Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Kastarak (Doctor / Counsellor) in Meeting the captain (Taggart/Kastarak)

Posted by Captain Chris Taggart (Captain) in Meeting the captain (Taggart/Kastarak)

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Kastarak (Doctor / Counsellor) in Meeting the captain (Taggart/Kastarak)
Posted by… suppressed (8) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Hoping that the captain could spare a few minutes for Kastarak, he ventured to the captain’s office, ready and well prepared…

The doors chimed, and Kastarak waited…

– Lt jg Kastarak (physician / counsellor)

CHris looked up from his desk monitor when he heard the chime and yawned while he stretched. Looking at his wrist cron he noted it was past his time to leave the office and go to his quarters, so this was a welcomed reprieve. “Come in.” Chris said as he poured himself a cup of now cold coffee from the pitcher.

Captain Chris Taggart, CO

Kastarak entered the office, “Good evening, captain. May I have five minutes of your time? If not, perhaps we could schedule it for another time.”

– Lt jg Kastarak (physician / counsellor)

Chris smiled. “Kastarak my friend, you always have my ear. Not only because I consider you a great friend and colleague, but because you also saved my life. I will stay here for as long as you need me to good sir. Now. How can I help you? You want some tea or something? It is cold I think…Like my coffee.”

Captain Chris Taggart, CO

“Thank you,” he said, as he moved towards the empty chair in front of Taggart. “Yes, I should like some tea, thank you.” He agreed, it was cold in this room. Heat was common for Vulcan, but he had almost forgotten the normality of heat. He had become accustomed to the 20 degree Celsius temperature on board the ship. Now it must be lower, maybe 18? He would normally wear an extra undershirt to keep warm, and sometimes longjohns under his trousers. He regretted not wearing them tonight. As such, the captain’s offer of tea was warmly welcome.

– Lt jg Dr Kastarak

“Sure thing.” Chris grabbed another cup off the tray and poured him some warm tea and placed it on a saucer and then slid it over to Kasterak. “There you are my friend. So what do you want to talk about?”

Captain Chris Taggart, CO

The cup clinked as it hit the saucer.

“Thank you, captain”, Kastarak said before taking a sip. “I’d like to request some time off from [date] to [date]. It is for personal reasons, I would like to accompany T’Aria on her visit to her family on New Vulcan. She has requested that I join her. Since coming onboard more than two years ago, I have not taken any time off except for those few days on Risa. I believe I am in the right to request time, as I have days accrued in my time bank.”

He took another sip, while waiting for the captain’s reply.

– Lt jg Dr Kastarak

“I agree. And my dear friend, you never have to justify your action to me let alone to take some time off. I would be more than happy to approve your and Commander T’Aria’s leave requests right now. Just give me a minute please while I do that.” Opening up the computer on his desk again and then going through a bunch of emails and then finding the site he needed, he clicked it and it brought up the LeavePage for Starfleet. Finding both their names he clicked approve and then then went to another site to send out another request then closed everything out.

It surprised Kastarak that he was surprised by how easy this had gone. Why had he doubted the captain? He had never given Kastarak any reason to doubt him before. This reflected badly on Kastarak.

“Thank you, captain,” Kastarak simply said.

“There you go. All done. And I even approved to let you all use one of our shuttles to go in. Anything else my good fellow?”

Captain Chris Taggart, CO

Was the captain joking? Kastarak was confused. While the captain had a habit of joking, he also had a habit of creating surprises. But this would give T’Aria and Kastarak the best way of getting to New Vulcan and back, and they would most likely save time in so doing.

“That is quite the surprise, but an agreeable one. Thank you, again, sir.”

“No problem! My job is to see to it that the Crew of the Chernov is taken care of. It is also my pleasure to see that my friends are taken care of as well. Besides, this will be a great opportunity for you to learn about New Vulcan and the history or story of how they came to be there… minus the planet being destroyed. I meant that why they chose that particular planet.”

As the captain spoke of the destruction of Kastarak’s home planet, Kastarak relived it in his mind. The rush of adrenaline, the intense grief, the anguish, the terror… He looked out of the shuttle’s window, barely escaping the implosion of Vulcan, seeing the planet succumbing to the red matter’s destruction, remembering how he saw the surprise in his family’s faces as the ground below them gave way. So many katras lost, so much pain. Kastarak’s heartbeat rose, his breathing became more shallow, and his face got a greener hue.

Just as Kastarak was about to rise, he noted that his tea was hardly touched. It was a nice tea, and perhaps if he prolonged the conversation, he might enjoy his tea some more – as well as getting to know the captain deeper.

“If you have a few more minutes to spare, captain…?”

— Lt jg Kastarak

“Of course! I enjoy these times. You never know when it will be the last.”

Chris

“Everything that we have in life,” Kastarak said, having brought his heartbeat, breathing and body temperature down, “is fleeting, is borrowed, is a loan to speak. All relationships, all moments, everything can be gone at an instant, without meaning, without…”

Kastarak stopped himself. It was the grief and anguish that the destruction of Vulcan brought in him that spoke.

“That said, I am grateful for the moments that we share in private, sir, as I regard you as a role-model in leadership and morality. Logic and morals do not always go hand in hand, and I have learnt much from you. I should like to learn more about leadership, and in so doing, take on more duties thereto connected on board this ship.”

– Lt jg Kastarak

Seeing that Kastarakdidn’t like talking about the destructionof his homeworld or being reminded of it. “I’m sorry I mentioned a touchy subject my friend. And I am truly grateful for the time we share as well. Thank you again for those kind words. As far as you wanting to learn more about leadership and possibly taking over as a Department Head and maybe getting a command position one day. I will say that I will put you in for command school. I will supplement your studies with real world practices and exercises on the bridge. Is that what you would like?”

Captain Chris Taggart CO