Heart to Heart (Caine/JoNs)

[Kansas 0]

07.20.09

USS Agincourt NCC-81762

“Heart to Heart”

 

Commander Kansas 'Will' JoNs stood off to one side of the makeshift landing area for the mine camp site, watching as the transport and patrol shuttle from the starship Agincourt easily and fluidly came in for a text book landing. Her work here questioning some of the local mine workers was done, for now, and the feline senior officer was looking forward to participating in a final flyover for the day and then beating it back to the ship.

 

Caine watched as the surface of Corianis loomed up in the cockpit window of the small shuttle she was piloting. She had been with her patrol teams for the past few hours trying to get a handle on the by all accounts rather murky situation on the colony world, but had been called by the Agincourt XO to make a pickup and flyover. It wasn't Caine's ideal mission; she'd rather have been out walking around and in the thick of things rather than stuck in a cramped shuttle, but both officers needed the full picture, so it made sense.

 

She let the shuttle maneuver itself into a soft landing near the pickup point and saw the Caitian Exec standing outside the hatch, which slid open for her smoothly as Caine flicked a control and stood up at attention inside the cockpit.

 

Kansas zipped up the docking hatch and into the inner confines of the shuttle quickly and efficiently, and as the automatic sensor hatch closed shut again, the Caitian swept a paw over the hood of her long black duty uniform coat, removing the cover portion from her head. She glanced at the at attention security chief. "At ease Lieutenant. How was the flight out here to the main remote camp? Any problems?"

 

Caine relaxed, letting herself drop back into the pilot's chair. "Still pretty quiet, Commander. The whole atmosphere's waiting for the other shoe to drop but for the time being it hasn't made its appearance yet.

 

JoNs slid easily into the co-pilots chair, and did a quick once over of the instrument control panels before turning her attention onto Caine. "Well, look at it this way: I'd rather it be a sneaker that drops then a steel toed work boot. Sneakers hurt less when they hit a target." The feline executive officer offered a small fanged smile, and her leonine features lost their tired edge for a moment and lit up with amusement.

 

Caine chuckled. "Depends who's wielding them, Commander," she said dryly, checking that the XO was safely ensconced in her seat before firing the thrusters back up and lifting the shuttle back upwards.

 

The golden furred Cait took over with the backup systems checks, letting Caine take the lead with the main piloting. "Right now, we're going to do a patrol float within the lower atmosphere of the planet and grab some sensor images and visual readings, make sure everyone -- administrative police and mine worker alike -- is settling in and behaving themselves for the coming night cycle. Hope you don't mind me volunteering you for the mission Junior?" JoNs chuckled. "I need someone that'll be on the front line patrols anyway to further ascertain any possible Intelligence from this shuttle patrol run.”

 

 

JoNs then busied herself double checking some of the backup sensors and control programs, keeping quiet for the next few moments; she remained focused on her task, but her thoughts momentarily branched off onto other matters that she wanted to attend to, one of which was sharing the shuttle cockpit with her. Then, she spoke again, "I as well would never complain about a change of pace. Granted, I'd rather this colony world not blow in our faces what with all the tension down there."

 

She indicated the surface of Corianis with a swift jerk of her leonine shaped head towards the cockpit viewer window where a larger mountain range came into view.

 

Caine looked up from the instruments for a moment, glancing out at the open landscape. "I'd say that's a toss up at the moment, Commander. We're definitely not getting nice looks down there..."

 

"I know. Just tell your people to keep their heads and not go off half cocked if they are heckled. The bottom line is the colonists -- on both sides of the conflict equation -- are angry and scared ... bad combination." She chuffed out a purr.

 

"I know," Caine said grimly. "When Mr. Messner and I were taking a look around before, you could just about smell the tension; the colonists think we're there to help wield the nightstick and the local forces think we're trodding on their territory. However, the 'Court's teams seem pretty stable; they've all been briefed and know what to expect down there and I don't expect them to be the ones to start the fight. Assuming the Jackrabbit's teams are equally restrained, things may smooth out yet."

 

Will smirked a bit. "Well, the Jackrabbits a border patrol ship, and it would seem some of the 'Rabbit patrols have gotten a bit rough with the gas grenades that’ve been launched into one or two of the protesting crowds. Most of the time, those crews are a bit rough about the edges; they have to be, in order to do what they do protecting our borders. But, doesn't mean that their methods are right."

 

"Well, I don't pretend to be the authority on right and wrong on these sort of jobs," Caine said easily, shrugging slightly without looking up from the controls. "Tactically speaking, however...I hope they don’t make our jobs more difficult than they have to be."

 

"Time will tell. Regardless, the 'Court was sent in primarily because we're a line ship, and our presence will hopefully smooth things out the diplomatic way."

 

An ear flipped back then, and Kansas glanced over at Caine. Her expression was serious, as if weighing whether or not to mention something.

 

Caine nodded slowly. "Yes, time will tell," she repeated back at the Caitian officer. She couldn't claim to be particularly disappointed that she wasn't one of the ones who had to deal with the diplomatic aspects of this job. She just had to stomp on the fuse while people tried to light it.

 

The feline didn't say anything for another few moments while she fiddled with a sensor program and glanced out the view screen window as the shuttle cleared the range and started to whoosh over some flat grasslands; she was reminded of her summer vacations spent on Cait, and got a quick pang of homesickness. Then, she turned and glanced at Caine.

 

"Well, Junior -- I was going to ask if I could take over the main pilot controls for a moment, but I admit, I'm concerned that you'll grab me in a headlock."

 

Caine blinked, looking sidelong at the XO. The comment seemed to have come out of nowhere and for a moment she couldn't tell of the Caitian was joking. The feline expression was pretty serious, however. "I don't think that's particularly likely, Commander," she said after a moment's silence. She could guess where this had come from, though the bluntness of the approach to the subject was a bit jarring.

 

Kansas normally gaited herself with a general and almost blunt enthusiasm that was hard to deflect. Yet, reverse mirror that enthusiasm and the felinoid Ex Oh could also be quite direct and to the point, such as now. "Now that we're alone, I thought I’d broach this subject. I admit, I come from a predatory bloodline and I can be aggressive. But you know Junior, I'm really not thrilled with what I witnessed during the sparring match between you and Buddha the other day."

 

If the thirty one year old Exec had any misgivings about administering a mild dressing down to the older security chief, the leonine feline didn't show it. She flipped both her ears back in discontent, but her purred tone remained neutral, if not direct. "Junior, y'all had blood spurting out all over the mats. Was that supposed to be a friendly match? You could have fooled me."

 

There was another short silence. Caine had known that Kansas had not been happy with the position she had caught Caine in with Captain Matthews, and she supposed she should be grateful the XO had chosen a private place to bring the subject up. Whether she and Owen had been in the wrong was a little more up for debate, in her opinion, of course. "I'm sorry to hear that, sir," she said slowly, tapping a control to set tactical scans running on the planet below and looking up.

 

Will entered a series of commands into her co-pilot console, resetting a piloting program that had blinged a warning at her via a secondary console, and gave Caine a bit of time to consider a response.

 

Caine's expression didn't change. "It was...a competitive one, sir. Captain Matthews and I are both...not of a temperament that gives up easily when challenged. But there was certainly no malice involved."

 

" ... it doesn't set a very good example though for some of the more impressionable junior officers though El Tee." JoNs then shook her head a bit in the negative, indicating that she did understand Caine to a point. "Look, I'm not saying don't be competitive, as long as it stays more on the healthy side."

 

Caine quirked an eyebrow again gently. "It was intended as exercise, nothing more, and nothing less." Her lips twitched slightly, but her eyes remained sober. "A man on my side who is willing to give me a good fight nevertheless can be hard to come by; I took advantage of it. Perhaps...overenthusiastically."

 

JoNs's eye whiskers shot to her mane/hair line and now she did give Caine her full attention, with an expression caught somewhere between amused and stern. "Overenthusiastically. El Tee, do me a favor -- if for whatever reason, you need to arrest me, don't be enthusiastic at all, please?"

 

Caine's lips twitched again. "If I have to arrest you, it will be work, not play, and enthusiasm will not come into the equation. Sir."

 

“Good enough.” Kansas reached a big golden lion paw over to clap the Vulcan on the shoulder. “Now, what’s say we do a flyby of the main city, make sure all is well for the evening cycle, and then hightail it back to the Agincourt?”

 

That sounds like a good plan, Commander. Pulling into range now," Caine replied, straightening her back slightly to take the impact of Kansas's paw and feeling herself relax slightly. She wasn't exactly afraid of speaking her mind, nor did she necessarily think she had acted in the wrong, but a conflict with her XO this early in the game was not something she was looking for -- and Kansas *was* the XO, age difference notwithstanding. "We'll be over the outer edge in five minutes."

 

The Eh Oh purred a bit, and then answered. "Noted, and filing a return vector plan with 'Court Ops now … and transmission away. Let's go buzz the city one more time Lieutenant."