Damage Control

Posted on 21 Feb 2014 @ 8:30pm by Lieutenant Min Zhao & Senior Chief Petty Officer Keval zh'Erinov & Petty Officer 3rd Class Ellsworth Hudson

2,396 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: Starfleet HQ
Timeline: MD 31 0800

ON:

[Starfleet HQ - Lt Zhao's office]
[0800]

Min glanced over a padd with the latest reports from the ship's refitting. Not much of note which meant momentarily, she'd be dealing with her first personnel issue.

The previous day, during what was supposed to have been a friendly meet & greet of the Operations staff, she'd witnessed a troubling exchange between two petty officers. Normally she's let the situation work itself out but this one had the appearances of longer term trouble. She'd separated the two but now she had to bring them both back into the same room to sort this out before it became a problem.

Keval was making a list in his head. Being tortured by Romulans, an afternoon with a Klingon dentist, a long therapy session with a homophobic prude, being dipped in flaming oil. All choices he would have preferred over meeting up again with Ellsworth Hudson. But orders were orders so he arrived at the agreed upon location, dressed in his uniform. A bit more formal than the impromptu to meeting the previous day and much more formal than the first time the two had met.

Ellsworth thought that if he arrived early, he might be able to at least get seated before Keval showed up. But as he rounded the corner that looked like it wouldn't be possible; the Andorian was just arriving at Min's office door. He sighed and brought a hand up to his perfectly coiffed hair to make sure he was presentable before continuing down the hall to the door.

When he arrived next to Keval, he did not say a word. Nor did he even make eye contact. He just stared at the two double doors and waited for the Andorian, who was closer to the door's control pad, to ring the chime. There was a lot of tension in the air already, and he imagined saying anything was only going to make it worse.

Keval cast the Betazoid a sideways glance, noticed his jaw had clinched and tried to relax it a little. He too remained stoic and silent as he pushed the chime.

Min called out "Enter." and glanced up from her padd to see both men arriving together. She continued scanning the padd as both Men came up to her desk. After a few silent moment's Min looked up from the padd.

"Morning Gentlemen. Have a seat please." She motioned to the chairs in the office. "We have a potential problem on our hands that I would like to solve before it becomes a problem."

Keval, making sure his chair was as far away from Ellsworth as possible without looking like he was an adolescent throwing a fit, sat down.

Ellsworth took the opposing seat and slouched a bit; he wasn't happy about being called in to talk about the matter, especially not with a ranking officer. The whole thing was silly, anyway.

Min continued. "I couldn't help but notice during our little get together yesterday that there is some bad blood between you two. I'm no Betazoid but it was pretty obvious from what I saw that this is more then a simple dislike of the other." Min paused. "Normally I prefer to let disagreements between staff settle themselves out on their own but not this time."

She looked at CPO Graysan. "As ranking noncom, Chief, you get first crack at explaining to me what's so sour between the two of you."

"To be honest sir, the problem is rather personal. I'd rather this not get out to the rest of the crew. Ellsworth and I met before, at a bar." He paused trying to decide how to put things to a superior officer without getting himself in more hot water than he was already in. "I let him fuck my ass," was probably not the best way to proceed.

"Then we went back to my place...." he let his voice trail off hoping that she could fill in the gaps.

Min nodded, motioning to Hudson. "Petty Officer Hudson? You would agree with what has been stated so far?"

"Yes," Ellsworth replied, looking sullen. He wasn't sure what reliving the events of that evening would accomplish, but he'd resigned himself to allowing Keval to recall them. But if he happened to skew them or relay the situation in an otherwise biased manner, he was ready to correct them when his time would come to speak.

Min leaned back in her chair. One could fill in some of the blanks, the rest was not necessary to the discussion. "So I would be correct in assuming that you both went home together? And things didn't go exactly as either of you had hoped or planned?"

Ellsworth snorted, anticipating Keval's bellyaching about how he'd left. After counseling sessions and much reflection, he'd decided he hadn't done anything wrong and his earlier guilt was undue. They had both known what they were getting into when they left the bar, so why should he be made to suffer?

Keval cut a glance at Ellsworth, then back towards Lt. Zhao, "That," he said, referring to Ellsworth's snort, "Is EXACTLY the problem. We didn't exactly stop and call a wedding planner on the way home. I knew it wasn't going to be a long term thing. But leaving in the middle of the night wasn't right."

He paused before continuing, trying to define in his mind just who Asahi was to him. He really wasn't sure. "I talked with my friend Asahi about it and he helped define it for me. It's like I was the one being used. Like I .... I don't know....."

He turned to Ellsworth then, "You know I only... catch, bottom whatever the polite term is, for those that I am in a relationship with and then very rarely. But I did that. For you. To make you feel like you were in control, like you were a person, like you weren't a.... a rent-boy any longer.

And when you just walked out without saying anything. How do you think that made me feel?"

"You talked to the Assistant Chief Engineer?" Ellsworth sputtered.

He could only imagine how Keval had relayed the events of the night, likely portraying himself as a white knight to the Betazoid's skulking gutter rat. He had to work with engineering more than any other department, and the thought of having his name dragged through the mud before the ship had even left the planet made his cheeks red. Besides, Asahi was really cute.

"For the record, I didn't leave in the middle of the night. I left in the morning! And how was I supposed to know you were doing that? I thought we were two consenting adults having sex. I just needed to sleep with someone. My hormones were driving me insane! Neither one of you has any idea what it's like being a Betazoid. But more to the point, you consented. I didn't manipulate you or lie to you or otherwise deceive you, so I don't think I should be held responsible for your emotional...problems." Ellsworth sank in the chair and crossed his arms, looking every bit his mere 20 years. "And I'm not a rent boy. And I didn't use you either, so you can stop spreading around the ship whatever fabricated version of the story makes me look that way."

Keval started to forget about his resolved to remain calm, but it was fast becoming a losing effort. We were in the middle of fu.. we were in the middle of it during the middle of the night it would have been a little hard to leave then wouldn't it?

And did you not here me earlier when I explicitly said I didn't want it getting out to the rest of the ship? The only reason Asahi is the only one I've told about it and I only told him because we're friends

And yeah I did consent to it and the sex was great its just what happened afterwards that I didn't like. And yeah I know that we weren't exactly going to start dating but you mean that's all I was, just someone. It was just so you could put your damned hormones to rest?"

Ellsworth vaguely remembered something about not provoking Andorians, but at the moment he didn't care. They had a famed temper, but he was feeling temperamental himself. Being called in to discuss the situation, being questioned by his superior officer, being cast in an unfavorable light... All of it had him feeling incredibly defensive and the emotion in the room was doing nothing but making his head spin.

"If I had stayed and cooked you some damn pancakes would you feel better about it?" Ellsworth snapped. "Isn't that what all casual sexual encounters are, a release of tension and hormonal satisfaction? What did you expect out of it?"

"Maybe if you had just stayed, and I don't know talked. Said good bye. SOMETHING! But you just disappeared. I mean I wasn't planning to take you out and shop for rings. I know better than that."

The color in his face had faded to a pale, sky blue and his antennae were now almost straight up. Forgetting that there was an officer present he continued, "I'm more than just a cock and ass you know. And so are you. Don't you see that?

I know that it was only a one nighter, but it could have turned into something else. Half the reason I'm mad is not because of what you did to me, but what you did to yourself. You owe it to yourself to find some that's going to be more than hormones and glandular release. You need to fall in love with someone.

You're better than that Ellsworth, much better."

Ellsworth looked sullen and fell silent for long moments. In truth, he was seething inside. The presumptuousness of thinking he saw himself purely as a sexual object was galling, even if it was true in part. But all the more upsetting was characterizing him as someone who had objectified Keval; it had taken long work with counselor Miir to sort out his feelings about it but ultimately he'd decided he hadn't treated him like an object. Now to hear the person in question make that assertion just brought doubt about everything he thought he'd already worked out.

"I don't want to talk about this any more," Ellsworth said. His voice was low, quiet and carried a tone of finality to it. He stared at Lieutenant Zhao, purposely ignoring Keval, and virtually dared her to press the issue further.

Min cleared her throat. "Gentlemen." She looked at both of them in turn. "As enlightening as that exchange was, that was more information then I'd wished to know."

Min made some notes in a padd. "For now I'm placing you both on different shifts until this thing is resolved. I don't want the two of you interacting on duty unless circumstances require it. If and/or when that happens, I expect you both to behave appropriately towards each other."

She paused. "Secondly, As the two of you can't seem to hash this out between yourselves, I would strongly suggest that you both speak with a counselor regarding this matter, preferably together. I know from experience that talking it out is the only way to sort it out."

Keval looked between the two and let out a sigh. "I promise to act appropriately around Ellsworth and of course I am willing to speak with a Counselor with him as well." He did not mention that he had already seen one, she hadn't asked and it really wasn't anyone else's business.

"I have no problem being assigned to separate duty shifts," Ellsworth said, cutting his eyes to Keval and then back to Min. "Is the joint counseling an order?"

"At this point Petty Officer Hudson, No. If however this situation does negatively impact the operations of this department or of the ship, I will make it an order. Is that clear?"

Keval sat back in his chair. Part of him wanted to reach across and punch Ellsworth, a very bad career move, part of him wanted to ask the Betazoid to forgive him since this whole thing was at least half Keval's fault. part of him wanted to recapture the intense physical pleasure the two had enjoyed together. That at least was real. He really couldn't make up his mind the best of those choices, so he just sat back, his hands forming a steeple.

"Chief Petty Officer Graysan and I can keep our disagreements under control without the need for joint counseling, which seems somewhat redundant to me after today," Ellsworth said, keeping his arms crossed. He glanced over at Keval; truthfully, he did feel bad for him. He knew he was just hurt, upset and at a loss for what to do. For his part, Ellsworth was just angry about how the entire thing had evolved. The intimacy of Keval's language in front of the lieutenant, the need for this session in the first place, the entire fiasco that began the moment he stepped into that stupid bar... "I believe whatever quarrel we may have had can be put to rest, and, keeping our relationship purely professional, we shouldn't have any further problems."

Keval chanced another glance at Ellsworth, then back at Min. "Petty Officer Hudson is correct. I think we can both be professional about this and not let it effect our work. Are we free to go?"

"As long as I have both your words you will keep things professional between the two of you, you may leave."

Ellsworth took that as a sufficient dismissal and stood up, wordlessly moving toward the door. In a few moments he was gone, sufficiently down the hallway to put the room and its contents behind him. He hoped.

Keval waited till Ellsworth left and he headed out the door but turned in the opposite direction. It was a bit out of the way, but at least he would avoid running into Ellsworth right then.

END

JP by:

LT j.g. Min Zhao
Asst. Chief Operations Officer
USS Galileo

Lt. Keval Grayson
Operations
USSGalileo

PO3 Ellsworth Hudson
Quartermaster
USS Galileo

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