Posted by Captain Kelly Bordeaux (Commanding Officer) in Ready Room - A Summons and An Answer

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Gravel Mardusk (Chief of Security) in Ready Room - A Summons and An Answer

Posted by Captain Kelly Bordeaux (Commanding Officer) in Ready Room - A Summons and An Answer
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻
After the staff meeting, Mardusk made his way to the Captain’s Ready Room. Instead of ringing the chime, he rapped his large green knuckles on the door. He took a breath, and waited for the Captain to answer.

Mardusk, CoS

“Come,” Kelly’s common reply echoed through the door. Looking up from her desk, Kelly sat straighter in her chair instead of her slightly reclined position. The day had been long and it was going to be an even longer night.

“Take a seat,” she gestured to one of the chairs in front of her.

Bordeaux CO

Mardusk rested his butt on the back of one of the chairs and said “Skipper, I got a ton of shit to handle right now. If you’re gonna chew my ass out for calling out your man, can ya go ahead and get to it? I’m still processing the scene in the Promenade and people are freakin’ the f%<k out.”

Mardusk, CoS

“Calling out my man,” she raised an eye brow. “That is rather simplistic don’t you think and you have time.” Kelly did not order Mardusk to sit. He could stand for all she carried about. “What you did in there was share a piece of information that was not meant for public consumption yet. I am wondering why you felt it was your place to even mention it in the meeting,” she steadied her gaze on him.

Kelly Bordeaux CO

Mardusk leaned forward and glared at Kelly. Through gritted teeth he said “Everyone in there is a leader on this ship and just got their proverbial asses handed to them because of that kid and her realtionship to your husband. We’ve got I don’t even know how many people in sickbay, and some may not make it. We’ve got dozens of traumatized kids and parents and a proverbial sh!t-ton of cleanup, repair, counseling, and who knows what the hell else in front of us… and you are worried about that? For f€<k’s sake, Captain… you are really gonna sit there and be upset I told the department heads and team leaders that?! When they should have known already?” Mardusk leaned back and scowled. “You need to get your priorities in order, Kelly.” Mardusk rarely used her first name, and when he did, it was almost always because he was trying to get her undivided attention. “Because of all the crap you got on your plate right now to be worked up over? That shouldn’t even be in your top ten.”

Mardusk, CoS

Kelly waited for Mardusk to finish. Taking a moment she looked at the man across from her. “You are one of the best and brightest security officers I have ever worked with. Your gut and instincts have prevented situations from escalating into things far worse. This is not lip service but fact. Without you on this ship, the Altantis would be at a disadvantage in more ways than I can innumerate however,” she took a breath, “you are informed on some of the facts. So let’s set the record straight on a few of them before we proceed. You are correct in that everyone just had their asses handed to them. The crew is now licking their wounds and jonesing for some payback.” Kelly knew both she and Gravel were on common ground so far. She wasn’t sure how long they would stay on it.

“The casualties in sickbay are distressing but they were Marines. They were sent into an unknown situation with minimal actionable intelligence. From the reports I have received on the mission only their training and leadership by Styxx prevented far more catastrophic consequences. That mission was costly and the Federation owes a debt that can never be repaid but as callous as this might sound, that is their job. Every person under Styxx and your teams for that matter knows they are on the front lines of defense and stepping out of a shuttle or off a transporter pad could be a one-way mission. While the potential for catastrophic casualties in the promenade, thank god it was minimal for what they could have been and we both know that.”

Everything Kelly had stated up to this point was fact or minimally an argumentative point. One death was tragic and unacceptable but space was dangerous. It did not mean people should be sanitized to the loss of someone but it was a fact. A loss of one of her crew hit Kelly hard but she had been in the ranks once and it was a different kind of loss. At the command level, it hurt. At the rank level, it was an open wound that took longer to heal. At the rank level, one could take time to mourn the loss. At the command level, one had to continue to make decisions which is where Kelly was now. she did not want to make this entirely a lecture or discussion but Kelly paused allowing Mardusk to comment.

Bordeaux CO

Gravel listened as she spoke, and then simply shook his head. “The casualties in sickbay aren’t just Marines. They are my Security officers. A counselor. Some parents. And more than a couple’a kids. That isn’t their job, so let’s table the ‘Rah rah take one for the team’ schtick, can we? And you need to add to your list of ‘Things Mardusk Was Right About’ the fact that you damn well know that everyone in that meeting deserved to know whose kid that is. And be brought up to speed on everything that is going on.” and he stood up and looked down at Kelly.

“The folks in that room just got kicked in the nuts for you and Ian and his kid. Your guy’s family shit just spilled over into the crew in epic fashion. And if you think they didn’t ‘need to know’ what the hell was happening? Then you’re a fool, Captain. And I’d really hate to think you are fool after all these years. Because that would mean you are the greatest liar ever and therefore I can’t trust ya. Or it means that I suck at my job, and either way I need to go. So tell me, Skipper… you a fool? Or are you gonna agree that her bein’ his kid is pertinent information for your staff?”

Mardusk, CoS