Reinstated

Posted on 05 Mar 2014 @ 2:51pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Lieutenant Jacob Pendleton

2,188 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: Starfleet HQ - 1st Floor, Command Office
Timeline: MD 04 - 0700

[ON]

He was nervous; far more nervous than he ever suspected he would be, but here he was, back on the Galileo, back to redeem himself.

Most of the crew was gone and the ship was being refit and rebuilt so there was little chance he would come upon one of his crewmates, which is exactly what he wanted right now. He walked through the busy corridors not noticing how some of the female engineering crew members from the star dock would stop when they saw him pass. One woman blushed a deep red when she caught his eye for a moment! He muscles were larger than ever before; he was a bigger man than when he left three months ago. More powerful, more agile, more fit... he was indeed a sight to behold!

Jacob got to the Captain's Office on time as he always had. He adjusted his uniform which seemed to almost strain at the massive musculature underneath. He let out a deep breath and then rang the door's alert.

John, from his position at the desk tapped the control panel to open the Command office door. He had known about the return of their Chief Research Officer for a while but was glad to see the man on his way to recovery. The Captain made a mental note that he may have to get Ops to install a larger doorway should the Lieutenant ever decide to go on another sabbatical.

Looking across to the Commodore who had already joined him in the room, he waited for the Lieutenant to take his seat.

Lirha suppressed an early-morning yawn with the back of her hand then smiled politely at Pendleton before reaching for her mug and taking a long sip of warm and frothy hot chocolate. "Good morning, lieutenant."

Jacob walked in and stood at attention. "Chief Science Officer Lieutenant Jacob Pendleton reporting once more for duty." His eyes fell upon Captain Holliday for a moment and suddenly visions of what had occurred barely over three months ago filled Jacob's mind. For a moment, it was like being in Hell all over again. Jacob; however, did not show any body language that would give away his feelings, he stood there as cold as stone.

"At easy Lieutenant. Take a seat." John replied, noting the hard body language of the science officer as he stood at attention. The Captain approved, and would have positioned himself similarly in Jacob's position.

Jacob nodded and then let his eyes meet Lirha's. She was beautiful as ever and he was delighted to see her doing well. He nodded to her and then took the sturdiest (and largest) seat he could find. He looked back at Holliday, "How are you feeling Captain? No ill effects from the previous encounter with the space zombies I hope."

"I am well, thank you Lieutenant." John acknowledged, not wanting to get bogged down in the details of his recovery. Suffice to say with the exception of an implant here and a processor unit there, the Martian was as close to feeling human again as he was ever likely to.

"More importantly how are you feeling? You have been absent from the ship for some time since our return from our previous mission."

Jacob cast his eyes downward for a moment, "I am feeling better Captain. Good enough to resume my duties. Eventually, I am sure, I will be good enough to getting back into the whole 'social' part of life... I guess I did not realize how the last mission would effect me so... but I am moving forward... one day at a time."

"It is the best we can do, really," Lirha chimed in. She, too, had been struggling with her own demons following her partial assimilation, and it had been a difficult few weeks for her ever since they had departed the Setisar system. "We have all been through a lot, and there is no need to rush back to duty until you feel ready. I am sure the captain would prefer you to be back at 100% rather than push yourself too much, too quickly." She cast a glace over at Holliday to try and determine his thoughts.

"Agreed. I don't think anyone should be returned to duty unless they are entirely capable of doing the job for which they have been assigned."

John and Lirha had often shared the same points of view and this was no different. The ship needed to be manned by people who had 100% dedication at all times, and serving whilst still at diminished capacity endangered them all.

"I am ready to return," Jacob gave them a steady gaze, "I feel its time, it's now or never. I will not be able to beat my demons by walking away, by not proving to myself that I can do this once again. I got my stress and my anxieties dealt with. I worked them out. Doing difficult manual chores back home on the farm... it is the reason you see me more fit than I have ever been. It has been therapeutic.. so to put it plainly, I want to move forward, for me and my sanity at the very least."

"I understand the way you feel Lieutenant. I felt much the same during my own recuperation. If you feel that you are ready to come back...I have no objections. Commodore?"

John nodded in approval. He remembered the discomfort he had felt about being stuck in a hospital bed for days on end, and was more than happy when he was released back to active duty. For a man like Pendleton, that would have been exactly the same kind of personal hell.

Lirha also gave a nod to the large science officer. "If you are medically cleared to return to duty and since Captain Holliday has no objections...then welcome back aboard," she replied, giving him a friendly smile. "Have you had a chance to speak to a counselor about some of your difficulties?" she added.

Jacob shook his head, "No ma'am, I wanted to see both of you first. I wanted to know that I was still... wanted here... that my leaving didn't... make or leave a negative impression..." Jacob's eyes again lowered as his chair began to feel very uncomfortable.

"Lieutenant - we gain character from the sum of our experiences. I am not the same man I was when we left space dock and I highly doubt you are either. Take strength from what happened - I certainly will be."

John replied with a nod. He could share the pain that his research officer was feeling, that a lot of Galileo's crew would have felt, but he knew as well as most that in order to move on, it had to be accepted.

Jacob nodded with a sad look on his face. "May I speak freely Captain?"

The captain waved his hand to grant his authority to speak without concern for rank or regulation. He could see no reason to stop the lieutenant from speaking as he saw fit.

"Go ahead Mr Pendleton?"

Jacob thought for a second and then leaned in from his chair towards Captain Holliday, "John.." his voice was low and filled with anguish, ".. I tried... I really did.. if I had just two more seconds... I could have gotten to you.. I.. I failed... those bastards.. they got you, Jared and nearly got the Lirha herself!! If had been only faster... those damn zombies... they might be powerful and all.. but I was quicker than they.. I was able to plow through a few of them when they attacked the bridge... but I couldn't get to you in time... I should have been there John.. I should have gotten there..."

Jacob hung his head, his feeling of failure overwhelmed him, "I could have saved you and Jared and the Commodore... I.. failed.." He put his hands to his head completely distraught.

"Nonsense," Lirha replied with a sympathetic shake of her head. "There was nothing you could have done that you did not already do...had you attempted to take on every Borg on the bridge and save everyone, you would have ended up assimilated yourself. Drones are not simply bowling pins, Mister Pendleton. I was in command of the ship and it was I who was responsible...not you," she tried to explain.

John couldn't help but feel a little nauseous as he thought back on their last mission, there had been plenty of mistakes but it was already accepted by Lirha and himself that the faults laid at their doorstep and no others. The crew had followed their orders to the letter, and the casualties they sustained couldn't be blamed on anyone else.

"The Commodore is right. I cannot and will not hold any of my crew responsible for what happened. The Borg outnumbered us and had a massive tactical superiority. The very fact that we are all alive and able to tell the tale is a miracle in itself. As far as I see it, you succeeded lieutenant - you stayed alive."

Jacob sat up again trying to keep things together. "It.. I... appreciate it.. both of you.. you have to understand.. I... I hardly ever get overwhelmed... my physical and mental prowess have... served me well... I am rarely beaten in either situation... but I know.. I know that positions of command... if they be filled by good people, take responsibility on their shoulders, and you two are the finest definition of command I have ever been around. Still.. I almost got there. I just needed a window... of time... you.. you two are not just my Captain and my Commodore, you are people I care about deeply... I know its 'what if and what could have been' but this is not easy for me." Jacob took a deep breath, "I just feel the sting of that day and that time. Please do not judge me otherwise... I will always feel that I could have done more..."

"And I will feel exactly the same way Lieutenant. As First Officer my job was to protect the Captain and crew, instead I ended up assimilating the CO personally and overseeing the assimilation of half a dozen other crew members. Shame is not a bad thing, it marks us as human."

John almost wanted to break his icy shell and console the man, but felt that it would be neither a good use of his time, nor something that Jacob wanted right now. It was as if the man was seeking forgiveness, yet not wanting it at the same time, a perplexing quandary.

"I.. understand.. I do. I must try to work on learning even more than I do already then... I think I am going to not just study about the beings we encounter, but I am also going to start studying their strengths and their weaknesses as well.. I am not going to be taken by surprise again like I was last time..." He cracked his huge knuckles loudly and looked at both of them, "I thank you both for allowing back and hearing me out on this. I know there is much to do and that I probably have taken up way too much of your time already, but I agree wholeheartedly with you John, I am not the same man I was, and I will never be again. I will be better for this. I will make it so."

He stood up to full attention. "Captain, Commodore, I am looking forward to being the Chief Research Officer once more, and it is my request that I would like to learn to improve myself and so therefore I would like to start learning and training with security so that I might make that improvement and that progress I so desire. I will still be your CRO and a scientist, but I know now what I need to fulfill my goals as well as be able to protect and defend this ship for the next time things get... difficult."

"I...don't see a problem with that Lieutenant. As long as Lieutenant Rhodes is agreeable and it doesn't interfere with your duties."

John approved of the request, he himself had always tried to keep as sharp as he could with his security and tactical knowledge. Of course he had been given the advantage of being a tactical officer since his academy days, but he would not hold a grudge against anyone else wanting the same career path.

"I shall leave it in your hands to discuss with Mr Rhodes. Now if there is nothing else Mr Pendleton I believe you are due to report into Galileo?"

"Indeed Sir, Indeed." He bowed in respect to his Captain and his Commodore, "Thank you again for allowing me back. I promise to make you both proud." He turned perfectly on his heel and walked out the office.

[OFF]

--

Lieutenant Jacob Pendleton
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

CDRE Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

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