Finishing on a High Note

Posted on Wed Jan 4th, 2023 @ 8:40pm by Captain Dirk Taggart & Lieutenant Commander Henry Castle & Lieutenant JG Vespa Kale & Lieutenant JG Camille Lévesque PhD

Mission: The Koldaran Encounter
Location: Observation Lounge

Captain Dirk Taggart looked over his compliment of officers gathered in the Observation Lounge. The view was magnificent with Tabula Rasa's large blue and green planet filling the screen. His thoughts turned to Abby and their lost shore leave that felt like months ago even though it had only been two weeks. Two weeks of hell for the Penn and her crew. The loss of life, the injuries, and damage to the ship itself had affected every department in some capacity.

Dirk was determined to boost morale and to help his crew heal their wounds however he could. In the short term shore leave was about to begin, in between rotations as ship repairs were ongoing. Pulling his thoughts together once more he surveyed the Cadre of officers before speaking.

"Officers of the USS Pennsylvania, it is my honor and privilege to be your Captain. I do not think there is a better crew in all of Starfleet, though we may want to avoid allowing our Counselor near the ship's weapon systems again without more practice," he said with a laugh. "I have to admit it was one hell of a shot."

After the laughter quieted Captain Taggart spoke again,"Lieutenant Castle, please step forward," while Castle maneuvered his way to the front he addressed the room. "During the Koldaran Encounter, Lieutenant Castle worked tirelessly as the Acting Executive Officer. He worked to coordinate casualty care, assist with strike teams, and helped keep me in check, which is no easy feat," he said with a smile.

Dirk turned to face Castle,"Lieutenant Castle, it is my honor to promote you to Lieutenant Commander Castle with all the duties responsibilities therein. Furthermore you will no longer be Acting Executive Officer, you are now the First Officer of the USS Pennsylvania effective immediately." Dirk pulled a small box from his pocket that contained new pips and handed them to Castle. "Congratulations First Officer Castle."

Castle's eyes swept the room. The sea of faces made it almost impossible to pick out any single one. A shame. He wanted to look at Addie. It would wait. For now. "Thank you, Captain." He said to Taggert, then addressed the crowd. "My fellow crew, we have faced a great challenge in the past few days. We have lost, we have won, and we have come away. Yes, the ship has taken a beating,. Yes, we have lost friends. But, we come away stronger. We proved that Starfleet can tackle any challenge, can face any threat if we hold to each other. I am proud, and honoured to be your First Officer."

Dirk clapped in congratulations as the room erupted in applause. "I have one final order," he said addressing the room, "Have a drink with Lieutenant Commander Castle and congratulate him! Tomorrow we begin shore leave and the heavy duty repairs, tonight we drink to Life."

Vespa gave a pair of nods and a pair of wide smiles. Oh this was such a high note to end on. "We celebrate life, to remember those with us, and those we have to leave behind." one of her forms started.

"The Ts'usugi believe that we only truly die when the last person alive forgets your..."

"... name. I've always found that so tender, so spiritual. The Dalacari believe, well we used to believe in a more..."

"... spiritual afterlife, more of a here after. Now, we're more grounded in science. But science says that at our most basic..."

"... we're thoughts and feelings, electrical energy. And every can never be destroyed. So it helps to consider it like that." Vespa calmed down for a moment. "I'll gladly..."

"... have a drink with the new Lieutenant Commander, orders or no. Like everyone here, they did well." a pause, "As well as anyone could."

“I didn’t think Monsieur Castle’s promotion would lead to a conversation on metaphysics,” Camille quipped, drink in hand. “My partner and I have different belief systems, but we both agree on a few things. That science and spiritualism can work hand in hand, and the central importance of life, par exemple.” She raised her glass. “You were an excellent leader on the planet, sir, even when you thought the worst had happened.”

"Metaphysics, Lieutenant, is at the heart of everything. All roads lead there, eventually. Or that's what one of my instructors said, at any rate."

Henry Castle had found himself with the... Pair? Trio? He had never quite figured out how to count Vesper. It was probably a little late for that now, he mused.

"Thank you for the kind words, Ms. Lévesque." He thought back a moment, looking to his actions on the planet. "It is interesting how one can find courage, especially after having seemingly lost the most important things."

All Camille could do was nod and sip her drink, agreeing with the sentiment wholeheartedly.

Captain Dirk Taggart looked over the room at the smiling faces of his weary crew. They had all faced insurmountable odds and come out victorious. The crew had come together when it counted the most. He could only wonder what future trials awaited them.

-A Post by the USS Pennsylvania Crew-