Team Building with Jack Landors (SPD, A Squad, #12, K+)
characters: SPD’s A Squad (Kat/Cruger)
prompt #12: success
word count: 1200
rating: K+
summary: The base thanks Kat.
author's note: The song is Dar Williams' "The Christians and the Pagans," as chosen by purplestripe66, aka C Squad's Ruby.
Team Building with Jack Landors (success)
by *Andrea
Kat respected the priority of the allcall. She also felt that anything that was going to broadcast bad news into the middle of their days with radio-like frequency should be used in service to good news at least as often. Somehow it was only fair.
So she was glad that Cruger hadn’t managed to discourage the cadets from their holiday hijacking of the system just yet. It probably helped that he was on the other side of the galaxy right now, but whatever it took. She was enjoying the music.
“Amber called her uncle, said ‘we’re up here for the holiday, Jane and I are having Solstice, now we need a place to stay...’”
“Hey, Dr. Manx?” Charon poked her head into the lab, and Kat looked around in surprise. Charon had left for lunch several minutes ago. “I just wanted to say thank you.”
“For what?” Kat asked, smiling a little.
Charon smiled back. “For everything,” she said lightly. “This just seemed like a good time.”
“Well...” She was at something of a loss, but she certainly appreciated the sentiment. “You’re welcome.”
Charon lingered. “See you at lunch?”
Kat had been planning to work through lunch. A Squad was taking the second shift today, and she had a lot to catch up on in the lab. But something made her say yes: the special trip Charon had made just to ask, the knowledge that Jack would thank her for this instance of “community visibility,” or maybe just a defensive streak that said no, she was not burying herself in work to avoid noticing the base commander’s absence.
“Sure,” she said. “I’ll just turn off some things here first.”
“Great.” Charon waved. “See you there.”
Kat smiled to herself as Charon left. It was a nice thing, she’d found, to have people checking up on her every now and then. She only had one family member on Earth, and she didn’t mind when the lab rats--and more recently, the Rangers--tried to fill that role in their own ways.
“Just before the meal was served, hands were held and prayers were said, sending hope for peace on Earth to all their gods and goddesses...”
If she sometimes wished her students weren’t the only ones, well. Cruger was an annoyance as much as he was a blessing, and any regret she had about him was her own fault. She’d fallen for someone as young and impetuous as the cadets he harangued daily for their lack of respect and responsibility.
“Hi, Kat.” Bridge came to an abrupt halt as she stepped out into the hallway. He started walking backwards, reversing course without turning around, and he beamed at her. “On your way to lunch?”
“Yes,” she said, unable to keep from smiling even as she eyed him warily. “Why?”
He shrugged, easily turning the corner without looking. “No reason,” he said. “Except for the reasons that everyone goes to lunch, which are that you’re probably hungry and the mess hall is the easiest place to get food. Unless you want to walk all the way upstairs to the residential wings, which is faster, but most people don’t seem to think synthesizer food is as good as non-synthesizer food.
“I don’t really know why, myself,” Bridge continued. “I mean, it’s not as satisfying as using an actual toaster, but it tastes just as good. To me, anyway.”
“Bridge.” She jumped in when he paused for breath. “Is there any particular reason you came to see if I was going to lunch in the mess hall today?”
“No,” he said confidently. “Thanks, though.”
She blinked. “Thanks for what?”
“I don’t know,” Bridge admitted. “But thanks. See you at lunch!”
He stopped where he was and started walking forwards again, right past her. She turned, startled, and watched him go. The “no” had clearly been a lie, but to what end, she had no idea. Diversion? Surprise party? Sympathy check?
“Amber’s uncle saw how Amber looked like Tim and like her father, he thought about his brother and how they hadn’t spoken in a year--he thought he’d call him up and say ‘it’s Christmas and your daughter’s here’...”
“Thanks, Dr. Manx!” Someone called to her just outside the lift, and she looked around in time to see Caleb on his way somewhere else--in a hurry. But he took the time to wave before he disappeared.
She wondered what could possibly be going on.
“So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table, finding faith and common ground the best that they were able: lighting trees in darkness, learning new ways from the old, making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold...”
A basic sense of self-preservation made her take the stairs. It didn’t matter how safe she was here, how much she believed in friendship and trust and even, sometimes, in the Power. It had been a long life before SPD, some of it spent lying, lied to, or on the run, and it still made her nervous when people around her didn’t behave quite the way she expected them to.
“Oh, hey, Kat!” Jack’s voice made her pause, and she waited for him to catch up. Bounding up the stairs behind her, two, possibly three at a time, he wasn’t even out of breath when he grinned at her and reached for the stairwell door.
“Let me just say,” he declared, holding the door open for her and waving her though. “Thank you, Kat. You’re amazing. None of us could do what we do without you.”
“You’re making me very, very worried,” Kat told him. “What’s going on, Jack? Did you break something? Catastrophic structural damage? Accidental time travel? Did you find another kitten?”
“This is what you worry about?” Jack seemed interested, but he managed to overlook the kitten. “Really? Time travel?”
Apparently he hadn’t had that class. “You don’t have any idea why I work for SPD, do you,” she realized. She probably should have expected that... yet she remembered him from all those years ago. It was still hard to grasp that it didn’t go both ways.
“A fascinating story,” Jack was saying. “I’m sure. But right now, we're here to alleviate your paranoia. After you!”
He waved her into the mess hall, a grander gesture even than the one he had used to usher her out of the stairwell. It must be so interesting to be inside Jack’s mind, she thought, amused. What did he see when he looked around him, really? Did he actually expect everyone to do what he told them to, or did he act like he did for reasons unknown?
She stopped wondering when she walked into the mess. She didn’t stop thinking, because her mind didn’t work like that. But she did mostly forget about Jack.
A giant green tree stood at one end of the mess hall. Right in front of the windows. With a banner behind it, glowing translucent with the light of day shining through. The writing was dark enough that the color stood out even in the brightness. And now she thought she was beginning to understand, because the person she had put in charge of the tree might not be here but his influence was everywhere.
The banner read, Thank you, Dr. Manx.
prompt #12: success
word count: 1200
rating: K+
summary: The base thanks Kat.
author's note: The song is Dar Williams' "The Christians and the Pagans," as chosen by purplestripe66, aka C Squad's Ruby.
Team Building with Jack Landors (success)
by *Andrea
Kat respected the priority of the allcall. She also felt that anything that was going to broadcast bad news into the middle of their days with radio-like frequency should be used in service to good news at least as often. Somehow it was only fair.
So she was glad that Cruger hadn’t managed to discourage the cadets from their holiday hijacking of the system just yet. It probably helped that he was on the other side of the galaxy right now, but whatever it took. She was enjoying the music.
“Amber called her uncle, said ‘we’re up here for the holiday, Jane and I are having Solstice, now we need a place to stay...’”
“Hey, Dr. Manx?” Charon poked her head into the lab, and Kat looked around in surprise. Charon had left for lunch several minutes ago. “I just wanted to say thank you.”
“For what?” Kat asked, smiling a little.
Charon smiled back. “For everything,” she said lightly. “This just seemed like a good time.”
“Well...” She was at something of a loss, but she certainly appreciated the sentiment. “You’re welcome.”
Charon lingered. “See you at lunch?”
Kat had been planning to work through lunch. A Squad was taking the second shift today, and she had a lot to catch up on in the lab. But something made her say yes: the special trip Charon had made just to ask, the knowledge that Jack would thank her for this instance of “community visibility,” or maybe just a defensive streak that said no, she was not burying herself in work to avoid noticing the base commander’s absence.
“Sure,” she said. “I’ll just turn off some things here first.”
“Great.” Charon waved. “See you there.”
Kat smiled to herself as Charon left. It was a nice thing, she’d found, to have people checking up on her every now and then. She only had one family member on Earth, and she didn’t mind when the lab rats--and more recently, the Rangers--tried to fill that role in their own ways.
“Just before the meal was served, hands were held and prayers were said, sending hope for peace on Earth to all their gods and goddesses...”
If she sometimes wished her students weren’t the only ones, well. Cruger was an annoyance as much as he was a blessing, and any regret she had about him was her own fault. She’d fallen for someone as young and impetuous as the cadets he harangued daily for their lack of respect and responsibility.
“Hi, Kat.” Bridge came to an abrupt halt as she stepped out into the hallway. He started walking backwards, reversing course without turning around, and he beamed at her. “On your way to lunch?”
“Yes,” she said, unable to keep from smiling even as she eyed him warily. “Why?”
He shrugged, easily turning the corner without looking. “No reason,” he said. “Except for the reasons that everyone goes to lunch, which are that you’re probably hungry and the mess hall is the easiest place to get food. Unless you want to walk all the way upstairs to the residential wings, which is faster, but most people don’t seem to think synthesizer food is as good as non-synthesizer food.
“I don’t really know why, myself,” Bridge continued. “I mean, it’s not as satisfying as using an actual toaster, but it tastes just as good. To me, anyway.”
“Bridge.” She jumped in when he paused for breath. “Is there any particular reason you came to see if I was going to lunch in the mess hall today?”
“No,” he said confidently. “Thanks, though.”
She blinked. “Thanks for what?”
“I don’t know,” Bridge admitted. “But thanks. See you at lunch!”
He stopped where he was and started walking forwards again, right past her. She turned, startled, and watched him go. The “no” had clearly been a lie, but to what end, she had no idea. Diversion? Surprise party? Sympathy check?
“Amber’s uncle saw how Amber looked like Tim and like her father, he thought about his brother and how they hadn’t spoken in a year--he thought he’d call him up and say ‘it’s Christmas and your daughter’s here’...”
“Thanks, Dr. Manx!” Someone called to her just outside the lift, and she looked around in time to see Caleb on his way somewhere else--in a hurry. But he took the time to wave before he disappeared.
She wondered what could possibly be going on.
“So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table, finding faith and common ground the best that they were able: lighting trees in darkness, learning new ways from the old, making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold...”
A basic sense of self-preservation made her take the stairs. It didn’t matter how safe she was here, how much she believed in friendship and trust and even, sometimes, in the Power. It had been a long life before SPD, some of it spent lying, lied to, or on the run, and it still made her nervous when people around her didn’t behave quite the way she expected them to.
“Oh, hey, Kat!” Jack’s voice made her pause, and she waited for him to catch up. Bounding up the stairs behind her, two, possibly three at a time, he wasn’t even out of breath when he grinned at her and reached for the stairwell door.
“Let me just say,” he declared, holding the door open for her and waving her though. “Thank you, Kat. You’re amazing. None of us could do what we do without you.”
“You’re making me very, very worried,” Kat told him. “What’s going on, Jack? Did you break something? Catastrophic structural damage? Accidental time travel? Did you find another kitten?”
“This is what you worry about?” Jack seemed interested, but he managed to overlook the kitten. “Really? Time travel?”
Apparently he hadn’t had that class. “You don’t have any idea why I work for SPD, do you,” she realized. She probably should have expected that... yet she remembered him from all those years ago. It was still hard to grasp that it didn’t go both ways.
“A fascinating story,” Jack was saying. “I’m sure. But right now, we're here to alleviate your paranoia. After you!”
He waved her into the mess hall, a grander gesture even than the one he had used to usher her out of the stairwell. It must be so interesting to be inside Jack’s mind, she thought, amused. What did he see when he looked around him, really? Did he actually expect everyone to do what he told them to, or did he act like he did for reasons unknown?
She stopped wondering when she walked into the mess. She didn’t stop thinking, because her mind didn’t work like that. But she did mostly forget about Jack.
A giant green tree stood at one end of the mess hall. Right in front of the windows. With a banner behind it, glowing translucent with the light of day shining through. The writing was dark enough that the color stood out even in the brightness. And now she thought she was beginning to understand, because the person she had put in charge of the tree might not be here but his influence was everywhere.
The banner read, Thank you, Dr. Manx.