Intersections
Posted on Sat Mar 11th, 2023 @ 12:11pm by Lieutenant Commander Finley Chu & Lieutenant Commander Leonora Wolf MD
1,966 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Season 1 Interlude II (E5.5)
Location: Planetary observation deck
Timeline: Day 2 after return to Overwatch
Finley Chu was a fine officer, in Leah's opinion and memory. When the woman served under her in Delphi, Wolf found Chu to be dependable, efficient and trustworthy. Sure, she and Karna had had a very odd relationship but so had Leah. The socially inept betazoid had made a mark on both women, and the entire Delphi team.
Now here they were, at Memory Theta months after Delphi had shut down, serving a new master, both of them on equal footing, rather than superior and subbordinate.
Leah's gut told her they could trust Fin, but she had to give it due process and determine where the woman stood. Could she be trusted again or was she working for an internal enemy, this Taskmaster of Frost's.
"Computer, locate Commander Chu." Leah asked as she left her quarters that morning. She had a meeting with Teejay and Nandi later, but first, she needed to see Finley.
"Commander Finley Chu is currently currently on Deck 10, Planetary observation deck." The computer replied in the same casual voice it did with queries ranging from replication a latte to the activation of the Tartarus Final Containment Protocol.
Fin had found that very few people ever came down to Overwatch's lowest level. The arboretum and upper observation lunge were quite popular, and thus busy. Between the marines running their PT in the arboretum every other day, a lost Former Q gliding between trees, and her fellow senior officers, she had gotten sick of being interrupted.
So here Fin was, curled up with a big mug of tea, an actual physical book, and a blanket for coziness. Tartarus was not much of a view, but who cared when she was just enjoying reading for a little bit.
"Times like these, bet you miss our underwater base." Leah said as she arrived to Fin's location. It was good to see the other woman relaxed for a change.
"I miss the free diving the most." Fin said with a wistful tone as she looked up from her book. She had heard the footsteps coming so she wasn't surprised that someone had found her. "Holodeck swimming just isn't the same."
Leah chuckled, "mmm, nothing beats real water." She plopped down on the ground unceremoniously, pulling a strand of blonde hair behind her ears. "How have you been, old friend?"
Fin put the bookmark in between the pages before closing it and putting it away. "Frankly, like I'm out of my depth. I was supposed to transfer to the USS Elena Iverseon as a senior engineer. Instead I've been dropped in a position that has no real authority but a lot of responsibility." It felt like she was unloading more frustration than she really thought she had pent up.
Leah looked over at the dark haired woman, "do you want the authority though?"
In truth, Wolf did understand the division of feeling in Chu. It took her a while to start appreciating not having the authority and the freedom to do her job after Delphi had closed down.
"Not particularly, no. I'm effectively a human sieve, filtering information to give to that creepy Vulcan and his team." Fin shook her head and looked out of the planet for a long moment. "I'd rather get back in the field with a proper SFI team than go out with that lunatic again." Her eyes turned back to Leah, "Karna was a fucking creep, but Mrazak scares me more."
"Oh I agree with you there, one hundred percent. I'll take Karna over Mrazak in a heartbeat." Leah chuckled. "Dealing with narcissists is never easy. But we know how to deal with people and elicit the necessary reactions...or the lack there of. He insults and threatens to make himself feel superior, not to make you feel inferior, eventhough he himself feels the latter...or thinks he does anyway. I will say whatever I need to say to get what I need out of him, whether its instruction or action and I will discard all the fluff. And if I need to stroke his ego to get what I need, I will. If I need to grovel, I will. But none of it will affect me. If he wants to think he's manipulating me, he can...all the easier to manipulate him into letting me do my job." She added with a raised eyebrow, as if to ask 'you see where I'm going with this?"
"From everyone on this god forsaken station I think we both know I know how to play that game Leah." Fin said, a little annoyed at the perceived insinuation that she lacked the required skills. "But I'm not working for him, I'm not on his team. I'm supposed to be the one who points him where to go, or at least one of the people who does so. But I wasn't trained to be a handler, I was always a field agent and a specialist. That's what I mean with being out of my depth. My specialty is deep cover intelligence, probably the one thing I hate more than the lunatics I've worked with for the last few years."
"I was made a handler while I was working under cover at the Federation Embassy on Cardassia. No training - just told to do the job." Leah countered, "we are trained to adapt to circumstances and change them to suit us if we can."
She decided to ignore Fin's quip, as the other woman clearly hadn't read the intent behind her advice correctly.
"You're more than capable of doing this job, Fin. You just gotta see the puzzle from a different perspective." Wolf added, "I wasn't trained for command when I took over Delphi either. I fell back on my training as a whole and found the insight I needed."
"You're right, and I'll have to do the same thing. I'm not seeing my way out of here unless it's for an even more murky job. Or I'm dead." Fin shrugged. "But you didn't come down all the way to hear me complain about the shit sandwich I was handed, did you?"
Leah grinned, "I came here to see a friend." She said, "it's been a while, I wanted to see how you were, is all. I don't mind if you complain to me. I'm not going to go to Mister Narcissist, don't worry."
"You're the last person I'm worried about leaking secrets." Fin said with a laugh. "I still remember the SERE training vividly. I doubt Mister Narcissist could handle that without breaking down."
Leah nodded with a wry grin, "I nearly failed mine because I was too focused on the person rather than what the evidence was telling me. My T.O. was not happy with me."
"When are T.O.'s ever happy?" Fin asked the rhetorical question with a shrug. "My last one told me I wouldn't make it two days undercover. I showed him." Fin remembered back to her years hidden inside of Blackbriar. "So, do you think you're stuck with us for the foreseeable future?"
T.O. was short for Training Officer.
Leah shrugged, "looks like. I mean it's a good gig, I get to do Medical stuff again and I still get to do clandestine and intel work. Plus," a smile came to her face as she remembered Teejay, "you know, there are a few easy on the eyes people here too." The blonde grinned, before turning to focus on Fin.
Fin was good people, Leah knew this. Good at her job and a person with a good, level head on her shoulder and she could handle Karna. Could she handle their current conundrum though?
"Do you remember the last Delphi mission?" Wolf asked.
"If anyone else but you would've asked, I'd have said no. And that's not just because I'd be committing treason for admitting that I do remember." Fin grinned.
Leah chuckled briefly before her expression grew serious. "I find myself in a grey situation like that again. Except the stakes are different and much higher. I'm not allowed to talk about it yet." She said as she looked over at the other woman. "If I called on you again..."
"Why is it that your grey situations never result in an upwards career trajectory for you or me?" Fin asked in a teasing tone. "If you need help, you can call me. Sounds like fun."
Leah snorted, "yeah, you get the good jobs, I get various iterations of 'the boot', sure." She said but then placed a hand on Fin's. "Thank you, though. I mean it. And it goes without saying that I would do the same if you need me. At least you are doing good. I haven't heard from John or Arija or the others since they split us up. You heard about Karna's escapade with Theta?"
"I read the report. He did not make any friends." Fin stated. "Though having been on a field trip with this outfit now, it makes me think even the reports here are not painting any kind of full picture."
Leah shrugged, "neither did ours, let's be real. In our job sometimes we have to make decisions for the greater good, even if that means not telling our masters the full truth." Wolf pulled her hair over one shoulder. "How are you dealing with it all?"
"I've found a mixed martial arts class run by some of the marines. I can work through a lot of my frustration in that class." Fin shrugged, "Meditation helps too. And I'm keeping an honest record of everything. Something to leave for my successor so they can get a more realistic view of the operation." She glanced out the window, seeing a maintenance drone skittering across the hull further up. "What about you?"
Leah observed Fin as she spoke. How far her friend had come in a little over a year. Leah felt pride at the woman's development. Fin would definitely make a good Section Head at HQ some day.
"I try to be mindful of our reality and the job we chose to do and remind myself that I chose to be here and to do this rather than keep my tenure with the FHO." Leah said, "I've also taken up the violin - the quick beats of sea-shanty's are a good way to channel frustration into powerful sound. Do you think you'll retire some day?"
"If you ever want to sing those shanties together, I'll gladly torture you with my voice." Fin laughed at her own self deprecation. "But do you mean retire from Intelligence, or from Starfleet as a whole? I think I'm only a few years away from earning full pension now. But I can't see myself settling into a colony somewhere just yet, you know?"
Leah laughed, "me neither. I might go back to the FHO eventually or take up a forensic research gig, but not yet. There is still plenty to do in Intel. All of this provided that I live long enough to have the chance to entertain and effect retirement."
"Nah, you and I are going to die trying to fix this outfit. So is every reasonable sane person here. And Mrazak will do a jig on our graves out of glee." Fin said dramatically. "I can already imagine it. And to be honest, imagining him failing to dance makes me smile."
Leah giggled, "we need to set something up to make that happen, but I think we need drinks for that. You up for some?"
With a glance on her wrist, Fin took in the time. She took her book and blanket before rising. "Let's get some food to go with those drinks. I'm starving."
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