by Vol Tryst and Salvek
90429.2300
After Nicholas is Missing
-=Holodeck One, USS Serendipity=-
90429.2300
After Nicholas is Missing
-=Holodeck One, USS Serendipity=-
Salvek swayed slowly off in the shadows with Kellyn, as U2 took the time, as graciously as a hologram could, to play a set as the party began to wind down. They had made the rounds with all the guest and characters and now all Salvek wanted was a little time alone with his wife before they returned to mingling.
As One gradually faded out and melded into Vertigo, the time for slow dancing was clearly at an end. Salvek stepped back, just as young Gillian Tress, who had long since exhausted Jariel Camen and was now being chased by Fleur, ran in between them and bumped into Kellyn's leg. Tress once again looked up from under the goggles, not as far as she had with Keiran, but still far.
"I am sorry Commander Lair," Fleur said, excusing herself as she stepped between Salvek and Kellyn to retrieve Tress.
"It's okay Fleur. I've talked to everyone in the room except this little newcomer. I'd like to catch up with you and Jariel if you don't mind, before the night is over. Besides you look like you could use wrangling assistance."
Fleur rolled her eyes, as if to say you have no idea. The flapper dress she wore was of little use for child control duty. "You can assist in any way you are willing, Lair Kellyn."
"Do you mind, Salvek?"
Salvek paused before answering. He was going to follow Kellyn, but he spied a most unusual site across the room. Vol was sitting, on his own, looking rather unsettled. If anyone should have been reveling in the lighthearted emotions of the evening, it should have been Vol. Unless his eyes deceived him, it appeared the man was whispering wordlessly to the stale air before him.
*The headaches are getting worse.*
*I should see the Doctor once more.*
*There's no need. I should trust my Father.*
"I will be over shortly, my wife." Kellyn brushed her hand on Salvek's cheek, then took Tress by one arm as Fleur took the other. Even when held by the both of them, Tress still managed to stagger them by lifting both feet of the ground to swing between them.
Salvek waited till they had moved on, to approach Vol and see if something was bothering him. He could not help but appreciate the irony of the Vulcan being concerned for the emotional well-being of the Counselor.
"Good evening, Counselor Tryst," Salvek began, to get Vol's attention. "Is there something wrong with your drink?"
The voice was received by the hybrid, but it melted into the atmosphere, which was filled by similar sounds of people chatting away. None of which were louder at this point in time than the ones currently quarrelling in Vol's own mind.
*Right, because he knows exactly what it is that's…*
*I'm doing it again.*
*I know.*
*I should concern myself with current events.*
*Indeed, such as the state of mind of Commander O'Sullivan.*
*Or the Vulcan lurking right above me.*
*Speaking of which…*
*William has no idea what he's talking about!*
*He wrote the play, leave it be.*
*That may be so, how…*
The feeling of a hand resting on his arm jolted Vol like the snap of a whip right under his buttocks. Indeed, Vol seemingly levitated like a cartoon would in an old Terran Looney Tunes picture. Upon landing his missed his stool and it toppled onto the ground. Vol rolled onto his back groaning, not in pain, but in reluctant defeat. He bent his knees and raised his hands to run and pull gently on his hair to raise him into awareness.
"Counselor, are you well?" The Vulcan asked, although he used his usual voice, with no real hint as to caring for Vol's well-being. Although, it was obvious Vol was all right, and not in any way intoxicated.
*If only,* Vol thought to himself.
"Yes, I'm fine," Vol let out an exasperated sigh. He peered up as he saw the Salvek extend his hand to aid the Counselor back onto his feet.
"If it's alright with you Commander, I think I may stay down here for a while."
There was a pause, and Vol could almost feel the Vulcan raise his eyebrow in a query.
"I'm guessing that's not an option," Vol said.
"I must agree with your conclusion, Counselor."
"Is that an order?"
A pause.
"It may be."
Vol summoned every bit of strength in his being not to let out a whine fit of a rebellious twelve year old Klingon.
“You show no signs of illness Counselor, that I can detect. So I assume you must be bothered by something, despite your denials.”
“It’s Commander O’Sullivan. He was in here earlier and I sensed he was very concerned. Then he left with the Captain.” Vol’s response was truthful enough, even if he did not share that there were other things on his mind besides his concern over Keiran O’Sullivan. Salvek took him at his word and did not press the matter further to see what, if anything else, was troubling the Counselor.
“Did you sense whether he was upset over a personal or ship related matter?”
“He certainly was not upset with the Captain, if that is what you mean. My guess is it was ship related.” Vol kept his eyes away from Salvek’s lest the Vulcan sense any deeper concern by reading his eyes.
“I would not trouble yourself too much. I am sure if there were a ship related emergency, the Captain would have summoned me to inform me. So far, she has not.”
Before Vol could even respond, Salvek’s badge chirped, and Keiran’s voice came over it.
[O’Sullivan to Salvek.]
Vol looked up into Salvek’s eyes now, as if he already knew exactly what Keiran was going to say.
“Go ahead.”
[Captain wants the senior staff assembled in ten minutes. Blane, Hartcort, Dengar, Tryst. If any of them are still there, please let them know.]
Salvek scanned the room quickly, taking a count. “Commander Blane has left. The rest are still here, I will inform them.”
Salvek closed the link. Kellyn had heard part of his conversation from nearby, and a glance between the couple was all that was needed to communicate that Salvek had to leave quickly. She forced a smile through the concern on her face. She inclined her head towards Fleur and Jariel, to indicate that she would be with them if he needed to find her later.
He mouthed I love you to her, before calling for Dengar and Hartcort to join him.
-=Ten Minutes Later=-
One may normally have felt out of place in an early twentieth century tux during a senior staff meeting, but Salvek was focused on nothing other than the orders the Captain was about to issue.
He sat next to Vol, waiting for the Captain to arrive. Also around the table were Hartcort, Reece, Blane, O’Sullivan and Dengar. Salvek could not help but appreciate Blane’s powers of anticipation. At some point, most likely after seeing the Captain leave the party, Blane had left to go put on his uniform. The second officer clearly knew something was about to happen.
“It appears your concern over Commander O’Sullivan was warranted, Counselor.” Salvek finally remarked softly to Vol, watching as O’Sullivan stared blankly out the window at the moorings still holding the ship tethered to the dock.
Zanh Liis entered the room and stood at the head of the table. She saw Salvek still dressed in his tux, along with Dengar, Tryst and Hartcort, who had not yet made their way back into uniform.
“Sorry to interrupt the end of the party gentlemen, but something has come up. The new flagship, the Zenith has gone silent, and Starfleet wants us to leave right now to search for it.”
There was a brief pause, as those not yet in the know absorbed the information.
“What ships will we be rendezvousing with, Captain?” Salvek asked.
“Just us,” Zanh Liis said with a smirk. It was not intended to express amusement but rather to show she knew an argument from her First Officer was imminent.
“Captain, a search with only one ship will take significantly longer…”
“I know that, Salvek. This was not my choice, it was Starfleet’s. They don’t want this turning into public knowledge. I’m going to have to restrict information about our mission to a strict need to know basis aboard ship as well. Department heads and your seconds only. Anyone else, clear it with me or Salvek first. Understood?”
Those seated around the table nodded. Dabin Reece raised a hand halfway to get Liis’ attention. “Uh, I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining or anything, but have they given us any indication what happened so we know what we are looking for? A battle? Space anomaly? Anything?”
“There’s a fragment of a message that was cut off halfway through. That’s all. Nothing since. We do know their last location, so that’s where we are going.”
Vol sensed immediately that there was something about the message important that she was not volunteering. "Captain, is Nicholas Lassiter not the First Officer of the Zenith?"
"Yes Vol, he is. That's another reason why no one is to discuss this mission for now in public. We don't need Gira Lassiter overhearing in the corridor that her brother and his entire crew is missing. I'll be taking the helm myself on the way there. Once we find the Zenith we can try to figure out what happened, and go forward from there."
“Why are we not at least sending the Alchemy ahead?” Dengar asked.
“The Admiral won’t risk the prototype,” Zanh answered.
“Not even for her own son?” Hartcort added, rather incredulous.
Zanh just shook her head. The last thing she wanted to do was make excuses for actions she disagreed with herself. She stood up straight and folded her arms over her chest, anxious to wrap up the discussion and get down to business.
“With Zander Blakeslee staying on Earth on medical leave, I have asked Commander O’Sullivan to take the lead in ship’s security for now. Any questions you have in that regard can be addressed directly by him. Any other questions?”
She waited a moment, and no one spoke up. “Good. It was a long evening. Everyone get at least eight hours of sleep before reporting for your next shift. That’s an order. By the way Blane, any news on my chair?”
“Working on it, Captain. I think it may have been shipped in a mislabeled container.”
“Then by all means, have someone open said container and take a look. Dismissed.”
The room began to empty, and Zanh turned for the exit herself, with O’Sullivan falling into step behind her. “A minute, Captain!” Vol asked before Zanh could make it back out onto the bridge.
“So close,” She sighed to Keiran. “Go ahead.”
“Aye, Captain,” he replied, respectful of her position as always, even if she didn’t understand why she deserved it.
Zanh waited for the room to clear before turning to Tryst. “Can I help you, Counselor?”
“The message was from her son, wasn’t it? The one that got cut off?” Vol reclined back in his chair leisurely, in an attempt to set Zanh at ease.
“Yeah.”
“Now she is dispatching us, alone, without even making use of the Alchemy, to search for her son?”
“Yup,” Liis replied simply. “To borrow an old Earth phrase Vol, you are preaching to the choir.”
Vol was vaguely familiar with the expression, but he still took a moment to absorb the meaning. He looked away from the Captain, visibly bit his lower lip before standing up and looking Zanh in the eyes once more.
"And I can rest assured that said choir sang loud as it could?"
"Vol, she's not budging. For better or worse, I have my orders."
"As begrudgingly as you might follow them," Vol responded.
"No kidding," Zanh agreed.
There was a pause. It was obvious that Vol was thinking heavily and choosing his words carefully.
"This is, I don't even know where to begin." Vol retreated to pacing to the other side of the conference table; facing the Captain still he gripped the top end of one of the chair. "Normally I'd denounce this is as being a terrible idea."
Zanh failed slightly as resisting the urge widen her eyes in disbelief. "You like this idea?"
"I'm not sure," Vol shrugged. He now leaned on the same chair he'd been gripping, unveiling his thoughts to the Captain.
"There are many things that differ from species to species. Cultures, rituals, family dynamic. But the one thing that is a universal constant is the fact that when a mother's child's life is in danger, she goes ballistic!" Vol failed at keeping his cool, as he ever so slightly raised his voice in his own disbelief. He calmed down a great deal before resuming.
"Humans especially have a history of parents losing their minds when their child is kidnapped. It becomes increasingly dangerous when said parent is in a role of power, because they are no longer a responsible adult who must serve in the government’s, the people's or the Federation's best interest. They are instead a maddened individual bent on obliterating anything in their path to get their child back home safely. The best course of action is for them to step aside and for less aggrieved people to take over."
It almost appeared like the Counselor was speaking for himself as well as to Zanh. As if reaffirming what he already knew to be true was something of a comfort.
"But the Admiral doesn't appear to have done either of those things. She hasn't blindly ordered every ship in the quadrant to find her son, nor does she appear to be out of her usual state of mind."
Vol shut himself up, actually bringing his hand to his mouth and rubbing his finger over his lips. He finally raked his scull with his fingers in an effort to calm down.
"I apologize for the rant Captain, I'm just, perplexed is all."
"You still haven't answered my question. Do you think this is a good plan? The Sera, going at it alone?"
"It defies what I've known to be true of mothers my entire life, but there are consequences to going all 'Gung-ho' about this. I'd still prefer it if someone else was in charge of this particular mission, but that's not my call to make."
“Well, we’re going to find out soon enough if your concerns are warranted. Do me a favor and keep an eye on the crew. They are bound to start growing concerned about where we are going and why, and I need to know if anyone is questioning my sanity like we are Lassiter’s.”
As Zanh turned to go, Vol raised one more point before allowing her to leave him.
”Gira will have to be told.”
“I know that.” Zanh snapped, more angrily than she intended. She repeated the words more slowly, and gently, the second time she said them.
“I take it you’re going to tell her.” Vol knew that Zanh was a woman who would not want to leave the burden of bearing bad news to anyone lower on her chain of command just to escape the discomfort of the disclosure. “I should be present.”
“I, it’s not going to be,” Zanh paused. “Gira, she and Keiran are very close. He asked to be the one to tell her, and I decided to allow it.”
“When?”
“When he feels he has to.” She strode toward the door, unwilling to put off the ship’s departure another moment. “If you feel you should be there, talk to him about it. I’ll leave the decision to his discretion.”
“As our Chief of Security?” Vol’s eyebrow elevated.
“As her former Commanding Officer, and the closest thing to a father she’s ever had.” Zanh Liis concluded, as the doors slid shut behind her.
**********************
Lieutenant Vol Tryst
Ship’s Counselor
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Lieutenant Vol Tryst
Ship’s Counselor
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012