Jake's got a temper, that's for certain. His ego and his anger are getting the better of him, but things like that can happen when you find yourself responsible for the deaths of over 6,000 people, no matter how many others you may have saved in the process. His actions in Deanna's office were inexcusable, but fortunately he's got friends who know when to come knocking (and have the good sense to bring beer and pizza). This was a great look into the workings of a very talented but very troubled man. Nicely done.
The next day, Deanna Troi was coming out of her office at the end of the day and as she turned around after punching in the door lock keycode, she saw Jake Janeway sitting on the bench outside, smiling sheepishly. “What do you want, Jake?” she sighed as she approached him. “I just wanted to apologize... I ordered your new table, but it might take a while, they build it by hand,” said Jake with the sheepish smile still on his face. “A new table, while hand-built, isn't going to keep me from reporting what happened yesterday to your superiors, you know,” Deanna replied, obviously exasperated from the past two days of counseling. “Well, that's what I came to talk to you about,” Jake said, the grin disappearing from his face, “Look, I have a proposal, if you're willing to listen...” “What is it, Jake? I am due home in an hour, so talk fast, and as we walk,” Deanna replied with a sigh. She and Jake began walking toward San Francisco's starshuttle terminal. “Alright, here it is...” Jake began...
Hmm. I wonder if this is a genuine gesture on Jake's part, or a bid to keep his ass out of hot water with the admiralty? I don't know him well enough yet to make a decision... guess I'll have to wait and see.
For those of you who have been following the story thus far, I will have a new scene posted by tomorrow. Hopefully, you've been enjoying the story and you've been kind enough to give your opinion.
Chapter 3: Desperate Times... The USS King Arthur, an Excalibur Class Deterrence Dreadnought, one of Starfleet's fastest ships, cruised through the Polenae system of the Andromeda galaxy. Slowly passing the Polenae system's second planet, , the Arthur was a majestic sight, powerful yet sleek. However, in front of the powerful battleship was a crimson hued vortex, almost like a whirlpool. On the bridge of the King Arthur, Captain Jeremiah David stood behind the station of his chief science officer, leaning over to see the readouts at the station. My God, what is this thing? “Any results on the vortex, Doctor?” asked David with a grim expression on his face. “It is of unknown origin, but it appears to be a tunnel through subspace, similar to a wormhole but altogether different somehow...” replied Dr. Alvan, the ship's resident subspace physics expert. Captain David sat in the command chair and considered the situation. Should I report this to Command? Should we deal with this ourselves? “We're out of our depth here.... Report the situation to Command, submit all sensor data as well,” the captain ordered as he stood, “I'll be in the ready room; alert me if there are any changes.” “Sir, we've got twenty craft of unknown origin coming out of the vortex! Approximately ten meters in length, they appear to be equipped with disruptors and another type of energy weapon,” shouted the tactical officer. Captain David sat back down and pondered the situation for a moment. “Go to yellow alert, raise shield, deploy defense drones, and activate armor. Plot the bandits course as well,” David commanded. “All defensive systems active,” reported the tactical officer, “The unknown craft are on a collision course!” “Arm weapons, send message on all frequencies, 'Disengage or we will open fire.',” replied the captain with a frown. “Message from the ships, text only, 'Do....',” replied the communications officer, suddenly shocked. “What is it, Skova?” David snapped. “They say 'Do your worst, Starfleet of the Federation',” replied Skova, still in shock. Captain David settled into his chair and ordered, “All hands to battle stations, prepare to engage.”
Oh, geez, it appears Captain David and his crew are in for a worst-case-scenario kind of First Contact. Here’s hoping the King Arthur is as sturdy a ship as she sounds…
Commander Janeway was standing on the mat doing tai chi chuan when his class came in. The class of 15 marines cadets came in and sat as Jake stopped. The students looked up at Jake expectantly. Alright, here goes nothing... “Welcome to Advanced SAMCMAP training. You have qualified for this by mastering the standard Starfleet and Marine Corps Martial Arts Program and requesting Force Recon placements after you graduate. Now, the first class I do, we spar to see what your level of training. Now, everybody pick a part...,” Jake suddenly stopped when a cadet's hand popped up, “Yes, Cadet... Mason, is it?” “Yes, sir, Cadet 4th Class Olivia Mason. To be frank, we've all heard about you and your career as a Marine Corps fighter. One of our number would like to take you on in a full contact fight,” she replied with a smile. “Alright, well, who will I be facing then?”Jake asked as he stood up. “Me,” replied the woman as the smile disappeared, “I'm an MMA fighter. I'm 25-7 so far, with 16 knockouts and 9 submissions.” “Well, let's go.” Janeway replied, activating his comm, “Send a message to Dr. Weber at Medical, Captain Chakotay at Tactical Command, and Ambassador Tuvok at Vulcan Science Academy, tell them 'I've got a match today.'” “Wait, right now?!” she replied, shocked, as Janeway looked over and grinned.
I'm thinking the young lady is about to get her proverbial clock cleaned. Never pick a fight with your hand-to-hand combat instructor. Never.
Dr. Jack Weber stood outside the octagon at the Academy's athletic center waiting for his patient. Out came Jake Janeway from the locker room looking poised and ready for his opponent. “What the hell are you thinking? A student picks a fight with you and you decide to agree?! Are you trying to get thrown out of Starfleet?” asked Weber. Jake simply smiled and looked at Tuvok with the grin, “What? Do you think I have a shot?” “I think the odds are significantly in your favor, but I do not understand the point of this exercise,” replied Tuvok, “I completely fail to understand the logic of this demonstration.” Chakotay nodded his head in agreement. Chakotay stood up from his seat and looked over Janeway, “This does seem kind of frivolous Jake. You are making example of the student for what reason exactly?” Janeway stood up after putting on his gloves and said “This student challenged me in my class and I am her superior officer. I've learned that challenging your superior officer without cause can be a whole lot of trouble. So this is a lesson one in both combat and etiquette.” Weber looked over and just sighed, “You better know what you're doing Jake, because if not you're going to get your ass kicked. Either literally or figuratively, take your pick.” Jake walked into the octagon and activated his corner's force field. Janeway stood inside the octagon waiting for his opponent to emerge from her locker room. She's going to definitely regret this. Olivia Mason came out of the locker room looking fresh and with a stony look on her face. This should definitely be interesting. The referee walked into the ring as Olivia entered the octagon. Mason stood in a southpaw stance with her hands in the standard kickboxer's position. “You ready?” said the referee as he looked at Olivia. The referee turned and looked at Janeway, who nodded. The referee shouted, “Fight!” Mason charged at Janeway and threw a kick aimed for his head, which Janeway easily dodged. Trying a quick superman punch, Mason missed and bounced off the holographic fence. Janeway took advantage of it and took her down to the mat. Jumping back up, she fired several combinations, until Janeway took her down again. He sprang back up and threw quick kick to her head after she staggered to her feet. She blocked the kick and quickly countered with an overhand right. Parrying the blow, Janeway quickly shot for a takedown. She sprawled to avoid the takedown, but Janeway quickly stood up and fired a jab at her which connected at her temple, rocking her. Seeing how exhausted she was, Janeway came up and slammed her into the holographic fence. She threw several wild shots at Janeway, and Janeway parried all of them, grabbing her arm and locking in an standing arm lock. After several seconds, she shouted "Okay, enough!" Jake let go and she fell to the ground, cradling her right arm. "What the hell was that?" she asked with an angry look on her face. “What are you referring to?” replied Janeway with a smile. Masons stood up and glared at him. Janeway just laughed. "Debrief is in an hour, after you get your arm checked out by Dr. Weber there," Janeway said as he walked out of the octagon, "Debrief for all of you is one hour." The students looked at each other worriedly as Janeway and his corner men left without a word.
We need some fighter-based stories as it just doesn't seem altogether feasible/plausible that the Federation/Starfleet wouldn't have some Valkyries stashed away for just such an emergency. I hope you plan to submit your stories to AdAstra or elsewhere, too.