[Shuttlecraft]
Alex chuckled mirthlessly. "Last time I was on the same ship as Kirok, Kimball wasn't around yet. If there's anything that can describe our master and commander, it's that he's always been a hopeful idealist. A strange attribute for Vulcans." He keyed the automatic preflight check, keeping an eye on each individual system as the shuttle's computer raced through them. "He's been luckily fortunate, for his sake and for his crews...usually."
"As for why I came..." Alex glanced up as the exterior bay doors slid open silently, death held back only by a shimmering forcefield, "I've been exactly where you are now. No leader will let his subordinates do what he is unwilling to himself. That being said, you dealt yourself a really merde hand. A Vorta? In a fight, it'll be as useless as a tit on a bull. Your senior staff didn't get to the positions they're in by looking pretty. We've got the experience, and that's what you'll need on this kind of pipe dream mission."
He paused, looking over at Tekin. "I read what happened on your last mission. You're the XO. Kirok may be giving the orders, but you're the glue that holds this entire crew together, and this crew is on a knife's edge of shattering. Martyring yourself would be the most selfish act you could commit. I came so I can remind you when it's time to give up on this forlorn hope and leave."
[Shuttlecraft]
"He is an Admiral for a reason... just can't help but feel concerned." he stated, shaking his head. Sensors were up, everything was primed... honestly the shuttle was ready to lunch. The delay was with them.
"Dr. Chalos saved my life more times than I would like to think. He knows the crew like no one else. If anything were to happen to him, we would have to rely on 'a Vorta' to be our Chief Medical Officer. I'm sure if given a chance he would make a fine chief medical officer, but right now he needs to be less Dominion and more Starfleet. That's why he's here. That's why I decided on who I did. Senior officers might be the top of their fields, but not everyone can lead the departments. The best philosophy is to plan for the worst, and hope for the best. I hate to sound like a computer, but honestly, the chances of something going wrong is much higher than going right, and the odds do not increase decently enough to select almost the full leadership of this vessel." he said, shaking his head.
Nevir stopped what he was doing when Wu brought up the last mission. He was silent, dead silent, but he had a point. He slowly exhaled, and then closed his eyes for a moment, as if reliving it. "Not too many XOs watch their chance of commanding a ship blow up with a station. There were too many mistakes, too many unknowns. I had three Chiefs down on the planet. Ops, Security, and Science. We made a fatal assumption that someone was trying to break the Prime Directive. It cost the lives of an entire species. And it could have cost the lives of half of the senior staff. I watched complete sabotage and genocide from a helpless position on the bridge. And to be honest, Alex... the one thing I felt the most was fear. Fear that I screwed up, lost crewmen, fear that I was the reason we were in the position we were in. So much rational and irrational fear... but it was enough that I made sure I took my daughter off the ship. It was enough to shake me. And I fully expected to be grounded. If the glue cracks, then it would be less than useless." he said, shaking his head.
There was loads more he wanted to talk about, get stuff off his chest, but really it wasn't fair to Alex. Nevir reached forward and hit the release on the ramp, opening it for the rest of the away team.
"Kirok kept me here for a reason. The Prophets gave me this path, I just have to learn to trust wherever it goes." he said, turning to see if the away team was there already.
"At any rate, thanks for joining me, Alex."