Transitions

Posted on Fri Jan 14th, 2011 @ 5:55am by Captain Alexsa Kendrick

985 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Looking for the Future in all the Wrong Places
Timeline: Current

The place was a mess.

Tables upturned, books and paper files strewn all around, chairs and benches broken, shelving and ornaments cracked; everything but the open wood fireplace was out of place or shattered. They came back inside after the intruders moved on and silently surveyed the damage together standing in the doorway.

"I guess that's it for another year, or a few months at least." The man said while readjusting his two year old daughter in his arm.

"Why do they come, Daddy?" His other daughter asked standing beside him, her hand in his. At six, she was keenly aware and intelligent but there were some social graces and situations that begged logic to her developing mind.

Her father sighed, "I don't know munchkin. I think they just want what we have."

The girl's brow furrowed, "What do they want with my toys?"

Jacob Kendrick couldn't let that go without a small chuckle, and knelt down beside her. "Oh Alex... these people are not nice people, you know that." The child just nodded emphatically as six year old's do. "They want our food, our resources, because to them, it's easier to take than to create and do themselves."

"Then why can't we leave, so they don't want our stuff anymore?"

"If we left, there would be no-one to fix the water reclamation, so we could water the crops. Then the people would be hungry wouldn't they?"

Alex paused and thought a moment, there had to be an easy way around that problem. "They could come too." Alex offered.

Jacob laughed again. "Somehow I don't think they would like that idea. This is our home and we work hard to have what we have here." He paused and looked around the wrecked living quarters again before turning back. "Now, it's late; time for you to clean your teeth and get off to bed."

"Will you read to me again tonight?"

"It's late..."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeease." Alex begged as only six year old's can.

"Okay. But only if you go now, I'll be in there in a moment."

Alex rushed off to the bathroom while Jacob started to close off all the non-broken windows and lock the doors, and then settled Amara down in her bed. He kept true to his word, but by the time he got to Alex's room, she was already fast asleep. He turned out the lamp on the bedside table and gently kissed her goodnight on her forehead before leaving to continue the clean-up of their cabin.


// USS Regal, Sovereign class en-route to the USS Ranger

A little less than a distant memory for Alex now, she slowly opened her eyes to as the door to her quarters chimed signalling there was someone wanting to enter. She didn't answer right away, instead looking down at the glass of cold blue liquid in her gloved hand as it rested on the table. She didn't particularly like the interruption from her thoughts, her happy thoughts of her family before... well, before what happened. The chime sounded again, whoever it was, was persistent. "Come in."

As the doors hissed open, she swung around in her chair and stood to greet the untimely intruder, the Regal's Executive Officer, Commander Jack Thompson. The two had met briefly when Alex came aboard at Starbase 283, but the sight of the deep scars on her face and through her eye still made the Exec inwardly wince a little. "We haven't been able to contact the Ranger yet, some sort of solar interference, but I thought you'd like to know we should be able to rendezvous with them in the next six hours or so, given their last known position."

"Thank you Commander." No more was said for a few seconds. "Was there something else?"

"Captain, if I may ask...?" The Exec started.

"I'm not sure that you should."

But he went on anyway. "There are reports of dangerous activity in the area, and meeting up with the Ranger is pretty far off our own beaten track. Why couldn't Starfleet wait to assign an officer of Internal Affairs until they got back? Who's in trouble enough to send you out here?"

"Are you thinking of starting a blood rumour, commander?"

"Not at all; I have concern for this ship and those..."

"Commander, this is a Sovereign class cruiser," Alex said butting in. "Despite its current operational age, it's still one of the most powerful ships in the Starfleet. I think you're trying to get the gos, stories, hearsay and rumour to pass on to your friends to pass on to their friends until before you know it you've started a witch hunt for the crew of the Ranger, with things ranging from espionage to not wiping the toilet seat properly. Believe me the Regal can handle this area of space, now if you'll excuse me I have work to do."

"Captain, I just want some answers."

"That would be classified."

"Clarification then." He pressed.

"Again classified." Alex rebutted matter-of-factly.

"The famous Starfleet Intelligence replies."

"Listen commander, the Regal has been tasked to take me to the Ranger, and that is all you are entitled, and need to know. Now get out before I expedite your departure further." There was an ominous pause before anything happened, until Alex smugly added the magical word, "please."

Thompson knew he wasn't going to get the answers he was looking for, so left, leaving Alex alone, just how she preferred. It was not her job to interact with this crew, or for them to like it, or her. They just had to do their own jobs and leave her to do her own. She went back to the terminal she was sitting at before she was so rudely interrupted, closed the open dossier on the Ranger's Executive Officer, and called up the last file on her list to read -- the service record of Captain Elsie Halliwell.

 

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