Hope

Reporters, Reporters Everywhere

After the photo op, the journalists wanted to have a question-and-answer session. However, Cooper begged off by saying that she needed a drink of water or a soft drink before they continued. Then, before she could go looking for a vending machine, a "helpful" reporter handed each of them a cold soft drink.

'I really wanted a bathroom break,' Cooper thought as she sipped at her soft drink. Since Ceres station was now a water refinery, the only space available was on the docs themselves. That meant that there was nowhere to sit and be comfortable while the press asked them question after question.

Suddenly the questions stopped while Cooper was woolgathering.

"Coop, that question was for you," Simmons said.

"I'm sorry. Could you please repeat the question?"

"I asked what it was like to be chosen as first officer despite being a woman," a Nipponese reporter asked in perfect English.

"First, Her Majesty's Navy of which I was originally a part, and the Greater United States Space Force practice equality of the sexes. Only the Empire of Nippon does not practice such equality, despite the regulations put forth in the Alliance Charter. The Alliance Charter declares all people, no matter their age, sex, or sexual preference, are equal. The Nipponese Empire seems to think that being born a woman is some sort of disability that needs to be overcome. According to the Charter this is not the case."

"Second, they assigned the officers of Hope their ranks based on how they scored during their time on the Lexington. The selection process made me first officer."

"So how does it feel to be the XO of Hope? It feels good. It feels fantastic."

"Simmons, how does it feel to be the captain of the ship?" Cooper asked.

"I agree. It feels amazing," Simmons responded.

"There you have it."

The docks suddenly echoed with the sound of the journalists' questions.

Finally, it calmed down enough that they could hear the individual requests for information.

Simmons pointed at one reporter, which calmed the crowd to quiet down.

"Commander Cooper, both officials from the GUSA and the Nipponese Empire have expressed concern that both the captain and the first officer of Hope come from the Britanian Empire. Could you comment on this?"

Cooper just sighed and said, "Simmons, would you please take this question? I think I just answered it."

"As Cooper just said, the selection process was based solely on the candidate's performance while on the Lexington. All three members of the Alliance agreed upon this method of officer selection, since it was based solely on the abilities of the officers in question."

"The fact that both Cooper and I are both from the Britanian Empire just means that we both scored the highest while on the Lexington. Thats it. Nothing more."

'Are these reporters just dense? Or were they asking the same questions repeatedly, hoping we will give them a different answer than before,' Cooper thought as the impromptu press conference dragged on and on. Then she whispered in Simmon's ear, "Can we please end the news conference? I really need to go to the little girl's room."

Simmons nodded in response and then announced, "This is the last question. I am afraid that nature calls."

The journalists laughed for a moment before they asked another tirade of questions.

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Eventually, the skiff from Hope docked at Ceres Station, and the five of them finally had an excuse to leave the reporters behind.