Back to the beginning

Posted on 14 Apr 2016 @ 1:22am by Commander Rhyan & Cadet Senior Grade Jody Scott
Edited on on 21 Apr 2016 @ 1:21am

2,271 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Errand of Mercy
Location: Rachel Garrett Lecture Theatre, Starfleet Academy, Earth
Timeline: ED 1
Tags: Rhyan, Jody Scott, Ch'Thalek, Rachel Garrett,

Rhyan was bored.

For the last twenty minutes the Vulcan had sat in the front row of the lecture theatre waiting for the centenarian Admiral to finish his bloated lecture on the battle of Narendra III. Rhyan was due to have commenced his own lecture over fifteen minutes ago, but Admiral Krystowski appeared to love the sound of his own voice so much that he had run well into Rhyan’s allotted time to speak. And, from the looks on the fourth year cadets’ faces, it appeared as though they were as uninterested with the Admiral’s talk as Rhyan was. It only took a quick glance over his shoulder for the commander to catch not one, but three separate cadets asleep in their seats.

“And of course,” the Admiral bellowed out, his voice carrying a sense of pride along with it, “Rachel Garret was one of the most eminent members of our graduating class. It was once believed that she was going to be the first cadet since James Kirk to beat the Kobyashi Maru – but, alas, she did not succeed on either of her attempts to beat the no-win scenario. I remember…”

Rhyan’s head dipped forward and he suddenly found himself wide-awake after he had momentarily drifted off into unconsciousness. Another quick glance to either side of him reassured Rhyan that nobody had seen his indiscretion, so he slumped further in the chair and continued to listen to Admiral Krystowski talk about Captain Garrett’s – and his own, much to the annoyance of everyone in the lecture theatre – experience in the Kobyashi Maru simulator. It was another ten minutes of needless ruminations from the Admiral about his ‘good friend’ Rachel Garrett before Lieutenant Commander Ch’Thalek finally thanked him and shooed him from the podium – much to everyone’s relief.

“And now cadets,” Commander Ch’Thalek began, his antennae seeming to prick up now that he had removed Krystowski from the stage and was able to move the series of lectures on, “we have another exciting speaker for you today.”

Rhyan scoffed at the Andorian’s use of the word ‘exciting’ in relation to his lecture. He was fairly certain he could do a better job than the Admiral, but he doubted the subject matter would hold many of the cadets’ attention any better than Krystowski. That said, he doubted his talk could be any worse than what he had been forced to endure for the last hour and twenty-five minutes. With his lack of time-keeping skills, Rhyan could see why Ch’Thalek was posted to Starfleet Academy and not functioning as a member of a Starfleet vessel. Whatever could be said about Rhyan, at least he knew he was punctual – and to the point.

Ch’Thalek continued. “Many of you will be familiar with Lieutenant Commander Rhyan as the executive officer under Captain Azura Ashcart on board the USS Redemption.” The Andorian paused, shifting slightly behind the lectern before resuming his introduction. “Commander Rhyan began his career in Starfleet nine years ago, quickly rising through the ranks before being posted to Starbase 54 as an eager young Lieutenant.”

Once again Ch’Thalek paused, but this time took a moment to laugh at some joke that nobody in the lecture theatre seemed to understand. It made the Commander even more unlikeable in Rhyan’s opinion, with his next words only backing up his opinion of the fact.

“I apologise,” Ch’Thalek resumed, “but this is the first time I have described a Vulcan as ‘eager’ in one of my introductions.”

Rhyan scoffed.

“While at Starbase 54, the then Lieutenant Rhyan headed up research into the Iconians due to the starbase’s proximity to an abandoned Iconian city on the planet now referred to as ‘New Iconia’. During this time Commander Rhyan also commenced his command training, beginning his journey into the executive chair that he now keeps warm.” Ch’Thalek chuckled inwardly to himself again. “When President G’ath was assassinated in 2390, Commander Rhyan was instrumental in saving the life of our current President, Elesa Zal, before being hand-picked by Captain Ashcart to serve as the executive officer on board the Federation Flagship. During this time the commander has helped avert civil war, brokered peace with the Romulans, and led colleagues into battle against the Sixth Fleet.

“That brings me nicely on to why we have asked the good commander to speak to you all today.” Ch’Thalek gestured towards Rhyan that instructed him to stand up and join the Andorian at lectern. Rhyan obliged, trying to hide his embarrassment at the unexpected and lengthy introduction he had been given. “Commander Rhyan was recently seconded to Starfleet Science, working with the newly commissioned ‘Ee Research Institute’. The Ee, as you may be aware, are the latest serious threat to the Federation. Not since the Borg have we been so concerned about an imminent attack from a technologically – and biologically – superior race. As an expert in Ee biology and technology, we have asked Commander Rhyan to talk to you today about his personal experiences of, and losses to, the Ee.” Ch’Thalek placed a hand on Rhyan’s back in an unwanted gesture of solidarity with the Vulcan.

Gently shaking off Ch’Thalek, Rhyan nervously lent forward towards the microphone on the lectern and thanked him for his kind – if somewhat unnecessary – introduction. The audience applauded Rhyan as Ch’Thalek stepped away from the podium and took a seat where Rhyan had previously been.

“So, the Ee,” Rhyan uttered nervously, glancing around the two hundred or so fourth year cadets who were staring back down at him. Unsurprisingly he saw more science division teal uniforms in the audience, although he imagined more of the command and engineering cadets had been invited to the lecture. Their loss.

For the next thirty or so minutes, Rhyan recounted not only his own experiences of the Ee, but that of his sister Reanna who had survived the Ee attack on Romulus a year ago. He also recounted – in excruciating detail – the events that led to Sarah’s apparent death and conversion into an Ee-Human hybrid, sending Rhyan and his ERI colleagues Andrew Becker and Aran Zahne on a quadrant-wide chase to locate and apprehend her. Even after nearly two years, talking about Sarah’s loss still choked Rhyan – although he did well to hide that fact from his young audience.

Following on from his description of the Ee and the Federation’s few encounters with them, Rhyan discussed some of the research papers that the ERI and Commander – no, Major – Afton had published on Ee biology and their unusual methods of reproduction. Keisha’s paper had been the most important publication in recent months, as it outlined her first attempts to create an inoculation to the Ee virus – the same inoculation that halted Sarah’s progression from human to Ee, which resulted in her now-hybrid status.

The last subject he discussed was the ERI’s current understanding of Ee psychology, based mostly off their dealings with the hybridised Sarah Kaminski and the Romulan survivors’ experiences of telepathic attack from the full-blooded Ee. He explained that a lot of resources were now being utilised at the ERI to train officers against telepathic attack, and that progress seemed to have been made in the efforts to achieve this. The only problem was that these methods had not been tested in a real-life scenario and nobody wanted to be the first person to track down an Ee to test it out.

“And so to conclude my lecture,” Rhyan began as his allocated hour slowly ran out, “the Ee are our next biggest concern in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Their technology is second only to their complex and terrifying biology. Not even our experiences with Species 8472, the Borg or other necro-reproducing species have prepared us for dealing with them. In a few months you will be starting your first postings in Starfleet, and I can guarantee that at least some of you will have to face the Ee. The best advice that I can give you all is not to underestimate them. Know when to stand up to them, but also know when their superior strength and telepathic abilities are too much for you and – for the sake of your families and friends – know when it is time to run. Thank you.”

An eruption of applause filled the auditorium. Rhyan nervously smiled at his audience, causing confusion amongst those in the audience who didn’t know his propensity towards embracing rather than controlling emotion. When the din of the applause subsided he leant once more time towards the microphone. “Does anyone have any questions?”

At first Rhyan was hopeful that none of the cadets were going to ask questions, so he slowly made motions towards the steps that led down from the stage and towards the seats where Commander Ch’Thalek had been seated. But just as he made his first step a familiar voice erupted from the back of the lecture theatre.

“You make some valid points, Lieutenant Commander,” Jody Scott emphasised Rhyan’s rank in a less-than-respectful manner as he stood up from his seat and addressed his former crewmate. Commander Ch’Thalek looked as though he were about to shout out and reprimand the cadet, but Rhyan gestured for him to cease so that he could hear what Jody had to say. It didn’t take long for him to get his wish. “But you left out quite a substantial amount of the story there. You make yourself out to be some kind of hero when…”

“Cadet! Stand down!” Ch’Thalek erupted at the young cadet, clearly unimpressed with Jody as he confronted Rhyan.

“It’s okay Thalek,” Rhyan said, purposefully using the short-form of Ch’Thalek’s name in a bid to reassure him. Having calmed the Andorian down slightly, Rhyan turned his attention back to Scott. “Whatever it is you have to say Jody, you can say it. It is about time we came to terms with what happened on Romulus.”

Again there was an eruption of whispering and murmurs amongst the other cadets, each of them trying to predict where the confrontation between cadet and commander was going to go. There was little doubt in Rhyan’s mind that Jody’s classmates knew his association with the Vulcan and the Redemption. Jody had been their counsellor intern, a valued member of the crew and a close friend of Sarah Kaminski. Jody had never forgiven Rhyan for Sarah’s death – an accusation that Rhyan himself couldn’t deny.

Jody continued. “Don’t you dare stand up there and say that running away from the Ee is the best tactic against them. Not when you led us all straight to them on Romulus. Because of you Sarah died. Because of you I nearly died. All you had to do was take your own advice and leave Romulus!”

“You don’t think that I haven’t played over those events in my head every day since they happened?” This time Rhyan was the one to raise his voice. The cadets were in for a treat today – an angry Vulcan. “But the reality of the situation is that sometimes the mission comes before friendship. Before family. We had a mission to achieve on Romulus, and, despite whatever may have happened on that god-forsaken planet, we achieved that. If you can’t accept that…”

Rhyan paused and looked several of the other cadets – and Ch’Thalek – in the eye, momentarily calming himself down. “If you cannot accept the simple fact that the mission must come first sometimes, then there is no point wearing that uniform.”

Jody made a motion as though he was about to throw another outburst at Rhyan, but he stopped before he even started. Without realising it, the Vulcan had managed to silence the entire lecture theatre. Even Ch’Thalek was staring at him with a combination of awe and disbelief.

That made him dislike the Andorian even more.

In an attempt to break the silence, Rhyan continued. “I am sorry, Jody, that you lost your best friend on Romulus. I’m sorry that you very nearly died under my command. I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to find Sarah and cure her. But,” he took a deep breath in, taking the time to formulate the correct words in his head before continuing, “I am sure if she were here to speak for herself, Sarah – Ensign Sarah Kaminski – would be proud of the fact that she gave her life in service of Starfleet. She died saving Romulans – do you accept how ridiculous, yet amazing and courageous that sounds?”

Rhyan looked up at Jody, but the cadet was not looking back at him. It saddened him to see how dishevelled and tired his friend looked now. “Sarah’s story should be an inspiration to others. That’s what she would have wanted. Not all this...” Rhyan sighed. “Not all this fighting.”

Jody finally looked up. Rhyan caught a brief glimpse of a feint scar running down the left side of his neck – the physical remnants of the disruptor blast that nearly killed him on Romulus. The same injury that had held him back from graduating the previous academic year, and why he now sat in this lecture theatre instead of serving in his first commission. His eyes gave away the truth – Jody was hurting, emotionally.

“If only she had just died.” He said, clearly holding back tears.

“If only.” Rhyan repeated, more to himself than to anyone else in the lecture theatre.

 

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