Redemption for the Flag

Posted on 13 Nov 2017 @ 5:49pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Rear Admiral Nathan West

2,368 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Earth - Australia, Perth, Penal Colony
Timeline: MD 77, 2119 hrs

[ON]

Nathan had just finished going over the specs for a new ship that had been outfitted with certain subsystems to assist with the modified role he envisioned for it. It would serve as a science vessel with the added ability to perform intelligence gathering functions when needed. He held the PADD with the schematics in his hand as he moved though the correctional facility to speak to a woman he knew. The woman he wanted to command that ship, and he thought he knew just how to get her to accept.

The white walls and stainless steel fixtures of the visiting room for the misfits of star fleet was bright. West blinked his eyes as they adjusted to the overhead lights as they blazed down. He found a table and sat, then stood and paced the room like a caged tiger. He was waiting for someone who should be there soon, but until she arrived he would pace.

Fortunately the wait wasn't long. Lirha Saalm hadn't been doing much aside from reading in her cell when the guards had come to inform her of her visitor. It was both unexpected and strange to the Orion that someone from Starfleet Intel would want to visit with her. But was it really? She had intimate knowledge of Kreanus that Starfleet had barely scratched the surface of before they'd sentenced her and locked her away.

Contemplating who she was going to be meeting while walking leisurely down the corridor, Saalm was brought to the visiting room and stepped inside.

West stopped and turned to the door as it opened and the 'disgraced' admiral entered. He motioned to the table and stepped next to it waiting for her to sit first.

"Admiral, if you please." He said in his soft tone.

She instantly recognized his large frame, balding white head of hair, and dark blue eyes as she walked closer. "West," she acknowledged, feeling a certain uncomfortableness at being referred to by her former rank. "I did not expect to see you here," she casually remarked after sitting down across the table from him.

Nathan snorted and passed her the PADD with the schematics on it. Then spoke "Maybe I chose the wrong person for the job if you didn't expect me."

She glanced down at the Starfleet PADD in front of her then raised her eyebrows somewhat incredulously. "A job? Last I was informed, I've been dishonorably discharged and am waiting to be deported from the Federation. What job could I possibly do for you?" she asked with a heavy dose of skepticism and distrust visible in her light green eyes.

"Dear god." He muttered under his breath then spoke up clearly "You are familiar with who I am and what I oversee in the fleet. Are you familiar with the extra leniency that is afforded me and those that hold my office with regard to recruiting and assignments?"

Studying him and pondering his question for a short moment, the Orion replied, "Recruiting and assignments...?" He was right; she knew both who he was and what his duties entailed as Intelligence Director. But what did she have to do with any such things, she wondered to herself.

He reached over and tapped the button that shifted the PADD's screen to show the next open tab. The tab with deployment orders reinstating Lirha Saalm to Captain and placing her in command of the ship about to be commissioned in ten days time.

"Unless you want to stay here, though I do hear the food is excellent I personally prefer the view from orbit." he let that sink in and wait for the obligatory 'What's the catch'.

She took a quick glance down to the PADD and read the first few lines before she looked back up at him with renewed skepticism. "You expect me to believe that you'll personally reinstate me as a Starfleet officer and give me command of another starship? And what about my court martial and sentencing? Surely even someone in your position doesn't have the authority to overrule the court of law."

"Me? Oh good heavens no I cant do that." he tapped the screen again "But a presidential pardon from the sitting Federation President can. Now the catch is you'll be under me, Intelligence. The ship you'll be commanding is a modified science vessel. There have been a few tweaks to it to allow for the collection and return of information but other than it's a fully capable science ship. You will, at times, be given a mission from me personally that will require your specific touch. Aside from those small changes it will be business as usual."

Saalm's jaw almost dropped, not at the conditions of her release but rather at the mention of a presidential pardon. If that happened, she, her crew, and their ongoing adventures would become major news within the Federation. "Excuse me," she cleared her throat then looked back at West, "a...Presidential pardon? You know the president?"

West snorted "I have a standing golf appointment with her every week." he shrugged "She owed me a favor, and I'm not known for leaving good officers in the clink when they could be doing better work among the stars."

The disgraced Orion was usually good at reading people and ascertaining the truth from situations. As she continued to regard the Intel director, she couldn't help but think this had to be some sort of ploy. It sounded too good to be true. "And in exchange for your good graces -- and the president's -- what do you ask of me?"

"That you do what you have been doing. You determination to get your crew home at all costs brought you to my attention. That would serve you well on more dangerous missions should any come my way that match up with your specific set of skills. If a mission should cross my desk that meets those parameters I would hope you would take it on." he was beating around the bush to say in a friendly way that she would be tasked with missions that he felt she and her crew would be best able to handle if and when they appeared.

"More dangerous missions?" she repeated. It didn't take a great deal of deciphering to understand the implications of what he was proposing. "Should I remind you that it was my 'determination' that got Galileo destroyed in the first place?" She wanted to use the word stubbornness but decided to keep her speech more delicate at the last second. "I'm not sure I'm the right person for what you're seeking..."

He raised an eyebrow "I doubt that very seriously. As for what got the Galileo destroyed in the first place, that was a Maru situation. I knew it and most of the board knew it but someone had to pay for it. While I may have agreed with your actions, most of them, my hands were tied at the court marshal. I took a pragmatic, practical approach that would lend my words weight when it came time to get you out of here. That time is now and you need this ship as much as I need you in the center chair."

She sighed then looked back down at the PADD and reread the notes regarding the new ship and its assigned area of operations. The thought of being in command of a starship once again felt strange, as if it were something forbidden that'd be forcefully purged from her soul. Many weeks of isolation and solitude at the penal colony had worn her down to the point where she now questioned her motivations. "I don't think I'm that same captain you once knew," she solemnly replied in a quiet voice.

The almost laughed but instead contented himself with a soft chuckle. "I should hope your not the same person. Otherwise I would question your psyc evals. I am sure that you will get comfortable again in the center seat. Just takes some time, surround yourself with people you trust, your old crew for instance and you'll be right as rain." He took a breath then continued. "I should tell you this, the pardon is there, the command is there but the one thing I wasn't able to push through the channels was your rank. You'd be a Captain, but you'd be a Captain in the center seat and not a former Admiral in a cell."

A formal pardon and a reinstatement of command was a most generous offer, Saalm admitted to herself. But part of her still felt anger at the way she'd been treated by the same government she'd sworn and tried to protect -- that same government that had now cast her away as an unwanted. She wanted an apology more than a pardon, yet also realized the forgiveness was both West and others' way of expressing their regret.

Saalm then thought about her crew, the old one. Would they even want to serve under her again? Did they blame her for the Galileans who'd died during the battles and in captivity? She wasn't certain. "How long do I have to consider?"

He breathed in, held for a beat and then exhaled "Until I leave, the ship is scheduled to depart within two weeks and if you wont take her, I'm going to have to scramble and call in a different set of markers to find a CO for her. That will take me most of those two weeks."

Two weeks. Enough time to conveniently allow her room to breathe but also be reprocessed for command if she took the offer. But did she want to? Her dream had always been to command a ship of her own but in recent weeks she'd resigned herself to her new upcoming life back on Rigel VII. A whirlwind of emotions swarmed around her while another question presented itself to her. "And crew assignments would be at my full discretion?"

"Indeed." he said as he watched her reaction.

She clasped her green hands in her lap and leaned back. If this was an unofficial apology from Starfleet and a chance to correct matters, it sounded like a good start. It would take some time, however, for her to think over the offer and determine if she would accept it. She still felt great anger and disdain at the trial she'd been subjected to.

"I will consider your offer," she finally said after a long moment of silence. "But I need...time, to think about this."

He nodded "Take your time, but as I said before the deal is good until I leave which means you have until my ass gets tired."

Rising from her chair, she slowly began to walk away and pace around the visiting room. The gold-collared security guards kept a close eye on her and shadowed her movements, but Saalm's thoughts weren't on them. Instead, she pondered this interesting new opportunity, one that she'd never expected. The idea of somehow being acquitted of her crimes against the Federation was alluring. And the opportunity to once again command a starship of her own and explore the galaxy was hard to pass up.

West's eyes tracked Saalm as she paced the visiting room. He felt the slight tug of a smirk on the side of his lips as he watched her knowing what was going through her mind.

"Should I take it, should I not? What is his angle, can I get my crew back, will they WANT to come back, what if things have changed..." the mental dialogue rolled forward like a marine battalion on parade as he watched her.

The more the Orion paced, the more she began to think about the future. She'd already resigned herself to her fate and had starting making plans for her future life on Rigel VII when she was eventually released. She figured she would use some of her family's equity to purchase a small trade vessel of her own, then deal exotic goods to the far reaches of the quadrants. It would be somewhat of a solitary life, but she'd always been drawn to the allure of space. The emptiness within the infinite expanse of all that was known was filled with interesting and incredible creatures and places. Whatever she ended up doing, she wanted to be back traveling the stars as her people were often (in)famous for.

He watched her and his mind skipped ahead several moves on the chessboard that was Star Fleet Intelligence. She was going to take the post, she had to. It would be to much work to find another Captain to take command of the new ship.

What seemed like almost ten minutes passed before the Orion returned to the table and sat down. She folded her hands lightly in her lap before looking back at the gray-haired Intelligence director. "I will accept your offer," she said in a quiet voice, then held up a single green finger. "But I will not leave with you here, today. I have some...affairs to take care of here before I depart," she discreetly revealed.

He laughed and paged over the PADD that was before her. "So you want me to rescind the release orders?"

She shook her head then attempted to clarify. "No, not rescind. Just delay them for 48 hours."

He snorted "Making demands are we?" then he laughed "Sure, I'll let the Warden know of the change in plans."

"Good." She paused and let out a light breath before forcing a small smile of appreciation across her lips. "I mean, thank you. When do I receive the details of my ship's new assignment?"

He grinned "In 48 hours, in my office and in uniform."

It better be a good assignment if this is why I'm being dragged out of detention and reinstated, she privately thought to herself. "Fine. 48 hours."

He nodded "48 hours, I'll have tea ready for you and we can discuss your posting." he stood and winced "Yeah my ass is tired of sitting."

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

RADM Nathan West
Director
Starfleet Intelligence

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