Post by aoibheni on Oct 7, 2019 16:51:14 GMT
Danann paced into the Ready Room and turned swiftly, waiting for Feyna to join her. She crossed her targleather-clad arms and pursed her lips in visible frustration.
As soon as the door slid closed behind the Starfleet Officer and they were out of earshot of the bridge crew, she spoke rapidly “Whatryoudoing?”, she challenged, the words all tumbling out in one semi-coherent stream.
Jo let the words wash over her, but showed no reaction as she calmly walked over to the replicator and ordered a ginger tea. She stayed silent as the blue sparkles transformed into the steaming beverage, and she wrapped her hands around the fully formed mug. Gently Jo blew the top of the liquid before looking up at Niamh. “My job. What else would I be doing?”
Taking a sip, she took a moment to form her words. “I want to get my Captain back, but I also need to keep my crew together. Things are rarely black and white. More like auburn and ginger.”
Niamh glared aghast at the fragrant cup, then drew her gaze up to Feyna's face. This time-wasting galled her but she recognised it for the power move it was.
She chose to ignore it. If Jo's dick-measuring lead to another ear in the mail, so be it.
"What has Command said? Are they mobilising any back up? I need to know what they intend to do."
“We have barely given them time to read the communication, let alone respond to it”
Joanne put the cup on the desk. “Let’s call a Maquis a Maquis, Nia. You want control of the situation, but won’t give anyone information as to why or how. You want a leap of faith, but aren't giving me anything to believe in.”
She took a step closer to the woman, invading her personal space.
“So, convince me.”
Dannn huffed with genuine surprise. “Con… convince you?”
She struggled for a moment to order her thoughts as Feyna stood firm. “Convince you… “ she nodded absently and stepped back. “OK…” she raised a finger “I wanted to meet at the border, remember? I said this territory wouldn’t be safe for a shiny ship like this. Tom decided to escort Ezia all the way to my front yard.” she raised a second digit, “I told him not to go near the Badlands, thank god he listened there…” a third finger joined the other two, “I scrambled my fighters to defend your ship when the Bremen attacked, leaving my own people vulnerable…” a fourth finger straightened as her hand quivered, “I told Tom not to go to the planet surface, though, and look where ignoring that advise got him. At every point, Jo, I have been honest. Even to the point of insulting your crew to their faces when I saw them lacking… what more do you need from me to prove I’m trying as hard as you are to get Tom back?”
She dropped her hands to her sides. “Your crew have been nothing but dismissive, disrespectful and belligerent and still, I’m here, and still I’m trying to get through to you. If that doesn’t convince you, then you’re destined to get your captain back one sorry piece at a time.”
Waving her hand in the air in frustration, not necessarily at Danann. “Leave the crew attitude out of it. Some of them get stuck in ancient history, and bad memories. And they will hear my opinion on it after the situation has been resolved.”
She grabbed one of her old friend’s arms, and forced her to sit in the guest chair, Jo sitting in the one next to it.
“Let us be involved in whatever plan you have going on. In the vein of complete honesty, I will barely be able to maintain control of the senior crew unless we have some involvement. And neither of us want Marsland to become a hatchet job.”
Danann closed her eyes and sighed. For the first time since the Zorya arrived she felt her stress level slow in its ascent.
"My people have been attacked," she began, "massacred by their own kind because they weren't... actively anti-Federation enough. As much as the people down there hate your bright uniforms and patronising tone, they know they'll not survive without Federation reparations. But you coming here gave our enemies within the Maquis just the excuse they needed to teach us a lesson, and turn the tide of feeling on Zeta Nine at the same moment."
Danann clenched her hands and continued.
“Zetans haven’t attacked the Federation in years, but now… now I know they’ll start joining in the border raids unless I can convince them otherwise…. Those people have reacted the only way they know how when they're attacked, Jo. They learnt decades ago that diplomacy with the Federation doesn’t work. You can’t blame them for learning that lesson so thoroughly after Picard, after Sisko… after a dozen petty Captains looking to make a name for themselves in the wilderness outside Federation borders. In our wilderness…"
She let her tired eyes fix on Joanne.
"You wanna know my plan? Prove their fears unfounded, do what they’ve asked, and leave.”
Tapping her fingers on the arm of her chair, Joanne looked thoughtfully at Nia. “And if we leave, what happens next?” She gave a quiet sigh. “And are you amenable to having two of our crew tagging along with you? And your girl stays here.” She gave a pause. “As our guest. Until you return.”
Niamh’s shoulders sagged.
“I need Ezia.” She looked at Jo, saw the steel in the Commander’s eyes and realised that demand would be one bridge too far today.
“Fine… fine… Just slap her in leg irons and keep her safe. Do not let her go. Do not let her die. I cannot press on you how important she is to me.”
Danann planted her elbows on her knees, leant forward and pressed her face into the palms of her open hands. She rubbed her eyes and bowing deeper, dug her fingers into her auburn curls. She groaned, straightened and sat back.
“I’ll take that cute Tactical officer. I can imagine she needs as much of a break from Douglas as I do. And I dunno… An engineer? You know them better than I do. Who’d welcome a trip off ship right now?”
With a tilt of her head, and a ghost of an amused smile, Jo replied. “If I was a mean friend, I would insist on you taking Soule. But I’m not sure my amusement is worth risking the mission.”
“I’d break his nose into so many pieces his wife wouldn’t be able to put it back together…” Danann interjected.
Jo picked up her rapidly cooling tea again. “I think we have an accord. An engineer and tactical officer, we keep your girl, you return with Tom. And I deal with the fallout from the crew.”
“And you leave,” the Maquis captain reminded her counterpart.
Jo nods. “And the Zorya leaves the system. But not too far.”
As soon as the door slid closed behind the Starfleet Officer and they were out of earshot of the bridge crew, she spoke rapidly “Whatryoudoing?”, she challenged, the words all tumbling out in one semi-coherent stream.
Jo let the words wash over her, but showed no reaction as she calmly walked over to the replicator and ordered a ginger tea. She stayed silent as the blue sparkles transformed into the steaming beverage, and she wrapped her hands around the fully formed mug. Gently Jo blew the top of the liquid before looking up at Niamh. “My job. What else would I be doing?”
Taking a sip, she took a moment to form her words. “I want to get my Captain back, but I also need to keep my crew together. Things are rarely black and white. More like auburn and ginger.”
Niamh glared aghast at the fragrant cup, then drew her gaze up to Feyna's face. This time-wasting galled her but she recognised it for the power move it was.
She chose to ignore it. If Jo's dick-measuring lead to another ear in the mail, so be it.
"What has Command said? Are they mobilising any back up? I need to know what they intend to do."
“We have barely given them time to read the communication, let alone respond to it”
Joanne put the cup on the desk. “Let’s call a Maquis a Maquis, Nia. You want control of the situation, but won’t give anyone information as to why or how. You want a leap of faith, but aren't giving me anything to believe in.”
She took a step closer to the woman, invading her personal space.
“So, convince me.”
Dannn huffed with genuine surprise. “Con… convince you?”
She struggled for a moment to order her thoughts as Feyna stood firm. “Convince you… “ she nodded absently and stepped back. “OK…” she raised a finger “I wanted to meet at the border, remember? I said this territory wouldn’t be safe for a shiny ship like this. Tom decided to escort Ezia all the way to my front yard.” she raised a second digit, “I told him not to go near the Badlands, thank god he listened there…” a third finger joined the other two, “I scrambled my fighters to defend your ship when the Bremen attacked, leaving my own people vulnerable…” a fourth finger straightened as her hand quivered, “I told Tom not to go to the planet surface, though, and look where ignoring that advise got him. At every point, Jo, I have been honest. Even to the point of insulting your crew to their faces when I saw them lacking… what more do you need from me to prove I’m trying as hard as you are to get Tom back?”
She dropped her hands to her sides. “Your crew have been nothing but dismissive, disrespectful and belligerent and still, I’m here, and still I’m trying to get through to you. If that doesn’t convince you, then you’re destined to get your captain back one sorry piece at a time.”
Waving her hand in the air in frustration, not necessarily at Danann. “Leave the crew attitude out of it. Some of them get stuck in ancient history, and bad memories. And they will hear my opinion on it after the situation has been resolved.”
She grabbed one of her old friend’s arms, and forced her to sit in the guest chair, Jo sitting in the one next to it.
“Let us be involved in whatever plan you have going on. In the vein of complete honesty, I will barely be able to maintain control of the senior crew unless we have some involvement. And neither of us want Marsland to become a hatchet job.”
Danann closed her eyes and sighed. For the first time since the Zorya arrived she felt her stress level slow in its ascent.
"My people have been attacked," she began, "massacred by their own kind because they weren't... actively anti-Federation enough. As much as the people down there hate your bright uniforms and patronising tone, they know they'll not survive without Federation reparations. But you coming here gave our enemies within the Maquis just the excuse they needed to teach us a lesson, and turn the tide of feeling on Zeta Nine at the same moment."
Danann clenched her hands and continued.
“Zetans haven’t attacked the Federation in years, but now… now I know they’ll start joining in the border raids unless I can convince them otherwise…. Those people have reacted the only way they know how when they're attacked, Jo. They learnt decades ago that diplomacy with the Federation doesn’t work. You can’t blame them for learning that lesson so thoroughly after Picard, after Sisko… after a dozen petty Captains looking to make a name for themselves in the wilderness outside Federation borders. In our wilderness…"
She let her tired eyes fix on Joanne.
"You wanna know my plan? Prove their fears unfounded, do what they’ve asked, and leave.”
Tapping her fingers on the arm of her chair, Joanne looked thoughtfully at Nia. “And if we leave, what happens next?” She gave a quiet sigh. “And are you amenable to having two of our crew tagging along with you? And your girl stays here.” She gave a pause. “As our guest. Until you return.”
Niamh’s shoulders sagged.
“I need Ezia.” She looked at Jo, saw the steel in the Commander’s eyes and realised that demand would be one bridge too far today.
“Fine… fine… Just slap her in leg irons and keep her safe. Do not let her go. Do not let her die. I cannot press on you how important she is to me.”
Danann planted her elbows on her knees, leant forward and pressed her face into the palms of her open hands. She rubbed her eyes and bowing deeper, dug her fingers into her auburn curls. She groaned, straightened and sat back.
“I’ll take that cute Tactical officer. I can imagine she needs as much of a break from Douglas as I do. And I dunno… An engineer? You know them better than I do. Who’d welcome a trip off ship right now?”
With a tilt of her head, and a ghost of an amused smile, Jo replied. “If I was a mean friend, I would insist on you taking Soule. But I’m not sure my amusement is worth risking the mission.”
“I’d break his nose into so many pieces his wife wouldn’t be able to put it back together…” Danann interjected.
Jo picked up her rapidly cooling tea again. “I think we have an accord. An engineer and tactical officer, we keep your girl, you return with Tom. And I deal with the fallout from the crew.”
“And you leave,” the Maquis captain reminded her counterpart.
Jo nods. “And the Zorya leaves the system. But not too far.”