Line In The Sand

Posted on Sun Mar 13th, 2022 @ 4:22pm by Captain Bethsabée Leroux & Lieutenant Samantha Leyton

Mission: Mission 5 - Babel
Location: Deck E - Mess Hall
Timeline: Day 280 - 19:00
1048 words - 2.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Beth waited for everyone to leave properly before she turned to Sam and held out the cookies to her. They were going through turmoil but this had to end here and now, Sam and she needed to establish something, or it was going to destroy the ship and everyone on it.

“Want to talk?” Beth asked in Spanish thinking they could start there before her discussion moved to the fact they needed to point and decide on the second officer. It was something they needed to establish. It would have been easy nine months ago before Sloan had become what he had, or when Nascimento was awake as they had the experience and expertise, but they were left with two options the Chief Medical Officer or Chief Armoury Officer. Beth was wanting Gerhard as she knew something that everyone else did not know about Avira and with the situation, with her being an exchange officer it would become complicated when they just did not need complicated right now.

"Yes, I believe we should," Samantha replied, taking a cookie from the offered plate. "So, who are you thinking of for the position of Second Officer?" she took a bite of the cookie. It had seemed for the past several weeks, she and the captain had been on the opposite ends of the spectrum on decisions.

Beth looked around quickly to make sure they were truly alone before she spoke up resisting the urge to take another cookie. She was developing quite a sweet tooth at the moment. "Gerhard. In my mind, he is the only option at the moment. Stenn and The doctor are not best placed for the position with their uniqueness in the crew," Beth would have considered them but both being technically non-Earth Starfleet and having their own positions and troubles at the moment it was not an option for her. It would be taking from the crew rather than adding.

Finishing swallowing the piece of cookie she ate, Samantha nodded after a moment of thinking of any other possible decisions for a Second Officer. Sloan was too much of an unknown still and although plenty of experience, Kyle wasn't a line officer, and then Darru wasn't a member of Starfleet, so he was out of consideration. "I'd have to agree. Gerhard makes the best choice."

Beth did not want to say that he was the only choice as it took so much away from the skills that Willian Gerhard had but he was the only person that met the criteria in Beth's mind. "He is but I wanted to confirm that we are both on the same wavelength around it," Beth said firmly as she thought about the fact they needed that person to help run the ship. "I will talk to him before we head down to the planet."

"On that at least, we agree, ma'am," Samantha replied. She thought back to when the captain had chosen her as the Second Officer, she hadn't really wanted the job, preferring to just focus on piloting the ship instead. However, with their situation, everyone had to rise above what they were comfortable with and take on new roles and assignments for the good of the ship.

"Are you going to be okay up here?" Beth asked. She knew that there would be Lexi and Cristobal would be there, but it was just not the same as her being there.

Samantha nodded. "I'll be fine captain. We're not going anywhere, literally," she joked.

The woman smiled faintly and nodded, she had a point. "Well, I will be getting ready to return to the surface then," Beth said picking up another cookie to tide her over until she could eat something better.

Samantha nodded. As she watched the woman, she knew she needed to come clean and that they had to clear the air in order to be a more effective command team. "Captain, before you go. I want to say that I apologize for not being more supportive and more along the same lines like you."

Beth turned and looked at the woman carefully deciding whether to sit down or stand. She chose to sit down. "I appreciate the apology Sam but I think you need to think about a few things. You are angry at me because you think I allowed Aurelius to die but he made his choice. Aurelius chose to go back over the ship despite being chosen... He went over to the ship." She knew why the woman was mad at her because she was alive and he was not. Easier to be mad at the living than the dead. "I could not just burn the ship down without investigating and I will always choose peace over violence if I have a choice. It is what Earth Starfleet was built on and what I hope they continue building without us."

Samantha nodded, though she never wished Beth dead. She had seen too many of their crew die so far. If they didn't start changing tactics, there wouldn't be much of a crew left to get home, if at all.

"I knew the man for a very long time and I know he would do the same." She did not say it in a way that was you hardly knew him and I did but simply that the man would have thought peace over violence. "You gave the makings of a good Executive Officer why I choose you but you need to think with your head not heart quite so often. He does not define your future, no one does." Beth said simply leaning over to squeeze her hand tightly. "Use this as the line in the sand."

"I will, Captain," she replied, looking at the woman. "However, we do need to start changing our approach to situations. We can't afford to lose much more crew."

"But we also cannot afford to lose who we are. We have lost way more crew than the enterprise did in its first year." Beth said with a small smile as she walked. They had both gotten it off their chest what needed to be said there would be more time for discussion another time.

"Of course," Samantha replied simply. "I'll be on the bridge. Good luck, Captain."