Resurrected

Posted on 03 Mar 2019 @ 11:42am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Commander Ryan Alexander

2,270 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 2, Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD -181, 1601 hrs

[ON]

Inside her private office below decks, Captain Lirha Saalm sat at her desk's LCARS terminal busily tapping away at both the screen and the PADD she held in her off hand. Her new starship and their assigned task force had just gone to warp in a most ceremonial fashion, but now the reality of her busy administration schedule immediately set in. New officers and NCOs flooded Galileo's ranks and it was a chore in itself to simply memorize every name and personnel file on the new manifest.

Several crew interviews were scheduled over next three hours, for it was Lirha's attempt to finish meeting all of her new senior and junior officers in a private setting to get to know each better. And hopefully, for them to take away something from her as well.

His PADD chimed, a 10-minute warning that he was due for his meeting with the captain. Ryan couldn't help but be a bit nervous. Since his recovery from Kreanus, and subsequent rehabilitation, he had been through numerous tests and evaluations to see if he was fit for duty. All had been stressful and more than once he felt as if he should resign his commission. But ultimately he had cleared for duty and when he found he was going back to the Galileo he was both elated as well as a bit apprehensive. Ryan hadn’t been aboard the Galileo-A for very long. He had received orders and beamed aboard just after the Convoy had departed from the Avondale Shipyards, and had barely had time to get his gear stowed before having to tackle the challenges of integrating in a crew. Ryan was glad that he was among people that he knew, but he also knew that they had been through much and they weren’t the same crew as they had been before the destruction of the Galileo.

Ryan took a deep breath, giving him self a quick, final, once over to make sure his uniform was in order. He tucked the PADD under his arm and pressed the door chime, waiting patiently to talk to the captain.

"Come," replied the captain from inside, her voice command unlocking the door to allow it to swish open for the guest. She looked up from her tasks to the entrance then slowly stood from her seat when she saw the old familiar face of her former Ops chief. Half-amazed that he was still alive and also overjoyed to see him again, she couldn't suppress the genuine smile that pulled at the corners of her lips and eyes.

"When I read the new manifest, I couldn't believe it myself..." she said in greeting. "You're alive."

Ryan returned her smile as he stepped in front of her desk. “Yes, Ma’am, though not for the universe’s lack of trying. Ensign Alexander, reporting as ordered.” He said, recovering the tucked PADD containing the official copies of his transfer orders and handing it out for her.

There was a time and place for formalities, but in the immediate moment, Lirha walked to stand in front of him and pushed his hand with the PADD gently back down to the side. Then she reached out and hugged him tightly, still smiling to herself while hiding private tears as the memories of her final moments with him resurfaced. She'd asked him to do the impossible, to make the ultimate sacrifice with her -- and he'd never wavered or hesitated. The two of them had shared a private moment in the face of certain death that no other person in her life could relate to.

Ryan returned Lirha’s embrace. He held no resentment or ill will towards Lirha. In fact he respected her more than he ever had ever respected another Starfleet officer. He didn’t expect to survive the destruction of the Galileo, he expected to have gone down with the ship and the Admiral. His last memory before waking up in Federation hospital was standing on the bridge embracing Lirha before feeling immense heat, light, and darkness. Having been beamed out with Lirha, Ryan had inadvertently shielded Lirha from the resulting blast. He had been too badly injured for the Romulan’s to let him be with the rest of the crew, they just didn’t have the medical facilities to treat him. They had put him in stasis until after the crew of the Galileo could complete their mission. He had read through some of the reports of what had happened on Kreanus, and the preceding days; he didn’t envy those events or fathoming making the decisions that the crew had to make. “It is good to be home ma’am.” Ryan said softly.

She stepped back and wiped some moisture from the corners of her eyes, looking up to him. Of all the questions she wanted to ask, she could only think of the most fascinating one. "How? What happened to you...?"

“It’s not as a fascinating story as one would think.” Ryan said, sounding a touch embarrassed. “When we were beamed onto a Romulan ship an instant before the bridge of the Galileo was consumed, I was positioned between you and the aft bulkhead; I shielded you from the worst of the destruction.” Ryan said as he recalled the event. Much of what he knew was told to him by Starfleet personnel or what he had gleaned from the few reports he had been allowed to read.

“While we both were injured, I was in critical condition, burns everywhere. The Romulan’s put me into stasis to keep me alive until I could be transferred to a facility that could handle my trauma. I believe I was in stasis for about a year. After the diplomatic delegation made the initial inquires at Kreanus, I was transferred to a Federation Hospital and underwent several months of treatment and rehabilitation.”

Her mouth was slightly agape while she listened. "In stasis for a year?" The emotion in her voice was a mix of shock and awe, for she'd never personally known anyone who'd undergone such a procedure. She looked him over, this time from head to toe as if to somehow verify that he'd emerged unscathed. "...What was it like?" she asked, her morbid curiosity getting the best of her.

He tilted his head slightly in thought. "It...was just dark. It is hard to describe," he started trying to describe the feeling, "I mean, it was like when you go to sleep and wake up and not remembering a dream, but the dream lasted for a really long time but you can remember it." Ryan said, feeling as if he wasn't quite able to put to words. "But it was very disorienting to see the bridge of the Galileo one second, then coming to in a Medical Bay. Though the worst part was trying to move again; everything was sore, and felt as if you were in a space suit in zero-g, while also highly inebriated. My body just didn’t seem to want to work right.” He said, remembering the first few days out of stasis.

She gave his shoulder an affectionate squeeze then stepped back and half-sat against the front edge of her desk. "How do you feel now?" Starfleet medicine was advanced but certain injuries still took a long time to heal. Both physically and emotionally.

A small smile spread across Ryan’s face. “I am fit for full duty.” He said, before sighing slightly. “I am doing fine. I still have some aches and tenderness especially on my back. To be honest it was rough the first couple of days. But I had some good talks with the doctors that helped put some things in perspective after I recovered from treatment.” Ryan said looking at Lirha. “But as I said, I am fit for ful duty and ready to handle any task you need.”

"Good," she teased with satisfaction. "Well, your timing is almost impeccable. Did you take care of your personal affairs before transferring? We won't be seeing Earth or the core worlds again for a long time."

“Yes ma’am, I have.” Ryan said with a nod. “I was able to take some leave after my recovery and spend some time with my family. But I am ready to get back to work; this opportunity is one of a life time, I wouldn’t want to miss it.” He said with a smile.

Lirha silently agreed despite having her own slightly different motivations for commanding their new adventure. "I can't think of a better place for you. Have you reviewed the ship's new technical specifications yet? I dare say the Corps of Engineers did a good job with this refit."

Ryan smiled. “I have taken a look at some of it. She does seem to be quite the little ship. I am excited to work with the V-109; it’s not every day one gets to work with a computer tailor made for a specific mission set. And the new power generation capabilities are impressive; an approximate 38% theoretical increase in available output will make my job a whole lot easier.” He said with a small chuckle. “Did we get any hard numbers on total increase? I have only seen the lab results and what was given in the press release.” Ryan asked, curious if the results were greater or lower than expected.

"The test crew reported a plus-minus variation of seven percent during the initial trials depending on the operating environment," she answered. "But I'm afraid it's up to us to do an operational stress test and write the rest of the book as we go. We are the class' maiden voyage, after all." She returned to her seat behind her desk and searched through a stack of PADDs in one of the drawers. "...That will probably mean a lot of repairs and diagnostics for the Operations department over the next few months while we sort out any teething problems."

Ryan nodded in understanding. "Of course ma'am. I am a bit disappointed to hear that it was it wasn't tested at seven percent, though that isn't half bad for a start and we will see about increasing that output for you." He said his mind already thinking of the next steps. "How has the rest of the shake down progressed?"

The captain gave a light shrug which was her private version of approval. "The initial shakedown was done by the test crew at Avondale but we encountered some problems with the environmental systems shortly after launch. They've been resolved, and apart from that, we've had minimal issues. Thankfully. Ensign Mimi has been our acting Operations Manager during your absence. She can bring you up to speed in more detail."

Ryan nodded. "I look forward to it." He said with a small smile. "How many of the original crew are on board now? I tried to keep tabs after my recovery, but there was a lot going on that much of what I wanted and tried to do fell through the proverbial cracks." Ryan asked a bit curious and happy to see familiar faces around.

It was hard for Lirha to recall the exact count of all the personnel who'd come and gone since she'd last seen Ryan. The Galileo-A certainly had many new crew members serving alongside a contingent of legacy officers.

"Several," she answered. "But each crew is different and our current one has performed well so far." She then paused then turned to administrative business. "Do you have your transfer orders?"

"Of course ma'am and yes; I have my transfer orders right here." Ryan said as he held out the PADD to Lirha.

She took the slim silver device from Alexander's hand and began to peruse through it as quickly as possible. All his credentials appeared verified and all recent evaluations confirmed him fit for duty. If he was still the man she once knew him to be, they were fortunate for his timely arrival and expertise. After a few minutes of silent reading she finished examining his file then pressed her green thumb into the signature box at the bottom of the PADD to officially approve his transfer to her starship. Saalm filed the PADD into one of her drawers then looked back up to him while she stood. "Consider you transfer approved, Mister Alexander. Welcome back aboard Galileo."

"Thank you ma'am, it is good to be back." Ryan said with a smile spreading across his face. "I look forward to hitting the deck running. And I wont let you down ma'am."

"I know you won't," she affirmed. "Hopefully it will be like old times again. With less self-destruct activations, of course. If you haven't already, check in with the medical staff then Commander Blake for your duty team assignment. Any...final questions?"

Ryan shook his head. "Will do ma'am and no, I don't have any further questions." He said, a bit excited to get back to work.

Lirha offered her green hand for him to shake then gave him his final order for the day. "Dismissed, then. Enjoy your new home."

Ryan snapped to attention. "Aye, aye ma'am." Ryan did a text book about face, a grin spreading across his face the moment he had his back turned. He departed her office quickly, glad to be back and ready to tackle the challenges before him.

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

Ensign Ryan Alexander
Operations Manager
USS Galileo-A

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