No One Left Behind

Posted on Thu Oct 15th, 2026 @ 6:10am by Lieutenant Commander Tate Sullivan Ph.D. & Lieutenant JG Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen [PPC] [Taylor

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Savar's Quarters, USS Elysium
4120 words - 8.2 OF Standard Post Measure

After learning Savar had been released from the brig, Tate knew she wanted to see him. This wasn't because she was especially close with him and it wasn't simply because she felt a professional obligation. Indeed, she could probably count on one hand the number of times she'd interacted with him personally, not because she wished to avoid him for any reason, but because he had never given her reason to single him out. He worked hard, worked well, and though she was his immediate supervisor, Tate was not the sort to micromanage people.

Even now, a part of her hesistated with whether to reach out. Tate didn't want Savar to think she was merely doing so out of a sense of obligation. Sullivan wasn't sure how she'd feel about a supervisor showing up at a personal low point without ever having built a personal connection before now. It was also true Sullivan didn't know how to feel about Savar's legal troubles. As ACC, she had to remain available to support all involved, and that included those who believed Savar was criminally responsible for his actions.

Ultimately, however, she couldn't bear the thought Savar would think she did not care about what he was going through. He was one of her people, and she wasn't about to ignore him at a time like this, especially because he didn't have many people he could confide in under the circumstances.

Tate decided it was up to her to reach out, and up to him how he responded.

She rang the doorchime decisively.

Savar was in the study of his and Alicia's cabin. he had tried to meditate but was unable to and that was unacceptable. Alicia was out for the moment so he was alone with his thoughts when the door chime rang. Curious as to who it could be, he could think of no one wanting to see him. He nonetheless went to the door, thinking it was someone looking for Alicia. As he released the door lock and the door slid open, he found himself looking at Lieutenant Commander Tate Sullivan. "Commander Sullivan." He managed to get out evenly, "I am sorry but Alicia is not here at the moment. She should return shortly."

"No need to apologize," Tate offered from the doorway good naturedly. "It was actually you I came to see, but I can come back if it's a bad time?"

Confusion swept across Savar's face before being replaced by gratitude. He took a step back from the doorway and stepped to one side, "No, it is not a bad time. Please come in and have a seat. May I get you something to drink?"

Tate entered and shook her head as she took the offered seat. “No, but thank you. I don’t wish to pry, but I imagine it would be an understatement to say what you’re going through is frightening, and I thought perhaps you could use someone to talk to or just someone to sit with who doesn’t require anything from you. I know you have a family who loves you very much, and who would do anything in the galaxy to spare you pain, but I can also imagine the weight of their worry, and your desire to shield them from pain is a lot to carry.“

Savar took a seat opposite her. For a moment he didn't speak he just sat there collecting his thoughts. Then he spoke, "You have defined the situation perfectly. Alicia is wonderful, she is most supportive and her love sustains me. She is quite upset over the trial and its outcome. N'vea and Connor are too young to understand, they are just happy their father is home. Soral knows but even he has trouble fully understanding and yes they would do anything to spare me pain. Unfortunately that is not possible. I worry for them especially Alicia and Soral." He paused for a moment. "I am a criminal, a disgrace. I have brought shame to them and all I wanted was to save three people which seems to have been overlooked during the trial." He looked directly at Tate. "I am not a coward nor am I bad officer yet I am afraid people do not see that."

“If it’s true there are people who see you as a coward and bad person, what does that mean?“ Tate asked quietly. She was perhaps violating her own intentions for the meeting, but she couldn’t resist asking him the same question she would ask any member of the crew struggling with their thoughts.

Savar fixed her with a stare for a heartbeat, perhaps two as silence filled the room. Then he spoke and to his credit his voice was even and calm. "I take it to mean I have lost the respect of those around me. Something I was proud of and worked hard to earn." He continued, "I will make this simple. "Do I still have your respect? Do you still view me the same way as you did before the trial and verdict?"

“The same? No,” Tate answered succinctly. “None of us are the same after everything we’ve been through, so if I did view you as the same person, I think it would only reveal how much I haven’t been paying attention. If you’re asking me what I see when I look at you, I see a man who faced an incredibly difficult situation that required him to make a decision in a split second, a decision that was going to come with awful consequences no matter what he chose. Anyone who thinks they know what they would do instantly in the same circumstance is privileged beyond their own comprehension.“

Savar was silent for several seconds thinking on Tate's words after a few seconds he replied. "I have great respect for you and your qualifications as a counselor, you show and a have natural ability to connect with your patients. Your answer while it addresses my question does not answer it. I was found guilty, I served time in the brig and I was demoted for my decision to save three other people. I was made an example. I fear my career as a counselor is over because of this. So, I ask again, do I have your respect?"

Tate wasn’t trying to be deliberately obtuse, and she understood what she was being asked and why. “You never lost it,” she offered simply. She let words and the sincerity of them speak for themselves before she eventually offered,“It seems the work you have before you is not figuring out who does and does not agree with your decisions or who does and does not respect you now, but whether you have lost respect for yourself, and if so, how you will know when you are ready to explore getting it back?“

Savar accepted Tate's statement in silence and that silence grew for several long seconds before he spoke again. "Thank you for your statement. You and Alicia are much alike. Though I do not know if either of you fully understand the enormity of what has occurred and what it entails personally to me. "I have been court martialed and found guilty. Served time in the brig, been demoted two ranks and placed on probation as well as removed from the profession I was quite capable in. I was a senior officer, now I am a junior one." He stopped as he gazed at Tate. "It is a lot to take in and deal with. All because I made decision others did not agree with. I wasn't just punished I was severely punished. I was made an example."

“This is a lot to take in, I agree. You’re going to need time to accept what has happened and there isn’t a way to shortcut that process,” Tate allowed. Of course, she also knew if he continued to think of himself as someone who was unfairly treated, it would not change his reality and only prevent him from moving forward. That, however, was a realization that was not meant for this moment, but for sometime down the road.

Savar locked eyes with Tate, "My education, my training and my years as a counselor have allowed me to realize my previous statement raises a red flag if not modified or removed, That it paints a poor self image of me moving forward, I also know you know that as well. However, it is where I find myself at the moment as I struggle with this new reality I find myself in." he tilted his head, "Did you know I have thought of changing or transferring out of counseling because of this verdict?"

“I didn’t,” Tate replied, “but I think it’s understandable and quite normal given the trauma you’ve been through to want to push it away and simultaneously seek to move in a new direction.”

Savar nodded at Tate's statement. "Yes but is it right? Does walking away signify I am giving up? I confess this a new and troublesome experience for me."

“What one person considers walking away, another person could simply see as changing direction,“ Tate replied. “There’s no question this experience has changed you. It will always be a part of you. Only you can decide whether the experience has diminished your love for our profession and your belief you still have something to offer as a counselor.“

"I still retain my passion and love for being a counselor however the decision has been effectively removed from my hands. The Commodore has removed me from the counseling department aboard the Elysium and had me reassigned to the Academy counseling department. In addition I will not leave Alicia and apply to be a counselor aboard another ship." Savar stated bluntly.

Phoenix's decision surprised Tate, but taking a moment to consider it, she offered, "It sounds like the Commodore is giving you the opportunity to face what you might be inclined to avoid, which might have harmed your mental health in the long-run. Your new position also allows you to still contribute to our profession in a meaningful way and remain with your family."

"Face what Commander? That I was court martialed, found guilty over a decision others disagreed with. I have faced that and accepted it to my deep shame. As for contributing to our profession I ask how? To face the cadets that humiliated me? That have no respect for me. As I stated earlier I will not leave my family." Savar replied his voice while still calm seemed colder.

"Savar," Tate replied patiently, refusing to match his formal tone in what she intended to be a conversation between peers, "I realize you have had to deal with a lot, but I refuse to believe you've lost the ability to see a situation from another's perspective or to consider how a situation can make another feel. I'm not asking you to agree with the cadets, I'm asking if you can understand how they felt."

Savar paused in his reply as he considered her words. After a few seconds he replied. "Tate." He said using her name. "You are correct. I have not lost the ability to see how the cadets feel. I know how they feel. They believe I abandoned them and that feeling is wrong. They failed their training, do they hold Captain Tonelly responsible? Why does it seem like no one understands how I feel or consider the situation from my perspective."

“Seeing a situation from one perspective does not prevent the same person from seeing the same situation from another,” Tate replied patiently. “Also, I did not realize it was your practice to assess whether someone else’s feelings are right or wrong. How do your other patients respond when you tell them what they feel is not right? If I were to tell you right now the anger and underlying hurt you are feeling is incorrect given the situation, do you think you could just stop feeling it? How would you feel toward me for saying so?“

Savar looked at her, "I have never told a patient their feelings were wrong or incorrect as you well know." he paused and grew quiet and said nothing for another several seconds before speaking quietly. "Thank you." He said simply and then further expanded on the statement. "Thank you for forcing me to face the situation and to assess it from multiple perspectives." He continued, "If you said that to me I would be greatly annoyed and find you to be highly presumptuous in your opinion."

Tate offered a chuckle. "Presumptuous and just a tad arrogant are good words." She let the good natured teasing win the moment before quietly adding, "and underneath that? I expect more than a bit of hurt too. It can be difficult to see past your own hurt sometimes, but a willingness to try to see another's goes a long way in earning the same in kind."

"I will try and yes it will be difficult." Savar admitted and went on. " However, I think the cadets feel vindicated they took down a senior officer and humiliated him. "There was no heat in his words just a cold acceptance of facts.

"Has anyone said that?" Tate asked.

"No." Savar admitted. "It is just an impression I got from them."

She didn’t point out his response wasn’t logical. She didn’t smile and leave him thinking his impression was amusing to her because it wasn’t. She knew he was being honest with her even as his honesty revealed blind spots as much as it revealed hurt..

She simply asked, “Are you open to the possibility your impression is wrong?”

Savar didn't rush an answer, he thought on the question Tate posed to him and after several seconds he replied. "I am willing to listen and entertain the possibility I am incorrect." He admitted.

"I think that's a good start," Tate allowed. "No one can be expected to see their own face clearly, Savar...not without a mirror and not while looking through a lens clouded by hurt. I'm not asking you to stop feeling any of it. I'm just asking you to allow room for more than just your own reflection, yeah?"

"Yes and I have previously stated that I am willing to listen and concede I am incorrect in my impression. Please proceed with making your point." Savar replied as he waited for Tate to begin her case that his impression of the cadets and how they feel is wrong.

Was he getting angry with her again? It was hard to tell just from his tone, but his words suggested a certain snark and impatience. Sullivan shrugged matter of factly. “That was my point. Given the circumstances, perhaps it would be beneficial to have a few sessions where you, me, and the cadets talk this through together? I can act as a mediator of sorts and help make sure all of you are hearing each other and not allowing your expectations to get in the way? If we do this, I’d like to meet with the cadets first one on one, just like I’m doing with you now to verify they would be open for such a meeting later.“

Savar locked his eyes on hers. His tone was glacial though his voice was calm. "How would it be beneficial? Would it reinstate me to the Elysium counseling department? Would it prevent my work from being reviewed like a first year cadet? Would my rank be restored? Would it give back the time I lost sitting in the brig? Would it restore the respect others had for me?" He continued. "You were not at the trial. You did not hear the accusations they made, you did not see how they looked at me nor did you hear how they cast innuendos on my character as well as being an officer." The hurt, the humiliation coming through with the words he used. "Everything I worked for to achieve in my career has been taken from me."

The hopelessness in his voice concerned her. She didn't expect him to reach a resolution to all he'd been through in a straight line or in a single conversation, but he was talking as if he had nothing and no one to live for, beyond his wife and family, who frankly, should never be given the responsibility of maintaining his mental health for the sake of their own. Sullivan needed to be direct, but also to take care. "Savar, I'm going to ask you something now, and I'd like you to take a beat before you answer, ok? You've been straight with me so far and I am not calling you a liar, but I know you understand the implications of what I'm asking better than most. Even so, I'm asking you not to think ten steps ahead and just speak from your heart. Are you thinking of hurting yourself?" She kept her gaze on him and hoped that some part of him understood why she was asking and that her intention was to address the part of him that was deeply hurt and lost, not the part of him that was trying to convince himself to move forward.

Savar to his credit listened to Tate and what she was asking and why she was asking. He did as she asked, he looked inward at what he had lost and what it meant to him. It had been important and he had taken great pride in what he had accomplished. He took a beat and then another and yet a third before he replied. His gaze direct on her, no lowering of the head or looking away. "I am hurt." He admitted simply but the pain was anything but simple. It infected every nerve and muscle in his body. "I have never experienced hurt like this before not to me personally. I have seen others who have been hurt like this and consoled them, this is different." He took a breath and spoke clearly, "I have no intention of hurting myself despite this situation. Does that answer your question Tate?"

“Yes,“ Tate replied, taking an extra moment or two to allow her heart to acknowledge what her head seemed to observe. She was genuinely relieved for his sake, but never wanted to leave the impression he had to withhold his feelings from this point forward because she also needed to be genuinely relieved for her own.

As such, she avoided something as simple as “I’m glad,“ and instead offered, “Should that ever change, I hope you know you can tell me and I won’t punish you for it.“ Sullivan decided to leave the thought there for the time being, understanding the importance of the message she needed to convey, not just because it was part of a clinical checklist, but because she needed it to land.

"I do know that and I appreciate you saying I can tell you if that should ever change. I know you would not punish me. It would go against your very nature of trying to help and overcome a potential harmful situation." He paused for a moment, "A personal observation if you please. "You are quite invested in helping your patients. Your care and concern shine through even as your words seek to help. It makes you the outstanding counselor you are."

“Thank you,“ Tate replied. She didn’t doubt his sincerity, and she was relieved he still had the capacity to understand why she had taken the approach she had. She also knew no matter how sincere the words truly were, complimenting her also served to take the focus off himself. “I too have a great deal of respect for you, and I am truly sorry if that was not made clear to you before now. I regret it has taken something so painful for us to connect like this, but now that we have done so, I hope it can continue, if not professionally, then personally. I do not know what the future holds for you, but it is my wish that you receive the right support and the right person to talk to without feeling pressure to make any major decisions right now. I am sorry i if you ever felt as if you were expected to simply move on from this as if nothing happened. That is not the message. I am intending to send.“

"The future." Savar repeated, "Is the unknown country. It lies unexplored. I too have no idea what lies ahead." He replied before lapsing into silence. While he had great respect for Tate, what bothered him was no one put themselves in his place and saw the situation from his point of view. he spoke again, "Decisions? Any decisions I may have had have already been made. I had no part in them." He had no wish to rehash the verdict and Commodore Lalor's decree. "I was not simply punished, I was castrated, made an example. As for support, I have Alicia." He stated simply. "But it is the support of a wife for her husband and that is not a criticism, it is a fact. I would like us to remain in touch, I am not sure in what capacity yet but I do understand that speaking with you has made me realize there is much I had not considered."

“Would you consider seeking your own counselor?“ Tate asked. “Given the circumstances, it would be best for you to work with someone regularly who is not or was ever a colleague from your own department, though I realize logistically, that could be tricky. Any one of us are prepared to help each other in a crisis when outside help is not readily available, but ethically speaking, and for your own comfort, I would understand if you would much prefer anything other than having one of us be your therapist, excluding your wife, most clearly, of course.“

Savar considered Tate's question before replying. He wouldn't ask Alicia, she was already heavily invested in this as his wife. He gave a brief nod and spoke. "One of the most important components in counselor-client sessions is trust. Trust from the client that the counselor is doing all they can to provide a beneficial resolution to the issue the client is seeing them for and also trust from the counselor that the client truly wants to get better and move past whatever the issue was to have them seek out a counselor in the first place. I trust Alicia implicitly. I also trust you Tate and if we decide that it is mutually beneficial for these sessions to continue then I would like to continue to see you."

Tate nodded and offered, "I believe we can make that work in a way that meets your needs without compromising your care or both of our roles. I recognize given our current situation, it's not as if an outside counselor is readily available, but under the circumstances, I think it's better for you to have a counselor to work with, no matter how tricky the relationships may be, than no one at all. Also, please know the trickiness of it is on me to manage, not you. That's why they pay me all the big credits and don't make me go to senior staff meetings," she added with a grin.

Savar sat in somber silence as Tate spoke about him continuing to see a counselor, namely her. When she had finished and even made a small joke he replied. 'I concur in your reasoning and line of thought. Yes, you get paid big credits to listen to me while I get sent to teach school. Our respective value to our field varies a great deal and it is based in no small part our importance and what we contribute." He paused. "As for not going to senior staff meetings you have no idea just how fortunate you are to be able to do so. Be thankful for small favors." He concluded.

Tate chuckled. "Oh, I am thankful most days. Other days I think it would be fun to be a fly on the wall or sitting at the table eating some popcorn." The reference to their importance and contributions didn't escape her notice, but she didn't hear the same degree of sadness. "Let's set something up in a few days." She smiled, then added, "If you don't reach out, remember I know where you live."