03-04-2026, 07:26 PM
Peter chuckled at her reply, smiled slightly, and then nodded as she explained what she was thinking.
"Well, the truth is that I don't know why you have been asked to join us, Midshipman", he said. "But I know for a fact, that it is not for chewing you out. I have know the Captain long enough to know this. If she has a problem with something that someone did, she will tell that person in private, unless it's a dire emergency. And certainly not dress them down in a meeting of the senior staff", he reassured her.
He sighed.
"We did indeed lose someone". He wasn't about to comment on Tomer's qualities or lack of same. Not to a Midshipman. There was only two people onboard who he could moan to if he wanted...and he didn't really want to do it to the Captain. As for Art...he didn't want to waste what little time their schedules allowed them to have together with stuff like this unless he had no choice.
"This happens. Space travel is dangerous.", he pointed out. "That is the risk we take as Starfleet Officers. Or...rather, the certainty. We will likely end up losing people under our command or in our care. It's going to happen at one point or another, unless, maybe, you spend your entire career hauling barges from Earth to Mars.
Seeing as they were alone, he took a deep breath.
"I'm going to tell you a story", he said, "since we're alone. And I trust you not to tell anyone else"
Then he sighed.
"The very first away mission I led after having graduated the Academy, I lost someone.", he said. "I let myself get pressured into bringing a person on an away team who not only my gut feeling, but everything I knew about them, made my instincts scream to me not to take the. My DH "hinted" that I should bring that person anyway. So I did. I was young, freshly graduated, and trusted my superior more than myself."
Then a pause.
"And someone got killed because of that reason. Someone who trusted me to lead them."
He let that statement hang in the air for a bit.
"It nearly broke me", he said. "I was furious. I was heartbroken. But I used the pain. The experience. And learned from it. And became a better officer because of having had that experience"
Another pause.
"I will never forget that first away mission. But I have made sure that that person did not die in vain. Does that make sense?", he asked. Not in the normal way an officer says "Do you understand?". His tone is slightly softer. Not familiar by any stretch of the word, but...almost casual. He wants her to actually understand, not just parrot him.
"Well, the truth is that I don't know why you have been asked to join us, Midshipman", he said. "But I know for a fact, that it is not for chewing you out. I have know the Captain long enough to know this. If she has a problem with something that someone did, she will tell that person in private, unless it's a dire emergency. And certainly not dress them down in a meeting of the senior staff", he reassured her.
He sighed.
"We did indeed lose someone". He wasn't about to comment on Tomer's qualities or lack of same. Not to a Midshipman. There was only two people onboard who he could moan to if he wanted...and he didn't really want to do it to the Captain. As for Art...he didn't want to waste what little time their schedules allowed them to have together with stuff like this unless he had no choice.
"This happens. Space travel is dangerous.", he pointed out. "That is the risk we take as Starfleet Officers. Or...rather, the certainty. We will likely end up losing people under our command or in our care. It's going to happen at one point or another, unless, maybe, you spend your entire career hauling barges from Earth to Mars.
Seeing as they were alone, he took a deep breath.
"I'm going to tell you a story", he said, "since we're alone. And I trust you not to tell anyone else"
Then he sighed.
"The very first away mission I led after having graduated the Academy, I lost someone.", he said. "I let myself get pressured into bringing a person on an away team who not only my gut feeling, but everything I knew about them, made my instincts scream to me not to take the. My DH "hinted" that I should bring that person anyway. So I did. I was young, freshly graduated, and trusted my superior more than myself."
Then a pause.
"And someone got killed because of that reason. Someone who trusted me to lead them."
He let that statement hang in the air for a bit.
"It nearly broke me", he said. "I was furious. I was heartbroken. But I used the pain. The experience. And learned from it. And became a better officer because of having had that experience"
Another pause.
"I will never forget that first away mission. But I have made sure that that person did not die in vain. Does that make sense?", he asked. Not in the normal way an officer says "Do you understand?". His tone is slightly softer. Not familiar by any stretch of the word, but...almost casual. He wants her to actually understand, not just parrot him.