Career Path

Posted on 17 Apr 2013 @ 3:05pm by Captain Jonathan Holliday & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm

2,185 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2 - Captain's Quarters
Timeline: MD05 - 2100hrs

[ON]

At 9pm, one might have expected Jonathan Holliday to be comfortably seated on the Bridge, partway through his duty shift and finishing off duty reports in preparation for handover in a few hours time. Instead, the XO found himself in the turbolift, anxiously rubbing his hands against one another as the doors split in front of him, depositing him one deck down from the Bridge.

The walk from the turbolift doors to the captain's quarters felt excrutiatingly long, as if something was deliberately stretching the ship to make his mission take longer and longer against his will. Eventually, after what felt like a torturous length of time, he arrived at Saalm's doorway, and leant against the chime, feeling his heart jump into his throat as the noise from behind the doors confirmed his presence.

Lirha was seated on her couch reading through the contents of a PADD when her door chime rang. Setting the small silver device down next to her, she uncurled her green feet from beneath her and slowly stretched her legs and arms. "Enter." she called out.

And with that, the XO knew there was no turning back. Pressing his hand against the door release panel, he inhaled sharply, using the sliding of the doors to mask the sound before stepping inside.

"Captain, I'm sorry to bother you so late ma'am, if you're busy I can come back another time?"

"No, not at all." the captain answered. She was hardly busy at the moment and welcomed a break from her reading. Rising from the cushions, she gestured towards the couch with her hand. "Please have a seat. Can I get you anything? A drink or snack?" she offered as she wandered towards the nearby replicator.

"No thank you ma'am...I'm fine. I just...wanted to take up a little of your time if I may? I find myself needing some advice from a higher ranking officer."

John nodded in appreciation for the offer to sit, and quickly moved over to the sofa and settled down in one corner, folding his hands in his lap as he waited for the Captain to return from her trip to the replicator.

Lirha procured herself a fresh mug of hot chocolate and watched it materialize in front of her, then moved back towards the couch and took a seat next to him in the opposite corner. "Yes of course, I would be glad to." she replied, happy to advise her first officer with whatever matter he may be dealing with. "What is on your mind?" she asked, then took a long sip of her frothy drink as she watched him with intent green eyes.

"Well ma'am.." The XO began, before taking a moment to clear his throat. Trying to come up with a way to adequately tell your Commanding Officer that you have been headhunted for another post was unfortunately far more complex than Holliday had originally thought it would be.

"Before my last away mission I was contacted by someone I used to lecture at the Academy with. He has been informed that there is a gap in the fleet - specifically the USS Excalibur will soon be missing a First Officer....and he's offered it to me."

Placing her cup down on the table, Lirha let out a soft sigh and folded her hands in her lap. Twinges of jealousy and anger accompanied a more deeper feeling of sadness at the thought that she would be losing her XO to another ship, mid-mission nonetheless. She had grown very fond of the commander over the past several months and thought they had a great working relationship. In addition, they had been through so much together that the idea of him leaving Galileo was deeply troublesome.

"I see." the Orion quietly replied, trying her best to hide her feelings. "Congratulations." she added with a forced smile.

Lirha knew that John was a tactical man and USS Excalibur was a much more ideal choice of positions for him, but still...he had personally saved her from the grasp of certain death at the hands of the Klingon Empire...she owed him a lot and did not want him to leave. Ever. "When do you depart?" she asked, her eyes falling to the carpet beneath her feet.

The sound of his captain's congratulations was almost sickening to the XO - he had no idea what course of action he was going to take. As much as a few months ago he would have been on the first shuttle back to HQ for redeployment, their engagements with the Klingons only a while while ago had bound the Commander to his current posting a little deeper than he might have wanted to.

"I...I don't know yet. I mean, the job is mine if I want it, but that's the problem. I don't know if I want it or not. I've...kind of gotten used to this little bucket of bolts we've got here."

Lirha looked up from the ground with wetness suddenly lining her eyes. "You would prefer Galileo over Excalibur?" she asked in a hopeful yet soft voice as confusion permeated her brain.

"When you put it that way...it just sounds strange." John replied, noting the sudden change in her appearance - it was almost as if she was concerned about his leaving. The XO had no idea he was thought of quite so highly onboard - he had always seen himself as the soldier amongst the scientists; the one who was put in the wrong situation as a joke by those above him.

"But...I'm not quite as clear set on how to proceed. Excalibur is a warship, no doubt about it, and serving on a Galaxy class as First Officer would be the pinnacle of my career so far. But I've been on Galileo since we left spacedock, I have a lot of memories here, if that makes any sense at all?"

The Orion look at him curiously while trying to judge his thoughts as if she was somehow telepathic. "Yes, I understand your feelings." she answered after a long moment of pondering. "I, too, have grown very attached to Galileo over the past few months. As well as her personnel." she added, resisting the urge to give him a wink.

"We are a more close-knit family than I have ever been a part of on any other vessel during my career. Perhaps it is our small size and crew compliment...but perhaps it is also the struggles which have all been through together?" she wondered.

"Nothing like almost going to war with the whole Klingon Empire to bring a crew closer together. Tell me ma'am...what would you do? If you were in my position?"

John was still unsure as to how to proceed, his loyalties to Galileo were one thing, but heading towards getting his own command was an entirely other pathway altogether.

Lirha's eyes went wide for a brief moment when John caught her off guard with the loaded question. There was no easy way to answer it and many of the aspects of an officer's career were highly personal. However, at that moment, she knew that he trusted her and valued her opinion...otherwise, why would he ask?

Rubbing her green forehead in thought, Lirha eventually looked back up at him with an apologetic smile. "I...am not sure, John." she answered as honestly as possible. "You have been offered a posting which seems to suit your training and expertise...but, you have also built a strong relationship with our entire crew...including myself." she elaborated with a weak smile. "As an Orion, I was raised to value family and personal relationships above all others. I know that might not be the Starfleet way...but would you really want to leave Galileo and an entire crew who look up to you and trust you with their lives? Would you want to start over on a ship almost eight times our size where the crew bond is not as strong?" her voice trailed off for a moment and she looked down to the carpet again, then back up at John, unsure of what else to say.

The Orion's words made perfect sense in the XO's head, but still he was unsure as to how he should proceed. Whilst the Galileo might be a ship that John enjoyed commanding from time to time, it was never really his ship - it belonged to the scientists and to the academics, not to the soldiers. At least on a Galaxy class it might be a little more even - but there was still the daunting challenge of the sheer scale of such a vessel.

Sighing the XO laid back in the sofa, closing his eyes and focusing for a moment as he tried to find out exactly where his loyalties indeed lay - either to himself, or to his ship.

"Galileo is...much more of a family...but one day I want to sit in the big chair...I'm thinking I stand a better chance of doing that with flight time on a Galaxy under my belt. But Galileo is my home...you see the problem?"

Lirha slowly nodded and pondered the situation some more. "Perhaps you are right...but do you not feel that I would give you a strong recommendation when that time comes?" she asked, hoping that her XO didn't think that her word was any less valuable than another captain's. "Or is it that you feel experience aboard a Galaxy Class will be more beneficial than a Nova Class?" she wondered, trying to clarify his concerns.

"I...have no doubt that you would reference me well as and when I decide my time on Galileo has come to an end ma'am. My concern is that a Nova class isn't exactly a posting that has a reputation for making great contributions to Starfleet. The great ships have always been the big ones...the Enterprise...the Excelsior...even the Defiant might be a small ship but she's armed to the teeth."

John dropped his head into his hands as he thought on the matter further. What he had just said made him sound like a complete ass who was only interested in self preservation. He loved the Galileo, it was the first ship he had served as XO on, but his dream was to get the big chair himself one day, and if he was going to do that, he needed a challenge.

"I suppose I sound like a complete fraud saying that. I apologise."

The captain was surprised at her XO's statement about the lack of their ship's reputation, and she took a deep breath while beginning to fiddle with her green fingers in her lap. "If we were at their height of the Dominion War, or the Borg threat, or the Hobus disaster, I would probably agree with you." she began. "However, much has changed within Starfleet over the past couple of years. The fleet is actually downsizing its compliment of combat vessels and beginning to focus once again on exploration and research and development, especially with new territories across the Romulan Empire now accessible. And even if you were stationed on a warship...the chances of that vessel gaining prestige in combat situations is probably much less likely right now." she elaborated, giving her honest opinion on the matter.

"Personally, I believe that it will be ships of science and discovery that will pave the way for Starfleet and the UFP over the next ten years. You need look no further than were we are right now; out on the frontier of unexplored space while charting new worlds. And with a FNN Press Corps team to accompany us, nonetheless. If you have any doubts about our ability to make a positive reputation for ourselves...well, the evidence is already here." she finished with a soft and reassuring smile.

"I guess I have some serious thinking to do." John replied with a sigh. The clear-cut answer simply was refusing to reveal itself to him at this moment in thime. Whilst he still had time to think over the options and come to his final decision, the concept of leaving Galileo was both attractive and repulsive at the same time.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late ma'am. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me."

Lirha smiled and nodded at her XO. "No need to apologize, I am always here should you ever need a sounding board. Whatever you decide...I will support you either way." she finished.

With one final sigh the XO rose up from his chair and began the slow walk towards the doors, turning at the last moment to offer his gratitude to his Commanding Officer.

"Thank you Captain...I think I'll need it."

[OFF]

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CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

CMDR Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

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