An Understanding Between Officers (And Friends)

Posted on Thu Sep 13th, 2018 @ 10:35am by Commander Isabella dei`Silvisi & Captain Alistar McKeon

1,642 words; about a 8 minute read

The Endeavour was underway once more, and for Isabella it meant that the next step in recovering their missing crew would soon become a reality. It was a good thing, since morale among the crew had risen slightly since the announcement had been made, but at the same time there had been a small worry that had plagued her thoughts. Finding the time to address the concern hadn't been the problem, but rather the fact that she wasn't sure how to address it. It was for that reason that Isabella found herself outside the captain's quarters late in the evening, fretting over whether or not she should bring these concerns up or let them go. Her courage finally strengthened enough for her to reach out and touch the door chime on the control panel.

Alistar was sitting on the couch in his quarters, eyes closed as he quietly strummed one of his guitars. It was an acoustic, one that was just slightly out of tune and almost in need of new strings, but it still sounded good enough for his purposes. The crew had picked up on the fact that the Endeavour was on her way to begin hunting down their missing crew and the fiery resolution to do so was clear in the faces of everyone on board. The crew hadn't taken the capture of their crew mates very well, and it had been nice to give them some good news for once. The door chime rang out suddenly, breaking into his thoughts and the soft muted b note he had been strumming turned sharp as he stopped suddenly and stood. Setting the guitar down, he wondered who it could be. "Enter," he said as he turned towards the door.

The doors opened and Isabella hesitated before she took two steps into the captain's quarters. Stopping just inside, she paused as her eyes adjusted to the dim, almost totally dark, room. Seeing the captain standing beside the couch, she nodded her head and clasped her hands behind her back. "Captain, I know it's late, but I had a concern that I wanted to discuss with you. I can speak to you about this tomorrow, if you want," she said.

"No, no, it's fine," Alistar said as he waved her concern away. "Computer, raise lighting to standard level." As the lights brightened to the normal illumination setting, he waved for her to sit down. "What troubles you, Commander?"

"It's our being assigned to rescue our missing crew members," Isabella replied as she sat down. "Sir, I must honestly ask if we're the best suited or currently qualified star ship to handle this situation."

"Ah, time to play devil's advocate, Miss Silvisi?" Alistar said with a humorless smile as he sat back down and faced her. "Let me guess, the concern is that we're too personally involved."

"That's precisely the focal point of my concern," Isabella said with a slight nod. "Sir, most of the crew whom were taken from Science Station D-5 were original members of the Endeavour crew, officers and enlisted crew who came with us from our original timeline. Those are the crew that you've taken to having more of a personal interest in than normal. I'm not saying that that's a bad thing, but I'm concerned that in this case, your judgement may become unstable because of the personal attachment."

"You don't think I'll be able to remain emotionally detached from the mission objective," Alistar said, making it a statement rather than a question. He nodded. It was a valid concern, and one that he himself had considered. "Isabella, I have to be honest. I'm one hundred percent sure that I can't make this personal. And for more than one reason."

"Your personal relationship based attachment to Lieutenant Val," Isabella replied, pointing out the largest concern that had been bothering her. It was no secret that the captain had started to develop a relationship with the science officer before her abduction, just as it was no secret what Ferengi, slavers, and pirates did to attractive women they kidnapped. The thought of the captain throwing his command into a hopeless situation for one reason or another was enough to keep her awake late at night, but knowing that some thing bad could have already happened and then the crew finding out was a waking nightmare. She had seen the captain come close to the edge before, and she knew that if something had happened to Lieutenant Val, he might very well go over that edge. Her concern was whether or not he took his crew with him.

"Sir, my concern isn't your ability to remain professional enough to carry out the mission, but rather or not you can remain objective to our orders and not make this completely and entirely personal. Our concern as command officers is to the safety of the crew we command. I know, everyone knows, that we may very well be heading into a fight, but I want to make sure that if we do end up in a fight we can trust and count on you to remain focused on the mission and not make it a personal agenda that puts me in a position where I may have to question my own captain's actions or even his motives," she said.

Alistar was quiet for a long time. He knew that her concern was a valid one, just as he knew his own temper and he knew that it was most likely going to be impossible for him to not get personally involved or not get wrapped up in the mission. It was almost too far gone for that. "Commander, I can't promise that I can remain emotionally detached. All I can do is promise that I'll try my best not to go down the path of the dark side. I don't want to make it personal, but at the same time I damned well can't say that I won't. It's not just the fact that Elan and I are involved, but that she and the others are crew who I consider to be all the family I have left. There's no way to not make it personal."

Isabella nodded her understanding and her agreement. She said nothing for several minutes, knowing that they were both right, and it made her feel unwell for what she knew that had to be said next. "Sir, if at any time I feel that you can't remain objective to the mission and well being of the crew aboard this ship, I'm bound by my oath as the executive officer assigned to the Endeavour to relieve you of command. I'd rather this didn't happen, because I don't want anything to come between us as colleagues and as friends. But my first concern is to this ship and her crew, and to that end, as the needs of the many may have to out-weigh the needs of the few or the one, I will do what I must in order to protect the crew still on board this ship," she finally said in a quiet, tightly control voice that threatened to break at any time. She felt ashamed to have to speak the words, and she felt as if saying them would bring her to tears.

"Commander....Isabella, nothing will come between our friendship or our professional relationship," Alistar said slowly and quietly. "I know how hard it is to have to choose, and if it comes down to you having to choose, I would rather you pick the right path, make the correct choice, and know that you've done the right thing. Sometimes, that's all we have and all we can do. If the choice you make is the right one, even if you hate it for the rest of your life, then make it. Because you're right. The ship and crew should come first, and I know that I may not be able to keep a level head. But I'm going to try. Possibly fail, but I will try. If I fail to do that, and it comes down to it, I want you to promise me one thing," Alistar said. Pausing, he nodded. "Promise me that if I step outside my duties as commanding officer, you won't hesitate to do what needs to be done."

"You have my word, and my thanks for your understanding," Isabella said, wiping the few tears that had escaped away.

"Isabella, I've had to make the same choice. It's never easy standing up to a friend and colleague and taking the opposite side from them, but sometimes, we have no choice. If you make what you believe is the right choice, I'll always respect you for that. And I hope I can always call you a friend, even if we do end up at loggerheads," Alistar said.

Isabella nodded, afraid to speak. Words sometimes simply failed her, and her emotions were far too unstable for her to trust her voice. It took a moment or two before she managed to regain her full composure enough for her to speak. "I hope I never have to make that choice, but I'm glad to serve under a captain who understands my situation," she said as she stood. "For that, thank you."

"You're welcome commander," Alistar said as he stood and nodded. "Was that all?"

"Yes, Sir," Isabella said with a nod. "Thank you, Sir." Giving her commanding officer a faint smile and a nod, she started across the room and out into the corridor, feeling much better leaving than she had felt when she arrived. Simply knowing that he understood where she stood and the reasons why made her feel ready to face whatever the future held for the Endeavour.

Captain Alistar McKeon
Commanding officer

&

Commander Isabella dei`Silvisi
Executive Officer
Chief Science Officer

RSS Feed