SD241909.29 || Joint Log || "Firsts"

Posted on 29 Sep 2019 @ 10:00pm by Captain Mallory Thorne & Lieutenant Quinle Rahl

1,151 words; about a 6 minute read

=/\= Begin Log =/\=

It was like a revolving door up here...

There was another chime going off at the door of the ready room, and Mallory was tempted to not answer it. After the CAG had left, leaving Mal with a swamp of emotions over what had just happened, and the CSci had left, leaving her with a shred of hope as well as a PADD full of scientific data... Well. The captain's head was swimming and stuffed, and she wanted a moment of quiet.

That was not, however, the life of a starship captain. Especially not on in a crisis.

"Enter," she called wearily.

Quinle walked into the room, her uniform impeccable and her hair twisted up in an ornate creation with a silver pin holding it in place. "Captain," she said easily and stood just inside the entrance of the room.

It took the captain a few moments to figure out who this was. There were literally hundreds of crewmen on the ship and she hadn't met all of them. But the teal collar, and the timing, suggested... "Counselor?"

"Yes, Junior Lieutenant Quinle Rhal, ma'am." Stepping into the room further, "I have tried not to intrude as you all have been busy, but it seemed an appropriate time to introduce myself and make myself available to you." Her slightly aristocratic look looked softer as she tipped her head, almost black eyes taking in the captain and the work she had before her currently.

"Indeed," Mal said carefully. "Let me guess... News of Lieutenant Malena has drifted down."

A short nod as the door closed behind her. "I have been following the news fairly closely so I can be a step ahead of places I may be of best use for the crew. Right now, I believe that is here."

The captain nodded and sighed heavily. "Might as well have a seat, Counselor," she said, waving at a chair in front of her desk. "I can't imagine things are very easy in your department either, with Wallace-Shaw missing." Mal walked over to the replicator, glad that it was still working. "Something to drink?"

"Tea, please. I am likely going to be needed at any moment," she said simply and moved to take the chair that was indicated. "We are doing the best we can, as everyone is right now, I will not complain until the burden is unfair." The words were said with a dry humor only belied by a twinkle in the Trill's eyes.

"Indeed," Mal agreed wryly. She replicated tea and coffee, bringing the tea to the counselor before sitting down with her coffee. She took a sip almost immediately and it burned her mouth, but she didn't really care at that moment. After a pause, she said, "I'm not really sure what to occupy you with at the moment, Counselor. I'm still not entirely sure I've even processed what happened."

“Shall we talk about what happened and that might help you process it? Maybe working through it this way I can help a little.” Quinle blew across the top of her tea, her look understanding and soft as she relaxed into the chair.

Mal managed to restrain her grimace and was glad this woman wasn't a Betazoid. (The spots were a giveaway.) "We are still trying to understand what happened. Lieutenant Malena was outside of the ship on an EVA mission to try to gain access to an Earth satellite. Space junk of some sort hit her, damaged her suit, and sent her off into space. The shuttle was also damaged and Commander Jackson barely got it back to the ship."

Quinle kept her fingers wrapped around the mug, her dark eyes taking in the captain as she spoke. Normally, she schooled her emotions but in this instance she gave into the grimace the captain had not allowed herself and she shook her head. “A horrible thing to have happened, but we are at a disadvantage with where we are and likely to be for a time. We are going to need to take some measures that put all of us at a place our training never anticipated. That was a fairly brilliant suggestion to try and do that though, not something many would have thought of. Was it Lieutenant Malena’s idea?”

To that, Mal had to think back to the staff briefing. "In part, yes," she said thoughtfully. "I asked if there was any way to take over one of this Earth's satellites without alerting them. She said it had to be done at the physical object, and that was her suggestion for doing so." The captain sighed heavily.

"A brave and dangerous idea that she gave her best to. We can not control the confines of space or all that floats there, especially as limited as we are in our current capabilities." The words were honest, not trying to convince the captain to not feel as she did but highlighting the achievement of Malena trying something others likely would not.

"I know..." Mallory said quietly, looking into her own mug. "She accepted the risks. It's life in Starfleet. It doesn't make it any less painful, though, does it?" She pursed her lips slightly as she lifted her eyes to the counselor. "This is the first officer I have lost under my command as a captain."

Quinle met her eyes easily, a softness there with the last admission. "I wish I could lie and say that it will be the last, but I hope it will. Loss is never easy and when you have an added feeling of responsibility for a person, it weighs on you. I think when they talk about the weight of command they do not tell you that this will be an invisible one that hugs your shoulders. We all deal with loss differently, so I cannot I understand how you are feeling, but know that I do empathize with you over it."

Mallory nodded a little and sipped her coffee. "I wish we had time to deal with this all properly," she commented quietly after a moment. "I don't even have long to talk to you now." Her smile was without humor. "But I, ah, appreciate you coming up here."

Finishing the mug of tea she held, Quinle nodded. "We will deal with it in the time we are allowed. It is not like I am planning on going anywhere in the next foreseeable future so we can talk later when you need." The counselor stood and took the mug over to the replicator, placing it next to the machine, "As I know a dismissal when I hear one, even a gentle one, I do have others to locate and talk to. Please reach out to me anytime, Captain."

"Of course, Counselor," Mal said with a rueful smile. "I'm sure you'll be hearing from plenty of us soon enough.

=/\= End Log =/\=

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