A Duty to the Fallen: Requiem

Posted on 12 Jun 2024 @ 5:38am by Ensign Asha & Master Chief Petty Officer Toren Vral
Edited on on 15 Jul 2024 @ 7:09pm

1,587 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: USS Galileo-B - Deck 6, Upper Engineering
Timeline: MD 05 - 1030hrs

[ON]

Loud taps echoed around the corridor as Toren proceeded at a pace towards his destination. He had always had a heavy step and since becoming a senior NCO he had embraced it. He figured it was kinder to give the crew a bit of time to look busy when they heard him coming, an' if they didn't bother to do that... well... that was where his special motivational skills came in handy.

There was only one person Toren had left to speak to about the demise of Officer Hollenday, and it was the most difficult one of them all. His long estranged daughter, Asha, had unfortunately been a witness to the whole affair. An' due diligence couldn't said to be done without hearing from her.

He walked into the top level of the B's engineering deck, his eyes scanning for the young half Nekomi.

She was across on the other side of the large room, working on something or other. He calmed his pace and walked over to her.

As he arrived Toren straightened up, and in the gentlest tone his raspy timbre could manage asked, "Ensign Asha? Would y' mind talking to me for a few moments?"

Asha didn't move from where she was; partially inside a wiring trunk under one of the consoles but her tail twitched when someone called her name. Whoever it was bore a striking vocal resemblance to Lieutenant Vral but definitely sounded older and didn't quite smell the same. "I can't spare very long, there is lots to do."

"I won't keep you long, sir," Toren took up position nearby, keeping a respectful distance as she worked, "I'm Master Chief Vral, Toren to those who know me."

He fished a PADD from his pocked and tapped it a couple of times, "I'm afraid I'm not here on any errand of pleasantness. I'm Chief of the Boat over on the 'A' an' it falls to me to ensure Officer Hollenday has a proper report of his final moments in the log." He shifted slightly, before lightly clearing his throat, "I don't wish t' burden you with this discussion, ensign, but as a witness it's my duty to ask you a few things." His antennae swayed a little as he spoke, "You can o'course decline if you wish."

Asha's tail immediately dropped when John's name was mentioned, slowly she pulled herself out of the wiring trunk turned around and sat against the console. "You're Vren's father?" She asked looking up at the older Andorian.

Toren regarded the young woman in front of him. A generation sculpted by a conflict like the quadrant had never seen. Worse even than the Dominion War at its height... It was a cruelty.

His antennae twitched as she mentioned his son. Another tragedy. "Well, sah, in a fashion I am," his gravelly voice had a level of uncertainty to it. Time twisting itself to bring someone from one time to another made conversations about it quite challenging, "At least up until 2392... The father he had after that was me an' not me, I suppose."

"I hate time travel, it's very complicated." Asha remarked. "What do you need to know chief?"

"Well like I was sayin', ensign, I am compiling an account 'o Officer Hollenday's last moments with us. I spoke to Ensign M'Lyr'Zor an' the admiral." Toren glanced at his PADD for a moment, then looked back to Asha with a slightly sympathetic look, "An' well I was hopin' you would give an account of what happened. It's important for the final report, to have statements from the witnesses..."

"The witness or the perpetrator, the one who sealed the bulkhead killing their own father, ending their own existence while they're at it." Asha said with the vast array of emotions she was still processing very evident in her voice.

Toren's antennae twitched slightly as he listened. "Ensign Asha," he began, "What you’re carryin' on your shoulders isn't fair nor is it right. You're not the one who sealed that hatch, and you didn't make the call that led to your father's passing. That decision lay with the Admiral."

He paused, his eyes locked with hers, "In my years, I've seen too many take on guilt that wasn't theirs to bear. It's an old story, one I've lived through more times than I can count. But it's important to set the record straight. You were there, you witnessed what happened, and that's why I'm here talkin' to you. Not to pin blame, but to understand and to honor Officer Hollenday's memory with the truth."

Toren's voice grew a bit rougher, his sincerity cutting through the formalities. "We honor the fallen by speakin' the truth about their final moments, and by doin' right by those left behind. Your account will help with that, an' it'll help you too, I reckon. So, when you're ready, just tell me what happened from where you stood. No more, no less."

"But I DID seal the hatch and kill him." Asha said. "The Admiral might have been the one that ordered it but it was me and that Vulcan Sera that carried it out."

"Aye, I hear you," he said, his voice gentle but firm. "And that's a mighty burden. But let's set things straight. Ensign M'Lyr'Zor's report states she made the final call, an' that's what I'll put in the log. The admiral's order, M'Lyr'Zor's decision, and your actions carried out under duress."

He paused, locking eyes with Asha. "Remember this, Ensign: In the heat of battle, we do what we must to save lives, even if it means makin' impossible choices. No one person should bear the weight alone." Toren's expression softened, a rare glimpse behind the stern exterior. "Now, if you're ready, tell me what happened, from your perspective. We'll honor Officer Hollenday's memory by tellin' the truth."

"We started taking damage in engineering, everything was pretty chaotic down here." Asha began to explain after a very long sigh. "Sera sent John down a jefferies tube to fix a damaged power transfer conduit trunk on Deck 7, then we took a hit to that section and he got trapped in there." She drew her knee's up and rest her elbows on her knees and held her head in her hands really not wanting to re-live this again so soon.

Toren's eyes softened as he listened to Asha's account, "Aye, Ensign, it's clear you've got a heavy heart over this," he began, his voice a mixture of empathy and firmness, "War's a beast that don't care who it hurts, and sometimes we find ourselves caught in its jaws, forced to make choices no one should have to make."

He moved a step closer, still maintaining a respectful distance. "We're all part of a chain, each link tested in different ways. What you did, it was in service to the greater good, no matter how dark that moment was. That's the truth I aim to put in the log. It's not about pointin' fingers or layin' blame, but about understandin' the full picture."

Toren's antennae swayed gently as he continued, "If y' have anything else to share then I'm all ears, but if not I can leave y' be."

"Sera went to try and help him, I took a plasma torch and went too." Asha continued despite really not wanting to. "We were nearly there, we could hear him. I knew I could get to him but then she ordered us to leave him there..... said we might lose the whole ship if we didn't seal the hatch."

Toren tapped his PADD, giving a small nod. "If you don't mind me askin'," he kept a gentle but cautious tone, "what made you so certain you could have gotten to him?"

"Look at me chief." Asha said, she was slightly more bulky than her mother but still had all the litheness of a Nekomi. "I can get into places others would get stuck in and I had a plasma torch. I would have gotten to him, I just needed more time."

Toren took in Asha's words, his expression hardening a little with the weight of the situation. "Aye, Ensign, I see it clear now," he said, his tone gentle yet firm. "I've been through enough to know sometimes, it ain't about what we want, but what we have to do. You were inna no-win scenario an' you did your best with the time y'had. That ain't somethin' to be ashamed of."

He paused, giving her a moment to breathe. "It's clear you did everything y' could. The logs will reflect that. An' unless you've got any more to add, I'd say I've got enough to go on. Your account is crucial to honorin' Officer Hollenday's memory, and I appreciate your bravery in relivin' it."

Asha looked up at the Andorian for a moment and shook her head before her eyes returned to the deck breathing deeply and trying not to cry again.

Toren closed his eyes and gave a respectful nod of the head. To even begin to imagine the grief, the existential dread, that this young one was going through was impossible. It wasn't even a matter of dyin', it was pure erasure.

He opened his eyes and gave as warm a look as he could before turning about and leaving her to her work.

[OFF]

--

MCPO Toren Vral
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Vala]

&

Ensign Asha
Engineering Officer
USS Galileo-B
[PNPC Mimi]

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