A Solitary Man

Posted on Mon Jun 7th, 2021 @ 11:21am by Captain Henry Crow & Lieutenant Aemilia "Millie" Stepanova

Mission: Knock Knock
Location: The Counselor's Office

Henry sat in the darkened office. By his last check they were an hour away from knowing if Moro was correct that she'd found a way to save the ship...for now. He savored the quiet that surrounded him. The past day had brought several thoughts back to his mind centering around purpose and longevity. He slowly opened the sealed package and removed half of a sandwich. Silence was bliss.

An exhausted Millie walked through the door to her office, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Computer--" She caught sight of the shadowy figure seated in the corner of her office, and she instinctively took a defensive stance in the doorway.

Henry looked over his shoulder mid-chew. "Don't mind me."

Millie let out a sigh of relief. "Can I at least turn on the lights?" She set two PADDs on her desk.

"It's your place I'm just squatting for a bit." He took another bite. "When I was a kid sometimes I just wanted to get away from everything and everyone and I'd just make a sandwich and head out into the fields. Simpler times."

"Computer, lights." Millie crossed her office, pulling up a chair next to Henry. "Things are more complicated than usual, da?"

'A couch eating ball of energy and a potential for a galactic war. Par for the course for us, right?"

Millie let the silence hang in the air for a while. "It's been a while since you willingly walked into the Counselor's office...and by a while, I would venture to say that day happened before my tenure here."

"Well to be fair if I was in my own office everyone would know where to find me."

Millie walked to the replicator, ordering dinner for herself before taking a seat at the small table opposite of Henry. "Even when we were dealing with DeWitt, you still never came to my office willingly."

"I was busy being demoted at the time. Almost had that again this morning from our Security Chief but alas here I am still in the big chair."

Millie's brow furrowed. "Joustra? He wouldn't have the authority to--"

"He's the same rank as I am, he just doesn't use it. But if the right person gave the right order...." he took another bite. "Have you heard anything from our engineer about any progress?"

Millie shook her head. "I just got done moving Evelyn's personal effects out of her quarters. I'm not sure she noticed I was there, and the glare I got from Edruj made me rethink interrupting them."

He nodded as he finished the sandwich. "Well, we'll know soon enough. I just hope it isn't.." he stopped as his oldest daughter walked into the room without a word before stopping in front of him and holding out his combadge.

"Mom says you're in trouble."

He took it, re-applying it to his uniform. "How'd you find me?"

"You're one of four people on the ship with some semblence of your DNA. It only took a few minutes to realign the internal sensors and use process of elimination."

Henry stood with a semblence of a proud grin before looking to Millie. "This is the one we really need to watch out for." Karina smiled taking that as a compliment.

A hint of a smirk crossed Millie's face. "If she'd been helping Evelyn, you might have rescued Trish and I in half the time."

He stood walking out with Karina. "Don't encourage her."








Captain Henry Crow
Commanding Officer, USS Mercutio



Lieutenant Aemilia "Millie" Stepanova
Chief Counselor, USS Mercutio