Revelations

Posted on Thu Feb 9th, 2023 @ 9:01am by Captain Charlotte Rhodes & Lieutenant Commander Ryan Knight

796 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Episode 0: New Sheriff in Town
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 5, Immediately Following “An Outlier”

Ryan watched as the others stepped out, leaving him alone with Charlotte. He turned his gaze back to his Captain when the door closed. He sat quietly waiting for her to say what she wanted to say.

As the others filtered out of the room, Charlotte turned toward Ryan. "Thanks for hanging back. I just wanted to check in because of your sister. Are you holding up alright?"

Ryan took a moment to gather his thoughts. He wasn't one to jump to conclusions. "Honestly, I am not sure what to think. Right now it's just a starship that has missed two scheduled check-ins. It could be a faulty transmitter, localized stellar phenomenon or even a half dozen other things I can think of off the top of my head."

The Captain sat down looking away into the room. "True, it could be. I suppose I've assumed the worst right off the bat. I might be getting jaded. We'll know in pretty short order regardless." She tried to think of the best way to broach the subject without igniting any anxieties. "I hadn't realized you had family operating so nearby. Are you two close?"

Ryan nodded slowly to Charlotte's question. "Very close. I saw her a few months ago at Starbase Arcadia, just before the start of the dig on Vela IV." He couldn't help but smile at how different he and his sister were in lots of ways. "She is my opposite in a great many ways, but we know that the other one will always have each other's six."

The comment brought a somewhat unintentional smile to Charlotte's face as well. "Well, I can't think of a better way to back her up than bringing a state-of-the-art cruiser at maximum warp. After all this is over, I look forward to meeting her."

Ryan chuckled with a single nod before thoughts that there was a real danger to his sister. His expression grew more somber. "Captain. I would like to be a part of any search and rescue efforts, if indeed, this is something other than equipment failure aboard the Carter."

"Done," the Captain replied almost as soon as he had finished talking. "Hopefully, there won't be much we need to do. If not, I'll make sure you're on the team."

"Thank you Captain." Ryan nodded his appreciation. His expression transformed from somber to curious. "Captain, would you mind answering a question?"

Charlotte held her hands open. "By all means."

"Why did you pick me as your Chief Helmsman?" Ryan paused for a heartbeat. "I mean there were at least two other candidates that could fill your need on Arcadia."

The question was definitely not what she'd expected. It took her a moment of thought. "I could say that you came highly recommended by Admiral Denovitz, whose opinion I hold in very high regard. I could say you'd simply been waiting the longest for a billet at Arcadia. Neither are wrong. But..." She met his eye. "I felt like you needed a push. You're an exceptionally talented pilot. You immediately showed yourself in battle. And then you've spent 3 years on the sidelines, boosting your qualifications. As if you're prepping for something. You just needed to stop prepping and fly."

Ryan listened attentively to Charlotte as she spoke of her reasons. She was pretty spot on in her assessment of him and his ambitions. "I...I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity. It would be something I would like to discuss further if we may." He took a thoughtful moment. "After we find the USS Howard Carter and my sister."

"It'd be my pleasure," Charlotte said with a smile. "In the meantime, don't over think it. You have good instincts. Trust them."

Ryan gave Charlotte a wan smile. "I always do Captain. If there’s nothing else...", he glanced at the door to the bridge before turning back to meet Charlotte's gaze once again, "...you may want your best pilot at the helm shortly. Just in case something has *happened* at Vela IV."

“Agreed. To your post, Lieutenant,” Charlotte said. As the helmsman headed out the door, she looked out the window at the stars streaking. She hoped she’d found the right amount of command guidance. Several years in and she was still questioning herself. She supposed that never stopped. But she felt he’d received it well.

Just as she was second guessing her own actions, he questions his own qualifications. The more you learn, the more you know you don’t know, she thought. Maybe no one ever truly felt prepared. You just feel support from those around you and pay that forward. Maybe, at the end of the day, that was part of what made Starfleet tick.

END

 

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