"Logical" Next Steps

Posted on Thu Aug 29th, 2024 @ 11:31am by Sub-Lieutenant T'Hala & Commander Benjamin Jamesson

Mission: Remnant
Location: Operations Closet
Timeline: Day 390
1630 words - 3.3 OF Standard Post Measure

T’Hala made her way to Commander Jamesson's office. She had to ask for directions twice, as the space did not exist in her version of Atlantis. She stopped in front of the closed door, and pressed the chime to announce her presence and waited. Although it was illogical to ‘fidget,’ T’Hala couldn’t help but pull at the sleeve of the standard issue jumpsuit that the humans wore while on duty. Other than what she was wearing when Jamesson saved her, she had lost all her personal effects. The material was somewhat scratchy, and it did nothing to retain heat. It was going to be an ‘interesting’ adjustment period, to be certain, not that T’Hala had allowed herself to even consider any of that. No. It was illogical to make any suppositions without having all of the data. Hopefully the commander could help assist her with this.

She heard a muffled voice inside inviting her in, so she pressed the button to open the door and entered.

“I have been cleared from sickbay…but I am uncertain of what to do now, sir.”

Benjamin whilst not having abandoned the woman he was a little unsure how to proceed when he was no longer her executive officer. He stared as her appearing in his officer and indicated to the seat opposite his desk. They had never had an easy relationship in the other universe as she worked differently to him he had been the senior officer that she was likely closer to being her department head. “Well, have you been to your new quarters yet?” He knew that Darru had offered to set it up to what a Vulcan might like but he was not sure that it had been done yet as the man had not returned to inform him.

"Quarters?" T'Hala tilted her head slightly in a non-verbal gesture. "No. I have not." She had not even considered doing that, and her mouth pulled down slightly at the corner in a definite not frown. Is the quartermaster the same on this vessel as ours?" Her inability to reconcile this new existence was clear in her classification...us or them.

“They are not.” The Quartermaster on the vessel was not someone he had spent much time with them to safely send the woman to them. “Lieutenant Darru has prepared the quarters for you.” He admitted thinking on the effort the other Vulcan had gone to, to prepare the space.

"It seems...unnecessary to go through such efforts. I do not require such space. A bunk in the 'barracks' would be more than sufficient." It seemed wasteful considering she had no personal affects to fill it with. An irrational thought made itself known before shew as able to squash it into oblivion. Perhaps it would have been better if Jamesson had not saved her? T'Hala bit the inside of her lip to allow the dull pressure-pain to distract her from rather the rather discouraging thought. It was Kaiidth. One had to accept what is. It was logical.

"Forgive me, Commander. I am somewhat...compromised. I am, of course, appreciative of the consideration."

Benjamin narrowed his eyes not understanding the route she was taking mentally in the changes on the ship. He knew it had been easier for him and the others as they had, had a few months now to process it but they had been relieved for quarters and some semblance of privacy. "You had quarters on our ship and everyone on this ship has quarters. The Barracks do not exist right now with the MACO's unfortunately suffering the worst casualties. They have merged into Armoury and live among us Earth Starfleet types."

"That is correct. I did." Did. Past tense. T'Hala could feel the claws of a most uncomfortable sensation attempt to take hold. If she had emotional intelligence, she would have recognized it as despair. However, as she was a Vulcan who was taught to value logic over 'irrational' sentiment, all that she was capable of registering was a sense of pain that had no physical source. Regardless, in the moment is was logical to be pragmatic.

"Where does this Lieutenant Darru reside? His consideration is acknowledged."

"And you will on this ship. Leroux demands it." Benjamin knew that there were enough quarters for people to slowly stop sharing quarters to be able to create their own lives with some semblance of privacy. It was slow but it was doable. "He is a scientist so you will likely find him in lab 2 but I would still like to have a little catch-up as I suspect you have a lot of questions still that medical might have not answered yet."

She did. Oh, she really did. The urge to begin peppering him with questions was nigh on overwhelming, but she controlled herself. "Our mission then is...to get home? That is rather...optimistic given the distance." The corner of her mouth pulled slightly as she realized what she had intimated by the comment. "I mean no disrespect. Humans often develop fascinatingly novel solutions to problems."

"Our mission is to get to Earth Starfleet again. We are not able to get back to our universe and if we did there is no Atlantis for us to return to." Benjamin said scrubbing his face a little as he reflected on the final moments of his time in the Atlantis. He had set the self destruct and had thought to die along with Smith and the Ship but he had found people alive and could not do it. They would never know it but they had saved his life unconscious as they were but they were why he was alive.

"So we assist this crew, although statistically speaking, unless we discover a novel process to shorten the distance, very few will survive the entirety of the journey." It was perhaps slightly callous to point out the likelihood that the Atlantis' crew would have perished from old age However, that did not make her statement any less correct. "Commander. This is not a generational ship. It was not designed to remain in service for the length of time required to reach Sol sector. Have adequate solutions been formulated to address this?"

"Our crew now." He said gently knowing he had, had more time to adjust to that but it was only going to put her at odds with the crew if she said that elsewhere. "Much like our ship was planning to be." He said quietly looking at his hands. Him and Leah had been discussing pretty much the same things before they had been destroyed and lost through dimensions.

T'Hala dipped her head, suitably chastened by his words. He was correct. "Yes sir. My memories surrounding recent events are...fragmented." She did not know why...perhaps it was something that 'Smith' had done? It was irrelevant, ultimately. What mattered was here and now. Kaiddth. "I worked closely with engineering...before. Is that the same expectation now, or are you the incorrect person to ask?"

"That is understandable T'Hala but that is okay. It just means you do not remember a lot of things and get to experience this universe better." She would not have to go through the trouble that he had with knowing 2 versions of people. It was heartbreaking and traumatic some days for him whilst for others it allowed him to feel something other than being completely cold. "I am not The Chief Engineer or Executive Officer but I am Chief Operations Officer which is basically me looking after things that are not connected to the engines. So it all depends on whether you want to work on the engines still or want to work outside of the engines." He said as a way of an offer.

"I am qualified to perform engineering duties...however...my expertise lies more towards the management of systems' operations." T'Hala tilted her head upon realizing she wasn't quite answering the question. Did she still want to work with the engines? "I will, of course, perform any duties necessary of me, sir, but...outside of the engines might be agreeable."

"It would be agreeable to me too," Benjamin assured with a pained smile. He wanted to poke more and challenge the damage that Smith had created but he had been warned to give it time and to let things develop properly. "So you will join Operations once you are fully back to duties. I will send you the processes I am creating so you can jump right in."

T'Hala dipped her head in assent. Finally. Something to do. A purpose...a new purpose. Jamesson's offer was satisfactory. She looked forward to the distraction that work could provide. An occupation would assist in integration. "I will carefully study any data you provide me, Commander. If we can improve systems' efficiencies, it will prove beneficial for the crew and the longevity of our ship."

"It will." It would also allow future generations of the crew to survive better but that was not just his viewpoint but most department heads now. "For now you need to get some rest Sub-Lieutentant. Would you like me to walk you to the Science Lab?" He wondered moving to stand to offer to do it now.

T'Hala pushed herself up from the seat in a far less fluid manner in response to Jamesson standing. "That would be...agreeable."

The man nodded and indicated to the door. It was a quick walk to the science lab, it was an awkward parting as he left the woman to find the man in the science lab but he wanted to let her discover the other vulcan on her own.