Captain Skyrunner was sitting in his command chair, looking over a ship status report that Captain Rodriguez gave him. Aramis then leaned over close to Kirok.

“Sir, may I have a word with you?”

Kirok glanced at Aramis. “Of course XO. Rodriguez, you have the conn.”

Kirok stood up and walked to his ready room, with Commander Lionel following him. Captain Skyrunner walked around to sit behind his desk and he gestured to a chair for Aramis to sit in.

“What’s up Commander?”

“Sir, I have a suggestion to make a change to the command structure.”

Kirok gave him a quizzical look. “What change?”

“I was thinking I can yield the First Officer position to Sophia and I can take up the Operations position and as Second Officer. Sophia is clearly more experienced in command than me, so it does make a more logical point to have her there. However, as Captain, you have the final decision sir.”

Captain Skyrunner sat back in his chair, thinking it over. Then his face changed as if he made his decision.

“That’s a good idea. Not sure if it is within Starfleet Regulations, but we are cut off from Command, so I’ll play a page from the ‘Space Cowboy’ book that Captain James T. Kirk wrote. I’ll make the change official in my next report.”

“Thank you sir.”

Both officers stood, shook hands, and Aramis left the ready room. Kirok followed him to the doorway, stopped in the doorway.

“Captain Rodriguez, join me please.”

Sophia stood up and walked into the Captain’s Ready room as Commander Lionel took the command chair. The tactical officer looked at his console as it started beeping, indicating an incoming message.

“Commander, incoming text message from the surface,” reported Lieutenant Bradley.

“Send it to the command chair Lieutenant.”

“Aye, sir,” Bradley replied, tapping a few keys.

Commander Lionel looked at his command console between the Captain’s and First Officer’s chairs. The message popped up and Aramis quietly read it.

***

Captain Rodriguez walked into Captain Skyrunner’s ready room and he gestured for her to sit on the couch. She sat on the couch opposite the desk. Kirok sat with her.

“Sophia, the reason I asked you in here is that Aramis just brought an idea to me about a change in this ship’s command structure. He suggested that you become the First Officer, temporary at least, and he can step down to Second Officer and Operations Officer. He recognized your experience and thought it a good idea. I like it, but not sure if regs support it, but I’m like Kirk and like to bend rules. So, if you want to be my XO, it’s yours.”

“Of course I’ll take it,” she told him.

“Good,” Kirok said, checking the wall chronometer. “Would you like to have dinner tonight?”

“I’d be delighted sugar,” she answered.

“Our quarters, 1900 hours. You bring the wine.”

Captain Rodriguez winked at him, stood up and left the ready room. When the doors whooshed shut, his fears ambushed him, but so did his love for her. With the Carlsbad now deeply imbedded in this Quadrant wide invasion, his fear of losing Sophia is now more prominent then before. Captain Skyrunner took the opportunity to make a log entry.

Captain’s Personal log, Stardate 04.23.2402

Captain Kirok Skyrunner recording…

Now that it is quiet for a minute, from this Vaadwaur chaos, I can finally unload some of my feelings I’ve been carrying since we found the survivors of the USS Thunderdragon, including my beloved wife. When I chose to propose to Captain Rodriguez while I was the Executive Officer on her ship, the Thunderdragon, I knew what the risks would be. Every Starfleet Officer knows the risks out here in deep space, far from home, that they might never come home. Whether it is Earth, Vulcan, Andorian, or somewhere else. So I accepted those risks long ago. Now that I am happily married to the best friend I ever had, with both of us again on the same ship, this time during wartime, I can’t help but be scared for her. She is so sweet and doesn’t deserve to be in this chaos, but as the French on Earth say, “C’est la vie” (That’s life).

This full out war between the Vaadwaur, from who knows where, and every known power in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, who have the combat ability to strike anywhere at any time, without warning, scares the hell out of me. They managed to create this ‘Blackout’ where anything that uses subspace doesn’t work…meaning no warp drive, no long range sensor scans, no communication with Headquarters. Also, since we are almost 560 light-years away from Federation space, we truly are alone out here.

The weight of responsibility settles heavily on my shoulders as I grapple with the impossible decision before me. The only solace I’ve found in these trying times is the knowledge that my beloved wife has been rescued and is now safe, but fate has a cruel way of testing me once more. With her now on the USS Carlsbad, far from home and without any help from Starfleet, I’m faced with the daunting reality that I’m about to put her in harm’s way all over again. I feel trapped, with no clear escape, and the thought of sending her to a safer outpost like Starbase 72 or Starbase Bravo seems like a distant dream. However, I know my wife very well. She’s as stubborn as I am, and she’d never agree to leave, not when she feels her duty is to stay and serve. I would say the same thing to her if our roles were reversed. I’m torn between protecting her and respecting her convictions, a conflict that threatens to consume me, while we all are facing certain death at the hands of the Vaadwaur. I would rather face a Borg Cube than face the possibility of her death. 

I do have to say that who I am now, tough, determined, and resilient has helped me in my Starfleet career. I have had a very rough life. From watching my parents get blown up at Starfleet Command by the Breen, during the Dominion War, to the woman I loved on the USS Michigan, who died needlessly on an away mission. I never really dealt with all my pain and anger in my life, I just bottled it up and buried it deep inside. I never really was able to really love anyone since I left the USS Michigan, until I met Sophia on the USS Thunderdragon. Somehow, she was able to break through the shields I put around my heart, which I had built up from so many years of pain and anger. I will be devastated should she get killed.

End Log.