Reprimand

JUN 16 2011
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Chromia Horizon
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Studious and serious-faced, Horizon organizes a stack of discs and data chips upon his desk, occasionally feeding them into a computer and reaffirming their contents and integrity before rewriting their labels and sliding them into a rack. He waits in the corner of this small cubicle of an office, keeping busy with clerical work to keep him from growing impatient.
Chromia isn't exactly one to be late, however, and she arrives right on the joor. Not one for military protocol, she doesn't knock before she enters the office, nor does she salute Horizon as she is supposed, instead opting to lean against the doorjamb, arms crossed across her chest. She hasn't been to the repair bay yet, and it shows, dried energon marring her clavicle armor. "You wanted to see me, Sir?"
Horizon glances up from his work and inclines his head in the affirmative, and then gestures for her to take a seat in the metal chair across from his desk. He puts everything away before he glances up, placing his hands on the desk, staring at her with scrutiny. "Thank you for being punctual. We need to discuss your conduct during yestercycle's patrol."
Chromia rolls her optics. "I'll stand, thanks. Servos don't bend like they used to--need Ratchet to check them out." She huffs at the subject of discussion. "You knew full well that we're hitting the bottom of reserves as it is, and you called a retreat, letting them make off with some of our reserves. We should have stayed until we pushed them back."
Horizon stares at Chromia long and hard for a moment in a pointed silence. He then slowly leans forward. "That may be so, Chromia, but I do not think the cost would outweigh the profit had we continued to fight. Megatron, leading his seekers, was more than we were equipped to deal with. Even if we could have won out, your misconduct is a grave matter."
"So you're saying that they're better than us then?" Chromia looks absolutely ticked at the idea. She tastes the callous words forming on her tongue, but says them anyways. "If Shark hadn't gotten in between me and what's her face, we'd have been fine! I'd rather go down fighting!"
Horizon taps one of his fingers on the desk for a moment or two as he regards Chromia for another silent moment. "Chromia, they have an advantage. Let arrogance be their downfall, not ours. We cannot delude ourselves in ever believing this is an equal fight, but it's a worthy fight. Even if you would rather go down fighting, it is better for the safety that while you are placed under an officer's command, you respect and obey that officers. Discord in a unit can cause division, and division is an exploitable weakness. Furthermore, we need to put up a unified front before the enemy."
"Then let me go out on my own then! The 'Cons probably very well know that we probably have our differences among us. And what of you? You let Chains take on Megatron while you hid in a hole in the ground! Why didn't /you/ help /him/?" Chromia's having trouble with Horizon's calm demeanor--wants to see him lose his temper.
Horizon continues to remain calm, just shaking his head at Chromia's words. "I told everyone to take cover, but as they didn't and got entangled, I let it be - cover was scarce. Chains was both brave and foolish, and I do not know whether it was skill or luck that saw him through. There was little I could do without risking friendly fire. Had I shot and hit Chains, he would have been a gonner for certain." Horizon seems more than willing to explain himself in a steady tone. However, he finally rises to his feet. "Chromia, your lack of respect for your officers is a grievous error. Your selfish and impetuous behavior will endanger your comrades. Back at Iacon, we can have our differences, but on the field of battle we must have absolute trust and unity!"
Chromia leans her hands on the desk, nose to nose with Horizon. "I /do/ trust my teammates and nothing is better than a well-oiled plan successful in its execution. However, for each battle, we must at least hinder their forces and strike back with as much damage. These 'bots took over my /home/ and literally forced me out of it." She jabbed Horizon in the chest with her index finger, as unwise as that may have been. "Don't stand between me and my personal issues."
Horizon's optics narrows and he grabs her wrist and pulls the offending digit away. "Don't let YOUR personal issues stand between you and your duty!" Horizon keeps a hold of Chromia's wrist for a moment longer and then let’s go. "You did NOT show that you trusted in my judgment, Chromia. And right now you are over stepping your boundaries. I think that since you are so concerned with our reserves, you will be assigned to inventory for the next orbital cycle, at the end in which we will speak again."
Chromia grits her teeth against the rising words in her throat, not wanting any more punishment detail. It doesn't, however, stop her from hissing out, "And if I refuse?"
Horizon raises his optic ridges at the challenge. "Then your ration of energon will be halved."
That shut her up. "Fine," Chromia huffs, indignant. "What are my limitations for patrol and recreational activities?"
Horizon crosses his arms over his chest. "You will be placed on sentry duty and only perimeter patrols of Iacon, or otherwise on standby as reinforcements. I will not limit what you can do with your recreational time, well, what little you will have of it." Horizon pauses as if deliberating something, and then dips his chin. "I had intended to leave your conduct out of my full report if this discussion went well. It is not unreasonable to feel a need to be more guarded of our resources, which is why I shall also see about changing up some of the patrols to be better suited for the next time."
Well, apparently Horizon wasn't /totally/ unreasonable. "Fine. Hand me the data pad for our energon resources and I'll get started on that. Not like I have anything better to do." Turning on her heel, not waiting for her dismissal, she stormed out of the room, slamming the door to the office behind her.
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