Ensign Elor Letek - Leaving what happened behind us
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Ensign Elor Letek
Jul 19, 2025, 1:41:23 AM7/19/25
to USS Eagle
((Captain's Ready Room, Deck 1))
There were things in life that you couldn't prepare for. Or rather, things you could prepare for, but for which you would never feel quite ready. For Elor, facing the Captain was one of those moments, after everything that had happened on the Ifir. His actions on the bridge of the Romulan ship had been hasty and he should have taken more time to evaluate the situation before trying to improvise treatment. He had slapped the captain's face based on his assessment, hoping to snap her out of what he had thought was a hallucination. That brief moment, that split second in which he had made that decision, was capable of ruining his entire career. He knew he had to face her and at least try to explain his behavior in the hope of getting some leniency from Nicholotti.
But also something else made this meeting a great challenge for him. Under the influence of the fog, Nicholotti had tried to kill him on the Ifir. Thanks to Ensign Braya, she hadn't succeeded and he had escaped without any major injuries. Nevertheless, fear accompanied Elor as he entered her ready room. He was fully aware that the captain had no influence on his actions and that it was not she herself who had tried to take his life, but the foreign influence. But as logically as he looked at it, as Lieutenant Stendhal said: "Your body still remembers it, even if your mind has sorted it into categories and reasons."
He knew he couldn't avoid this meeting forever and there was another reason than a debate: he needed answers. In fact, a specific answer that the captain had to give him so that they could hopefully get a little closer to solving their puzzle. So he began his walk into the lion's den, upright yet uncertain. He had rehearsed his words over and over again over the last few days and hoped that he would not suddenly run out of them when he actually faced her.
And he managed it. He apologized, he explained himself and gave his side of the story and, contrary to his expectations, the captain reacted calmly and forgivingly. She didn't reproach him, didn't accuse him of overstepping his authority or making an absolute error of judgment. She showed understanding.
Nicholotti: How deep have you gotten into my file, doctor?
This question caught Elor off guard. For a brief moment, he wondered if it was a trick question and she had an ulterior motive for asking it, but immediately dismissed the idea. She was a person who didn't need to resort to such tricks.
Letek: To be honest, I briefly skimmed through it to find out who I was dealing with, but never went into detail. I prefer to form my own opinion of the people I'm dealing with and get to know them directly, rather than forming a preconceived opinion from a superficial file.
Nicholotti: I thought as much. That's okay though. Luckily you have access to the source and can ask anything you want.
And that brought them to the other reason why Elor had come to see her. Questions that needed an answer. He briefly considered whether a glance at her file would have been enough to answer his question. But even if that was the case, this meeting had been unavoidable and there was certainly nothing wrong with Nicholotti finding out what Drex, Noemi and he were working on.
Letek: That's good, because besides my desire to apologize and explain, that's exactly why I'm here. To ask a question.
Nicholotti: There are a great many questions burning in your eyes, Ensign. Along with fear. I only will accept the apology you offer because you feel it necessary to move forward, but you must accept this from me; what transpired on the Ifir was a nefarious game, be it by intelligent design or cosmic coincidence. We all did what we were driven to, and for you that was trying to save.
Relief spread through Elor. Nicholotti's words made it clear to him that she would not hold what had happened against him. He could not claim that his actions had been under the influence of the mist, but perhaps it was the situation as such that had led to such a short-sighted act.
Her eyes glanced briefly over to the chairs on the other side of her desk and Elor took the hint. They had cleared up the formalities, it would no longer be disrespectful to sit at her invitation. So he pulled out the chair to his left and sat down on it.
Letek: Lieutenant Drex, Ensign Lim and I just sat together in the SOS Lab and tried to find out what happened to us in that nebula. We gathered all the data we could find, ran simulations and theorized, but we didn't really get any closer to an answer.
Of course he would have liked to tell her something else, but unfortunately they had only been able to come up with theories due to the lack of data.
Nicholotti: Response?
Letek: Oh, one theory is wilder than the other, even if we can't rule any of them out. They range from simple physical causes like infrasound to living nebulas to Romulan conspiracies. But with the answer to one question, you could take us a long way forward.
He saw the curiosity in her eyes. No doubt she was just as interested in finding out what had happened to them and, above all, why, as he was.
Nicholotti: Response?
Letek: When we were on the Ifir... you suddenly spoke Romulan. We asked ourselves: do YOU speak the Romulan language or was it the nebula? Because if you don't speak this language, then it can't have been an infrasound or a primitive life form that influenced us. Then it would have to be something bigger.
Now the cat was out of the bag and Elor was almost holding his own breath in suspense.
Nicholotti: Response?
TAG / TBC
There were things in life that you couldn't prepare for. Or rather, things you could prepare for, but for which you would never feel quite ready. For Elor, facing the Captain was one of those moments, after everything that had happened on the Ifir. His actions on the bridge of the Romulan ship had been hasty and he should have taken more time to evaluate the situation before trying to improvise treatment. He had slapped the captain's face based on his assessment, hoping to snap her out of what he had thought was a hallucination. That brief moment, that split second in which he had made that decision, was capable of ruining his entire career. He knew he had to face her and at least try to explain his behavior in the hope of getting some leniency from Nicholotti.
But also something else made this meeting a great challenge for him. Under the influence of the fog, Nicholotti had tried to kill him on the Ifir. Thanks to Ensign Braya, she hadn't succeeded and he had escaped without any major injuries. Nevertheless, fear accompanied Elor as he entered her ready room. He was fully aware that the captain had no influence on his actions and that it was not she herself who had tried to take his life, but the foreign influence. But as logically as he looked at it, as Lieutenant Stendhal said: "Your body still remembers it, even if your mind has sorted it into categories and reasons."
He knew he couldn't avoid this meeting forever and there was another reason than a debate: he needed answers. In fact, a specific answer that the captain had to give him so that they could hopefully get a little closer to solving their puzzle. So he began his walk into the lion's den, upright yet uncertain. He had rehearsed his words over and over again over the last few days and hoped that he would not suddenly run out of them when he actually faced her.
And he managed it. He apologized, he explained himself and gave his side of the story and, contrary to his expectations, the captain reacted calmly and forgivingly. She didn't reproach him, didn't accuse him of overstepping his authority or making an absolute error of judgment. She showed understanding.
Nicholotti: How deep have you gotten into my file, doctor?
This question caught Elor off guard. For a brief moment, he wondered if it was a trick question and she had an ulterior motive for asking it, but immediately dismissed the idea. She was a person who didn't need to resort to such tricks.
Letek: To be honest, I briefly skimmed through it to find out who I was dealing with, but never went into detail. I prefer to form my own opinion of the people I'm dealing with and get to know them directly, rather than forming a preconceived opinion from a superficial file.
Nicholotti: I thought as much. That's okay though. Luckily you have access to the source and can ask anything you want.
And that brought them to the other reason why Elor had come to see her. Questions that needed an answer. He briefly considered whether a glance at her file would have been enough to answer his question. But even if that was the case, this meeting had been unavoidable and there was certainly nothing wrong with Nicholotti finding out what Drex, Noemi and he were working on.
Letek: That's good, because besides my desire to apologize and explain, that's exactly why I'm here. To ask a question.
Nicholotti: There are a great many questions burning in your eyes, Ensign. Along with fear. I only will accept the apology you offer because you feel it necessary to move forward, but you must accept this from me; what transpired on the Ifir was a nefarious game, be it by intelligent design or cosmic coincidence. We all did what we were driven to, and for you that was trying to save.
Relief spread through Elor. Nicholotti's words made it clear to him that she would not hold what had happened against him. He could not claim that his actions had been under the influence of the mist, but perhaps it was the situation as such that had led to such a short-sighted act.
Her eyes glanced briefly over to the chairs on the other side of her desk and Elor took the hint. They had cleared up the formalities, it would no longer be disrespectful to sit at her invitation. So he pulled out the chair to his left and sat down on it.
Letek: Lieutenant Drex, Ensign Lim and I just sat together in the SOS Lab and tried to find out what happened to us in that nebula. We gathered all the data we could find, ran simulations and theorized, but we didn't really get any closer to an answer.
Of course he would have liked to tell her something else, but unfortunately they had only been able to come up with theories due to the lack of data.
Nicholotti: Response?
Letek: Oh, one theory is wilder than the other, even if we can't rule any of them out. They range from simple physical causes like infrasound to living nebulas to Romulan conspiracies. But with the answer to one question, you could take us a long way forward.
He saw the curiosity in her eyes. No doubt she was just as interested in finding out what had happened to them and, above all, why, as he was.
Nicholotti: Response?
Letek: When we were on the Ifir... you suddenly spoke Romulan. We asked ourselves: do YOU speak the Romulan language or was it the nebula? Because if you don't speak this language, then it can't have been an infrasound or a primitive life form that influenced us. Then it would have to be something bigger.
Now the cat was out of the bag and Elor was almost holding his own breath in suspense.
Nicholotti: Response?
TAG / TBC
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Ensign Elor Letek
Medical Officer
USS Eagle
E240201EL2
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