Confrontation
#3 of Jupiter (Every Dog has his Day)
Jupiter Chapter 3 - Nothing major changed just fix a few things and flipped some others. I feel like I need to legthen Chapter 4 primarily in the battle scene and I think I'll put Chapter 4 and the Epilogue together for submission
Rorshawk then spent the next twenty hours consumed by the writing of reports. He would need to get them all done and sent out on the next data stream in five hours if he wanted them to all be there at command when he arrived. If he missed this data stream he would have to wait another twenty hour since he apparently wasn't allowed to use standard military channels as they were tied up by Defense Ministry Protocols.
This was another reason why he hated war. He had all this paperwork he had to get done because he was told it needed to be done and turned in on time or else he would get docked. They were making it very hard for him to do that. He grunted and sat back in his chair run his hands over his snouted face trying to rest his computer consol strained eyes.
"Come in" he said in response to the door call that sounded and in walked in Lieutenant Walker who stood still right inside the entrance waiting for the captain to acknowledge her.
"Lieutenant please, come in and sit down, take a load off. What can I do for you?"
"Thank you captain, it would be a pleasure. I was wondering if we could continue our discussion" Rorshawk went to cut her off but she wouldn't let him. "Now captain, I know you've been avoiding me for the past twenty hours. I have left you several messages. Now I told you that you need to complete the evaluation if you wish to keep your command or even the ability to serve on a ship. Now I suggest you take a break and give me an hour or so."
"Fine Lieutenant, you win. You can have your hour but not a second more. I also have tons of reports to get done if I want to keep my command."
"Understood captain, now let's talk about this grudge you have with Captain Tokisawa kami."
"Pfft, what, who says I have a grudge against Captain kami?"
"Well it actually is well documented that you are not a huge fan of his. It says here that at the academy you verbally accosted a sergeant who politely asked you to go the captain's seminar."
"That doesn't mean I dislike him. I just don't appreciate his pretentious attitude. Also who says that he was being polite? As I recall he was very rude to me when I told him I had other plans."
"I think it's more than that captain, I want the whole story. Oh and I want the whole story about you and Captain Jorius."
"Captain Jorius and I are friends. I don't see where you would get the idea that there's a problem between us."
"By the way you're acting now and how you acted after your chat with him."
He started to puff himself up in reaction to her very personal questions. "Well that one isn't on me, that's all him."
"How is that so?"
"Well we met at St. Lou and were in the same class. We became friends and even got to serve with each other on the HMS Lantern. It really started, I guess, when I beat him by one point for the top position in the class. I thought he had gotten over that but it had just been festering. He got very pissed when I got named the Hero of that battle at Bryst-19. He claimed they wanted a minority hero to make them look good and started to spout off something about reverse discrimination.
"Then I got assigned that patrol and got the chance to be the savior of Extol and now I'm stuck out here. He goes and takes out a pirate ship and he gets the command of a brand new cruiser. Who do you think was the one who got screwed? He took this opportunity to rub it in my face because he feels the need to prove that he's truly better than me and that my only reason for my previous successes is that I'm an Anthropoid."
"So I take it that being an Anthropoid is hard."
"Damn right it's hard! It took me almost a year to earn the trust of this crew. They all look suspiciously at me, everyone does. 'He's a giant wolf, watch out he might eat you!' So yeah, I had to work my tail off to get even here."
"Captain there's no need for sarcasm here." He just replied with a snort. "So why didn't your mom just move to Dracconis when she had the chance?"
"You don't get it do you. My name is Dubois, that's a Francian name. My family served as advisors to the Duke for generations before he bought their way into space. You would think that being named Dubois would get me accepted by both sides but it's a double-edged blade. They still see me as a giant wolf and my kind sees me as a traitor who sold out his family to be closer to them."
"By 'he' you mean kami?"
"Damn right I mean kami! They can do no wrong. They were one of the principle clans, the ones who helped the great Amatolia. They seem to forget that they chose to leave Artemis and the service of the Xiongnu Emperor to settle on the Francian Colonies. The only ones who seem to care are the members of their clan they left behind.
"When he came to speak to my class they treated him like royalty. They made a special lecture just for him and gave him numerous rewards. It was all just a load of bull. Did you know that I have done more in my few short years than he did in half his? Doesn't matter, the only way I'll most likely get to see a real captain's chair is if I end up saving Armada Command. Which at this point looks very unlikely since we are all the way out here and probably be sent back out here?"
"So this is some kind of family feud?"
"I guess I should have expected this from a human, you at least look like them. My people have served since the time of Arturius when he conquered the Upper Lycean Plains and made Urd'Challi his master of war. We have fought and died along side them for millennia and this is how we are repaid! I've never forgotten my heritage or what my people have done for this Federation!"
"Tell me about Jupiter." Shock filled the wolf's face. He stared at the woman who was sitting down across from him perfectly calm. He realized that he was standing over his desk and that he had been shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Where...where did you hear that name" he said sitting back down. He was more embarrassed then he was scared at what was next.
"Your file says that after the Hector incident you make fifty-six public requests for an inquiry into a person known as a Jupiter. It says you wanted to know if he survived. All fifty-six came back that no such person could be found."
"He's... he was a good friend from my youth."
"That's a lie sir. People make one to five, maybe ten requests before they accept that a friend is gone. Fifty-six screams something more."
"Maybe I can't take no for an answer."
"Maybe, but I think it's more like an obsession. This person meant somebody to you."
"I already told you lieutenant. Jupiter was a good friend."
"Sir, I need to know so that I can assess your mental state. You took his lose very hard sir. I have a feeling that he had a larger influence on your decision to go into the Navy. I also believe that this obsession is what has driven you to succeed. I need to know if it's that that's eating away at you."
"It's not. I don't have an obsession. That's all in the past."
"Your dream was about Jupiter wasn't it?" Rorshawk's face gave the answer away. "Then the stress of current events has brought this up from deep within your subconscious. It depends on how deep it came from. If it was true that it's all in the past then you wouldn't have the dream, especially more than once."
"I didn't have many good friends back on hector."
"Lies, you were a very popular kid and had lots of good friends, you even told me so. This one was special."
"Are you implying something lieutenant?"
"No, but I need you to stop beating around the bush sir. You no better sir, no one gives a damn what your preferences are."
"Fine, Jupiter was the only person who ever truly loved me! Sure I had a mother but you were right, she didn't really give a damn about me. I was just her mouth she had to feed. She didn't need four jobs to do that. She didn't have to become a nurse and take every damn shift she could to do that. She didn't want to have to deal with me! So yeah I was a problem child and yes I was popular, but none of it matter to me!"
"That is except for Jupiter?"
"I think you better go now."
"Fine captain but I have a recommendation for you. You need to get yourself a hobby to relieve some of the stress that has accumulated over these months, hell years. You also need to get yourself a sexual partner; it would be a healthy choice. You don't need to meet the one but you should try and meet someone. I know you don't want to hear that but it needs to be done. You need to move on.
"As for my report sir, as far as I'm concerned this obsession at this juncture has no effect on your ability to command. That however, does not mean that in the future it will stay that way.
"It is up to you captain how this plays out. I will be in my office if you ever need to talk; I know this can be hard sometimes to take. You just have to realize that Jupiter is your past and that you need to focus on the future." With that she got up and walked away.
The door slid shut and he just sat there brooding. Old memories stirred in his head. He was filled with the sounds, sights, and smells of those events that seemed to of happened so long ago. He submitted what reports he had done and got up. There was no way he was going to be able to finish the rest of them when he was in this kind of mood.
"Commander you have the bridge, I need to freshen up."
"Understood sir" his second in command said to him as Rorshawk strode over to the turbolift. He was checking up on his commanding officer and friend of the past year. While he couldn't make out what had been said he could tell that captain and the councilor had had a heated argument.
The turbolift ride down to the second deck seemed to have taken forever to the towering wolf. He wasted no time getting straight to the officer's wash. He stripped himself of his dirty uniform and threw it into the refresher unit. It was more like an enclosed dry cleaning basket in the wall and in a few minutes it would be as closed to being clean as dirty clothes can get without truly being washed. He let the hot water flow over him and he took the multi use soap and washed himself.
The thoughts that were running through his mind were those of how could he have let her get to him like that? What really got to him was that she was most likely right. Jupiter was in his past and maybe he did need to let him go. It was such a hard thought to bear though, like he was betraying the person dearest to him. Why did he let her talk to him like that? Jupiter didn't have weight on his command decisions. He was better than that. Had he not aced the Chen exam? The only thing that mattered when he was making a command was the welfare of his crew and what was best for the Federation.
He slammed the shower unit off and grabbed a towel out of the dispenser. Once he had dried himself off, he grabbed his now "refreshed" uniform and headed back to him room. He flopped down on the bed and turned the lights off. He head was filled with thoughts of doubt as he contemplated his situation. It had been true; he did try to succeed thanks to Jupiter. He needed to know and he could only know if he had higher clearance. The only problem was that it didn't help his case that he was an Anthropoid. He just needed to know and he was starting to wonder if that was a little pathetic. Was it all real? What did it all mean to himself? It was overwhelming. For first time in a long time the large wolf cried himself to sleep.