Confessions

Posted on 21 Mar 2016 @ 10:35am by Captain Jonathan Holliday & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Min Zhao & Lieutenant Jared Nicholas

2,638 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 1 - Captain's Ready room
Timeline: MD 84 - 1200hrs

ON:

Min glanced at Jared as the turbolift doors opened onto Deck one of the Galileo. Lian was in the care of the holographic sitter Raven and neither was looking forward to this meeting but it had to be done. Taking Jared's hand in her own, she gave it a little squeeze as they walked down the hall. Pausing at the door, Min looked at Jared. "Ready?"

Jared nodded, "Yeah at least I'm coming here voluntarily this time. I mean how mad can they get?"

Min pressed the chime, announcing they were on time for the meeting, well a minute early but who was counting? Min adjusted her outfit as she waited.

Holliday and Saalm were of course otherwise engaged. The joy of command came with a minefield of paperwork that had to be completed before Galileo would be authorised to return to space and begin her next mission.

"What?! Enter!" Holliday called as he absentmindedly signed off yet another report and passed it to Lirha to do the same.

Jared took his wife's hand and entered the Ready Room.

The Orion flag officer took the PADD from Holliday and quickly reviewed in silence for a short series of seconds before pressing her thumbprint into the signature box to affirm the contents. She then placed said PADD at the top of the large stack which was piling up next to her, and waited in silence for John to send her the next one.

The sound of the door chime was an unpleasant interruption to a quiet and so-far productive session. She reached up to her head and pushed a stray strand of hair back behind her ear before turning her head to look towards the door.

Still holding Jared's hand for emotional support, Min followed her husband as they entered the ready room. "Captain. Admiral." Min addressed both of her superiors. "Do you have a few minutes to talk? Jared and I are in a bit of a quandary about something."

If Holliday had been the fainting type, this would have been the exact moment that he would have fallen from his chair like a sack of potatoes. What was it with this crew and the constant desire to reproduce? This was a starship, not a nursery.

"Lieutenants...this is not what I expected from my officers returning to duty."

"I'm sorry Captain," Jared said trying to keep the edge out of his voice, "we didn't exactly plan this, nor was there any malicious intent on our part. And we are married."

Min let out a breath through pursed lips. Sitting down in one of the free chairs, Min rested her hands on her stomach. "For the record, I am approx 22 weeks pregnant with twins. And yes, I am aware that the situation is a problem given the size of the vessel and her facilities."

Lirha couldn't believe it. Though it wasn't necessarily a crime to give birth aboard a starship nor reproduce, she was pretty sure this wasn't the first time the young operations chief had done such an action aboard her ship since first pleading to return to Starfleet. "Lieutenant, are you saying you are pregnant...again?" she asked for clarification, her light green eyes narrowing before confirming it for herself visually.

"Yes Admiral. I am." Min responded, glancing at Lirha, her eyes drifting to the Admiral's own belly. She'd heard rumors the Admiral herself was pregnant and seeing Lirha for the first time since the end of last mission, she could see the smallest of bumps showing.

A long and awkward silence ensued while Lirha pondered the situation at hand. It was irresponsible, in her mind, and also not beneficial to the good order and nature of Galileo. Even more importantly, Lirha began to recall Min's onboarding interview with Holliday and herself many months ago. "Please, remind me why you originally wished to return to Starfleet aboard this vessel."

"My original reason for coming back to Starfleet was for my daughter. I wanted her to grow up and have the opportunities I had, something Starfleet offered us." Min paused. "Admiral. This is not the same as then. There is no dereliction of duty, no unwanted pregnancy. I've run my department to yours and the Captain's satisfaction since I came aboard. If I am guilty of anything, it is being intimate with my husband."

Lirha folded her hands delicately in her lap held the lieutenant's gaze for another long moment before speaking. "You came to us with a desire to rejoin Starfleet and to provide for your daughter," Lirha confirmed. "You assured us of your devotion and commitment to the oath, to recognizing your past mistakes, and to uphold the duties of a Starfleet officer -- to perform your job aboard this ship. Since then, you have already had one child. And now...you willingly would do the same thing once again? Aboard a Nova-class starship that is not suited to handle families?" Saalm couldn't quite believe it was happening all over.

"Yes Admiral I did. My past mistake was not a pregnancy, as Lian was born months after I returned to duty. My past mistake Admiral was to chose to desert my post in order to go sleep with a coworker. That I have not done since." Min paused. "I would also note that since I came aboard, despite being pregnant with Lian, I was promoted to Chief of Operations, and promoted in rank." She glanced at Holliday. "You said it yourself sir, that my conduct and the reports of my superiors since coming aboard has proven your initial misgivings wrong."

Jared for his part was doing his best to keep his face impassive. He didn't appreciate his wife, and in a very real sense himself, being lectured to. And given the Admiral's own condition especially given her higher rank and responsibility, he thought it was the height of hypocrisy for her to be upset.

For the moment though he said nothing, as tempting as it was to speak up. Min seemed to be more than holding her own and he felt that if he interjected he would just make things worse.

He was on the brink however and it wouldn't take much for him to come up with an appropriate retort.

Holliday had remained silent so far. There had been no need for him to say much more as the Admiral seemed to have covered the majority of the bases associated with this particular discussion already. Suffice to say they were being faced with additional children on an already-cramped starship which was never designed to accommodate families in the first place.

"I'm afraid I find myself in agreement with the Admiral, Lieutenants. Were this a Galaxy or other family-orientated vessel then perhaps my viewpoint would be different, but this ship simply is not designed to be handling families."

Jared looked over at the two senior officers taking an extra second or two to look at Lirha, "First Captain, while I can understand your concern here, you're right the ship is not the largest in the fleet, I'd like to point out that we are not the only ones who are pregnant, or who will be adding to the Galileo's population. Second, we did the responsible thing by coming here and informing you of what has occurred. And thirdly.... do I have permission to speak freely?"

Holliday waved his hand towards the Lieutenant with an "of course" gesture, making it quite obvious that he was more than happy for an officer to speak freely.

"Well thirdly, with all due respect to your concerns, the Admiral is pregnant herself. So I think it more than a little hypocritical to be getting a lecture from her. And Captain, did you talk to her the way you're talking to us?

Min and I both like it here. I'd like to think that I've grown a lot as an officer and a person since the, ahem, incident in the kitchen. I'm not that same person anymore. We had discussed about resigning and asking for a transfer. Is that what you'd like us to do?"

Min nodded her agreement. "We both understand the challenges posed to the ship, and to us, which is why we are willing to transfer to another vessel. We'd both like to remain aboard but if it is not in the best interests of this ship and crew, we will request a transfer to a different vessel."

Lirha had been listening and observing both the dialogue and tone of the two junior officers while they were speaking. It troubled her to hear them speak of a transfer request as if it were some sort of leverage in the situation. She especially didn't appreciate being talked about in the third person while she was the senior-most officer in the same room. These actions caused her to look at Holliday to give him a warning glance of what she was about to say.

"Lieutenants, if you wish to transfer, then you are both welcome to submit your requests. I know of several other captains in the fleet who could use officers such as yourself, and their starships would be environments much better suited to accommodate your...situation," she said with no uncertainty. "Serving aboard Galileo, this vessel, is a privilege, and there are many other officers and cadets who would give anything for the chance to be posted here. If you wish to leave this posting because of your pregnancy, then so be it. That is a decision for you to make, not me. If I felt your conduct was inappropriate, you would be reassigned, not transferred." The tone of her voice was light yet forceful, and she made sure her words were deliberate.

Jared looked directly into the Admiral's eyes. without flinching, "That's not our first choice ma'am and I'm glad you at least think enough of us not to reassign us. But you tell us, what you think is equitable. For everyone. We'd love to stay here,this is our home. But it feels almost as if we're being pushed out."

Min nodded. "Jared is right. We came to both of you because of our past histories and how this might appear to you both in light of that. Neither of us want to leave the Galileo, but we also know this might make it impossible for us to remain aboard after they are born."

"You're damn right." Holliday replied, snapping back into the conversation. He had to now contend with the fact that his crew would apparently be getting larger once again, and as XO it would be his problem to ensure sufficient duty shift coverage with what would almost certainly be a sudden shortage in manpower with parental leaves of absence.

"The fact of the matter is that as a Flag Officer, Admiral Saalm is more than capable of removing herself from active service or taking a much wider range of postings at her discretion. As Lieutenants I would have thought the two of you would have appreciated the impact that actions such as this can have on a career in Starfleet. Obviously there is nothing i can do retrospectively now that this has happened, but I would be prepared for reassignment if no other options present themselves. Now if there is nothing further?"

"No," Jared said, seeing some sense in the Captain's words, but still not fully buying into the argument. Nevertheless, he wasn't going to push things. "Nothing further from me. You okay Min?"

"I am Captain, thank you." Min responded. She really wasn't sure how she felt and all she wanted to do was go back to quarters and curl up in Jared's arms.

Lirha nodded to Min to acknowledge her departure then turned towards the young blue-collared man before he exited. "Mister Nicholas, stay for a moment," she instructed. A private word with the man was in apparently in order. She gave Holliday a private and brief glance to let the captain know exactly what was about to happen.

Jared was not a telepath, but he had a good idea of just why he was being asked to stay, and while not looking forward, to the inevitable confutation that was about to take place, neither was he intimidated.

"Yes ma'am, " he said as impassively as he could.

"Do you...enjoy your time here in Starfleet?" she asked of him in a rather casual manner once the door had swished closed. "You are very young for someone of your rank grade and I am wondering if you are enjoying the career path you have chosen?"

"Yes ma'am, I do enjoy it. I was a little out of my element at first, not that I am suggesting by any means that I have it altogether. But as you know I had an, an adjustment period. I'm sure both you and the Captain will remember the uh, rather infamous incident in the kitchen.

I'd like to think I've matured since then, that I've grown."

"I believe you have as well," Lirha said, "and that is good to see. It is not always easy for a new officer to come aboard their first assignment and fully integrate. Sometimes...there are lapses, such as what occurred in your case." It was about two years ago as she could recall, and she didn't hold it against the man. "It is a good sign that you have learned from your experiences."

She cleared her throat and continued on. "That being said, I value your presence aboard our starship the same as Captain Holliday does. However...there are certain rules and protocols we all must abide by as Starfleet officers. And if you ever undermine me again, or suggest that I am hypocritical or that I do not treat members of this crew fairly -- while speaking about me in the third person while I am in the same room -- or question Captain Holliday's motives...then this will be the last starship that you ever serve on." Her light green eyes pierced into the cerulean ones of the lieutenant with no ambiguity. "Do I make myself clear, Mister Nicholas?"

Jared kept his face impassive. His opinion on the matter hadn't changed one iota and he still thought the Admiral was blind to the whole situation. But he was astute enough to know that he wasn't going to make her see the lightor accept that she might be wrong. And looking at the pips on her collar in contrast to the ones on his own, was also astute enough to know who would win in any kind of clash or confrontation.

So, he did the only sane and logical thing. He simply said. "Crystal clear Admiral."

Lirha turned to Holliday to see if he wanted to add anything relating to the recent transgression. If not, she was happy to let Jared depart. She preferred to avoid any disciplinary actions wherever necessary, and often found that a healthy dose of tough love was more effective than time in the brig.

"Dismissed Mr Nicholas." Holliday replied, knowing there was very little he could add to the very clear statement that his CO had just issued. He was proud of the Orion - she was almost becoming a little more like him with words such as those, a far flung comparison to the diplomat she seemed when he first joined the crew. Perhaps miracles were possible after all.

Jared turned to leave, deciding, discretion was the better part of valor.

OFF:

JP by:

RADM Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

Lt Min Nicholas
Chief of Operations
USS [i]Galileo[/i]

Lt. Jared Nicholas
Language Specialist
USS Galileo

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

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