Commodore Taybrim - Failures and Regrets

[Alcyone Brennan]

 

I absolutely adore this sim from our beloved CO @Sal Taybrim 
This was great way to deal with the fallout of the last Terra Prime mission, and the difficulty for someone like Sal to sit back and let others lead. Having been absent in the mission itself, the introspection of this shed some light on his feelings on what happened. I am very much looking forward to continuing this scene with you!

 

Quote

 

((USS Narendra, Bridge))

Sometimes answers were difficult.

Sometimes they simply weren’t there.

Sometimes you did everything by the book, everything as right as you could, you made decisions based on the available information, taking multiple issues into consideration, followed orders and focused on doing what you felt was right for everyone involved… and you still failed.  Sometimes failure was something that was outside of your control.

Did Sal Taybrim feel guilty about what happened to Utopa colony?

Yes.

More than anyone could know.  More than he liked.  It haunted him in ways he had difficulty processing, even as a counselor and with a counselor.  Because it was tied into so many other things that he was processing at the time.  His changing role in the sector, the assassination attempts, the vicious, invasive brushing of minds with Nacien Rixx.  The loss of loved ones.  Helping dear friends process the loss of their loved ones.  Duty and orders.  It all tangled together.

He had felt uncomfortable sending the Rahuba on the Terra Prime mission because it was the first mission he hadn’t personally overseen as a Commanding officer with his crew in seven years.  But that was his role as a Commodore – to stay back and see the bigger picture.

And then everything went so catastrophically wrong.  

He had spent hours talking with Ishreth, trying to get one of his best up and coming Command officers to not quit the fleet over the failure.  He had spent long conversations with his valuable first officer, Alora sifting through the wreckage of the mission.  He wanted his command officers to build their morale and their leadership though missions that were achievable.  Where they could evaluate what did and didn’t work and move forward.  He had never expected that he would be sifting through the debris of a completely failed mission, trying to rebuild his leaders after they had been torn down by Terra Prime.

Taybrim: =/\= Meryel… I don’t have an answer for you.  I wish I did.  If I had an answer I could have saved those people.  I wanted to save those people.  The truth is, I was tricked.  Terra Prime had a Romulan cloaking device.  No one saw that.  I didn’t see it.  Everything was alright on Utopa until it suddenly wasn’t. =/\=

He never wanted to fail Utopa.

He never wanted to fail Meryel.

He never wanted to fail Ishreth.

He never wanted to fail Alora.

He never wanted to fail Ishani, Rue, Max, Arys, Sheila, Tito, Aine, Egil, Nella, or any of the other crew he had served with.  Whether he was right there with them or not.  He worked tirelessly to support them, and their safety was always in his mind.

He never wanted to fail the Rahuba, and every crewmember who was a casualty in the fight with Osben. 

He never wanted Terra Prime’s insane plans to succeed and kill thousands of innocents.

And yet here they were.

Sometimes you could be the bulwark between the cruelty of the universe and the innocence that deserved to flourish without being threatened.

And sometimes you failed.

And even though Sal Taybrim had a history of successes being that bulwark, that didn’t matter.  In fact, it only served to make that one failure more profoundly painful.

Tito: ~ We have a problem.~

Aristen: :: turning away from Taybrim:: ~ What is it? ~ 

Harris: =/\= We... I didn't know what it was. I was teaching.. we were outside... two of the kids started complaining about pain and suddenly they-... I rushed them to the nurse but she couldn't do anything... and there were more and more students pouring in... =/\=

It was a bio-engineered poison.

The first attack had been a virus.  Which was why Starfleet sent a medical ship laden with state of the art anti-viral medication.

What they ended up having to scramble was to create an antidote.  And by the time it was created, the damage had already been done.

Tito:  ~ She become a Teacher in Utopa Colony. There is an alert that connects her to a known Terra Prime recruiter this year. After that we lost her. ~

A human Starfleet officer with a Vulcan spouse and … kids.

Hybrid kids.

He started putting the pieces together, and he could feel the sadness in her voice like a rising tide.

Taybrim: =/\= It wasn’t just your school, was it? =/\=

He knew it wasn’t.  It was the whole colony.  He had read the reports.

But it was a prompt to let her speak.  

He had no place in explaining anything.  This was her story.

Harris: =/\= They... they said it was happening all throughout the colony and I rushed home and... the girl.. Kalja... she-... she left. She was watching my boys but she.. had gotten scared... they were all alone when they-... =/\=

By the Rings.

A mother.  Who lost her children.  

An unimaginable loss.  A rift in the soul that was filled with writing pain.

Tito: =/\= Meryel, this is Lieutenant Tito. I just want to tell you that I understand your pain. As a former Starfleet Officer you know that no matter how we try sometimes… ::His voice trailed off, the only sign of what he was feeling.:: We can’t protect the ones we love.=/\=

Sal almost jumped, hearing Tito’s voice.  That wasn’t telepathic.  He said that.

He froze.

Harris: =/\= What do you want… =/\=

Now was not a time to interrupt.  Once again, he was quiet, letting the conversation happen.  Listening.

Tito: =/\= I lost my wife and daughter during a mission. I am well aware of what that can do to a person.

Harris: =/\= I didn't lose them. They were taken from me. Terra Prime took them from me, and I am here to make sure they don't take anyone else's children away. =/\= 

He paused, giving a moment for the tension to dissipate.

Taybrim: =/\= They were taken from you. =/\= ::He validated:: =/\= In a most horrible, cruel way.  I am so sorry.  You have every right to be angry. =/\= 

Aristren: ~ Mister Tito, please do not recklessly join a conversation. You are not a trained Counsellor, and you are not the person she wants to speak to. ~

Tito: ~?

He let himself pause and gather his thoughts for a moment.

Taybrim: =/\= I’m not going to stop you if you are trying to make sure they can’t take any else’s children.  We can help you.  I’m not sure if you’re alone or not…=/\=

He was careful there, very aware that her intentions were noble, but she had also lost her own children and the very real question still remained – why save them and not mine.  

But his question was more a question of was she threatened?  Was she in need of an evacuation?  She couldn’t be the only saboteur Terra Prime sent, they had already located others.

Harris: =/\= Not alone, no. They had sent another one. He's here. He needs medical attention... ::she hesitated:: I don't think he deserves medical attention. =/\= 

Maybe he didn’t deserve medical attention.  That was fair, if he was a person intended to help kill 25,000 people on a passenger liner.  But Sal couldn’t assume he knew anything about anyone until he had the chance to talk to them and understand them.

Taybrim: =/\= It is reasonable to feel he doesn’t deserve something based on his criminal actions.  Our doctors are sworn to treat everyone who is presented to them.  In his case, he will have to endure until we can make sure everyone else – including you – is safe.  My duty is to protect the passengers of the Belladonna who are threatened.=/\=

And he was here, now.  He was here to do… whatever magical thing people thought Sal Taybrim could do.

That was the biggest irony of the whole thing.  Sal Taybrim was just a man.  His presence or absence was just a tiny drip of water into an infinite ocean called the galaxy – a fact he was keenly aware of.  There was a massive focus placed on him by the Federation News Service, and in turn by various people in the Trinity Sector.

But in the end, he was still just a normal Betazoid.  With no superpowers, no extensive long life or expansive wisdom.  Just some dumb guy with a charming smile and a desire to do right by others.

Some dumb guy… with a boatload of pips, a Starbase, and a fleet of ships.  He was keenly aware of that, too.  Decisions mattered.  Every decision mattered.

Aristren: ~ Perhaps there is a way we can convince her to beam to the Narendra. ~

Tito: response

Aristren: ~ Indeed not, but I believe her desire the thwart Terra Primes plans is stronger than her disdain towards us. ~ 

Harris: =/\= ?

Tito: response

Aristren: ~ She would be useful, yes, and the simple fact of the matter is that we do need to return our attention to Trovek and DeVeau, who likely also have loved ones waiting for them to come home. Lieutenant Harris should understand that better than anyone else. ~

Taybrim: =/\= That depends.  Do you want to evacuate, Meryel?  I intend to save every person on the Belladonna.  If I have to stuff extra people into my quarters, I will. =/\=

Harris: =/\= response

Aristen/Tito: ?

He started to speak, and that’s when the entire Narendra jolted hard to the side.

A white corona of plasma fire enveloped the viewscreen and the Narendra very nearly spun catastrophically out of the warp bubble.  Instead the Ambassador class engines surged a split second later, following the passenger liner like the dancer she was, prompted by the paranoid little helmsman.

Zel: They have an Impulse surge!  Malfunction in their impulse drive!

Zel spoke for the first time since Tito and Aristen came onto the bridge.  He wasn’t speaking into the commline, but his voice was sharp and barking.

Sal looked over and tensed.  This was the first time – ever – he had seen Zel go chalk grey, his eyes were fixated on the navigation screen.  

That’s when it hit him.  That was a ‘bump’ in the flight.

They should have died.

With a different helmsman, they would have died.

The Belladonna would have certainly felt that.

Taybrim: =/\= Meryel!  Are you OK over there? =/\=

There was true, honest concern in his voice.  And this was his current open comm line, but he was expecting a sudden load of chatter.

Harris: =/\= ?

Aristen/Tito: ?

Taybrim: What’s the Belladonna’s current course?

Zel: Same… her warp drive in intact.  She’s not gonna blow – yet.  But if they got into her impulse core, that means they’ve turned off failsafes.  You gotta get those people off, or get that bomb out, soon.

Aristen/Tito: ?

~*~
Tags/tbc
~*~

Commodore Sal Taybrim
Commanding Officer

StarBase 118 Ops

 

 

[Talos Dakora]

So good. Makes me want to go back and read all the Sims that lead up to this one.

Edited July 18, 2022 by Talos Dakora
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