JDL ~ Com Ivanova & Cmdr Waterhouse ~ "The Vision That Was Planted In My Brain"

Posted on Sun Jan 25th, 2015 @ 12:47pm by Commander Amelia Waterhouse & Admiral Rochelle Ivanova

1,756 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: A Spot To Kill

Amelia could easily just stare at the view screen for her whole shift between her good mood and the beauty of the stars shooting past in the slipstream. Unfortunately, there were things that needed doing so she couldn't just sit there and enjoy the view. The marine fighter pilot that'd requested to stay on when the marines shipped out and Rik. Amelia bit her lip at the thought of him, then with a soft sigh she looked to catch Rochelle's eye with a raised eyebrow — the silent cue that a pow-wow with tea in the ready room was needed.

"Commander Dahe'el, you have the con." Rochelle all but mumbled as she swung her body languidly to its feet. Something was fishy in Denmark, and it wasn't the markets. She knew Amelia would follow her, after all it was the redhead's own silent request that sparked the beginning of this little tea party. "I thought we'd try something different today." The Commodore opened as the door whooshed closed behind the taller redhead on her heels, "The tea trees in the arboretum were harvested and dried... I figured why the Hell not. Worse that can happen is that we cringe and make an oath to never do it again." She shrugged and gestured to a carved teak wood box.

"I'm sure it'll be great," Amelia insisted with a grin, eying the box as she settled into one of the chairs in front of the desk. "I've finished the exit interviews with the marines, and one of the fighter pilots wants to stay on in helm, Lynda Howard. She's got all her qualifications in order." Her eyes drifted over the PADDs on Rochelle's desk. "Can I borrow these to load her paperwork onto for you?"

Rochelle nodded as she moved to replicate hot water and set the tea pot for their new brand of brew. "Please do." She replied, looking over her shoulder at the other woman. "Why do I get the sense we're walking on egg shells with one another?" The Commodore asked with a furrowed brow and carefully carried the steaming hot water towards her desk and waiting trivet.

"I don't know...?" Amelia cocked her head to the side and looked at Rochelle as she collected a PADD at random. When she turned it on, she found a duty roster that'd already been approved and sent back down to security, so she pulled up Lieutenant Howard's transfer orders in its place. "With everything with Landon, I expected things to be weird between you and Almar, but they seem fine?"

A small shrug came as the first volley of an answer, the arching of that telltale sanguine brow soon followed as the secondary. "Things are what they are." Rochelle replied as she spooned dried leaves into her favored little tea diffuser.

"That sounds like a dodge if I ever heard one, but okay. I'm in too good of a mood to sour it by digging into it," Amelia said with a shrug. "Howard seems excited for the change of position." She waited for Rochelle to finish fussing over the tea so she could hand over the PADD.

"Then consider it what you will." The Commodore smiled softly, watching the tea steep and spread its warmth through the glass pot. "What were her reasons for giving up the jar head routine?" She asked, looking up long enough to hold her hand out for the PADD.

"She loves Vindicator," Amelia said simply, laying the PADD into Rochelle's hand.

Taking it up, the petite one nodded and looked over the request with earnest interest. Howard wouldn't be the first Marine to transfer to the darkside, and would hardly be the last. "Flight control." She nodded, "This is a far bigger bird than one of the fighters she's used to. Doesn't handle like one. Go ahead and schedule her for simulations with Hawthorne so she can get the feel of her from behind the scenes first."

"She says she has experience with bigger beasts too, but the simulations certainly couldn't hurt to help her get back in the saddle since it sounds like it's been a while," Amelia returned with a nod. "I poked at the new investigator too, I think he'll show his face to properly introduce himself some time soon."

The Commodore nodded in kind, her eyes narrowing in thought as she considered the PADD once again, adding her recommendations, and offered it back to Amelia. "Having experience with bigger birds is a benefit. Vindicator is one of the biggest out there and she can be dicey. Hawthorne handles her like he's driving a sports car along Big Sur." She chuckled, "Commander Dahe'el may be on benefit to her learning as well... If she so chooses." Of course the big ship was more like driving an old world MRAP than a sports car, but it was an amusing thought without regard. "The new Investigator should also poke his head in with our JAGoffs." She mused, "They'll have to learn to play nice."

"If I run into Caine before he dares darken the ready room door, I'll point him that way too," Amelia returned. It would come up over dinner tonight, as well as the hint that his lack of appearance on the bridge should be rectified. She had no doubt that he'd follow through despite his previous statements of wanting to just keep his head down and avoid notice. "Speaking of JAG, they've been quiet... Is that normal, or should I be watching for them to spring from the shadows because they're bored?"

"Sounds good." Rochelle nodded, approving of the course of action. "JAG are not unlike the Symbiosis Commission. They're vipers lurking in the shadows. Quiet generally means they haven't noticed anything worth attacking."

"Hopefully none of the fresh blood drags trouble in with them as they arrive, and JAG stays happily curled up in their basket next to their piper," Amelia returned with a head shake.

"I'd drink to that." The Commodre chuckled brightly. "Generally I don't appreciate their interference and it looks like they've taken it as a reason to stay put."

"If I thought I had to offer ensigns up for sacrifice, to keep JAG happily hidden away, I'd do it," Amelia quipped. "There's a Catalina Barnes, down in Intel, that could have been an entertaining snack for them if sacrifices worked. She seems convinced I'm a dragon, so she might paint them up to be trolls."

An eyebrow lifted and a smirk slowly painted itself across Rochelle's face, "That's amusing, to say the least." She replied. "I didn't think spooks were so easily spooked."

"She's a pencil pusher, and so green she practically glows. She does encryption and I brought up the subject to break the ice. To her credit, she hid the shaking in her boots well enough that if she hadn't been tongue tied too, I would have bought it." Amelia sighed and shrugged. "I just hate when they forget we're people too, y'know?"

"Ahh." Rochelle nodded in perfect understanding. "Greenhorn. That explains it. Sometimes they learn and sometimes they don't. Hopefully being around Archer will teach her to lose her give a damn about brass... To a degree."

"There's a difference between being respectful, and acting like we're on top of Mount fucking Olympus, only likely to come down to torture the puny mortals. I mean, even Teá is doing that crap now, and she's all but engaged to my best friend!"

To that, the diminutive one furrowed her brow and scowled. "Teá has always been a follower and a problem child. I'm not surprised that she's picked up on yet another undesirable behavior. Just let that one go and move on. Either people will realize that we're not the bogeymen, or they won't. Simple as that." Rochelle shrugged lightly, "Once the words Commodore, Commander, Task Force, and so on are thrown around, people get weird. Add in the fact that we're headed out to the unknown to handle the crazy our dear Federation tries to sweep under the rug and people are bound to absolutely lose the plot. Here's hoping they come around before Commander Neyes and Commander Grant both start ringing bells for sanctuary."

"As much as the evil part of me is curious what they'd be like if they went off the deep end, it is probably in everyone's best interest if they don't," Amelia admitted with a small sigh. "As for Teá... she seems to come and go. Last I heard, she'd been doing good when she finally took my advice to go talk to a counselor. I'll have to follow up and see what she's doing to continue that now that she's back on the ship. Once I have a better feel for what our schedule looks like after arriving at Atlantis, I'll set up a meeting with her to talk about it."

"Whatever she is or isn't... Let the counselors handle it, Amelia. Fiancée of a friend or not, she's not your concern and the spooks answer to SFI, not to us. We can tell them what parameters to work under and make their lives Hell, but ultimately they're the own brand of special." Rochelle drawled with an errant flip of her hand, "We have more pressing things on our plate. Atlantis... Is just a click or two that way and we're heading for it in just a hot minute." She added, leaning to point towards the Vindicator's bow and the unseen stars she was ripping past.

"Almost fiancée," Amelia corrected. "Sean hasn't asked her yet, he said he's waiting for her to finish leveling out. If it weren't for that, I'd let her crash and burn, or fly, as she sees fit. I'll try to hold back and let Archer guide her, but I can't promise I won't meddle off-duty in light of not having enough leave for the pub crawl that'll be needed to console Sean if she washes out. But you're right, Atlantis is more important right now. I'll make a circuit of security, JAG, and Intel, and see if we can have our ducks lined up before we're staring those people down, so when they try to throw a spanner in the works with have options. Let me just grab a cup to go..." Amelia smiled sheepishly, quickly filling a cup with tea and honey before excusing herself.

=/\= End Log =/\=

Commodore Rochelle Ivanova
Commanding Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NCC 78213-E

Commander Amelia Waterhouse
Executive Officer
USS Vindicator, NCC-78213-E

 

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