[Paradise-IV] Fwd: SD979328.20 - It's a Matter of Security - RAdmrl LH Vilqa and LtCmdr Cho'lu

[Paradise-IV Logs]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kylana ~ <kylan...@gmail.com>
Date: 28 March 2012 20:21
Subject: SD979328.20 - It's a Matter of Security - RAdmrl LH Vilqa and LtCmdr Cho'lu
To: Paradise Logs <parad...@googlegroups.com>, comma...@14th.org

[The Admiral's Administrative Offices, Starfleet Compound]

Yim'Bar tightened his uniform for probably the third time in as many minutes.  He had come to check on the Admiral's Offices and insure all was well in that area.  Since the hospital incident he had been concerned about all of the senior staff.  He approached the Admiral's aide, "I have an appointment with Admiral Vilqa, is she available for me at this time?"  Yim'Bar had several PADDs with him so he could work while he waited.  He smiled warmly at the aide knowing full well she was an overworked staffer, all Admirals were always busy he thought, that was what made them Admirals.

"Commander if you have an appointment I am certain she will have the time." The aide stated, "Please follow me, I can tell you she has nobody in there currently with her so you should be good." The walk was a short one from the main administration area and was no more decorated or in more working order than any other Federation building. "Don't mind the sound, the chime on her door is on the fritz." The woman knocked on the metal door only to be met with a muffled, "Come."

The aide nodded, "Seems she's taking visitors Commander."

"Thank you." Yim'Bar said politely to the aide.  Then as instructed he entered.  It had been some time since he had met with the Admiral.  He had hoped to have a drink or two with her during the reception but that never materialized.  She looked strong as ever and something else, something Yim'Bar could not place he just didn't know her well enough to read her.  probably better that way he thought and said, "Admiral Vilqa, it is good to see you on this glorious day.  Thanks for having me on short notice."

"Commander please come in and have a seat. It's no problem and nice to touch base from time to time with things that are local in nature even though I do my best to keep my nose out of local business for the most part as it's not my responsibility to get involved in the day to day." She leaned back in her chair, "Whatever it is, I didn't do it, or if I did you have no evidence to prove it to be so." Her hand motioned for the man to take a seat.

"Nothing like that Admiral, I am here on a more informal matter."  Yim'Bar said.  "Truthfully I wanted to let you know I was sorry for being unable to protect you and the remainder of the staff during the Grand Opening.  You cannot begin to phathom how difficult it was for me to not personally escort you to safety.  It seems Ensign Argo was successful and I know you are more than capable of handling yourself.  The fact is you are an Admiral, and should be safe wherever you go.  That is why I wanted to talk with you.  I wanted to inquire with you about your personal security needs."  Yim'Bar hoped the admiral understood is meaning.  The Admiral was a high value target on Paradise - IV and this was one of many of his highest concerns.  He knew she was an incredible warrior, he had witnessed that personally she was still and admiral and in his jurisdiction.

Vilqa's hands raised and she shook her head, "Cho'lu don't dwell on it please. What occurred was unexpected but I will admit it should not have been, I've expressed my disbelief and trust that we will not miss something like this again." She sighed a moment, "I really don't want another shadow Cho'lu. I am fine. I do not fear my life here, I say that with honesty."

 

Yim'Bar smiled, he knew her answer would be similar to what she had said tyhe Admiral was headstrong and more than capable of self preservation, perhaps moreso than Yim'Bar himself.  "Admiral, I respect your choice of course and will try hard not to dwell on the incident as you have suggested.  Do you have an objection to me putting together a rapid response team charged with securing your person in case of an emergency?  Perhaps assign them an office near here but not physically in your area as a shadow as you have suggested."

 

She mused the offer for a moment then nodded, "I will accept that Cho'lu. It seems a fair compromise." Her hand moved to cup her glass and lift it to her lips for a sip of water, "And if I have any scheduled events where I am there in official capacity such as the hospital opening I will inform you and at your discretion will have a medical entourage."

 

Yim'Bar smiled, "Point taken.  Admiral if you would like I can have a Type-1 sent over for you to have near or on your person for safety.  That way if you find yourself without the security contigent you will at least be able to defend yourself.  I hope we can get things settled here so that we are more welcome until then, perhaps some of these suggestions will be useful."

 

"No need, I have access to my own weapons." The admiral smirked slightly, "I didn't have the foresight to bring one the other day, again nobody's fault but my own to not have it just in case."

 

Yim'Bar sat back into the chair a little more than he normally would.  "Admiral, before you entered into command of starships, what was your specialty?  What was your first duty assignment?"  He asked he had never thought to ask Vilqa about her training prior to his meeting her as Captain of the Vimy Ridge.

Vilqa's brow raised at the question, Cho'lu and herself had never had any true personal conversations other than specific duty related tasks of the moment. She nodded slowly though as she could see a change in the man, not so much a change but growth -- growth that she expected from all her officers. "When I first joined starfleet I initially entered the steps my father took and went into the science field, I will be the first to admit that did not last very long and I remustered to security and tactical training. When I graduated from the Academy I was posed to the USS Erinys as a security officer and I remained in that position throughout my career until I was placed into a leadership role. Why do you ask?"

 

"Truth be told, as I have expressed on many occassions in the past, it has always been my goal within the fleet to rise to the highest potential of my inner self.  To that end I have spent time observing the successful officers around me, I know of none more than successful than you in my career thus far.  Of course, my observations have been somewhat limited as you have been in my chaion of command for the bulk of my career.  Please do not take that as a negative statement, you are a fine officer who seemingly has done well.  As you look over the course of my career, specifically the elements of it that you have been directly involved in, what advice could you offer to a youngster like me starting out?""  Yim'Bar was curious to her opinion.

 

She laughed a bit at the youngster comment and completely relaxed her demeanour, "There is no exact right or wrong tool to obtaining the rank and stature you want. If you look to each of the captain's on the fleet you will note each is very different however the one things each has is the respect of their fellow officers and those working under them. I could say honour and integrity but we expect that from all of our officers no matter rank or position. What I like to see is someone willing to take a chance and someone with the ability to challenge command without command actually realizing they are doing it. I've not seen many officers actually learn the trait but it's fun to watch them try." K`y nipped her lower lip a moment, "And," she then added, "The most important thing is act like a leader and by saying that I don't mean to step on the toes of anybody above you, but act like a leader even when you don't believe someone is watching you because truth be told you are always watched."

"Those are great words, songs that will be sung of you in the next life I am sure."  Yim'Bar said commenting on the Admiral's Klingon heritage briefly.  "What would you consider your greatest achievement so far in your career Admiral?  Before you answer, I am not referring necessarily to promotion, I mean if there was something you could point to that describes the most glorious moment of your time in Starfleet so far what is that time and why?"  Yim'Bar was not hero worshiping but it had to be danger close...at least it sounded like it was to himself.  He smiled at that thought briefly.

"I have a few Cho'lu but one of my greatest achievements is relieving my Grankite Order of Tactics, Class of Excellence in 2389 when I led the Audax, Brisbane, SB517 and the Adriatic in a joint mission. If I recall correctly there had not been another Captain to receive one since but I am now always looking for an opportunity and of course when I was given command of the Vimy Ridge; it is a great honour to be placed in command of a Galaxy class vessel." Vilqa then looked to him with all seriousness, "However I am naive to believe any of those would have been possible without my crew."

"I see that you have on several occasions been quick to pass the praise so to speak.  Yo0u are a Klingon Warrior, surely there is some pride for your achievements that can only be yours.  How do you keep that in check as you, take command of a Galaxy Class Starship or find yourself promoted to Admiral.  Perhaps I am just not fully matured, but it seems to me the hardest parts of command are keeping the inner me suppressed so that others feel like they can approach you, trust you as you have alluded too.  Is there a secret to keeping the pride out of decisions, actions?"  Yim'Bar asked.  He was intrigued and in point of fact the Admiral was quite the counselor, she was approachable to a point.

The Admiral stood up and went to fill her glass with water, then took a second one without asking bringing one to the male before settling down in her seat once more, "Maturity will come, that can only be found from within yourself and there is nobody who can assist in that aspect. At times maturity is simply keeping your emotions in check." She sipped the cool liquid and nodded, "I know my crew wasn't my friend Cho'lu, there were very few friends but that was done on purpose. I chose early on in my career, I was not there to be a friend, I was there to do what I needed to do to protect my crew and sometimes that meant placing us in a precarious position. Positions where others thought I was signing a death wish, but in fact it was the alternative which was that wish. There is logic and there is gut instinct. I learned a long time ago that logic can be tainted, your gut on the other hand cannot. When in doubt go with instinct always, you need to not think of what ifs and do not second guess yourself, if you do your crew will know. You are not the crew's friend, they were always at arm's reach and no closer. If they were closer it would have tainted the decisions I'd have to make." This last bit was somewhat of a lie, while yes she was not friend to the whole vessel she had her core of friends and she more than she'd ever publicly admit cared.

Yim'Bar was thankful for the water, Paradise was cooler than most Federation postings but still warm on the inside.  He smiled.  The Admiral was showing a side of her, a warmth, Yim'Bar never could have imagined.  he hated to break it up he could sit for hours just listening to her but life beckoned on the edge of the conversation.  A stack of PADDs with his name on them screamed for him.  "My gut tells me to keep you safe.  So I will detail a small contingent of people to be at your beck and call Admiral.  They will definitely be at official functions for a while and will maintain a presence very near here.  If you would like I can have them out of uniform when you are in public though I would rather not."  Yim'Bar hesitated for a second and then said, "Admiral, thank you for this time of confidence or mentoring..." He was stumbling for the right phrase, "For allowing me this privileged.  I shall never forget it."

=/\=

Rear Admiral Lower Half Vilqa, 14th Fleet Command

Lieutenant Commander Cho'lu, CSec

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=/\= K`ylana Vilqa, 14th Fleet =/\=

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=/\= K`ylana Vilqa, 14th Fleet =/\=