Thoughts From The Hatch

[DrDMatthews 0]

Debbie never cared for away team duty. Even the low risk missions would go wrong if Debbie was on the team. That was one reason she accepted the CMO's position. Now, she could order her subordinates onto the away teams and there were always eager junior officers more than willing to go.

 

But not this time. This mission was far too risky for her to send anyone other than herself. Besides, as she'd pointed out to Aidan Ridire, she was the best qualified for this one. She was among the few who knew the whole story surrounding the Cairo.

 

As she stood beside the hatch waiting for Aaron to open it, Debbie again offered a quick prayer begging forgiveness for all of her transgressions. She also asked that the away team successfully complete this assignment and return home safely. At the same time, she vividly remembered Aidan classifying this as a suicide mission and urging all members of the away team to update their wills.

 

As negative as his sentiments were, Debbie believed they were somewhat accurate. This was, by far, the most dangerous away mission she'd ever been on. She'd known from the beginning the odds were against them. So she'd taken the time to update her will and prepare "letters" for her grandparents should she fail to return. She'd also left parting messages for a handful of friends including the Captain, Merina, Brian Smith, Gracie and a few others she'd worked so closely with during the past several years.

 

And then there was Aidan. He was in command of this away team....in just as much danger as the rest of them. But it was possible he would survive even if she didn't. So she left a special message for him just in case she was among the casualties and he was one of the survivors.

 

As Aaron prepared to open the hatch, Debbie allowed herself a few seconds to think of her relationship with Aidan....where they had been and how far they'd come. She fervently hoped they would have a future together but right now, she didn't know where he and Jontilles were. She wondered if they'd managed to elude capture.... were they injured or worse yet, were they still alive.

 

That was all the time she had to consider those questions and she was glad of that. Such thoughts could be a terrible distraction. Debbie forced herself back into the here and now. She had to focus on the confrontation at hand. Hopefully, there would be plenty of time in the future to look back on this mission and examine such questions.....and their answers.