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Starfleet Complex- A Summons

Posted Jan. 20, 2023, 6:10 p.m. by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) (Lindsay B)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Sharah Fayth (Chief Star Fleet Medical Officer) in Starfleet Complex- A Summons

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Starfleet Complex- A Summons

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Sharah Fayth (Chief Star Fleet Medical Officer) in Starfleet Complex- A Summons
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Eela grinned. “It might not be every day but I take the ones I get. I even slept well last night imagine that!”

“Good sleep is a blessing.” One Sharah had been graced with recently and would never take for granted. “Now if you can replicate those circumstances so you get more nights like that.”

Walking at a measured but hurried pace, Dasca took in the Complex with an ease to her bearing that was subtly different than even a couple weeks ago. Then again when you had slain a proverbial beast and not only lived to tell the tale but had things work out well, it was bound to put a spring in her step. “I have my follow up appointment with Doctor Eraras next week. I suppose that will be an actual verdict on all my efforts. I just hope it’s been enough. Some days it doesn’t feel like it’s doing anything at all to help the disc issue and then I have days like today where I feel like I could scale a mountain.” She cast a rueful look Sharah’s way. “I could do with some middle ground. Don’t you have that in your magic prescriptions?”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Sharah grinned, “If I come up with a magic cure I will let you know. But you know a lot has changed in the years since your injury. But you seem to be having more good days than hard days.” She kept pace with Eela as they made their way out of the complex. “For now I recommend taking those days you can climb a mountain, to only climb half way. Save some if the energy to carry over.”

Fayth

Dasca snorted. “A sensible measure. I would like to think that I generally am, but I think you know me all too well at this point. It depends on the area, but I know all too well that I prefer to be on the go. I like being busy, but this job takes that word and creates entirely new meanings.”

She shook her head ruefully. “The ultimate question will be whether my efforts and mindfulness and the work I’ve been doing with Jal’na will be enough to correct my disc compression. It feels like it’s been better, but I honestly do lean on wearing the brace more often than not. We shall see.”

As they continued walking towards the exit, a Lieutenant in sciences blue came around the corner and stopped abruptly before she ran into the pair. Her green eyes went wide. “Captain Dasca,” she whispered, as if she’d seen a ghost.

Eela blinked and took in the Human woman and her curly red hair. She knew her, didn’t she? And then it came to her. Breda Donnelly. “Ensign… no, Lieutenant Donnelly,” she said with a smile. “It’s good to see you again. Congratulations on your promotions.”

Breda did not smile back and was keeping a very neutral expression, even though the underneath tension and hostility would be all too palpable to Dasca and Fayth. “Thank you, ma’am.” She hesitated. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m due somewhere and I’m running a bit late.”

She took in the feelings from Donnelly and the curt response that felt very much like a brush off. Well, it was bound to happen sometime, she mused before she nodded. “Of course, Lieutenant. As you were.”

Donelly gave Sharah brief nod of acknowledgement before she took off and it was all Dasca could do to not turn back and watch the woman go. A frown touched her lips but Eela just continued walking, if slightly slower than she had been before.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Sharah was used to giving a neutral and unflustered appearance no matter what she felt. But the raw hostility surprised her. A sense of friendship flowed out of Fayth. Even without touch Dasca would be able to feel it if she was open to such things. She raised her brows as the woman nodded to her and then gave a curt nod. She didn’t need to turn and look she could follow the woman’s presence if she wanted. She did not.

She gave Eela a smile and touched her arm lightly in support. “It’s okay to rely on the brace. That is what it is there fore, and with your schedule, even if you didn’t need it a day here or there, I would recommend you use it. Jal’na won’t let your muscles go weak.” She led the way out of the complex. “You don’t have to share, but are you alright?”

Fayth

As they stepped out into the fresh air, Eela paused, closed her eyes and took stock of where she was at. An audible breath passed through her lips. “She was on the Steadfast.” Five words that in her own mind spoke paragraphs, if not pages. But to anyone else without more context she knew it would only bring up questions.

“Not going to lie, Donnelly’s anger hurts, but… I understand it,” Dasca said, turning a somber gaze on Sharah. “What they don’t usually tell you as you climb the ranks and I’m going to share with you now so you’re prepared, is that with each pip and the increase in responsibility, the weight on your shoulders grows. That’s not news, everyone knows that. What you don’t see coming is that sometimes as a leader you have to intentionally take the weight from others because you need you to. Because if you don’t, they can’t grow and become who they are meant to be. And right or wrong, I’ve been okay with carrying that burden. So if Lieutenant Donnelly needs to be angry at me so that she could move on from a terrible ordeal and be an officer able to get promotions, I’m okay with that. But…” But. Such a terribly huge but in this case and Eela had to swallow the weight of it down. “Her anger comes from a lack of knowledge that only a few people have because what actually happened to our ship is classified, Sharah, and I wasn’t the one to tell people what happened. I was in a goddamned coma so some of the crew only have rumours and a few tiny details to work with.” She shrugged. “There’s nothing I can do about that. I can’t correct her perception, so I can only let it be.” It still hurt and she would need time today to process this unexpected occurrence, but she would be okay just like she had the last few years since everything went to hell.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Sharah blew out a breath and her eyes lifted to the sky for a moment. Then she placed a hand on the woman’s arm. “Eela, I am…sorry. It doesn’t do it justice, but I do understand. Not completely, but to some degree. Viking’s last mission is classified, the events most of the crew don’t know. My captain was in a coma for several weeks after it happened. I happen to be one of a handful of junior officers that knows what happened. And it’s painful to know what I know and not be able to explain to the people who were there.”

Fayth, SFCMO

Eela gazed at her, the shared understanding so very tangible between them. She nodded slowly. “Only the bridge crew and the Board of Inquiry and a handful of other brass know what went down. I made a really hard decision and honestly it could have gone either way. They could have decided it was justified or I was culpable of negligence. I feel for your former captain because there is nothing worse then waking up from a coma as a commanding officer and not knowing what happened to your crew. There are hurts that you never get over, you just find a way to live with them until they hurt less and less.”

“So, not to be too much of a downer after such a happy moment for you, when you hit those crux moments, keep in mind people like Donnelly who only know what they know. As you serve longer and longer, you know more and are brought into the fold more. It’s hard to remember what it was like to be a new officer and clueless as to the world of command. There are those that make decisions that seem so far away from you. Your only responsibility is to follow orders and do your duty as best you can. It’s simpler if not always easy.” She smiled, even if it felt bittersweet. “I know you’re already at the point where the weight feels heavier. The trick is to see where it is necessary and where you can set it down. Don’t let it crush you.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.


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