Captain Zachariah Cobb sat, tense and alert, in the CIC’s central seat, wearing the oppressive mantle of one far older and decrepit than even his own advanced years. It appeared, to any who gazed upon him, that events on the starbase had taken a considerable toll, the mission, and the heated conversations with the Admiral, draining him almost to the last drop.

Around him the room lay silent, the odd bleep and chirp as terminals capitulated under wiser, more sentient hands the only occasional break. And every now and then, a whisper, as the captain murmured quietly a repeating sentence to himself.
“And I have done a hellish thing.”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb