Subject: Grail: "The Great Brightness"; "A Word in Edgewise"
<OOC: I was astounded to receive 23 messages yesterday! You guys were
really fired up, I must say. :) >
"A Word in Edgewise" by: Lt. Brennan.
Kait took to observing the nonverbal exchanges between people instead of
the verbal kind.
She noticed how many seemed to look at each other with a knowing glint in
their eye.
She could see it when Lt. Mallory looked at Lt. Cmdr. Castle, and even more
surprisingly,
when Janice and Captain Terrakian exchanged glances. It seemed like every
time people
were given a new assignment, they'd christen it by forming a new
relationship.
Kait couldn't help but remember that she had done the same exact thing
before, and she
wouldn't stop herself from allowing it to happen again. The Academy was
worse though,
she smiled to herself. A new assignment was a new paper to write, and that
came every
day, just like the new relationship she'd always christen it with.
Kait looked at Captain Terrakian again. What did her cousin ever see in
him? He really
didn't seem like the committing type, nor the commanding, though he feigned
it well. He
obviously liked it better when a person, especially a woman, took charge
over him. That
was evident in his earlier relationship with R'Laurent, who looked to be a
full-blooded
Klingon, and also in his choice of LtMaj. Brinn who was no different.
Brinn took charge,
and showed who was boss. These types were definitely nothing like her
cousin, and it was
doubtful that the Captain would give a kid like Kestra a second thought,
except for maybe
a pat on the back, if the girl was lucky.
Maybe Kestra was just like Kait when she was younger: not very choosy. But
why did she
show interest in him, and no other? And why would the girl be so
fascinated with
someone she never even so much as talked to? Kait thought about setting
her cousin up
with one of the engineering officers, maybe even her "favorite", if she
could stand to.
Kait broke the strain of thought, only then becoming aware of the fact that
she had lost
total sense of her surroundings, and had lost track of the conversation.
"It might just work!" Lt. Mallory exclaimed.
Kait was wondering she had missed, but it seemed that everyone else was as
clueless as
she. Then a few solutions were presented for saving Kerestia.
What were they trying to save the planet for? They only needed to make an
exchange for
some medicine. Did the Kerestians demand that kind of help for such an
exchange? It
could be that these people thought they would be acting in a humanitarian
way by
violating the prime directive, or perhaps they were anxious to play god.
The latter was
purely derogatory, but the former would not explain why these people were so
enthusiastic about ignoring the prime directive. If they were to do
something so serious,
then there should be a graver consideration given to it, instead of this
spirited motivation
to do otherwise.
Kait wanted to give her opinion but she had trouble getting a word in
edgewise. Then her
chance came when Captain Terrakian presented a question to both her and her
superior.
Unfortunately, it was something that was totally Lt.Cmdr. Hargen's domain.
As far as
Kait could tell, the probe was in perfect running order, but it was Hargen
who had so
highly specialized the probe for detecting even the most minute anomalies,
and for
analysing the changing gravimetrics of the great brightness.
Janice Hargen sat down, then glanced at the junior lieutenant across from
her. Kait
couldn't tell what kind of look it was, but she imagined it to show that
Janice was not the
kind to have a singular interest. Kait would've liked this (since it made
Janice's disposition
seem more natural), had it not been someone Kait had just been thinking
about in the same
way. Then Kait had to stop herself there, because she was starting to get
out-of-hand
again. She was much too much the jealous type, and that had only lead to
more problems.
She had no claims to anyone, after all, so it was rather presumptuous of
her to assume
any, whether it was intentional or not.
The junior lieutenant, apparently from flight control, continued to explain
the intended
path through the great brightness. Kait found this to be much more
intriguing than the
pointless banter that had occurred earlier. Then when the junior
lieutenant was finished
giving his explanation of the chosen path, he asked, "Kypper, Hillary, do
you have
anything to add?"
Hillary shook her head no, and there was no response from anybody called
"Kypper" for
as far she could see. Either "Kypper" had nothing to add, or he was off in
his own little
world.
So Kait took this as her turn to speak, and she did so not without a show.
Standing up
and calmly holding her hands behind her back, she began: "Under normal
circumstances, I
would say that the variant nature of the great brightness would pose too
much of a threat
to this ship, and that it would be best to spend the extra time required to
go around it in
order to make sure that we aren't putting this ship in any _unnecessary_
danger."
Kait paused to take a breath, so that she could prolong the sour expression
that the junior
lieutenant gave her.
"However, it seems that the majority of the people here are wanting to save
Kerestia, a
planet whose life is nearing an end, and time is not a luxury the
inhabitants have. I do
want to say that I find it hard to believe that everyone here is quick to
throw away the
prime directive. The prime directive was put there for a reason, and it
was not made by a
couple of fools who only wanted to complicate your problems. For a case
where a sun is
dying, not by any fault of the federation or one of its citizens, the prime
directive clearly
does apply.
If this doesn't convince you, have you ever thought that if we save a
planet that is under
the rule of drug lords who keep almost everyone in a narcotic state, do we
want them to
be able to survive and prosper and make an impact on everyone else in the
Beta Quadrant?
It is improbable that the Kerestians will even make very good allies.
Unless we are willing to make this ship go renegade, then we should obey
the prime
directive." Kait looked imploringly at Captain Terrakian after the last
statement.
She sat down, not bothering to ask for opinions, but almost knowing that
she would get
some. As she sat down, she realised how fast her pulse was racing from the
adrenaline of
making an argument she so ardently believed in.