A Calm After the Stone (part 1 of 2)

Posted on 02 Feb 2013 @ 5:25pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm

2,041 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2 Stone's Quarters
Timeline: MD -01: 0730 hrs

[ON]

It was still early in the morning but Lirha had already been awake for several hours. She often awoke early (0500) in order to make time for her morning jog and subsequent breakfast meal, but today she had an additional matter to tend to, one which she had already lost a few hours of sleep over the previous night while she pondered possible solutions in her head.

Clad in her red-vested uniform variant, she approached Lieutenant Stone's quarters and stopped in front of the two security guards. Giving them a polite nod, they both stepped to the side after which she reached out to tap her command codes into the door's keypad. She successfully removed the door's security protocols and then gave a courtesy tap on the chime button before stepping forward and through the gray doors with a swish.

Now inside the lieutenant's quarters, the captain clasped her hands behind her back and took a quick glance around the room, noticing the distinctive smell of dog ever-present in the air. She wondered what type of mood they would both be in, and sincerely hoped that Stone had been able to calm down and act more rationally, following his tantrum the precious evening. There was much to discuss with the man and not much time, and Lirha ultimately preferred to have all of her senior officers fit for duty and manning their posts...not confined to their quarters.

At the sound of the chime, Jeremy came out of his bedroom, his personal phaser concealed in the palm of his hand, ready to drop to firing position if necessary. At the sight of Captain Saalm he froze for a moment, numerous thoughts running through his head to include the singular intrusion into his private space, that he was out of uniform and the anxiety that she was here to have him locked in the brig. He dropped the phaser back into his pocket and scowled while tugging on the sleeves of the undershirt he wore.

Then, quickly, he turned and hit the control to the bedroom door, locking Sidi away so he wouldn't be a problem. "Captain," he said, wanting to let her know this intrusion on his private quarters was intolerable but he held that. "I only heard the one chime, sir."

Watching as the large security chief appeared from his bedroom, Lirha gave him a polite nod. "Good morning, Lieutenant." she said in greeting, "Do not worry, I only sounded the chime once." she added. "I was on my way to the bridge and wanted to visit you for a few moments before my shift. That is...if you're feeling better? We have a few things to discuss regarding last night's incident." she explained in an even-toned and light voice.

He scowled as he sighed. Why did people think it was okay to just walk all over him and not observe rules of curtesy, the very same rules they get upset when they accuse him of not following rules of curtesy. But, still, he was anxious because his duty shift was supposed to start in a quarter hour.

He stood, placing his hands behind his back, wishing he was at least wearing shoes instead of just his sweats and socks. His sweatshirt was in the bedroom and he didn't want to go back in there to get it. He was not happy with her barging into his quarters without even asking him and catching him in his bedclothes. "Yes, sir," he said, looking around the quarters. At least he had plenty of time to get the quarters cleaned so she didn't come in to think he was slovenly. He tried to ignore the low whine from behind the door.

"Very well." she replied, glancing casually around the barren and undecorated room. There was a very orderly feel to the small apartment which Lirha thought was quite fitting for his personality. "Can you explain to me what happened last night?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, wanting to hear his explanation for his own inappropriate behavior.

He looked at the floor, bowing his head. He wanted to go back to work but...

"No," he muttered, honest. He couldn't explain what happened. "I..." he started and swallowed. "I got frustrated at the unfair treatment directed at m..." he stopped again. "Unfair treatment of my personnel." He looked around his quarters. It was better here than the brig but he still hated being taken off duty and now it appeared it wasn't going to change. "I apologize for the way I presented my complaint." Here he glanced at Saalm for just a moment. "But not the substance of it. I was..."

He stopped again and scowled. "Sidi was treated unfairly and as his department head it is part of my job to stand up for him."

"I see." came the captain's short reply, after which she tilted her head in curiosity. She had never realized that Stone might have been acting to protect Sidious, but now that he had mentioned the situation and his thought process, it seemed that it could have been a valid reason. Just a reason, not an excuse, she reminded herself. "In what way do you feel that Sidious was unfairly treated?" she asked.

He sighed as he looked around the quarters. Hadn't he explained that? He had, he knew he had. There were too many words coming out of his mouth for him not to have explained that. "He was immediately subjected to the bigot-" he stopped and closed his eyes, shaking his head. "He was unfairly singled out by bridge crew due only to their dislike of his species. Lieutenant Malevin ordered him off the bridge without the right or authority to do so." He stopped, hearing the bitterness in his own voice. Squeezing his fists closed tight enough to draw blood from the palms. "Then you summarily dismissed him, because of his species. You said he didn't serve a useful function on the Bridge - but with respect, neither does Dr. Wilson, or generally Lieutenant Liyar. Ensign Peers's position would be better served in Engineering in case something happens, not staring at a station. He's not being treated fairly and it's only because of his condi-" He shook his head again. "Because of his species."

Lirha sighed and rubbed her green forehead in frustration. She understood what he was trying to say, but yet again it was coming out entirely too raw and tactless. Sensitivity training, she reminded herself before continuing. "First, her name is Lieutenant Mialin, and she happens to be our ship's chief flight controller and one of your superior officers. She is actually a very competent and decorated officer, and it would probably be in your best interests as a tactical officer to not alienate her, seeing as how the two of you will be required to function as a cohesive unit during any tactical operations." she said, then paused for a moment to consider the rest of what Stone had just told her. Lirha didn't want to get into an argument about the usefulness of various bridge officers, so she instead addressed the overall picture for Stone.

"As for Sidious...it is important to remember that, although all of Galileo's personnel are treated equally, some crew members are incapable of performing certain tasks due to either their physical and/or mental limitations. And such is the case with Sidious...he cannot operate even the most basic of LCARS consoles, which ultimately defeats the purpose of having him in one of the ship's command centers when there is no apparent threat present." she explained. "It is not a matter of prejudice or bigotry, Mister Stone, it is a matter of practicality."

"He could be trained to operate a console," Jeremy muttered as he started to pace the length of the room, pounding his thigh as he walked. "I'm the security chief, sir, I report directly to you, nobody else. It is by custom that we recognize that the first officer or XO has been granted an extension of the commanding officer's authority concerning internal ship matters but, ultimately you are my only superior officer aboard this ship." He continued pacing while he thought about what was said. He rejected reminding her that Malevin's (he shook his head knowing that was wrong and there was something wrong with the link of his PADD to the computer so he couldn't look it up) initial remarks were not a request and were not even polite by Jeremy's standards. They were directly rude and without authority to be made.

He rubbed his head as he thought about this. It was so frustrating and unfair. She was saying he served no practical purpose but neither did half the people who were on the bridge during last night's liftoff. Quinn definitely had no purpose on the bridge yet nothing is said about them. It was because of his species, nothing more. He forced himself away from Quinn and how the captain had allowed that disrespect to him without so much as batting her eye. He had to get away from his own treatment because this wasn't about him. She already shown she would care less about the way he was unfairly treated. The tapping became a pounding on his thigh as his frustration and irritation built. It galled him - absolutely galled him that she would not only allow but actively defend the way others treated him - because she was doing it herself. He shook his head, frustrated with himself becaus he had to stop thinking about him. This wasn't about him!

This was about a member of his department and what was being done to him. "Holliday told me that he would have-" he stopped and scowled at the floor. Holliday said. Holliday said...

He stopped and covered his face as he contemplated what he was about to say. What he would have to have her believe he was admitting. He fought against this for years and...it would ruin him. He heard the whining of Sidi trapped in the room, however and knew what he had to do. It wasn't as if he'd not lied before to help protect someone else. What good was he if he didn't use everything at his disposal to protect others? His shoulders slumped as he admitted defeat of one purpose in furtherance of another.

He turned to face her but couldn't look at her because she put him in this position, forcing him to take a step closer to ruining his future and career with admissions that he couldn't take back. He absolutely despised her for this. "Sir, Commander Holliday said that he and you brought Sidi aboard as my 'assistant'. To help 'humanize' me with the crew. The implication is that Holliday, and by his statements, you, believe I have a need to be met and that could be accomplished in this manner while enhancing the security concerns of the ship. Now you're telling me that those needs can only be met off duty? You order me to sensitivity training, niavely believing that will have an impact, so you obviously continue to believe that there are needs to be met - but you take away the very aide that Holliday worked so hard to procure to help me in interactions with the crew?" he sighed, feeling the anxiety twisting his gut. He was finished in Starfleet. Not today...not for some time. But it would happen now and he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it.

He was skirting this issue, he knew, and it was going to bite him in the ass when she made her report and it got to others in Starfleet, the ones who have been working on running him out since they allowed his torture. "You believe there is a need but then you take that need away because it doesn't suit others? How is that practical, sir?"

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

LTjg Jeremy Stone
Chief Security/Tactical Officer/K9
USS Galileo

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