...

Alexander locked eyes with him, and sighed. "Yesterday, a few hours before the station lifted off, a cry of a newborn ringed out from one of the field medical pods. Twins. Julie and Sue. The first of many that will be born on this planet. And the first of many that we will put chains on and then tear from their home just to satisfy our own desire. Do you have a heart to do that, Adam?"

"What in all hells are you talki-"

"The Grand directive! It is the chains that all of us carry! Chains that we willingly put on our hands when we joined the expeditionary fleet! But these children did not make that choice! They will be raised on a planet with thriving cultures, experience things that they otherwise never would have...
And yet, once the station is fully operational we will load them up like cattle, tearing them from everything they know just so WE, the old, decrepit fools can honour the code that has shackled us our entire lives!"

Adam paused, a deadly silence falling on the room. Everyone had their eyes fixed on the old man, and after what seemed like eternity frozen in a moment, he sat down and slumped in his chair.

And then he spoke, his words silent and shaky.

"I was born on a station. The 38th. The first thing i ever learned was the Grand directive, and for the next 25 years it represented order. Order and stability. Yet when we returned to the home system, all of that fell apart. There is no Grand directive there, but there are thousands of other rules that one must follow to exist in that society. I tried, but i never really felt like i belonged. I yearned for that simplicity of the Directive again. Once my wife passed, that feeling only grew stronger. Eventually i found myself boarding the 74th. For the first time in 40 years i was at peace. And yet, I also felt guilt. Guilt at abandoning my children and grandchildren so i could pursue a fleeting dream of my youth. I put myself over them."

He raised his head and looked up at the ceiling, a long sigh escaping his lips. There were tears in his eyes. For many in the room, it was the first time they've seen the strong old man break down like this. Helen reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

"We've all made difficult decisions in our lives before, Adam. But the past is what it is, it cannot be changed. All we can do is move forward and strive to be better. Know that no one here judges you."

Adam looked at her and smiled. "Thank you, Helen." He straightened up and turned back to Alexander. "You are right, Alex. We shouldn't subject the children to what we went through. They deserve to live fulfilling lives and make their own choices. And we are here to make sure nothing bad happens to them."

He cleared his throat. "As the head of engineering department I support our Principal in the matter of rewriting the Grand directive for future generations of the 74th expeditionary fleet."

...