Free Range: Affiliations

Posted on Wed Jun 1st, 2022 @ 9:15am by Captain Rueben Gregnol

Mission: Elsewhere
Location: Free Cloud
Timeline: 2397
1526 words - 3.1 OF Standard Post Measure

While the rest of the crew was getting outfitted, Calliope motioned Indigo's new friend into the kitchen. The freckled orion took stock of him physically, scanning him up and down with a calculating look.

“Ask your questions.” The man said simply looking back at her but his look was far less calculated. He had lived life too on the fringe of society to care about a lot of things but this was his first risk it all mission, why he was out there without his crew, without Jeassaho or Leiddem to back him up and relying on Indigo and Kaylin. He needed the credits to fix his ships and it seemed the only theme of the operation was revenge.

“Reuben…” She started with his first name, seeing as he expressed a disinclination to being called Mister. “Let’s have a seat.” She took a chair at the kitchen table while behind her snow fell softly over the city scene out of Indigo’s window over the sink. Folding her hands under her chin she relaxed now as she spoke. To her assessment, Reuben seemed withdrawn, but not in the same edgy, angry manner as Kaylin and Krynn. Maybe he would be inclined to share a little more than they had. “Can I ask you how you know our mutual friend, Miss Indigo?”

The man watched the snow for a second thinking how like home it was before he sat down in the solid metal chair.

“Me and my crew helped them with a refugee situation.” He said simply. He did not need to go into more about the railway even if the others trusted her, he wanted to know more but he would need to give something in return. “And I believe she does not like being called by Miss either.” He added trying to offer humour to break the ice.

“Ah.” Calliope smiled as she sensed some wit in the remark. “I’m not really that formal. I guess it’s just the starch the Fleet put into me, trying to show respect and professionalism or whatnot. It’s not the worst of habits. Plus, she’s pretty young. Indigo has a surprising amount of guts for her age. She voluntarily helped me on a missing persons recovery a few months back. Which I thought was pretty remarkable up until she kind of put her own wrench in the works and took him underground herself, leaving me with just his testimony by proxy.” Calliope’s eyes smiled. She clearly wasn’t mad, if a little ruffled. “I underestimated her. She thinks quick on her feet.”

“I am not entirely sure she is young.” The man commented watching Indigo cross the room for a moment. He has suspicions but she had always maintained that she was human as had her crew around her. “But she definitely has guts or stupidity.” Gregnol said with a warm smile. He was fond of the woman either way.

“So.” She tilted her head curiously, still not sure what to make of this ‘Reuben Gregonol, not Mister’. He mentioned he had a crew, which could mean anything- a friend circle, hired hands, a ship… It was difficult to ascertain from as little as he was volunteering. A guilty little corner of her mind wished she was really present for the op; at bare minimum, men tended to be a little more talkative with her than this, which she had to admit was useful. The hologram was high fidelity, but not good enough to impart her intoxicating pheromones. “You’re with the Fenris Rangers?” she quested. “Card carrying?”

“Yes. I am guessing you aren’t?” He asked turning the question back on her before she could venture further down questioning him. He knew how interrogations worked and was not willing to give someone he did not know all his cards just yet.

She shook her head. When he didn’t volunteer to show the Fenris chip card to back his claim, Calliope reserved some doubt. “I’m a Commander with Star Fleet.” She had nothing to hide there, and needed to make sure he understood where she was coming from, hence the limitations of the operation. He’d know that the rest meant there would be careful planning and no lethal action.

The man resisted a snort at the mention of being a commander with Starfleet. He had been that once upon a time. He almost wanted to warn her that he was an example of what happened when you wandered off from what Starfleet wanted from their commanders but just nodded instead. “Fair enough.”

For some reason, Calliope was getting the sense that among the team they were assembling, Reuben was the most likely to be the stablest actor in the bunch. In spite of his reserved responses to her questions, or maybe because of them, she was inclined to trust him most. She decided she would give him all of the cards she could in order to put bricks in the foundation of the wall of trust. “I’m currently on Obsidian Command, operating from a holosuite via a holoprojector. My Commanding Officer has suggested I make further connections with the Fenris Rangers, seeing as we have an issue with long embedded criminal actors in our region and the Fenris Rangers have a better pulse and reach on many of them. She thinks that there can be a better relationship between Starfleet and the Rangers and I tend to agree. I see a lot of ways we share interests.” If he wasn't officially a Ranger, he was likely the nearest thing to it by working with them. The Rangers themselves were only as organized as a bunch of frontiersmen self deputizing themselves could be, after all.

“Obsidian Command.” He finally broke into a grin and chuckle. “Of course it is Obsidian Command. Just tell me it is not Ehestri pulling the shots there of all people and telling you to reach out to the Rangers?” He muttered finally when the laughter left some awkwardness between them.

"Well, no." With a little surprise at the name drop, Calliope laughed as well. Apparently they had a working connection. "Not this time at least. Last away mission here on Freecloud was under her auspices, when she gave me clearance to work with Indigo. How do you know of the Admiral?"

He nodded - that sounded just like Ledeya Ehestri to say the least. “She is a friend of mine from when I was in Starfleet. She had been trying to bring me back into the fold for many years.” He admitted with a shrug finally revealing some of his history and where he was on the moral compass.

“Not so long ago, I wouldn’t have been able to imagine myself working any career outside of the Fleet. You had your reasons for leaving?” Calliope tried at prompting.

“Many reasons and all of them are good and make me happy.” He said simply offering a genuine smile as he thoughts about it Jeassaho and the crew of SS Mary Rose. He could not imagine himself as the XO of the Victory or anything else. “My advice if you are doubting your fleet life is find yourself a niche outside of it that is something purely for you.” He advised.

Calliope nodded. "It's good advice. I hope I never need to take it. Frankly, among the myriad of better reasons for this heist, a little selfish part of me knows results will ingratiate me and secure my job. But even if it had the opposite effect, I'd still run the op. We need to break into some of these organizations and help the people they're victimizing." Some things were just more important than job security or following your passion.

“We do indeed and I need the credits.” Gregnol said darkly. He did not go into details but he had reasons other than credits to be involved in this specific operation. It ran deep in him and one of the few things that had ever affected him enough that he had left his crew and wife behind to tackle. “Moving on.” He decided. She had enough information to check him out and he knew Ehestri would give her a charming view of him if she was in a good mood.

Calliope opened up a display from her wrist and holoprojected a map of canals through which a camera angle dove and twisted on a prescribed route. "Let's talk about stage 2 of tonight's show. I assume you know how to steer a boat…"

“I do and I know how to steer with ice blocks too.” He added just to show off slightly. He was more than assured of his abilities in steering a boat like the one he was sure it was going to be.

Catching Reuben's spirit of adventure, Calliope grinned as she leaned in over the table to conspire, a glint in her eye. "They say if you do what you love, you never have to work a day in your life. I expect you're going to have a good time with this one..."