Commodore Taybrim - I Do Believe

[Alcyone Brennan]

My character Arys might not be part of the Taybrim-Fanclub (she's a Dal/Foster-girl), but her writer is!

I love reading those narration-heavy Taybrim sims that give us an understanding of how Sal loves doing what he does, but also highlight the burden of always being center stage. 

An absolute treat to read @Sal Taybrim , can't wait to drag Sal along to more missions

 

 

Quote

 

((Hedrikspool Market, Bajor))

They left the overly, almost foppishly comfortable ride and Sal was more than ready to get some fresh air.

Stepping outside of the shuttle, he had the sudden urge to just… run.

Leave this place.  Leave this life.  Leave everything behind.

He didn’t, certainly.  He stood there, with a firm stance, red hair highlighted by the bright sun, smiling and taking in the sights.

But he had felt Sill-con’s unease in the shuttle.  The Empath had quickly intuited something was wrong and had fallen back in the conversation to try to moderate the growing tension.  He found the newly minted Ensign had stuck solidly to his race’s commitment to duty.  Sal understood this was a deeply ingrained cultural belief and that many Brikar were committed to their beliefs with fervor.  He respected that.

But also so many people who came to Starfleet, leaving their homeworld, were oddities in some way shape or form.  People who were possibly outcasts, possibly curious, possibly more adventurous or maybe just weird in some undefinable way.  He didn’t feel it was fair to Sill-con to assume he would be like the stereotypical Brikarian guard that stood like a stone on his homeworld.  Because otherwise wouldn’t someone who exactly and comfortably fit that mold stay on their homeworld?

Then again maybe some saw duty in the galaxy at large.  Just because so many others left their homeworld because they didn’t feel comfortable there, maybe some left their homeworld for the purest expression of love for their home – to go out and protect it.

But there was something else in Sill-con that stirred something in the Commodore.  Once upon a time Lt Commander Taybrim, the first officer of StarBase 118 was fast friends with the station’s security.  But as time went on and he became Commander Taybrim, then Captain Taybrim, then Fleet Captain Taybrim and now Commodore Taybrim, he found himself in a low but noticeable tension with most every security officer – new and old.  He had felt it come to a point with Ishani Kasun, someone he had known for years.  Someone who he had at one time been able to enjoy downtime with.

But as his rank advanced and the danger – as well as the proverbial target on his back grew larger – he found that more and more his security officers were focused on his safety.  Which he deeply appreciated in an academic way.  He understood why that was a good thing and a part of duty.

But with every passing day, he found his life was more and more constricted.  Expectations rose of him to be on stage and perfectly diplomatic at all times.  Always on.  Always at work.  Always proper and … perfect.

He was on shore leave until the gala.  A fleeting opportunity to go somewhere where he wasn’t center stage and wasn’t immediately recognized.  He had a deep and growing desire to just relax a little and be a person having fun rather than a Commodore.

But every little reminder of duty, every motion he caught out of the corner of his eye that he knew was an intel operative following them for safety, every bit of hanging on decorum dragged him back into that quagmire that he couldn’t escape.

Every day he felt that Sal Taybrim the man was being consumed by Commodore Taybrim the FNS monster and maybe someday he would wake up and there would be nothing of him left but reports and diplomatic meetings and orders to be given out.

Sherlock: ::approaching the food vendor:: Three moba fruit, please. ::pulling out her PADD to pay and turning to Sal:: Hasperat? My treat.

He was broken from his reverie and offered a charming smile.

Taybrim: I would love some!

Sherlock: Would you like anything, Ensign? Also, would you prefer to not be called Ensign while we're ::beat:: I'm off duty?

Sill-con: i am in no need of any items, i always come prepared with all i need before an… as people of other kind call it… an “outing”.

That was Starfleet survival training at its best and Sal couldn’t help but smile.  He was impressed.  Most fresh Ensigns would be tripping over themselves to test the local food.  But sometimes security officers in particular favored whatever they could control and bring with them.

Sherlock: ::giving Sill-con a nod then turning back to the vendor:: And I'll take a springwine as well...::pulling the mug out of her satchel:: I brought my own mug.

Taybrim: You came prepared!

He lingered in between Sherlock who was a ball of tantalizing energy, full of curiosity and playfulness – and Sill-con who was rock solid duty, and probably wondering if he was here to baby sit an idiot Commodore rather than be on shore leave.

And then there was the idiot Commodore, lingering in between the desire to play, to enjoy himself, to be a Betazoid who loved people and parties… and to be a Commodore.  A man who carried the lived of billions on his shoulders with the decisions he made.

A crossroads between two extremes, brought to life by two officers who were hardly extremes, but embodied the brilliance of each.

He turned towards Sill-con.

Taybrim: Ensign, you’re not required to come to the market.  I’m sorry if I made that seem like you were.

Sill-con: No commodore, I speak in earnest when I say that I'm ::pause for a second, glancing away for just a fraction before fixing his gaze at the commodore:: comfortable like this-

He drew in a long, slow breath, and addressed Sill-con gently.

Taybrim: This is still our shore leave.  I respect that some species do not enjoy down time, find it counterproductive or even insulting.  I appreciate your devotion to duty, and I am not asking you to be anything you are not or do anything you feel is uncomfortable or insulting.  

Sherlock/Sill-con: ?

He gave a slow nod of agreement and turned between the two.

Taybrim: However, I also have to be quite plain.  If anything dangerous or action-oriented happens today, we quite frankly are doing something wrong.  We have some down time to pursue our interests and pleasures.  

Every species has pleasures, even if they didn’t recognize them as such.  Vulcans loved researched, despite not giving emotional weight to it.  Some species favored combat, physical exercise or feats of great endurance.  They might not be seen as artsy, partying or fun by other species, but they were interests and pleasures nonetheless.

And despite the fact that skydiving was one of his interests, he preferred to do even his adrenaline junky activities safely. 

Sherlock/Sill-con: ?

Taybrim: yes.  ::he confirmed with a nod:: I don’t know how to say this, because I think most often people only see flag officers as things.  Plastered faces on FNS reports or holo-cam recordings.  Nametags connected to orders.  But here’s the terrible truth… we’re actually just people.  People who have the power to make great and terrible decisions, yes. People who have the knowledge of a sector, and the responsibility to use it wisely.  But people.  And right now I am a tired person who hasn’t had a day off or a mental break in months.  That isn’t healthy for my species.  Therefore, I am off duty and I intend to focus on off duty activities until the Gala.

Was that difficult to hear?

Yes.

He knew full well that he was all at once Sal Taybrim a counselor, Sal Taybrim a hero, Sal Taybrim a monster and Sal Taybrim a military commander.

But right now he was Sal Taybrim a very tired man who was on the edge of being burnt out completely from life, the universe and everything.  And he needed to have a little bit of a mental break and not have to feel guilty for not being on duty every second of his life.

Sherlock/Sill-con: ?

Taybrim: It is my job on a shore leave like this to facilitate every member of this crew in doing what supports their wellness or personal growth.  Some will find this rests within duty.  Others find this rests within exploration of a new culture, or finding time to relax.  Any and all of these is both acceptable and encouraged.   As members of Starfleet we learn how to accept that others are different from us.  We learn about them and understand that every creature is made up of weaknesses that we can help bolster and strengths that we appreciate.  This is natural.  No one person can be and do everything at all times.

Sherlock/Sill-con: ?

He nodded towards Aine and waved his own credits towards the vendor.  For a moment his voice carried that thin tread of exhaustion, cut though with an impish playfulness.

Taybrim: Yes, Lieutenant, I do believe I will have some Springwine.

Sherlock/Sill-con: ?

~*~
tags/tbc
~*~

Commodore Sal Taybrim
Commanding Officer
StarBase 118 Ops

 

 

[Nella Noxwyn]

Hear, hear!