Cast thy Humble Slough

Posted on Tue Aug 20, 2019 @ 3:47am by Lieutenant Cassandra Kennings

1,060 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Plaga Navis
Location: Alec's Ready Room

Cassandra waited patiently for the call to enter. One ring of the chime was all she was going to give, for now, but silence would be met with a more forceful greeting if necessary.

"Enter." Just a single word nothing more.

The doors opened and she stepped in, hands clasped behind her back. "Hello, Captain," she said.

Alec looked at her, he was sitting on the couch. "Commander," he corrected

"It's naval tradition," she reminded him. "Captain Kennit is gone until we locate her. Until such time, you are now in charge of the Victory." She sat down on the couch next to him and crossed her legs. "And the Sword of Damocles now hangs securely over your head. No pressure." She gave him a small smile.

"Right. No pressure," he repeated. he looked at her. "I want her back, Cass," he said softly but there was no denying the emotion in the voice.

She gave him a smile with much more sympathy. "I know. And we will get her back. Everyone's working nonstop to determine where she could have gone. Unfortunately, with no trail to follow, we're starting from scratch. However, every available resource is being employed."

Alec gave a wan smile. "I know. I just want her back where she's safe," he replied softly. "They're a good crew. I know they are doing everything they can to find Rhea...er Captain Kennit." He paused and continued in a more forceful tone. "I'd like to kill whoever took her. Not a very Captain thing to say, is it?"

She tugged at a lock of robin's egg blue hair self-consciously. "Given Captain Kennit's inclinations, I'd say it's pretty much on par." She adjusted her uniform and sat back. "You are now in the unenviable position of having to wait while everyone else scrambles. It's a difficult job, but I believe you are up to it."

"Then I'm in excellent company." Alec replied. "I'd walk through the fires of hell for Rhea, give my life for her, and all I want right now is to have her back." He locked eyes with her, "We'll find her. No one just vanishes. There's always a trail no matter how small. At least I keep telling myself that." He nodded thanks for the vote of confidence.

Cassandra smiled at the sentiment and gave him a serious look. "I would be inclined to agree," she said. "And I agree time is of the essence. I mean, if she's in their clutches too long, who knows what might happen? She could seriously injure several of them." She gave a wry smile.

He was about to say he didn't give a damn about what Rhea did to her kidnappers but he saw her wry smile. "That would be a shame," he agreed, in the same tone she used. "However, as pleasing as that thought is that Rhea tears them limb from limb, I don't think they are taking any chances with her. They probably have her restrained in the strongest restraints they could find." He looked at her, "I never wanted to be Captain, not like this, but I'll do whatever needs to be done to get Rhea back safely."

"To paraphrase Shakespeare, some have power thrust upon them. I know of another young First Officer who found herself suddenly in command when her CO up and vanished with a citizen of that other universe. She was terrified of her sudden promotion, but she grew into it. I've no doubt you will as well. However, you need to establish a course of action, and you need to project authority. In here, with me, you can have whatever doubts or reservations you wish. Outside those doors," she gestured to the bridge, "you are the no longer weathering the storm, you are the storm."

"I appreciate your confidence Cass." Alec replied even if he wasn't sure he shared it. "I understand what your saying. I can't be unsure in both what I say or do. Confidence even if I'm not sure what I'm doing is right." He shook his head, "Did the other First Officer have doubts? Cause I do. I worry I'll miss something important and that will keep the Captain in that bastard Torrance's hands another minute." Alec's voice was level but there was no denying his anger.

Despite the mood, Cassandra smiled. "She was nothing but doubts. At first. She second-guessed herself on almost everything. Finally though, she learned that it wasn't about the decisions, it was about the result. If she was going to succeed, then the right decision was the one that got her to that goal. Once she knew what the goal was, the rest fell into place. Our goal is finding the Captain. Starfleet is sending someone from Intelligence to help with that. We have sensors going full blast, and there are already two ships scanning the area. If you spend any more time thinking over this, make sure you're thinking about solutions, not the problem."

"The solution is getting the Captain back quickly and safely." Alec answered his voice firm and resolute. "Nothing and no one is going to stop me from achieving that goal. As for thinking it over. I spend every second of every day thinking it over."

"Well then I would suggest you give that a rest and attend to some of the duties you're now responsible for. You have paperwork that I'm sure requires your attention, and I believe Professor Anderson wants to give an update on his latest work with the virus. There's reports for Starfleet, and you'll need to discuss with Commander Torres your needs for him as your XO while you're in command. Work doesn't wait for our worries, after all."

"True enough Cass." Alec agreed readily. "Okay, I'll deal with the paperwork and the reports. Then meet with Professor Anderson at some point as well as talk to Miguel about being my XO. However the main objective, goal remains the same. That is to locate and return Captain Kennit safely to the Victory, where she belongs." He looked at her, "Thank you for this talk. My door is open any time you feel I need a reminder on my duties."

"As is mine," she said, standing and nodding to him. "Good day, Captain," she said, leaving the ready room.

 

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