<USS Avalon> Skyler and Talea Discuss Issues

OOC:
This happens prior to "Uncertain Lady" (2/11/2007) and is in reply to the post that it immediately follows. There are a couple of other posts that will follow this, linked to the proper posts as appropriate. ;) 

IC:
"Skyler and Talea Discuss Issues"
by
Captain Skyler (XO, /USS Avalon/)
Talea Erridim (Chief Ops, /USS Avalon/)
Sensing that Talea was going to be out of earshot soon, Skyler excused herself momentarily and ran out to find the young woman. She really needed to talk to her. Find out what and how she felt about what was going on. "Ensign Erridim. Could you please hold up for a moment? I would like a word with you if you can spare a moment?" Skyler hoped she could get through to the young woman and that what they had planned for Jackson would not cause her any harm.
Talea stopped, then turned. "Yes, Captain, I can. It is quieter here in the corridor, isn't it?" She was badly confused, and trying not to show it. Whatever it was she'd been hearing or sensing had nearly faded to nonexistence, so she was much more capable of calmness without having to fake it. "How may I assist you, ma'am?"
"I just wanted a few minutes to talk to you. To fill you in on what was going to happen with Ensign Jackson and make sure you are okay with it. Also I wanted to let you know that I have been working with Sergeant Walker to expand my shields so that I may aid you when you feel the time is necessary." Pausing, Skyler looked at Talea to see if there was going to be any reaction.
Talea raised an eyebrow. "It is good that Sergeant Ranger is assisting you to assure you can assist me. But will Captain Phillips allow him to stand Bridge duty, so as to be part of my shielding group?" She shivered. "I am no longer certain my abilities are fully locked down, to be honest."
Skyler looked at Talea. "Are you saying that you are starting to regain some of your abilities? This is good, is it not? As for Captain Phillips, I will talk to him and I am sure he will allow Sergeant Walker to be where he is needed. Sergeant Ranger has also agreed to work with Lieutenant K'etrall who is also willing to assist you when needed. I want to make sure that you are safe when your abilities fully return." She paused for a bit, then continued with, "After talking with you and with Captain Phillips, I am leaning toward putting Ensign Jackson to work . . . on duties that are fitting of his crime and nature. Why should he just sit in the brig getting his three squares, while you are still suffering? However, I don't want to release him, even under Captain Phillips' guard, unless you are okay with the situation. You are my first concern, Ensign. Your safety, both mental and physical, is what comes first. If you don't think you can handle knowing that he would be roaming around the ship, then he will remain in the brig until we can transport him to the nearest facility. I want your input on the matter and for you to know that you are safe."
Talea was frankly embarrassed and relieved, and the embarrassment caused her to blush slightly. "I am very much encouraged by your support, ma'am. As for Ensign Jackson, since he seems to be afraid of the Regellian force-whip, perhaps whoever is guarding him should be wearing or holding one? Wouldn't have to have a power cell to be effective; they're fearsome-looking things." She grinned ferally. "And what says his meals have to be full-ration? Half-ration or even bread and water are both perfectly legal." She knew she was being evil and may even be viewed as vindictive, but the suggestions were sound. "And get him out of uniform, into prisoner coveralls. Not that I'm ordering, mind." Her smile this time was tight, although it was more with a sense of self-reproach at her own behavior. She sighed before making one final suggestion. "If he is also wearing ankle cuffs that restrict his walking, that may prevent his attempting to escape, also."
Listening to what Talea was saying, Skyler nodded in agreement. "Those are all sound suggestions and they do make sense. The only problem I foresee is that I personally do not have a force-whip. Now, if you can obtain one for me, then I can make sure whoever is on guard detail will be carrying it. Will you feel safe knowing he is not in the brig, but out and about? Even with all the precautions we will take?"
Talea smiled slightly. "Grasp my shoulder firmly, and I'll take you to where one is. The Baron l'Orange has had one in its storage for years now. She concentrated, knowing the teleport was possible, but would hurt like the Furies . . . almost as badly as if she herself were being force-whipped, and she had enough experience with that to not want a repeat.
Looking more carefully at Talea, Skyler could see her concentrating on something. What it was, she didn't know. "Why do you want me to grasp your shoulder? We can very easily transport to your shuttle, if that is what you have in mind. I get the feeling that you want to attempt something else, and I am not sure I am willing to let you try at this time, especially if there is the possibility of danger to either of us. In fact, we can even walk to the shuttle bay and perhaps get to know each other a little better."
Talea, successfully distracted from her intent to test her teleportation, startled, then blushed furiously, her expression clearly the sort of expression when someone realized someone else had something quite right. She then nodded, struggling to regain calm. "That does sound like the better plan, ma'am. Forgive me for asking, but do we need command authorization to enter the shuttlebay?" She was asking this out of curiosity; she'd never actually visited the shuttlebay after she'd been transported from it several days before, so didn't know the procedure.
"I'm glad you agree, Ensign. Shall we walk or transport? The choice is yours. As for needing command authorization, I think I can handle that aspect of things as well. You weren't trying to use one of your abilities just now, were you?" Hands behind her back, Skyler started to walk down the hall.
Talea matched the Captain's walk precisely, then answered. "Walking does seem to be the better plan, ma'am." She sighed. "'Tis just that aboard a RSMC or RSDF vessel, everyone teleports when they can." She chuckled. "That makes red-alert readiness extremely fast in our case; it's rare a RSDF vessel takes over 30 seconds to go from Green to Red Alert."
"I can see where that would come in handy, but I would think that it would be painful. It's bad enough using a transporter and having your atoms scattered all over and hope they reconstitute in the proper way. So tell me, what other abilities do you have? Sergeant Walker was supposed to brief the Admiral and me, but hasn't had the time as of yet. Perhaps you can enlighten me." Skyler really did want to try and understand this woman and hopefully gain her trust. She had a feeling it wasn't going to be as easy as she had hoped, but then again, she could be wrong.
Talea smiled slightly. "One thing, Captain. When have either he or I had the time to actually get the data organized for such a briefing?" She knew the amount of data necessary to give a full briefing was immense, and also knew that the two really wanted an executive summary, not an encyclopedia-type briefing. "And lest you think I do not trust you, I have more trust in you than I do most officers aboard."
With a slight chuckle, Skyler nodded her head. "You do raise a valid point. Things have not been all that conducive to developing a comprehensive briefing, now have they? Of course, it doesn't help that the Admiral isn't aboard the ship at the moment. I am glad to hear that you have some trust in me." As they approached a lift, the door opened and they walked in. Skyler spoke matter of factly, "Shuttlebay." The doors closed behind them and she could feel the subtle movement of the lift as it took them to the shuttlebay. "May I ask how your shuttle got its name?"
Talea looked at her Captain, amused by the question. "To be honest, I'm not entirely certain. There is indeed a barony of l'Orange on Regelis, and one of the early holders of the title did heroic deeds, so that is likely the reason." She shook her head. "However, that is speculation. Even Cialra does not know for certain."
"Now Cialra, that would be Claire, the AI for your ship, would it not? I must admit, yours is the first ship of its type that I have come across. As for a ship having an AI, that is also a first for me." The lift came to a stop and the doors opened. Hands still behind her back, Skyler led the way to the shuttlebay. Upon reaching the doors, she keyed in her command codes and the doors opened revealing Talea's ship alongside the Avalon's shuttles. There was a definite difference in the two.
Talea nodded. "We Regellians have had several thousand years by our reckoning, not to mention Terran, to interact with machine intelligences that don't go berserk or insane. Early history of the type on Regelis does indicate there were problems early on, but exactly how those difficulties were overcome is not stated in the texts. Perhaps because, at the time, it was well-known how it was done, and they failed to mention it because of that?" She led the way to her shuttle, then tapped the four keys to open the outer lock. After it opened, she called, "Cialra, identify: Talea Genot Erridim and guest, Captain Skyler."
Cialra's voice sounded. "Identified. Voiceprint and thermal imaging match, as does iris. Welcome home." There was a distinct smile in the tone, then she greeted both as the inner door parted, and the smile was proven to be fact.
This time, Skyler let Talea lead the way. She was impressed both with the ship and with the AI, who seemed to have a personality all her own. She had never really dealt with an AI and wasn't at all sure what to expect. "Thank you, Cialra. I am honored to be allowed to board your vessel. I hope you will forgive any injustice done to you by overzealous engineers." 'This ship is amazing. I wish Starfleet had some like these. Perhaps in time.'
Cialra was frankly curious. "I can tell this isn't a social visit, Talea. Care to explain?" She grinned slightly, her eyes also showing her humor.
Talea grinned right back. "Remember that old force-whip in storage bin A-6? We've found a use for it." She was almost laughing now. Cialra nodded and led the way to a bin, then opened it before wordlessly handing Talea the whip. It did indeed look fearsome, even without a power cell in the slot designed for it.
Skyler's eyes widened as she looked at the whip. "They don't actually use that thing on people, do they? It doesn't even look humane, let alone safe to use. It will definitely scare the hell out of Ensign Jackson, that's for sure."
Talea chuckled. "This one can't be used. It's of a design so ancient that modern power cells don't fit the chamber, ma'am."
Still, it did look fearsome. Skyler would hate to encounter one that was fully powered. "So, even though this looks terrible, it can't do any harm to anyone either on purpose or by accident. Correct? I certainly don't want anything of that nature to happen."
Talea chuckled. "This particular design could conceivably do harm even if not powered, because this particular model is based on a cat o' nine tails, a whip type that had nine tips. As you can see, none of the tips of this whip are actually sharp, but they are narrow. Since the tip or tips of a whip being cracked go past the speed of sound, causing the characteristic sound, the impact of something moving that quickly could do significant harm." She did not want to admit to the Captain that this whip was almost identical to the one that had caused most of the scars she'd had on boarding the Avalon. That was confidential information she was still unsure it was wise to give out, even to someone she trusted.
She stroked the whip's handle. "A force whip has no need to be cracked like that to be effective. In fact, it is unwise to crack one, since if the whip-wielder misses and strikes a spectator, he or she is subject to two strokes per strike. As you can imagine, this rather prevents mistakes." She actually thought the force-whip was a loathsome instrument, but then, she had been abused too many times with one. With a barely suppressed shudder, she handed the coiled whip to the Captain, then asked, "May I be excused, ma'am?"
Trying not to notice the shudder, Skyler took the whip. "I think I will take this back to my office until I decide on Jackson's exact punishment. Thank you for your input in this matter, Ensign. I really do appreciate it. And yes, you may be excused. Cialra, thank you as well for allowing me aboard this vessel. I hope someday you will give me the grand tour."
Turning, Skyler left Talea with Cialra and made her way back to her office. Once there, she locked up the whip so that no one could obtain it. She still wasn't sure if it was a wise idea to use it, but she did want to make Talea feel safe. She would decide later. Now she feared there was an away team to take care of.

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