"Deep End"

[OdileCondacin 0]

Lexia had just left the labs to find Shadow and Aidan was left behind. Her sudden disappearance had infuriated him, his Chief's dismissal had infuriated him, and everybody behaving like mad infuriated him. He kicked his desk and hurt his toe, which infuriated him even more. What on earth had happened to "top priority"? Angrily he tapped his comm badge not caring about Condacin's mood. It was about time the Chief learned to behave like a chief. "Chief, I have news on the Selshan incident." He tried his best not to have his voice betray him and show how angry he was with little success.

 

Disturbed temporarily from her seething, Odile's voice was low, almost monotonously slow. "Put it, Driscol, in a report, and send it to me."

 

"Chief, with all due respect," actually he wasn't in the mood for respect, "this was top priority a couple of hours ago and now you just want me to put it in a report?" Slowly but surely he felt like throwing things.

 

"It can go," Odile surprised herself with how even her voice was, "in a report. I've had new information with the Selshan which I'm... processing at the moment."

 

"Fine Lieutenant Condacin, it will go in a report, as long as you explain to Colonel Harper why she didn't have the results any sooner. I would hate to think that your... processing would reflect badly on my reputation." Why couldn't he just have a normal Chief who actually cared about the department and didn't hate his job, or the Colonels.

 

"Lieutenant..." Odile, as she'd found herself over the years, had two breaking points. When she snapped that first time, it was fiery and hot, with woe be to any he or she that encountered her. The second was a blue flame that flickered and flickered, but when it lashed out, it was even more of an explosion than the first.

 

She was painfully becoming aware that she was approaching the cyan flame, and quickly.

 

Snappishly, she replied, "I don't give a damn if you're worried about with your reputation. Write the damned report, send it to me, and you'll have done your duty. Your responsibility will be done, and your 'reputation' will be intact. If it's late for the colonels' liking, the onus will fall on me, not you."

 

Aidan was glad Condacin couldn't see him roll his eyes. She just didn't get it. "Fine, I shall let the Colonels know that we could have proved this to be an unfortunate accident to the Selshan as they start ripping the 'Court apart then." He threw a PADD in the direction of the monitor that displayed the Selshan blood cell.

 

"Mind your attitude, Lieutenant, when you're speaking your superiors. I don't like your flippancy or your tone." Odile threw her knife on the desk with a clang that didn't quite register over the comm.

 

"If you want to be treated like a superior maybe you should start acting like one." There, he had said it and he knew he might very well lose a pip for that one, but she had pushed him just that wee bit too far.

 

There was no reply over the comm. There was no reply for a good minute. Then Odile emerged from her office, golden eyes lit with a fire none in Science had witnessed.

 

"Tell that to my face, Lieutenant," she snapped, approaching him, standing in that nebulous area of "too close". "Repeat that to my face."

 

Aidan was a bit taller than she was and looked down into her eyes, not flinching, not backing away. He spoke very slowly and distinctly. "I said, that if you wanted to be treated like a superior you might want to start acting like one, ma'am." He was too angry now to consider any consequences right now.

 

Her hand twitched around the hilt of her knife. "Get out. Get out of my Lab. You're relieved from duty indefinitely."

 

"Fine! Don't forget you have a report to write." With that, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the lab. What a great day he was having.

 

"Oh, I won't," she hissed under her breath, stalking back into her office after a decided "nothing happened here" glare around the Lab.