InsaneJournal

Betrayal of Duty and Conscience
Josiah glanced at the nearly empty glass, that he held in his hand. Sitting upright in the lounger, he drank down the last remnants of Ambrosia that had filled the glass.

Placing the empty glass on the small table next to the lounger, he picked up the file that lay upon his lap.

Taking in a deep breath he reflected on the past three days. Two days on the Shangri-la, and he had broken several military rules and regulations, not to mention his little stunt with breaking into the office of the amusement putting course. A civilian violation as well.

It wasn't that Josiah hadn't ever been a rebel or done troublesome things in his career. There were simply certain lines that he had vowed that he would never cross.

Fraternization, unlawful carnal knowledge... Among other things were the ones that vowed never to break. For the most part, with the exception of a couple of instances, he was very hard and unforgiving when it came to sentencing and punishment of military members, under his command. Many times he had been told that he was very harsh in dealing with such issues.

Now, he had broken the very military law, that he had so harshly enforced.

Luckily, and thankfully, both he and Burke had tried and sentenced only one case of the sort, long ago, when he was still new to his position and the ship.

Burke had backed him up as far as his punishment, yet later on, behind closed doors asked a simple question of Josiah. "A little harsh for two Petty Officers, don't you think, Josiah?"

That was all that had been said, when Josiah defended his position on it, Burke only smirked, nodding. "Just a question XO, just a question."

In retrospect, his argument and... The way he dealt with such things, were proper, correct and right for that era. "So long ago," he said quietly.

Three years, and some countless days ago, humanity was forced to enter the dawn of a new era. Everyone, including the military, the civilian police force, even the Captains and crews of the other ships were far more... Forgiving.... Or lax, on many things.

Rubbing his face, he stood, taking his glass, and walked over to his desk. Pouring himself another drink he stared at the picture of his wife and children, displayed on the bulkhead.

"Three years gone..." He whispered, looking down at the wedding ring on his finger.

Did that mean it was time? Time to move on? Time to let go?

Taking a drink, he fell into deeper thought. There were myriads of reasons that he could use to justify what happened between himself and Jill. Multitudes of so called 'experts' in human psychology had suddenly appeared in droves out of no-where when the last of the surviving refugees joined up with the rest of the fleet.

Countless discussions on the wireless spoke of the human need for entertainment, challenge, and excercise, which included sex. Sex had turned into a huge topic. Being described as one of the ultimate workouts for the mind and body. Not something that was so taboo. The benefit being if a couple were in love, then procreation and the promise of a never ending human race. All of these things were necessities for a wholly spaceborn society. To his knowlege, no humans had logged this much distance. And they were quickly coming

If casual sex was becoming more and more the accepted norm, he felt he had quite the long ways to go in his acceptance of such things. Part of that stemmed from his upbrining. Not necessarily from his parents, but more his beliefs and practices.

He couldn't help but ask of himself. "Was this thing with Jilleen a complete mistake?"

His heart jumped at the thought of her name. "Bloody hell." He said aloud. He would have to take great care in the way he worded his report and corrective action forms. The last thing he wanted to do was implicate her, and threaten her position and rank.

"Rank." Colonel, XO, leader. A leader whom had broken the rules he held so high in regard. One in his position, with no choice, had to be held to a higher level of professionalism, integrity and pride, than what he had displayed.

"Right. Setting back in the lounger he put pen to paper and began to write out his report.




Finished with his report he had read, and re-read it over and again. He wasn't quite satisfied with it. But, then again, he wasn't anywhere near satisfied with his actions either.

Placing the report in the file, he left his stateroom, and walked down the passageway to the stateroom of his CO, Tom Burke.

Ringing the chime, he heard the muffled voice of the CO calling for him to enter.

Closing the hatch behind him, he approached Burke, whom was sitting at his desk.

Josiah cleared his throat, but he couldn't hide his expression of frustration and anger.

"Hello, Tom."