Posted by Colonel Calvin Harris (Commanding Officer) in Ready Room - Main Sim

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Amelia Manning (Executive Officer) in Ready Room - Main Sim

Posted by Colonel Calvin Harris (Commanding Officer) in Ready Room - Main Sim
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Walking in behind the Marine, Amelia was unsure as to why Harris had called a meeting with her alone. Turning to the Dresden’s Commanding Officer, she looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak.

Lt. Cmdr. Manning, XO

Harris looked at the Dresden’s Executive Officer with a look of clear exasperation as he sat in his chair. “Don’t look at me like that, your Highness…” The Marine snapped with an eye roll. “And sit down.” Harris made a slashing motion to the chairs on the other side of his desk.

If there was anything that her time on the Dresden had taught her, was to ignore Harris’s nicknames for her. She had accepted that they would always come and they would always be some sort of reference to her peerage background. There was no point in fighting them back at this point. Sitting down on her own usual spot, Amelia’s gaze didn’t change.

Pausing for a moment, clearly deep in thought, the Dresden’s CO looked up with piercing blue eyes and said flatly. “I wanted to go over this B.S. with you privately so we can make a game plan and be on the same page on the Bridge. I know your background Amelia and I am well aware of your general lack of combat experience. While you did a hell of a job handling yourself when that mess with Molly and I happened, you were lucky and I intend to teach you & mentor you to get you as up to speed as I can when it comes to sharing the Bridge as XO with me in similar situations.”

The Marine’s words hadn’t been what she had expected. She furrowed her brow slightly as he spoke, wondering where he was going with them.

“To be clear, I am not and never will hold that lack of experience against you but we have to be a team… one mind… during tactical situations.” He then smiled a warm, genuine smile. “You think you’re up for it Commander?”

Harris, CO

“Colonel… you do know that, even though my background is heavily in Engineering, I attended Starfleet’s Command College just like any crew member that would want to become an Executive Officer, right?” She wondered if he thought that her peerage ancestry made her weaker or more feeble than others. “During my time there, we were extensively trained in combat and other types of situations, surely I am no Marine, but I can handle myself and the ship. I wasn’t just… lucky, as you put it.” Her tone was defiant and as British as Harris had ever heard it.

“Goddamnit you are stubborn, aren’t you.” Harris grumbled, barely audible. “Yes… Princess… you /were/ lucky and had the Thresher not showed up when it did, you would have gotten /my/ ship blown out from under your arse.” The final word said in the most obnoxious British impersonation Amelia had ever heard. “The reason you were lucky, and you /were/ VERY lucky, had to do with the fact the Dresden was out gunned to a factor of nearly three to one. So take that damn chip off your shoulder and listen when people are trying to teach you, Lieutenant Commander Manning…” Harris snapped, purposefully using the Executive Officer’s formal rank. “… cause that wasn’t a frackin’ training simulation!”

After a short pause Manning continued. “On my first mission after the academy, I was taken possession by an alien entity who considered themselves to be a God and I was able to endure it. I am confident in my abilities, Colonel, and I know that we need to be a team during Tactical situations. Or are you under the impression that I will work on my own or with the other party?” She scoffed.

Harris couldn’t help but roll his eyes once more. “Don’t be a smartass Manning… I read your file, even the redacted parts… cause I maintain my Intel Security Clearance.” Pausing, seemingly to calm himself, Harris continued. “If I didn’t trust your abilities, you wouldn’t be my Exec. I highly suggest you lose the attitude.”

“Now, Colonel… are you trying to tell me that you are treating our current mission as a combat situation? Because the way I see it, we witnessed a dispute between several ships over a piece of art. The ships have disengaged and one of them is now on the run. We are pursuing. I know the type Mr. Lorenzo is. Men like him are spread around the galaxy. Men that think their influence and money shields them from any sort of accountability they might hold for their actions. It is as far from a combat situation as you’re going to get. It seems to me nothing a little diplomacy can’t fix. So, while I appreciate the offer Colonel, I don’t think I will need your guidance or mentorship for our current mission. But I will keep it in mind for when I do.”

Lt. Cmdr. Manning, XO

“I treat every goddamn situation like it could go tac!” Harris’ fist slammed into the desk. “It’s called playing it safe. And of course we’re handling it in a diplomatic way. I’m not a goon Amelia.” Harris was still annoyed but calming.

Harris, CO

Amelia crossed her arms over her chest, clearly annoyed by the man’s actions, but controlling it much better than the Marine.

“Are you sure, Colonel? Marine’s are known for… how should I put it… ‘breaking things’. That’s what they do best, you said it yourself in multiple occasions. Treating every situation as if it could turn into combat to play it safe is fine, but you’re bringing a sledgehammer into a porcelain shop and you don’t know what you’re doing in this case.”

Harris glared at the young woman. This was exactly /why/ he detested dealing with Fleeters, but this was the hand the Fates had dealt him and he knew working with Amelia would be impossible if she didn’t get a better understanding of him. As Harris opened his mouth to speak, Manning continued.

“Also, I feel like I should make something clear here. I don’t care if you have Intel clearance, how you have it, or how you use it. You can dig into my background all you want, track my family tree all the way to Adam and Eve, and know the color of my knickers. I do not care. All I ask is that you don’t use the information you find against me. My family’s status back home is none of your business unless I bring it to the table, which I don’t. I have fought against it all my life, and I enlisted with Starfleet because I wanted it to stay behind. I don’t treat anyone differently because of it, and no one treats me differently because of it. Only you do. The Commanding Officer of the ship. The person who should set the example for everyone else inside the bulkheads. It would be very shameful if I had to file a complaint with Starfleet Command regarding lack of objectivity or abuse of your Intel clearance.”

The Marine snatched his PaDD from the desk and tapped furiously for a moment then practically threw the thing at Manning. “Do not threaten me, young lady! Nothing I have nor mentioned about you, except your Peerage, Title, holdings… Peter’s too… came from anywhere else but your Personnel Jacket. Right there… I don’t need nor use my Intel Clearances unless I have to, Baroness, with the exception of your official status as a Peer of the United Kingdoms. It’s in your damn file. The only reason I even check for those things is that I served with a Windsor once, yes /that/ Windsor family. Let’s just say after that headache, I check for titles & Peerage out of habit… your the first I served with in years.” He sighed before continuing. “Look, I /can/ be a jokester and annoying at times… so… I’m sorry about the Princess thing. I promise, I’ll lay off it. Now, can we please move on to the mission?” The Marine motioned for her to continue.

“As far as the mission goes, Colonel, men like Lorenzo do not like confrontation. They are weak. They use their power and influence to move around, they don’t use force because they don’t have any. So when you chase them with a warship ready to attack, they are going to run. They are coward and they are scared. I might not have experience in combat scenarios, but I have experience with these type of people. So, I suggest you get off of your high horse where your opinion is the only one that matters, and we can work together — you with your combat experience but refraining to use it until absolutely necessary and me with my knowledge of people like the Ardanan. Or, if you think I am so weak I cannot hold myself, you can give me the Bridge for this mission and I can prove to you what I can do. Which one is it going to be?”

Lt. Cmdr. Manning, XO

“Amelia…” Harris rubbed the bridge of his nose. “… I never said I doubted your abilities. If I did or came across that way, I apologize. If I, or Starfleet Command, didn’t think you could do this job… you wouldn’t be here doing it. But I promise you, having seen far too many people… people very important to me… die because someone was trigger happy, I don’t shoot unless I need to.”

Harris, CO

“Then allow me to ask… what is the point of this conversation? We should both be on the Bridge seeing what is happening.” Amelia paused for a second, trying to think how to formulate her next sentence. “Colonel… I know what happened on Beta Prime was… difficult to put it mildly… Half of what I was told, I cannot imagine, the other half I didn’t ask. There were rumors about Captain Wright… I don’t want to know. Things seem to be back to normal and that’s all I care about. Please Colonel… let me prove to you that what happened there was not just luck on my side. Let me show you what I can handle on this mission. And if you’re not happy, then we can have a talk. What do you say?”

Without warning, Harris’s PaDD lit up with an incoming message. The Marine would recognize the transference’s code as Molly’s. It was the intelligence on the Ardanan that she had gathered so far.

(Crossposting from the Bridge, feel free to fill in any thing here)

=A= Mr. Orin… status report Commander. =A= There was no harshness in the Marine’s voice, it was smooth and cool as he awaited his response.

=^=We are closing on the Ardanan ship. The Efrosians requested that we detain them so I’m waiting for us to get into phaser range to disable their propulsion and sensors.=^= Orin responded to the comm as he waited for the range to close.

Amelia shot Harris an urgent look. “I’ll see you in the Bridge Colonel. I want to be there when the Dresden intercepts him.” And with that, Manning stood up and left the Ready Room.

Lt. Cmdr. Manning, XO