SIM:Lael Rosek - Resolving the Tension Part I (Veritas)

Previous sim "Tempestous Trio, Part III"	Lieutenant Lael Rosek Engineering Officer Starbase 118 USS Veritas NCC 95035	Next sim "Resolving the Tension, Part II"
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((Sickbay, USS Veritas))

<nowiki>::She’d only come here for a hypo. The nurse had administered it with precision, declaring her fit to leave. But seeing her gaze lingering on Commander Walker, who sat a biobed away, she’d smiled and nodded. She wasn’t sure how much the nurse knew about what had happened in the conference room, but Lael was certain if she’d known everything, the nurse would have been scared out of her mind and the thought of the two of them being in the same space. Lael didn’t question it and hopped off the biobed, striding in Walker’s direction.::

<nowiki>::Her gaze flickered briefly to Commander Walker and she cleared her throat, gathering the courage to speak.::

Rosek: I’d like to apologize again, ma’am, for my lack of professionalism.

<nowiki>:: Luna started to speak, then forced herself to exhale softly. Anger wouldn’t help the situation. And she’d likely burned any goodwill from Doctor Ryan with her escape. ::

Walker: Based on your reaction, I’d say there was something more personal involved. Want to share?

Rosek: ::exhales and nods sharply, then pauses:: I don’t know how much you know about the Za’s last mission…

<nowiki>:: Maybe she should have, but with everything that had happened after the Maelstrom, she’d not done more than review her credentials. ::

Walker: Not much at all honestly. I’m guessing it’s related?

Rosek: ::nods:: We encountered a race called the Hocktin. It was supposed to be a typical first contact. Myself and an engineering team consisting of Commander Blair and Lieutenant Commander Fiorr beamed over to the vessel with Captain Rhani, Lieutenant Commander Vondaryan, and Lieutenant Pandorn. While the Engineering team worked on a way to jury-rig the Hocktin systems to receive and send information using a translation matrix, the Captain and her escort were working on plans to meet with the planet’s President. Somewhere in this, the Captain learned from Sickbay that one of our crewman had been bitten by a flea-like creature and had been infected with a deadly virus. We strongly believed that the Hocktin were carriers for this creature, though something in their biology meant they weren’t affected by the virus. Having been aboard the Hocktin vessel for some time, there was a strong possibility that we’d been exposed already. We had very little to go on at that point as far as coming up with something to counter the virus. Despite the dangers, the Captain insisted on beaming down to the surface to meet with Hocktin leaders.

<nowiki>:: She managed to hold back a shudder at the description of the situation. It was far too close to what had happened on Agurtha… which brought up a whole slew of other worries. ::

Walker: Not doing so would have offended someone I’m sure.

Rosek: ::grimaces:: That’s kind of where things went to hell. Needless to say, both away teams became infected. Shortly after our arrival there, the Captain and her team were taken hostage by a rebel faction. It was a race against time to find the Captain, find a cure, and administer it before it was too late.

<nowiki>:: The endless source of snark that hung out in Luna’s head nearly responded with “So, a standard Starfleet mission, right?” However amusing, and accurate, the sentiment, that wasn’t what Rosek needed to hear. ::

Walker: At least it all worked out I’m guessing.

Rosek: ::murmurs:: It was a close call. ::scowls:: It wasn’t helped by the fact that Lieutenant Commander Williams, who had the conn at the time, made the decision to beam a Hocktin aboard to get blood samples without implementing proper quarantine procedures, effectively exposing the whole crew. ::features soften:: Thankfully, Lieutenant Commander DeVeau and her team were able to find a cure and the Engineering team was able to locate Captain Rhani’s team. ::closes her eyes and rasps:: But I’ll never forget when we were beamed into Sickbay and I saw Lieutenant Skyfire lying on that biobed. He was so still that for a moment I thought my worst fear was being realized. I thought the virus had taken his life before they’d been able to find a cure. If Dr. Alexander hadn’t rushed into the room telling me that he was fine and was just resting...

Rosek: ::turns to Walker and opens her eyes:: What happened with that cave-in caused me to relive that awful memory. It also brought back the faces of every single Gorkon crewmember that lost their lives Over There. Losing people...I hate it. It never gets any easier. While I can avoid thinking about it most of the time, it’s what drives me every day. I’ve literally died on the table three times. I’m not afraid of death. What I’m afraid of is being the one left behind to deal with the aftermath--especially where my best friends are concerned. So I apologize for my gross overreaction in the conference room. I meant every word, even if I didn’t express it in the most professional way.

<nowiki>:: She grimaced slightly at the “meant every word”, but wanted to give her a moment more to finish before she spoke her piece. ::

Walker: It’s hard to deal with loss. Some people can lose their whole lives to tracking down the people responsible for just one death.

<nowiki>:: Danni wasn’t there right now, which was good as she didn’t need a bruise from being punched in the arm for saying that. She wasn’t sure what Raissa or others who knew her would do. But it was likely similar. ::

Rosek: ::expression softens and nods:: Chythar and Alex are my best friends. We’ve served together since the Gorkon. I don’t know what I’d do without either of them. They’ve been there for me through some of the most difficult moments of my life.

Walker: And you thought I was putting people needlessly at risk. Making a “foolish” plan that had little value and great risk. Right?

Rosek: ::grimaces:: Honestly? In the heat of the moment? Right or not, that was my instinctive reaction, yes.

<nowiki>:: It hurt to hear her say that. Not that she questioned her plan, that was practically necessary. But the idea that she’d put people needlessly at risk? She gripped the edge of the bio bed and squeezed as she tried to maintain her control. Judging by her volume at least, she was mostly successful.  ::

Walker: I’m upset, obviously. Though not primarily with the what you said. As I told the Captain, I expect and need you to speak up where we disagree. Not so much in front of the Captain, or other world’s leaders obviously.. But…

Rosek: ::gaze drops from Walker’s and murmurs:: You didn’t have to do that. Though I had good intentions, I was clearly in the wrong.

That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. She needed the fire that Rosek had shown, but she also needed some level of trust and respect. The problem was, with the wound so raw, how to do it. The tone she was using was somewhat pedantic. No emotion attached to it.. She could have been asking for the soup of the day as easily. ::

Walker: Let me phrase it this way. Do you think I’m a decent engineer? That I know my craft at least? My responsibilities?

Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded.::

Now the edge started to burn through. The feeling of being judged unfairly, slipping through the growing cracks. She fought against it, but could feel her control slipping slightly. Her voice didn’t raise, but it was more intense.. More focused.  ::

Walker: And my rank. Do you think I earned it? That I have gone through enough situations that it’s deserved? That I know what an officer is supposed to do?

Lael knew that the answer to that was a resounding yes. She trusted Captain Rahman’s judgement and knew that, by extension, she trusted Walker’s.::

She saw the nod. Somehow it just made things worse. If Rosek trusted her, then why do what she did? And if she was just apologizing, but didn’t trust her.. How could she work with her? She kept her voice low, but judging by the looks around the room, the intensity of it was more than enough to draw attention. ::

Walker: Then how *dare* you think I’d put the safety of any of the crew above my ego?!? When I saw there was a bad situation in the mines.. The *first* thing I did was order the rest of you away in the best way I knew how without raising suspicion. Because if I was right, the only person I wanted to put at risk was me. This ship, the people on it, they are all MY responsibility. Question what I’m doing, point out other options that may work better.. That’s your duty, and I expect nothing less. But as to “foolishly putting people at risk”? If you think that’s true of me, you need to go to the Captain and FO right now and have me removed.

A JP By

Lt. Commander Luna Walker Chief Engineer, USS Veritas I238010BW

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Lieutenant Lael Rosek, Eng.D. Engineering Officer USS Veritas NCC-95035 Podcast Team Facilitator Training Team Member I238110RH0 https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php/Lael_Rosek