Subject: Grail: "The Great Brightness"-'Pep Talk'
<<Stardate:47307.30- 09:ish>>
<<Observation Lounge>>
> "We can do this. Together. We just need a little faith in us."
Janice had been watching the whole charade curiously throughout the
meeting. Silently observing, she thought that perhaps she would be able to
understand more about the situation before she spoke, but it seemed she
needed to speak up now anyhow. Finally, she began, softly, so that the room
could barely hear her. It went silent in the group's effort to hear. This
was a trick she had learned from her previous captain - people always strain
to hear the soft voices, but ignore the loud ones.
"Epic is right," she stated simply.
The room erupted like a volcano. Arguments regarding the Prime Directive
were shouted wildly.
Janice looked at them, her stare alone making the group go silent again. "We
are arguing like a bunch of three-year olds. This is ridiculous. No wonder
Starfleet sent us out in the middle of nowhere. We can't even make a simple
decision without taking a temper tantrum," she said, eyeing the Ambassador.
"Being overly sarcastic," she said, staring coldly at Francois, "or being
extremely rigid in Starfleet ways," she finished, glancing at Hunt, who eyed
her coldly back.
"We need to work together to make this work at all. We can't fly off the
handle, letting our tempers get the best of us. We can't make jokes about
this. And we most certainly can't be so strict in our beliefs that we can't
comprehend the fact that there are exceptions to every rule. The Prime
Directive is not the 'be all and end all' to Starfleet. I understand, it
can't be ignored, and yes, it applies to a large number of situations, but
this is most definitely an exception. This entire ship is a mass of
exceptions," she added, grimacing.
As she spoke, she looked at each member of the group, both standing and
sitting. "We are all of the Starfleet presence in this area. We are
Starfleet. We can't run home to mommy, or call home to ask for advice
anymore. This is it. We are the decision makers. Let's start by acting
like it." Her tone was harsh. She hated to be so cold and demeaning, but
it seemed the crew needed it, and Epic was certainly in no position to do
so. Brinn looked as if she wasn't even paying attention. Janice completely
expected the majority of the crew to dislike her after this. But it was
better that they disliked the Chief Engineer rather than the Captain. She
shrugged to herself. *I was never that social anyhow,* she thought, trying
to console herself.
"I am willing to put my time and effort into trying to find a solution for
this planet. To save them. Let's put all this wonderful arguing talent to
work and argue ourselves a way to save Kerestia. If you are so selfish as
to think of it as a method to keep us alive, keep us alive from the Borg and
the virus, so be it. If you think that we need to prove Starfleet wrong, to
prove that we aren't just a congregation of untrained beasts, and want to
make it through this mission and return home, then so be it. Or if you feel
that leaving this planet to die when we could have the opportunity to save
it, to save millions of people, then so be it. Whatever your reasons, let's
stop acting like children and act like the Starfleet officers we were born
to be." Janice leaned back in her chair, shaking from her outburst. She
didn't know whether much of it made sense or not, but she had said her part
anyhow.
"It might just work!" Eve exclaimed out of nowhere. Janice peered at her
curiously, but she had already spent her energy before.
"What would, Lieutenant?" It was Epic that finally broke the confused
silence.
Eve looked up, then seemed embarrassed by her shout. "To reverse the
supernova, Captain. By reversing technology in the Device built and used by
Doctor Soran." She shrugged. "It's a long shot, but worth investigating."
Janice smiled at Eve, proud of her. She knew that if she could count on
someone, she could count on Eve. Janice returned to being the quiet
observer that she had been before, content to sit and observe once more.