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     Captain Daren |
“If I could name my headaches…” -------------------------------------------- “Captain on the Bridge…” Daren stepped onto the bridge like he did just about every day. Ensign Kent, handed him the days reports, briefings, memos and general ships happenings for his view. The day started like any other day, but it certainly wouldn’t end that way. “Good Afternoon, Captain.” Daren nodded strongly and silently as always with a slight grin. “Ensign.” He took the PADD and went right to his Ready Room, noticing Commander Smith talking to Lieutenant Commander Isamu Dyson. Things were clearly well in hand. Ships events had quieted down a bit for the time being, and Daren was looking forward to getting caught up on some logistical work…. …until he got to the fifth message in his stack. He read silently to himself. Phrases such as ‘internal Marine matter’, ‘your Chief Medical Officer’, and ‘broken several rules and regulations’ leapt out at him like Hunters on the scorched earth of Reor’sa. He read the memo a second time in the event he was missing something. He wasn’t. Colonel Ironside, a man William Daren had come to respect and admire having served alongside the him for his entire time with the ship, was now filing a complaint on the actions of crew under his command. Daren leaned back in the chair and massaged his right temple, a headache was coming on like a storm; he could feel it tingle below the surface. He immediately thought of the other man mentioned in the memo, Commander Darek Smith. Daren was vaguely aware of the actions of Mr. Smith regarding the Military prisoner Serrold, but he didn’t like the apparent precedent being set here. Daren recalled what he read the first week he was assigned to the Marine Frigate: “Some might be confused about the division of responsibility between a frigate's Marine contingent and its Tactical department, but the lines of responsibility are clear: the Marines are an offensive force, Tactical is responsible for ship's defense” The boundaries between Starfleet Navy personnel and Marine personnel were resoundingly clear. Daren shook his head; the headache was growing stronger. He looked into several of the attachments the Colonel had added to the complaint. When Commander Smith first recommended Reed for the job, Daren had been hopeful. He understood the man had a few ‘personality issues’, but those didn’t seem to be anything too out of the ordinary. He admitted to himself that perhaps he was blinded by the man’s excellent work as a Medical Officer. “Computer, I’d like to see Commander Reed’s Personnel file…” A few seconds later the file came up on the terminal in front of him. Silently Daren reread the history of the man’s career. More then halfway down the second page, there it was. How had he missed it? The Lh’owon mission’s aftermath had been a very busy time, he must have overlooked it when Reed was first assigned. Daren read aloud: “Stardate 239603.13, Relieved of duties by Commander Chapel for insubordination.” That was six years ago, and in the Milky Way. Daren tapped his chest, “Daren to Bridge, get me a secure com to Commander Chapel of USS Swiftsure.” “Right away, Captain…”, came the response from an officer on the bridge. Two minutes later the image of Morgan Chapel filled Daren’s terminal screen and he was engaged in a conversation with her. She smiled, “What has he done this time?” Daren frowned, “Commander, I’m sorry, but at the moment I’m not much in a joking mood. I need to know the circumstances of this entry in Mr. Reed’s file.” Chappy tilted her head, “It was six years ago Captain. We had been called to deliver Ambassador Torval to the Gilan System, a non-Federation world that had asked for assistance in dealing with a series of border disputes. The situation was very critical, war was imminent if we couldn’t get things done.” Daren nodded and allowed her to continue. “I had assigned my then Tactical Chief, Lieutenant Bridger to the protection of the Ambassador. During their first series of negotiations, the hall came under attack by militant splinter groups that weren’t interested in restoring any kind of peace. To make a long story shorter, Bridger had been injured in the attack. The next round of talks was scheduled to resume quickly. It seems they didn’t want to show that the recent attack would deter them at all from their goal of peace. I needed my best man on the job, Captain, surely you understand that. He looked fine to me, but Reed insisted the man could develop more serious problems. He felt the presence of a cranial fracture could lead to a life threatening aneurysm even though it had been repaired. I went ahead and issued orders for Bridger to lead the protection detail on the second round of talks.” Daren crossed his legs as Chappy expanded upon the specifics. “Reed went into the computer system and deleted my orders, just like that. Hadn’t done so much as to even inform me of his actions. I found out about an hour later when my transporter chief informed me of his absence before transport. Needless to say, I was pretty steamed. I relived him of duty and made sure he spent the remainder of the mission in his quarters.” “And that, was it?” “Not exactly, Captain. It wasn’t even 30 minutes later that I had Lieutenant Bridger on the transporter pad assigned back to the mission when he collapsed. He was rushed to Sickbay and treated. Doctor Reed was correct. There was a danger to man’s life and I had been blind to it in favor of the mission.” “Then why didn’t you rescind the punishment right away?” “Simple Captain, he still didn’t even bother to contact me on the issue. His actions without informing me were not to be easily forgiven. I reinstated him to active duty after a week. The man may be hard to take, but he knows what he’s doing. In my opinion, you’re incredibly lucky to have him aboard your ship.” Daren looked increasingly perplexed now. “Thank you Commander, I’ll take that under advisement. Coronado Out.” The communication closed. The headache storm was increasing and he was certain the stress was getting to him, but part of having his job was finding a way to deal with the stress. The best way Daren knew of relieving this growing stress on his mind was to take it out on someone else. He tapped his chest: “Daren to Commander Smith and Doctor Reed. I’d like you both present in my ready room one hour from now. We have ‘Marine’ issues to discuss, gentlemen. Daren Out.” Captain William Daren Commanding Officer (IC) USS Coronado NCC-97901 Sim Executive Officer http://www.jestertrek.com/coro2400/bodies/depts/command.html#co ******************* As portrayed by: Chris Catterson Long Island, NY ccatt@optonline.net |