Playing Nice I

Posted on Mon Feb 12th, 2024 @ 8:22am by Lieutenant Commander Annalise Faulkner & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov

Mission: S1 Episode 7: Prime Factors
Location: Ready Room; Gladius
Timeline: Date 2371-09-10 at 1530
2884 words - 5.8 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

Andrei materialized in the Transporter pad, his hands firmly and formally behind his back. He had wrestled with Captain Petrov searching for permission to have Gladius’ resident criminal transferred into his custody. He laid on all the charm, but his father had made it perfectly clear he had no intentions of making waves over the man. Andrei was disappointed and more than a bit annoyed. He was going to have to ask nicely; he had a bag at his side with things inside that would help him do just that.

He looked straight out at the crewman standing behind the console in front of him. It was traditional for a visitor to ask for permission to come aboard when coming onto a different ship, but he simply saluted and stepped off. He didn’t need permission. He stepped into the corridor and made his way to the Ready Room. When he arrived, he pressed the chime and waited for a response.

“Come in.” Annalise called from inside.

She wasn’t entirely sure why Andrei Petrov wanted to meet with her, but she had accepted the meeting anyway. She was sitting behind her desk with a PADD in her hand, still working even at this hour it seemed. Annalise, per usual, had opted for a happy medium in her uniform that most female commanding officers used - the cropped jacket for women coupled with pants instead of a skirt. Her hair was down instead of tied up and it was really the only note of “casual” she had about her at the moment.

The door opened a second after she bid him come in. He strode into the office confidently and approached her desk.

“Commander Faulkner; I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure.” He said in a smooth voice, his visible eye locked on hers and a pleasantly charming smile on his face. “Andrei Petrov. Pleased to meet you.”

“Not formally, no.” Annalise confirmed with a smile and nod as she set the PADD down. The mass funeral after the ambush at the nebula had only given them a passing moment of acknowledgement, and she had really only dealt with Captain Petrov in the following days while the new order was getting settled.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Commander Petrov.”

He reached forward and grabbed her hand gently, leaning down and kissing the back of it gently and slowly. It seemed more the gesture of a high born man than anything remotely flirtatious, yet it acknowledged that she was a woman and he was a man in a military situation where such gestures were rare.

“I brought you a gift. It’s just a little something to welcome you to the Fleet.” He said before reaching into his bag and pulling out a bottle of wine which would cost thousands of dollars back home. “Fortunately, I stocked my wine cabinet before we left Spacedock.”

Given she was wearing her gloves, Andrei’s lips hadn’t made contact with her skin which suited her just fine, really. She wasn’t put off by the gesture - it was perfectly normal in most settings - it just hadn’t been something she had done to her in quite a long time. She eyed the bottle of wine slightly, unfamiliar with it outside of the fact she knew that brand was expensive. Her family had owned some similar items, but those were only for very special occasions.

“That’s very kind of you, thank you.” Her smile remained, relaxed and open. “What can I do for you this evening?”

Andrei stepped forward and took the seat in front of her desk, settling into a comfortable position and establishing himself in the room. He hadn’t waited for an invitation; it wasn’t his way.

“I wanted to check in on you and see how you’re adjusting to the new status quo. It’s got to be a huge relief finding friends so far from home after the adventure you all have had.”

“It is an adjustment to be sure. A welcome one to a point, but it will take a bit of time for things to settle in as they should be. The planned rotation of some of the crew will help facilitate that I’m sure.” While Annalise seemed genuinely accepting of it and had even been the one to suggest some of the transfers herself, it was clear a part of her was disheartened by losing some of her people. They had been through so much together, it was natural.

“This was necessary for our survival.”

“That’s true.” He said with a nod to affirm her words. “One little ship seventy-thousand light years away; It was really only a matter of time before you were all killed without us.”

He paused and lifted his head, friendly but strong. She was certainly a pretty girl. She had beautiful eyes. He wasn’t shy in his noticing and he didn’t hide, but his gaze was far from ogling.

“Thank the gods we showed up, right?” He asked before clearing his throat. “Or thank Ivan Petrov.”

Annalise didn’t reply to him immediately, instead she just regarded him for a few solid beats. Was he trying to be charming in some way pointing out these things and painting the Vengeance and her crew as some sort of savior? He wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t exactly an endearing topic.

“Indeed. Would you like something to drink?”

“Sure.” Andrei said with a no, his gray eye shifting to study the stars outside her small window. “That sounds lovely.”

“What can I get for you?” She stood and moved to the replicator behind her desk. She wasn’t unwelcoming in any sense, but it was obvious she knew Andrei was here for more than just being nice.

“I’ll have a Saurian brandy. The replicator doesn’t do it any justice as far as the alcoholic content goes, but it tastes just right.” He said amiably. As she got it for him, he considered something aloud. “You know, you’re probably the youngest ship commander in the Imperial Fleet and I’m pretty sure I’m the youngest XO. Did you ever think about that?”

“No, not really.” Annalise admitted with simple honesty, getting him his brandy and herself a simple peppermint tea. On setting his brandy down before him, she lifted her brows slightly.

“You’ll probably find that closer to the real thing. Our chief engineer ‘upgraded’ our replicators when we were still on our mission in the alpha quadrant because she was sick of the… mm.. what did she call it? Bottom of the barrel swill?”

“A woman after my own heart.” Andrei said with a laugh as he picked up the glass and took a sip. “Damn, that is pretty good. It was Marikit Urso who did this?”

He didn’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of her crew so much as a mechanical eye patch which networked with the computer and had local storage. He had downloaded the service records of every officer and enlisted in the fleet for use at his convenience.

“Yes.” She sipped her tea and sighed out over the rim of her glass. “She is an astounding engineer and honestly is probably the biggest reason this ship has survived for as long as it has. I’ll be sad to see her go but I know she will benefit the Vengeance. I hope your former assistant chief will settle in here with us alright.”

“Then I have to admit I’m glad we’re taking her off your hands. Our Chief and Assistant are both very talented, especially the later, but they are both unfortunately not as Terran as they could be.” Andrei said with a light and jovial tone. This was him playing nice and, in all honesty, he prefered doing things the other way. “Revana is coming to you, and she knows her stuff. She’s also a friend of mine.”

“Despite not being Terran enough?” Annalise asked, one brow lifting. She didn’t give much of her feelings away on the matter and continued to read calm and collected. She too had looked over the incoming personnel and had seen the woman was half Orion, so immediately she was suspicious that this wasn’t really a friend to Andrei but more a “friend”. It was common for the green skinned beauties to find Terran men with certain proclivities and power to latch onto; they all hoped to duplicate the success of Maris Vaatar, the Orion woman who had nearly brought the Empire crashing down through her seduction of a weak Emperor.

“I have friends in high places and low, Annalise.” He said, trying her first name as if they themselves were friends. “She’s the daughter of the Empire’s Chief spy, so I would consider her a friend in a high place, species aside.”

He sipped the drink she’d given him again, looking at her with calmness bordering that would typically come with being very comfortable with someone.

“I’d like to be your friend as well.”

Now they were getting somewhere it seemed. She sipped her tea, not answering him immediately, then smiled as she put her cup back down into its saucer. “I see. So are you someone who believes without a doubt that we will see home again?”

“I am.” He answered simply, confidently. “With our determination and the resources at our fingertips, we’ll be able to find our way back to Terra. My only hope is it happens before you get your gray hairs.”

He made the comment amiably without any sense of double motive.

“How about you? Do you expect to get home, or are you settling to survive out here in the Delta Quadrant for the rest of your life?”

“I expect to get home within my lifetime - whether that is before or after grey hair is up in the air and will largely depend on our efforts as a group, I imagine.” Her reply was noncommittal of course, but now that the Gladius wasn’t alone anymore things were certainly looking up for their situation.

“Right.” Andrei said with a nod, and a silence fell over them for a few seconds. When he spoke again, his visible eye made direct contact with hers and he held there for a moment, unflinching. “But to do that, we’re going to have to work together and work hard to preserve Terran life. I’ve been looking through your crew roster and it has come to my attention that we have a serious threat amongst your crew related to that imperative.”

The friendliness he’d shown had waned, replaced by a cold and strong tone and expression. Andrei knew how to use his face and his body to get what he wanted out of people, directly or otherwise. She didn’t know yet, but he was a man who was capable of anything.

“Malcolm O’Shea.”

The silence hadn’t bothered her nor had the dissolution of Andrei’s friendliness; even in front of his change, she calmly sipped her tea and listened patiently. When he was done she lowered her drink once more, paused, and then spoke.

“Yes, I did have my reservations about that myself. I did, however, allow him to remain on the Gladius after an at length conversation with my XO regarding the man.”

“He killed a fellow officer in a drunken brawl. Don’t you think he needs to be punished for his crimes?” Andrei asked, furrowing his brow a bit. “What kind of example does this set, in your mind, to a fleet full of people?”

“He was punished, Commander, but not with death. Lieutenant Stagg conducted a thorough investigation and deemed the incident to be accidental and argued that the loss of two lives would only be a hindrance to the crew overall.” She sighed softly then, looking out to the stars. “I know it is likely hard to understand for someone in your position where you have a larger ship and a fleet at your back, but understand by that point we were down to twenty-three people - we had lost nearly a third of our crew. To lose more would put us at risk of not being able to run our ship which in turn would put us all in danger.”

She looked back to Andrei. “I did warn Stagg that if anything else happened with this man - or any of his men - to this degree again he would be joining them on their long walk out of a short airlock.”

“Probably an empty threat for the reasons you just mentioned.” He said, smiling. “I understand the circumstances you were in; I’ve read the reports and I’ve heard some of the stories. But now you’re with the Shadow Fleet. I think it’s time his punishment was reevaluated.”

He paused, groaning in his spirit, but not in fact.

“Respectfully.”

“I’m sure Lieutenant Stagg thought the same which is why he agreed,” the beautiful woman shrugged, her head tilting just slightly as she did so. “It wasn’t.”

She spoke sincerely and simply and gave no indication that she was simply putting up a front, even his readings on his eyepatch would have indicated that the threat - at the time at least - had been sincere.

“Why do you feel his punishment should be re-evaluated, Commander? Since the incident and his punishment, he has been nothing but a model member of this crew.”

“Considering a Terran life was taken, I would like to open an inquiry into the matter with the security department on Vengeance. The idea it was an accident is..dubious to me based on what I’ve read.” Andrei said, folding his strong arms under his chest. “I’d like him to be turned over into my custody for the review for questioning and evaluation.”

“Is this a personal quest, Commander?” Annalise asked, not seeming annoyed nor challenging, simply curious. “I’ve been diligent in keeping up with reports and requests, Captain Petrov and I regularly communicate and he has not once mentioned this.”

“It’s a request from a friend, Annalise. That’s what we were just talking about.” He said, calm and collected. “Nothing more. You and I could benefit from mutual cooperation, can’t we? I’m certain I’m a good friend to have in this fleet.”

“So, a personal request.” While blunt, she wasn’t being cold. “With that in mind, I will direct you to my XO. This was his pet project to look after; if you can convince him of the validity of your request in this case I will happily approve it.”

Andrei resisted the urge to ball up his fists at the response. He didn’t know how much of this politeness he could take.

“I think you should just tell me yes.” He said with as neutral a tone as he could muster. “Whose in charge around here, after all? You or your XO?”

“You know very well who is in charge here, Commander Petrov.” She opened her arms and gestured to the desk with her palms up. “That is why you are here and why you brought a very expensive gift. I will not, however, disrespect my own Executive Officer by going back on an agreement with him without good reason. You have provided none and this is not a mandate from Captain Petrov. Seeing as this is important to you for whatever personal reason you have, I’ve given you an option to pursue. Now, if you feel for some reason you cannot convince Lieutenant Stagg of the validity of your need to reassess the status of the crewman in question, then we can talk about that.”

She placed her hands down on the desk. “Is that a concern for you?”

“I’m not concerned about anything.” Andrei said with a confident lift of his head. “I’ll talk to Stagg as you suggest”

He stood up then, slow and in control.

“Thanks for receiving me this evening. I know you’re busy.”

“It was no trouble, Commander.” A warm smile settled on her face as she sat back in her chair and looked up at him. “It was a pleasure to finally meet you in person. Good luck on your endeavor.”

“No worries, Annalise.” He said with a smile, charming and self-assured, but the patch took all the boyishness out. He looked as dangerous as he was handsome. “I always get what I want in the end. Every single time.”

“I’m sure we will see each other again sooner rather than later.” She stood then, picking up her tea and her PADD and moved over toward the small loveseat under the window. She gave no reply to his flexing about getting what he wanted, she saw no need to. “Have a good rest of your evening.”

Andrei watched her as she sat, allowing his gaze, for one moment, to trace the shape of her body without expression. Then, with nothing more than a blink, he turned and exited the room.

END