<USS Avalon> "Dr. Jekyll"

“Dr. Jekyll”
by Commander Javan Sierra
& Ensign Vevay Davis



It had been about an hour since their first showdown. Javan, in honesty, thought that the meeting had gone rather well. It could've happened a lot worse than it did - for that he was thankful. Granted, he could hold his own in a verbal sparring match with the best of them, but he wasn't in the mood to be distracted by such petty arguing. He tapped the communications panel on his desk, took a breath, and called her in, "Ensign Davis, please report to my office."

Oh man... Hitting her comm-badge, she said, "On my way." Smiling self-consciously at the other ensign she'd been talking to, she marched up to Sierra's office and rang the chime.

"Enter," he said, not so begrudgingly this time around.

Stepping in, she saluted and stood at attention. "Sir?" What did I do wrong?

"Nothing, please have a seat." Javan motioned across to one of the two seats in front of his desk. He shuffled the PADDs off to the side and then clasped his hands officially on the metallic surface. He gauged her up and down. "I figured that after our first encounter that we should at least try it again. And, for me to explain how things work here."

"Yessir," she said, sitting.

"Ms. Davis. I commend you on a nice record, I'm quite impressed. However, things are very professional here and I doubt you'll find a safer ship or a smoother running security department in all the fleet. That's because we use the chain of command and we get things done." He took a breath, "If that came off as pompous earlier, than your perspective needs to change."

"Pompous, sir? No." She fixed him with strong eyes, swallowed hard and jumped. "Arrogant? Yes. Sir."

"Well, either way, it's detachment. I run a tight ship. And, I handle the problems and things that my immediate subordinates can't. So, if you have a problem with that, I suggest you request a change in posting. Otherwise, start changing. I'm not the type of guy to coddle my officers no matter how fresh they are out of the Academy." He smirked slightly, "Makes them stronger, I know this from experience."

"I am not fresh out of the Academy, sir. If you had truly read my record, you would know that." Tight lipped, Vevay sat there and glared at a spot just to the left of his head.

"And, if you'll try listening more carefully, I didn't imply anything to the contrary. I would suggest, for my sake and yours, that you avoid getting sarcastic and standoffish unless completely necessary. It will make your posting here a lot more tolerable." He looked down briefly, contemplating what he really wanted to say, "Do you have anything you'd like to say?"

She started to go red, more from embarrassment than anything else. "I..." Fuck it, V, nice one, piss off the big boss man already. You know this is how you fucked up all your other assignments. "No sir."

He smiled, genuinely smiled, "I may not be the easiest one to get along with, but I'll be your best friend in a fight. I stick to my guns, and I like the fact that you do to, but remember when to draw them and when to keep them in the holsters. We're all working together on this ship, and I'll be damned if I let it destroy itself from the outside in. Sometimes the leader has to be ambiguous."

"Yes sir." She met his eyes, surprise registering in hers. "But... wouldn't that be the inside out, sir?" Her smile brightened her eyes, making the green glow.

Javan blinked, caught off guard buy his own slip of tongue. "Yes, I guess it would be. Now, get out before you correct me again and I feel the impulse to yell." He laughed a bit and shooed her away with his hands, "Dismissed, ensign. And, once again, welcome aboard."

"Thank you, sir. Goodbye, sir." She stood again and saluted before she left. Stunned didn't cover it really as she wandered down the hall and away. Who the hell was that? Coz that sure as hell wasn't the guy I met earlier.



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