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