R and R after some major BS (Part III)

Posted on Fri Aug 23rd, 2024 @ 11:09am by Cadet Senior Grade Meghan Stefani & Cadet Senior Grade Daniel Weaver & Cadet Senior Grade Finn Walsh & Cadet Junior Grade Shafin Todenhöfer
Edited on on Fri Aug 23rd, 2024 @ 11:12am

1,519 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: The Cadet Cruise

[PREVIOUSLY]

Shafin looked at Emma "We did fine" countered Shafin. He wasn't about to argue the point, but he wasn't going to let Daniel feel even more like a failure. "The Commodore failed us. He didn't let us have fair testing conditions. Everything was set up to be a setback" He poured Emma a glass.

[CONTINUED]

Meghan nodded. They could definitely dump all the blame at the commodore's feet.

"Remove the Commodore from the equation and our probability of success increases significantly" stated Shafin. "These familial ties were knotted in a way that we only had one result possible" he added.

Daniel took the glass of ale in his hands before adding. "This from the guy who originally thought I was placed in Command due to nepotism." He said before taking a drink. "Now, do you believe that I didn't ask of this?"

Shafin countered with a brow raising. "You may not want it, but I maintain it was a nepotistic move" stated Shafin. "Albeit clearly one to punish you or force you into something you do not want" he clarified. "He's pushing you into the family business."

"The nepotism is all on his side." Daniel replied quickly. "I have no problem earning my way up the ranks, like everyone else at this table, but I don't want it to come at the cost of anyone else. I'll take my bumps and bruises like anyone else, but my father is determined that blood and tears get added to that deal. Face it, guys. Because my father is determined to put me in that chair, the rest of you are going to get dragged along with me. It's best I pull out of the Command Course so the rest of you can actually stand a chance at making it out of here in one piece."

"No." Meghan's tone was firm. "You aren't going to let him push you out of something you're really good at. Stay in command, but do things YOUR way, not his. That annoys him no end. Didn't you notice how he started messing with shields and helm when you made choices he didn't agree with? I say keep doing it. We'll back you up 100%. And, when we get back home, we'll present our case to the Academy Commandant." She paused. "I also think we should make our own copy of the computer recordings before he has a chance to alter them." She was pretty sure she could rely on Commander Borovich to tell what happened, and she had no doubt Archie would be honest.

As he entered the lounge, Finn Walsh pulled down the sleeves of his cadet uniform, and surveyed the area. During his own drills of triage training, he had heard rumors of things going awry on the bridge, but he had paid those rumors no heed. He was in trainings of his own, he wasn't going to worry about what happened on deck one. At least until he cleared his head a bit. At seeing the group of cadets that had been on the bridge, he approached, a smile touching his eyes. "Hello everyone," he said, once he was at the table. "Might I join ya?"

Shafin poured another glass, the more the merrier, and the less contents of the bottle he would need to deal with. "We don't mind at all, pull up a seat and join us, Cadet" he said to one of the few aboard that he felt understood the medical side of things. Shafin had been yanked away by the Commodore and assigned bridge training simulations as First Officer, not something Shafin would have volunteered for.

"How was it down in Sickbay?" asked Cadet Todenhöfer, well aware from Bram's complaints that medical did not have it easy either. If Daniel thought they had it rough on the bridge, Sickbay was no cake walk. "I heard you guys were put through the wringer."

Logically of course, Shafin knew it was not going to be easy in Sickbay. Though part of him did wish he could have stayed down there with the pre-med cadets. Maybe it was just the Commodore's way to compensate for not having a need for a Cadet studying counselling, or perhaps it simply was to stick Daniel with someone like Shafin.

"I'd be lyin' if I didn't say it was brutal," Finn replied. He grabbed a chair from a table over and sat in with the other cadets. He took the offered glass and took a quick swig before he continued. The taste wasn't anything he couldn't handle, even though the neon bluish liquid was strong. His gaze swept around the table, the cadets looked haggard, and no doubt he looked the same. His time in his internship at Starfleet Medical was nothing compared to the triage simulations he and the other pre-med and nursing cadets were put through. "Rumor has it the bridge simulation was no walk in the park either."

"That's one way of putting it," Meghan said. "They added elements to the training that made it feel personal."

Shafin sipped his ale and looked at Finn then at Daniel. "Someone's father decided it would be amusing to torment his son by using their grandfather as a way to get an emotional response." Shafin had no problem being blunt about it. "How were things down there?"

Finn stayed quiet a moment, took a sip of the neon blue ale and then answered. "It was.... well, a lot," he said. "A mass casualty situation never looks the same on paper than it does when you are in the thick of things." He of course knew all the steps, all the tag colors, he knew how to prioritize, but knowing and doing were two different things. "Though, I was grateful Doctor Del Toro was patient with us."

"I wish we had more patience up on the bridge," said Shafin. That was certainly an understatement. "We were pushed hard and thrown left and right. It kept changing. Daniel's father was not the least bit patient. Failure was the only result we were set to achieve." If Shafin could have turned down being the part of Executive Officer, he would have.

"Isn't that the point of training missions?" Meghan asked. "Learn to fail better? I mean, we can't always succeed and how we fail can be vital when we're out in space without anyone nearby to help."

"Tell that to him," Shafin said looking at Daniel Weaver. "Learning to fail is a hard lesson to learn. I don't know if we could have 'won' or not, but I am just going to dust off the loss and get ready for our next challenge."

Meghan put her hand over Daniel's. "He's right. Let it go. You did better than your father expected, and you did it on your own terms. I consider that a success. Your father's going to try harder next time, so we should simply show him we're not going to be intimidated. Then when we fail again, we'll smile at him and walk off the bridge. If things get too tough, we'll run away and join the Bajoran military." She hoped that last would at least earn her a smile from Daniel.

"The Bajoran Militia would be a cake-walk compared to all of this. At least it would be fair." Daniel said, placing his hand on Meghan's hand, before smiling at her. "Still... I would have loved to have known." He said as he looked over to Shafin. "Would we have beaten it if it wasn't fixed?"

"With you in command, unlikely," Shafin replied deadpan. "However, I have been known to be incorrect... sometimes" he added.

"I don't think we were supposed to win at all, regardless of who was in charge," Meghan countered. "The commodore just made it personal." She turned to Daniel. "Maybe you should ask him why?"

"That would be an error of logic, Meghan," Shafin quickly moved with a verbal incision. "Any time Daniel has questioned or sought to work around the Commodore, we've been met with additional challenges, twists, and obstacles."

Shafin shook his head. "Doing so now would only encourage the Commodore to deploy a barrage of problems for us ahead of the next simulation. We need to avoid provoking him at this enpass. It would be more prudent for us to plan for what he may already do which up to this point seems to be target Daniel’s weaknesses."

"I didn't say to confront him, but to try and talk to him in private, son to father. Yes, every time he defies his father the commodore retaliates. But he might talk to his son if Daniel approaches him the right way." Meghan shrugged. "It's something to consider. Anyway, I need to do some studying, so I'll see you later."

She nodded to the others and smiled at Daniel before going back to her room.

OFF

Cadet Senior Grade Daniel Weaver
Command Cadet

Cadet Junior Grade Shafin Todenhöfer
Counseling Cadet

Cadet Senior Grade Finn Walsh
Medical Cadet

Cadet Senior Grade Meghan Stefani
Science Cadet

 

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