The Spider's Den is Quite Sweet

Posted on Mon May 25th, 2020 @ 4:00pm by Rear Admiral Othello Matthews & Captain Luka Mahone

751 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Equivalent Exchange
Location: USS Titania Admiral's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 01: 1231 Hrs

It had been an arduous hour that Luka sat within the confines of Admiral Othello Matthews' ready room, talking over the finer points of the past events. Arduous and nerve-wracking, with multiple pauses and awkward silences.

Such as this one, where the Admiral examined yet another report given to him, likely by the duo of Intelligence Agents Cabid and Anubel. They had nosed themselves in just about every little aspect of the Colony that Luka would allow them to look into, though he was sure they had found items that he may not have been so ‘alright with.’

“... So.” Long hard stare broken, the Admiral turned his attentions to Luka, frowning. “Why are you nervous, Captain?”

Luka sat upright, hands on his knees as he sat across the sizable desk, eyes widening in surprise. “Nervous? I’m not-” A quirk in the Admiral’s expression had Luka change his tune. “- Permission to speak freely, Sir?”

“My answer has not changed from five minutes ago, Captain.” The Admiral waved a hand. “You may speak freely.”

There was a hesitation before Luka continued on, weighing his options heavily. While there was a trust and familiarity he had for the man, there was more than a hint of nervousness that weighed overhead. Pressured was a better word. “I guess when I accepted this role, I hadn’t expected so many moving parts. I’m not excusing my actions. Far from it, in fact, but to take on this role has been a challenge I didn’t expect.”

A moment of silence passed, before the Admiral leaned forward in his chair. “Captain Mahone, you and I both know you have more coming. Please, if there is something you have to say, I’d like to hear it.”

“I don’t want to give this position up. I’m not trying to make a case for another assignment.” Luka stated, squaring his shoulders as if he were ready for one of Koplo’s multiple passionate ramblings about how the civilians needed live fire training. “I’ve made mistakes, I won’t plead ignorance of that fact, but these are all mistakes that were made out of inexperience. I’m not sure if I’d call myself nervous, but I’m not looking forward to having to plead my case to remain in this assignment.”

For the first time in their meeting, the Admiral’s expression broke from it’s stoicism to one of surprise. “Plead your case? Captain, I’m not here to examine you, or the status of our position upon the Colony itself. If at nothing else, this just proves that Starfleet needs a presence here, and what better way to remain familiar with the civilian locals than with someone they’re used to seeing on a daily basis?”

“Oh.” Luka’s shoulders sagged. Was he simply reading into all the memos he had received? Now he felt more than a little ridiculous.

“If we came after every Captain who made mistakes within their first year of their first assignment, we would be without a fair number of Starfleet Captains.” Admiral Matthews commented, chuckling at the look on Luka’s face. “Captain, the position you hold on this Colony is likely to be difficult to fill. To have a Captain who not only accepted the offer, but is volunteering to remain even after the slightest hint of hardship, that is a blessing I wish to take advantage of. So no, you are not going to be removed from this Colony in the near future.”

There was a sigh of relief that came out of Luka before he spoke. “I’m… oddly relieved to hear that, Sir.”

“Yes, well I’m sure someone somewhere would think you mentally unstable for running right into the belly of the beast, but I say your mentality is exactly what we need in the chair.” The Admiral sat back, offering Luka a sympathetic look. “However, we do have quite a few matters to discuss, such as a number of trainings you missed due to the nature of your assignment.”

Luka’s relieved expression turned into a cringe. “Trainings, Sir?”

“Mm. A few courses to supplement your Command Training. Procedures, potential encounters, reverse First Contacts - items of that nature. I’ve had my yeoman prepare literature for you to read before we truly begin. Since you’ve never taken Colonial Affairs in Academy, there were a number of required readings you missed out on…”

 

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