For Tonight's Entree...

Posted on 30 Dec 2023 @ 5:20pm by Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm

4,208 words; about a 21 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: USS Galileo-B - Deck 2, Mess Hall
Timeline: MD 02, 1800 hrs

[ON]

It was almost 1800 hours aboard USS Galileo-B which would usually produce a small flurry of personnel across all shifts entering the vessel's mess hall for some much-needed nourishment and relaxation. And in decades past, for a fresh-cooked meal crafted by a sous chef and their accompanying line cooks. Perhaps even a warm synthehol beverage or two to compliment a multiple-course meal. Such times were a distant memory for the future Galileo crew, because the small starship no longer possessed a civilian compliment nor any fresh food stores. The ongoing war had stripped those luxuries away from them and each crew member had been forced to make due with their assigned replicator rations over the past six months. Comfort and tranquility were no longer afforded by the small dining area - it now only existed to prove a means for large-scale nourishment distribution and an occasional quiet place to decompress.

The entrance to the mess hall hissed open and Galileo-B's Orion captain, Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm, entered with non-existent fanfare. She briskly walked to one of the still-functioning replicators to procure her second and last meal for the day while ignoring the sparsity and jovial void within the room which had long-since become commonplace.

After working for hours in an EV suit in the vacuum of space, Sera found that she would no longer ignore the physical need for sustenance. It was an...irksome inconvenience. However, she logically rationalized that hunger would reduce efficiency and therefore was necessary.

It was a convenient excuse to justify her reason why she was taking a break now. It was really because in the emptiness of the vacuum, Sera had been plagued by incomprehensible whispers and dark sounds that engaged the limbic system where one's senses become heightened to the point of discomfort.

Sera needed a break from the constant, low level feeling of dread in order to regain some semblance of balance. Walking into the mess hall, She noted the immediate difference in this Galileo of the future. It was filled with an oppressiveness Sera could not accurately quantify. It made her skin crawl; a uniquely uncomfortable sensation. Ugh...perhaps it was better in the EV suit?

She walked over to one of the functional replicators and something automatically dispensed. Sera picked up the bowl filled with a substance that resembled human oat gruel, and smelled heavily of vitamins. Most likely some sort of nutrient mush. Inwardly groaning, Sera looked around to find a place to sit. There were no empty tables, nor any other 'A' crew that she knew to sit with. Having no other choice, Sera walked up to the first table that held a lone occupant sitting with their back to her.

"Excuse me, may I share the table?" Sera asked blandly as she stepped forward to so that she could see and hear the person's response and...oh.

Admiral Saalm. Fvadt.

The Orion lifted her head from her meal and looked up into a slightly-disheveled Vulcan's blue eyes with her own dreary light green irises. It didn't take long for Saalm to recognize the Galileo-A engineer, for her antiquated uniform was a dead giveaway. "Please," she forced a half-smile across her gold lips to invite the woman to sit. "Ensign M'Lyr'Zor, yes?" She spoke the woman's surname with an uncannily accurate Vulcan accent.

Sera took the seat opposite of Saalm. What was the Human idiom? In for a penny, in for a kilo? That didn't seem right, but Sera did not have the luxury of time to consider the correct saying in the moment, and her consideration halted at the Admiral's perfect pronunciation of her clan name.

That had never happened before. Case in point, most people butchered her first name which was why she went by Sera.

"That is correct, Admiral Saalm." She looked down to the grey, glistening mush in front of her and could all but feel any hope of a restful interlude dying a silent death in the vacuum of space. Very well. Adaptation was required.

"Although, You are the first off-worlder to ever pronounce my clan name correctly." It was important for her that Saalm knew that. As she scooped her first bite of the highly unappetizing mush, Sera considered just how exactly an Orion, out of all of the people she had encountered since joining Starfleet, was the first one to get it right.

"Tor du stariben Vuhlkansu? Sera asked hopefully as she brought the spoonful to her mouth and swallowed. (Do you speak Vulcan?)

The nutrient gruel tasted about as appetizing as it looked, and it took Sera's considerable control to get down the first bite. As a quick compare and contrast, she was willing to give the tomato soup a second chance.

As it was logical to obtain sustenance, she would simply have to control her physiological revulsion to the room temperature, grey substance. Or she could starve. That was a viable option as well.

"Wuh pi' la' heh tra'," (a little here and there), answered Saalm with a tinge of an Orion accent to the foreign language. "My family were traders during my youth, before my younger sister, Nesh, was born. I was fluent in many different tongues by the time I was ten. But...it's been many years since I've been able to practice your language," she explained with a small, genuine and private smile.

"Ah." Sera replied. "Your pronunciation was acceptable, for only speaking a 'little here and there,' Admiral."

She took another bite of the sludge and considered putting it back to be recycled. Was she really hungry enough for this? Yes. She was Vulcan. She was stronger than...whatever this was in the bowl.

"This is almost inedible. If you had but brought a sample of what is now considered daily fare, you may have found a more sympathetic audience during your briefing." It was delivered in the most dead-panned of manner.

Saalm's demure eyes brightened and the wrinkles lining the outer edges of her eyes compressed. "I've forgotten the intricacies of Vulcan humor." She took one of the two small dredge shakers present next to her meal tray then pushed it forward on the table to her temporary companion. "It's rep, a flavorful spice. Most likely the last to exist from my homeworld. It will override the taste and texture of your meal," she recommended.

"I would not want..." Sera stopped. It was offered, she would be gracious and accept. She picked up the shaker and sprinkled a small amount on the gruel and returned the shaker to the Saalm. After stirring the spice into the mixture she took an experimental taste. It was better. Oh...it still was awful...but at least it wasn't as awful.

"You have my thanks, Admiral. It was unnecessary to share such a priceless spice...but it is appreciated."

It rankled to thank the woman who had kidnapped them from their timeline, and in essence, pressed them into service here. Irrelevant. Niceties much be observed.

She looked down to the bowl. Non-Vulcans partook in mealtime conversations. She had accepted this; but what was there to talk about other than the gulf that lay between the two of them.

"You will have your future because Commander Tarin has ordered is so, but at what cost, Admiral? If we are successful in following your orders, we will return with knowledge of our fate. A cruel payment for such required service." Sera attempted to keep her tone neutral. It was only nominally successful.

Saalm glanced down back into her bowl of food, slowly stirring it while contemplating the best way to respond to the engineer from the past. "We cannot send you and the Galileo-A back in time with another temporal displacement field like we were able to when we brought you here. Like you deduced, doing so would give your people knowledge of your future which would irrevocably alter our timeline and defeat the purpose." The Orion then spooned a healthy portion of her meal into her mouth and briefly chewed before swallowing then repeating the motion. "There's no cost I'm not willing to pay to ensure this future doesn't happen, M'Lyr'Zor," she again accentedly pronounced the engineer's last name in an attempt to form a brief yet important social connection with her. "No sacrifice I will not make. I've seen my family and homeworld destroyed, and along with it, your homeworld and every other semblance of the Federation you've come to know." Saalm's light green irises had quickly turned severe and cold. "You know nothing about cruelty...what the Klingons do when they conquer our worlds..."

Obviously, Admiral. As evidenced by..." Sera motioned to herself with her spoon. "I am but a slave to your will. I understand chain of command, and that means following orders, regardless of personal preference. That fact, I am certain, you rather banked on. It must have been rather...surprising to find so much resistance aboard a ship you once captained. Loyalty is a fickle emotion from what I have witnessed of it."

"However, do not mistake my lack of experience as regards to this timeline as weakness. I am quite capable of understanding the dire nature of this future. I was raised in den of territorial k'karee, Admiral Saalm. I am no stranger to subversive maneuverings to obtain a desired outcome...and I have had only a limited opportunity to review the details of the timeline presented - but I have found some irregularities that have not been satisfactorily answered, nor do I think they will be. The Romulans not accepting unconditional surrender? The Romulan Empire I know would have desired nothing more than to have the Federation firmly under their control...so many resources at their disposal, and us on our collective knees. It is their way...their..."Manifest Destiny," if you will...to rule the galaxy...D'era. I found their refusal to be exceptionally curious. The Klingons, not so much, as they do not have a word for 'surrender' in their language - The Federation only showed our inherent inferiority by asking for mercy, but I do not wish to argue semantics in this."

"What I am concerned about is...why. For top secret data? Hardly the impetus for wholesale planetary decimation on a scale never seen before. We left the Romulans to die with Hobus, Admiral...and they did not bay for our complete annihilation, then. I just find all of this to be quite...fascinating. I suppose it is simply Kaiidth. What is, is. I accept my fate."

It was difficult for the rear admiral to listen to the officer-from-the-past's perception of this new reality. Even more difficult in that Sera was correct - that it was so very hard for Saalm to process and understand the resentment toward her and the -B crew, and to all the lives the Federation had sacrificed to execute this last and final plan to save themselves from their own past transgressions.

Galileo-B's captain continued to eat in silence for a moment before responding, contemplating the engineer's words. Then her green eyes snapped up from her tray once again. "You are no one's slave." Her light and accented Federation Standard voice reflected an intense inflection. "I may still be a Starfleet officer but I'm still an Orion, though one of the last ones. My people know slavery more than you could possibly understand," she rebuked before letting out a frustrated breath and forking more of her rations into her mouth.

Sera tilted her head slightly and stared at the Orion woman at the second time Saalm told her she could not possibly understand something. That was rather irksome. Presumptuous...Illogical...It invalidated Sera's concerns. Rationality apparently was a fluidized process in the ‘future.’

"I am not concerned about your lack of experience or that of your crew's," Saalm went on to clarify after chewing and swallowing then wiping her lips with the back of her emerald hand. "It's your ignorance that worries me. You do not know what you don't know and are trying to create these...logical conclusions based on incomplete information." She set her fork down on her tray then clasped her fingers together in front of her. "I also fear you and the others have not accepted this future. You want to believe this isn't our shared destiny but instead mine, not yours. You all seem...detached from it." Perhaps this was her biggest failure. "I will answer your questions, as long as they are genuine and come from a place of veritable curiosity and not your emotional anger toward us."

“I am Vulcan, and I believe you are projecting.” Sera countered immediately to Orion's insult. She had thus far been projecting utter calm...the Admiral, meanwhile...

There was a lot to unpack in Saalm’s statement, and although Sera would attempt to give rebuttal to her points, she was not optimistic that there would be any understanding at all between the two.

"What specifically do you feel I am not accepting of Admiral? Should I allow excess lacrimation to accumulate and fall down my cheeks? Would that satisfy? For what you have shown me is not...real to me. What you conveyed to us in the debriefing was...incomprehensible.”

“Furthermore, time apparently is in quite short supply in the future.” Sera kept from smirking at her own play one words. Barely. “I sat in a briefing where every. single. one of our concerns were not adequately answered to any of the senior staffs’ satisfaction. I was then allotted 55 minutes to debrief my subordinates of the sitrep, obtain required equipment and report for repairs of your vessel. You have had the last 25 years' worth of experience to color your worldview...you did not give us even an hour."

“Logically, it doesn’t matter whether any of us accept this or not. We have been forcibly brought to this place, this time; we are obeying your orders. Do you desire acceptance…or approval? If that is the case, I would search elsewhere for that particular sentiment.”

"We have no way of verifying what you have told us, other than to trust you. That is not satisfactory – and quite possibly the crux of the…friction between our crews. The subspace buoys are down, so there is no way to corroborate the information presented. I challenge you to consider this from our point of view. With all due respect…”

Sera paused, considering what Lieutenant Commander Alexander said regarding that particular statement…but Sera was quite specific in her speech in Federation Standard. It was such an imprecise language that it was required. She said exactly what she meant.

“Admiral…” Sera stopped and looked down at what was left of the food. She felt like they were being manipulated, but she had no hard data to prove that supposition. And Vulcans did not ‘go with their gut.’

Saalm resumed her meal, forking more food into her mouth while chewing and contemplating the engineer's perspective. "Despite what you may think, I do not blame you or anyone from your Galileo for your suspicions," she admitted. "I suppose I would be wary too, if I were in your boots." Was that the correct Human phrase? "But let's assume, for a moment, you were provided with all the 'proof' you require to verify our claims. Then...would some sort of implant activate within your cerebral cortex to make you more receptive to our plight? Or would you then continue to berate us for unlawful violations of the Temporal Prime Directive you so rigidly support?" The Orion raised her eyes from her rations and held the Vulcan's blue ones. "Your crew's mistrust and disdain for us has been made clear since I stepped aboard the Galileo-A with my officers. I suppose your approval is a fantasy I created, one built from my shared experiences with your crew over several years. But no, ensign, it is ultimately not required." The red-topped flag officer retrained her attention on her food, consuming it quickly and with little regard for its palatability. "You admit this future is incomprehensible and ask me to consider your own point of reference. Now I will ask you to do the same."

Sera raised a brow. Implant? What implant? What was Saalm talking about?

"I am Vulcan, Admiral. Laws to my people are, holistically speaking, immutable as they are passed with great care and consideration of numerous variables. We invented the Prime Directive that was adopted by Starfleet. Such things are not discarded because of moral ambiguity or they become difficult to follow. This is not said in censure."

Sera looked down at the now half-eaten bowl. "I have considered your point of reference, Admiral. I know that a trapped animal will do anything to escape, including gnawing its own extremity off only to exsanguinate in the process."

"The captain has mandated we follow your orders. Our opinions on the matter are ultimately irrelevant. You have your sacrificial...sheep is it? If we do as you ask, and your future is erased this iteration of yourself will no longer exist, but we will remember what you are capable of, Admiral. As an Orion, would you not find that acceptable?"

The red-shirted captain returned her attention to her food, once again procuring her spice shaker to add flavor to the dull-tasting protein concoction. "It wasn't our intention to make you our prisoners. We need your help to save us from ourselves. My history and yours are the same, but yours hasn't been created yet this far. You and the rest of the Galileo-A have the opportunity to prevent this from ever happening." She paused to chew then wipe her gold lips again. "You shouldn't feel burdened to do this for myself or my crew. Changing this timeline is our last resort but it comes from a place of regret." She looked up again to M'Lyr'Zor. "Acknowledgement of our past mistakes and a need to correct them."

"Starfleet and the Federation," continued Saalm, "were never perfect organizations or political entities. All of our species are flawed by nature. Human, Tellarite, Andorian, Orion, Betazoid. Even Vulcans," she flashed a weak empathetic smile to the ensign. "But to recognize our flaws with introspection and regret, and to have the technology to correct our mistakes which have cost so many lives...how can you judge us the way you do? With simple logical guidance?"

"I am Vulcan." Sera responded in a deadpanned manner. "Judgement comes quite naturally to me." Oh, it was a retort her Komehk-il would have praised her on, of course only after she had been suitably chastised and sent away for meditation to think about what she had said.

"Admiral. I have not lived the last 25 years; I do not understand all of the things that went into the decision that was made to put aside the oaths taken...but ultimately I do not need to understand, or approve, or give my consent. You presented your case and Captain Tarin gave the orders. "

Sera placed the spoon on the table and looked at Saalm in her eyes. "Admiral, please...It was not my intent to incite discord between us. You have obviously suffered most egregiously. Vulcans do no quantify grief. It simply is, and I grieve with thee."

The green-skinned captain grated her fork against the side of her food dish to scrape the remainder of her meal onto the receptacle then bring it to her mouth. "M'Lyr'Zor..." she spoke the woman's name again with her best Vulcan accent while chewing, "I understand the pride you have in your culture... The reformation your people underwent to embrace logic in the face of complete destruction. But let's not attempt to fool each other anymore. I know you feel these emotions the same as I - grief, anger... Maybe disdain toward me and the Galileo-B, for bringing you here and showing you this future."

Saalm set her fork down then leaned back in her chair and looked the youthful Vulcan engineer directly in her eyes. "Your people have learned to suppress your emotions but that doesn't mean you don't experience them. It is a fact not often spoken of that Vulcans' emotional experiences are much more acute than those of other species. You're not alone here, ensign. It is," the captain glanced to the side carpet for a second while thinking how to connect with her, "acceptable to acknowledge your feelings. Spirits know, I've struggled with this for many years."

Sera did not bother to deny the truth to Saalm's statement regarding Vulcans and emotions. She did however tilt her head in manner to denote mild confusion. Why would Admiral Saalm desire for Sera to acknowledge her feelings? What was the purpose of such a request? Sera was unsure of what to say initially, so she took another bite, knowing that if her estimates were correct there were two more left.

"Orions have such a luxury of emotional expression. I do not. ...and I do not think what you are suggesting would be wise."

The rear admiral silently studied the ensign as if to find some greater knowledge within her soul. Orions were extremely adept at reading other individuals; not simply from their words, but often perceiving much more subtle cues. Their choice of garment, physique, body language and postures, iris dilation, verbal inflections and tonality. Saalm was no exception to the stereotype. What she'd observed from the junior engineer so far had painted a portrait of a competent and traditional Vulcan, but one who might struggle with unorthodoxy. "I am not asking you to abandon your logic or become V'tosh ka'tur. I have no right. All I ask from you is your understanding and compassion...two qualities sorely lacking from your crew."

"I said that I grieved with thee. The death of one's mate or billions of deaths...is one less heinous than so many? There is no quantifying loss of life...all unnecessary death is to be grieved...I am uncertain otherwise what you desire of me with this request."

Saalm rubbed the dark bags beneath her eyes with the back of her knuckles, the fatiguing results of a decade of ongoing war. "I only request that you do not deny this future like some of your companions from the past. It's very real, and I am not your enemy. None of us aboard my ship and the Federation are your enemy. We are trying to give us a second chance...to save us from ourselves. Here and now, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"Ah." Sera responded in a monosyllabic sound. That Saalm would use a proverb of Surak was quite effective. From Saalm's point of view that was exactly what she was doing. "Logical."

"Logical and necessary," the Galileo-B captain agreed, "not just for you and your future, but mine and my crew's. We've lived through this terrible war but we are the same individuals who existed back in your time. There can be no misinterpretation when I say that I'll do everything I can to make sure our futures don't unfold this way again." She collected her utensils and placed them onto her tray, then pushed her chair back and stood from her seat. "No child of Vulcan should ever live to witness the purging of their homeworld."

Sera raised a brow. The Orion female certainly knew how to overplay her hand. "The emotional appeal was unnecessary and could be inferred as being manipulative, Admiral." Sera stood as well. She would have to inform the A crew to avoid the mess hall on the B. Their stomachs would thank her.

"The time allotted for sustenance has elapsed. I must return to the deflector dish."

In a demure manner, the rear red-shirted rear admiral received the other woman's statement as a compliment. It was a reminder of her heritage, her upbringing, and strengths before and during her long Starfleet career. "I'm an Orion, ensign - manipulation is a core foundation of my people's culture. If I really wanted to manipulate your emotions, I could have devised several more effective ways than a simple chance meeting over dinner rations."

Saalm then authoritatively nodded to the engineer in reply to her tasking needs and schedule, "Keep Lieutenant Commander Alexander informed of your team's progress. Our collective fates are in your hands."

"Of course, Admiral. That was my intention." Sera replied in a quintessentially Vulcan manner and turned her attention to the recycler across the room. She dared not reply to Saalm's parting words. The fate of everything laying in a Lyr'Zor's hands? Well, it did not logically compute.


[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-B
[PNPC Tarin]

&

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

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