Leveling Up

Posted on Fri Aug 7th, 2020 @ 9:44am by Lieutenant Lei Shan & Commodore Samantha York

2,078 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Eye of the Storm
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: MD02

ON

One day after the Calypso left the planet, Samantha sent Lei Shan a message, asking her to come to the Captain's Ready Room when she had a moment. There were several matters of businesses that needed to be addressed.

Shan's eyes widened a little as she saw the message waiting for her when she returned from a quick diagnostic of a power fluctuation in one of the UV lights in the arboretum. Called to the Captain's Ready Room. That was never a good thing. She cursed under her breath and started out the door, turning to go to the bridge but then remembering she had gotten mud and grass on her uniform in the Arboretum. She turned the other way instead and practically sprinted home to change.

She started to think. Alright, she'd been a little... testy... since being rescued from the planet. She had definitely been more aggressive down there than was considered proper for Starfleet, and she wondered if there was a problem with the fact that she shot of those bast- one of those Elder guys with one of their own weapons. She could have killed him after all; she hadn't know what kind of damage the thing was set to do.

And since coming back she had been less than happy with the decisions York had made about helping those sons of- those people.

Changing into a clean uniform in record time and dashing to the turbolift, she slowed her breathing and pulse while she was whisked towards Deck one. Perhaps someone had heard her complaining about the command decisions. Or maybe Lancaster had squealed on her and said just how many times she had tried to attack their guards and captors. The possibilities were endless, really.

"And I was hoping this new assignment would finally make my career," she muttered as the lift slowed to a stop and she straightened her jacket before stepping off the lift, onto the bridge, and walking directly to the door to the ready room. Might as well get it over with, she thought as she triggered the chime.

"Come in," Sam said, standing to meet the new arrival. When she saw Shan, she smiled. "Thank you for coming. Please, take a seat."

Shan looked at the smile for half a second before taking the seat. They didn't usually have you sit if you were getting in trouble. "Yes, Ma'am," she said slowly. A report then? Did York want some questions answered about her report from the surface? "What can I do for you?" she asked, more firmly, deciding to brash her way through if that was the case.

"What is your opinion of the cultures on the planet," Sam asked. "I spoke with the leaders, but you had a much different experience."

Shan's eyes narrowed just a little. "I submitted my report. All the facts are there."

Sam met her gaze calmly. "That's all you have to say on the matter?"

"The matter seems to be closed, since we're gone. Anything I say now would hardly make a difference," Shan said, keeping almost all the bitterness out of her voice. Now York wanted someone else's input? Now that it was over? Wouldn't it have been a little more useful to ask for that kind of thing *before* she had made her decision to meddle?

"That's not true. We don't have the luxury of discovering something and staying around to see how everything works out. We have to move on to the next assignment. It's part of the price we pay," Sam said. "But a permanent team will be assigned to observe and to assist them. They can still benefit from our observations. If you think your report is sufficient, that's fine. If you have more you wish to add, I'll be happy to pass it on." She could feel some of Shan's emotions, even though she was trying not to listen.

Shan paused, giving her commanding officer a long look. She didn't know York very well to be honest. But she'd really rather not walk on eggshells for years, either. Better to know exactly where she stood. "Permission to speak freely, Ma'am," she stated in a way that rather clarified if that was the kind of thing York wanted more than asked for permission.

"Yes," York replied. "I want your honest opinion." She raised an eyebrow. "I assume you didn't put it in your report?"

"My report contains all the relevant facts, not opinion or emotion," Shan said. "And my opinion, is that no matter which way you slice it, we acted like a bunch of hypocrites." The dam was broken, and Shan wasn't about to stop talking now. "We justified meddling with a pre-warp society because of that computer signal- even though as soon as we learned that they couldn't fix it because they had actually devolved technologically, we shouldn't have touched it. But then, after justifying our interference, we suddenly find our limits again and actually assisted to prop up a society built on religious fanaticism, human sacrifice, and slavery. You actually think that a couple observers and a few days of negotiations are going change that? Those subterranean troglodytes are not going to give up their power and start treating their slaves like living, breathing people just because you told them to. And the surface dwellers aren't going to just accept an equal footing with their "gods" and stop believing in everything they've internalized for centuries. Religious fervor doesn't die that easily. Our interference likely just shored up the underpinnings of that entire hierarchy, instead of letting the computer that provided for it just die and allow the whole sick system to collapse with it."

"No, I don't think we changed anything in three days," Sam said. "But we opened the door for change. Now, instead of the inhabitants on the surface sending people and supplies as tribute. they will have to barter for goods and food. Instead of being sent women to diversify the gene pool and help them repopulate their society, there will be open travel so that people can once again choose where they want to live. In spite of what you were told about being slaves, you were going to be acclimatized to the new culture and expected to work and eventually marry--the guards and doctor were trying to scare you into submission and now that the rulers on the surface know what's really going on, that won't happen again."

At being told she would have been expected to 'acclimatize', Shan's anger spiked, and she couldn't stop herself from interrupting. "They would have had to kill me. I would have forced them to rather than live there," she vowed, staring right into York's eyes as she swore it; she would have too. She would have fought, every moment of every day. She would have refused to work. Tried to escape. Lashed out violently at everyone and anyone who came near her. Eventually unless she escaped or was freed, their efforts to contain her would have had to escalate to the point of her death. And she would have counted that as a victory.

Sam nodded. She'd felt the anger, and was glad Shan said what she did. It helped her understand a bit more about the woman. The people in the under city would not want to harm Shan, but if she did fight every step of the way, that was likely to be the end result.

Because of Shan's response, Sam knew that the other woman wouldn't believe everything she said, but York was going to try. "I did not meddle with a pre-warp culture. I meddled with a post-warp society. I nudged them into open communication with the people on the surface, thus ending generations of belief that they were paying tribute to a being that would protect them from danger. I admit I dabbled in the gray areas by doing this, but I was not the one to make contact with the surface, and to them I was a traveler from across the mountains. Only the people in the under city knew of the existence of the Calypso. It will be up to the team of observers to see how things progress--and if necessary make contact with the Elders from the under city."

Shan wasn't the only person on the ship who disagreed with what Sam did, but then, Sam didn't expect everyone to see things as she did. "I personally think both cultures will be better for it and I've done nothing that other captains haven't done in the past. What I couldn't do was punish anyone for obeying their own laws, even if it involved members of my crew. I wasn't going to leave you there, and I couldn't storm in and demand that you be released because that could have led to a violation of several regulations. I did what I thought was best in a complicated situation. And then, because I don't have the luxury of spending six months to a year helping both cultures learn and adapt to this new normal, I had to send in my report to Starfleet and let Federation Sciences take over. My job is to find new worlds and new civilizations, make a brief survey, and move on. I would personally like nothing better than to spend a year learning the history of the planet and its people, and help both cultures learn from each other. In that way, I might be able to help them make real change and real progress."

She paused for a moment. "Although I can't stay, I will follow what happens. I've made arrangements to get the reports and I may have the opportunity to come back here in a few years. My field of study is archaeology, anthropology and history. I look at the situation from a cultural and historical perspective and I act based on what I feel is best. I'm not always right, and I do overreach at times, but I would rather try too hard than walk away and leave them to what they had." She'd gone on far too long and really shouldn't be trying to convince anyone of her beliefs. Shan had a valid point, and Sam was going to share it with the research and observation team. "I respect your opinion and your right to voice it. I appreciate your honesty. Thank you. However, that is not the main reason I asked you to come here."

"Then what can I do for you, Ma'am," Shan asked, not exactly mollified by the explanation and still insulted at the idea of 'acclimatizing' to kidnapping, human trafficking, slavery and brainwashing.

Sam opened a drawer and took out a small box. "I find myself in need of a Chief of Operations. I would like to offer you the position." She handed the box to Shan. "It comes with a promotion."

Shan took the box and flicked it open as if opening a zippo lighter. The Lieutenant's pip winked at her. She looked back up at York. The Promotion. The one that she'd been staring down and always just missing for years. And York was even offering it *after* Shan had basically just said she thought the Commodore had bungled the last mission.

She nodded and straightened her shoulders a little. "Thank you, Ma'am. I accept the position. And the promotion." She snapped the box closed and gripped it tightly.

"Good. I don't expect we'll always agree, but I respect someone who isn't afraid to speak her mind. I don't trust people who always agree with me." She smiled. "Do you have any questions?"

"No, Ma'am," Shan said as she shook her head.

Sam smiled again. "Then I will thank you again for your opinion and let you get back to your duties."

Shan nodded briskly as she stood. "Thank you, Ma'am," she said as she accepted the dismissal. She didn't waste time or energy with promises to 'not let her down' or 'make her proud' or any of that nonsense. If York had had any worries about that kind of thing, she never would have offered the position to Shan, so there was no point in bringing it up.

As she strode out of the office, a very small smile touched her lips. She had an office to move into.

____
OFF

Commodore Samantha York
Commanding Officer
USS Calypso

Lieutenant Lei Shan
Chief of Operations
USS Calypso

 

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