“The Quiet Truth”
Posted on Fri Feb 27th, 2026 @ 9:29am by Petty Officer 1st Class Kara DeSotto & Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson
Mission:
Below Decks
Location: Captain’s Ready Room — USS Elysium
Timeline: 2300 hours, two days after the rumor reaches the bridge
619 words - 1.2 OF Standard Post Measure
The ready room was dim, lit only by the shifting blue-white glow of the Circinus void outside the viewport. Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson sat at her desk, a mug of untouched tea cooling beside a padd of personnel reports. The ship’s heartbeat—the steady hum of the engines—was her only companion until the door chimed softly.
“Enter.”
Yeoman Kara DeSoto stepped inside, her uniform jacket folded neatly over one arm, as though she had debated whether to come at all.
Phoenix looked up. “You should be off-shift, Kara.”
“I know, ma’am.” Kara hesitated before crossing the room. “I just… thought you should hear something. Directly. Before it spreads further.”
Phoenix’s brow furrowed. “Further?”
Kara exhaled slowly. “There’s talk circulating below decks. It started after the last attack—people gathering to ‘discuss morale,’ but it’s grown into something else. I’ve heard three different versions just today.”
The Commodore’s expression didn’t change, but her fingers tightened around the edge of her mug. “What kind of talk?”
“Nothing open, nothing dangerous yet,” Kara said carefully. “Just crew who are tired. Angry. They say Command isn’t being honest about what’s happening in this region. Some think you’re withholding information.”
Phoenix looked toward the viewport for a long time before answering. “We are withholding information, Yeoman. Because half of what we know makes no sense even to us.”
“I understand that,” Kara said gently. “But they don’t. All they see are sealed briefings, closed-door meetings, and officers walking the halls with the weight of the galaxy on their shoulders.”
Phoenix rose and began pacing, the soft whisper of her boots against the deck breaking the silence. “We’ve lost twenty-three people since we crossed into Circinus. Hull breaches, raider attacks, alien interference. And yet they think I’m the enemy.”
“They don’t think that, ma’am,” Kara said quickly. “They’re scared. And fear fills in blanks faster than facts do.”
Phoenix stopped, hands braced on the edge of the desk. “Do you believe them, Kara? Do you think we’ve lost their trust?”
Kara met her eyes, steady and unflinching. “I think you still have it—for now. But people are starting to listen to the wrong voices. They want to believe someone’s in control, and when they can’t see you among them… they start imagining shadows.”
Phoenix’s shoulders sank, the mask of command slipping for just a moment. “How bad is it?”
“Bad enough that I thought you needed to know,” Kara said softly. “But not beyond repair. Not if they see you. Talk to them, even briefly. A walk through Engineering, a visit to Medical. Something real. They need to see the woman keeping this ship alive, not the rank on her collar.”
Phoenix studied her for a long moment, then gave a faint, weary smile. “You’re wiser than most of my senior staff, Kara.”
The yeoman’s expression softened. “I just listen, ma’am. It’s what I’m good at.”
Phoenix nodded. “Then keep listening. Quietly. If this… discussion group meets again, I want to know—but no names. I don’t want witch-hunts. We fix this by leading, not punishing.”
Kara inclined her head. “Understood, Commodore.”
As she turned to leave, Phoenix called after her, voice quieter now. “Kara… thank you. For telling me the truth.”
Kara paused at the door, the dim starlight catching her hazel-green eyes. “Always, ma’am. Someone has to.”
The door slid shut behind her, leaving Phoenix alone with the hum of the engines and the reflection of her own face in the glass—tired, resolute, and still searching for the line between command and compassion.
