Checking In

Posted on Tue Aug 16th, 2022 @ 4:36pm by Lieutenant Commander William Rogers & Captain Abigail Laurens

With two bottles of water in hand, Abigail moved through the antechamber of the temple. With her resolve feeling somewhat strengthened by her conversations with Dirk, she had made the decision that she needed to check on her crew, to make sure they were doing okay. As she approached Rogers, she placed a hand on his arm before handing the bottle of water across to him. "Make sure you stay hydrated," she said gently. "The humidity can really take it out of you." She studied his face carefully for a moment before she spoke again, her voice filled with genuine concern. "How are you holding up?"

Rogers started slightly at the touch, jerked back to attention. He nodded gratefully as he took the bottle. It was downed quickly, three quarters of it drained in one go, the rest tipped over his bowed head. "I'm.." He looked down at the bottle in his hand. It looked very small. "This whole thing reminds me of the Eugenics Wars. Figure it's good I'm not enjoying it so much this time around."

"I don't think anyone is enjoying this," Abigail said quietly with a quick glance around the room. "Except maybe the Koldarans, but I think their enjoyment is more just blank acceptance and conditioning rather than enjoyment." She sighed. "You're leading one of the strike teams, are you ready for deployment? Is there anything else you need?"

"There's a plan and enough gear to pull it off." He shrugged. "Not that plans matter much after contact with the enemy. Engineering have given me a little ace in the hole, just in case." Rogers hesitated, not really wanting to bring the matter up but aware from past experience that the matter needed to be addressed. "The non Astraea members of my team, have they been told...do they know what I am? Or is that something I'm going to have to address?"

Abigail shook her head slightly. "You're a valued member of my crew," she said calmly. "Anything beyond that..." she gave a slight shrug. "If you want to tell people you can, but I don't know how necessary it is. I'll leave that at your discretion," she finished.

"You've been great about it, but Starfleet as a whole?" Rogers chuckled ruefully and shook his head. "Better to get it clear off the bat so I don't have to worry about anyone getting bent out of shape over it in the middle of an opp."

Abigail sighed with resignation. There was some logic to what he was saying. "Under normal circumstances I'd say if anyone has a problem they can take it up with me..." she said with a shake of her head. "That luxury doesn't really apply out here does it?"

"Not even close, Cap. At least we can put the people that don't want to work with me to better use elsewhere." Rogers laughed. Less strained. Closer to his usual boisterous self. "I won't even take it personal."

The dark haired woman visibly bristled at a remark she took as a slight. "Anyone who doesn't want to work with you will be dealing with me," she stated firmly. "I don't care about personal feelings, if they can't act respectfully toward a fellow member of Starfleet and a very valued member of my crew I will have something to say about it." Her tone was fiercely protective as she spoke. "I don't care what situation we are in. You will be treated with respect."

"Appreciate that." Rogers tried to offer up a conciliatory smile to his commanding officer. "Have you served on a lot of battlefields?"

"Honestly?" She shook her head. "This is my first. I've never seen anything first hand on this scale." She paused, biting down on her bottom lip, undecided on her next words. "It's confronting," she finally said quietly. "And I'll be honest, it's more terrifying than anything else I could ever imagine."

"That never really goes away." Sympathy was laced through Rogers words. "No matter how many times you take the field you never really know how you're going to react to it all once the bullets start flying." He paused. "Phaser blasts, sorry."

Abigail smiled faintly. "I am lucky, I have a solid crew to support me. That makes it easier, a lot easier. I know everyone will do the best they can." She sighed. "Still... it doesn't make the deaths any easier to take, and it doesn't provide any more comfort with the knowledge that I'm sending you out there again and again."

"Can't speak for the others, but this is exactly what Uncle Sam built me for." A refuge from the horrors of war in humour. "End of the day, who lives and who dies is down to luck; but you're not sending us out unnecessarily and that's the best any of us can ask for in our current situation."

"It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war," Abigail said softly. "We've given the Acehaya a chance to survive." She offered a slight smile. "Just, don't get dead out there okay?"

"That's the last thing I'll do."

Abigail offered a smile. Faint, tired, but still friendly. "I'm going to hold you to that Commander," she said softly. "I'm definitely going to hold you to that."