Theo sighed as he sat back, looking at the report on his desk. How the hell did anyone manage to lose their division captain? Were they abs—

He cut that thought off, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at the  two names on the report.

Mason.

Reese-Riggs.

Those two names alone should have warned him that the normal rules just didn’t apply. Not to those two. They tended to see rules as more like vague guidelines at the best of times, and if you asked them to think outside the box, they’d immediately deny the existence of anything vaguely box-like.

Which was all well and good when the Dominion turned up out of nowhere. In situations like that, mavericks like these two became an ace up his sleeve because if he couldn’t predict what they’d do, then the Dominion had no chance.

Right now though, they could crash and burn his damn career if the wind blew the wrong direction.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, then opened his mouth and started to speak before he was aware of making the decision.

“Computer, route a comm call to Captain Thorne of the USS Stafford.”

He expected for the comm to bounce back, so he was surprised when the logo on the screen in front of him disappeared and a woman appeared in its place.

“Theo!” Her expression immediately split into a welcoming smile he knew many people didn’t get to see. “This is a pleasant surprise. Social or business call?”

He hid his smile. That was Liv all over. No nonsense and straight to the point. It was one reason they’d always gotten along from the moment they’d met at the Academy.

“Social, kinda business,” he shrugged. “You got five?”

She nodded to someone off the screen and returned her attention to him. “For you, always. It’s a little manic here what with the transfer of the Stafford over to her new CO.”

“Shit. When is that? It’s not a problem if you’re up against it.”

“Tomorrow.” She smiled and sat back, giving him her full attention. “And I’m good. What’s up?”

He bit back his grimace. “Does something have to be up for me to call you?”

She chuckled. “No, but you did say, and I quote ‘kinda business’… so, you need someone to listen, or a helping hand? I warn you, I’m all out of shovels to help bury bodies this month.”

He groaned and leaned his head back against the padded cushion of his chair. “Just someone to listen for the moment… the rage rooms on base were all booked up.”

Her eyebrow winged up. “That good, huh? Okay, tell me what’s going on. A problem shared is a problem halved and all that.”

The tension in his shoulders eased slightly as he leaned forward. “Oh, I’d love to half this particular problem. The trouble is, there are two of them, and if I split them up, then I have two problems, not one.”

“Okay, so it’s a staffing problem.”

“You could say that.” He reached up to rub at the stubble on his jaw. “I have, for want of a better word, a couple of problem children. Starship CO’s… well one of them is. The other is just off administrative leave and is currently in observation status waiting reassignment as a ship co.”

Liv nodded. “Problem children… in what way? Disregarding orders, sycophants or something else?”

Her question startled a short bark of laughter out of him as he leapt to his feet, his chair rolling back, and began to pace. “Oh lord, either of those would make these two easier to deal with. Technically, they never actually disobey an order, but neither of them seem bothered about the chain of command and just do whatever the hell they want!”

Her brows snapped together. “So they’re unpredictable?”

“Unpredictable? Seriously Liv, unpredictable isn’t the word for these two.” He sighed and folded his arms over his chest. “We sent them to Arriana when the Lost Fleet showed up. Do you know what they did?”

She leaned back in her chair, her expression neutrally polite as she shook her head, but he couldn’t see the amusement dancing in her dark eyes. He didn’t blame her. It was rare for him to get heated about anything, or raise his voice even, yet here he was, stalking around his office like a damned madman.

“They dropped a bloody ship on the Jem’Hadar!” He threw his arms up. “From orbit! Thankfully, it wasn’t one of ours.”

Her lips quirked. “I assume it solved the problem though?”

He stabbed a finger at the screen. “Don’t you start agreeing with their tactics! Blood dilithium? Mason blew his own bloody ship up to get the Devore off it!”

“Damage to Starfleet property is a very serious business,” she agreed mildly.

“Yes! Exactly!” He dropped into his seat and glared at her. Which wasn’t exactly fair, since none of this was her fault. But, they’d known each other for years, so she was more than used to him.

“And now…” He shook his head, shoving his hands through his hair, sending it into wild spikes all over his head. “You won’t guess what they did now.”

She crossed one knee over the other in an elegant movement. Automatically, he tracked the moment. Damn Alex for getting to her first.

“I’m sure you’re going to tell me,” she said, brow arched slightly in an invitation to continue as she reached for her mug. Coffee, black. She’d drunk it that way since he’d known her.

“Damned right I am,” he growled. “They lost their division captain.”

The mug paused halfway to her full lips and she speared him with a look over the rim. It was a hard, direct look that made even him quell the urge to squirm in his seat.

“I’m sorry, I thought you said they’d lost their division CO.”

“I did,” he admitted with a sigh.

“How did they lose their division captain?” she asked. “Like, did they put into base and he wandered off? Or did they lose him and his entire ship?”

“No.” He shook his head. “Just him. They decided to go on an undercover away mission to recover stolen weapons tech and lost him. And it gets worse.”

“Wait.” She closed her eyes for a moment, holding up her hand. “So, you’re telling me that both division CO’s went on an away mission? And that somehow, they lost the division commander? How does it get worse than that?”

His answer was blunt. “His father is Admiral Murphy.”

He had the satisfaction of seeing Olivia Thorne surprised. Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second and she whistled softly. As she might. Retired Admiral Murphy’s reputation for meddling was unparalleled.

“Oh, now that is… Yeah.” She shook her head. “I would not want to be in your shoes, that’s for sure.”

“Well…” He trailed off, trying to put on his most charming smile.

“What?” She shot him a direct look. “You’ve got your crocodile smile on. You want something.”

Sometimes she knew him way too well. He widened the smile.

“Well, as of tomorrow you’ll technically be in the reassignment rotation. Can I persuade you to take on a little assignment for me?”

She groaned. “Theo Barrington. I hate you. What’s it worth?”

He grinned. She never could resist him and he knew it. “A bottle of Scotch, your choice of vintage. Those fancy chocolates you like.”

“Hmmm…” She eyed him in assessment. “Throw in a foot massage and you have a deal.”