Rougher Landing (Rough Flight, Pt 2)

Posted on Sat Feb 15th, 2025 @ 8:42am by Lieutenant Commander Rin & Captain Gary Taylor
Edited on on Sat Feb 15th, 2025 @ 8:42am

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Shuttle, unknown world
Timeline: After current mission
2447 words - 4.9 OF Standard Post Measure

---Recap---
Rin and Gary have crashed on an unknown world.

"Are you alright?" she asked, visually looking over her XO.

Gary doesn't answer right away, he is thanking his lucky stars that Rin and himself are down and in one piece and not scattered across the plateau. After a few seconds of wiggling arms and legs he looks at her. "Yes. I am alright. You?" he inquires as he shuts down the few systems that are still working.

"Other than some bruises, yes," said Rin as she unclipped her safety harness. "Nice flying."
She moved to the back of the shuttle, wincing as she did, opening a hatch and checking its contents. "Emergency supplies are all here. Food water, medical, envirosuits for if we have to venture outside. I guess we fire off the emergency beacon and... wait."

---and now.....---
"Thank you." Gary said nodding at her compliment. "Good deal on the emergency supplies." He nodded again, "Fire off the beacon. It may take a few days before rescue to arrive as we deviated from our course after the encounter with the space debris. We could do some exploring around the ship, take a look see. Not going too far while we wait. Oh, was there a deck of cards in emergency supplies?"

"I'd prefer to save the oxygen supplies on the suits in case we need them," Rin suggested as she pulled various items from the locker. She found a small rectangular box closed with a magnet, which she opened. "No cards. Probably for the best, as I suspect we'd both cheat, although I cannot comprehend how people have agreed that counting cards is cheating. But someone did leave behind a miniature chess board... minus one white pawn."

Gary nods, "Good point on the suits. "Wish we had a deck a cards. As for us both cheating probably right. As for who said it was cheating, someone who lost money in a card game." He shrugged, "Oh well. nothing we can do about it. As for the chess set. Not much of a chess player." He paused for a moment as if he had something he wanted to say but stopped. Instead, he said, "I best see if I can get some of these systems back online. What do we know about the temperature of this place?"

"About 110 degrees F, at the moment. Didn't have the opportunity to measure the temperature on the dark side, so we'll just have to wait and see."

She watched him fiddle with the controls for a bit. Were the next few days going to be just be awkward and weird? She wasn't even sure how to address it, lest it start another argument, which would be the very opposite of making things less awkward and weird.

"110 degrees F, definitely need to make sure the environmental controls stay functioning." He commented as he worked on the controls for a few minutes before stopping. He was acutely aware of the tension creeping back into the air now that the crisis of them smashing into the planet's surface had been averted. He hated not being able to talk to Rin and have the conversations they used to have. Everything was stiff and formal now.

Rin set the chess board aside. "Really, not much of a chess player? I thought you've mentioned liking strategy games."

Gary looked over to her, "Well, I'm not a grand master" He clarified as he smiled. "And yes, you are correct I did mention I like strategy games. Good catch."

That awkwardness settled again. Damn, this was going to be impossible. But what else could she do? She had said everything she felt had needed to be said, and felt it had largely been set aside, and she wasn't going to be bullied into ignoring that. But if they were going to be here for days, this couldn't continue.

"You know, I don't hate you," she finally said. "Personally speaking, I don't trust you, but I don't hate you. I don't trust easily, so that just puts you on par with most everyone else."

Gary's eyes snapped up and locked on her. "I see. Well, I don't hate you either Rin and to go one step further I like you and I do trust you."

"Not sure what else I'm supposed to say here."

"I'm surprised, you usually aren't at a loss for words." He replied calmly.

Rin looked at him for a long moment, trying to figure out what that was supposed to mean, and trying not to assume it was yet again a criticism in the face of her struggle to communicate her feelings. "What is that supposed to mean in this context?" she decided to ask.

Gary resisted sighing and cursed himself for not just staying silent. "It means Rin, that you don't usually have an issue when there is something you want to say, an opinion to offer." Gary replied evenly, calmly while not adding *or going over my head to complain.*

"Then maybe it's noteworthy that I an not saying something. Maybe I'm trying to fix something rather than provoke something. Maybe I tried not to take your comment as a complaint, but rather asked for clarification. And you clarified that it was, in fact, a backhanded complaint, so..." Rin shrugged. "that doesn't leave me with a lot to say."

Gary shook his head, "It wasn't a backhanded compliment, and it wasn't a criticism. It is just what it is." He shifted his position. "Okay, I'm ready to fix something, what would like to fix?"

"Declaring something "just is what it is" does not make it less of a complaint. I want to fix us, but, honestly, I don't know if it's possible. I don't have anything to say, in part, because I've said it all and feel mostly unheard."

"Nothing would please me more than to fix us. I've heard and listened to every word you've uttered Rin and you haven't been ignored. Though I feel I have."

"That is what I mean," Rin stated, pointing a finger for emphasis. "I say something, you immediately tell me I'm wrong, and then you turn it back on me. That hardly encourages me to say anything more."

"I have never said you were wrong Rin, nor did I infer it. I think you hear what you want to hear." Gary answered. Tell you what? Why don't you just talk, say everything you want to say or feel you need to say and I will sit here quietly and listen. Then when you are finished, I will talk, and you will listen. How about that?"

Gary sat and waited for Rin to reply, start talking but nothing was forth coming so, he decided he'd the start the conversation. He turned to look at her, see her face as he spoke in an attempt to fix, repair their relationship. He knew what he wanted to say, had it all laid out in his mind. He opened his mouth and nothing came out. Everything he wanted to say had vanished in a flash and in its place, he had an Ephinay of clarity and he now understood Rin's problem with him.


Gary opened his mouth and just stopped. He looked at Rin, the floor, the shuttle roof and at Rin. His mouth closed and then opened again and he said, "Oh, Oh, Oh. Rin, I am so sorry! I saw myself and heard the words I said. I can see why you are frustrated with me and why our relationship is crap."

He continued, "I'm sorry for being just a big dope."

Rin gave a cautious sigh of relief. Had something really gotten through? She wanted it to, but she still wasn't sure what to do with it. If he was being honest, the last thing she wanted to be was dismissive, or even seem dismissive. "I'm sorry, I'm...not sure what to do with that statement either."

He nodded. He could understand Rin being cautious over his statement and he didn't blame her in the least. "I'd say accept it but that is easy, and I believe actions speak louder than words and my actions have been abysmal in this situation." he shook his head, "No, I am sorry Rin. Sorry for the pain I caused you and my actions."

"I am not even going to attempt to justify them." He added.

"I appreciate the sentiment," Rin took a calming breath. She was still suspicious. They had, after all, gone through this cycle once already, in her office. Gary might even view his words as 100% sincere, but, as he said, his actions said otherwise to her. And, as the doubts kept creeping into her head, she reminded herself that the Commodore had backed her up.

"Are you still wanting me to voice my opinion on all this?" she asked, returning to the suggestion he had made before his sudden revelation. She didn't want him to feel she was dismissing the apology, but, on the other hand, she thought his suggestion of sharing grievances was probably a necessity, so long as it didn't blow up in their faces....again. Which was her fear.

But, in the face of his apology, she needed to take a chance.

"Yes." He replied simply.

“Most of my objection comes from the discussion between you, me and the Commodore,” she began. “You wanted to replace me with Naxea. That was ultimately your call. I wasn't going to argue it. But when the Commodore asked you why, you lied. Straight up lied. And that’s why I don’t trust you. Because if you’re willing to lie to her, you’re certainly willing to lie to me.

“You told her it was about combat training. It was not. You had stood in front of that team, you listed all the intel skills they needed, and then you said they needed to learn it from Naxea. And you couldn’t admit that to the Commodore.

“The Commodore called it a waste of resources, and she described it as diminishing me and my team in front of the other officers. And you argued that if I felt hindered in any way, it was because I was hindering myself.”

Rin paused, considering how far she wanted to push things. “And since you want me to say everything on my mind, I will add this: that’s outrageous. I can spell that out if you want me too, but I keep feeling it should be obvious. But I could be wrong and don't want to make assumptions."

Another deep breath. “In previous discussions, you have twice turned the tables and complained that I disrespected you by speaking to the Commodore. First, no one is expected to lodge a complaint with the person they have the complaint with. Such an expectation is manipulative.

Second, and more importantly, I didn’t. I was called to the Commodore’s office, and in the context of a discussion, I asked why I wasn’t leading the mission. She thought I was questioning why you were in charge rather than me, and when I clarified, she called you in becauseshe thought it was outrageous.

“I recognize you don’t like how things have turned out, and I appreciate that in our last talk you acknowledged you said certain hurtful things, but it never felt like you really understood what those hurtful things were, which is why I'm having trouble trusting that we won't repeat this yet again. And I didn't appreciate you trapping me in my office. That might not have been your intent, but that was the outcome. I couldn't very well walk away from the conversation, leaving the XO in my office. You had a captive audience.

"Which may be why I'm particularly leery of this conversation now, as we are both trapped in this shuttle, but obviously that's not a choice either of us made, and it's pretty clear we couldn't sit here for days ignoring the elephant in the room."

Another breath. "Ok, I think I'm done."

Gary sat quietly as Rin spoke and voiced her opinion on the problem between them. When she finished, he nodded, "Very well said and laid out Rin. Now my turn. First, I did not lie to the Commodore or you. I didn't get to this position by lying. In my opinion it was combat training and Colonel Naxea was best suited for that role. You have your opinion, and I respect it and am not going to try to change it. As for everything else you said. I don't think I can say anything to change your opinion, and I have no wish to go around and around rehashing it. I feel its best we move forward. I will only say I am sorry for the pain I caused you and the friend I lost." He finished quietly.

"We apparently have very different memories of your speech in the holodeck, but I too am tired of rehashing, and it seems we've come to an impasse on the subject."

"I wouldn't say an impasse Rin. A difference of opinion. Plus, I am truly sorry for the pain I caused you through my words and actions and a friendship lost."

Rin sighed. "It has nothing to do with opinions. It has to do with what you literally said. What you said is a fact. My recollection of that fact is either correct or incorrect. It is not an opinion. Thus, impasse."

"Fine Rin, I've apologized, and I am sincerely sorry for my actions and words. I don't know what else I can do other than show you through my actions." Gary replied in a frustrated but even tone. He then got up and went to the front of the shuttle looking at the gauges as he did. "We have a problem." He stated calmly and then expanded on his comment. "It's going to get very hot in here shortly. Cooling system is overheating. Probably one or more of the exhaust ports for it are clogged. I'll go outside and see if I can clear away any of the debris. It will necessitate me go under the shuttle."

"It was a clarification," was all Rin said in reply. Apparently, Gary was allowed to correct her use of the word impasse, but it was somehow offensive to explain that, yes, impasse was exactly the term she was looking for. She hadn't been looking for another fight. Just trying to clarify in a conversation rife with miscommunication. Instead, it just seemed to be getting increasingly petty.

Thank goodness for a life-threatening emergency.

To Be Continued...