Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Aug 4, 2020 19:06:06 GMT
[ LT (JG) Joshua Niles - First Officer's Office ]
Just when he thought he had the First Officer figured out, she would throw him for a loop again. Although, by now he ought to have expected her to do something that would be most definitely un-Starfleet-like. Like offering baked goods in the course of an impromptu career counseling session. "Ah, of course," he managed to stammer out. He most definitely needed to learn to anticipate her thoroughly grandmotherly behaviour and stop being taken by surprise by it.
But, with the Academy only six months behind him? There was much of the stiff formality that had been instilled into him over the course of four years that needed to be unlearned, at least to some degree.
"Honestly, I had no real idea if I was making the right call. But a call needed making. I was taught that as an officer, I couldn't afford to look indecisive, that I had to make a decision, any decision. If it's the right one, great; if it isn't, then readjust the course of action. But no matter what, I have to stand by what I've decided and be ready to face the music."
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Aug 4, 2020 20:22:59 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]
As she walked over to the area around her desk to retrieve a tinfoil-wrapped plate of chocolate-chip cookies, Judy listened. Yes, this was how Starfleet taught its graduates, especially in the present era.
She sat back down, and uncovered the plate of cookies.
"That's the kind of approach that I'd say is wise some of the time," she then remarked.
"In an emergency, there is a strong need to establish decisive leadership - a confused crew trying to follow conflicting or unclear orders is a recipe for disaster. In a confrontation, which this was, decisiveness projects strength, which is valuable," she explained one half of her claim. She took a sip of water from one of the glasses that was, as always, at the ready.
"But, conversely, when there is no need to project strength, and when the timeline doesn't call for a snap decision, then I believe that it's better to use the time you have to make a better decision. It's helpful to take a moment and analyze, as best as you can in that time, the different alternatives. Most of all, I believe it's helpful to consult with people around you, talk it out. Everyone, from the most legendary Admiral to the greenest recruit, has experiences and knowledge that influence their thinking. If you get bad advice, you can just not take it; if you get good advice, that helps improve your decision. Obviously, you don't have the time to deliberate when there's a gun to your head, but when you do, you're better off appearing... maybe a little indecisive, fretful, old, but making a good choice, than you are taking the decisive action without talking to anyone and having it blow up in your face," she continued.
This was Judy's preferred approach to solving problems as a professional, in the fleet and before that in the private sector. In her family, the decision-making process worked closer to the Talmudic ways - through argument.
She bit into a cookie. It was warm, but not quite at the fresh-out-of-the-oven levels of heat; solid enough not to be chewy, but still soft enough to support the younger mouths of her grandchildren.
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Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Aug 4, 2020 21:19:22 GMT
[ LT (JG) Joshua Niles - First Officer's Office ]
Still, Joshua listened carefully, even as he was happily enjoying one of her cookies. Having a superior who baked and would merrily share the fruits of her labour with her subordinates was something he'd never expected, was still throwing him for a loop, but it was something he could learn to get used to. And, something for himself to file for later. Perhaps he couldn't bake, but there was always this notion that he could, maybe, make use of similar gestures for his own subordinates. Now that he had that black pip on his shoulder, he fairly expected that he'd have more than just one torpedo bay to worry about on the Mac on top of his Bridge duties. If anything, it would hardly surprised if he would find himself the overall torpedo officer, or even thrown further duties on top of that.
"But in the end, even if we consult with our peers or subordinates, the decision is still ours alone at the end of the day. Let's go back to a torpedo bay, for example. If there's a complex repair that needs doing, I'd have to sign off on the process before the techs get to work, right? Now, my Petty Officers are the real specialists on what makes my bay tick, they're the machinery experts. Of course I'll take their advice as to how things need doing, but if, say, I want some preventive maintenance done on top of the required work, it's still my call even if they don't think it's immediately required, right?"
What he had said, pretty much, was straight out of the basic leadership training they had all received at the Academy, before the actual degree and the business of becoming Starfleet officers. Even if one was taking counsel from others, whoever had the final call to make couldn't just say 'what she said' at the end of the day, they had to make it clear that the decision was theirs in the end, even if it involved a lot of input from others.
"I mean, I know I'm still pretty young, and very green. I'd really like to think I'm pretty good at what I do... but I'd be pretty arrogant to think I know everything there's to know."
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Aug 5, 2020 0:19:07 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]
Having finished her cookie, Judy let her arms rest by her sides, all the while listening. What the young man had to say did not, in fact, contradict her own stance. "At the end of the day, the decision is indeed yours to make. Asking for and listening to a subordinate's opinion doesn't mean you have to do as they suggest. The chain of command is ultimately still there, and it's there for a reason," she explained.
She took a deep breath. Leadership was a difficult topic to teach, and one where there was no true substitute for experience.
"The decision to seek advice doesn't obligate you to take it. You should be respectful when you reject advice - even if it's downright stupid - but you can reject it. There is a great spectrum, if you will, between the top-down issuing of orders that you need to use in a crisis on the one hand, and governing by committee on the other."
Despite the deliberative, collaborative approach she favored, Judy did not believe in committees. Without either a unifying vision, or a single executive, committees were prone to either aimless wandering, or (worse yet) political games.
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Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Aug 6, 2020 19:39:12 GMT
[ LT (JG) Joshua Niles - First Officer's Office ]
There was so much that the Academy did not teach. Oh, they could go over philosophy of leadership, orders format, personnel evaluations, disciplinary regulations and proceedings, styles and approaches, small party tasks and simulations until the staff's face turned blue (not that these folk a very young Cadet Niles thought were complete sadists ever seem to tire of torturing their charges), but in the real world? Well there was no safety net. In a way, Petty Officers and Chiefs were a lot better-prepared for their own leadership positions at the time of promotion than most officers were. Officers had four years of schooling and training, but non-commissioned leaders had years, if not decades of experience behind them. It was one of those things that made the good ones invaluable to their officers, and also could make them incredibly difficult for very junior officers to manage.
And, there were also things that only life experience could teach... or someone who had that kind of experience and was willing to share it. Commander Severn of the USS Fawkes had put Niles to work during the long transit from Earth to the Front Ear, and she had even started him towards the certifications he would need not only to be appointed as officer of the watch, but also towards his Bridge Officer's Exam, the single greatest requirement for someone to be given command of a starship. But, she had been one of those who'd seen rapid promotions thanks to the losses incurred in the war, but what she lacked in life experience she made up for it with operational experience and that she had shared with the then-Ensign in spades.
Commander Eastman, on the other hand, had life experience in spades in and out of uniform and while she hardly seemed the kind of mentor a hard-charging, ambitious, young officer, let alone one whose expertise and interests had firmly laid on the Tactical track would be looking for, was exactly what a certain enterprising young officer needed: a leavening of experience and a head he'd seen first-hand was much cooler than his own. "Which means that the trick becomes figuring out what's necessary and when..."
He took a breath, and his mind went back to an earlier part of their conversation. Something that been less than expanded upon at the Academy was the subject of hindsight, and ever since the Kurjarian episode he'd been running that even through his mind entirely too often. "Ma'am, if you don't mind my asking, do you find yourself dissecting your courses of action after the fact? And how do you deal with it?"
Joshua mused for a moment
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Aug 6, 2020 21:47:01 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]
Judy took a deep, long breath. Oh, hindsight was a regular companion, the only form of sight she had that was 20/20.
"Much less nowadays than in years past. 20 years ago, and certainly when I was your age 40 years ago, I wasted far too much time re-evaluating, revisiting, all sorts of decisions I'd made. I got hung up on all sorts of things that really didn't matter. As a young woman, I... I didn't have the perspective that I have today, of what actually matters in the long run and what doesn't," Judy explained, as her face grew slightly redder than its usual pale white with the memory of just where her perspective came from.
"At the end of the day, you're only going to make so many big mistakes in your life, and those are what puts the small mistakes into perspective, and they put the right calls you make into perspective," she added.
She ran a hand through her blonde hair, pushing it back.
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Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Aug 6, 2020 22:30:19 GMT
[ LT (JG) Joshua Niles - First Officer's Office ]
When colour showed on the Commander's cheeks, what colour was on Niles' own drained. Instantly, he realized he may have stepped in it in some fashion. What line had he crossed without knowing it? What had he reminded her of that she would rather had stayed buried? All he could do, with regards to the guidance she was providing, was to offer a nod. Don't sweat the small stuff, let what's done remain done, and let experience put things into perspective.
However, there remained the matter of what he'd threaded on. "Ma'am, are you all right? I didn't mean to bring up things you'd rather forget, I'm sorry."
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Aug 7, 2020 0:08:01 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Station]
Judy let out another long breath. They were now well into a complicated topic, and she would be unwise to swerve away with a simple "it's nothing".
"No, no. It's not so much a matter of forgetting, really. There's a... a middle ground between forgetting the bad occurrences, the big mistakes, on the one hand, and... well, obsessing over them on the other. I'd rather not forget, because at the end of the day, it's not just the puppies and rainbows and grandchildren that brought me where I am, and made me who I am," she noted.
Of course, there was more to it. She wasn't going to go through the whole list of her demons, but she could reveal one, one that anyone could guess at.
"As a First Officer... during the War, I made a lot of choices that I'm proud of, and some choices that I regret; I made a few choices that I regret very deeply. I... lost people, good people, and that doesn't leave me. I don't want it to leave me. I remember those men and women, that much goes without saying, but I also see... the value in remembering how they fell, so I can avoid repeating those events. I'd rather not lose people if I can help it, and if the price I pay for that is crying out a nightmare in Max's arms every so often, then I consider that to be a bargain. Dirtying his pajama shirts, which I don't think he should have anyway, and interrupting our sleep, that's a small price to pay for even one life," she elaborated.
Judy's voice shook a few times. She had to pause to choose the right words. She grew redder. But she maintained her composure, all thanks to a man that wasn't even in the room. She turned to the thought of her beloved husband, his Scottish-accented voice, the boyish smile that crossed his face when their grandchildren entered a room, his inexplicable insistence on buttoning his shirts all the way even in the absence of a tie, and of course what happened between them when the grandchildren left and all those buttons came open; this was where she took solace when she didn't have the real deal on hand, and it was more than enough to keep her together now. In fact, when she finished speaking, a smile returned to her aging features, with even a little twinkle in her eye.
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Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Aug 7, 2020 2:10:35 GMT
[ LT (JG) Joshua Niles - First Officer's Office ]
Right then and there, Joshua Niles realized two very different things. First, that he'd not resorted to the most optimal choice of words with his comment about not meaning to dredge up bad memories. Second, that Commander Eastman was willing to trust those innermost thoughts with someone who was still an Ensign minutes ago. He'd been warned to keep his personal life away from his duty life, and to be careful what he shared and with whom, that in a lot of ways one's subordinates needed to be kept clear of one's family life.
However, Commander Eastman wasn't coming across as weak or overly emotional as she did so. In fact, it seemed she was using that as a strength, a strength that also served to humanize her all while being entirely honest about her not being infallible and expressing just precisely why she would hold the line and keep doing what she did best, even if would cost lives in the end.
That, and he unreservedly believed that if she needed to spend lives, she would fight and nail to reduce that number, and to ensure that every last life lost would not be in vain.
"I... I think I understand, Ma'am. Of course, I was still in my teens during the War, and it was when the Breen sucker-punched Earth that I decided I'd be heading for Starfleet. Until then, well..." He didn't really have anything to say on that just now. He simply didn't have enough time in the service to have racked up much in the way of traumatic experiences. And, given the scope of the Dominion War, keeping a terrorist from murdering civilians, talking down one of his accomplices and convincing him to help in ensuring a mostly peaceful resolution was small potatoes... "But for what it's worth, I'm sorry if I dredged up bad memories, that wasn't the intent."
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Aug 7, 2020 3:48:28 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]
Judy took another deep breath, working herself back into the familiar groove of her role as a cool, calm presence. She did not wear her heart out on her sleeve like this very often.
"There's really nothing to apologize for, believe me," she reassured.
And she left it at that. More philosophical musings about memory and the value of remembering wouldn't help, and neither would some quip about her own aging and mortality. She held that back.
"As for the Breen attack, I know that shook up a lot of people's worlds. I know a lot of good officers who chose to stay on after the war because of it," she continued, addressing what he'd shared. "In other words, you're in good company."
There were many such officers, now motivated by the need to protect parents, siblings, children, whoever, back on their home worlds.
"Anyway, you were saying about what you were thinking before then?" she prompted. "Just to satisfy my wayward curiosity."
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Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Aug 8, 2020 1:49:43 GMT
[ LT (JG) Joshua Niles - First Officer's Office ]
As the Commander was securing her composure all over again, Joshua knew he hadn't overstepped himself. And if the return of her apparent calm hadn't done it, her words certainly did. And, true to the wisdom he'd learned to expect from Judy Eastman, she let the matter drop right then and there rather than delve deeper into it to impart information that he would have no frame of reference to put in proper context.
What she had to say about the Breen sucker-punch of Earth was, well, pretty much expected. Starfleet was full of veterans of the Dominion War now; granted many had resigned and retired at the end of hostilities, but there was a solid core of those experienced officers and NCOs within the fleet, those old hands who had a wealth of experience to share with the newer generation. And, in Niles' mind, those were people he needed to track down and learn from, to take advantage of the institutional knowledge acquired in open warfare and to make it his own...
So he could not only make use of it himself, but pass it on and make sure that his eventual subordinates, years from how, will also know how to fight a war and won't have to learn from scratch like entirely too much of Starfleet had when the Dominion had reared its ugly head.
But the question he was asked, that did take him by surprise all right. However, he did take a deep breath to steel himself, and he indeed did opt to satisfy her curiosity.
"Well, to be honest, whatever it was I was thinking to do for myself didn't really matter. See, my family, on both sides, comes from what you could call political dynasties with a long history of political and public service careers. They had already decided I was going to go to Queen's University, most likely in political science, not leave those halls until I'd have my Masters, then find work in the public service or in politics, probably helped to find a position by their friends and acquaintances. I.... didn't have a hell of a lot of say in the matter. But when the Breen hit us, and I heard more of what Starfleet was doing for, well, everyone, that's when I decided I was going to join. They were less than pleased when they realized they couldn't change my mind, so they signed off on it but they weren't too happy about it either."
A small smile showed on his thin lips. He was well aware of how it sounded, so he was quick to amplify on what he thought was the sticking point. "Don't get me wrong, I didn't join to stick it to my parents. I love them even if their notions and mine don't quite jive. I know better than most it's the public service that makes the world go round, but that wasn't for me. I needed to do more, you know? So as soon as I could, I took the exams... and I didn't tell my parents until after I received the acceptance letter..."
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Aug 8, 2020 3:27:09 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]
A cookie in her hand, and then her mouth, Judy listened. She was no stranger to the ideas of connections, dynasties, legacies, expectations, etc. To some extent, she'd perpetuated them down the line in her own family tree.
"I can tell you didn't join the fleet out of spite," she reassured him. "There are signs that I've learned to see of people who don't actually want to be in the Fleet for their own sake, or for the Fleet's sake... out of some constructive motive, so to speak."
She took a sip of water.
"In any case, I can tell you that you're not the only one in this room who didn't do quite what their parents had fantasized. You see, my parents, and both of my mother's parents - Lawyers, a long way up the family tree. Hahvahd[fn]Exaggerated Boston accent included[/fn] grads, some politicians, especially my mother. But I liked - still like - right answers a little bit too much to go into a profession that argues both sides; not to mention, I snubbed Hahvahd thrice. And since these cycles perpetuate themselves, I got a son with a degree in Theater, of all things," she shared from her own life's story.
"Mind you, parents get over it. At the end of the day, what we really want is for our kids to be happy, to stay in touch, and to give us plenty of charming little grandchildren. Everything beyond that, if it isn't already trivial like it was to my parents, becomes trivial with time. The right school, the right career, the right whatever, that's all secondary."
Such was the benefit of age. Judy had lived experiences as a young woman, so she could relate to the people under her command. However, as an older woman in the present, she also understood the people who were sometimes stressors in their lives - parents, bosses, mentors, etc.
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Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Aug 8, 2020 22:17:46 GMT
[ LT (JG) Joshua Niles - First Officer's Office ]
And once again, Joshua found himself visibly surprised as his eyes went wide at the revelations he was given. Of course he had known there were still such dynasties as his own family out there, even on Earth, but he had hardly expected to hear that Commander Eastman herself was form such an upbringing. And her mentions of Harvard itself and how she had rebuked them three times. Hell, even if his own family had connections and status, that prestigious a school had been beyond his reach, and words like 'legacy admission' floated through his mind.
However, to know that she had rejected that particular school and the path her parents had made for him made Judy somehow more... human to the newly-minted Lieutenant. Because until just this very moment, he felt the elderly Commander and he had nothing in common past the uniform they wore and the oaths they had sworn, but it would seem there indeed was much more to it all right. And, to his delight, he heard her say how she was not pressuring her own family to follow in a particular set of footprints.
"Well, my parents did get over it. I saw them at my commissioning ceremony. They're not entirely happy with my choice, but they'd accepted it for what it was, so there's at least that much."
Then, a question came to his mind. "Ma'am, if you don't mind my asking, how many children and grandchildren do you have? And how do you reconcile family life with, well, this?"
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Aug 8, 2020 23:24:43 GMT
[Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - First Officer's Office]"Of course I don't mind!" Judy answered. If there was one thing in life of which she was proud, it was her family. She stood up from the table and walked over to large, framed family photo on the wall. Taken during the previous Hanukkah, this one was of Judy and Max, seated on their sofa, surrounded by 9 descendants [fn]See diagram: [/fn] of various sizes. "I have four kids: 34-year-old twins, Lawrence and Gerald; 19-year-old Thomas, and 14-year-old Anna who lives here on the station. As grandchildren go, Lawrence gave me Michael, Helen, and tiny little Benjamin, while Gerald gave me Jules and Alyssa."The largest of the five Grandkids was Michael, aged 6, while the smallest was Benjamin, only one year of age at the time of this photo. "As for making this all happen, that comes down to several things. I have a great partner, first and foremost. Max really covers all my blind spots, so I'm very lucky to have him, and to have the relationship between us that we do. There are also compromises that I've had to make over the years, in terms of where I put in my limited time - because even with too much coffee, time is finite. And, as the exact opposite of that last point, family and career really balance each other out. When I go out here, and I have to deal with requisition forms, or some Ferengi who looks at me like you'd look at week-old sushi, it's helpful to know that there's a 6-year-old who thinks I'm a superhero. And, when I come home, I always remember how lucky I am to have these incredible people to come home to every day."The fact that, biologically, most of her descendants weren't Max's, didn't matter to any of them. He was "Dad", and "Grandpa", in all the ways that mattered.
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Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Aug 9, 2020 19:55:20 GMT
[ LT (JG) Joshua Niles - First Officer's Office ]
There really were two ways this could go when Joshua asked his question. He could be told that it was none of his business and that this conversation was over... or she could be as happy as she could to speak of her kin and even bring forward a picture to share with a very young subordinate.
To Niles' eyes, it was a good-looking family all right, happy-looking. And, most definitely the single most important people in the Commander's life. It would take one rare idiot to fail to notice just how much they mattered to her. And then, she answered his other question... in a way he had no real idea what to do with. He had no family, no children, not even a prospect for companionship on the horizon. He did not really have anyone for whom he'd be happily putting himself through the rigors of Starfleet duty for.
"I... I think I understand," he replied as he considered her words. "I... envy you that."
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