Commanders' Duty

Posted on 30 Dec 2023 @ 3:38pm by Commander Morgan Tarin & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Ensign Amanda Turell & Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeysa Zeror & Master Chief Petty Officer Toren Vral

4,260 words; about a 21 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 2, Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 01, 1700 hrs

[ON]

The door to the captain's ready room slid open with a soft hiss, and Toren stepped inside. The room was, of course, empty and the silence struck a stark contrast to the previous tense moments on the Bridge. Commander Warraquim and their escort, Turell, were not long behind him.

He moved swiftly to stand near the desk, his antennae unmoving as his weary eyes looked over the room. He had been here before. Not on this ship, but certainly in this situation. He grounded his stance, steeling himself for the dialogue ahead. This wasn't going to be his first tough conversation with a superior, and it likely wouldn't be his last.

Allyndra took up a position inside the room next to Toren near the desk. She could feel her hearts beating hard, but she reminded herself that she had done what she thought best and that staying as calm as possible was the best course. Her greatest defense was that the First Officer had told the captain the same thing. She had gotten too emotional, and forcing Rice's return would have been ill-advised.

Amanda followed the other officers into the ready room, she stood by the entrance and waited for the inevitable firestorm that was about to hit Allyndra and Toren. "If it helps Commander, I agree with what you tried."

Allyndra didn't say anything since she didn't know when Tarin would be heading in, and Amanda didn't need to have trouble either. Thus, she made a nod of her head in response. She knew she had made the right decision no matter what happened.

Less than a minute transpired before the ready room's door hissed open again. Commander Morgan Tarin, Galileo-A's captain and senior-most command officer, quickly walked into the room while silently taking note of the three personnel already present and waiting for her as she'd instructed. The churning aura her posture revealed was subtle yet present, and it didn't take a Betazoid to sense her severe displeasure at recent events. "Stand at attention, both of you," she curtly ordered the COB and 2XO as she rounded her desk to stand behind it and face the two of them. Her hazel eyes were now quite colorful and her pupils slightly dilated with utmost displeasure.

Quietly slipping into the ready room behind Tarin, Jeysa moved to stand beside Amanda giving the woman a look of resignation, doubting there was anything she could say to alter anything.

Allyndra snapped to as commanded. She held the posture and looked beyound the captain to the wall behind her. As a former counselor, she knew staring straight into her eyes would be considered a challenge. That phase was over.

Toren matched the Akkadian's movement, chin up, chest out, shoulders back, channelling decades of precision into his stance. He gazed front and centre as would have been expected on the parade ground.

The captain opened her mouth to speak then quickly closed it and bit her bottom lip between her teeth before letting out a frustrated breath through her nose. "What just happened on the bridge from both of you was nothing less than unbecoming conduct," she began, the reproving tonality in her dry inflection clearly prominent. "My chief of the boat," she glared at Vral, "and my second officer," her eyes shifted to Warraquim, "both openly questioning my orders not only within the ship's primary command center, but in front of the entire bridge crew. And you," Tarin stepped in front of the chief medical officer mere inches from her face, "countermanding my order then threatening to remove me from command of my starship with unfounded reasoning. Have you lost your mind?!" the New York City captain half-yelled at Warraquim. "You're a Starfleet officer and you should know better! Your stunt almost broke the entire chain of command because you couldn't suppress your angst."

Then Tarin swiftly took a couple steps to stand in front of Vral. "And you, COB." She looked him up and down, unimpressed. "You came aboard this vessel less than a week ago, explaining how 'the stars reminded you of the bigger picture'," she recalled from their introductory meeting. "'A sturdy grit to the crew', if I recall your words, and strength in unity. So where was this sense of understanding the bigger picture when you decided to criticize my order? Were you maintaining unity and 'grit'? Your actions don't match your words, and where I'm from, master chief, we call that 'bullshitting'."

Tarin took a deep breath then slowly walked back around her desk while clasping her hands professionally behind her waist before returning to face the two command-level personnel. Her dry voice softened ever-so-slightly when she spoke again. "I have no problem with either of you questioning my orders," clarified the captain. "I'm always open to different points of views and courses of action. But there's a method and place for that, and it isn't on the bridge during a critical evolution. You bring your concerns to me privately, away from the rest of the crew. And if the time or situation doesn't allow it, you keep your mouth shut until it does. Do I make myself clear?"

Toren remained perfectly still, his posture unwavering as he absorbed the captain's rebuke. His expression was unaffected. "Crystal clear, Captain," he replied in a measured tone, his voice neither defensive nor apologetic. Years of experience (and such dressing downs) had taught him when to speak and when to listen. His antennae maintained their disciplined rigidity, his stance unchanged.

Allyndra kept her stance. She still thought that she had done the right thing, but it was not worth the argument or the fight at the moment. "Yes, ma'am!" She simply responded.

The captain audibly exhaled an exasperated breath then rubbed her lightly-freckled forehead with frustration. When she spoke again, her voice was more measured. "I know this is a difficult situation for us to be in," Tarin conceded, raising both of her hands with palms facing upward before letting them slap down on her thighs, "25 years in to a future where this version of the Federation has suffered catastrophic destruction. We can pretend like it isn't real all we want, but this is our reality now. I see that realization in you, master chief," she pointed to him, then to Warraquim, "and you. And every other crew member I've come across since the briefing...including myself." She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the onset of a migraine brewing in the left side of her head.

"It's important now, more than ever, to keep our composure and reinforce trust in the chain of command and our new mission. Even if we don't agree with certain aspects of it," continued Tarin. "The crew's on edge and we're one recalcitrant officer away from uncorking this bottle of anxiety and losing control of the ship. I need to know that you two can still do your duties as assigned, and that you will reinforce my decisions as captain...regardless of your personal opinions."

"Yes, ma'am." Allyndra knew that what Tarin said was true, but she hoped that in return, letting her own emotions that were getting the better of her was also there. In her estimation, she was fairly certain that was the case. They all needed to think a bit more before acting.

"Understood, Captain," Toren unwaveringly affirmed, his tone still steady and respectful. He kept his gaze locked firmly on the middle distance, still and impassive, a hint of resolve in his eyes.

Inwardly he was carefully weighing Tarin's words. He knew as well as anyone the importance of keeping the crew unified and disciplined, especially in such unusual circumstances. Yet, his role extended beyond mere obedience; it was to offer counsel, even if it occasionally diverged from immediate directives, or trod on toes. Whether Tarin's anger was justified or misplaced was neither here nor there. The crew were safe. For the time being at least.

Tarin then moved to the chair behind her desk, finally sitting down and attempting to relax her posture. "At ease. Take a seat, both of you," was her next order while gesturing to the vacant chairs opposite her before glancing to the security officer and yeoman who remained standing. "You too, Zeror. Ensign Turell, you're dismissed. Return to your previous assignment in the conference room. I'll be there soon to continue our discussion."

"Aye Sir." Amanda came to attention for a moment then broke step and headed for the doorway, this was going to make for an interesting conversation when she met back up with her fellow security staff.

Stepping forward from where she stood beside Amanda, Jeysa moved to and then sat in one of the chairs by Tarin's desk. The officers had survived the initial barrage from Tarin and now she assumed would come the 'understanding why' part of the discussion.

Toren allowed his form to smoothly return to its usual calm, but wary state. He stood and waited for Allyndra to take a seat, then did so himself.

Allyndra took her seat.

"Now tell me what's on your minds. One at a time," instructed the captain. Here, in private, she wanted to finally afford both of the senior command members a chance to speak without constraint and for the yeoman to listen, observe, and participate in the upcoming discussion. The chewing out had concluded, and a more receptive and open conversation was now in order.

Allyndra took the seat, but she had long grown up with formality, and she sat on the edge of the chair. "Very well, captain. When I entered the bridge, I overheard the Master Chief make a comment. I heard your order and observed the situation. I agreed with the Master Chief in my mind that attempting to pull Lt. Rice off the ship involuntarily had a high probability of the Klingons then becoming incensed and firing upon the Galileo-A and B. Both ships had sustained damage, and it was possible that a repair party might be on the hull of the B. They would have been killed instantly if the Klingons fired. It seemed they would then attempt and probably successfully retrieve Lt. Rice. In either case, they did as they already did, warp away. I will add, captain, that the emotional tinge in your tone concerned me greatly that you were operating in what would be called a gut reaction. I will further add to this discussion, that my own reaction to what was happening was based on an emotional response. Once more, ma'am, I do apologize for that outburst on the bridge. I will say that I was attempting to keep the safety of the crew in mind."

Tarin thoughtfully listened yet her reception was clouded with a private aura of judgement she always seemed to possess. The Akkadian doctor's analysis of the situation wasn't necessarily wrong. In fact, it revealed a welcome insight into the second officer's mental calculations and the reasoning behind her actions, justified or not. Tarin remained quiet for a long moment while contemplating Warraquim's words, then shifted her gaze to the COB. "And you, master chief? Do you agree with the doctor's assessment? Do you have your own insight to add?"

"Aye, Captain," Toren responded in his usual raspy cadence, "Commander Warraquim has the sum of it, I'd say."

He leaned forward a little, as he was wont to do when considering the weight of a situation. "In my years, Captain, I've learned that the line between maintaining discipline and safeguarding the crew can be finer than a razor's edge," he said, his voice steady. "My intent wasn't to undermine your command, but to add a voice of experience to a volatile situation. We're navigating uncharted waters here, and sometimes, taking a beat to assess can mean the difference between life and death."

His antennae twitched slightly, an almost imperceptible movement. "I stand by my assessment on the bridge, Captain. It was a call for caution, a moment's pause, to consider the potential repercussions. Not just for now, but for the path ahead." His words were measured. He had faced a lifetime of making hard decisions, and he carried the weight of every one of them with him.

Tarin crossed one of her long legs over the other beneath her desk while intertwining her fingers in her lap. "Lieutenant Rice's departure from this ship was unauthorized, unexpected and - in certain situations - could be considered an act of mutiny," she started, the disdain for the security chief's actions clearly still perturbing the commanding officer. "In her short communication to me, she expressed a desire to seek out 'the truth' of this new political landscape we find ourselves in. And...I understand that motivation. But there are correct and incorrect ways to achieve that goal. Abandoning Galileo is," she shook her head, "one step away from committing sabotage. We need her aboard this vessel. She's the only one with first-hand knowledge of Kuran and Praxis because of her time spent there during the short officer exchange program. Rice is an asset we can't afford to lose right now. Not in this new political climate. I couldn't simply stand down and let her leave without attempting to retrieve her."

Allyndra listened to the captain's reasoning, and she could sympathize, but she still disagreed with the method that had almost been employed. "I understand captain. I will not fault your thoughts, but perhaps with this new reality of this timeline, her remaining aboard the Praxis might prove to be better overall. Either way, it is every incentive I can see for us to get on with repair and change the timeline. There is enough about doing that is questionably ethical. That decision is moot if we are not ready."

Toren nodded, "Aye Captain, it may not sit right with us but there will be those in the crew who will be... reassured that Lieutenant Rice is conducting her own investigation." His antennae twitched a little, "I don't condone it but that may be a silver lining."

There it resurfaced again, perhaps the primary crux of the intellectual battle many of Galileo-A's crew seemed to be experiencing. Tarin had observed the sentiment within her science officers, Ullswater and Vala, and some of it within her new Vulcan engineer, Sera. The captain looked candidly across all three of her red-collared companions' features. "You don't trust Saalm." It was a serious question phrased as a statement to the trio, but one which she needed to be certain of among her officers and command staff.

"I was not her yeoman when some of these events happened but I read the reports and heard all sorts of rumours and things like that." Jeysa was the first to speak. "But she has had a very mixed command history. Getting herself court martialed after the original Galileo's destruction; and not only for losing the ship. She ordered the crew to open fire on a Stafleet ship while in command of a Klingon battlecruiser." She paused for only a moment. "It is more complicated than I can quickly explain but she is far from a normal Co. 25 years later and after going through a very long and bloody war I can only believe she is likely to be even more..... eccentric, and desperate, which can be a very dangerous combination."

"Captain," Toren began after Jeysa concluded her assessment, "I've no past dealings with Admiral Saalm, but I've served under many a command in my time. Each has their own methods, their own madness. In these times, more than ever, we need to remember who we are and where we come from." He paused, his wary eyes focussing keenly on Tarin's.

"You're the highest-ranking officer present from our Federation, from our own time. The chain of command for us, for this crew, ends with you, not with an admiral from a future we're meant to prevent. If Saalm's orders don't align with your judgment, with the well-being of this crew, or the Starfleet we all remember signing up for," Toren continued, his gaze steady, "then it's not just your right, but your duty to question them, to decide the best course for your ship. We trust your command, Captain, It's your lead we follow."

Allyndra weighed what her feelings were along with her experience while sitting there listening. "Captain, as indicated, Saalm was at times unpredictable. Given the circumstances of what she iterated, I can only think that it has affected her, indeed all of whoever remains of the Federation, greatly. The only thing I would amend to Toren's statement is things must align with the well-being of the crew along with your judgment. I am sorry, but as stated earlier, I consider it my duty to consider the crew first. That being said, I agree; I am not sure if what we are doing isn't meddling in timelines. I will say I am not qualified enough to make a determination of that and thus will default to your judgment as the best guidance." Allyndra paused. She didn't want to say too much about the technology of her people. However, she had talked to the admiral, and that should not be something that should be kept hidden. "As an aside, captain, I will tell you I had a brief private conversation with the admiral. There are details I can't reveal, but I will say this to you as I did to her. If things fail to resolve, please go to my home planet. This ship and any others will be safe there. The details of why they will be safe is what I cannot currently reveal."

This was a lot for Tarin to process. Not just the mention of Saalm's deviancy from Starfleet orthodoxy, but also the COB's questioning of the chain of command and the doctor's revelation of an apparent sanctuary for them to find and live out their lives should all else fail. The pounding in the captain's head kept increasing and it was becoming borderline-painful to navigate and focus. Nevertheless, she managed to inject a dry dose of levity into the situation in an attempt to calm their collective nerves. "I never imagined in the first months of my first command, that I'd be faced with decisions to save the entire Federation..." She shook her head and lowered her hazel eyes while acknowledging the absurdity to herself. Then she composed her thoughts in a structured reply to the trio.

"I'm aware of Saalm's transgressions - her trial and time served. I wasn't witness to either but I read the statements from her crew," Tarin continued to the yeoman. "Unequivocally, every member of Galileo at that time who testified under oath supported her actions despite the public perception. That has to count for something." She then looked to the three of them again and shifted the topic to something more in line with the doctor's field of expertise.

"Are you all familiar with Temporal Detachment Affliction?" Tarin then asked. "It was taught to us in the Academy in a brief subsection of our psychology courses. It's a rarely-documented psychological phenomenon that occurs when crews and individuals are displaced from their own timeline. Limited studies from those who returned revealed they struggled to process future or past events in the same manner as their original present, most likely due to a lack of perceived permanency," she recalled from memory. "Further studies question whether the inherent nature of time travel produces longer-lasting effects, some of which might result in...unexpected and detrimental behavior." She looked at Vral then Warraquim and Zeror. "How can we be sure we aren't being affected by this, here and now?"

Allyndra made a slight shrug. "We can't be fully sure. It all has to do with quantum entanglement. You become part of the system. Personally, I am more concerned with those two most terrible words, what if. What if this mission becomes successful and we return to close to our own departure from time? I doubt we will simply cease to remember everything that happened here and what we have learned. Luckily, we have an excellent counselor who has returned to the ship, and I still hold my credentials in counseling. At best, if the timeline changes once more, all this," Allyndra had her hand sweep the room, "will be at best like a bad dream. We will have to deal with the consequences later." She paused and took a deep breath. "If there is a later. Once more, my opinion, captain, is we get on with repairs as fast and as best as possible, and what is the old Earth phrase? Get out of Dodge?"

Toren's antennae swayed thoughtfully, "Aye, surely the best option," he said in agreement, "But the real fly in the ointment'll be that when we do... whatever we decide to do. We won't know whether it's worked or not for years. That'll play with the crews' heads to no end..."

Tarin rubbed her cheek then pushed a couple stray locks of her loosely-curled brown hair back behind her ear. She met the Andorian's electric blue eyes with her own hazel irises. "I appreciate your trust and loyalty to me, master chief. You're right in what you said earlier - this crew's well-being and our values are my responsibility to uphold. If Saalm turns out to not be the rear admiral we believe her to be, or if we uncover any deception, I'll be the first one to get us the hell out of here by any means necessary. But until then, we assume this is our same timeline and the chain of command remains the same. I'm Galileo's captain but she's our mission commander until I have a reason to suspect otherwise. And frankly, she's always been a respected officer within Starfleet Command during our time. A trailblazer, the first Orion to ever command a Starfleet vessel. I have to believe she has a good, genuine reason for doing this and would have weighed all other options. Temporal Prime Directive or not. We can worry about what comes after once we make it home to our time."

"I agree, captain. The faster we can wrap this up, the better." Allyndra thought they were all coming to the same consensus at this point.

"Good," Tarin quickly replied with her own confirmational assessment, "then let's get it done. I don't want to hear anymore complaining about the Temporal Prime Directive, or recalcitrant behavior toward Admiral Saalm or the situation we're now dealing with. Those should be brought to me in private." Her sharp hazel eyes had flared again with personal conviction. "And the next time someone questions my commands in public on the bridge? They'll find themselves in the brig. We have a job to do, it's not a pleasant one, but it's time for this entire crew to suck it up and do their duties. Agreed?"

Allyndra agreed in principle, but she decided that if it came down to it, she would risk the brig. Hopefully, that was not going to be something she needed to worry about ever again. She was confident that the captain knew why she had done what she had done. She stood, came to attention and saluted. "Yes, ma'am!"

The captain's attention shifted to the young Trill yeoman. "Anything you want to add, petty officer?"

Jeysa shook her head slightly. "No Sir." She replied, though later she planned on asking her how or even if she wanted this incident noted in the ships log.

"Master chief?" Tarin then asked her COB, affording the seasoned Andorian a final chance for any further comments or introspection regarding their vessel's current predicament.

Toren caught Tarin's gaze, his antennae shifting slightly, "I'll keep an eye on the crew, captain, and we'll be out of here in no time." He shifted himself up to stand next to the Akkadian, once again standing to attention, "Permission to resume my duties, sir."

The red-collared captain tugged at the mid-section of her uniform to pull it down and remove the creases then stood from her position behind the desk. "Permission granted. You too, doctor. You're both dismissed," she affirmed to the assembled command staff. Her final task for the meeting was to record it for future prosperity - or a Starfleet beacon if they didn't survive the coming days. "Zeror, record this meeting in the ship's log then return to your assignment. You're dismissed as well."

"Aye Sir." Jeysa stood up and headed out the door.

Allyndra indicated she understood and then turned and left. She needed to make her own entries in her logs before getting back to regular duties.

Toren gave a curt nod, his antennae bouncing along with it, then smartly turned and strode out of the room. Meetings like this gave him a little more length by which to measure the Commander with. He still hadn't made up his mind. The reckoning was still to come, he was sure of that.

[OFF]

--

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

MCPO Toren Vral
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Vala]

CMDR Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical and Second Officer
USS Galileo-A

PO3 Jeysa Zeror
Yeoman
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Mimi]

Ensign Amanda Turell
Security Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Mimi]

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