Meeting take two

Posted on Friday November 27th, 2020 @ 5:55am by Captain C'Rell & Major Delhashi DarkShadow

Mission: The Forgotten Outpost
Location: Marine CO's Office

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Del got back to his office in time to see C'Rell returning as well. There was something about the Ktzinti that seemed a little well....off. Del had expected him to be much more upset then this. He was impressed with the XO's calm. It made him reconsider the reaming he had been about to lay out on him. Maybe a stern talking too might suffice instead. Del opened the door to his office and motioned the Marine executive officer ahead. then the suddtle familiar scent of catnip hit the Zelarkians nose and all thoughts of reprimand went out the window. It was now Cassi that would get the ass chewing now. He let out a aggravated sigh. Great. A lost battle that was. He let it all go for now. He'd address it all later after the dust was settled.

"How are you feeling?" Del asked as he followed the large tiger man into the office. "No lasting damage I hope."

"Nope, no damage other a bit of bruising but I never knew there was a plant out there that Kzinti would like." C'Rell said with a grin and the slightest purr as he sat heavily into the chair facing the desk.

The comment was a bit strange and Del raised his brow in curiosity as he sat down in his chair and fought the urge to spin in it a few times. That was alone time guilty pleasures there. instead he asked "Oh? what sorta plant is it?" There was curiosity there an almost itching need to know.

"It's something nip, I can't remember exactly but it calmed me down quickly when I drank a tea made from it. Something in its scent was irresistible to me." C'Rell said with a grin.

"Ah.. yeas Cat nip. Im an mint tea man myself." Del said getting settled. "So I am sure you have a few questions for me. If so, feel free to ask."

"For one," C'Rell started, sitting up and seeming to focus a bit more. "What the heck is up with this team? Most of them are fine but this small group you have seemed to collect are not running with a full mag. Lieutenant Blake is a time bomb ready to go off. Private Chue is emotionally unstable and im unsure if she would be helpful in a combat situation. The only ones who seem normal out of alpha is Lieutenant Matthews and private Antako." He rambled out. He needed to know why they all were even still fit for duty.

Del listened, not taking any offence. I mean, the big guy wasn't wrong. A full mag persay Instead he said. "They are a very different bunch now aren't they. Glad to see we are on the same page. though." Del smiled then.

C'Rell sat up straight, the purr gone and his tail twitching behind him. He felt his ears fold back, that this didn't sound good but he had to know. "What exactly happened to your team on your last mission. If I'm to trust you and not send them packing to star fleet medical for a full psych exam, I need to know what's happened to make them this way and why they are still here." He never once asked a question but stated purposefully.

"I can trust you not to do that because I am putting you under direct orders to not do so." Del said simply.

"If I am to follow that order I need to know why. Those two are a hazard to the team! Blake attacked her team mates and a superior officer!" C'Rell let out a low growl as he spoke the effects of the catnip burning away with this meeting. "Give me one goods reason why I need to follow this order." He forced himself to relax and retracted his claws. There were fresh scratches in the arms of the chair. He hadn't realized that he was extended them.

Del watched in amusement. "Hmmm. I admire your inability to follow blindly." Del said. He was glad that C'Rell was asking questions. It made Del respect him more. Del reached down and unlocked a drawer in his desk and withdrew a PADD. "I cant un show this information to you. I ask you to read it with an open mind please." Del transferred the content to a more Kzinti friendly sized one from the replicator and handed it to the executive officer.

C'Rell took the PADD and read through the information held within the Classified file. His ears laid back a few times as he read the PADD and his tail flicked and swished agitatedly. "This is very disturbing. Why haven't they received the proper care?" A growl rumbled through his chest as he reread the PADD.

"It would have ment dissolving the team. After I had abandoned them once. It didn't feel right to send them off to god knows where to god knows what. I was afraid that they would end up dead or just gone in Kais case. Kai, she is the last of her people, just as I am the last of mine. There are those who like to study such things... With her rank gone and no one to look out for her.." Del looked at C'Rell to see if he understood at least that much.

"They are as much my team as they are yours. I will talk to them. I need them to trust me so that what happened today doesn't happen again." C'Rell said as he sat the PADD down on the desk. "Do you have any suggestions on how to gain their trust?" He asked, his eyes perked forward.

"Well, I guess the best thing I can tell you is to try to be sensitive to their needs. They have know a lot of violence and right now what they need is to feel safe and understood. Maybe its not traditionally how a Marine Detachment usually runs. But I beg your leniency and your loyalty. These are good men. Yes they are a little broken. They are broken because I failed them. I wont fail them again. I would say look on them not as marines but as members of a chaste. when one is injured we do not abandon them to die, we care for them." Del explained as he went to the replicator and got a cup of mint tea and honey.

"I always look at those below me as my family. I never really had much of a family. My mother is all I knew until she was killed by Orions in a raid. So that is a given that my team is my family." C'Rell stated matter of factly.

"Then get to know them." Del suggested.

"I plan to Major. With your permission, I'd like to have a meeting with each marine one on one." C'Rell said as he got to his feet and picked the PADD up. He secured it with security locks and so it required a ret scan to access the information.

"Permission granted. And good luck." Del said. The XO was going to need to figure out how he was best going to deal with things. But Del would help him along. He knew it wasn't easy. Yet they all needed to adjust to this new arrangement as best as possible.

C'Rell came to attention at his full seven foot plus height and saluted. "Request permission to be dismissed Major." He said as he waited.

Del stopped what he was doing. He looked back up at the XO... He stood up his whole five foot seven inches and saluted the XO back. "Granted."

C'Rell turned And walked out. He was gonna prepare for the meetings before he called them in. He smiled and hope that at least one would turn out ok. He figured the one that would be the most complicated one first.

===== OFF =====

Major Delhashi Darkshadow
Marine CO

And

Captain C'Rell
Marine XO