Salutations aboard the Starbase

Posted on 12 Mar 2016 @ 6:33pm by Commander Andreus Kohl & Lieutenant JG Natalya Kirilova & Lieutenant JG Randolf Eklund & Lieutenant JG Kezmar Tsakti Ph.D & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Greg Mitchell
Edited on on 12 Mar 2016 @ 6:34pm

3,198 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: Jupiter Station & USS Galileo docked at Jupiter Station - Various locations
Timeline: MD 87 - Various Times

[ON]

Staring off into the middle distance, Andreus Kohl was silently debating with himself if he had eaten too much or not. Seated at a small table on the edge of Jupiter Station’s cafe, Kohl lifted the cloth napkin from his lap and patted it against his lips. As a precautionary measure, he rubbed it all over his beard and then he brushed down the front of his uniform jacket as well. As Kohl rose from his chair, he released the napkin from its duty and left it on his otherwise empty plate. It was as Kohl stepped away from his table and walked out of the cafe that he recognized a face he had only seen on an LCARS terminal before.

"Well, hullo," Kohl said to the man with the familiar face. "You must be Lieutenant Eklund?" he asked, although there wasn't very much certainty in his intonation.

Randy had been exploring some of the shops Jupiter Station offered. He was due to report for duty on Galileo in a couple of hours, but he wanted to send a few gifts back home to his nieces and nephews before he left the system. He'd taken advantage of being this close to go visit his family in person, but he remembered how great it was to get some gift out of the blue as a child; he wanted to do that for them. His thoughts of what to get little Helene were interrupted by a man who looked very familiar, but whom he knew he had not yet met. "I am. And you...I think I should know, but I'm afraid I can't place you."

“No reason you should know me yet. I’m Commander Kohl. I serve Galileo as her Second Officer," Kohl said by way of introductions. He proffered a hand for an old-fashioned Starfleet shake. "I’m so pleased to meet you.”

"Sir!" Randy accepted the offered hand. "That's why I recognize you. It's a pleasure to meet you, too, sir. I just got back from visiting my family on Earth, but I'm due for duty in a couple of hours." Randy felt himself slipping immediately back into his work persona. "Unless there is something I can do for you."

Shaking his head emphatically, Kohl said, "Oh, no, not at all. Don't let me intrude." His words came out in an apologetic flurry. Every day was proving a new reminder to Kohl for what it meant to be uniformed in command crimson, rather than science teal. With a measure more poise, Kohl explained, "When I saw you, I didn't want to miss an opportunity to say hello, and to ask you about your journey to Galileo."

Randy nodded briskly. "Of course, sir. I served on the Lakota before this. Mostly border patrols, Beta Quadrant, but enough to keep us busy. I arrived back in system a few weeks ago. I've been splitting my time between my duties here and seeing my family. I know my duties may keep me out of the Sol system for a while, so I wanted to make sure to visit." He paused for a moment before adding, "I've made sure to schedule my visits so that they didn't interfere with my duties, sir."

A lopsided smile emerged on Kohl's face at the sheer effort Randy was putting forward. Despite Randy's attempts to downplay the impact his family had on his duty, Kohl felt compelled to ask, "How do they cope? Your family. How do they cope with you being away for such long stretches of time?"

"Well," Randy considered the question. Full brutal honesty was always his go to, "they deal with it. My family is...unusual, sir. They have held to old ways, foregoing most of the modern universe. I'm a bit of a black sheep. They would rather I were tending a farm down the river from my brothers and raising a handful of children, but they also know that would have made me miserable. So...they are happy for me, even though they don't always understand me. I've met several other officers with similar family situations."

"It's big of them to meet you halfway like that," said Kohl. There was something wistful in the way he said it. His mind drifted back to his own mother's inability to understand his career in Starfleet, and her begrudging acceptance of it. Focusing on Eklund again, Kohl asked, "But if you've chosen not to tend a farm down the river, where would you like Galileo to take you instead?"

"I..." Randy was taken aback. "I'm not sure how to answer that, sir. I'm here to serve; I have a duty. Beyond that, I understand this ship has a tendency to encounter...the unusual. I'm sure that will stretch my limits. I want to grow professionally, of course. I'm also sure the crew is full of outstanding people. I'm looking forward to getting to know them. If there's something else you were wanting to know, I'm a very open person sir, please feel free to ask."

"I'd say," Kohl said, "you've just answered just about every question I could ask that really matters."

---

As his guided tour of Jupiter Station's arboretum was winding down to a close, Andreus Kohl stepped away from the clutch of tourists who were sticking around to ask more questions. Kohl exited the arboretum and raised a hand to the nearest LCARS panel set into the bulkhead. He checked for messages, and then while he was blanking the display, he thought he saw a familiar face in his peripheral vision. Turning to look at the man, Kohl couldn't place the face immediately, but then he remembered it from a personnel file.

"Well, hullo," Kohl said to the man who was approaching from the opposite end of the corridor. "I believe you're Mister Mitchel, no?" Kohl asked.

Greg had been making his final rounds on the station for the day, assisting the Station's security here and there. He had just been on his way back to the ship when he ran into the gentleman. He stopped and put on a smile, "Yes sir." He responded.

As an introduction, Kohl said, “I’m Commander Kohl. I serve Galileo as her Second Officer." He went on to remark, "I’m so pleased to meet you.”

"Ah, ok." Greg replied, suddenly remembering reading about the Commander in the crew manifest. "Yes sir. It's a pleasure to meet you as well. Yes, I'm Chief Warrant Officer Mitchell." He held out his hand to shake. "I was just assisting the Station's security since there wasn't much else to do today."

Kohl found himself smiling at that. "Not much else... Shore leave didn't appeal to you?" Kohl asked.

"Well....not much." Greg responded, "I just transferred onto the ship so it wouldn't be professional to take shore leave now. Besides, there's still plenty of crime going around and they could use all the help they could get on the station."

Even though he knew it was probably true, Kohl felt himself bleating out a laugh at the thought of a crime spree aboard a Federation space station. From Kohl's perspective, living aboard one Starfleet starship after another, the very notion of conventional crime was an abstract notion. At the thought of his current home, Kohl asked, “How did you end up assigned to our tough little science ship? Tell me a jot about your journey.”

"Well, there's not much interesting." Greg thought back, "I used to be a street cop for a small Central Illinois town, Champaign, and I joined Starfleet a little around ten years ago. Hopped from ship to ship, mostly combat and patrol. My last tour was on the Romulan Neutral Zone a little after the 'Nova." He said, referring to the supernova that wiped out Romulus. "After my tour was up, I wanted to see something different, so I transferred here."

As if he were trying the words on for size for himself, Kohl echoed, "See something different." From Kohl, the phrase sounded mysterious, but hopeful. "Do you think that is what you want most of all?" Kohl asked, and he followed it up with, "Where would you like Galileo to take you?"

Greg thought about that one for a minute. Aside from getting away from combat for a while, he never really thought long about this. "I don't know really. It's more about me making sure everyone is safe anywhere, and avoiding anything too gruesome for a while. I don't know much about science aside from basic high school-early college stuff so I think I may learn some things from listening to people here."

---

Andreus Kohl reached a hand out to touch the touchpad on the doorframe that would call a turbolift to his location. It was only about fifteen seconds later that Kohl’s hands started to feel idle and fidgety. He took hold of the edges of his combadge, lifted it off his uniform jacket, and then adjusted its placement on his chest. When he raised his hand to do the same again, he rolled his shoulders backwards and forwards, and then clasped his hands behind his back. Hearing a sound approaching him, Kohl looked to the turbolift doors expectantly, but there was no movement to be found. He looked the other way, then, and he spotted an approaching figure he’d only seen on an LCARS terminal before.

"Well, hullo," Kohl said with a familiarity he hadn't yet earned. As if to punctuate that point, he asked, "Are you Lieutenant Kirilova?"

Natalya saw the man who was obviously waiting for the turbolift. It was funny thing... even on a ship as small as the Galileo, one could still expect to wait now and again. There had been some epic waits on the Excalibur... a ship with forty decks, and almost a kilometer long.

"That's me, sir." She said, stopping for a moment to chat, and see if the commander wanted anything. She didn't recognize him, but suspected that he was the ship's second officer. But he could also be a guest... someone from the station visiting the admiral or captain. But he was more than likely 2XO Kohl if he'd asked for her by name.

“I’m Commander Kohl. I serve Galileo as her Second Officer," Kohl said to introduce his own self. He held out a hand in the Starfleet custom of a handshake. "I'm delighted to meet you."

"Oh Commander Kohl, I was wondering when I'd get to meet you." She said, smiling as she shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you too." People had of course mentioned him here and there, about how he'd been off-ship taking command courses. All she knew for sure was that he'd been a part of the crew for some time.

"I probably scheduled a meet-and-greet for after shore leave," Kohl supposed aloud. "But since I have you here, I thought I'd ask: how did you end up assigned to our tough little ship? Tell me a jot about your journey."

"Well, hasn't been much of a journey, in the career sense." Natalya said with a soft laugh. "This was my first transfer. I was aboard the Excalibur for ten years or so. I liked it there, but eventually it got to the point where I wanted... and was ready to be the chief engineer, and I knew it wasn't going to happen there." She shrugged. Not everyone had to effect their own rise through the ranks, but for most in Starfleet that was the way of it, and it was not something that needed much in the way of an explanation.

"I heard that the Galileo was in need, and I asked for the job specifically." Natalya didn't know how many other officers had applied for the job, or who Starfleet had intended on sending, but in the end they sent her. She was modest, but not so modest to say that she didn't think she deserved the job.

With so much of his own career progression having occurred aboard Galileo, Kohl was intrigued by the perspective of an outsider. He squinted, momentarily, at the mention of what Natalya had heard aboard Galileo, and it made him smile. "Where did you hear about our Gal?" Kohl asked, even if it was probably impolite.

"Oh, I was at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards when I heard. The Excalibur had just put in for a refit. I'd heard that the Galileo had just reappeared after being thought lost. That sort of news tends to spread fast." She smiled, not thinking it impolite in the least. "Of course... I didn't know all the details at the time." If she'd heard the full story about what they'd gone through, she might've thought twice about transferring.

Kohl looked left and right, making absolutely certain there was no one coming from either direction of the passageway. With an exaggeratedly conspiratorial mien, Kohl said, "Don’t tell anyone I asked you this, but I have a bit of clout with the command staff." --He dropped his voice to a whisper when he asked his question-- "Where would you like Galileo to take you?"

For a moment Natalya wondered about the man's motives, but she'd caught his exaggeration and was willing to bet that was just his way of being friendly and inquisitive. Daring to reveal her sense of humor, she exaggerated in kind and leaned in conspiratorially. "Anywhere but the place you just came back from. It sounds dreadful."

Staggered by his own memories of the alternate universe, Kohl could only manage to sputter out a, "Yes," and a, "Well..." Before he was forced to contemplate something else to say, the doors to the turbolift slid apart. Looking inside, Kohl could see the subdued amber lighting, which signalled that the turbolift was in a diagnostic mode. "Ah... well... I should probably walk anyway," Kohl remarked and he nodded his head in another direction. That certainly explained the long wait, Kohl supposed. "The command staff is very pleased, once again, to have you on board, Lieutenant Kirilova."

"Umm.... thank you, sir..." Now it was Natalya's turn to sputter as she regarded the turbolift. "It was nice to meet you, Commander Kohl...: She trailed off. Why was the turbolift in a diagnostic mode? This was the first she'd heard of any work on them today.

---

Lugging his gym bag over one shoulder, and clutching a water bottle in his other hand, Andreus Kohl made his way out of the gymnasium compartment of Jupiter Station’s rec deck. Rather than his uniform, he was clad in athletic gear that was perfectly odourless, thanks to the mystery that was a sonic shower. Before Kohl could plan out his best route to the turbolift, Kohl was stopped in his tracks by the sight of an officer he’d only ever seen in a Starfleet service jacket before. Using his water bottle, Kohl offered a wave to said officer to call them over.

"Good morning," said in something approaching a bright and cheery manner. Then, he asked, "Would you happen to be Lieutenant Tsakti?"

Kezmar was taking a quiet stroll through the station, clad in a dull blue tunic, pants, and robe. At the moment, he preferred to be in a lab, but the resident medical officer at Daystrom recommended he take long walks to avoid the tense muscles that his stiff, rigid demeanor lent itself to. Frowning as he was hailed down by some small, athletic looking human, he suspiciously replied "Who wantsss to know?"

“I’m Commander Kohl. I serve Galileo as her Second Officer," Kohl said, by way of introductions. Looking around briefly, he then said, “How fortuitous to meet you like this.”

"Fortuitoussssss, indeed." Kezmar peered down at Kohl, flicking his tongue in and out. If the fact that Kohl was a superior officer fazed him somehow, it wasn't obvious from his expression. "I would introdussse mysself but it would appear you already know who I am."

Tilting his head to one side, Kohl suggested, "You could tell me about your journey instead." --His timbre was one of curiosity, with little regard for typical notions of social decorum-- "How did you come to be assigned to our tough little science ship?"

Sighing, Kezmar nodded. He supposed that it wouldn't hurt to answer the man's question. Wasn't like he had anything better to do. "My previoussss asssignment was at Ssstarfleet R&D, working on a project that I'm afraid I'm not allowed to go into ssspecificss about. I had been asssigned there for two yearss, quite content with my posssting. Unfortunately, we had an informasssion leak, and public outcry caussed usss to close the project down. I had to find a new asssignment, and your Galileo seemed all right. Focussed on ssscience, sssmall, far away from my old possting. And that'sss it."

"And if you could go anywhere, where would you like Galileo to take you?" Kohl asked. Kezmar's sigh hadn't escaped Kohl's notice, but Kohl opted to kill him with kindness, as the saying went. "What do you imagine could elevate our ship from an all right posting to a fantastic posting?"

Kezmar gave Kohl a small smile, to avoid gritting his teeth. What a stupid question. How was he supposed to know what he wanted? Kezmar racked his brain for answers, a mind often filled with abstract mathematical equations or witty insults rendered completely blank from such a simple query. What would make it a fantastic posting? Where did he want to go? Even after about 10 seconds all that could escape his mouth was an "Errr..."

Kohl tilted his head to the left, gesturing towards the nearest turbolift. "I've got to get myself cleaned up for the symposium," Kohl remarked. "Maybe I'll see you again at one of the talks." Kohl moved to walk away from the towering Selay, but his sense of pride in his ship tugged him back with the power of an electromagnet. "Think about my question some more," Kohl requested. "Think about what you want before making up your mind about what kind of posting Galileo is going to be for you."

Kezmar gave a slight shrug, the hulking Selay nodding with vague affirmation. "Right." In his mind, he was rolling his eyes. It wasn't up to him what kind of posting it would be, what a foolish notion. If Kezmar wanted to have an awful time it was his prerogative. But something told him that wouldn't go over well with a superior. Mustering a smile, Kezmar replied "Sssee you later, Commander," before continuing down the hallway.


[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Second Officer
USS Galileo

Lt.jg Randolf Eklund
Asst. Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Greg Mitchell
Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Natalya Kirilova
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Kezmar Tsakti
Assistant Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

 

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