(no subject)

[for_everyone]

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."

Comments

[notallofus]

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.

[for_everyone]

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."

[notallofus]

"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."

[for_everyone]

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

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

[grandadmiralartcritic]

"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.