Situational Stresses

Posted on Tue Aug 16th, 2022 @ 9:17pm by Lieutenant Commander William Gunnison & Captain Abigail Laurens

Mission: The Koldaran Encounter
Location: Odraclite

Abigail had been watching Lieutenant Commander Gunnison while she talked to both Captain Bartlett and Captain Taggart. He was a quiet one, one who rarely made his presence known, but also rarely stopped. He simply moved quietly from task to task, making sure everything that needed to be done was done.

On this ship it was the makings of a fantastic operations officer, it allowed the ship to function without incident, but here she could see the stresses of the situation wearing at him, not to mention she was sure there was a hefty dose of concern for his son who was back on the ship.

Excusing herself from the other Captains, Abigail walked across the antechamber, grabbing a bottle of water from the table before she approached him. "Commander Gunnison," she spoke softly, offering a smile as she held out the water. "Do you have a moment?"

Taking the offered water, Will took a sip and nodded. "I think I can spare a moment for the best captain in the room, especially if it involves a way of getting people to stop shooting at us. Don't know about you, but I think I've had about enough of that for one lifetime."

"I think we all have," Abigail said with a soft smirk. "If it's any consolation the Acehaya are very grateful for our presence. They may not be outwardly saying as much, but in the talks I've had with them, their gratitude has definitely been expressed." She sighed. "You've been assigned to one of the strike teams... " her voice faltered slightly. "Are you ready? Do you need anything else before you leave?"

Will took a deep breath. "I suppose I'll be as ready as anyone can ever be under these kinds of situations. Given your own training, you know that it's one thing to talk about stuff like this in the safety of a classroom or a holodeck, but something else entirely to be out in the field facing it in person. I think I've got everything I need, though if you're in a position to give me the powers of a Q, I don't think I'd say no under the circumstances."

Abigail offered a soft smile. "If I were in the position to bestow the powers of Q, I'd have used them to resolve this whole situation already and send the Koldaran back to the swamps they came from." She drew a breath. "We've got limited access to the Acehayan communications system, I can get you some time if you want before you leave so you can talk to your son. Check in on him, make sure he's okay, let him know you're okay?"

"I'd like that," Will said. "Of course, he's a very good kid, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I'm not sure which is harder - facing people like the Koldaran or raising an adolescent human male." After a moment, he added, "By the way, no matter what my parents might tell you, I was a very good child at that age."

The dark haired woman laughed, unable to help herself. "I'm sure we all make the same bold statements," she said with a shake of her head. "I'll let J'Raya know that you will be needing some time on the communications. I recommend you just be mindful of what's said. We don't know how secure these channels are."

"Thank you, Captain," Will said. "And I will be very mindful of our conversation. As an old Earth saying goes, loose lips sink ships."

"If we could guarantee that it was the Koldaran ships sinking I'd tell you to go for it," she responded with another soft laugh. "I'm sure he'll be glad to hear from you, to know that you're okay." She added. "I'm sure he misses you already... though, Ashe is probably spoiling him shamelessly. It wouldn't surprise me if they're existing on a steady diet of french fries, ice cream and thickshakes."

"I wouldn't be surprised, either," Will said. Normally, with him being off the ship, he would have made arrangements with Counselor Goff to keep an eye on Cole, but with her being planet-side as well, helping with the triage area, he'd had to turn to one of the few adults remaining on the Astraea, and there weren't many who weren't busy with various tasks of their own to attend to that were related to dealing with the Koldaran. Fortunately, he had no reason to think that Ashe was not up to the task. She did seem to have a way with people, regardless of age.

He paused for a moment, then somewhat hesitantly asked, "How are you holding up, Captain? You've been busy watching over us. I hope you're taking a few moments for yourself."

Abigail offered a smile that she hoped was at least vaguely reassuring. "I take moments when I can," she said with a slight nod. "My priority is making sure everyone is as safe as we can be down here. Once this is over though, let me tell you, we're heading for the nearest planet with peaceful beaches. I think we all need some quality down time."

"I don't suppose we could ever talk Commander Gail into letting us visit the Ts'Usugi home system, since we may be in the area." Holding up a hand with a smile, he said, "And yes, I do realize that that does fall in the 'Not gonna happen' category, but one can always hope."

The Commanding Officer laughed and shook her head. "I think if it were up to Commander Gail, she'd have us sipping tea with her people in a heartbeat, but I suspect their government may have serious issue with that. Tabula Rasa is only a few days away, The beaches there are supposed to be stunning."

Will nodded. "That does sound good. Almost as good as placing a call back to the ship."

Abigail smiled faintly. "Go find J'Raya, tell him I've authorised you to contact your son. Good luck Commander," she said softly. "Be safe out there."

"Thank you, Captain," Will said. "You be safe as well."