"Young Blood"

[Joe Manning 0]

As the transport car soared through the cavernous passages of the sprawling Xorax colony, Joe looked over the small group that had decided to travel with him. All of them were 'new guys.' The majority of his crew was new guys (and one new gal) now. Chris, Troy, and Pher were the only ones left from the Expanse mission. That disastrous battle with raiders had wiped out half his crew, and possibly cost him some of the others.

 

Dash and T'aral had decided at some point during the Minos search that the Qob life was a little too much risk for their tastes. They stayed behind on Tranquility, forcing Joe and Chris to give more consideration to recruits like Byblos and Shane than they otherwise would have been inclined to. Now Pher was questioning Joe's judgment and decisions more than ever. And Troy had flat out handed in his resignation before a sudden change of heart when Minos threatened to burn Tranquility. Joe feared that two more of his most trusted advisors, two of the brightest employees he'd ever brought aboard Qob, were also slipping away. Chris remained the image of loyalty ... but who could say what feelings were buried beneath that image.

 

Chris, Troy, and Pher had all lost friends in the Expanse. Joe had to keep reminding himself of that as he ran through the millions of scenarios in which the battle could have gone better. Commanding Qob had been becoming more and more wearying as he advanced in years; the Expanse mission slammed that reality against him like a meteor. The feeling that he let down everyone on his crew -- casualties and survivors -- wounded him deeper than the failure to achieve the mission objective.

 

Joe was putting on a facade, and it was becoming more and more difficult to maintain. His profile said 70 years of age, most of them under the best medical care Starfleet could provide. A relatively young age. But Joe's body had been giving a different age for years now. And recently, perhaps only in the past few months, his mind was starting to feel older. He tried to hide it. He tried to show the same youthful vigor and enthusiasm he'd shown in his Starfleet days. He worried that the disaster in the Expanse was the first sign that his command ability was waning, that the facade was cracking and the growing infirmity was putting the entire crew at risk.

 

Eventually, sooner perhaps than later, he would have to hand the keys to the ship to someone else. He had a candidate in mind, but readying both the candidate and the crew for that was going to take substantial work.

 

For now, he would rely on young blood. The new guys. And the old guys for that matter. Pher had taken charge of the Minos mission at the end. Though Joe would not admit it, he admired the decisions she'd made and her skill at carrying them out. Though he would argue with her and question her prudence, he agreed with her decision to cooperate with the Guardians; he merely needed to remain the bad guy to bargain with Savoy. Joe would need to encourage (without appearing to do so) more of such boldness in his advisors. He would need their input more than ever, and their willingness to take charge when needed might prove vital.

 

Joe looked around the car at Byblos, Robert, and William. He knew next to nothing about them. Sure, Byblos was a street raider who hailed from the bad part of Tranquility and hated the Guardians. But was there more to him than the wanted posters in the Unspeakable District suggested? Robert was a lot like him -- a Starfleet doctor who'd decided that Federation space wasn't the place for him. But why did he wait ten years to leave Federation space after the end of the war? What about his past was he hiding? William seemed like a simple case -- a Guardian mechanic who removed the uniform because the mercenary price was right. Was there more to his decision, though? His Guardian job had offered security and steady pay. What did the mercenary life offer that suited him better?

 

If Joe was going to lean more on the young blood, he would need to get to know them better. This little excursion offered a good opportunity. All of Xorax colony was sprawled out for their exploration. Where did their interests lie? What would they choose to do? The question at the very core of who they were -- what did they want?

 

"So," Joe said. "Where should we go?"

[Pher 0]

If Joe was going to lean more on the young blood, he would need to get to know them better. This little excursion offered a good opportunity. All of Xorax colony was sprawled out for their exploration. Where did their interests lie? What would they choose to do? The question at the very core of who they were -- what did they want?

 

"So," Joe said. "Where should we go?"

 

All those great questions...

 

"What do you want?"

 

"Who are you?"

 

"Where do you want to go?"

 

"Are we there yet?" :D