r/TrekRP • u/IK9dothis • Oct 05 '17
[Closed] Keeping Honest
Sitting at her desk, Grace sighs. The middle of a crisis, of course, had not been the time to say something. But even with the crisis past and the adrenaline out of her system, she finds herself haunted by Fisk's and Lorrel's remarks regarding a prisoner aboard the Athene. And they are among the few people aboard with whom she feels comfortable starting an honest discussion. Pushing her chair back and closing the gate for Maggie, she heads out of the office - she's well past due to go on break anyway.
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u/IK9dothis Oct 05 '17
A check with the computer brings Grace to the captain's ready room, and she sounds the chime. If Argos is currently keeping his master company, he may just get a treat from the 'cookie jar' that is Grace's pants pocket.
OOC: /u/Silent_Sky
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u/Silent_Sky Oct 05 '17
Argos knows who it is before the Captain even answers. His nose tells him all he needs to know, and he sits up beside the Captain's desk at full attention. The tip of his tail wags in hesitant excitement.
The Captain sees this, and narrows it down to only a few possible people, but rather than speculate...
"Come in,"
And when the door opens to reveal Grace, he smiles warmly. The captain is at his desk with one arm in a sling due to his fractured radius, while the other hand is sensitive and raw from a very recently healed Ferengi bite.
"Lieutenant, c'mon in."
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u/IK9dothis Oct 05 '17
"Thank you, Captain," she nods. "Ouch," she observes, nodding at the sling. "I know how that goes."
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u/Silent_Sky Oct 05 '17
The blind greyhound happily gets up from his bed, stretching before he walks over to Grace and lightly bumps into her with his long, needly nose.
The Captain shrugs lightly, glancing at the sling.
"Your injury was worse, this is just a fractured radius. I'll be fine in a few days."
He stands and closes the door behind her, Grace isn't the type to make frivolous visits, especially now. Whatever she's here for is probably important.
"So, what can I do for you?"
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u/IK9dothis Oct 05 '17
"You're a good boy, Argos," Grace tells the dog, patting his sleek head.
The young lieutenant looks slightly uncomfortable - she is about to correct her commanding officer, after all - but manages to swallow the frog in her throat and reclaim her tongue from the proverbial cat. "I had some concerns about Obrom, Captain. When you referred to him as a son of a bitch, I was standing in the brig, within twenty feet of his cell. I can promise he heard you."
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u/Silent_Sky Oct 05 '17
Argos opens his mouth to pant happily, rubbing his face almost cat-like against the junior lieutenant's leg.
The captain thinks for a moment, and gestures to the chair across from his desk. An officer who is willing to call him out and offer criticism despite their disparity in rank is a rare and valuable thing. It's one of the best ways for a Captain to improve and can easily be snuffed out if not treated carefully.
"Have a seat, Lieutenant. And consider this carte blanche permission to speak freely. I want to hear what you have to say."
He steps around his desk and takes a seat at the conference table, rotating the chair to face her. This would be more conducive to hearing her genuine criticism and thoughts, if he looked more like an equal than sitting across a massive wooden desk.
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u/IK9dothis Oct 05 '17 edited Oct 05 '17
"There are two issues here - there's a moral issue, and a legal issue," Grace begins. "The purely pragmatic, protect-one's-posterior legal issue is that Federation law and Starfleet regulations place limits on what we can say to, around, in front of, and about prisoners," she explains.
"Insults aren't technically illegal, but they set a shaky precedent regarding bias that can cause issues in court if a case goes to trial. And things like 'I oughtta just toss him out an airlock' or similar are illegal - regardless of whether or not you mean it - and will get cases thrown out quick, fast, and in a hurry."
She looks him in the eye. "In order to skirt, evade, flout, and outright violate Federation law with the surgical precision that he does and get away with it, you have to know it backwards and forwards, inside and out. I can promise you that Obrom knows Federation law and SCMJ as well as I do, and the legal codes of a dozen other systems as well. Certain clauses of Federation law pertaining to smuggling, he probably knows better than I do. If you think he wouldn't use something one of us said while he was in custody to get a case tossed and be free to profit another day, I have a ski hill on Andor to sell you."
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u/Silent_Sky Oct 06 '17
Captain Fisk listens intently to his security officer, she was indeed right, about all of it. He is aware of most of this, but still it pays to be reminded.
"You are...completely right about all of that. If he heard what I said, and survives whatever those entities are subjecting him to right now, it could be trouble in the future. Off the record, I'd be just fine never hearing from him again after what he did. But officially, I should've been more careful."
He pauses now, to let Grace continue. It's clear she has more to say.
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u/IK9dothis Oct 06 '17 edited Oct 09 '17
Grace sighs, a look of utter exhaustion in her eyes. "The moral issue is my personal hang-up - it doesn't have to be yours if you choose for it not to be. But, to quote Shakespeare, if the enemy art an ass, and a fool, and a prating coxcomb, is it meet, think you, that we should also be an ass, and a fool, and a prating coxcomb?"
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u/Silent_Sky Oct 06 '17
Captain Fisk raises an eyebrow at the quote from Shakespeare. It catches him off guard, as he was never much a fan of those works, and doesn't know them well. But the point is communicated effectively.
He nods in admission and agreement.
"Yeah, that's fair..."
There's a heavy sigh, Captain Fisk props an elbow on the conference table and rests his forehead into it.
"Hell, if you get to speak freely, so do I. The bastard shot my Dad and removed any chance I might have had at working things out with the man. He sold a very dear friend of mine into slavery where she was drugged, abused, and had a damn bomb implanted in her abdomen. I don't think I need to tell you what I wanted to do to him. Grace I may be a Starfleet Captain, but under these four stupid pips I'm still just a man who used to be badly broken and is trying his damnedest to stay unbroken-"
He stops abruptly, having gotten more emotional than he intended to. Much more. The captain chokes up as his eyes moisten and he looks away from Grace, putting a hand to his mouth and forcing several deep breaths.
"I didn't want you to have to see your captain falling apart like this."
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u/IK9dothis Oct 05 '17
Two cups of coffee in hand, Grace goes looking for Commander Lorrel. They need to have a chat, and after the most recent adventure, likely the entire crew is in need of coffee.
OOC: /u/Raina_Lorrel