Chiyo Shimada: Emotionally Compromised?

Posted on Fri Feb 23rd, 2024 @ 3:27am by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Major Chiyo Shimada

1,378 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Starship Graveyard
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: After the meeting

After the briefing, Taiga returned to her ready room. She stood for a good few minutes staring out of the window at the never ending sand dunes. Finally she tapped her comm badge. "Aisaka to Major Shimada. Can you join me in my ready room."

"Roger that: I'm on my way." Came Chiyo's response.

Within minutes, the chime to the ready room rang, indicating that Taiga had a visitor:

"Enter," Taigas voice called.

The doors to the ready room swooshed open and Chiyo stepped through. Chiyo suspected that this was going to be about the appearance of drill sergeant Shimada in the briefing, and no doubt the regs hadn't received her well.

"You wanted to see me, Captain?" She asked.

"I'm going to get straight to the point major." Taiga said simply. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" She didn't allow the marine to answer. "You've become highly emotional, irrational and you're making some very unwise decisions!" Taiga told her. "That outburst was totally uncalled for, you made yourself look like a complete idiot in front of the entire crew!"

"All this because we found your former lover on this planet!" Taiga said to her. "You're behaviour and attitude is risking everyone's life on thos ship, including Alice! So answer me, what the hell is actually going on? And don't try to bullshit me about this! Because this is a serious matter Major!"

"Captain, with all due respect, I was raised on the belief to stand up for family no matter what, and ever since we found Tatsuo, all I've been doing is standing up for him!" Chiyo defended herself. "All because individuals like Jasad Yuvek and Nezuko make him out like he's a goddamn pirate despite wearing the same badge as you and I!"

Taiga let out a long sigh. "I understand you want to defend him. But you can't blame them for not trusting him. We have no idea what he's been upto these last fourteen years!" Taiga told him. "There are ways of doing things on a Starship, and there are protocols. I understand your frustrations, but you're a god damn Marine! Aren't you supposed to be more disciplined than this?!"

"Do you want to know why we're so disciplined, Captain?" Chiyo asked. "It's because we have drill instructors hammering that discipline into us! You think what I said was harsh? You wouldn't last a day in marine boot camp! I've said far nastier things to marine recruits than I did in that briefing."

Chiyo sighed.

"I apologize for resorting to drill instructor tactics." She continued in a more calm and rational voice. "Excuse the language, but I realized after the fact that regs are pampered princesses who have never had a drill instructor yelling in their face, telling them they are going to fail over and over. And as such, a move that would be seen in marine circles as instilling order is instead viewed as breaking ranks."

"You'd be surprised what training they put officers through!" Taiga said in response. "Stop thinking you're high and mighty just because you're in the Marine Corps!" She told her. "So, how about you get off your soap box and we'll talk this over, woman to woman?"

"If you're willing to listen instead of demote, I'm all ears." Chiyo said as she finally took a seat.

Taiga lowered her tone to a softer one. "There's one thing you need to know about being a Captain." Taiga said. "You are responsible for every life, past, present and future on your ship..." she placed both hands on her bump. "But most of all, your crew is your family. As the head of that family you should be open to everyone. I make a point that anyone on this ship can come to me, regardless of rank or position." She explained to her.

She stood up and pointed to the sofa bed on the opposite wall. "Come and sit with me Chiyo. Tell me what's really on your mind," Taiga told her as she moved around the desk towards the sofa bed.

Nodding, Chiyo stood up and followed Taiga over to the sofa bed.

"It's about Lieutenant Yuvek, Captain:" Chiyo admitted. "When I first realized that the man whose life I threatened to take was the one I fell in love with all those years ago, I was over the moon ecstatic. I had been right after all those years of being told otherwise. But then that very first briefing brought me crashing down to Earth..."

Chiyo sighed heavily.

"I knew from the outset that Mister Yuvek would be a major thorn in my side." She said. "I thought that maybe because we were still in shock from the crash that perhaps he'd come around, but we're now a month into this partnership, and it's clear that that Cardassian will never respect my family. I was going to come to you once we had gotten back to Federation space and strongly recommend that he be reassigned, because it's clear that this ship is not big enough for the two of us to coexist."

Taiga nodded. "You have to remember that it is part of his nature to not trust others," she reminded her. "I understand some of his concerns, but I also understand he is worried about everyone's safety. As much as I hate to admit it, Tatsuo could be considered a security risk." She paused. "However, he has been working hard to prove the Lieutenant wrong. This problem isn't going to go away overnight, it takes time to build trust."

Taiga placed a hand on Chiyo's shoulder. "It's been fourteen years and in that time you've not only missed him, you've grieved him, carried and birthed his child and been a single mother to Alice." She looked away for a second. "You're a strong woman Chiyo and you've been through a hell of a lot. I couldn't imagine losing Ryuuji like you lost him. I bet there's a part of your heart that's confused. You don't know what to do in this situation do you? So you refer back to what you know, your Marine training. Am I hitting the right notes here?"

Chiyo nodded.

"It's no secret that, after I was told that Tatsuo was presumed dead, and I found out that I was pregnant with Alice, I was rather lost." She said. "The marine corps brought purpose back to my life. And now that that purpose has been fulfilled, I feel like I've been thrust into a battle for it: That I have to fight tooth and nail to get my happily ever after. Tell me, Captain: Did you and Ryuuji ever experience resistance as a couple?"

Taiga smirked. "Of course we did." She told her. "Lets just say that I don't get along with my parents. They were always fighting and I used to get shunted around like some spare part. However, for some reason I still love them. But Ryuuji was never 'good enough' for my mother. She would always find flaws, always find something wrong. It became toxic very quickly."

"However..." Taiga said. "I put that behind me. I decided a long time ago that I didn't need people like that in my life. I wanted to be happy, and I deserved to be happy. Thats brought me to where I am today. In command of a highly advanced starship, married to the man I adore and love, and now creating our own family." She paused for a brief moment. "Why not give that a try?"

"You don't think I'd love nothing more than to say 'fuck the universe; the Shimada Family is here to stay?'" Chiyo asked. "Of course, I would! But if I'm going to make it work, then either Jasad must go or I must go, and I certainly do not intend to go."

Taiga shook her head. "I'm not going to choose between you," she said simply. "You're both valuable members of this crew and you both have skills that this ship needs." She explained to her softly. "You're going to have to either work this out Chiyo or let it 'blow over'" she said.

To be continued...

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