Captain Taybrim - Full Confidence (Tags: Flynn)

[Jamie LeBlanc]

((Bridge - USS Columbia))

::Here he was, standing in one of the most comfortable places he could imagine, the bridge of a ship he cared deeply about. It was not the ideal place to talk about the dark implications of the aftermath of the destruction of two fine Starfleet ships and the loss of over five hundred officers and crew.

Problematically the issues they had recently dealt with would not simply go away. No amount of ignoring them made them not exist. Especially for the Captain who pulled through and his senior staff that miraculously survived a mission they were expected - even supposed - to die on.

Sal had been carefully not dwelling too hard on the implications of that fact. He had been digesting it in bite sized chunks trying to chew through it and find solutions rather than allow the waves of anger and pain to overcome him. And he had reached the conclusion that the issue needed to be faced head on - for the sanity of his entire crew; not in the least himself.

He had been lucky - very lucky - to escape the battle mainly unharmed. He walked away where many were bedridden for days - weeks for some. And the accident that damaged his telepathy had also prompted him to retrain his keen empathic senses, allowing him to build formidable walls to block out unwanted negative emotions. He could see how the pain of the crew ravaged his fellow Betazoid staff; Dr. Ezo in particular; while he appeared - outwardly at least - mainly immune.

The truth was more nuanced. Sal had much on his mind, much that he had compartmentalized and decided to process bit by bit. But he was walking that path mainly alone and he needed the confrontation with Kinney to have a positive outcome if he had any hope of seeing a light at the end of a very long tunnel.

To this end he felt that his crew needed to know more about what was going on, especially where it directly concerned them. So, on the bridge of the Columbia, he gently confronted his Risian chief of helm with the vicious construct that Raskor had aimed at him::

Taybrim: actually, hold on a moment - I have some news that I think you need to know about. ::His ginger brows creased, apologetically, how does one carefully tackle someone with information that was narrative clearly crafted to hurt a good officer? Sal usually relied fully on truth; but it was hard to be truthful while describing lies.::

Flynn: Something is wrong?

Taybrim: No, no... I didn't mean it as a negative. ::He took in a long deep breath.:: I've been dealing with the Raskorian rumor mill - its a hard machine to control and right now the stories of why we lost two ships are rampant...

::He trailed off, grasping for words. Not a usual situation for a diplomatic social-butterfly to be in.::

Flynn: ::Crossing his arms.:: We have filed our reports, Raskor has all the facts.

Taybrim: Yes, they do. ::He paused carefully.:: Facts that point to very bad decision making within the ranks of Starfleet Command on Raskor.

::Facts that colored Kinney as either incompetent or malicious. Unless he could doctor the spin on the facts pretty significantly. Which was exactly what Kinney was trying to do.::

Flynn: True. I suppose that's exactly what Kinney would try to downplay. ::He considered grimly.:: Any idea how he is going to try and back himself out of blame?

Taybrim: I do. ::He looked grim:: He immediately started looking for a scapegoat, sniffing around to see if he could cast blame on our crew's incompetence. ::He took in a long slow breath and let it out with a sigh.:: Eyes fell on my senior staff, including the chief of helm...

::He trailed off, just enough to let Flynn start to realize what he was saying and he watched the man wobble in his stance.::

Flynn: Oh...::He swallowed hard and motioned to the seat next to the Captains.:: Mind if I sit?

Taybrim: Please do. ::He nodded, taking a step back. he waited for Flynn to sit before sinking down in his own chair:: Kinney noticed that Commander Falcon had been transferred to the Za, and he started sniffing around your service history. He then started highlighting that Falcon had nearly a decade of flying experience up on you and pulled all the misdemeanors from your Academy days. ::His voice was low, sober and frustrated. He knew it was lies, but he had to let Antero know what was being spread behind his back:: The Raskorian rumor mill is painting you as an incompetent young party boy more suited to driving a sailship around a Risian bay than a starship into battle.

::It was harsh and vicious and completely untrue. And yet Kinney had cherry picked details to present a compelling case to the under-initiated.::

Flynn: I suppose it sounds viable. ::He looked up.:: But you know that I...

::He interrupted with a firm tone, full of conviction.::

Taybrim: Are the best damn pilot in the sector? Of course I do. You flew as well as Falcon could have. Possibly even better - she had precision you have creativity and flexibility. You did a fantastic job, and the Albion crew owes their lives to you.

::He finally let out the breath he had been holding, a sigh of frustration and pent up aggression. Sal was not a violent man, but he admitted to having lucid fantasies of punching Allan Kinney square in the jaw.::

Flynn: So what's our next move?

Taybrim: Step one is I made you aware of this so it doesn't broadside you when someone calls you out for it. ::The hard part was done, at least for now. He imagined that upon getting to Raskor, Flynn might have an interesting time as soon as the local Starfleet crew recognized him.::

Flynn: ?

::Sal nodded and shifted his stance, standing up to look keenly at Antero::

Taybrim: Step two, I already answered Starfleet command - those above Kinney and Raskor and I told them that I had full confidence in you.

Flynn: ?

Taybrim: ::Matter-of-factly:: Well, Admiral Hauke politely - and diplomatically - told me that if I had confidence in you that I should put my latinum where my mouth was. So, Antero Flynn, As of this morning you are officially Lieutenant Commander Flynn, Chief of Helm Operations on StarBase 118 and the USS Columbia. Effective immediately.

Flynn: ?

::Sal finally allowed himself to smile. Promotions were supposed to be a joyous thing, a heartfelt congratulations of a job well done and an honor highly earned. Flynn had earned this rank many times over. Sal was just making it official. He simply wished there wasn't the stink of Raskorian corruption surrounding it.::

Taybrim: Antero... ::He started gently:: This goes far beyond a political move. You have earned this promotion many times over. As much as I wish the timing could have been better, this does make a decisive statement. But it does not change the fact that I would have made this promotion happen during this shore leave even if there was nothing external prompting it.

::It also added a layer of protection. If Kinney won, it was now Sal who would take the hit instead of Flynn as it was clearly Sal who placed confidence in Flynn rather than disowning him.::

Flynn: ?

Taybrim: ::He drew a small rosewood box from his pocket, offering the man his third pip.:: I promise, if we win the day on Raskor, I will make one of those potentially embarrassing and highly dramatic speeches congratulating you on this promotion. ::His dark eyes twinkled a bit:: Bring you up in front of the crew for a toast and all that jazz. ::He drew in a long, somewhat shuddering breath:: So we better win.

Flynn: ?

~*~
tags/tbc
~*~

Captain Sal Taybrim
Commanding Officer
StarBase 118 Ops

"Why do we fly? Because we have dreamt of it for so long that we must"

~Julian Beck
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