Posted by Captain Kelly Bordeaux (Commanding Officer) in Side sim- River’s office- What are we to our reflections

Posted by Lieutenant River Styxx (OIC Marine) in Side sim- River’s office- What are we to our reflections

Posted by Captain Kelly Bordeaux (Commanding Officer) in Side sim- River’s office- What are we to our reflections
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
What was in a mirror. Was it a window into the soul and a reflection of the present or was it the home of the past, a place to look back and think. For River it was a window to someone she no longer recognised. Who was that person she saw before her. Maybe it was a ghost.

In truth River had no idea what was Happening to her she used to be cold and hard, unswayed by anything and never phased by anything. Now 18 months later she was soft and prone to out bursts. The briefing had proved that. Maybe it was the time she had spent in the luxury of ship. Warm food, comfy beds and hardly any threat of death. Maybe it was opening those boxes after so long or maybe it was just that dam letter. All these things had happen close to each other at the worst possible moment, a perfect storm of emotion. Dam emotion why did it have to be so powerful, why couldn’t she just turn them off like she used to be able to do. Why did they have to hit her hard and so quickly.

Why was she so weak to let them in, to let them control her. She had lost men before hundreds of thousands of them. Why where these five weighing on her mind so much. Why did she let them, why did she have to be so dam soft. Without thinking River’s fist shot out smashing into the till by her sink. The pristine white mixed with a trickle of red. Regarding her hand she winced and washed the blood away. The sudden outbursts and rush of pain helped for a moment but soon the emotions where back.

Sighing River left her bathroom and walked the empty rooms of her quarters. Peering at the trinkets and memories stored on the walls within. The memories of someone else someone River didn’t recognise much any more. Her eyes landed on the case of medals all federation except for two one was Klingon the other was Romulan. * was it worth it. Was the cost worth the pay off * River thought to herself * No. Not then. Not Now * Again in the reflection of the glass River saw someone another version of herself, another ghost. Pulling herself away river sat behind her desk. Picking up the old photo that sat there.

She saw the faces and placed her hand on each of them. A happy family, a loving family. “What would you think of me now? Of what I’ve become? I wish I had you both here now to give me your strength. Maybe then I wouldn’t be so weak, so open to emotion.” She said sadness in her voice. Shaking her head she turned to her computer. As soon as she did she saw the letter and wiped her eyes. It read

Dear Lieutenant Styxx

I am writing to you today to inform you that we have begun the exhumation of the mass grave behind the remains of the star fleet base of operations. I understand this news my distress you and I know what I am to ask you next is equally hard.

I must ask for your permission to exhume the remains of Lily Styxx. Though she was not your biological daughter. The records show that her adoption was finalised the day the attack started. As a result you are her sole close relative and it is your permission we need. She will be treated with the utmost care and respect and we will make sure she is put to rest properly.

Please forward your reply as soon as possible

Regards

Lieutenant Richard Dresden

Chief medical officer Acheron
River had no words and she had no more strength to fight the tears that fell. She quickly wrote her reply and moved on. Taking a moment to grab a drink of water and to take a breather. Once she had battled the tears back down she returned to the computer.

“Computer begin dictation of Apology letters” she said shaking. As she spoke she watched her reflection in the window. It was going to be a long night.

Lieut Styxx (Marine OIC)

A chime at the door echoed in the room. Ian waited outside the space not sure how the next hour or so was going to go. The past week the crew had been sucker punched and now they were trying to see out of their big black eye and bleeding nose. This was not something new or unknown in the Federation. Starfleet’s main charter was exploration but space had always been a dangerous place to be. Since the Space Race started back in 1950 on Earth. Thousands of people had died leaving Earth’s atmosphere, colonizing planets, and meeting new races. While it stung right now, at least the Altantis was still in one piece. Other ships on First Contact with hostile races were not that lucky.

Now it was time to get a bag of frozen peas on their eye, shove some cotton up their nose, and regroup.

Ian Boardeax CO

River heard the door chime and sighed, getting up she walked towards it. Normally she would just say come and whoever it was would walk in. But for some reason River felt the need to open it herself. As soon as she did, she regretted it because standing there, right now, on a day like today was the man River wanted to see the least.

It took all of River’s strength not to just slam the door shut and have Ian dragged out of marine country. But something told her to see what he wanted. It would be clear to Ian that River was not in a good mood, and her eyes where red and slick from tears.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve coming down here and showing up at my door ” she said coldly with an undertone of anger “Unless you’ve got one hell of a reason.” she added sharply. River didn’t move to let Ian in instead she stood in her door frame waiting for him to speak. #

Lieut Styxx (Marine OIC)

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Ian said now equally irritated raising his hands. “You want to join the I hate the Bordeaux fan club? I hear they are making t-shirts on deck three. Go get one before they are all gone.” Being a diplomatic officer, Ian was used to tense and emotional situations. If Styxx was so blinded by emotion and hate right now, it was futile to stick around. She, along with everyone else, was looking for a single place to lay blame. Until they moved past this point, it was best to give them space. “It was a mistake coming here. I can see that now so thank you for handling Jessa with the grace and compassion her kind would definitely not afford us. The body is in the morgue. I will contact you when it is released.” Ian turned on his heel to leave Styxx to whatever she was doing before he arrived.

Ian Bordeaux

As Ian tried to walk away two marines came round the corner and stopped dead. One was Freya the Ferasan marine that was on the promenade. She was out of her armour and her dark blue fur, yellow eyes and saber tooth fangs where clear to see. Seeing Freya in this light it was easy to pick out littler things. Like the scar over her left eye and above the right side of her mouth. She looked at Ian then at Styxx then back at Ian “you’ve picked a hell of a day to come down here” she said a low growl in her voice. Freya was obviously feeling hostile but Freya was always hostile it was quirk of her species.

Reading Fersan’s was always a challenge even under optimal conditions and right now nothing was optimal. Their cadence and rhythm of speech always sounded like they wanted to bite off someone’s head to humans. It was only through exposure to their race and reading the room could human’s get some of it right. “It’s been a helluva day to go anywhere on this ship,” Ian responded. Both of their comments were valid. No one felt safe right now but some places felt it more. Only a lunatic would pick up a hornets nest and shake it without thinking they would be stung which is exactly what the Elder’s did. So far the marines had taken the brunt of the attack with the Elders. They would survive. They were Marines, that is what they did however shaking it off took a minute.

“Then its a good job you’re in marine country. After all Marines know how to regroup in hell” she said in her usual tone.

“True but Kill ‘em all, let God sort em out, might be more the quote of the day,” Ian replied back with another well-known saying in the corp. “Imagine their faces though when they find you there waiting for them again.” The original quote was one all Marines learned in boot. It spoke to the indomitable spirit of the Marines to never stop fighting. For a second Ian let his mind wander to the thought of payback and if there was a God in heaven it was not the Union’s version.

Freya nodded “Believe me if the boss told us to raze the union to the ground we would be more than happy to do so.” she said in her usual tone.

“But as we understood it you had something very important to say.” Wraith the second marine said. Wraith was exactly what you would expect form an Orion woman, beautiful, sensual and sultry. But assuming that was all there was to Wraith was the biggest mistake anyone ever made. “However I find myself confused you’ve only been down her for a few minutes. You can’t have said all you wanted too. So why are you leaving? Are you Ok?” she asked in her normal tone soft and seductive. her was no hit of sarcasm or anger in wraith, all there was, was as sense that she was genuinely inquiring if things where ok.

“No Wraith I am not okay. I am so far from okay that okay was a shuttle that left an hour ago with everything on it and no plans to return,” Ian shot back sarcastically, “but even Robinson Caruso was rescued eventually.” His tone was not condescending or flippant. Ian naturally tended to be sarcastic but leaned more toward humor than arrogance. His comment was directly related to how he felt adrift without a sense of direction which was probably mimicked by most of the people in the room and on the ship along with the ever-present optimism he lived by.

Wraith leaned in and hugged Ian “If you need a compass point. There is none better then our CO. She may be brutish and quick to anger but she is our centre. Perhaps try to find a bit of that centre” she said quietly and soothingly so only Ian could hear. While Wraith was defiantly stepping over a few lines. she alaso knew that sometimes a hug was something people needed. And besides Wraith was a very physical being.

Oh we are hugging, Ian thought as he was caught up in the embrace. Wraith did not seem like the hugging sort but the physical contact was soothing in the sense it felt like comraderie which the Atlantis needed sorely right now. “Thank you,” he said as they broke the embrace.

“Mr Bordeaux” River called “My office is open now, if you need to talk about anything. Beside you’re a politician you should be used to a little anger and hate.” she said her tone calm now and far more level. Ian had just caught River at a bad moment. If he had bothered to stay and find out why she was so upset, instead of storming off like that then maybe he could learn to understand a few things.

Lieut Styxx (Marine OIC)

Turning around, Ian took a few steps towards Styxx. “Tell me why I should be used to a little anger and hate?” His tone was not utterly angry and had a questioning lithe to it. “Is there a reason everyone on this damn ship thinks it is okay to blame the Bordeaux’s for what happened?” Part of diplomacy was also stating facts. He stated it loudly enough for everyone to hear. Ian needed it to not make it a soapbox but drive home the point. “Mob and vigilant thinking is great when you are on the side of the pitchforks and torches.” He let that sink in for a moment. Not one of the Marines had acted as if they were ready to mutiny but if they had not rounded up all of the insurgency team members, there was a lot one could do without access to the ship’s systems. “She is the Captian. She is responsible for every action on this ship which means she will defend every damn person on this ship as if it were her own.” He left it at that. His point was clear and not subtle. What if you were the one the aliens had come looking for and how ready would you be to jettison your child for the masses?

“Believe me Mr Bordeaux I know what its like to be on the other end of the pitch forks.” River said her tone knowing and truthful “As for my comment about hate and anger. You clearly misunderstood and took it personally. I was not referring to you specifically I was referring to you vocation and how when you’re a diplomat no matter how hard you try you always make some angry.” she added calmly. Although internally she couldn’t believe she had to explain the intricacies of a snide comment

Settling his gaze on Styxx, he lowered his tone to a far more polite one. “I said what I needed to say, however, I could use a drink.” He did not barge in but waited for Styxx to invite him in.

Ian Bordeaux

“That I can do” River said indicating with her head for Ian to come inside. once he was inside River looked at Wraith and Freya. “No one disturbs me for a while.” she said sternly as she walked into her office and shut the door.

River walked over to the corner of her office stopping Infront of a drinks cabinet “What do you want. I’ve got whisky, scotch, vodka, a few Klingon drinks and a couple Romulan ones as well.” she said as she turned to him “However I wouldn’t recommend anything to strong. As me and you are going to have a nice long chat” she added simply.

Lieut Styxx (Marine OIC)

“Anything is fine,” Ian sat down in the living space and waited for Styxx to come back with the drinks. The cat was let out of the bag in the staff meeting about Jessa’s paternity. While it was not discussed like a topic at the table, the news did impact everyone on some level. “There is not enough booze in the world to get me drunk tonight.”

River looked trough her cabinet and settled on a large bottle worth thick purple liquid in it. She poured her self a glass and Ian “Then we’ll go with this” she said handing Ian the glass “Its called bISuv ‘oH. A Klingon drink, it kicks like a mule but it’s good.” she said simply. the bottle was a gift from a General Ma’chuck. Although Ian dint have to know that.

Taking the drink, Ian took a long swig. One day soon he would sit down with a bottle of this and drink himself into a stupor but that would not be anytime soon. “How are your people holding up?” Ian wanted more of the deeper interpretation only a commanding officer could give. Of course, they were angry and volatile but that wave would pass. Both he and Styxx knew this was not going to be over anytime soon. He needed to know they would be ready and clear-headed.

Ian Bordeaux CO

“You mean are they ready for combat. Yes. In fact a fight would be good right about know. They’re angry, but if I had an enemy to fight I could shape that anger into a weapon against that enemy.” River said truthfully. She knew what Ian meant he had no interest, right away about the actually state of her men all he wanted to know and all she suspected any other star fleet officer wanted to know was whether her marines could fight. Because heaven forbid the elite of star fleet see marines as anything other than disposable meat bags.

“Of course You might not have Marines on-board this ship at all soon, or any personnel for that matter” River said as she walked over to her desk an picked up five padds before walking back over to Ian “I have a stack of these on my desk. All containing something negative from all over the ship and from outside as well.” she said showing Ian the stack of five pads in her hands. “And why do I have these you might ask. Because there are hundreds of people on this ship that have no idea who they can trust or who they can turn to. So seeing as they saw my marine’s make a positive difference and security, they come to us. The two departments in their minds that have the most integrity and did the most dung this crisis. Aside from medical of course.” River added her tone still clam but it had a clear undertone of annoyance not at the people sending her letters, but the circumstances that created this situation.

Ian took another sip of his drink and let Styxx continue talking.

“This padd is a list of transfer request from my marines.” she said handing him the Padd “Some of my marines feel they cannot trust the senior staff onboard this ship, they feel that while they can trust Mardusk and myself, they cannot trust the security of this vessel, as despite everything Marduks did, it was still able to be infiltrated by enemy insurgents in almost every department.” she said pausing for a second “But many of the requests come from Marines who have children. An enemy was able to infiltrate this ship, attack it’s captain and then thanks to Jessa, escape, using the access she was granted to ships systems by members of the senior staff. Allowing them to get to their children and get them under a knife.” she added taking a sip of her drink.

Lieut Styxx (Marine OIC)

Ian polished off his drink and set it on the table. The silence in the room let the sound of the clink against the glass echo slightly. “I am not the Captian, only married to her but,” the paused for a second motioning for another drink, “send those transfers up to the boss lady. She will have them signed and off the ship within the next week. She was drafting a message to all department heads when I left our quarters. Command is already finding replacements.”

River shook her head “Marine transfers are not a simple as star fleet ones. For starter we have no where near as many marines as star fleet officers which means every transfer is a big deal and has to go through process of finding vacancies or people wanting to transfer elsewhere, if we don’t then the fronts that need the marines the most are weakened, or we end up with a bunch of green raw recruits who have never served on a ship and don’t know what to do with themselves.” she said pausing for a moment

“Not only that marine transfers are rare and are usually because a marine has broken some serious rules or they have acted in a way unbecoming of a marine. Which means all these requests have caused major red flags at marine HQ. They have already spoken to me and are considering whether or not to preform a full official review of the Atlantis, her crew, senior staff and her ability to facilitate marines.” she added sighing.

Taking the second drink Styxx filled, Ian motioned for her to leave the bottle. “You didn’t hear this from me but you will find out sooner rather than later so think of it as a courtesy,” he raised the cup in a slightly salute of thanks. “She and Mardusk went ten rounds in her office. He threatened to leave three times and went way over the line even with her policy of speaking freely so she took him up on it. Wrote him up with ten counts of charges and sent it away to command. It’s out of our hands if he is staying, transferring or exiting Starfleet.” The comment was powerful and River would be calculating the ramifications in her mind.

“You know as well as I do that Kelly tends to look past people’s records and find the ones with unrecognized potential.” River was one of those Ian was speaking about. The woman’s record made her a hero or a villain, someone to be decorated with the highest honors or remanded into a prison with the key tossed away. Kelly saw the potential in Styxx and jumped at the chance to be a part of her crew.

River listened to Ian, putting her glass down, crossing her arms and leaning on her desk “And how many of those rounds where about you? Or your illegitimate child? Or the fact that Mardusk did what you should have done and alerted the whole senior staff to your massive conflict of interests?” She asked coldly “And how much of the captains severe response was based on the fact that Mardusk was probably trash talking her husband?” she added.

“River,” Ian took a calm, diplomatic tone, “we both know more than the masses. We are also far smarter than the idiots that filled out that stack of requests for transfers. Do they really think a twelve-year-old girl had the ability to take out the Marines and security, the people that have so much faith in the group that just got their asses kicked by said twelve-year-old kid and they don’t have faith in the command team?” Ian let his voice rise in a questioning format. “You and I both know she was helped. Hell, your Marines rounded up four of them so if these people actually think Kelly allowed a kid to take over the ship then it is best they do leave. Once you lose faith in your captain you just don’t ever get that back.” Finishing off his drink in a large swallow, Ian let out a satisfied hiss. “But that is only my two cents. The forms are already logged so they will have to formally request them to be terminated and remain on the ship. Turn them in and see what the Captain says.”

Ian Bordeaux CDO

“Be careful who you call an idiot” River said warningly “Many of those that have requested transfers could of made it as a science officer, or a doctor or hell a diplomatic officer. But they chose to serve in a different way.” she added stepping closer to Ian.

“The problem is their not stupid. They know a girl couldn’t do everything she did without help. They know she was helped. They know she was given access to our computer by yourself. They are also very aware that every single one of the section 31 operatives were star fleet officers. Not a single one of them was a marine. Its not the captain they don’t trust, she was down for the count the entire time. Its those around her. Those who failed to share crucial information with Marine detachment commanding officer and the chief of security.” She said enunciating her an Mardusk’s positions “such as the existence of a section 31 cell onboard, or the connection of the child in question to members of the senior staff, members who potential have a lot of sway over the Captain herself.” she added filling her glass again.

“All of which feeds into the all to prevalent idea that marines exist only to die and be the playthings of star fleet. The common narrative throughout star fleet that marines are lesser, little more than lab rats. As has been proven recently.” she said sternly “And while that narrative is completely wrong, marines are far more then that. Despite my best efforts and those of my superiors, some of which find it hard not to believe it themselves, It is hard to convince people otherwise. Those requesting transfer are asking because their trust has been broken, their lives and the lives of their families, appear to seem inconsequential to the upper echelons of star fleet officers on this ship and star fleet in general.” she said finishing her drink.

Lieut Styxx (Marine OIC)