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Posted on 04 Jan 2013 @ 6:16pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday

3,742 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2, Captain's Quarters
Timeline: MD 14 - 1115 hrs

[ON]

The events of the past few days had left the Galileo's XO more than a little unsettled. It seemed that every time they dealt with one problem, something new would crop up just in time to destroy any progress that John might have made in preparing the ship for it's return to space.
As much as the Commander saw himself as a "lone wolf" - happy to act on his own and complete as much of his duties as he could without any outside interference, he simply could not carry on with this state of affairs without the input from his Captain.
And so it was, with a heavy heart, the John made the short journey along Deck 2 to the Captain's quarters, only a short walk away from both his own quarters, and indeed his office.
Straightening his uniform, he tapped the chime panel, and waited.

Lirha was in the middle of reviewing the latest bridge upgrades on her desk's console when the door chime sounded softly in her quarters. Pushing herself back from the desk in her chair, she swiveled and looked towards the door to see who requested her presence. "Enter." she called out in a soft voice.

Taking a deep breath, John tapped the door release and headed inside, bringing himself up towards the captain's desk and standing at attention. After all, this was an official meeting in his eyes, and should be treated as such.

"Ma'am...do you have a moment?"

Watching as her tall XO walked in her quarters and stood at attention, Lirha gave him a small smile and nodded. "Of course." she replied, then motioned towards her couch indicating for him to take a seat. She was quite fond of John, she admitted to herself, especially after the events of their last mission, and always tried to make time for any issues he might have on his mind. After all, she owed her life to him; had it not been for his loyalty to her, she most likely would have died on that cold interrogation cell aboard the Klingon warship.

"I was just going over some of the bridge upgrades we received...Starfleet has really out-done themselves this time." she added with a wry grin.

With the blessing of his commanding officer, Jonathan allowed his body to relax and quickly settled onto the sofa as indicated, sitting with his back flat against the rest in order to best support him.

"They certainly have...I'm more than a little impressed." The XO replied with a smile of his own. He had always found the older Nova-class bridge to be a little too clunky for his liking - too diverse and disorganised to ever be effective, especially in a combat situation. With the refit, everything was a little more clustered according to function, and far more accessible in an emergency.

"Ma'am I..think we have an issue in the form of Lieutenant Stone...he's not exactly what I would call...amicable."

"Lieutenant Stone? ...Oh yes, our new security chief..." she quickly remembered, realizing that she had not yet met the man in-person despite the fact he had already been aboard the ship for several days. "What appears to be the problem?" she asked. In her opinion, it wasn't exactly necessary for Starfleet personnel to have likable personalities...as long as it didn't interfere with their duties.

Clearing his throat, John thought about how exactly he was going to phrase this. As far as he was concerned the man was going to be an issue specifically when John needed someone to simply follow orders. Breathing in deeply before continuing, the XO attempted to use his most diplomatic voice.

"The Lieutenant is...obsessive....inflexible....unpredictable...impersonal....the man lives his entire life by regulation and pattern and repetition. He locked one of our Crewmen in the Brig because he was enjoying a joke with Liyar, and ended up knocking over a bowl of soup. That landed him a charge of assault with a weapon on a senior officer.....then only today I've had to step in and reinstate Chief Kiwosk's security clearances after Stone relieved him of duty for being a marine as well as a security officer."

Letting out a sigh, Lirha grumbled to herself under her breath, upset with herself more than anyone else. She had read the report concerning Crewman Athlen and Lieutenant Liyar, but had not taken a personal interest in the case once she found out that John had personally responded to the problem. But now, to hear of the case regarding another crew member, this time one of his own department, was unsettling to the Orion. She should have been a better captain and investigated further, but her mind had been preoccupied with...other things. Like Lieutenant Panne and Captain Moore.

"He doesn't appear to be settling into his duties very well, does he?" she said quietly. "How are Crewman Athlen and Chief Kiwosk coping? I hope they are not too upset...I rather like them."

"They're both fine members of this crew...both seem to have stayed professional regarding the matter...even if the issue with Athlen almost led to a diplomatic incident with the Rigellian government."

Raising his hands to his temples, John began to rub them in broad circular motion as he tried to figure out exactly how to deal with this problem. The easiest option would be to simply have Stone reassigned off Galileo, but that would just mean launching back into space without a CSO; something that the XO was unwilling to allow.

"It's as if he doesn't seem to be able to cope with anything that isn't prescribed for in a routine, procedure, or direct order...I'm amazed the man was assigned as a department head in the first place."

She listened to her XO's assessment then turned in her chair back towards her desk to grab a PADD. Selecting the correct one from the plethora in the stack, she turned back towards John as she brought up Stone's personnel file and began to read through it in detail. A long moment passed before she finally looked up and spoke. "He appears to have had quite a troubled past." she began as she looked over his service record. "He spent close to five years in Cardassian captivity after a scientific survey near the DMZ went wrong...I can only imagine what they did to him during that period..." she said, then paused for a very long moment as memories of her own torture flooded back into her head. Horrible memories, that seemed to haunt her randomly throughout each day.

Shaking her head to push the agonizing thoughts from her mind, she refocused on the task at hand and the information displayed on the PADD. "It appears that while he was incarcerated, he suffered severe emotional and physical trauma. And after his rescue, he spent almost four years in therapy...although, his medical records appear to be sealed by order of Starfleet." she said, then dropped the PADD in her lap as she looked into her XO's green eyes.

"John," she said to him frankly, "This man has probably experienced tremendous atrocities...I'm honestly surprised that he was cleared for duty..."

"Yet someone, somewhere decided that the man was fit to serve on the Bridge of a starship."

John sighed as he took in the details of Stone's past - if anything it made the Commander feel a sense of pity towards the Lieutenant for having gone through such an experience and come through the other side. After that long in Cardassian prison camps, nobody could have survived without some long term effects.

"Regardless of circumstance or service record...we need to do something...the man needs to learn his responsibilities to his shipmates as well as to the Fleet as a whole...something to tether him to Galileo a little stronger than he is now?"

"Hmm..." Lirha mumbled as she scratched her chin in thought. Perhaps her XO was right. She was curious if he had any ideas, because she was currently at a loss. "Do you have any recommendations?" she asked.

The XO, as always of course, had spent some time thinking through his options as to how exactly to deal with the Lieutenant. It had taken some research, as well as some..covert conversations with some of the few contacts he still had within Command to check exactly whether or not he could follow through with his plan. Taking a breath, he began to speak, not entirely sure as to whether or not his captain would simply laugh him off the ship.

"Well ma'am....when I was a boy I similarly had a few...issues..dealing with my father and his somewhat overbearing attitude. What I did have however, was a...a dog. It took a little searching but there are still regulations in the Fleet stemming from the old United Earth era that allow for a ship's dog...I was thinking we could...re-start that tradition?"

Lirha raised her eyebrows in surprise at the mention of a ship's dog. She was familiar with type of animal from her time spent on Earth, as well as the Starfleet tradition, but had never owned one herself nor spent a significant amount of time around one. "A dog?" she repeated, then adjusted herself in her chair and crossed her legs. "I admit, I have never spent any time around that type of animal...how would a dog be able to solve the lieutenant's social issues?" she asked curiously.

"Well...having to care for another living organism means that you can't tie it down to a routine, or a schedule, or try to enforce regulations - it might make the Lieutenant realise that he doesn't have to follow everything in the regs to the letter. Plus it might give him a...sounding board...for when he needs to think something through before just...doing it?"

Considering her XOs words for a long moment, the captain couldn't help but agree with him. Perhaps a dog would indeed teach him to be more flexible, as well as give him a companion to make him feel less isolated. But...why a dog, she wondered to herself.

"Those are valid points," she said with a nod of her head, then tilted it to the side as she continued to ponder the idea "But...does it have to be a dog? What about another type of animal? For example, my family's crew used to have two pet targs who lived with us aboard our trade ship when I was young...we named them Eljak and Remine. I loved them both very much, Remine even got pregnant and had a litter of targlings. I know the wild ones can be quite viscous, but the domesticated ones really do make good pets as well..."

John sighed as he slowly started to realise quite how foolish he was sounding asking his Captain for a ship's pet. It hadn't occurred to him that as a non-human, Lirha's choice of companion animal might not be exactly the same as what the XO was used to.

"If the Lieutenant was a Klingon then a targ would be perfect for someone with their cultural background...but he's human...I feel that we would see a better effect by using a pet from a species that he will be intrinsically familiar with?"

Lirha shrugged as she quickly thought about the counter-argument. "I suppose so." she answered, partially agreeing with John while silently being a bit disappointed that she probably wouldn't get to see another domestic targ soon. She was quite fond of the animals and thought they made great companions, despite her Human counterparts' objections. "What breed of dog would you prefer?" she asked, "From what I know of the species, there are substantial differences in personality and function between the sub-breeds. And would it be easy to train?"

"Well....there are a range of animals that Starfleet rate as being suited to space travel. The beagle for example, the German Shepherd which is often used in law enforcement and has been for centuries, the choices are rather extensive ma'am."

John excused himself for a moment and disappeared towards the captain's desk nestled in one corner of her quarters and tapped a few commands into the control panel, bringing up a live feed to Earth's security division.

"Command already train dogs specifically for use in the Security division - we could...request a transfer of one such asset to Galileo?"

"Yes, that sounds appropriate, I suppose." Lirha replied with a nod. "Perhaps we should also have a talk with Lieutenant Stone to explain the reasons for this animal transfer."

"I think that would be a sensible precaution....the last thing we want is a member of the crew acting inappropriately in a new situation....correct ma'am?"

John replied, raising one eyebrow as he locked eyes with his commanding officer. If the Commander had been concerned enough about raising his somewhat unusual request with his CO, his more..personal observation gave him sufficient reason to want to run from the room in mere seconds.

Lirha nodded again but this time paused for a moment as she realized John was staring at her in a somewhat strange manner, as if she should have taken special notice to something he just mentioned. Aside from the talk of the dog and the crew acting irresponsibly, she had no idea what he might be referring to. "Of course." she finally replied, then let out a mental shrug.

"I'm glad we're in agreement Captain...erm...how can I put this...there have been...rumours amongst the crew regarding the conduct of a senior officer...an officer even more senior than I am...if you understand?"

With a confused look in her green eyes, Lirha wondered who John was referring to. The only crew member on board Galileo who was of a more senior rank than her XO was...her?

Lirha blinked as more confusion set in. "Me?" she asked with a bit of bewilderment in her voice, unsure what exactly she had done to stir up any rumors on the ship.

"Erm, yes ma'am...you."

Holliday took a second, gulping hard to try and clear the rather substantial lump that had formed in his throat as he had begun this conversation, which, after it failed, led to him coughing several times as if trying to clear something.

"There are rumours that you are..breaching protocol...with certain members of this crew, and external individuals as well. Actions unbecoming of a Starfleet Captain...I'm sorry ma'am."

Actions unbecoming of a Starfleet captain?! she wondered incredulously, beginning to feel a sense of anger that some of her crew might not think very highly of her for some reason. "Exactly what actions are you referring to?" she asked, trying her best to think of all the various times she had not followed exact protocol or procedure. Lirha admitted to herself that she wasn't the most by-the-book captain in the fleet, but she thought she did her best to run a proper ship. "Is this regarding my drinking with members of the crew?" she asked, "Because we are technically on shore leave and I don't recall any protocol regulations which prohibit the consumption of alcohol while off-duty and on leave..."

The change of tone in Lirha's voice was enough to make John consider a change of tact. She seemed to have taken something that he had said and run with it before thinking of the rest of the supposed actions that she had taken during this most recent shore leave. Shaking his head delicately, John reached out a hand, flat palm towards his CO to calm her before he continued.

"No ma'am it's nothing to do with alcohol...it's to do with...I'm sorry ma'am I'm trying to put this delicately...there have been observations of you...exceeding the recorded number of individuals sleeping in your quarters...both from within this crew and externally....my dislike of Captain Moore is not simply personal; it is professional also."

"Oh..." Lirha replied with a series of blinks as she suddenly understood what her XO was trying to say. Feeling a bit embarassed, she sank back into her chair and fiddled her green fingers together in her lap. She hadn't given her personal life much thought lately, but slowly began to realize that she might have been causing a stir aboard the vessel. Lirha knew she had a bad habit of fornicating with her crew; it had started almost immediately after her assignment to Galileo when she had approached Drusilla, her chief counselor, with romantic intentions. And then most recently there had been Jesra...and Maenad...and even Aria, the young woman from Security. Lirha was a full-blooded Orion and very hedonistic by nature, but even by her own standards, she had probably been a bit loose recently.

"I...well, I suppose I may have been a bit open about my relationships," she began to explain, "But I never realized that it was so...noticeable." she confessed with a soft sigh. "I hope I haven't made anyone uncomfortable..."

"Rumours more than uncomfortableness ma'am. I of course have done my utmost to quash any rumours that happened to have tried to spread throughout the ship.."

John knew that even should the rumours have been true, which after a little snooping in the internal sensors he had learned they indeed were, it was still his job to protect his captain from any sort of public humiliation or insult. A few comments to some of the more chatty members of the junior crew had been sufficient to eliminate most conversations.

"Although I should like to recommend that you are a little more...discreet, with your nocturnal activities?"

Lirha paused for a moment and considered John's request. She was grateful that he had helped to quell any inappropriate gossip, and admitted to herself that it would probably be a good idea if she was less open about her relationships, casual or not. "I'll do my best." she finally answered with a small nod. "In truth, I have been under a bit of stress recently...and I sometimes have a habit of acting with my heart instead of my head." she admitted.

"That may be captain but..next time don't let your hips take over. Is...everything alright? I know Orions are famous for having a rather more active approach to intimacy, but as a Starfleet captain...I expected more? This is not the first time I have noted your activity as unusual."

Unusual activity? He expected more? Lirha repeated to herself with a sudden furrow of her brow, then looked directly at her XO with an unamused look in her eyes. Perhaps she had taken her leisures a bit too far recently, but all things considered, she thought that she had performed her duties as a commanding officer rather well in the past several weeks. Perhaps it was the way he worded his statement, but Lirha didn't especially appreciate being chastised for what she considered her preferred form of stress relief.

"Are you calling me slutty?" she finally asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ma'am?" John looked back at her blankly, not entirely sure how his answer was indeed going to be phrased, but sadly, Lirha's response had been perfect to sum up his comments - not that it would be appropriate for an officer to speak to his superior in such a tone.

"I would never presume to describe you in such a way, you are my captain..so I must respectfully decline giving you an answer to that."

Lirha fumed inside as she listened to the way he avoided the question directly. In her opinion, declining to answer was what people did when they didn't want to say 'yes', but really meant it. She wanted to scold him and explain that she simply preferred an active romantic lifestyle, but instead took a more...diplomatic approach. "Very well," she finally said after a long and awkward moment, "Objection noted. If there's nothing else, you're dismissed."

This was the first time in their working career that Lirha had ever uttered that sentence to John. Since the moment he had first met her at Command, she had never once dismissed him from her presence, and the fact that she had now said it made the XO acutely aware that he had upset her.

"Understood."

His reply was curt yet abrupt. Inside he wanted to grab a hold of her green-skinned shoulders and shake some sense into her, but the Commander knew that all such an action would earn him was a stay in the Brig under the eagle eye of Lieutenant Stone.
Gathering his thoughts he turned and began to stride towards the door, stopping mere inches away before turning back again to face Lirha.

"Speaking freely ma'am - my job is to support you, not judge you. My first loyalty is and always will be to this crew - what you do in your own time is up to you. However if you choose to flout protocol once we return to active duty...I will not be able to continue offering that support."

With a sharp nod, he turned once more and watched as the doors parted in front of him, breathing a sigh of relief as he moved out and into the corridor.

Watching as her XO left the room, Lirha slammed her hand down in anger on her desk. Who was he to lecture her about protocol?! Sure, she had probably taken things a bit too far with her recent number of multiple lovers, but they had made her feel better...and helped to fill a massive hole of pain and anguish that been dug into her on board the Klingon Bird of Prey. Now, almost two weeks later, she still struggled with night terrors...and now her XO thought she was slutty. Part of her wanted to cry, the other wanted to scream. Upset and unsure what to do, she folded her arms on the desk, laid her head down in between then, and closed her eyes.

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Cmdr Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

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