Posted by Captain Mathias McGarrett (CO) in Station Commander’s Office - “Captain, May I?” Side Sim

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Toveka Brine (Chief Science Officer) in Station Commander’s Office - “Captain, May I?” Side Sim

SNIP

Toveka listened. It was comforting, in a way, to hear the Captain had had similar lessons to learn. And that he had struggled, and sometimes still did. It warred with her about telling him about the power orb. She weighed the pros and cons. And sadly, at this point, there was no reason to say anything. In her mind, it was destroyed. So telling anyone else about it made little sense.

But then she heard Tenkiller’s voice in her head telling her that things she considered ‘right’ weren’t always so. She took a deep breath and the exhale came out barely the breathy side of a growl. “Captain… I need to ask if I can mention something off the record, please. It’s not a matter of security because it doesn’t exist.” She looked down at her hands then back up at him. “At least, not anymore. But I need to speak to you about it.”

Her mind screamed this was a bad idea. But she had opened the box, she was committed.

Toveka
CSO

Mathias raised his eyebrows, leaned back in his seat, and took a breath. Where this was going he had no idea. But it likely was going to be interesting. “It’s kind of an impossible question, Lieutenant, when I don’t know what you’re talking about. I mean, if you vaporized a Borg I’d probably want to let someone know we’ve got Borg in the area. But yes, if it’s at all possible it’ll be off the record. Good enough?” He didn’t care to make a promise when he wasn’t aware of exactly what he was promising. People tended to make these kinds of requests for reasons he didn’t understand, and he noticed they became more frequent as he had gained more authority.

Captain Mathias McGarrett, CO

Toveka thought about it. He was right, of course. It made her lean back as well and shake her head. “Fair enough. Then I simply ask that you allow me to tell the Security Chief in my time. I promise within the next two days.” It was a lot to demand and she knew it wasn’t necessarily going to be accepted. Instead of waiting for the answer, she simply blurted it out.

“As you wish,” simply stated the captain.

“The last time Duncan and I were out, we discovered a powerful orb that ended destroyed in the firefight. I know, because there is no trace of it or its signature anywhere. And even from here, I’d know.” She let the bomb of information hover between them before sitting back up, and telling it all.

“We had set out because there was a collision in the debris field that had resulted in some readings we didn’t understand. When we got to the location of the energy signature, there was a derelict and half destroyed Romulan warbird. Once inside, we traced it to a large crystalline orb that had an energy reading we couldn’t identify completely. We secured it and headed back to the runabout. Once there, the firefight began. I was knocked out during Duncan’s maneuvers. When I came to, I was in medical having been rescued by the Klingons. They said there had been no time to beam out more than the two of us. And that their destruction field had not only destroyed the Romulans who were after us, but our ship and the derelict one as well.” She looked down at her hands. “I did scans of the area within a couple hours of our rescue and there was no more power trace.”

She looked up. “You said this was meeting to set the parameters to aide in my research. I wanted to let you know that I have believed, since the start, that the white dwarf wasn’t the reason for the destruction of my home. I believe scientists were developing a deep core weapon, disguised as energy research, and something went terribly wrong. I think the star may have been part of it. but not the real, or whole, reason.” She looked at the Captain and fell silent. Mathias was now only the second person on the ship to ever know of her personal hypothesis. Because it fell in line with the rest of their investigative lines, even those in the science lab were unaware why some readings were more important that others to her.

Toveka
CSO

“I don’t see why any of that is something you have to be ashamed of,” began Mathias when it seemed like she was finally to a stopping point. “I don’t know if the orb has anything to do with the destruction of Romulus. And I don’t know if there’s any validity or not to your theory about the planet’s downfall. There is value to Starfleet both in figuring out what this orb was and if there are more of them. That’s incredible that it was powerful enough to be detected from so far away. It’s also in Starfleet’s interest to gain knowledge about what happened to Romulus. Find out what happened, but just be careful not to let your intuition…well, you’re a scientist. You know how important objectivity is.” He hoped he was encouraging her and helping her to keep in mind what she needed to. Part of him wanted to keep her from going on this mission when she was so emotionally invested, but the other part thought that would make her the best person for it.

“One more thing. If you find something that significant this time, report it. You don’t have all the pieces to the puzzle. Maybe your piece to the puzzle will fit in with someone else’s.”

Captain Mathias McGarrett, CO

She nodded. She had expected a reprimand and removal of a good portion of her backside. The acceptance and reminder of how she should behave surprised her. She was grateful for it. “Thank you, Sir. And I promise I will let you know.” She smiled slightly. “Even if I am the only one working on this particular puzzle.” She nodded and sighed. This had been a weight off her back that, while painful in the memory and telling, was probably for the best.

She just hoped when she told Tenkiller, it would go as well.

Toveka
CSO

Looking at her he could tell that she must have felt something heavy getting lifted off of her. Mathias never did have any interest in becoming a counselor and helping people work through their problems. He had spent his career always focusing on himself and eyeing his next promotion. But from time to time he ended up being the one people had to come to in order to sort out their biggest struggle in life or admit something they never had admitted before. He could see the appeal in helping people work through things like this as a primary focus. But he was still grateful he wasn’t the one doing so all the time.

“Good. Is there anything else you need to discuss about your trip tomorrow or any other major secrets you’ve been keeping from me that I probably should know about? If there isn’t then I’m almost ready to let you go prepare.”

Captain Mathias McGarrett, CO

Toveka smiled slightly. “No, Sir. Nothing else. And thank you.” She sat up a little and nodded with respect. “Almost ready, Sir?”

Toveka
CSO

“Yes, Lieutenant, like I told you earlier I’ve been meaning to talk to you anyways,” began Mathias, who then paused for a moment.

Captain McGarrett sat up straighter and continued. “I noticed while I was going through crew evaluations that you’ve recently taken on additional responsibility with your new role. Also, as I brought up earlier you are one of the most driven officers I’ve known. Your service to date has been excellent, which I think will improve all the more now that you have a newfound willingness to report to your captain when you destroy powerful crystal orbs when you encounter them.”

Mathias rose to his feet and a bit more formally ordered, “Lieutenant, stand at attention.”

Captain Mathias McGarrett, CO

Toveka nodded and inclined her head respectfully. “Thank you, Sir. I enjoy being here. I have already put in paperwork to see about renewing my time here instead of rotating out next year.”

When the Captain stood and ordered her to, she frowned in confusion but did as she was told, her head looking straight ahead as she locked her arms at her side. “Sir..” she said once she was at attention.

Toveka
CSO