The bridge wasn’t empty, but it certainly felt so. Saffiya found it eerily quiet since Frisco, Lorra and Silveira had left, but lacked the energy to start up a conversation with the remaining officers. So instead, she busied herself with monitoring the away team and the ship’s systems. 

“Captain.”, said the woman who had filled in for Silveira once he had left, and Saffiya was sure to hear the slightest bit of concern in her words. “I do not mean to overstep, but I can assure you that I am well capable of monitoring the away team.”

Saffiya turned her attention to the Security Officer.  She could have sworn it was an Andorian when the woman had entered the bridge, but now that she looked at her, she looked human. Short brown hair, an athletic figure, and a scowl on her face. 

Keller. 

Saffiya held her breath, and for a moment, everything just seemed to stop. The ebb and flow of the amber lighting, the blips and beeps of the consoles around them, her heart, her thoughts. 

Then it resumed, catching up with the Captain at a near-sickening pace. This couldn’t be Keller. Because Keller was dead. 

Saffiya swallowed the growing lump in her throat, and screwed her eyes shut, letting the guilt that had simmered beneath the surface wash over her, allowing herself to experience it for the first time in weeks. 

“Captain?”, asked the woman again, concerned this time. And not in Keller’s voice.

“I’m… fine.”, answered Saffiya and opened her eyes. Keller was gone. “But you are right. I will be in the ready room, but please keep me updated.”

The Andorian gave a slight nod with her antennae, and Saffiya rose from her chair, feeling oddly drained. But nothing a cup of coffee wouldn’t fix.