Found Out
Posted on Mon Feb 4th, 2019 @ 6:17pm by Senior Captain Connor McKinney M.D. PhD & Cadet Freshman Grade William 'Liam' Pardot
Edited on on Mon Feb 4th, 2019 @ 6:27pm
Mission:
The First Step...
Location: Dean's Office
Timeline: 2388/08/28 1415 (Thurs. August 28 2388 2:15pm)
The door opened and Connor looked up from behind his desk. He directed to one of the two chairs that sat before it, "Take a seat, Cadet."
"Yes Sir." Liam nodded as he walked in to the Dean's office. His whole attitude screamed 'I don't give a damn' as he took a seat and glared at Connor.
Connor watched him and he wasn't in the mood to take any of it. "Walk back out that door, Cadet, 'n' then come right back in with respect for your commanding officer."
Just about stopping himself from rolling his eyes, Liam stood and silently went out of the door before coming back in again and coming to attention by Connor's desk as he bit out "Cadet Pardot reporting as ordered." his eyes were icy as he added "Sir."
Connor shook his head, "Sit down, Mister Pardot. We have something important to talk about."
"Yes Sir." Liam replied as he took a seat, still glaring at the Dean.
Returning the glare, Connor didn't hold back anymore punches. "You've drawn a lot of attention to yourself...your conduct, your attitude. So I've been looking at your personnel file, 'n' based on your entrance exam test scores, you shouldn't be here."
Opting to make the Dean work for it, Liam simply sat there, not saying a word. It was best that way. Then it was difficult to implicate yourself in anything bad or negative especially as he'd clearly pissed off Connor already.
Another line formed between Connor's brows and he sat back in his seat. It seemed to him that most likely the boy...young man...had been in a similar situation before. Regarding him, it was important for Connor to know, "Why is it you decided to join Starfleet?"
"My family has been in Starfleet since the days of the NX program." Liam shrugged, "It was expected of me."
"I see, so the decision was made for you..." Connor felt he was beginning to understand. "Well, Liam, you managed to find a way out of here."
"Sir?" Liam frowned, not sure what Connor meant.
"Allow me to explain," Connor leaned forward, folding his hands together on top of his desk, "I went over your scores, 'n' the totals don't add up. Your psych eval makes no sense. It seems to me, 'n' by people who should know better, this institution was highly underestimated. There was an attempt to arrange your acceptance into this academy, 'n' it was found out."
"You're accusing me of cheating Sir?" Liam looked wounded.
Whether he really was wounded or not, Connor couldn't be certain. "No...I'm not accusing you of cheating, Liam. I've started an investigation, it's still ongoing. What I want to know right now is what does this institution mean to you personally. I don't care about what was expected of you by your family 'n' even if I did," his eyebrows raised, "I'd say you're off to an awfully bad start."
"What I want doesn't matter Sir. Never has." Liam replied, a very small glimmer of the little boy lost poking through as he spoke, "All that matter's is what the Admiral wants."
Connor's brows furrowed again, "Your father?"
"Yeah...though I haven't thought of him in that way for a long time. He's more like my boss really." Liam shrugged.
Listening, Connor's jaw slightly clenched, although at this point it wasn't really Liam he was pissed about. He decided, "This is what I want you to do: continue with your classes, finish out your day, then I want you back in this office tomorrow morning at oh nine hundred hours. Is that clear?"
"Why?" Liam asked, unwilling to agree when he didn't know what Connor was up to.
"I'll be making a decision on your future here." Connor continued to stare hard at him and his voice raised, "Or if you prefer, you can be on the next shuttle out of here."
"Oh nine hundred it is then Sir." Liam replied his voice devoid of emotion.
Having total respect for and a healthy relationship with his own father, Connor found the whole scenario unreal. He made Liam wait a moment as he processed what he was taking on. "Dismissed...'n' Liam, any reports I receive today on your behavior will go towards my decision. Make sure I don't get any."
"Yes Sir." Liam nodded before turning on his heel and stalking out, an unusual droop in his shoulders as he walked. Clearly he was not a happy person at all right now.
The same could be said about Connor.
