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H'Rasha Trenral

Getting the Cait Back in the Bag

H'Rasha sat behind her desk, poking at the monitor in front of her rather distractedly. She'd spent the last couple of days trying to soothe Vaughn over the incident down in the trauma center, but no one as yet had managed to soothe her. It had revved up some of the Caitian territorial instincts as well as her temper, and neither was quick to disappear. She had work to do though, so she'd continue to simmer until she could manage to get into the holodeck and shred something to pieces. Something brown. And furry. Wearing gray.

 

Caine stepped through the doors of main sickbay and absently straightened the cuffs of her uniform, looking around for the CMO. She'd spent the last half hour tracking down and dealing with Lt. Colonel JoNs' side of the two reports which had landed on her desk a few hours before; it was now time to deal with the other half. Turning as she was directed towards Trenral's office, she stepped forward and rang the chime, arranging her features into slightly more than the usual calm.

 

At the interruption of the chime, it too soon to say if it was welcome or not, H'Rasha sat back in her chair and used her control pad to open the door. Seeing Caine standing there, the Cait's whiskers spread a bit and the tip of her tail could be seen emerging over the top of her desk as it swished back and forth.

 

"Well, well, well... look at what the cat would've liked to have dragged in two days ago," she said, a modicum of amusement in her voice.

 

"I seem to be in high demand in general among the feline set," Caine answered wryly, stepping inside the office and letting the doors close behind her. "So I'd guess you're not surprised to see me."

 

"Hmph. Between the breach of regulation report I sent you regarding that..." She trailed off a few seconds, obviously allowing whatever specific phrase she wanted to use to echo around her head for a few moments. "JoNs. Then I imagine she had her own paperwork to drop on your desk regarding the incident. Which should've been a confession but was probably a counter-report because I didn't roll over and shine her boots." H'Rasha finally gestured with a paw to the chair on the other side of the desk. "Figured you'd be by sooner than this, actually. Guess you made sure all the punctuation was properly placed first."

 

"I've been speaking with the Lieutenant Colonel, Doctor; I apologize for the delay -- your accusation was serious and I dealt with it first." As she had with JoNs, Caine nodded thanks for the offered seat and remained standing. She had not dealt extensively with Trenral beyond the usual bridge exchanges thus far, except upon the occasion of Captain Calestorm's friendly-fire attack; at that time, the doctor's temper had been directed elsewhere and Caine had appreciated it. Now it was a bit more difficult, but she kept her tone even. "You think I ought to disregard hers, I take it?"

 

"She can spit and snarl all she likes in regard to my attitude, it doesn't erase the breach of regulations." The Cait's tail started whipping around more energetically now. "I can not, and will not tolerate these hotheaded marines disregarding protocols that were enacted in the first place because idiot military minds ended up killing people by not listening to doctors in regards to biohazard situations. Had that turned out to be a true contamination she would've endangered the lives of everyone on this ship."

 

"I don't disagree," Caine said calmly, folding her arms and setting her legs apart in a slightly relaxed stance. "And I've already spoken to her regarding the incident. She showed no particular bloody-mindedness about it, and I'd submit that when it comes to hotheadedness...the whole crew is on a bit of a hairtrigger." Which was, she reflected, why she was taking the current tack at all; she was hardly a confirmed counselor but she had already come to the conclusion that in this particular case, with no true harm done by the breach and general ship's tension high, that she'd rather get everyone calm and make the points on both sides than make arrests, unless either party gave her reason.

 

"We can thank the damned Soltan for that," she replied with a bit of a growl. "I would not have pushed the issue this far myself, but... not only did she completely disregard my authority as the authority during an emergency medical biohazard situation she basically said she'd do it again if the need arose. I don't give two bowel movements what JoNs wanted to do there, I will not tolerate it happening again. She does not have the training or expertise to swing her new colonel's insignia around in a quarantine, and the lives on this ship mean one hell of a lot more to me than it seems that they do for her." She rose, and paced the small area behind her desk. "She could've asked me before for clearance, but she was too busy being big bossy colonel to think of it. She could've just opened a damned video feed to see what was going on. But no, she has to barge in with her oaf squad, then when my man in charge down there rightfully pointed out the lapse she gets bossy with him too."

 

Caine puffed out a slow breath. She could understand Trenral's frustration, and she shrugged slightly. "In a lock-down situation, it's easy to want to take action about it. But I have spoken to her, cited the regs, and told her that -- as you say -- I was not interested in dealing with this again. Whether she got the message remains to be seen. Either way, a report has been sent to Colonel Harper on the subject. One will also have to be sent shortly regarding Colonel JoNs' complaint." She paused, then shook her head slightly. "As I said, Doctor...I know everyone's on a bit of an edge and I'm inclined to suggest that complaint be passed over. But...if this is going to be a permanent sticking point..." She let her voice trail off and looked at Trenral a little questioningly, kind of hoping the Cait would back off and not make her job more difficult. She really didn't want to be putting out internal brush fires more than she had to.

 

"Oy." H'Rasha crossed her arms and put a hip onto the desk. "We'll let Harper look it over. But by all the hypos if the main Colonel doesn't get out the paddle and make it clear to JoNs that she's not to step on my paws in these kinds of circumstances again you'll be getting a knock on your door. Because that woman definitely deserved her call sign and she won't learn on her own until I have to do an autopsy or someone with enough authority yanks her tail."

 

"What the Colonel's disciplinary measures will be, I can't speak for. If the Colonel does not get the message, and the issue crops up again, you will not have to knock," Caine said easily, but allowing the slightest bit of authority to creep into her tone. "And, frankly, if I get another message about senior officers losing their tempers and it somehow making its way all the way to my desk... I won't need a knock either."

 

"Fair enough," H'Rasha replied, then sighed. "I'd heard rumors that she could get like this but going all hoorah has made it worse. From pain in the tail to pain in the tail with a gun and an attitude." She settled back into her seat behind the desk. "Your people that helped out down there did a good job under difficult circumstances. I also bet if they were on the door instead of the Marines this might have been avoided."

 

"Your confidence is gratifying. For my own part, I'd guess it was a young gun on the door who could just as easily have been Fleet as Marines," Caine said with a shrug. "It was a bad set of circumstances; a lot of miscommunication, a lot of people feeling their authority. A lot of people afraid, probably." Her shoulders relaxed, just slightly, as H'Rasha's edginess seemed to settle slightly. "For the rest..." she went on a bit noncommittally. "It's the disputes in the public quarter that worry me. I can't order you to like her."

 

"That's a damn good thing," H'Rasha said with a mirthless laugh. "Because there would be some real insubordination to write a report about." She gave the security chief a fanged grin. "I think you've had enough of that to last a lifetime just this week."

 

"You could say that..." Caine said wryly, giving H'Rasha a thoughtful look. She'd be keeping an eye on both of the plaintiffs for now, she decided, and her report would say as much. If this was an isolated incident...it would stand; stress, fear, and, as Kansas had said, the "territorial issue." If it was not...well, she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

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