Ain't No Rest for the Wicked (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 21 Apr 2024 @ 1:59pm by Commander Morgan Tarin & Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor

2,393 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 2, Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 04, 1706 hrs

[ON]

Inside her small and private administrative office one deck below the bridge, Commander Morgan Tarin was situated in the chair behind her desk with its tabletop LCARS monitor deployed while she stared with agitation at a blank writing screen. Many minutes had passed while she'd attempted to form some semblance of a notification to Hollenday's next-of-kin, yet the proper words and sentence structures escaped her. She had no idea who - if any - of his surviving family would be able to receive the letter she was about to write informing them of his passing, yet it was still her duty and a time-honored obligation she needed to fulfill.

Minutes became longer. They turned into a quarter-hour, then a half-hour, and finally Tarin closed her screen and folded the small LCARS monitor down. Her right hand instinctively reached to her commbadge then tapped it. "Tarin to Ensign M'Lyr'Zor. Report to my ready room."

~~

Sera had just settled herself on the floor in front of the small oil lamp she used as a focus for meditation. The memorial service for Hollenday was complete and finally she had been able to return to the privacy of her quarters to begin the tedious process of 'unpacking' the events of the last few days.

A silent sigh escaped her lips as she settled into the correct position. The breath, the flame, the control one had over their environment which would mirror to the control one had over oneself...

"Dakh’voh pthak. Ri nam-tor ret na’fan-kitok abi’dakh odu pthak..." (Cast out fear. There is no space for anything else until you cast out fear)

She wasn't one to use formal mantras often when engaging in meditation, but the cause was sufficient.

"Dakh’voh pthak. Ri nam-tor ret na’fan-kitok abi’dakh--"

Sera halted the mantra as the chirp from her comm badge disturbed the 'peace' she was trying to create. Biting back a snarl--now that she was alone and there were no witnesses to her volatile state--she reached out to the low table within the seating area and tapped the comm badge to open a channel.

"Understood, Captain. I will report presently. Lyr'Zor out."

Fvadt.

Leaning over, Sera reached out and lowered the wick in the lamp until the flame extinguished itself. The acrid scent of smoke felt a fitting accompaniment to the current state of affairs.

She gracefully unfolded herself from the seated position and stood. Thankfully she had chosen to use the 'sonics' before attempting meditation. It would have been less-than-acceptable to report to the captain still wearing the grime of battle.

Donning a clean uniform coat, Sera grabbed the comm badge and placed it appropriately before slipping on her ankle-height boots and striding out of her quarters for the rather impromptu meeting with the captain.

~~

It didn't take long for Sera to find herself standing in front of Tarin's ready room. With no hesitation she reached out an engaged the door chime to alert the person within that there was a visitor at the door.

"Come," replied a familiar and distinctive voice which prompted the small door to swish open and present the interior of Tarin's office to the new arrival. It was an unremarkable ready room compared to those found aboard larger ships of the line but it contained all the essentials for starship and personnel administration. A single window lined the far wall which displayed an unobstructed view of the surrounding black and star-speckled cosmos.

Galileo-A's captain was standing in front of the food replicator at the far end of the office opposite from her desk, but turned her head and torso to take notice of the engineer. "Ensign," she curtly greeted the Vulcan. "Take a seat. Can I get you anything? Water, tea...coffee?"

The brisk way Commander Tarin performed the distinctly Terran version of 'Host Rites' was somewhat of a relief. Ever efficient...for a komihn.

Sera answered Tarin as she walked over to seating area that was closest to the replicator. Coffee? Sera blinked. No one had ever offered her the option of anything other than tea or water before.

"I would try your coffee." She replied after a brief hesitation.

"One coffee - black. One raktajino," she instructed to the computer. A confirmation chirp sounded from the receptacle then two small steaming mugs shimmered into existence. The captain procured both then slowly walked over to the Vulcan and presented the handle of the cup before walking to the other side of the compact couch to sit close to her. Tarin wrapped both of her hands around her own drink to feel the warmth within her hands.

She had many things to say to Sera. Some were more emotional than practical, while others were more practical than emotional. Tarin suspected, if she herself came from a logic-dominated race, perhaps getting straight to the point would be most prudent. But Tarin wasn't such an individual and sometimes the most difficult parts of a conversation needed to be had first. "I'm told you performed well aboard Galileo-B. Admiral Saalm has commended your actions and efforts to me in private," she began.

Sera took the required sip of the offered liquid--in this case, quite a potent sip of coffee--and her eyes widened slightly at the strangely smoky bitterness that was unlike anything she had ever imbibed before. She was going to inquire on how exactly this particular drink was made but Tarin bypassed the typical human 'tiny talk,' beginning with a positive comment about Sera's service on the 'B.'

"I followed the orders I was given, captain. I performed my duties...there was nothing particularly commendable about it."

Tarin's distinctive sharp hazel irises snapped to the Vulcan ensign's unorthodox blue ones. "You're a young engineer; by your own people's standards as well as Starfleet's. Yet you managed to navigate the engineering complexities of a starship possessing technology almost two decades advanced compared to our systems in the late 24th century. Very few Starfleet officers are able to accomplish that."

The captain then glanced down to her warm mug and took a sip of the strong raktajino before looking back up and continuing, "And you also lost a crew member on your watch. Someone we all knew and valued."

Sera placed the cup of coffee down on the low table near the officers' legs. Ah. The captain wished to discuss the incident in engineering.

"Yes." She replied simply, in agreement. Sera did lose Hollenday. She barely even new the crewman and now he was dead...and was someone that the crew here knew and valued. Meanwhile, Sera was still a virtual stranger here. How was this going to play?

"It was a hard decision, ensign. To prioritize the needs of many," Tarin's eyes lowered again to focus on her drink, "...it might sound simple and logical but it ignores the reality of our existences. We exist within each other and continue to exist with them even after we die. I'm...sorry for the loss of your engineer," she looked back up at Sera. "Hollenday's death has shaken many of those across our combined crews. But it was necessary and you shouldn't feel guilt for your actions. You did what had to be done. Do you understand?"

Sera raised a brow at Tarin's words. They were outward echoes of the thoughts that swirled in her head since...The facts warred against the weight of her choice. Logical or not, it had doomed a man to the vacuum of space.

"I understand, sir." Sera looked down to the cup she had placed on the table and picked it back up to give her hands something to do. Taking another experimental sip, Sera considered her words.

"I...desired nothing more than to disobey the Admiral's orders. Especially since his offspring was assisting me in our aborted attempt to extricate Hollenday." She wasn't sure why she said that, exactly.

Tarin sipped her raktajino again then silently exhaled through her nostrils before slowly nodding with understanding. "You did what needed to be done, in the face of adversity. That is the hallmark of a Starfleet officer. Never forget that. Just as we won't forget Hollenday." The solemn words the Human captain spoke elicited a momentary pause before she continued. "You're my chief engineer and I need you to be strong - in your mind, your body and your heart. Put this behind you immediately and don't let it affect your future actions in the line of duty. This is the first time I've lost a crew member as a captain and it's the same for you. But there will be more."

The words Tarin uttered settled in Sera's gut with an uncomfortable weight. There would be more. The captain's voice held such surety.

"If we remain here, most undoubtedly." Sera responded, tipping back her cup and taking a hearty swallow of the bitter brew. It was starting to grow on her.

Setting her mug down on the small coffee table, Tarin firmly stood from her seated position then clasped her hands behind her tall torso while she started to pace across the room in an attempt to focus her mind on the next steps involving the ensign and the future of Galileo. "I'm recalling you back to the Galileo-A effective immediately," she revealed. "I...ordered the ejection then detonation of our warp core to counteract the effects of the Romulan scout vessel's artificial singularity core when it went critical and we became caught in its event horizon. It worked and we're still alive, but we've lost almost 70-percent of our primary power generation capability."

Sera blinked, one eye-lid a fraction of a second behind the other. Tarin. Did. What?

"Sir...this is not something that can just be...fixed. We need ship yard. We are hundreds--" Her words stopped suddenly as she forced her mouth to shut.

This...this was a lot, and no doubt Tarin was already aware. Her brows furrowed as she thought furiously about options.

"Then our ship is effectively stranded given our distance. There will be no way to recreate the parameters that brought us here." Sera watched Tarin pace, and understood the woman's need to move. All that remained for Sera to do was drink.

Tarin continued to slowly walk around the room, this time pausing again to look out through the small window into space. "Stranded? We still have impulse power and that'll have to do for now. From what Admiral Saalm described to me of her ship's technology, Galileo-B was able to artificially generate the time rift which brought us here." She turned back to face Sera before pacing again. "And thanks to your team's efforts, you were able to repair their damaged deflector array and they're capable of sending us back. But now, it will have to be under impulse power."

Impulse...when they were months away from what would be considered civilization even at high warp. Oh. Sera dared not think any further. There were enough problems with the now. To think any farther ahead would invite illogical supposition. Best to stay within the confines of the present.

Sera raised a brow in consideration having landed on a reasonable question that did not invite unwarranted postulation. "Does the 'B' have the technology to deposit us not only when but where in the past? I do not have the exact distances available as I'm unsure of our exact coordinates, but we are some ways from this aforementioned cold station, captain."

The young engineer's question was valid yet also veered close to command-level confidentiality due to the sensitive nature of the subject matter. Time travel and its practical mechanics - specifically the technology involved - had always been a closely-guarded secret within Starfleet. Nevertheless, the query was pertinent and one which Tarin felt the yellow-collared Vulcan deserved a straight answer to. She finished her pacing then returned to her previous seat on the small sofa near to Sera.

"When? Yes. Where? I'm unsure. Judging from what I was able to interpret of the technical design schematics I reviewed of Galileo-B, our future sister ship was purpose-built to incorporate a new time-travel technology. The Federation's best engineers and scientists worked for several years to develop the theoretical, practical and technological capability then ran out of time after Earth was lost."

Tarin retrieved her half-finished raktajino then took a slow and length sip from it. This future...was nothing more than a nightmare for her. Being displaced out of time had provided the captain with a temporary mental shield, perhaps a pretense, to deny the disastrous realities she and her crew now faced. But after their recent encounter with the Romulan scout element, that veneer had been shattered. "The repairs your and your team conducted aboard the -B were not simply deflector array repairs; they were to restore the ship's capability to send us back in time."

Sera nodded once. "I am aware, captain...Is that still--" She halted her words mid-sentence, subsuming her curiosity. It was not appropriate to question the captain on 'the plan.' The coffee mug rose again to her lips. Perhaps that was why in most of the cultures she had studied used the offering of libation to their 'guests.' It gave them a tool to use for careful contemplation during the sometimes treacherous ebbs and flow of conversation.

"I will return to duty immediately to address how best to allocate what power we have." There. That was a safe topic. Talking about the ship...well within her purview.

Tarin raised her right hand to indicate for the engineer to pause her train of thought and to change the topic. Her sharp hazel irises now focused in on Sera's own blue ones, then she leaned forward on the couch toward the Vulcan with her elbows rested atop her knees. "What is your duty here, Sera? Is it to myself, the captain? Or to this crew? Or to the mission?" she tested.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
Acting Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo-A

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

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