The Return of Kohl

Posted on 16 Feb 2016 @ 2:32pm by Commander Andreus Kohl & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm
Edited on on 16 Feb 2016 @ 2:47pm

1,481 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 7, Observation Lounge
Timeline: MD 90 - 1325 hrs

[ON]

The last of her crew evaluations was now on his way to meet with her, and for once, Lirha felt herself relieved that this would be her last person-to-person contact for the day. Well, perhaps not the entire day...at least not until the senior staff briefing later in the evening. But the break in the interim would allow her a chance to go for a jog, get some dinner, and tend to the rest of her affairs.

So far all of her appraisals had gone well, but with Kohl inbound and expected to arrive any moment, she found herself a bit excited. She wondered not only how his command training had gone back at Starfleet HQ, but also how he was acclimating to his new position. Of course, there had not been much time for said acclimation, but hopefully the Orion could help ease the transition.

Turning to stare out through the observation lounge's large windows at the station with Jupiter in the background, she patiently waited for the former CSO to arrive.

As soon as the opening of the doors allowed it, Andreus Kohl strode into the Observation Lounge. At once, he appeared far more rested than the last time Lirha had seen him. His pace was easy and his shoulders were free of tension. Kohl had also stopped fingering the crimson collar of his uniform, as he was growing accustomed to the fit. "Good afternoon, Rear Admiral," Kohl announced.

"Yes. Join me," she replied, gesturing towards the large windows where stood in an invitation to admire the cosmos. "Welcome back aboard, I should also say. How were your trials at Starfleet HQ?" she inquired with curiosity.

"Overwhelming," was what Kohl said automatically. Although he caught his over-familiarity with the Admiral soon enough to cover his exasperated sigh with a clearing of his throat. He tacked on an, "If I may say so, Admiral." A wry smile cracked across his face. Crossing his arms over his abdomen, Kohl crossed the compartment to approach Lirha. Coming to stand by her side, Kohl stared out the viewport as well. His sapphire eyes were quick to take in every constellation he recognized. "I was studying with cadets and other department heads, but there were executive officers as well," Kohl explained. "Even a Captain. Most of us couldn't remain at the Academy for an entire semester, which meant I was scheduled through most every hour in the day. Classes during daylight and then stacks of readings in our so-called free time.

"I experienced ah-ha moments a couple of times a day," Kohl said enthusiastically. "But in the end, the true test will be how much I remember when I'm sitting in that chair."

She nodded in agreement, for there was no real substitute for actual command experience. The Academy could teach all the courses in the universe, but no textbook could really prepare an officer for the stress and improvisation needed to command a vessel and lead the crew. This, she had figured out on her own, the hard way.

"How were your Kobayashi Maru scores?" she inquired.

"Double lambda," Kohl replied. From the expression on his face and his guarded tone, he wasn't entirely happy with the score, but he wasn't ashamed of it either. "As soon as my ship came under attack, I ordered a saucer separation," Kohl said to paint a picture for Lirha's mind. He raised his hands to represent the saucer and stardrive sections of the holographic starship that had been under his command for the test. He separated his hands and demonstrated the respective flight paths. "I ordered the stardrive section to tow the Kobayashi Maru out of danger, while my bridge crew remained in the saucer to defend their retreat. The stardrive managed to tow the Maru out of firing range, but then the saucer's impulse engines were critically damaged. We lost flight control and" --Kohl's hands closed into fists and he bumped them together-- "we rammed the Kobayashi Maru."

Kohl's head tilted in a sign of defeat. "All hands lost."

"Oh." Lirha did her best to hide her surprise. "That is rather...aggressive. And Klingon-like, no?" she jested. "Perhaps you have been spending too much time around the tactical commanders at the Academy."

Kohl turned his body so he could look at Lirha. Really look at her. Amid a sputtered out laugh, Kohl declared, "Klingon??" He made no secret of his amusement at this comparison. "Pray tell, dear Admiral, what is the logical and reasoned response to the Kobayashi Maru scenario?" Kohl asked in a challenging mien.

"I suppose it is to win by any means necessary." What that exactly meant, she still had no idea, but the scenario was not designed to be winnable and so her suggestion was equally as fruitless. "That is, win the hearts and minds of your instructors," she winked before unclipping her PADD from her belt.

"From what I can see, your command scores were excellent. As I expected," she said with a bit of Galilean pride. "Do you feel ready to take your place aboard our vessel within my department?"

Although he started slowly, Kohl nodded at Lirha while he considered her question, and his momentum built exponentially. "I'm ready for the new responsibilities, Admiral," Kohl said. "I'm eager for them. I was dreaming about bridge duty in the dorms even." He breathed out a chuckle and gave his head a shake. He turned his eyes onto Lirha. "How did you face the Kobayashi Maru?," Kohl asked. "What was your tactic?"

"I..." she quickly recalled the first of her trial attempts which was surprisingly the most successful of them all, "attempted to negotiate, which at the time proved to be a distraction and provided my crew precious seconds to achieve their task. I am fluent in Klingon and many other languages." She then reached into her pocket to find the small trinket she was searching for, then pulled out a solid gold rank pip.

"Well Mister Kohl, I suppose this is a long time coming. And perhaps overdue." She stepped forward and reached up to his uniform's collar to remove the sole hollow pip and replace it with the new one, then stepped back. "You are hereby promoted to the rank of full commander with all the rights and privileges therein. And you will serve as our second officer. That is, unless you have any objections?"

Given the surge of indescribable emotion swelling through Kohl, the absurdity of Lirha's question hit him hard. He threw his head back and an incredulous laugh bubbled out of him. "No, Admiral," Kohl was quick to interject. "No, objections. None. Anything I can do to fulfill Galileo's missions, I will do. This crew is brilliant. I will help them to shine."

"Very good, then. I believe Gamma shift will be waiting for you," she grinned. "It can be slow at times but it will help you adjust to the routine." Saalm was happy to hear his praise and respond well to the new obligations he would now undertake. Especially in light of Stace's departure from the vessel, Kohl seemed to be as good a replacement as anyone she could think of. She had little doubt he would do well in their future deployments.

"Do you have any questions for me before I dismiss you? There will be a lot of paperwork sent to your PADD within the next few hours. Try not to let it overwhelm you."

Quirking a sly smile at Lirha, Kohl remarked, "Come now, Admiral. I think maybe you underestimate the vast amount of administration that gets piled down on medical officers. Every prescription, every observation, every sensor scan has to be dutifully recorded." --He spoke with mirthful admonishment, and then he turned cocky with a couple Argelian colloquialisms that the UT translated to-- "I am a paperwork ninja. I eat paperwork for breakfast."

"..Sometimes the paperwork eats you..." she mumbled to herself while glancing away for a short moment. She was averaging ten PADDs per morning on her desk which needed to be processed, and it was no easy feat. Her eyes often became dry and needed moisturizing drops after a few hours of intense staring.

"Well," she shook that unpleasant thought from her head, "if you have no further question, then you are dismissed. I will see you tomorrow to monitor your first day's progress."

"Thank you, Admiral," said Kohl. He nodded to her and he took one last look out the viewport. "I look forward to it with great anticipation," he said, and then he made his way out of the lounge to prepare for his next duty shift.

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

Commander Andreus Kohl
Second Officer
USS Galileo

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