Comeuppance (part 4)

Posted on Tue Jan 20th, 2015 @ 12:28pm by Captain T'mpest Michaels & Commander Rylie Cattmor & Lieutenant Jensen Foster

1,332 words; about a 7 minute read

[CONTINUED]

[OLD]

"I know," she said after taking a quick breath, "I know that no-one is pushing this, and I thank you, both of you," she said bring T'mpest into the conversation again, "for helping. Commander, I know you're disappointed or whatever the Vulcan equivalent is, I just want to assure you that this won't happen again, and I don't want to be breaking another of my promises." She finished with a somewhat pleading look at Foster.

[NEW]

Answering Cattmor, while still keeping T'mpest in the loop, Jensen said, "I guess the simple answer to this situation is that we only continue when you feel comfortable continuing." He had to look away briefly from the look Cattmor was giving him. He didn't need to think about that particular moment right now. He took a breath and then faced T'mpest, asking, "Commander?" Though what he was inquiring about he wasn't sure, but felt there should be more. For a few seconds he was no longer gazing at T'mpest, but was staring at the figures of two men who had grave and uncertain looks upon their faces. Mentally shaking his head, he brought himself back just in time to hear T'mpest's response.

That same image, again--what the hell was it, and what did it mean? was all Rylie could think about for a few seconds, even when T'mpest crafted her reply. One day, she was going to have to get to the bottom of it.

There had been so many times in her life when T'mpest had to deal with her mother's quirks. A couple of them involved explaining to Starfleet why her mother wasn't actually guilty of sedition or conspiring with the enemy. Somehow, this seemed much easier to deal with. Perhaps because this time she was the one in charge and not the one explaining. "If you have learned from this and it will help you both in the future, we can put this aside and move forward." It was what she wanted, and what she felt was best not only for the Ranger, but for Rylie and Jensen.

Rylie felt conflicted and torn. On one hand, she had one person so hell bent and self-involved to aid himself, and her too admittedly, in controlling his abilities, that it made him blind to seeing the inherent dangers of such experimentation, and on the other, they seemed a little too preoccupied with keeping the peace, and finding ways to explain what happened, that they appeared to fail to realise that the result of said incident was tearing her apart inside. She stood once again and walked to the base of the stairs leading up to the captain's sitting area, and closed her eyes, taking a few calming breaths. "Speaking just for myself of course," she said turning back to T'mpest, "I have learned a great deal from this." Cattmor clenched her jaw tightly a moment, trying to stop the flare of her temples, biting back her emotions, and keeping to herself what she wanted to say, before plainly ending with, "Permission to carry on, captain."

T'mpest watched Rylie for a moment. "I am not blind to the gravity of the situation, or the inherent danger," she began. "And I do have a human side, so I am not unsympathetic." She paused for Rylie to accept her words before continuing. "Yes, there is danger in proceeding with this, but is that not what we do? We go out into unknown space to learn, to explore and hopefully to find something to help the Federation and its people become better in some small way. Is that not what you and Lieutenant Foster are doing? Why resign yourselves to the fear that you could, at any time, lose control when there's a possibility that with continued experimentation you can gain control of yourselves and help others do the same? What you lack is the proper precautions to protect the ship and its crew from any more catastrophic results. Thus the request that you use proper shielding and keep a doctor informed when you try."

From what T'mpest had just said, Rylie looked back over the last few moments but for the life of her couldn't be sure that she hadn't broadcast her thoughts for anyone open or able to listen. Her heartbeat increased somewhat as she was so unsure, and maybe even a little afraid that she could allow her thoughts to leak out to such a degree. Nevertheless, what had been said still shook her to respond, "To say that I am scared would be an understatement, commander. With all due respect, this is not about exploring the unknown, this is about protecting what we have, and that's part of our mission as well."

"But is not helping friends also protecting what we have?" T'mpest asked. "Sometimes, you have to consider the one -- or the two."

Rylie was about to interject something else, but thought better of it. "Yes ma'am."

Looking from one to the other, Jensen said, "Taking all of that into consideration I'm sure Lieutenant Commander Cattmor and I will alert you to any developments pertaining to our abilities." He paused slightly, still feeling like something hadn't been said or done, but mentally shrugged it off. He knew where Cattmor stood, where T'mpest stood, and where he stood. "If there is nothing else to discuss, ma'am, I request permission to get back to duty." Jensen waited silently for an answer, even though he really wanted to continue going over the results from the medical team's lab tests.

To Cattmor, it felt as if you couldn't cut the atmosphere with a sharpened bat'leth, and time seemed to slow to such a point that when T'mpest did actually respond, it was almost like she were a recording where the batteries were practically dead.

"Yes, please keep me informed," T'mpest said. "Both of your telepathic and medical progress." She knew the situation was serious, but she also knew the two meant well and was more than willing to put it down to an accident this time. Especially if there was hope that the two might, in the end, find some measure of mental peace. "I suggest you take the rest of the day off and relax. Make it an order if necessary."

As soon as the words were out of T'mpest's mouth, Rylie didn't waste any time exiting the ready room, stepping up the stairs in front of the tactical station two at a time, and calling for the lift. It didn't take too long to get there, but enough that Jensen was now out as well, though she had no intention of waiting for him as she entered the lift and pressed the control which allowed the doors to close immediately. "Deck two," she ordered quickly before anyone could press the button for the lift doors to reopen.

Watching the turbolift doors close a moment before he stepped up to enter, Jensen just stood there, quietly gazing at the doors for a moment longer than was necessary. It honestly felt as if he'd been slapped in the face. Though he realized that was absurd. He realized a few seconds later that he must have looked rather odd standing there after sensing a few of the bridge crews' responses to his presence. He glanced around for a few moments, taking everyone in. He smiled, as best as he could, at the few who were outright staring with curious looks on their faces. He did however step towards the turbolift, entered, and said quietly, "Deck Five." He breathed an almost relieved sigh when he felt the turbolift take flight.

When she was alone again, T'mpest sat down on her couch and closed her eyes. "Computer, play Mozart's Water Music." There were times, like this, when she wished she were back in science.

____
OFF

Lieutenant Jensen Foster
Chief Medical Officer

Lieutenant Commander Rylie Cattmor
Executive Officer

Commander T'mpest Michaels
Commanding Officer

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