But in this instance, she knew that she had to do something. Leaving it alone would likely cause her problems with the relationship that she was hoping would grow soon. On top of that, it didn't do much for her command ability if her subordinates were to go around arranging her private life for her.
So, no matter how she liked and respected the man as a person, she knew that she had to put her dainty foot down before this got too out of hand. "Mister Mardukas?"
"Aye, Ma'am?" her second in command responded, using the crisp voice that she was so familiar with.
"Would you please stop it?"
"Ma'am?"
"I understand that you're concerned for some reason, but you really shouldn't involve yourself in it. I've got it well in hand."
"But Captain," he grumbled, peering over his glasses at her. "This really has to be dealt with appropriately."
"And I will do so."
"I'm sure that you'll do your best, but as your second in command, it's my duty to make certain that any... distractions are kept from becoming a problem for you."
"Understandable, but you must realize that you're interfering in my private affairs. So long as I don't cause problems for the mission, I should be able to keep my own issues to myself."
"That's the problem. This has every chance of becoming a major problem in the near future!" rasped Mardukas, who looked rather bothered by the idea.
"It hasn't become so yet, now has it? Besides, it's my life, and, in the end, it's my choice as to who I have a relationship with."
"I just want to protect you...."
Reaching out from her command chair, she patted one of his forearms. "And I'm glad that you would. I know that you really do care about me, and that makes me happy. Still, can't you see that I need to be able to get to do what I want sometimes?"
"I suppose... but that doesn't mean that I like this situation, or him."
"Now, I wouldn't ask that of you. Just try to be fair and let me have a life, please?"
"I have nothing against it," the XO allowed as he stiffened his posture.
"Thank you for that."
"I'll just have to make certain that he understands what's at stake here."
Tessa gave off a nervous sigh and wondered if she really would get a chance to see about getting to be with Mister Sagara as she might like.
Being prepared was something that Sosuke always worked towards, as he'd been through too much to simply dismiss such a basic truth. Not only had he been through many major battles, but the places that he'd lived in weren't exactly the most civilized. Getting into an accident or being sick in the desert or jungle could mean a painful death. Even if he'd been through a lot of near misses over the years, but he'd never had a death wish.
As a result, he'd become keen on keeping on top of everything that he had to do. Of course, that would help him in getting things done, but would also be a big help in space. It was all too easy to die in space if one was not careful, and he didn't feel like being memorialized because he'd made a foolish mistake.
With that in mind, he went to look at his work schedule for the week.
What he expected was the usual mix of training and preparation work that specialists such as himself were given, along with the enforced down time that was designed to keep his skills sharp and even.
The list that he called up on the computer gave him tons of overtime that he knew would be putting a terrible burden on him.
Cocking his head to the side, he frowned at what he was seeing. "What could this mean?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" came Kurz' voice. "That's... Oh, man, someone must not like you."
"As much as I'd like to disagree with the horndog, it really looks like he's right," Mao muttered in a disgruntled voice.
Through this, Sosuke wondered who it was who had a lack of favorable feeling towards him, and why that was, while:
(Posted Mon, 08 Jun 2009 07:09)
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