was right. "Well if I fuck the rest, Yarin might get jealous."

Cassandra blushed a bit at that. "Yes, well, perhaps just metaphorically then." She looked to the doors, which opened obediently. "Go do your job, and remember that the Captain trusts you to do it well. Don't let someone with a head of steam undermine that. Now, off to the bridge with you."

Nina nodded. "Will do, Cass. Talk to you later."

Cass nodded and smiled as she left, then checked her compact. Sure of her next destination, she headed back out into the fray.


Joint Post

Lt. Nina Blackburn
Intelligence Officer

Lt. Cassandra Sanders
Ship's Counselor

 

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