Father & Son (Part 1)

Posted on 05/13/2020 @ 1:43am by Captain Cian D'Anvers
Edited on on 05/14/2020 @ 1:28am

Mission: S1E3: Visit to Starbase 375
Location: Starfleet Headquarters, Earth/USS Crazy Horse
Timeline: Day 1 at 1100

It had been a beautiful day on Earth. It was almost Summer in San Francisco. The flowers were in bloom. The trees were all lush and green. It was peaceful. A nice place to live and work. It was almost 16:30 local standard time. Almost everyone was gearing up to go home. People were just about to start their daily commutes. It almost was the magic of home time. In the halls of Star Fleet Headquarters, there were lots of happy faces. most were getting ready to leave their offices for another 16 hours.

Feeling fatigued, Admiral Cash was walking the hallway to his office. He had just come from a meeting with the Procreations Oversite Committee for the UFP. It was, to coin a phrase, life sucking. As the Admiral walked with each step he wondered how he became a Bureaucrat. I guess it comes with the job wen you are the Deputy C&C of Starfleet. Admiral Cash stood there for a second and stared at his office door. He looked at the name plate. and thought to himself.....IF I knew that it would be like THIS, I would have never let them promote me beyond Lt. Commander. Because THAT is when they start to expect things from you.

Cash opened his door, and was greeted with a blonde quantum torpedo of energy. Her name was Petty Officer Rachel Gibbons. She had been with Cash as his administrative asst. for 3 years now. In all that time Cash had never seen her without a smile, or without a raktajino for him. He was REALLY hoping that this would not hoping that this would be the first time. He walked into the office. Her face lit up like she had just heard a funny story when Cash walked in.

"Wow, you sure look like hell sir." She said pointing out the obvious.

" Thanks, I'll remember that. You ARE on the promotions list, right?" Cash said with an evil grin.

She looked at him and shook her head. She knew that sarcasm was just one of the services that the Admiral preforms. "Ok, There are files I uploaded to your computer. They need your signature. And the orders came through that you have been waiting for. They are on chips on your desk, and waiting for final stages? I don't know what that means, but Admiral Collins's told me to tell you that you owe him one? Oh, and I figured you might want one. so there is a hot ractejino on your desk" Rachel said with slight curiosity. "Need me for anything else?" She asked waiting to go home.

"No...Yes." Said the Admiral. "I need you to open a channel to the Commanding officer of the USS Crazy Horse. A Commander Cian D'Anvers. Then, go home." Cash said "I'll be waiting in my office."

"Aye sir." She said getting right on it.

Cash sat at his desk he took a much needed sip of his Klingon coffee. He looked at those chips. and started to fidget with them. "Thank you Allen." He said to himself. Allen Collins was one of his friends. He was also head of Starfleet Personnel. Cash knew that what he had asked of Collins was a tall order. Friendship was one thing. But this was something irregular indeed. And, the orders were only under the condition that Commander D'Anvers would accept them willingly. Otherwise, they could still be rejected.

=/\= "Sir, I've got the Crazy Horse. Go ahead." =/\= said Rachel

Admiral Cash turned his computer to face him fully. "Commander D'Anvers I presume?" He asked.

"Yes, Admiral," Cian said at once. And though they were who knew how much distance apart, he still found himself sitting with all of the military demeanor they'd drilled into him at the Academy. Some lessons, it seemed, never got themselves unlearned. "How can I help you," he said with the accent of his youth prevalent in the way he spoke.

"Well first off, you can relax son." Cash said with a smile. "You look brittle enough to break."

Cian flashed a wry smile as he reached for his ever present cup of tea. "So what's on your mind, Admiral," he said. He took a long sip and settled back in his seat, his legs again stretching out beneath the desk.

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Cash said with a smile. Then, he reached for his raktajino and took a slow long sip creating a pregnant pause. When he was done his sip he put the cup down. And he looked into the screen at Cian. "Commander, do you have any children?" He asked to slowly come around to the point of his call.

"No, Sir, I do not," Cian answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, maybe it may be for the best." Cash said with a smile. "I'm a father. Actually, it's kind of the reason why I'm talking to you now, In a round about way, of course. Commander....Cian, I'm sorry, may I call you by your first name?" He asked sounding less like a Starfleet Admiral and more like a father.

"Of course, Sir," Cian said as he leaned forward, folding his arms so that his elbows leaned on the desk. And while his expression remained neutral, a habit that most command officers picked up, a spark of curiosity was kindled in the depths of his eyes, gray today.

"Thank you. You see Cian, My son is in Starfleet. He is an Engineer. And a pretty good one from what I've been told. Well, he has had his fair share of...lets just say that his career in Starfleet has not been your model officer. It's true, he has a lot to learn. But, I've recently learned that he wants to try and make good. And, He said that his current crew feels the same. Now, in his current assignment, he has already showed that he is serious about this. He, AND his crew feel that they are deserving of showing they can redeem themselves. From what I've read in their files they know their stuff. And based JUST on their files, I wouldn't trust any of them with a workbee let ALONE a starship. But, in my opinion, they have proven themselves worthy of one last shot." Cash took another sip of his raktajino. "The long and short of it is this....I've looked at your ship's record and, unless it's changed, you need a Chief Engineer and a senior engineering crew. I can't.....I mean, I won't force you to take them. But It would mean a lot to me personally IF you would. Make no mistake Cian, I want them to fly or fail on their own merit. I will not interfere in your command. And, I've never met you before. That's important. I can live with people saying nepotism got him his last chance. But I will NOT have them saying he only got anywhere because of it. Now, my son does meet the qualifications of the position. All he....All they need is the chance. I have the preliminary orders drawn up. It's all based on your approval. I can send you their files right now, IF you wish. But know this....It is your ship. And whatever your choice, I want you to make it with confidence. Yes, OR no. I'm not talking to you as an Admiral right now. I'm talking to you as a father who wants the best for his son." Then Cash looked away for a brief second. And when his head returned facing forward Cash was looking down. Then, his gaze returned front and center. "Will you at least look at the files Cian?" He asked with a slight quiver in his voice.

"Send the files. The least I can do is look them over," Cian said. "Though I make no promises about actually accepting them all. We're going into an unexplored area of space and we'll be on our own for awhile. I need a crew that I can depend on. But I'll look. Send them."

"Well, that's a start." Cash said as he took the computer chips that were on his desk. Each chip had a person's file and tentative transfer orders to the USS Crazy Horse. All they needed to become official orders was approval from the ship's CO. One by one he slipped in the chip in the slot, and downloaded the info. He did this till every one was downloaded. "Alright Cian, sending everything to you in an official file now. Just let me know when you've reached your decision, Please. You are the last link in this chain. Thanks again. Cash Out." He said closing the channel.

Admiral Cash took a deep breath in, and just held it in for a second. Then, took a huge gulp of his raktajino. "Well, That went better then I feared." He said smiling nervously. He rubbed his tired eyes. and walked out of his office. He looked at Rachel's desk. At that moment he remembered, he already sent her home. It was time for him to get going home. He knew that he had a busy day tomorrow. Another day to again ponder exactly when he stopped being a Starfleet Officer and started being a Bureaucrat. As he was leaving his office, he half jokingly pondered to himself.....Would they allow him to take a demotion all the way down to Lt. Commander? And with that, Admiral Cash closed his officer door.

Commander Cian D'Anvers
(About to be Beleaguered Commanding Officer)
USS Crazy Horse

Lt jg Xander Cash Admiral Cash
Chief Engineering officer as Deputy Commander
USS Crazy Horse Fleet Operations