You are the reason

Running

Ever since that night, Chris and I had barely spoken unless we were on duty. It was awkward to say the least, and I was hoping that we'd get past this and move on.

"Counsellor Bromley, please report to my ready room."

Chris' voice filled my ears. I let out a breath.

"I'm on my way."

As soon as I arrived, I saw Una sitting across from Chris.

"Have a seat."

I sat down beside Una and listened to him intently.

"You're both going on an away mission. There are rumours of a possible conflict on Aventis. We need you to go down and investigate, but I must warn you- some of the people down there are less than friendly. If you encounter trouble, get out of there immediately."

"Yes sir." We said in unison.

----

Una and I were running for our lives. We found out that a group of terrorists were planning to decimate an entire city. We found where the weapons cache was but our cover had been blown. We rushed into a room and locked the door.

"Captain, were secure in a bunker for now."

"Understood Number One. Keep me posted."

I turned round and stopped dead in my tracks. There was a large selection of bombs, all with the ability to destroy this city ten times over sitting in the middle of the room.

"Una." I whispered.

She turned round and her face fell.

"Oh dear god." She said.

I started scanning the bombs. It wasn't looking good- they were all active and ready to cause mass destruction.

"These bombs could go off at any minute." I stated.

"Can they be turned off?" Una asked.

I shook my head. I scanned them again and found a solution, but it wasn't ideal.

"The only way is to activate the self- destruct." I reported.

"What?" Una asked, shocked.

"If we activate the self-destruct, the blast will be contained and the facility will be destroyed." I said.

"Where is it?" she asked.

I cased the room, scanning every inch of plating and machinery until I found it- a big red button. The results of the scans came through and my heart sank.

"Here. There's only one problem- the button must be compressed for the entirety of the countdown." I said.

"I need an update Number One."

"Captain, the only way to neutralise the situation is to activate the self-destruct on the weapons."

"Well get to it."

She sighed and said "The button must be compressed for the entirety of the countdown."

"So one of us needs to stay behind." I added.

The silence was palpable. Chris was probably racking his brain for some incredible scheme to get us both out of here.

"Retreat. Thats an order."

"Captain, what about the city? These bombs will kill everyone if we don't stop them!" I counteracted.

"I understand it isn't the best plan, but we don't have much of a choice. Retreat!"