Drift and Anchor, Part 2
Posted on Fri Jul 18th, 2025 @ 2:29am by Lieutenant JG Jean-Baptiste Dorsainvil & Captain Remy Johansen
1,639 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Peril at the Unification Accords
Location: Captain's Ready Room, Deck 1
Timeline: MD 06, 1140 Hours
He looked across at Remy, studying the fine lines at the corner of her eyes, the soft strength in the way she settled back into her chair.
"Ma'am," he began, blowing on his tea, "if only I could tell you some of the things I've witnessed in my four years assigned to Intelligence. Orders issued and then rescinded the same day, personnel reassigned to a new file only for that file to suddenly disappear."
"I know," the Captain replied solemnly. "Well, I don't know the whole of your experiences, obviously. But there are people here who have shared their own experiences with me. I've seen my own fair share."
"Let me ask you something else," Remy continued. "You're also making a big change, getting out from behind a desk, so to speak. How ready do you feel for the change?"
"I suppose I've been ready for a long a time," he said, wrapping both hand around the warm mug. "There's only so much you can learn in the margins of reports and the shadows of other people's decisions."
His gaze softened, as if the inner knot he'd been carrying had slowly begun to loosen.
"I don't expect to get it all right," he admitted. "But I think it might be the first time I'll get to try without a leash on my conscience."
He took a sip from the tea and felt the Captain still looking at him. It wasn't a hard look nor did it feel like scrutiny.
"Captain," he went on, his voice now deferential. "Given the current state of the fleet, what do you see us doing out here?"
Remy was appreciating that Dorsainvil was opening up. His candor and willingness to share and ask questions was signalling to her that he was going to be a good fit, a likely future confidante. She had more to say about his role specifically, but his latest question redirected the conversation slightly. It was no matter, they would easily get back to it.
"Well, Lieutenant, you can read our official edict, though to be honest we've been side-tracked more than we've been on directive lately," she responded. "This diplomatic conferences and being on guard for any unrest is about as close to on mission as we've been since I took command - officially."
"Instability in the region is a major issue. We'll continue to be assigned to be a peacekeeping presence and respond to threats accordingly. But, I do have something more in mind."
JB had spent some time reading about the Astrea while waiting on Barisa, and had noted how she was smack-dab in the midst of a volatile region. It was a sticky situation that required a great deal of quick-thinking and versatility. But it was important for him to hear it from the captain in her own words.
"Something more?" he asked, curiosity piqued.
"I want to dig into psychological operations. I think that Starfleet is using it illegally against its own people, and given your qualifications, I think you might be able to help uncover some of it."
Remy passed a PADD across the table to him. "You don't have to read all of that. Most of it is probably boring to you, and irrelevant to my point. But the first major example of this was after the synth attacks. That's a list of all of the technology that was banned as a result of the synth ban. Non-sentient work in the healthcare field for example. I know. One of my old projects is on there."
"But the message that went out, you had the whole Federation behind the bans."
She continued, "I don't know their agenda, but I think they are still influencing the message. I think they want the unrest out here. Might even be causing some of it, but I don't have actual proof."
JB took the PADD with careful fingers. His thumb drifted over the edge while his eyes skimmed the first few lines, but he wasn't really reading--not yet. Instead, he felt the old prickle of unease waking up at the back of his skull, the one he'd become accustomed to living with in Intelligence. It was the exact same feeling as when you discover a door left ajar in a hallway you thought you knew by heart.
He looked up at Remy then, his face set but mind working.
"I've always thought the truth wasn't something you find all at once," he said in a confiding tone. "It's more like a trail of little things that don't make sense until you find yourself looking back on the entirety of it all." He set the PADD on his knee. "If you're asking me to help chase that trail, Captain, you already have your answer. I'd rather go blind than keep my eyes closed on purpose."
Remy let out a short laugh at JB's choice of words. "Interesting way of putting it, Lieutenant. As a scientist I was always willing to let curiosity get the best of me too. I'm glad you're on board. I won't tell you much more of what I think I'm seeing just yet. I'm curious to see if you'll spot the same things or if it's all in my head."
"We do have admiralty backing us. Some. That's how I've been able to do what I've done with Astrea," she admitted. "So if we do find something, there's someone I trust to take it to."
JB nodded slowly, the gravity of what Remy had just explained landing heavily. He was aware that a captain could have opinions--even harbour doubts--about decisions at Starfleet Command. What she was suggesting seemed to walk a fine line between honest-to-goodness suspicion, and straight-up insubordination. For her to speak of it to a new officer like he, suggested she was also seeing the same things he had.
"I understand, ma'am."
Remy figured she may have dumped enough on the new officer for one meeting, and decided it might be time to give him an open floor. "I've asked you a lot of questions. What questions do you have for me, for us?"
Jean-Baptiste turned the PADD over in his hands once, feeling its smooth weight, like a round stone from a beach. He looked up at Remy then, his gaze steady and open.
"Captain" he began, voice low but clear. "What do you need most from me right now?"
The question suspended itself there, unvarnished and easy. It was not meant to impress her, not meant to prove anything. Just an honest offer to stand beside his new captain and crewmates, wherever the currents took them.
"I think the important thing is that we all remain flexible. The situation is constantly fluid. We don't share much information over subspace, we try to wait until we cross paths in person. Right now, just get settled in, do your job, make friends, let me know if you find anything." She spoke in an easy manner, before turning to a more serious tone.
"But if push comes to shove, and anyone's neck is on the line, it's mine." The Captain's eyes met Dorsainvil's in a way that let him know she wouldn't take no for an answer. "I give the orders, so I take the responsibility. I need everyone under me to let me bear that burden, so that if something happens, you all can regroup later, and hopefully find a way to carry on."
He looked into her eyes for half a moment longer, reading the steel and kindness that seemed welded together there. Then he gave a small nod acknowledging he heard her, and he understood.
"Yes, Captain," he said finally.
"Is there anything else while you have my undivided attention, Lieutenant?" Remy asked. The offer was an inviting one as she leaned forward with interest and took a sip of her tea.
JB glanced down at his tea, then lifted his gaze to meet Remy’s. The warmth in the cup mirrored something resolving in his chest. A loosening, maybe. Like he could finally stop walking through corridors with his elbows up.
The Astrea felt different. More open. Less like a proving ground and more like a place where you might actually catch your breath. Johansen's manner helped--frank, unguarded, and none of that brittle edge his former departmental leaders carried around.
He let that thought drift for a moment, then spoke.
"No, Captain," he said, an ease now pushing through his voice. He took a sip and let the steam curl toward his nose. "I think I’ll find my footing soon enough."
"Very well then. I can see you out," Remy offered as she stood up. "I'm sure Commander Spello will be asking for a one-on-one with you over the next few days. He would have been here, but I sent him down to the planet as soon as we arrived."
He rose with her, being careful not to jostle the tea too much as he set it down. His body moved out of habit, but he felt something inside him shifting. It was as though he was suddenly finding his sea legs again after spending too long ashore.
He gave her a small nod--not the kind you salute with, but simply the kind you offer when the words feel a little too big for the moment. Then he turned toward the door.
Ahead, the rest of his day awaited--long and unfamiliar, sure--but no longer a gauntlet.
Only a new start.
Captain Remira Johansen
Commanding Officer
USS Astrea
Lieutenant J.G. Jean-Baptiste Dorsainvil
Assistant Chief Security Officer
USS Astrea
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