Changing of the Guard

Posted on 19 Jun 2026 @ 12:16pm by Lieutenant Commander Harva Taliborn & Captain Brynhild Kleim

1,437 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Unity
Location: Ready Room, USS Odin
Timeline: Current

It was the next day. Somehow, it felt like a lifetime had passed already.

They hadn't caught Commander Petrova's murderer yet. Honestly, she really shouldn't have expected that they would...but a girl could hope. The investigation was proceeding. There were clues left that they could move on, and they were moving on, but still. Brynhild wanted to know. She needed to know and see justice done.

However, what she also needed was a first officer. The ship had a standard second officer, of course, but she wasn't sure that was who she wanted manning second chair right now. Lieutenant Veera was a fine officer, but Brynna instinctively knew that this moment called for...something--someone--else.

She worked her way through the top-level personnel files, refreshing her memories on her staff. She landed on one that, well, 'spoke' to her. "Captain Kleim to Commander Taliborn. Please report to the ready room at your earliest convenience."

"On my way, Captain," Harva replied, the tiny speaker in the comm badge struggling with the resonance of the ship's largest officer's voice. It was easy enough to delegate the maintenance task he had been working on to a subordinate so he was free to see the captain as requested. As such it wasn't long before the Sirran made his way to the Captain's office, ducking underneath the doorframe as he was accustomed to so only the tips of his ears brushed the bulkhead.

"You wanted to see me, Cap'n?" his basso profondo rumbled.

"Enter," Brynna called. She was seated behind her desk still, but leaning back in her chair and holding her cup of coffee. She didn't look like a woman who had slept at all in a day and a half. "Thank you for coming so promptly, Commander. Help yourself to whatever you'd like to drink and have a seat."

"Mm," Harva replied. The mood on the ship was somber, though that was understandable. While Petrova wasn't exactly the most beloved officer - always having taken a more stand-offish, professional attitude towards coworkers, she had at least been respected, and her loss was certainly felt. The large officer manifested a pitcher of orange juice by way of replicator, before taking a seat. His full attention on the captain.

This is awkward, Brynna lamented inwardly for a moment as she sighed heavily and took a long sip of her coffee before she began. "As you, and the whole ship, are now aware, the Odin has suddenly and violently lost its first officer. As unfortunately pragmatic as this is, that leaves me without one at a moment when I need one. To not beat around the bush, I wanted to ask if you were interested in taking the role."

She knew she could make it an order, but in the circumstances, she chose not to. She chose to ask.

"Hark, the Awen sings," Harva replied, taking a swig from his orange juice and contemplating the situation for a moment, his expression unreadable. "Before I agree, why me though?" His voice rumbled. "There is an established chain of command, and I'm not in it," Beat. "Plus, many captains would hesitate putting me in charge of overly much, what with the decade-and-a-half hole in my service record. The one that says 'classified'. Captains don't tend to like secrets and mysteries."

Brynhild didn't reply right away, taking a moment and looking off at the viewport near her desk. At the end, she could make out part of the space station. The rest was all stars. She inhaled slowly and turned her attention back to him. "There is a dark shadow on this ship right now, and I am not convinced that what worked before is necessarily what she needs now," she replied, a touch cryptically.

"No, but most captains forget what Starfleet can be. I have a mission or two that most captains don't have access to, just missions and not whole years, but I am not as afraid of blank spots as some." She smiled faintly, but it was not a happy expression. "Why you? Call it an instinct for the moment we're in."

Her answer told him a lot about her personality. Direct. Willing to take chances. Flying by the seat of her pants, gut instinct - though within reason, and measured choices. Perhaps a bit less diplomatic than some, but not afraid of decisive action. He liked that. The character of the smile was instantly clear to him, as well. Performant, rather than happy. It did not reach her eyes. Part of him enjoyed this game, had missed it. Well, 'game' ... Being cagey, keeping his cards close, giving only as much as necessary while keeping the air tense. Still, not too much - this was his commanding officer after all, and things were tense enough as is with recent, violent, events. He had already decided he was going to agree. "Mm. Fair. That is fair. Let's hope the crew feels the same way," Beat. "I'll do it. At least, for the foreseeable future, until things have calmed down a bit and settled into a status quo."

She inclined her head slightly. "That is all I am asking, at present. Thank you, Commander. I trust that you can choose a suitable replacement for chief engineer?"

"Mm. I've got a few candidates in mind, yes. From the ship and the station. Current circumstances are a bit inimical to a smooth transition, but I'll get it done, don't worry about that," the large commander offered, sitting back, his expression thoughtful. This would mark the second time he had dramatically switched career paths during his time in Starfleet, itself a marked shift in career from what he did before joining. He'd have to study up on command protocols and take some exams to ready him for the role, but he was confident he could do that. Part of him wondered if he'd have to reactivate his old network, but he figured that was a concern for another day. For now, he had his work cut out for him.

"Good." Brynna nodded once. "One of the things you'll need to catch up on quickly, I'm afraid, is the security investigation into--" She paused, clearing her throat against a bit of emotion. She'd lost fellow crew members, friends, and even lovers in the line of duty, but never to murder. "--the murder of Commander Petrova."

"Mmhm. It's a bad business," Harva intoned, taking another swig of his orange juice. "It's not something you can prepare for. Losing people, crew, - .. friends, in the line of duty - sure. But not this," Even as he said the words - and truly believed them, he still remained absolutely calm. Like the shock of the whole event had either already passed him or simply hadn't hit him as deep as it had hit most other crew. Or perhaps he was too accustomed to losing crewmates and seeing death. Not a thing to be proud of, for sure. "It all seems so senseless. And the timing of it - one is almost tempted to suspect a political reason. What with the Commander having been a high profile Starfleet officer."

Brynna inclined her head. "Aye, one might suspect," she agreed. "There is no good reason, but I will say that if it is a political motivation... Well, it will make it even worse than it already is, and it's already terrible. I have met with the governor of the civilian body of the station, though I'm not sure it was beneficial. She at least did not imply concern over a broader political incident between us at the moment."

"Mm. Let's hope it wasn't then," He finished his orange juice, considering the moment for a bit before continuing. "Anything else, Captain? I believe I have a lot on my plate and I would like to get started on it."

"Not for the moment," she replied. "Thank you, Commander. I'll let you get to it."

"A'ight Captain, I'll get with security, see what I can do to assist with the investigation," Harva's basso profundo rumbled as he rose to his feet, much to his chair's relief; finally freedom from an amount of mass it was never designed to handle. "See what I can get you as replacement engineering chief, too. Don't you worry about that, I've got it handled." He figured she had enough on her mind without any of that, and wasn't it his job to take care of these things so she could concern herself with the bigger picture? It was now.

 

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