[Raiser, Bridge]

It did not take too long after Cathy's directive that the reporting officer should report in to her that she got a response from Ashlyn. By this time, Cathy had calmed the annoyance that had been rising in her mind - it was not annoyance that she had seemingly been kept out of the loop, it was the fact that she had been powerless to help her crew when they needed her most. As Ashlyn's slightly shaky voice came over the comm, she could see the colour drain from some of the bridge crew's faces.

Her own face winced as she heard the words that they had lost V'tora - the chief nurse was well known to all, including the Captain and would be missed. Almost mechanically, she made a note to add her name to the list of people who had been lost this mission. She nodded affirmatively as the young officer said she had beamed Lithrian out of the turbolift and to safety - it was similar to a plan that she would have used but with, perhaps, more flair - such as using a stun grenade. Whatever smile that she had on her face when she heard of the positive actions disappeared as Sinclair said that Astraud had managed to cut himself with his own sword before the team could beam him out and to the brig. One split second faster and, perhaps, they could have stopped him.

Looking back on something was always easier, such as this very mission. Although they had confirmed something was in the nebula, she had not called for backup immediately. Although Koreleon could have retrieved data, he opted to secure the prisoners first. Although the security team knew Astraud was a threat, they still waited one second too long before removing his weapon. All things that could have been changed or altered the course of the very moment they stood in right now. Still, it was her job now to ensure no further mistakes were made.

"Understood, Lieutenant." she replied evenly, "I would like a full report on what occurred including witness statements, synopsis of events and-" her voice threatened to hesitate longer than it should, "And morgue reports."

She didn't want to see the bodies, although part of her felt compelled to do so. Every time she thought about such attacks, it brought her back to the time she had killed a smart mouthed Andorian for disrupting her 'family'. The ease at which she had killed the man had frightened her conscious mind, knowing how easily a body could be destroyed... Straightening her back, she focussed again on writing the reports, methodically logging the two additional casualties on the list of letters to write.

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Capt. Catherine Raiser, USS Victoria (ret.)

Cathy Knights