Title: Herculean Tasks - Alpha Timeline – Chapter 2 – No Good Reason

Rating: K+

Category: gen/het

Pairings: Davenport/Goddard

Note: Canon divergence starts here.

Summary: An alternate timeline diverging from canonical events:

Seth has three weeks to expose the corruption at Starcademy, but the conspiracy goes even deeper than anyone initially thought. How will he manage when there is no Christa to intervene?

Chapter 2: No Good Reason

"She more or less admitted that she's stopped tallying my infractions, so I might have to step up my game if the plan is to bury her in paperwork, Sir."

James studied Seth through the viewscreen, watching the younger man rub the back of his neck as he paced about his rooms. "There is something else troubling you." It wasn't a question.

Seth quirked an eyebrow. "How do you do that?"

"You have a few tells, my boy," James informed him.

Seth paused and grumbled as his hand dropped to his side. "Yeah, I'll work on that. It's just that today I realized that by looking after your daughter, I'm neglecting the bigger picture. We're allies to the Andromedans. Your daughter and I are the only ones here looking after Radu. If I keep pulling T.J. out of important policy meetings to protect her—"

"Then her voice will not be heard," James finished. "I take it you allowed her to attend such a meeting today?"

Seth hung his head. "Yes, Sir."

"May I also assume that you hovered outside the boardroom to keep an eye on her?"

"I'm not even going to ask how you know that, but yeah." Seth sighed and explained, "I was worried. T.J. is becoming a bit more...rebellious."

"Rebellious, you say? How so?"

"She hasn't been writing me up. She jokingly blamed me, saying I was a bad influence. And then she admitted to using the kids' latest prank as a diversion, which took some of the heat off of me and caused some issues for one of the other more problematic members of staff."

James offered a curious smile. "What exactly has T.J. done?"

"Oh, y'know, rearranged some furniture that may or may not now be stuck to the rear end of a more senior administrator."

James laughed heartily. "Good for her! T.J. deserves to have a bit of fun every now and then."

Seth chuckled and shook his head, admitting, "I mean, it was a little funny. But it was risky, and that isn't like her. She said she hoped the Headmistress would miss the meeting, but I don't know. This whole thing is just..." He reached his hand up to the back of his neck again but thought better of it. "As far as I know, everything worked out today in terms of the big picture. It could have been better, but it could've been worse. The Board is split fifty-fifty on whether to admit more Andromedan students. If T.J. hadn't been there—if I'd really done my job and protected her like you asked me to—the decision would probably already be made to send Radu packing."

"It sounds like you may have more allies than you first realized."

Seth nodded as he processed this information. "Perhaps. But now your daughter and these other 'allies' have targets on their backs: big picture win, but at a huge personal cost, and she doesn't even realize… I can't just keep hanging around T.J. for no good reason. People will start talking."

"For no good reason?" James laughed at that. "Oh Seth, my boy! People are already talking!"

"Fantastic," Seth muttered drolly. "This isn't about feelings, Sir. It's about survival ."

James grinned. "Now that is interesting."

"What is?"

"Who said anything about feelings?"

"Sir, please. I can't let her down. I can't let you down. And I can't let Radu down. Unfortunate things have already happened to good people on my watch, and I refuse to let that pattern continue."

"The circumstances surrounding Captain Band's death were—"

"Not my fault," Seth finished. "So I've been told. I still don't know if I believe that."

"And the fact that his son is in your class with Mr. Radu—"

"Doesn't help. Look, I know you believe in me. And I appreciate it: more than you know. But this whole situation has spiraled out of control. I'm doing the best I can, but I honestly don't think that my best is good enough."

"I might have heard something similar during another discussion earlier today," James mused. "From what I gather, you and this individual have made a little game out of proving each other wrong and in doing so, challenging each other to be better. In this particular instance, I'd like this game of yours to continue. Between the two of you, I firmly believe you can do anything."

"With all due respect, subtlety is not your strong suit, Sir."

"My days of being subtle are over. Especially when discussing matters with you and T.J. So stubborn, the both of you."

"I think 'determined' is the word she used," Seth quipped before he could stop himself. He shook his head. "I've got three weeks. I need to tell her everything: the big picture stuff. But this is going to crush her. I don't want to do that to her."

James considered this. "And I wouldn't wish an angry, hysterical T.J. on anyone."

Seth cleared his throat. "Your words, Sir. Not mine."

"I am under no illusions; I am aware my daughter can be quite difficult when her anxiety peaks. She always has been. Her temper tantrums when she was little were quite spectacular."

Seth chuckled at the thought of a little precocious T.J. shouting, stomping her feet, and even wagging her finger at her own parents. "I can only imagine. She doesn't seem to do anything halfway."

"Truer words were never spoken. I can help ease the blow this time. I am actually on a shuttle now. I had planned to discuss 'the big picture stuff,' as you say, with T.J. after our father-daughter outing to the theater tonight. And then you and I will have the weekend to talk and calm her down."

Knowing that James would be available to help in-person was a bit of a relief. But Seth also didn't want his mentor making himself a target. "Be careful, Sir."

"Don't worry about me. I have some friends in high places. I will introduce you. In the meantime, I would like an update on the Proxima Colony: the conditions there, how the Andromedans are settling into their new home, and how the UPP and the STARDOG officers are treating them. Is there any way you could broach this topic with Mr. Radu?"

"I can try. The poor kid was afraid to come to me to ask for help with his homework, so I doubt getting information about the Collective or his homelife will be easy."

"But you did say you were making strides with him. T.J. has made similar comments. Radu appears to have a great amount of trust in you both, especially since you came to his rescue last week."

Seth quirked an eyebrow. "I mentioned breaking up that fight in passing. What has T.J. been saying about me?"

"You mean to tell me the tea was ineffective? Stubborn, indeed. Perhaps if you take her out to a nice dinner, then she might open up and—"

"Sir!" Seth blushed again and scrubbed his hand down his face as James laughed at his expense. "This is really not the time for—" The chime to his quarters rang, and he looked at the timepiece on his bedside table. "I'm late for supervising Free Study."

"That'll be T.J. come to fetch you, then?"

Seth nodded. "Safe travels, Sir. See you soon."

"See you soon, my boy."

Seth ended the transmission and pocketed his compupad before taking a breath and opening the door to be greeted by a glaring T.J.

"Commander..."

Seth cleared his throat and avoided looking her directly in the eyes. Did she even know what the combination of her glare and pout did to him? Space help me, he thought. "Miss Davenport." He retaliated with his signature smile and was pleased to note she briefly lost her composure.

"Once again, you are late for supervising your own students. You left me to deliver the bad news that they will not be permitted to go on their field training exercise due to their poor marks last quarter. None of them are happy."

Seth brushed past her and headed down the hallway, away from the living quarters and toward the common areas and classrooms. Being around T.J. was giving him emotional whiplash: she was playful one minute and seething the next. He supposed he couldn't blame her, given the hoops she'd been jumping through and the grief he'd been giving her. And maybe his attitude wasn't any better.

"Are you more upset that you had to break the news, that they failed, that I failed them, or that the Headmistress is enforcing the punishments for everyone's failures?" Seth wondered, somewhat grateful that at least now he wouldn't have to convince her to join them on their training excursion; he wasn't about to leave her alone at the school. "Earlier today you said you weren't ready to give up on me yet."

"I do not want to give up on anyone, Commander," T.J. reassured him, walking a step behind. "I did try to convince the Headmistress that your students deserved a chance to prove themselves outside of the classroom. But there is a lot of pressure from the higher-ups to, and I quote, 'deal with the Goddard situation.' And I admit I may have made a slight error in judgment when I had my bit of fun this morning. While it was amusing for a moment, the Head is now more temperamental than usual. She will have my head soon enough."

Seth stopped abruptly, and T.J. ran into him as he whirled around to face her. "Did she threaten you?" he asked, deeply troubled.

T.J. laughed at the absurdity. "It was a figure of speech."

He wasn't convinced. "Who exactly is talking about 'the Goddard situation'?"

"Commander, what is going on?"

"Never mind. Later. We can talk later," he decided, forging ahead to the classroom.

"I know you care about the students, so I do not understand why you refuse to do your job. They will fail without your guidance," T.J. cautioned as she followed after him.

"I'm a little overwhelmed right now." If he could just wait until James arrived to explain everything, he would be okay. He muttered to himself as he reevaluated his priorities, "Big picture: on the backburner again. Slightly smaller picture?" He spared a glance at T.J. "Ongoing. And onwards we go to 'Mission: Attention to Detail.'"

"Commander, what are you on about?"

"I want to help the students. I do. Maybe we could use Free Study as an opportunity for both of us to work with them. Two birds, one stone."

"I have other duties to which I must attend. I cannot hover around you every waking moment."

"That makes two of us."

"What precisely does that mean?"

"You don't understand," Seth grumbled as he approached the classroom and the doors parted.

"Hence my request for you to help me understand. Yet you are refusing to explain and refusing to do your job."

"Trying to teach them anything is tough enough, Miss Davenport. And now you expect me to babysit them during their...?"

Seth trailed off as the doors parted to reveal Harlan and Catalina playing Monkey in the Middle with Radu's compupad. The poor Andromedan boy stumbled back and forth as he tried jumping for the device, only to pull his hand away at the last second for fear the small computer would break in his grasp. Rosie chastised Catalina, while Bova rolled his eyes from his seat.

"What the blazes is going on?!" T.J. snapped.

The compupad clattered to the floor, and the screen shattered. Radu scrambled to retrieve the pieces, apologizing profusely all the while. "I'm sorry, Commander. Miss Davenport. I'll try to, uh, maybe I can fix…" He trailed off as he flexed his fingers and the casing snapped in half.

"Harlan and Catalina: twenty demerits each and detention for the rest of the week," T.J. declared. "And you both owe Mr. Radu a genuine apology."

Harlan folded his arms across his chest. "I don't owe him anything. In fact, I'd say he owes me an apology on behalf of his entire—"

"Enough!" Seth bellowed, realizing his mistake only after Radu covered his ears. He lowered his voice and continued, "Harlan, no one—and I mean no one —deserves to be treated the way you treat Radu. Other teachers might turn a blind eye to your behavior, but not me."

Harlan smirked. "So what? If you send me to the Headmistress's office, she'll just send me back to my dorm, and I'll get the rest of the afternoon off."

"Which is why I'm letting Bova and Rosie go, keeping you and Cat after class, and sending Radu with Miss Davenport."

T.J., nodded her approval as she bent down to help Radu gather the pieces of his compupad. "It is going to be alright," she soothed. "You are not in any sort of trouble. You can come with me to my office, and I will provide you with a new device."

"Thank you." Radu bowed his head, refusing to look at anyone as T.J. guided him from the room.

Once in the safety of T.J.'s office, Radu sat on the small couch in the corner, trying to take up as little space as possible. It still amazed T.J. that someone with his physical strength could be so small and emotionally vulnerable. She sat next to him, putting enough space between them to make Radu feel comfortable as she arranged the pieces of the compupad on the small table across from them.

"I'm sorry, Miss Davenport," Radu said again with a sniffle.

The sight of the boy on the verge of tears broke her heart. She offered him her handkerchief, kindly but firmly telling him again, "You've done nothing wrong, Radu. Please believe that. There is no need to apologize."

"If I didn't do anything wrong, why do the others hate me?" he wondered. "Most people pretend I'm not here or yell at me or call me names or…"

"What sorts of things do they say?" T.J. wondered.

"They...they don't use my name. They, uh, they call me Andromedan. Proxy. Hairdo. Slave. I've also heard some things I don't understand, but they don't sound good."

T.J.'s blood was boiling, but she forced herself to maintain a neutral facade. Even as she took a cleansing breath, she knew Radu could hear her increased heart rate betraying her. "I would like for you to tell me or Commander Goddard whenever you feel you are being bullied. I want you to feel safe here. More than anything, everyone at this school should feel and be safe."

Radu nodded.

"It might be helpful if you can recall anything else you've heard. If you remember, please tell me. I will be able to keep a record of the inappropriate behavior and see that it is properly dealt with."

Radu nodded again and licked his lips nervously. "I think I remember… I heard one of them call me something. A barb...bar-bar-een?"

T.J. blinked back her surprise as she landed on where the translation might have been lost. "A barbarian ?"

"I think so. What does that mean?"

T.J. said nothing as she bit the inside of her cheek and stood to pace about the room.

"It means something bad, then," the boy surmised.

"Radu, you are not a barbarian in any sense of the word. Some people…" T.J. closed her eyes for a moment, trying not to lose steam even as she felt defeated. "Some people fear or hate what they do not understand. Because of what happened during the War, many believe Andromedans to be…" She paused, choosing her words carefully, and landed on, "aggressive."

"But… But I'm not like that. We're not like that: my people were forced to fight. We-we didn't have a choice—"

"I know, Radu. I know that. You are a bright, kind, and caring young boy." She shook her head as she reclaimed her seat next to him. "I so desperately wish other people could see that."

Radu looked puzzled for a moment before asking, "Miss Davenport, what's a synthesizer? I heard someone say you and Commander Goddard were Andromedan synthesizers?"

"I don't…" She bit her lip as she realized, "Sympathizers."

"That sounds right. Wait. As in sympathy? But sympathy is a-a good thing, right?"

"Yes, Radu. Sympathy is indeed a good thing. But if this was said with hatred, then this person does not want you here, and they do not like the fact that the commander and I are helping you."

"But why would the Headmistress not want me here?"

T.J.'s eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Pardon?"

Radu backpedaled, flustered. "S-sorry. I shouldn't have said… I can't help what I hear, and… Are you not supposed to be helping me?"

T.J. wandered over to her desk, lost in thought.

"M-Miss Davenport, don't sit down!"

T.J. stopped and stared down at her seat before making an unsuccessful attempt at stifling a chuckle.

"There's glue," Radu explained, puzzled as to what was so funny. "I didn't do it, but some of the others… They said they'd blame me if..."

"Well it is a good thing I discovered their intentions earlier and disposed of the offending chair myself, isn't it? As for the Headmistress," T.J. cleared her throat, "I will deal with her. Now. Let's get you another compupad. I can download your files from the old one onto the new."

"You're really good with computers," Radu commented.

"I do enjoy learning as much about technology as possible."

Radu managed a sheepish smile, observing, "You seem to like learning about everything."

T.J. chuckled and smiled warmly. "Yes, I suppose that is true."

"It seems easy for you. I wish it was easy for me."

"Everyone learns at their own pace. There are some things I am not so good at. Sports, for example. I'm afraid I am not the most coordinated person."

"Neither am I." Radu chuckled nervously and gestured to the pile of compupad parts on the table. After a beat of silence, he felt the need to clarify, "That, uh, was supposed to be funny. It was a joke. Because of earlier. Did I screw it up?"

"Not at all." T.J. smiled as she carefully removed the broken compupad's data crystal. "That is what we call 'self-deprecating humor.'" It was executed quite well, and is indeed an advanced topic for someone still learning a new language. From what I have observed, you are very skilled with languages."

"But I only know Andromedan."

"That is not the case any longer. And you are earning higher marks than some of your classmates, while they have the advantage of studying the same material in their native language."

Radu shrugged. "My grades are still bad though."

"On the contrary: Given the various extenuating circumstances, I am very impressed with your progress, and I am happy to have learned some things from you as well. You should be proud."

"R-really?"

"Of course."

"Uh. Thanks," he nodded with some uncertainty. "Thank you. I don't, uh, I haven't heard anyone else say something like that."

"That is," T.J. took a breath, "most unfortunate."

" Are you not supposed to be helping me?"

T.J. busied herself with studying the crystal in the palm of her hand. "It is a teacher's job to help their students."

"But you're not a teacher. You're the Assistant Principal. So aren't you supposed to, uh, sort of assist the Principal?"

Oh but it was complicated. T.J. gathered her thoughts before explaining, "I began my career as a teacher, and I enjoyed it immensely. Regardless of my job title, I will always be an educator at heart. Helping young people learn and grow is what I find most rewarding. 'I touch the future. I teach.'"