Father, Marshal scraps

Stacker figures out this whole parenting and commanding thing 
==Precedent==
"You wanted to see me, ma'am?"
"I did." Xiong offers him the chair. "Have a seat, Ranger."
"I'm still called that?" he asks, sitting. 
"There are some who would like otherwise." 
Everything goes a bit grey. 
"A colleague of mine called from the United Nations." Xiong slides a folder to center. "The council's looking over the case in committee, and my colleague highly doubts anything will come of it, but the press may get wind of it and I don't want you blindsided during an interview." 
"What is it?" Stacker croaks. 
"You and your team, excluding Ranger Sevier, are guilty of taking spoils of war, abducting a minor, and leaving the country."
"Who--Miss Mori?" 
Things go tilt-y. 
"But she--I never--" 
"I would like you to take a deep breath, please," says Xiong. 
Stacker manages, somehow. 
"Neither my colleague nor I expect anything will come of it. Deep breath, please." 
Stacker manages, somehow. 
"It's highly unlikely any jury will find you criminally responsible. Your team recovered you after a prolonged engagement during which you suffered two petit mal seizures, remained alive while managing a skyscraper-sized weapon on your own which has killed everyone else who tried, and spent an extended period of time fighting in a crippled machine, both due to damage and your copilot having been disconnected." Xiong says, not unkindly, "Your team focused on getting you and Ranger Sevier into care as soon as possible and you were out of sorts, to say the least."
Stacker mumbles, "To say the least." 
"And really, Miss Mori would need to be in PPDC care anyway, what with coming within four meters of a earth-shattering environmental hazard and being a witness to an engagement with an unfavourable outcome, so in that regard the lot of you did me a favour." 
Stacker nods absently. 
"But, a precedent must be set." 
"She isn't ...."
"Miss Mori has none of the traditional characteristics of a kidnapping victim, or at least none that the psychologist can find." 
"We didn't ... we never told her to come with us. It just ... happened." 
"I know," says Xiong. "Ranger, this has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with a potential, less reputable stranger taking orphaned children from their countries of residence to more nefarious ends." 
==Relationship==
From "'Mako' and Other 'M' Words", inspired by the thought of Xiong giving Stacker some sort of relationship talk (not a la 'shovel talk', obviously, but of that ilk.).
While you make very good points, keep in mind that most of the time Stacker and Herc share a 'Dome is when they're the same rank, although ...
"Keep in mind," says Xiong, "this will impact your relationship."
Stacker urks, stutters out, "Relationship?"
"Yes, Ranger, your relationship."
Stacker flounders.
"Did you really think people wouldn't figure it out? The two of you even /smell the same."
"You can--"
"Perhaps, in future, you can recommend a less-obvious deodorant to Ranger Hansen, one, for instance, that isn't designed to soften the smell of teenage testosterone."
Stacker swallows, tries to keep his shoulders straight. "We--"
"Don't confirm it and give me more paperwork; I just want you to know."
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Category:Xiong (ficlet)
Category:Xiong
Category:Stacker
Category:Stacker (ficlet)