Enter the Cat

Posted on Thu 6th Jul, 2017 @ 4:24am by Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Colonel Horatio Drake & Captain Gunnar
Edited on on Thu 9th Nov, 2017 @ 4:46am

1,885 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Unity Week
Location: Operations Control (Starbase Vanguard)
Timeline: Between departure for the Bretagne and the first missed contact.

As Gunnar found his way to Operations, he threw his bags down with a large thump which caused heads to turn to see the new arrival. "Leave them alone or transport them to my room onboard this station. Where is the Commanders of this starbase?" he gruffly asked as he did not like wasting time when all he had was a single first impression to make. One of Operations crew just pointed to a set of doors on the far side of the Operations Deck. Then Gunnar headed over and hit the Chime.

"Come in," Paul said. The computer interpreted his invitation and opened the doors. Paul glanced up from the PADD he was reading to see who had entered and nearly dropped the device.

It's...the tallest, burliest Caitian I've ever seen! he thought, though the being, who wore a Marine uniform, did not look precisely Caitian. He had to be about eight feet tall and wore the rank insignia of a captain. Paul set the PADD down and gave the Marine his full attention as he entered the office.

"Marine Captain Gunnar, Reporting, sir." Gunnar replied.

Paul waited for the customary salute. It was not given.

He raised an eyebrow. This Captain Gunnar did not seem to intend insult; he was perfectly calm, and Paul sensed no insolence from him. Failing to salute a superior officer was, however, a serious and fundamental breach of military etiquette and discipline that could not be allowed to go unnoted. "Lt. Commander Paul Graves, Second Officer of Vanguard. Welcome, aboard, Captain Gunnar." He let the moment stretch out a bit longer, and when the salute still was not given added, "Captain, were you not taught in Basic how to salute superior officers and why one does so?"

"I salute when its warranted and since you are not the Captain nor the Executive I see no point, but if you 'Must' know, I am saving your life by not getting into the habit of saluting you. If we were in the field and I saluted you, if there were snipers around as well, they would realize who you are and kill you immediately. So please just accept the fact I acknowledge you with a 'sir' and be content in that, sir." Gunnar replied simply.

"Don't give me bullshit," Paul said in a matter-of-fact voice. "This isn't the middle of combat." He looked the towering Marine directly in the eyes. "I do not want to start this off by placing you on report, Captain, but I will do that if necessary."

"Isn't it?, breathing, talking to you and you becoming hostile, that is a battle field that we are facing right now. Cultural differences is a battlefield. So I say it is warranted considering the moment I shirk my duty to conform to your idealism of what is proper, will in turn kill you." Gunnar said calmly.

It was not considered the done thing to look at one's future prospective patients as if they were crazy, but Paul was sorely tempted. "Very well, then, Captain; consider yourself on report. I can only advise you, for your own sake, do not neglect to salute a superior officer in public outside of a battlefield situation--it would not go well for you."

Paul flicked a gaze at the guest chairs on the other side of Drake's desk. Gunnar would look like an adult attempting to cram himself into a child's chair if he sat in either of them. "If you'll give me a moment, I'll have a larger chair brought in. I don't think these will fit you comfortably."

"I would appreciate it if you kept my size out of any sentences, sir. I don't like people implying I am fat, I am just well muscled." Gunnar replied as he motioned for Paul to cease calling for a new chair. "I will stand, doubt I will be here long enough to enjoy a seat and no special accommodations should be taken for me. I am quite capable of standing, sir, besides its better for the posture." Gunnar replied as he joked a bit to ease the obvious tense or perhaps surprise that he observed in Paul's reaction.

Huh? Paul thought, startled. "My offer to get you a more comfortable chair was an attempt to cater to your height and your proportionate girth," Paul explained. "You are clearly not overweight in proportion to your height." Had no one ever offered this Marine a chair properly sized to him before? "If you prefer to stand, however, that's fine." He extended a hand. "If I may have your orders, I'll get you set up for security clearances and the like. You're to be the Marine Brigade CO, correct?"

"Yes, sir." Gunnar said as he produced a PADD and handed it gently to the acting Commander.

"Thank you." Paul accepted the PADD from him and signed his acceptance of Gunnar's transfer to Vanguard. Then he authorized the necessary security clearances and returned the PADD to Gunnar. He came from behind the desk and tapped his combadge. "Graves to Chief Warrant Officer Winchester. Mr. Winchester, please report to the CO's Ready Room."

As Gunnar waited for the man to show up, he looked back at the officer before him. "Also, sir, I may serve here, but you are not within my chain of command. Your Starfleet, I am Marines. While I remain here I will do my duty but try to remember, you may hold the higher rank currently as a starfleet officer but I hold the higher rank as a Marine Captain. Our chain of commands are separate. Keep this in mind for future contact. After all, we do have to work together and it would be bad if we have friction to start off our work relationship with. Also out of respect, my men will be armed with type 2 phasers at all times to bolster the security of this station. Which i take 'Very' seriously, respectfully speaking of course. Before you attempt to rip into me, I will respect your authority but in the manner of the marines on this station, that is my battlefield, have an issue with them, come to me just like if I have an issue with yours I will come to you." Gunnar replied simply.

And now he's lecturing me, Paul thought. How did this guy graduate from the Academy with such a complete lack of-- He paused in his thought process as an idea occurred to him. Hm. That could well be it. I'll check the records.

"I will take your words under advisement," Paul said. "Would you tell me a little about yourself, Captain? I thought at first that you might be Caitian, but I don't believe that is the case. Where do you come from? I don't believe I have ever met anyone of your species. I'm a Betazoid, and I serve as Chief Counselor of the base. First Contact is one of my interests, so I am very curious about your people."

"What would you like to know?" Gunnar asked simply as he was a bit put on the defensive by this sudden change.

"What is your people's name for themselves?" Paul asked.

"Magi." Gunnar said in a simple one word reply.

Paul's eyes widened. "That's interesting. I've never heard of your people before. Does the name mean what is coming through the translator? In my native language it sounds as if you are saying 'sorcerers.' Or is 'Magi' simply the phonetic sound of your people's name?" He paused. "My intent isn't to pry; I really am that curious."

Growling slightly more out of annoyance than anything, he merely rolls his eyes and decided to entertain this child's curiosity. "I know of your primitive meaning of the word, but my people are more literal in the sense of the meaning of 'Magi'." Gunnar said as he kept his responses short and to the point.

Well, that explained precisely nothing, Paul thought. "What is the difference, to you, between the 'primitive' meaning and the more literal meaning?"

The doors swished open before Paul could inquire further, and Winchester came steaming through - he was in the middle of juggling a thousand and one things, no doubt that was about to become a thousand and two. He didn't let his annoyance show, he actually had some respect for this Chief Counsellor come Second Officer, yet he couldn't place his finger as to why yet as he barely knew the man. Still, Drake obviously liked him so that was good enough for him.

"You wanted to see... Jesus Christ, you're a big lad aren't you?" He was stopped mid-sentence as he saw the sheer size of person whom he now stood next to. His uniform alone could fit two or even three human Marines.

He sincerely hoped a show-and-tell was not what Graves was going to ask of him, he didn't have time for the grand tour. "You wanted to see me?".

Gunnar merely growled and rolled his eyes as he was getting annoyed at people mentioning his size all the time as if he was going to squish someone at a moment notice.

Paul kept his expression at Winchester's comment neutral, but he suspected the man could see the merriment in his eyes. "Yes, Mr. Winchester. This is Captain Gunnar, who is the new commanding officer of the 9th Armored Infantry Brigade. Captain Gunnar, this is Chief Warrant Officer Graham Winchester, our Command Chief. He has considerable experience, and we are fortunate to have him. Mr. Winchester, I realize you're busy, but I'd appreciate it if you would please escort Captain Gunnar to the Marine decks. Once he's settled in, come back here; there's an audit report with some findings that i want to go over with you."

"Maybe I should squish you." Gunnar said as he growled jokingly but for most species its all the same he is finding out. "I can escort myself, if I am dismissed?" Gunnar asked plainly.

Silently, Paul counted to ten. "I asked Mr. Winchester to escort you because you are the brigade CO, and it is more graceful for you to be introduced to your troops than for you to simply go down there and announce yourself as their CO when they've never met you before and know nothing of you," Paul said. "It will also give Mr. Winchester a chance to become acquainted with you, as he is the liaison between the command staff here in Ops and Starfleet personnel in the rest of the station, particularly enlisted personnel. Being on friendly terms with him will enable smooth coordination between the brigade and the Ops command staff."

Winchester had, at this point, had more than enough of this. "Captain Gunnar, follow me", he was both bemused and astounded at this man's seeming defiance in the face of an order from a superior officer. He about turned and left the room, not checking to see if the new Marine CO was following him.

"Sir." Gunnar said bowing his head slightly as he left the room.

OFF

Lt. Cmdr. Paul Graves, PsyD
Second Officer, Chief Counselor

Captain Gunnar
CO, 9th Armored Infantry Brigade

CWO2 Graham Winchester (NPC)
Command Chief

 

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