TITLE: A Conversation
AUTHOR: Sally
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: A conversation between two captains
DISCLAIMER: These characters belong to Paramount, etc., etc.
“The fact is, Kathryn,” Jean-Luc said one morning over a hot cup of Earl Grey, “Being a Star Fleet captain is not exactly an easy job. I don’t know how you stood I, being out there with no support.”
“It was not without its sacrifices,” she murmured, taking a sip of the tea, a beverage she was beginning to appreciate.
“Mmm. It can be lonely at the top.”
“You have no idea,” she replied without thinking.
“Oh, but I rather think I do,” he chuckled. “Star Fleet might have relaxed the rules somewhat while you were gone but its still difficult for a captain to have a relationship with a member of his or her crew.”
“Especially with your first officer,” Kathryn mused.
To his credit, Jean-Luc did his best to look shocked. “Kathryn,” he chided. “You didn’t, did you?”
She laughed. “No. Of course not. But who knows what might have happened if we’d not been on a Star Fleet ship. But it wasn’t going to work out.”
“I know the feeling. So what do you do, Kathryn? Its easy enough to say look elsewhere but we’ve made our ships our lives.”
“It’s not even an option when you’re alone in an unknown area of space.”
He took another sip of his drink. “What about that fellow Jaffen? Why didn’t you ask him to stay on board?”
“Because then he would have been a member of the crew,” she sighed. “Same problem.”
“Not necessarily,” Jean-Luc told her. “He wouldn’t have been Star Fleet. Look at your first officer, he managed to have quite a successful relationship with Seven of Nine, didn’t he?”
“But he wasn’t captain,” she complained.
“But she was a civilian,” Jean-Luc explained. “Which is what Jaffen would have been.”
Kathryn looked distinctly uncomfortable.
“Ah, well, its all in the past,” he tried to reassure her. “You’ve got a wealth of opportunities to explore now. “He stood up. “Well, Kathryn, as much as this has been fun, I do have a briefing at ten hundred hours.”
“I understand.”
“He paused on his way to the door.” “I tell you what,” he said. “Why don’t we do dinner?” Say, tonight? Twenty hundred hours?”
Kathryn nodded. “That would be lovely, Jean-Luc. Thank you.”
“It would be my pleasure, Kathryn.”
He smiled warmly at her again before leaving. His words echoed in her head. “Wealth of opportunities… look elsewhere.” Kathryn had a feeling she wouldn’t need to look far.
FINIS