Another line in her diary

Posted on Wed Jul 23rd, 2025 @ 9:16pm by Captain Bethsabée Leroux

Mission: Remnant
Location: Captains Quarters
Timeline: Day 41
514 words - 1 OF Standard Post Measure

Beth stood under the shower, feeling the water pounding against her skin in a way that was almost satisfying as she scrubbed the dust and grime of the planet below from her body. It had been a success, perhaps only a small one, but a success nonetheless, one that had bought them a little more time.

These were the moments when she most wished she had someone to talk to about what it meant to be Captain. Michael would have been that person once, the one she could have leaned on. But with each passing day, it seemed increasingly unlikely that he would return. That left her alone, with a child to raise and the prospect of an increasingly solitary future.

She leaned her head wearily against the cool cubicle wall, letting the water cascade over her until it turned cold. That, she told herself, was her signal to get out. Even if the cool water felt good on her skin after the warm temperature, on the planet.

It did not take long to dry off, dress, and swing herself into the desk office chair in her quarters in her comfy fraying t-shirt and jogging bottoms. She began scrolling through the tickets and reports that had accumulated during her time on the planet. Room reallocations. Departmental daily summaries. Hydroponic power usage statistics. All of it blurred together into a monotonous stream of responsibility. She knew William would have handled it, and her gaze was only a double check, but nothing was jumping out at her there and then.

She should have felt pleased about the fuel reserves they had found. She should have felt a sense of relief, even satisfaction, at the small victory. Instead, the feeling that settled in her chest was hollow. The success felt as empty as the expanse of space outside her window. She needed to find a way to make the ship less reliant on fuel. Better yet, they needed a system that could recycle what they already had, make it reusable somehow. How, she had no idea. Engineering had never been her forte, obviously, but she had some of the brightest minds aboard, the finest two universes’ Earth Starfleet had ever produced. Surely one of them could devise a way to make the ship’s fuel supply renewable.

Pulling her chair closer to the console, she quickly opened her diary and typed a short note. It was a reminder to revisit the matter in a few days, once the dust had settled and the mundane routines of day-to-day life had resumed. She would speak to William first; he had the kind of strategic mind that could assess possibilities, and he knew when and where to keep her grounded, then bring the engineers and scientists into the discussion.

Beth sat back, reading over her brief entry with a faint smile. It was simple enough to avoid drawing any attention. Nothing that would alarm her yeoman or hint at anything beyond the ordinary churn of her responsibilities. Just another line in her diary, quietly holding the weight of the future.