SUNDOWN - Reposts

[Admiral2]

(reintroducing the Sundown crew...)

GOOD ORDER AND DISCIPLINE
by Darrin Colbourne


1935 HOURS
FEDERATION STARSHIP SUNDOWN
TRANSITING THE NIKOMI STAR SYSTEM


“And that’s that,” Doctor Sandra Langkowski said as she put her PADD on standby. “You have an almost perfectly healthy and therefore utterly boring crew.”

Captain Dian Phua smiled as she used her own PADD to skim through the Crew Fitness Report that Dr. Langkowski had just summarized. “I’m so terribly sorry none of us has contracted a new infectious disease for you to pick apart, Doctor.”

Sandra blew an errant strand of dirty blond hair out of her face and sat back in her chair. “Honestly,” she muttered, “it’s like you people aren’t even trying.”

Dian chuckled as she used the computer on her desk to check the ship’s progress. The doctor and the captain were in the ready room of the Federation Starship [/i]Sundown[/i], a Nova-class starship currently surveying the major bodies of the Nikomi star system, one of several systems near the region of the Galactic Barrier. As she made sure Sundown was on course and speed for the system’s largest gas giant, Dian quipped, “Where exactly is it written that we’re supposed to risk disease and death just to keep our Chief Medical Officer entertained?”

Sandra grinned and waved her PADD at Dian. “Right here, in a file marked ‘Things my good friend Dian owes me for taking this assignment.’ It’s number four on the list.”

Dian chuckled again, then a moment later she looked at Sandra with a raised eyebrow. She turned her attention back to her PADD and tried to call up the file. She was shocked when it came up, and even more shocked as she opened it and scrolled down the list. She turned back to Sandra, incredulous. “Seriously?!”

Sandra shook her finger at Dian’s PADD nonchalantly. “Number seven’s a deal breaker. I don’t get that, I put in for a transfer.”

Dian rested the PADD on the desk. “And where do you expect me to get an Orion slave-boy?”

Sandra dismissed the question with a wave. “You’re resourceful. I’m sure you can handle it. You’ve got plenty of time. The posting I really want has no openings right now.”

“I appreciate your patience in the matter,” Dian deadpanned. Sandra grinned wickedly as the captain turned back to the desk computer. After a minute or two an inquisitive look came over her striking Asian features. “That’s odd,” she muttered. She was looking at hourly status reports scrolling down the left side of the computer display. “The Operations Officer sent an electronic inquiry to the Engineering Section about an hour ago. The personnel airlock cycled open and closed, but there was no EVA scheduled.”

“Did it malfunction?” Sandra asked.

“Doesn’t say. The Engineer on watch was about to send someone to check it, but he was countermanded by…” She suddenly straightened up and tapped her commbadge. “Commander Alenn, please report to my ready room.”

“Uh-oh,” Sandra muttered. This was likely to be very entertaining.

It didn’t take long at all. Lieutenant Commander Alenn, First Officer and Science Officer, had been on the bridge when Dian summoned her. She walked straight into the room with the regal bearing that was a hallmark of her former royal status, a status emphasized by the long, meticulously styled braids she always wore her jet black hair in and the jeweled tiara that contrasted severely with her otherwise standard Starfleet uniform. She strode to within a few inches of the desk and stood at ease. “You called for me, Captain?”

Dian took a moment to study Alenn’s dark features. The commander was also Dian’s friend, but she was often unreadable. Right now, Dian was almost sure Alenn was hiding something, but her look and body language gave little away.

Then again, Dian didn’t need those things. She folded her hands on the desk and smiled at Alenn. “Alenn, about an hour ago the personnel airlock cycled open and closed for no discernible reason. The engineer tried to send someone to find out what happened, but you called him off. Why?”

Alenn smiled back and said, “Because the airlock is functioning properly. There was no need for the engineer.”

It seemed that Alenn didn’t feel the need to elaborate, so Dian prompted her further. “Which would mean someone had to open and close the lock, either remotely or from the door controls.”

Alenn’s smile didn’t waver. “Of course it would.”

“Alenn, did you open the airlock?”

“I did.”

“Were planning to tell me why you opened the airlock?”

“I was not. It was nothing to concern yourself with.”

Dian and Sandra glanced at each other, then Dian said to Alenn, “What exactly does that mean?”

“It was a matter of good order and discipline. It is my duty to handle such matters so that you are not bothered by them.”

“Were you inspecting the airlock?”

“I was not.”

“Then what were you doing?”

“I was teaching Ensign Leadbottom an object lesson.”

Dian and Sandra traded looks again, then Dian indicated the other empty chair in the ready room. “Have a seat,” she said. Alenn sat down and made herself comfortable, but kept her back straight.

“Now, this is the wayward ensign you were telling me about, yes?”

“Yes, it is. Ensign Leadbottom has been consistently late for his duty shifts, out of uniform and slovenly. He has repeatedly disobeyed my orders to refrain from bringing food onto the bridge and he has been a distraction to his fellow officers. He daydreams at his post, his reports are written in the manner of sweets-addled elementary school children and he will soon have to start wearing uniforms made for Tellarites if he does not lose weight.”

“I understand all that, but you assured me that you’d find a way to bring him in line.”

“Well, Captain, you said you wished avoid discharging him or stripping him of his rank.”

“He does have some good qualities. I just don’t want the bad ones to deprive me of a good officer.”

“Of course, but taking that tack deprives me of the best object lessons a wayward officer may be taught.”

“And you came up with a new one…that involves an airlock…”

“Yes, Captain.”

There was silence in the room again. When Dian couldn’t stand it anymore, she asked, “Are you going to make me wait for it?”

“Shall I begin with his latest infraction?”

“If you must…”

1821 HOURS

Alenn was in the center seat when she heard the turbolift doors open and close. She was looking at a PADD, but didn’t need to turn around to know it was Ensign Leadbottom trying to sneak over to his station late again. She’d decided to ignore him for the moment, intent on dealing with him at the end of shift.

Unfortunately, she’d had to scrap that plan after she’d heard a whispered conversation behind her. “Where the hell have you been?” A female voice hissed. There was a strange noise, like a garbled shh-ing sound. “I will not shut up!” The female hissed again. “I’m supposed to be on my meal break right now! It’s not like you’ve ever missed…!” More garbled shh-ing, then the female voice said clearly, “Disgusting!”

This made everyone on the bridge turn and look. Alenn stood and turned to find Ensigns Miora Vin and Stanley Leadbottom standing by the Communications console. Vin was alternately glaring at Leadbottom and at her tunic. Meanwhile, Leadbottom had turned to look at Alenn with wide, frightened eyes.

It was obvious what had happened. Alenn saw that Leadbottom was holding a partially eaten sandwich in his right hand. It was dripping a gooey white substance – what did the Earthlings call it? Mayonnaise? – on the floor. A blob of it had also found it’s way onto Ensign Vin’s tunic, most likely during Leadbottom’s second attempt to silence her with a half full mouth. Stupidly, he tried to stave Alenn off with that same mouth. “Ah can eshplain…”

Alenn held up a hand to silence him. She approached the station and looked down at the sandwich, then looked Leadbottom in the eye as she pointed to the disposal hatch. Forlornly, Leadbottom nodded and went to incinerate his meal.

When he was gone, Alenn turned to Vin. She’d heard stories that the Trill’s spots darkened whenever she was really upset. Alenn compared the color of the ones on Vin’s neck to the last time she’d seen them. They were so dark she assumed even the Vin symbiote was enraged.

“You’re relieved,” Alenn said quietly. “Go change your tunic and have your meal.”

“Aye, Commander,” Vin said through her teeth. She spared one final, hateful glance at Leadbottom before getting on the turbolift.

Alenn gestured to the officer at the Science station. “Take over here,” she told him, and get someone up here to clean up.” When he acknowledged, her gaze fell back on Leadbottom. He’d swallowed the food in his mouth and wiped his hand on his partly open tunic, leaving a stain.

The First Officer’s eyes narrowed, and she fairly growled at him, “Follow me.” She didn’t wait for a response. She just turned and went to the lift. Leadbottom was a step behind her, wondering if she were going to throw him in the brig or something.



The reality turned out to be far more frightening. “YOU WORTHLESS, MINDLESS, LAZY, SLOVENLY SON OF A WHORE!!!” Alenn screamed in his face. She had him pinned against the inner door of the personnel airlock. Leadbottom hadn’t realized how strong she was. “YOU DISGRACE YOUR FAMILY, YOUR TRIBE, YOUR RACE AND YOUR WORLD!” She continued. “YOU DISHONOR YOUR UNIFORM AND ALL WHO CALL THEMSELVES YOUR FELLOW OFFICERS, AND YOU ARE MOST FORTUNATE THAT WE ARE NOT ON MY WORLD WITH MY PEOPLE – A WARRIOR PEOPLE – FOR I WOULD BE WELL WITHIN MY RIGHTS – NAY, I WOULD BE OBLIGATED – TO CUT OFF YOUR ARMS AND BLIND YOUR EYES AND FORCE FEED YOU ASH AND OFFAL AS A LESSON TO THE NEXT TEN GENERATIONS OF WARRIORS ON THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID FOR GROSS INCOMPETENCE!”

“But, I just...” Leadbottom managed to blurt out.

Alenn ignored him. “But we are not on my world and I may not do these things, for we are Starfleet officers, and as a Starfleet officer I am obligated to mentor and inspire you to reach your full potential. Very well” – suddenly a feral grin stretched across her face – “I shall inspire you to orderliness!” In one motion she slammed her hand on the airlock control, opening the door so that she could shove Leadbottom in with her other hand. She had the door shut before he could fully react, and she grinned maniacally at the look of sheer terror on his face.

“I’M GOING TO SHOW YOU THE ULTIMATE EXAMPLE OF ORDER!” Alenn screamed through the little window in the door. “I’M GOING TO SHOW YOU…THE ORDER OF THE HEAVENS!” She could see him screaming, but couldn’t hear him. It made her laugh as she slammed her hand down on the outer door control. She laughed harder as Leadbottom’s arms flailed in the second it took for him to be blown out the door.

Alone in the EVA section now, she calmed down, and her maniacal grin devolved into a self-satisfied one as she left the space. In the corridor, her commbadge chirped. “Bridge to Commander Alenn,” a voice said.

She tapped the badge. “Alenn here. Go ahead.”

“Commander, it looks like the personnel airlock just went through a cycle, but there are no EVAs scheduled until we reach Nikomi 7. I contacted Engineering and the watch engineer said he’d send…”

“Belay that,” Alenn said. “Contact the engineer and tell him I was just at the airlock. It’s working fine.”


1941 HOURS

“…and that’s essentially what happened,” Alenn concluded.

“I see…” was all Dian could think of to say. She looked stunned.

Sandra looked horrified. “You threw Leadbottom out of an airlock for eating a sandwich on the bridge?!” She screamed.

“I wanted to give him an uncompromised view of a truly pristine environment to give him something to aspire to,” Alenn said as she examined her nails.

“Yeah, it’s pristine all right,” Sandra said, “there’s no clutter and no litter…oh, and by the way, there’s also no air!”

“But there is radiation, and there are micrometeorites, and gases and planets and stars, all kept in their proper order by gravity,” Alenn said. “A true inspiration for the disorganized among us.”

“You have to live through a learning experience for it to have any meaning! Did that occur to you at all?! Did you take one second to think of the consequences of your actions?”

“Of course I did, Doctor, which is why I ordered him to put on an EVA suit before I tossed him overboard. Didn’t I mention that?”

Sandra was taken aback. “Wait…you what…?”

“There would have been no value in the lesson if I had succumbed to the violent impulses you are so fond of pointing out that I have, so I made sure he would live to apply the lesson he’s learning at this moment.”

“Oh,” Sandra said. “Oh, man…” She started chuckling. “You had me going for a minute. I was ready to testify at your court martial…”

“Doctor…” Dian said. She still looked stunned.

“I mean, I thought you actually…wait, didn’t I permanently excuse Leadbottom from EVA duty?”

Dian nodded. “Yes, because he suffers from moderate claustrophobia. He can’t stand being in an enclosed space for more than a few minutes.”

Sandra was horrified again. “ALENN!”

Alenn grinned. “Well…I couldn’t keep all my meaner impulses in check.”

“He’s been trapped in an EVA suit for an hour?!”

“Well, it is not completely enclosed! He can look out the visor and see all the space he wants.”

“That isn’t funny!”

“Alenn,” Dian said, “Why hasn’t he tried calling the ship?”

Alenn thought about it. “I believe I might have disabled the communication system in the suit…”

“Well, do you think he’s still within commbadge range?” Sandra said.

“He would be,” Alenn said. Then she reached under her tunic and pulled out a commbadge to show them. They presumed it was Leadbottom’s.

“Dian, do something!” Sandra said, nearing panic.

Dian sat back in her chair and closed her eyes, took a breath, centered herself, and when she spoke again, it was in the overly patient tone of voice both Sandra and Alenn knew meant her patience had actually run out. “Commander, now that you’ve had your fun, I would appreciate it if you would return my officer to the ship, immediately.”

Alenn pouted as if she had been told to give up her tiara. “Aye, Captain.” She started to get up.

Dian held up a hand. “It’s not that I don’t trust you…well, actually, I don’t, so I want you to stay right in that chair so I can watch you give the necessary orders.”

Alenn looked hurt, but she settled back into the chair dutifully. Before she could do anything else, Sandra said, “Are you sure you can find him? You just threw him out into space, after all!”

Alenn glared at her. “Don’t insult my intelligence, Doctor.” She tapped her commbadge. “Alenn to McCann.”

“McCann here,” a male voice sounded. Lt. McCann currently had the conn.

“Modify the port lateral sensors to pick up small targets at close range. You should find Ensign Leadbottom conducting an EVA at 233 mark 1 at approximately 7,429 meters distance.”

“Hold on, Commander,” McCann said. A moment later: “Found him. He’s right where you said he was, and receding. Um…guess there was an unscheduled EVA after all…”

“Yes, there was.”

“Odd that he wasn’t tethered or…”

“Lieutenant, further commentary is unnecessary. Simply lock onto him and beam him directly to the Captain’s Ready Room.”

“Yes, Ma’am. He’ll be right there.” There was silence for the next few minutes, then a transporter effect materialized in front of Dian’s desk, leaving a man in a micrometeorite impact-scarred EVA suit standing there when it faded. The man was screaming, but his words were muffled by the visor. Dian reached over the desk and opened the visor from the outside.

“…MEEEEEEEE!” Stanley Leadbottom was screaming. “HEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLP MEEEEEE! HEEEEEELLLLLLP MMM…!” Dian rapped him on the nose hard with her knuckles. He stopped screaming and focused on her as he tried to hold his nose with his gloved hands.

She shrugged. “I couldn’t slap you with that helmet on you. Feeling better now?”

Leadbottom broke into tears. “Oh, thank you, Captain! Thank you! I could see the ship, but it was getting farther away and I didn’t have a communicator, and…” He gasped and his eyes went wide. “Captain! You’ve gotta do something! It’s Commander Alenn! She’s gone crazy!” He turned to point out the door. “I was just coming on shift and…GAAHHH!” The sight of Alenn sitting nearby made him fall back against the desk.

Sandra stood up and came over, taking a medical tricorder out of her lab coat pocket. “Relax, Stanley, she can’t hurt you now.” She started scanning. “Let’s see…elevated heart rate and adrenaline, not surprising…no other physical…wait…oh. I guess you had an accident in the suit, huh?”

Leadbottom’s face turned from pale to beet red. “That…happened just now…” he said sheepishly.

Sandra smiled and nodded sagely. “Well, why don’t you go down to Sick Bay and we’ll get you out of that thing and get you cleaned up, okay?”

Leadbottom hesitated. He turned to look at the Captain.

“Before you go,” Dian said, “I offer you two pieces of advice. The first is that you should spend your recovery time contemplating what led to your traumatic experience today. The second is that you should keep in mind that I cannot watch Commander Alenn every second of every day and that you may have seen the last of her mercy in that she let you put a suit on first.”

This made his head snap around to look at Alenn. She was staring at him with a devilish smirk on her face. He kept looking at her as he said, “Th-that’s very good advice, Captain, thank you. I think I’ve learned a whole lot today and I believe…no, no, I’m sure I’ll be a better officer from this day forward. Yeah. Absolutely.”

“Go on to Sick Bay,” Dian said.

“I’ll be down in a few minutes,” Sandra said.

Leadbottom nodded to each of them in turn and walked gingerly to the Ready Room door, being sure to give Alenn’s chair a wide birth. Alenn chuckled at the sight.

With the ensign gone, Dian beckoned Alenn with her finger. The Commander stood and came over to the desk. Dian crossed her arms and began. “First, there will be no more unscheduled EVAs for any reason.”

Alenn nodded. “Aye, Captain.”

“Second, if at any time you feel the need to conduct another of these ‘object lessons’ you will propose it to me first for my approval.”

“Aye, Captain.”

“Third, these are standing orders, and I will note such in the letter of reprimand I’m adding to your file.”

Alenn sighed. “Aye, Captain.” Another letter of reprimand? She thought. Very well. It will be company for the other two.

“Commander, I’m being lenient because I’m partially to blame for tying your hands in this particular case. Do not mistake this as blanket approval for extreme methods.”

“Understood, Captain.”

“You may return to your post.”

“Aye, Captain.” Alenn turned sharply and walked out of the Ready Room.

When the door closed behind her, Dian sat back down and put her head on her desk and just moaned.

Sandra huffed. “You were wrong. You’re totally to blame for picking a former Dolman of Elas to be your First Officer. That whole bloodline is nuts."

“I thought she got all of that out of her system back when we were stationed on Hybernia,” Dian whined.

“Did she actually crucify a guy?”

“I never should have explained the concept to her.”

FINI

 

[Admiral2]

LOVE
by DARRIN COLBOURNE

0917 HOURS
FEDERATION STARSHIP SUNDOWN
STUDYING THE GALACTIC BARRIER


“I’ll bet I know why you’re here,” Doctor Sandra Langkowski said as she settled into her desk chair, “and I don’t know what I can do to help you.”

Ensign Norma Schuller, Sundown’s fledgling Ship’s Counselor, had come to Sick Bay to bend the CMO’s ear yet again about a problem she’d been having since she transferred aboard. Now, settled in a chair across the desk, she hit Langkowski with a pleading look. “But something has to be done, Doctor. Regulations clearly state that a Preliminary Psychological evaluation must be on file for every member of the crew.”

Langkowski nodded sagely. “Yes, yes, I’m well aware of that regulation, including the part that says the Ship’s Counselor and any of his or her subordinates are solely responsible for gathering the information required to make those evaluations.”

Schuller groaned. “I can’t complete a proper evaluation if a subject refuses to sit and talk with me!”

Langkowski smiled. “Well dear, as I am neither the Counselor nor your subordinate, I am pleased to say that that is entirely your problem.”

“You’re not the Counselor, but you are her friend, aren’t you?”

Now the doctor laughed. “You think much too highly of our relationship. At best we’re...let’s see...what did my daughter say they called it in the old days?” She snapped her fingers. “Frenemies!”

Schuller looked utterly confused. “What?

“My point, Counselor, is that her only true friend aboard this ship is the Captain.”

Schuller slumped in her chair. “Of course. That would be the only way she could be First Officer for two years without having an evaluation filed.”

“Exactly. You aren’t our first Counselor, nor are you the first to raise this particular complaint.”

“Then do you think the Captain could get her to sit down with me?”

“It’s unlikely. The Captain and First Officer are very loyal to each other, and Dian knows how Alenn feels about Counselors. Your pleas will probably just fall on deaf ears.”

Schuller sighed and straightened up, put her palms to her face, then brushed back her long black hair. “This is impossible. Without an interview I’ll have to base my evaluation on second-hand information. Records like that are almost never completely accurate and could be detrimental to Commander Alenn’s career.”

“I wouldn’t worry about Alenn’s career. Believe me, Alenn will have a job wherever Dian goes.”

Schuller threw up her hands in exasperation. “But that just puts Captain Phua’s career at risk! Doesn’t she care?”

Langkowski shrugged. “Neither of them care. That’s how close they are.”

And it’s probably why they’re on a Nova-class studying the Barrier of all things, Schuller thought, then she asked, “And you’re sure you can’t do anything to help me?”

Now Langkowski sighed, then she leaned forward and clasped her hands on her desk. “Sweetheart,” she said, slightly peeved, “did I not just tell you that you weren’t the first to lodge this complaint? Do you have any idea how many times I’ve tried to convince the Captain that her dear friend needs to have her head examined? I lost count last year.” She leaned back and took the edge off her voice. “I won’t make it an order, Counselor, but I will offer this advice: Let this one go. Draft the best evaluation you can without her input and file it.”

Schuller was frowning. “Yes, Doctor.”

“Can I help you with anything else?”

Schuller stood. “No, Doctor. Thank you for listening.” Dejected, the ensign turned briskly and walked out of Sick Bay.

Doctor Langkowski watched her go, knowing immediately that she’d be incapable of giving it up. The young idealists never did. Then again, not every young idealist had to face Hurricane Alenn.

“I’ll have your remains sent home,” she whispered to Schuller’s back.


0920 HOURS


In the Captain’s Ready Room, Captain Dian Phua and Lieutenant Commander Alenn sat in the guest chairs opposite Dian’s desk. Dian handed back the PADD Alenn had given her. “I’m terribly sorry...” She said to her friend.

“Thank you...” Alenn said. Her voice was weak and unsure, nothing at all like what Dian was used to hearing. Though her face was a mask, Alenn had to be suffering terribly.

“Of course you can take as much time as you need,” Dian said.

At first Alenn said nothing. She sat with her head slightly bowed as if she hadn’t heard. Then: “Three days. I just need three days.”

“Are you sure? You can borrow a shuttle and go anywhere you’d like...”

Alenn looked at her friend and smiled. “I just need to be alone and undisturbed. My quarters will be fine, and I’m sure I’ll be ready to resume my duties after three days.”

Dian smiled back. “All right. You’re relieved as of right now. Lt. McCann will take over your responsibilities until you let me know you’re ready to return to duty.

They both stood, then they hugged closely, resting their heads on each others’ shoulder. “And if you need anything at all,” Dian said, “you will tell me, won’t you?”

“Of course,” Alenn said, “I promise, but now I just need a little time.”

They broke apart and Alenn offered a final, weak smile before walking out of the Ready Room. Dian watched her until the door closed behind her. She could only guess how hard it had been for Alenn to avoid crying. With that in mind, she tapped her commbadge. “Phua to McCann.”

“McCann here,” the Lieutenant’s voice answered.

“Report to my Ready Room. I need you to take over for Commander Alenn for a few days, and there are some things we need to discuss...”


1647 HOURS


Of course, Schuller couldn’t let it go. It bothered her all day as she met with crew members for counseling sessions, went over contact reports and perused her predecessor’s case files. She didn’t want to think Alenn was a potential danger to the crew, but what else could she think without talking to the woman? It would be the only way to see for herself what kind of mental state Alenn was in.

And it should’ve happened ages ago! She thought. As soon as Alenn first stepped off the transporter pad, she should have met with the counselor back then! That’s the way it was supposed to work!

But not in this case, as Doctor Langkowski had said, so now Schuller was left with a big black hole in her overall crew evaluation where the First Officer’s information should have been. That grated on her...which made her question her own mental state.

She had to make Alenn see reason. She tapped her commbadge. “Schuller to Commander Alenn.” No response. She tried again. “Schuller to Commander Alenn.” Still no response. She looked up. “Computer, locate Commander Alenn.”

The computer beeped, then responded, “Commander Alenn is in her quarters.”

“Then why isn’t she answering my hails?”

“Her commbadge is in ‘Gatekeeper’ mode.”

Schuller frowned. That meant her hails were being noted and Alenn would be notified of them when her ‘badge was set to ‘Active’...whenever that would be. “Fine. Route the hails through the Ship’s speakers.”

The computer beeped. “Unable to comply: The speakers in Commander Alenn’s quarters have been disengaged.”

“On whose authorization?”

“Captain Dian Phua.”

Schuller covered her face with her palms. She remained that way for a minute contemplating her existence before she tried her commbadge again. “Ensign Schuller to Captain Phua.”

This time there was an immediate response. “Phua here. What can I do for you, Ensign?”

“Captain, do you have a few minutes to see me? It’s very important.”

A pause, then: “I’m in Stellar Cartography. Meet me there.”

“On my way. Schuller out.” One more tap closed the connection. Schuller was already walking out of her quarters.




In Stellar Cartography she found the Captain sitting on the viewing platform and scrolling through the stars of the space nearby. She stopped at a cluster approximately two hundred light-years from the Barrier, tapped some controls on the platform, then lowered the platform to the deck. Schuller walked over as Dian made some notations in a PADD. By the time she was done Schuller was standing nearby, so Phua looked up and smiled at the ensign. “I’ll bet I know why you’re here...”

Schuller sighed. “If everybody knows my problem, why won’t anybody help me?”

“Actually, Ensign, I have decided to help you. I’m going to do my best to convince Commander Alenn to start seeing you on a regular basis.”

Schuller blinked. She’d been trying to find a way to convince the Captain to do exactly that. “Well...that’s great! It’s probably too late to see her today so if you could just get her to start tomorrow during session hours? I tried contacting her myself but the computer won’t put me through...”

Phua held up a hand to stop her. “With good reason. Alenn will be in isolation for the next few days.”

“Is she sick?”

“No.”

“Confined to quarters?”

“She hasn’t done anything, if that’s what’s worrying you.” The Captain sighed. “It’s actually the same reason I wanted her to start seeing you. Her father has died.”

“Oh, I see...” Schuller said, then she shook her head and said, “No wait...I don’t see. She lost one of her parents and you confined her to quarters?!” The look she got in response prompted her to add: “Ma’am?”

“Ensign, the isolation period was her idea,” Phua said, “and I understood her reasons for it, so I gave her leave and arranged for her not to be disturbed.”

“But, Captain, at some point after the death of a loved one every sentient being thinks he or she can work through the emotions without help, but in reality even Vulcans need to hear ‘I grieve with thee’ from other people. The loss of a parent is especially trying on a person’s psyche. This is a time when Commander Alenn should be surrounded by a support system of family and friends, not holed up in her quarters and shut away from the universe.”

“What makes you think the isolation isn’t just what Alenn needs?”

“Well, since she won’t talk to me I can only make guesses about her psychological state based on the things I’ve read and heard...and some of those things are disturbing.” She got a little closer and asked, “Did she really throw an officer out of an airlock?”

Phua didn’t flinch. “Ensign Leadbottom is doing fine. I’m sure he’s a credit to his new crew.” She hadn’t hesitated to approve his transfer when he put in for it two months prior.

“Right. Captain, it’s indicators like that that worry me. The personality type it suggests doesn’t hold up well in emotional isolation. I think we should...”

Phua stopped her with another raised hand. “I can see that I’ll have to speak plainly. I’ve heard your objections, and I understand them, but the decision is made. Alenn will have the isolation period she wants, no one will disturb her, and I will talk to her about seeing you after it is over. Am I clear, Ensign?”

Schuller sighed and stood back. “Aye, Captain.”

“Was there anything else?”

“No, Captain.”

“Then have a good evening.”

Schuller took the cue. She smiled, nodded and turned and left. Phua watched her leave, then she sighed herself before returning to her work.

 

[Admiral2]

LOVE (cont'd)

1332 HOURS
TWO DAYS LATER



Norma Schuller had made a decision several minutes ago. The force of conviction of that decision had been enough to propel her out of her quarters and all the way to the turbolift before she had her first bout of cold feet. It took a minute or two to make herself continue the mission, and the boost in conviction was enough to get her all the way to the door to Alenn’s quarters. That was where she stood.

It’s where she’d been standing for the past three minutes, feeling like an idiot.

Just do it! One inner voice, the Voice of Conviction, yelled at her. She needs your help!

The Captain will bust you for insubordination, another voice, that of Stone Cold Reason, countered, assuming you get that far. You’re much lighter than Leadbottom. Alenn would have no problem hauling you to the personnel airlock.

This unfortunate bit of indecision was the culmination of more than a day of thinking about what was going on behind this door and how she might alleviate the situation. She’d finally come up with a solution, and today, with a light work schedule, she’d decided to implement it. It wasn’t an elaborate solution, at least as far as getting into the quarters was concerned. All she needed to do was tell a lie. No, a half-truth really. It would get her in, and then she could see Alenn, and she could help Alenn. And maybe, after seeing her emotionally whole and healthy friend, the Captain might ignore the half-truth and the insubordination and not bust Schuller down to Crewman.

And maybe, just maybe, Alenn would be too well-adjusted to vent her into space.

Right, Stone Cold Reason said, and maybe the Earth really is a giant computer monitored by mice. Go back to your quarters and wait until it’s okay.

We can’t wait! Conviction shouted. It’s irresponsible!

In your eyes, but this is what Phua and Alenn want, and they don’t care what anyone else thinks about it. If you do this, there will be consequences. Maybe not to your life, but definitely to your career.

Something in Schuller’s head clicked, and Conviction said, Right...they don’t care about their careers, so why do you? What’s more important here?

The answer to that was obvious, and it helped her get back on mission. First, she would see what she was dealing with. She bent a little and looked at the display on the door control panel. It displayed the following:

SECURITY PROTOCOLS FULLY ENGAGED

It was fancy LCARS-speak for “Door locked.” Okay. Just to be thorough she tried the door chime. The computer beeped and the display showed:

VISITOR SIGNAL DISABLED

More fancy LCARS-speak for “No doorbell,” which meant - obviously - no guests. Okay. She’d done everything possible within boundaries.

Now it was time to cross a couple.

Ensign Norma Schuller looked up, cleared her throat and told her half-truth: “Computer, Medical Emergency. Disengage Security Protocols in Commander Alenn’s quarters, authorization Schuller One, Bravo-6-3-6-Echo-4.”

For a split-second she was worried that the Computer would refuse, but the fact was the Computer didn’t know the difference between the truth, a half-truth or an outright falsehood. All it knew was at that moment an emergency had been declared and it had been given a directive related to the emergency by a fully-authorized Life Sciences Officer...and no one had thought to tell it to ignore any of those things, so it complied.

Schuller started to breathe again when the control panel beeped and displayed a new message:

SECURITY PROTOCOLS DISENGAGED

Hard part’s over, Conviction said.

I can’t look, Reason whined.

Schuller touched a contact on the panel and the door slid open. It was dark in Alenn’s sitting room, with no light but starlight and what was coming in from the corridor. Schuller was tempted to call for the lights, but decided to work with what she had. She looked around when she caught the smell of old but not-rotten food. There were a few plates on the coffee table with half- or mostly-eaten survival rations on them. Alenn wasn’t replicating actual food to eat, and didn’t seem concerned about getting rid of her leavings.

Schuller walked into the room. Her first thought was to gather up the dishes and leftovers and take them to the replicator for disposal, but then she noticed Alenn’s uniform, tossed haphazardly on the sofa. Her commbadge was still attached. Seeing that, Schuller sniffed at the air again. This time there was a faint undercurrent of body odor, just enough to indicate Alenn hadn’t bathed this morning, and possibly not the previous day.

Not good, Conviction said. She’s giving herself over to grief.

Schuller gathered up the dishes. She was halfway to the replicator with them when a mournful wail shattered the silence in the quarters, followed by heavy, heartbreaking sobs. The sound was coming from the bedroom. It made Schuller hurry to complete her task. With the dishes gone, she approached the bedroom slowly and peeked in.

Alenn was kneeling on the floor by the still-made bed. If she’d slept on it at all, she hadn’t bothered to get under the covers (they were rumpled but still pulled up). She was in her underwear, and it was the first time Schuller had ever seen her without her tiara nestled in her long black braids. She was leaning on the edge of the bed and crying freely, with her head buried in her arms.

Conviction couldn’t stand to see her that way. Help her!

Schuller stepped inside the door and said softly, “Alenn...Commander Alenn...”

Alenn’s sobbing ended in a sharp gasp and her head shot up. There was shock on her tear-streaked face. “What are you doing here?” She rasped.

Schuller had stopped in her tracks. “I came to help,” she said. “You shouldn’t be alone at a time like this, so I...”

The look on Alenn’s face transformed to one of pure rage. She rose menacingly. “Get out!” She growled through her teeth.

Reason had a frightening vision of floating away from the ship as Schuller took a step backward. “Wait, Commander, you don’t understand! I just want to...”

Alenn started toward her with her fists clenched. “GET OUT!” Now it was a roar. “GET OUT, DAMN YOU!!”

Schuller retreated as quickly as she could without turning her back on Alenn. “Okay! Okay, I’m sorry! I’ll go, just please don’t...”

Alenn wasn’t listening. “GET OUT!!!” A final roar, accompanied by a fist swung in Schuller’s direction. It wasn’t close enough to connect, but Schuller held up her arms anyway. She managed to avoid tripping over anything as she backed all the way out of the quarters. In the corridor, she wondered idly if Alenn would let her put on a spacesuit first, but the First Officer stopped just inside the threshold, glared at Schuller for a moment, then closed the door.

Schuller closed her eyes and tried to slow her heartbeat. That didn’t go at all like I planned, Conviction said.

It went better than we deserve, Reason scolded. Now all we have to worry about is a court martial.

Schuller took a final calming breath and opened her eyes, then she turned and headed back to her quarters. She noticed that her cheek was wet when she got to the turbolift. She brushed the wetness with her fingertips. She hadn’t been crying. Alenn’s tears?

She wiped away the wetness with her hand and put it out of her mind. She had more important things to worry about.



1600 HOURS
TWO DAYS LATER


“I relieve you, sir,” McCann heard. He looked up from the PADD he was working on to see Alenn standing in front of the First Officer’s seat on the Bridge. She looked well-rested and immaculate, and as commanding a presence as he expected her to be.

He stood immediately and smiled at her. “I stand relieved. Welcome back, Commander.”

Alenn smiled back. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

He handed her the PADD. “I was just finishing up the watch report. There were a couple of maintenance issues with the main deflector. The Engineer’s got someone on them. The Cap’n’s been working in Stellar Cartography on the material flow rate aspects of the survey.”

“Oh, no. You didn’t let her start a science project without me, did you?”

McCann chuckled. “She said she would take the opportunity to have some fun without being chaperoned.”

Alenn smirked. “Well, have Security stand by. If she really gets into it I’ll need help dragging her off the observation platform.” Both officers chuckled, but Alenn was only half-joking. Phua had enjoyed being a Science Officer back when more than she liked being a Captain now, and she could get lost in things like this survey without a strong Number One to remind her of her responsibilities.

Well, I’m back now. “Anything else?”

“The Ops officer got a complaint about the distribution of Holodeck time. Nothing serious. It’s taken care of. Good to have you back, Commander.” With that he left the Bridge with the rest of the Afternoon watchstanders as the Evening Watch took over.

When everyone had settled in, Alenn sat down in the First Officer’s seat and got her bottom used to it again. It had only been a few days, but she found she had missed it. She smiled discreetly, then settled in and reviewed the details of McCann’s watch report. She was just getting into it when her commbadge emitted the Doctor’s voice. “Langkowski to Alenn.”

Alenn tapped her ‘badge. “Go ahead, Doctor.”

“Alenn, have you seen Ensign Schuller?”

Alenn huffed. “I’ve had this conversation with the Captain already, Doctor, and I will make an appointment with the Counselor once I’ve...”

“I don’t mean it that way, Alenn. I mean, do you know where she is?”

“Barring any changes to her schedule I would assume she’s finishing up her appointments for the day.”

“Shame on you for assuming. The fact is she canceled all her appointments for today, and seemed distracted during all her appointments yesterday...or so I’m told. And no one has seen her since dinner last night.”

“And has anyone bothered to check her quarters?”

“I’m standing in front of her door right now. She’s not answering.”

“Stand by, Doctor.” Alenn looked up. “Computer, locate Ensign Schuller.”

The computer beeped and responded, “Ensign Schuller is in her quarters.”

“The computer says she’s in there, Doctor.”

“Yes, that’s what the computer told me as well...yet here we are.”

Alenn scowled, but Langkowski had a point. “All right...computer, disregard the location of her commbadge and lock on to Ensign Schuller’s bio-signs.”

The computer searched again and said, “Ensign Schuller is on the Holodeck.”

Alenn blinked at that. What had McCann said? “Doctor, go to the Holodeck and wait for me there. I’ll be with you shortly. Alenn out.” She tapped her commbadge and got up and walked to the Operations station. “Check your logs,” she said to the Ops officer on-duty. “What was the nature of the Holodeck time dispute last watch?”




Dr. Langkowski was pacing in front of the Holodeck arch when Alenn walked up. “She’s been in here since 1200 hours,” Alenn said.

Langkowski’s eyebrows went up. “Who? Schuller?! What could she be doing in there for four hours?”

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Alenn muttered. She walked toward the hatch and found it wouldn’t open for her. “She reserved the deck for six hours.”

“Well that’s not possible...unless she’s having a party...”

“She is,” Alenn said as she examined the control panel on the arch. “It’s a welcome back party for me.”

Langkowski saw her face when she said that. “I guess ‘How nice of her’ would be an inappropriate thing to say?”

“It was merely what she told Lt. McCann to get him to approve the block of time,” Alenn said. She pressed some contacts. “He in turn informed the Ops officer on watch, who further passed the story along to someone who wanted to reserve the deck for 1700.”

“And you’re sure she’s not actually in there waiting to surprise you because...?”

“Because would you throw a surprise party for me and not invite the Captain? Dian is down in Stellar Cartography mooning over Barrier Gas emissions.” She touched a final contact and the Holodeck hatch opened to reveal...

...the door to Alenn’s quarters.

“Suspicious...” Langkowski muttered. Alenn tried to open the door, but couldn’t. Security Protocols had been engaged. Alenn entered her passcode, wondering if Schuller had been smart enough not to tell the computer to just copy the real door controls.

She hadn’t been. The door slid open, revealing a sitting room lit by candlelight and decorated with flowers.

“Incredible...” Langkowski breathed as they stepped inside. Along with the flowers, a buffet table was set up. “What kinds of food are these?” Langkowski asked. They smelled delicious, but she didn’t recognize them.

“They’re Elasian finger foods,” Alenn said. “The flowers are Elasian as well.” An Earth saying Dian had taught her, about “hackles” being raised on one’s neck, came back to her. Now she truly understood its meaning.

As they stepped further into the sitting room, the smells of the flowers and the foods engulfing them, they heard a faint moaning coming from the bedroom that seemed to increase in intensity by the second.

“Alenn,” Langkowski said, “that sounds like you. In pain or...”

Alenn was already moving. She took three strides to get to the bedroom door and stopped dead just inside. Langkowski was next to her a second later, and the Doctor gasped at the sight that greeted them.

There were two female figures on Alenn’s bed, one with light coffee skin, one with peaches-and-cream complexion. Both figures were nude, surrounded by haphazardly discarded bits of Starfleet uniforms and related undergarments. The dark figure was indeed Alenn, or at least a holographic copy of same, and she was indeed the one moaning, and obviously not from pain...unless the black-haired head trapped between Holo-Alenn’s thighs was engaged in rougher activity than its current position suggested.

Langkowski risked a sidelong glance at Alenn. The First Officer’s countenance was decidedly grim. “Now, Alenn...”

“Computer,” Alenn hissed, “Terminate and delete program! Authorization: Alenn, Alpha 444 Delta 4!”

The computer acknowledged with beeps just before Alenn’s quarters and everything in them disappeared, leaving only Ensign Schuller and her clothes laying on the deck. “NOOOO!” Schuller screamed as she levered herself up. “Bring her back! Computer! Bring her back!!”

“Unable to comply,” The computer said. “Program is deleted.”

“Prepare to...” Whatever command she was going to give was lost, because at that moment her big blue eyes locked on the real Alenn. “It’s you...” Schuller said, “...it’s really you. You’ve ended your isolation and found your way to me.”

Alenn and Langkowski traded quick glances. Schuller looked giddy at the sight of Alenn.

“I tried to wait,” Schuller said, “tried to be patient, but it had been so long since I’d seen you, and I missed you so much, I just had to find a way to be with you, so I came here. But I don’t need the holodeck anymore. You’re here, and now we can be together!” Schuller came at them at a trot with her arms outstretched, ready to wrap them around Alenn and never let go.

That made the impact of Alenn’s fist in her gut all the more jarring, and Schuller doubled over just a split-second before that same fist backhanded her against her right jaw, twisting her head around and sending her back to the floor unconscious.

Alenn stared down at her for a moment, then turned to Langkowski. “Doctor, we have a problem.”

Langkowski, totally deadpan, said, “Ya think?”

 

[Admiral2]

LOVE (concluded)

A few minutes later Schuller was wearing a surgical frock and sitting up on a bio-bed while Langkowski ran an instrument by her right cheek. “This will help, but your jaw will still need time to heal. Alenn did a real number on your face.”

“She’s so strong, isn’t she?” Schuller asked dreamily. “And yet she can seem so fragile when she wants to, so sad and vulnerable.”

“Right...Alenn said you broke into her quarters and found her crying. Did any of her tears get on your bare skin?”

Schuller gasped. “Her tears! It was heartbreaking to see them! Now I just want to go back in time so I can cradle her in my arms and kiss all of them away!”

“Yeah, okay...Did you kiss any of them when you were in her quarters?”

“Doctor, I’m fine! You don’t have to fuss over me. Just let me go so I can find Alenn and we’ll take care of each other.”

“Oh, that’s not gonna happen,” Langkowski muttered. It didn’t have to, because at that moment Alenn walked in with Captain Phua at her side.

Schuller lunged. “Alenn! Thank goodness you’re here! Tell Doctor Langkowski I’m fine!”

It took both Doctor Langkowski and the nurse assisting her - a big, burly, male Andorian - to keep Schuller on the bed. “Settle down, Ensign!” Langkowski said.

“No! Damn it, why won’t you let me go to Alenn?!”

“Because...” Langkowski thought fast, then said solemnly, “because the terrible ordeal Alenn has gone through has taken a toll on her body, and I invited her down here to rest and recuperate. You want Alenn to feel better, don’t you?”

This did the trick. Schuller settled down and said, “Of course. I always want her to be the strong, beautiful Alenn I love.”

Langkowski smiled. “Of course you do, so what you don’t want to do is get her all excited, right?”

Schuller shook her head emphatically. “I wouldn’t want to do anything to hurt her.”

“Good, that’s right.” Langkowski turned to Alenn and Phua. “Say, Alenn, why don’t you go over to that bed waaaay over there and sit down?”

Alenn scowled at her, but then she complied, heading over to a bio-bed at the far end of the Bay and sitting down. Captain Phua sat next to her. From there they watched as Langkowski finished treating Schuller’s injuries...and as Schuller kept her gaze locked on Alenn. Every now and again she smiled and waved.

“Your tears?” Phua asked.

“Undoubtedly,” Alenn sighed.

“I always assumed they wouldn’t work on women.”

“Elasian women are immune, naturally. I don’t think anyone has ever used the tears on a woman from another race. I’ve never heard of that, at least.”

“Congratulations. Scientific First.”

“Not the most auspicious discovery...”

“Alenn, why didn’t you tell me that Schuller broke into your room while you were mourning?”

“It’s your fault.”

“My fault?”

Alenn sighed. “For rubbing off on me. I didn’t want Schuller to get in serious trouble for being overzealous in her duties.”

Then Phua sighed. “Sure. Now you develop a soft spot.” She reached out and clasped her friend’s hand.

“Don’t do that!” Schuller yelled. Phua and Alenn turned to find her struggling to break Langkowski and the nurse’s grip again. “Don’t you touch her!” Her teeth were clenched and she was staring daggers at Phua.

“Settle down!” The Nurse said. “Settle down! It’s the Captain! The Captain!”

Something seemed to click in Schuller’s mind. “Right,” she said as she relaxed, “you’re right. It’s the Captain. They’re friends. Just friends. They don’t have what Alenn and I have.”

Langkowski turned to Alenn and Phua and mouthed the word Whoa!

Chastened, Phua let go of Alenn’s hand and continued. “All I meant was that if we’d known about this two days ago we’d have more time to do something about it.”

“I didn’t know any of my tears had gotten on her then!”

“She kept her distance?”

“I screamed at her to keep her away. I swung at her to make her retreat. Although...I’d been leaning on my arms while I was crying. A drop or two could have hit her when I swung at her...”

“But you’re uncertain?”

“Dian, it was dark and there were tears in my eyes! I could barely make out Schuller’s shape at the time. I couldn’t possibly see tears flying!”

“All right, fine, but now I have a new problem. I can’t just throw her in the brig.”

“Of course you can. She’s disobeyed orders on two separate occasions, filed a false Medical Emergency report and broken into a superior’s quarters.”

“I’m talking about her mental state, Alenn. What do you think she’ll do if I put her behind a forcefield away from you?”

“She’ll kill herself trying to get through the forcefield to get to me.”

“Exactly. In fact, there’s nothing I can do with her that would keep her from pursuing you...except give her what she wants.”

There were times when Alenn hated being able to tell what Phua was thinking. “No! You can’t be serious!”

“It’s just until Sandra and I can figure out how to counteract the tears. It shouldn’t take that long.”

“It can be agonizingly long depending on your point of view!”

“Come on, where’s that soft spot you admitted to having a minute ago? Ensign Schuller went above and beyond to try and help you when you were in trouble. Now she needs your help.”

Alenn glared at her, then huffed, then stood up and walked over to Schuller. Schuller looked up hopefully, as if waiting for some heavenly announcement.

What Alenn said was close enough. “If you behave, and are not too...forward, you may stay with me for a while.”

Schuller leaped up and put her arms around Alenn’s head and pulled her in for a big, romantic kiss, which lasted until the ensign felt that fist slam into her midsection again. She pulled back, coughed, and tried to catch her breath.

Then she looked up at Alenn sheepishly. “Too forward?” She rasped.

1418 HOURS

Captain Phua returned to Sick Bay after escorting Alenn and Schuller to Alenn’s quarters. Langkowski greeted her with news. “While you were gone I found a grand total of one incident involving a human being affected by Elasian tears in the Medical Database. Guess who? Rhymes with ‘irk’.”

“You’re favorite whipping boy, James T. Kirk?” Phua said.

“That’s right. Leave it to the consummate womanizer to succumb to the hypnotic tears of a hot extraterrestrial babe.”

“An Elasian woman...”

“Not just Elasian. A Dolman, Alenn’s old job.”

“Well, I’m more interested in how he overcame the influence. I think the history chips would have mentioned if the Great Jim Kirk had run off and eloped with a Dolman of Elas...”

“Oh, that’s the funny part. The CMO at the time chalked it up to Jimmy Boy loving his ship more. Romantic nonsense...”

“It isn’t nonsense...at least not complete nonsense. Captains develop great love for their commands over time...”

“Yeah, the ones that believe in romantic nonsense.”

“Sandra...!”

“All right, all right, I’m getting to it. According to the medical log, Dr. McCoy did come up with an antidote for Elasian tears. He just never used it. Here’s the formula...oh...”

“What’s wrong?”

“In order for it to work it has to be formulated for the physiognomy of the specific victim. I can’t just replicate what’s here. I have to ‘tune’ it to Schuller’s bio-signature.”

“How long will that take?”

“About a day...”

“I don’t know if Alenn has the patience to wait a day.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t. Brilliant move, by the by, locking her up with her stalker.”

“Wow...you’re awfully disrespectful today...”

“How do you know my comment wasn’t completely sincere? I’m absolutely sure you had no other choice...but for the record, phasers still have ‘Stun’ settings, right?”

“You’re impossible.” She looked away as Langkowski chuckled. She thought for a moment, then said, “You said McCoy never used the antidote?”

“That’s what he said.”

“And you think it’s impossible for Kirk to have resisted the tears without it?”

“I never said that. I just question McCoy’s explanation of it. Any drug can be resisted with enough will and determination, and that’s what we’re talking about here. But will and determination need motivation to drive them, and actually Kirk had a lot to drive him to resist.” She ticked thing on her fingers. “First, he was a confirmed, girl-in-every-spaceport bachelor, and he wasn’t about to give that up no matter how influential the Dolman’s tears were. Second, if he didn’t deliver her to Troyius as planned, we’re talking interstellar incident, war, loss of a strategic planet for the Federation. Third, a screw-up that big doesn’t just lose him his ship. It wins him brig time and/or permanent duty on one of the galaxy’s most boring asteroids. Faced with all those negative possibilities, if I were McCoy I wouldn’t have bothered looking for the stupid antidote. It would have been a waste of good chemicals. Kirk had every reason to fight and zero reasons to give in.”

“So Ensign Schuller could resist if she wanted to...”

“The key word being ‘if’. Remember what her pet project has been for the past four or five weeks?”

“To get Alenn to sit and talk with her.”

“All the tears really did this time was amp up Schuller’s desires concerning Alenn. All her motivation is driving her to pursue Alenn, and now she has what she wants.”

Phua blinked. “No...she doesn’t. Not really...” She started for the door. “Start working on the antidote. I think I know a way to buy you some time.”



Phua wasn’t sure what to expect when Alenn answered her door chime, but she certainly wasn’t expecting Alenn to be holding a dagger with blood on it. Phua pointed to it. “Schuller’s getting aggressive,” Alenn explained.

“There’s blood on it,” Phua said.

“Very aggressive,” Alenn reiterated.

“It’s only been a few minutes.”

“Please tell me you’ve found something.”

“Sandra’s working on an antidote, but it will take a day to synthesize.”

“I won’t last a day without killing her.”

“I gathered that, so I have an idea that might help Schuller build up a little resistance on her own.” She explained.

Alenn’s eyes were wide by the time she was done. “I’d rather let Schuller have her way with me.”

“Alenn, Schuller needs a reason to not see you as a romantic interest in order to back off. This might help her...and help you in many ways.”

Alenn sighed and nodded and went back inside, closing the door on Phua. As she rested the dagger on a table Schuller came out of the bedroom. She was running a dermal regenerator up and down the palm of her hand. When she saw Alenn she smiled and said with a nervous chuckle, “Boy, that knife is really sharp.”

“It’s good for reminding people where not to place their hands.” Schuller just nodded sheepishly and finished closing the wound. When she was done, Alenn said, “Please sit down.”

Schuller complied, sitting down at one end of the sofa. Alenn made a point of sitting at the opposite end. Schuller looked hurt. “You don’t want to sit close?”

“No, because I...I want to talk to you...about...” Alenn looked away for a moment, then steeled herself and turned back. “I want to talk to you about my father.”

A strange look came over Schuller’s face. She became dizzy and had to shake her head to clear it. When she could focus again she looked in Alenn’s eyes. “Captain Phua told me about his passing. I-I’m sorry. When did you find out?”

“Just before I went into isolation, but he passed away last week.”

Hold her! Damn the knife! Conviction howled, but Reason was making a comeback. “Were you close?”

“We were, once, but I chose not to be a treaty bride.”

“You mean the treaty with Troyius? You didn’t want to marry a Troyian?”

“Or anyone I didn’t love. It angered my father greatly. He stripped me of my title and declared that if I wouldn’t leave Elas as a bride I would leave as an exile. He didn’t care where I went, so I joined Starfleet.”

“You were stripped of your title...but you kept the tiara?”

Alenn touched the tiara and smirked. “Father also didn’t care what I took with me.”

It was taking every effort of will for Schuller to keep her seat, but she did as she said, “But you mourned for him so deeply. It’s understandable. While he was alive there was hope that someday you would reconcile and have that good relationship back, but now that he’s gone, you think that hope is gone as well.”

“Isn’t it?”

“A relationship is a mutual thing. Even if he can’t put aside his anger and return to you, you can put aside yours. You’ve mourned for him, and that’s a start, so now keep all those good memories forefront in your mind and forgive him for putting politics before your wishes. I’m sure he was sorry for it by the end.”

“I’ll try. Thank you.”

Schuller nodded, then did the hardest thing in her life: She decided to leave. She stood up straight and said, “I apologize for causing you so much trouble, Commander. I think I’ll go to my quarters and isolate myself for a while.”

Alenn stood and nodded. “I’ll let the Captain know. Thank you for listening.”

Schuller nodded and headed for the door. In the corridor she looked away until the door closed behind her, then rushed to the turbolift, all the while muttering ”She’sMyPatientShe’sMyPatientShe’sMyPatient!” It almost worked. She didn’t start crying until she was inside.

0930 HOURS
THREE DAYS LATER

Dr. Langkowski escorted Crewman Schuller - The Captain’s mast over the things she’d done before the tears resulted in the demotion - to the Shuttle Bay entrance. “No lingering effects?”

“None from the tears,” Schuller said. “I do like Commander Alenn...just not that intensely. Doctor, please try to get her to see my replacement more often.”

“I’ll try. No promises. You take care now.”

Schuller sighed and entered the bay. A few seconds later a skinny, bookish young Ensign came out lugging a couple of duffel bags. He looked at Langkowski said, “You’re wearing a medical smock. Are you the doctor?”

Langkowski flashed him a bright smile. “I am indeed.”

He smiled back. “Then I’m supposed to report to you! I’m Ensign Tewillliger. I’m here TDY as your Counselor.”

Langkowski’s smile faded a little as she thought, Send a child, why don’t you? “Welcome aboard, Ensign. Let me tell you about your first patient.”

 

[sojourner]

Leadbottom? really? And damn, I think Leadbottom would have filed charges against Alenn for attempted murder or some such after that.

 

[Admiral2]

Leadbottom? really?

I was actually leaning toward "Lardass", but figured that would be too "on the nose".

And damn, I think Leadbottom would have filed charges against Alenn for attempted murder or some such after that.

The charges would never stick. His life was never in jeopardy.

 

[sojourner]

^Oh even so I think Alenn would have been busted down a few ranks.

 

[CeJay]

I remember that first story - hilarious - and thinking that this crew would lend itself for more stories of that kind.

Love was new to me and wow, what an intense but no less entertaining follow up. I'm detecting a trend in these stories and I think I'd strongly recommend that junior officers on Sundown keep a healthy distance to Alenn. Nobody else in the fleet gets officers reassigned quicker.

 

[Admiral2]

^Oh even so I think Alenn would have been busted down a few ranks.

She has to commit some kind of infraction to get busted. She got what the action called for, which was a letter of reprimand for taking it too far. She didn't do anything illegal by the standards of military justice. She yelled at him (She can do that, she's his superior), She forced him to go EVA (again, she can do that), he was in a suit with air and she knew where he was at all times (so his life was never in danger) and the whole point of the exercise was to get him to stop committing infractions (namely disobeying orders and violating the uniform code, as well as other day-to-day work and cleanliness habits). There isn't anything to bust her on.

I remember that first story - hilarious - and thinking that this crew would lend itself for more stories of that kind.

Thanks again for the good word.

Love was knew to me and wow, what an intense but no less entertaining follow up. I'm detecting a trend in these stories and I think I'd strongly recommend that junior officers on Sundown keep a healthy distance to Alenn. Nobody else in the fleet gets officers reassigned quicker.

Love was a contest entry, like Good Order and Discipline. It came closer to winning, but didn't. And yeah, Alenn's not good for junior officers' health. Probably one of the reasons Phua keeps her close.

So, have you read the teaser to the new story yet?

 

[sojourner]

^Oh even so I think Alenn would have been busted down a few ranks.

She has to commit some kind of infraction to get busted. She got what the action called for, which was a letter of reprimand for taking it too far. She didn't do anything illegal by the standards of military justice. She yelled at him (She can do that, she's his superior), She forced him to go EVA (again, she can do that), he was in a suit with air and she knew where he was at all times (so his life was never in danger) and the whole point of the exercise was to get him to stop committing infractions (namely disobeying orders and violating the uniform code, as well as other day-to-day work and cleanliness habits). There isn't anything to bust her on.

She tossed him out of an airlock. She sabotaged his suit so he couldn't communicate. She took measures to hide what she had done.

If you where in the navy and threw someone over board with a life ring, even if they were a slacking subordinate, what do you think would happen?

What would have happened if the suit had malfunctioned while he was out there? or If Alenn were rendered unable to tell someone where he was? You would have a dead crewman.

It would definitely be wreckless endangerment and show extremely poor judgement.

The damning part was not notifying anyone and hiding the fact he was out there. If she had made any attempt to have someone monitor his vitals/suit systems and or notify the captain of such an extreme course of action before hand it would be an entirely different thing.

What she was doing up to the point she got caught was tantamount to attempted murder.

 

[Admiral2]

^Oh even so I think Alenn would have been busted down a few ranks.

She has to commit some kind of infraction to get busted. She got what the action called for, which was a letter of reprimand for taking it too far. She didn't do anything illegal by the standards of military justice. She yelled at him (She can do that, she's his superior), She forced him to go EVA (again, she can do that), he was in a suit with air and she knew where he was at all times (so his life was never in danger) and the whole point of the exercise was to get him to stop committing infractions (namely disobeying orders and violating the uniform code, as well as other day-to-day work and cleanliness habits). There isn't anything to bust her on.

She tossed him out of an airlock. She sabotaged his suit so he couldn't communicate. She took measures to hide what she had done.

If you where in the navy and threw someone over board with a life ring, even if they were a slacking subordinate, what do you think would happen?

What would have happened if the suit had malfunctioned while he was out there? or If Alenn were rendered unable to tell someone where he was? You would have a dead crewman.

It would definitely be wreckless endangerment and show extremely poor judgement.

The damning part was not notifying anyone and hiding the fact he was out there. If she had made any attempt to have someone monitor his vitals/suit systems and or notify the captain of such an extreme course of action before hand it would be an entirely different thing.

What she was doing up to the point she got caught was tantamount to attempted murder.

Yeah, okay.

Let's take this step by step:

If you where in the navy

First. that's already the standard I'm using. If Starfleet were a real navy they'd still be laughing their ass off about it in the wardroom.

and threw someone over board with a life ring, even if they were a slacking subordinate, what do you think would happen?

Second, as it's not 1910, what I would do is lower him over the side in an inflatable raft wearing a Mae West (inflated life-vest) equipped with a disaster beacon. If anyone asks I will say, "This sailor needs an object lesson in what it would be like if his constant foul-ups lost him his ship and his shipmates!"

What would happen? Nobody would bat an eyelash!

This is a Navy we're talking about! In the US Navy, part of training for Marine recruits is to have them crawl through bug-infested mud under a low tunnel of barbed wire while actual machine-guns fire actual bullets just over their heads at point-blank range. That's Marine Basic training! SEAL training makes that look like a birthday party! In the face of all that, leaving a guy alone in the water to sit and think about his screw-ups is little more than a time-out.

There is a point to military discipline, and maintaining it is not just about being "mean". Sometimes extreme measures are necessary and justified.

Now let's talk about exactly what Alenn did from the standpoint of bringing charges. Let's say Leadbottom demands she face legal action. Okay, Phua confines Alenn and contacts Command to have a JAG officer investigate and advise whether a court martial is in order. You think she's guilty of attempted murder and reckless endangerment right?

Okay, in order for there to be an attempted murder charge somebody has to be injured as a result of the suspect's attempt to kill the victim. It's like you can't prosecute someone for murder if nobody is dead. If there's no injury, you can't demonstrate that anybody tried to kill anybody else. Nobody suffered any injury as a result of this action!

She tossed him out of an airlock.

In a suit designed to keep him from axphyxiating and freezing to death. If you intend to kill somebody by spacing them, ya don't put 'em in a spacesuit! Opportunity flies out the window along with method and lack of injury.

She sabotaged his suit so he couldn't communicate.

Which does nothing to keep him from breathing or keeping warm. She wanted him to think, not beg someone to interrupt his punishment.

She took measures to hide what she had done.

She had a funny way of doing that. The first thing she did was place herself at the scene of the "crime." ("I was just at the airlock. It's working fine") Then, when confronted by a superior officer about it, she laid out the whole story. The only lie she told was one of omission: she didn't mention the spacesuit until she'd had her fun with the doctor. She didn't hide anything!

No injury, no opportunity, no method and no conspiracy means no attempted murder.

Reckless Endangerment? Nobody can prosecute what ifs.

What would have happened if the suit had malfunctioned while he was out there?

Doesn't matter. It didn't malfunction.

or If Alenn were rendered unable to tell someone where he was?

Doesn't matter. She had no problem telling Phua when asked.

You would have a dead crewman.

You might, but since you don't, there's no reckless endangerment, because there can't be endangerment when the subject wasn't in any danger!

There are no actionable charges here. Phua handled it exactly the way she should have, which was clarify Alenn's duties and issue a reprimand. Demanding a reduction in rank because you feel sorry for Leadbottom is admirable, but it's a sentiment with no legal standing behind it.

 

[sojourner]

Reckless endangerment as defined in the US Military:
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/mcm/bl134-42-1.htm
I particularly like #7 under explanations.

Attempted murder:
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/mcm/bl134-4.htm
See #2 under explanations, especially the part about not needing to have caused harm.

While as written Alenn was obviously not attempting murder, a JAG "in universe" could definitely see a possible case.

But, whatever, it's your story and was obviously meant to be humorous.