Tea and Philosophy

Posted on Wed Mar 19th, 2025 @ 12:38am by Lieutenant Commander Steve Ryan

Mission: Maintaining the Status Quo
Location: Mess Hall
Timeline: After the Klingons departure

Lt. Commander Steve Ryan sat in the Montana’s lounge, nursing a steaming cup of Tarkalean tea. Across from him, Ensign O’Donnel toyed with a spanner, spinning it absently between his fingers while staring out the window at the stars beyond.

“You ever think about them?” O’Donnel finally said, his voice subdued.

Steve raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

“The Horta.” O’Donnel exhaled sharply. “I keep thinking about what they went through down there, being tortured to mine faster. I mean, they’re sentient beings. They think, they feel… and they had no way to fight back until it was too late.”

Steve took a sip of his tea, letting the warmth spread through him as he considered the young engineer’s words. “Yeah,” he admitted. “That’s been on my mind too. We barely made it out of there in time, and if Kestra hadn’t been able to sense what they were feeling, things could have gone a lot worse.”
O’Donnel frowned, setting his spanner down with a soft clink.

“The Klingons got away with the pergium,” she muttered. “And they’ll be back. We stopped one deal, but what’s stopping them from just taking over the whole mine?” she shook her head in dismay “What’s stopping someone else from doing the same thing all over again?”

Steve sighed. “We sent our report. It’s up to Starfleet now to decide how to handle it.” He set his cup down. “We do what we can, but we can’t be everywhere at once.”

Deborah leaned back, arms crossed. “Still doesn’t sit right with me.”

“Do you think we handled it right? I mean, yeah, we shut down the mine, saved Vanderberg’s hide, but the Klingons still got away with their haul. Feels like we lost, in a way.”

Steve sighed, staring into his drink. “We did what we could with the options we had. We saved lives. We stopped outright slavery. That counts for something. But yeah… it doesn’t sit right with me either. The Klingons will be back, and when they do, they won’t be looking for a fair trade.”

“So what?” asked abruptly Deborah locking her eyes on Steve’s.

The young XO shrugged “...Nothing.... that’s the nature of command. We fight the fights we can, and sometimes we walk away knowing there are still battles left to be fought.” he paused "we probably scored a win in this game, but there will soon be another match and we will see what the future will hold..."

The lounge was quiet for a moment, filled only with the hum of the ship’s engines. Then, O’Donnel smirked slightly. “You known, since you made it to XO you became a philosopher.”

Steve chuckled. “Don’t let that get around, Ensign.” he used her rank to highlight the seriousness of the thing “I’ve got a reputation to maintain.”, he winked at her.

O’Donnel grinned. “Your secret’s safe with me….Sir”

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Lt. Cmdr. Steve Ryan
XO, USS Montana

Ens. Deborah O'Donnel
Engineer, USS Montana