Ch-Ch-Changes

Posted on 20 Jan 2016 @ 3:09am by Commander Andreus Kohl & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm

2,319 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2, Administrative Offices
Timeline: MD 05 - 1125 hours

[ON]

This was the call he'd been dreading.

The crew had survived damage and injury in equal parts through their transit to the parallel universe. Unlike this call, that much had exhilarated Andreus Kohl. He hardly spared a thought for himself in the aftermath of crisis. He acted. He reacted. The crew had toiled for days to repair Galileo. Mining for crystals and ore had been all that Kohl thought about; all that Kohl dreamt about. He had spent more time aboard shuttles than supervising science labs. It had been all-consuming, and yet all of that sweat and effort was a mere drop in the ocean of what had been exerted by the crew to escape from that parallel universe. Through the crew's acts of subterfuge and force to repel the ship's invaders, Kohl had remained locked up in his quarters. He'd been locked there by their invaders, and he'd lacked in the technical know-how to communicate with the guerrilla rebels who had emerged among Galileo's crew. ...Kohl hadn't even managed to break out of his quarters.

In the days since escaping the parallel universe, all thoughts of catastrophic damage, and mining, and intruders had started to slip from Kohl's consciousness. They started to pass on into memory, and Kohl was back to Bridge duty and science lab supervision. However, when the call came from Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm, all thoughts of the past few days smashed into the forefront of his brain. Each step Kohl took towards the Rear Admiral's office brought to mind another one of his actions she may want to critique, or more importantly, another one of his inactions.

As Kohl approached the double doors, despite all his misgivings, he didn't hesitate. Kohl touched the chime set into the doorframe.

"Enter," called out a muffled voice from inside the small officer. Sat in her chair with a bowl of crisp, replicated wing slug caesar salad in front of her, the Orion munched away on her lunch and instinctively looked towards the door while reaching for a napkin to wipe her chin.

The sight of Lirha's face allowed a measure of the anxiety to escape from Kohl's chest. She didn't appear especially stern and, more than that, Kohl had known Lirha a long while now. Their respective career trajectories had never given them very much face-time together, but Lirha's belief in Kohl had meant a lot to Kohl and his career. It had meant everything. That familiarity gave Kohl some relief.

"Rear Admiral," Kohl said in clipped tones. He entered the compartment just far enough to stand in front of Lirha's desk. While he didn't exactly stand at attention, he did square his shoulders and firm up his posture.

"Mister Kohl," said Lirha in between bites while she put her fork down and placed her napkin back on her thigh. "How are you feeling? I have not seen you in many days."

Remaining where he stood, Kohl nodded slowly to agree with her sentiment. "I've been working towards face-time with each member of the science team," Kohl explained. His leadership style could be best characterised as: management by walking around. In his time as Chief Science Officer and Second Officer, Kohl often found himself restless in his office or on the Bridge. With a large science team to guide, he was pulled towards investigating their well-being, every one of them. "Keeping those busy who need to keep busy, and giving time off to those who need rest. I'm feeling overtired like anyone else, but I'm halfway back to normal. How are you faring, Rear Admiral?"

"Well enough, I suppose," she answered with a light and casual wave of her utensil. "But it is always relative, no?" she mused with a bit of a morbid grin to herself. "I assume everything is well in your department, all things considered?"

Kohl's eyes lit up like lightning. His whole manner became as effusive as a proud papa. "The mining operation galvanized the science department with a sense of purpose and camaraderie I hadn't experienced before," Kohl said. It didn't need saying that his own experience with the science team had been limited, but he was well impressed by what they were becoming. Some of his enthusiasm faltered, as he said, "As for... the rest, well, it doesn't appear as if the Terran Empire paid us blue-collars much mind."

"Nor any other department on our vessel, for that matter," Saalm added with an affirmative nod. "Is there something on your mind, commander?" she then proceeded to ask. There was much to catch up on, of course, but specifically she was more interested in the reason for his visit. Unless said reason was simply to catch up on recent affairs, which she didn't particularly mind.

Diverting his eyes to the ceiling, Kohl cleared his throat before he could try to answer. He relaxed his posture slightly, loosening his shoulders and his knees. "I would have thought you wanted to speak to me about it..." Kohl said. His words, his entire manner, started as evasive. Then he clasped his hands behind his back and turned his apologetic eyes in Lirha's direction. "I keep dwell-- I keep thinking about how I remained in captivity while the crew fought back the Terran Empire intruders," Kohl said. "It was my duty to-- but there wasn't anything I could manage to do. Your Chief Science Officer couldn't defeat the lock on the doors to his quarters."

Saalm frowned and placed her hands on the table in front of her with open green palms displayed. "You were a prisoner, like the rest of the crew. Are you...blaming yourself for such a predicament?"

That question brought a smile to Kohl's expression. It was a puzzling, pained smile, but it was a smile all the same. "Conceptually and literally, I don't blame myself. I know those kinds of thoughts are irrational. Natural, but irrational," Kohl admitted, and the corners of his smile turned downwards. "I don't think I feel blamed or guilty about not doing my part, but I think about it. I think about it a lot."

"Do you wish you had done more? Perhaps resisted and escaped in order to help the rest of the crew?" Lirha proceeded to ask, unsure if she was on the mark with his thought process but also trying her best to empathize with the man.

Kohl started to nod at Lirha's question, when he said, "I do." Standing there, he continued nodding for a while longer. His lips thinned and then he said, "Wasn't that my duty? The code of conduct says as much in it, obliquely."

That was a loaded question considering the circumstances. Lirha began to respond but quickly closed her mouth to further ponder her answer...for it was a delicate one.

"Sometimes...we are faced with situations which require us to act in a certain manner despite our desires. If a soldier has put you at gunpoint and threatened to execute you...then it would reason that you would be no use to the crew if you attempted to defy him. For you would be dead," she began to explain.

"Action in the face of adversity is often viewed as heroic, but sometimes inaction and compliance can lead to a promising and equally heroic result as well. In this case, you seem to regret not participating in an insurrection which may have led to your death...but now, after it is all over, you are still here with us, and you are alive and able to perform your duties. Or would you have preferred to have been gunned down while running to free one of your fellow crew?" A light laugh escaped Lirha's lips. "Have you suddenly turned Klingon on me?"

He shook his head twice. "No, Rear Admiral," Kohl answered. There was a hesitancy in his reply. Despite her levity, Kohl took her meaning seriously. "I can't say there's any one thing I wish I did. I just keep thinking about it, is all. I'm sure it will pass once I have something new to occupy my mind."

"Have you considered speaking to a counselor...?" she hesitantly suggested. Though she didn't particularly enjoy the process of a counseling session, they were no doubt useful for those crew members who were dealing with any sort of apprehensions.

Tilting his head to the left in an expression of maybe-maybe-not, Kohl said, "I believe it's only natural for me to be thinking about recent events at this point. It wouldn't be unhealthy to reassess my own behaviour." --He nodded then-- "But I have a standing appointment with the counseling team. If it remains on my mind, I will make mention of it."

"Andreus," she chimed in, using his proper first name in a rare occasion. "There is not much good that comes from one second-guessing themselves. Trust me, I have been there," she said in a quiet voice with a sympathetic and soft smile. "Time is the greatest cure, and perhaps several months from now, our adventure to the Mirror Universe will be an afterthought." Well, perhaps not entirely, but hopefully the gist of what she was saying was conveyed properly.

Nodding his head gently, Kohl remarked, "I expect it will be, Rear Admiral." Although he valued the self-awareness that could come from a small measure of second-guessing, he was in compete agreement that the passage of time would serve anyone well. He cleared his throat and stood up a little straighter. "Is there anything I can do for you, Rear Admiral?"

Lirha had almost forgotten before the commander offered his assistance. It wasn't necessarily anything directly relating to her own request, but a backlogged transmission had come to her desk regarding the future of Kohl's assignment aboard the Gal.

"Actually...there is." She searched her desk for the PADD which was no easy task, and eventually found it on the far right of the table with a bit of Caesar dressing splattered on the corner. Wiping it off as she browsed through it one last time, she then handed the device over.

"Apparently Starfleet Command believes you would be a good candidate for Command training..."

As much as Lirha had managed to put Kohl at his ease, his posture stiffened at that. "Command training?" Kohl asked. Although he echoed her words, they still managed to sound like a foreign language coming out of his mouth. Such was the depth of his surprise. "You mean, while we're in sector zero-zero-one?" Kohl asked.

Lirha nodded simply enough. "San Fransisco, to be exact. If you look at your orders, you will note that both Captain Holliday and I have both submitted our letters of recommendation for your advancement." She paused to give him a big smile while he digested the new. "Congratulations, Andreus."

"Thank you, sir," Kohl managed to say. His face felt hot, and he was suddenly terribly conscious of his breathing. The words came out automatically, and he certainly couldn't refer to Lirha by her first name. Either his Argelian upbringing or his diplomatic training had kicked in, and he remembered how to make pleasantries. That thought reminded him of a backlogged transmission he had also missed, just before Galileo had fallen through the crack between universes. His mother had been trying to reach him urgently. Perhaps he had featured in one of her ritual premonitions? Perhaps she had foreseen this change in his path? ...Not that she had ever shown much interest in his career. Perhaps his trek into the parallel universe was what had alarmed her so?

"I must admit," Kohl said, "learning how to be a stronger leader appeals to me. Getting older never felt so good until I started mentoring young officers." --He was quick to add-- "And I intend to represent Galileo in the most favourable of light, as her Chief Science Officer. Any of my classmates in the training will learn we achieve the very best on this ship."

Lirha reached up to rub her chin and briefly look to the side. "Well...you see, you will no longer be our CSO. After you complete your training, you are to be assigned a position within the Command department...which means another officer will replace you in the Science department." It was heavy news to reveal especially to any science officer who enjoyed their job, but Lirha hoped Kohl would be able to take it in stride.

Staring back at Lirha through a knit brow, Kohl chewed on his lower lip as the Rear Admiral spoke. A fog rolled in over his thoughts, to the point he missed precisely what Lirha had said about the command position, but he definitely heard that he would be replaced as Chief Science Officer. He blinked. "Ohh," he remarked with the weight of dawning understanding. He nodded. He blinked. "Well, then..." He cleared his throat. He blinked. This wasn't something he was going to be able to digest while standing in the Admiral's office. "That training at the command school is all the more vital," Kohl affirmed, but his voice had gone thin. "Well then, is there anything else I can do for you, sir?"

Lirha looked towards her salad which seemed to be begging for her to fork another wing slug into her mouth. "No...I do not believe so," she answered quietly before looking back up at him with a pleasant smile. "If there is nothing else, you are dismissed. And thank you for your candor, commander."

"Thank you, Admiral," Kohl said, "For your insights."

"Good luck, commander," she added with a tiny wink of good fortune. "We can talk about more later this evening, if you like."

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Second Officer
USS Galileo

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