[USS Charon]
Susan groaned slightly as the cool water she had splashed on her face made its way down. It was not often she looked at herself in the mirror for very long these days. The mirrors forced Susan to accept the reality that her days of glory and excitement onboard starships were over. It had only seemed weeks ago, not years, in which the shades of grey in her hair and wrinkles on her aging face were nowhere to be found. It was a constant reminder that time itself had been catching up with her.
"Computer. Relay my report on Captain Shiarrael t'Rehu to the Starfleet command review board." Susan groaned again as she slowly slipped into her dress uniform. The sleek white overcoat adorned with commendations was growing old in her point of view; it seemed as if she were wearing it more than her duty uniform in the months past.
If it was not a bureaucratic cocktail party then it would be the promotion of some random individual she knew only on paper. The uniform itself seemed only to far in value from what it once was. While it was true she had commanded many battles in the most recent war, the days of actually leading a ship into the unknown seemed further away to her than her oldest memory.
"Colonel Ivoniva. This is Lieutenant Sajeh. I am just reminding you about the conference call being held by Brigadier General McCormick's in a few hours. A holo-communicator will be set up onboard the Quantum Fury for your use." Susan sighed, and replied ever so hesitantly, "Understood Lieutenant. Thank you."
She looked at herself once more and straightened out her comm badge, "Colonel Ivoniva to Captain t'Rehu. I was hoping you might have the time to join me in ambassadorial suite for a drink. I promise you it won't be long and a de-briefing is needed before I can officially take my leave of Charon."
Shiarrael was working through a set of PADDs in her ready room when the message came in. She had planned to hurry to her quarters and relax a bit before dressing up for the dinner with Itsak and Sakarra. All in all she had done a decent job of tucking the Colonel away just enough to conduct the ship's business without distraction. In fact the job had been so well done that even Shiarrael momentarily forgot about the woman's presence. The reminder caused her to grimace. 'Starfleet observer' was a neat little term they coined for the woman's presence but she was nothing more than a 'political officer.' Standing up Shiarrael pressed her commbadge "I will be there momentarily Colonel."
It took Shiarrael fifteen minutes to finish her work and then head to the Ambassadorial suite one deck below. She sighed feeling irritated as she arrived and pressed the chime.
"Come." Susan had laid out various bottles of wines (red and white alike) and had also prepared various breads and cheeses to compliment the beverages. She had taken off her dress uniform overcoat and had put it on a nearby chair. Seeing the Captain walk in she offered the Romulan a brief smile, "Thank you for coming Captain, I appreciate it. Please help yourself out to the wine and snacks."
"Thank you." Shiarrael said and looked at all the snacks. She had always wondered if the old saying 'feed them well and you will not be bothered' was true but looking at the Colonel gave it some validity. "But I am not hungry." She smiled.
Susan herself grabbed a bottle of red and poured it into the sleek crystal wine glass she was holding in her right hand. "I promise to keep this brief. I have the pristine honour of attending yet another holo-conference with a bunch of high-strung brass shoftly." Susan rolled her eyes as she explained this to Shia, her lack of enthusiasm and sarcastic tone being quite evident. "I have sent my report directly to the Starfleet command review board but I wanted to give you a copy personally."
The Colonel slid the sleek padd across the table in front of both of them. "I must say Captain. I make it my business to stay out of the way, as I'm sure you've noticed, that has not put a damper on my analysis of every decision you made in recent events onboard Charon however." She lifted the wine glass up to her lips and took a small sip, taking a moment to enjoy the bitter and sweet taste.
"Basically I have told Starfleet to leave you the hell alone, for lack of better words." Susan let out a small grin, "You know what you're doing Captain. Sure. Your methods may be a bit forward most of the times but you run a tight ship, the way any ship should be operated in my point of view." Susan leaned back and let out a small sigh, "I truly envy you Captain. Adventuring into the unknown, not knowing what lies between each crevasse in the road you travel. I can only hope you do not take that honour for granted."
"I appreciate your candor." Shiarrael said finding her original opinion of the woman to be false "thank you Colonel." She smiled and casually grabbed one of the crackers biting a corner off "the transition has not been easy- and the crew finds it equally challenging but they have done well. Better then I expected."
Susan nodded, "Having reviewed all reports since your take over of Charon, I couldn't agree with you more." She had decided not to comment on the issue of missing marines for the sake of leaving on a positive note.
"Now Captain. I cannot promise that Starfleet will heed directly towards my report. In fact I can guarantee you they won't." Susan finished off the glass of wine she had poured out earlier. "I can also guarantee you I will not be working for the command bureau once I return to earth. I imagine I shall have copious amounts of forced opportunities presented my way." Susan knew that Shia would understand this; both knew all to well that Starfleet was not expecting a 'positive' report from the Colonel.
"I'll still have a friend or two left in high places when this is all said and done, of whom will owe me a few favors to say the least. If you need anything or find that Starfleet is putting too much heat in your direction do not hesitate to give me a call. I don't believe it would be good for the Charon to lose their tyrant just yet." She offered Shia an honest smile.
"They are a meddlesome bunch to be sure- but nothing that cannot be dealt with." Shiarrael stood up "I hope you found your stay enjoyable Colonel." It was difficult to think otherwise. Shiarrael made sure the Colonel was well cared for- enough to keep her from being a distraction.
Susan stood up as well, "I did Captain. Thank you for your time and best of luck." Susan offered the Captain a quick salute, a gesture of respect if anything since the two were equal in rank.
[End]
Captain Shiarrael Rehu
Commanding Officer
USS Charon
&
Colonel Susan Ivoniva
Departing Starfleet Observer
USS Charon
