67.) Guilt
As long as they lived, they would always carry the guilt of having survived to live another day when so many others had died. An entire planet was lost, not to mention those sent to aid them.
Survivor's guilt. That's what they called it, the various head doctors Starfleet had required the Narada survivors see before they were cleared for duty again.
Jim was familiar with it, had been ever since he had escaped the hell that was Tarsus IV. He had learned to cope with the guilt on his own, had been forced to adapt or drown in it.
It would be different for his crew though, Jim wouldn't allow the guilt to drown them. It was one reason why he made the effort to speak with each member of his crew at least once a month. That and the row of bulletin boards in the mess hall, one of which Bones thought appropriate to post a copy of the full list of his allergies, one that he updated with an almost deranged glee.
Written: 8-8-2011
Word Count: 175