Admitting Faults
Posted on Tue Aug 13th, 2019 @ 5:41am by Commodore Tyler Malbrooke & Ensign Dana Wakefield
Edited on on Tue Aug 13th, 2019 @ 5:47am
2,033 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Episode 7 - Home Again
Location: Captains Ready Room - Deck 1 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD009 1000 hrs
Dana was holding onto the PADD so tight that her hands were starting to go white. She swallowed hard, this was going to be the hardest thing she had done in her life, but it needed to be done, she didn't ask her father how he had managed it, but somehow he had.
The turbolift came to a gentle halt and the doors opened, she took a deep breath in and pulled at her spotless uniform. She was ready to be glared at, she was ready for the whispers, after all, she was certainly the talk of the ship at the moment and no doubt they were expecting her to perform a hasty departure after her demotion and reassignment. Lifting her head she breathed in through her nose and stepped out onto the bridge, she showed confidence that had recently been missing.
An eerie silence fell over the bridge as everyone's gaze seemed to hone in on her. Her legs shook, but she maintained composure and kept her head held high as she headed to the right and over towards the Captain's ready room, a few quiet whispers began, no doubt wondering what she was doing, was she here to say her final goodbyes? she pressed the door chime and waited for a response.
Tyler was livid but there was not much he could do about it. Sutherland really fowled everything up by coming here. Tyler was sure that he could have gotten this cleared with a reprimand. But no the Admiral had to do it his way. The door chime brought Tyler from his internal ire. "COME IN!" he shouted a bit more forcefully than he should.
The doors opened and Dana quickly composed herself, she tugged at her uniform again, before putting on a neutral facade, keeping her head high she walked in, no doubt she was the last person that the Captain was expecting to see, but it was now or never.
"Yes Ensign how can I help you?" He did not want to look at her, not now. Not while he was seething at her father, and the fact that she was the cause of the anger, to begin with. Gah, that infernal order. I wish Quinn and I had never executed it. Tyler thought.
Dana's heart sank, it wasn't the welcome that she was expecting, but she completely understood, but she had to get through this, no doubt what she had to say next would shock him even more.
"Sir, Ensign Dana Wakefield, reporting for duty as ordered," she said, her hand trembling as she held the PADD out, it hovered there in the air, he didn't take it, a look of confusion appearing on his face.
He shot up from his chair. "No that is not possible... Your father... I mean the Admiral assured me. He said you would be transferred. This must be some mistake. Ensign, I know you have been through a lot. But I am sure that you did not forget how to read transfer orders."
"No mistake sir," she said the PADD still in her hand "My orders sir," she replied nodding to her outstretched hand.
Tyler read aloud but under his breath. "By order of Starfleet Command Ensign Dana Wakefield..." There was a sort silence as his voice drifted off. "...Operations Officer aboard the USS Pioneer NCC=74757..." Tyler's voice trailed off again. "...By order of Admiral Sutherland. Gorram it..." Tyler screamed and tossed the PADD at the wall. "This won't flipping due. You can't stay here."
Dana jumped as the PADD bounced off the wall, she had never seen the Captain lose his cool, the tension was high and you could cut it with a knife. Dana knew this was the last thing he was expecting, at the courts-martial she had been reassigned to the USS Underwood but she had begged her father, she had to face up to her demons, she had to make amends and she had a lot to apologize for a lot to prove.
"Sir, firstly no matter what I say here and now, I know it can't ever make up for what has transpired. I know I burnt my bridges, I have upset a lot of people and you probably don't want me here. I want you to know I've agreed to have regular reviews and meetings with the counsellor. I promise you here and now that I will do all that I can to make amends, we may be heading for something, somewhere I've never been and I am frighted, but I'm ready to learn. I'm not going to run away from what I've done, I'm going to stand my ground, prove not only to myself but to you and the crew." she paused for a moment, sincerity in her eyes "I know I do not deserve a second chance but to quote Captain Kirk, the greatest danger facing us is ourselves. I may have been on a path of self-destruction and I should have reached out, I should have confessed how I was feeling..." Dana paused again, she had to make him understand. "I was ashamed...I thought I'd let my farther down, disgraced the family name, only after speaking with him did I realise that it isn't shameful to ask for help. Captain Malbrooke, I need help, I need your help, I need the crew's help."
Dana's facade had changed, her emotion showing, her honesty laid bare, he could reject her, abandon her or he could forgive her. It wasn't going to be easy, she knew that, but she was prepared to try, the single gold pip on her uniform was a constant reminder of what she had given up, the respect she had lost and she was determined to show she wasn't that person, the person of the last month or so. "All I ask for sir is for the opportunity, the first time I step out of line, I'll resign my commission."
His anger subdued for the moment at the sign of supplication. "Dana it is not you stepping out of line that I am worried about. It is you not speaking up. If the order on the Fearless hurt you that much you should have said something in the aftermath. Said something to me, to the XO, to Counselor Zano. To anyone, instead, you kept quiet and look where we are. How can I trust that you will handle things in the proper manner? On top of all of that, the new Chief of Operations is the woman you hit." Tyler was pacing, his anger was gone but the anxiety and stress were still there.
"Sir, I know you have reservations. I should have asked for help, but I was too proud. In some twisted warped way, I thought I could handle it on my own when everyone else was pushing me to get help. However, I've paid a painful price." she reached for the single gold pip on her uniform. "I have lost my department, I have lost the respect of my fellow officers, hell most people would be grasping that transfer request and heading for the nearest airlock." she paused, watching as he paced "But here I am, standing my ground, I want to earn that respect back, I want people to trust me again, I know the Commanders wife is the new Chief of Operations and I know I owe her an apology. I'm a professional, I'm a Starfleet Officer and it will not be an issue for me. If you don't want me in operations, so be it, I'll do anything, I just want the opportunity to stay aboard this ship, I want to restore that faith you had in me, the faith I saw when you came to the brig and wanted to know what was wrong...well now you know and I'm asking for a chance...just one more chance."
"I pride myself on making this ship, this crew a family. As such I can tell you two things. The first is it is not my respect that you have to earn back. It is the respect of the rest of this family. The second is that a family is nothing if we were to cast out all of our problem children." Tyler turned toward where she was sitting. "Dana I can't say that it is going to be easy for you. But I can say, welcome home Ensign."
Dana jumped out of the chair she was sitting in and uncharacteristically hugged the Captain, a tear streamed down her face "Thank you, Thank you so much." she yelled in a high pitched voice "I will earn the respect of the crew back, or I'll die trying."
She suddenly realised she was still hugging the Captain, she coughed and let go "My apologies, Sir." she said, her cheeks flushing red "Oh and one more thing, don't blame my daddy, I made him arrange this for me, he was all ready to take me under his wing and look after me, but I insisted, I needed to make amends, I have to face my consequences and I wanted to do that here."
"When you got here orginally you asked me to keep your father a secret from the crew. I did so, and now there is no way we can hide it any longer. I ask that you keep your father as far away from my ship as you can. If you do that all will be well." Tyler paused for a moment as thought. "I can respect the need to make good."
Dana smiled, it was like she was a whole different person, something inside had shifted, now she realized asking for the help of her friends wasn't anything to be embarrassed about, she had a lot of making up and apologizing to do and that was starting right now. "Sir, I have an appointment with the Councillor arranged and permission to report to my department head to report for duty," she asked, standing to attention. "I'll let you break the good news to the Commander, I think he may take some more convincing than you," she said a nervous look coming over her, after all it was his wife that she assaulted.
Tyler sighed heavily he hadn't thought about how to break the news to Quinn, but she was right he was going to have to do it sooner or later. "Permission granted. Dismissed Ensign." Tyler watched her go and he was filled with a mixed emotion. On the one hand, there was pride that he was able to help set someone on the right path. This was something that most Captain's strove for. On the other hand, there was the new heap of problems that this was going to cause. "Computer... Rachtijino double strong. I am going to need it."
Dana quickly left the ready room, she had a wide smile on her face, but then the attention of the bridge staff caught her, this used to be her home, she used to be senior staff, she again reached for the single gold pip on her uniform, this is your mess Dana, however, been an Ensign meant she wouldn't be sat until all hours preparing reports, attending meetings, which meant she had more time to make amends. She lifted her head and smiled politely to everyone as she made her way back to the turbolift, she had to move her crap from the senior officers quarters and find some new accommodation, as well as report to the councillor and then to her new department head, now that would certainly be an interesting meeting, just how would Ameri react, she was just glad that she wasn't the one that was going to inform the Commander, but would the Captain beat his wife to it..."Deck three." she said and the turbolift doors closed behind her and it gently shifted into motion.
A Joint Post By
Captain Tyler Malbrooke
Commanding Officer, USS Pioneer
Ensign Dana Wakefield
Operations Officer, USS Pioneer
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