(ooc: since it looks like none of the mail sent yesterday was queued, i'm sending this narrative of the confrontation between lasiter and t'llhweiir. enjoy.)
Pushing the annunciator for the inner office, she waited for a response. Samuel looked up from what he was reading. By this time he had gotten a muffin, and it sat on is desk. Half eaten. "Come in. At work rather early aren't you?", he said noticing the time. "As are you, Sir," Carrhae replied with a formality that signalled it was not a personal call. She studied his face to see if he seemed to have gotten any rest. He still looked tired, emotionally tired. His sleep was sufficent in quantity, but lacking in quality. Samuel was holding, for now. She also did not detect any sign that he knew what had happened the night before, as he hadn't yet. "You know how it goes... I thought you wanted an 0830 pow-wow instead of 0650?� he asked as she entered. "This came up after my original request, and I felt it necessary to bring it to your attention." t'Llhweiir hated what she was about to do. She hated it because it would put additional stress on her closest friend at a time when he did not need it. None of that showed on her face, though. "Sir, I am here to report a direct violation of orders given by a superior officer," she continued. This got his attention. "Last evening at 1840 hours, I left my apartment using a personal transporter. It was a personal visit to Ireland, and I made it without notifying Star Fleet Security. Nor was I accompanied by my security team. "Security became aware of my absence when I transported back to Star Fleet Headquarters at 0330 hours today. I declined to inform them of any specifics of where I had gone or why I had gone unescorted. "I acted with full knowledge that these actions violated your direct orders regarding the presence of security escort. Therefore, I present myself for whatever disciplinary action you deem appropriate." He could hardly believe what he was hearing. One of his oldest friends, an officer of her calibre had disobeyed one of his orders. Not just any order, but one designed to help protect top officers from going missing, or worse. His immediate response was silence, but that did not last long. "And why did you do ignore my orders? Why did you leave your security detail behind knowing full well why they had been assigned to you?", he was not angry or loud. Not yet. However, there was something in his voice that said that he was upset, or possibly dissapointed. Angry would come later. Anger, she had expected and could have handled. His disappointment, though, was something else. Something registered on her face before it was brutally wiped away. "I... needed privacy, Sir." She said quietly, still standing but not quite at attention. "So your need for privacy outweighed your duty to me and to Starfleet? You do remember that the assassin that tried to, and nearly did, kill you is still at large. You do remember that several high ranking officers in Starfleet have gone missing? You remember what happened a few days ago, my chief of staff was killed, Matt Brennan almost died, and a host of others were either targets or potiential targets? Others that include Starfleet Command. How will this look to those in the field that don't know if they can trust me, if my very own acting chief of staff disobeys my direct orders?" His tone steadily took on more emotion, yet the volume did not change. It was clear that he was upset, but he was giving her a chance to defend or, somehow, justify her actions. Some things transcended the discipline of the service, but Carrhae never even considered saying this. "I have no excuse, Sir. If you feel that my actions--should they be disclosed--will be that detrimental to staff discipline, I will submit my resignation." There was no threat in the suggestion. She was willing to "fall on her sword," as it were, to keep what Lasiter suggested from happening. "I don't think that will be necessary, but you can't go without a reprimand. Administrative punishment should suffice. That would include anything from a letter of reprimand to up to 14 days confinement. But before we decide on that, do you know what kind of position this puts me in?" She nodded. "That was not my intention." "Intention or not you, of all people, should have forseen this. I expected better from you. This was really cadet of you, Carrhae. Really Cadet." "Agreed," she replied. "Had I kept to my original plan, I would have beamed directly to my apartment. No one would have known I had left. Why I allowed that plan to be changed is something I did not understand." That was not quite what he had meant. Not that she had slipped up, but to think that it was ok to disobey his orders. The orders of a superior officer, the CinC no less. This was turning into something that he *really* didn't need. "So are you here to fess up to disobeying orders, or to making a bush league mistake in getting caught?", the man behind the desk had switched over to being angry. "Sir, what I am saying is that I put myself into the position of getting caught disobeying your orders. Neither disobeying nor getting caught is characteristic of me. It took me all night to understand why I did it. "However, that reason is not relevant to your decision." "And what punishment do you think is warrented?" "Courtmartial, Sir." "Are you sure about that?" "Yes." "Well before I decide on that, explain why you did this? Why now, with all that is going on both here at Starfleet Command and with me personally?" For the first time, she looked away. Her formal stance relaxed somewhat. Her voice was hesitant, as if she did not want to expose a part of her personality that she had only recently discovered herself. "These last few days have caused me to reevaluate my life, Samuel. I have given my life to service, first to the Tal Shiar, then to Star Fleet. I believe that service has been honorable, but it has been at a cost." Carrhae's eyes returned to his. Their obsidian depths held an intensity she had never shared before, even with Brennan. "We are not given many opportunities to have a relationship with someone. I almost lost that opportunity. Matthew could have died. I could not risk letting another day pass without grasping that opportunity before it was taken away. She stopped. How could she explain? "I did what I did because I had to." This hit Samuel hard. It connected him in a very personal way. In a way that he had not expected. He sat there staring at her for a moment, before getting up. When he did, the large window that overlooked San Francisco Bay called to him. With his back to her, he finally spoke. "I understand why you did what you did, Carrhae. I really do. However, I can't condone it nor can I excuse it. Your suggestion of a court martial is a bit extreme in my opinion. Administrative punishment will do in this case. Naturally, you can choose not to accept the administrative punishment that I will impose, and go straight to a court-martial. While I am not going to write up the paperwork just yet, you can expect to be confined to quarters for five (5) days with duty (meaning you can leave your quarters to go to the office, then back to quarters) and restrict you to Starfleet Headquarters Complex for an additional ten (10) days. Let me know by lunch time if I need to file the paperwork for the Article 15 or order a court martial." It was clear from his voice that his mood had changed. He was dissapointed in her in terms of being an officer and performing her duty. But, he understood on a personal level. There were times when Carrhae envied the Vulcans' ability to suppress emotions. This was one of them. The seconds passed silently as both old friends contemplated the view displayed before them. Finally, she replied, "The delay will not be necessary, Sir. I will accept the administrative punishment you prescribe." "Very well. You will see the paperwork once it is completed.", he said hiding the relief he felt. He did not want to go through a court martial. "I have a request, however. Matthew and I wish to be married. We wanted to do that this evening at my home in Hawaii. Would you permit us to be joined in my apartment instead? "The paperwork will take a little bit of time to process, and I have some leeway in when it will start. I will have it start tomorrow evening. You won't get your honeymoon, but you can be married in your first choice location. Just be sure that security waits no longer for you than Matthew will wait for you at the alter." He used the old earth expression. "Thank you, Sir. I will make certain that security is well represented." Several more seconds passed. When she spoke again, Carrhae tried to speak to her friend. "Samuel, perhaps I am presuming too much, but I can still think of no one else I would ask. "Would you officiate at the ceremony?" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ | Randye Jones |) aka Adm. Carrhae t'Llhweiir and Adm. Candance Bedru /| Spacedock Role-Playing Game ( | ) [EMAIL PROTECTED] | Boldly goin' where no musician has gone before! _______________________________________________ Spacedock mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.scifi-rpgs.com/mailman/listinfo/spacedock_scifi-rpgs.com
