Subject: Re: Grail: The Great Brightness - End of Discussion

<<Stardate 47307.30-18:00>>

<< Counselor's office>>

As they entered the counselor's office, Mirka went to sit behind her desk,

showing François a chair opposing hers. François sat, his shoulders brought

in. He looked like a child that was about to be chastised.

"What are you thinking François?" Mirka asked. She waited for his reply. A

few minutes passed, he didn't answer. François was still tired and the dream he

had preoccupied him. He didn't feel like fighting. Mirka sighed, looked at her

nails, waited. After ten minutes, Demontigny realised that she was going

to

wait for his answer.

"I'm thinking that you're going to do everything you can to manipulate me in

doing whatever Brinn wants." he sighed.

Mirka almost smiled. Her suspiscions were being confirmed, Brinn again,

not

Donucci, Athalya Anne Brinn. Although the Chief of Flight Control was the one

who had sent him to the brig, he was thinking of the first officer of the

Grail.

"God François, how childish you can be?" She said. "You know at first

I

thought it was pretty funny, you defying everyone. But then you got sent

to the

brig, that's when I started to think you were going a bit far. Then this

story

about you ridiculising Brinn in front of everyone and then this other

reprimand."

François sat up straight in his chair. He didn't like where this was going. It

was time to change the subject.

"You want to talk about Brinn? We'll talk about Brinn. That two-bit marine

thinks she should be obeyed and respected because of the pips on her collar,

regardless of what she has in her heart. And when somebody questions her,

she

threatens them. Heck! The whole yellow shift is terrified of her! If she thinks

she can keep doing that for the next ten years, then she's got another thing

coming. If you ask me, she's the one you should be talking to."

"Brinn is not the one being disscussed here, you are. If you have a complaint

about her, file one and I'll deal with her. I tried to help you without having

to bring you in here, I tried to solve this thing on the side, meeting with your

superior and explaining your point of you, but it didn't work."

Demontigny had a sly smile, he had been speaking to Kord before she walked

into Ten-Forward, "Is that what you were doing this morning?" Immediatly

after

saying the words he wished he could take them back. The temperature in the room

droped drasticly. Mirka stayed calm, very calm. She merely raised an eyebrow

and said in a chilling voice.

"If you are suggesting that I whore myself to obtain favors for you, you are

being very insulting." The subject was closed, he knew it. He'd known it for a

long time, don't make alusions to her personal life. It was the second mistake

he made with her tonight, maybe she was right, maybe he was being a loose

cannon. 'When did that begin?' he wondered.

Mirka got up and circled her desk.

"Now you listen to me François. No matter how good you think you are, no

matter how better you think you might be, you are not in command of this ship.

You don't make the music, lover," the old pet name had slipped but she went on

as if nothing had happened, "you sing. And for now on you better sing in

tune

otherwise I'll make sure you won't set foot on that bridge until the Grail is

back in the Sol system. Think about it François, you won't be there during the

red alerts, during the battles, you won't know what's going on. You will

be

with the passengers, reassuring scared kids and wiping tears. Is that what you

want?"

François just stared at her. He couldn't believe what she was doing. She was

using what she knew of him, what she had learned in confidence, against him.

The traitor. As if reading his mind, Mirka continued.

"I'll be watching you. And wether you believe it or not, I'm doing this for

your own good. You have ambition François, but right now you're not going up,

you're going down. Part of being a good leader, is to accept people as they

are. Maybe you don't think Brinn does that, but right now you're making the

same mistakes you think she is. Be a good leader François, use psychology, not

only your big mouth and your charms." Now it was time to test a little theory

she had elaborated.

"Speaking of Brinn, I understand how two people as different as you and

her

can have difficulties working together. So, I think maybe we should ask the

captain and Commander Hunt to change your duty roster, so you won't have to work

together as much anymore. What do you think?"

François waved his hand.

"You think I can't handle Brinn myself? Shows how little you know me, Mirka, I

could take on Brinn anytime. I'll stay on her shift, and I'll play by the

rules... but there ain't no way I'm kissing her ass and licking her boots." He

got up and left, not waiting for her to dismiss him.

Mirka smiled, so she was right, there was an attraction there. 'Well,'

she

thought, 'this is going to be interesting... popcorn interesting.' She then

returned to her seriousness. He wasn't going to forgive her for this for

a

while. She had gone right for the jugular. A ship's counselor was suppose to

make friends with people, not scare them into obeying orders. This wasn't

counseling, this was damage control. In François's case it was necessary, she

knew it but it didn't make it easier. She was tired and she still wasn't

sure

if she did this thing right. She never believed someone could fix another

person's problems for them. Yet that was what she just did. Worst, she had

threaten François into obeying. Oh, it was going to work, but the problem

wasn't solve. She just hoped that the attraction him and Brinn seemed to

have

for each other was going to help them communicate not bring them to pieces. Ha!

That was funny. Brinn and François communicating... Well they had at least ten

years to learn...

Lt(jg) François DeMontigny

Counselor Mirka Tzavaras