Raising Cerastes
Posted on 17 Oct 2021 @ 11:59pm by Captain Corvus DeHavilland & Major Declan Finn
Mission:
M2 - Sanctuary
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD06 - 1341HRS
2399 words - 4.8 OF Standard Post Measure
Sweet nectar of the Gods. That’s all Corvus could think as she sat at her desk, hot cup of tea in her hand and savoring the smell. It was the first time in days she’d really had any time on duty to just collect her thoughts. To sit in her Ready Room and enjoy the simple comfort her position afforded. Things were markedly improved from their initial days just bringing things online. From the stations perspective, things were running smooth as silk. There were a few little hiccups here and there, but that was the nature of life aboard any Starfleet vessel. Things broke, things needed maintenance, things never went without any kind of interruption. She was thankful for that. But oh so much more was on her plate now. Things on the surface seemed to be getting more and more complicated by the minute. It started with the religious delegation and now the Diplomatic Corps was involved.
A very real part of her wanted to march right into the Admiral’s Ready Room aboard the Alexander and formally request her rank and position be transferred to an actual vessel. Even if it meant being stuck on an aged Miranda due for the scrap yards; at least she’d had some measure of freedom. Some form of distance between the brass flagpole that she was all but hitched to in this job. Yes, this job had its prestige. She was the Station Commander of the 9th Fleet’s Command Base. She was in daily contact with 1/3 of the Joint Fleet Command. Other officers would kill for this posting. But she missed the freedom of open space. She wanted that. The question was, did she want it more than this.
The Pathfinder swept past her viewport, heading up and away on its regular patrol. It stirred her mind into wondering if she could be on there. If that was within her remit as Captain to take a patrol of the sector on her own. To scratch that itch of freedom without having to give up the prestige of this job - one so prestigious that it had cost her a good friend. She wasn’t sure she was ever going to be able to salvage that. Not that it was her fault, of course. But still. Had she not pulled her into this, she wouldn’t feel as if she was responsible for her fall from grace.
Maybe the answer was that simple. She made a note to herself that tonight, in her few minutes of quiet before bed, that she should look up the regulations and find out how far she could go in that. Commander Zayne was more than capable of running the station for a day or two as she went on patrol. Right?
She put her tea to her lips to take another grateful sip. As she brought it down with a sigh, savoring the flavor, the door chime to her office rang. It grated her immediately for two reasons. One, she hadn’t had a moment of peace in days. And two, because she’d specifically told her Yeoman that she wasn’t to be disturbed for one hour. One flipping hour of peace was all she wanted. One.
Growling with frustration, she decided to ignore the chime. That was until it rang again. Now fully irritated, she spun in her chair and called out. “Enter!” She was already framing the words she was going to use to chew the tail off of whomever was about to walk through that door. The doors sighed open and immediately an older man in a Marine uniform stepped through followed quickly by a much more familiar face in green as well. A third man walked with them, but his was one she’d not seen before. Unlike the other two, he wasn’t in the standard green and black Marine utility uniform she was used to. He was in a fully tan, desert-style uniform that would have fit perfectly on the surface.
“Captain. I know you’re busy, but I’m on a tight schedule. I’m leaving station in fifteen,” Major General MacTaryn declared brusquely as he marched right in. “You know Captain Finn. This is Colonel Conall Rutland.”
Corvus stood up quickly from her seat, pushing down the commentary she’d been ready to make no matter what her interrupter had said. Offering that to the ranking Marine in this sector wasn’t the best idea. She gave a nod of affirmation to Finn and one to Rutland. “Good to meet you, Colonel. What can I do you for, Major General?” She asked.
He gestured more or less at Captain Finn who had followed him into the room and stood to his left as they approached her desk. Truth be told, it was the first time she’d really seen Declan since everything had gone down. He’d been issuing his daily reports via a subordinate and other than a passing glance at Whistlin’ Dixie’s, she’d not seen him at all. In fact, the last time he’d been in her ready room had been that extremely awkward conversation with Calliope just as she began her base jump from the cliff of delusion.
“My Marines have fully detached from the Security functions of this station. Since then, Captain Finn has brought the Marine decks online, staffed all the open postings and stocked all relevant equipment, arms and supplies to manage this stations garrison as well as the garrison on Cerastes.”
Corvus just nodded. She knew at least the first part of this from Finn’s regular reports. “I’m glad to have Security back under the Security department. But we wouldn’t have been able to get through this without Marine support. So again, thank you,” she said, looking as much to MacTaryn as she was to Finn.
“I’m glad to have my Marines back to training for what they do best, not babysitting drunk patrons on the Promenade,” MacTaryn grunted back. “And I expect Obsidian Command to remember the Marines that died saving it when I need her support.”
DeHavilland bristled at the blatant ‘you owe me’ statement, but knew he was at least partially right. MacTaryn had moved heaven and earth to get Marines here to support them. Had he not, they would have never made it long enough to be rescued by the Admiral. “You’ve made a friend here, Major General, and friends always support one another.”
“Good,” he nodded. “Because we could use a friend. Cerastes is a new facility. It’s going to need some extra care, and extra support. Not just with the technical, but with the diplomatic too.”
Corvus chuckled lightly, “I’m no expert in Kalaran diplomacy, but I’ll do what I can to smooth any rough patches as they come up.”
“That’s all I want to hear. My Marines aren’t the diplomatic type. Unless that diplomacy involves combat action,” he smirked crookedly. “We’ll need our friends to help with that,” he said, emphasizing the world ‘friend’ pointedly.
“Of course,” she agreed.
MacTaryn turned to the inside of his left wrist and checked the time, “I need to be on the move in five. Last bit of business then,” he said, producing two data PaDD’s from one of his pants cargo pockets. He tapped the screen on the top one to confirm it had what it needed.
Corvus reached out to take the device, but once the General confirmed what it was, he handed it instead to Finn. Declan stared at it confused for a brief moment (that felt more like an eternity) and then took it.
“Sir?” He asked quietly.
“Promotion orders,” MacTaryn declared gruffly. “Congratulations, Major,” he added.
“Congratulations!” Corvus chimed in as brightly as she could manage.
“Well done, Major,” Colonel Rutland offered as well, his crisp and neat RP accent in stark contrast to MacTaryn’s rough Scottish burr. Corvus felt a genuine pang of longing that she didn’t have anything unique to her own accent. Declan had his playful Australian accent, the Major General his roguish burr and Rutland his prim and proper accent while she had just a plain Jane north-american accent. It made her wonder if people would notice if she suddenly started to take one on.
“Thank you, sir,” Declan replied loudly, facing the Major General and snapping to attention. He saluted crisply and MacTaryn returned it, releasing him from his attentive pose.
MacTaryn now checked the second data PaDD and once more Corvus presumed this one must be for her, holding out her hand expectantly. Surely that’s why they were here. They could have sent a comm message just to tell her that they were stocked and ready to go.
“Orders, sir?” Declan asked hopefully. He was ready to be off this station. He was ready to have dirt under his feet. Ready to be back in combat training with his men. But most importantly, he was ready to be away from the incredible awkwardness that came from being around Captain DeHavilland. He’d always been a little off around her, but since that night with Commander Zahn, it had been orders of magnitude worse. Just standing here now was enough to make him need a fifteen mile weight run to work it off his mind.
“Aye,” MacTaryn replied with a smirk that was meant to be praise. He glanced over at Rutland, “Colonel Rutland isn’t here as an observer, Major. I’ve given him command of the 6th Marine Regiment. HQ company will be based here on OC and will be responsible for the training battalion down on Cerastes,” he explained briefly, offering the PaDD to Rutland.
“Thank you, Major General,” Rutland said, taking the device. He turned to Finn, himself. “It’s quite the job I’ve been tasked with here, Major. Cerastes is going to take a lot of time and energy to get on its feet, to say nothing of the administration of a Regiment deployed about the 9th Fleet. As you know, typically the HQ company is on Falkirk. But we’re doing things a bit different with the 6th. HQ will be here on OC, overseeing it and the Ground Combat Element here,” he explained, now smiling. “I need someone to help me with that job, Major. A man like you,” he declared, now finally offering the PaDD to Finn. “I’m assigning you as HQ Company Commander here on OC. We’ve seen what you can do managing the entire outfit in a pinch. Now I want you to do it full time.”
Declan took the PaDD, feeling a bit like the walls of the room were closing in around him, only the room was now a very well-appointed luxury suite, not the cold steel bars of a cage. Rutland was offering him a cherry gig. He knew Marines that would have given an arm and a leg to have this opportunity. To be a Major filling a Lieutenant Colonel’s role. Even for a man as short-sighted politically as Declan, he could see that this was a fast track into a position like Rutland’s. This was that moment that his career could be made. And yet as he took the data PaDD, he wanted to chuck it right back at Rutland’s face.
The Major General wouldn’t take it lightly. He’d very likely throw him in the brig and strip him of his newly given rank. The goal of which would be to get himself back in the field; back to the life he knew and loved but he wasn’t that naive. The realization that the was standing upon a literal cliff hit him like a freight train. He either accepted this graciously and took the fast track he was being offered, or he and his career jumped off the cliff never to return.
With that realization, he took the device and briefly looked at the screen before returning his eyes to Rutland. “Thank you, sir,” he said before again snapping to attention and saluting.
“Major General, if there’s nothing else, I believe you have a shuttle to catch?” Rutland smiled to the elder man.
“Aye,” MacTaryn agreed, checking his watch again. “I’ll leave you to this. I’m sure you want a word with DeHavilland.”
“Naturally,” Rutland agreed.
MacTaryn stepped up and offered his hand to Corvus. She took it quickly and shook it as he said, “Don’t be a stranger, friend.”
“Likewise, sir,” she smirked in answer.
“Colonel. Major,” MacTaryn said with a nod, and then left.
“Right, then. Shall we carry on?” Rutland offered brightly once the doors were closed. “We’ve a lot to discuss. May we sit?”
“Of course,” Corvus said, gesturing to the chairs in front of her desk. “Tea?”
“Oh yes, please,” Rutland answered quickly as he sat down.
Declan waved off Corvus’ attempt to go to the replicator and went over himself, judging that as the lesser ranked person in the room, it was best if he did it. Rutland didn’t seemed fussed but he could see DeHavilland felt torn between that and the fact that it was her Ready Room.
“Shall we start with Cerastes?” Rutland asked, drawing his chair slightly closer to the desk and producing a data PaDD of his own. He set it down and smiled across at Corvus as she sat down. “I say that of course presuming that you and Major Finn are more than capable of working out the finer points of the Marine decks without me?” He added, “You two can knock up a plan without my assistance, I’m sure.”
Corvus’ eyes went wide in reaction and she battened it down quickly, not daring to look over at Declan though she could see him turn pointedly away from the two of them.
“Major Finn and I can work out any details as needed,” she managed, leaning over her desk to look at the PaDD. “I know absolutely nothing about Cerastes. Mind telling me about it? Spare no detail, please.”
Rutland grinned proudly, “I’d be happy to,” he said, turning the PaDD towards her. “Let’s start at the top, shall we…”