The tapping of Aakon’s fingers against the cold metal table seemed to echo across the room; a deafening thud thud thud amidst the silence. A PADD sat on the table, text glowing a soft whitish blue. The PADD itself was a tome of misery; laying bare what little details Fourth Fleet Command had been able to become aware of. 

A soft hiss signaled the opening of a door. Aakon didn’t bother to look towards whomever had entered, his gaze remaining fixed on the chaotic streaks of blue that flashed around the ship as it sped through subspace. He knew it was Isabella; it was hard to sneak up on a Betazoid after all. Still, he usually turned to acknowledge whomever entered the room he was in or at least tried to act like he didn’t know who was about to walk in the door; a common courtesy that seemed so foreign to him as a child as his parents educated him in the universe that lied beyond Betazed’s front door. He wasn’t sure there would be a Betazed to return home too.

“Captain, we’re about to reach the edge of the Expanse.”

Aakon nodded. “Thank you Commander.”

He could sense her hesitation, swirled with fear, anxiety and a healthy dash of anger. He never purposely read the thoughts of another, not without their permission. It was among the worst violations a telepathic being could inflict upon anyone else but he couldn’t shut off sensing how anyone felt. He could simply deal with it and years upon years of schooling on Betazed had taught him how to handle social encounters with non-telepathics but in times like this it was difficult to handle others emotions on top of his own.

“Did you have a question Izzy?”

She sat down on the opposite side of the table. “Was that a communication from Starfleet?”

Aakon turned his chair to face her. “Yes. Fourth Fleet Command has a few tricks up their sleeves to bypass the Blackout. It’s nothing comprehensive or detailed but it’s at least something.”

“What did they say?”

He gave the PADD a shove, sliding it across the table. It was technically classified but it wasn’t like there was any way to punish him. “Ignore the parts saying it’s classified.”

Her eyes moved back and forth as she absorbed the information. He could feel her mood change in real time. The hesitation gave way to grief, the anxiety giving way to fear. It wasn’t like in the holo-novels where the color drained from someone’s face, their eyes going wide as they desperately asked ‘what are we going to do?’. No, it was a quiet, mournful type of realization.

“So it really is a true invasion?”

Aakon nodded. “Correct. We think they are in just about every single sector that is chopped up by the Blackout.”

She sat the PADD down softly.

“It’s safe to assume most sectors are facing aggressive actions including the core worlds. If we can’t overcome the effects of the Blackout and rally the fleets then we’re not going to be able to hold out for all that long.” Aakon turned back to the window. 

“How long?”

Aakon gave her a soft shrug. “Out here? We’ll probably hold on for quite a while. Military invasion tactics would suggest that as they mop up with the more important targets they will spread out to the less important areas. Impossible to know considering we know nothing about their forces.”

It was quiet for minutes.

“Do you remember the huge recruitment drive Starfleet did in like 2398? To celebrate the coming turn of the century?”

Aakon chuckled. “Oh yes. I did an FNN interview as I had been roped into helping out on the Academy campus during the big Academy tour day. The Boldly Go Initiative. Lasted all of a month before it fizzled out. I’m not even sure if anyone joined up because of that.”

Izzy leaned back in her chair. “Turns out Jackson stayed in the Academy because of that whole event. He was a third year and burning out; didn’t see the point in staying in.”

“Huh. He never told me that. We were talking about the Academy a few nights ago.”

Izzy let that part pass; she was sure he didn’t mean to hint out loud at what most of the senior staff already knew. A slip of the tongue while his mind was distracted by the weight of the world on his shoulders. “He stayed in because with all the pomp and splash of that whole drive showed him that Stafleet was still home to explorers; defenders of the innocent. The whole recruitment speech.”

Aakon left out a soft hum of agreement. “He is the idealist out of the bunch of us; you always are at that age. Doesn’t seem like we have done much of that lately.”

“That’s my point, Aakon. I don’t know if I can keep doing this. How do you keep doing death and destruction over and over again when we are supposed to be explorers? When we are supposed to bring light to people? Borg, Dominion, now these bastards. The galaxy is a never ending horror show.”

Aakon turned to face her once again. “I can’t give you an answer Izzy. I truly can’t. What I can focus on in the here and now is that people need help. They need us. I can’t let my gaze drift from that. I can’t focus on the fact that my homeworld may very well be burning yet again, that a foreign invader likely marches down her streets once more; the worst is I had no true idea of what is going on at home and can only sit here and think up scenarios that grow wroe by the minute. I have no choice but to hold that back. When our job is done I will scream from my very soul at the injustices that this damn galaxy continues to perpetuate on us. I will weep without hesitation or restraint over what we’ve lost, what I know I have lost at home. Until then I’ll keep my gaze ahead.”

The two sat in silence for several minutes; a more comfortable silence. Aakon could feel the conflict rolling around in Izzy’s consciousness. A chirp from the overhead speakers finally broke the silence.

“Sorry to interrupt sirs.” It was Talnot. “We will enter the Expanse in 6 minutes.”

“Thank you Lieutenant.” Aakon tapped a button to close the line.

Izzy stood, pushing the chair back in. “Are we going to tell the crew anything?”

Aakon shook his head. “I don’t have much to tell them beyond the quadrants are likely falling to the Vaadwaur as we speak. Most of it is classified anyway.”

“Yet another burden to bear.”

Aakon stood, nodding. “I feel that there will be no shortage of burdens to bear during this.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “We can at least handle them together.”

Izzy nodded. “Thank goodness we at least have that.”

He smiled, nodding at the door. “Come on, let’s go see whatever else the galaxy is going to throw at us this morning.”