| There's a New Deputy in Town |
| Summary: | Trask asks Quinn to be his deputy. She accepts. |
| Date: | 25 May 2042 AE |
| Related Logs: | Many Matters (Cidra and Trask concur that Quinn should be Deputy SL); Wagers and Decrees (Trask win a Date Night) |
| Players: |
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| Guest Quarters - Deck 3 - Battlestar Cerberus |
| The area here has been spiffed up for the Delegates. Bunks are kept neat as a pin, the lockers are brand new and have a beautiful shine on the fake wood. A table sits in the center with a vase of fake flowers resting in the middle. The deck has been mostly covered with a round, braided rug of multiple colors. To the back of the area, there is a private shower area. This is just one of five separate areas along Deck 3. |
| Condition Level: 3 - All Clear |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #453 |
"Where're my girls at?" calls out Kal in his typical greeting, closing the hatch behind him. It's been a few days since he broke the good news that he won a Date Night for Maggie and Sam, so it should not be surprising when he needles, "So, when the frak are you goin' out? I need some notice to draft the schedules. Or have you forgotten what it's like to run a squadron?"
A typical night in the Quinn household… bunkhold? Whichever. Maggie's resting on her side on the bed, baby Kalli on her back, staring mostly at the ceiling though her mama is trying to get her eyes focused upon the small, slightly tattered book she's holding up. She was reading from it, but she falls quiet as she sees Trask, "Oh, Kal… don't schedule the whole damn squadron around us. When we get some time off together, we'll do it. I don't want to make your life harder… Honestly. And… I vaguely remember. I'm quite glad to be semi-retired now." She smirks to him.
A touch wryly, he notes, "Well, it seems that missing from this vague recollection of yours is the fact that I'm the one who determines if and when you get time off together." Thus far, he's been fair in scheduling, insofar that he makes certain that they have some overlapping free time during the week. Whether or not anyone is actually aware, he's as considerate as functionality permits when it comes to assigning everyone's hours. Personal relationships are something he started factoring in around the time Marko and Lunair were married. As far as he's concerned, as long as all the shifts are covered and no one's performance suffers, why the frak not be as accommodating as possible?
Date night, however, is a bit more involved. "You're also forgetting that Averies also has a life — and a job — of her own," Bootstrap points out with a smirk, moseying on over to where the redheads laze. Hands grasp the the frame of the top bunk, and he leans forward, regarding Maggie with a long, pensive look that he compresses into a span of two seconds. "Don't miss it at all, huh?"
Quinn shifts on the bed, gently scooping one arm beneath Kalli so she can pick up the awake, wide-eyed baby as she sits up and not kick her off the bed, accidentally. Her eyes shift up to him as he asks the last, slightly more serious, question. "Alright, for one, I'll talk to him and we'll see. For Sawyer. And you. And for two…" The last comment is enough to make her slightly frown. She looks down to the peach fuzzy headed baby in her lap. "No… I do miss it," she confesses, a touch quieter.
Whereas she frowns, he actually smiles, complete with a brightness to those big brown eyes of his. "In that case, I want you to be my deputy. I spoke with Cid about it, and she's on-board with the idea." It's a role Sweet Pea had been filling until her promotion to lead Raptor instructor for the Hyperlights… and a few other reasons Jugs certainly would've gotten an earful about, including a very descriptive promise of what would happen to Pens were the junior ECO to pull a similar stunt. To Kal's credit, though, he's not simply promoted the recently formerly pregnant pilot to the position. He's actually giving her the opportunity to decline.
Quinn looks up to him with that, actually still a bit surprised. Especially since Cid has given her blessing. She studies him, trying not to feel quite so speechless as she is. She swallows back a heartbeat or two and watches his eyes before she asks softly, "You… You're sure about this? I know there are other pilots… other possibilities with less distractions…"
"What do you mean am I sure about it?" That comes out somewhat snippy. "You're it. Cid agrees. You already know how to do the job, and you know what is required of a leader, and you deliver. You're not selfish." Spoken a bit sourly, but he doesn't dwell upon it. "When you got knocked-up, you stepped down. As soon as you were able, you got back in the cockpit, even though you were legally entitled to a few more months to get back into fighting shape. And I know if something were to happen to me, you'd do what's necessary to make sure the squadron keeps functioning."
He pauses, then, his eyes softening. "I trust you, Mags. More importantly, I trust you with this. With Sawyer pitchin' in, Kalli's taken care of. I just…" And now it's his turn to faintly frown, "I just need to know that if something happens to me, the Harriers will remain as unscathed as possible. Snake Eyes is sharp, don't get me wrong, and I'm pretty sure he could rise to the occasion if need be, but I know you can because you have."
Those words are enough to erase most doubt from her face. While she -can- do the job, she's still been off the line for the better part of a year. It'd cause even the best pilot some cold feet, no doubt. But seeing warmth and confidence in his eyes makes her straighten up a touch. She nods firmly, even if her eyes narrow a bit at the selfish comment. She can tell there is something more, but best not to poke the cranky bear right now. "Alright then. I accept. If we need to… Sign anything… I can stop by the office tomorrow on the way to CAP?"
Beneath the blithe, facetious surface is a painfully sensitive soul encased in a frakton of armor. When Quinn consents, though, Trask's sense of relief is visible. "Nah. Not necessary. I'll just let Toast know and then make the announcement." Pressing off his lean, Kal then crouches to tickle his niece. "Don't be thinkin' 'bout gettin' your old job back, though," he smirks, "I'm not about to die any time soon." On a more serious note, he reveals, "I should be back on the line by Monday."
"You -better- the frak not. I'm the one who gets to go first, thank you very much. I got age, seniority, and I need to make all you men cry at least once in your lives." Maggie winks teasingly, even if it's the most macabre sort of humor, he is the one who started it! Kalli remains awake in Maggie's lap, squirming with a few giggles at the tickling, apparently in a good mood today and expressive as ever. Oh, and also reaching for Kal's finger, because it's there, and she's getting damn good at grabbing anything in her reach. "And sounds good. I need my ECO back. If someone schedules us together, that is."
Playfully, Trask maneuvers his hand in a manner to make the baby work for what she wants. That little namesake of his is going to be raised surrounded with as much love and with as much security as is possible in this craptastic post-Apocalyptic world, but there is no way he's ever going to let her grow-up soft. Kalli can be as sweet as her big brother Bunny as long as she's also badass like her uncle Bootstrap.
"I'm cyclin' through all my pilots and, soon, I'll be cyclin' through my ECOs, too." He is, after all, working towards getting his flight qualifications. "But I'll definitely pencil you in for a date," he smiles in that boyish way of his. "And speaking of dates, don't you DARE get knocked up, again. I may not be from Aerilon, but I will /learn/ how to geld via trial and error if Pens makes me an uncle again." Funny enough, it's a threat issued in not-quite baby talk. "Ain't that right, Dumplin'? No siblings for you." Coochie-coo.
Quinn just arches both her brows in his direction, smirking -almost- skeptically at the comments about not getting knocked up again. She just chuckles and shakes her head, nodding down to the baby. "While you're here, of course… Since I've been so damn nice to you, you get to baby sit for ten minutes while I jump in the shower. I'm certain you can manage the little one for that long." Maggie laughs and moves to hand Kalli over, which is just enough to get her hand close and that death grip on his fingertip.
Kal watch the kid? That's a done deal if the comedic 'grrr!' face he makes at the babe is any indication. "Thadda girl. SQUEEEEZE." Gods only know what he'll teach her when she gets older.