Bonding

Posted on 02 Oct 2012 @ 3:40pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Coleman

2,680 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: USS Galileo - Captain's Quarters
Timeline: MD 10 - 2200 hrs

[ON]

Laying on her bed, Lirha stared up at the gray ceiling in deep thought. Over and over, she replayed the scenes of her torture in her own head, reliving each terrifying moment in detail. She wanted to ignore it; to forget about what had happened. But she couldn't, and her injuries were a constant and grim reminder of her recent torments. Following her return to Galileo, her medical staff had diligently tended to her wounds. Her shoulder had been wrapped in a supportive brace after surgery and her forearm was now supported by a sling. And where K'Nara had also drilled the device into her leg, she now had several thin strips of medical bands surrounding her thigh. Her movement had been limited and she had spent most of the day subdued by analgesics, sleeping on and off for several hours at a time. With a soft yawn, she stretched her uninjured green arm and sprawled out even further on the soft mattress. Her eyes slowly began to close as a sudden wave of fatigue passed over her.

Evelyn had finished her final shift of the day, the turbolift had just stopped at her deck and she was walking towards her quarters. She moved passed several doorways however she found herself slowing to a halt in front of Lirha's quarters. They haven't spoken since their capture on the Klingon ship, Evelyn wanted to wait until the morning however her instincts are telling her to talk to her now. She reached up and tapped the door chime.

Lirha's eyes snapped open as she heard the sound of the door chime echo throughout her quarters. With a sigh, she slowly collected herself and gingerly pried her body off of her bed. "Enter." she called out as she slowly stood, then limped her way out into the main room. She wondered curiously who was outside her door requesting her presence, especially given her current circumstances.

Inhaling a deep breath, Evelyn walked into the Captain's quarters. Her eyes quickly caught Lirha's, "Good evening, Captain." Eve greeted, with a small nod. "I'm sorry for intruding in such a late hour, but I think it would be better if we talk about what had happened..." her voice trailed off.

A warm smile spread across the captain's face as she saw her intelligence chief enter the room. Lirha had not seen her since their brief time together in the prison cell, and she was greatly relieved to see that she was alive and well. "Hello, lieutenant." she answered in a soft voice, "It's no trouble at all, I was just...thinking about you...and our," she paused to think of an appropriate word, "adventure." she finished. With a motion of her head back towards her bedroom, she spoke again. "Would you like to talk in my room? Lieutenant Ni Dhuinn has insisted that I stay off my feet and in bed for the time being..."

Eve walked in, "Thank you," She looked over the Orion woman. While Eve and her Klingon engaged in a battle of wits, she received the traditional methods of Klingon torture. "I understand why, you received the worse treatment by the Klingon. You doing ok?"

"As well as can be expected, I suppose." she replied with a weak smile, then followed Eve into the back room and carefully laid herself back down on the bed. "Please, have a seat." she said, her eyes flicking towards the vacant spot next to her. "Tell me about yourself...did they injure you as well?" she asked, hoping that the lieutenant had not endured similar torments. From what she could see of the woman, she didn't appear to have any substantial wounds although they very well could have been hidden under her uniform.

Eve sighed, as she sat down on the bed. "Believe it or not, aside from a few pain sticks, and a back handed slap here and there, it was the dullest interrogation session I've ever experienced." She looked at Lirha, "It seems they gave me the good Cop."

"Yes, it appears so." she replied with a bit of amusement. "I would have thought a valuable intelligence officer such as yourself would make a more...tempting target to them." she said, then reconsidered for a brief moment. "What did they want from you? Information?" the captain asked.

"It began with a brief exchange about Sienna but majority of the interrogation was for the transponder code." She shook her head, "In my lifetime there has been about 47, maybe a few more vessels named Galileo. Ranging from shuttle-crafts to starships. Like I would spend time memorizing those codes."

Lirha tilted her head as she studied Eve's face. "Something tells me you know most of them." she mused.

"When my work with Starfleet Intelligence became more serious and complex, I refused to remember any codes that could be used against Star Fleet. That's why I prefer solo-missions."

The captain listened to her words, then reached over and gently squeezed the El-Aurian's arm. "Well, I'm glad you're alright. I don't know if I could have lived with myself if they killed you as well..." she said quietly, thinking back to the brutal manner in which Petty Officer Troxx had been executed right in front of her. Even now, she tried her best not to think about it. All of her crew were important to Lirha, no matter the rank or position, but it would have especially broken the Orion if another one of her senior officers had lost her life.

Evelyn looked at Lirha with concern. "I appreciate the sentiment but in your position that is a dangerous comment. You are a Captain of a Federation Starship, unfortunately this is part of the job." Eve said sadly. "I'm sorry for sounding cold."

Lirha frowned slightly and looked into Eve's blue eyes. "Part of my job is also protecting my crew and making sure they get home safely after each deployment." Her eyes flicked towards a PADD laying on her nightstand. "I read the latest casualty reports...twelve dead...on our first voyage." she said with sadness. "Twelve letters I will have to write to their families somehow explaining their sons' and daughters' heroic sacrifices to the Federation...but in reality it was merely a senseless act of violence by these Klingons." she continued, then sighed. "I cannot ever think of a day when it will be easy to lose one of my crew. They are my responsibility."

Evelyn frowned, "The actions of the Klingon Empire, and their withdrawal of the Khitomer Accords, I wouldn't be surprised if a declaration of war isn't far behind." She sighed and looked at the Orion. "Twelve people have died, however don't forget the Petersham had a crew of 150. Focus on those who survived, and getting them home safely."

The El-Aurian's advice was comforting in a strange way. Still, it did little to ease Lirha's immediate sadness. "I don't understand why the Empire would risk war with the Federation, or even intentionally start one." she said, then shifted herself on the bed. "They have expanded too quickly over the last ten years and don't have the military-industrial complex to sustain a prolonged conflict...and in the meantime, Starfleet has grown to it's largest numbers since the Dominion and Borg threats."

"Just because you declare war on a power, doesn't mean you would actively engage them. According to intelligences reports before we were kidnapped, the Klingon Empire had begun bombardment of the Gorn Hegemony's capital world. I wouldn't be surprised by the time we return Earth, we'll learn that the Gorn territories have been annexed by the Empire. The Federation would never recognize that if we were still allies. I fear this Sienna project was their excuse to end the treaty with the Federation." Evelyn sighed, thinking about the Geo-political situation at hand. "In the late 23rd century, even after the destruction of Praxis, the Klingon Empire couldn't afford another sustain conflict, yet high ranking Klingon Warriors staged an assassination of Chancellor Gorkon, with the help from certain Starfleet Admirals and Romulans to prevent the peace accords. It wasn't until 50 years later with the sacrifice of the Enterprise-C in defending the Klingon outpost of Narendra III that the Empire believed the Federation was in good faith, honorable and the Alliance was forged a year later. The point is the Klingon people are stubborn."

"Stubbornness and stupidity are two different things." the captain replied, not too happy with the situation. "Orions are stubborn also, but we don't make ill-advised, aggressive decisions which could plunge the entire quadrant into war." she added. It was a disturbing thought to think that the alliance between the two major powers was ending, but Lirha knew that she couldn't concern herself too much with things she couldn't control. For now, her priority was getting Galileo back home safely.

"Sometimes things happen for reasons that won't be revealed until later. When Q flew the Enteprise-D into the path of the Borg cube, at the end of that mission, Picard lost 18 members of his crew. Do you know what Q said when Picard asked about the loss of life?" Eve questioned, looking a the Orion.

Lirha didn't reply, instead just waited for the intelligence officer to continue. Like all Federation captains, she had studied the Continuum in-depth, as well as the adventures of all Enterprises. Still, she was not sure what point Evelyn was trying to make, and waited for her to finish her train of thought.

From Lirha's silence, Evelyn Continued, ""If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires, both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid." His actions that day led Starfleet to develop new weapons and shields systems. The Quantum torpedoes, Tri-colbot devices. Multi-adapting shields. The Akira, Defiant, Sabre, and Sovereign and other vessel classes emerged because of this event. The battle of Wolf 359 opened the eyes of Starfleet how thin the fleet has been and began constructing more ships. Worked faster in developing new technology. You can say, Q doing what he did helped prepare the United Federation of Planet for the Dominion. The 24th century opened with peace, it lead the Federation to expand and to become weak. Now it ends with war, and the Federation is stronger for it. Sometimes, you need the counterweight to keep you focused. And that is what the Klingon Empire has become for us."

The captain closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about the truth behind Evelyn's assessment. She had made an excellent point, but Lirha was still not happy with the recent developments. Perhaps if they had not tortured her and killed many of her crew...but they had, and she felt anger boiling inside of her the more she thought about the Empire. "Perhaps." she finally replied, letting another sigh escape her lips. Slowly, she rolled onto her side then scooted closer to the gray-collared woman and nestled her head in Evelyn's lap. It was a rare sign of affection, but she wanted to be comforted at the moment.

Evelyn arched her brow as Lirha rested her head on her lap. "You feeling alight Captain?" Eve asked.

She adjusted her head and stared up at the blonde woman. "I've been better." she answered with a weak smile.

Evelyn gently brushed Lirha's hair with her fingers, "I think I may have something to help you out."

Lirha's eyes brightened and she looked into Evelyn's deep blue irises with curiosity and a hint of anxiety. "Oh? And what would that be?" she asked softly.

Eve shifted a bit reaching for her pocket and pulled out a case, pressing against the sides, the lid retracted and with a finger she scooped up some clear gel. "This is an unique lotion that I ran into during my studies. Mangorian Lotion." she said squeezing the case to close the lid. Once the case was discarded to her side, she smeared the lotion in her hands, rubbing it between her fingers. "It heightens my empathic abilities to be a bit more...shall you say physical rather than mental." She pressed her fingertips to the Orion's temples and gently rubbed them.

She was hesitant at first as she watched Evelyn pull out the small case, but once she described the substance, her mind was put at ease. Most importantly, she trusted the intelligence officer, and the sudden sensation of the gel being rubbed into her temples was more than relaxing. Within several seconds, the aching pains throughout her body began to subside and her mind felt as if a cloud of fog was lifted from it. An airy breath escaped Lirha's lips and she closed her eyes.

"You feeling alright, Captain?" She asked as she continued with the massage.

"Yes...much better." she replied with her eyes still closed. "Do you have more?" she asked hopefully.

"I do have more, but remember this stuff is supposed to be hush hush." Evelyn sigh, her massage shifted from her temples to her forehead. "Starfleet doesn't approve me sharing this information. Sometimes I think they'd only want me to behave as an immortal human."

Lirha opened her eyes at the mention of Starfleet's disapproval. "Why is that?" she asked, looking curiously at Evelyn.

"Prime Directive. It works in reverse too it seems." She cautiously replied before sighing, "And I think it's because my people forgot what made us so great."

The Orion raised an eyebrow and waited for Evelyn to continue. She wasn't quite sure what the woman was trying to say, but was intrigued nonetheless to hear the explanation.

Eve's closed her eyes, subtly shaking her head. "None of my records reflect this, but when I first entered service, I posed as a Human. It was after the destruction of my home world, I went public. El-Aurians were considered refugees. Nothing more. I protested. I explained El-Aurians are more advanced than how we appear to be. There is potential of information exchanges, especially regarding the fundamentals of the universe. A Vulcan Admiral disagreed with me and said my willingness to share could immediate impact the lives of the Federation...." I was denied and had to sign an official agreement to not to share my knowledge... It also didn't help things considering, my species refused to create another home-world, many have even began to forget our culture." She sigh, "never easy watching your race go extinct."

A long silence developed as Lirha considered the pain and anguish that Evelyn must be carrying around inside of her. Losing most of your entire species to a genocidal race was an awful thing to have to live with...especially for so long. And though the intelligence officer did a good job of hiding her feelings, sometimes they slipped out. "I'm sorry." she replied quietly. "Must be hard for you at times..."

Evelyn blinked, "Don't worry about it." she said quickly, shifting a bit. "Tomorrow is going to be a long day, Captain. You need your rest."

Lirha yawned at the mention of rest, and slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes in a sleepy manner. "Yes, I suppose you're right." she said softly, then turned to her guest. "Thank you for the visit...and the lotion."

Evelyn shifted getting off the bed. "Sleep well, Captain." she bowed and made her to the door.

Watching as Evelyn left, Lirha noticed the sway in her hips and quietly sighed to herself. It would have been nice to have some company for the night, but she kept her mouth shut and let her leave. The lieutenant had been through a lot recently, and it was probably best that she get some rest as well. "You too." she replied quietly, just after Eve was out of earshot.

OFF:

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Lt. JG Evelyn Coleman
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

CMDR Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

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