"Dilemma"

Posted on 27 Aug 2025 @ 6:59pm by Lieutenant JG Hovar Kov & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle
Edited on on 03 Sep 2025 @ 5:08pm

2,935 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 21 - Helix
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 1, Kov's Quarters
Timeline: MD 06, 1300 hrs

[ON]

Delainey sat at her computer console, finishing up her administrative tasks for the day. She may not have had as many people under her direct supervision as other departments, but that didn’t mean there was any shortage of notes and reports to file. Startfleet Medical always seemed to be watching, demanding their ton of verbiage on a weekly if not daily basis. It was her least favorite part of the job, which was why she had been focusing for the last hour on eventually checking in with the chaplain and junior counselor. At this point in the day, Carlisle would do anything to actually sit and talk shop rather than document it.

When her console beeped, indicating the arrival of an internal message, Delainey resisted the initial temptation to read it. Even command staff level messages could ultimately reference something mundane, thereby throwing off her concentration and depleting what little motivation she had left to focus on the task at hand. Still, the thought of an unread message continued to niggle at her, and eventually, with an exasperated sigh, she gave in.

She began to read, but it didn’t take long for her eyes to widen. So startled was she by what she read, she actually exclaimed, “What the hell?” aloud even though there was no one with her to answer. Shutting down her console, she was soon out the door, and on her way to finding some sort of answer.

Barely acknowledging the security officer standing outside her destination, she gave him a look that clearly conveyed if he questioned or challenged her presence, he would do so at his peril. She was not in the mood for bureaucracy today and the pressing of the door chime scarcely registered.

"Enter."

Upon the opening of the door, what appeared before her was a clean room, yet there was a sense of emotional disturbance. It did not take long for the ship's chaplain to be seen still in his PT uniform, on his knees, in front of a little alter that Hovar had set up on his desk. There was a crucifix on the desk, as well as an icon of the blessed Virgin on the one side of it. He was on his knees, his eyes shut, with a black beaded rosary in his hands. Taking a deep breath, he crossed himself as he looked back to see his visitor, standing up in respect to her rank.

"Counselor Carlisle."

The sight of Hovar praying surprised her, though of course it shouldn't have given his profession and current circumstances. It just wasn't something she typically saw and it caught her short and reinforced how in her own head she was. She replayed the events of the last two minutes in her mind and was relieved to realize she had been invited to enter. She resisted the urge to apologize for interrupting anyway, and instead offered, "As you might imagine, bad news travels fast, but as is not uncommon, in this case,, it's incomplete. I was informed you've been confined to quarters, but not why. What's up?"

When Hovar listened to his boss' statement, he lowered his head and he sighed, shaking his head in absolute defeat. The longer this has been going on, the longer his point was proven.

"To put it simply, the commanding officer has declared in her philosophy of command that the integrity of the ship's mission is compromised when Ensign Mimi has an understandable mistrust of me because I am a Klingon. What exactly sparked the chain of events I still do not know."

Hovar's mind replayed everything that happened...

"Long story short, her solution was to have us do an intense PT exercise. When we reached the top, the Captain ordered Miss. Mimi to shoot me with a phaser. The logic being, she views Klingons are the enemy, I am a Klingon, therefore I should be shot. The Captain even went so far as to grab a hold of Miss. Mimi to make sure that she shot me."

The Klingon then shrugged as he remembered jumping off the summit, the conversation that went by afterwards, and him being ordered confined to Quarters.

"I suspect that telling the Captain she has a homicidal narcissistic god complex is probably what set her off."

Delainey's poker face was well-practiced. It was important that she be able to school her features so others could express themselves freely without fear of being judged. Her ability to maintain the proverbial blank slate had been tested over the years, sure, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember it ever being tested quite like this.

It took her a full 30 seconds to respond, and even then, it was apparent by the set of her jaw that she was fighting hard to swallow the lump of mixed emotions currently lodged in her throat. "Are you saying the Captain orchestrated and then egged on your attempted murder?"

Hovar sighed, replaying the events in his mind before he spoke.

"I am saying that the Captain has extreme lapse of judgment."

He motioned for Carlisle to have a seat while he took his seat on the sofa. As he sat down, he tried to come up with something, anything, to rationalize the Captain's decisions.

"What she did is of no importance to me at all. It could have been any other officer who was involved for any number of reasons. My question is why this time? Why did the Captain make the decisions that she made?"

Shaking his head, the priest lowered it in shame.

"Honestly, I am more worried about Ensign Mimi. I understand that she has problems with me being a Klingon, which is understandable considering her history. My question is why would the Captain feel so motivated to conduct such extreme measures because two officers do not get along for understandable, and potentially therapeutic reasons?"

Delainey sat and took in Hovar's words, acutely aware of her competing responsibilites for all involved. It wasn't surprising Hovar was more concerned for others over himself. Under the circumstances, she would have reacted the same way, not just because of her concern and desire to care for others, but because it would feel strange to be the focus of someone else's care and concern when others had been impacted as well. Beyond wanting to understand why Tarin had made the choices she had, however, Carlisle also had a duty of care to those impacted by those choices, whatever Tarin's reasons.

"I don't know for sure," Carlisle answered, "but I'm going to find out," she offered firmly. "In the meantime, I'm sorry this happened to both of you. I can only imagine what you must have been thinking and feeling."

Carlisle had theories about Tarin's intentions, if not her methods. Hovar was right. Mimi's history with Klingons was well documented and it wasn't difficult to see how a commanding officer with so much on her shoulders would want to see those concerns addressed as quickly as possible. That the particular CO in question was Tarin meant a level of inflexibilty Delainey hadn't encountered in some time.

"As a fellow counselor, you know that I was thinking about diagnosing her, to figure out what was going on and to try and understand her perspective."

The Klingon took a deep breath, shaking his head as he was about to get very personal.

"What offended me more was that I trusted her. You know I am brand new to Star Fleet, and I hoped that with her guidance, I could have had..."

Hovar paused, lowering his gaze. It was no secret as to what was going on in his mental state. The priest was starting to close himself off, and he was fighting the walls from being built. Worse still, it seemed like a losing battle.

"I trusted her, Ms. Carlisle. If I cannot trust the Captain, who on board can I trust?"

Carlisle allowed the question to hang in the air, not just because its content and emotional tone summarized everything she thought and felt just hearing the description of Tarin’s actions, but also because in this moment, the chaplain wasn’t just a colleague relating information concerning the Captain‘s mental state, he was also a member of her flock who was grappling with being on the other end of a weapon just a short time ago because of his species.

Given that Hovar’s family had already weaponized his identity and the chaplain had come into Starfleet to find purpose and acceptance, it wasn’t difficult for the counselor to sympathize and fully appreciate what he was feeling. She had no answers for him right now, and she knew better than to pretend otherwise. Instead, she leaned in closer and placed a gentle hand on his knee, the closest supportive gesture she could offer. “We are going to figure this out, but all you need to be right now is a member of this crew. You aren’t alone. You matter, and there are people here who care about you and what just happened. I am here for you."

Hovar looked up at her, feeling her hand on his knee. A comforting gesture was both foreign to him both as a priest and as a Klingon. Naturally, there was an air of reluctance in his face, yet there was also an air of something that was not necessarily in common with someone of his...birth.

"I appreciate that, sincerely. With that said, I do not know what I am going to do going forward, at least officially. I know that I have to forgive her, that is what I am bound to do. However, I cannot risk anyone else being subjected to the same...being subjected of a commanding officer practicing counseling without being a counselor herself."

“I suppose forgiveness is more in your territory, but I would gently caution not to use forgiveness as a means to leapfrog over your own emotional reactions to what you just experienced. As for what comes next for you professionally, I’d like to suggest you record your observations from what happened today in as much detail as you can recall, including your thoughts and feelings, simply as a witness. Obviously, more information needs to be gathered before any potentially escalating steps, but under the circumstances, I think preserving something for the record makes sense.“

Hovar nodded as he leaned back, staring up at the ceiling wondering what to do.

"It is perhaps a fortunate thing that none of this was under the guise of spiritual counseling. If it was, I would be bound to not report anything that happened. Even so, I understand that this is not a once-off behavior. Such actions had to be spawned from somewhere. There is something about her that thought it was a good idea. I cannot place it, and I somewhat wish I can. Like Pharoh though, I suspect that her heart would be just as hard, not letting anybody in for whatever reason."

Delainey set aside her concerns about Hovar's dual roles and their impact on reporting requirements for now, and offered a simple nod in gratitude and understanding. "I don't believe the Captain acted out of malice, and I agree with you, some part of her believed this was in someone's best interest and it will be important for us to understand that perspective even if we can't agree with her methods. I will speak with Mimi as well as the Captain to get to the bottom of this, but beyond what the next steps are professionally speaking, how are you doing with all this, truly?"

Hovar pondered the question. Frankly, he wished he could be himself and call it a day. However, he felt conflicted because he was not a “warrior” anymore. He had to fight the urge from taking the Captain’s soul and placing it on his mantelpiece as a trophy. Thankfully, he had the power of prayer, and God, on his side. He wasn’t going to let the Devil, or Tarin, win this fight. He had to win, it is in his genes to establish victory.

“I feel like I am a child again. In my case, to be somewhat reserved in the reality, I either deal with the pain, or I will die. A Klingon does not just die, so all I feel is I need to find a way to claim victory, somehow. How I can do that I do not know.

Helping people find meaning after pain was something Delainey had been doing her whole career. She recognized it as a necessary part of healing and she was touched by the authenticity in his words even as another part of her was heartbroken this kind of pain had been dealt by someone they were all supposed to trust. Likening the experience to childhood seemed apropos.

Tarin's judgment and the impact of her behavior on the crew's ability to trust were going to be ongoing points for monitoring, but that wasn't this moment's priority.

"Tell me what victory as an idea means to you."

Hovar had struggled with the idea of "victory" his whole life, which was naturally at odds with what flowed in his veins and what flowed in his soul. There was little overlap between the two because both were accomplished with very separate means.

"The Klingon in me says to vanquish all who I deem to be my enemy by the blade. If they do not submit willingly, then I take them and..."

Father Hovar told him to not finish that sentence, and that registered all over his face. Hovar then gestured to her to use her imagination.

"The Christian in me says that we overcome the dark forces, be it psychological or spiritual, external or internal, for the glory of God. It is the succeeding of virtues over sin, where no one's rights as an individual are subjected to tyranny or of ignorance equally fatal."

Hovar took a breath as he pondered what he said. A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he shook his head, remembering his dark night of the soul as he made his decision.

"One of the reasons why I willingly walked away from the Empire and embraced Christianity was because of that very reason."

“At times like this, I’m reminded how fragile the fabric of civilized society truly is. We depend on people to behave a certain way based on what we believe are common values and expectations. We believe or at least expect people who have achieved certain positions have demonstrated the competency and stability required for their positions.
Naturally, I can’t promise virtues in other people will conquer their sins, but I can help you find a way forward that reflects your values and helps you hold onto the person you want to be.“

Hovar reflected on her words, and that he had heard similar things in his past, but in the opposite.

"All I can do is hope that I can make a connection to everyone, that can view me with the same trust as they give to each other. I know it will take time, and I am sure I will have my share of mistakes. That is the way of life. Honestly, there are times already where I do not feel like I am needed, or wanted. I suppose finding that middle ground will be the goal of me as a Star Fleet officer."

Delainey smiled and offered a chuckle. "If you became a Starfleet counselor to feel wanted, I'm afraid you chose the wrong field. Try engineering, or heck, even straight medical. People inherently understand the importance of those who know how to keep the ship from imploding. They value those who know how to stop blood from painfully leaking out of certain orifices, even if up until that point, they've rolled their eyes at medical recommendations. Now us? A Starfleet crew can stubbornly hold onto their psychic pain and their personality dysfunction for years. That is, until they can't, and then you know what? No amount of tech wizardry or bandages can make a crew whole again so the ship moves or the mission is completed, and that's my 'why.' I can help remind you of yours if you need it."

Hovar listened to what Delainey had to say. Indeed, that was a similar reason why he joined the priesthood. He didn't do it to be acknowledged, he did it to save souls, whether they wanted to be saved or not. At least in that respect, Hovar understood.

"That is why you are my boss, and I am grateful for any guidance you can provide."

Carlisle bowed her head in appreciation of his words. She knew she needed to give him space and time, and she knew she had other people to speak to, but she also lingered, finding a sense of purpose in offering him support. She wasn’t at all certain things would go as well with Tarin, but she knew she had to try. “I’ll leave you to it for now, but I’ll check in with you again soon. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need an ear or even a distraction. I know Klingons are supposed to be tough and self-reliant, but you don’t have to be any of that exclusively.“

[OFF]

--

LTJG Hovar Kov
Chaplain
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Delainey Carlisle
Chief Counselor
USSGalileo-A

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