CAG - Afternoon Sessions - 1st One

Posted on Sunday 11 December 2016 @ 08:02 by Commander Save'ena (Sav) Tillatix & Captain Melody Jones & Lieutenant Caleb Mitchell & Major David Scarlet

Mission: Old, New Ship
Location: CAG Office - Deck 39, Drop Bay Upper Level, USS Merlin
Timeline: MD9 Mid Afternoon
2403 words - 4.8 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

==== Deck 39, CAG Office ====

Sav was sitting down at the simulation table. The Holographic field was up as different training exercises were running. Sav was working through absolute minimum requirements for certain training regimens and seeing if the current space around the Merlin was good enough to satisfy their requirements. Sav absently scratched at the claw blockers between her fingers. Unknown to her, they could be designed to not cause discomfort, but as they were Mr. Thompson's design, and he wanted his acquired slaves to know there was no hope, he deliberately designed them for discomfort as a constant reminder they were his.

Sav sighed as she watched as the computer ran through the simulations. She already knew the answers thanks to her natural spatial sense, but the simulations had to be run to be recorded that she had done so. So, she was just running them. She felt listless and was pushing one file to another while waiting for her shift and afternoon to end. She absently picked up her finished teacup, taking a sip of nothing before realizing it was empty.

Sav snorted out in humor and placed it back upon its saucer, calling out, "Hey, Wyn, if I can bother you, can you get me another cup of tea? I seem to have ran out a while ago."

"Sure, tea coming up" as Wyn came over and took the cup from Save'ena.

The door chimed only a split second before Scarlet quickly stepped in. He glanced at Wyn and then his gaze settled on Tillatix.

Sav had shifted her head from looking at the holoview toward Wyn when both were startled by David coming right into the space. Her ears and tail flicked once to Wyn as her gaze settled onto David. He spoke first.

Scarlet held up the small cube in his fingers. "You want to explain to me why one of my specialists almost broke down in tears when giving me this?"

Sav looked surprised at David's question. She didn't want to hurt her friend, only protect the ship, and now she had hurt Brenda. Between Melody, the XO, Scarlet, and now Brenda, this day kept getting worse and worse. "This wasn't supposed to hurt her feelings, only keep her safe."

He barely waited for a reply before crossing his arms and nodding towards her gloves. "Show me the blasted things."

She winced at the 'blasted things', but dutifully removed her fingerless gloves. A deep blush crept over her muzzle as the insidious things were now in plain sight for everyone to see. The woven metal muscle strands with the claw inserts/blockers shone in the light. A little swelling could now be seen upon the skin openings where the claw blockers entered the claw canals.

"I didn't picture you as someone to just roll over and do this." Scarlet growled. "Dammit, I told you that I was going to look into this and you didn't even give half a day before you pretty much go and lock yourself up. I guess I should be thankful you didn't do something completely stupid and get yourself declawed."

Sav lowered her head, emotions swimming through her. She thought David would have been happy at having a possible threat neutralized, but he was very, very opposite of that. She looked down at the claw blockers, noticing the getting inflamed flesh. She had forgotten how irritating these things were. Then again, with everything else happening to her for training for the sex trade, it was easy to forget. She put her hands back down on the desk and looked up at David.

"No, Sir, not stupid enough to declaw myself." She sighed, then looked up at him, "Yes, you said you were going to look into this, and check on what could be told to me. That... confirmed some of my worst fears." She shook her head, "You aren't there, when I have my nightmares, and shred my linen with my claws. You weren't there when Melody slapped me, which I don't remember, so I can only assume Wolf brought out one of my nightmares. I... am fighting for survival, in my nightmares, and if I can experience one awake.." Sav swallowed, leaving off, 'and possibly hurting Melody, or Wolf'.

He was angry, but only partially with Tillatix. He was angry with himself for his initial reactions to Tillatix and her condition. Even before joining the fleet he'd been good at assessing threats and thinking on his feet. It was very rare that he made a mistake. He didn't think that this was a mistake, but whatever was wrong in Tillatix's head wasn't her fault. She might be a ticking timebomb, but she was an innocent one. He had sworn to keep the crew and the ship safe and secure, and right now it seemed like Tillatix was the one who needed to be secure.

Sav drew back a little from David's intense gaze upon her. She snorted out in forced humor, "You're security, and you know this crew deserves protection, from threats," her voice dropped to a whisper, "from me." She absentmindedly rubbed over the claw blockers on her left hand. She continued, not really thinking what she said, only that if she was a cause of harm, she would wear these damnable things for as long as needed, "What's minor discomfort and stigma when compared to crew safety?"

Wyn was getting rather angry herself as the security chief seemed to be getting on Sav's case and she didn't like it. She had slowly moved over to Sav's side and was preparing to defend her friend.

He glanced over at Wyn and sighed. "Can we have some privacy for a moment?" He looked back at Tillatix. "We have to discuss the training."

Wyn shot a look over at Save'ena and held her breath for a moment. She really didn't like the idea of being dismissed like this, especially when Sav might need her.

Sav smiled to Wyn, "Go on, We'll be fine. Besides, you know where to find us. I'll handle any coffee service for Lt. Scarlet, it's the least I can do for him."

Wyn glanced back at Scarlet then back to Sav and frowned. For a long moment, she didn't move as she scrutinized Sav's face. Finally, she let go of the breath she had been holding "Ok........ If you're sure. Just remember I won't be far away if you need me."

With a final look at Scarlet, Wyn reluctantly left the room.

Sav looked at the telltales for the door and after it verified locked, she stood up. "And now to make good on my promise to Crewman Rhoderick, Sir. What would you like for a beverage, and who will start the helm rotation training and when Lt. Jones or I?"

Scarlet clenched his fists. "Not that training. It is about Lieutenant Jones training, and yours. Please sit down."

Sav had started towards the tea set when David's words stopped her. She turned towards him with a questioning look upon her muzzle and then saw the clenched fists. Her body flinched, but she dutifully returned to her seat, hoping for the best and wondering about his words. She asked, "And, that training is?"

Scarlet looked at Tillatix and sighed. "Command wants the ships to start training and testing crew interactions during unconventional or stressful situations. Such as one crew member assaulting another." He let his last words hang in the air.

Sav's face scrunched up at this. While this sounded unusual, and actually needed for a command ship to know, it still didn't say why she did not remember anything of this incident, and why it had been done during a 'counseling' session. "Okay, very unusual, and weird, I can see it for why. But... um, please, continue."

"It was unconventional, but since Lieutenant Jones was going into her tactical training, it was decided to double it up with this additional training. To make it seem believable, it was decided that there would be an artificial 'disagreement' between you and her. You weren't told everything because it would throw off the training for Lieutenant Jones and even my security escorts if you were 'in on it'."

Sav got a confused look on her face, "Okay, again, I can see that, but why for the attack by the XO? As upper command staff, wouldn't he be a huge part of it and have signed off on this, Sir?" Even though she outranked David, as he was Chief of Security, and this was a Security matter, he now 'outranked' her and she was going to treat him with all due respect as a fellow ship officer and command over this operation he was telling her.

Scarlet just frowned. "Lieutenant Jones just parroted back the story when she was talking to the XO. Unfortunately, instead of checking with one of us, he believed the line was true and took matters into his own hands. You would have been told sooner, but after you passed out we weren't sure how you would handle it."

Sav shook her head to clear the rampant thoughts within. She took a breath in, then let it out. Looking towards the table, she said, "So, Command as in Starfleet, Captain and Security. And... Melody was under orders to slap me... and did.. and I passed out." She closed her eyes, "And I don't remember a thing..." Sav shook her head again, "More than likely due to the ove... *voice changing slightly* the 'counseling' for anger management at the academy and for the incident on Apollonia *snort of breath and voice changing back* preventing 'undue' hardship against the crew." Sav held back a tear from the pain of overcoming what the overlays were trying to force her to say next. She looked up at David, "So, what's next, Sir, now that I botched things up?"

"Right now, I think it's more important for you and Lieutenant Jones be allowed to interact without all the interference. I will bring it up to the Commander, but in the meantime, the conditions still apply."

Sav nodded, "Thank you, Sir, I would like that." She harrumphed a short laugh, then continued, "I can easily continue to keep up the charade at my end." She opened her mouth to explain why then left off. This was Lt. Scarlet, Chief of Security for the ship, and didn't need to know everything about her had been stunted since the surgeries. So, she just added, "It hurts to say and tell lies, it's against my nature, but, but, I can keep it up at my end, for duty and helping command with understanding the ship's crew."

"I think you have very poor luck in being in the wrong place at the wrong time," Scarlet remarked calmly. "Just keep doing your job and we can make sure everything works out."

Sav looked down at her hands as the claw blockers made their presence known once more. She flinched as a high pitched 'EH' came unbidden from her throat even as a whisper came from deep within her, one the overlays failed to stop for the moment, "The dungeon stigmas..." Her body began trembling from memories of that time, and as she wasn't speaking anything, the overlays did not stop it, while the deep, now un-hidden imprint was gleeful about it. She held up a shaking hand as she looked at David, asking, "Sir? And, these? If you need me to keep wearing them, I will do so, gladly, for the training. But, if not needed for the training, would you remove them, if you think it proper, Sir?"

Scarlet took the small cube out from his pocket and placed it on the table in front of him. "It is a very interesting design, not something just cobbled together in the spur of the moment." He studied Tilatix, not sure how far he could, or even should push the matter. "Please make sure to upload the schematics to my console in the security office. I would like to see if it could be adapted for some other security purpose." He quickly pressed the center button on the top of the cube. "In the meantime, I'm ending this self-imposed punishment. If there is a security concern, trust me... I will act upon it."

Sav shuddered slightly as the cable strands 'relaxed' and came away from her hands and wrists. The wrap around the wrists relaxed, and the woven design of artificial muscle fibers could now be seen. As this happened, Sav quickly reached over and touched a button on her wrist computer before she could think about it. That action performed, she sighed in relief as she removed the woven fiber strands with the metal blocking inserts from her hands. As she reached down to remove her shoes, she said, "I have transferred the schematics of.. the.. *tone change* there are no schematics as these claw blockers do not exist as they are the figment of imagination of Saveena Tillatix from fixation upon Aristocrat Thompson as friend to Councilman Eurytlus, as decreed by the Apollonia Court system." Sav growled under her breath for having to say that as, shoes now off her feet, she removed the claw blockers from them. She placed those on the table to join the wrist claw blockers. She nodded to David, happy they were away from her, "There, claw blockers for you."

On David's padd, it confirmed the information and schematics of the claw blockers had been received at his main office console.

Scarlet glanced down at the padd and then back at Tillatix. Whatever was going on, he knew he was reaching the end of what he could get out of Tillatix safely. He would handle this in his own.

Sav put back on her shoes, her demeanor seeming to brighten as she said, "So, with 'training' and 'blocker' business taken care of, invite Wyn, err, Crewman Rhoderick back into the office?"

"Of course, I have my job to get back to, and so do you sir." Scarlet quickly said with a grumble as he stood up and dismissed himself.

OFF: To be continued in Part Two

Lieutenant Save'ena A. Tillatix
CAG / Uroboros Squadron Leader
Bridge Command Specialist
USS Merlin

Crewman Wyn Rhoderick
CAG Personal Assistant
Fighter Maintenance Tech
USS Merlin

Lieutenant Caleb Mitchell
Counselor
USS Merlin

Lieutenant JG Scarlet
CSTO
USS Merlin