Capt. Genkos Adea - You're Talking to Me of Respect?
Genkos Adea
((2km north of the Merchant District, Bokitu City, Bolarus IX))
Genkos had been asked out for a walk by Williams, who claimed he’d had something personal to discuss with the Captain. However, it had turned out that the man had been aware of the illicit cloaking device that was hidden aboard the Eagle, and Genkos was not particularly happy about it.
Adea: You’re in luck, Commander, ::The captain smiled, but Alex could tell he was far from happy:: because there will be no formal reprimand for Braya, there will be none for you, either. But note this - if you cover for any more of her enfant terrible behaviour, ::he held up a hand:: whether intentionally, or by omission, there will be serious consequences.
Williams: Permission to speak freely, sir.
Genkos raised an eyebrow.
oO Oh, here we go. Oo
Adea: Continue.
Williams: Earlier, you made it clear that withholding information, intentionally or otherwise, undermines the integrity of the crew and the chain of command. I understand and accept that completely. And if I or anyone else should be reported or punished for what happened, I understand that too and will accept it without a doubt. BUT…
Williams held his breath for a moment, and Genkos frowned. This had better be an excellently worded “but” - because it was incredibly difficult to follow “I did something wrong, and I deserve punishment” with anything other than contrition. Clearly the words he had just said meant absolutely nothing.
Williams: I may well be risking my career by saying this, sir. But if you know me at all—and I believe you do—you know that I value honour, dignity, and the chain of command above all else.
Genkos opened his mouth to reply, to say that actually he didn’t know Williams well at all. But Williams ploughed forward, and Genkos contented himself to keep going on their walk. He thought a silent prayer of gratitude for the fact that the Eagle’s doors were automatic, for he feared that Williams would insist on opening any hinged doors for women to walk through.
Williams: To have that loyalty… that integrity… called into question by my Commanding Officer is not something I take lightly.
A brief pause, controlled this time. Genkos held up a hand, to stall Williams’ misguided rant. The Captain wasn’t calling anything into question - Williams had brought up that he’d known about the cloaking device and done nothing. Genkos had merely told him not to do it again. It was an error of judgment on Williams’ part, but having a go at one’s CO for no apparent reason was another big error of judgment too. If anything was being called into question, it was now the thickness of Williams’ skin.
Williams: Especially when my intent was not to conceal the truth, but to give Lieutenant Braya the opportunity to uphold those same principles herself… and come forward of her own accord, once our immediate mission was complete.
Genkos let out a long sigh, as Williams continued. The man was clearly under the impression that he had acted honourably (whatever that meant) by letting Braya come forward. Genkos briefly cast his mind back to the last awards ceremony, and remembered that Braya and Williams had seemed awfully close - perhaps whatever that relationship consisted of was clouding the man’s mind. He’d known that heartbreak himself, but he’d made the right decision. When a previous boyfriend had received information about a planned terrorist attack, he’d begged Genkos not to share it with Reynolds in case the terrorists changed their plans. Genkos, however, respected the chain of command, and had known that he had no right to make that decision without his Captain, and so had gone straight to the Admiral’s office.
Williams: Which is why I find myself struggling, sir.
Williams seemed to be shaking slightly, and Genkos could feel the passion coming off the man. He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes as Williams continued to defend his poor decision making skills.
Williams: You ask me to uphold those principles without compromise, sir. To report, to be transparent, to trust the chain of command to carry that responsibility forward.
A slight pause, and Genkos took a breath in order to interrupt the man, to tell him to shut up and listen, and to wind down. He was barrelling down a path based on a misconception, Genkos could see where he was headed, and if he could get a word in, he would tell him that this was not a destination he wanted to visit. Williams’ so-called honour did not trump the years of experience that Starfleet Command had, and it was not Williams’ right to circumcede the Command structure.
Williams: And yet… in this instance… we were BOTH choosing not to. In fact, you are telling me Starfleet as a whole wants to cover this up? Yet I get to be questioned? Even off the record, that doesn’t add up in my book.
Genkos raised an eyebrow - he hadn’t questioned Williams at all - except to ask him whether he had known about the device, and that was only when Williams had inadvertently brought it up. Saying that, he now had several dozen questions about Williams’ fitness to serve scrolling across his mind.
Until a few moments ago, Genkos had no idea Williams was even involved, and now, in a strange sort of defence mechanism against legitimate criticism, Williams seemed to think that questioning the integrity of Starfleet was the way to go. Gods alone knew what twisted logic the man was following.
Williams: I do not question your authority, nor the circumstances that led to this decision. But I would be failing in my duty if I did not acknowledge the contradiction I am seeing. If withholding information undermines the integrity of this crew, then I need to understand how Starfleet’s choice not to put this on the record does not.
Contradiction? Genkos could not see a contradiction - a lower ranked officer was hiding information from their superiors. Information that could have intergalactic consequences if discovered. Information that it was not Williams’ place to decide who needed to know - he was a simple Lieutenant Commander, for gods’ sake, not an Admiral. He didn’t get to decide that.
But, seeing that the man was pausing for now, Genkos took a deep breath and looked at him.
Adea: Are you done?
Williams: Not for my sake alone, sir, but because whatever answer you give me now… will define how I act the next time I am faced with a similar choice.
Adea: What exactly are you asking me to defend?
Williams: I do not seek to avoid consequences. I know the rules, and if I break or violate them, that’s on me, but I need to understand the line I am expected to hold. Especially now that my behaviour is questioned.
Genkos sighed and shook his head. Clearly the chain of command meant nothing to Williams - that he did not think that anyone above him could, or even should, have more knowledge or powers above him. He seemed to have no concept of being a small cog in a giant Federation machine, and that his actions had effects with wide-ranging ramifications. Instead of verbalising that, just yet, Genkos instead took a different tack.
Adea: You are correct, Williams. I will contact Command and let them know that you have volunteered yourself and Lieutenant Braya as the agitants in this particular violation. I am certain the Romulan High Command will be thrilled to know that as such, you will both be spending the rest of your lives in a high security prison.
It was somewhat flippant, and liable to make Williams angry, but that seemed to be what the man was alluding to. He hid the information because he knew better than anyone else, and therefore the consequences should fall on his shoulders.
Williams: Response
Genkos drew himself up to his full height, his right hand pushing firmly down on his cane. He could feel it biting into the grass and the soil beneath as his anger and rage at being so disrespected boiled out. His voice was firm, and calm, and almost unnaturally still. But still his cane dug ever so slightly deeper into the surface of the planet.
Adea: You, Commander, are just that, a Lieutenant Commander. I outrank you, as do a handful of other officers on the Eagle. You do not get to make decisions for us, for the ship, for my crew. You have not earned that right. I, however, have earned the right to make decisions for my ship and crew. I have not yet earned the right to make decisions for the wider galaxy, but the Admirals and Commodores of Command, they have earned that right. Therefore, if they want to cover something up, it is because it is for the good of the galaxy. When you cover something up, it’s for the good of yourself, or anyone below you. To answer your question, the line you are expected to hold is to respect the chain of command, to understand that those above you have more information than you, know better than you, have more rights and powers than you, and to answer to that chain of command, the same as every other officer on every other Starfleet ship.
He wondered if he needed to send Williams back to the Academy, to re-learn how the chain of command worked.
Williams: Response
After Williams’ response, it was Genkos’ turn to start shaking. His hand released his cane, and it stayed upright, having dug firmly into the ground. He pointed a slender finger at Williams, his voice now filled with an undercurrent of righteous indignation. He was just sorry that this was not in his office, because if it were, if this were an official conversation, there would be serious consequences for talking to anyone like this, let alone your Captain.
Adea: You talk of honour and dignity as if they mean a lot to you. You talk of your respect for the chain of command, and yet you disrespect it with this inaction. You are saying “I will not tell anyone this information, because I know better than those people above me”. Once I knew the information, the first thing I did was speak to my superiors, because I know that they are in charge, that they have the skills, the knowledge and the right to make those galaxy wide decisions. Thanks to them, there will be no war with the Romulans and there will be no prison sentences for two of my officers. If you’d had your way, and Braya had not come forward (which she didn’t, by the way - someone else told me), and the device had been discovered at the wrong time by the wrong people, our lives would be forfeit. I don’t know who you think you are, but you do not get to decide that for anyone apart from yourself.
Williams: Response
TBC
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Captain Genkos Adea MD
Commanding Officer
USS Eagle-A
G239502GS0
"You know, I'm really easy to get along with most of the time, but I don't like bullies and I don't like threats, and I don't like you, Culluh. You can try and stop us from getting to the truth but I promise you that if you do I will respond with all the 'unique technologies' at my command." - Kathryn Janeway