In event of a rapid, extreme, and global climate crisis, it was ridiculous to even imagine that people wouldn't panic

Eva Stratt, to her great disappointment, was experiencing that first-hand. She heard it every time she turned on the radio, saw it painted in the expression of every diplomat she met. The media was repeating the same thing they always did: everything is going to shit, we're all going to die. The governments were all freaking out, the same question in every politicians mind. How can we save the world when we can't even agree on trade tariffs?

Thankfully for them, that didn't have to be their problem. It was hers. With great power comes great responsibility, right? Not that she minded. On the contrary, her general view on the situation was that no one was as qualified as her. She had singlehandedly managed to get most countries to agree that yeah, there's a big problem, and they need to deal with it now. She had also managed to scout out every competent engineer, scientist, pilot, astronaut, etc etc... in every corner of the world, and... Force them to work on project Hail Mary wasn't exactly the right word. Rather, gently coerce them to help.

And thankfully--thank God, she couldn't help but think--they were people who listened. The smart ones, the ones who were at least trying to understand what the hell was happening to the sun. Stratt tried to understand most of it, too, but it wasn't really her job. Her duty was to be the tyrant, the evil dictator that took all the decisions. Not that she thought that understanding it was beneath her--of course not. She was always up to date on whatever her teams were doing. But her job wasn't the science, it was the dirty, nitpicky stuff. How not to get sued over intellectual property rights, where to find the best spacesuits, and the rest.

Stratt was there to make sure it all happened, and to make it happen, she needed the people who listen.

That was the real currency in the world now. People like you. The ones who ran into a problem, rammed into it head first, heard a plan that wouldn't work and said fine, let's do it anyways. She didn't demand blind loyalty, of course not. She gave the facts; bare, precise, and honest. She threatened if she had to. The people who listened, listened. The people who didn't had no place on her ship. They were a problem she couldn't afford to worry about.

She didn't think about those kinds of people much. No time, waste of energy. Stratt was basically the central authority of the globe. Why bother with them?

Instead, she surrounded herself with the people who adapted. The ones who could hold the two violent, conflicting emotions that were in her own mind. This is insane. This is necessary. Those were her people. They didn't need to like her, in fact, most of them didn't. As long as they respected her to her face and did their work, she didn't care.

She paused outside the one of the main labs, watching through the glass you and your technicians huddled around a screen. Like usual, you hadn't given a single thought to the neatness of the lab. Papers were sprawled around everywhere. You waved excitedly and almost knocked over a beaker--a young woman caught it before it tipped. Like most other head scientists on the ship, you didn't run your lab at all--Stratt ran it for you like the army.

It was exactly what she needed.

Stratt allowed herself the smallest hint of a smile before pushing the door open.

“It's a mess in here. Status update,” she said, already stepping inside.