a.u.

Chapter Seventeen: Confide

After dinner, Damian left the mess hall and made his way hurriedly toward the bridge. His vision tunneled so much he almost didn't see the person bumping into him.

"Oh sh--sorry, Captain."

Damian turned to see who it was. All he needed to see was the thick-rimmed tech glasses that projected a handful of screens at a time. The curly hair and the mussed uniform jacket were just bonuses.

Second Officer Alexander Cobalt.

"No, no, it's fine. Uh, just the person I wanted to see, actually. Are you busy, Mr. Cobalt?"

Alexander readjusted his glasses, two holographic screens flickering back into view. "Oh, uh, I'm currently finishing up preparations for tomorrow, but I should be finished shortly. Why?"

"I--uh. Would you be able to meet me in C-wing in an hour? I have some things relating to tomorrow that I would like to discuss."

"Yes, sir, of course."

Damian nodded, dismissing him. "Good, thank you. I will see you then." He left for the bridge again.

He spent the next hour pouring over the maps again visualizing the scenarios he spent so long coming up with in his study. If the council decided to follow his plan note for note, everything would be okay. At least for the crew of the Josefa. If the Fleet Admiral's threat held any water, they still stood a solid chance, but there was always that possibility...

He tried to shake the thought from his head. Negativity would do nothing at this point. Blind optimism, though--that would be just as destructive.

The hour was up faster than he realized. He was already late by the time he left the bridge. He hurried down the halls and took an elevator to get to C-wing.

Damian found Alexander right where he'd hoped he would find him. He sat on a straight bench, facing a window. A window was an understatement, really. The clear glass was ten feet tall and at least twenty feet long. The glass was crystal clear, making passersby feel as if they were walking through space itself. The view tonight was beautiful as the ship passed by the Heltz's supernova. Bright blue, orange, and purple sloughs filled nearly half the window space. Planet Antifre looked like a grapefruit in the distance. Hundreds of stars filled the rest of the blank area.

Alexander was doing what any normal person would do: staring out the window and enjoying the view.

Damian came in and sat next to him on the bench, careful not to say a word.

The two sat there in silence for a minute, admiring the view before them. It was nice. It was moments like these that reminded Damian that this is what he loved to do. Moments like these made months of deep space travel worth it sometimes.

It was Damian that spoke up first. "Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice."

Alexander almost chuckled at that one. "Of course, Captain. What can I do for you?"

He shook his head. "Just with everything that's going on, I think I just--I mean--everyone needs to confide in someone sometimes, especially in the most difficult moments."

Alexander examined him with soft eyes, holographic screens absent from his glasses. "Thank you for choosing me," he said quietly.

Damian inhaled slowly and sat up. "It's hard to believe that we got all the way here. Five years ago, if you told me we'd be executive officers on this vessel I would've thought you were nuts."

"Not just executive officer," Alexander chimed in. "You, sir, are captain."

He let a laugh slip out. "Yeah." He rubbed his hands together. "Do you remember when we first met?"