Command and Control

[Valiens Nantaris]

Tegaea's face went red, flushed with sudden anger. I see now I shouldn't have offered you the job, since you can't keep your temper in the middle of a meeting with a new superior! She wanted to say that, she opened her mouth, determined to fight this battle until the bloody end. It would end, she knew, with Siobhan being fired and sent on her travels once more, and with Tegaea left alone again. For a moment it seemed she would do that, but then she closed her mouth. The decree of fate, or her writer, had other plans for her.

"Maelion, we will finish this later," she said calmly. The HRD gave them both a scornful look and left.

Tegaea closed her eyes and massaged her temples. "Siobhan, I offered you the job because I believe in you. I always have. I thought that with Maelion to help you, that you'd soon catch up with what's needed. I've had no training in being a planetary ruler, let alone a hundred of them. I'm getting there though, choosing my staff, getting an understanding of how it works. I thought you'd like the same opportunity. I'm sorry if I upset you, or made you think I was demeaning you. I'm also sorry that I got angry at you. I guess even the best of us can have a moment."

"All my life I've been driving myself for a goal. I don't even know what I want any more. When I joined Omega Pyre it was on the upswell of a little company getting bigger and bigger. I just wanted to get some cash, have some fun, retire and go live out my life in luxury. But then things changed, we got bigger and I kept pushing myself to get higher and higher even when it meant I was getting pushed into offices with paperwork, and not as much time in the field. I came to associate the company's success with my success. I had to push myself on always no matter what, and I wanted you to always be there with me. I might be getting myself into trouble later on if I find I can't do something I should, but I need to be there, I need to prove that I can do it. I thought you were the same. I'm glad to see you're the sensible one for once. Power for power's sake is a terrible step, especially for you Force users. I realise now my offer was a mistake, but it was motivated by good intentions. I love you, and I wanted to reward you. But I see perhaps it wasn't a reward so much as a cage. I'm sorry."

She sighed. She looked tired. "You must do as you wish, Siobhan. You're still my favourite battering ram," she said with a little smile.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

No doubt an escalation of the argument would have resulted in Siobhan being booted. For a moment she expected that reaction. Technically Siobhan could have made her way as a mercenary.

Her martial exploits had landed her job offers. However, she did not want to do that, for a number of reasons.

One of them being Tegaea.

The glare on her features remained when Tegs spoke up, she did not quite soften when the HRD finally left the room, to do whatever the machine did, Siobhan did not particularly care. "Yeah, I was upset. After all we did together," she said flatly, sounding bitter. I get ditched for being sensible and your pet robot, who'd just as soon turn on us if her flip got switched or she decided to do a machine takeover, lords it over me like I'm a five-year old.

However, Tegs' started to resonate with her, gradually piercing the wall she had created, she could see how tired Tegs was. "I had to fight as well my whole life. I've fought to get somewhere since Nar Shaddaa," she started, taking a deep breath. "With Omega...I found something I was really good at, something where I didn't get judged by a bunch of ivory tower moralists. Never expected any officer rank. Just lots of action, fun...getting somewhere with you. Then either lots of cash or going out in a blaze of glory sometime. This is...the first time my life's actually been stable, even with all the craziness. Well, you know what a rollercoaster my Jedi life was. Now I just don't want to mess things up."

She sat back down onto the chair, faxing Tegs. "Look, I'm proud of you, Tegs. For everything you accomplished. You're a great woman, you've more than shown that already. And I am there for you. I'm just trying to figure out what to do with myself now...with all the changes Omega is going through."

Siobhan sighed, placing her droid hand on the table. "You're new to this government business, I'm new to commanding. Look, when you made your offer I was honoured, but I didn't wanna risk screwing things up or be in a position where I'd always to have the...Maelion spell out every solution to me cause I don't have the training. So, yeah, maybe I'm a battering ram...or I can do more, but I know I'm terribly good at that. Hell, I'm still new to having a relationship where things don't go to hell right on the next day. I get what you were trying to do and I appreciate it, but I can't be myself sitting behind a desk more than I have to. What I love is field work, not organising and filing reports."

Darn, that had been a bloody long speech, she could use some whiskey. "I want to be at your side, I am there," she emphasised. "I love you. Thought you were great even before you rose to the top."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Tegaea blushed slightly and looked away, composing herself. "I don't want us to fight, Siobhan. I wanted you to be happy. I'm sorry I tried to push this on you."

She stood and walked over to Siobhan, standing close to her. "I'll try and keep Maelion away from you. I have a new General officer to recruit, and I'll assign Maelion to them." They were close now, if Siobhan wanted to make a move to hug or kiss, she could, but Tegaea wouldn't force her.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

It was not so that Siobhan was wholly without ambition. She had jumped at the chance to join Omega, realising it was the place for her to apply her skills. Of course, the fact that Tegs was there had been an important factor as well.

She had accepted an officer rank and the responsibility that came with it, though a purely tactical one, where her instincts could outweigh her lack of formal training. Only she lacked Tegs' drive to get to the top. Maybe it was also a side-effect of having spent so much time as a Jedi angsting about who she should be. She had never conceived of herself as being more than a fighter.

She had been tremendously proud at Tegs' rise, but a bit unnerved at the idea of where that left her.

She nodded to Tegs. "Apology accepted," she said softly. "I am happy. Happier than I can remember being in a long time." Obviously this could be taken as referring to life in Omega being more fun than with the Jedi.

But...while Siobhan was wholly incapable of criticising Adril, whom she held in more awe than was perhaps warranted, the fact remained that...She shoved that thought out of the airlock and got up when Tegs approached her.

The look of distaste she gave Tegs at the mention of Maelion showed that keeping the HRD off her back was very appreciated. "Thanks. We wouldn't go well together," she said in what probably was a big understatement.

Tegs was standing very close to her. Impulsively she pulled the taller woman into a tight hug. "We'll make this work, nothing will stop us," she declared, then she kissed her fiercely.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Tegaea returned the kiss and held Siobhan close. Finally she pulled back, smiling ruefully.
"I did have something else to discuss with you yesterday, but things got a bit...out of hand. Now I'm not sure if I should bring it up. But...well..." she stopped. She took Siobhan's mechanical hand in hers. "I have come into the possession of some designs for a much better hand for you...and a much better eye. I was going to offer to have them replaced. Is that alright?" she asked tentatively. It was as though she expected Siobhan to snap at her for anything she said now and was treading cautiously.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

For a short moment Siobhan's eyes turned downward, taking in her robot hand. She stiffened a bit when Tegs' hand enclosed around it It did not come up often, but Siobhan was sensitive about people touching it. Normally it was just there to hit things.

"They're not that crude," she said, though it was not much of a protest, as she looked up. She picked up on the tenativeness in Tegs' words, it seemed like her lover expected her to lash out if pushed. Inwardly she sighed, things were awkward.

Suddenly a wide grin crept over her lips. "Yeah. That's alright. More than alright! Can I see the designs?"

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Relief filled Tegaea and she went to her desk and produced a datapad from a draw. The design was for a pair of modern, sophisticated bionics which would look like and act like the real thing! The hand was designed to be as responsive and touch sensitive as a heal flesh hand was. Though of course it would not be perfect, it was likely to be far superior. The eye would be just as inconspicuous but in that case it would have some nifty features like infra-red and accurate distance judging.
"So...do you like them?" Tegaea asked awkwardly.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Siobhan took a moment to examine the designs, running a finger over the datapad before turning her gaze back to Tegs. They looked just like the real thing, or at least a close enough approximation! Awkward Tegs...under other circumstances Siobhan would have found that cute.

"Yeah, I like them. I like them a lot. They're great," she emphasised, trying to boost Tegs' confidence, giving her a small smile. "Hmm. You know this means five extra fingers." Leave it to Siobhan's one-track mind to kick into action, but maybe it would make Tegs get back to form.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

That made Tegaea laugh. "I shall expect your performance to be doubly good then!" she said happily, getting back to her old fire a bit.

"I actually had the chief surgeon make some mockups and we could do a fitting later today if you were interested. And then...whenever you want we can do the implantation."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Siobhan brightened at Tegs' laughter. "I expect Mistress to punish me if my performance lags behind expectations just a little," she joked, giving Tegaea a quick kiss. "Yeah, let's do that. That would be awesome."

She leaned back against Tegaea's desk until her well-toned bottom rested against it. "Tegs, I, uh, don't want stuff to be awkward between us. Yeah, I was very pissed off, but life's real short. I missed you last night."

Despite her cockiness and the fact that she seemed to behave as if she thought herself invincible in combat, Siobhan did expect her luck to run out at some point and for her to go down, with the perhaps rather romantic notion of going out in a 'blaze of glory'. Hence why off the battlefield she desired the 'stability' she had gotten since joining Omega.

A bit naive, perhaps, and incidentally one of the reasons why if Adril were alive, this Siobhan would have soon ditched her. For all her qualities - bravery, unwillingness to let rules get in the way of doing a job - the elf was too high maintenance. Of course, Siobhan looked upon her with rose-tinted glasses!

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Adril's many qualities, such as being a radical feminazi, setting fire to people she didn't like, and being very strong willed sometimes, were usually positive. However, she could also be insecure, needy and as much of a wet hen as her lover. Tegaea though, for all her bad points, was not a wet hen. Perhaps the lack of mystical power helped with her being a bit more grounded.

Regardless, she grinned and moved behind Siobhan, grabbing and holding her hands behind her. "I missed you too...pet." Then she let go after giving Siobhan a swat on the ass. "But later. We have work to do first of all, and then we need to have your fitting. You'll be out of action for a few days after the operation, but I think you'll find it all turns out well in the end!"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

It should be noted that Siobhan had for the most part managed to overcome her wethennishness. This one is not entirely how or when this happened, but is pleased regardless.

Siobhan let out a sigh at the light spanking. The feeling was a welcome sensation and her needs had gone unmet last night. But fine, she was supposed to work. Bureaucratic type work, she could put up with that.

"My tongue won't be out of commission, you know," she just had to get that line before sitting back down in front of Tegs' desk. "Right. Work. What's on the agenda now? You got the report. Looks like we're almost done with introducing the bolters to most combat teams, since they did so well on Denon and actually hit things."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

"You are indeed a cunning linguist," Tegaea said wryly, in a pun which probably went over Siobhan's head.

"The bolters have done well. They're just what we need. I am working with Velori to reduce the arming time to five metres and increase magazine capacity. All in good time, I guess! But now, yes, go and do whatever it is you do. I'll call you when the Doctor's ready to see you."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

The pun did indeed go over Siobhan's head, so she just gave Tegs an odd look, then brushed the comment aside. "Yeah, I'm very cunning!" she just joked.

"Velori. She really spends all that time up there in her yacht, huh? From what I hear, the woman's really got lots of talent, but I'd go bonkers alone on a ship," Siobhan shrugged, then gave Tegs a kiss before turning to head out of the office. "Right, I'll catch up on work and see you then."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

"If you're not bonkers now, I'd hate to see what you'd be like after being on that ship!" Tegaea said. She was letting out the zingers today!

After a few hours where they...did things...work things...Tegaea received a notification on her datapad that it was time for her meeting with the doctor and Siobhan. It would be rather interesting how Siobhan reacted.

So she rose and headed down to the medical wing of the Omega Protectorate tower, hoping that Siobhan had remembered the appointment.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

"Shush you, 'Miss I Jump On Gunships With A Lightsabre'," Siobhan said, giving Tegs a playful swat on the arm. No, she was not letting that go for a while. Of course, everyone trolled Siobhan.

Regardless after a few hours of work Siobhan received the message and headed for the medical bay. She was already there when Tegs arrived and was pacing a bit in front of the room when the Exarch arrived. The Colonel was actually punctual, the expression on her face seemed a cross of excitement and a certain degree of nervousness.

At the risk of really stating the obvious one did not gets one's limbs replaced every day, after all. "Hey," she said softly when Tegs stepped in. "Doctor should be ready in a minute."


At this moment a synthetic voice came bellowing out over the loudspeaker. "Next! Now seeing Colonel Kerrigan." A second later a nurse opened the door, beckoning them in.

Colonel, hearing that rank in connection with her would still take a bit of getting used to!

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

This one believes Grand Marshal Kerrigan will be a good rank to aspire to!

The doctor was a Twi'lek female, green in colour, and unusually for them it seems, dressed in proper doctor's clothing. She smiled as Siobhan and Tegaea entered and gestured them to sit.

"Thank you for coming, Colonel, Exarch. I am Doctor Liane Osway, very pleased to meet you."
"Thank you for seeing us. And please, call us Siobhan and Tegaea," the Exarch replied.
"Very well. Siobhan, the procedure I have planned for you is quite involved, but we have the best staff and medical droids in the galaxy, and I have done several of these transplants. You have nothing to worry about. May I see your current prosthetics?"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

This one will give that proposal due consideration. It has a nice ring to it.

It was indeed unusual to find a Twi'lek female dressed in actual clothing. However, this one approves of this as well becase speciecist stereotyping is a terrible thing. After all, one plotline this one was involved in featured a Gamorrean aristocrat of crime who was an evil genius and a member of the literary elite.

"Ok. I know Omega hires the best." Siobhan did as she was told and sat down on the chair. She leaned forward and held out her droid arm for the doctor to see, pointing to her cyborg eye with a flesh and blood finger.

The arm was still in fighting shape, considering that it had apparently been constructed out of spare parts or hacked off a security droid. Siobhan was no mechanic, but had kept it functional."The two of them. Had them for about...three years."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

The doctor gently examined the hand, but more importantly the connection with the skin. She shook her head disapprovingly at the surgery done to attach it, and then looked at the eye. Again she winced at the bad job done connecting it to the body.
Still, she sat back. "Siobhan, this should not be a problem. Come, I will show you the replacements."

Suspended in a stasis field was the eye, an elegant orb only slightly bigger than a real eye. Next to it was a mockup hand to scale. Both were marvels of engineering, though the hand did not have its flesh covering yet, but still looked much more human than the current one. "Are you able to...take the existing hand off?" Dr Osway asked softly.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Siobhan noticed the disapproving looks the doctor gave her prothesis and momentarily felt a bit embarrassed. Admittedly, it was not her fault that the Jedi had been tight with money, but nonetheless. Her cybernetics had been functional, but poorly made. The little organic stump of her arm had itched for ages and damage to the neural interface made the fingers sluggish to respond.
As for the eye, at times it had glowed far too brightly and the skin around it itched, rejecting the prothesis, but she had gotten used to it over time.

However, she visibly brightened up when she beheld the mock-ups. She could not help reaching out with her flesh hand, though she did not touch the stasis field. "They look great!" she declared happily.

But then she frowned at Dr Osway's query, shaking her head. "Err....no. It was made to last. Would've been, uh, awkward in a fight if it could just get off easily." Considering how often she hit enemies with it and the amount of punishment it took.