Meeting the professor

Posted on Tue Feb 28th, 2023 @ 9:30am by Commander Antonia 'Tony" Stoffels

Mission: Evacuation
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Current.

Shortly after his meeting with the chief NCO Richard had paid Wain a visit in the sickbay. They still had him under close observation as he was recovering from his heartattack. But Richard knew his best friend he needed something to keep him at least partly busy some little project. And this case was exactly what Wain needed. Not stressful and he could make himself useful.

Wain had promised to behave himself so he had use of communcations and a PADD for a few hours a day and he used that time today to get Kerr's details from the academy and look into the situation that Richard had described. Once he thought he had a good idea of the situaton did he open a communication to the chief.

~Chief Kerr. This is Wain London from sickbay. Richard Stoffels asked me to look over your academy files and have a chat with you. Could you come by sickbay when you have a minute? I am afraid I am rather laid up at the moment."

"This is Chief Kerr, I'll be with you shortly Professor London" Finchey replied.

Shortly afterwards, Finchley entered Sickbay, asked if he could speak with the Professor and was shown to him,

"Professor, I'm CWO Kerr, you asked to see me, how can I help you?" Finchley asked.

"I was hoping I can help you." Wain said he was sitting up in bed now. He hated this vulnerability but there was no way he had the strength to be out of bed yet. "I gather you talked to Tony and Richard and they have sent you my way. I have been going over your files this morning and I would like to help."

"Yes, I spoke originally with the Captain who passed me onto the Commander who passed me onto the General who's now passed me onto you with regard to help in re-sitting the Officers exam. They all offered to help me out with advice, though you're now the third person I've been passed t...sorry, that seems somewhat critical, but I'm feeling a bit like the 'hot potato' nobody wants to hold" Finchley replied, sighing.

"It's very kind of you to take the time Professor, and it's very much appreciated by myself that you believe you can help me out. How can I be of service to you?"

"Oh dear." Wain said. "I guess the captain and the XO are very busy at the moment. Richard is really interested to hear about your progress but he genuinely thought I would be better suited to help you with my ties to the academy. Now from your records I can see you have been treated very badly. Richard told me about the circumstances." He chuckled. "But you should have passed years ago. So I think you and I should have a look at the knowledge you have right now and I can see if there are any tests you still have to take and at what rank your officer entry level should be. I would also like to be your mentor. Does that sound like a plan?"

"Absolutely Professor, I'm more than happy with that" Finchley replied.

"Good now tell me about your strong and your weak points and the position you would like on the ship. I got the impression you want to stay on the Resolution and the name is Wain by the way. What do you prefer to be called?"

"Oh, Finchley's fine eh...Wain" Finchley replied, finding it awkward fighting against his instinct to use someone's title or rank as the norm.

"I do want to stay, yes" he continued "As for my strong points, well, I trained to be in Security ad Tactical at the Academy so much of what I learned there I took into my Non-Comm duties as it's where I carried on. So learning about weaponry like hand phasers, phaser rifles and explosives came readily and as part of Security teams we had to learn about Tactical situations as every encounter or mission was different. As time went on and promotions came learning the art of commanding a troop but also showing confidence and guile in not only my own ability but in those with whom I was serving became a must. For me the crux was always asking the team to do something I was prepared to do myself. Pretty much most of the time I'd lead the team and it was a good feeling knowing I was trusted by those with me. The more I pushed myself the more I learned and the more I learned the more I was trusted by my superiors and wider the scope I was given. So, becoming a field medic for the troop came as second nature as again, it was something I learned at the academy. I got to know those I served with pretty well and I wasn't so naïve as to believe I knew more than them at the tasks they were chosen from, so, I sat with them and learned what they knew, I go them to teach me so that if needs be, I could fill in. Engineering, Science, even social skills such as being a shoulder to cry on, taking time to hear someone let off steam and offer words of kindness and advice...all f these I learned because I wanted that knowledge.

Weak points are that I don't like being idle and I have a soft spot for chocolate!" he laughed.

"Sounds good." Wain muttered. "I will be going through your fitness reports as well of course." He told the younger man. "And I trust you are current with your medical an shrink evals?" Both of which he hated with a passion himself. "When I have that big picture I will put together the test on the subjects that I think you need to prove yourself on. And the command bits of course. Then we can see if one of the departments you favour has an opening. I am afraid I may be on board for a while so I have plenty of time to help you with all that."

"Yes, of course, no problem" Finchley said "and my medical and psych evaluations were completed prior to me coming onboard the Resolution so the should be on file with Sickbay and also the ships Counselling department. I'm not going to rush this Wain, I want it to carried out a pace where I feel you think I'm going to be ready. There is one other thing, and I don't bring this up for the sake of prestige, you'll also see in my file that I have Intelligence experience. Though I can't discuss what I may or may not have done whilst there, it did give me valuable insight into how people, myself included, reacted to stressful situations and how they coped afterwards. I'd love to say it didn't affect me at all, but that would be very far from the truth, it very much did. Another reason I bring it up is that I want there to be no secrets between us, same as I'd like you to be completely transparent with me please."

"What do you need to hear about me, Finchley?" Wain already liked the younger man. "Oh and my wife is going to want to talk to you about those coping strategies."

"Well, you're background if you don't mind telling me Wain, I don't actually know anything about you save you're a friend of General Stoffels" Finchley replied "If you don't mind me asking as well, who is your wife, and what does she do?"

"Well he said. I was born in Wales in a religious cult. Until I was ten I lived a spartan life without any mechanical or heaven forbid computerized tools. That was when my eldest sister Shanna who had run away from home and gone into starfleet rescued me and then put me with her mentor a starfleet professor who raised me. I went to the academy and became a navigator. I had a bit of a temper when I was younger." He shrugged. "Still have if I am totally honest. "I met my future wife after I had decked a fellow officer in a fist fight. Mandatory counselling. After therapy she admitted that she did have feelings for me." He grinned. "We married and we had plenty of children. Adopted one and mentored my fair share of youngsters through the academy."

He pauzed for a few seconds catching his breath. Damned heartattack. "I was a commander with still a little bit iffy reputation when Richard and I were stationed on the same base. I had by now become a Klingon expert and served on their homeworld for two years as liaison. Richard and I clicked. We had a mutual dislike of intel. I won't hold that against you son." He added quickly. "Over some things that had happened to us. We set up a border organisation called KBF and we ran it for many years. About ten years ago I was in a bad shuttle accident, decompression. It wrecked my body and leaves me prone to strokes and heart attacks. I managed to remain on the active list as long as I could. But the last year they put me out to pasture. I am still a serving starfleet officer. But the past year I was head of admissions at the academy and I lecture on ethics and navigation. My wife is head of a starfleet psychiatric hospital. Is that enough to start with, Finchley?"

"Enough for now Wain, yes" Finchley replied "Thank you for not holding my Intelligence work against, and I'll never apologise to anyone for having done it, and on occasion when recalled, still do. Someone has to d the jobs nobody else wants to dirty their hands with, and I'm one of them. You talk about ethics, ethics is what you find within yourself, it's not something you can teach, nor is it something you can lay on someone just because it's what you believe. What you find ethical, I may not and vice-versa. So for the sake of our time together, that's a subject that's to be put to one side. Navigation, fine, but I'm not going to be lectured on ethical behaviour when it's a completely grey area. I'm sure you want to debate what I just said, but let's put a pin in it for now."

Wain really lauhged now. "Now that is the attitude that will get you into trouble, son. It is an important subject at the academy and I beg to differ that it is important. But I will not press that point now. I can help you with most other subjects as well, especially the command track."

Finchley slowly stood up and looked at Wain "I'm afraid that's where our paths differ Professor. You see, as much as you dislike Intelligence, that's where I learned much of my ethical stances. I wasn't taught them by someone in a classroom or through any kind of study, I experienced them, I learned them and if I'm very honest, I cherish them...but it was through having experienced them in the field and with working with other people. I'm sorry that this is a stumbling block, so thank you very much for your time and for your kind offer of help, but I'm just going to go back to the Captain and tell him that the re-sits not going to happen, I'll remain where I am and go through the ranks as a Non-Comm."

"Hold your horses!" Wain raised his voice and regretted it immediately. He had to take a few seconds to catch his breath. "You have to work on your temper if you want to be an officer. Who the hell said that you don't learn the real ethics later in life, in real life. That goes for all of us. I teach what I learnt in the field and give those kids a base to work from. Would I approach the subject different with a man your age, hell yes. Most of these kids know so damned little have had such sheltered lives. They wouldn't know an illegal order if it bit them in the ass. What I do is prepare those kids that sometimes it is even your duty to say no to a superior officers. Ethics class teaches them to think for themselves, always. I think it would be a damn shame if you can't set your pride aside and prepare and retake that exam." He gasped for breath.

"I never once raised my voice Professor, not even when I spoke then, nor did I sound angry, my tempers just fine" Finchley replied "And what you said is true, 'you' teach what 'you' learned in the field, who's to say that those ethics are a one size fits all just because it comes from you. Each and every person has to learn their ethical stance throughout their lives and it's what you do with them at every stage you learn that counts. Again, who's to say that the base you give them is right for them. Don't argue ethics with me, I'll go toe to toe with you on it every time and each time you try and say it's what counts I'll counter it with something from my own experience. You see, I had 'teachers' just like you at every stage of my career, and I took what they said, broke it down, looked to see if it applied to me and the circumstance I was in at the time and if it didn't I trusted my own instinct. Yes, I made mistakes, some whoppers, but I learned from them and the ethical learning I got from it added to what I'd already learned from before so that now, though I'm nowhere near a finished article and will never be, I'm a million times smarter and more careful than I was when I left the Academy. I've said no to superiors plenty of times, and that's why I'm a CWO 3 and not a Master Chief Warrant Officer. Those I said no to because my ethics differed from theirs took Umbridge and stalled me. This isn't about pride, this is about you thinking what you teach is any better than anything someone can learn for themselves, and something that shapes them for the future, good or bad. We all have to make choices Sir, and this is mine. Now, I don't want you to be in any kind of discomfort because of me, so I'm going to take a walk and return in ten minutes."

"Don't you see. It was your weakest subject on the exam you took. And the brass loves this subject. What I want to teach you is how to pass the damned test." God had he gotten this old? He had been a troublemaker and rule kicker his whole life and now someone saw him as one of the establishment. It seriously made him shudder.

At that moment a nurse came in, alarmed by Wain's monitors. "Admiral!" She admonished. "You promised to take it easy." She gave Finchley a questioning look.

Finchley held his hands up "Nothing to do with me that he's gotten over excited, I was just chatting with him. Before the nurse could say anything, he turned back to the Professor, a snort of derision emanating from him "Admiral" he said with a forced half laugh "Little wonder you've been so coy about yourself eh Profes...sorry, Sir" he carried on, drawing himself up to fake attention.

"First a General, now an Admiral, what next, I'm passed to someone from Starfleet General Council?" he said sadly. Shaking his head in disbelief, he began walking towards the door, but stopped and turned around "You talk about ethics, yet you can't bring yourself to tell me who and what you actually are. You know, had you lead with that, the conversation could have gone differently Sir. Ethically, you decided to withhold that from me, so we've not got off on the best footing have we. I'm going for that walk now, and 'if' I decide to return, we're going to talk about why you withheld that from me and what ethics you chose to deny me that information."

"I wanted to put you at ease. Richard said how you reacted to his rank and I am a professor. I am sorry though Finchley, truly." He said as he tried to wave a way the nurse who tried to minister to him.

Finchley nodded his head but said nothing, turning and leaving the room.

Ten minutes later he re-entered the same room and looked at Wain "It seems we both got off on the wrong foot Admiral. I was never going to be out at ease in any of this, having been shuffled around people from pillar to post, so my reaction to the General's rank was a genuinely honest one. You surely can understand that someone of a much lower rank finds it very difficult to be 'familiar' with a high ranking officer, even if it is off duty, but we're never really ever off duty are we. With that in mind, and now knowing what rank you really are, for me the same rule applies here...Admiral."

He walked across to the foot of the bed and contemplated how to frame what he was going to say next. Deciding, he looked at the Admiral and said "When I was walking around out there, I searched for a reason to come back to see you and I found one. I'm going to tell you about something that happened with me and at the end of it, I want you to tell me honestly what, with all your years of teaching students, your ethical choice would have been, and then I want you to tell me how you would teach that to those same students as a lecturer.
Some years back, I was part of a possible First Contact observation team. We'd managed to set up a covert observation platform on a ridge overlooking a farming community. Those we were observing weren't really what you'd call advanced, they still used animals to till the soil, they sowed by hand and they reaped by hand as well. Over a few weeks, I became somewhat familiar with the routines that some of these people worked, and one in particular was a young teenager who collected the water to irrigate what had been sewn. He would bring his large wheeled water basin down to the lake, stand on a mud ledge and drop a bucket down into the water and bring it back up then empty it into the water basin. Once it was two thirds full, he would drag it back up the slope and help water the sewn crops with hand held watering cans. One day he was down on the ledge, threw the bucket in and began hauling the bucket back up, however, that day, the mud ledge gave way and he tumbled down head over heels into the water. He was splashing around, trying to call for help, but was getting into more and more difficulty, it was then that I realised he couldn't swim, he was drowning. Nobody further up at the fields could hear him calling out, and he suddenly stopped splashing and lay there face down in the water. I turned to the officer beside me and told him I needed to go down there to save the child from being drowned, but he tried to stop me. I pushed him out the way, opened the door to the observation platform and ran down to where the child was in the water. Nobody from the fields could see me and when I got the child I pulled him out of the water and laid him on his front. Now I had no idea how similar they were to our own physiology, instinct just told me to push up on his back where I 'thought' his lungs might be. It took several attempts, but finally he coughed up the water and began breathing again. He was still unconscious, so I turned him on his side and made sure his airway was free. As I said, nobody had seen me up in the fields, neither had the child, so I had an advantage. I tried to disguise my voice, and called out out for help, then ran back to the observation platform, got inside and closed the door. By the time I got to the viewing platform, some of the workers from the field had got to the child and were helping him sit up. The aftermath of what I did was to be hauled up in front of the missions Commanding Officer and given a dressing down I'll never forget, but, at the end of it, he did commend me for saving the child. A punishment still had to be set for me being as I'd disobeyed the officer who'd tried to stop me, so my name was taken off of the next two promotion lists. For me, it was worth it because to me, I'd acted in an ethical manner, saving the child, happenstance was that I was never seen by anyone except our team. A few years later, I was back on the same planet as part of another observation team so I went to see how the farming area was. I couldn't believe it, it was lush, three times the size it was previously and with plenty of crops. It turned out that the child I'd saved had worked out a way to draw the water up from the lake and also worked out an irrigation system using gravity as the way of spreading the water around the fields.
Now Admiral, as I said when I came in, I want you to tell me honestly what your ethical choice in that same situation with the child would have been, and then I want you to tell me how you would teach that to those same students as a lecturer."

Wain really listened to him and could see the passion and frustration on the face of the younger man.

"I would have done what you have done, damn the consequences." He said. "I probably would have done it even if the child would have seen me. But I am a sucker for seeing children in pain especially if there is something we can do about it. And I have used a very similar scenario in my lectures actually. I would tell the story and then I would break them up in discussion groups and give them some time to talk amongst themselves and try to come to one stance per group. Even that would be a problem. The class would be divided fifty/fifty. I would then listen to what they had to all the points they would make for and against saving a life." he cleared his throat. "My ethics classes are frowned upon by some of the other teaching staff. This is when it helps to outrank everyone else and have a four star general back you up. It comes to this ethic. Can you let someone that you can save die? What is the value in letting someone die. Most first contacts are exactly as you described. And there are often ways around the prime directive. You can often render the person unconscious if they are not already. In 99% amounts of these cases you can save a life without endangering the normal growth of the planet. It is what I call 'thinking for yourself'. It is a pity that so many senior officers do not do enough of that. But then I would rather not be promoted for two years than knowing I had let a child die. I try to instill that sense of always thinking into them. Orders keep us going but they should never be followed blindly."

"That's my whole point Sir, ethics is something you learn, not something that can be taught" Finchley relied "I'm not the same disappointed young Academy student I was twelve years ago, I learned on the job, I got experience on the job, I got my ethical stance on the job. I can see where you're coming from, giving the students a grounding in ethics, but your experiences aren't going to be theirs, your ethical choices aren't going to be theirs, they have to get these themselves through 'their' experiences."

"True. I completely agree with you. But you have to give them that little push. To know that you can do that, and that sometimes it is more ethical to question your orders. To not be a robot and follow them, to always use your own mind. You would be surprised how many of them need that." He sighed. "Maybe it should be renamed as a class in thinking for yourself. I don't know. I do know that I have given some valuable lessons to young people over the years. And I enjoy doing it."

"I don't doubt that your students have been helped Sir" Finchley replied "Look, it's not that I think you're inherently wrong, but you don't know the me now from the me back then. You said it was my weakest subject in the exam I took, and it probably was, then, and we can go round and round on this subject, but I won't shift my stance. I'm a more rounded, more ethically aware person so I see no value in 'being taught'. What else can we discuss that you feel you can help me with?"

"Just go through the list of subjects and see where you stand with them. And I can advise you on what an examiner will be looking for. And I think I can give you some tips for the command exam. Plus it is not unusual for a newly minted officer to have a mentor. I remember mine fondly. It would also give me something to do while I am laid up here." He finished honestly.

"You said your wife, and please forgive me for sounding fed up at this as it's yet 'another' person I'm being fobbed off to in this never ending list of people I'm being shunted to, would want to talk to me about coping strategies. That would be a big help" Finchley answered, now sounding a little deflated.

Wain blinked for a moment not really following along. Then it dawned on him. "You think I want to fob you off to my wife? Heavens no! She would want to pick your brain about what you learnt about how people cope under stress. Her specialty is complex trauma and PTSD. And she is always willing to learn more. So she would be coming to you, not the other way round. Unless you really want help with your own coping strategies. I am sure the counselling department on board would be more than willing to help. But you are stuck with me now."

"I'd hardly say 'stuck' Admiral, you're offering to help me" Finchley replied "and I'll be happy to down with your wife and discuss with her how I've found out how others cope with stress. Life is a constant learning curve, I don't think we ever stop, I know I certainly don't. The other day I learned from one of the engineers how to stop yourself being sick in a zero gravity suit when you're upside down on a toe line."

"Oh that certainly is a good skill to have." Wain chuckled. 'And I think we are beginning to understand each other. I will let Denise know about you as well. I am sure she can't wait to meet you."

Finchley clasped his hands ono the end of the bed "Well I think I ought o go just now Admiral, let you get your rest. Thanks for your time, I'm sure we'll speak again soon, and I look forward to hearing from your wife so we can have that chat."

"Yes before the nurses get angry at me." He smiled. "I will tell my wife to get in contact with you. I am glad that we worked it out, Finchley."

Finchley nodded, replying "Sir", turned and left.

TBC.