IDIC
A Short Banshee Squadron Scene
(This scene takes place shortly after the Banshees are assigned to Starbase 901 and before Alex joins the team, sometime in late 2382.)
"I have a bad feeling about this."
"What?" quipped Lieutenant Jo Schmidt with mock disbelief. "The dreaded Max Vasser, decorated triple-ace pilot, Scourge of the Badlands and Hero of Lyra III, scared? Someone check for Changeling infiltrators."
Lieutenant Samantha Beckett chuckled softly from where she trailed a few paces behind her friends as the four of them headed across Starbase 901's crowded promenade towards their favorite hangout, the El Taco food joint.
At the head of the group, Wing Commander Lee Carter maintained a more professional demeanor. She glanced behind her and said, "What's wrong, Max?" Carter was all too familiar with her XO's vaunted esper gifts, and knew not to dismiss her misgivings out of hand. Max's ability to sense events a few seconds in the future had saved Banshee Squadron's collective butts more times than she cared to count, but even she was having trouble envisioning what sort of danger would trigger Max's mental red alert here in the middle of the starbase's teeming shopping district.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?!?" crooned Max. "Just take a look all around you!"
Jo and Sam craned their necks, seeking hidden danger among the myriad bright shops and restaurants on their level and along the many walkways above, visibly worried how they could be so blind to something that was apparently so clear and obvious to Max. Carter began to scan the throngs of people as well, but then she caught a hint of Max's trademark evil smirk and realized the truth of what was happening.
Max was just keeping herself amused by terrifying the youngsters. Business as usual.
Carter turned back facing forward and carried on walking so the the youngsters wouldn't see her roll her eyes and smile.
Max continued her trolling. "Have you ever seen this many pink and purple and green aliens in your life? Two feet tall and eight feet tall? And what's with all the extra arms and legs? And head-tentacles?! What the hell is that all about? That just ain't right."
Sam and Jo stopped in their tracks forcing Max to stop as well. The two young Banshees just gaped open-mouthed at her for a few long seconds while Carter also stopped and turned around again while fighting to keep a straight face.
"I'm shocked at you, Max," blurted Jo. "Those are people."
"Yeah," added Sam quietly from behind Jo.
Max shook her head sadly and started walking again, and the rest followed suit. Her two victims hadn't caught on to the evil smirk yet. She continued, "I remember the days when you'd hardly even see a Vulcan or Andorian. I don't think I can even identify half the aliens on this station."
Jo's eyes lit up at the prospect of demonstrating her xenoanthropological acumen, and she took a deep breath in anticipation of listing the proper genus and species of every alien in view, but Max cut her off. "Easy, kid. I'm just saying that I miss the good ol' days, y'know?"
Jo frowned, partly in disappointment that she hadn't gotten to play professor, partly in mild annoyance. "I wish you'd quit calling me 'kid'. I'm only two years younger than you, you know. And I've been in Banshee Squadron just as long as you."
Despite knowing that Max was just trolling Jo with outrageous absurdities, the ridiculous banter had got Carter thinking deeper thoughts. She decided to let Jo off Max's hook, though depriving Max of her sport now would undoubtedly result in terrible retribution later.
"Max has a point," she said.
From her place still at the rear of the column, Sam squeaked, and Jo raised an eyebrow. "Not you too!"
Carter smiled and explained to her friends. "In her own unsubtle and backwards way, Max was trying to point out a very Vulcan concept. One which the greater Federation has fully embraced to the betterment of us all."
Jo and Sam still looked confused and more than a little upset with Max.
"Starfleet is headquartered on Earth," continued Carter. "The major shipyards are in the Sol System. Even the United Federation of Planets was founded in San Francisco. The President has his offices in Paris. It used to be that except for a few special cases, most Starfleet ships were manned by humans. Unless you were posted on one of the big exploratory ships, you could go your entire career without encountering hardly any aliens."
"But--" protested Jo.
"--But," continued Carter, "those were the beginnings of humanity's foray into the final frontier." She paused and pondered the true immensity of what she was trying to impart.
She craned her neck back and looked all around Starbase 901's multilevel Promenade. She saw colorful banners of different planetary sovereignties waving side by side, billboards and advertisements in a dozen different alien languages calling out to anyone and everyone, flora and even some fauna from planets spread across hundreds of light years all creating their own synergy in this finite space.
She closed her eyes and opened her other senses. The mouth-watering aromas of foreign cuisines wafted from nearby restaurants and commingled into something new and even more savory, the hubbub of innumerable tongues combined to form a harmonious symphony of new thoughts and ideas.
She opened her eyes again. "We've come a long way." With a wave of her hand she indicated the throngs of pink and purple people going about their business all around them. "This is the new face of the Federation. It's this wonderful diversity that makes it a worthwhile thing, and why no dominion or empire or whatever will ever break it.
At that, Sam visibly untensed while Jo smiled. "IDIC. So Max was just saying all those terrible things to get us to think about stuff."
Carter smirked and said, "Yes. Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. And all along you thought you were the only one that could play 'Professor' ".
After another moment of contemplative silence, Max shouldered past them harrumphing, and as she passed Carter, she cocked a cynical eyebrow and grumbled, "They should put your picture on Starfleet recruiting posters," though Carter could tell she was still just being darkly droll.
Carter chuckled. "Thanks. Now lets find the person in charge of this place and get our first assignment." She fell into step beside Max and the other two Banshees hurried to catch up, wondering about the eccentricities of senior officers.
A Short Banshee Squadron Scene
(This scene takes place shortly after the Banshees are assigned to Starbase 901 and before Alex joins the team, sometime in late 2382.)
"I have a bad feeling about this."
"What?" quipped Lieutenant Jo Schmidt with mock disbelief. "The dreaded Max Vasser, decorated triple-ace pilot, Scourge of the Badlands and Hero of Lyra III, scared? Someone check for Changeling infiltrators."
Lieutenant Samantha Beckett chuckled softly from where she trailed a few paces behind her friends as the four of them headed across Starbase 901's crowded promenade towards their favorite hangout, the El Taco food joint.
At the head of the group, Wing Commander Lee Carter maintained a more professional demeanor. She glanced behind her and said, "What's wrong, Max?" Carter was all too familiar with her XO's vaunted esper gifts, and knew not to dismiss her misgivings out of hand. Max's ability to sense events a few seconds in the future had saved Banshee Squadron's collective butts more times than she cared to count, but even she was having trouble envisioning what sort of danger would trigger Max's mental red alert here in the middle of the starbase's teeming shopping district.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?!?" crooned Max. "Just take a look all around you!"
Jo and Sam craned their necks, seeking hidden danger among the myriad bright shops and restaurants on their level and along the many walkways above, visibly worried how they could be so blind to something that was apparently so clear and obvious to Max. Carter began to scan the throngs of people as well, but then she caught a hint of Max's trademark evil smirk and realized the truth of what was happening.
Max was just keeping herself amused by terrifying the youngsters. Business as usual.
Carter turned back facing forward and carried on walking so the the youngsters wouldn't see her roll her eyes and smile.
Max continued her trolling. "Have you ever seen this many pink and purple and green aliens in your life? Two feet tall and eight feet tall? And what's with all the extra arms and legs? And head-tentacles?! What the hell is that all about? That just ain't right."
Sam and Jo stopped in their tracks forcing Max to stop as well. The two young Banshees just gaped open-mouthed at her for a few long seconds while Carter also stopped and turned around again while fighting to keep a straight face.
"I'm shocked at you, Max," blurted Jo. "Those are people."
"Yeah," added Sam quietly from behind Jo.
Max shook her head sadly and started walking again, and the rest followed suit. Her two victims hadn't caught on to the evil smirk yet. She continued, "I remember the days when you'd hardly even see a Vulcan or Andorian. I don't think I can even identify half the aliens on this station."
Jo's eyes lit up at the prospect of demonstrating her xenoanthropological acumen, and she took a deep breath in anticipation of listing the proper genus and species of every alien in view, but Max cut her off. "Easy, kid. I'm just saying that I miss the good ol' days, y'know?"
Jo frowned, partly in disappointment that she hadn't gotten to play professor, partly in mild annoyance. "I wish you'd quit calling me 'kid'. I'm only two years younger than you, you know. And I've been in Banshee Squadron just as long as you."
Despite knowing that Max was just trolling Jo with outrageous absurdities, the ridiculous banter had got Carter thinking deeper thoughts. She decided to let Jo off Max's hook, though depriving Max of her sport now would undoubtedly result in terrible retribution later.
"Max has a point," she said.
From her place still at the rear of the column, Sam squeaked, and Jo raised an eyebrow. "Not you too!"
Carter smiled and explained to her friends. "In her own unsubtle and backwards way, Max was trying to point out a very Vulcan concept. One which the greater Federation has fully embraced to the betterment of us all."
Jo and Sam still looked confused and more than a little upset with Max.
"Starfleet is headquartered on Earth," continued Carter. "The major shipyards are in the Sol System. Even the United Federation of Planets was founded in San Francisco. The President has his offices in Paris. It used to be that except for a few special cases, most Starfleet ships were manned by humans. Unless you were posted on one of the big exploratory ships, you could go your entire career without encountering hardly any aliens."
"But--" protested Jo.
"--But," continued Carter, "those were the beginnings of humanity's foray into the final frontier." She paused and pondered the true immensity of what she was trying to impart.
She craned her neck back and looked all around Starbase 901's multilevel Promenade. She saw colorful banners of different planetary sovereignties waving side by side, billboards and advertisements in a dozen different alien languages calling out to anyone and everyone, flora and even some fauna from planets spread across hundreds of light years all creating their own synergy in this finite space.
She closed her eyes and opened her other senses. The mouth-watering aromas of foreign cuisines wafted from nearby restaurants and commingled into something new and even more savory, the hubbub of innumerable tongues combined to form a harmonious symphony of new thoughts and ideas.
She opened her eyes again. "We've come a long way." With a wave of her hand she indicated the throngs of pink and purple people going about their business all around them. "This is the new face of the Federation. It's this wonderful diversity that makes it a worthwhile thing, and why no dominion or empire or whatever will ever break it.
At that, Sam visibly untensed while Jo smiled. "IDIC. So Max was just saying all those terrible things to get us to think about stuff."
Carter smirked and said, "Yes. Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. And all along you thought you were the only one that could play 'Professor' ".
After another moment of contemplative silence, Max shouldered past them harrumphing, and as she passed Carter, she cocked a cynical eyebrow and grumbled, "They should put your picture on Starfleet recruiting posters," though Carter could tell she was still just being darkly droll.
Carter chuckled. "Thanks. Now lets find the person in charge of this place and get our first assignment." She fell into step beside Max and the other two Banshees hurried to catch up, wondering about the eccentricities of senior officers.
