Hollow Victory
Posted on Fri May 26th, 2023 @ 3:14am by Commander Rize Tedeza & Commander Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke
Edited on on Fri May 26th, 2023 @ 3:28am
1,426 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Insurrection
Location: Starfleet Headquarters & Earth Spacedock
Timeline: About an hour after "The Upper Hand"
After Starfleet Headquarters had been secured, Minna had remained to help clean up. The sight of it all was still surreal to her: The once pristine corridors and atriums were now littered with debris and bearing the scars of a major confrontation. Though Minna had been brave during the attack, the surreal eeriness after the rioters had been forced out eventually became too much for the engineer to handle, and Minna collapsed onto the nearest bench, crying.
"Shit! Commander! Are you okay?! What's wrong?!"
Minna suddenly felt the gentle touch of two hands resting upon her shoulders, and through her tears she could just barely make out a fuzzy purple shape that vaguely resembled a face.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Minna found herself staring into the face of Rize Tedeza, the Tokyo campus instructor that Minna had given a pep talk to earlier when the Myogi's crew had beamed in.
"Commander, I must have been called a baby killer at least two dozen times today, defending this building." Minna said. "Sure, the woman who had a miscarriage through no fault of her own is a child-murdering maniac..."
"Hold on, what-?!"
"It's a sensitive subject for me, one I've not told many people about:" Minna lamented. "A few days before I turned 18, my boyfriend was killed in a car accident. An intoxicated driver slammed into his car, and he was declared dead on the scene. As you can imagine, I didn't take the news well. Later that month, I got what I assumed at the time was a really bad period. It wasn't until I read further into it later on that I figured out that I must have experienced a miscarriage."
Minna sighed.
"I couldn't have been that far along in my pregnancy." She continued. "I hadn't even experienced morning sickness yet..."
"Commander, listen to me," Rize began calmly. "You are not a baby killer just because you lost your child; things like these are out of our control sometimes. As you were saying earlier, allowing your failures to define you is what turns good officers into has-beens."
"Which is why I never speak about it." Minna responded. "I figured there was no sense in dwelling on it, so I buried it. It's probably everything that's happened today that's brought it back to the forefront of my mind."
Suddenly, Minna's combadge chirped.
=A="Commander Wilcke, report to Admiral Benson's office in Spacedock."=A=
Minna tapped her combadge in response.
=A= "Copy that, Wilcke out."=A= Minna sighed. "I suppose we'll have to continue this conversation later..."
"Would you like me to come with for moral support?" Rize suggested.
"Actually, that might be for the best." Minna responded, tapping her combadge once again.
"Wilcke to transporter control: Two to beam up." She said.
Minna and Rize disappeared in a transporter beam shortly thereafter.
[Spacedock]
Minna and Rize rematerialized on the transporter pad. Nodding to the transporter operator as they stepped off, the two women proceeded to make their way to Admiral Benson's office. Stepping inside, Minna saw that Benson wasn't the only person in the office, as sitting in one of the chairs in front of the admiral's desk was a human woman that Minna recognized as Commander Mio Sakamoto of the USS Akina. Sakamoto's reputation preceded her, and as soon as Minna saw the eyepatch when the other woman turned to see the new arrivals, she knew it was the same Mio Sakamoto who managed to get her away team back safely despite losing her eye in a duel with a Jem'Hadar.
"Admiral, Commander." Minna greeted with a nod before turning to Benson. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Yes," Admiral Benson responded, setting his PADD down. "Have a seat, Commander."
Nodding, Minna proceeded to slide into the other empty chair in front of Admiral Benson's desk.
Benson looked up at Rize, still standing in the doorway.
"Leave us, Commander:" He instructed. "Commander Sakamoto has requested this matter to be discussed privately."
Rize nodded before turning her attention back to Minna.
"I'll be out in the hallway, if you need me for anything," she explained, before quickly taking her leave.
Minna nodded in Rize's direction before turning her attention back to Benson.
As the doors to the office swooshed closed with Rize's departure, Benson spoke.
"Commander Wilcke, I have called you here because of unfortunate circumstances." He began. "As Commander Sakamoto here already knows, Captain Arles Felnoir of the USS Akina gave his life attempting to bring Miyahara in. While I can't condone Felnoir's methods which led to his demise, his loss will most certainly be felt, especially among the Inuto people, given how few actually make it into Starfleet Command."
Benson picked up a PADD that was lying on his desk.
"Commander Sakamoto and I had already discussed this for several minutes before you arrived, but given your selfless dedication to repelling the mob today, Commander Sakamoto and I agree that you would be the ideal candidate to succeed Captain Felnoir as the Akina's commander."
Minna's eyes widened
"Why me, specifically?" Minna asked. "Surely there must be a long waiting list of Captains waiting for commands?"
"You did work extensively on the Akina during Project Jomo, did you not?" Mio asked.
"Well, yes," Minna admitted. "But that was 13 years ago-!"
"Well, there's your answer." Mio said. "I wrote to Starfleet a few years ago that in the unlikely event of Felnoir's passing, the correct candidate to succeed him should know the Akina as well as, if not better than he did."
"And Starfleet agrees on this." Benson said. "I have here a letter of recommendation from another one of Captain Felnoir's kind; a Commander Ichika Misono, which praises your efforts in defending democracy today, and there's no doubt in my mind that you would be the correct fit to succeed Felnoir, should you be willing to accept it."
"It would be an honor, sir." Minna said. "The Akina has a special place in my heart, and there's nothing I wouldn't give to set foot on her again."
Benson smiled.
"That's the spirit, Commander." He said, reaching into a drawer in his desk and pulling out a velvet lined box. "Though, since you'll be taking command of the Akina, Starfleet regulations require you to at least be Commander Sakamoto's rank equal:"
Benson set the box on the desk in front of Minna.
"Congratulations, Commander." He said.
Minna opened the box to find a half-pip inside waiting for her. Minna looked back up a Benson and saluted him.
"Thank you, sir." She said.
"At ease." Benson said. "You'll have to take a Kobayashi Maru exam before you formally take command of the Akina, but I'll see what I can do to get yours expedited. In the meantime, you may return to the Akina with Commander Sakamoto to get the tour. As you've said yourself, it's been 13 years since you were last on board the Akina, and it might help to refamiliarize yourself with her. You're both hereby dismissed."
Minna clipped her half pip onto her uniform as she and Mio stood up, reflecting that she was now a full Commander.
"You can change into something more appropriate when we're back on the Akina." Mio said in regards to Minna still wearing her gold uniform from the Dresden before tapping her combadge. "Sakamoto to Akina, two to beam out:"
As Minna and Mio disappeared in a transporter beam, Benson moved onto his next phase in business. It was convenient that Wilcke had brought her along, and she was waiting out in the hallway. Rising from the desk, Benson made his way to the door and opened it, finding Rize still standing out in the corridor.
"Commander:" He addressed her. "Since you're here, can I speak with you for a few minutes?" He waved his PADD, indicating he had a matter to discuss with her.
Rize seemed to hesitate for a second or two, but eventually complied with Benson's request and followed him back into his office.
"Is there something wrong, Sir?" she asked as the doors snapped shut behind her.
"Nothing wrong, Commander:" Benson responded as he sat back down with a smile. "I have a request from Admiral Burke to speak to you about the Europa..."
Posting by
Admiral Benson
Admiral
Commander Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke
Commanding Officer
USS Akina
Commander Mio Sakamoto
Executive Officer
USS Akina
Commander Rize Tedeza
Commanding Officer
USS Europa
RSS Feed