We Didn’t Go Back - There Was No Alternative - Star Trek Fanfiction (Red Directive #42)

The turbolift doors opened.

“We left them.”

The words carried across the bridge before anyone turned.

Commander Pelia stepped forward, eyes locked on the command chair.

“I just spoke to Chief Ren.”

She did not slow. Her hands chaotically waving around in the air.

I answered.

“He confirmed there were no additional transport signatures after departure.”

She stopped right in front of me. Her hands were on her hips while she tapped her toe unnecessarily. The expression on her face was indicative of her anger.

“No recovery attempts? No secondary sweeps?”

Her gaze did not leave me.

“We didn’t go back!” 

She shouted. 

Silence followed.

Not hesitation.

Impact.

“The data was conclusive,” I said.

“It wasn’t verified,” Pelia snapped.

That word—snapped—cut across the bridge harder than the statement itself.

“There was nothing left to verify,” I replied.

“Minimal debris?” she shot back. “That’s what you’re going with?”

Now—she looked past me.

Directly at the Science Console.

“At the scale of that station?”

Her eyes shot back and forth between myself and Lieutenant Darak.

“There should be more.”

Lieutenant Darak did not respond immediately.

Which was… notable.

“The energy output of the Containment Field Inversion would account for significant structural loss—”

“Would account?” Pelia cut in.

Now the edge was sharper.

“Or did?”

Silence again.

Different this time.

“The conclusion remains unchanged,” I said.

“It shouldn’t,” Pelia replied immediately. “We didn’t confirm it.”

A fractional shift across the bridge.

Subtle.

But present.

“And Aura?” she added, hands raised in the air questioning.

No one answered.

The delay was… measurable.

The commander looked between all of us and backed up so everyone on the bridge could see her.

“Not a single one of you said anything?”

I observed a shift from agitation to emotional instability.

“We just left them there.”

She covered her nose and mouth with her hands, her breathing pattern becoming irregular now as well.

Lieutenant Darak was already walking to her side with his PADD.

“I did, Commander. However, Commander T’Varen is correct. Initial scans and sensors confirmed no organic lifeforms among the debris field, and as she stated before, there were no additional transport signatures after departure.”

I added, “It would have been illogical to remain and initiate a search.”

Pelia’s agitation intensified.

The prior indicators of emotional distress were no longer present.

“You Vulcans and your logic. You don’t know! We were surrounded by ancient technology of a now extinct species. Anything could have happened. I’ve been around for centuries. I’ve seen it all!”

I considered her statement.

“It was still highly improbable that the captain and Aura survived. I did not consider it logical to risk the Cairo on that probability. There were too many variables that would have placed the ship and this crew at risk.”

“I think I speak for everybody when I say we would have been willing to take that risk.”

I detected multiple head movements within my peripheral vision.

For a crew composed of diverse species, they were exhibiting a significant number of human behavioral patterns.

I stood.

“Commander, this discussion is no longer relevant. My order to continue toward the Bajoran Wormhole remains. We will not be returning to EOS Prospera. The data supports no alternative course of action. Return to your station.”

She was about to speak again in protest, but I raised my hand and cut her off.

“Do not compel me to confine you to the brig, Commander.”

Pelia gave me a stunned look and turned to stomp off.

Lieutenant Darak grabbed her arm to stop her before she got too far.

“Commander, I have been continuing to run long range scans in the hope we could be wrong. Unfortunately, nothing has shown on the scans.”

Pelia scoffed and shook his hand off her.

“Not that it would matter, Lieutenant. I doubt our new captain would let us steer off course.”

She shook her head and left into the turbolift as fast as she had entered.

I turned back towards the front of the bridge and noticed Ensign Jaxa, Drim, and Kurn were all watching the dilemma with a closeness.

When they realized I was watching them, they immediately got back to work and tried making themselves look busy.

Lieutenant Darak raised both his eyebrows, said nothing, and went back to the science console.

I chose not to address the commander’s last statement and instead directed my attention to the viewport.

These interpersonal attachments among the crew were… illogical.

If the data had indicated otherwise, I would have considered a return.

The risk associated with doing so was unacceptable.

We may not have been able to save the colonists… or the captain and Aura, but there remained a high probability we could return to the Alpha Quadrant.

Starfleet has received no communication regarding our mission.

It is now our duty to return to the Federation and report our findings.

I adjusted my posture in the command chair.

There was a measurable level of tension across the bridge.

Their attachment did not align with the duration of our association.

Our time together had been limited.

Insufficient to justify such responses.

As Starfleet officers, our duty remained to the mission.

To this point, we had not achieved that objective.

However—

It had not concluded.

It had… shifted.

This outcome was not consistent with the parameters I had anticipated for my first command.