Reconciliation

Posted on Wednesday, 27 May 2020 - 11:42am by Captain Barret Stillwater & Commander Soral

Mission: Operation: Recall
Location: Victrix's Quarters
Timeline: 2393 - MD 13 -->

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Sufficiently disturbed by Senator Emos' offer Soral found himself in front of Victrix's door. He was still stung by her actions but he had been, contrary to what he told everyone, holding a grudge. He rang the chime needing to speak with her.

Victrix had moved into guest quarters after Stillwater begrudgingly came aboard after she and her crew found him on the world of Prairie. She was only staying there for a few more days, so everything was packed up and her guest quarters were as sparse as an academy dorm on move in day. "Come," she said. The doors opened and she proceeded to greet the guest. "Commander Soral, please come in, Sir" she said with a gesture of invitation.

"Sir?" He looked at her. "You are of the same rank as I commander."

"Though that may be true for the time being, Commander, my promotion was provisionally granted for this mission, specifically for this mission. It will be a decision made by someone else whether I leave Starfleet a Lieutenant Commander or am reverted back to Lieutenant" she explained. "Nevertheless, Commander Stillwater is officially the Commanding Officer and you are the First Officer. I am simply a guest aboard now. I have no official capacity here, rank yields to you."

"Flawless logic. I am aware of the possible rank change. I have...a letter." He pulled out a PaDD. "I have also made a personal recommendation to Commander Stillwater to plea on your behalf for a field promotion to Commander." He handed her a PaDD. "I thought it better to come from him than me. I am not very liked by the, as you would say, brass."

Victrix bowed her head in a sign of respect. "Commander Soral, I appreciate the gesture, but being given a provisional promotion to Lieutenant Commander and being granted my request to lead this mission was more than enough" she replied. "Besides, I know the brass fairly well. They are even less fond of Commander Stillwater."

"I wish to apologize." He said. "What happened on Comedy night...affected me more then I was willing to admit, even to myself."

Victrix nodded as she had already apologized to him and previously it had just seemed he wanted to move forward and not discuss it. "Well, as you've said it is in the past now" she echoed his wording. "I accept your apology nevertheless, Commander" she added. Lieutenant Commander Victrix walked over to the replicator and ordered herself a simple coffee with creamer. "You and Commander Stillwater have quite the journey ahead. I am sure the two of you will form a very cohesive team. "

"Perhaps." He said. "Will you be focusing on moving up the diplomatic ladder?"

"I'm not a diplomat" she replied with a smile. "I am just the daughter of one. I am not really cut out for diplomacy to be honest" she confessed.

"You could be." He paused. "Something occurred on Vashti that I believe you need to know about."

She lead Soral over to a sitting area of the guest quarters. Two chairs sat opposite one another and Victrix sat in one. "Sit down and tell me about Vashti. Was this something you put in your mission log on official record or something else?"

"I did not put this in my record. At least not in detail. I was...disturbed by it. Have you heard of Senator Emos." He was sure she had. He'd been one of the more ruthless ones when Romulus was still around.

Victrix shook her head. "The name is vaguely familiar, but I cannot recall anything for certain. I was only a Starfleet lieutenant prior to my civilian job, Commander, mostly administrative support. Aide-de-camp sort of positions."

"He was not very liked. Suffice it to say that he is not trusted on Vashti either and is thought of as a nut. He was one of the most ruthless senators on Romulus. He was rescued early on and his family later. " He said by way of background. "He approached me on Vashti. We conversed briefly but in that time he said a few things that I found .... disturbing. He had knowledge that I found disturbing."

"What was that, Commander?" she asked then after taking a sip of coffee added "There's a lot of disturbing things the Federation and higher ups in Starfleet did not tell anyone of. A lot of classified material, some of which I'm privy to, others I am not, and a lot either way that I cannot discuss."

"Yes well it is that classified material that worries me. You know that there is a sealed reprimand on my file I assume."

"Unsealed if you work underneath the President's administration. That I can assure you" she replied mildly amused. "I have read everything there was to read. It was nothing that put this mission in jeopardy. If anything, it makes you a worthy XO for Stillwater."

"Yes well Senator Emos knew of my actions as do many on Vashti but he also knew what was written in the file. He knew of my rank cap as well as my restriction of never getting a command of my own. That information is not common knowledge. Neither is the fact that I believe in reconciliation of Vulcans and Romulans and he knew of that too when he made what he thought was an irresistible offer."

Victrix didn't want to be dismissive but she did set her mug down and looked at Soral with some sympathy. "Vulcans and Romulans alike have had a division that some of both your peoples have been wanting to mend. The unification movement is a beautiful utopian philosophy."

"Indeed but the question that has been disturbing is how did he know of what Starfleet command wrote in my record? How did he know if he rank cap? How did he know that I would never get a command of my own?"

"Commander, Starfleet Intelligence is damn good at their job; However, it's centuries late to the table. We are and have always been working with a handicap. The Cardassian Obsidian Order and Romulan Tal'Shiar have always put us to shame. The Empire may have fallen but their Intel work is still admirable."

"Perhaps. But he also sees himself as the next Praetor. He said as much when he asked me to be a Senator." He looked at Victirx. "Perhaps he bares watching."

"In the ashes of any fallen empire or government, we must be vigilant of charismatic tyrants" she replied. "Though I personally would not invest much in the ramblings of a former Romulan senator with grandiose ideas and arrogant candor, I agree with you that he bares watching."

"Indeed. Perhaps you can carry the information with you." He paused. "You are still intent on leaving?"

"Soral, I am leaving. I have no choice in that matter" she said. "No more than you do. My job is done here and whether or not my rank stays as is, I have a job to return to. I will take that information and carry it with me."

He gave a nod. "Very well." He paused. "May I ask a question?"

"You can always ask questions, Commander" she replied. A small smile followed. Part of her was going to miss this life, but no more than the part of her that knew she was not ready for it.

"Indeed. I shall ask a few then. First perhaps one that has puzzled me a while. I logically deduced that you had not known about my record and that deduction is wrong. If you did know of my....reprimand you know that Admiral Ikaris called it sheer mutiny against Starfleet regulations. Not wishing to be xenophobic and not wishing to associate too closely with the Admiral's extreme views the others on the judges seat were a bit more mild in their phrasing. But the fact of the matter is I did in essence take a Starfleet ship without permission. Why did you pick me for this post?"

Victrix nodded. "Admiral Jean-Luc Picard once carried out a rogue operation in defiance of Starfleet when he was Captain of the Enterprise-E because he felt the Federation and Starfleet were in the wrong" replied Victrix. "Starfleet has a history of men and women who served, have a blemish or formal reprimand on their records, but have still gone on to do great things and have successful careers in the fleet. Look at the few Maquis that were captured and convicted, ex Starfleet officers. They were later pardoned. Some entered the service again."

She smiled at Soral. "You were picked because you did something on par with what I would have expected from Stillwater himself. That leads me to believe the two of you will go on to make a difference."

He studied her. "Logical." He paused. "Now I have, I believe a more personal question."

"And what is that, Commander?"

"What Lieutenant Vali had .... imprisoned us you talked about your vice. Care to share?"

"When my fiancé died, I found peace and comfort in alcohol. I'm what my counselor caused a 'functioning alcoholic'"

"It is not easy to loose someone you love. I can understand. How far are you on your road to recovery?"

"It's not quite that easy," replied Victrix. "I will always struggle, but there's counselling, programs, and avoidance of alcohol. I think my journey will be difficult but long and necessary. It's going to take time."

"It will but there is something vital you must remember," he said.

"What's that?"

"You are worth it. Do not give up. Do not allow yourself get lost in a hole you will not find your way out of. It is too easy."

"I'll try not to forget that."

He gave a nod. "I should return to my office. I have some reports to complete." He stood and bowed. "By your leave commander."

She smiled. It was unnecessary for her to do so, but she did. "Dismissed."

"Can I ask a favour?"

"One last time? Sure" she replied. "What is it?"

"Can you walk me to the door?"

She smiled warmly. "It would be my pleasure" she added.

When they arrived he turned. He gave her a Vulcan salute. "Shall I see you at the official change over ceremony?"

"I wasn't going to do anything grandiose. I thought about just handing Stillwater a PaDD and packing my belongings" she explained. "However, for Stillwater's sake I'll do the formalities."

He gave a nod and then did the unexpected. He hugged her.

She appreciated the hug, and when the doors opened she simply gave Soral a symbolic gesture. "Live long and prosper."

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