Strong Right Hand

Posted on Sat Oct 22nd, 2022 @ 3:29pm by Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov & Petty Officer 2nd Class Jasper Branson
Edited on on Sat Oct 22nd, 2022 @ 7:42pm

Mission: In-Between (S1:E3-S1:E4)
Location: Cargo Bay 1
Timeline: Mission Day 28 at 2030
3067 words - 6.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Following his tryst with Lyra and the XO's office, Andrei had freshened up in the bathroom, run a comb through his onyx locks, and put his uniform back on. Pushing her out of his mind enough to do his work, he decided he would tackle the question of his yeoman straight away. Having asked the computer where Branson was, he went to locate the logistics specialist in Cargobay 1. He entered the large room with a confident stride, having unwound through his powerful release with Lyra. There were a few ops personnel inventorying and moving around containers, some of which looked at him with interest.

It had been a long few weeks for Jasper. After the assault incident, part of his punishment had been he was not allowed down to Anorra for any sort of leave time and also had not been allowed a more lax schedule. In truth he felt like he had been single-handedly running Operations while everyone else had been down on the planet fucking around, and really he wasn't that far off. What made him angry is he had been perfectly justified in his actions, but of course nobody else saw it that way.

He hadn't noticed Andrei come in, he was positioned between high stacks of containers with a PADD in his hand. He did however have a line of sight on one of the other crewman who had stopped what he was doing and was looking at Andrei with an expression of wonder on his young, boyish face. Jasper's face twitched in irritation and he threw the PADD at the kid's hip, though he missed and instead nailed him in the shoulder. At least it wasn't his head. "Whatever the fuck you are looking at, crewman, stop it and get back to work." He ordered gruffly.

"S-sorry." The kid squeaked out and bent to pick up the PADD that had been launched at him. He held it awkwardly in his hands and seemed to be trying to decide if he should bring it back to Branson, hold onto it, or what.

Andrei located Branson as soon as the shout sounded. Though the man was obscured from his view, his interface patch gave him the ability to see through the containers that were between them. Made curious by the exchange, he stopped, the slightest hint of a grin on his face and watched. He crossed his powerful arms under his chest and stood perfectly still, his eyes fixed on the containers, it would seem. Several of the crew members around him got a bit nervous, but anxiously got back to work in a distracted fashion for fear they might be next in Branson's eyes.

The young crewman looked to Andrei now standing like a statue staring at the containers, then back to Branson, then to Andrei, and then finally slunk back over to Branson to give him back his PADD. "H-here, sir. Sorry." Quickly he retreated from the older man then, hopefully out of firing range but likely not. He returned to his work and tried to keep his focus on that alone with not a high degree of success.

"Hells..." Branson growled under his breath and went back to his own work, completely unaware Andrei was behind him given they were separated by the containers. "Swear to gods I'm going to lose it."

Satisfied he'd seen enough, Andrei walked again, rounding the corner of the containers and walking up behind Jasper. His eyes were fixed on him the entire time. He stood there for a few seconds before speaking, his arms still grossed under his chest, his black-gloved fists clenched tightly shut.

"Petty Officer Branson, attention!" he called out, his voice crisp and clear.

Over to the left, the poor young crewman dropped his PADD again and snapped to attention himself, having been startled out of his wits by Andrei's sudden command. Branson however took a beat to finish making whatever notation he was making on his PADD and then looked up from his work and over to Andrei like he was terribly unimpressed with being interrupted, and he was. On seeing the XO standing there though, he let out a sigh and put the PADD down on the cargo container in front of him, turned, and came to attention.

"Sir."

"That was slow, wasn't it?" Andrei asked, his face unamused. "Are you slow of hearing, Branson, or do you have a death wish?"

Andrei stepped forward until they were eye to eye, his eye meeting one of Branson's, and the other one seeing patch. He was close enough that Branson might have been able to smell Lyra's scent on his breath had he not brushed his teeth and washed his face. In his eyes, there was no fear or hesitation.

"When I say attention, you snap to. Or I just might snap something off."

"Apologies, sir." Branson said, mildly taken aback by Andrei getting so close to him. "I simply wanted to finish that entry. Is there something I can assist you with?"

"You can assist me by snapping to attention and speaking when spoken to." Andrei said in a tone that was stalwart but not overtly threatening. The senior officer, moved around Branson slowly, his eyes taking in the man's appearance and the state of his uniform. When he returned to the front again, he looked down at the man's shoes. "Your shoes are scuffed, Petty Officer. Are you an operations officer or a dumpster diver?"

"A bit of both, really. That's the life of an ops specialist." Branson replied, his wit coming before his sense of self preservation. He realized it a moment too late, but stood behind the words and didn't try to take them back.

Andrei stared at the crewman without a word, a blink, or a flinch for the next twenty seconds without the slightest movement. The joke hadn't flown over his head, but that wasn't why he was here right now. He would show his steel and see what he got. Maybe it would be a fight; maybe he would cry.

"You're a comedian when you're not striking your fellow officers, is that right, Petty Officer Branson?"

“Depends who you ask, sir. I, personally, wouldn’t quit my day job and pursue a career, but some people think I’m funny.” Jasper replied. His expression was passive outside of a bit of amusement in those shockingly blue eyes of his.

"Well, is this situation funny to you? Are you amused right now?" Andrei asked, his expression still unmoving and unblinking. "Because you seem amused."

“Like I said, sir, some people think I’m funny. I’m one of them.” Jasper still stood at attention, not looking at Andrei directly in the eyes unless Andrei himself engaged that contact. “Was there anything else I can assist you with, sir?”

"I don't particularly like being laughed at. Makes me think you don't take me seriously." Andrei said, taking the man's readings. "The problem is, I'm very very serious. I fear you might have to learn that lesson the hard way unless you wipe that smirk off your face. And in front of all your friends at that."

This actually did seem to mildly alarm Branson, his eyes slightly widening and the amusement disappearing. “Sir, I wasn’t laughing at you, I was laughing at myself.” He replied in earnest.

"And what's so funny about you, Petty Officer Branson?" Andrei said the only movement on his face being the arching of the eyebrow over his visible natural eye. "Enlighten me. Tell me the joke, soldier. I like to laugh."

"One winter, my father came home to me having made a roaring fire. He was very cross with me, as we didn't have a fireplace." He offered, still just facing ahead, the joke delivered quite deadpan.

Andrei laughed internally, but it was a few seconds before he let it break on his face. When he did, his eyes brightened considerably and his teeth showed. A soft chuckle was all that came out, though.

"And you're still starting fires today, hmm?" he asked rhetorically, slapping a large hand on the man's shoulder roughly; dominantly. "Tell me about your most recent incident. Jokes aside."

To his credit, Jasper's body didn't waver even as Andrei brought his hand down roughly on his shoulder. While Andrei was much larger than most men on the ship, it wasn't so with Jasper himself. He nearly matched Andrei in height and weight, though muscle bulk was a different story. He had tone and definition, but nothing on Andrei who had spent the last month turning himself into a machine.

"Ensign Reskin was making a job harder than it needed to be. I tried to be reasonable, he insisted on his way, then I told him he was an idiot and he got his panties in a twist." He shrugged. "Then myself and Petty Officer Monroe were doing that job, but I insisted he do it my way, he said he was going to slink off to Reskin and play rat, so I punched him."

“And what did that get you?” Andrei asked, still reading the man with his interface as he watched him closely. “What did you gain by calling your superior officer an idiot and then punching Monroe?”

Jasper was slightly tense, his pulse just mildly up, but he didn’t seem to be too agitated by being questioned by Andrei. He would likely slip into irritation if it continued without reason. He was already irritable from not being allowed off the ship. “Several things, sir. An incident report, a couple hours in the agonizer, and a number of drinks from my fellow ops personnel.”

"And, if you could change one thing about your response, what would it be?" Andrei asked, his eye flickering over the enlisted man's own eyes. "Or are you contented with simple crime and punishment with a few slaps on the back to soothe your aching ego?"

For a moment, Jasper was quiet, then actually looked into Andrei's eyes. "Truthfully, I'd probably have just hit Monroe harder and actually knocked him out. He'd have had time to think about his decision to be a fucking rat shit."

"Are you a complete fucking idiot, or do you actually have a brain up there?" Andrei asked, his face turning into a frown. "Try again; what should you have done differently. This time, think with something other than your fists."

There was a prickling of irritation that now appeared on Jasper's face, but for the moment he kept his cool. "Obeyed my superior." He said dryly, disinterested; giving the superior officer his obligatory fellatio.

"No, you twat." Andrei said, leaning in further and lowering his voice. "You shouldn't have gotten caught."

Not everyone could get away with pointing the finger at the other guy. Jasper looked at Andrei and nodded. "Well, that would have been ideal, I'll try that next time."

Andrei watched the man again, not moving. He would test him again to see if there was anything there but anger and brutality.

"How would you do it next time?" he asked. "How would you get what you want without ending up in an agonizer booth?"

Jasper started to speak, though it looked like he was about to ask a question instead of answer Andrei's press. He sighed then and rubbed his hand behind his neck as he gave it some thought. Without violence, is more or less what Andrei was asking, since any other way likely would have ended in the agonizer. "I guess I'd talk to him, make him see my way of things was better. Get him to at least try it once."

"Hmm..." Andrei said, turning his head to the side. He seemed disappointed, though he gave no indication why. "You have a lot to learn."

"Yeah, I know." Jasper replied and looked away from Andrei himself. He'd seen that look enough on the faces of people in his lives to know what was happening. "Offering lessons?" He asked, dry but joking.

"Perhaps." Andrei said a curious glint in his eye. "but I expect a certain...sycophantic devotion you haven't shown yourself capable of delivering."

"Who down here is worthy of that?" Jasper asked in exasperation and waved his hand around the cargo bay. "Or in my department, for that matter?"

"No one." Andrei said, crossing his strong arms and turning his body away a bit. It relived some of the tension, but he stood taller and his eyes scanned the others working in the room, pretending not to be trying to listen to their conversation. "For that, you would have to transfer to a new department. I'm still trying to see what you have to offer besides a complete lack of military discipline, however."

"They put up with my shit because I'm very good at my job, and my lack of military discipline is a direct result of stupid ass decisions by superiors." Jasper finally folded his arms in front of him and looked at Andrei. "What do you want from me, Commander?"

“The same thing I want from everyone, Jasper. For you to do exactly as I say, exactly when I say it, exactly without question. If you can do that, I will promptly remove you from this…latrine duty equivalent job and into a place of influence.” Andrei looked at Branson again, but this time his natural eye was dark and cold, no feeling in it. “I’m looking for a soldier…someone who can project administrative power and make what I want to happen happen.”

Jasper regarded Andrei for a few long moments, searching his face and expression. The wheels were turning. Jasper was intelligent, but not too intelligent. He had attitude and bite, but obviously a willingness to attach and bend when needed - as long as he found a worthy cause. It would be obvious to Andrei why Lyra had slid his name into the bunch. A bitey bastard to be collared. He lifted his chin slightly.

"Are you going to get me killed?" He asked half-joking, the slightest touches of a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“If I’d like to, yes.” Andrei responded, and smiled at that. “But if I do, at least you would die doing something important, eh? Or do you prefer it down here where things are safe and predictable?

"I'd really prefer you didn't, but as long as it is some sort of blaze of glory, why not. Probably the most excitement I'd get in life anyways." Jasper's smirk grew into a slight grin. "Just tell me what you need."

“I need a new Yeoman. Eritrea and you will switch billets. You will get new quarters on Deck 3, and you will spend your days being obedient to me above all others.” He answered, eyeing the man. “I like an underdog and a fighter, and it helps my cause with my woman that you are a man and there’s no chance in hells you’ll be sucking my cock on late night work sessions. The woman in the current role is of questionable loyalty and doesn’t give that same sense of security.”

Jasper started to say something then thought better of it, then started down a different road that perhaps wasn’t much better. “So that’s really a thing? You’ve sworn off other women? Or are you just hoping getting rid of your former Mistress as your yeoman will make it seem that way?” He did seem genuinely interested, but why was the question.

“You will have to wait and see with everyone else.” Andrei said, grinning at that. He wouldn’t answer such a pointed question directly, and he preferred to keep everyone on their toes a bit when he could, and he could in this.

"Shame, one could make a lot of money hustling all of the betting pools going around on the ship." Jasper shrugged but seemed to leave it where it lay. He supposed being yeoman would give him at least a bit of advantage in that.

"The solution is obvious. Lower the terms of bets." Andrei said, grinning slightly. "People don't need to wait and see if I'm made an honest man. Make them wonder if I'll cheat this week. As long as they're thinking about me, all is right."

Andrei shifted then, his expression getting serious suddenly. He was done with this back and forth and was ready to get on to his date.

"Technically, Yeoman King will be your direct supervisor. You will report to her in the morning at 0600 sharp, as that's when she likes to get started. You are technically assigned to alpha shift, but your hours will be irregular. You will start at 0600 and I will come at 0700. When not on duty, you will be on call for administrative needs. The work doesn't end in our department and there's always something else to be done. Make use of the slave girls in any way you need, of course. Oh, and get a new uniform shirt. You won't be needing gold anymore."

“Understood, Commander.” Jasper nodded. “I won’t let you down.” Assuming Andrei wasn’t an idiot of course, but he had never struck Jasper as being one. It would all work out in the end. Probably.

"For now, you're dismissed from down here. You can coordinate with the quartermaster to be moved upstairs and get your desk in order. Jackie will tell you how I like my coffee." Andrei concluded, and then, having glanced around the room once, turned and headed confidently toward the door, his ever-bulkier arms swinging at his side in a sort of arrogant strut.

He watched Andrei go and then as the door closed behind the raven haired man, he noticed his crew - well former crew now - were still standing around gawking. “Alright back to work the lot of you! Gods above this department is going to crumble. Ellis! Take over. I have a new job.” He tossed his PADD onto one of the cargo containers and made for the exit, leaving the various crewmen just standing there hopelessly confused and without direction. Wasn’t his problem anymore.

A vast number of new things were about to become his problems though. Hopefully Andrei would make it worth his time.

END