Compliant Complaint

Posted on Wed Oct 26, 2016 @ 1:32pm by Lieutenant Cassandra Kennings & Fleet Captain Rhea Kennit

1,054 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: The Fall
Location: Cassandra's Office
Timeline: By the end of Showdown

IC:

Cassandra was not looking forward to what was coming next. She'd just checked her compact and a storm was approaching. She'd rearranged her room again and had set it up in a more traditional arrangement, with her favorite armchair facing a standard-issue couch. She focused the lights on center of the room and moved all of her personal items to the shadows.

She replicated a fresh padd and stylus, and sat down, smoothing her dress and crossing her legs. She flipped open her compact and had just enough time to close it again when her chime rang and the doors opened simultaneously and the storm walked in. "Hello, Commander," she said, evenly, gesturing to the other chair. "Please, have a seat."

The expression on the XO's face was thunderous to say the least. He wasn't happy to be there and not bothering to hide it. "I'd rather stand."

"Sit down, Commander," Cassandra said, her voice now hard as a diamond with authority. She looked him squarely in the eye and pointed to the seat. "We are not going to let this draw out into a battle of wills. You are going to sit down and give me the details and then we will proceed from there."

Alec's expression was just as cold and fierce. "Details?" He snapped. "You want details? Okay. in the last few days we've learned the Captain is part of a branch of Starfleet that doesn't officially exist. That she was Borg..is Borg..who the hell even knows... she nearly died a few hours ago..did die technically and even THAT isn't a first! We are so far out of our depth here and that WOMAN in sickbay kicked me out!"

"Are you more upset that Rhea is a member of Section 31, or that she didn't confide in you about it?" Cassandra said, evenly. "There are many in Starfleet who have worked in Intelligence, or elsewhere and are engaged in need-to-know operations. One of the reasons I was selected for this mission is my security clearance, so that I could speak to the Captain about such matters. And while I know that as someone who loves her, you want her to be open with you, there are some things she still may not be willing or able to discuss. And that's not even just because of her. She could do it to protect you and your relationship with her. My fiance learned much of what I did in Starfleet, and not all of it pleased him. Times like this when I'm pressed back into service don't exactly aid our relationship. She may have been trying to spare you that same burden."

"I think the minor detail that she had been assimilated by the Borg was something I had a right to know!" he retorted.

"No," she said simply. "Neither your position on board, nor your position with her entitles you to her telling you that. She received something more invasive, more soul-crushing than can be imagined by someone who hasn't gone through it. On a professional level, she may not have been able to tell you, and on a personal level, she may not have wanted to yet, and that is her right. If you had known, would things be any different now?"

"How can you ask me that?" He snapped. "Of course not! That doesn't change it however, she should have trusted me enough to tell me!"

"I can ask," Cassandra said, keeping her voice steady as the beat of a drum, "because if it doesn't make a difference to how you feel about her, then your response to her needs to be the same as if you knew about it: love, support and patience. Blaming her over trust doesn't help the situation. She could trust you to the ends of the universe, but if it isn't something she wants to relive, then she won't discuss it. She has a boundary that she established. If you want to know why, you can ask her, but you can't accuse her."

"Accusation hints to uncertainty," he answered. "There is no uncertainty in this instance."

"Not on your end, clearly," Cassandra said. "But on hers, there's quite a lot."

She sat back and sighed. "Tell me right now, what is it you want to happen, more than anything."

His expression was dark, "I don't know!"

"Then I can see why you're frustrated," Cassandra said, nodding. "So, since you are at a crossroads and don't know where to go, I would like to make a suggestion: Take a deep breath to calm yourself, and go talk to her. Right now, you are angry and you are confused, and if you want answers, she is the one to give them to you."

She stood up and walked over, standing in front of him, her deep violet eyes showing nothing but sadness and sympathy as she looked into his. She put her hand on his cheek and the jewel in her headband flickered. "Calm down," she said. "Focus on the love and the concern you have for her."

His expression shifted to one of frustration, disgust, and outrage. "That infernal nightmare of a Doctor won't let me into Sickbay!"

The jewel in Cassandra's headband darkened and she shook as if she'd been physically slapped. She took a faltering step back and tried to compose herself. "I will...speak to Doctor Anderson about letting you sit down with the Captain if I supervise things. Unfortunately your conduct in Sickbay was no better than hers, and there several serious grievances that she's filed to match your own."

She took a deep breath and smoothed her dress, finally regaining her composure. "Frankly this little feud between you two has gone far enough, and I think it's time to put it to rest. Please go to your quarters, have something to eat, and write down everything you'd like to have addressed. When I contact you again, you can report to Sickbay and we will clear the air."

Hunter looked as if he wanted to argue, but then nodded once.

Cassandra stood while he left. Once the doors had shut she collapsed back into a chair, her head falling to the side as she passed out from exhaustion.


JP

Commander Alec Hunter
XO

Cassandra Sanders
Ship's Counselor

 

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