Aftershock

Alistair Nimitz stood alone at the doorway into the shuttle bay deck of the USS Akagi. The usually full hanger deck was empty as all the small crafts were flying around the ship as the hanger deck was being used as a morgue. He looked over the row of body bags, one hundred and sixteen were recovered from the Search and Rescue mission. The majority of them were covered with the bright blue flag of the Federation, however there were a few Republic flags here and there. He watched as some members of his crew mourned the loss of their friends from various postings around the fleet. Nimitz silently gave a rare thanks to the Elements that none of the dead were his crew, before his thoughts drifted to his eldest daughter Llaiir, and Beylara, the godmother of his daughter Herra, both still M.I.A.

Nimitz knew he wasn't alone as he heard the hoovesteps of his first officer approaching the door from down the hallway. As the doors parted, the tall Kelpien cast a shadow to match the height of his captain. The Kelpien looked around the bay as he handed Nimitz a Padd. The two stood side by side for a few minutes in silence until Nimitz finally spoke.

"No."

The Kelpien looked to Nimitz in surprise for a moment as he tried to recompose himself before attempting a rebuttal.

"Captain... with respect, you did-" Nimitz interjected before the Kelpien could finish his statement.

"You are trying to give me your letter of resignation because you think you failed in your duties during the Battle of Deep Space 13."

The Kelpien was taken back for a moment, even after almost a year of being the first officer, he has found that the Captain had an almost unnatural habit of knowing his thoughts before he could say anything.

"Captain.. I.."

"You did exactly what I would have done Koro.. although my reasons were more selfish in nature, my wife and daughter were here on the Akagi instead of the station. Yes, you are rough around the edges, and you are far from ready for a command of your own, but you did your job, you kept the ship, the crew, and my family safe.. and you helped saved countless lives on the Endeavour, never lose sight of that."

With the last word said, Nimitz simply dropped the Padd to the floor, shattering the screen completely and destroying the unread letter of resignation before walking out of the shuttle bay. Commander Koro stood alone in silence for several minutes before he himself walked back into the ship rejoining the living.
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