Conversation to be had

Posted on Wed Jul 20th, 2022 @ 2:03pm by Captain Ivan Petrov & Sergeant David Novak & Lieutenant JG Kassandra Selin

Mission: In-Between (S1:E2-S1:E3)
Location: Captain's Cabin
Timeline: Mission Day 1 at 0000
2565 words - 5.1 OF Standard Post Measure

After her conversation with Johnathan, Kassandra had headed for the Captain's cabin. Oh she showered and changed first, dressed in slate grey slacks and her favorite dark red silk blouse and was using the crutches she was supposed to use. She swung into place before the Captain's door and nodded to the bodyguard and hit the chime.

The door opened and her father stood there in a grey undershirt and his black uniform pants. When he saw her, his lips parted slightly.

"Kassandra." he said in greeting, but he knew why she was here. "Come in and have a seat. We have some talking to do."

"That is an understatement I believe Captain." She said calmly, choosing a formal tone. When he stepped back she swung in on the crutches. She didn't want to fight but she had a feeling she would need to.

"Captain still?" he asked as the door closed behind him. He had waved David off, expecting he had nothing to fear for his life from her or anyone else. Yana was away taking care of some official business as she so often was now. "Please."

He gestured to the couch, offering an arm to help her sit.

Kass nodded and let him help her sit down. She placed the crutches beside her on the floor. "You spoke with Lieutenant Anderson today." She said softly.

"Captain...Lieutenant...are you here in some formal capacity I don't know about?" Ivan asked, using a tone he'd seldom used with her before. It was warm and fatherly, no hint of boss or captain in it. "Seriously, Kass. We're not getting anywhere pretend like we're in a staff briefing. This is personal."

"Yes, it is, and I am trying to find my way through this, as I am sure you are. I sent Johnathan to you because I thought you would appreciate him at least asking. I could have just said yes and announced it, without doing so." Kassandra said.

"Oh, could you have?" he asked, leaning back in his seat, his eyes hooding a bit. "I assumed you sent him to me because you respected me as your father. Is that the case or not?"

She narrowed her eyes, eyes that, were like his. "Yes, but also because I believed that you would respect the fact that I know my own mind. I have looked after myself for most of my life."

"Then my permission means nothing to you, nor does my judgement." he said, not going so far as to narrow his eyes. He kept it friendly and gentle. Their relationship was still extremely young as father and daughter. For goodness sake, she still called him 'captain' in private. "I am not a rubber stamp. My authority is real, and I won't just say what you want me to say. It's presumptuous and entitled for you to assume I should."

"I believe I used the word Would. Not Should." Kass replied folding her hands in her lap. "I am 22 years of age, and lets be honest here, no one really cares out here who I marry. I am illegitimate. My 'worth' is less than Mika and Andrei. A lot less. If we were on Terra, you would be lucky to bribe someone to marry me."

"You aren't less to me." he said simply, his eyes meeting hers. There was a slight pause before he smiled and shook his head. "You aren't less to me, Kassandra. When we get home, I will use every ounce of power it takes to have the Emperor legitimize you and give you a new name. Mine."

He was also presuming alot, but he did so without hesitation or fear of giving offense. The love of a father was so important, and he had been too absent to give it to anyone.

"And I care who you marry very very much. I think I've proven that."

"Why? He is a good man, and he loves me and I love him. Yes its been a short time but I know my feelings." Kass said calmly.

"Marriage is about more than feelings." he said with a shake of his head. "That is why Terran family law gives me so much power in the wedding of my children. The parents can save the children from doing what must not be done: follow their heart alone. He seems like a good man, yes, but it is quite easy for a man to seem that way for two months."

"I am living with him Father" Kass chose to use the word when she stated the simple fact. "And I am not dumb, I know what he is like. He helped me when Morrison tortured me. He helped Callie when ANDREI insulted her. He helps me today when I struggle to walk. He is kind, caring and he loves me. I am not changing my mind."

His gaze darkened at the last part of her statement. He said nothing for several moments. Then he leaned forward until his face was close to hers.

"What would Artaxes have done if his supposed daughter married despite his prohibition?" he asked, his gaze unflinching.

"Kill me." Came the calm reply. "If he even cared to notice. Why do you think I am in the fleet instead of trying to get a husband in the Imperial Court like Athanasia? He hated me from birth. I never knew why, I don't think he knows I am not his. He might suspect but I don't think he knows you are my father."

"And I care for you very much." he said, still looking at her with serious eyes. "So it would hurt me very much to have to respond seriously to you and Johnathan eloping."

He blinked. He had done terrible things before. He was responsible for the deaths of countless millions. Never family. The law was on his side, and so was the honor of his family.

"You think you are outside the laws of the Empire here. You are mistaken. We are the Empire here, and I intent to enforce its laws, customs, and glory. All of them, including exercising my right to say yes or no according to my own judgement. Marry him without my permission...and his blood will be on your hands, Kassandra."

Well that was certainly clear enough. Kass considered a response, but chose to keep the anger inside her bottled up. She leaned down and picked up the crutches and placed them before herself and used them to stand. "Then you best get used to the idea of the possibility of grandchildren out of wedlock" she said, though she had no intention of having children so soon, he didn't need to know that.

His eyes were sad. This wasn't going as he'd hoped, but it was going exactly as he'd expected. The look he gave her was disappointment, plain and simple. It was the first time he'd ever looked at her that way. This rebellion was unbecoming, and he understood he didn't have either the confidence of her or Johnathan. He said nothing.

There was a flash of sadness through Kass's face but it quickly faded back to the blank mask that he had seen her wear throughout her childhood. And with his wife. "Thank you for your time Father" She saluted and dropped a proper curtsey as best she could with the crutches and headed for the door.

"I was planning to take your boyfriend under my wing for a bit, to get to know him. I was going to make sure he was the right man for you. All I needed was a few weeks." he said, his eyes still facing forward. "But I will not do this for a daughter who does not respect me."

"And you would be wrong about me. But Respect goes both ways Father." She replied as she continued towards the door. "I showed respect. I always have even when I thought you were a family friend. Respect is all I had."

"I don't owe you respect, Kassandra." he said, his eyes meeting her. "I owe you love. And so does your husband, when you have one. You don't understand that, because you don't know what love is. Two people, abandoned and hated as children, are so sure they're ready to get married after two months together. I've never seen bigger red flags."

She turned and looked at him. "So what are you saying? That I am blind? That because I was shown no love, I do not know how to show it or even recognize it?"

"Yes. In a sense, that's what I am saying." he said with a frown. "And if I'm wrong, I will have to find that out for myself. Because I'd sooner be damned than let you make an unhappy marriage." His love was clear then, if anyone else had been listening. That was the cornerstone of it, beyond power and tradition, and all else. He wanted to make sure his daughter was happy. But he had to make her very unhappy to do so.

"You think he would make me unhappy? After what you witnessed?"

"No." he said, being honest. "But I'm not yet sure. Why don't you just help me instead of stomping away?"

She could not cross her arms. Her step father would have just killed her and be done with it. Why was he being so different. She had seen women her step brothers had been involved with thrown off the cliffs near their house when they got ideas above their station. She had fully expected the same sort of thing. She was bringing dishonour to his family. Hell, her very presence was a stain on the honour. "If we were on Terra, you would have no choice you know." she said softly. "To deal with the problem."

"You're not a problem. You're my daughter." he said with softening eyes. "I would be glad to treat you like one, if you will treat me as a father. Then there would be no talk of 'dealing' with anything at all."

"I.." she broke off. "...." she shrugged unable to articulate what was swirling in her head. "you chose him as your chief of flight, your second officer. You can't be totally against us"

"I never said I was." he said, taking several slow steps toward her, closing the chasm of distance between them. "I'm not against you. I just want assurances he's the right man for you. I don't think it would take long before I knew for sure....this might be the only thing I ever really get to do for you..as your father."

Kass knew there was a lot she could say, hurtful stuff, but she was not a child to throw such things at him. She knew had she found out as a child that the man she considered a family friend was really her father she would have run away to try and find him. She had wanted a father as a child. Someone who loved and cared for her. For the man who had raised her never had. "How... how long?"

"Because of your disrespect, its clear to me we all have things we need to work through. Two months." he said simply. Taken a few more steps toward her.

"Two Months" she had not moved, and as she spoke she bowed her head. "And what are your conditions for those months?"

"He needs to show me that he can respect my rules. And he needs to be honest with me, whatever question I ask him." Ivan said with a resolute expression. "When a man respects another man, he also respects his daughter. Its a truth as old as the Terran race."

He cleared his throat, having come right up to her. He looked down at Kassandra, knowing the hardest part was yet to come.

"And no moving in together." he said, shaking his head.

Her head flew up. "What!? I am there because he is helping me recover! An-and.." she stumbled over her words "You Know we are together right?"

"Of course, I'm not stupid. But moving in now doesn't work." he said. "If you need medical assistance, we have an entire department for that. You can even move in here with Yana and me and we can help you. I'm sure Mika would be glad to have you as well."

Yeah no not moving in with her father and his family. She shook her head "I... will tell him." she said softly. "I will be able to see him off duty right?"

He placed a hand on her arm and smiled.

"I'm not a monster, Kassandra." he said with a reasonable tone. "Just...uhm....be home by 11, young lady." he said, selecting his best stern dad voice.

She narrowed her gaze at him. "I am 22 not 16" she replied. "But I will not move in with Johnathan for 2 months. Do you know how much stuff I already have in his cabin?" she wanted to whine a bit more.

"Yes, and I was joking." he said, pulling her in for an unexpected hug. He couldn't predict how she would respond, so he kept it brief. "22 is not very old you know. You're still practically a baby. I could always try to hold you to make up for old time. What do you say?"

"Pass." Kass said. "I have to go tell Johnathan the new rules."

Well, at least he had respect. They would work on the rest. Ivan turned and walked back over to his couch, sitting down and picking up a PADD of work.

"Great. Bye." was all he said, no longer investing special energy into the interaction.

Kass rolled her eyes. "Andrei is sneaking around with that Medical Officer and several of the junior officers in security were talking about asking Mika out." She called out as she swung towards the door. "Some are pretty cute... "

"Then I've got a very long kill list coming, don't I?" he asked, looking over at her. "You leaving, or do you want to stay and listen to a lecture about why you should be nicer to your old man?"

"Hey you have a daughter who is Chief of Intelligence, if you don't want the intelligence then say so" Kass said in a sing song voice. "And there is a yeoman lusting after Yana.." the doors opened as she approached them. "That one should probably be your first port of call. Good Night Father!"

"What? Who?!" exclaimed. "Kassandra, get back here!"

"Good night Father, remember you were finished talking to me" Kass laughed. "The yeoman is in security."She did however pause outside the door and give the bodyguard a wink. "Hmm and your bodyguard is cute" she added fuel to the fire just for fun.

David looked at her with a surprised expression, his eyes averted from the parts of her he found most interesting. He wasn't interested in angering her father, but he figured there was no harm. He grinned and shook his head at the exchange.

"Thank you, ma'am." was all he said.

She grinned back and headed off down the hall singing off key deliberately "I know a secret!" before rounding the corner towards the chief of Flight Controls Cabin and her own which was further down the hall.