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For a third time, Hera slid her stylus over the PADD, reading through her report. It wasn't that she was nervous, but –

No. It was exactly that she was nervous. Which wasn't something Hera was used to feeling, even when she had ample reason for it. She was even fairly certain it was something her captain inspired in her without meaning to. And yet, here she was, looking through her report, again.

Near the end, she rises from her desk, never looking up from the PADD. Hera carries it with her as she walks to the wall of her quarters, moving along it to the Replicator.

"Computer." There was a chime of recognition. Hera still didn't look up. "Water, ten degrees."

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She taps her badge again, and then smiles, and leans forward to very quickly kiss Kanan once more on the cheek.

"I'll see you later," she says, picking up her PADD and rising from her seat.

"Hopefully not on an emergency away mission. "

He's smiling as he says it, though.

And after she's gone, he's still going to be smiling.

Hera's own expression clears as she enters the hall. She pauses just long enough to smooth down her uniform again, and then heads for the bridge.

It doesn't take long. She nods a few times as she passes other crew members, and somehow feels her nervousness dissipate as she approaches the bridge. Facing a situation is always better than waiting for it.

"Commander," Captain Thrawn says, mere seconds after Hera enters the bridge.

He stands from his command chair, nodding briefly to a nearby science officer.

"Lieutenant Wren, you have the conn. Come with me to my ready room, please, Commander."

Given that the ready room is the next one down from the bridge, it isn't as if they have far to go.

"Yes, captain."

She follows him, though she glances to Lieutenant Wren long enough to give her a quick smile as she does.

Thrawn keeps his hands clasped behind his back all the way to sitting at his desk, gesturing for Hera to join him for a better view of the vidscreen.

"We've received a hail, Commander, from one of the planets in this system. I'm curious what you make of it."

Given that they're here to provide a mobile base for several scientists -- including Lieutenant Wren -- to study the spectra output of this binary star system far too close to a black hole -- and the system was reported uninhabited due to difficult gravitational forces . . .

"I myself, I confess, am not sure what to think, as yet."

Hera does join him, her own hands folded behind her back as she approaches his desk.

"A distress signal?" she asks, though it's the only thing she says before the message ends. Then -

"They don't have to be locals. Maybe deep space runners who made a navigational error."

She leaves unsaid that there are many legitimate, and not so legitimate, reasons to fly deep space in such a way that would leave one stranded in an otherwise uninhabited system.

"Hmm."

Thrawn's brow is faintly furrowed as he considers a swathe of possibilities.

"Desperate people are often inclined to do desperate, foolish things. Our away party, should we send one to investigate, ought to be made of up at least a few who are prepared for an ambush."

"Our Chief of Security might be able to confirm whether the distress call is genuine."

At least it's one of the advantages of Kanan being half-Betazoid.

"A good thought."

Thrawn's thin mouth curves in the faintest smile, and then he taps his badge.

"Lieutenant Commander Jarrus, report to the captain's ready room post-haste."

Once that's done --

"Any other suggestions? Perhaps Lieutenant Orrelios and Ensign Vanto, should we decide the message is genuine."

Edited 2017-08-13 17:06 (UTC)

Hera glances away, briefly, at the Captain's shift in expression, but otherwise her own doesn't change.

"I can lead the away team."

"You do have a talent for it," Thrawn agrees.

"Consider it done. Rest assured I will take the conn back from Lieutenant Wren while you're away. She's sensible, but she's also young."

One reason he gave it to the science officer just now is that both he and Commander Syndulla are no more than ten feet away in case of emergency.

Hera nods.

She considers whether she should say anything else, but decides very quickly that this isn't the moment for it, and instead stays silent as they wait for Kanan.

Kanan, hair tied back and uniform shirt straight and unwrinkled, presents himself at the door to the ready room, takes a breath, and enters.

"Captain. Commander."

He approaches at Thrawn's gesture, curious as to what he's doing here. There's not all that much tension in the room, just -- uncertainty.

Hmm.

She waits just long enough that she can feel certain enough that the Captain is waiting for her to speak.

"We've received what looks like a distress call from an unknown party." Hera nods in the direction of the vidscreen.

"Before we respond, we'd like to have some idea of whether it's genuine."

"Understood."

Kanan looks toward the screen, taking a breath and readying himself to pay a particular kind of attention to what's about to happen.

"I'm ready."

The distress call plays. Behind it Kanan can feel panic, a flicker of terror, and then grim determination.

Deception is harder to find, and he can't swear absolutely to its absence, but --

"It's real, as much as I can tell. Whoever sent this was panicked, then determined. I think they planned to survive against whatever odds are down on that planet. And I don't think they're good."

"That probably means it's not intentionally a trap."

Which is better than the alternative. Hera turns from Kanan to the Captain.

"True."

Thrawn inclines his head, hands still clasped behind his back as he thinks.

"Though should it prove to be the results of a smuggling operation gone wrong, I doubt they'll want to return to the Cerberus. Whichever away team we muster ought to be prepared for that sort of effort, at least until we're sure of who our lost party is."

"Lieutenant Commander, your thoughts?"

Between the three of them, Thrawn feels, they should be able to come up with an acceptable team. Fulfilling one's duty while keeping one's people safe is the job of every Starfleet officer.

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