Logic and emotion

Unaware of the whispered conversation Mr. Rogers and Captain Kheren were engaged in, Rivers stood up from her seat, turning to look around the conference hall, blue eyes taking in everyone she could see before turning back to regard Fleet Captain Samji.

She took a small breath and arched one eyebrow. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." She stated simply. "This was stated by one of the most revered figures of Starfleet and Federation history. It's the basis of logic for problems such as this, and on a human level it's the basis of courage, bravery, and honor too."

"We in security," she began (for in her mind she still hadn't adjusted to the fact that she was first officer and acting Captain of the Alsea) "whether we realize it or not, all act on this principle. We defend the Federation, our loved ones, our friends and allies from threats they can't handle. The science and engineering teams, our commanders and Captains, even - and sometimes especially - our shipboard bartending staff - all those people are under our protection."

She frowned. "The safety of those many can only be assured by the actions of we few." She paused. "That's in my heart. My task. My duty to uphold, and I'm sure it's in almost every other security officer's heart here as well. This thing...this Azimuth Horizon." She waved to the display screen. "It's a threat to our loved ones, it's a threat to our friends and allies. Just a wave of one of its tendrils can take the mightiest Klingon vessel out of a fight. I've seen it personally...and without Mr. Pel's and Mr. Vincent's ingenuious work, it would have likely taken the Alsea out of the fight too."

She exhaled, placing her palms on the edge of the table, leaning forward, looking around again. "Every fiber of my being screams, "Take it out! Figure out a way to destroy this thing before it destroys us." - but from everything I've read and experienced and heard, this thing isn't some Borg drone coming for our crewmates, or a Romulan boarding crew intent on expanding their empire's borders."

"It's a bomb." She looked around once more. "It's a bomb set in the middle of the universe, with everyone held hostage. And just like we don't fire phasers and quantums at bombs because we don't want to kill everyone we love, we can't fire phasers and quantums at this Horizon thing. Security procedure is clear for bombs we can't just beam into space and warp away from: neutralize the bomb's threat. Diffuse it. Make-it-not-a-bomb-anymore." She turned her gaze finally back towards Samji. "Which is what it sounds like our orders are, sir, so I'm with you."