Captain’s Log… Challenger is returning to Gateway Station, under her own power.. but barely just. We were part of the largest joint operation (so far) between Starfleet and the Free Stars’ Alliance Navy, a hammerblow designed to break the grip of the Har-Krath raiders in the FSA’s Outbound Sector. The taskforce was made up of twenty ships: mostly Starfleet and Celvani, with a flight of D’haan frigates and a pair of Cohvli destroyers. The Shuta and the Nava’ak sent one cruiser each; hell, even the Vik’kar’nos sent a gunboat, though they turned tail and ran as soon as the torpedoes started flying. Half of the ships didn’t survive the engagement, and only a few of the ships that did make it through were able to leave under their own power. The others are awaiting the flotilla of repair barge, tugs, and other ships that are en route, doing what they can while they wait to retrieve any escape pods ejected during the battle.
The battle.. gods above and gods below, what a furball that was. FSA agents had finally tracked the Har-Krath raiders to their main base, concealed in the gravimetric hellstorms surrounding the Iyudha’ato Cluster, and our armada was hastily deployed in hopes of catching them by surprise. And we did at that, though we were surprised in turn; the Har-Krath had three times as many ships as FSA intel had reported. Mostly fighters and small gunboats, but we were pretty well outnumbered. Still, we took their measure and gave better than we got. When it came time to tally the butcher’s bill, we’d destroyed all but three Har-Krath ships and had crippled their starbase beyond repair.
Most importantly, we secured the cache of isolytic burst-bombs they’d sourced from renegade Son’a arms dealers before they could be deployed. Seems the Har-Krath had been planning to sow them throughout the sector unless they were paid a ridiculous ransom.. real original, I know, but then, the Har-Krath barely have enough brains to get out of bed in the morning. These goons give the Nausicaans a run for their money in the ‘big, dumb, and ugly’ department. But I digress…
The burst-bombs have been transferred from the D’haan frigate that followed us from the Cluster to the USS Barcelona, the newest Exemplar-class battlewagon and Admiral Durham’s flagship. The Barcelona and the Celvani warship D’arra Falcor are en route to an undisclosed location to dispose of the dangerous and highly volatile subspace weapons. I’d say good riddance, though I suspect ‘disposal’ is a euphemism for ‘hiding them somewhere until WE need them.’ Gotta love the military…
Gabriel finished typing his log entry just as the last support umbilicals slid home into their respective and various ports on Challenger’s hull. The faint but unmistakable ‘burnt bacon’ smell of blown EPS conduits lingered on the bridge, one of many reminders of the battle that had recently taken place. Gabriel stretched, wincing as he bumped his bruised right shoulder against his chair. Behind and just slightly to the right of him, Commander Taylor was coordinating the final details of Challenger’s arrival with Gateway Station’s dockmaster.
“Challenger confirms, Gateway. All docking connections read green across the board. We are in your capable hands.”
“Copy that, Challenger. Repair teams will be deployed in ten. Gateway out.” Connie turned and heaved a heavy sigh in Gabriel’s direction.
“I want to shower – with real water, mind you – for at least two hours, and then I want some pizza.” At that, Gabriel had to smile. He wasn’t sure where her cravings had come from, but lately it seemed whenever Connie got stressed she wanted pizza. “And then I want to sleep for a week straight.”
“Showers are off-line,” Gabriel said, a light note of mocking disappointment in his voice. “There’s always…” He was interrupted by Lt. Avallios.
“Message for you, sir.” He tabbed a control, and Ensign Lynch’s pleasantly bland voice came over the speakers.
“Captain Frost, Commander Taylor; at your convenience, Admirals Durham and Nikolakis-Costopolous request the honor of your presence for a debriefing regarding the Iyudha’ato engagement.”
Gabriel handed the PADD he’d had in his hand to Lt. Avallios and headed for the turbolift. “Give that to LCDR K’kon, make sure he gets the repair teams on the primary and secondary starboard phase inverters before anything else. Otherwise, Challenger won’t get a meter out of the dock without a cascading power failure. Oh, and tell him he’s in command until we get back.” Gabriel paused just inside the waiting turbolift and looked at Connie expectantly.
“He wants us there now?” Connie said, her voice carrying a slightly incredulous tone. She gestured at herself, indicating her torn uniform, bruised face, and rather disheveled hair. “Can’t we take a few minutes to freshen up?”
Gabriel smiled that half-smile that annoyed Connie so. “’At your convenience’ is Adm. Durham’s code-speak for ‘five minutes ago’.” He stepped back to allow Connie into the turbolift. “I just hope his pet Xuuxusans aren’t there; they creep me out.” The turbolift doors slid shut with a grinding stutter.
“Transporter room two,” said Gabriel, and the turbolift car lurched into motion.
“At least the Xuuxusans can’t read your mind,” Connie said. “How do you think they make me feel?”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Three hours later…
“That should do it, I think,” Adm. Durham said with a disinterested smile as he finished typing into a PADD.
“Thank you both for your time.” Behind him, Adm. Nikolakis-Costopolous was doing her best not to look as utterly bored as she obviously was. Gabriel had to wonder why she’d been in on the debriefing; she’d asked maybe two or three questions and spent the balance of the time with her nose buried in one PADD or another. Adm. Durham, on the other hand, had been very thorough in his questioning of both Gabriel and Connie. He appeared to be visibly disturbed about the loss of so many ships, and seemed determined to find someone to blame.
“Sounds like Challenger will be dry for a while,” he said, as Gabriel and Connie stood up. “You two should think about taking advantage of the time, maybe get away for a bit.” Adm. Durham flashed them a lecherous wink. “Just not too long. I want Challenger and her crew back in fighting trim before I leave for Earth.”
Gabriel and Connie both snapped off textbook salutes. “On your word, sir,” Gabriel replied. Adm. Durham paused to type a last-minute note into his PADD, and then looked back up.
“Dismissed.”
After Gabriel and Connie had left the briefing room, Adm. Anemona Nikolakis-Costopolous stood up and stretched, arching her back to emphasize her breasts. There’s something to drool over, you old pervert, she thought, ignoring Adm. Durham’s lustful gaze. “Why the hell was I even here, Robert? I was about as useful as that broken vacuum cleaner droid in the corner.”
“I’m beginning to regret dragging you with me to this godforsaken patch of space, Mona,” Adm. Durham retorted. “But you insisted on coming along, claiming you wanted to see Celvanos and what all the fuss was about. Really, though, you were just hoping to get back into MacAllister’s pants.”
“I wasn’t…”
“Oh please, don’t deny it. I could see the look on your face when you found out she was still involved with Erika Priest.” The sour look on Adm. Nikolakis-Costopolous’ face confirmed what Adm. Durham already knew. “Time to move on, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, maybe.” She bent down across the desk, giving Adm. Durham a perfect view of her ample cleavage. She could practically feel his hands on her as he stared, and the thought made her sick. “But it ain’t gonna be with you. So stare all you want. Here, I’ll give you a prime view of my ass.” She spun on her heel and walked briskly out of the conference room.
“You can find the whores on level 85,” Adm. Durham snapped at Mona as the door slid shut. “Ask for Ta’anra.” If Mona didn’t have the Academy commandants in her pocket, Adm. Durham thought darkly, I’d have shoved her out an airlock years ago…
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Gabriel and Connie took the ‘scenic route’ back to Challenger; that is, the turbolift route that ran through Gateway Station’s hollow midsection. The wide transparent aluminum windows of the turbolift car provided an excellent view of Gateway’s interior strata, as well as the physics-defying waterfall that ran along the station’s centerline. Gabriel had broken the comfortable silence only once, to order Kromm to prep the Unforgiven, Gabriel’s yacht. Connie cocked an eyebrow quizzically but said nothing; she’d come to expect such seemingly random behavior from Gabriel.
All too soon, the turbolift deposited Gabriel and Connie at the staging deck of the slip where Challenger was currently moored. Panoramic windows showed the repair craft and spacesuited workers tending to the mighty but wounded Challenger. Beyond lay the blue-white globe of Celvanos, the world that Gateway Station orbited with lazy purpose.
The world that Gabriel loves so much, Connie thought. She and Gabriel had spent some time there, Gabriel showing her its wonders, but… it’s not Earth. It’s not home. Connie felt a pang of sorrow as she realized just how long it had been since Challenger had been to Earth. I should really transmit a letter to Grandmum…
“Commander?” prodded Gabriel.
“Wha? I’m sorry, I was lost in thought.” Connie blushed, slightly embarrassed that she’d not heard Gabriel talking to her.
“Many light-years lost, by the look of it,” teased Gabrlel. “I said, it looks like K’kon has the repairs well in hand, so we’re going to take Adm. Durham’s offer of time off.”
“Offer? He just said we should think about.. ah, ‘code-speak’ again?”
Gabriel just smiled. “Pack for early summer temperatures, and meet me at the Unforgiven in ten minutes.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
“I.. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon, m’lord admiral.”
“What you did or did not expect is irrelevant. The ship should be nearing coordinate point beta.”
“It is, m’lord admiral.”
“Then you know what to do. Do not fail me, and you may find in death the honor you relinquished in life.”
“It will be as you command, m’lord admiral.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
“I can’t believe Celvanos doesn’t have a weather control net,” said Connie, scrambling to find shelter from the sudden downpour. At least she’d been able to get most of the picnic back into the basket and get it covered up. There was little worse than soggy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She looked over at Gabriel, who hadn’t moved from where they’d been sitting. “Would you mind getting out of the rain, Captain?”
Gabriel looked back at Connie, hunched under a nearby rock outcropping. “Why? It’s only rain.” He held out his hands. “And it’s just cool enough to feel really good.” He motioned for her to join him; when she shook her head ‘no’, he laughed. “What’s the matter, Commander, afraid you’re going to melt?”
“Going to…” Oh yes, that ‘Wizard of Oz’ movie; that green witch creature was afraid of water. Connie started laughing, realizing how silly she looked huddled against the rock. She went over and sat next to Gabriel; within seconds, she was soaked to the bone. She had to admit, though, it did feel good.
“The Celvani tried a weather net,” explained Gabriel, “but due to lingering effects of the Dragonwars, atmospheric conditions proved too difficult to control. Besides, the Celvani live in harmony with their world, whatever she may throw at them.” After a few minutes, the torrent of rain slowed to a light trickle, and in the distance a rainbow appeared. Gabriel pointed it out, noting the unique color combinations it displayed due to the light from Celvanos’ binary suns. Gabriel let Connie look at the rainbow for a moment, then quickly directed her attention to a clump of telion bushes.
“Watch this.” The light from Celvanos’ suns (one was yellow, the other blue) caught the raindrops clinging to the bushes, scattering green sprays of light over the ground. A gentle breeze picked up, moving through the bushes with what Connie could swear was a crystalline tinkling sound. Gabriel reached over and plucked a now-solid raindrop from a nearby bush and put it gingerly in Connie’s hand. It was surprisingly heavy, and as Connie watched in amazement it slowly evaporated into a puff of the palest green.
“Wow.”
“That doesn’t happen very often,” said Gabriel. “Conditions have to be just right.”
“I think I’m getting a better idea of why you love this world so much.”
“There’s so much I want to show you. But for now,” he said, a mischievous grin crossing his face as he lay Connie back on the grass and started to undo her top, “let’s get out of these wet things, hmm?”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The battle.. gods above and gods below, what a furball that was. FSA agents had finally tracked the Har-Krath raiders to their main base, concealed in the gravimetric hellstorms surrounding the Iyudha’ato Cluster, and our armada was hastily deployed in hopes of catching them by surprise. And we did at that, though we were surprised in turn; the Har-Krath had three times as many ships as FSA intel had reported. Mostly fighters and small gunboats, but we were pretty well outnumbered. Still, we took their measure and gave better than we got. When it came time to tally the butcher’s bill, we’d destroyed all but three Har-Krath ships and had crippled their starbase beyond repair.
Most importantly, we secured the cache of isolytic burst-bombs they’d sourced from renegade Son’a arms dealers before they could be deployed. Seems the Har-Krath had been planning to sow them throughout the sector unless they were paid a ridiculous ransom.. real original, I know, but then, the Har-Krath barely have enough brains to get out of bed in the morning. These goons give the Nausicaans a run for their money in the ‘big, dumb, and ugly’ department. But I digress…
The burst-bombs have been transferred from the D’haan frigate that followed us from the Cluster to the USS Barcelona, the newest Exemplar-class battlewagon and Admiral Durham’s flagship. The Barcelona and the Celvani warship D’arra Falcor are en route to an undisclosed location to dispose of the dangerous and highly volatile subspace weapons. I’d say good riddance, though I suspect ‘disposal’ is a euphemism for ‘hiding them somewhere until WE need them.’ Gotta love the military…
Gabriel finished typing his log entry just as the last support umbilicals slid home into their respective and various ports on Challenger’s hull. The faint but unmistakable ‘burnt bacon’ smell of blown EPS conduits lingered on the bridge, one of many reminders of the battle that had recently taken place. Gabriel stretched, wincing as he bumped his bruised right shoulder against his chair. Behind and just slightly to the right of him, Commander Taylor was coordinating the final details of Challenger’s arrival with Gateway Station’s dockmaster.
“Challenger confirms, Gateway. All docking connections read green across the board. We are in your capable hands.”
“Copy that, Challenger. Repair teams will be deployed in ten. Gateway out.” Connie turned and heaved a heavy sigh in Gabriel’s direction.
“I want to shower – with real water, mind you – for at least two hours, and then I want some pizza.” At that, Gabriel had to smile. He wasn’t sure where her cravings had come from, but lately it seemed whenever Connie got stressed she wanted pizza. “And then I want to sleep for a week straight.”
“Showers are off-line,” Gabriel said, a light note of mocking disappointment in his voice. “There’s always…” He was interrupted by Lt. Avallios.
“Message for you, sir.” He tabbed a control, and Ensign Lynch’s pleasantly bland voice came over the speakers.
“Captain Frost, Commander Taylor; at your convenience, Admirals Durham and Nikolakis-Costopolous request the honor of your presence for a debriefing regarding the Iyudha’ato engagement.”
Gabriel handed the PADD he’d had in his hand to Lt. Avallios and headed for the turbolift. “Give that to LCDR K’kon, make sure he gets the repair teams on the primary and secondary starboard phase inverters before anything else. Otherwise, Challenger won’t get a meter out of the dock without a cascading power failure. Oh, and tell him he’s in command until we get back.” Gabriel paused just inside the waiting turbolift and looked at Connie expectantly.
“He wants us there now?” Connie said, her voice carrying a slightly incredulous tone. She gestured at herself, indicating her torn uniform, bruised face, and rather disheveled hair. “Can’t we take a few minutes to freshen up?”
Gabriel smiled that half-smile that annoyed Connie so. “’At your convenience’ is Adm. Durham’s code-speak for ‘five minutes ago’.” He stepped back to allow Connie into the turbolift. “I just hope his pet Xuuxusans aren’t there; they creep me out.” The turbolift doors slid shut with a grinding stutter.
“Transporter room two,” said Gabriel, and the turbolift car lurched into motion.
“At least the Xuuxusans can’t read your mind,” Connie said. “How do you think they make me feel?”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Three hours later…
“That should do it, I think,” Adm. Durham said with a disinterested smile as he finished typing into a PADD.
“Thank you both for your time.” Behind him, Adm. Nikolakis-Costopolous was doing her best not to look as utterly bored as she obviously was. Gabriel had to wonder why she’d been in on the debriefing; she’d asked maybe two or three questions and spent the balance of the time with her nose buried in one PADD or another. Adm. Durham, on the other hand, had been very thorough in his questioning of both Gabriel and Connie. He appeared to be visibly disturbed about the loss of so many ships, and seemed determined to find someone to blame.
“Sounds like Challenger will be dry for a while,” he said, as Gabriel and Connie stood up. “You two should think about taking advantage of the time, maybe get away for a bit.” Adm. Durham flashed them a lecherous wink. “Just not too long. I want Challenger and her crew back in fighting trim before I leave for Earth.”
Gabriel and Connie both snapped off textbook salutes. “On your word, sir,” Gabriel replied. Adm. Durham paused to type a last-minute note into his PADD, and then looked back up.
“Dismissed.”
After Gabriel and Connie had left the briefing room, Adm. Anemona Nikolakis-Costopolous stood up and stretched, arching her back to emphasize her breasts. There’s something to drool over, you old pervert, she thought, ignoring Adm. Durham’s lustful gaze. “Why the hell was I even here, Robert? I was about as useful as that broken vacuum cleaner droid in the corner.”
“I’m beginning to regret dragging you with me to this godforsaken patch of space, Mona,” Adm. Durham retorted. “But you insisted on coming along, claiming you wanted to see Celvanos and what all the fuss was about. Really, though, you were just hoping to get back into MacAllister’s pants.”
“I wasn’t…”
“Oh please, don’t deny it. I could see the look on your face when you found out she was still involved with Erika Priest.” The sour look on Adm. Nikolakis-Costopolous’ face confirmed what Adm. Durham already knew. “Time to move on, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, maybe.” She bent down across the desk, giving Adm. Durham a perfect view of her ample cleavage. She could practically feel his hands on her as he stared, and the thought made her sick. “But it ain’t gonna be with you. So stare all you want. Here, I’ll give you a prime view of my ass.” She spun on her heel and walked briskly out of the conference room.
“You can find the whores on level 85,” Adm. Durham snapped at Mona as the door slid shut. “Ask for Ta’anra.” If Mona didn’t have the Academy commandants in her pocket, Adm. Durham thought darkly, I’d have shoved her out an airlock years ago…
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Gabriel and Connie took the ‘scenic route’ back to Challenger; that is, the turbolift route that ran through Gateway Station’s hollow midsection. The wide transparent aluminum windows of the turbolift car provided an excellent view of Gateway’s interior strata, as well as the physics-defying waterfall that ran along the station’s centerline. Gabriel had broken the comfortable silence only once, to order Kromm to prep the Unforgiven, Gabriel’s yacht. Connie cocked an eyebrow quizzically but said nothing; she’d come to expect such seemingly random behavior from Gabriel.
All too soon, the turbolift deposited Gabriel and Connie at the staging deck of the slip where Challenger was currently moored. Panoramic windows showed the repair craft and spacesuited workers tending to the mighty but wounded Challenger. Beyond lay the blue-white globe of Celvanos, the world that Gateway Station orbited with lazy purpose.
The world that Gabriel loves so much, Connie thought. She and Gabriel had spent some time there, Gabriel showing her its wonders, but… it’s not Earth. It’s not home. Connie felt a pang of sorrow as she realized just how long it had been since Challenger had been to Earth. I should really transmit a letter to Grandmum…
“Commander?” prodded Gabriel.
“Wha? I’m sorry, I was lost in thought.” Connie blushed, slightly embarrassed that she’d not heard Gabriel talking to her.
“Many light-years lost, by the look of it,” teased Gabrlel. “I said, it looks like K’kon has the repairs well in hand, so we’re going to take Adm. Durham’s offer of time off.”
“Offer? He just said we should think about.. ah, ‘code-speak’ again?”
Gabriel just smiled. “Pack for early summer temperatures, and meet me at the Unforgiven in ten minutes.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
“I.. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon, m’lord admiral.”
“What you did or did not expect is irrelevant. The ship should be nearing coordinate point beta.”
“It is, m’lord admiral.”
“Then you know what to do. Do not fail me, and you may find in death the honor you relinquished in life.”
“It will be as you command, m’lord admiral.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
“I can’t believe Celvanos doesn’t have a weather control net,” said Connie, scrambling to find shelter from the sudden downpour. At least she’d been able to get most of the picnic back into the basket and get it covered up. There was little worse than soggy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She looked over at Gabriel, who hadn’t moved from where they’d been sitting. “Would you mind getting out of the rain, Captain?”
Gabriel looked back at Connie, hunched under a nearby rock outcropping. “Why? It’s only rain.” He held out his hands. “And it’s just cool enough to feel really good.” He motioned for her to join him; when she shook her head ‘no’, he laughed. “What’s the matter, Commander, afraid you’re going to melt?”
“Going to…” Oh yes, that ‘Wizard of Oz’ movie; that green witch creature was afraid of water. Connie started laughing, realizing how silly she looked huddled against the rock. She went over and sat next to Gabriel; within seconds, she was soaked to the bone. She had to admit, though, it did feel good.
“The Celvani tried a weather net,” explained Gabriel, “but due to lingering effects of the Dragonwars, atmospheric conditions proved too difficult to control. Besides, the Celvani live in harmony with their world, whatever she may throw at them.” After a few minutes, the torrent of rain slowed to a light trickle, and in the distance a rainbow appeared. Gabriel pointed it out, noting the unique color combinations it displayed due to the light from Celvanos’ binary suns. Gabriel let Connie look at the rainbow for a moment, then quickly directed her attention to a clump of telion bushes.
“Watch this.” The light from Celvanos’ suns (one was yellow, the other blue) caught the raindrops clinging to the bushes, scattering green sprays of light over the ground. A gentle breeze picked up, moving through the bushes with what Connie could swear was a crystalline tinkling sound. Gabriel reached over and plucked a now-solid raindrop from a nearby bush and put it gingerly in Connie’s hand. It was surprisingly heavy, and as Connie watched in amazement it slowly evaporated into a puff of the palest green.
“Wow.”
“That doesn’t happen very often,” said Gabriel. “Conditions have to be just right.”
“I think I’m getting a better idea of why you love this world so much.”
“There’s so much I want to show you. But for now,” he said, a mischievous grin crossing his face as he lay Connie back on the grass and started to undo her top, “let’s get out of these wet things, hmm?”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
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). I won't go into detail here, as there are things I don't want to spoil.
