Two Captains, One Ship

Posted on Wed Apr 8th, 2009 @ 3:31am by Captain Elsie Halliwell

1,825 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Wolves in Sheep's Clothing
Location: Shuttlebay, USS Archimedes
Timeline: Current

Arkham smirked as the door of the shuttle that opened, revealing a bustling group of crewmen--many hurried about, working to ensure that everything was perfect for the return of the First Officer, who was well-known for being a stickler for absolute perfection.
Hobbling forward towards the door, she felt the gentle touch of the other officer's hand on her back, steadying her a little. Arkham was still a bit weak from the operation earlier in the week, and probably shouldn't have been as up and about as she was yet.

"You realize that things....aren't going to be easy from now on, imzadi," Alex said softly, withdrawing her hand as Rowena glared at her.

"I know," Arkham said quietly. "I just hope they're ready for this."

Suddenly, as they crossed the threshold, Arkham's demeanor markedly changed. Spotting the officer, one of the young men called the rest to attention. Arkham smirked wryly, before gesturing to one of them with her cane. "YOU! INFORM COMMANDER LANE OF MY ARRIVAL! THE REST OF YOU, BY GOD, IF MY BAGS AREN'T IN MY ROOM AND A SCOTCH ISN'T IN MY HAND IN THE NEXT FIFTEEN SECONDS, OH, I'LL TEACH YOU WHAT PROBLEMS REALLY ARE--"

"Are you sure you want to--" Harwood began.

"The sooner it's done, the better," Arkham said coldly. "If I have to do this, we're going to do it my way, Captain Harwood. And you know that."

The younger woman chuckled a little. "The Arkham Horror finally rears its head. It's been far too long since you let it stretch its legs, hasn't it?"

Arkham smirked as much as ruined features would allow, her expression wry. "Oh, my dear, you have no idea."

Lane was on the Bridge, sat in his chair when the turbolift doors breathed open. "C-Captain?" a little voice behind him asked.

Lane turned around in his chair and merely raised a questioning eyebrow to the young officer. "Commander Arkham has… arrived," he said.

"Thank you, Ensign," the Trill said. "You're dismissed." He took in a deep breath and held it in his lungs until it started to burn. Blowing out the spent oxygen, he puffed out his cheeks and looked forward out of the viewscreen toward the planet from where Arkham has just come. Lightly tapping his combadge, he cleared his throat.

"Commander Arkham, could you and Captain Harwood meet me in my ready room, please? Once you have both freshened up?"

Upon receiving the communication from the Commander, Arkham smirked a bit, tapping her own commbadge. "Of course, Commander Lane. We'll be up shortly."

Allowing the Captain to pass ahead of her -- if only so there was someone to support her if she'd managed to lose her balance or the like, damned old age and the slow recovery that inevitably came along for the ride -- Arkham made her way to the turbolift. Arriving outside Commander Lane's Office with a speed characteristic of Arkham, the old officer pressed the doorchime with the end of the cane. As they waited, the older officer sighed heavily, rubbing her dead eye tiredly. The burden of command was beginning to weigh heavily on the older officer -- as loath as she was to admit it, retirement to her Vienna home was looking better each day.

"Are you sure you have to do this, Alex?" Arkham said finally.

"Oh yes, imzadi," Alex said quietly. "You have your orders, yes, but I also have mine."

"Please," Arkham said quietly. "Not yet. Let things stay as they are right now."

"Rowena--"

"Please," Arkham said quietly. There was an almost resigned, pleading quality in her voice which surprised Harwood. The Arkham Horror never begged. She was the one who had always said, even in the face of Armageddon, never compromise. "Please be the kind young woman I always knew you to be."

"I'll give him a chance," Harwood said finally. "But he better cooperate. I have your word, Rowena?"

"...If you must, yes."

Lane looked up from his desk, and commanded "Enter," with an almost cheery tone. This conversation could go one of two ways, he had thought, and it certainly was not going to go south without him at least attempting a diplomatic agreement.

As the two officers, clad in command-maroon, entered the ready room, Lane arose to his feet – planting them firmly in the decked plating beneath him. He smiled, forcefully, and nodded at both women as he extended his hand out to greet them.

"Commander," he started with, walking around his desk to take her hand, "and Captain. Welcome to my ship." There was no note of inflected intonation when he spoke the word my, but both he and the Captain sensed it's weighted presence. "I trust you shuttle ride was all right. Please, why don't you both take a seat?"

As the Trill rounded his desk once more, he sat heavily down in its bucket, but then shifted his weight forward to perch on its end. Allowing for the pleasantries to be discussed first, Lane said, "Rowena, how are you feeling?"

"Well enough," Arkham said, shifting a little in her chair. "Considering I am minus one kidney, I can't really complain all that much. A little sore, but that's probably the extent of my problems..."

"And your quarters, Captain?" he asked, turning to face her. "You'll be the first to try them out. I trust that they'll be satisfactory for you. Should you need anything, you are only to ask."

Harwood nodded, a hint of a smile (or perhaps, more appropriately, a smirk) crossing her well-constructed alabaster features. "Of course, Commander. They are rather nice. I have some of your engineers making a couple of minor changes for my comfort, but other than that, I am quite pleased. I look forward to my stay here on the Archimedes."

Quashing a slight rage that welled up in his belly, Lane merely replied with a smile. "So, to the order of business," he quickly said, interlocking his hands on the surface of his desk. "Where do we three go from here? What with the circumstances changed so and the diplomatic proceedings altered somewhat, I believe that, as you are here to advise us, you should at least explain the gravity of the situation and why your presence is so called for, Captain."

"I didn't think I needed to, Commander," Harwood said smoothly, one eyebrow raised. "As far as I knew, Captain Sheppard had informed you. Well, I suppose that's Fleet communication for you. The Citadel Sectors are a large region of space, Commander. They incorporate numerous planets and over twenty different races unified under a single government. So naturally, such a large area of space falling into a civil war would be most...detrimental to Federation interests. And of course, with the numerous races having varying allegiances, the entire quadrant could be involved overnight. This cannot be allowed to happen, Commander. And I am here to ensure that it isn't a foul up on our part that causes it."

"I appreciate the antiquated mission-brief, Captain Harwood," Lane said, beginning to lose his professional demeanour he fought so hard to maintain, "but I was under the impression that that is why the Archimedes was originally tasked to this planet to begin with. If an assassination attack on one of my officers is reason for advisement, then I rather thought Command had a little bit more sense about them and would have tasked a larger vessel, with a larger crew to this region, and not one that has merely been thrown together. Forgive my bluntness, Captain, but I don’t react very positively to the micromanagement I feel you are here to achieve."

"Well, Commander," Harwood said simply, "I'm as confused as you are as to why a science vessel is tasked with a mission of this nature. But the fact of the matter is, you have been. So now we have to deal with it. And I'm sorry you don't react very positively. Allow me to play you a dirge on the world's smallest violin. But the fact is, we both have our orders. And we both have to cope with them. I am highly qualified for what I was asked to do here."

Arkham cleared her throat. "Do I get any input, considering it was my kidney and all?"

"Commander?" he questioned.

"I think, Commander," Arkham said slowly, rubbing her sore jaw with one hand. "That micromanagement or not, the addition to our staff and the expertise she could provide are assets. So allow me to be the voice of reason: quit your bickering. It's giving me a headache. What do we do next, Commander?"

"I will stand by my promise of trust to you, Commander, and will not actively oppose this… new addition to our crew" he said, leaning back in his chair. "The one thing that you can count on me for is that. I don’t like this, and you both are aware of that. For that personal failure, Captain, I do apologize. But, as Rowena here has said, we need to get on with this mission, and Captain Harwood, I do agree with you about not letting this fail. I believe our next course of action is to send Lieutenant Commander Kemmer to replace you and liaise with the Nagasaki's team at the Tower."

"Wesley Kemmer?" Alex Harwood said questioningly, then upon receiving a nod from Rowena confirming it was the same person. Intelligence was a small enough community where someone well informed could know all the major players if they had enough time to read and infer. "Ah. He's good -- I don't believe that we'll have a problem with Wes Kemmer. I'd advise an increase in security just in case -- while your first officer may have been a special case, I'm not so certain that they wouldn't try something again. Agreed?"

"It is already taken care of, Ms Harwood. That was the one provision he agreed to."

"Now," Harwood continued, adjusting her glasses. "I've heard something about bio-neural gel packs? Commander, what are these, and what are we doing about them?"

"The bio-neural gel packs are an essential part of any ship system these days. They replaced the optical feeds the older ships utilised... But, I don't suppose you require an engineering lesson. There is just a slight glitch in the system, but Ops and Engineering can't seem to find a problem with them. I have the Science and Medical departments running tests on them as we speak due to their organic components. I'm awaiting their report shortly.

Harwood nodded. "All right then. Let's hope there's nothing wrong here. I can hardly imagine what a serious malfunction could bring with it. Let's make this as quick and painless as possible. Agreed, Commander?"

"Naturally."


Commander Coltan Lane
Commanding Officer

Commander Rowena Arkham
Executive Officer

AND

Captain Alexandra Harwood (PNPC)
Mission Advisor

 

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