LtCmdr Jovenan – If you look closely, you can see that you typoed “Application for promotion” as “Please I can’t take this anymore!”
Jovenan
((Chief
Science Officer’s office, Deck 9, USS Artemis))
Nova means new, supernova the new to the extreme, she said. Astronomers of old on my world saw not a star crumble within its own weight, bloated, withdrew from the space to its own solitude and die, but a birth, anew. For what is death if not a beginning, a creation of new from old? Trees never reach the heaven and break free from under its dome, they die and wither and fall, and the time and decay break their hearts and skins and nurture their children with it. And from where their canopies once covered the sky, the sun will shine upon them.
But dear Cecilia, I said, trees are alive until they die. What is death to a man who has never lived? A seed will never fall from my branches and find the ground and grow into a sapling, for never has anything alive sprung from what has never been so.
Cecilia’s tears shone on her broken lips, you forget the stars, she said, they are not alive, yet
Jovenan turned the page.
we are their children. Nova means new, supernova bounds between particles that from which lifeforms arise.
You give too much agency to the trees and stars, I said monotone and cruel, I think and choose, they do not. Would a tree choose to die for a sapling if it could? A tree not yet at its highest smothers the saplings that grow at its roots. Would a star collapse for something that it has never seen, something so fleeting and small that by the time it comes to miss them, entire races have been born and died in its light and scourge? I say,
Chime. The signal from the door startled Jovenan, making her close the book quickly. After she had recovered from the surprise, she wrinkled her nose for a moment. Considering how long the slow-paced tome was, it would take her a while to find the page she was on, although she was also considering just not continuing it after all. Reading books had been her distraction from the continuous complaints from certain Science Department members, whose projects had been disrupted once again by the Artemis’ repair work. After she had found Circuit Nova in the ship’s library, she had started to think that the PADDwork was the distraction from having to keep reading the overtly philosophical and/or pretentious novel. Something lighter might have fit better her mood right now, no matter how many awards the author had won. She spun around on her chair to put the book on the shelf as she heard the voice coming from behind the door.
Gnai: Hello, Commander Jovevan? It’s Gnai.
Jovenan: Gnai, yes, please come in!
The Galadoran scientist entered the small office. Jovenan smiled at it as it walked towards her carrying a PADD.
Gnai: Hello sir, this just wanted a chance to talk with you briefly about its role in the department…
Jovenan raised her eyebrows slightly. Her mind jumped straight into thinking Gnai was perhaps asking for advice in seeking the Assistant Chief Science Officer’s position. It wasn’t unreasonable a request either, Jovenan had herself been appointed the ACSO while an LtJG, and Gnai had proven to be one of the most promising members of the Department. On the other hand, she supposed that Gnai could also be referring to something more mundane, like project team compositions, so instead of leading with that, she smiled and gestured to the chairs on the other side of the desk.
Jovenan: Of course! What is on your mind?
Gnai handed her a PADD, which she accepted and took a glimpse at. A frown rose to her face as the title of the open document caught her attention. A medical note?
Gnai: Thank you, sir. ::gesturing to the PADD, speaking quickly:: Recently, this started to notice… adverse physical and mental reactions to away team missions, and being off the ship in general. Doctor Meyers did a physical and has recommended that this be removed from the roster of potential away team members. ::pause:: More information is on the PADD, as is her note on the stress.
Worry flashed in Jovenan’s eyes as they went to Gnai for a moment when it talked, but she then turned back to the PADD on her hand and the frown returned. She tried to read the crucial parts from the medical note, finding the medical officer’s recommendation, as that appeared to be the most important portion to the conversation. This had not at all been what she had expected. Her frown persisted as she focused, but then she looked up at Gnai again with a softer expression.
Jovenan: Just the away team missions? And not the ship-side service?
Gnai: Response
Jovenan: Well, I could remove you from the active away team rotation and talk with the rest of the ship staff so that you wouldn’t be called into a mission if it’s possible to avoid that. Is that what you’d want?
Gnai: Response
Jovenan pressed her lips tight together. She couldn’t argue against the Doctor’s findings. Gnai’s previous away team missions were indeed a notable source of stress in her eyes – from pre-destruction Romulus to the deep forests of Ura Neteos and the Genesis planet, not to mention the war-torn Galaris – but at the same time, she couldn’t dismiss the fact that the ship-side missions hadn’t been much easier for any of them. The battle against the Orion destroyers, the ships over the Genesis planet, the Frontier Day in entirety… She wasn’t sure if she could with good conscience release Gnai from the away team missions and still keep it around on the ship, even if she didn’t want to lose it.
Jovenan: But are you certain you want to risk it with resuming service on the Artemis? I’m not sure if the ship would be much less stressful for you. You have good grounds to apply for a transfer to a starbase or a planetary installation, and I would of course give you a good reference and help you find a place…
Gnai: Response
----
Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11