Pass the Torch

Posted on 13 Oct 2015 @ 11:43am by Commander Norvi Stace & Commander Andreus Kohl

1,275 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 09 - Empires
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 4, Chief Science Officer's Office
Timeline: MD 04 - 1414 hours

[ON]

All things considered, Stace's old office had fared better than her current one. The office of the Chief Science Officer wasn't favoured with a viewport, because it was buried deep in the core of Galileo and her science laboratories. That stability, deep within the starship's superstructure, had protected the office from anything but superficial damage. Despite the lack of structural damage, most of the LCARS panels were dark and the many shelves were empty. All of Andreus Kohl's personal belongings --those intact and those shattered-- had been relocated to a couple of cases in the corner, after they'd plummeted to the deck during the ship's takedown by its own secondary deflector.

Still, there was an air of familiarity to the coming together of Norvi Stace and Andreus Kohl. There was an ease. At first glance, there was only two immediate differences to dozens of similar meetings. Instead of a full tea service, Kohl had settled for a mug of builder's tea and, of course, now it was Kohl who was sitting behind the desk of the Chief Science Officer. He sat with his legs propped up on the desk and a widescreen PADD on his lap. Using the PADD's interface, he made adjustments to the single lighted LCARS display on the wall.

"--Mister Hudson hasn't been able to locate the Mark-VII phaser drills," Kohl said, as he was in the midst of discussing the resources they would need for Galileo's mining operation. The LCARS display featured an approximation of one of the mining sites, with graphics to represent the shuttle, the away team, the tools they would need, and the fuel/electro-plasma resources they would deplete through the mission itself. "Hudson remains optimistic he can find them tonight," Kohl added. "I'll hold off on submitting a replicator requisition for new drills until tomorrow morning."

Stace squinted her green eyes as Kohl spoke, reading the report along with him and then she scrunched up her nose as she placed down the pad on the desk. It was odd to be in this office, on the other side of the desk, but also rather enjoyable. She took in a breath, pinched her eyes with her thumb and forefinger and then shook her head. "I'd rather that you didn't leave it until morning," she said, picking up her cup before seeing it dry and placing it back down. "If he hasn't found them by 19:00 hours then requisition them yourself. I'm not entirely sure when the captain wants to move on the drilling expedition but I don't want to be waiting around for the basics when he does."

Appreciating Stace's point, Kohl responded with an agreeable nod and note-taking taps on his PADD's interface. "Ninteen-hundred it is then," Kohl remarked. "Maybe that will put a bit of hustle in Hudson's hips." For a syllable or two, Kohl sounded pleased with the notion of sending a steep demand in Ellsworth Hudson's direction, but only for a couple of syllables. Maybe four. Any hint of a smirk on his face was drained away by a watchful look that replaced it. "Can I get you any more caffeine?" Kohl asked, "or a light nap, perhaps?"

Stace knew Kohl well enough to be able to be less than the commander she had to be in front of others. Despite their difference in position - and now in rank - their shared previous scientific roles afforded them something that was more than just a professional relationship. Aside from Mott (and the Universe only knew for why with that one) Kohl was the only other officer aboard the Galileo with whom Stace enjoyed a friendship with. Unspoken, mostly, but Norvi had grown to care for Andreus and even like him.

"I think I'm burning the candle at both ends," she admitted, wiping her face with both hands to wake herself out of the lethargy that had descended upon her features. "I remember command being a lot less demanding, even as captain, and I was a lot older back then. But I haven't seemed to have stopped since leaving all of this." She gestured to room about her. "But enough about me. How are you acclimatising to CSO?"

The first thing that came to Kohl's mind was to say, "It doesn't scare me like it used to!" He sounded excited, and terribly relieved, by that fact. He had spread his palms out and his eyes lit up, as if he were revealing a prize on a game-show. "For the most part, I just keep doing what I was doing before... but more of it. I don't know if it was the wargames, or the deflector malfunction, but I feel like I can rely on the science department in ways I haven't felt my whole tour of duty. The fear of death did something to them; maybe that and the new academy recruits. I'm observing a higher level of engagement these days.

"Who knows if it will last?" Kohl remarked. It was a sour note in an otherwise enthusiastic expression of pride for his team, but it was only the one note. "It has meant I don't feel that same pressure, as before, to be an absolute science genius in every field of study -- including ones I've barely even heard of."

"That's the benefit of having specialists, Andreus," Stace replied simply, knowing of what the commander was referring to but without having harbored any of his self-doubt previously. If it was one thing Stace didn't lack, it was self-confidence. She oozed it from every pore of her skin. Perhaps it was the promise of rebirth for her; knowing that her legacy would endure long after her physical host died. Or the experience of life after life or knowledge and memories. Either way, she never doubted her abilities. "You can't know everything, and nor are you expected to. I certainly didn't. And I don't want to."

With his mug raised to his lips, Kohl was quick to swallow his sip of tea because he quickly needed to laugh at what Stace had said. "Exactly," Kohl blurted out mid-laugh. "Who needs to know the names of every excretion that comes from Edosian slugs? ...Or, you know, physics."

"You're an administrative leader now, Kohl. Don't fret so much about the gaps in your knowledge because you have a team to plug them up for you." Stace smiled back and raised an eyebrow. "There's more to know in this Universe than you can even imagine. And I'm speaking from six lifetimes of knowing."

"Is there more?" Kohl asked, his voice thick with curiosity. He stared at Stace with the intent gaze of his sapphire eyes. He sipped at his tea, before he elaborated. "Is there something you're still hungry to learn after six lifetimes of learning?"

"It's difficult to say," Stace replied with a note of mischief in her voice. "If I don't know it now, then I won't know of it to learn." She smiled and then flicked her eyebrows up in jest. "But looking back over what I do know, there's so much more to experience than in one, simple life. But that's not necessarily a good thing. Life can be experienced through a childlike innocence, but then also by the edge of despair and loss. You learn not to sweat the small stuff, but that also somethings, even the little things in life, can be worth more than you'd ever know."


[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Commander Norvi Stace
First Officer
USS Galileo

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