Sam I Am

Posted on Sat Jan 9, 2016 @ 3:52pm by Senior Chief Petty Officer Samantha Summers & Lieutenant Cassandra Kennings

1,223 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Fall
Location: Security Office
Timeline: Night Shift

Cassandra swept down the corridor, dress fluttering around her ankles as she stepped up to the security offices. She keyed in her security code and as the doors opened, slipped inside silently, approaching the occupied room with a bit of stealth.

The night shift was a relatively quiet time aboard a starship. Most new crewmen got their paperwork done in between duty assignments, and the amount of crew was relatively light. The perfect time for an ambush.

Cass approached the office quickly and knocked on the door before her victim could slip away. "Good evening, Miss Summers," she said.

S.CPO Summers looked up from the work on her desk and blinked. "May I help you," she said, noticing Cass' rank pips, "Ma'am?"

"Yes actually," Cassandra said, matter-of-factly, sitting down across from the other woman. "We have a crew member in violation of statute six-four-seven-nine-five-five-three-one-stroke-delta-stroke-seven, section two, subsection twenty-three, paragraph four and I need that crew member executed, arrested and interrogated. Not necessarily in that order."

Samantha blinked. "Oh? Please explain.."

"Well, as I'm sure you are well aware, statute six-four-seven-nine-five-five-three-one-stroke-delta-stroke-seven, section two, subsection twenty-three, paragraph four says that all new arrivals must report in to the ship's counselor for initial evaluation." She leaned forward and clasped her fingers together on the desk. "And you have been avoiding me." She smiled and waved. "Hello."

Samantha sort of smiled and frowned at the same time. "My apologies. Hello." Samantha sat back in her seat, hands in her lap. "I'm guessing you'd like to do the 'evaluation' right now. Ok, let's do it."

Cassandra's eyebrow raised but she sat back and folded her hands in her lap. "So, to use one of my father's favorite old jokes, where on Earth are you from?"

Samantha looked at the ceiling briefly before starting. " I'm originally from the North American Hemisphere, my Father was a Foreman at a logging facility, his nick name was ' Bull Whip,' how he got that I never knew, he didn't tell me much about what he did while there - my Mother was a Nurse attached to the place. They met and got married, in a church. I have few photos of him but one I prize is of him in a suit, which he hated to wear I might add, taken at their wedding. Mom taught me how to cook, other things..Father taught me how to hunt, fish, exercise to 'build myself up muscle wise,' when I got older he kind of slowed down...um..am I rambling?"

Cassandra smiled softly. "Oh it's quite all right," she said. "I'm curious to hear what else we have in common. I'm also from North America. Kansas to be exact. My father was a teacher, my mother was a pediatrician. It's a tradition for women in my family to enter the medical field. I went a bit sideways though, going for mental health rather than physical. She also taught me to cook. My father didn't mind suits so much, but he did prefer to be casual."

She spread her hands out. "And here we are now. Two small-town girls across the galaxy. If only our pioneer ancestors could see us now, hm?"

"Yes. I wonder what they would say." Samantha looked away from Cassandra before continuing. "Did...did you have a good relationship with them? Your parents, I mean. My Mother tried to teach me how to interact with others. Father...he kind of stopped trying to guide me after a umm...'certain age,' shall we say? It was around the time I kept growing in height, but also...um...started growing 'out.' " Samantha's face felt like it was in fire and she knew her cheeks were flushing.

Cassandra gave her a sympathetic smile. She knew what blossoming early and less-than-subtly was like, especially in a small town. "Well, yes I have a good relationship with my parents. When I was young...well let's just say June wasn't the only thing busting out all over." She modestly pointed out her own physique. "But my parents came from a small farming town. Growth and maturity and such, well they were just how life was. Animals, plants, people, we all are born, we grow, we mature, we age, we die. That's life at its most honest. Some spend so much time focusing on other things; they forget that."

Samantha looked at Cassandra. "You're lucky. I wish I could have known someone like you when I was hitting 'that' age. When I was a teenager I wanted to still play football in the yard with Father, but he'd get red in the face and say something like, 'Ohhh, go help your Mother with something in the kitchen.' " It also didn't help that I 'took' after Father features wise, and my Aunt Gen..um 'blossoming' wise. Mother used to say to me that Aunt Gen's nick name was 'Boom-Boom.' and I believed it. Mom would tell me, umm. Oh yes..'Now dear, don't worry looks aren't everything...you'll find someone that loves you for 'you.' " Samantha looked at Cassandra directly. "Great encouragement, hmm? That's one reason I wanted to go to the 'stars,' to find beings that judge other beings for what they were and felt, *not* how they looked on the outside." Samantha looked away, a few tears forming on her cheeks.

"I'd suggest starting with the girl in the mirror," Cass said. "If you want others to judge you for who you are, not your looks, then you need to start doing the same."

Samantha nodded her head. "Been doing that. I am what I am - accepted that and doing my best to build on that. Whom ever 'takes me,' and I mean that in a 'nice way'," Samantha smiled at Cassandra, "will find out that I have many hidden talents." Samantha winked at Cassandra.

Cass smiled. "Well that's a good start."

Samantha smiled back at her. "Yes it is. Now I don't want you to get the wrong impression, I'm not 'in the market,' so to speak, but it *would* be nice to find someone I could start talking with that just didn't come up to my um....I mean...that was about my height so I could look at them directly. Yes, *that's* what I mean." She said with a finishing laugh.

Cassandra laughed. "Well, I can see how that would be helpful. I'm only six-foot but I feel rather tall sometimes as well. But as long as you can smile about it, you'll do just fine."

Samantha shook her head in agreement. "More questions?" She asked.

"Not unless there's something you need of me," Cassandra said. "I don't want to keep you from your duties for too long."

Samantha grinned back at Cassandra. "Works for me; pile of paper work here and a meeting with the Security Chief soon. Perhaps we might have a bite to eat together in the Officer's Lounge in the near future?"

Cassandra nodded and stood up. "Sounds fine by me," she said. "Have a good rest of your day, Samantha." She gave the other woman a smile and left the office, for her next appointment.

Samantha nodded her head, then went back to work.

JP

Cassandra Sanders
Ship's Counselor

Samantha Summers
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Master-At-Arms

 

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