04-03-2026, 06:38 AM
Riley slowed just enough to catch Chief d’Tor’an’s last instruction before the older woman changed direction again.
⠀
“Understood, Chief,” she said without hesitation. “I’ll have the clock up and the drills staged before you get back.”
⠀
The answer came quickly. The confidence behind it took a fraction longer. Chief. Ensign. Security drills for a possible Cardassian boarding action. Half an hour ago she had walked into the briefing room wondering whether she was there to be corrected. Now she was walking out of it with a field assignment, a promotion, and the kind of responsibility that stopped being theoretical the moment people might start getting hurt. She could feel the new pip on her collar without touching it.
You wanted this, she reminded herself. Maybe not like this. Still counts.
⠀
Riley watched Art head off toward the holodeck with the purposeful stride of someone about to work a dangerous amount of frustration out on a holographic target. For the briefest second, the corner of Riley’s mouth threatened to lift.
⠀
Honestly, that might be the healthiest thing anyone in this meeting does today.
⠀
The thought helped. Not much, but enough. Then it was gone again, replaced by the harder edge of what had just happened. Chief d’Tor’an had not told her to wait. She had not told her to ask permission from somebody older, or more senior, or more comfortable in the department. She had told Riley to start.
So Riley started moving.
>> Security Complex >>
⠀
“Understood, Chief,” she said without hesitation. “I’ll have the clock up and the drills staged before you get back.”
⠀
The answer came quickly. The confidence behind it took a fraction longer. Chief. Ensign. Security drills for a possible Cardassian boarding action. Half an hour ago she had walked into the briefing room wondering whether she was there to be corrected. Now she was walking out of it with a field assignment, a promotion, and the kind of responsibility that stopped being theoretical the moment people might start getting hurt. She could feel the new pip on her collar without touching it.
You wanted this, she reminded herself. Maybe not like this. Still counts.
⠀
Riley watched Art head off toward the holodeck with the purposeful stride of someone about to work a dangerous amount of frustration out on a holographic target. For the briefest second, the corner of Riley’s mouth threatened to lift.
⠀
Honestly, that might be the healthiest thing anyone in this meeting does today.
⠀
The thought helped. Not much, but enough. Then it was gone again, replaced by the harder edge of what had just happened. Chief d’Tor’an had not told her to wait. She had not told her to ask permission from somebody older, or more senior, or more comfortable in the department. She had told Riley to start.
So Riley started moving.
>> Security Complex >>