A Difficult Decision

Posted on Fri Sep 13, 2019 @ 5:51pm by Lieutenant Martha Cusack & Elsie Cusack

Mission: The Nanjing
Location: Cusacks' Quarters
Timeline: MD1; 17:30

Martha was asleep on the family's sofa after a long shift whilst Lucia had gone out for a drink with some of her friends from Security. Martha hadn't slept well the previous night so was hoping to catch up on some sleep while she had the opportunity to do so.

Meanwhile Elsie lay on the floor reading one of her books when she heard a familiar noise begin to echo around the family quarters. She slowly got up from the floor and walked up to the console before accepting the incoming communications request. She didn't recognise the man who was on the screen - although she did recognise a Starfleet uniform when she saw one.

"Oh good evening - I'm sorry to interrupt you. I don't suppose you know where Lieutenant Martha Cusack is please? I was hoping to have a quick chat with her if she's available" the man said.

Elsie replied. "I'll just go and get her for you now - won't be a minute"

"Thank you" the man responded.

Elsie walked over to the couch and gently tapped Martha on the shoulder to wake her up again.

"Mum...there's someone who's asked to speak to you" Elsie said.

Martha jumped as she felt Elsie's hand touch her shoulder. She groaned and rubbed her eyes before stretching and asking her daughter who it was that wanted to speak to her. Martha hadn't been expecting anyone to get in touch with her that evening so it was a bit of a surprise for her to say the least.

"Who is it?" Martha asked.

Elsie shrugged. "I don't know - but he has a Starfleet uniform on"

"What colour is it?" Martha responded.

Elsie confirmed. "His collar is red and I'm pretty sure that he had four pips on his collar. Also...I'm not sure if it helps but he has a German accent"

"Alright - thanks" Martha replied.

Martha walked over to the console and sat down in front of it - seeing a familiar face and an old mentor looking at her on the screen. Last time they'd spoken he had three solid pips on his collar - but as Elsie had stated there were now four. It was none other than Rudolf Kaufmann - the man who'd helped her with her transition from Operations to Tactical via a number of conversations over many light years.

"Good evening Ms Cusack - I apologise for disturbing you completely out of the blue but I wanted to check in with you and see how you and your family were doing" Rudolf said.

Martha smiled. "It's fine - we're all fine thank you - in fact we've just had some great news today about our plans to adopt. How's everyone at your end?"

"Oh congratulations - that's brilliant news. We're not too bad thanks" Rudolf responded.

He paused for a few moments to take a sip of his tea before continuing.

Rudolf concluded "I'll put my cards on the table and be honest with you Martha - one of the reasons I've got in touch with you this evening is that I recently decided to accept a promotion to Captain and take command of the Endurance after Captain Holmes moved on. I have a few vacancies at the moment - two of which are for a security chief and tactical officer"

Martha was pleased that Rudolf had been given command of the starship he'd served on since it was launched back in 2376 - and she was floored by what she thought he was implying. However she just wanted to make sure before making any assumptions.

"You're asking me...right?" Martha asked.

Rudolf nodded. "Of course. I haven't asked anyone else yet because I thought I'd give you first refusal and a chance to come back to the Endurance again. I appreciate it's out of the blue and I'd totally understand if you said no or want some time to think about it - although I'm sure you in particular will be very pleased to know that Commander Eldridge has agreed to come back and be my first officer"

Commander Meredith Eldridge was Martha's original mentor in Operations - and a very close friend who was the first person Martha confided in about her sexuality. The chance to serve under the command of her close friends and mentors Rudolf Kaufmann and Meredith Eldridge was a very tempting one indeed - even if she was happy where she was.

Martha grinned. "Looks like you're trying to get the old team back together - I don't suppose you're looking to bring Commander Barrow back as chief engineer?"

"You mean Commander Foster? She's serving as the first officer on the Victoria now and last time we spoke it doesn't sound like she's planning to pick up a hyperspanner again any time soon. Thankfully Lieutenant Commander Lee - who's one of the senior officers who agreed to stay on the Endurance - is also a fantastic engineer and we're very lucky to have him" Rudolf replied.

Martha responded. "Oh yeah I forgot she married Paul. About the position...I appreciate you offering Captain but I'm going to have to think about this as if I'm honest I'm quite happy here. I'm not saying no - but I just need a while to consider it and talk to my family about it before I make a decision - plus there's the adoption to consider too. Then on top of those there's my upcoming command course"

Rudolf nodded. He was glad she hadn't ruled it out completely - but given Martha and her family seemed happy where they were and had a lot going on - Rudolf was now preparing for and expecting her to turn him down later down the line.

"Of course - take your time and let me know when you're ready. If you do decide to come back then we can sort out doing your command course here. I'm sure between the eventual command team there'd be plenty of experienced people willing to help you with it" Rudolf replied.

Martha smiled. "Thank you Captain - and congratulations as well. I know you've had your eye on that centre chair for a while. Where did Captain Holmes go?"

"He's taken command of the USS Liverpool - a brand new Century-class. As much as I'd like to say I'm jealous I can't complain at getting a Sovereign-class as my first command. Not too many can say they've had that honour" Rudolf responded.

Martha nodded. She didn't serve under Captain Holmes but she heard he'd managed to boost the crew's morale following the retirement of the highly popular Captain Grundy after his 12-year stint in command of the Endurance came to an end.

Martha smiled. "You've both done well out of it really"

"We have. Anyway - I won't keep you any longer Martha as I'm sure you've got things to do this evening. We're not going to be leaving Utopia Planitia for about five or six weeks anyway as we're about to undergo a refit and have a quantum slipstream drive fitted too - so please take as long as you feel you need to make a decision about the position" Rudolf responded.

Martha nodded. "Thank you Captain - it's been lovely to talk to you again. I'll let you know as soon as possible - hopefully in a couple of weeks or so"

"Likewise Martha - take care for now" Rudolf replied.

Once Rudolf ended the communication and the screen had gone blank Martha stared at it - clasping her hands together before resting her chin against her thumbs. After letting out a loud sigh Martha was joined by Elsie - who was curious to see what the matter was.

"What's the matter mum?" Elsie asked.

Martha replied. "Nothing sweetheart - everything's absolutely fine"

"Are you sure? You don't sound it - and I've known you long enough to be able to tell when there's something which is bothering you" Elsie responded.

Martha ideally wanted to talk to Lucia about it first - as she'd be affected just as much as Elsie if she did accept the position. But as Elsie had asked Martha decided to talk to her daughter about the offer from Captain Kaufmann and see what she thought of it.

"I've been offered a position on the Endurance by Captain Kaufmann" Martha replied.

Elsie smiled. "That's great right? You've told me loads of times how much you loved that ship"

"Well yeah but I'm happy here and so are you and Lucia - I really don't know what to do to be completely honest with you Elsie. Captain Kaufmann and Commander Eldridge have both helped me so much to get where to I am now - and I'd feel like I'm letting them down if I say thanks but no thanks" Martha responded.

Elsie sat on the table in front of her mum and smiled down at her. She herself was happy on the Triumphant but this seemed like an offer Martha had to seriously consider. Elsie got the impression that had it been any other ship or captain then Martha would have turned it down straight away - but as it was the Endurance and Rudolf Kaufmann - it was a tough choice.

"Mum...all Lucia and I want you to be is happy - you don't have to feel bad about it on our part - and you wouldn't be letting anyone down if you decide that you want to accept the position. Did Captain Kaufmann give you a chance to think about it?" Elsie asked.

Martha nodded. "Yeah - he said they're not leaving spacedock for several weeks so he told me to take as much time as I want to. It is tempting but...I don't know Elsie"

"Then take that time to think about it - talk to Lucia about it as I know she's got her job to think about too - but as far as I'm concerned I'm happy if we stay here or go to the Endurance" Elsie responded.

Martha smiled at her daughter. She then stood up and offered her a hug - which Elsie accepted.

"Thank you Elsie" Martha said.

Elsie replied. "You're welcome. Now let's go out for and get some dinner - my treat"

Martha tried to refuse her daughter's offer and offer to pay for dinner herself - however Elsie refused and insisted that she would be paying. Not wanting to upset her daughter Martha accepted Elsie's kind offer and they headed out - going to a restaurant of the former's choice. Martha planned to talk to Lucia about the offer later - but for now at least she was going to focus on enjoying her meal with Elsie.