Meeting the Chief

Posted on Wed 26th Jun, 2019 @ 7:40pm by Lieutenant Commander Dallas Briggs
Edited on on Sun 11th Aug, 2019 @ 12:35am

2,062 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: A Diplomatic Affair
Location: Security Office, Deck 576
Timeline: MD 5, 1045

Dallas had already gone by the Quartermaster and gotten quarters. He cleaned up before reporting to the Chief of Security, but now it was time to report in. He hoped it wad a good time to meet the Chief. Victoria had been walking beside him and was impressed by the station.

"This is so exciting! A new assignment and on a Star Base! I can't get used to how big it is." Victoria said happily. "If only I were really here with you."

Dallas turned his head to look at her, "I know you do, and I wish you were here with me too." Dallas approached the Chief of Security’s Office and tapped the door chime.

She giggled, "You wouldn't be too happy when I spent all our credits in the Promenade!"

Dallas smiled at the thought and looked up at the door and spoke softly, “If only you could, I’d give anything..”

"Enter," Isabella said as she continued her conversation on the viewscreen in her office. "Yes, Admiral. I understand you need my skill set, but I haven't been here too long, my brother is stationed here and we are just starting to be a family again."

The Security Chief briefly looked over to Dallas and gestured for him to have a seat in the chair in front of her desk.

"I understand, Isabella, and I know you wanted to be closer to your brother, but you are the one I want and need for this task force. I will not order you to do this, but I would like for you to think about stepping down as Security Chief on SB109. It is too prominent a role for someone with your intelligence background. Who knows when I might need you to go undercover again."

Isabella took a deep breath and released it into a deep sigh. "O.K. Admiral Nechayev. I see your point. Just give me some time to figure it out for myself, please."

"That I can do. Besides, it looks like you have business to attend to." The admiral said as she glanced over at Briggs. "When you come back to Earth, dinner at my house, and bring that brother of yours. We would like to see him, too."

"Yes ma'am. I'll give him your regards. Perry out!" Isabella terminated the call as she sat back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. When she finished, she looked up to Dallas. "You must be Lt. Dallas Briggs. My number one. How was the voyage here?" she asked as she stood and made her way over to the replicator in the corner of the office.

Dallas had sat down in the chair and relaxed somewhat, “Oh... long and uneventful. I think I wore out their gym.” He glanced over at Victoria and winked, half expecting her to say something witty to him. “This station is massive. I expect you must have a rather huge roster.”

Isabella looked over to the corner that the Lieutenant had just winked at but did not see anything there. She shrugged it off as her imagination playing tricks on her and ordered a drink. "Lemonade, ice cold," she said into the replicator and looked over to Dallas. "Would you like a drink? she asked.

Dallas looked back at her and shook his head, "Oh, no thank you, I'm fine for now, but thanks for asking."

"To answer your question, we are not as big as you think. To be honest, not a lot of crime and or violence tend to happen on a Starbase." She paused for a second and remembered everything that had happened at the starbase within the last few weeks. "Well, almost no crime or violence. Things have been picking up lately."

The Security Chief brought her drink back to her desk and sat back down in her chair. "So, Briggs, tell me about yourself."

Dallas chuckled, "Oh...there's not all that much to tell. I've had a scrape here and there and was married once. I was pretty happy being married." He glanced over at his wife, well the ghost of his wife and smiled.

Victoria grinned at him wickedly. "Oh, you were "pretty happy" were you?"

"Those were some good times, they really were."

He seemed to be lost in a thought for a second. "She was killed a year ago, in an explosion in our quarters. That's how I lost my leg." Dallas bent down slightly and tapped his right leg below the knee making a dull thud, "Titanium with a composite covering."

Again, Isabella looked over to the corner where Briggs looked at. Slightly taken aback, she still did not say anything, but felt that something was ... missing.

"OK, so what are you doing here on Starbase 109?" The chief asked directly.

Dallas was slightly confused at this line of questioning. It was a simple transfer in Starfleet, something that happened often, especially for career advancement; however, in Dallas’ case it was a change of scenery. He had been aboard Typhoon for nearly nine years, and when his wife was killed, he was surprised that he didn’t leave then. As much as he wanted his wife’s spirit to Rest In Peace, he was glad in a way she was there for emotional support. Without her spirit to help him, he probably would be dead as well.

“I’m not sure I understand, Lieutenant. I was transferred here because I asked to get off of Typhoon. It was my only post out of the Academy. I thought a change from a starship environment might be nice.”

Dallas paused for a moment. He thought he felt a level of distrust, perhaps even a tinge of unwelcomeness from Isabella, but he shook it off. “If I’m not wanted here, or there is no room for me here, then I’m sure I can find another assignment.” He was starting to feel that he wasn’t wanted or need here and stood up. He half expected Victoria to elbow him in the side if she could.

"Hey, slow down, cowboy," Victoria cautioned. "No need to get hot under the collar. Give the woman a chance. You have no idea what is going on in her mind, and it is her job to be suspicious of everything and everyone on the base. She doesn't know you, so park you butt back in that chair and listen up."

Dallas slowly sat back down, Victoria was right. He'd had a chip on his shoulder ever since she died. He looked at the woman in front of him and tried to calm himself.

Isabella sat in her chair and stared at the Lieutenant, quite confused at his actions. "Lieutenant Briggs, are you okay? You seem to be a bit defensive and distracted, and quite frankly, I don't quite understand why you are talking to me in such a way, bordering on insubordination. So, I am going to give you an opportunity to talk to me. What is going on?"

"Take a deep breath, sweetie. You're just a little overheated. Just tell her you still have flashbacks to the explosion that caused my death, that it makes you feel helpless sometimes, causes irrational anger. Tell her you're going to see the doctor about it when you leave here. She'll be understanding, and you can ask to start over," Victoria's voice poured over him like the cool water she suggested. "It'll be alright, you'll be alright."

Dallas loved her voice and it calmed him down and soothed his soul. He smiled and nodded and look a bit more relaxed.

“I’m sorry for my behavior, Lieutenant. I don’t think I’ve been able to grieve my wife’s death properly, and may never if her killers aren’t brought to justice. That and the stress of moving to a new job and meeting my superior. Like I said before, I was on one ship for a very long time and made many friends. Now I no longer have them for support,” the lieutenant said more calmly.

“Of course, there is also the pressure of making a good first impression, which is now a complete failure.” He smiled again. Dallas didn’t grieve like others did. He was a complicated man and held in his emotions until they exploded. He still kept the anger pent up for the killer or killers of his wife. He hadn’t told anyone, except his wife’s ghost, about the nights where he woke up in a sweat from nightmares of his wife dying in the explosion.

Isabella sat in her chair for a moment after listening to what Briggs had to say. She could see that the man was in pain from the death of his wife, and although she did not have all the information to that situation, she was sure there was more to that story. But as the head of starbase security, she was concerned about his mental stability. If he could react to a basic question this way, how would he react to a stressful situation with a suspect. Especially one who fit the profile of his wife's killers.

"Well, Dallas, you are right about one thing. This was one hell of a first impression. But things can only go up from here. Before you go on duty full time here, I want you to go see the counselor and submit to a full pysch evaluation. Once that is complete, we will talk again. But until that happens, I have one thing you need to do.''

Dallas nodded, "Before you pass judgement, Lieutenant, check my service record for USS Typhoon. I have had no problems, no outbursts of any kind, and I have been in plenty of arrests with drunken Marines and pilots." Dallas paused for a moment, "Perhaps it was not because it was a question, but how it was asked, what the sentence meant or how I perceived it."

Dallas shook his head slowly, "I'm not making excuses for how I acted, I'm just trying to get a little understanding. I will contact the counselor today and make an appointment." He paused and thought about what the woman wanted him to do. "What would you like me to do, Lieutenant?" he asked.

"Dallas, we are going to Orchids and Jazz. There, we are going to get a couple of drinks and you are going to tell me about your lovely wife, if you are up to it. And then we are going to see how much information there is on the people responsible for the accident. How does that sound?" she asked.

Dallas chuckled, "I thought you were going to order me to take some shore leave and visit the mud baths or something." He smiled warmly thinking about his wife, "I don't mind talking about her. That could possibly be the only way that I can grieve, at least a little."

"Listen, I already know of your service history. You actually come highly recommended. I won't lie to you, I do have a couple of concerns, but I think those could be worked out."

The warm smile dissipated, "A couple of concerns, I must really be in bad shape then." Dry humor was not Dallas' forte yet he continued to use it. It was a tool used for coping in certain situations. He was starting to get a little worried now, coming from a ship's crew who knew him as a hero to a starbase, reduced to a Security Officer who had mental issues. He started to wish he had stayed on Typhoon. At least the career that he loved doing would be safe. Who knows what would become of him now. He just hoped that she would understand what he was going through.

"Come on, Dallas, turn that frown upside down," Isabella said as she tried to reassure the new security officer. "I think you are going to be fine. Now, let's go and get that drink and you can tell me about your better half."

"She's giving you a chance to talk to her, Dal. Maybe opening up to someone else is just what you need to do, and who better than the woman you'll be replacing eventually?" Victoria soothed. "I think while you're doing that, I'm going to go shopping!"

 

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