"The away team is due to depart within the hour. I've updated Commander Sie and Ensign Fog with the latest emergency protocal. Ensign Fog is nervous, but the nature of war is that sometimes responsibility is handed to you earlier than it otherwise would be. He will hold up, I have no doubt about that. Commander Sie will be with him each step of the way and both are fine officers."<br>
<br>He paced about the room, "I have mixed feelings about this away mission. I have been in harms way before, but perhaps my time on Vulcan has left me with a greater appreciation of the calm, logical serenity that seems eternal upon that planet. It is certainly a far cry from possible radioactive death." He gave an involuntary shudder, "And yet, that is precisely what is probably happening to the people on this planet right now. We have heard little from Cho'lu and can only assume the worst."
<div><br></div><div>He stopped by his replicator, "Tea, earl gray." </div><div><br></div><div>"Nix will be happy, she has been itching to get off the ship since we arrived in the system. I think though, that she perhaps would rather be investigating the asteroids than tarrying planet side. Once she has the bit between her teeth she never stops."</div>
<div><br></div><div>He took a sip.</div><div><br></div><div>"The captain is her usual collected self, but the war has taken its toll upon her. In all the long years that I have known her K'ylana has never been this withdrawn. Command to, I am sure, has helped insulate her from the challenges of close friends who may have drawn her out long before she became as I now see her today. Toby and Cait care deeply for her but with a child of their own I think that things have slipped through without them spotting it. After this is through I will attempt to bring a little more relaxation into the captain's life. I think she is ready for it."</div>
<div><br></div><div>He took another sip, and another, resting in the silence that flooded him with a calm before the storm of their away team mission.</div><div><br></div><div>"Well, I'll have to make this log brief if I am to make the meeting on time. Computer, end log."</div>
<div><br></div><div>**V**</div><div><br>Lieutenant Commander Marcus Saladin</div><div>Operations Manager U.S.S. Vimyridge</div>