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+ | **Location: Main Bridge, deck 1, USS Republic** | ||
+ | Kim Roth looked to the viewer with a grim satisfaction as she watched a spread of three photon torpedoes slam into the shields and defractive armor that protected the Dominion ship in battle. Zoe Beauvais had done her job well, and the torpedoes hit home. Unfortunately, | ||
+ | The photon torpedoes hit home, but it wasn't enough, and in Republic' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Zoe Beauvais checked her Tactical display and relayed its grim news. " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Damn it." Roth hissed. If she could get through the shields, then the torpedoes themselves would make short work of the attack ship, but with the shields in place, that wasn't at all likely. The mood on the bridge was already tense enough when the turbo-lift to the bridge opened. | ||
+ | |||
+ | As she looked around the chaos of the bridge, the turbo-lift at the back of the deck opened, revealing Shannon Harris, tending to the body of John Carter, who moaned and rolled over onto his back, revealing a sizable cut across his forehead. | ||
+ | |||
+ | //" | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | //" | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Roth immediately looked to the ship's EMH/ | ||
+ | |||
+ | Shannon finished running her medical tricorder over the gash in Carter' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Harris blinked. "I appreciate that ma'am, but shouldn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Now. Doctor. I have to know if the ship's going to go critical, or if we're leaking atmosphere, or god knows what!" | ||
+ | |||
+ | Harris nodded, though she didn't like the thought of having to ignore patients. She could see that the welfare of the ship itself might well be paramount at the moment. "Aye, Ma' | ||
+ | |||
+ | A moment later, she whisked out of existence, her consciousness now divided between understanding the ship's condition, and one particular patient in the arboretum. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Conn! Evasive! Zee plus twenty, Now!" | ||
+ | \\ | ||
+ | \\ | ||
+ | \\ | ||
+ | **Location: Arboretum, deck 7, USS Republic** | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Republic shook from the latest blow snuffing out the lights in the arboretum. It was a few seconds before the emergency lighting kicked in, casting the normally peaceful setting in a decidedly sinister light. The violent jarring motion sent Morganth to his knees. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Near the main entrance to the arboretum, there was a faint whisking of photons as Shannon Harris looked around her environment. She'd tried to re-route herself to sickbay, despite the Captain' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Morgath muttered unintelligibly. With the last blast he had hit his head and fallen down on all fours. As he realized what had happened, he struggled to his feet like a crazed man. In a calculated mad dash he carefully secured his plant. He didn't want the plant to be harmed; it was his child. It wasn't until things were secured that Talloc registered that someone had called out. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Shannon saw the blur of motion as Morganth came out of the shadows in the reddened room. " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Morgath started as he heard the pediatrician' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Morganth Talloc was a civilian in every meaning of the word; he preferred time with his work and plants and had no desire to explore anything except what was in front of him. Shannon regarded the man with some skepticism. Even though the Ship's Counselor seemed fine with it now, it wasn't that long ago that Morganth had psionically attacked Tolkath. Thankfully, Shannon had been there, and her holographic nature had come in handy. She wondered if now, it wasn't happening again. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Morganth looked around dazed. Suddenly, he seemed to snap back into his surroundings. His senses were being overloaded with emotion all around him, fear, and controlled panic filled the air. "He told me to return to my quarters, but . . . I got distracted, had to make sure my plant was secured . . . What happened? What is happening?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | Shannon did her best to try and calm Morganth' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Talloc' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Harris focused on Morganth, noting that his eyes had seemed to come alive with laser-like focus. " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I know you have the ability to read his vitals . . . what's his brain activity like right now?? Is it at normal levels?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | Shannon held up her hand. "Calm down, Morganth." | ||
+ | |||
+ | Morganth sighed a breath of relief, and began to speak but stopped mid-breath. He eyed the Doctor carefully. "Is our conversation going to be recorded?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | Shannon almost chuckled. She could see how, in his more lucid moments, Morganth could really be quite charming. " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Morganth made a decision, one he knew may save his friend in the future. He again began then paused. For a Talloc their word was their bond. Morganth was a better friend to Reittan than they both led on. They had grown up together, for the amount of time Reittan was on Betazed. He knew information about the Counselor that took an admiral' | ||
+ | |||
+ | He had promised his friend and friend' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Shannon nodded in understanding, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "My mother always said it was a perfect balance for Reittan; Reason and emotion all balled up into one." Talloc chucked slightly as another shudder rocked the Republic, once again, Morganth was back in his dissociated world, responding only to the Doctor. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Shannon leaned forward. " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Oh . . . we were neighbors. We were born a few months apart. I am the oldest." | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Not really. I grew up in the second house of Betazed. Where life was often politics. Between us and the Tolkath' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Shannon fought her programming to turn away from Morganth. She had to remind herself, 'keep him talking, keep him calm,' " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Morganth looked at the being focusing him. "I can't read your thoughts, but I'm not crazy if that's what you are wondering." | ||
+ | |||
+ | Again, Shannon held up a hand, to dismiss the ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I was able to take out quite a few of the Dominion when they took over Betazed you know. I was a hero back home. A... hero." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "You were on Betazed during the attack? I had no idea. I've heard the fighting was intense; house-to-house in some cases. Is that true?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes . . . I hated it, every minute of it. Having to use our gift as a weapon for war. To grab every dark emotion, to light up every pain receptor within a being... to drive them mad . . . I hated it, and yet we did it to survive. And here we are, once again, here we are being attacked, even during a time of " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Shannon looked on skeptically. "You say he scared a lot of people with his ability. What exactly was it?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "On earth they used to have a thing called a blow-horn, his grams called it." He cocked his head to the side, trying to recall in more detail. "He could go up to someone and show loud enough into your mind to be compared to someone shouting into a blow-horn held up next to your ear. Sometimes when he'd get mad, it'd happen. I'd have to calm him down at school until his parents got there." | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "If you'd notice Doctor," | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I... see." She looked the man over, yet again. "So... you watched over Tolkath, but what about you? What did you do after the war? And how did you end up on Deep Space Nine?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Well, after the war, I followed my family and became a diplomat for a while, and just kept up with my plants. Reittan' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Shannon took a chance as she considered what to do next. "And, it was a plant toxin that caused you to attack Tolkath, and the others. Is that correct? Some sort of thorn?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "You know, that was strange?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "You mean why do I keep asking about him so incessantly?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | Shannon nodded. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Do you remember something I said to Reittan when I was at the peak of the madness . . . about not having to see anyone anymore to use my telepathic powers?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I remember," | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Ah... so you were. Well, the truth is that I think Reitan' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Shannon' | ||
+ | \\ | ||
+ | \\ | ||
+ | \\ | ||
+ | **Location: Main bridge, deck 1, USS Republic** | ||
+ | |||
+ | In the time it took for the ship's photon torpedoes to cycle back up to fire, the Dominion attack ship had made two more passes. Each time, Republic had managed to roll up on her side, exposing the still-functioning Ventral Shield Array to the incoming fire. But the shields were dropping. Soon, they would fail, or Republic wouldn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Roth nodded. "Do it." | ||
+ | |||
+ | Reittan inhaled deeply, subconsciously drawing on hate, fear, lust, impatience, and jealousy... every negative emotion he could think of, using the influx of emotion to super-charge his body's functions. He could hear and feel his pulse throbbing in his head, the thrum and boom of his heart like the drum on a battlefield, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Reittan' | ||
+ | |||
+ | At the Tactical position, Zoe blinked as one particularly annoying red indicator turned green. " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Roth looked at Tolkath, his jaw was set intensely...his breathing heavy, but even. She looked back at the main viewer, which showed the relative tactical position of the two ships that had been locked in combat much longer than Roth had liked. " Torpedo status?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | Zoe checked the board again. "Two birds in the tubes Captain. Third online in...another eighteen seconds." | ||
+ | |||
+ | Republic' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Two brilliant orange flares of anti-matter shot into view on the tactical plot, and it seemed for a moment that the entire bridge crew held their breath as they watched the warheads slam into the unshielded hull of the Dominion attacker. In seconds, the hostile ship blew apart, spinning off into two large pieces as the photon torpedoes did their bitter work. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The fight was over. Republic was victorious, and only three, perhaps four of her passengers knew the reason why. | ||
+ | \\ | ||
+ | \\ | ||
+ | \\ | ||
+ | **Location: Arboretum, deck 7, USS Republic** | ||
+ | |||
+ | Shannon Harris shook her head. Seconds after registering the severe spike in Reitan Tolkath' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Morganth looked wryly at his companion. He nodded, knowingly. "Back to normal, isn't he?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | \\ | ||
+ | \\ | ||
+ | \\ | ||
+ | **Location: Main bridge, deck 1, USS Republic** | ||
+ | |||
+ | Yellow warning strips and indicators showed the change from red to yellow alert, but the damage was done. Though one of the attacking Dominion ships had been destroyed in the early going, the second ship had hit it's mark, landing what for all Kim Roth knew, was a death blow to Republic' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Her ship was stuck. The warp core was still producing power, but most of the ship's primary systems had been knocked off-line. Now, she was missing her First Officer and had a Vorta onboard who had nothing left to bargain with. " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Aye, Ma' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Her use of the word prisoner reflected her change in attitude. She was, in the more familiar human vernacular, ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Tolkath let out a heavy sigh and straightened his posture. "I believe so, Captain," | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Good. You'll let me know if that changes?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Of course, Captain." | ||
---- | ---- | ||
Line 5237: | Line 5434: | ||
< | < | ||
<fs x-large> | <fs x-large> | ||
+ | Above the windswept plain, the bright pale sunlight shone down through the thin, overcast sky. Leon stood in the desolate field, confused about his location. It obviously wasn't Ash' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Without warning, a blinding light pulsed throughout the sky, disrupting the migrating flock, and causing the ground to shake like the resonance from a clap of thunder. Below his feet, the doctor noted a stark change. The ground, though still hosting the same pale soil and and associated plant life, now possessed small stone plaques spaced at regular intervals towards the horizon. There were so many, Leon could not count them all. On the plaques read unfamiliar names subscripted with dates, suggesting the plaques were memorials or grave-markers of a sort. He shifted his eyes to look from one plaque to another, and then to another. The names were unfamiliar, and when she shifted his eyes back towards a plaque that he had previously viewed, the name had changed, as did the date. Each time he attempted to view the same stone, the information changed. Each time, the name was either human, or Vulcan, or Andorian, or then back to a different human name. The dates changed from stardates in the distant future, to the distant past, or to Gregorian dates of indiscernible significance. None of it made sense, and whenever he attempted to calculate the number of years the individual had lived, he came up with a different number each time. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Behind him, the sand shifted under the foot of another individual. He was not alone in the field of plaques. Turning around, Leon spied a humanoid a few meters away. He was man with a pale, oily complexion, a crop of black, unkept curly hair, and sported a only beard without an associated mustache. His stance was a man of victory; crossing his arms, and overlooking the field with satisfaction and smugness. He wore a dark leather jacket with a military-style bandolier, and a utility belt replete with knives, implements of personal combat, and an old-style pistol-grip phasor. He paid little attention to the doctor until Leon spoke up. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Confused, the only words he could mutter were, "what are you doing here?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | The man looked to Leon with detachment and lack of interest. His black eyes shifted away from the field of headstones and looked to him with a disturbingly calm expression, replying, "I died here." | ||
+ | |||
+ | The shock of the words sent Leon stumbling backwards, causing him to lose balance and trip on one of the headstones. From his position on the ground, another, authoritarian voice ordered him to stand back up. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "On your feet!" | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Leon slowly regained lucidity while lying on the bunk of his holding cell. His face had been recently washed, complete with a hair trim and beard shave, but about five days worth of stubble had grown back due to lack of access to beard suppressor or a shaver. While he hadn't occupied the brig long enough to be issued a prisoner' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Leon sighed as he swiveled his body from a lying position to a sitting position on the bunk. For the past week, the guards had been checking on him every six hours, both at the start and end of a guard shift, usually waking him up in the middle of the night. Rubbing his eyes again, he recognized that the guard was none other than Petty Officer First Class Brent Murdock. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | It was almost as if the doctor had activated the red alert klaxon when Murdock shouted back at Leon with such animosity that it caused him to flinch. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I SAID ON YOUR FEET!" roared the non-commissioned officer, with his face contorted into an vehement scowl. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Now fully awake, Doctor Cromwell complied by sliding off the bunk to a standing position with his hands hanging behind his back. Murdock looked over him silently for a moment before turning away and walking back to his security station without a word. Thinking that it was just a routine bed-check, Leon was about to resume his sitting position when a second pair of footsteps strolled into view from out in front of the force field. | ||
+ | |||
+ | It was John Carter. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Leon raised an eyebrow at the executive officer, acknowledging him silently. He had not seen him since the brief moment in the transporter room a week ago, and while it may have been due to the captain' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Mmm hmm," Leon dried his face with a towel, sounding not-so-convinced. "Well, you can save it for my court martial. All I ask for is access to a lawyer. I don't suppose that Commander Tuvok would be willing to defend a ninth Republic officer?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I don't know," John crossed his arms. "You made quite a mess of things down there on Ash' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Scrutinizing the Martian' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Realizing he had spoken prior to thinking it completely through, Leon rolled his eyes upward as he mulled over his recent statement. Offering a clarification, | ||
+ | |||
+ | With only a brief, authoritarian look, the executive officer sternly remarked, "I came here to say only one thing, doctor..." | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | |||
+ | Without another word, John Carter and Leon Cromwell had walked out of the cell block together. The doctor felt uneasy in the tense silence, since John hadn't explained exactly why he was proud of Leon, nor why he was being sprung from a week-long incarceration in the ship's brig. Without any contact with the rest of the crew, save that of the security guards and the ship's counselor, Leon had assumed he was being ferried back to Deep Space Nine for a court martial. Now, he had no idea what was going on at all. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Still wielding the silver towel from his jail cell, the doctor fell back onto his main defense against a disquieting yet unspoken situation: He tried engaging in smalltalk. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I felt the ship's warp drive activate last night," | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | The calm response only served to deepen the doctor' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I need to know," Leon finally asked anxiously. "What happened to Athra?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | John nodded affirmatively. " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Well, you'll have to ask the sickbay staff for the details, but she lost a lot of her brain to the virus. It's affected her memory, and she'll be spending a while re-learning basic motor functions. It's enough to say that she won't be leaving Karu's hospital anytime soon. I doubt she'll be leading the government ever again." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Is Nat okay?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Oh, he's fine," dismissed John. "A little grouchier than everyone remembers him, but no worse for the wear. His official report of what happened was very enlightening... something about how Cha' | ||
+ | |||
+ | John's tone sounded genuine, but when Leon opened his mouth to protest the accuracy of the report, one look from his executive officer told him it would be best if he said nothing. Leon wasn't sure if the captain' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Could I... er..." the doctor was unsure if he should voice his next request. "Could I get the ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Leon was spellbound at the development of the alliance between Teya and Karu, and the surprised look in his eyes was difficult to hide. "What sort of ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Leon came to a dead halt in the corridor and gawked at John. "A CFI replicator?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Not exactly," | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I suppose this all goes against the Prime Directive," | ||
+ | |||
+ | "As you know, the Ash' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "What about the captain?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "As far as Captain Roth is concerned, Republic returned only to rescue you, Nat, and Miss Warner," | ||
+ | |||
+ | Leon's twinge of guilt returned, causing John to ask "I don't suppose you know anything about it?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | The doctor looked as if he was about to respond, but John interrupted him before he could. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I didn't think so," he cut him off quickly and conclusively before turning away, resuming his walk down the length of the corridor. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "So... we're just leaving them alone, then?" Leon asked while catching up to John. "No emissary from the Federation? No requests for protectorate status?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Karu and Teya officially requested only the supplies we left them," John explained while coming to a stop in front of the closed turbolift door. As he waited for the lift to arrive, he continued his explanation. "They wanted time to rebuild their planet all by themselves before looking to the stars again. We threw them the life preserver, and this time, they accepted it. But now, they want swim to shore on their own." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "No promise of return? No way to call for help if they run into trouble?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "You mean, IF they want," added Leon. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "We can only toss them the lifeline, doc," John Carter admonished with a scolding glance. " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Realizing that Carter was drawing a non-verbal parallel to the plague cure he developed weeks ago, Leon fell silent as they waited for the turbolift to make its way all the way down the turboshaft from the upper levels. However, he was unable to bare the silence for long, as his current and yet-to-be-known disposition back aboard Republic was dubious at best, so the doctor couldn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Sensing that the doctor was feeling the stress of his presumed notoriety with the captain, John chose to humor Leon by engaging his question. With his forehead forming a furrow, the executive officer looked towards the ceiling in rumination. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Not a lot..." | ||
+ | |||
+ | At that exact moment, the hum of an arriving turbolift signaled the parting of the doors, revealing the occupants as none other than the Vorta clone, Eris-5, escorted by two burly security officers. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "This is preposterous!" | ||
+ | |||
+ | Entering the turbolift, John and Leon kept their eyes fixed on the trio at the far end of the hallway, watching as they turned into the cell block opposite the one that Leon had occupied. The two officers silently regarded the exposition for a moment through thoughtful glances. Then, without missing beat, Leon turned to John and asked a single question before the turbolift doors slid shut. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | After a minute in the turbolift, the commander heaved a heavy sigh, and his expression turned stoic and focused. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Leon looked to his friend with encouragement. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "With that said," John scolded sternly. "The regulations still stand, and she knows FULL WELL what REALLY happened when you left the ship, despite what the official record states..." | ||
+ | |||
+ | The ominous tone in John's voice turned stale the air in the turbolift, and Leon fidgeted uncomfortably once again. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | As the elevator started again, the reverberating hum returned, augmented by the renewed tense silence. Of course, considering the doctor' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "If the captain is so damned angry at me, why in the hell are YOU so proud?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | John stared at his friend with that tell-tale smirk, indicating that something was up his sleeve. He then progressed to a full-blown chuckle, and began shaking his head. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Leon looked both confused and stupefied. " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When it came down to choosing between following the rules or doing what was right, you did the latter. That takes guts. It takes even MORE guts to do it when it flies in the face of your commanding officer. It might not always be the *smartest* thing to do, but it's the sign of a good officer who sticks to what they believe in. And hell if I don't want someone on my side who's trying to do the right thing, and not just be a 'yes man' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "So you WANT your people disobeying orders rather than agreeing with you?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I doubt you would have," Leon remained unconvinced. " | ||
+ | |||
+ | John used a breath to scoff outloud. "Tell THAT to the crew of the HMS Republic..." | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Never mind..." | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | By the time the two had arrived at their destination, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "No kidding! True story!" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Well, I'm glad his nanoprobes returned him to normal," | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Leon had barely made it to the center of the room when he felt the hesitance in Carter' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I wouldn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I don't believe it!" Leon flapped his arms once in a sign of futility. "She throws me in the brig... springs me a week later... and now takes my JOB away?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And why is that??" | ||
+ | |||
+ | John sighed again, not sure how to break the news to Leon. "The captain and I know about your recent PTSD relapses," | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "No, actually," | ||
+ | |||
+ | "So... you want ME to do it?" the doctor was perplexed. " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "You don't have to be. Pakita and Butenhoff can be a subject-area expert if you need it, but what these civvies need at the moment is someone they respect in charge of them. Right now, the only commissioned officer aboard they respect is YOU." | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Leon, they already had positive view of you during your coordination of the Ash' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Leon felt another knot forming in his stomach. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Leon know that John was right, and that there wasn't much more he could say about the issue. As for John, he waited a second longer while the doctor collected his thoughts before spying a gift he had left in the room prior to springing Leon from the brig. It was hanging on the back of the chair behind Leon's work desk, and had yet to be noticed by the doctor. Working his way behind the desk, John unhooked the black piece of cloth and tossed it in Leon's direction. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Catching the article in mid-air, Leon unfolded it to reveal a Starfleet officer' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | A moment later, Leon found himself alone in the silence of his quarters, absorbing all of the changes that had occurred in the past few minutes. He ruminated over the uniform shirt that John had tossed him, trying to remember the last time he had actually put one on. It hadn't been since his early enlistment years, prior to leaving for the University of Luna over fifteen years ago. Carefully, he placed the folded piece of clothing down on the desk, next to several more " | ||
+ | |||
+ | <WRAP center round box 80%> | ||
+ | **//Unto the Chirurgeon Cromwell does Medicus Shaara bring greetings. | ||
+ | \\ \\ | ||
+ | Thus I use for the last time the title ' | ||
+ | \\ \\ | ||
+ | Surprisingly, | ||
+ | \\ \\ | ||
+ | Suburbia base has been renamed ' | ||
+ | \\ \\ | ||
+ | We still have many struggles ahead of us. There is much suffering and devastation on the surface between Karu's Hope and Ecumenaaria, | ||
+ | \\ \\ | ||
+ | Speaking of which, Tweena keeps asking where you and your friend Hawk have gone. I've tried explaining numerous times that your place is among the stars, while hers is here on Ash' | ||
+ | \\ \\ | ||
+ | May your tree bare fruit for you early, Cromwell. Thank you for all you and your friends have done for us, and for risking everything to make a difference in our lives. Regardless of what Karu and Teya have declared, you will always be known as 'The Chirurgeon' | ||
+ | \\ \\ | ||
+ | Your colleague, Medicus Shaara//** | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | **Location: Main bridge, deck 1, USS Republic**\\ | ||
+ | **Timeframe: | ||
+ | |||
+ | With a soft hiss, the doors to the turboshaft parted, and Leon Cromwell, dressed in a Starfleet uniform for the first time in over fifteen years, slowly stepped out onto the bridge. He portrayed slight discomfort in his attire, tugging at each cuff and pulling down on the waistband, yet found redeeming comfort in the blue sleeve piping that reminded him of his current temporary role as well as his eventual return to his permanent one. Internally, his stomach was full of butterflies due to the sudden change in his surroundings, | ||
+ | |||
+ | He was determined to live up to that trust. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Looking around the bridge, Leon spied only a few individuals on duty at this late hour. While the ship was technically still on beta shift, the gamma shift personnel had already reported in, with Lieutenant Kroeger taking his place at helm, Ensign Narundi at tactical, and a young female petty officer from operations using one of the rear computer consoles. All other stations were empty, with the exception of the command chair, where Counselor Tolkath sat reading a PADD. As Leon walked down the ramp, Reittan looked up, smiled at the arriving doctor, and stood up to face him. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Good evening, doctor, he said formally, offering him the PADD. " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Thank you," replied Leon, as he hesitantly accepted the PADD. "I appreciate everything you've done," he said earnestly. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The counselor knew Leon on a deeper level than what they could talk about openly on the bridge, but he didn't need his psychic powers to know that Leon was grateful for the vote of confidence after revealing his PTSD to the captain and Commander Carter. Normally, such information would be considered doctor-patient confidentiality, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Leon smiled silently in acknowledgement, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Begin night shift," | ||
+ | The change in lighting also allowed a more subtle change in ambiance, as the brilliant starlines of warp space on the main view became much more vivid and sharp, bathing the bridge in a soft, subtle glow of star light. The spectacle was hypnotizing, | ||