Things changed in a heartbeat in battle, so Mason was used to formulating a plan on the hop. But even so, he was working on a wing and a prayer as he walked into Captain Jayce’s office. 

“Please, gentlemen, take a seat,” the captain smiled up from her padd as they walked into the room, craning a little to look around his shoulder at RJ, who seemed to be trying to merge with his shadow. Mason wasn’t thinking about that though. All his attention was focused on their new TFXO.

She was tiny, so tiny she made him feel like a lumbering beast, and delicate looking. But there was a steel in her dark eyes and something in the way she held herself that warned him not to underestimate her. 

“Captain Mason, I assume?” she said, indicating one of the seats in front of the desk. “Captain Reese-Riggs I already know.”

He couldn’t help his sidelong glance at RJ, whose small smile was the very model of professionalism, even if Mason could tell he was pale under his slight tan. 

“I am, indeed,” he leaned forward to offer his hand, trying to take the attention off RJ and bring it back to himself. The last TFXO they’d met had threatened to throw RJ out of an airlock. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, captain. I must say, you’re not what I expected.”

“Oh?” she asked, shaking his hand firmly. Her grip was surprisingly strong for a woman. “And what did you expect?” 

He smiled. “Someone significantly older. You’re way too young to be a TFXO surely? Unless you were a child prodigy, of course.”

She leveled a look at him, the slight compression of her lips the only response. “Flattery? And you really expect that to work?” 

He kept the smile in place. “I’m really hoping so since I just went out on a limb here.” 

She snorted, the sound somehow soft and elegant and then there with the barest hint of a smile curving her lips. 

“Good recovery, don’t you think, Captain?” she asked, shooting the question at RJ. 

“He’s a charmer, that’s for sure,” RJ replied, looking like an oasis of charm in the room. Mason would bet his heart was going ten to the dozen under that unflappable act. “A good man to have at your back in a crisis.”

Jayce nodded, looking down at the padd in front of her. “So I see. From these reports, you’ve worked together before. In and out of uniform?” 

“We have. Both on Arriana Prime and during the Frontier Day incident,” he said, still trying to get a read on her. It was difficult, she wasn’t giving a lot away. And that yeoman, he was an… odd choice. Older, and he looked like he’d seen action, hard action, somewhere. 

“Excellent. I see no reason to break up a successful team,” she said, sitting back in her chair and studying the pair of them. “I’ll cut to the chase. Mason, you’re a blunt instrument, in more ways than one.”

Mason inclined his head, it was a fair comment. 

She turned her attention to RJ. “And you’re a playboy with a temper, but you’re ruthless under it. I’ve read your file, the parts of it that didn’t nearly land you with a dishonorable discharge. You broke the Ivensa cartel?”

RJ shrugged, and Mason practically felt the effort it took for him not to make some kind of comment. “It was a joint effort,” he passed off the feat as though it were nothing. 

“Bullshit,” she fired back. “I know exactly how deep the Invensa were dug in, and from this you broke them with an old federation junker while working undercover.”

“Well… we did upgrade it a bit.” 

Mason’s eyebrow winged up. Some sections of RJ’s file were redacted. He assumed it was because the alley-cat had done something more outrageous than sleeping with an admiral’s daughter but apparently not. 

“Still, impressive.” She looked at them both. “You both know what your strengths and weaknesses are, and I’m going to need the Manticore squadron to bolster the patrols out here. With everything that’s happened, I don’t need to tell you that we’re stretched thin, so every ship counts.” 

Mason slid a sideways look at RJ, as if to say ‘I told you so.”

“But before that,” Jayce carried on. “I’m going to need a lift.”

Mason blinked at that. “A lift, ma’am?” 

“Indeed. I need to rendezvous with the Verity in the Deneb Sector, once there, you’ll be assigned new mission mandates.”

Mason inclined his head. “Of course, ma’am. I’ll make VIP quarters available on the Manticore. When do we leave?”

“I have a few things to clear up here, so tomorrow morning. I will transport over at the beginning of alpha shift. My yeoman will be in touch this evening with relevant information.” She smiled as she stood. “Now, if you’ll excuse me gentlemen, I have a meeting to prepare for. Zale will show you out.” 

She indicated the door where her yeoman stood waiting. 

Mason nodded and smiled as he stood, offering his hand again for a brief shake. “Thank you, ma’am, it will be a pleasure to host you on the Manticore.” 

She smiled, a quick grin that transformed her stern expression. “Oh, I doubt you’ll say that after long, captain. We are going to have a talk about the diplomatic capabilities of the Manticore.” 

She turned to RJ, holding out her hand. It hadn’t escaped Mason’s notice that he’d managed to avoid shaking hands with Captain Jayce before. “And a pleasure to meet you, Captain Reese-Riggs. Again.”

RJ’s expression flickered and then a smile spread over his lips. “So you do remember me.” 

Mason nearly face-palmed, right there and then. 

“Oh yes,” the tiny captain said, shaking his hand firmly and then letting go. “Who could forget you? Now, not to put too fine a point on it, you’re dismissed… which means get the hell out of my office.”