Lieutenant Ras El'Heem - Silver Linings
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((Airlock, Deck 16, USS Khitomer))
Was he rambling? He felt like he was rambling. Ras was unfamiliar with how Captain Naxell would handle an officer questioning his orders and he felt like perhaps this would be his one slap on the wrist. He was throwing anything at the wall to see what resonated with the man. Empathy, legacy, career advancement, bureaucracy, science. One of them oughta do the trick. And if it didn’t, well…
Naxell: Lieutenant, I recognize that you are very new to the role of department head, so If you’ll permit me, I’d like to offer you some advice. ::pause, gentle nod:: The relationship between a Captain and his Chiefs is dependent upon trust, and the strength of that relationship is more important to the ship’s function than any individual choice the Captain may make.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Maybe it's for the best if we can solve this together, so that when they get Matthews out of there we can escape if we need to.
Ras handed the canister back to MK and turned to face Naxell.
El’Heem: I understand sir, but-
Naxell: You are asking me to give a… suboptimal order to assuage your personal feelings of guilt. ::gesturing at the three of them:: We all know that. By all rights, I should have security hold you at phaser-point until the shuttle departs to ensure you don’t get on it. The only way I can say yes is if I have your assurance—as Chief Science Officer—that you’re going to become a better bulshitter.
He’d already learned what it cost to step outside the chain of command. He had done it under Hobart, convinced that urgency justified defiance. And he paid for it, dearly. Ras, opened and closed his prosthetic in an effort to assuage the ache that had come on at the thought of repeating his mistake. First officers and captains did not hold their positions by accident. They were accumulation of decisions survived and instincts tempered over time. This time, he would not cross that line. He would trust that Naxell knew best. Ras adjusted his grip on the canister and pulled himself from the distraction of consequence incarnate.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Wait, what?
El’Heem: Holding me at phaser point isn’t necessary, captain. I wouldn’t- Did you just say you can say yes if I bullshit you better? ::long pause as he stared at Naxell through his suit’s visor.:: Uhhh what I meant to say is that, yes ::backing away towards the airlock entrance.:: Uhh ::handing the canister to MK again.:: I have no personal stake in this at all, and I don’t care about Matthews. I just want to see the maneaters up close. ::pulling off his helmet and tossing it into the recycling receptacle:: I’ll work on it, Captain.
He did like the guy. He was different than Shayne. Far less broody, and he knew how to crack a joke for a teaching moment. Ras had a feeling there would be a lot of those, being that Naxell was fresh off his stint of lecturing before returning to active duty.
Naxell: Good. Ensign? You and I will wrap this up. ::to El’Heem:: The explosion in here means the “black widows” as you called them are using a great deal of force to keep this cloud together. Take Lieutenant Michaels from Engineering and report to Lieutenant Semara in the shuttlebay. She’ll be lead on your team, but you’ll be responsible for figuring out how they do it, so we can undo it if they won’t.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Yes, sir
Ras quickly doffed the suit he’d just donned and almost tripped hopping on one foot to remove the second boot. Amelia was leading the team? Maybe he should reconsider. But he’d already did the whole song and dance. There was no going back now.
El'Heem: Aye sir.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Good luck, Lieutenant.
El’Heem: And you, Ensign. See you on the other side.
He turned and walked two steps out of the airlock before swiveling and stepping right at the threshold again.
El’Heem: Thank you Captain.
As he started down the corridor, the brief satisfaction of having self advocated, waned. It had sounded reasonable in the moment. Richard needed to be rescued, and who better to assure it was done, than the man who ordered him to his fate? But now, with distance from the conversation, it felt far more precarious. He had just argued his way onto an away mission aboard a vessel that did not belong to any known power, inhabited by a species they barely understood, defined so far by a single, inconvenient detail. They did not tolerate men. And they may or may not eat them. After breeding with them. The brisk walk that had carried him from the pink bubble gum crime scene slowed as he neared the turbolift.
Zerva: =/\= Attention all hands, attention. This is Lieutenant Zerva. I have been advised to issue a shipwide security advisory. The nearby nebula is emitting nearly invisible filaments that have been located on the bridge and engineering. Use the sensor data uploaded by Ensign Morda in the ship's computer to locate them. Avoid direct contact and do not touch them. Send your findings directly to engineering, where we have set up a monitoring station to coordinate with the XO and all departments. =/\=
Things were becoming more dire for the Khitomer as time went on. Maybe there was a silver lining to getting off the ship. He picked up his pace to close the gap to the turbolift.
El’Heem: ::too himself as he stopped at the doors to the turbolift:: No half measures, I guess. ::tapping his commbadge:: =/\= El’Heem to Lieutenant Michaels. Where are you? =/\=
The doors parted with a woosh and he stepped inside.
Michaels: =/\= Response =/\=
El’Heem: =/\= Change of plans. You and I have been conscripted for the away team. Meet me in the shuttle bay as soon as possible. We’re late. =/\=
TAG/TBC
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Lieutenant Ras El ‘Heem
Chief Science Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
K240106RE3