"Well, it looks like everything
is here. Time to pack everything up and hit the road." Said Dr. Kira Markos
to no one in particular. Kira was aboard SB901 in Shuttle Pad Two, and was in
the process of making his final preparations for leaving to Starfleet Headquarters
on Earth. It was going to be a long trip alone in the shuttlecraft, but it was
all that was available to return him to his former home planet. Just moments
ago Kira had resigned from his position aboard the USS Knight as the Chief Medical
Officer. His decision was partly based on his need for an extended leave of
absence, and partly was caused by the recent events aboard his former ship.
*No time to worry about that; now did I get everything?*
Just as Kira was looking around the small shuttlecraft and checking his belongings,
he heard the sounds of someone approaching his shuttle. As he turned to see
who was coming to see him, he was surprised to see Tyran Nige and Dinara Jin
approaching the shuttle with a number of their belongings in tow, as well as
Nige's cat tucked under Dinara's arm.
"Don't run off too quickly Markos!" said Dinara as she and Nige walked up the ramp of the Elisa.
"Looks like you're going to have some company on this flight." Said Nige as he put down his duffels and belongings and took hold of Kira's shoulders from behind. "It also seems you're not the only one who's leaving the Knight."
"That's right, Tyran and I decided that we wanted a change of pace, so we both resigned our positions aboard the Knight, and requested that we be allowed to accompany you back to Earth." Said Dinara as she sat down to Kira 's right in front of the communication station. She then decided to put Torasu down to let him roam aboard the small craft, after making sure that she closed the shuttle's doors just in case Torasu decided to bolt.
"Darn, just when I was getting ready for a nice quiet trip." Said Kira with a slight note of sarcasm and a large smile. "Actually, I was just thinking of you two a moment ago as I was leaving the Knight; I realized that I was going to miss your friendship the most."
"Know what you mean, doc. So, you're just going to be stuck with the three of us for a little bit longer than you expected!" Said Tyran as he scooped up his still bald cat.
*Man, that cat still looks funny* thought Markos to himself as he smiled. Perhaps this trip to Earth wasn't going to be as boring as he originally thought.
"Do you have everything packed?" Asked Markos of Dinara as he walked over to the pilot seat on the Elisa to sit down, and swivelled the chair to face the other two people in the shuttle.
"Believe it or not, yes. We didn't have that much time to get settled in aboard the Knight, so this is all we have to bring with us." Said Dinara as she reached over to grab Nige's free hand and give it a brief squeeze. "Now what I want to know is who is going to be the pilot?"
"I've had enough of the pilot's chair for the moment, why don't you get us underway Kira." Said Nige as he returned Dinara's subtle squeeze, and put down Torasu once again.
In response to Nige, Kira swivelled around in the pilot's seat and began to input the pre-flight sequence into the shuttle's computer system. Finally finishing his task, Kira looked over at Dinara, who happened to be seated at the communications panel and gave her a "all clear" look.
Catching Kira's meaning, Dinara opened a channel to SB901 and said, "This is the Federation Shuttlecraft Elisa requesting permission to disembark."
[Shuttlecraft Elisa, this is SB901, you are clear for departure. Have a safe trip. SB901 out.]
"Firing thrusters." Said Kira as he maneuvered the shuttle off the ground and toward the magnetic energy force field that was keeping the atmosphere of the shuttle pad intact. "Preparing to leave the station."
"Looks like someone has been practicing his helm maneuvers." Said Nige with a smile.
"Well, since I was going to be flying this thing solo I thought that I better make sure that I could at least clear the station without hitting anything." Said Kira in a slightly amused tone.
To that, both Nige and Dinara suppressed a slight laugh as they looked at each other once again.
As the shuttlecraft passed the force field, a slight hum was heard as the shuttle's shield frequency changed to match the field. Suddenly, they were outside of SB901 and moving away from the station with increasing speed.
"Well, Kira, how fast does this thing go?" asked Nige as he sat down in the seat next to the left of Kira.
"Believe it or not, this thing has warp capability. It can go at a maximum of Warp 6." Responded Kira as he concentrated on the controls of the shuttlecraft.
"Good, set a course for Earth, Warp 5." Said Nige as he leaned back in his chair.
"Course set in, and engaging
now." Said Markos, as the ships engines lit up with the familiar blue light
that foretold a developing warp field. Quickly reaching a brilliant blue color,
the engines shot the ship forward through space leaving a little 'wink' behind
them where they had just been a moment before.
