Deja-Vu

Posted on 02 Oct 2013 @ 11:49am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Norvi Stace

2,522 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 04 - Exodus
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 1, Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 02 - 1015 hrs

[ON]

Lirha once again found herself on the wrong side of paperwork. It seemed just 12 hours ago that she had managed to reduce the pile of PADDs on her desk to a more manageable size, but after reporting to Alpha shift that morning, a whole new stack of data was neatly stacked on her table thanks to the diligent work of her yeoman. The captain idly thumbed her green finger over the large collection of thin silver devices while absentmindedly counting them...two, four, six, ten, twelve, fifteen...

Having made her way out of the triage cargo bay, finally being released by one of the nurses after pleading (repeatedly) her good health, Norvi was instructed to introduce herself to the captain and secure lodgings on the ship. As she wandered the small, confined corridors, over saturated with Starfleet personnel; faces she recognised as survivors from the Venture and faces that she didn't, its familiarity made her smile. The Nova class was actually her first posting a few years prior, and its design, although 'compact' was beautiful. She missed it in a way, and the cosy atmosphere made a stark contrast to the now rather dated and spacious Galaxy Venture.

She accessed the turbo lift; a short ride to the bridge in comparison and then quietly made her way to the ready room. Activating the door chime, she waited.

The captain's absentminded thoughts were interrupted by the soft sound of the chime and her head slowly rose to look at the door in front of her. "Enter." she called out in a soft voice, then straightened herself in her chair to see who her new guest would be.

The door opened and she stepped into the ready room, smiling as she did so. "Captain, I'm Lieutenant Norvi Stace of the Venture. Reporting in as instructed." She stood almost rigidly, clinging to her ceremonial training. She was, in truth, shaken to the core by what she had just gone through. Having survived the Borg once at Wolf 359, she had every intention of repeating the situation. And it would appear that she had no choice in the matter. She was, essentially, a civilian on board the Galileo and this did not sit well.

Lirha watched as a blue-collared officer entered her office and stood at attention. The woman had very striking features which the Orion found attractive -- red hair, green eyes, slender cheekbones, excellent posture...and on top of it, she was a Trill, one of the many already serving aboard Galileo.

"At ease, lieutenant. Thank you for coming to see me." Lirha gave her a friendly smile. "Please, have a seat." she gestured with her green hand to the vacant chair across from her desk. "Do you have a copy of your orders with you, by chance? I seem to be a bit overcome with administrative work at the moment." her eyes flicked to the large stack of PADDs then back to the new science officer.

"Orders, Ma'am?" Norvi questioned, a look of vacancy lining her features as she slowly lowered herself into the seat offered. Her hair, usually fixed in a tight and unforgiving ponytail, cascaded loose about her face, framing a smudge of black across her jaw and chin. "I haven't had time to even replicate a new uniform, Captain," and she lifted her sleeve up to display a gash in the shoulder around a singed collar line. "Your medical staff are good but their tailoring skills could use a little honing."

Norvi smiled nervously at her own jest; a behavioural deflection of her own internal turmoil, but corrected her manner and shook her head. "I apologise, Captain. I've just come here straight from the triage hold. I'm fine, but I made it known to a senior officer on your staff that this isn't my first altercation with the Borg. I was asked to report in. And I'd like to help you and your crew...and my own colleagues in any way that I can."

Lirha slowly nodded and looked upon the lieutenant with sympathy in her light green eyes. It was no doubt a traumatic experience for any Starfleet officer to encounter the Borg, much less lose their ship in combat to them, and she felt a twinge of remorse that her own ship had not been able to help more. Stace was not the first survivor Lirha had recently encountered, but she treated all of them with the same respect.

"Thank you for the offer, I'm certain we can use the help." she replied, then looked over the woman once again while taking note of her disheveled appearance. "How are you feeling? You know, you do not have to report for duty yet if you feel you need some rest." she continued, not wanting to let the survivor push herself too hard, too quickly.

Norvi exhaled a smile at the sympathetic stance an unfamiliar captain, no doubt racked with her own responsibility and feelings of loss and helplessness, offered her. But Norvi shook her head as a small, solitary tear crept to the edge of her eye. She steeled herself against the emotion and inhaled quickly, centring her resolve. "Captain," she said quietly, shooting up a slender hand to brush away the tear that beaded down her freckled cheek, "I think that you know more than most that in times of crisis and loss, the best one can do is focus on the job at hand." She looked about ready room to break the intensity of the conversation and then swallowed, reconnecting eye contact with the Orion. "I was a senior science officer aboard the Venture. I want to help any way I can...I need to help any way I can."

Lirha knew that the duties of professional work had been a major source of strength for many throughout the course of history, and she didn't want to leave this woman alone with nothing to do but sit in her quarters and contemplate the terrible memories of what had just occurred.

"Well, if you feel up to it, I will be happy to put you to work." she returned the smile with a small one of her own. "And...you are in luck..." the captain opened one of her desk's drawers and rummaged about for a brief moment before procuring the correct PADD. With delicate taps of her green fingers on the slim device, she queued up Galileo's primary manifest and began to scan the details of the Science department's roster.

"Our CSO, Lieutenant Cho, has recently resigned her commission as department head, which means I recently transferred our CRO, Lieutenant Pendleton, to the CSO position...and we now have a vacancy at CRO." she informed Stace. "Would you be interested in heading up Galileo's research and development team?"

Suddenly the reality and enormity of Norvi's situation cascaded down upon her like a waterfall of emotion and intensity. She broke off her eye contact and stared into the middle distance, a sense of dread now weighing heavily upon her. It suddenly dawned on her: "A permanent position?" she questioned, almost aggressively. And then she flat-lined. "A permanent position. Of course. I don't...have a ship to go back to, do I?" Her face creased into a look of horror, concern and realisation all at once. Then she looked back to Lirha. "I haven't headed up my own department in a lifetime, Captain. But, if you're offering, then yes. I think I need the familiarity of a ship I once served upon. And direction."

At the mention of the words 'a lifetime', Lirha took the opportunity to change the subject slightly and inquire more about the Trill officer. "Are you joined by chance, Miss Stace?" she wondered. She had always found Trills to be a fascinating species, especially the joined ones who had multitudes of experience.

Snapping out of her solemn train of thought, she connected with the room and the moment again, shaking her head slightly and blinking. "Um," she cut in, collecting her own thoughts, "yes, Captain. Yes, I'm joined. I...count it as both a blessing and a curse. But I wouldn't change anything about the experience." She seemed to cast off her haunting thoughts and then focused on the green woman before her. "Have you any experience serving with my kind, Captain?"

Lirha let out a light laugh and gave the woman a knowing grin. "Why of course. We are a Federation science vessel, after all...we attract more Trills and Vulcans than any other ship I have served on in the fleet. In fact, we currently have three other joined crew members aboard Galileo at the moment, in addition to yourself. Lieutenant Mialin our CFCO; our FNN journalist, Mister Zaren; and our new head chef, Mister Iella." she answered.

Norvi almost snorted as a response as her eyes widened in reply to the comment. "My!" she exclaimed, rather genuinely. "We're always told that we're pretty few and far between, and the Fleet doesn't seem to grab my race like it has done for other Alpha Quadrant species. But," she considered, "it does make sense. The older one gets, the more one realises that there is to see and experience. And six lifetimes on the Trill homeworld - although a beautiful place, Captain - doesn't hold much sway when you know that there's so much more out there."

Norvi stopped short whilst she inhaled, and furrowed her brow casting her mind back. "Did you say Iella, Captain?" she queried, pulling forth a memory from the depths of her past.

"Yes, that is correct. Alexander Iella. He actually just came aboard from Venture and, like you, offered his services to us. He seems like a very nice young man." she answered, then cocked her head to the side curiously. "Do you know him? Or her?" Lirha could never remember if symbiotes had proper genders like their hosts did.

Norvi shook her head lightly, smiling to herself as she did so. "How small space is sometimes," she murmured quietly. "Her," she said, now more loudly to answer the captain in direct reply. "The last I heard she was captain of the James but that seems to have been short-lived. We served in the Dominion war together until the Gilmore came under attack from a Breen patrol pack and it took a beating." She stopped again, recounting her past. "Janel was always so proud of his accomplishment at Wolf 359. He always thought, in his ailing years, that the Borg were his most formidable enemy. He always felt such shame at falling at the hands of the Breen in the wake of his success. But I must seek out Iella. See if...he recognises me."

Smiling warmly at the reunion which was about to come, the captain couldn't resist giving Stace another grin. "He-" she paused to correct herself, "She mentioned that she had previous experience in Starfleet, but I never realized she was so accomplished. I definitely encourage you to go visit Iella when you get the chance. I am sure she would love to see you again. And if it makes her feel better...she is not the only Starfleet captain to have been defeated in battle by the Breen. They are a very formidable and unpredictable race, and their technology is highly-secretive. They unfortunately have an uncanny ability to stay one step ahead of us." she spoke from her previous experience working in Starfleet Intelligence.

Norvi smiled and nodded. "I'll track Iella down. And on an 8-decked ship, that can't hard." She stood and then smiled. "I'm pretty sure that Alexander is a male name. I might have known him as female, but once the Symbiont is transplanted to another host, they'll take on the current gender." She laughed and little and added, "It is confusing, I know."

"Just a bit." Lirha smiled in return, then proceeded to ask the woman a question which she had just been reminded of when Stace had mentioned the number of decks on the ship. "Will this be your first time serving aboard a Nova Class starship?"

"My first posting, actually," Stace replied with a smile, looking about the ready room. "And to be honest, it's good to get back to something familiar after all that's happened. She may be small, but she's a sight to see after the Venture. Is she your first command, Captain?"

The Orion nodded with much pride for her ship and crew. "Indeed it is," she answered. "I, myself, served aboard a Galaxy Class before my transfer to Galileo, so I am aware of some of the...adjustment difficulties which can accompany such a drastic change in ship class." she went on to explain the details of the situation.

"Needless to say, we lack many of Venture's amenities, and our already-tight living space is now flooded with the survivors we recently acquired. Resources and personal space are very scare at the moment, so hopefully you will not mind 'roughing it' for a few weeks." Lirha wasn't particularly fond of Earth jargon, but in this case, the idiom was strangely appropriate.

Norvi smiled as, having lived with both, she understood the transition perfectly. She grinned and looked up to the captain through her ragged fringe. "I'm going to liken it as a return home, Captain. Coming back to your family homestead where your perfectly formed box-bedroom is still made up as you left it. Cosy and cramped, but full of memories and security."

"Excellent," the captain returned yet another smile from Stace. She was pleased to see the woman so upbeat and polite despite her recent trauma. Perhaps it was a forced smile, but Lirha was still impressed. Everyone else whom she had recently met from Venture had seemed less-than-enthusiastic about their situation, and she admired the Trill's ability to maintain a positive demeanor despite her troubles.

"Well, I have nothing else for you at the moment. The CRO position is yours, so please introduce yourself to our science personnel at your earliest convenience. And when you get a chance, stop by sickbay and the counselor's office for a checkup. No offense, but I think it could do you some good." she added with a wink, then stood from her chair and extended her green hand for her to shake. "Welcome aboard Galileo."

Standing, Stace took the offered and hand and shook it delicately. "Thank you, Captain. I appreciate the space here. I'll check in with you in a few days once I have settled in."

Lirha gave her a curt nod. "I look forward to working with you, lieutenant. If there is nothing else, you are dismissed."

Norvi returned the nod and turned about on her heel, heading back to the cargo bay before she got the all clear.

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Norvi Stace
Survivor
USS Venture

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