JL | Capt. DiAgessi & Lt. Merlin | "The Sheer Power"

Posted on Sat Apr 14th, 2018 @ 3:55am by Captain Aine DiAgessi & Commander Evan Merlin

Mission: Lacuna
Timeline: backlog, right after kidnap briefing

[I figured, after the senior staff meeting Merlin and Aine wanted to talk. So I sent you a starter, but feel free to add, delete or edit stuff as you see fit!]


Merlin lingered, when the senior staff meeting came to an end, waited until everybody else was left. It wasn't a stretch to assume Captain DiAgessi would want to speak with him – and at any rate, he certainly wanted to speak with her.

Her unexpected action… That his remark regarding the Empress would lead to raised eyebrows or angry glares he had anticipated. Archer's irritated reaction still made him want to grin. The Captain's actions could be categorised under 'keep your friends close, but your enemies closer', but there were other, better ways to do that than to kick a Lieutenant up to take over the place of the XO. He was the only Lieutenant to hold a senior staff position, other than Lieutenant Satan who was acting Chief Science until the position was officially filled. Another Lieutenant, assigned as Chief Flight Ops, was scheduled to arrive 'soonish', which was often the best Logistics could do for faraway CST.

Not that he was fazed by the lack of pips. It was just that other people so often did hold value to it, and they might object to him being promoted over them, no matter the circumstances, and no matter how 'acting' it would be.

Ah well. If people did object, he'd deal with that by and by. What mainly puzzled him was the Captain's motivation. So, when everybody else had left and only he and Aine remained behind, he spread his hands, raised both eyebrows and simply asked: "Why?"

Then he shook his head, smiled at himself, and raised one finger. "Apologies. With all due respect, Captain. Why?"

"Because you know the station, the people, and have no fucks about what anyone thinks." Aine replied dead pan and with the slightest of sighs. Leaning back in her chair, she steepled her fingers and waited for his rebuttal, watching his thoughts fire past the windows of his eyes at maximum warp, "Do you not want the job? I mean you're everywhere all at once, including inside the Empress's private quarters." She blinked, throwing no accusations, no demands aside for a steady single beacon imploring what his decision would be. And there was hope that he would choose to rise and join her on what was proving to be a throne made of briars.

The Lieutenant grinned. "So, is this a case of 'keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and those who are extremely unpredictable closer still'?" He tilted his head, the grin faded. "Which is a sound reasoning in itself. But yes, I do know the station. And many of the people on it, even though most people have little tendency to look beyond the surface." His sea-coloured eyes locked with Aine's grey ones and there was a brief moment where, paradoxically, time seemed to freeze, a blink-and-you-missed it fragment of time that nevertheless seemed to last an eternity. Something connected. Something exchanged. Something undefinable – but at the end of it, the Lieutenant gave a small nod. "Thank you for your confidence in me, Captain. I accept."

And suddenly he grinned again. "Would it be entirely convincing if I now spread my arms wide and start yelling: 'The power, the sheer power!!'?"

"Why do I need an ulterior motive? You have all the right stuff to do the job and the Stenellis seem to like you. Whether I like it or not, you do what you want and wander around acting like you own the joint anyway," She chuckled with a shake of her head, "And don't think I don't know about it. You'd be amazed what I know, really... Most of it is information I wish I hadn't stumbled upon." Like security footage people had long since forgotten about and for the sake of propriety when it came to the officers involved, she'd deleted permanently. It was years old, about three, but the stars of such an action flick were still prominent figures in Starfleet society. Red cheeked, she couldn't destroy the segment fast enough and she'd done so with gusto, making sure all angles were gone. Forever. At least nothing like that had shown up staring the wild haired Lieutenant, at least so far. His penchant for life experiences left her skeptical of his modesty when it came right down to it and she couldn't help but make a mental note to add 'and please don't ever let me find Evan Merlin's bare ass on security footage' to her nightly prayers.

The thought, combined with his words and silly grin made her chuckle and she found her head shaking again, "Only if you must, but I warn you." Her index finger dropped to her desktop with a thud, "It's not all it's chalked up to be. Throne of briars, crown of thorns. You get the idea."

"Oh yes." The Lieutenant nodded. His face was serious now, but that twinkle still shone in his eyes. "Nobody would seriously believe I'd be in it for the power anyway. They either don't take me serious enough for it, or," he shrugged and made that familiar casual wave with his hand, "they know me well enough to realize that lust for domination doesn't drive me." He looked around in the otherwise deserted conference room and suddenly was really all business again. "So, I guess I'll have a lot of catching up to do, on reports and all that. Is there anything in particular that you wish me to focus on? Other than the obvious, that is."

"The obvious is well... Obvious. Our attention really needs to be there first and foremost, but other than that just the overseeing of general construction to make sure we're staying on time and on track with repairs and renovations." Aine ticked off on her fingers, "Means you'll really be spending some time with Commander th'Zarath."

The Lieutenant gave a brisk nod. "I'm sure I can fit that in with my schedule." There were advantages to requiring little sleep. "As for the rest… Daily briefings? If so, what fits best with your schedule? I take it it's easier for me to adapt to yours than the other way around."

"You'd be correct." She nodded with a grin, "Mornings, my office. The reports hit early so it's a rise and shine affair." Chuckling, she gathered her PADDs, "I have a feeling you'll be fine with this, but I ask that if you think you're going to be late for one of those meetings, that you give me a bit of a head's up. Makes me worry less and keeps things running smoother."

"That's fair. I require little sleep, so early suits me just fine." The Lieutenant clasped his hands behind his back. "Last thing I'm going to ask: is there something I need to know about you, and are there things you want to know from me?"

"I like hot chocolate. That's a good thing to know." The woman chuckled as she got to her feet, "All I care about is knowing small things like that so I don't make you the wrong drink. Everything else we'll learn over time. Now... You're dismissed unless there's something pressing and urgent you need to tell me."

"Not that I know of," the Lieutenant said cheerfully. "So I'll better be going. I have a lot of reading to catch up with. If you need anything else, I'm just a comm call away." And with a polite nod he stepped into the deserted corridor. And just before the doors closed and cut off all sound, she could hear: "MUHAGAHA! THE POWER! THE SH-"

"What a strange... strange son of a bitch..." Aine chuckled to herself, pleased with her choice and her decision and knowing that the future was bound to be filled with more excitement than she'd ever bargained for in life.

---

Captain Aine DiAgessi
Commanding Officer
COLD STATION THETA, SB-1170

&

Lieutenant Evan Merlin
Executive Officer
COLD STATION THETA, SB-1170