One Last Conversation

Posted on Sun Feb 9th, 2025 @ 11:34pm by Lieutenant Commander Nash Winters & Lieutenant Phaedrae Cyn

499 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: Gone, Without Ever Knowing the Way
Location: Main Engineering
Timeline: MD 0, 2310 Hours

It had been a long day, but Phaedrae Cyn had one last task to complete before calling it a night. After checking the computer for Nash Winters’ location, she took the turbolift to main engineering.

She paused at the threshold, scanning the bay until she spotted Winters. Taking a breath, she strode forward.

Nash was on the upper level of engineering when he heard Cyn’s voice. “Lieutenant, what brings you down here? Hang on, I’ll be right down.”

“Do you have a minute to talk?” she asked as she approached.

“I guess I knew this was coming. Come on, let’s go to my office,” Nash said. He led Cyn to his office in an alcove down from the warp core.

They both sat in chairs in front of his desk. “I was kind of hoping to run into you, but to be honest I was trying to avoid you. Despite the different ways we approached things on Freecloud, I feel bad about how things went down. I’m sorry…..and hope we can move on and get past this.”

She nodded. “I appreciate the apology.”

Tugging a braided strand of hair, she carefully considered her next words. “I could have been clearer about our mission on the way to Freecloud. I’ve worked in Intel for a long time—I should have given more guidance before we set foot off the ship. After speaking with the Captain and XO, I’ve decided to offer individual training before any future assignments.”

She tossed the braid over her shoulder, "If you're interested."

“I would be open to that, for sure. I admit that I could have been better prepared. Not placing the blame with you, mind you. I jumped at the chance to challenge myself. When Captain Johansen asked me to lend a hand, I accepted. So…what form will this training take? Holodeck simulations?”

“Yes,” she replied. “A hands-on location makes for a better learning experience. I’ll set something up next week.

“We’ll start with a short, low-pressure session—about half an hour. The key is to stay unnoticed in most operations, so that’s where we’ll begin.”

“Fair enough. Start low pressure and work our way up to pressure cooker?” Nash stood up and exhaled; he felt better that this came to a positive conclusion . He put out his hand in a gesture of friendship. “I appreciate it, Phae….thanks for coming down. You can count on me and I hope you can learn to trust me again. See ya around.”

Cyn stood as well, taking his offered hand in a firm shake. “We’ll see how the training goes,” she said, a small but genuine hint of a smile tugging at her lips. “See you around, Nash.”

With that, she turned and headed for the exit, her steps lighter than when she’d arrived. The tension from Freecloud hadn’t vanished entirely, but at least now, they had a path forward.

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