The Return
Posted on Thu Nov 7th, 2024 @ 7:42pm by Lieutenant Commander P’rel M.D
Mission:
Pandora's Box
Location: Shuttlecraft 06A
Timeline: MD Minus One
1730 words - 3.5 OF Standard Post Measure
As the shuttelcraft compressed and expanded subspace; the warp bubble skipping the shuttle across lightyears, P'rel sat cross legged and rigid upon the floor in the rear of the small craft. All illumination off, she was mildly irked at being unable to override the command safety operations to also dim the consoles. Using the almost rhythmic, hypnotic starfield as a focal point to meditate the Vulcan was distracted, far more so than she would normally be, by the reflection of the LCARS panels in the window interiors.
Unable to fully enter a disciplined, meditative state she found herself sporadically drifting through memories of the past few weeks; another so-called failure to chalk up to the respectable litany she carried with her. Kane would be...well, she was uncertain how Kane would react. It had been a seeming punishment of sorts to make her Second Officer in the first place; yet in his own way it was an act of respect and of loyalty. Protection even. Particularly given her role during his nonsense trial. Would he respect her for remaining true to herself; probably. Might he be disappointed in her for failing to shut up and just get on with it; equally likely.
Nonetheless, in her palm resided the small chip given to her. It had normally been placed inside the magnetic seal of the commbadge since receiving it, and though entirely illogical she felt better holding onto it.
---
...which is why you are here...to learn! The civilian instructor almost chided the small class of Starfleet officers. She had surmised during the painfully tedious "icebreaker" session that the class was almost entirely comprised of Lieutenant Commanders. There were a few Lieutenants, and two full Commanders seemingly on a later career shift. Starbase Grek with it's distracting peace, tranquillity and rolling green hills housed one of many dozens of Starfleet Academy annexes throughout the Federation. Whilst 'The Academy" had become a vernacular for the physical location on Earth, at which all core officer training was conducted, the vastness of the growing Federation more than two centuries ago had quickly created a need for smaller annexes and satellite campuses to conduct additional, specialised, or non-core training courses. In her case, it was the common command syllabus she had been required to attend following her promotion to Second Officer.
Though she had two years within which to undertake the course, she had opted to leave the Athena temporarily to essentially get it out of the way sooner rather than later. As she sat in the classroom, her attention was on the epic green landscape beyond the windows; growing up in shades of browns and oranges, rolling green landscapes always captivated her. There was something beautiful, yet morbidly fascinating as well; she wondered if humans felt something if looking out across deep red landscapes, or Andorians on boats bobbing up and down on blue waters.
"Commander, are you with us?" asked the instructor, who had become alerted to P'rel's possibly vacant expression whilst deep in thought. She did not want to be there. At all.
Looking down at her lap, and making a show of checking the presence of each arm and then looking around the room she answered, "evidently".
The expression on the face of the instructor. Things didn't really improve from there...
---
Returning the chip to it's place of safety and discretion in the commbadge, she exhaled and rose from her failed meditation. "Computer, how long until we intercept the Athena?"
'Fourteen hours, fourty seven minutes' replied the machine.
Nodding to herself, P'rel returned the illumination to a dim glow and set about unpacking and assembling the field bunk from one of the aft storage lockers.
---
Her classmates mostly scoffed. Debating pros and cons of command decisions, there was a fairly typical lauding of famous Captains like Kirk, Sisko, De Soto and Hernandez whilst paying little attention to the nuances of the situations. It was, in her experience, bothersome and intellectually deficient hero worship. Inward, self congratulatory sycophantism being perpetuated, again, by the next breed of Starfleet Captains and then Admirals. So the cycle would replicate; lessons in morality would be eschewed in favour of lessons of tactical superiority. The operational 'brilliance' of godlike figures would be praised, whilst their place in the wider universe would be ignored. The past few weeks had been among the most challenging of her career to date; she was set mostly alone in amongst a cohort of ambitious career officers, their virtue of confidence often slipping to a vice of arrogance.
In her inward seething, she had missed the first half of the point someone had made; though the mentioning of Kane's name had snapped her back to the debate.
"...and that promotion...Commodore....come on...." one of her classmates derided.
"Certainly very suspicious" agreed another.
"The guy couldn't Captain a Paresi Squares team, let alone a-"
P'rel rose far rapidly than she had intended. The relatively young Andorian Lieutenant Commander silently mouthed a regretful expletive as the realistion descended upon the room that she was, of course, Kane's officer. In the two or so seconds in took for the Vulcan to calmly cross the room and reach the young man, he went an almost Aenar shade of light blue. Leaning in close to him she flatly stated; "Commodore Kane could light a fire, order his crew to walk through it on trust and we all still would".
She rose, poising her back formally, and slowly walked out of the classroom without so much as a sideways look at anyone else.
Her expulsion document had been logged shortly thereafter...
---
P'rel removed her comm badge and set it on the thin standard blanket whilst she removed her uniform and dressed in a more comfortable sleeping vest. She quickly returned to the badge to her left lapel and allowed a brief ponderance as to the content. What could be so important, that Command couldn't have just transferred it straight to the ship...and why did 'he' have to give it to her personally. A planet-killer was a fairly monumental event, to be sure, and not a find to be taken lightly. Once Kane was notified it would be a matter of hours, or less, before he and the entire Paladin Squadron were underway. So what could she possibly be carrying which affected the mission so much, that she couldn't even open it lest the file's self destruct virus activate...? She found herself laying in the narrow bed unable to settle.
---
"Are you not quite a bit too old to be a transporter operator?" P'rel asked Captain Bennett, her once handler now somewhat shady - and wholly ambiguous - ally. She eyed him with suspicion as the much older man stood at the transporter controls in an engineering uniform, Petty Officer rank stripes sitting upon his collar.
"Indeed" he replied, that smile always straddling the line between confident and what humans called 'creepy'. "In fact, they retired me as a Rear Admiral" he said stepping away from the controls.
Her brow cocked upwards betraying her curiosity; curiosity she did not want to show to Bennett of all people. "I see" was her only response.
Ego unbridled, he couldn't help but explain; "After the whole mess with the trial, I 'encouraged' them to promote me...self importance I suppose...before being retired. I get access to the higher level of accommodations, travel priorities that kind of thing". He coughed, bringing a hand to his mouth and as it lowered he produced a square chip container.
"I will not touch that" she replied in a flat voice, refusing to acknowledge anything he had said about his promotion, nor the trial. He was useful, more to the point they were useful to eachother, but she did not like nor trust him. He would phaser his own mother if it accomplished his mission.
"No of course not" he replied, simply stepping closer and removing P'rel's commbadge. He opened the small magnetic seal on the rear and opened the chip case. A tiny octagonal disc no more than a few millimetres across slid from the case to the badge, it was transparent but for a slight blue tinge, and disappeared again as the badge was resealed. "You must put this in Kane's hand. Nobody else. It has a cascade virus, it will self terminate all files it comes across so use an isolated or they'll be reinstalling Athena's operating code for weeks..."
One might expect someone in his position to be nervous, looking around to check for surveillance even, but not Bennett. Never Bennett. It was, in all fairness, an admirable quality. He had always so deftly prepared each situation that he had nothing to be concerned about. "And this could not be sent to Kane directly...?" she asked.
"Commander...tomorrow Commodore Kane will be briefed on the arrival of what is termed a doomsday machine at the edge of Federation space. He will be given orders to proceed with all haste to that sector. I haven't seen the latest reports, but it was heading for a planet last I knew. I suggest you research the subject matter...but P'rel....this is more. This is bigger than 'just' a doomsday machine...it's all on the chip. Kane's eyes only - it's up to him whether it shares it with you and whomever else...but I can't stress enough...".
He placed the badge back on her body and use a finger pressed into her shoulder to emphasise each syllable. "Kane must get this now".
P'rel nodded once and stepped upon the pad with her only bag slung over her shoulder. Bennett, for his part, snapped into the character of a transporter operator. "Target coordinate set for shuttle zero six alpha, have a safe journey...".
A usual pleasantry, the Vulcan sensed a deep level of ominous and grave seriousness to his parting sentiment as the room fizzled blue and turned into the shuttle cockpit...
---
...The same shuttle cockpit she now found herself staring at, having absent mindedly sat up in 'bed' whilst lost in thought. Twidding the commbadge in her fingers, she couldn't help but be a victim of the emotions around curiosity as the shuttle flung it's way through space, hurtling towards Athena at speeds which were unfathomable yet still not fast enough.
