Handing over the...reins

Posted on Wed Feb 21st, 2024 @ 11:20am by Avalon [ADMIN NPC] & Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson & Commander Kyle Reece & Lieutenant Commander S'hib

Mission: Season 6: Episode 4: Memory Lane
Location: USS Elysium, Security Chief's Office
Timeline: MD 8 / 1300 hours (immediately following "Emergency Meeting...Changes Afoot"
2951 words - 5.9 OF Standard Post Measure

As soon as Lia stepped out of the lift and the doors slid shut, Kyle reached up and tapped his commbadge. "Commander Reece to Mister S'hib. Please meet me in the Security Chief's office at once. Reece out." He double tapped the badge, closing the channel. "Security Offices," he said aloud.

The lift began moving again, and in a few beats, stopped. The doors slid open and Kyle stormed out. As he made his way into the Security offices, there was a dangerous air about him, causing everyone to give him a wide berth. He entered the Chief's office and the door slid shut behind him. Afterwards, the few gathered crew started to talk amongst themselves as to what was going on.

S'hib looked up at the ceiling of his turbolift pod as it sped down the Elysium, frowning in annoyance at the request he just heard. "But, thats where we were going anyway?" He thought to himself before thumping his hands against his hips.

"What?" He asked out loud, now entirely confused as the lift came to a stop and hissed open.

Still perplexed, and with his brow beginning to ache he left the lift and continued onwards, clicking heavily towards the Security offices.

When he finally entered, ducking low under the doorframe. The office fell silent, with all eyes falling on him.

He stood there for a moment, his eyes flicking about confused and annoyed in equal parts. "Afternoon..." He said sceptically, though he decided best not to dig too deep into it as he walked along the rows of desks.

"If um, if someone could chase up those reports of theft on the promenade today that would be great..."

There were a few nods of acknowledgement as he walked passed, and a lot of hasty movements at everyone's desks in an attempt to look busy, but he didn't care.

He just wanted to know what was going on inside the office they had all been staring at before staring at him.

"Right, what's going on..." He huffed as he thumped inside, his eyes finding Kyle's and no others.

"Wait, where in the dunes is Lia? She wanted to talk to us both no?"

Kyle was sitting behind the desk, holding his head as he suddenly was starting to have a migraine. Looking up when he heard S'hib enter and speak, Kyle stood and came around to the front of the desk. "Mister S'hib, thank you for coming so quickly." He indicated one of the two empty chairs as he spoke. Then, turning slightly to the replicator, he asked, "Can I get you something?"

S'hib didn't move, he just stared back for a moment before wetting his lips, something he found that helped when attempting to pronounce human words.

"Where is she?" He asked again, without the help of the universal translator.

Kyle arched his right eyebrow. He wasn't in the mood for more insubordination. In a voice that was as calm as he could make it, he replied. "Mister S'hib, before I reply to your question, you do recognize how rude it is, to ignore a question posed to you, especially when done so by a superior officer? And before you answer, I ask you to carefully consider your next words."

S'hib yelled and swore internally as he tapped the two steps it took to move towards the desk, cavilling at the fact he had been ignored first.

"I take water," He said, quieter this time as he rolled the broken words off a tongue that was not designed for such things.

Even still, the tone remained... a defeated and tired sigh behind every syllable as he sat down.

"With um..." S'hib continued, turning to look over at Kyle as he pinched two cloven digits together. "Sugar, but just uhh... what," He paused to lick his lips wet again.

"What's this word?" He asked, making repeated pinching motions that clicked loudly every time they struck.

Kyle grinned softly, some of his growing annoyance bleeding away. "A little? A pinch?"

S'hib nodded, returning his hands to his lap. "A pinch, yes... thank you."

Kyle nodded in reply, then turned to the replicator and placed an order for two beverages, one being the requested sugar water, the other his third raktajino of the day.

After handing S'hib his water, Kyle took a sip of his coffee and leaned against the front of the desk. "Now, to answer your question. Lia will not be joining us. Unfortunately, due to her...erratic behavior, and blatant insubordination, I have released her of duty, removed her from the Chief of Security slot, and ordered her to attend counselling." He paused to let that bombshell sink in with the Sequus officer in front of him.

"Of course, this means that the Chief slot is open, and with the Commodore's approval, I have decided to elevate you into it. Congratulations, Mister S'hib." He smiled an honest smile at S'hib as he spoke. "The office, and the department, are now yours to run." He twisted his face in regret as he added, "Unfortunately, the move does not come with a promotion. You are still a Lieutenant Commander. Though, I'm sure, that next pip will be along in no time, once the Commodore feels you're ready."

S'hib's eyes slowly fell as Kyle spoke, first to his pips, then the desk. Before finally resting on the glass in hand, the only thing that he wanted. "I... I don't deserve either of those things, sir."

Kyle shook his head as he replied. "I disagree. While you did have a...moment of professional error, I can understand and appreciate the pain you were in at the time." He took a breath, then continued. "You have taking your punishment honorably, your test scores for the Academy courses were excellent, you've even presented yourself calmly while in public. All of those things show me that you are more than ready to take over the department."

S'hib sipped slowly as Kyle spoke, he had wanted to progress his career like any other officer, but this just felt... wrong.

"Take over" He thought to himself, this was exactly what this was.

Placing the glass down, he swallowed before sitting up straight, somewhat shaking off the gloomy disposition that clung to his shoulders.

"Sir, I'm not going to turn you down this time." He started, reverting back to the universal translator for formality. "But we both know there will be implications over this."

He paused, letting out a slight sigh as he shook his head, allowing himself to sit back in the chair. "You were a necessity to keep the department running when both Lia and I failed the uniform, nobody questioned that decision... because everyone knew it was temporary."

Again he paused, watching a droplet of water trail down the side of the glass, his focus all over the place. "This is different." He finally said.

Kyle nodded as he listened, then replied. "You're right, my sitting in here was only supposed to be temporary. And thank you for proving my point. You are ready for this, my friend. You will do the position proud. Of that, I have no doubt." He merely smiled softly in response to S'hib saying he wouldn't refuse him again.

S’hib nodded, not wanting to fight over a mere differing of opinions. “Well…” He began, slowly reaching back for his glass. “I’m going to need an assistant chief of staff.” He said with a coy smirk, tipping the glass somewhat towards Kyle before bringing it up to his lips.

This made Kyle chuckle. "Don't look at me! I'm already Chief of one department, overseeing the Academy and filling in as temporary XO. Get your own assistant." He chuckled again, shaking his head, then he turned serious. "But not Lia. She needs to focus on herself getting better and taking care of her family."

S'hib nodded softly before knocking back the last dregs of water "Trust me," He began as he placed the glass down. "I'm under no delusions when it comes to her..."

He sighed, shaking his head before glancing about the office, her office. "Because I've seen her at her best, worked with her for many years... and learnt a great many things under her."

Pausing he shifted uncomfortably in his chair, none of the damn things on this ship were designed for his bulk. "But I let her down as her assistant, I should have seen the cracks and looking back on it now they were obvious..."

They had all been terrible friends to one another he thought as he rubbed a hand over the side of his face and into his mane, pushing the weighted braids off his face.

"They were obvious because I developed a lot of bad habits, none of which got challenged..." Again he shook his head in disappointment, somehow finding the courage to look Kyle in the eye. "You saw the culmination of that, everyone did."

He let the words sink in for a moment, reflecting on them himself. "But I'm gonna do better, I promise you that."

Kyle nodded as he listened. When S'hib finished speaking, he responded. "Trust me, I know what it's like to get on the wrong side of the rules when doing something about someone you care about." He paused briefly, then decided to share.

"A couple years ago, when I was on the Nimitz, we got into a fight with some renegade generals, who were being led by a crazy fucking scientist who was trying to get ahold of some omega particles." He took a breath, then continued. The fight got heavy, both in orbit and down on the planet. I was the strat Ops chief on the Nimitz, so I was on the ship for the battle. The woman I was dating, and would become my fiancé later, was a Marine and down on the surface."

"Now, the natives started to overtake her position and I heard her call for help, but...there was nothing that the Nimitz could do. So, I took it upon myself to hand my station over to one of my guys, sabotaged the tractor beams, stole a shuttle and a pilot, and we hauled ass down to the surface. We got my girl, and five more Marines out of there and back up to the ship."

"Course, as I had left my station during combat, along with the other offenses, once we got back to the ship, I was arrested, locked in the brig and then court martialed after the crisis was resolved. The fact that I saved more than just my girl, and the rest of my clean and decorated personnel file, saved me from being dishonorably discharged. I was, however, reduced in rank and had a black mark put in my file. I'll probably never get a command of my own because of it."

He paused to take a sip of his drink, then continued. "So you see, I can understand where you were when you lost your shit. And because of that, I will never judge you for it. In fact, quite the opposite. I trust you more, because I saw the lengths you would go to defend your friends. I know you'll do better. The simple fact that you recognize your error, shows that you are becoming a better officer. Now, it's time for you to be a leader. The department is yours, Mister S'hib. I know you will have it running like a well oiled machine."

S'hib nodded appreciatively, waiting a moment before speaking. "There is a saying back home, the tallest dunes to climb are worth the effort."

"Because you won't know where you are going if you can't see the horizon."

And with that, he reached a hand out over the desk, a fierce look of determination hidden behind a soft smile.

Kyle reached across and accepted the handshake happily. "I know it we are still getting to know one another, Mister S'hib, but I hope that we can be friends."

S’hib gave a slight chuckle to this, already considering them both to be on good terms. “Well of course, I mean…”

But then he stopped, his eyes and a single ear flicking over to the shimmer of Avalon appearing atop the desk.

"Commander Reece... the Commodore is summoning you." the AI said as she appeared. She looked at S'hib. "She does not sound happy, I would recommend retrieving your daughter as well."

Kyle nodded as replied to Avalon. "Understood. Thank you, Avalon." He then looked over at S'hib. "Time to face the Boss as her ner new Security Chief." He chuckled softly as he finished speaking.

A heavy sigh left S’hibs lips as Avalon vanished. “You owe me a drink after all of this…”

Kyle chuckled and nodded. "You got it, pal." He then tilted his head towards the door. "Best not keep the Boss waiting."

“Yeah…” He said with a strained voice as he heaved himself back up. “You know, i feel like i live in that damn turbolift sometimes…”

=/\= Commodore's Ready Room =/\=

Phoenix had calmly left S'hibs daughter playing on the floor and met the two officers at the door. She waved them in, and when the door shut she said in a firm tone "Explain to me what happened."

Stepping closer to Phoenix, Kyle locked his hands behind his back and replied. "Following the briefing, I pulled Commander Taylor aside and asked her what her issue was. I relayed to her my concern that she was in danger of ruining all she had rebuilt." He paused and sighed a quiet, heavy sigh, then continued.

"Her reply was blatantly insubordinate. She continues to blame everyone else for what is happening to her, yourself included. She claimed that you and I were getting what we wanted, by her being moved out of the Security Chief position. She even made a baseless claim that junior officers are just being handed promotions." He shook his head, clearly disappointed in what he was having to report.

"She went so far as to basically say to hell with you, this crew, this ship, Starfleet, even the Federation." Shaking his head slightly, he added, "Though she didn't say the words, she even intimated that everyone would be better off without her. That was when I stepped in fully. I immediately relieved her of her position as Security Chief, and removed her from duty. I also ordered her to report to counselling immediately, and if she didn't, I would have her placed in the brig. In an attempt to calm and refocus her, I even, calmly, tried to tell her that her family needed her."

"After she left my side, near the counselling offices, which I had asked Avalon to ensure she reached, I made my way to the Security Chief's office, notifying Mister S'hib to meet me there." He glanced over and nodded at S'hib, then looked back at the Commodore. "Once he arrived, we discussed the situation and I informed him of my decision to elevate him to the Chief position. He has accepted the role and has my full confidence, Ma'am."

Phoenix nodded as she clamped her mouth shut on a tirade of curse words which were not appropriate for the child in the room. "He has mine too." She said after a moment of absorbing the situation. She looked at S'hib. "She is not to be back on duty until she is cleared by counselling and medical."

"Yes, Commodore." S'hib remarked as he gently squatted down, finally caving into the little filly tugging at his legs in an attempt to climb up.

"And even then I want her back on probation." Phoenix added. "If she has an issue with that, then she can be confined to quarters."

Kyle nodded, a question in the back of his mind as to whether Gary would've done the same thing, had he still been able to fulfil his duties as XO. To be fair, he had never seemed to treat his wife any differently as another member of the crew before. However, as Kyle was well aware himself, love will make you do strange things sometimes.

"I was also going to suggest she have access to the shuttle bays revoked, probation or not... Lia isn't stupid." S'hib paused for a moment, adjusting his daughter in his arms until she stopped fidgeting.

"She's gonna play ball with medical just long enough to be given the all-clear, after that, however..." He shrugged, not wanting to allude to what they already knew.

Kyle nodded in agreement. How have we come to this?! he asked himself. A Starfleet crew, comprised of what is supposed to be the best that society can produce...now we've had savage attacks, murder, gross insubordination... He sighed softly and frowned about his thoughts. If he wasn't absolutely sure, he'd almost think he was stuck in the Mirror Universe.

"Hopefully Gary will be better by then and we can get his opinion on it as well," Phoenix said. "Until then we do the best we can."

S'hib nodded, still deep in thought about everything he had just taken responsibility for. "Thank you again, Commodore... for looking after Slee, If there is nothing else, however, I'd like to get her back to my quarters."

Phoenix nodded. "Yes, dismissed both of you" She waved them out of her office.

Kyle nodded, and followed S'hib out. Once they were on the bridge, he turned to his fellow officer. "Mister S'hib, if there is anything I can do to help you, with anything, please don't hesitate to ask."