Pomp and Regrets - Part One

Posted on Wed Aug 31st, 2022 @ 6:30am by Commander John 'Nuke Em' Sheridan & Lieutenant Commander James "Dash" Derringer & Lieutenant Commander Gabriel Yamaguchi

Mission: Mission 108: Grains of Sand
Location: Various Locations - USS Spirit of Winter
Timeline: 0930Hrs - November 27th, 2393

Commander John Sheridan lifted a PADD before he sighed softly. He then slapped the PADD down as he let out a long sigh. "Dammit Dash. I need to replace them both."

Lt Commander James Derringer, who was also known as 'Dash' nodded his head in agreement. "Would you.?" he asked as an almost rhetorical question. He shrugged his shoulders in a manner that said much. "Would I leave my spouse because I got promoted?" he commented.

"No. You're right." Sheridan answered. "Gabriel and Savannah are two of our best officers and I really don't wanna lose them because the regulations say so." he then let out a soft sigh.

"I wish it wasn't quite like this skipper," Derringer answered with a soft sigh. "But I doubt Gabriel Yamaguchi would leave his wife because we ask him to do so. He might refuse the promotion or worse."

Sheridan nodded as he lifted his drink to his lips. He drained a mouthfull in silence. "Alright. Let's start looking into replacements for both Savannah and Gabriel."

Derringer gently turned the small display that was on Sheridan's desk to him. "Alright. I'll get started." he closed his eyes, his body language said he really didn't want to do this.

"We can always get Gabe or Savannah to help us both decide their replacements later," Sheridan commented. He turned in his chair while he regarded the large map on his wall. It was a map of the Federation as displayed from above. "At the end of the day, it makes little difference. Gabe is due for his promotion. That means I need to reassign him because he outranks everyone except me." Sheridan commented. "Besides. Gabe's service is exceptional. Speaking for myself, I've never had cause to have issues with him or his mindset with anything." as he sat back in his chair. He took a moment to make himself comfortable while he did so.

Derringer smiled. "Gabe is one of the few officers that I can honestly say that I want for my own command. He will make a fine first officer when he gets there and he'll make a fine skipper someday," he explained. "Savv. She's a woman that I can only say. I fear." he commented. "While she's learned much from Gabe and one only needs to watch her work out to see her husband's fighting style. She has her own sense of style and grace."

"Savannah is many things. She will make an excellent administrator, but she would be wasted there. She is all about weapons and tactics. But she compensates for her husband brute force with finesse." Sheridan answered. "I served with the woman she calls mom. Torilla Yamaguchi is a heck of a woman." He sighed. "She went through a real meat grinder while we were assigned together on the Roanoke. I don't know how the fuck she dealt with it."

Derringer regarded his skipper as he simply shook his head. "I've heard the stories. I dunno skipper. Many of them seem a little out there."

"Oh. They are all true." Sheridan answered with a nod of his head. "In fact. I'm willing to bet that the stories you heard are all sugar-coated."

"Skipper. That statement is truly horrifying in various ways that I honestly, have no idea of how to articulate." Derringer commented. He then sighed as he shook his head. "That's just insane."

"Yeah. I lived it. I survived the Roanoke and it was what got me this assignment here." Sheridan suddenly smiled, but there was no happiness or joy in that smile. "The Roanoke was where all of the refuse went. Some of the officers were good people who got screwed around. We also got a lot of shitheads who frankly had no business being in the service. That's on any level whatsoever." Sheridan then laughed softly. "Some of those failures were outright retarded and I had to wonder how they were able to get into the service in the first place."

Derringer lifted the glass of fruit punch to his lips. "I'm not sure how to answer that." he then sipped his drink which he honestly found a little too sweet for his tastes.

"You don't need to answer anything James," Sheridan answered with a smile on his face. "It is, what it is." as he shrugged his shoulders. "Things got interesting when Zara Tane was moved from command. That's when Teval took over and while I had my own issues with him. He was a far cry from Tane." He then smiled.

Derringer regarded his skipper. "Teval. Wasn't he like some really small Caitian or something?"

"He was an Akurian actualy. But while he could be harsh and abrasive at times. He was honest and he was fair. Which for me. Counted for a lot." he slowly smiled. "He got me my rank back too, which also counted for something. He made it clear that we were done being the garbage dump of the fleet and he dammn well meant it too."

"I did hear that tale. That was one of the more credible tales. At least to me, it was anyway." Derringer sighed. "Shall we call Gabe in and deal with it.?"

"Yeah." Sheridan sighed as he sat back in his chair. "Let's do this," he added.