[G-COU] JP-Lt. DeVeau & Lt. Moonsong: On The Clock Part 2

[Amanda Nordstrom]

((Deck 9: Moonsong’s Office))


Moonsong: So you knew there was a lifeform out there that would ride the
probe back to the ship?


DeVeau: No.


::If she had, Alora and all the other crewmembers would have made
drastically different choices in how they proceeded.::


DeVeau: But I didn’t check the probe before I sent it. I should have.
That was my responsibility. If I had, I might have caught the leak.

::She hadn’t known at first, hadn’t known til the day before when she
was preparing her report for the Captain and had run tests on the probe
itself. At that realisation, she’d only felt worse.::


::Raissa prided herself on her patience. She was very good at remaining
calm no matter what stupid thing was coming out of her patient’s mouth.
However, when it came to a friend it was a little tougher to remain calm
and in control. Alora should have been a lawyer.::


Moonsong: So you were the only one responsible for checking the probe.
::pause.:: I’m sure Commander Core will be pleased to know his engineers
who are normally responsible for maintenance checks of standard
equipment are absolved from guilt.


DeVeau: There are supposed to be multiple layers of checks. I should
have been sure if its integrity before sending it out there.


Moonsong: Why are you trying so hard to find evidence of your guilt?
Your sin?


DeVeau: I’m not.


::A frown marred Alora’s expression and she set aside the drink, still
only half finished. ::


DeVeau: I don’t want to be responsible, but I can’t help looking at what
happened and seeing things I should have done differently.


::Would it have made any difference? There was no absolute certainty
that it would, but it _could_ have. If she had changed even one of her
actions, perhaps the outcome would have been less deadly. Less horrific.::


Moonsong: You look at what happened and focus only on why you *think*
you did wrong.


::She paused again. She had to be the counselor, not the friend. The
Counselor was not as gentle.::


Moonsong: We can continue on that track for a bit… ::She paused again::
If you stayed near me instead of being in a hurry to look at readings,
it might not have been so bad. That close I or the Community could have
shielded you.


::Alora’s frown deepened and she reached up to rub her eyes.::

DeVeau: But that...it’s not quite the same thing.


::Raissa decided to keep pushing::


Moonsong: They could have gone for me instead. ::She sighed and took a
sip of her tea:: If you had gotten up that morning an hour earlier, it
might not have happened. If you were on a different ship, it might not
have happened. If you were an engineer it might not have happened.
::break:: Alora it is easy to find all the tiny pointless details that
might have altered what happened but there is one fact that you can’t
escape.


DeVeau: And that is?


Moonsong: You couldn’t stop the Mother.


DeVeau: Couldn’t I?

::Alora broke the stare she’d held on the mug and returned her gaze back
to her friend.::

DeVeau: That’s the real question. Couldn’t I? Are we sure? Maybe I just
didn’t try hard enough.


::Raissa leveled a penetrating look at Alora.::


Moonsong: Even if you knew and used every non-telepath trick to block
your mind. It still would have taken you. You don’t have the power. I
don’t have the power. It took the power in the Community to reach you.


::But they were on the outside, coming in. Still, Alora had to concede
that Raissa did have a point.::


Moonsong: I want you to think on that before we meet again.


DeVeau: Okay.


::She was far too tired to argue the issue right now, and really, she
was supposed to be healing, right? Honestly, Alora wished there was a
button she could just push to make it all better somehow. Unfortunately,
that hadn’t been invented yet.::


Moonsong: For now… I’ll allow you light duty, since I know you’ve been
sneaking into the labs anyway.


::A half smile turned up one side of her mouth and Alora reached for the
mug again.::

DeVeau: Are you spying on me?

::Raissa snorted::


Moonsong: I know *you* Lieutenant.


DeVeau: I just feel lost without doing something. I’m not spending as
much time there as I would be normally.

::Although if Raissa knew she’d been sneaking, then she probably knew
that too - hence the light duty.::

::Raissa’s fingers tapped lightly over the padd in her lap::


Moonsong: We’ll speak again on this topic in a week. In the meantime, I
want you to meet me tomorrow at 2000 hours.


DeVeau: Daily counseling sessions?

::She must be pretty bad if Raissa wanted to see her every day. Alora
was going to have to cut short any music practise for a while if that
was the case.::


Moonsong: ::Smiles:: No. Dealing with this is stressful and exhausting.
Daily would be far too much. You need to rest after this. I’ll pick you
up at your quarters tomorrow evening.


::Alora gazed suspiciously over the rim of her mug as she finished off
the tea. As she set it down, she studied Raissa, but alas, she was not
able to read a single thought. So much for being telepathic. Nope, just
‘sensitive’.::

DeVeau: And what are we going to do?

::Raissa leaned back in the chair and wiggled an eyebrow at her friend.::


Moonsong: Ten Forward is not the only bar on this ship. We’re going to
find the rest of them.


::A slow smile spread across her face as Alora nodded in agreement.::

DeVeau: Sounds good to me.


**************
Lt. Raissa Moonsong

Counselor

USS Garuda
&

Lt. Alora DeVeau

Chief of Science

USS Garuda