“Shouldn’t you be flying?” Captain Jake Lewis asked as a familiar silhouette appeared at the threshold, backlit by the halogens of the corridor beyond.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” Ensign Elyssia Rel replied, mischief in her eyes as she stepped into his quarters. “Gordon has got this shift since I’ll be flying when we get on target.”

Behind her, the door slid shut, darkness settling over the room save for the orange-brown backlight of the Underspace’s eerie glow.

“Somehow, I don’t think you came over to help with…”

He didn’t even get a chance to even finish his statement before she was all over him, her hands ripping his shirt from his body and plunging for his belt. They were about to ride into battle, and she wanted one more ride first. 

A ride. A rodeo. Lustful abandon rising to a frenzied climax of pure euphoria.

In the after moments, the pair found themselves lying on their bed, side by side, breathing heavily, the endorphin rush crashing as clarity returned. With clarity came a return to the reality all around them.

“Am I crazy?” Lewis asked, staring at the ceiling, his thoughts wandering from what had just happened to what lay ahead.

“Well, that was certainly crazy,” Elyssia winked. “I didn’t even know my body could bend like that.” She rolled to her side, admiring his muscular frame, his weathered skin, and the scars. So many scars. His body told a story, and she loved it. She loved him. “I get the sense that’s not what you mean though?”

“No, not at all,” Lewis replied. “So much sits on a knife’s edge. What if Sena and I got played by the creep in our brig?” They’d melted his mind, carving the details from him to strike back, but there was always the possibility he hadn’t completely lost control, that he’d managed to play them and that they were riding into a trap.

“You guys are ruthlessly effective, and I doubt he bested you,” Elyssia replied, no doubt in her mind. She was one of very few who had seen firsthand what he could do. “Plus, Sena and Cora validated the presence of the phase shift field.” 

She didn’t understand the scientific nuances – she was just a pilot – but Lieutenant Commander Sena and Commander Cora Lee had proven through emissions in the background radiation of the Underspace manifold that the Vaadwaur prisoner was telling the truth. There were two arrays, separated by vast swathes of space, causing a phase shift effect on a third region of space, one offset from the galactic plane itself, exactly where their captive had disclosed that the enemy stronghold lay.

“You don’t lie about the big things,” Lewis cautioned. He knew it firsthand. He’d once been where their captive sat, a prisoner tortured for information, and when it’d been him pumped full of drugs and cut by the enemy’s blade, he’d still managed to lead them astray. “A lie is easier to swallow when wrapped in a truth. All he had to do was fudge the force disposition numbers, and we, or whatever Reyes musters for the main assault, may find ourselves in an unwinnable situation.”

“There’s no such thing as an unwinnable situation,” Elyssia reminded him. “You taught me that.”

“Yes, but not all solutions end well for us,” Lewis countered. “I would say that the Free State won the battle in that graveyard – they stopped the enemy – but at what cost?” Not a single Romulan had survived, even if they had taken the enemy with them. He wasn’t sure he was willing to pay such a price with this crew if that time came.

“Suddenly growing soft?” Elyssia teased. “The operator I know, the one that led us to victory on Nasera and on Earth, he fears not the cost. When it counts, he gets the job done, no matter what must be done. No matter what must be sacrificed.” And she knew the consequences better than most. The Rel symbiont had been there twice as its hosts gave their lives for righteous cause, and that was part of what had attracted her to Lewis. He understood what it took.

“Let me be honest with you,” Lewis opened up. “These last six months, something’s changed in me. You… Ekko… Cora… the whole crew really. I’ve never had a family before.” It was strange to acknowledge, but lost in the deep with no objective beyond keeping the crew together and getting them home safe, something in him had changed. “I find myself actually caring about more than just the mission.”

“That’s only human,” Elyssia smiled. “But don’t lose sight of the stakes.” If they didn’t get the job done, not only would they fail to deprive the Vaadwaur of a crucial piece of their war-making infrastructure, but they’d leave the squadron out to dry. “More will die if we fail. Make the calls that need to be made. We will get it done. We always do.”

Lying there, the captain thought back all those years ago to his Kobayashi Maru, to the choices he’d made and cautionary words from his mentor, Frank Negrescu, as he stormed off:

“I considered all the possible options,” Lieutenant Lewis asserted. “And, after it was clear we couldn’t shoot our way out, I chose the only option that…”

“No, kid, I didn’t mean why you blew the ship up. That was obvious,” Negrescu interrupted, giving Lewis no credit for what others might have called courageous and noble. For people like them, those who’d fought as they fought, such sacrifice was simply expected. “I meant how you reacted after.”

“I… umm…” Lieutenant Lewis fumbled. He hadn’t given it a moment’s thought besides to discredit his instructor. “Uh… why is this relevant?”

“Because, as a commanding officer, it won’t just be you out there, Jake. It’s you and all those you rely on to faithfully execute your orders,” Captain Negrescu pointed out. “If you don’t understand how they feel, in the moment when you most need them, they will let you down.”

He came back to the present. “It’s easy to say now, as we sit here safe and comfy, but when that moment comes – if it comes – will they truly follow?” Or would he even be able to give the order? He wasn’t sure on either.

“Of course we will,” Elyssia assured him, deep sincerity in her eyes. “You’re our captain. We will follow you wherever it may lead. You can count on us, and on Ekko, Sena and the hazard team that went ahead on the Manasa. We all know the stakes.” Failure was not an option.

Hopefully, though, it wouldn’t come to that. Hopefully, it would just be a nice, straightforward op, taking out the two extragalactic arrays and opening the path for the Polaris to destroy the hub beyond the galactic disc. But the Vaadwaur were a cunning enemy, and the universe had a way of throwing curveballs, so he couldn’t look past that possibility. It was the duty of a commander to prepare for all outcomes.

“Even through fire and brimstone,” Elyssia added reassuringly. “We will see victory.” 

She had no doubt of that. Not with Lewis calling the shots here, Ekko and Sena leading the second op, and Reyes bringing the cavalry for the main assault.

And then, in each other’s arms, they fell asleep.

One last time before the storm.