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Five Forward: atten: Ael Khev

Posted Jan. 19, 2020, 6:42 a.m. by Commander Jason Harn (Executive Officer) (R Smith)

Posted by Lieutenant Ael Khev (Pilot, Red Squad Leader) in Holodeck side sim: atten: Ael Khev

Posted by Commander Jason Harn (Executive Officer) in Holodeck side sim: atten: Ael Khev

Posted by Lieutenant Ael Khev (Pilot, Red Squad Leader) in Holodeck side sim: atten: Ael Khev
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻
One fine day as the USS Brain A. Olinski was taking a long voyage through space, an off duty Commander Jason Harn was in his quarters sitting at his desk and going through the personnel files. Cluttering his desk was a number of mementos from the 22nd century that he had pulled out of storage in order to become introspective. Rhonda, Loki, Donner, Joseph, Maya, they all seemed so far away in time and space… They all could have come from a different life as far as Jason was concerned. They were reminders of a life and a civilization he could never return to, at least no as long as the Federations top secret Temporal Operations and it’s public face Temporal Investigations had anything to say about it. Even if he could return, was he truly the man he had been over two centuries ago?

Currently he was reading the personnel file of someone else who couldn’t return to the civilization he was born into, Lieutenant Ael Khev, Starfleet’s favorite Romulan defector. The Hobus supernova had shattered the Romulan Empire, and the Tal Shiar, the Romulan military, and the Klingon Empire were carving it up. A series of inhumane orders involving the murders of civilians who’s crime was being on the wrong side of a political orders was enough to drive Khev out of the Romulan navy and into the arms of the Federation. Incredibly, the information he gave Starfleet Intelligence was so good that they had no problem with rewarding him with the only life he knew, the life of a fighter pilot in an interstellar navy, in this case Starfleet.

The whole thing smelled to high heaven to Jason, but when he actually met Ael Khev face to face he could see for himself why both the counseling department and Starfleet Intelligence were completely convinced of the Romulan’s new loyalties. That face was haunted by a past he couldn’t escape, no matter how many light years he put between him. Even Jason, haunted by memories of the Earth-Romulan War of the late 2250’s knew that he could trust this man with his life, let alone Starfleet’s technical secrets. The reason to make sure Ael didn’t have duty on the Federation Romulan border wasn’t because of conflicting loyalties, it was because it would cause such a mental strain on the poor man that the counseling department wouldn’t be able to clear him for duty.

The similarity between Jason and Ael didn’t end with the Romulan Empire being responsible for their exile from their original civilization and their subsequent adoption from Starfleet. Ael was a fighter pilot; Jason had once been a fighter pilot. Ael was fifty, (not that one could tell thanks to 24th century medicine and the Romulan lifespan that was biologically longer than the human norm), Jason was in his fifties. Both were 1.91 meters and weighed over a hundred kilos, nearly all of it muscle. And both had a real challenge ahead of them when it came to making friends.

It was time to do something about it. He would invite Ael to spend some time with him on the holodeck in some physical exercise, rock climbing or something, and see what they had in common. Even if they never became close friends, it would do them both a world of good to know that somebody on this ship really understood them.

“Computer, what is the location of Ael Khev?” he asked out loud.

OOC: Sam, feel free to answer for the computer before describing where Ael is on what is he doing.

Jason Harn, XO

=Lieutenant Khev is in his quarters.= the computer replied.

Ael had recently regained so much, but definitively lost everything else. Out of his parents, two siblings, three nieces and two nephews, his sister was the only one alive.

His morning ritual had changed. He still gazed at his tattoo and prayed for the souls of every innocent he shot down to find rest. Now also he prayed for his family. All those passed, may they find eternal peace.

As a strange coincidence, he thought of Commander Harn as he looked at Red Squad reports, despite this being his day off. He thought of the commander as he evaluated a training exercise the squad had just run. He remembered meeting the XO, he remembered being the enemy. And then that passed an was replaced by something else. Something foreign. Almost fear of something other than Ael’s pointed ears.

-Lt Ael Khev, Apex (Red Squad Leader)

=^=Harn to Khev, are you busy?=^= Jason asked the empty room he was in. =^=This is nothing time sensitive, I just want to know if you’ve got a minute. =^= Jason took a deep breath. This was going to be awkward. Nobody wants to spend time with the boss, and on most ships that Jason served on when the first officer asks to see you, he’s either feeling you out to see if he wants to choose you for an assignment or you’re in trouble for something. The only way to play it was to remain as casual as possible and give the Romulan plenty of opportunities to escape if he was too uncomfortable.

Jason Harn, XO

Ael set down the PaDD he had been staring at and straightened up in his seat. =/\=No sir, not busy at all.=/\= he waited to hear what the XO thought, if this was a test of his dedication to duty.

-Lt Ael Khev, Apex (Red Squad Leader)

=^=Okay, I’ll meet you in the observation lounge on deck five in ten minutes. Uniforms aren’t required. This is just two old pilots having a drink. See you there!=^= Even without a visual image, Ael could hear the cheerful tone in Jason’s voice.

Jason Harn, off duty XO

Ael made a point of arriving at five minutes. His standard off duty attire was a tunic and trousers of the same colour. He walked to the bar and requested ‘whatever Terran alcohol you would recommend. An inverted cone on a spire arrived in front of him. “A martini.” the bartender said. “Ok then.” Ael turned and searched to see if Harn had arrived.

-Ael Khev

Jason arrived two minutes later wearing a civilian outfit of brown and white. Ael was easy to spot so the first officer waved and sauntered over to him. “Hey Ael, glad you could come. Once again if I’m pulling you away from anything we can do this later.”

Jason Harn, XO

“Nothing important, Commander. I was just looking over some simulation reports… on my day off. As one does.” Ael picked up his glass. “The bartender called this a martini. I know little more about it than I did before, but apparently it’s a staple of Terran culture.”

-Ael Khev

“If there’s one thing my people perfected, it was our skill at poisoning ourselves,” Jason joked. “Speaking of poisoning oneself for recreation, I understand your people are known for their brewing skills. I hear that your beer is among the finest in the galaxy.”

Jason Harn, off duty, making small talk

“It is.” Ael smiled. “I haven’t had it in a decade or so.” He turned to the bartender. “Romulan ale?”
“Right after I go back in time and unvaporise-“ he looked up and saw who he was talking to. “Replicator can make some.” He fidgeted as though he thought Ael might kill him. “Thanks.” was all he said. Ael looked uncomfortably at Harn. “A Romulan over 2 metres tall tends to set people on edge.”

-Ael Khev

“Yeah I hear that,” Jason nodded. “I had that problem back in school. To be honest, that’s why my command style is so informal and casual. Even as a child, I got tired of all the other kids being intimidated by me. I wasn’t just the class jock, I was the assistant class clown.” He paused as he wondered if Ael’s combadge would translate terms like ‘jock’, or ‘class clown’ but on the other hand his plan was working swimmingly and they hadn’t even started drinking. Already they were sharing. It would be the height of irony if his best friend on this ship ended up being the face of the enemy.

Jason Harn, XO


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