Cindy's Crash Course Into Feminism 101
Posted on Sep 14, 2014 @ 7:44pm by Cindy Rochemonté
Edited on on Sep 14, 2014 @ 7:45pm
Mission: Absolute Power
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Cindy’s Crash Course Into Feminism 101
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“I always worried someone would notice me, and then when no one did, I felt lonely.”
--Curtis Sittenfield
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Location: EARTH
Scene: San Francisco - Outside Courtroom
Stardate:2.140906.2252
TI: Concurrent with “In Veritas”
Cindy Rochemonté had come to watch - and offer support - for the trial. It was supposed to only be for the Senior Staff, but that didn’t mean (to her) that it shouldn’t be for the rest of the staff of the former-CENTURY. She was an *officer* of the CENTURY and as such she offer her support.
As she stood in the corridor watching the Senior Staff standing off to the side, the assistant CEO tried to get the attention of Commander Crichton. But every time that almost happened he turned around to talk to *that* Marine, or to chat with BaShen or later on it was with Captain Kane. It wasn’t urgent, but as the person she knew best on the Senior Staff (and as her last Department Chief) and as…
Well it just made sense to go to Commander Crichton; to let him know she was here, that she would happily offer her support, emotional as well as legal, if necessary.
Sitting on a bench, Cindy waited impatiently, as the sun beat through the windows of SFHQ. She tried to quell her impatience, silently reminding herself that she was not a child at Christmas but a grown woman simply waiting for an opportunity to present itself to speak to a Senior officer at a very important moment.
“Is anyone sitting here?”
Cindy barely glanced over. “Uh no, go ahead,” she replied shifting over.
A man wearing Counseling teal sat next to her. “Waiting for your turn?” he asked.
“Well--maybe. First I’m trying to get someone’s attention,” she admitted.
The Counselor nodded. Nodding his head he said, “Look I’m in the courtroom next door. It’s a snap, been through a bunch of these, and I can see you’re tense. Just go in, breathe deeply, admit you broke the Prime Directive and they’ll take it easy on you. Got it?”
“Got it, breathe, broke Prime Directive, take it easy,” Cindy nodded as she paraphrased what he said. Pausing for a moment she turned and stared at the Counselor for a long moment; narrowing her green eyes in annoyance. “Mon Dieu, you did that on purpose!”
“I did,” the Counselor grinned, his cobalt eyes twinkling. The Trill Counselor offered a hand, “Lieutenant Owen Arion.”
Cindy gave him a look before offering her own hand. “Lieutenant Cindy Rochemonté.” The engineer spared a glance to the Counselor, “Been through a bunch of these? What did you do?” Realizing how that came out she winced, “Oh that - I mean - you see - “
Owen began to laugh heartily at that. “Well I did tell you to confess to breaking the Prime Directive, so I guess I deserve that. No, currently I’m assigned to the Counseling Staff here at the Courthouse.” When Cindy gave him a look he explained, “You know for anyone who may testify and find it too traumatic. And we help sometimes with the JAGs, but that’s not that often.” Nodding to the CENTURY Senior Staff he asked, “You’re with them?”
“Yes,” Cindy nodded.
“So when is it your turn to testify?” Owen asked.
Cindy bit her lip. “I don’t.” When Owen raised his right eyebrow she tried the same move but it left her in a weird state that had her feeling as if she had a stroke. So instead she sighed before explaining while trying to catch Commander Crichton’s eye again, “I thought well…I’d offer my support.”
Owen watched for a long moment the way Cindy’s green eyes tracked the CENTURY’s Senior Staff. “You could go over,” he offered softly. “I’d hold your spot on the bench.”
“Oh no, it’s ok,” she said. Watching the way Crichton was busy chatting with BaShen and Thytos and Kane reminded her there was a *life* they all had.
And it didn’t involve her.
“Did your friends know you were coming?” Owen asked.
Cindy paused, still nibbling her lower lip. She wondered if she should correct Owen. Calling them “friends” was a stretch. Thytos scared the crap out of her; she barely talked to BaShen; Kane was her *Commanding Officer* and was so far removed from her universe…
And that left Commander Crichton. Except he told her to call him Jake. But he was married; maybe once maybe twice. Someone told her it was to some high ranking official. And had kids. Then again he told her when they first met they could go get coffee. Was that a date? Still friends got coffee, so maybe it meant nothing. But if it meant nothing then why did her heart constrict and why did her stomach go flying up into her throat everytime he was around and stared at her with those sky blue eyes? Why did she, the valedictorian of her class, have problems coming up with the most basic sentences? She *knew* sounded like an idiot when he was around; oh how she wished there was a camera when he wasn’t around. She at least sounded halfway competent when he wasn’t there.
“No,” Cindy finally answered, “none of them knew I was coming.”
“Go,” Owen offered, “you won’t forgive yourself if you don’t.” When Cindy looked at him he smiled, “I’ll keep it warm. The trial I’m assisting with is on recess for another 30 minutes.” Nudging her he said, “Go.”
Cindy stumbled up a bit, pushed back her cinnamon hair and began to walk over to the Senior Staff. Except they walked right past her in a blaze of glory, as a group of people were whooping and applauding. Grabbing another officer she asked, “What happened?”
“They got what they wanted,” the officer explained, nodding to the Senior Staff.
Cindy sighed and her shoulders slumped. Now they wouldn’t need her; great another reminder of how useless she was....
She heard Owen come up behind her. “Go celebrate with your friends,” he nudged.
Cindy shook her head, “Ah well you know - I’m sure they have plans,” she replied.
“You could go join them,” he smiled. “The more the merrier. Your friends would love to have your support I’m sure. Know you were here for them.”
Cindy went to open up her mouth and explain. That they were about to go off to their perfect little lives and her life was anything but. She had gone to Jake’s house the other day, cause when he said “Come find me anytime” she took him *literally*, only to find out he lived at a damn *villa* on the Italian sea. And what did she see he was in a garden playing with his kids (or at least the younger kids). Then some *woman* (she was older, Cindy was happy to note) came out of the house with drinks. At first Cindy didn’t know who she was but then the kids called her “Mom” and Jake kissed her so while the kids made faces...well it hadn’t been too hard to figure out who she was.
On principle, Cindy hated the woman. While she slinked off and left, Cindy thought about how much she hated that blue woman with long white hair.
Then finally Cindy realized the most basic problem of Owen’s question. It wasn’t just about Jake - it was about *friends*. She had none; at none on the CENTURY. She got up every morning, got ready, went to work, and focused on Jake (and that was *very* pleasurable) and went home. Oh sure somewhere in there was eating, reading, and things like that. But there was nothing *fun*.
Before she could answer Owen, Cindy watched as a man came over to Jake and arrest him, then leading him away. Her breath catching, Cindy felt herself springing into action without actually over-thinking. Running to Captain Kane she said, “Captain Kane!”
Michael Turlough Kane looked at Cindy with surprise. “Uh-Lieutenant Rochemonte,” he said taking a brief moment to place face with name, “what are you doing here?”
“I was here to offer support and then charges were dismissed but then Jake - I mean Commander Crichton was arrested!” she protested following him down the corridor.
“I know,” he replied, a tad more harshly than he even he intended. Inhaling he said, “This *will* get sorted.” Raising a hand he said, “I would take more time to talk to you but I have a call to make to Commander Crichton’s wife.”
Thinking of the blue woman she saw Cindy sighed. She supposed even the old lady had to know what was going on. “Yes she’ll want to know.”
Captain Kane gave her an odd look, somewhere between “Duh” and “You Poor Thing”. “Yes, Secretary Bonviva I imagine would want to know about the situation,” was all he said before leaving into a turbolift.
It took after Captain Kane left for Cindy to put it all together. “Mon Dieu,” she whispered. Secretary Bonviva - the former Secretary of Starfleet - was Jake’s *wife*.
Well at least she was *old*, Cindy took comfort in that. Maybe she was feeble too...
“Hey Cindy, it was nice meeting you but my court session I’m advising got called back early,” Owen said quietly. “I hope things work out for your friend.”
Cindy shook her head, turning around to see the the Trill Counselor she had been chatting with. He seemed very nice; he talked more to her than the CENTURY Senior Staff had actually. “Thank you,” she smiled.
“See you around the universe,” he smiled.
“You too,” she waved awkwardly feeling like the universe’s biggest dork. Watching Owen walk back, Cindy randomly began to think about what she could do next. Plopping down on the same bench she didn’t notice the woman sitting on the high windowsill behind her.
Taking off her glasses, Cindy rubbed them absentmindedly on her uniform jacket wondering what now to do with her time until she found out what happened with her life.
“There’s nothing for you here, why stay?”
Cindy nearly jumped out of her skin at that. Shoving her glasses back up her nose, she turned around to see a blue woman with jet black hair pulled back into a neat braid behind her Vulcan ears. Her long lean fingers here were raised up in an almost prayer like motion as she sat cross-legged, all the while her gray eyes bore into Cindy.
It was unsettling, really.
“Who are you?” Cindy asked, shifting away.
“Lt. Phia,” the woman answered honestly. “Now answer my question, there’s nothing for you. You had no reason to be here to be here in the first place--”
“My crew was here--”
“You weren’t called.”
“--I was offering support--”
“--from ten feet away? You might as well have stayed in France--
“--It’s more meaningful here--
“--and now they’re exonerated--”
“--Jake -- I mean Commander Crichton--”
“--was arrested and taken to New Zealand. So tell me are you following him there too?” Phia finished off. Studying the woman she asked, “There’s eye surgery, or at least corrective lenses for engineers. Why use glasses to hide?” When Cindy said nothing, Phia tapped a finger to her lips while musing, “Unless that’s part of the appeal of you’re going for, the whole ‘hiding in plain sight’. Appear to be the helpless waif.”
Cindy scowled. “You’re appearing to be a Counselor. What are you hiding then?”
Phia’s lips bowed up but the smile never reached her silver eyes. “Well done.” Jumping off the ledge with a feline grace, the older woman said softly, “You’ve shown more backbone now in 5 minutes than you have in the last few hours.” Walking over she said, “Do it again. You will get nowhere in life being the quiet, obedient, hiding behind her glasses waif.”
Cindy gave her a look. “You don’t get it,” she sighed exasperated.
“Tell me what I don’t get,” Phia pushed.
“You’re a Counselor. That’s a field that’s got a ratio of 3:1 females to males,” Cindy pointed out.
Phia knew the fallacy of what Cindy was saying, that she wasn’t *just* a Counselor, but of course, she couldn’t correct that. So instead she simply raised a black eye brow. “*Oh*?”
“I’m an *engineer*,” Cindy responded. “It’s the damned opposite. It’s 1:3, female to male -- so I get “Firewire” and “Flame Cranium” and that’s if I’m lucky. I’m called Boobs McGee on a *good* day by the Marines and that got picked up by my staff so now it’s “Flaming Boobs”. You think anyone takes me seriously? And when I don’t hear that I get to listen to every man in the department talk about sex -- “how they’d *hit* that piece of ass” or “make ‘em want that” while thrusting their pitiful excuse of a pelvis. It’s never about the work, it’s about whatever piece of crappy way of kissing ass and building themselves up.
“I wear the glasses, because even though they slide down my nose and cause me to sweat in really uncomfortable ways, yes it makes me look good and makes people forget everything else, including my hair and my breasts.”
Phia waited a long moment before saying, “That maybe the first honest thing you’ve said today.” Looking into Cindy she said, “Now I’m offering unsolicited honest advice and I realize you don’t know me but trust me this is rare. You don’t have to be pretty. You don’t owe prettiness to anyone. You don’t owe it to your family. To your partner, or co-workers, or friends, and especially not to random asshats on the ship. You don’t owe it to civilization in general. Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying space marked as “female”. This is your life. Do with it as you damn well please. And that means if you don’t want to wear glasses, don’t wear them. Get a haircut that isn’t in your eyes so you don’t hide yourself. You don’t owe anyone anything. And if people can’t accept that, then repeat after me - that is their own fucking problem. You are a Starfleet officer you owe your intelligence and your life, that’s enough to owe civilization without having to worry what you fucking worry about if “I’m pretty today” when you wake up in the morning.”
The Bolian/Vulcan exhaled and looked at the young engineer. “And finally - cut that stalking shit out, it’s creepy. Go out, make friends or do whatever it is normal people do. This is hard cause it’s changing your M.O. but grow a vagina, you can do it.”
Cindy blinked her emerald eyes. “I know the expression is “grow some balls”. I hear it enough.”
Phia smirked. “No, it should be “grow a vagina”. Balls are weak and insensitive; one swift kick and a guy goes down; if you want to be tough grow a vagina -- that takes a pounding.”
With that the blue woman pivoted on the ball of her foot and walked away quietly leaving the French woman to shake her and muttering, “What a strange, strange woman.”
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NRPG: Chris said I could keep borrowing Cindy. Sucker *evil laugh*. Oh wait I mean thank you Chris for trusting me… :P
And introducing Lt jg Owen “Sexypants” Arion ;) Thank you to Susan for the help!
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Sarah Albertini-Bond
borrowing for now ;)
Lt. Cindy Rochemonté
aCEO
of some ship somewhere
“Know what? Bitches get stuff done.”
-Tina Fey
