Unwanted Attention

Posted on 04/22/2023 @ 1:08pm by Captain Cornelius Harrington & Commander Raphael Mattix

1,303 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Mission 23:Pages...
Location: Captain's Ready Room

OOC: Let's do this

In the realm of keeping things light and spending more time with the family, Neil was already off to a stellar failure. However, both Adira and him knew that he had to deal with the garbage that happened while he was gone. Or, he'd never get to take some much-needed time.

He picked up the padd on the desk as he tapped his comm badge, "Commander Mattix, could you come to the ready room, please? I have a bottle of Old Forester 1920 that needed some attention." He smirked, knowing full well that Mattix had given him the bottle in the first place. Placing a small silver box on the desk in front of him, he waited for a reply.

Raphael had just gotten to his quarters and part of him wanted to blow the Captain off, but the last few days had been intense. After a few seconds of hesitation, he tapped his commbadge, "I'll be up shortly."

He grabbed a small leather case before leaving his place and catching a 'lift up to the command deck. The ride was quiet, a few people came on and off but for the most part there wasn't much conversation.

The deck was still a bit of a mess, with a few repair crews working on some of the damage from the recent attack with other officers seeming to go about their normal day to day. He nodded to a couple of them before heading to the ready room and hit the chime, waiting for an answer.

"Come on in, Raphael," Neil stated as he took two small glasses from the cabinet behind the desk. Pouring two glasses of whiskey, he turned to his guest. "Come on in, have a seat," he gestured to a nearby chair. "I am sure after the last few days, the last thing you want to see is another office."

Neil offered the drink as he sat down in the chair opposite Mattix. "I've been reading over Commander Letsul's report, I must say she had a lot of good things to say about you."

Raphael just smirked slightly as he took the drink, a quick sip before setting down the glass. Once his hands were free, he opened up the leather case and pulled out two cigars and a cutter. He sliced off the tip of one, before offering the other two Neil.

"Nothing quite like a good cigar with good whiskey," Raphael said. "You won't be disappointed."

Neil took the offered cigar as he nodded, "a man of quality taste. Let's get the formalities out of the way first." Neil pointed to the silver box on the box, "you were instrumental in helping to save this station. I can't imagine what the crew here went through and I would rather not."

Neil watched as Mattix picked up the box, "Starfleet approved my request to bump you to full Commander; you've more than earned it, my friend."

Raphael handed him the cutter before he pulled out a small lighter and set it aside. He narrowed his eyes for a moment before he accepted the silver box and opened it. What was that feeling? Pride? No it couldn't be that. He'd been far too disappointed in the Starfleet he'd left. It took him a moment to swap out the black pip for the gold one. Finally he picked up the lighter and took a moment to get his cigar lit, puffing on it lightly before he settled into a seat with his glass and cigar.

Once he was finished, he took a deep breath, "Thank you. Unfortunately, most of my career was pushed forward because I knew how to fight."

"We all play a part, and each part is important," he tipped the glass, "or at least that is what the recruitment poster said."

"All of my time in Starfleet has taught me one inescapable truth," Raphael paused before taking a drink. "Those posters are bullshit propaganda,and I am a realist not an idealist. I'll leave that to those more righteous."

Nei tipped his glass, "I think I can drink to that." Neil smiled, "The Federation, Starfleet..." he paused, "it's not exactly what sixteen-year-old Neil thought it was when he left home. Sadly, a lot of those lessons had to be learned the hard way."

"But, I think we need more realists," he added, "I have a station full of idealists. The older I get, the more I think, give it to me straight, seems to fit."

"It's good to have both, those who understand what Starfleet is and those who know what it could be," Raphael said with a nod. "But I'm with you on having people be straightforward."

"I've realized things recently," Neil stated, trying hard not to give away classified information from their trip to the MU. "Starfleet may have the best of intentions, but there is a fine line between the greater good and evil." He wasn't sure if that made any sense. Corneilus and his people did so much in the name of the greater good. However, in the end, the Rebellion was just another form of the Empire; same ideals, but different faces.

"I am well aware of where the line is," Raphael tilted his head to the side as he considered what to say next. He took a drink to give himself another moment before looking at the Captain. "But those are stories for another time and place."

Neil took a drink, "I am sure by the time both of us are ready to tell those stories," he smiled, "there will be many more of those stories." Neil leaned back in his chair, "I think we have nothing to fear here, but I can't help but wonder if the calm is just the start," he couldn't shake the feeling that Thorrin and the DTI weren't done. It was only a matter of time. He sighed, "but again, stories for another time."

Raphael took a puff from his cigar as he sat and thought about it, many would say he crossed the line and that included himself. "Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. I try to enjoy the calm for what it is. This station is in a unique situation, it's one of the few frontier places left for the Federation. You can make your career here if you're successful. That means there are people who want you to fail so they can do it better. When we're somewhere with less ears, I'll tell you a tale or two."

Neil eagerly anticipated hearing more of those stories, he nodded in agreement as he took the last sip of his drink. It was rare for Neil to find someone on the station with whom he could relax and enjoy such moments, and he was grateful that Mattix was not a typical Officer.

He tilted his glass "to places with fewer ears, then."

"As long as they are filled with beautiful women, which I realize is a complete contradiction," Raphael tilted his glass to Neil, before finishing it off. "And as much as I would love to sit around and get drunk, I have a redhead waiting for me."

Neil smiled; his own experience with redheads would have told him to steer clear of that one. He nodded as he stood up, and offered a hand. "It was nice to catch up, Raphael, " he motioned to the door, "and congrats, Commander."

"Thank you, Captain, it's nice to have three gold pips again," Raphael said with a nod. Satisfied with that, he turned and left the Captain's office. He hadn't come back into the fray to get a promotion, but he wasn't going to complain about it either.

---

Commander Raphael Mattix
Chief Diplomatic Officer
Poseidon Station

Captian Neil Harrington
Commanding Officer
Poseidon Station

 

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