Trust Needs to be Earned
Posted on Wed Jul 8th, 2020 @ 8:39am by Captain Luka Mahone & Lieutenant Colonel Shaun Bradley
Edited on on Wed Jul 8th, 2020 @ 8:40am
1,922 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Equivalent Exchange
Location: USS Titania,
Timeline: MD 02 : 1429 Hrs
Thankfully, Luka's arrival upon the Titania had been mostly quiet. With the exception of the pilot who had greeted him, and the security officer who insisted upon making at least three different checks to his identity, the Captain found himself mostly unbothered while he was aboard the ship. Maybe they thought him completely harmless, which would not have been entirely untrue.
He had little inkling on why the Admiral called him to the ship, instead of bringing himself down to the colony. That thought concerned him.
But for the moment, he was told to wait on the whys and whats of the matter. Instead, Luka found himself a place to tuck himself in the spacious lounge, a small drink in front of him. Nonalcoholic, courtesy of the bartender, to calm the nerves of their new visitor.
Luka was almost scared to drink it, but dashed his own mistrust in the next moment. This was not a test. This was a conversation he was to have with the Admiral. A very long, drawn out conversation that took him from his duties.
Maybe if he didn't worry about what Koplo would have done to wreck havoc, it wouldn't be something he'd come back to.
Someone who was on edge stood out, if you knew what you were looking for. Having worked directly under a man who was always on edge, or would put others on edge, Shaun got very good at recognizing the signs of someone who did not want to be in a situation. Watching from his lunch, the Lieutenant Colonel smiled, as if enjoying a joke to himself. Finally, he decided to maybe put the man a little more at ease. Or perhaps, completely undo any ease he felt, depended how he acted.
Picking up the remains of a grilled cheese and fries, as well as most of a cup of coffee, Bradley cross the room. Placing his plate down, he planted himself at the spot directly across from the Captain, offered a broad smile, and went "You must be Captain Mahone, am I right?"
Luka jolted up with a start, as if not expecting anyone at all to sit at the same table he had found, as if he were in his own little bubble. "Yes, I am." He looked to Shawn as the man sat across from him. "Sorry, I ah... must stick out, way more than I intended to." He smiled, not as cheerily as Luka's typical disposition gave way to. "I... don't think I'm as prepared. I'm not quite certain as to who you are..."
"Lieutenant Colonel Shaun Bradley, Marine and Infrastructure liaison to the Admiral Matthews," offered Shaun with a matched hand extended. "A very fancy way of saying I am here to ensure the good Admiral knows what he's doing for helping to uplift Haumea." Popping a fry in his mouth, he settled into his seat and got comfortable. "Don't worry," he added, "I'm not snooping, I just know the feeling of not feeling at home on a ship."
"Oh." After a brief handshake, Luka set his arm down on the table. "Lieutenant Colonel..." he repeated absently, as if making sense of the title he had been presented with. He had multiple exchanges with the Admiral, but he had not once mentioned he was bringing along marines. He could only dread to think of what the civilian community would think if they ended up having to accommodate Marine personnel. "Well I can't say we couldn't use the help. The Admiral wasn't as forthcoming about the equipment he was bringing along with him, but if he needs a whole Infrastructure liason for it, it must be a lot."
Luka brushed the worry away. "I'm less concerned about feeling welcome myself. I guess I didn't expect myself to be aboard the ship when I have a day to day to take care of on the Colony, and an executive officer who ... I... have not had the pleasure of discussing exactly what that entails just yet..."
"Lots," replied the Colonel to the first comment about the equipment. "But you know how Starfleet is, if there isn't someone to oversee a specific task, fill it," he added with a laugh. "Don't worry too much about me. I'll bug a few members of your staff, make sure things are good and then be on my way. I would rather be back to my mountain anyways." Getting comfortable the Marine cocked his head. "As for your second in command, I recognize that tone. What's eating you Captain?"
'Don't trust anyone,' Cornelius' words rang through Luka's head, his mouth already open to let out whatever was on his mind. Luka He found himself stopping, mouth closing as he rethought what he was about to say. "It's simply a difference of views. Commander Koplo, he's a bit more... up front than I am. There's quite a few delicate matters that need dealing with in terms of civilian life and while I've left him to make sure the security matters and the Starfleet operations are running smoothly, and he has... he's... not delicate. Shall we say."
"Sounds like the Fleet has the right idea about countering you, but has gone about it all wrong," replied Shaun with a shrug. "Or, that's the way I see it. You need someone you can trust to run the ship your way, well, the metaphorical ship anyways. Yes, you will be different, and you should be, a little push and shove goes a long way." Pondering the situation, Shaun added, "I would never say it near him, seeing as he'd probably make me run laps for admitting it, but General MacTaryn shaped me up because we don't match one another perfectly. He rubs me the wrong way, but he's right. In turn the General doesn't like the flyboy ways of my leadership, or so his wife tells it, but he's left me alone with the base under my control a time or two. It's all about knowing you can trust the people under you. If you can't do that, then there is no point having them."
Luka's brow rose. He didn't expect to have an executive officer who could agree with everything he said, but having one that was so militant did not suit him. Or the colony. Nevermind the fact that Shawn brought up a name that Luka actually had some reference to. "It isn't exactly that I can't trust Koplo." It was. He would never outright state it, but it was, "I simply haven't gone around and made it clear that he is in charge so long as I'm up here and not down there. I'm sorry, did you say General MacTayrn? I haven't heard that name mentioned in awhile..."
"Major General Ian MacTaryn, Division Commander of Second Lightyear Division and direct Commanding Officer of Camp Falkirk," replied Shaun with a wink. "With the briefest exception to the current moment, my Commanding Officer as well. Met him in person?" asked the pilot.
"No." Luka let out a snort. "I can't say I've had the opportunity to interact with him. But I've heard a lot about Falkirk. Read up a lot about it... studied it's maps, procedures...Falkirk may have been set up by different means and may still remain for different purposes, but I'd be ignorant to not at least study what made it effective and successful." He was much more interested in the conversation, leaning forward over his drink in curiosity. To have a first-hand experience in front of him so willing to talk to him, that piqued his inquisitive side. "May I ask, if it's not too personal, what brings you from Falkirk all the way out here to help Admiral Matthews?"
Leaning back in his chair the Colonel nodded as the Captain spoke. "Well studied," he said as the man concluded his notes on the study of Falkirk. "I was part of the initial recovery of Falkirk when she experienced full power failure due to poor construction and an unexpected house guest." He shrugged, and nodded to the windows into the empty space beyond. "When it was mentioned that the Colony was picking up traction and needed control for the busying local space, I agreed to be the person to assist. Make sure it was done right."
"Control?" Luka squeaked out nervously. His eyes widened as he scrambled for another thought. Or at least some form of explanation. "I will admit, the civilian population is growing and we're seeing a lot more air and ground traffic, but I wouldn't say there's a need for control." He caught himself, eyes narrowing. "What do you mean by control, exactly?"
Raising his hands defensively, the Colonel laughed. "Control in the aerospace matter. A pair of bored operators telling traffic where to go and where to land," he said with another laugh. "Don't worry, I'm not going to storm the colony and establish order. Just with more traffic coming and going, the last thing we need is a tired pilot slamming into another ship, so someone will help avoid those kinds of incidents."
This seemed to appease the Captain, who sat back in his chair. "Oh." A touch of pink flushed his cheeks, and he looked out the view port. "I apologize. I didn't mean anything by it. I don't... tend to have good experience with that word. I have nothing against you - or Marines in general for that matter - but, the experiences I've had with Marines and 'control' going hand in hand... don't tend to end well. I mean no offense by it. Guess I can't stop my own bias."
"Hard to be offended," replied Shaun, plopping a fry into his mouth. "We have a reputation as jarheads and being aggressive. Not saying we do anything to push it off, it serves us well. Marines show up and usually people fall into line without us having to fire a shot." He widely threw his hand around his head. "When I came along and spent any time on the bridge, people would immediately work harder, put their heads down, and avoid trying to get my attention. The mere fact the SFMC logo is embossed on my fighter is enough to make the pilots here already get tense. We're scary to people." He shrugged and scarfed a few more fries. "Good propaganda is bought by all sides."
"... Right." Luka let out a nervous laugh. "I've heard various perspectives on that, but if you aren't trying to remove the reputation... I guess I can't stop that, can I?" He made a note to touch base with their cobbled together port crew. "Maybe we'll have a lot to learn from each other, and I'm sure we'll have plenty of time for it. But, I believe there's a mountain of studying I have to do before the month is over. Another time?"
"Another time Captain," said the pilot, raising his glass in a mock cheers.
Luka gave a hesitant nod, before rising from his seat, glass in hand. His retreat from the situation was quick and quiet, the awkward feeling of distrust settling in his gut. He would have to sort it out, and it seemed like quickly, if the pair of them were going to be working together more often.
But first, he had some calls to make, people to discuss with. All he had to hope for now was that Bradley was not part Betazoid...
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