Captain Quinn Reynolds - Disagreeable Outburst (Part I)

[Quinn Reynolds]

((Admiralty Offices, Starfleet Headquarters))

Reynolds: A *garden party*? Are you completely insane?

::The Admiral levelled a stoic glare at her, his face neutral while his eyes burned like coals. Quinn never met Vice Admiral Sotek before, and she was quite certain she was making a terrible first impression on the distinguished Vulcan gentleman. One really shouldn't yell at an Admiral, especially in his own office.::

Sotek: Recall who you are talking to, Captain.

Reynolds: My apologies. Are you completely insane, *sir*?

::This wasn't like her. No no, not at all. Insubordination wasn't a word in her vocabulary -- or so she'd thought. Today it seemed to have replaced every other word in the Dictionary of Reynolds.::

Uzoamaka: Captain Reynolds, ::the young Lieutenant stepped in, speaking softly and deferentially,:: it's not quite as strange as it sounds on a first pass. 

::Isioma Uzoamaka was one of the counselling team assigned to monitoring and supporting the crew of the Gorkon as they readjusted to "normal" life. She looked human, though her obsidian eyes hinted at some degree of Betazoid heritage.::

Reynolds: Oh, please. *Enlighten* me.

::Uzoamaka's smile was kind and warm. The woman was endlessly patient and unruffled by Quinn's temper or her sarcasm. Naturally, that only served to make the Starfleet captain even more irritable.::

Uzoamaka: The Gorkon has often had group celebrations under your command -- one could even go so far to call it one of the established rituals of your ship. This is an acknowledgement of your return to normality.

Reynolds: Do you honestly think that people are going to be in the mood to celebrate?

Uzoamaka: Some of them are, Captain. And some wish to memorialise their lost comrades, and others will want to reaffirm the bonds they forged during your last year. ::She offered a reassuring smile.:: We intend to design the space so that everyone can find a place that will accommodate their needs.

::Quinn scowled. Some time in the past few days, her soul-deep weariness had been consumed by anger -- anger that Starfleet had given up on them, anger that people she cared about had ruined their lives for her, anger that she felt just so damned broken -- and she was spoiling for a fight. The counsellor wasn't giving her one, so she turned on the man who might.::

Reynolds: And will our saviours be at this garden party?

Sotek: ::Stiffly,:: That is unlikely.

::It was, but she doubted he had no influence whatsoever in that regard. But Quinn had chosen her target well, and the tiny hint of a green flush creeping up the man's neck was just enough to indicate that she was achieving her (foolhardy, reckless) goal of irritating him. Obviously, that meant the only reasonable course was to continue needling him.::

Reynolds: You want us to celebrate being home, knowing fine well that the people who made that happen will be sat in prison cells while we do it? 

Sotek: ::Firmly,:: Laws and regulations were broken. That does not come without consequence, as you well know.

Reynolds: So you're telling me that the right and proper course of action would have been for my whole crew to die, is that it? Is that what you're saying?

Sotek: Calm yourself, Captain. 

::She saw Uzoamaka flinch and wince before Sotek had finished speaking. And no wonder -- few things were more infuriating than to be told to calm down when the anger felt justified.

::In an unheard of display of rage, Quinn slammed her balled fist down on the Admiral's desk, so hard that it hurt, and the PADD sat upon it actually jumped up a short distance before rattling back down.::

Reynolds: Don't tell me to calm down! You gave up on us! *Starfleet* gave up on us! While my people were dying by the dozen, Henshaw sailed into dock and gave his crew a holiday. Three hundred people, Admiral! Ch-- ::the word got stuck in her aching throat, and she had to try again.:: Children!

::Oh, how she wished she could sear the image of that little baby from her mind.::

Sotek: We should discuss this later. You are--

::She never heard exactly what she was, her feet already having carried her out of the office before the admiral managed to finish his sentence. She tore out of the building as though it were on fire, stepping out into the sunny San Francisco morning. Storming across the lawn, she paid no attention to where she was going

::Her heart was thumping wildly in her chest, and she pulled at her collar, unfastening it for some air. 

::Something snapped, deep inside. She clawed at her jacket, pulling it off in series of frantic, uncoordinated movements, and then hurled it across into the bushes, the pips on her collar following shortly thereafter. It did little to make her feel better, and the sob that had been threatening to surface since the Admiral's office finally made its escape.

::Bowing her head, closing her eyes, she wheeled around, planting herself on the nearby bench with an indelicate thump. Leaning forward, elbows on knees, she cradled her head in her hands and tried to shut out the world as tears coursed down her cheeks.::

--
Captain Quinn Reynolds
Commanding Officer

USS Gorkon

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