Its done!

Posted on Thu Apr 15, 2021 @ 10:29am by Commander Ajani Carter & Lieutenant Commander Dr. Elisabet Intarrah Ph.D MD & Lieutenant JG Maximillian Schott & Lieutenant Sibyl Danzer & Ensign Theo McDonnell

Mission: Episode 3: Dark Tides
Location: High bay Lounge
Timeline: just 1 week after launch
1333 words - 2.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Commander Ajani Carter stood at the large picture windows that were the focal point of the lounge. They had remained undamaged during the battle but even here should could see the ruptured and buckled hull plating on the hull below, the damage to the flight deck was considerable. Flickering blue forcefields covered those areas, she could even see movement under those fields, repair crews doing what they could, the bulk of the work would be done at the Illiran ship yards, for now they were just trying to keep all the systems working long enough to get there.

She hadn't moved in more than an hour, lost in her thoughts she had lost track of time. Thus she wasn't paying attention as her remaining senior staff filed into the room. They were still at warp but they would be dropping to normal space soon.

She had lost her XO, he was in sickbay and might not recover. Her tactical chief had died near the end of the battle, his console had exploded throwing him into the bulkhead. He died in an instant. The Chief of Engineering had also been injured, although before the battle he had been thrown from the bio bed, he might not recover either. The senior member of the medical staff was a junior nurse. Jak was also in sickbay, he would recover and would be back on duty in a few days at most.

Lise walked in and approached Ajani from behind. "Don't fear death." She said as simply and bluntly as ever. "We pretend we have the capability of understanding everything with science. But if it was that easy, then science would be a god. I do not see that happening." She mentioned. "You did not fail anyone, Commander."

Ajani shrugged. "That helps Lise" she said at length, "But i don't think i will come to terms with our losses for a while, its different when someone dies under your command." She turned away from the window and smiled a genuinely warm smile and put a hand on her arm. "Thank you." She went to the bar and ordered a hot coffee. She returned to the windows and Lise.

Max walked into the lounge with his newfound friends. He and his roommate, an engineer on the ship named Goban, were flanking Kanani, a counselor, who talked melodically from between them. She was drawing her hands through the air as she talked in a way that to Max made it look like she was moving underwater. Goban hunched his shoulders as Max had started to realize was his way of pretending he wasn't paying attention.

"...and that was just our second year at the Academy. I could go on and on," Kanani smiled at Max, then looked at Goban, "but I won't."

Max noticed the captain with a woman he hadn't met yet by the windows. He wasn't sure if he should avoid them, or walk up to them. Every ship's commander had a different attitude when it came to their off-duty time, and he had made a bit of a fool of himself when he appeared on the bridge initially.

Kanani moved directly next to him, "Trying to decide if you should say hi?"

"Yeah."

"Do it," she said at the same time as Goban grumbled, "Don't."

Kanani looked at Goban, who mumbled something about getting them drinks and a table. Kanani hooked her arm around Max's and started toward the windows. Max pulled back a bit but felt the counselor tighten her grip and drag him along, while from the outside it appeared as if he was going of his own volition.

"What are you doing?" Max whispered as they got closer.

"You're fine," Kanani intoned.

Max looked over his shoulder at Goban who raised a glass toward him as if watching someone walk the gallows.

Max stumbled as Kanani halted their movement, "Ajani, Lise, lovely to see you both. Sorry to interrupt, have you met our new pilot, Max?"

"Flyboys are universal. Meet one and you've met them all." Lise smirked.

Carter raised and eye brow in a very Vulcan manner, "they we are. I flew for years before heading down command." she winked "And i have high standards when it comes to my pilots"

After the most difficult initial shifts of his life, Theo walked into the lounge, and went straight to the replicator for a coffee. Taking his coffee out of the replicator, he approached the captain and smiled. "Hi Captain, I don't think we've had the chance to meet yet, I'm Ensign Theo McDonnell, great to meet you"

She greeted him warmly, "Welcome to the Eagle Ensign, I am glad to see that you came through the hostilities unharmed." The Young Nurse was right out of the academy, and was already thrust into a position of leadership.

Smiling, although he knew his exhaustion was evident, Theo said "Thank you ma'am"

A dark woman in tactical gold stood back and observed the interactions of the various personalities. She knew she needed to make the acquaintance of the senior staff— or what was left of it— since her department head had died in action. But she'd spent more time on the mission working graveyard shift and putting in advising reports, such that she had been next to invisible and besides that, only just recently joined on their last stop over, leaving her feeling alien to the crew. But she wasn't one to leave a vacuum unfilled. when the conversation lulled she eased her way into the knot of crewmembers forming around the captain and made her introduction addressing Captain Carter in particular, but more generally to those in her company as well. "I'm Lieutenant Danzer, from Tactical. I was just recently reassigned to the Eagle. I'm sorry I haven't gotten to know everyone yet."

Max raised a hand in greeting, "Max. Lieutenant Schott, that is. Conn. Also new," he tried to straighten out what he was saying, he did not succeed, "I guess we'll, uh, be working together, so to speak? I mean, I know we all work together, but, you know, conn and tactical. Zoom. Pew pew. Right?" He looked around for a sympathetic face.

The Conn Officer's happiness was infectious and Sibyl relaxed a little. Maybe getting to know everyone wasn't going to present such a difficultly. She suppressed a smile but dead-panned a rider onto Schott's enthusiastic greeting. "I... call shotgun."

"Personnel Division is beginning to worry a quarter of the crew have been casualties in our recent engagement. And another quarter was transferred with little explaination." Lise mentioned.

Sybil found the mood dampened back down again and quieted to show the appropriate gravitas. She wondered a little at Dr. Granger's particular personality. Often times engineers and scientists had the kind of mousy or anxious flavor that befitted laboratory life. To Sybil's innate empathic sense, Granger didn't seem anxious about the deaths, however, only plainly spoken. "It would be disconcerting to anyone. But I imagine those of us who remain will rise to the challenge."

"We will" Carter said aloud, turning to face her crew "We will, and we will become stronger for it. We have lost friends but they will never truly be gone as long as we remember them." She raised her glass "To the fallen" she said making a toast.

"I can drink to that." Sybil raised her glass, "Or at least, I'm certain that even though I didn't know them well, I can strive to do their memory honor, and I'm sure that the Federation will bear the mark of their service long beyond the grave. Cosmic winds be ever at their backs."

Theo raised his cup in silence, tears beginning to well from all of the emotions around him.

It would be a long road to recovery for them all, but they are a strong crew and recover they would. They were close to the Illiran system and much needed RnR and repair docks for the Eagle.