Chapter Six
A Brief Assessment
Kreelin had forgotten that, as Chief Director of Investigation’s and Exploration, Vinmil’s office was surprisingly spacious and well appointed. Large windowed walls gave a breath-taking view of Alliance Plaza and the eastern stretch of Union City, filling the office with an abundance of natural light. Around the room, he could see various pieces of beautifully sculpted furniture, each a different style and size and obviously meant to accommodate whoever might call upon her no matter their species. What Kreelin liked most about Vinmil’s office, however, were the plants and flowers from several different worlds she had collected over the years. They grew from elaborate pots in the corners, alcoves and from the ceiling of the room, filling Kreelin’s head with an array of earthy scents. This gave the space a sense of life and tranquility that Kreelin had found lacking in the often mechanically sterile and unimaginative offices of so many beings in StelCom. In this aspect, Kreelin had found Vinmil to be truly stereotypical of her people. Unfortunately, right now she was anything but tranquil.
Vinmil shook her whole body once more as a wave of frustration rippled from the top of her pale, green spotted body and cascaded down her imposing height, sending the metallic plate mesh of her Shi’catee wrap chiming softly. She stood behind her large desk with all three of her eye stocks bent over the top of her body, each one looking at each of them with cold, burning frustration, which marred her peaceful, welcoming environment. “Would you mind repeating that lieutenant?” Vinmil asked finally in a tone that did nothing to release any of the aggravation she felt.
Directly across from her, Toli sat in a small leather chair within arms reach of Kreelin. Despite Vinmil’s tone, Toli’s vision did not waver from the databoard he held as he let go of another heavy breath. “As I’ve said, Director, I’ve only had three days to make an assessment but I can tell you the discharge grid is burned, along with the main computer processor. The jump matrix chamber is only able to regain a fifty percent stability rate before the reaction collapses. It may take three more weeks just to analyze the problem.”
“Wonderful,” Vinmil replied in a bitter tone as her secondary arms quaked in an exasperated ripple before coiling themselves around her upper body. “Just the kind of situation that our new Supreme Director is looking to shut this mission down.”
“You have got to be joking,” Kreelin said incredulously from his own seat as he looked away from Vinmil's naked discontent and turned his disbelieving eye at his son. ‘This couldn’t be happening, not now.’
“No Sirs. This is anything but a joke,” Jimmy replied from behind and to the left of Toli. Kreelin noted that Jimmy’s long dark red hair, normally held back by a simple strip of leather, was frayed and disheveled and his bright blue eyes that were usually filled with a twinkle of amusement, where pools of concern and worry.
Kreelin shook his head with a sour nod, turned his attention from them and looked back to Vinmil. “We can’t afford that kind of delay,” he said in a voice that grated across the ears of those in the room.
“Well Sir, we are going to have to make the time,” Toli said plainly as he continued jotting down an endlessly seeming stream of notes on the overly large databoard that blocked most of his body from view. “I realize this mission is important. If we cut corners now, we will only be asking for trouble later and not just from Branic.”
“I understand that Toli. Safety must be our top priority. I just want it clear that this mission has to start on time and within budget,” Kreelin said before Vinmil could reply.
Toli paused and dipped the databoard just enough so he could see his father clearly or perhaps so Kreelin could see the steel gray of his eye. “Then make the supreme director happy and scrub the mission,” He said through thin lips.
Kreelin leaned back in his chair and bit back a growl before he finally said in a neutral tone, “We are not scrubbing.”
“Then stop badgering us like fresh recruits,” Toli said sharply as he leaned slightly forward in his chair, “and let Jimmy and I get back to work- Sir.”
“I did just that when I went against my better judgment and allowed you to use untested and improvised control protocols. Now what I want from you Toli is to think. You let your pride get in the way of the job and you needlessly risked all our lives,” Kreelin said squarely.
“The risk was worth it!” Toli spat at Kreelin in a hot tone. He leaned back in his chair then and took a deep breath and continued in a dark and bitter tone, “I realize we could have died, but we didn’t! Add on top of that I know what went wrong and I can fix it. But no, you have to sit there and dismiss my work like I’m some raw recruit! Why you…”
Vinmil leaned over her desk suddenly and put her cup down loudly; spilling some of the dark yellow fluid and breaking the bubbling tension of the room before it could explode. “Alright, that is quite enough, from both of you.”
“Of course, Sir,” Kreelin said mildly as he turned his eye back to his databoard and leaned back in his chair. “My apologies.”
“Fine,” Toli spat in a sharp tone, not letting go of his anger.
Kreelin took a sip of his drink and sighed. “Toli, Jimmy, I want the engineering crew to work double shifts to get the job done. I need the ‘hawk up and ready as soon as possible.”
“With respect Sir, they have not stopped working since we docked at Baradas and are well into getting us back on track,” Toli said quietly, his attention shifted to the databoard. “Once Jimmy and I are done here we’re returning to the ship. I want to personally oversee the discharge grid investigation.”
“Most commendable lieutenant,” Vinmil said as she straightened her back and took another slow sip of her remaining drink. One of her secondary arms absently reached out and brushed a pale lavender flower on a nearby shelf. “We appreciate the hard work both of you have given to this mission so far.”
With his eye a muted jumble of colors, Kreelin turned to Toli and said in an unemotional voice, “Be careful.”
Toli paused for the briefest of moments and smirked at Kreelin’s words. “Always am.”
“If only that were true,” Kreelin said as he turned his eye from Toli to the immense windows of Vinmil’s office and the brilliant golden rays of light that refused to be quenched by the melancholy mood he felt. “The last time I heard you say that Jimmy ended up with a broken arm and we were stuck in deep space with…”
Toli’s acid tone cut through Kreelin's words suddenly. “I do not need another lecture from you…Sir. Not about that particular topic. You take risks just as I do. I don’t hear or see anyone pinning your ears back every time you make a mistake-Sir.”
Kreelin’s temper flared and a hot wave of anger took hold of his fingers, which bit into the arms of his chair, causing his knuckles to pop loudly. “I take risks as captain of a StelCom ship, responsible for its crew. You…lieutenant…you are selfish and even reckless at times,” He slowly pulled his hands from the armrests and put them in his lap where they became a knotted tangle of flesh and bone. “You have no regard for your safety or the safety of others.”
Toli slowly looked up once more from his databoard and calmly gazed at Kreelin with an eye mass of dark steel gray. “You want to know something? This is an old and tired argument between us. I don’t need to sit here and listen to it,” Toli abruptly stood up from his chair and brought the databoard down to his side. “If you have a problem with my methods and choices then reassign me. Otherwise let me get back to work, Sir.”
Kreelin sat in stunned silence, his eye mass a kaleidoscope of colors with occasional flashes of crimson. He was trying hard to rein in his growing anger, but with the throbbing of his head, he could tell it was a losing battle. “Is there anything else the director needs to know from you lieutenant?”
“No Sir,” Toli replied sharply.
“Then report back to me on the progress of the repairs at regular intervals,” Kreelin turned his attention sharply away from Toli and unlocking his hands, waved at Vinmil with a quick, fluid motion. “I will speak with the director further about your team's needs. Dismissed.”
For a moment, a fallow silence filled the office as the storm of frustration broke and their conversation ended. However, before anyone could become any more uncomfortable, Jimmy ran a hand through his undone hair and nodded to Kreelin and Vinmil, took Toli by the arm and together they left leaving Kreelin to his simmering dark mood.
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