A Captain relying on his yeoman

Posted on Thu Feb 29th, 2024 @ 5:00am by Captain Tyler Driskill & Crewman Avery Hawthorne

985 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Mission 1 - Project Concord
Location: Deck 1 | Ready Room | USS Concord
Timeline: 10:00 hours day after arrival in the Delta Quadrant

Tyler sat in his ready room, a splitting headache. They still hadn’t figured out what caused the issues for the Concord and repairs were started. Tyler was expecting an update from Engineering any time now. His Yeoman was scheduled to deliver reports from several departments in the next few minutes. The chime at the door came as expected and the Captain out “come in.”

Avery moved in, slower than necessary, to allow time to take the state of the Captain in and how he was faring. Unsurprisingly, not so well it seemed. “Let me get you a drink and painkillers before we do anything,” they insisted firmly, setting the padds down to fetch the promised relief.

“Thank you” he paused and focused on Avery rather than his work for a moment. “I haven’t taken my eyes off this console for hours” the Captain admitted. “How are you holding up?” He knew they were young.

Avery let out a soft breath, smiling weakly as they made their way back to the desk. Setting the replicated juice down with a painkiller alongside, Avery sat with the Captain, shaking their head. "Honestly? I think I'm still...in denial."

Tyler took the meds and finished off his juice. “I understand that… this wasn’t supposed to happen” he sighed and continued “everything checked out with all the testing and simulations.”

"Well...I suppose in one way it did its job. We *are* in the Delta quadrant. Just...with a little more chaos," Avery tried a soft chuckle, watching the Captain, trying to lift the weight on the man's shoulders, even if just a little, even if just for a moment. "And if we found a way to get here, we can find a way to get back."

“Chaos or has become” he sighed and then looked back up at his Yeoman. “However you are right, we will over come and get the old girl fixed up and find a way home.” Her positive thinking was very helpful in the moment “thank you for your positive attitude, crewman.”

Avery shook their head with a gentle smile, motioning to him with a delicate hand. "I'm just being honest. We took great care in preparing the ship before departure. Our resources and stocks are high. Once the repairs are made, we will be in a good position to continue our mission, even if that means looking after ourselves for a little while."

Tyler shook his head, he knew they was right. However it was just something he needed to hear again. “How’s the crew holding up?” He ask wondering if they had gotten a sense as they moved around the ship. “I haven’t been off the bridge much” the Captain admitted.

"At the moment, they're taking it well," Avery nodded thoughtfully, thinking on how best to describe it. "They're busy with repairs, their training has kicked in with it. But I think it might be after, when the danger's past and the ship is stable again, that will likely be when it sinks in for more people."

“Yeah I guess you are right. Do me a favor and make sure the counselors staff are prepared for the influx of patients. Likely with in the next several days. Hopefully the repairs won’t take much longer and we can get out of this nebula and on with our mission.”

"Of course," Avery made a note on their padd, already thinking ahead to offer help in managing bookings if needed. Avery hesitated a moment, unsure whether to voice the question that was burning. "Do you think...do you think Starfleet will know what happened and how? That we are still in one piece?"

Captain Driskill was silent for a few seconds and then gave an answer. “Right now everything is still unknown” he hated to admit that to Avery, but somehow knew she could handle the truth. “We emerged thousands of light years further into the Delta Quadrant then, Voyager” there was a sigh and Tyler continued “hopefully we get the experimental drive repaired and figure out what happened, so it don’t happen again.”

Avery nodded gently, accepting what the Captain had said, or more, what he had not said. Avery couldn't help but think of family, of the worry and grief they might be subjected to if they were declared MIA...or worse. "Perhaps we should prepare a communique, on the off chance that an opportunity to send it home might arise."

“Would you be willing to help me spread the word?” He asked knowing there were likely crew members she had had interaction with that he had not yet met. “Sadly we launched and I’ve not had the chance to meet many of the individuals on the Concord.”

"Of course," Avery smiled, and it was clear they were pleased to be able to do something...anything...to help with the efforts. "I'll ask everyone to prepare a short written message ready to send back home."

“Thank you, Avery” Captain Driskill said warmly. “Any other concerns” he asked “or something you need or want to talk about” Tyler knew they’d was younger than most of the crew.

Avery shook their head, a weak smile coming to them as they held the padd close to their chest. "No. I was more concerned about you," Avery admitted softly. It was so much for one person to carry. "I see I needn't have been. But it won't stop me," they teased as they stood.

“No…I wouldn’t think so” Tyler gave a nod and a smile “don’t forget your own message, Lieutenant.”

Avery gave a small, grateful smile, bowing their head with respect to the Captain before moving for the door. With a task at hand, they felt more...focussed. Useful. In control.

“Thank you, Avery” Captain Driskill said before he watched his yeoman exit.

 

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