JP Lt. Nesre Salo and Lt.Cmdr.el - Hey Hey! Part III
Amanda Nordstrom
OOC: This takes place before Wayward Son.
((Quarters 1118, Deck 5, USS Ronin))
That had been a recent change, so recent that she wasn’t surprised V’Len hadn’t heard. Nesre had barely settled in, and Krystal…well, the poor girl found herself facing change once more, though at least she had the holographic dog, Logan, and the real, even better dog, Lilou, as well as herself as something stable and unchanging. Still, she hoped the new counsellor would be able to help the child. Nesre did her best, but since she was now the child’s official guardian, it was not appropriate to act as her counsellor any longer.
V’Len stiffened. He’d been there when the Thor had fallen. When the Oumuamua had shown up just in time to rescue the survivors.
Kel: =/\= Is everyone o.k.? =/\=
V’Len thought about all his friends on the Oumuamua. Toxin, Lhandon, Toz, Peri. Jack was not there of course, but Krystal was. The poor girl had lost almost everything. Her parents and now her brother as well.
Kel: =/\= How is Krystal? =/\=
Nesre inhaled and let out a long breath. That was a loaded question certainly and she reached up to run a hand through her hair. Realising she had forgotten about her food during the entirety of the conversation thus far, more interested in conversing with her friend, she glanced down at the meal and prepared to take a bite once she answered his question.
Salo: =/\=It’s complicated, as it always is when dealing with a situation like this.=/\=
Kel: =/\= Surely there’s no one more equipped to aid her than you. You’ve had your share of ups and downs. =/\=
Nesre shook her head. Her own experiences hadn’t been with that exact scenario, but she’d certainly seen her share of trauma from a variety of sources.
Seeing Nesre pick up her bowl reminded V’Len about his meal. He picked up the bowl to take some bites.
Salo: =/\=She’s a young girl who’s experienced and seen way too much and has lost more than she should have. She’s doing about as well as expected, and the road she’s on is a long one. But…I think she’ll be okay. She just needs time.=/\=
Kel: =/\= I hope she’ll get from there to here. =/\=
V’Len realised what he said might not make sense. It was a phrase Rox had related from Captain Niac.
Kel: =/\= I mean I hope she gets to where we are. Happy with who we are and where we are. =/\=
Nesre lingered on her bite for a minute, offering a small smile. Change was part of being in Starfleet, but even so, what Krystal had dealt with was not insignificant.
Was he happy? V’Len lingered on a bite. He’d still not heard from Greaves or Promontory about the intelligence they’d gleaned from the medical center. What was the delay? Why hadn’t they acted?
Salo: =/\=She asks about you, you know.=/\=
He was going to have to take steps.
Kel: =/\= Tell her my line is always open. =/\=
Krystal was a good kid who always seemed interested in V’Len. He was not sure exactly why but wondered if there was not some kind of crush going on.
Kel: =/\= So is the rest of the Oumuamua crew alright? Lhandon and V’Airu and the rest? =/\=
Salo: =/\=Yes, they’re doing all right. Most of the crew have transferred over. V’Airu has taken a step back to deal with some personal matters. Colonel Greaves did come on board for a while. =/\=
Kel: =/\= I heard Greaves was back. I was concerned he’d created a pickle like he did on the Thor. =/\=
Nesre found that to be a rather less than charitable description of what had occurred on the Thor. The situation had been far too complicated to assign blame to any one person, and she, personally, felt Greaves had done all he could considering.
Salo: =/\=I don’t think that’s a fair accusation, V’Len.=/\=
She paused briefly, though not long enough for V’Len to have a chance to respond before she asked a question.
Salo: : =/\=How did you know of his return?=/\=
The downing of the Thor could hardly be laid at Greaves’ feet, but V’Len persisted in believing the marine had charged into battle recklessly. In truth they had been surprised by pirates. Very well armed pirates. But Greaves was in command and 120 dead was hard for V’Len to deal with, not to mention that Nesre herself had been injured. Forgetting and forgiving was hard.
Kel: =/\= Um I chanced to run into him while he was in transit. ::pausing:: So how is Lhandon? Still as crazy as ever? =/\=
Salo: =/\=Yes, very much so. He’s a great officer, as is Arlill, but both I think have some maturing to do. Still, I would not be surprised to see one, if not both, in command of a ship of their own some day.=/\=
All of the Oumuamua’s, now Butler’s, crew were amazing and quite capable, but certain individuals stood out. Toz, Promontory, Herrick…several others, even the latest marine all seemed to be particularly capable. She could see bright futures for them.
V’Len could not help but give a small chortle at the idea of Toxin or Lhandon in charge of a vessel. When he’d left they’d been pretty green. Still Salo was right, people grew and changed. V’Len had tried to be a mentor to both. He hoped he’d gotten them off on the right foot.
Salo: =/\=Nor would I be surprised if you were in command of one some day as well.=/\=
Kel: =/\= Me? ::smiling:: surely you jest. =/\=
Salo: =/\=Don’t tell me you’ve never even thought of it for even the briefest of moments?=/\=
Nesre smiled even as she took another bite. V’Len was a doctor, and she knew how much passion he held for his field. Still, sometimes life, or even Starfleet, guided someone in a direction they didn’t initially intend. Would that happen to him? Or would he remain a doctor until the end of time?
V’Len gave a slight cringe. He had spent one mission as XO under Greaves. He’d been ok for a while, but his time on the bridge was marred by the partial destruction of an alien vessel.
Kel: ::sceptically:: =/\= I don’t know. Who’s going to follow Captain Kel into battle?
Salo: =/\=I think Captain Kel has a nice ring to it.=/\=
Kel: ::giving Nesre sideways glance:: =/\= I don’t know that I want to give up being a doctor. I mean would you give up helping people to command a starship? =/\=
Salo: =/\=No.=/\=
Though gentle, there was a certainty in that single word. Nesre knew exactly what she wanted to do, and she was doing it. At that time, she had no desire to change her course, and she could understand V’Len’s position very well.
V’Len had had this conversation in his head numerous times. Of course his past host, Xam Kel, had always harbored ambitions of command. V’Len Kel on the other hand, not so much.
Kel: ::shrugging his shoulders:: =/\= I feel like I’m called to be a healer, not to command. I’m content with that. =/\=
Salo: =/\=I understand.=/\=
She really did. They were both in the job they wanted most. They both could help people where they were.
Kel: =/\= Now if we’re talking about future Captains, we need to add Roxanne Queen to the list. =/\=
Now that was unexpected. If Nesre had been asked who she might think would be on the road to command, Roxane Queen was not exactly the first person to come to mind.
Salo: =/\=Oh really?=/\=
Rox would have been a dark horse on anybody’s list, but she’d come out of a dozen scrapes, her wit and charm still intact. Rox was a puzzle in many ways, but in others she was simple. She liked fun, she cared about her friends and she was capable.
Kel: =/\= Niac and Raga promoted her to acting ensign. She’s carting around a stack of PADDs trying to do Academy coursework. ::slyly:: Rumour has it she’s interested in Raga’s job. =/\=
Salo: =/\=The first officer?=/\=
Truthfully, that was completely unexpected, but Nesre wondered if it this new road before her might not be a good thing. Perhaps it would help her to mature in a way she hadn’t had the opportunity to do so before. She hoped Rox did well in her new role.
Salo: =/\=How do you feel about that?=/\=
Kel: =/\= Well obviously I’ll miss her in sickbay. When she's not giving me a bad time, she’s very effective. Still I wish her all the best. =/\=
Salo: =/\=As do I. I have to admit, I miss seeing her around to, even with her craziness.=/\=
Nesre chuckled softly. Rox was certainly a character, but despite all that had happened, Nesre liked her. Some people might have been suspicious after all the mess with her abilities, but the woman wasn’t a bad sort. Truthfully, she had a good heart and really cared about others.
The time caught her eye and Nesre sighed softly. While she always enjoyed talking with V’Len, it felt like the conversations were over far too quickly. She still hadn’t quite gotten used to not seeing him around.
Salo: =/\=I have an appointment in a few minutes.=/\=
Kel: ::smiling:: =/\= Probably for the best. My analgesic will wear off soon. When my eye starts to hurt I become a real grump. =/\=
She smiled and shook her head. The time difference made things weird, but she would rather have a short conversation with him than no conversation at all.
Salo: =/\=Maybe we could do this in person again some time? =/\=
Kel: =/\= The next time you come through the wormhole I’ll come to you. =/\=
He gave her a warm smile and the screen went blank. V’Len slumped back on his couch. What were they doing over there? The data he and Greaves had recovered more than showed Jack was alive. Krystal was without any family and still no action. The wheels in his head began to turn. He would indeed need to take steps.
END
--
Lieutenant Commander V’Len Kel
Chief Medical Officer
USS Ronin NCC-34523
T239811VK2
&
Lt. Nesre Salo
Counsellor
USS 'Oumuamua
M239008AD0
