Lieutenant Jack Kessler - Go talk to your mother
Joel Cannistraro
((OOC: Set shortly after the Ronin disengages from the Lattice Alliance leviathan and leave Ross 580 system and eventually engages warpdrive on their way back to DS33 with rescued personnel from The Lid, many of whom are now babies and Lt. JG T’Fearne and Lt.Cmdr O’Connor who are reduced to teenagers.))
((CSO’s Office, Security Complex, Deck 11, USS Ronin))
The PADD in his hand remained steady as he re-read his mission debrief for the third time. Details and accuracy were extremely important to Jack and sometimes he found that he over analyzed even his own reports. He had every detail the Captain would need from the Chief of Securities point of view with regards to this last mission. A mission which in itself was far more hard to explain in any real rationale that wouldn't sound like a science fiction holo-novel.
One item he had not fully addressed, nor was he really sure how to address this soon was the condition in which one of his officers had returned to the ship. Lieutenant T'Fearne was, from what he could tell, not hurt or in any life threatening danger, but she was not quite herself either. He laid they PADD down and picked up the cup of coffee that sat on his desk. A brief slow sip revealed the coffee had been sitting there longer than he thought. It was cold to his lips and an immediate glance down at the mug revealed the same dark liquid staring back up at him from nearly two hours earlier.
Setting the mug back down on his desk Jack took a deep breath and tapped his combadge.
Kessler: =/\= Kessler to Lieutenant T'Fearne. Please report to my office. =/\=
T’Fearne: ::smacking her comm badge:: =/\= Acknowledged! =/\=
The Vulcan/Betazoid hybrid must have been within the security complex, as she showed up much faster than Jack had expected. The security officer came stomping in through Jack's office door, then seemingly caught herself, coming to a formal attention, trying to reclaim her lost height by standing on her tiptoes and gazing off into the ceiling. Jack eyed the younger version of T'Fearne as she stood in front of him.
T’Fearne: Umm… you wanted to see me, sir?
Kessler: ::leaning back in his chair:: Relax T'Fearne, it's just you and I in here. ::beat:: I wanted to see how you are doing considering everything that happened during this past mission.
T’Fearne: I’m fine, sir. ::waiting a moment to see if that would suffice for an answer, then continued:: I sustained a minor injury. I am okay now. The radiation exposure is already resolving at the cellular level. The other side effect of the mission is more complicated to reverse. ::forcefully, though he hadn’t asked:: I can still do my job!
Her gaze dropped towards the floor or perhaps her feet, Jack was not sure.
Kessler: I asked how you were doing T'Fearne. I didn't mean to imply you could not handle your duties. I can't imagine what this is like for you and I am just concerned how it will affect you.
T'Fearne's eyes came back up from the floor to meet Jack's, the eyeroll she gave him felt as if he was sitting there dealing with his teenage sister Krystal and this eyeroll, like Krystals, spoke volumes even in the dead of silence.
T’Fearne: The crew are not treating me with the same respect, sir. This department has been losing its discipline ever since Chief Carpenter left.
Jack laid a hand on the desk and tapped his index finger lightly, once, twice, maybe a third time. oO Losing discipline? Oo
Kessler: Would it help to take some time off, until Medical can figure this out?
T’Fearne: ::unbidden, tears started to well up in her eyes and the high voice gained a pitch close to whining:: If you think I’m not managing my responsibilities then just relieve me of duty. But I’m not giving up my commission just because…because of this. ::gesturing at her teenaged self::
No, no that was not what he meant at all and immediately realised she had taken that completely the wrong direction. She dashed the angry tears away as he leaned forward in his chair placing both hands on the desk to push himself to a stand.
T’Fearne: I have been a part of this department for longer than you have, Jack. And just because I’m…I’m…::deciding on a word she could live with:: emotionally compromised right now…dosen’t mean you or Niac or anyone else can send me back to my parents so they can “look after” me for the next six years until I can go through the academy all over again! Why can’t you all just treat me like normal!
Crossing her arms, she stomped her small foot on the deck plating in his office with a loud bang. Jack stepped around the desk, never losing eye contact with the teenage officer. He stopped in front of her and leaned back, sitting gently on his desk edge to lower his height to a more reasonable level.
T’Fearne: I won’t go! You can’t make me leave the Ronin!
Jack had lost a number of conversational fights with Krystal to know this conversation was going nowhere fast. T'Fearne might be the same person, even have the same knowledge as her normal older self but the teenager standing in front of him was raging with emotions that personally, he'd like to walk away from. She was of Vulcan and Betazoid descent which he suspected was a far more dangerous state for a teenage mind than that of a typical Earth teenager. At least she was not throwing things at him, yet.
Kessler: ::softly but firm:: T'Fearne, I have no desire to see you leave the Ronin. You are and will continue to be my right hand in keeping this place running. ::beat:: If the crew is not giving you the respect you have earned, then prove to them you are you. Just because your ::gesturing to her whole self:: younger, oO don't say smaller. Oo Does not mean that you have lost rank or privileges in this department.
T'Fearne: response
Jack grinned and thought about it for a moment.
Kessler: I would not say that but I still expect you to do your job to the best of your abilities.
T'Fearne: response
Kessler: So what do you want to do then?
T'Fearne: response
Jack leveled his eyes on the young officer in front of him and grit his teeth together. He had not missed these arguments with Krystal at all and never thought he would be having them with someone on the Ronin. Time to change tactics.
[Tags / TBC]