There is 1 message in this issue.
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1. USS Capricorn: A Higher Code
From: Josh Turnof <josh@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2005 22:32:02 -0400
From: Josh Turnof <josh@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: USS Capricorn: A Higher Code
MD 5:1400
Avi stood at the door to his quarters, very tired, all of a sudden.
The
last 5 hadn't quite gone the way he had hoped they might have otherwise
gone. Hopped up, now, on close to 5 glasses of tea, 2 glasses of
coffee,
and possibly the world's best painkillers, Avi decided it was truly
time to
rest. He wasn't due back on the bridge until tomorrow, so there was no
reason not to take a little cat nap.
Cat nap being more appropriate than he realized. As he opened his
quarters
door, he was not pleased with the sight before him. "Petra." Avi
breathed.
"I am not in the mood." He said to the black cat sitting on his chaise
lounge, licking her paws.
*you never are. That is your biggest problem.*
"That I don't like cats?" Avi said, pulling off his sweater and, upon
removing his comm badge, he tossed his sweater in the basket at the
base of
his closet. "No, cat, I don't think that is my biggest problem. Many
many
people in this universe would argue otherwise."
*You simply need to learn to relax, hater.*
"And I suppose *YOU* are the one to show me how?"
*Oh no. I simply go where you take me.*
"All evidence proving that fact." Avi said, falling down into bed.
"Now,
if you could please exit through whatever shaft you entered in, I'd
appreciate it. I am dead tired."
She purred, but didn't move. He'd simply have to learn who was in
charge.
Maybe sooner rather than later. After about thirty minutes, his
breathing
steadied to a pattern of in and out, and she stopped grooming to move
towards him. Curling up at the edge of his bed, nearest his feet, she
moved
the blanket back and forth until she found a comfortable position to
relax
in.
Avi dreamed beautiful images. He barely moved an inch as he imagined
he and
Montana boating along the Red Sea, near Eilat. Her gorgeous auburn
hair
down to her shoulders -- when he dreamed of her it was always with
shoulder
length hair -- and her long legs crossed at the ankle as she tanned
towards
the front of the ship. A singer he always associated with the beach
played
through the speakers he never remembered..."wasting away" somewhere or
another. As good as he was at remembering notes and patterns, he was
simply terrible at remembering songs the first time he heard them.
He sat back in his chair, drinking a multicolored beverage. Leaning
back,
he felt something odd, something not associated with the boat. He
quickly
retracted his feet, but found nothing below, but the boat. Extending
his
feet, there it was again, but this time, he saw it. It was black and
furry.
Startled, he kicked violently at it, and awoke to the screeching sound
of
a...cat? *what do you think you're doing? I was sleeping too, you
know!*
"CAT! Get out of my quarters, NOW! I would hate for something bad to
happen to you!" looking up at him, he could see Petra's eyes smiling
at
him. Walking off, he could hear her laugh in his head.
*You should go see your guests.* She said before disappearing beneath
his
couch.
"My guests?" Avi said to himself aloud, as he rose fully from his bed.
"Oh, god. Do I have to?"
***
MD 5: 1515
"You kicked her off the bed?!" Maria said, laughing hysterically as
they
both entered the turbo lift. She had been coming from a reporting
session
to the Starfleet Science board in Holodeck 1. Lt. Talara had been
otherwise
detained, so Maria offered to give the briefing. Though Istria and Dr.
Hywell should have accepted the credit for the finds, Maria accepted on
their behalf. "That would have been hilarious, had it been
intentional!"
"Yeah, laugh it up, Maria."
"YOU BET I WILL!" she bellowed, as they started moving down the
turbolift.
He let her laughter subside before they continued talking. It truly
would
have been hilarious had it not happened to him. "I had the same dream
though."
"You, on the boat?"
"Yeah. I really like that dream."
"I bet. Was she still wearing her hair shoulder length?"
"Of course."
"Avi, you know she cut her hair, right?"
"Yes, but I'm male. We like things we can play with. Why else do you
think
god gave us what he gave us?"
"Good point. Irregardless, she has short hair now. Deal with it."
Maria
said as they both got out at deck 34 and walked towards the main
quarters,
where this Marquis was being held. Held? No, that was the wrong word.
Technically, they were simply refugees, until they could find somewhere
that
would take them. DS 3 clearly was no longer an option, so Avi would
have to
speak with Willy again. He was scheduled to speak with him at 2000,
and so
that was when he'd find out about his new Ops Officer and his
stowaways.
"You know that there's no such word as 'irregardless', don't you?" Avi
finally said as they passed the third door.
"Yes there is. It means without regard for."
"Not quite, that's what regardless means. If anything, irregardless
would
mean regarding."
"Don't you have a wild shapeshifting cat to deal with?" She said,
laughing
and punching his shoulder mockingly.
"I hate you."
"I know you do. That's why I'll see you tonight for dinner?"
"Same as always. Oh, and make sure Harry doesn't try to feed me that
ratgut
he calls scotch."
"I don't tell my husband what to drink, just what not to." She winked
and
walked away.
"Captain." Two officers saluted as he approached.
"Status, crewman." Avi steeled himself and ordered. These people from
Marin
actually genuinely made him nervous, if only because he didn't
understand
them. They'd caused Montana and Miaran to forget 6 hours of their
lives.
Istria claimed to be in love with one of them, enough for him to file a
dereliction of duty report, if he so chose. He wouldn't. There truly
was
no cause, especially given what he'd been told about the planet. Soil
samples were still being evaluated, but they would inevitably turn up
what
was already suspected. SFIA had a few nasty secrets in their closets
and
now their chickens were coming home to roost.
"Captain, Lt. Talara has been inside debriefing their leader, Marquis.
She
has been in there for quite some time, but has reassured us every 15
minutes
that everything is fine, so we stayed our posts."
Avi was disturbed and surprised. Surprised that she was inside at all,
given their histories, but disturbed, because he had given no such
order for
her to debrief. She was to have no involvement with "the Marin's" (as
the
senior staff had taken to calling them) upon the crew's return.
"Excellent, thank you. I will be going in now. Please stand guard.
No one
is to enter until I give you my word."
"Aye, sir."
Avi paged inside. Upon hearing an affirmative, he entered the
quarters.
Sparsely decorated, merely a bed and a couch, not even a desk. There
was a
replicator, as there was in every room, and a comm terminal on the
wall.
Standing by the couch, he found both Marquis and Istria. "Lt.,
Marquis,
please excuse my intrusion. Before I arrived, I did not know you were
speaking together."
"Captain, please do not be ridiculous. Istria and I were simply
reminiscing
about lost, more innocent times."
"Yes, Captain. I am sorry that I did not inform the bridge."
"That is alright, Lt. I know what it is like seeing a part of your
past
return." Avi thought back to their first mission with him as CO. Jeri
Ahavat had returned with them too. Yes, he knew about it. "I simply
wanted
to come down and see how you were enjoying our hospitality. I have
spoken
with the command at our destination, and unfortunately we will not be
able
to dock there. We will simply be there to pick up new crew and
supplies.
As soon as we are able to, however, we will be able to find a place
where
you and your people can be happy." Avi wiped the back of his neck,
which
now was rather well soaked and its hair stood on end.
"Thank you, captain. I, and my people, appreciate all you have done
for us.
You have our eternal thanks and believe me, that is quite some time."
"Yes, I'd imagine it is." Avi said, beginning to turn. "If you have
any
needs or requests, anything special we can do for you, please let me
know.
We have tasked holodecks specifically for your people's use. Plus, if
you
have the time, I have a good many questions for you."
"While I have dinner plans, tomorrow would be a good time for such a
meeting."
"I would like that, thank you, Marquis."
"Thank you, Captain." Avi completed his turn and left the quarters.
Now
that wasn't so bad, was it? He thought to himself, as he walked past
the
saluting crewmen.
***
MD 5:1600
Avi walked into sickbay, feeling a little bit better than he had just a
few
short minutes ago. He had decided to take a walk around a few of the
decks
to clear his head. Different people had said hello, but they were
distant
memories by the time he arrived at sickbay.
"Captain," Ensign Bernette Craig walked over to him. "This is a
pleasant
surprise."
"At ease, Ensign." Avi remembered her from his time, however brief, as
a
mission specialist on board. She was probably one of the few who was
still
here. It truly was a totally different ship from the one he took over
those
short years ago. "I promise there's no hidden agenda. I'm just
looking for
your boss."
"Ah, she's in her office. Shall I..."
"No, no. I'll let this one be a surprise." He smiled walking away.
Walking through the open door into her office, Avi opened his mouth
wide to
say "good afternoon, doctor!"
Spilling her coffee over her desk and her lab coat, she didn't bother
trying
to wipe herself off. She snapped to attention quickly, and painfully,
as
the hot coffee seeped through her uniform. "Feel free to wipe yourself
off,
doctor, this was a very unannounced visit." She did so, gingerly,
sitting
back down as he did. "I wanted to check in because you were remarkably
quiet at this morning's meeting. I was curious, was it because you
were
tired, embarrassed or not quite sure of what to say?"
"Well, Captain," she looked up at him while continuing to wipe her coat
now,
not that it would matter much at this point. "I'll try to be honest
with
ye."
"I'd appreciate that." Avi quipped, but clearly the sarcasm was lost
on
her.
"Yes, right. Well..." She looked down, moved a PADD before beginning
again.
<Tag Carys! So, which one was it?>
"Doctor, did I ever tell you about my first captain on the USS
Pegasus?"
"No, sir."
"Doctor, she was a killer. I mean, a real stone cold stickler for the
rules. She'd probably still be that way, were she still in Starfleet."
Avi
thought, wistfully about Captain Hennessey. She was a wonderful woman,
incredibly fierce in her passion, but a misery to work for as your
first
posting. "She was also a doctor. I only found that out shortly before
I
left the ship."
"Whatever happened to her?"
"Well, last I heard, she was living with her husband -- the former FO
and
Counselor from the Pegasus too -- on Steele. But that's not really the
point. You see, when I first got on board, after my first mission on
board,
she made me record a journal entry of how I was feeling at that exact
moment. She made me remember who I was then, so I'd never forget no
matter
who I became, where I came from. She told me that I was the future of
Starfleet, and I laughed, at that first meeting when I came on board."
"Wow."
"Well said." Avi dryly deadpanned. "Well, since I have been CO, I
haven't
had a new officer who was like me when I joined up, or more
appropriately,
as wide eyed as I was. You are the future, Miaran. Don't forget
that."
Avi finished. Standing up, he left her still absently dabbing at her
chest
and the coffee that was well stained at that point, but more
importantly to
think on what he'd just told her.
"Captain, what did your message say?" Miaren squeaked from behind her
desk.
"It said, 'Avi, never forget who is important to you. Never forget
what is
important to you. Your ship. Your friends. Your family. Never lose
yourself in your work. Your work is important but not the be-all,
end-all
of who you are. Try to save everyone. Leave no one. Everyone can be
saved. But remember the oath you took, Do no harm. That still
applies.
But maybe a better one applies. Dear god, just don't let me sprock
this up.
Enjoy it. You only get one life. Do no harm. So do they. See you on
the
flipside.' And that was it." He said, shutting down the terminal he'd
turned so he could read it.
Walking out the door, he left the doctor in shock. Possibly, even
moreso,
he left himself in shock. He hadn't thought about that note for years.
Maybe since he was in SF:Eng. But it didn't matter now. He remembered
it
now.
****
MD 5:2000
"So, that's it, Admiral. That's what happened. You'll have the report
tomorrow morning, ship time."
"What I don't understand about you, Reckage is how do you continue to
pick
up all these stragglers no matter where you go?"
"Just a gift, I guess."
"Well, don't make a habit of it. Remember the Prime Directive."
"We should live by a higher code."
"We should, but we don't. Which brings up another point." He picked
up a
PADD and tapped it twice before handing it to someone above the
monitor.
"Percy left on Dwarp along with your replacement officers. He is no
longer
a Starfleet admiral, not that I expect that to matter with you."
"Of course not, Admiral."
"Good. I'll look into the Marin's, and we'll see what we turn up."
Avi
noticed the message indicator on his PADD illuminating, but decided to
wait
until this call was over. "Anything else?"
"No, sir."
"good, then I will speak with you again tomorrow. Jackson out!" And
that
was it. Looking down at the message he hadn't checked he was very
disturbed. 'You're being watched,' was all it said. Tapping a few
buttons
proved fruitless as the message path was well cloaked. This was
clearly
going to fester.
But not long, because just then the door opened, and in walked Montana.
"Care for a dip in the reserved Contemplation pool?"
"Yes, I think I would. And after Maria's dinner, I have no fear I will
float." Avi joked. They each laughed at their new post-mission ritual
of
dinner with their friends. Still, even as he changed, something was
mocking
him from that message.
****
Respectfully submitted,
Captain Avi Reckage, MD
Commanding Officer
USS Capricorn
NCC 1753
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