Making Friends

Posted on Fri Dec 7th, 2018 @ 9:06pm by Lieutenant Commander Charlotte Hudson & Rear-Admiral John Wheeler

789 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Mission 0 - Christening of Legacy and Crew Arrival
Location: Starfleet Headquarters/Bec's Quarters
Timeline: 2261.190 0230

Wheeler tapped his desk in thought, having Jackson in command of the Legacy worried him. He needed eyes on the bridge. Commander Hudson impressed him in the recent communication with Legacy. “Computer, what time is it aboard Legacy?”

“oh two thirty hours.” came the cold response from the computer.

‘Perfect.’ He thought to himself. “Open a secure channel to USS Legacy, for Lieutenant Commander Hudson only.”

”Working.” Said the Computer.

Bec, having recently woken from a nightmare, growled at her computer when it started beeping. She moved to look at the screen and wondered why she was getting a secure call from HQ. Tapping the button to accept the call as she plopped into the seat, she frowned when Wheeler's face appeared on her screen. "Why are you calling me at this hour, Admiral?" she didn't care if she sounded insubordinate. She was tired and angry.

”My apologises, Commander, I didn’t realise the time on board.” Wheeler lied. ”But as your up, I was wondering if I could have a chat with you?”

'Like hell you didn't,' Bec thought, glaring at Wheeler's image. "And what do you want to chat about, Admiral?" she asked, not hiding her contempt for him, she was too tired to put on the false face.

“How’s it going on Legacy? Everything running smoothly under Commander Jackson?” Wheeler asked in the nicest tone he could muster.

"Everything is going well, Commander Jackson is doing an excellent job," Bec replied, suddenly realizing what his game was. "If you're calling hoping that I'll tell you she's failing or to ask me to be your little spy, you can end this call right now, Admiral. I have faith and respect in my Captain and I will not disrespect her and lose her trust."

“Not at all, Commander. I just want know how the crew is settling in. I know it’s a little strange serving under a Commander rather than a Captain.” Wheeler replied with his best smile.

"Not really, Admiral," Bec smiled sweetly. "She's still called Captian," she pointed out. "And she's just as competent as any I've seen with the rank of Captain."

The Admiral strongly wanted to disagree with the Commander but she was on side for the moment he didn’t want to lose that. So he nodded his understanding, “She has the full support of the crew?”

"She does," Bec nodded and leaned back in her chair, running a hand through her hair. "Admiral, why are you asking so many redundant questions about Commander Jackson? She is doing her job and doing it damn well. The crew all support and love her. We're working hard to figure out what happened to the stations and prevent another station from going boom. Unless you have something specific that must be talked about now, I'd like to go to bed."

“Commander, I have some concerns with Commander Jackson. I’m talking to you to elevate those concerns. I may be hard on her but it’s my job. I need to get the best out of those under my command.” Wheeler replied. “Thank you for your time and I appreciate the time you’ve taken to talk to me.”

"What concerns do you have about Commander Jackson? Her record is cleaner than mine," Bec pointed out. "She's a fine officer."

“Exactly that, Commander Hudson, her record is too clean. Being a Captain means making hard choices, some times the wrong ones. Why is her record so clean?” Wheeler replied, as he looked at the Commander. “I don’t like it!”

"You are... interesting... Admiral. Her record is too clean? I've never heard anyone complain about that before," Bec shook her head. "I'm willing to bet that if she had my record, you'd have issue with her as well. You can't have things perfect. She's already making tough decisions and, in my opinion, she's making the right calls."

“But will she make proper tough decisions? I don’t think so, she’s too interested in getting nails done and getting her hair permed.” The Admiral said before leaning back in his chair. “Alright Commander, I’ll let you get back to sleep. Thank you for your help.”

"Really? I've seen her do neither of those things," Bec shook her head. "Is that what this is all about? She's pretty and blonde, so you think she's more interested in her looks than doing her duty?" Unable to contain her laughter, she let it flow. "Ah, careful there before someone thinks you're being sexist, Admiral. Good night, please call again during regular business hours," Bec smirked before cutting the comm.

RSS Feed