"An Awkward Meeting"
Impatience
Lt.JG Michala Lynn
and
Lt. Maxwell Shinta
MIchala, once she had made sure that Bruce was settled and sedated, went to check on Shinta. She would tell her of her husband's injuries and no one else. She would not allow it, especially since she was partly responsible. Shinta had been dosing All little. Her day had been tiring. She opened her eyes as somebody approached her bed. Then she smiled. "Michala, you are back. I hope you would be back in time, it is the baby, it is almost coming. is Bruce with you?"
"He was. He.. he was injured on the planet. He will be fine, but he can't come here right now." Michala said gently.
"Injured?" She began to sit. "Then I will go to him, I have to be with him. He might need me." She could only think of Bruce now.
Michala sighed. These two could be really frustrating sometimes. "I think you should stay in bed. I had to sedate him to keep him from rushing in here. So, he wouldn't even know you are here. I need him to stay still for about two hours. When he wakes up, I will send him right to you." She checked the medical logs for what was going on. But one thing that she had learned from Dove Feather was that the patient's assessment often told far more then readings. "So tell me, what are YOU doing in here and how do you feel?" "I have a lot of pain, I do not think the baby will wait much longer. Right now I am waiting for Bruce and Karyn to get here. I want all three of you here for the birth." She bit back the pain.
Michala laughed lightly. "You may try to do as much as you want, but that babe will decide when it truly wants to make an appearance. For now, I can relax these contractions, but once Bruce is awake, I will not do so again."
"I know. I know you cannot wait longer. I only hope she will make it on her own. She will be so tiny." Shinta felt sure that this time she was carrying a girl.
"An Awkward Meeting"
A Joint Post by:
Ensign Electra Reece, Operations Officer
AND
Ensign Drake Tarsonis, Helmsman
***NOTE: This takes place before Rebecca von Ernst enters and the food fight begins.
Electra sat at eating quickly. She was still hungry but she wanted to get out of the rapidly filling mess hall before someone wanted or needed to sit at her small table with her. She was uncomfortable in this crowded place. She hunched her shoulders and read the operations logs in her hand as if her life depended on it.
Drake entered the mess hall looking for the women who brought him to sickbay. He made his way through the huge crowd and eventually saw the woman who the doctor pointed him out too. She was reading a PADD.
Drake stood by the table. "May I sit down?" asked Drake.
Electra looked up with a start and a sigh, "Go ahead." As the ensign sat down, Electra realized that this was the man she had taken to sickbay with the bleeding head. ~Oh, Stars. Please let this be a coincidence. Don't let him know who I am.~ Electra lowered her head and tried to look absorbed in the PADD.
"Let me introduce myself, I'm Ensign Drake Tarsonis. Ensign Electra Reece I presume?"
Electra sighed. ~How did he find out who I was? I didn't tell anyone. ~ Electra glanced up. "Um.yes, that's me. Uh.hi. Nice to meet you."
"I understand that you were the one to bring me into sickbay," stated Drake.
"Yes. I was. I'm sorry. It's just, you were bleeding and it looked pretty bad and you weren't moving and I fell on you and I thought you needed help and the power was back and I called for a transport and I'm sorry. I thought it was the right thing to do." Electra looked down and let out a breath. She was very nervous sitting here with this man. She didn't know him and she was worried that she had done something wrong. Drake smiled and said, "Don't be sorry. I'm very grateful for what you did. If you didn't beam me to sickbay, I would have died. You saved my life. I'm in your debt. Is there some way that I could repay you?"
Electra sighed. She was glad he wasn't upset. "Oh. No. Just a Starfleet officer wounded and I wanted to help and it's the least I could do and there's no problem and I'm sorry I fell on you and no, no, no debt and just being a Starfleet officer and I'm fine and I wouldn't want to put you out and oh." Electra ground to a halt, flushing at her babbling before this good-looking ensign.
Drake smiled again. "I want to pay you a debt of gratitude. What can I do for you?"
Electra's eyes widened. She didn't know what to say. "Um, nothing I can think of. Really, there's no debt, would've done it for anyone, really.didn't even know your name. Really. Don't feel obligated. Don't expect it. Really. Nothing. Really. Um, nothing."
"Well, call me Drake. How long have you been on the Galaxy?" asked Drake.
Electra took a gulp of her tea, trying to relax. "Since just before we went to Ursid. Not long. You?"
"I joined in the middle of the last mission. I transferred from the USS Exeter and I'm hoping for a promotion," said Drake as he smiled.
"Oh. Good luck." Electra really didn't know what to say now. She was so unused to making small talk, especially with a man that she just couldn't come up with something to say. ~He probably thinks I am a complete moron. He wouldn't be far wrong, either. ~
"How do you like the Galaxy so far?" asked Drake.
Finally, Electra found something to say. "It's a very good ship. The operations controls are first-rate. Some people complain about the maneuverability but a smaller ship wouldn't have had the power to save Ursid. This ship is very efficient and the OPS station is set perfectly for optimum effectiveness. The engineering station on the bridge is also wonderful. The entire ship, this huge ship, can be controlled easily from the bridge. It's an excellent design."
"I love the Galaxy class, but, personally, I'm a fan of the Defiant class. I enjoy helm station though, and, also, no other ship can beat the quarters on a Galaxy class," said Drake.
"Oh, yes. The quarters are very nice." At his comment, Electra lost her way once again, not knowing much about the Defiant class to comment on with any authority. She glanced down and ate a few French fries, feeling out of place and awkward again.
"What kind of things do you like?" asked Drake.
"Like?" Electra's voice rose in a squeak. "I like being in Starfleet." Electra wasn't sure what to say and she was beginning to wish that she had never helped this man. She was feeling slightly physically ill and knew that she sounded like a fool. She wanted to make friends, but.she just didn't know how to proceed. She was so nervous. Then she realized what Drake had meant and she sighed. "Um, I, um play the violin, and uh, the guitar. And I, uh, play cards pretty well, um, I mean, um. And I like creating, well, programs, for the uh, holodeck, um. Um."
"You play music? I play the trumpet. I wrote a piece of music for almost every single instrument, but nobody wants to play it. I also enjoy the holodeck. I haven't been there in a while; I may just make a stop by the holodeck later. You play cards?" said Drake.
"Yes. Um, violin and guitar. Um, I learned, um, poker and um, other games in the, uh, Academy. Um, what, uh kind of, uh music do, you, um write?" Electra stumbled over the words but she was trying.
"I write jazz, swing and classical, but I prefer jazz out of all the types that I write," said Drake.
"Oh." Electra was at a loss, again. She was feeling very self-conscious, sitting here surrounded by so many people, who she was convinced were looking at her and talking to this good-looking ensign, who seemed so sure of himself.
Drake thought that he was being a little bit too uneasy to her. He saw that she looked a little too nervous. He thought about how the doctor had described her to him, she was beautiful. "Do you want to jam sometime?"
~Jam, what does he mean? Jam, jam, jam, oh! ~ "You mean music? Um, I think, um I'd like that." Electra smiled shyly.
"Great! I have to go. I'll see you around," said Drake as he stood up and smiled.
Electra smiled shyly. "Okay." As Drake walked away, Electra wondered if he had meant it or if he was just being polite. After thinking about it, she decided he was just being polite. She was sure they would meet again since they both worked on the bridge but he wouldn't want to actually talk to an awkward woman like her. She sighed and went back to the OPS logs.
Drake stood up and walked out of the mess hall. He was happy; he may have made a friend.
"Consequences"
A Joint Post by:
Ensign Electra Reece, Operations Officer
AND
Ensign Rebecca von Ernst, Tactical Officer
With an authorized appearance by:
Captain Robert Edward Lee Price
As the startled girls looked up in the midst of the captain's thundering query, the entire mess hall pointed to them and exclaimed that they were responsible for the food fight. Electra's eyes widened, shocked. Rebecca began choking and trying to speak. The Captain shook his head and sighed, motioning for them to get up. They crawl out from under the table, eyes down, still unbelieving, though Rebecca was used to such incidents. The Captain spoke to the entire mess hall, "ATTENTION!" All of the personnel, mostly junior ensigns, leapt to their feet, backs straight. The girls, too, snapped to attention, Electra wincing when sauce dripped into her eyes but keeping her hands at her sides.
The Captain faced them, "At this moment, I do not care who started this melee. Look at this bit o' brothel. Everyone 'ere was obviously involved somehow. This is not the expected behavior for a Starfleet officer! Food fights are for the Academy, not the Galaxy. This was a childish expression of your relief over the Ursid planet, mates. I expect better. I know everyone is happy, but Great Limey, look at this place. Mess hall, indeed. Mates, I expect you all to spend however long it takes to clean up this place. And I mean I want to be able to see myself in the tables. And a dingo should be able to slide across the floor it's so clean. If this is not so, I will get off my bike and I'll job all of you nits for bludging your job. Now you are all going to cop it. Now get to it!" As the entire mess hall contingent turned to their tables, the captain grabbed hold of the girls' arms. "You two come with me and we'll straighten it out." The girls followed the captain out, leaving behind a busy mess hall and a very worried Chuck Marx.
*************Shortly in the Captain's Ready Room************
In his tenure aboard the Galaxy.a Tour that stretched nearly his entire career, Captain Robert Edward Lee Price, had become rather an expert on the subject of "Yelling."
To be sure during his Cadet cruises, and indeed for several years after, the young Ensign Price had been called "on the Carpet" many times. Not necessarily due to any fault, or inability on his part, but simply because that's what one did with Ensigns..
Yell at them.
Indeed during his Lieutenant years on into his stint as Lt. Commander, he himself had engaged in the centuries old ritual of 'bawling out' the underlings. Again, not necessarily for their ineptitude, but simply because that's what they were there for.
Not that Price was a "Yell-er" mind you. Indeed he had rather mastered the ancient art of the smooth word, and the raised eyebrow, that when properly applied could grind a Junior Officer to dust as easily as the loudest bellowing.
Again this was not out of some sadistic need on his part, but rather it was the time-honored method of dealing with the wayward youths that deigned to call themselves 'Officers.'
They must be taught.
They must be guided.
And occasionally.they must be slapped on the wrist.
Now that he was CAPTAIN, Price had less and less need to give a good 'Dressing Down'. After all, that's why he employed Lieutenants and such, but in the case of this Mess Hall incident, he found himself as the officer in charge of the situation.
To pass off the discipline to another would be seen as a sign on indecision.
No problem there 'Mate. Just dial up standard "Reaming-out" speech #4 and deliver.
The problem was the two Ensigns standing before him were not following the rules.
He was supposed to impart his sage wisdom, slap them on the wrist, and admonish them never to do it again.
In response they were supposed to nod their heads, salute, and respond with a lot of "Yes Sirs".
In reality however, they stood there looking like a pair of wayward school children, complete with downcast eyes, and snuffling noses.
Crikey! Were these two lasses actually crying?!?
"And.another thing," Price continued his standard speech. "While I understand the undeniable need to blow off a little steam as it were from time to time, this ship DOES have facilities such as the Holodeck, and gymnasiums designed for that purpose."
He paused as the shorter of the two girls sniffled her nose rather loudly.
"I seriously doubt," he added, "that Utopia Planetia had food fights in mind when they designed the Mess Hall."
"Yes sir" Electra said.
"Aye sir" Rebecca said, "Oops I mean yes sir."
Price sighed. He recognized the taller of the two.Ensign Reece from OPS. He remembered her as having suggested a useful, but ultimately not well though out plan for stopping the Ursid Meteor.
The other girl. A rather petite redhead escaped his memory. Quite likely he had never seen her before today.
"Look Lassies," he said at length, "I want to be fair here, but the majority opinion has it that you two began this ruckus. While this in no way excuses the remainder of the crew from following along, I need to know what started this all."
Neither of the two moved, except to sniffle.
"Ensign Reece.report." He commanded the one whose name he knew.
"Aye sir," she said straightening, "It's.uh.it wasn't our fault sir. At least I don't believe so. I was sitting and reading my PADD when I was suddenly hit with a plate of flying food. I.I.remember hearing some laughter, and some clapping, and then all of the sudden more and more food flying through the air."
Electra licked her lips and glanced nervously at Rebecca, "I.uh.Well honestly I just hid sir. I ducked down under my table, and couldn't see anything except a bunch of legs running around.I.uh don't know who sir."
"Continue please." Price motioned with his hand.
"Well.I guess the next thing I knew Rebec.I mean Ensign von Ernst was suddenly under the table with me. She.uh.helped me get some food out of my hair, and the next thing I knew I guess you entered."
"Indeed?" Price steepled his fingertips and sat for a moment. "Are you then of the opinion lass that young Ms.what Ernst is it?"
"von Ernst sir." Rebecca barely whispered.
"Ms. Von Ernst then was at fault?"
"As I stated sir.I w-was reading and d-didn't see, but sh-she said that she tripped sir. And I think she did. I am s-sure it was an accident, sir. And, m-m-m-may I add, sir, I've had enough d-d-deliberate acid-d-dents happen t-to me t-to know w-w-when they are r-r-real, sir. She w-was v-v-very upset, sir. W-we b-both were." Electra stammered out her refusal to blame Rebecca. She hoped that the captain would believe them.
"I see." Price replied slowly before turning his eyes upon the fidgeting redhead. "Well then, Ensign. How long 'ave you been aboard the Galaxy?"
Lowering her eyes Rebecca answered in such a low whisper, Price could not even begin to make it out.
"Sound off there Mate!" he scolded mildly.
"I.uh.sorry." She began again still quiet, but now audible, "Its been .ah.about a month or so.uh.sir."
"Indeed? In what capacity?"
"Umm.tactical sir."
Price raised his eyebrow at that. "That so? You're one of Richeson's mates then?"
"Aye sir.I mean yes sir."
"Odd, quite odd. I thought it was standard practice to rotate all members of Tactical through the Bridge. I don't recall ever seeing you."
"Oh.that is odd." Rebecca replied simply without explanation.
"Explanation Lass." Price ordered.
"Oh.well."Rebecca cast about for an excuse, but could find none. "I .uh.I actually have not TAKEN any Bridge shifts yet. I uh.sorta traded them away to the other guys so they could get more time."
The General straightened noticeably in his chair, not quite sure he heard correctly. "You did what? You mean to say in one month you have not served a SINGLE minute at your duty station!??!"
Rebecca blanched and actually retreated a step or two. "Oh.no sir.I mean yes sir.I mean.uh.I sorta have been doing all the guys paperwork. I uh.still put in a full shift of work, I just.uh.do it from my cabin."
Even Electra turned to gape at her shorter companion at that announcement, and Price actually almost let his jaw drop.almost.
"Great Dingo Turds Mate." He blurted, "What kind of trade is that? To miss out on your Bridge time, in order to stock up on PAPERWORK?"
Rebecca opened her mouth to answer, but Price waved her silent. "Never mind that Ensign, the practice ends as of NOW. You will start serving shifts at your regular duty station like any other officer. No more trading of shifts without prior authorization from Lt. Richeson. The practice is wholly inexcusable and quite incomprehensible as well I might add."
"Very well, mates. I believe you. But, still, this is a problem. You can't just start a food fight, purposefully or not, on a Starfleet vessel. I want you two to report to your department heads and they will deal with you as they see fit. Also, I want you to see the mess hall attendants and see what you can do to help with meals for the next week. I'm sorry, sheilas, but this is the best that I can do. It just isn't acceptable behavior. Ensign von Ernst, you need to watch where you are going, particularly in a crowded mess hall with a tray full of food. And Ensign Reece, you need to be more aware of what's going on around you.
"Oh and one final thing." Price added. "Ensign von Ernst, when is Lt. Richeson's next Tactical Drill and Simulation scheduled?"
As Queen of Department Paperwork, Rebecca had the answer right on the tip of her tongue. "Tomorrow night sir.1800 in Holodeck 2. A general fleet action against multiple opponents."
"Good deal, lass. Relay this to the Lieutenant.My Compliments, and would he be so kind as to assign 'Command-Duties' to his little Shift-skipper' Ensign von Ernst."
Rebecca paled and gulped.
"That's you Ensign." Price explained. "And mind you lass, I shall be reviewing the Simulation results with great interest.DISMISSED."
As the girls walked out, Price sat back in his chair with a sigh. He made a mental note to talk to Lieutenant Commander Surok and Lieutenant Richeson about this incident. He also wondered whether he should have a talk with Lieutenant Commander Dallas about the girls. Ensign Reece's comment about knowing what deliberate accidents were like bothered him, as did Ensign von Ernst's lack of time on the bridge. As a matter of fact, their whole attitudes bothered him, crying like that. ~Yes, I will have to speak to the counselor. And I definitely need to speak to Lieutenant Richeson about this situation with von Ernst's duty shifts. And I think I'll check the sheilas' files. ~ And Captain Price turned to his computer and proceeded to do just that.
"Home"
by Commander Thomas
USS Galaxy
Commander Thomas left the bridge behind, exhausted and dirty. He needed a very long sonic shower and would needed to take them a couple of times. He felt like he'd been living without the ability to clean himself for months. The gunk that was stuck to him, visible or not was driving him crazy.
He'd reached the point where he couldn't stand it anymore and had simply left the bridge behind. He'd placed what he was doing on hold, well actually he'd let the computer continue running his analysis while he took a short leave from the bridge to go home and clean up. He knew he would get stuck there, so he'd informed the next senior officer on the bridge that he'd be back in two hours, or sooner if possible.
Of course he was going to have to talk with Anna when he got home. She was going to be both happy to seem and at the same time want to strangle him for being away so long. Especially without calling her to say he was safe, even through she knew he was on the planet leading the overall away team mission.
Chris exited the turbolift and made his down the corridor to his quarters. He was getting tired of walking everyone and being on his feet. He started to wonder if the radiation wasn't coming back or if it'd never been fully treated. He probably should stop by sickbay after his shift or even on his way back to make sure things were alright with him.
He rounded the corner and saw the door leading into his quarters. Well here goes nothing he thought to himself as he walked every closer to the doors. Maybe, just maybe she'd be asleep and he could slip in and out without problems. While he loved his wife Anna, whom he'd not seen in several days, she did have a temper of an Italian women and he just didn't feel up to confrontation.
Chris tipped toed into the room as not to disturb anyone or anything. He was good about moving in and out of rooms without people clowning he was there, but she could always tell it was him. Of course that really wouldn't matter much once he hit the shower.
*** Shower ***
He'd managed to enter their bedroom and make his way to the shower without so much as peep by him, but he'd not heard anything from her either. Which did start to worry him, maybe she wasn't in their quarters at the moment, or maybe she was hurt.
Chris opened up the door to the sonic shower.
** 5 minutes later **
The next thing Chris saw was his wife standing over him, trying to get him to wake up.
"Chris." she called out frantically.
Chris moved his head, and felt a big bump on the back. "What happened, where am i?" he asked.
He knew who he was, he thought.
"You're in our quarters dear, and you just fainted." she said. "You ok maybe I should call sickbay and have someone come down here."
"I did what?" Chris asked shocked to hear those very words.
"Yes dear, and it does happen to many people." She said.
"Yes, but to me?" he said. "I don't just faint that easily and it certainly wasn't due to your fine appearance." Chris said to her with smile. Even through the back of his head was pounding from hitting the floor with it.
"Yes dear to you to." she said.
Chris wanted to close his eyes, but knew better. Instead with Anna's help he sat up and then stood up.
"I was just heading in to shower." Chris said.
"Yes and that's you saw me, and fainted. Maybe it was because you were trying to sneak around this house and hope I wouldn't hear you." Anna said to him.
"Well that might just be possible and could explain what happened." Chris said.
"Yes dear, now you go get your shower in. We can talk later dear." Anna said. "You're probably needed back on the bridge."
"Yes I told the captain I'd be back to the bridge in two hours, but I should be back sooner." Chris said.
"Then get your shower in and get cleaned up." Anna said helping him to the shower.
"Having a few words."
By Commander Chris Thomas
And Ensign Peter Lockhart
On the command deck, Commander Thomas had turned around to look at the pair talking, casting a glance at them both. Peter felt himself blushing badly and merely managed a strangled, "Yes sir."
"I'll see you later Ensign." Zarides said less harshly and headed to the rear of the bridge to finish her last twenty five minutes of Alpha filing reports. Peter took up his station, still bright red, and tried to concentrate on the tactical position of the Galaxy at the moment..... it wasn't easy.
**** Several minutes later ****
Commander Thomas rose from his chair after having given some careful consideration to what he was going to say to Mr. Lockhart who was late for duty. Chris didn't feel like making a huge deal of the matter, but didn't want it to seem he was soft on people being late either.
He'd already decided on what he was going to do to the Ensign, nothing. He would just ask him why he was late and then if he thought it was acceptable let him go with just a warning.
"Ensign Lockhart." Chris said stepping over to the tactical console.
"Yes sir." Peter replied, suddenly noticing the Commander's appearance beside him.
"We need to talk." the Commander said.
"Of course sir." Peter said, suspecting he knew what it was about, and what was about to come next.
"About your timing." he said leaning against the tactical rail.
Peter merely nodded. He was feeling both scared stiff yet fully expecting this as well. Being late in Security was nothing. Deck 38 was a long way from the bridge and Gamma shift had been run by mere Lieutenants, unlike Beta where it was Commanders.
"We can talk here or in the observation lounge." Chris said.
"I think I'd prefer the observation lounge sir." Peter replied.
Chris nodded and signalled for Lieutenant' Zarides to take up the tactical station once again, whilst also saying, "'Commander Olsen, you have the conn."
Peter led the way into the observation lounge and turned to face the Commander. "I presume this is about my being late sir?"
"It is. Three minutes isn't much, but you were late. Care to explain why?" Chris asked.
"Of course sir." Peter said. He felt telling the truth was the best option. "I was in Ten Forward sir, with Nurse Haldan. We'd been chatting about the recent mission on Ursid and I lost track of the time. I tried to make it here by 15:00 hours sir, but I didn't quite make it. I'll try and make sure this doesn't happen again."
Commander Thomas nodded, "And Nurse Haldan would verify your whereabouts and why you were late." Chris said.
"Well, I would hope so sir. I was with her." Peter said.
"Ensign I know that personal interaction with the crew is part of life and I am speaking from personal experience. These distractions can be the most wonderful thing you have going, but you also have to remember that your crew mates are counting on you to be at your post on time." Chris said. He figured that a lecture was more in order then anything else.
"Yes sir. I'll make sure I'm not late again." Peter replied. He really hadn't intended to be late for any of his tactical shifts anymore as of late.... this had just happened.
"I want you to understand that if this happens again I will report the incident in my watch report." Commander Thomas said.
"Yes sir. Thank you sir." Peter said, figuring he didn't really need another reprimand on his record at the moment.
Commander Thomas was happy to see that Mr. Lockhart understood. "Good." Chris said. "Now that we're clear about that, I do have something you can do today, run a Weapons Tac Review and I want in my hands before you leave."
"Yes sir. I'll have it done before the end of my shift." Peter echoed.
"That's what I want to hear Ensign." Commander Thomas said with a slight smile towards him. "You're Dismissed." Chris said, and Peter breathed slightly easier as he exited from the observation lounge and back towards his station.
"Tactical Trouble."
By Lieutenant Tim Richeson
And Ensign Peter Lockhart
Peter entered Ten Forward shortly after the end of his shift. He needed a drink to relax after the chewing out Commander homas had given
him. He briefly scanned the crowd and his eyes passed over Lieutenant Tim Richeson. He glanced back riefly and noticed that his commanding officer was signaling him over and had a PADD in his hand. Peter was expecting anotherroasting and reluctantly headed over.
"Did you want me sir?" Peter asked.
"Yes. Sit down Peter..... may I call you Peter?" Tim said.
"Errr..... yes sir." Peter answered and pulled up a chair opposite his boss.
"Oh, and in case you haven't realized, I'm not very formal. Feel free to call me Tim." he also added.
"Yes sir." Peter answered stupidly.
Electra approached out of nowhere and suddenly asked, "Can I get you gentlemen anything?"
Tim set the PADD down and smiled at the Orion. "How's it going Electra?" He couldn't recall the last time he had talked to lectra, a pity to Tim. She always had good advice. Her green face curled into a sweet smile and assured the Chief Tactical fficer that she was well.
"I'll have a Romulan Ale." Tim said "The real stuff please, I'm off duty."
"Errrr.... just an orange juice for me please Electra." Peter said. Electra raised an eyebrow in questioning, but headed away to ill the order nonetheless.
"Well Peter, I took a peek at your performance record." Tim said. "Quite a lot of comments written by 'Commander Albrecht bout you..... some good..... some not so good." he added, putting it mildly. Peter had one official reprimand on his record and umerous unofficial warnings issued by the former Chief of Security.
"Yes sir." Peter answered simply.
Tim slid the PADD over to the young ensign. He liked Peter, but his performance was unbefitting of a officer. It was more han being late once in awhile. Lockhart had retained the rank of Ensign, while people with half his experience had been promote. "Peter, can you explain your performance record? You can't tell me that your wake up call has been malfunctioning for months."
"Errrr... No sir. Well, truth be told sir, I didn't really like being in Security. I only took that route because it's the easiest career path to get into Starfleet as an officer." he answered, then added quickly incase anyone else was listening, "But of course security is an essential department."
"Well, I realize that I'm still the 'new boss', and but it seems like the whole department needs a kick in the ass." Tim made sure he kept his voice light. He didn't want to come across that he was angry, quite the opposite. His hope was to bring the department together and improve everyone's performance and confidence, not to reprimand it.
Peter nodded and thought for a moment before speaking. I see..." He started. "What does this have to do with my review?" he asked.
"This isn't a review Ensign. This is me telling you what I want to happen, and why. Like I said, the whole department is having problems. Frankly, you're lazy." Peter merely nodded at that comment, before realising he shouldn't have. Tim continued, "Bosco is simply "average". And Rebbeca is....Well I don't know what's wrong with her, but she needs more confidence." Tim paused for a minute and took a sip of his drink which Electra had dropped off.
"Sir, also I do have a complaint about Rebecca. All she does is take away the paperwork!" Peter moaned. "Sometimes it's nice not to be on the bridge all the time. I know I wanted more bridge duty instead of being stuck in Deck 38 with Miss Heather "Happy" Sanchez all the time, but this is ridiculous."
Tim started chuckling to himself. "Perhaps it's time for a departmental meeting." he suggested. "What do you think?"
Peter nodded, glad to take a bit of the attention away from himself for a bit. "Yes sir. When do you suggest then sir?"
"Tomorrow morning during Alpha shift. I'll have Lieutenant' Zarides cover for me and we can all meet in Ten Forward to discuss the department's performance so far. Sound good?" Tim proposed.
"Yes sir." Peter said, quite liking the Ten Forward idea especially.
Richeson took hold of his glass and finished his drink in one gulp. "Well Ensign, I will see your tommrow morning then. It seems like i have a message to post." Tim stood up and gave Peter a quick nod before exiting the bar.
*** 20 Minutes later, Tactical Ops. Lt. Richeson's Office***
Tim sat down behind his desk and shuffled through verious PADDs on his desk. "Looks like Rebecca took the day off..." he whispered to himself. He glanced at a couple of them for several seconds, then decided to put off the work till tommrow.
"Computer, Compose message to all crew in the tactical department." He sat back in his chair and put his feet up on his desk, trying to get comfortable.
###########################################################
Tomorrow morning during Alpha shift, our department will be having a meeting that is required of ALL department members. Lt. Zardies will take my place on the bridge, while the rest of you will meet with me in Ten Forward. Please be there at the beginning of the watch.
Lt. Timothy Richeson
Chief Tac Officer
"Shower Sorrows"
by Rebecca von Ernst
(Turbolift..Right after meeting with the Captain)
The wonderful thing about Turbolifts was that when the doors closed, nobody could see you cry. It was only natural therefore that the skinny young Ensign von Ernst slumped heavily against the back wall, and buried her face in her hands.
~~Stupid stupid stupid!!~~ she berated herself over and over. ~~Did you really think you would be able to hide out your tour in your cabin?~~
~~Why not~~ another part of her brain answered, ~~You have been in Starfleet three years and never went on an Away Team until last week.~~
~~Yeah?~~ the first thought snorted, ~~And the planet almost blew up!!~~
~~Good point~~ conceded the second thought.
"Shut up shut up!" Rebecca shook here head to clear her mind. A single lock of red hair pulled loose from her clip in the process and hung limply over her teary eyes.
Great sobs wracked the thin frame of the girl as she huddled in a tiny ball in the corner, while the turbolift whisked her away......
~Away...away..oh Noodles, take me away from this awful mess!! It's the same disaster happening all over again! They start with the testing..with the simulations, and then you know what will happen! ~~
"It will be.'oh great job Ensign', and 'Outstanding exercise Ensign' or 'Why that's the best score on that Sim ever Ensign'.." Rebecca's tone was mocking and sarcastic as she repeated the phrases she had heard a thousand times.
"After that its..'Starfleet could use someone like you Ensign'..or..'Why don 't you apply for Command School Ensign'..and finally..'Its for the good of the Federation Ensign."
"Well NOODLES to the Federation!!" Rebecca snapped to the empty air, wiping a tiny fist at her tear-stained cheeks. "I don't want your responcibility, and I DON'T WANT your silly old Command School!"
.....
Tears were still rolling prettily down perky cheeks when the lift slowed and opened. Thankful for the empty corridors von Ernst ran for her room.
Dashing through her bedroom doors she threw herself onto a plush bed and sobbed great wracking sobs into the pillow.
~You're no officer, you're just a little crybaby girl who gets scared of men!! You're not a real woman!! You're a baby.~
Time passed, and slowly the bawling calmed into sobs which melted away into mere sniffles and red eyes.
Rebecca von Ernst uncurled herself from her bed and wiping helplessly at her freckled nose took stock of the situation.
THE CABIN WAS HERS AND HERS ALONE!!!!
No more shared dorm rooms with sex-crazed vixens at the Academy, and infinitely better than the cramped, smelly cabins on the Defiant Class USS VICTORY.
Still sniffling, she stood to look around, admiring the still bare spaces that the sheer size of the GALAXY provided for her and here alone!!
And there just through that door. ~Oh' what would I do without my shower..~
HER SHOWER!! An actual private bathroom that, glory of glories, was also hers and hers alone! She's been aboard for a month, and she still was overwhelmed with that fact.
All to herself!!!
Years of embarrasing and self-conscious community showering at the Academy had scarred the delicate psyche of young von Ernst, who as an only child had NEVER had to disrobe in front of anyone before.
All of the sudden, in the Academy, she was thrust into a group of tall sleek women, skin glistening with water, and cracking obscene jokes that assaulted the senses of the then 17 year old tiny girl.
The others were true Sirens from old, who's long legs and sultry eyes were the doom of men from all over the Galaxy. Somehow, the skinny flat-chested girl from Minnesota had to suffer the indignity taking showers with them.
Scrunching her nose, Rebecca remembered huddling by her locker, towel wrapped tightly about her and eyes fixed on the floor, not daring to move until all the other cadets had finished and left.
The goddesses had giggled and teased. Modesty? Did that still exist in the 24th Century? Shame? Was this skinny kid for real??
But now, here three years later, at last she could wash ALONE, whenever she wanted not having to wait for others, not having to be teased about her shyness.
~~~"What the matter? Cadet Cloaking-Device doesn't want to show us her boobies?"~~~
But now those voices seemed far away and faint.
Without further reflection Rebecca undressed and virtually flew into the shower luxuriating in the warmth and tingling sensation being clean gave her.
Shaking her head, her hair cascaded outwards in a shimmer of red as the sonic waves caressed and electrified her body.
The tears on her cheeks boiled off with a satisfying hiss and a days accumulation of sweat and frustration leaped from her skin and dissipated into nothingness.
Twisting in the flow, the last vestiges of stress melted away, and she turned her mind toward the task at hand.
~The Pattern was there all along~ she decided selecting a bottle of hair cleanser from the appropriate shower rack.
~The imminent surprise prank by the other crewmen in the Mess Hall was definitely within the realm of mathematical possibilities... and I should have seen the 'Future Cone' given their emotional state, the position of the tables, and the positioning of their legs.~
Rebecca scrunched her nose.....Mathmatics, 3-dimensional visualization, Vectors, and Probabilities came naturally to her, and its implications for space combat was unlimited......If she could only follow through.
Slowly she replayed the events in her mind, slowing the action to an almost frame by frame level of detail.
She had always been able to do this..Her incredible memory was half the reason why she excelled at Mathematics as much as she did..She was able to juggle several different levels of observation at once, and still act upon them.
Most of the time however she was switched 'off'...as she liked to refer to it. Her mind still took pictures, but she was not actively analysing the details. Which is what tended to get her into trouble.
She began applying the soothing cool cleanser to her auburn locks enjoying the pop and crackle it made in the sonic beam, ~Okay..slow down the play-back, and lets see what we can see.~
In her minds eye she was back in the Mess Hall...it was noisy and crowded. The crew was a bit on the rowdy side following the intense pressure of the Ursid mission
...A part of Rebecca's mind calculated the complex equations of Human emotionalism, while allowing for the random variables of tension, stress, and exhaustion..
Back in the shower Rebecca sighed as she kneaded the cleanser into her hair..
Ok..now she was at the food slot. She could see herself punching in her order for a small Spaghetti dish with a side of toast. The sounds of the rowdy room echoed in her ears, and she began to isolate them.
Turning around now, Rebecca kept her eyes on the floor as she made her way towards the only empty seat available in the Hall...
How had she know it had been empty without looking? Of Course! She had memorized the place settings in the first instant she pushed the doors open, and sub-consciously kept track of everything by sound while she was ordering her meal. It wasn't something she was a ware of doing....She just KNEW the seat was still empty.
Rebecca shook her head in the shower, and peered intently at her pale skinny legs intently...Was it time for a shave yet? No..she could get by another day.
In her mind she was walking slowly towards her seat.step.step..step.step..TRIP!!!!
She had been TRIPPED!!!
Rebecca stood bolt upright in the shower, inadvertently knocking a fluffy rag to the floor. Intent now, she closed her eyes and concentrated fully on the scene that was replaying in her mind..
No doubt about it...she had ordered her food...Rotated left 120 degrees and took exactly fourteen steps before a heavy boot came into contact with her own tiny shoes, sending her sprawling to the floor.
BUT WHO?!?
Ignoring the buzzing shower now, Rebecca screwed her eyes shut even tighter, and reconstructed the Mess hall in her head, detail by detail. In one instance she could visualize ever face, every uniform, and every person in every seat.
She rewound to the beginning, and visualized the Food Replicator..she shifted her memory to the left, and calculated the distance of fourteen steps. She zoomed in on who was sitting there..
"Oh dear God No!" her brown eyes flew open and she nearly slipped to the floor. "Not Chuck Marx!"
Rebecca had had plenty of tormentors at the Academy, but none so clever, nor quite so rude as the quick witted, and equally sadistic Charles Everett Marx.
"What the Noodle is he doing here on the Galaxy?"
Dumb question...obviously making her life hell again.
Sighing again, Rebecca von Ernst stretched her slender limbs nimbly in the sonic shower and wished her worries were as easy to wash down the drain.
=/\= Ensign Rebecca von Ernst
"The Perceval"
Ensign Drake Tarsonis
Helmsman, USS Galaxy
Drake was sitting in the Captain's chair on the bridge of a Defiant class, in the holodeck of course. He kept the safety protocols on due to what happened last time. He stood up as the ship came out of warp.
"Report," Drake said.
"We have one Romulan Warbird, sir. Her shields are up and she's ready to attack," said the tactical officer.
"Red alert, shields up and prepare the 2 forward Quantum torpedo launchers and fire phaser cannons," ordered Drake as he looked back at his grey and black Captain's Chair.
The other officers complied and they coused some damage to the Warbird. The Warbird fired disruptor and it made the ship shake a little.
"Computer, initiate maneuver Warbird 40k," ordered Drake.
The Defiant class dodged all incoming fire and the ship flew in the space between the wings. It slowed speed as it lay anti-matter minds and blew the Warbird out of the stars.
"Computer, end program," ordered Drake. "Computer, bring up schematics Tarsonis Delta 9."
"Authorization required," said the computer.
"Authorization Tarsonis 119 Echo Sierra," said Drake.
The Computer beep and a huge screen appeared. It was a Defiant class with a lot of modifications to it. Instead of one rear torpedo launcher, it now has two rear torpedo launchers and one rear probe launcher. The shield systems were an updated version of the rechargeable shield technology, the hull armour was upgraded, and the maneuverability and speed (in sublight) of the ship were increased.
Drake and Rear Admiral Deckard had been working on this design since Drake was in the Academy. They called the ship the USS Perceval NCC-82210, and even already gave it its dedication plaque saying: That which does not kill you, makes you stronger. Drake and Deckard had been meaning to send it in, since all was now figured out. If construction began soon, it would be done by either late 2377, or early 2378. Drake had hoped to transfer to that ship if they decided to build it.
"Computer, close schematics," said Drake.
No one else knew about the schematics, and he wanted to keep it that way. Drake was supposed to call Admiral Deckard today to see if the schematics had been approved. He left for his quarters, since it was not yet his shift. He tapped the button and he walked into his quarters.
"Computer, dim lights," ordered Drake.
The lights dimmed and he plopped down on his couch. He remembered that he had to call Admiral Deckard.
"Computer, contact Admiral Deckard onboard the USS Exeter," said Drake.
He heard a beep, then a 50-year-old man appeard on the screen.
"Yes? Oh, Drake, I have some good news. The Perceval has been approved!" said Deckard with a smile.
"Really? When does construction start?" asked Drake.
"Construction starts tomorrow at Utopia Planitia. It will be completed by late 2378. I asked that you would be transferred over to that ship as Chief Helmsman, if you have the rank of course," said Deckard.
"Great! This is amazing! Who will be commanding the ship?" asked Drake.
"Captain Daniel Fitzpatrick," replied Drake.
"Thanks for the information, sir," said Drake.
"Thank you for doing 56% of the job, ensign," said Deckard. "I have to go, I'm scheduled for another meeting at the academy. Bye."
Drake nodded bye, and once the screen went black. He began dancing and signing in his quarters. Then he saw his trumpet. He picked it up, played a jazz tune and began dancing as he played. Nothing could spoil Drake's happiness now.
"Awkward conversation"
Ensign Corgan was still bored on Starbase Sierra. He has kept himself busy these past few days by beating every single challenger to a game of target practice and capture the flag. He beat everyone, badly! This didn’t surprise Ensign Corgan. He did win the "Silver Bullet" award for best shot at Starfleet Academy one year. He is also in the top 10 of the highest scores in the federation for target practice, not to mention the best accuracy score in his class. He was a top grade sharpshooter. He was so good, Starfleet Marine Sniper Corp. wanted to recruit him, but he decided on going into security since it involved more than just shooting things.
All that meant is that nobody else had a chance in hell against a man that could pick off a flea at a hundred yards.
Today was different now. He was not going to shoot up any more Starfleet officers for sport, or blow away innocent skeets. This time was the day that excited him the most. Today, he gets his assignment. Anticipation runs through him, giving him an extra skip in his step as he walked through the starbase towards the assignment station.
"Today is the day!" Ensign Corgan said aloud.
He turned a corner into another room, the “assignment” room. A young female ensign, a Bajoran in a neatly pressed gray, black and red uniform, greeted Ensign Corgan. James noted how Starfleet was becoming more popular to Bajorans than their militia, but that did not matter much to him anyways.
“Name?” asked the officer.
“Ensign James Lionel Corgan.” He replied.
“Please wait. I’ll have your assignment shortly.”
The young ensign tapped rapidly at her PADD, her fingers working deftly on the plastic keypad. Beeps resounded around the room, and then stopped as her fingers stopped. She raised an eyebrow, looking impressed with what Ensign Corgan’s assignment.
“Congratulations, Ensign.” The officer said, “You are now a crewmember of the USS Galaxy.”
At that point, Ensign Corgan wanted to scream.
Electra entered a turbolift after her "meeting" with the captain. As she gave it instructions to deliver her to her quarters' hallway, she agonized, wiping her eyes to hide the tears she had shed. How could this have happened? She was not doing too badly and yet, now the captain not only knew who she was, he considered her a problem person. ~I am NEVER eating in the mess hall again. I thought this would stop. The torture, the torment, the snide looks. At least that beast Marx isn't around. His rumors almost ruined my life once before. I don't need them here. ~
The turbolift doors opened and she began walking toward her quarters when a tall figure stepped around the corner and approached the lift she had just exited. She put her eyes on the floor as she walked past the officer, only to have them widen in alarmed horror as a familiar chuckle resounded.
"Nice uniform, ensign. How terribly clumsy of you to have dirtied it." She swallowed and looked up into the familiar and maliciously twinkling eyes of Lt (j/g) Charles Marx. "You always were a mess, Reece, but I thought it was because you were too busy with...other things." His raised eyebrow and speaking glance implied that the other things that he meant were definitely sexual in nature.
Electra blushed and stammered out, "You know n-n-none of that w-w-w-w-was t-t-t-true! Y-y-you st-st-started those r-r-rumors." She remembered clearly the first time she had heard of her totally undeserved reputation among the cadets at the Academy.
**************FLASHBACK*******************
Electra hurried back to her dorm, hoping to get some studying done before her next class in an hour. She stepped into the lobby of the dorm and ran into an arm that was across the hallway. "Ooof." Electra looked down into the eyes of the girl in front of her, a cadet who lived on another floor of the dorm and the girlfriend of Electra's roommates' study partner. She didn't really know the girl, so petite and sweetly pretty, but seeing the hard look in her eyes, she was glad of this.
The girl spoke, eyes glinting hatred and hands fisted. "Listen, you slut. You stay away from my boyfriend. Just because you're older and have long legs doesn't mean you can flash your stuff at any guy and have them without a fight. Chuck told me he saw you trying your wiles on Barry. And everyone knows you'll take on anything in pants that's still breathing. But if you go anywhere near my man again, you'll regret it, trust me. And here's a little piece of advice, guys won't get serious about a piece of tail that they know all of their friends have already had. You don't mean anything to them. They just take what you're putting out; glad they don't have to pay for it. Leave Barry alone, slut." As Electra stood there in shock, unable to move, the girl glared once more and spun on her heel.
Electra stumbled to her room, glad that her roommate, Karyn, had back-to-back classes all day. She sat there on her bed all afternoon analyzing what the girl had said and trying to come up with a reason for what she had said. She came up blank. She just had too little experience with social situations to form a conclusion. When her roommate finally returned to the room, they talked about what was wrong and they realized that "Chuck" was Cadet Charles Marx. They figured out that he was trying to make Electra's life a living hell because she had turned him down. And Electra couldn't believe it. Karyn was the one who told her, hours after her meeting with Chuck the week before what he had meant by his comments. Lexa had thought he was being cruel and teasing her, like so many people did, because of her height. Instead, he had asked her out and now he was telling everyone that she was sleeping around.
********************PRESENT**************************
Chuck smiled. "Did I? I don't recall doing anything of the sort. Your reputation was entirely justified as far as I am concerned. Poor Electra. Next time, duck when food flies your way." He resumed his walk to the turbolift, leaving Electra standing, still stained with sauce and hair filled with spaghetti. ~He started the fight! And he'll start the rumors, too. I know it. ~ She turned and dashed to her quarters, weeping at the though of the torment ahead.
As she cleaned herself up, Electra wondered if Rebecca, the other girl from the mess hall, would be interested in being a friend. Electra knew the kind of misery that Chuck had begun tonight would not end and she desperately wanted a friend. ~I think I'll go see her and take a chance. She seemed really nice. When I have a chance, I'll find out where her quarters are and go there. ~
Welcome-home-party
Like she was shot out of a cannon, the USS Galaxy began picking up speed when the tractor beam was disengaged. Gritting his teeth, Lieutenant Gustavson strained to hold his hands firmly on the buttons that would allow the Galaxy to pull out of it's desperate dive towards the 38.5 kilometer rock that's own gravity was drawing her in. "Come... on.. baby... you... can... do... it!...." Ragnald called out.
The Galaxy came within a hundred meters of the asteroid's surface before her arching course took her streaking out into open space. With a sigh of relief, Captain Price called out, "Reduce power levels to normal 'Commander."
Sweating Ragnald looked at the display showing a rear view at the asteroid. Apparently the Galaxy came near enough to leave a trail of dust. Now the threat was gone he looked around to find several faces with a look of relief.
"Ooops" the young helmsman declared "the third time within three days I faced death. I never thought being a helmsman on a Galaxy class vessel could be that dangerous. I feel like finally coming home from a long dangerous journey. My ancestors used to celebrate their return having one of their famous-infamous parties. I would like to take up that tradition. Let`s lick our wounds, have some rest and then LET`S CELEBRATE!
I would like to invite everbody to join in on holodeck 1 to help me exterminate some barbecued meat, inflate some bottles, listen to self made music and have fun in some traditional Nordic competitions as log pushing, axe throwing or jousts.
"Drake and the Dolphins"
Ensign Drake Tarsonis
Drake entered the holodeck, dressed in a white tuxedo and with trumpet in hand, and he saw that the setting of the holodeck. It was in the mountains with the ocean below. It was beautiful, they had a stage with competition fields and a dance floor. And a food table, and tables with seats. Drake hoped that they would enjoy the show.
"Computer, activate Tarsonis Band "Dolphins" Program Theta 9," said Drake.
The Computer beeped and a band dressed in whit tuxedos appeared each holding different instruments. He stood in place, with his trumpet.
"Computer, initiate "Dolphins" Program," said Drake.
The Band began to play swing, specically, "Rock Around The Clock". People began to enter the holodeck dressed in casual wear, and Drake just looked at the sky and played. He enjoyed playing out of everything he did. He jammed on and didn't make one mistake, and was happy, because when he played, there weren't any problems in his mind. They finished the song, and went on to the song "In The Mood".
They started off with swing music, since that was suitable for a party. They would soon move on to jazz, and then some other members of the Galaxy would join in on the playing. After "In the Mood", they played "You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley, and a lot of people began dancing, and Drake really got into the music and played his heart out. Once the piece finished, they took out an easy but fun piece to play: "The Final Countdown". They played it and it was great. Now came to an even more fun piece: "Flip, Flop and Fly".
Now, it came to Drake's favorite part, a improv solo. They began to play a piece called "Night Train" and it was Drake's favorite. They kept on playing and playing, then the name for the band sprung up: Drake and the Dolphins. The band kept on playing and playing, and the more drake played, the more he loved it.
There was more to come, the party was just beginning...
If the operations department thought there'd be any time to rest in the wake of the Ursid mission, they were mistaken. Immediately following his return to the ship, lieutenant commander Surok began receiving 'urgent' requests for system allocation approvals. The sensory, power, and computing resources of the starship had been rationed out strictly during the Galaxy's mercy mission. Dozens of 'vital' projects were put on hold due to reduced system access and also due to the absence of so many experienced officers who were planetside saving lives.
With the ship and crew reunited and the threat to Ursid past, every department was eager to resume their work with vigor. Sciences had experiments to continue and sensor readings to conduct, as well as new research into the stability of Ursid's ne-moon. Engineering was scheduling numerous systems checks and inspecting the various plants for stress damage that may have occurred while operating beyond design parameters during the mission.
The triage aspect of his position always seemed to be the one that benefitted from logic most directly. Surok reviewed each request and compared the requests to his record of all projects currently on the schedule for resources. There were several discrepancies that required further examination. Established tasks had to be re-prioritized in favor of the more pressing tasks in Engineering and Sciences.
*** Bridge, USS Galaxy - 1900 hours ***
Alpha shift was over and Beta shift was in full swing. Surok, now standing at the auxiliary ops console, applied one thread of attention to reviewing his knowledge of the officers on duty. He called up crew biographical data on the officers he hadn't met previously. In another cognitive thread, the Ops manager sent off approvals and temporary suspensions of resources to the various departments in response to their allocation requests.
Commander Thomas sat in the captain's chair calling up data on his small display panel. The Galaxy's Executive Officer's personell file was riddled with omissions. It was obvious that quite a bit of his career was classified. Surok found the commander to be professional and efficient. By the end of their first conversation, Surok realized that the first officer was actually very proficient at tailoring his communication style to his audience. An indicator, the Vulcan thought, that Thomas's classified missions had been undercover operations; perhaps on Cardassia, Romulus, Qu'onos, or among the Maquis.
** Engineering's request for computer, power resources for purposes of damage assessment and system readiness assessment: approved **
The OPS chair was occupied by Michael Jamson. Lieutenant commander Jamson's Starfleet record was fascinating. Surok was still new to the USS Galaxy, but he was confident that he and 'commander Jamson would have no trouble working together and optimizing departmental performance.
** Meeting scheduled with ensign Electra Reece to discuss recent events in Mess Hall: 0800 hours tomorrow **
Ensign Peter Lockhart was stationed at the Tactical arch. In the brief periods that Surok had observed Lockhart on duty, the young man appeared to be very relaxed in his performance. There had been no opportunities to observe his reactions in a crisis. But, comparing his apparent attitude versus his official record, there seemed to be a discrepancy. The reports, notably those logged by lieutenant Heather Sanchez, suggested an officer much more derelict. Then again, humans were notoriously subjective when it came to crew evaluations.
** Tactical's request for high-level computer, high-level holodeck operation resources for purposes of tactical simulations and evaluations: approved (priority level B) **
At the helm was lieutenant Gustavson. The pilot's efficiency numbers were high, even during the mundane flight to Starbase Sierra. Surok recalled seeing the damaged hulk of shuttle Opaka sitting in shuttle bay one. Ragnald Gustavson was the pilot that brought in the crippled craft without proper guidance systems or fully-functional maneuvering controls. Very impressive.
** Flight Control request for low-level computer and power resources for standard systems diagnostics: approved (of course) **
Lt cmdr Jake Olson was at science station one. He had a solid performance record, with virtually no blemishes. Surok couldn't help but notice the 'commander's alabaster complexion and snow-white hair. It looked startlingly like an Andorian's hair.
** Science's request for priority sensor allocation, computer resources for purposes of studying Ursidian ne-moon gravitic effects -- short term: approved **
Standing near the main turbolift doors was ensign Torricle from Security. Surok had not worked with the gold-shirt before. His record was bare, other than detailing his stint as an ensign on the Galaxy. Altogether an unremarkable crewmember. But, an unremarkable member of the USS Galaxy's crew was remarkable by most any other standard.
Surok logged out from ops station two. His custom-configured displays returned to the standard issue models. He still had several hours to go until Gamma shift. He intended to sleep for two hours to refresh himself before returning to the Bridge and his weekly turn at commanding that shift.
It was like any other day. Nikki got dressed, ate breakfast and left for school. Rayna went to work as usual. It was an uneventful day and Rayna couldn't wait to get off duty and pick up Nikki from school.
However a rude surprise from the past had shown up in the guise of a marshal carrying official papers, which required him to appear with his woman to argue for custody of Nikki, this was brought by her biological father. Needless to say Mike was not amused and he went to break the news to Rayna so she wouldn't kill anyone.
Rayna left early. She decided to surprise Nikki by taking her out of class early. She walked into the room just in time for break time. Nikki ran over and hugged her. She needed to talk to the teacher...let her know that she was taking her out early.
Mike was leaning against the door of the classroom holding a sheaf of papers.
He walked over to Nikki and hugged her then waited for Rayna to notice him.
The teacher pointed over to her daughter and husband, "Looks like someone else had the same idea." Rayna laughed and went over to them, "Looks like great minds think alike."
Mike kissed her, "hey babe."
"Hey." She smiled at Nikki, noticing that Nikki was still in the dark why both her parents were there. She knew that it wasn't her birthday and her mom looked happy, so it wasn't anything bad or so she thought. Rayna looked back up at her husband, "I thought that I'd save her from the boredom of sitting through dreaded math."
Mike chuckled, "I hated math as a kid." They walked out and he looked at her, "So, what did you want to do today?"
"Well, I was planning to take Nikki to holodeck one and enjoy one of those carnival type programs. I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to spend with my daughter. Of course, it's not like she's going anywhere soon but there will be a time when she is old enough to be on her own. I want to spend as much time as I can with her."
Mike nodded, "Sounds fun, why don't we stop home and change first."
She slowed down her pace, "I wasn't planning to but I guess we can. The holodeck can wait."
He looked at her, his eyes said that he had some news he didn't want to tell her in front of Nikki.
Something clicked in her mind and the word "trouble" entered in. Once in their quarters, Nikki went to the replicator and got a drink, "Um Nikki, go change into some pants and that blouse you like so much." Nikki obeyed, knowing that the faster she did that, the sooner they could leave. Once she was out of earshot, Rayna softly asked, "I know that look, what's wrong? Is it my parents?"
"Worse, her father filed for custody."
It took a few minutes to sink in what he just said, "Yeah, right. He has no rights, I saw to that. No judge would even consider it."
"He's got a hearing, Ever heard of Maximus seven?"
"You've got to be kidding. Where is this Maximus whatever?" She was in denial about the whole thing
He handed her the papers, "it's a little backwater planet that has a quite different philosophy. Apparently how Nikki was conceived is not a legitimate question, but that he is the biological father is."
"That is the most asinine thing I've ever heard. We aren't on that planet. We're here and he's there. Even if it's true, there is no way they can get her."
"They can file a court order with the Federation, which will be valid on it's face and they can take custody." He could see her temper beginning to rise. "Now we have to go there and beat this. Which we can."
"I'm not going to let that happen. They'll have to kill me before I'll let them take her. He isn't fit to be a father much less a human being."
Mike raised his hand, "We have to. Look we go we can tell Nikki it's a vacation."
She was angry at being told what she could and couldn't do when it came to Nikki, "I'm not telling Nikki anything because we aren't going. If I have to, I'll steal a shuttle and take her the hell off this ship."
Mike exhaled, it would take time for her stubbornness to abide enough to see that it was the best.
"Don't do that. I don't care what you say, it isn't going to happen. She's my daughter, I'll decide what's best for her." Rayna walked into the bedroom, "Now, as soon as I get changed, I'm taking my daughter to have some fun."
"Funny I thought she was our daughter." Mike spoke evenly.
She didn't realize that she said that, "I'm sorry, our daughter." She took her shoes off, throwing in a corner. She was steaming mad and showed it by the way she was struggling, trying to get out of her uniform. She kept ranting under her breath.
Mike walked over and began to help her, "Look I read this over, this is a tenuous legal grasp at best, we have a two pronged attack, one we attack the legal ruling on the planet, if they do rule against us, we take her and leave the planet then we get the order reversed at a Federation court. Shouldn't take much to have the Federation refuse to recognize the order.
Gently he took her hand and spoke softly, "I'm not going to run away from this."
"Why not? I can't believe you want me to go and answer this summon. I don't even know anything about them. How do I know that this is all legit? It could be a trap or some plan for her father to kidnap her. I don't trust him. He is very conniving and that frightens me because of what I know he is capable of doing." She was finally admitting that she was running a bit scared.
"I don't trust him either, remember I broke his jaw not to long ago. But this planet exists and we have go confront him. If you don't we'll live in fear for the rest of our lives." Looking at her he spoke softly, "If it's not 100% legit and it's not safe we go no questions asked."
She sat on the bed, "All right." She put her face in her hands. She couldn't believe that this was happening.
He sat next to her and began to massage her shoulders, "No matter how the court rules he's not getting our daughter though. That I promise you."
She looked back at him, "He better not. I carried her for nine months. I went through the pain and I had to endure all the gossip and embarrassment. I didn't go through that just so that he could take her away from me."
"He won't because I'll kill him if he tries." Mike was dead serious.
"Not if I get to him first. He's going to be sorry that he messed with us." That was the one thing they seemed to agree on...he was a dead man.
"Then let's get moving." Before he stood he leaned over and kissed her.
Rayna finished dressing. She now needed to hold it together for Nikki's sake. She was scared but she wasn't going to let on. Nikki ran out and pulled on her dad, "Can we go now?"
Mike picked her up and kissed her cheek, "Sure Peanut, where do you wanna go?"
"Mommy said that we could go to the carnival in the holodeck. Are you going to come with us?" Her eyes seemed to smile.
Mike nodded, "Sure we are Peanut. Why don't we go to the carnival on the holodeck."
Rayna felt a small tear fall but quickly wiped it away. Clearing her throat, trying to get rid of the lump that formed, "I agree. Let's go have some fun."
Walking out they were soon heading for the holodeck. "What do you want to do at the carnival?"
"The Ferris wheel." She said it with such excitement. All Rayna could do is smile at her little girl who was growing up right before her eyes.
Mike laughed, "then we'll ride the Ferris wheel." They walked in and the carnival was started. In one corner was the Ferris wheel.
Nikki insisted that they go on it four more times. Rayna couldn't deny her anything today. It was Nikki's day.
And they didn't soon she was exhausted having won a big stuffed bear and having eaten her fill in hot dogs, cotton candy and other goodies. Mike carried her and the big bear as they walked in to their quarters. "Tomorrow we'll just take her to the shuttlebay and tell her we're going on vacation."
With all the fun she was having, Rayna had almost forgotten about the whole thing...almost. She nodded, "If you think that is best." She kissed Nikki and then got her ready for bed. They would be getting up early to go.
"I'd like to avoid worrying her." He also kissed Nikki then waited for Rayna to come to the living room.
Rayna walked out and walked straight to the replicator, getting herself something to calm her once steady nerves. She didn't say anything. All she would do is stare at a picture of the three of them.
Mike walked over next to her and looked at the same picture. "Penny for your thoughts?"
"You don't want to know what I am thinking right now." She took a swig of her drink.
"Yeah I do, otherwise I wouldn't have asked."
"Just when I thought that he couldn't hurt me...us anymore, he pulls this. He must have had to really research this."
"Yeah." Mike began to massage her shoulders and a little spot on the back of her neck that seemed to calm her down.
"I should have killed him when I had the chance. I've had to deal with others just like him. I've put his type away and they seem to beat the system. You would think that after 300 and some odd years that the system would change." It hadn't quite hit her hard yet.
He continued to massage her then spoke, "if you killed him when you had the chance you'd be in prison right now. Besides you're not a murderer. If you had to you would, but not in cold blood." He found another spot behind her ear and gently kissed it.
"I'd just claim temporary insanity. No court would find me guilty." She finished her drink off and thought of getting another one.
Mike spoke softly, "Come on, we have a long day tomorrow, you don't want a hangover on top."
"I guess you're right." She recycled her glass and then followed her husband to the bedroom.
==In the shuttle==
Nikki was asleep in the back and Mike had gotten his second cup of coffee down. He was too jittery to sleep and he would continue to be.
Rayna seemed to shut down her emotions. She was feeling numb at this point and she also hadn't slept that night. She couldn't help having a bad feeling about this whole thing.
Mike could sense her emotions and had been silent while he had set the shuttle in to warp. Reaching over he took her hand.
Her hands were cold and clammy. She was really worried about this whole thing. She was going to be meeting the biological father again and was dreading the fact that this time, she'd have no control if he could see her or not. Nikki didn't know him from Adam and that worried her too.
He kissed her hand and smiled. "love you."
"Hmm?" She had been lost in thought and worry. She was a security officer who put on a facade of this tough as nails type of woman but underneath it all, she was this scared young adult all over again, the one who was forced upon and had found herself pregnant as a result of this awful violent act.
Mike squeezed her hand, "We'll check in to our hotel and get this taken care of as fast as possible then get the hell out of here."
She smiled but not convincingly. She got up and sat back with Nikki, watching her sleep. She didn't know how this would affect Nikki. She was the innocent one in this whole mess.
(GALAXY)
Rebecca von Ernst emerged from the steam swirling mists of her private bathroom and sighed. Despite all the problems relating to her recent field posting, she had to admit that being able to take a hot steam shower just about made it all worthwhile.
Exhausted, the lithe redhead flopped herself heavily onto her bedspread, her naked warm skin still steaming slightly from the shower. Staring up at the ceiling, however the nagging old problems crept back in to her mind just as the chill of the room slowly invaded her bare flesh.
The latter problem was quickly solved with a fluffy over-sized blue robe, but the trials of Life, love and career were not so easily diverted. Fact was, that her first Duty shift Aboard the bridge was only an hour or so away, and she was under direct orders from Captain Price, NOT to switch shifts anymore.
That scared her to death.
~Noodles to them all!!~ she grumbled inwardly throwing the robe across her thin bare shoulders. ~Serves them right if I suddenly cracked up under the strain I'll probably run the Galaxy right into a star for crying out loud!!~
Rising from her bed, Rebecca crossed her cabin to the outer bulkhead where a single small viewport sat, currently shuttered off
Pulling the robe tight around her neck, she operated the controls to remove the blinds, and stared out into the vast netherworld of Warp Space. The Galaxy was chugging right along at Warp Speed eating up the lightyears like candy. Never before had Rebecca felt so alone.
Following her dismissal from the Captain's ready room after the Mess Hall incident, the young officer had made a beeline for her private quarters and hadn't set a toe out into the passageway since. She didn't want to risk running into the Captain, or her old nemesis Lt. Charles Marx.
Scrunching her freckled nose in disgust, Rebecca closed the viewport again, and plopped back onto the bed.
~Infuriating Man!!~ she raged ~What do you think I am? I'm a kid, not one of Starfleet's new super weapons!! Why was he always picking on me?!?~ Rebecca shook her head slightly to dispel that line of thinking.
She debated with herself for many minutes afterwards, but eventually sleep over came the pixielike girl and she curled up into a ball and drifted away...............
MINNESOTA.....
The white glare of the morning sun shone without warmth on the small procession of black-garbed figures. This small meandering line of pilgrims trudged their weary way up the deep snow embankment to the hilltop cemetery.
The chill winters air whispered the morning's only sounds, the cold stinging ears, and reddening cheeks with the wind's cold heartless words.
At the head of the procession walked the six struggling men of the Von Ernst Family: At the head, somber Uncle Anton from Buffalo and behind him silent Cousin James, and Cousin Felix.
Directly across from them, marching in sile was the young figure of Cousin Geoffery, then Uncle Frowin, and finally Uncle Kell who gripped the gleaming brass handles with a will of iron, and a face set in stone.
Between the six dark men swung the silent oaken monolith that was the casket of good John von Ernst..Dead at 35 years of age.
Struck down in the prime of life barely two years after moving his small family from Buffalo to this Minnesota Prairie.
"Its a chance to start anew Anton!" John had argued with his brother before the move, "It separates us from the bustle of city life, and will give Holli and the baby a chance to bond in a good place."
"Rubbish!"Uncle Anton had replied, waving off his brother's protests with a hand, "Nine generations of the von Ernsts have lived and died here......Family is here......YOU belong HERE."
The argument was over long ago. John and Holli von Ernst had made the move out West bringing along their baby daughter Rebecca, who still hadn't made it out of diapers.
The air was thick with the smoky breaths of six men struggling in the snowy air. Their hands burned from the icy winds and were stung numb by the razor-cold metal handles to the casket. They fought on however without complaint....without regret......to not let man down.......for Love.....and for the Family.
Behind the slow moving casket followed a weary train of heavily cloaked mourners, headed up by a petite woman who with grim pride led her tiny daughter by the hand.
Holli von Ernst was a small frail woman. Barely 5 feet in height, and not quite cracking 100 pounds, yet she possessed a passion and strength that burned as bright as her brilliant red hair that reached down well past her belt.
Normally with hair bundled against the chill Northern air, Holli marched stiffly with her crimson locks unbound, flowing free and glowing in the winds like a scarlett banner. Her face a pale mask of grief, betrayed no thoughts as she resolutely followed her true-love's remains to the grave.
At her side the small form of the ten year old Rebecca von Ernst stared out upon the snow-covered world with great watery brown eyes. The stinging wind nipped at thin pale cheeks and brought even more color to her freckled nose. Her small pink-mittens clung tight to the soft black leather of her mother's glove, and from time to time she glanced up at her mother's face seeking answers to questions she did not yet comprehend.
Holli did not return her daughter's quizzical glances but instead fixed upon the backs of the pall-bearers and the casket before her. Her heart boring a hole in the thick-oak to seek out any glimmer of warmth from her-soul's second-half...........Nothing.
Rebecca looked back down at the snow and tried to huddle deeper in her coat.......Things were so confusing.......first the frantic visits of the Doctors ... Mom crying alone in her bedroom.. and then the sudden arrival of distant realatives en masse upon the small von Ernst Farm.
Old men and women she had never seen before suddenly appeared bearing food and condolences, continually making cryptic remarks such as "The Good die young" or "He should have stayed with the Family." Or inquiring of her mother as to if she would finally move "Back East."
Rebecca could make little sense of it all.......especially the aunts who 'ooed' and 'ahhhed' over how big she was getting, and how they remembered her as just a child back in Buffalo.
Little Rebecca shook her head. To be sure there were distant memories....images......of another time....another home, but it was all fuzzy and dim.
Looking back up at her mother, Little Rebecca 'Funny-Face' von Ernst whispered in a soft snuffly voice, "What are we gonna do now Mommy? What are we gonna do now?"
Holli von Ernst turned to her daughter, her head a whirling crown of brilliant red hair whipping in the wind....."We next see how a Warp 3 approach from along the y-axis brings all batteries to bear while minimizing our crossection dear."
"Mom??"
GALAXY
24 Year old Ensign Von Ernst opened her eyes to blurrily view the holo-tape that had been left running after she had dozed off.
****The Prudent Captain is then wise to consider a Negative G manuver by thrusting laterally across the Enemy's beam. Photon Torpedoes targeted here and here...Phasers, here, here, and on wide angle here. We next see...****
It was a taped lecture in advanced Starship tactics.
The package had been forwarded to her from 'concerned-parties' at the Starfleet Academy Command School. "For a head start in your Career" the attached note had read.
~Noodles....Im still on the Galaxy~......."Computer off" she whispered and the small room was darkened as the holo faded.
Sitting in the midst of her bed Rebecca shook her head to clear it, trying to establish her bearings.
Galaxy.......oh Jeez...right......First shift in 30 minutes......
Rebecca's cheeks reddened and her stomach rolled slightly at the memory of her father's funeral over ten years ago. She still her mothers incredibly long red hair blowing in the wind. The only patch of color against her black coat.
What had made her dream suddenly of that cold miserable day? ~~Oh Daddy I miss you so~~
Rebecca sighed slightly and gathered the covers tighter about her......."Oh noodles, what am I gonna do now Mom......what am I gonna do now?"
=/\=Ensign Rebecca von Ernst
Commander Thomas returned to the bridge after cleaning up and putting on a clean uniform.
Instead of taking his normal place at the captain's side, he
First Officer's Log Stardate 50103.7
The USS Galaxy has in conjunction with the Malon's managed to place the ne-moon, a 38km asteroid into a stable orbit around the planet. Our current prospective is to evaluate the position of the ne-moon and provide detailed information about it's orbit and the impact of this new body in the space around Ursid to both species who inhabit the planet.
Our hope is that with help from the Malon population and the Ursdians they'll be able to work together and finish stabilizing the moon's orbit. The current numbers suggest this will take some time to accurately achieve. In fact it'll probably take a full year before the moon is completely placed in orbit around the planet. I am sure the captain or acting chief science officer have suggested the same course of action as I am going to do now.
My recommendation is to setup a Federation observation post / science station to observe and learn more. Both about the ne-moon, and the people who we now know reside on the planet. While this may in way seem obtrusive to a people who did invite us into their world to help, it would be best to study from a distance. We also are going to need a team of negotiators's here on the planet to help the Ursidians and Malon's living together in peace.
End Log
Commander Thomas looked over his shoulder and filed the report.
Commander Thomas rose from his seat, leaving the console behind. It was time for him to resume his duties as the ship's first officer.
*End of watch* Chris thought to himself, now he could go home and speak with Anna. He figured that would take a few hours, unless he got lucky.
Security Officer: USS Galaxy
It has been nearly a week since Ensign Corgan set foot on Starbase Sierra. At first, he was surprised that he wasn't assigned to any vessel, just an order to go to the Starbase in God-knows-where sector to be assigned to a mystery vessel that was bound to send him anywhere but someplace where he could be of some use. And he was right. He had just received his assignment, and it was displayed on the PADD in his hands. In big, bold letters, it read "USS Galaxy, Security Duty".
He grumbled as he walked into the Galaxy's brightly-lit halls, carrying nothing but his PADD, his uniform on his back and a standard Starfleet issue duffel bag filled with personal items. He couldn't believe it. Of all places to end up, he had to go to one of the few ships in Starfleet where he could feel utterly useless. The universe is indeed a cruel place.
Why did it seem like a crappy choice to Ensign Corgan? All Ensign Corgan knew was combat and music, and he felt that a deep exploration vessel wasted his talents. He tried to request a border patrol ship, any border patrol ship policing the borders between the Federation and the Breen territories. Or, he could hop onto a ship policing Cardassia Prime. Or even get on board a ship heading into the Gamma Quadrant in search of Dominion rebels that haven't surrendered. Instead, he gets to ride aboard a Galaxy Class vessel in search of space phenomenon, which to him meant junk. The biggest problems they faced were the occasional missing items and pets. He remembered his father complaining about the boredom associated with security duty on board a peaceful ship, and he didn't look forward to it.
It was not only the boredom associated with a ship in peacetime doing peaceful missions and acting all nicey-nice, it was the fact that during times of war that the Galaxy Class vessel was a sitting duck. The Galaxy Class was second to only Miranda and Excelsior class ships to be "the most likely to be destroyed ship". The Odyssey was the first to demonstrate the shortcomings of the Galaxy Class ships fighting against smaller, stronger and more nimble fighter craft. Granted, they were great for troop transport, and their phasers kicked harder than a mule, and it could bombard the hell out of any planet it encountered, but alone and without escort Galaxy Class ships were weak against wings of fighter craft.
"Great." He thought, "Like father, like son, I'm gonna die on the galaxy's biggest friggin' tomb the next time some whacko decides to play chicken and hit the deflector array." Ensign Corgan still remembered how the Odyssey was destroyed. It was just a small wing of Jem'Hadar fighters against one of the Federation's most powerful vessels. Instead of the Odyssey laying waste to those weedy fighters, it was in turn literally slapped around like a prison bitch in a shower. The phased polaron beams ignored every shield frequency on the spectrum, but the ship was so brutishly large that the polaron beams couldn't make the ship explode. Therefore, out of sheer fanaticism (or as Ensign Corgan called it, idiocy) a Jem'Hadar fighter decided to ram into the deflector array and turn the Odyssey into space scrap. That day, it left Ensign Corgan and his sister Courtney without a mother and father.
Now he was on the very type of ship that has claimed their lives.
Ensign Corgan did not feel very safe inside its massive hull.
"Ensign Corgan?" Purred a feline voice.
Waiting patiently in the corridor was a Starfleet officer, a Lietenant JG to be exact. She looked female, but she also looked like a humanoid tiger. Her whiskers twitched as her tail waved behind her back casually.
"Sir. Ensign Corgan reporting for duty." James replied, then saluted instinctively.
"At ease, Ensign." The woman-tiger said, "You are not on duty yet. You still get time to get moved in. By the way, your items have been transported to your room. I have been sent to show you to your quarters."
"Thank you, sir. May I ask who you are, sir?" Ensign Corgan asked inquisitively.
The tigress laughed, sounding like a human laugh with a feline growl to make it sound throaty.
"It's ok, you can call me by my first name since you're off duty." The cat woman said, and then added, "My name is Brightspot to Srallansre. I am a Sivaoan."
"Pleased to meet you." Ensign Corgan responded politely. He didn't bother to shake hands. It wasn't required to shake hands when greeted aboard a ship, but it was one of those norms that people tended to expect. Brightspot let it slide, since she wasn't going to let something that small put a dampner on her good mood. After all, Ensign Corgan was, overall, polite to her in a standoffish way. The two officers walked down the halls to find an unoccupied turbolift.
"Have you been assigned to any section of the ship yet?" Brightspot asked.
"Yes. I'm a security officer." Ensign Corgan replied.
"What a coincidence," Brightspot purred, "So am I, what shift are you on?"
"Alpha"
"Too bad, I'm on the graveyard shift. I do brig duty late at night."
"Interesting."
"To tell you the truth, it suits me just fine. I don't mind the night shift. How about you?"
"I could care less."
"Never heard of someone who didn't complain about getting the night shift."
"I'm a unique case."
Brightspot didn't know what to do. She usually spoke to people that didn't act so... dull. Her attempts at conversation with Ensign Corgan resulted in short answers that meant to get to the point. He wasn't much of a socializing person, but at least he gave an answer to everything. The couple stepped into a turbolift.
"I guess I have to keep trying." Brightspot thought.
"Level 20" Brightspot commanded the voice-activated turbolift.
The turbolift buzzed and whirred to life as it moved throughout the ship. Ensign Corgan stared at the turbolift door, hoping that he didn't have to come up with another answer for Brightspot.
"She's a really nice cat-person," thought Ensign Corgan, "But I wish she would quit prying. She's one nosy person."
"So tell me," Lt. Jg Brightspot continued, "Is this your first assignment?"
"Hell no."
"Well... ummmm... where else where you stationed?"
"USS Thunderchild. That's it."
"Interesting tour of duty?"
This time, Ensign Corgan decided to give her more than just a couple of words. He was growing tiresome of this charade and he wanted nothing more than to unpack, collapse in his own bed, sleep, then get ready for some security duty so that he can think of more song ideas while he re-tuned the phasers. He also thought that her cat like voice would sound great when its dubbed into a song, but that was for another time. As for now, its time to give her some more info.
"You could say that."
Then again, maybe not.
"How so? I would love to hear about it."
"Dammit!" rang thought Ensign Corgan's head. "Do I have to do this?"
Something inside his head said, "Yes. Just throw her a frickin' bone, you big baby!"
"Well," Ensign Corgan started, "I was first assigned to the Thunderchild when I was taking a cadet cruise. It was a nice ship, an Akira Class ship that normally stayed around Sector OO1 in case the Dominion started kicking our asses and we needed a last ditch defense. Did you know how close we came to putting the Thunderchild in action once?"
Brightspot's face showed total shock. She didn't expect such callousness.
"I'm sorry to scare you like that. Anyways, it was the perfect ship for a cadet cruise. It was advanced, one of the first Akira's out, and it was in a supposedly safe section of the universe, which it wasn't... really."
Brightspot couldn't believe this. Never before has she seen somebody so brutally frank that it scared her.
"So anyways, I got good enough marks to be sent there. And I saw combat against the Borg at that time, and nearly got turned into a drone, but I can tell you about that later."
"Really?" Brightspot enquired.
"Really." James replied, "After graduation, in the mother of all galactic ironies, I was sent to the same ship. Funny things was, they decided then was the time that the Thunderchild was sent to the front lines. We did well, got our fare share of confirmed kills, and then we went to Cardassia Prime for the big event, the great invasion. I'm glad I lived through that!"
"What happened?" Brightspot asked, both hanging on and being strangely shocked by his story about his last assignment.
"Oh, it got shot down."
"What do you mean by shot down. In space, they don't get shot down."
"We went down all right. Down through Cardassia's atmosphere. I barely lived through that, and I bet I have mentioned that before."
"You did. That was a very... interesting story."
"Thank you. Always glad to chat."
"Ok," Ensign Corgan was thinking in his head, "That loving to talk thing was a crock of bullsh!t, but at least she's happy."
The turbolift stopped suddenly with a jerk. The door swooshed open showing another beige and gray hallway. Ensign Corgan and Lt. Jg. Brightspot walked out. They passed by similarly dressed officers in their black and gray uniforms. A vulcan male with the markings and colors of a high ranking security officer walked past.
"That," said Brightspot, "Is Lieutenant Commander Savat, chief of security."
"Good to know." Ensign Corgan replied.
Brightspot stopped right at a door, marked Lv 20, 102. She punched in a few buttons on the keypad beside the doors, and watched the doors "swoosh" open. Inside was a darkly lit room, the silhouettes of packed storage containers visible behind a starry window.
"Here are your quarters. If you need any help involving the ship, or you just need a sparring partner, don't be afraid to ask me. It's been great talking to you." Brightspot said.
"Thank you, Miss Brightspot." Ensign Corgan chimed, "Hope to see you on duty sometime."
"Ok. Bye!"
"Bye!"
Brightspot leaves the area looking perplexed. She didn't know whether to like Ensign Corgan or just ignore him. He seems to be a nice guy to her, but he also seemed to give off a vibe that meant he didn't want to be disturbed.
"Oh well, should I let it be?" Brightspot pondered. "Or should I try to get him more socially involved?"
*MEANWHILE, AFTER PACKING*
Ensign Corgan walked down the halls of one of the Galaxy’s largest ships, taking his sweet time to look around. He knew the layout of the Galaxy since he lived on the Odyssey for a year and a half before going to Starfleet Academy. They were great ships to live on. Nice quarters, tons of holodecks, even a gymnasium. Even though the Galaxy was as flying space casket, at least it was comfortable.
He passed by yet some more officers on their way to god know what duty. He noticed a few. One rushed by in a panic. She was a short red haired officer who looked extremely distraught. Another was some bigger man who laughed like a jackal. He forced himself to say, “cloaking…” before he erupted in more laughs.
“What an @$$hole” Ensign Corgan thought to himself.
By this time, Ensign Corgan bumped shoulders with the Lt. Junior Grade officer. He barely noticed, choosing to instead laugh his time away. Ensign Corgan didn’t care if he got the hint or not, just as long as he got to the replomat. He had a uniform to pick up, a report to do and a duty shift to start in 12 hours. And he wanted to sleep a little bit.
“Busy, busy, busy!” went throught Ensign Corgan’s mind.
Into the replomat he went, stopping only stand in front of a replicator.
“Computer,” Ensign Corgan commanded, “One standard Starfleet uniform, with comm. badge. And a PADD.”
The replicator swirled its energies closer and closer, as if it is transporting a freshly made uniform. It is, technically, a fresh uniform, but not ironed fresh and pressed. Ensign Corgan knew he could not have everything, but what the hell; a new uniform was a momentous occasion. The PADD adjacent to the new uniform started to take shape. A final swirl of energy and the two items took form. Next was a smaller gathering of energies as a comm. badge took its place on the replicator.
“Crap. Four hours left. MOVE IT!” he forced himself. He hated reports, and he had to make his first one look good so he allowed plenty of time to get ready. He was excited as he jogged out of the replomat. He had things to do, and the carrot on the stick for him was sweet, blessed sleep. He rapidly turned a corner towards the turbolift, bowling over the laughing jackal that he commented about before.
“Sorry. Gotta fly!” Ensign Corgan snapped. The Lieutenant JG didn’t see it coming, and he looked pissed off, like a pompous ass that has been embarrassed and couldn’t live it down until they have taken revenge. James knew he had it coming, after doing whatever he did to that young ensign that ran.
“Busy, busy, busy!” Ensign Corgan repeated, and then said “Deck 16, and make it SNAPPY!”
*Three Hours Later, In His Quarters*
The landing on Luna, JFK being shot, the invasion of Cardassia Prime, all those great events in history took a backseat at what happened in Ensign Corgan’s quarters that day. It was like a great burden has been taken off James Lionel Corgan’s shoulders and he finally thought that rest was nearby. He knew this would go down as a monumental day for him, bigger than any day at all, at least for the moment.
What was the larger than life task that will go down as the greatest event of history?
Ensign Corgan finished…a security report!
Thought it seemed like a small deal to most, Ensign Corgan finished the report, while thinking about a beat he could use for a death metal song. He knew that song is going to be so catchy that it will be on the galactic music charts for weeks, maybe even months! He loved it!
The only problem is, he forgot the beat as he was finishing the final sentence in his report.
“Damn.” He thought.
He looked around at his newly arranged room. It was the largest one he has lived in yet. It was private, another good point to it, and it had its own replicator, sonic shower, closet space and his own bed! The Thunderchild did not have private quarters. It was a warship, with quarters no bigger than the Defiant’s quarters. The Academy was even worse. The cramped dorm rooms and the strange smells from other cadet’s items made people wish for defiant class quarters.
He looked around; admiring what he thought was the best room he has ever lived in. Already he has set up his most prized possessions. His mek’leth, a dueling weapon given to him by a drunken Klingon warrior that took his girlfriend, hung over his dinner table. “Why do I keep that damn thing?” Ensign Corgan asked himself.
He looked through the room some more. All over the walls, he has his prized rock band posters from the 20th century hung up and framed in phaser proof transparent aluminum. He had even a tattered poster with only half a name of the band, smashing it read, on his wall. He heard that his family’s musical roots started there. Next on a shelf, right beside a beautiful Vulcan harp was a beautiful plaque, with a silver bullet on it. He won his Silver Bullet Award for being the best sharpshooter in the Academy. Next to the shelf laid his most prized possession, a 1997 Fender Strat guitar.
He was proud of the items he has acquired in his past. It told an interesting story about his life, his achievements and his tragedies, and his talents. Overall, his quarters were truly a reflection of himself. Even the harp reminded him of Sotek, his loyal friend. He missed Sotek more than anything. Everything that he gathered in his life didn’t mean much when he was missing the one thing that made his life complete.
The latest he had heard from Betazed was that Dr. Hagen would meet him on the starbase once they arrived in the morning. She had already left several days earlier from Indri VIII to make the rendezvous with the Galaxy. Word from Captain Price was that the replacement chief science officer would also be arriving.
Genestra had his doubts about his decision. As Karyn Dallas had pointed out in one of their discussions in Ten Forward - he seemed cold about the entire concept of his pending marriage to Kestra. He was neither happy, nor sad, nor nervous, nor blazé about the entire idea that he would be sharing the rest of his life with someone he hardly knew. If it were only that simple. Throughout his life he had tried to strike the right balance between the home world of his father and the home world of his mother. Whilst both species - Human and Betazoid - appeared the same their culture and lifestyles were not. He always seemed to be caught up between the two of them.
Evin placed the photographs in to the shoulder bag which he would be carrying off tomorrow to Starbase Sierra. It seemed like the right choice when he told the Captain about his decision to leave. In many respects it saved him from the guilt of assuming command of the department. The idea that he would take over from Sullax after the way in which he left could never have sat well with him. They were not friends. Just colleagues. Still, there was a strange dynamic between the two - being empathic seemed to make that easier. The news that filtered back from Earth suggested that Sullax, who had been there for three weeks now, was doing well in his new capacity in Starfleet Academy.
The half-Betazoid smirked as he thought about the cadets that would meet the gruff and icey demeanour they had become acustomed to on the Galaxy.
As Evin continued to pack his belongings in the bedroom he heard the door chime sound from the living room. "Come in," the scientist said as he placed the small stack of clothes on to the bed. Turning his eyes met those of Peter Lockhart who was standing there. "Hi," he simply said to the British tactical officer.
"Hello Evin." Peter said, somehow managing not to call the fellow Brit 'sir'. "I heard you where leaving the Galaxy. How come?"
"It's complicated. I'm leaving in order to meet my bride to be, Doctor Hagen, who will be waiting for me at the starbase. It's just something I have to do." Evin replied without further explanation.
"Oh." Peter merely answered.
"If you don't mine the whole 'naked' thing then I might see you when the 'happy day' arrives."
Peter smiled initially at the joke. Then he went stiff again "I don't understand Betazed customs." Peter fidgeted whilst looking down. "I think you know that the British have a lot of trouble expressing their feelings and saying goodbye."
"I do!" said Evin. "I thought being a half Klingon/Half Human would be bad, but this!" he joked. "Combining the British 'over the top' reserve with a Betazoids emotional openess is a nightmare. So how do you say goodbye then?"
Peter straightened his face and tapped his phaser. "I've been asked to escort you to transporter room three sir. If you'll come with me."
Evin and Peter shared a quick chuckle at Peter's daft, but bad joke. "No. In all honesty, good luck Evin." Peter said, picking up one of Evin's bags. "Need a hand?"
"Sure." Evin said, and grabbed his shoulder bag. He was just about finished packing anyway. "Lead the way."
It was one of those downsides to saying goodbye to people. He enjoyed the times that he, Peter, Matthew, and Sanchez played poker. That stopped too when Matthew Albrecht left the ship several months earlier - it was never the same.
* holodeck 1 *
Ragnald looked around to check if everything he planned for the party was on its place. He had choosen a large green field that ended in steep cliffs of a beautyful dark blue fjord.
The next object to be checked was the one Ragnald called bridge. Basically this was a log lying on two pillars of about a half meter height symbolizing a bridge over troubled water the candidate would have to cross. Unfortunately there would also be another candidate coming from the opposite side. There was no real river beyond the bridge but a pit filled with mud. And of course, the challengers would be armed with padded rods instead of lethal weapons.
Lethal weapon would be need for the second contest - axe throwing. Ragnald took the viking war axe aimed the target - another log standing erect a few meters away. Due to the weight of the heavyset axe the unexercised helmsman lost his balance. The axe flew spinning and landed far before the target. Ragnald shook his head "Think, I need some more practice ...".
The third contest was something Ragnald didn`t even dare to try - log pushing. The candidate had to lift a large heavy log upright, walk a few steps and the push the log forward. - Something for his rather strong crew mates only.
Finally the barbecue fire had to be started. Through the crackling fire, Ragnald now looked at the food tables and dance floor waiting for the other guests to arrive. The party which had been delayed several times until the Galaxy finally reached Starbase Sierra was going to start soon.
Ragnald remembered the barbecue party the day he came aboard the Galaxy about two years ago and the former chief helmsman who immediately made him feel like coming home to his family.
Heading back to Starbase Sierra, Jamson felt quite content with the results on Ursid. The Ne-Malons proved to be resourceful and helpful while the Ursidians were not far from a civil war. There was a suitable expression for this kind of situation "You can't win them all". Jamson heard Lieutenant Freeman say that numerous times but never stopped to think about it.
Sitting at the OPS station on the bridge, he was now overseeing several projects at the same time. The ship took a serious beating when it had to power up all those generators around the asteroid. Meltdown was not far away, and now Engineering and Operations had to restore all power and repair the damage that was done.
And what of all the equipment that was brought back from the planet? they had to stock it once more and re-organize the cargo bays. 11 million Ursidians relied on that gear to help them!
But with all the work that had to be done, the crew didn't care. Everyone seemed to be happy, and morale was high again. And there was a good reason for that, several reasons infact...the Galaxy alone saved not only 11 million Ursidians, but also discovered a new race and changed the fate of this planet forever. They even created a new moon for Ursid! and a protective one.
The latest events caused Jamson to focus on his work and less on the Operations Department. He had a new Department head, Surok, a Vulcan. He missed Lucas, even though he hated the idea to be commanded by a 'kid', he got used to him, and he didn't like changes. But if there was one thing he learned from Lucas, it was to give the new guy some time and credit.
Thinking of Lucas, Jamson suddenly remembered the latest rumours...Lieutenant Commander Sullax was leaving the Galaxy. For a Romulan, Jamson admired Sullax for taking care of his family and wondered if he would have the same. Blood relations were important, but Jamson had no family and most of his friends were on the other side of the Klingon/Federation border. In any perspective, Sullax was an honorable family worthy of appreciation. Jamson just regretted he didn't have the time to know him better.
Feeling how weariness was slowly sneaking up on him, Michael just ignored it. He's been up for who knows how long, but so were the rest of the crew. He had to keep up and only once he's done, he could get some rest. He was a Starfleet officer and had responsibilities, the ship and duty came first, always...there was no doubt.
Nilani had followed the rather upset ensign out the door and down the corridor, when she met up with the Lieutenant. She overheard what he had said 'That bastard.... ' Images rolled through her mind of everything that had happened in the past 5 years.
She saw the male lieutenant walk past and grabbed his arm. He looked rather surprised since Nilani was off duty and in her leather pants and top. She looked at him dead in the eye "As of right now.... If I even see you glance in a wrong way at that girl... you will be finding life rather uncomfortable..... Women are not things to play around with and if you try anything on me..." She looked down and back up "You know who I am and where I come from" she left it at that and ran to chase down the ensign.
She saw the ensign enter her quarters and pressed the door bell.
Electra Reece had just gotten her hair cleaned up when she heard the bell ring. ~Oh no. Please don't let that be Chuck! ~ She called tentatively, "Who is it?"
"It's Kahn, I want to speak to you" she replied and waited patiently
~Kahn?~ Electra walked to the door and pressed the button to open it. There was a tall blond Bajoran standing in the doorway. Electra didn't recognize her. She was dressed very scantily and seemed a bit angry. She looked at the woman inquiringly. "Can I help you with something?" Inside she her head was throbbing. ~What have I done wrong now? ~
Nilani looked up to the tall woman, true Nilani was tall but this girl was taller she looked to enter the room instead of standing out in the corridor and got approval. "Light blasted men.... I hate them... I really do..." she shook her head "Just because they have a part on there bodies that we don't. They think they can control us like little puppets and pets" she said moving in "By the way, I'm Kahn.... and yes... I know by that man's attitude that he did something to you."
She shook her head again and ran her fingers through her hair "How are you?"
Electra backed up into her quarters, confused until she realized that this woman had heard her conversation with Chuck. ~Oh, Stars.~ "I-I'm alright. Um...he's tormented me since we were in the Academy. He...uh...asked me out and...I didn't know...and he thought I spurned him and he decided to pay me b-back and he played t-tricks on m-m-me and told everyone I-I-I w-w-w-was a, that I...Oh! I d-d-didn't know h-h-he was h-h-here." Electra broke into tears once again, this time unable to get control, as the events of the day just overwhelmed her. "I-I-I-I am s-s-s-s-s-s-orrrrrry. I-I-I c-c-c-c-c-can't st-st-stop c-c-c-crying. You m-m-must think I'm pretty st-st-stupid. Ohhhhhhhh!" Kahn looked at Electra in sympathy as she wailed, looking pathetic with her damp hair hanging down her back with a uniform still stained with spaghetti sauce, tears running unchecked down her face and her shoulders shaking with each sob.
"I can understand that.... I really can, I have more skeletons in my closet than most people alive." Nilani offered her arms so the woman could cry in them. 'Light this is the pot calling the kettle black' she thought "How about you tell me a little more, then if your interested we can get something to drink, freshen you up then I'll tell you my life story"
Electra sobbed in the woman's arms, so relieved to have someone actually to be near that she hardly cared that she was crying all over a strange woman. She cried and explained to Kahn her history with Chuck, what he did to her at the Academy and what she suspected he had done tonight. She finished her explanations with, "But there's never any proof that he is behind anything. Even in the food fight, he could claim that he tripped Rebecca by accident and be believed. I am amazed that he actually said what he did in the corridor, not being sure no one could hear him." Electra wiped her eyes and sat back. "I'm sorry to be like this, its just, I had a bad day. A very bad day. And... well...Let me get cleaned up and I'll get you that drink you mentioned. What would you like?"
Nilani smiled "Hot Chocolate thanks"
Electra walked to the replicator and ordered the drinks. She then went into the bathroom to change into a clean uniform, knowing she had to be back on duty soon. Once clean, she rejoined Kahn in the main room and let her talk about her life.
"I was born on Bajor and lived there through the occupation, I joined Starfleet and became a medical doctor. My first assignment was to deep space nine. Soon after there was an accident in the worm hole, I remember the shuttle experiencing a total power surge, blew every system on the ship... the shuttle beside me beamed me over." Her memories were as clear as day on this fact "I appeared on Terok Nor, I ended up in the alternate universe..." She took a sip of her drink "I started out doing what I had learnt and then when I was sent to the Klingon homeworld to act as a doctor there something snapped inside. I killed my superior officer, as such I was promoted and caught the attention of high ranking people." She took another sip "Then after a little while, I was an Intendent and had command of a large ship and sector of space. I was sent to deal with the ISS Galaxy... Well I failed and as punishment I was sent to a mining colony where I was beaten and raped by men, women and guards. I can't have children and I have nightmares about all the people I killed." She shook her head "I am responsible for so many death you would not believe"
The computer beeped.
"Don't stress too much, he wont do anything while I'm around you at least" she spoke as the turbolift took off
=/\=Lt j/g Kahn Nilani
and
=/\= Ensign Rebecca von Ernst
Nilani continued walking down the corridor on deck 2, it's long corridors running around the outside of the saucer section and opening to small observation points. Nilani was actually on her way to her favorate one which lived just off of the corridor in a small little room which you had to get to by opening a door.
She turned the corner 'Do this.... Do that.... your on light duties!' Nil slapped her forehead and pressed the button for the door.
The door opened and inside sat a young looking Ensign who Nilani had never met before. "Sorry, didn't realise someone was in here....." she looked out the window "Nice view hey?"
Rebecca von Ernst nearly jumped out of the soft Lounge Chair when the tall shapely woman entered behind her. She rubbed her tiny hands on her uniform pants nervously drying them as she studied the newcomer.
~~Noodles, why is every other woman on this ship a foot taller then me, and have big boobs?~~ she thought miserably.
"Hello?" Nilani repeated with a raised eyebrow, "Nice view?"
"Oh!" Rebecca glanced back towards the Transparent Aluminum Portals where stars streaked by in the characteristic rainbow blur of Warp space. "Yes...uh.....I suppose it is." she aknowledged.
Nilani took off her leather jacket to show the tight leather top she was wearing undernieth. She knew she was off duty and she loved her clothes, especially the leather pants she was currently wearing.
Rebecca's eyes widened even more as she watched the long-haired girl discard her Jacket, revealing a rather form-fitting top that strainedto contain Nilani's considerable assets. When the Engineer strode casually over to the viewports to look out, Rebeca smacked her head silently with her fist, and stole a quick glance doen at her own rather pathetic gifts.
"You on duty?"
"Wha...?" Rebecca's head snapped around.
"Your uniform.....You on duty?" Nilani was leaning casually back against the 'glass', allowing the star-streaks to act as a background for the sparkles in her eyes.
"Oh no....ah....well actually i go on duty in a few minutes." She pointed towards the ceiling and in the general direction of the Bridge one deck up. "My first Bridge shift.....I'm...ah.....a little nervous."
Nilani laughed a little and smiled "You realise that your duty dosn't start for at least 4 hours" she smiled and moved to where the young ensign sat.
Nilani slid down "Don't worry about it, you will do fine.. Just don't run us into anything large, otherwise I will make sure you help in the repairs."
She looked to the ensign and watched her eyes 'My she is nervous and not about the ship' "You seem nervious and not about your duty.... I tell you what, you tell me a little about you and why your so nervous and I will tell you about some of my ghosts"
Rebecca attempted to squirm a few inches away from the inquisitive woman. "No," she answered, "I really am nervous about my duty.......bad things seem to happen when I am given any sort of responcibility."
She paused a moment and stole a glance over at Nilani who watched her with unblinking eyes.
"But......uh," Rebecca continued, "Y.....you can talk about ghosts and g....goblins if you want. Its a free galaxy, and I have about 15 more minutes before shift change."
Nilani shook her head "I remember my first ever duty shift, it was in the infirmary of Deep Space Nine. I remember that
one of the senior officers was brought in bleeding and I was so nervious Julian had to take over."
She shook her head "The next time a senior officer tried taking something from me, I stabed him in the back of the head with the laser scalple." Nilani mused and took her knees into her arms, the leather stretching tight
She looked back to the Ensign "Just remeber two things and you will fine. The first is that you have the position because you passed - the second is you don't need to try and impress anyone. That's what gets you in the end the need to show you are better than the rest... I know... I've fallen for it a couple of times"
Rebecca nodded slightly. For the most part, she was wondering if Nilani's leather garments were about to explode from internal pressure. What she was saying was really only going in one ear and out the other. The fluid dynamics of the hot-pants were much more distracting.
Idly, the young redhead ran a few equations through the back of here head regarding the tensile strength of a Leather halter when exposed to.....well you know.
Blinking suddenly, Rebecca shok her head. "Huh...what....I mean....very interesting, yes I can see how that can expand your bosoms...I MEAN ....Expand your horizons."
Mortified at her gaff, Rebecca got quickly to her feet, "Oh...hey look at the time." She looked down at her wrist that had no watch on it. "Hey I gotta get to my duty shift.....You know....Early bird gets the Targ and all that."
Stumbling backwards, she retreated fumbling for the door.
Nilani just laughed as she heard the ensign's stumble... "Don't worry about it, I'm not offended....." She stood and pressed the correct button on the door "Yes well then, if you ever want to drop by please do... it'll be fun." she left it at that and watched the shy young woman leave.
Bruce sat in the bed resting in the medical lab. He was anxious because Shintawas near having the baby.He was waiting for the word and preparing to try to be supportive. He was too nervous. He has proven to himself and others that he can face many situations without being phased.This, this had him shaking and scared. He decided since he was ordered here he would rest and finally finish everything off.
"Lets see, I need to send in my report to the Captain and let the helm crew know what to do." Bruce said signaling to a nurse for a padd.
Bruce looked down and began to compose the Information to send to the Captain. He couldnt help but keep looking back over his shoulder to check on Shinta. He then went to work.
**************************
All on Away Team:
Intial away team began the set up and evacuation of Ursidian planet, city Twin Spirits. Initial set up went smoothely. Ensign Dabek and the rest of his engineering team performed above and beyond all expectations. Ensign Dabek even found a small glych in most of the impact points given by the original assesment. He was able to compensate and adjust for new impact points and was able to shield and compensate for shockwaves. I would wish to submit a letter of recomendation for Ensign Dabek for his service.
Lt.Jg Anika Crowe, she showed the capabilities of being a good commander one day. She was key in the evacuation of the citizens. She served as my second in command. She is still aprehensive about sole command but with time I beleive it will fade. For her service I also wish to place a letter of recomendation.
Lt.Jg.Michala Lynn, she was not a part of the initial away team. During her tour through the cities to tell of whart was the cause of the disease and a key person in the making of the syrum. She later joined my team. She also was a huge help in the evacvuating and settling of the citizens of Twin Spirits. After planet evacuation, Lynn and Myself found ourselves on the planet surface during the bombardment. I owe her my life for helping me after sustaining my injuries. I wish to place a recomendation of promotion and or merit.
As, for myself. I did what I could Captain. After hearing the Galaxy left orbit and Lt.jg. Michala Lynn and I were pretty much stuckon the planet, I went to bring all that I could in the shelter. At that point I sutain injuries from helping a couple by taking a blow form the imapact of one of the meteors, and having a house fall on me. That should all be in the medical report form Dr. Michala Lynn.
Lt. Bruce Maxwell
Bruce handed it to one of the passing Ensigns to be delivered to the Captain. He checked back again to how Shinta was doing she stirred with pain. Bruce kept looking around to see if the Doctor was coming to tell him that his rest period was over and he could go back there to her. He then wondered how everyone else form his team were doing.< Oh well I see no one else and hear of no casualities he thought to himself. >
Bruce heard Shinta groan in pain. He stood up and headed back there. One of the Nurses was about to stop him when she was waved off. Brucce paid no attention and walked slowly back to her taking her hand.
"Getting Ready to Party"
When Rose heared about Ragnald's party she knew that this is a good time to give him a gift...a gold sword that belong to her father and when he died during the war it was passed on to her to give to her lover and Imzadi.
::An Hour later::
Rose walks out wearing a red summer dress with her long brown hair down the way he liked it. Then she walked to the closet and grab a very big gold box that had the MacAllen gold sword in it.
"Damn this is heavy." she said out loud to herself as she carried the box to holodeck 1.
****Main Shuttle Bay, T-Minus One Hour to Impact****
Savat stood at ease, his hands folded behind his back, staring impassively out into space. The view before him was an impressive one. He was, for all intensive purposes, staring into the abyss, mere inches from the force field that kept the vacuum of space from explosively invading the main shuttle bay and sucking the personnel and equipment out though the open landing bay doors. Even seasoned officers found it difficult to stand so close to open space, experiencing anxiety, vertigo or outright fear. For his part, the elder Vulcan felt little more than a mild appreciation for majesty of the view and the scope of the events that were unfolding around him.
Below him, the thirty eight point five mile long asteroid loomed close. The Galaxy was holding station less than a kilometer above its surface. Without the interference of an atmosphere, Savat could make out every detail of the surface, even down to the tiny reflections of their ship in the patches of dilthium laced ore that dotted the landscape. Slightly over the horizon line, shining like a Centaurian Sapphire, was the planet Ursid. She too was close enough to allow precise detail with the naked eye. Savat could make out the shape of the continents and was able to observe the nature of the cloud patterns that drifted lazily across the northern continent.
The only things out of place on the otherwise picturesque class M planet were the small flashes of light that appeared sporadically, a few every minute. Each one represented a meteorite entering the atmosphere and burning up. Over ninety eight percent of the meteorites were completely consumed by the friction of the upper atmosphere. But that left an additional two percent that made their way through, devastating the landscape and on occasion, the Ursid cities and their people. It was this lethal two percent that the crew of the Galaxy had originally labored to deflect, working a furious seventy two hours erecting force shield generators and coordinating evacuations to the safer southern hemisphere. But with the discovery of the extinction level event over which they now hovered, all of their work might have turned out to be for naught.
A particularly bright speck caught Savat's attention. As he watched, the speck proceeded to punch a fiery hole through the atmosphere. Concentric ringlets of cloud cover recoiled from its passing, like the surface of a lake punctured by a tossed stone. A short brighter flash heralded the impact, followed by an expanding cloud of debris, covering the surface near the impact like a dark purple bruise.
"That was a big one." Heather Sanchez said, standing a few meters behind Savat. To her right, an additional three security officers stood, watching the firestorm of rain wreck its destruction. They included Lieutenant Zonhieb and Ensigns Darkstar and O'Hara. Most of them had just recently returned from the surface, before being pressed into duty once more by their Security Chief. They were fully armed and ready, each showing the typical humanoid trait of restless anticipation for the mission that awaited them. Even Seth, the usually stoic Gorn, was shifting his considerable bulk from side to side, eager for the chance at combat that awaited him.
"Indeed." Said Savat, responding to Heather's observation. "I estimate that particular meteorite retained at least two metric tons of weight at the time of impact."
"What would that do to the surface?" Asked O'Hara.
"The impact crater would be considerable." Savat replied. "The depth would depend on the strata at the point of impact, but the crater would be the least of the concerns. The force of the impact would create an over pressure wave of superheated air that would incinerate anything with a radius of two kilometers that was not protected by shielding. The tectonic forces would be equal to a magnitude eight earthquake. In addition, several thousand metric tons of soil and rock will be hurled into the air, creating a choking debris cloud. Enough such clouds can effect the climate of the planet for years."
"So even if we stop this asteroid, the Ursids are not going to be in the best shape." Heather opined.
"They will be in considerably better shape than the alternative." Savat stated. "In addition, success in this forthcoming endeavor will negate the need for our mission."
It was the mission, not the view that had drawn the security team to the shuttle bay. The Ne-Malons were still holding members of the Galaxy as their "guests" in their underwater city. Command was fairly certain that they would be returned unharmed should the deflection of the planet killer prove successful. But there was also the chance that failure could lead to the opposite effect, with the Ne-Malons deciding to allow the away team to share in their certain destruction. It was not an acceptable option. Should the worst case scenario play out, it would be up to Savat and his team to recover their fellow officers by any means necessary. The Ne-Malons would be angry and desperate, with nothing to loose. This made them the worst kind of threat force imaginable. Savat glanced back at the USS Charles Schulz, which had been hastily modified for the mission. He sincerely hoped it would never need to take flight.
A brilliant flash of light from the surface drew the gathered team's attention. A massive beam of energy had shot forth from the oceans of Ursid and struck the asteroid, bathing it in a pale yellow light. The Galaxy shuddered and the lights of the shuttle bay dimmed as Engineering diverted every spare ounce of energy to the reverse gravimetric power grid established around the asteroid.
Savat watched as the shimmering energy field expanded and the whine of the Galaxy's overtaxed warp core grew in intensity. Even the non-technical members of the team knew the sound wasn't a good one. The mighty ship shuddered harshly, forcing everyone to scramble for handholds. Moments later, the lights and monitors in the main shuttle bay went dark. Fortunately for all of them, the field over the open bay doors was maintained by its own generator.
"Is it working?" O'Hara called out over the din.
"We should know soon enough." Savat answered.
[All personnel brace for collision] boomed a voice over the intercom.
Before anyone could question the message, the Galaxy cut power to its thrusters and pivoted on end. The view out the bay doors blurred, the asteroid being replaced by an empty starfield and the blazing Ursid sun. It could only mean that the Galaxy was pointing nose down towards the asteroid. It occurred to Savat that bracing for a collision with such a massive stellar body was irrelevant. Should the Galaxy impact with the surface, the ship would be destroyed. Between the force of impact, explosive decompression and collateral detonations from within the hull, the crew of the Galaxy would die in an instant.
In the end, there were no deaths, only bumps and bruises as the talented Lieutenant Gustavson pulled the Galaxy away imminent destruction with seconds to spare. With a final burst from the Galaxy's tractor beam, coupled with the Ne-Malon replusor array, the asteroid was diverted.
An official announcement went through the ship via the intercom minutes later. Ursid had gained a new moon, and the Ursid people, as well as the crew of the Galaxy, had gained some new friends. The Ne-Maloni were in a festive mood, having escaped death by a matter of less than an hour. The away team would be returned without incident and all involved parties would no doubt gather for some form of ad hoc celebration.
Most of the officers on board were cheering. But from the security team, there were the distinctive sighs of relief mixed with disappointment. Savat, in spite of his emotional detachment, was quick to pick up on the phenomenon and recognized it for what it was. These men and women were trained professionals. They had mentally prepared themselves for a grueling combat and now that it had been canceled, there was a sense of letdown. It was a condition that could easily be corrected. Savat turned to address his team.
"It appears our services are no longer needed. You may consider the mission scrubbed." He paused for effect. "However, it would be negligent of me not to channel your obvious enthusiasm for combat into something constructive. I shall prepare a series of training exercises suited to each of your individual needs. They should be ready within a few days. Until then, barring your regular duty shifts, you are all dismissed."
Savat watched as the team departed. Then, straightening his uniform, he turned back to the grand view before him. Already, the massive asteroid turned moon was fading into the distance, becoming little more than a small glowing sphere on the horizon. A few scattered meteors continued to bombard the surface of Ursid, but the planet would survive, as would its people, a people of uncommon character and indomitable spirit. The elder Vulcan allowed himself a modicum of satisfaction.
"A most fascinating experience." He said softly to himself, before turning on his heel and heading back to his office.
*** ***
Lieutenant Commander Savat
Starring
=/\= Ensign Rebecca von Ernst
With an approved appearance by
=/\=Lt. Commander Surok
and
=/\=Seaman Bass (NPC)
**CORRIDOR B**
(On the Way to the Main Bridge)
Able Seaman Bass was stood at his assigned post outside The Main Bridge when the 'intruder' showed up. The tall, muscled member of
Starfleet Security was a paragon of martial symbolism and skill. Rugged, well chiseled features accented rippling muscles, and a regualtion Starfleet skintight uniform hugged in all the right places (You know what I mean ladies)
At his side hung a rather fierce looking phaser, ready to ward off any possible threats to the nerve center of The USS GALAXY, Seaman Bass was proud that he had been chosen to be the last line of defence. A duty he was ready to serve to his utmost.
Glacier-blue eyes scanned the narrow corridors before him seeking to root out any hidden evil, or approaching threat. A look of fierce determination was carven upon his Marlboro-man face and was as potent a deterant as his impressive arsenal.
>>click<<
Seaman Bass tensed at the sudden sound echoing from around the bend of Corridor B not twenty feet off. His mind whirled computing possible attack patterns and firing angles and probabilites of surviving the encounter.
For agonizing seconds, Seaman Bass's brain whirled and computed and plotted, but came up rather empty in the tactical department............After all one simple "CLICK" does not provide sufficient data for combat analysis........
>>Click click<<
AHA!! Bass almost shouted. Two Clicks! Now there was data!! Re-analysisng and plotting quickly, Seaman Bass produced six different combat scenarios for the Battle of Corridor B with possible results ranging from him being given the Starfleet Medal of Honor, to a Warp Core Breech resulting in the Destruction of the entire Starship..............
Eagerly, but slowly he reached for his phaser, palms sweating........~~Oh come o' thou evil two-Clicks.....Come and face the wrath of Bass....Starfleets finest!! Come and let us dance the dance of death!!!!~~
Slowly, and with a nervous gulp a tiny redheaded girl poked her head halfway around the edge of Corridor B.
Seaman Bass was startled, and a nervous twitch developed under his right eye.....Information overload!!!......he was so busy computing his final fiery death based on the evidence of two CLICKS that the sudden introduction of visual evidence was nearly staggering.
(OOC:Bass had waaaaaay too much coffee before going on shift.)
Recovering quickly, Seaman Bass had time to re-fight the Battle of Corridor B three times in his head before the flash of red hair disapeered back around the corner.
~Egads!!~ he thought, ~I have them on the run!!~
**********************
Ensign Rebecca von Ersnt leaned heavily against the bulkhead just around the bend from Corridor B which lead to her assigned duty station on the Main Bridge, and a meeting with the imposing Mr. Surok. Her rather flat chest heaved taking in great gulps of nervous air as she sought to calm her frazzled emotions.
~Its okay girl~ she chided herself ~Its just the first day an the job....dont worry~
Yeah sure, her fear argued back, The first day on the job with a universe full of Man-Eating cats the size of Horses, Iminent Battles behind every Star, and a staff meeting with a Vulcan OPS Officer..........piece of cake.
Clenching her tiny fists Rebecca slowly poked her head back out into Corridor B, an errant strand of red hair falling across her freckled cheek. Nope.....nobody there but that jittery looking Security guy......~Looks like he's talking to himself~ she thought nervously.
Awash with doubts again, Ensign von Ernst pulled her head back again and her entire thin frame quaked as she breathed in deeply again..
~You can do this you, can do this you can do this, you can..........~
***************************************
~....do this, you can do this, you can do this.~ Seaman Bass repeated to himself over and over. The situation was reaching a critical point, and already he was considering calling in backup. The tiny redhaired intruder had TWICE performed scouting peeks into Corridor B, and was probably even now preparing for the final assault.
Seaman Bass set his jaw and held a grudging respect for his opponent. Bass was obviously at the disadvantage seeing as the red-haired brain-sucking-alien's scouting missions already gave it superior tactical knowledge of the layout of Corridor B. Bass had only his finely tuned sence of violence and duty to protect him..........unless
Seman Bass grinned a sly grin. Of course!!! Two could play it that game! Slipping his huge phaser from its holster, Bass hunched over, sending muscles ripling across his oh-so-fine form and tip-toed quietly to the Corridor B junction. His plan was simple.....he would perform his own little 'peek around the corner' and thus gain his own tactical intelligence on the combat situation.
Surely this was bravery, above and beyond the call of duty!
********************
With one final sigh, Rebecca nodded and resigned herself to her fate. ~Okay girl, lets go.~ she thought ~In a few more minutes you'l be late for your shift, and you definately dont want that.~
Rubbing her hands guiltily on her uniform pants to dry the sweat she quickly took stock of her appearance. Unfortunately she found it as disappointing as ever. ~Jeez, I look like a boy~ she lamented. Brushing her hair back into place behind a simple white ribbon and taking a deep breath, Rebecca moved to peek around the corner one more time........
*******************
Seaman Bass reached his objective and prepared to peek around the corner..........~let the Battle of Corridor B begin~ he thought.
*****************
Findining herself nose to nose with a gorgeous hunk of muscled manhood, Ensign Rebecca von Ernst reacted in the finest tradition of Starfleet...........she screamed "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!!!!!!"
Seaman Bass finding the Red-haired brain-sucking-alien literally right in his face , he reacted in the finest tradion of Starfleet Security ever since the old days when they beamed down to a planet in brilliant red shirts....................he screamed and dropped his phaser.
The weapon (set on heavy stun) fired when it hit the deck and started spraying blue bolts of ........(um not death I guess)...........um blue bolts of sleep everywhere.
Rebecca continued to scream as the fireworks started and light fixtures and pipes started exploding all around her.
Unfortunately for Seaman Bass, one of the first blasts from his dropped weapon pegged him right in the crotch sending him off to dreamland and ensuring a lull in his social life for the next few weeks. ~Starfleet...... Purple......... Heart~ was his final thought.
Within moments Lt. Commander Surok arrived with a security team from the Bridge to investigate the screaming. They found the darkened smoking haze of Corridor B, erratically lit by flickering lights, and filled with hissing pipe leaks.
In one corner the found the trembling huddled form of the tiny Ensign von Ernst. She was trembling with disbeleif, and her lips quivvered when she spoke. "I......I....I...I was j...j..just trying to report for my sh.sh..shift."
Sprawled across the deck was the happily dozing Seaman Bass, a dark burn mark on the front of his trousers. It was only through the use of ancient Vulcan Pain-Suppresion tecniques that Surok was able to avoid wincing at the sight like the male members of Security who all cringed slightly.
"Put yourself at ease Ensign." Surok advised, "We saw it all on the Security camera........it was just a slight.........weapons discharge."
Still trembling and in shock, Rebecca allowed herself to be led onto the Bridge. A distant corner of her brain mocking.....~~There silly, after that, the Bridge Duty should be a piece of cake.~~
=/\=Lt. Commander Surok
=/\= Ensign Rebecca von Ernst
=/\=Seaman Bass (NPC)
Rose walks down the hallway going back to her room after going to the holodeck to pray for her friend Elizabeth Spencer who killed herself on the USS Victoria. Wearing a tight, Egyptian style dress she walks into her room then sits on the couch thinking about her friend.
Outside, Captain Price came walking up, referencing a padd. Looking around and reading the numbers on each of the quarters, he realized he'd found the right one and pressed the chime.
As she took her gold Egyptian crown off Rose heard the doorbell, "Come" Rose replied as her back was turn looking out the window.
The doors swished open and the General walked inside. Captain Price seemed surprised at seeing Rose in a shapely, golden dress. Her hair was beaded and hung down in Egyptian fashion. Having never seen the Lieutenant in anything other than her duty uniform, it was quite a shock to see what a handsome woman Rose was when all made up.
"I'm not interrupting anything am I Lieutenant?" Captain Price asked tentatively.
Rose had shot up when she realized it was the Captain, standing at attention. It was something she couldn't help, as it had been drilled into her at the Academy. "No sir. I was just on the holodeck and I..."
Lee smiled while raising a hand. "No need to explain 'mate. I've dressed the part myself on occasion."
While the Captain talked, Rose stood there and realized that in this dress she must look like a sex crazed hussy. Her gold clingy dress was made of the thinnest materials and clung to her figure like a second skin. The low cut front made her cleavage show and she was thinking, ~oh god, please don't let the Captain say anything...~
Rose's fears were soon alleviated as the Captain went on. He was a gentleman and didn't stare, instead looking straight into the Lieutenant's eyes the entire time.
"I'll make this brief 'mate. Your work on the Galaxy has been first class thus far. A real top shelf performance."
Blushing slightly, at both the compliment and her own wonder-bra appearance, Rose stated humbly, "Thank you sir."
"I just wanted to let you know I put you in for a promotion with Starfleet Command, and I just got the approval back today. Congratulations 'mate. You've made full Lieutenant." the General smiled while presenting Rose with her new full pip and offering his hand.
Rose couldn't believe it. She looked at the shinny gold pip and took it from the Captain. Then looking into the General's eyes with a wide smile, she stated, "Thank you Captain. I had no idea I was up for consideration!"
"I know 'mate. Things get busy at times around here and the word doesn't always get around. But at any rate you've earned that rank and I expect to see you wearing your pips proudly on the ship. You've earned them Lieutenant."
Rose finished shaking the Captain's hand and nodded. "Of course I'll be wearing them sir. I can hardly wait to put them on. Thank you sir."
"My pleasure Lieutenant." Lee stood there for a moment until things once again turned silent and awkward for the scantly dressed MacAllen. Clearing his voice, the Captain excused himself, "Well 'mate, congratulations. If you'll excuse me, I have other promotions to hand out."
"Of course Captain. Thank you for putting me up for promotion sir." Rose stated.
"No worries Lieutenant. G'day." Lee smiled before exiting the Lieutenant's quarters.
Outside, the General gave a deep, tension releasing sigh while rolling his eyes upward before walking down the corridor to the next officer's quarters that had been approved for a promotion by Starfleet Command.
Rose sits down with the pip in her hand, she was so happy now Rose knew that she was one of the best officers in the Science department.
"I need to call mother and tell her the good news and of course give a message to my Imzadi and tell him the good news. He will be so happy for me." she said as Rose sits down at her desk.
*Note: This story takes place just before Raven is promoted.
Raven never thought he'd be so happy to see the Brig. He plopped down behind his desk and sighed heavily while he leaned back in his chair.
Like most of the crewmembers of the ship, Raven had went aboard Starbase: Sierra to unwind while the Galaxy was docked between misions. Everyone on the starbase seemed to want to know about the Ursid mission and they besieged the galaxy members for thier stories, who for the most part were more than happy to oblige. Some crewmembers even took the liberty to "enhance" thier story surely just for dramatic effect.
After just six minutes on the base, he was sure that he was better off with the piece and quiet on board the near empty ship and he returned to the brig.
Traditionally, briggs of starships empty out before shore leave with most people on good behavior as to not spoil thier chances to step away for a bit of recreation. They then tend to fill up afterwards with those still unable to rapidly adjust right away to starship structure again.
In keeping with tradition, the brig was a ghost town. Even Donaldson, the cook, who was literally a part time resident, was absent. With Seth Zonhieb off doing his own thing - probibly eating someone, Raven thought with all seriousness - that left him completely alone.
Nobody asking questions. Nobody drunk in the cells. Nobody trying to kill him.
Just silence. Peaceful and serene.
He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of...........the ships intercom.
=/\= "Security to Science lab 7, can I have someone here please?" =/\=
He sat watching his message board light blink, and blink and blink, while waiting for someone else to take the call. Waiting ...waiting...ah hell.
=/\= " Acknowlaged. Be right there."=/\= He replied and snapped off the comm.
He left the brig and strode down the halls in his usually leisurely style - that of a charging buffalo, all the while thinking of how he hoped it was somthing good to disturb him, like a bomb threat, or an army of invading Klingons, or perhapse blood sucking space leeches with tenticals.
He could make out the constant chatter of what sounded like a rodent when he rounded the corner and eyed a petite blond female ensign standing in front of a short thin slightly balding man waving his arms around, apparently the source of the chatter.
The ensign watched the large security officer approach and put her hands on her hips. "This gentleman snuck aboard our ship and refuses to leave."
The little man errupted in a cartoonish voice. " Ok, ok ok, just a little misunderstanding, ok? I didnt sneak, I walked right in the door, see? Young lady that i would sneak in..why it wounds my delicate sensibilities, ok? Why I.....JESUS your big!" He said literally leaping back when he finally turned to see Raven looming behind him.
The man was about to chatter again when Raven held up a large hand, palm facing outward and said : " Shhhhhh."
"Ok, ok, ok, but officer.."
This time Raven placed a finger over the man's lips and repeated: " Shhhhhh."
The man made a zipping motion with his fingers over his mouth while muttering to himself. The blond ensign continued as Raven turned his attention to her.
" Like I said, he snuck on board then tried to follow me into the Science lab while peppering me with questions."
"ok, ok, ok, see ? Another misunderstanding. Just a little out of porportion. Tell her officer."
Raven just sighed loudly.
" Thank you , Ensign. I'll take him from here. Please carry on." He said with somthing that resembled a forced smile. The ensign didn.t seem to notice and smiled back thanking him for his assistance, then returning to duty.
"Yeah, ok? carry on. Nothing to see here. We have it all under control, right? " the man said nudging
Raven who looked at him and said: " You , sir, please come with me. And I would suggest willingly."
"All right, Allright! Lets go boss! " the little man said waddling down the hall.
"Ahem! ...This way." Raven corrected.
"Sure, yeah right. Its a big ship, i must have lost my bearings. Ok, lets go."
Raven rolled his eyes as they marched through the hallways. The small man struggling to keep from being run over by the large indian. "In only two words, please state your name."
The little guy puffed up with apparent self pride. " Leo Streely, proud and tireless watchdog and defender of..."
"One...Two. Thank you, Mr. Streely. Now lets try again. In as few words as possible tell me why you are on this ship and pestering its crew?"
"Oh yeah,sure. I'm a crack award winning journalist. I'm sure you heard of me? I write for the Communiqe'? No, maybe you havn't. Anyways im here about the Ursid...."
Not again Raven thought as the man droned on. They came to the open set of docking doors. The security officer outside nodded as Raven exited with Streely in tow.
"Mr. Streely here is not to re-enter this ship without written authorization. Mr. Streely, i would suggest you contact Captain Price, who will be more than happy to set up a guided tour and answer any questions you have. Good day." he said reentering the Galaxy and closing the doors behind him cutting off Leo Streely's squeeky voice.
An hour later, the voice was back as Raven marched him to the brig for again slipping into the ship and trying to interview its crew unauthorized.
"ok, ok, ok! Another misunderstanding officer. I was just..."
"You were warned, Mr. Streely." Raven said impatiently while hustling the little man to the brig.
"Your gonna arrest me then? You can't do that! Freedom of the press! Whats the charge?"
"I'll make somthing up." he said escorting Leo into a cell, the farthest one from his desk. "This is a good place for you untill i get a chance to speak with the captain."
The containment field snapped on between them. Leo continued.
"When are you going to see the Captain?"
"In about 6 days." Raven replied with no trace of humor in his tone.
"ok, ok ok, jokes on me. Ill just get off the ship, ok?"
Raven ignored him and sat back down in behind his desk to compose his report. He could barely concentrate on spelling his own name correctly with Leo ranting on about being "railroaded" and "Rubberhoses" and "diplomatic immunity."
Finally out of patience, raven stood and thundered his way over to the cell door. Leo took a step back and said " Calm down big guy, ok? See were just doing our jobs, i understand that even though you do yours with just a bit too much zeal...id still give you a sparkeling write up...hey wait you have to let me go , you never read me my rights! I have rights! I know my.."
"You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right, I will make you scream." Raven growled.
Leo stopped mid sentence and almost choked on his tounge in an effort to silence himself immediatly.
Momentarily listening to the silence, Raven then continued.
"Thats better. Thank you. I can see we'll get along just fine. Please make yourself at home and excuse me. I have work to attend to."
Leo waited untill Raven walked away then yelled:" Can I quote you on that?"
Peter had just about prepared his cupboard for Nurse Haldan's visit. He expected her in just under thirty minutes. In the meantime, he had duty to do.
He grabbed a football from his cupboard's cupboard and took it into his bedroom. He placed it in the middle of the floor and took a few steps back. He then took a short run up and hoofed the ball as far as it could go. Which in his small quarters wasn't very far. The football smacked against the far wall, rebounded back and struck the casing of his small model of HMS Thunderchild. It then continued in the corner were it lay at rest.
"I feel better now....." Peter lied and picked up the PADD from his bed again.
"To Ensign Lockhart." he parrotted. "Effective immediately, you are *reassigned* to Gamma shift. Ensign von Ernst will take your place in Beta shift. Yours, Lieutenant Timothy Richeson, Chief Tactical Officer."
He then flung the PADD on the bed again and looked around his room. Spying the mirror he looked at himself. He was still wearing his duty uniform. He didn't want to get changed, but he thought he'd better.
**** Half an hour later ****
Peter's door chimed at five minutes past ten. *LATE!* Peter thought as loudly as he could. "Come." he answered.
Nurse Annalise Haldan entered quickly. The Betazoid was wearing a black full length dress that showed off her body without being too revealing. "I know!" she said. "But I'm a woman. I'm allowed to be late."
She then looked at Peter for a few seconds before asking. "You didn't get time to change?" she asked.
Peter stood blankly for a second. He was wearing a new clean uniform and didn't see a problem with it. "I...... well...... I didn't think I should....."
"I understand." Annalise replied. "You're proud of it."
"I *WISH* you wouldn't keep doing that." Peter answered.
"No you don't. If you really did, I'd stop instantly." she replied.
Peter shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah.... you're right!" He really didn't mind have his privacy invaded by her, but he thought it would be a good idea to protest like most people were supposed to.
Peter gestured towards the table he'd laid earlier. "Candles and everything." he said. "I've disabled the fire suppression system. I'll probably have Lieutenant Sanchez pounding on the door shortly however."
"Didn't you tell them you'd done that?" she asked, seating herself.
"Yeah.... but I know Sanchez.... any excuse."
"I know something's up. You wanna talk about it?" she asked.
"Over dinner yeah." Peter answered. "Thanks for not just grabbing it." Peter then headed over to the replicator and ordered the starter soup for the meal. He brought it back shortly and sat down.
"Two things really." Peter said. "They're bugging me."
Annalise didn't reply, only started her soup. *Go on* she thought to him.
"Well, firstly I've been relegated back to Gamma shift." Peter complained. "I'd just thought I was making progress and then Ensign von Ernst goes and gets it over me."
"Is she better than you?" Annalise asked.
"Of course she's better than me. A sack-o-spuds manning Tactical could perform better than me, but that's not the point....." Peter started, then realised he didn't know what the point was.
"Don't put yourself down." Annalise frowned.
"Oh no. That sack-o-spuds is GOOD! Recent tests in the holodeck placed it above me. It kicked my arse. I was in charge of USS Galaxy and it managed to beat me flying a Sopwith Camel.... IN SPACE!" Peter deadpanned then continued more seriously. "I was just pissed off with the way I get demoted again. I remember coming aboard in Security. First I was on Beta.... then Gamma.... then Delta..... finally I was guarded the Brig..... what a crock! Now I start in Tactical.... on Beta..... now Gamma..... notice a pattern? There's a bog on the bridge... I'm sure they'll be placing me in there soon." Peter frowned deeply, not at all happy with the situation.
"Why don't you complain to Lieutenant Richeson?" Annalise asked.
"I might. I've got a tactical meeting with him tomorrow. Maybe I'll bring it up."
"Good idea." she said. "So you don't like Gamma then?"
"No. Gamma's fine.... I..."
"Just don't like the way it's looking." she finished for him. "I didn't read your mind then." she added.
Peter nodded. "Then there is Lieutenant Commander Genestra.... another departure." he continued finally starting his soup. "My three main friends on the Galaxy were Mark Mulich, Matthew Albrecht... though I'd never admit that and 'Evin Genestra...... where are they all now?" he asked. "NOT HERE!" he finished for himself.
"You can make new friends." Annalise said, sounding like his mum.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Peter muttered and then straighten his face. "So how are you?" he finally asked.
"Good overall. Sickbay is a bit busy right now, finishing off final treatments for crewmembers injured on Ursid. One or two may need to be transferred to Starbase Sierra.... Ryak Sullax's son for instance." she said.
"Any problems you want to talk about?" Peter asked. "You've listened to my rant. How about yourself."
"Everything's fine." she said.
"Nope....." Peter said. "I can read your thoughts. They're not."
Annalise smiled slightly at that. "It's Ensign Cooper. He's not very tolerant of Betazoids. Gives me and Cadet Terali a bit of rough rides at times. Always thinks were invading his mind."
"Are you?" Peter asked.
"NO!" Annalise answered sharply. "I wouldn't do that."
"Cadet Terali?" Peter asked, finishing his soup and clearing away the plates.
"Maybe. I don't know." she said.
"You can understand how he'd be pissed off if she were." Peter answered, bringing back duck as the main meal.
"I though you where on my side?" Annalise asked.
"I am. Do you want me to have words with Ensign Cooper? I'll punch his lights out for you?" Peter asked sincerely.
"And get court martialled?" she replied.
"Like my career can get any worse." Peter joked.
Annalise laughed at that. "No.... It's okay really. I'll deal with it. Cadet Terali will be leaving soon so she won't have to deal with it anyway."
"How's the duck?" Peter asked suddenly, changing the subject.
"Good..... I think.... I've never had it before." she answered.
"Me neither." Peter replied. "But it tastes pretty good....."
Rayna hadn't seen Nikki's natural father yet and quite frankly, she didn't want to see him at all. In fact, no one had come to see them yet and that made her a little weary of the whole situation. Rayna stood there at the foot of Nikki's bed, watching her. She needed to wake her up but really hated to. Rayna's stomach was in knots just thinking about what will happen.
Mike walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm nervous too. But let's get ready. They placed tradtional court ware in our dressers."
"Ridiculous, court wear? Nikki too?" She had a thought of not wearing them.
"Only for you, Nikki's too young for this." He walked to the closet and removed the outfit, a Tunic and trousers combination. "It could't be that bad?"
"Worse." She shuttered at the thought of wearing them. She put them on anyway but made it known to Mike that she was still against this whole trial.
Mike walked in and looked at her dress or lack thereof. "Er well...... you look nice." He tried to be positive about the whole thing.
She had this look of murder in her eyes, "Let's just get this thing over with. Once I have my say, this trial will be over quickly." She woke Nikki up and got her dressed, not answering Nikki's usual questions of "where are we going" and "why are you dressed like that".
Mike just gave Nikki a look that said we'll tell you later." They left for the court.
Walking along the city Mike couldn't wait for this to be over, to end this now. Walking in to the court one thing they noticed was the rich marble surfaces and the formality of the court. After checking in they were escorted to court.
They were stopped by an appointed officer of the court, "Your daughter will have to come with me."
Rayna held onto her hand tighter, "Over my dead body. I'm not letting her out of my sight." She wasn't about to let go of her much less give her father a chance to run.
It took some convincing, but the officer basically said that Nikki wouldn't be in court, because it would be traumatic for her and they wanted to keep her out of this untill the decision was made. Eventually Mike convinced her and they told Nikki she would go to play with other kids. She seemed to accept it.
She glared at Mike, "I can't believe you let them bully us like that and take her." Rayna was frustrated and fit to be tied. She watched Niklki leave, trying to keep herself from running after her.
Mike refused to back down but whispered, "trust me. All I ask you to do is trust me ok?"
In a low whisper, "Okay, I'll try but I can't promise to not worry." As they walked into the inner court, her her heart jumped into her throat.
At Mike's request they were taken to a private room to talk, "Let's just say I prepared for any contingency. Worst case scenario Nikki's wearing a Vedian patch under her shirt, easier for a transport lock. I set the runabout's computer to accept a single phrase commadn it will lock on to her patch, and our combadges." He tucked her combadge in her cleavage with a sly smile. "You really think I'm gonna accept some court's ruling on this?"
She looked at him with a slight smurk, "I guess I shouldn't underestimate you." She hugged him, something she needed right now, "Sorry."
He hugged her back and kissed her tenderly, "Never underestimate the deviousness of an O'Grady, you remeber my great uncle, he was quite a smuggler." Tenderly he kissed her then whispered, "that and I wanted to touch your cleavage...do ya blame me?"
She would have laughed but she was still worried, "I just want this over."
"Me too." He exhaled then straighted both his tunic then her barely there outfit. Making sure her combadge was appropriately hidden by her figure. "No matter what he says no matter how he looks at you keep your wits about you, You lose your temper he wins."
She nodded, "Okay, I can do this." She took a few cleansing breaths and then looked at Mike, "Okay, let's do it."
They walked out, the judges were in place and he was there. Looking over at both of them, knowing he had stacked the deck, or so he thought. Mike has beaten him once in a fist fight and if pushed could easily do it again. The judges turned to Rayna and one of them asked, "Rayna, wife of Michael, your words will be heard."
She stared at Nikki's father. She wanted to run over there and rip his face off but she kept her cool. She nodded at the judge, not quite knowing what her reply was supposed to be.
"Your words on his petition." The judge clarified.
She cleared her throat, "He's not her father. A father is one who loves her, takes care of her, supports her and when she's sick, he takes care of her. This man..." she points at him, "...Michael, is her real father as far as I am concerned. That man has no rights to Nikki." She felt like she was babbling at this point.
"Good words." The judges nodded then conferred, "we must speak with the men alone."
They walked over and there were heated words that Rayna couldn't make up. Finally Mike walked back over with a grim expression, "Well taht went well."
Rayna looked blankly at him. This whole court was a joke in her eyes. It was like she was watching a bad "b rate" movie.
"Actually this now becomes a matter of honor. I have to fight him.... You get to watch in the Judges box." He cleared his throat, "In the arena."
"No!" She was very upset now. She ran over to Nikki's father and jumped him, "You son of a bitch. I ought to..." She got pulled off of him.
Mike looked at the judges, "Is there any where to avoid this?"
"No." Was their reply.
Rayna was trying to get away but she was being held back tightly, "Mike, you can't, you just can't." She had faith in his abilities but then again, she knew what kind of a man Nikki's father was.
Mike walked over to her and gestured to the guards, they gave us time alone again, "I knwo this guy, he's a thug, yea he'll fight dirty, but I can beat him." Gently he hugged her and let her cry, "Shh I want you to promise me one thing,
if by some nightmare I lose activate ouir plan and get the hell out of here."
"Don't say that. You're going to win and if that means killing him, then so be it." She knew at this point that shge would not be able to stop this fight no matter what she said or did.
Mike took her hands in his and kissed her tenderly, "Promise me Rayn, I will kick his ass, but still promise me Starlight." It was a term of endearment he gave her after their first night together, he had remarked that her eyes looked like the lights of the stars. From that on she became Starlight."
She nodded, "I promise." Her heart pounded and the lump in her throat returned. She hugged him one more time, "I love you."
"I'll see oyu later when we get the hell out of here." Walking out he kissed his hand then waved to her as their traditional goodbye.
Commander Thomas had heard the news about Lt. Commander Sullax being removed as the ship's chief science officer and further more his pending departure from the ship. Which now left the ship without a second officer and thus Chris's new problem. Well he'd not heard it official from the captain, but he heard nevertheless. With that said he needed to speak with the captain and get his verdict of the situation.
He made his way to the bridge to speak with the captain.
Chris crossed the distance from the turbolift to the captain's ready room in a few strides, tapped the door chime and waited.
"What is it 'mate?" the Captain's voice was heard over the comm system.
"Captain Price, may I speak with you." Chris said, not wanting to let anyone over hear what he had to say to the captain.
"Certainly Commander. Step inside." Lee's voice responded.
"Thank you captain." Chris said as he entered the captain's ready room.
"G'day 'mate. What brings you here today?" the Captain asked with a friendly smile. It was obvious the Captain's spirits had lifted now that the population of Ursid were safe from annihilation.
"Sir," Commander Thomas began, "I've heard that Lt. Commander Sullax will no longer be with us, is this true, sir?"
The General let out a brief sigh before responding. Motioning to the chair with an open hand, the Captain stated, "Have a seat Commander. This will take a bit of explaining 'mate."
Chris complied while the Captain waited for him to take a seat.
"Yes 'mate it is true. I've released Lieutenant Commander Sullax from the Galaxy's roster. He will be departing when we reach Starbase Sierra and heading back to Earth and Starfleet Medical. As you may already be aware, his son suffered an accident in the recreational facility and is in a coma."
Chris nodded. "I had heard something about that sir. Is his son going to be okay?"
"We all hope so. Presently he's in a coma and Doctor Maas says there is nothing more that we can do here on the ship. Sullax is taking him to Starfleet Medical where the most experienced Doctors are in regards to Romulan physiology." The Captain explained.
"Other than the Romulan Star Empire." Chris pointed out.
Lee nodded, "I believe Ryak will be headed there if Starfleet Medical can't help his son. Anyway, as such, I have asked Lieutenant Commander Genestra to serve as acting Chief Science Officer until a permanent replacement can be assigned."
"I would think Evin would be up to the job sir. Her certainly proved his abilities with resolving the asteroid problem on Ursid." Chris pointed out.
"I offered it to him 'mate. Seems Evin will be leaving the Galaxy too. Something about getting married to his childhood sweetheart on Betazed."
Chris' eyes widened as he gave a slight nod. "Can't blame him for that. Wow, that really leaves the Galaxy a bit short staffed in the Science department. But more then that, Ryak was also my backup as Second Officer."
Captain Price nodded. "Aye. So until you get another backup, no leaves for you 'mate." Lee grinned pointing teasingly.
"Well actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about sir."
Lee's expression went deadpan grim. "You aren't leaving are you Commander?"
Now it was Chris that was smiling. "No sir. I meant about selecting a new second officer for the Galaxy."
"Whew!" Lee declared, "For a moment there, I thought my job just got twice as hard. If you left, *I* wouldn't be able to take leave." the Captain smiled.
"Have you decided who will be taking over as CSO when Evin leaves to get married sir?" Chris asked and then added, "Lieutenant Commander Olson could certainly fill the position. He's a solid Starfleet officer."
"Aye." Lee stated, and then reached for a padd and read from it. "Starfleet has recommended a couple of other officers for the position when I informed them of Lieutenant Commander Sullax and Genestra's pending departures."
"That seems unusual sir. You usually promote from within your own staff." Chris pointed out.
"That's true 'mate. But I've reviewed the candidates Starfleet is recommending. They are eminently qualified. The one I like the best is this, Lieutenant Commander Peterson. Anyway, I haven't made up my mind yet. I won't be able to do that until after I meet this bloke when we get to Starbase Sierra."
"I see sir. Well with your permission, I'd like to start considering candidates for the second officer position. Unless you'd prefer to make the selection yourself Captain." Chris asked.
Lee shook his head confidently, "No 'mate, you are more then welcome to make your recommendation. You'll be working most closely with the second officer to train him or her to take over your duties here when you are assigned to away missions."
"Thank you sir. I will let you know who I recommend when I've made my decision. I'll not keep you any longer sir."
Lee stood up and nodded to the Commander who also stood. "No worries 'mate. My door is open for you anytime. G'day Commander."
"Good day Captain." Chris nodded and then turned to exit the Captain's office.
Mike was in his dressing room, the roar of the crowd above his head, he had played this on the holodecks of the Galaxy, the roar of the crowd, 'we who are about to die salute you' it was a joke, he thought it was at least now it was that, the battle the roar of the crowd.
Just then the door opened and a guard stepped through, "You have a visitor."
Mike nodded, "Okay." He was practicing with the sword getting the feel of the blade. "Send the visitor in."
Rayna sheepishly walked in, something that wasn't in her nature but she knew that this was more serious than some stupid court trial so she was highly scared. She was the security officer not him. She wished that it was her fighting. She tried to hide her nerves, "Nice legs then again, I always thought so. Didn't I see this in some old, old Earth movie?" She stood there, watching him in his outfit, practicing with his sword. "You're angling the blade downward, bring it up a little and follow through."
He set the blade down, "Balance is good. I was just making sure it would work." Walking over to her he took her hands in his, "After the fight we're getting the hell out of here, I'll keep armor if you keep the court dress." He was nervous so he cracked jokes.
"Well, I always thought that brown leather was always your color." She cracked a joke too, "Seriously, be careful out there. In the academy, him and his friends would do this as a tension breaker. They were quite good."
Mike nodded seriously, "I'll be careful, go to the judge's box, I'll see you when this is over."
She reluctently left him but not before she kissed him one more time. She was led to her seat and sat, her stomach aching as she feared for his life.
Picking up the sword and shield Mike headed out through the open door, He wore a helmet with an opened face design, Nikki's father wore a heaver armor, but a smaller shield and a sword. Mike was faster with less armor but not as well protected.
The tradition and ritual took it's usual steps as the fighters squared off. Several of the crowd approved of Mike's lighter armor, already his opponant was becoming less popular.
Rayna watched on. Listening to the crowd didn't make her feel any less nervous. She could feel the muscles in her neck and jaw tighten up.
Mike squared off and he charged, clanking like an old robot from a bad movie, With a fluid roll to one side Mike butted her in the back with his shield knocking him to his face. The crowd cheered as the embarrassed gladiator stood slowly and Mike waited for him to get back up. Then the swords clashed and the battle began.
Once in awhile, Rayna would start to stand but then sit down once she could see that he was okay. This happened several times and she was right there, cheering with the crowd.
Their swords clahsed and Nikki's biological father scored a shield strike to the side of Mike's head, knocking him to one side and staggering him, however his follow up was weakened by his armor and Mike struck foreward with his blade and hit the armor, splitting it open.
She sat back into her chair. This whole thing was nervewracking but she held it together, "Finish him off." Rayna couldn't believe that she yelled that out loud.
Mike couldn't hear a thing, he was zoned in, he didn't see a thing didn't hear a thing didn't think of a thing and pused the blade foreward feeling it hit home. Then he put his foot on his chest and pulled the blade out, it was coated red with his blood. Mike didn't notice it and moved foreward picking up his blade and then striking again a vicious move like a scissors.
Nikki's biological father was gone. His head rolled to a stop and his corpse dropped to it's knees then collapsed spilling the ground crimson.
Rayna turned away at the sight. It wasn't that she was squeamish but this was too much...even for her. She all the sudden felt dizzy and sick to her stomach. The whole battle was hard on her.
Mike was breathing hard and weak kneed. Both blades hit the ground with a thud. Walking away from the body Mike pulled off his helmet and watched as teh doors opened and Rayna walked out.
Rayna's walk turned to a slight run as she came towards him. The nightmare was over and Nikki's father was dead. She practically jumped into his arms.
Mike hugged her with all his might. Tears threatened to leak out of his face as he embraced his wife. "Let's go home, let's get out of here."
"That's music to my ears." She avoided looking over at the body of Nkki's dad.
Mike kissed her gently then they walked out of the arena. This nightmare was over for them.
Nikki O'Grady
Mike was tired, he hadn't been sleepign well and now he was up late again. He hadn't felt this bad in his memory so he sat up and watched the stars twinkle.
Rayna had stayed late at the gym...again. It seemed to be the only thing that kept her from punching a wall or something. Poor Nikki could tell that something was wrong but she was to young to understand what it was. Rayna soaked in the tub, relieving her aching muscles. Afterwards, got herself a wine and sat on the couch. She couldn't seem to get the vision out of her mind of Nikki's dad and Mike. She felt somewhat responsible for this whole thing in the first place.
Mike walked over to her and sat down. Looking over at his wife he said softly, "we gotta talk about this some time."
She looked down into her glass, "I suppose we should but quite frankly, I'm not sure what there is to discuss."
"Let's see I killed someone, that's usually something that we should discuss." He looked at her, "I don't know why I did it, but I looked in his eyes and I remebered the nightmares you had, how tense you were when we first kissed, how he hurt you and I didn't stop."
"I'm not mad at you for killing him. I'm glad he's dead. I don't have to worry about him anymore and I know Nikki is safe now."
"Still, It's not something I'm proud of." He looked at her and gently took her hand in his, "Nuts ain't it?"
"The whole thing is nuts. You shouldn't feel so bad. He chose to attempt taking Nikki from me and it backfired. This whole thing isn't your fault. If you didn't kill him, he would have killed you instead. Look at it as self defense." She was angry but her anger wasn't towards her husband.
"I know, i keep saying that to myself. But I still have to come to terms with what happened, that's my cross to bear."
"You should have never been involved in this at all. This was my mess and I should have been the one out there. I hope he is rotting in hell." The bitterness could be heard in her voice.
"I'm sure he is. BEsides, quite honestly he had it coming." His arm went around her waist and he hugged her.
"He may have had it coming but it should have been my fight. I got cheated. It was between him and me, I should have gotten to finish it."
"Yeah, sadly this colony doesn't let women fight or you would have." He kissed her gently, "I love you Starlight."
She didn't smile, there was too much anger inside her, "I know you do." She looked at him, "I'm so sorry."
"For what?" He looked at her.
"For getting you involved in this whole thing. If only I hadn't been out there, alone. Maybe if I had fought him more...something. Then none of this would have ever happened."
"Then we wouldn't have a child we love." Mike said quietly, "then we wouldn't have each other."
He was right but that didn't seem to make a difference in the guilt she had felt when she was attacked, "I still remember the feeling of him pressed tightly against me. He held his hand over my mouth and I couldn't breathe and when I tried to scream, I..." A shiver ran down her spine making her shake a little.
"He'll never do that again." Gently he kissed her lips, "Never again."
"I vowed that I would never let anyone make me feel that way again. I guess that is why I chose my line of work. I still can't help feeling like I could have prevented this whole thing."
"Could you have?" He asked her looking at her honestly.
"I think that if I had just faced him instead of running away from him, I could have convinced him that he had no chance in hell to see or even get Nikki."
"He knew that. He picked a world that didnt' give you that option, it was enough that the judges let you speak." He looked at her and rubbed her back, "If he went to a Federation court, he'd have to deal with you."
"But he didn't and I didn't get to deal with him. Instead, you had to and you are paying for my weakness."
"Because he's a coward." Mike caressed her cheek and chin, "if he had courage he would have faced you, he's been a coward and he was one."
"Then why do I feel like the one who was a coward?" She couldn't get past the guilty feeling that she had carried with her since she was attacked.
"Because he hurt you?" Mike spoke softly, "You're not a coward, you showed a courage in your recovery, coming back to Starfleet, being the best security officer you can be, and opening your heart to someone."
"You really think so?" No one had ever told her that. She hadn't even thought about it in those terms.
"Absolutely, you're the bravest woman I know."
A smile broke through her frown, "Thanks." She added, "I think that you were pretty brave yourself out there. I know what it is like to take someone's life and it doesn't get easier."
"Some hero after that match I spent 3 hours puking in the bathroom of the runabout."
"You're not the first one to do that after killing someone." Her expression seemed to soften a bit from that harsh look she had been carrying with her.
He reached over and caressed her cheek and chin again, "I'm sorry I've been so distant lately. I should have paid attention to you."
"Let's don't harp on this anymore. Let's just put this all behind us. I think we need to start paying attention to Nikki again. I think she knows soething is up."
"Yeah, I'm sure she notices something's wrong." He kissed her tenderly, sort of surpring them both with the passion behind his kiss.
It had taken her a long time for her to trust a man, Mike was the first one since the incident. They had come a long way and this set back didn't seem to ruin the intimate part of their lives, "Tomorrow, that'll be her day. Tonight, we need to concentrate on us."
He nodded, "Yeah, we do..." He kissed her again, more passionately, his arms encircling her waist.
She had put the glass down on the table, leaving her free to put her arms around his neck and return the passion he had conveyed to her.
Gazing in to her eyes he kissed her again, "Is Nikki asleep?" He asked quietly.
"Sound asleep. I think I wore her out too much." She was finally smiling again.
"Good for you." He began to play with the thin cotton fabric of her t shirt, "Gives us time to.." His eyes met hers with a twinkle.
"Yeah." She looked towards where Nikki was sleeping, "Let's go where we won't be disturbed."
Mike nodded and slipped her shirt over her head, it took them time to build up this level of trust with each other. "I see that extra gym time has been paying off." He grinned and caressed her thin waist gently.
"I guess I did overdo it...a little bit." She in turn, pulled off his shirt.
His eyes said I know, and no further words were exchanged beteween them. What happened next was instinct, and both of them knowing what they liked and what the otehr liked, and the natural conclusion was firey, intense and passionate.
Everything that happened the other day seemed to be just a memory. She, as always, felt safe in his arms especially now that Nikki's dad was no longer a threat.
**The next morning**
A small pixiesh figure bounced on the bed. trying to move in beteween the sleeping lump of mike and Rayna.
Mike lifted his head, "Hey Nikki." As always he greeteed the young girl with a smile. "Sleep well?" UEymorgMe2: "Yeah." Nikki looked over at a sleeping Rayna and gave her a kiss, "Mommy." She whispered it again in her ear. Rayna didn't stir. She looked at Mike with a "what's up" look.
Mike smiled, "Mommy's tired. She and daddy were up late." He tousled Nikki's hair, "Why don't you wait outside, Daddy will get dressed then we can have breakfast ok?"
"Ok." She left the room so he could dress. She waited for him to come out.
Mike had dressed in a pair of shorts and a t shirt and walked in to the living room. Then picked her up making her feel like a bird, "SO, Nikki what do you want for breakfast?" Carrying his daughter he walked in to the kitchen.
"Pancakes, chocolate chip." She smiled, "Do you think mommy would want some too?"
Mike nodded, "let's bring her breakfast in bed. You make her dinner I'll go wake her up and get her ready for breakfast ok?" He set Nikki down and kissed her forehead.
Rayna was still sound asleep. She was tired from all the working out she did and she hadn't slept too good either the other night.
Mike walked in and began to gently kiss her alongside the neck and jaw, "Wake up beautiful."
She stretched as she opened her eyes, "Morning."
"Nikki's bringing breakfast in, thought you'd want to dress quickly, but you have to act surprised." He grinned and kissed her, "good thing she didn't come in last night."
"Thanks for the heads up." She dressed and waited for Nikki to come in. When she did, Nikki came in, "Oh my Nikki, what do you have there?" She proudly announced, "Breakfast...surprise!"
Rayna laughed, "Well, I am very surprised. That was a nice thought." Nikki carefully set the tray down.
Mike joined his new family in bed, "Looks like chocolate chip pancakes.... with chocolate sauce too how thoughtful."
It was a little too sweet but Rayn just smiled, pretending to enjoy them. Fortunately, Nikki brought her a glass of milk. "Yeah, it's really...chocolaty." She was sure if that was a word but it seemed fitting.
Mike helped out eating Rayna's food, mainly because he knew she proably oculdn't finish it all and Nikki would think mommy didn't like it. "You're quite a gourmet chocolate chef Nik."
Rayna couldn't help but laugh, "You sure are." Afterwards, Rayna took the dishes into the kichenette area. She then quickly got herself a glass of water to cut the sweetness.
Mike walked in after her, "Can I get one of those too?"
"Well no one told you to eat mine too." She got him one too and handed it to him, "Next time, suggest something else to her."
"I didn't suggest the chocolate sauce that was her idea."
She cleared her throat, "But it was really good." She looked passed Mike, "Thank you Nikki."
Mike caught her look, and smiled, "it was just the right touch. Today, Nikki, is your day what do you want to see today?"
Nikki suggested the circus and both Rayna and Mike agreed, "Then the circus it is."
Lieutenant Timothy Richeson zipped his tunic and quickly adjusted it. He noticed a large patch of white fur on his side. "Damn cat..." his voice cracked. No matter where he would leave his clothes, Ashes always seemed to make a bed out of it. Tim turned to his fat furred friend, who was napping on a near by chair. "I ought to jus' make you your own uniform. But I bet that wouldn't be good enough for you either eh?"
Ashes picked up his white head to look at his master. It was quite obvious that the old cat was in no mood to have a conversation. Tim walked over and pat his friend on the head and pushed his finger against the cats pink nose. "Alright buddy, I get to have fun with the department. Wish me luck." Richeson turned and walked out of his quarters. Almost instantly, Ashes stood up and laid back down on a freshly washed uniform.
Chief Tactical Officer Tim Richeson hesitated for a second before entering Ten-Forward. He took a last second to clear his thoughts and walked through the metallic doors that resembled hard wood. The bar surprisingly wasn't to busy. Granted, it was early morning, but Tim still expected a decent crowd. He quickly looked over to find Ensign von Ernst sitting at a empty table....
Ensign Rebecca von Ernst had strategically placed herself as far away from the head of the table as possible. That way the natural tendency would have everybody facing away from her. That was just fine with her. After the fiasco of her first Bridge-shift the night before, she was eager to avoid any attention.
Briefly she wondered if Lt. Richeson had been made aware of her performance. Rebecca suppressed a shudder.
Entering the room next was Ensign Bosco, the golden manned Caitan. His uniform appeared to be pressed and his fur was particularly fluffy, as if he'd just blown it dry after having a swim or something. Without saying anything, Bosco moved around the conference table and took an available seat while waiting for the Tactical meeting to begin. Glancing over at the skinny red head, Bosco smiled, showing his cat like fangs to the Ensign. When she didn't respond, the Caitan looked at the entrance at the next person to arrive.
Eventually the last person to arrive was Ensign Peter Lockhart. Alpha shift had just been announced when the Ensign strode in. It was dead on 9am. Peter strode over to the table and nodded at everyone. "Ensign Lockhart reporting as ordered sir."
"On the button eh?" Tim said trying to lighten things up.
"I thought I'd better make a good impression from now on." Peter said, smiling.
"Well. Sit down Peter." Tim said. "Okay folks. Let's get this meeting started." he pulled out a chair between Rebecca and Bosco. "Can anybody tell me what they think the strong points are of the department? The weak points?" he paused for a second to gather his thoughts. "I don't mean what you don't like about the job, I mean what do you like about the people in it?"
Rebecca suppressed the urge to make a face at Richeson's choice of seating. Her plan had backfired on her, and now she found herself seated right next to her Department head. Now she concentrated on pretending to pick lint off of her uniform sleeve, in an effort to avoid answering Richeson's question. He had not addressed it to her directly, so she figured she was pretty safe in not speaking up first.....or at all if possible.
Meanwhile Peter considered Tim's question for a mere second before starting off on one of his long rants. "Well sir. I think the strong points are that we've got an overall good bunch of officers. With the exception of myself, we're all good at tactical and can handle ourselves well in ship to ship. Me.... I'd just get us smeared across the sector really. But I can handle a phaser okay, and Security taught me a few things...." he rambled.
"Anything else Ensign?" Tim asked sarcastically.
Peter ignored the comment and continued. "Yes sir. The weak points are that Ensign von Ernst doesn't get enough time at tactical. She keeps robbing all the paperwork. We don't fight paper. We fight other starships...... Then another weak point is me sir." Peter said, continuing the inane comments aimed at himself.
"Well..." Tim started.
"And I hope you don't mind me having a phaser whilst on bridge duty sir? Throw-back from my days in Security. I feel naked without it."
Rebecca's brown eyes flashed a brief look of pain towards the cocky Ensign Lockhart, before averting them back to the table surface. ~~The first problem he mentioned was ME~~ she fumed. ~~What the noodle did I do? Heck, I caught him up on about three weeks of paperwork so he would have to go on report!~~
This internal struggle was well hidden however, and the only outward sign of Rebecca's displeasure was a slight crimson tint to her freckled cheeks. ~~I served my shift last night well enough~~ she thought. ~~Why is he picking on me?~~
"I also notice I've been demoted back to Gamma shift sir." Peter said matter-of-faculty. He actually slightly preferred it in Gamma. Only Lieutenant Commanders served that shift, and Lieutenant Commanders he could handle.
"The war is over Ensign. Tactical officers don't need phasers on the bridge. I'm pretty sure the security officers on the bridge can handle it." Tim wasn't sure how to take Peters comment. If he was joking, ok fine. If he wasn't, then maybe he made a bad choice when he transferred. "And as for you getting pushed to Gamma shift, I'll be glad to put ya on a different shift. Once your performance picks up. So far Mr. Lockhart, you have not impressed me. Anything else?"
"Not at the moment." Peter said. "But I'll think on it.........."
"I'm sure you will." Tim snapped.
Rebecca almost let her jaw drop at that. ~~Im on BETA SHIFT?~~ she couldn't believe it. She had only just come off duty 8 hours before, and no she had to go back on again? And after last nights fiasco with the phaser discharge and everything? She shook here head. Engineering crews were still cleaning up the mess in Corridor B when she went off shift at 0330 this morning.
Noticing the others staring at her open jaw, she attempted to mask it with a yawnm that was not entirely fake. ~~Noodles, but why did the Tactical officer have to STAND for eight hours, while the other officers sit in comfychairs?~~
Mentally she reorganized her schedule....Now doing BETA shift from 1500 to 2130.....how was she supposed to attend the Tactical Simulation at 1800? And with Captain Price stating he was going to be watching her performance closely?
"Noodles..." she unconsciously whispered aloud.
Maestro turned to Rebecca. "Cooking something, Ensign?" he asked with a smile. He really hadn't talked to the newest tactical officer since she came aboard. But Peter was right, she sure was hogging the easy paper work. "What do you think can be done to improve the department?"
Rebecca's eyes cast about the room in desperation for a moment while a pretty flush colored her freckled nose. "I...its...well fine.....sir."
"Interesting, if grammatically fractured." Richeson observed. "Report Ensign, you've had your nose in the efficiency reports more than any of us. What's our area to work on?"
Rebecca shrugged, "Well sir....if you ask me." she paused to swallow, her mouth suddenly dry. "I would have to say Thais impossible to tell........We can have the best efficiency rating in the fleet, but REAL COMBAT isn't about ratings......uh sir."
"Indeed Ensign?" Richeson raised an eyebrow. "Well quite right about that, but I prefer to think 100% Department in Peace, has got a better chance at surviving during real combat. Tell me.....have you had you ever been under fire for real?"
For half a second Rebecca thought back to the night before.....the dropped phaser spraying the Corridor with blue energy blasts......but thats probably not what Richeson meant.
"Aye sir...I mean yes sir.....a year ago aboard the VICTORY....during the Nar Hallas Campaign."
"Against the Lyrans?" Richeson considered that a moment, "Well that certainly was quite a fiasco then wasn't it?"
Blushing further Rebecca averted her eyes to her lap and barely whispered. "Y...yes. It was."
Richeson nodded, not aware of the intense feelings of guilt his comments had just elicited in his teams youngest member.
While this was going on, Ensign Bosco remained quiet. He'd taken one of his fingers and, extending a claw was tracing circles on the glass table top of the conference table. Noticing the Caitan's self amusement, Lt. Richeson decided to get the Ensign's attention, and input.
"Ensign Bosco, how about you?"
Bosco looked at his commanding officer and shrugged his shoulders. "I prefer the women sir."
Giving a sigh, Richeson tried to redirect and discipline the Ensign at the same time. "Yes, well your reputation of womanizing the members of the crew while off duty has been brought to my attention Ensign, we can have a conversation about that off-line. But I am more interested in hearing your views of your on-duty observations as they relate to the Tactical department."
"In that case sir, I still prefer the women..." Bosco smiled, winking at Ensign von Ernst. Then quickly continuing, he went on. "I also prefer the Delta shift, think the tractor beam emitters are a tad too slow, and find that this ship doesn't enter combat very often. But when she does, all departments appear to respond and work together very well." Looking around the table at the faces of those in the Tactical department, the Caitan continued, "I only know a couple of the people here, the ones that helped show me how to work the Galaxy's systems, or that I've relieved or that relieved me during our assigned shifts. Everyone seems friendly and has a 'can do' attitude that I've met thus far."
Once a suitable gap had appeared in the discussion, Peter jumped in again. He'd been considering waving one arm in the air like a pupil at school, but thought that would only get him hit by the others. "Sir..... regarding the phaser thing on duty? Does that mean that you're ordering me NOT to bring one onto the bridge? I'd really like to sir, and whilst one guy with a phaser is okay, two are better." Peter argued.
Tim reached down and gave his uniform a tug out of frustration. He really had hoped this meeting was going to break the ice in the department. But so far it had just been a continuos fight. "Look Peter, I really could give two shits if you wear a phaser on the bridge. I'm telling you what protocol says. If it means that much to you, then put a request in to The General. If he gives the green light, fine. But until then, you will obey my order. Understood?"
"Aye Sir." Peter snarled.
"Well guys, I wanted this to be a meeting where we all got to know each other. Maybe even start having some fun off duty. But it sure looks like what we do best is argue with each other. I sure hope you guys like it. Cause your stuck with me." Tim finished his drink in one gulp and slammed it on the table. "I come in here, trying to get your views on the department. And what do I get? Requests to have phasers, and another one of my officers tells me he prefers women." He took another look at his glass, hoping there would miraculous be another drink in there. "If you all want the Tac Department to be the joke of the ship then fine. Cause' it sure as hell is right now. So live it up."
Tim stood up and stormed out of ten-forward.
The seldom-social assistant chief engineer was sitting and sulking in her quarters. With the asteroid crisis averted and everything back to whatever passed for normal on the ship, T'Zaq found little to occupy her usually-inquisitive mind except a constant replay of her latest failure. Commander Suder hadn't been particularly impressed with T'Zaq's grandstanding by trying to stay on the surface for as long as possible, and had rather forcefully "suggested" that she and her team retire to quarters while the other engineers attempted to implement the diversion plan with the ne-Malon.
*Suder's such a killjoy.* she grumpily thought to herself as she sipped a cup of green tea. *So cautious, and always brooding. He doesn't take risks he hasn't already calculated to death, and whenever he has a free moment, he sits in his office and sulks.*
"As if I don't." she muttered aloud, sarcastically. The walls were silent, but they probably weren't listening anyway.
T'Zaq continued her conversation with herself, regardless. "Here I am, sitting by myself, dissing my boss because I don't have the courage to confront him. _Good_ one, T'Zaq. What happened to the impulsive, ambitious, outspoken person you used to be? Why don't you _care_ anymore?"
She couldn't deny that a part of her really missed Shtik. What they had shared had been a "mistake", a union of forced biological necessity. He loved another woman, that much she had sensed... and he told her in no uncertain terms that he did not wish to pursue a relationship with her. It was mutually agreed upon and never questioned again, and a few months later, Shtik left for another assignment. T'Zaq hadn't tried to contact him after that, figuring he wanted to leave the past behind. Part of her always wondered if maybe she had kept contact open, really gotten to know him, perhaps they could have been friends.
The half-vulcan's thoughts once again wandered to Suder. She vaguely remembered him having a girlfriend a while back... sadly, one of the casualties of an encounter with the Borg. *That must have hit Ethan pretty hard.* T'Zaq mused to herself. *No wonder he has issues.*
Sighing, she stood and placed the now-cold cup of tea in the replicator, watching it vanish away in a shower of blue sparkles.
Commander Thomas looked at the last person on his list, one Lt. Commander Kent Peterson who was scheduled to join them at the Starbase for an interview. They would be arriving at in a couple of days, actually it was more like in the next 37 hours. Which was fine, he would use this to greet and welcome the potential new science chief onboard the ship.
"Computer open a channel to the USS Yeager, directed to Lt. Commander Kent Peterson." Commander Thomas said.
"Acknowledged, channel open."
"Lt. Commander Peterson, this is Commander Thomas first officer of the USS Galaxy." Chris said introducing himself.
The operations officer nodded from his office on the Saber-class vessel. He knew what it was about since he had already been contacted by the Galaxy regarding a meeting with Captain Price. ["Hello, sir."] he responded.
"I wanted to let you know the Galaxy would be arriving in 37 hours." Chris said.
["I appreciate the update, Commander. The Yeager herself is due to remain here for the next forty eight hours. We've still got a lot of repairs to make and several crew transfers to oversee."]
"Good. Should Captain Price approve your transfer, I'd want to speak with you about the science department and your role on the ship shortly after you've come aboard. I'd like to meet with you personally say, in about 40 hours, if that's ok with you." Chris said.
Peterson picked up a PADD with the latest time estimates on how quickly supplies, equipment and personnel were moving between Starbase Sierra and the Starship Yeager. Looking back at the Galaxy's executive officer he nodded, ["That sounds fine, Commander."]
Chris saw this as an excellent opportunity to meet with the possible new chief, discuss things, get him acquianted with what the ship had to offer and learn about him too. As first officer he was entitled to give the Captain recommendations on personnel.
*** Conference Room 5, Starbase Sierra ***
The conference room was quiet except for the voices of the two men standing at the far end talking. One man was grey-haired and middle-aged whilst the other appeared to be a good twenty years older. Since Kent was not certain which one was the commanding officer of the USS Galaxy he discretely approached the two men and cleared his throat to get their attention.
"Lieutenant Commander Peterson, reporting as orders, sirs," he said, standing at attention as the two command-level officers turned their heads towards the younger man.
"As you were 'Commander," the older man, an Admiral, said as he acknowledged the presence of the operations officer from the Yeager.
Kent relaxed a little as the two men ended their conversation.
"Well I should be going myself. Hopefully it won't be as long before we see you and your ship this way again, Lee," the Admiral said as he shook the younger man's hand. It was appeared that the two men were acquainted with one another.
"You can never tell."
The admiral turned and nodded at the lieutenant commander before leaving the conference room to return to his own duties. 'Commander Peterson responded in turn as the admiral passed him on the way out.
"Please 'mate," Price said as he extended his hand towards one of the chairs tucked in behind the conference table, "have a seat."
"Thank you, Captain," Peterson replied as he pulled out a chair and sat down. He was not particularly nervous, per se, but he did not know what to expect from the commanding officer of the Galaxy.
The starship commander sat for a few moments as he reviewed some of data on the display device. Whilst the thirty-three year old could not see the contents, he could only assume that it was his personnel record. It made sense since this was the interview that could decide as to whether he became the new chief science officer of the Starship Galaxy.
Price finally looked up, "Why don't you tell me a little about yourself 'mate."
Peterson relaxed a little. It was not the question he though he was going to be asked. Generally the first thing that any command officer asked him in such an interview was to do with the one reprimand in his career - a silly mistake from his time at the Academy. "I'm six foot one, just over two hundred pounds and a native of Colorado. My hobbies include ice hockey and rock climbing," Peterson said to lighten up the mood a little.
Realising that he probably just made a fool of himself, he cleared his throat before Captain Price had a chance to respond and continued with a more suitable answer. "Serious though, after graduating from Starfleet Academy I was posted to a variety of different Starfleet vessels as a science officer. After serving as assistant chief science officer on the Nobel I began to want something a little more challenging and so I accepted a transfer to the Yeager, my current assignment. After four years there I am ready to move on."
Captain Price listened to Peterson talk about himself. Leaning back, the General's expressing was serious as he rubbed the whiskers of his beard before speaking. "What are your views on officers that disengage holodeck safeties 'Commander? ...."
*** Later that morning ... Peterson's Quarters, USS Yeager ***
Peterson walked in to find a fellow lieutenant commander sitting anxiously on the sofa in the living room. His quarters were relatively small but they had functioned as his home for the last four years. Considering how his meeting with Price went, it was unlikely that little fact was going to change very soon in the future.
"How did it go?" the woman asked as she put down the coffee she had been drinking and made herself a little more comfortable on the sofa. She had been nervously awaiting some word as to how the interview between her "Kenny" and Captain Price went.
Kent sat down on the sofa and leaned back against her - the warmth from her body warming his own. "If it went any worse then I probably would have been placed in the Brig for assaulting a Captain with bad jokes," he said as he closed his eyes and shook his head. "It was terrible."
The woman placed her hands on his shoulders before moving them around to the front and hugging him. "It probably didn't go as bad as you thought. They never do. Trust me."
*** The next morning ... Conference Room 7, Starbase Sierra ***
Peterson, still a little tense over how his meeting with Captain Price went, made his way to one of the other conference rooms on the massive Starfleet facility. He walked in to see Commander Chris Thomas standing there, looking out of the observation windows which lined the medium-sized room.
The Yeager's operations officer walked over and was met with a handshake by the Galaxy's first officer. "Mister Peterson, good to finally meet you in person."
"Likewise, Commander."
"Well, I'm happy to say that Captain Price has approved your transfer as chief science officer," Thomas said as he gave the hand his hand. "Welcome to the crew."
Whilst Kent shook Thomas' hand he smiled with relief. "Thank you."
Chris nodded.
"Now that you're on board with us, we should discuss your department." Chris said.
"Of course."
"The department lost both of it's lead officers, the chief and assistant chief science officer." Chris said. "Such a loss certainly leaves a department in a shock of what do we do now."
"And naturally with someone outside of the department coming by to take over makes that transition a little more difficult," Peterson said understandably. "You know those officers better than I do, sir. Anything advice you care to suggest would be appreciated."
"I would like you to become familiar with your new staff as quickly as possible. To assist you with this I have brought a manifest for the science division," Chris said, handing the man a PADD. "With the acting chief science officer having left yesterday morning, Lt. Commander Jake Olson will be standing in until your arrival. He should be able to help you get to know the department better."
"I'll make sure I contact 'Commander Olson as soon as I return to the Yeager," Kent said as he looked momentarily down at the display device. "I should be ready tomorrow morning to report to the ship."
"Sounds good 'commander, I look forward to having you on the ship." Commander Thomas said.
"Can't wait to be there, sir."
Chris wasn't sure where he was going to go from here with the commander, maybe this he needed to stop and just move forward. "Well Mr. Peterson hasn't it been a pleasure speaking with you. I look forward to seeing you around here." Chris said standing up to shake the man's hand.
*** The following morning ... Transporter Room 3, USS Galaxy ***
The blue shimmering of the transporter cycle began to focus into a solitary form - that of a Human male just over six feet tall. His face matched the one on the Starfleet record sent to the Galaxy several days before they reached Starbase Sierra, the same which both Captain Price and Commander Thomas had seen before they met the new chief science officer on the starbase. Surok's left eye rose ever so slightly as contemplated working with the Human.
"Lieutenant Commander Peterson," Kent said as he stepped off the transporter pad and offered the Vulcan a hand. The fifty-five year old Vulcan simply made the raised eyebrow more prominent in response to the overly familiar Human reaction. "Ah, yes," Peterson added as he lowered his hand, "and you are 'Commander?"
"Chief Operations Officer Surok," the Vulcan said as he looked at the younger man.
"Chief Operations Officer," the fellow lieutenant commander said as he and the Vulcan walked out of Transporter Room Three, "comrades in arms so to speak. I was posted as the operations manager to the USS Yeager before accepting this assignment."
Surok clasped his hands behind his back as he walked. "Why did you change?"
"Don't get me wrong, I was very fond of the time I had on the Yeager, but to serve on the Galaxy," Peterson said in almost justifying his decision to move back in to a scientific department, "you have to admit that it does have its perks."
"I fail to see how service on one ship is intrinsically better than another," Surok simply replied. "The point is to serve."
Kent nodded. "True. I guess so. But 'Commander, you must admit that the Galaxy is better suited to scientific research. She has an number of diverse laboratories, an excellent sensor array, and the sheer number of people in the department makes its resources rather impressive."
"They are adequate to the tasks for which this ship is assigned."
"The News"
Drake put down his trumpet to take a break. He disengaged the band program, knowing that some crew members would join in on the music. He put his trumpet on his stand and stepped off of the stage.
Drake looked at the doors as he saw Captain Price enter. The General moved toward him, and Drake thought that he was in trouble. ~What did I do this time?~ asked Drake to himself.
"G'day, ensign, I'd like to have a little worried with you, mate," said Captain Price.
"Of course, sir" said Drake.
"You have set a record for getting into trouble within 24 hours, mate, and you did promise improvement," said Price.
~I worked hard though, I really did!~ Drake thought to himself, thinking that it was bad news.
"I see that you have kept that promise and you have shown good work. I heard about your experiences in the camp back on Ursid. Must have been hard, but you pulled through, and I like that. You did good mate," said Price.
Drake smiled in surprise.
"For your good work, I hereby promote you to Lieutenant jg. Congratulations, mate," said Price.
"Thank you, sir!" said Drake with a smile on his face.
"Have fun, mate," said Price before he left.
Drake smiled like he never smiled before. From now on, Drake would work hard.
Ensign Corgan just had one of those days. It happens to everybody and to him more often than most people do. It was one of those days where people came out of the woodwork, bothered him during his duty shift and even told him the latest rumors about himself. As he walked into his quarters, he started thinking about the events that happened this day. Today, almost everyone on the ship thought that he nearly committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a type 1 phaser. They also thought that he tried convincing the schoolteacher to play death meta
l at a nursery. Next, there was a rumor that he is in a gay relationship with a Vulcan.
“Where the hell do they get this Vulcan crap from?” he asked himself, the realized, “Oh yea… because I saved Sotek from Pon Farr. Moreover, why do people think I am a freak? I know I am a freak of nature. I must not be hiding it very well.”
In reality, Ensign Corgan hasn’t been in a relationship in years, much less a gay one. He did once try to commit suicide, but never on the Galaxy, and never with a type 1 phaser. He preferred rope hung to a rafter. He also never offered to play death metal to school children. He offered to bring an acoustic guitar to play some nursery rhymes because the counselors told him not to “waste his talent, and instead share it with the young.”
How was everything twisted like this? He knew who could possibly do this, but he didn’t have positive proof. Not only that, he had just arrived on the ship and he didn’t want to get into trouble. He also didn’t quite feel like meeting the captain just yet, much less under hostile circumstances.
He tossed off his tunic and shirt, revealing a nicely muscled and lean chest. He needed to get out of the uniform and breathe a little. Today has been stressful, especially with all the rumors flying around him. What he needed was some relaxing music and a nice sonic shower.
“Computer. Play “Come As You Are” by Nirvana.
An ancient singer’s raspy, unintelligible voice sang to the melancholy music that floated in the room. A smile crossed on Ensign Corgan’s face. He knew starting now that he can relax, unless some smart alec tried to ring his doorbell and try to ask him about his latest rumor.
He felt lucky, however. He knew that there were people on the ship that had a worse reputation than he did. He already heard about a Lieutenant Junior Grade Rebecca Von Erst, and how her timidness, lack of height and weigh, and weak spirit made her easy to crush. Next was Ensign Electra Reece, which he heard that she was 7 feet tall and liked to start food fights with the other officer he heard about. For once on his short time on Galaxy, he found a bright side. At least the worse was not happening to him. Deep inside, he did feel sorry for the other people being pushed around. He felt guilty for thinking the way he did, about being lucky that they got the worse of it.
“Maybe I’ll meet them someday. That would be very nice.” Ensign Corgan thought.
The computer console on his desk winked to life, showing an “Incoming Transmission” screen.
“Incoming Transmission for Ensign James Lionel Corgan.” The Computer spoke.
James walked up to the computer console and sat down on a leather easy chair. He tapped a button on the console, showing the smiling face of Courtney Liona Corgan, James’ sister and famous record mogul of “Smashed Up Sanity Records”. She was dressed in her usual black dress and necklace of a Klingon Death Metal band’s logo.
“Hey Bro! Wazzup!” she screamed.
“Courtney! How’s it been?” he asked.
“Awww, shit. It’s been like hell’s outhouse here. I had to seal the deal with a Orion punk band that just wouldn’t sign unless I had everything to give them.”
“So what did you do?”
“I gave them half of what they wanted. No more, no less. They jumped at it and now I have another multi platinum artist on my side. Next, I had to sign the “Revolting Targs”, which was easy when you have a stockpile of bloodwine. The best thing that happened to me today was that all the Klingon bands that I’ve signed gave me a nick name, “charghwI'” which means “conqueror”. What do you think?”
“Great job, sis.”
Courtney has done significantly well with “Smashed Up Sanity” Records. At first, when she inherited it from a dead uncle, she didn’t know what to do and she nearly lost the business to competition. But that was three years ago. Now, she turned a struggling record company into a multi planetary business that even a Ferengi could envy, with the business shrewdness that most Ferengis can’t even match. James was proud of what his sister had done to the family business. It’s not everyday that a teenage girl saves rock and roll and the family business in one fell swoop.
“Listen, bro. I called because I wanted to ask you something. Do you remember your old band back at the academy?” she asked.
“Of course I do. Lost Souls. How can I ever forget that?” he stated.
“Well, I sort of… want to… sign up a contract with you guys? Are you all interested?”
“Hold on, sis. I can’t just leave Starfleet so I can be a rock star. Hell, who knows if I can even make it out there?”
“But you’re one of the best musicians that I know!”
“I know, but I can’t. Duty calls and all that crap. I’d love to sign up, but it’ll have to wait until my career in Starfleet is established, and...”
“But James,” She cut off. James knew whenever she used his first name, she was very agitated. “I’m worried about you. You’ve gone through so much bullshit over the past couple of years. You’ve been attacked by Borg, crash landed on planets, nearly killed by love lorn Klingon warriors and dumped by your girlfriend. You need a less stressful job, and music will help you vent. I also got a report from the counselors at Starfleet. They’re worried about you.”
“I hate it when that happens.”
“I know, but please give it some thought.”
”Hell no. I’m perfectly fine. So what if I wake up in a cold sweat? I still get up and do my duties exceptionally well. It doesn’t matter if I like people or not, I still interact with them. I thought I did all I could to make them happy, but nothing will make them happier than seeing my brain wiped away and changed with a nicer personality. I hate that. I won’t let them win.”
“Ok. If you say so, then stay. You know when you leave Starfleet, and the business is still around, you can always come here.”
“There’s nothing that I wouldn’t like better than that.”
“Just one more thing. Please don’t get yourself killed like mom and dad did. Doesn’t it bother you that you’re on the same type of ship that they died in?”
“Yea, it does. I’m in a deathtrap, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. See you around, sis.”
“Ok. Bye!”
“Bye!”
The screen blipped off into oblivion. Ensign Corgan was glad that his sister was doing fine. What he was really pissed off about was the fact that some Starfleet know it all counselors decided that they needed to tell his sister about his problems. He preferred to tell his problems to his sister… himself!
“Once again, the powers that be try to help, only to be really annoying!” he grumbled.
The screen started back to life once again.
“Incoming…”
“I GOT IT!” Ensign Corgan yelled at the computer. This time, it was Ensign Sotek, all the way from the USS Tokyo. James’ face instantly lit up, happy to see his best friend.
“SOTEK! It’s great to see you!” he yelled.
“I believe I share the same sentiment.” Ensign Sotek replied.
“Wow, I mean, wow! I can’t believe that you got a hold of me so soon.”
“What an illogical statement, considering that I have contacted you.”
“I guess you’re right. Now tell me, what brings you here to talk to me? Just want to catch up on the latest news?”
“Actually, I just wanted to ask you a question, if I might.”
“Shoot.”
“I cannot shoot, not without a phaser. I also fail to see the point in shooting at a time like this.”
“Well Sotek, we’ll have to work on your knowledge of human slang terms. What I actually meant was what do you need to ask me?”
“I need to ask you if a certain Lieutenant Junior Grade Charles Marx is on board your ship.”
Ensign Corgan’s face froze in unbelievable shock. He didn’t know how Ensign Sotek knew about Marx being on board, but he did know that Sotek used to be one of Marx’s victims after being rejected to save her from “Pon Farr”.
“Yes, why?” Ensign Corgan asked.
“It seems that Marx has contacted a friend of mine on the Tokyo, and this friend of his has spread rumors about us continuing on a love affair. It doesn’t seem logical.” She stated.
“It does to a human. You see, that kind of person, or @$$hole if you will, likes to prey on people that he considers weak, because it makes him feel stronger. Do you get it now?”
“Illogical, emotional behavior. That’s all I need to understand.”
“Hell, sometimes I wonder myself. But, you can’t really do anything about it, just sit back and hope that his mouth runs dry. Don’t let it bother you.”
“That is an emotional response which I cannot feel.”
“Even Vulcans feel it, or else you wouldn’t have talked to me today. It’s just that you guys control it so well. I wish sometimes that I could turn off my emotions like a Vulcan.”
“Emotions do have their advantages.”
“Really?”
“Yes, as illogical as it is, this is true. If you tell another Vulcan about this, just remember, you never heard it from me. Most Vulcans do not understand.”
James let out a laugh. It was as close to a joke as a Vulcan can make. The two talked for at least an hour more, about events and their new ships. After awhile, they had to both retire, since they had shifts in the morning.
by Lt Eric Odin and
Lt(jg) Michala Lynn
Eric checked to see where Michala was and found she was in her quarters and
headed there to tell her the final decision on the whole situation. He
pushed the button and said,"It's me Eric."
Michala opened the door. She was much thinner then he had last seen her and
she had developed a wonderful tan. Her face seemed almost haunted. "Hi,"
She said quietly. "Did you need something?"
He took in the change and smiled before he asked,"Is now a bad time to talk?"
She sighed. "No, no worse then any other." She stepped back to give him
entrance. She hadn't seen him since before the mission.
"Okay, glad to hear it. You look like you got a really nice tan."
"I would have preferred better circumstances to get it in." She said
quietly. "Was there something you needed?" She asked politely.
"Well, when we last talked I was pretty mixed up with my emotions and wasn't
sure what to feel, but I have finally straitened everything out in my head
and have come to a decision. I'm not too sure how you'll take this but I love
Anika and want to be with her. You're about the best friend I have otherwise
and I don't want that to change."He watched for her reaction.
She nodded and smiled. "I am happy for you, Eric. WE both know that the night
between us should not have happened. Nothing here to worry about my friend."
He smiled and said,"Thanks. That's why I think you're great. Well, would it
be okay if we exchanged stories about what our experiences were down on
Ursid?"
"I would be glad to. Come, sit down and I will get some tea." She said
gently. She
got the tea and sat beside him. "So where were you and what happened?"
He laughed and said,"well, I was pretty much on the far side of the planet
and I set up some recording equipment to record all the events as they
happened for a great holoprogram and an analysis of the mission. I also got
the name 'Fire's carrier' while I was there. I had to use one of my blasts
to send one of the meteorites farther away from the shelter that i was
running to and I had to help bring in the animals. I had to use another one
of my blasts to pulverize a rock that almost crushed Rose, the animal, and
myself. That's pretty much all that happened on my side. So, what about you?"
Michala laughed lightly. "OH, I just tried to go AWOL in the middle of the
meteor shower, got caught in a forest fire and stuck in a shelter with an
irate Lieutenant. Nothing special."
He laughed and said,"Sounds interesting. Why'd you try to go AWOL?"
"If someone were to ask you what your roots were, what would you tell them?"
She asked softly.
"I'd ask them which life they were inquiring upon."
She smiled. "I cannot even do that. But on Ursid, I felt like I belonged.
That I could set down roots."
"And that is why you almost went AWOL?"
"I was ordered to leave those people to die. I couldn't do it. I put my
comm badge on a child." She said simply.
"You did what your heart told you to do. i can't blame you for that."
"I wish that I could have stayed. Maybe I will come back here when I have
finished my tour of duty. I wonder how long that is, I don't think anyone
has said." She said thoughtfully.
"There's always hope my friend. I can do the next best thing for you if
you'd like, I could make a holodeck simulation of Ursid."
"It is okay, Eric. I am learning that the things I desire will always be
just out of reach." She said quietly.
"I'm no counselor, but that sounds like you've had a rough time with more
than just Ursid."
"Life is a journey which has more hills and valleys then even ground." She
replied
cryptically. "Deiran has been sending flowers and messages. I have been
avoiding him until yesterday. It didn't go well"
"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do?"he wished he could do something for
her.
"Be happy with Anika." She said softly.
He smiled and said,"Will do. I wish I could do something to help you."
"If I think of something, Eric. You will be the first to know." She said
with a
warm smile.
"Thanks. I recorded everything that happened by the way. I had
holorecorders all over, so f you are interested in viewing it let me know and
I'll tell you once I've compiled it all into one program."
"That sounds like a plan." An awkward silence ensued where Michala was
unsure of what to say.
He smiled and said,"If you ever need me I'm here for you Michala. You're my
best friend and my good ol' death buddy."he said the last part joking.
She laughed. "Yes amongst other things."
"Who knows, I should be dropping in on you both here a sickbay from time to
time plus I'll let you know about the holodeck program. We'll be seeing each
other quite a bit. Oh, do you like zero gravity simulations?"
"I don't know. I have never been in one." She admitted.
"I have one programmed and I can send you a copy if you would like to check
it out?"
"Okay," Again the awkward silence prevailed. "Well, I need to go to sickbay
and check on Shinta." She walked to the door, waiting for him to follow.
He followed and said,"Good luck with that then and I'll see you soon." He
stepped out the door and said,"Bye."
"Bye Eric," She kissed his cheek softly and strode away, glad for the escape.
Eric walked off sad feeling like a conversation between them would always be
a distanced one.
"Of All The Places In The Galaxy..."
A Prequel to "A New Home Away From Home"
By Ensign James Lionel Corgan Ensign Electra Reece
Operations Officer
"An Old Adversary"
by Lt. Ragnald Gustavson, helmsman
Helmsman, USS Galaxy "Observations"
by Lt Cmdr Surok "Past Nightmares"
By Rayna and Mike O'Grady
with Nikki O'Grady, NPC "'Cold Memories"
=/\= Ensign Rebecca von Ernst "A Ne-Moon 2"
by Commander Thomas
USS Galaxy "The New Home Away From Home"
By Ensign James Lionel Corgan and Lieutenant Junior
Grade Brightspot to Shrellansre "Departure."
By Lieutenant Commander 'Evin Genestra
And Ensign Peter Lockhart Preparing the party
by Ragnald Gustavson, helmsman "Content"
By Lieutenant Commander Michael Jamson, Tactical Ops
USS Galaxy "New Friends"
A Joint Post by:
Lt.jg Kahn Nilani, Engineering Officer
AND
Ensign Electra Reece, Operations Officer "Lounge-Chat"
Engineering
Tactical "Reports,Rest, and Excitement."
By
Lt.Bruce Maxwell
Chief Helmsman
To:Captain Price
Regards: Report on Away team Mission
From: Lt.Bruce Maxwell
Lt. Bruce MaxWell
Lt.Jg. Anika Crowe
Ensign Roshaun Dabek
Later to join main party:
Lt.Jg:Michala Lynn
Chief Helmsman
****************************
By Lt Rose Isis MacAllen, Science Officer "A Grand View"
By Lieutenant Savat
Chief Security Officer, USS Galaxy
AKA
David Friedland
ICQ# 5805168 "Battle of Corridor B" "Recognition"
By Lieutenant Rose Isis MacAllen, Science Officer,
and Captain Price "Freedom of the Press."
With Ensign Raven Darkstar, and introducing special guest NPC Leo Streely
Location: Brig, USS Galaxy "The Dating Game"
By Ensign Peter Lockhart "Past nightmares part 2"
. Lt Mike O'Grady
Lt Rayna O'Grady "Future Changes"
by Commander Thomas
& Captain Price
USS Galaxy "Past nightmares part 3"
Lt Mike O'Grady
Lt Rayna O'Grady "Healing begins....."
Lt Mike O'Grady
Lt Rayna O'Grady "Departmental Meeting."
By Lieutenant Timothy Richeson
And Ensign Rebecca von Ernst
And Ensign Bosco
And Ensign Peter Lockhart "Everyone's a Critic"
by Lt. Commander T'Zaq "The new guy."
By Lt. Commander Kent Peterson & Commander Chris Thomas
Contributions by Captain Lee Price & Lt. Commander Surok
by Ensign Drake Tarsonis, Helmsman, USS Galaxy
with Captain Price “Unexpected Communications”
By Ensign James Lionel Corgan
Security Officer: USS Galaxy