She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. She was in a teleporter room awaiting transport to her latest assignment which was a galaxy Class starship. Her! Yungchen Taponstang! What in the world was the Federation playing at this time? She was a ground level war commander - not a babysitter for a ship full of families.
She felt more than saw the hand approaching her shoulder, but allowed it to make contact before saying, "Take your hand off my shoulder ensign, before I rip it off and send it back to your family in unrecognisable pieces." She opened one eye and glanced sidewards at the transporter officer, who looked at her in astonishment. But then, seeing her civilian clothing, and not very clean ones at that, drew himself into an authoritive figure and said, "You should think yourself lucky that you have family on board that ship that have given you the civilian authority to board. Don't think for an instant you can throw your weight around with me and get away with it, missy. This is a Starfleet institution, not a boarding station!"
Yungchen pulled herself off the wall and stared the ensign in the eye. "Why, so it is," she said, patronisingly. "My, my, my. You have me at such a disadvantage."
Frustrated to be mocked by a civilian, but knowing he couldn't react to her insubordination without bringing trouble upon himself, the ensign ground his teeth and stabbed his finger towards the transporter area, at the same time flicking through his data pad list personnel. "It's your turn next,miss."
"Commander Yungchen Taponstang."
All colour rushed from the ensign's face and he whirled around to look at her. Yung-chen gave him the barest of smiles that showed the more dangerous side to her nature before moving on to the transporter, much to the amusement of the three security officers with her. "Engage, ensign."
"Yes, ma'am." He paused with his hands over the gauges, then looked up at her. "Ma'am, I just wanted."
The next few moments were blurred as Yungchen and her party were beamed aboard the Providence. "Commander?" One of them ventured. "Yes," she replied.
"You may want to find your uniform before you see the captain. He doesn't like to see his command staff out of uniform whilst on duty."
she thought to herself, knowing just how quickly her and her old unit would have been wiped out if they were parading around in their red and blacks behind the enemy lines. Still, she wasn't behind enemy lines anymore, and she had to remember how the civilised members of Starfleet behaved. "
Understood, ensign. Thank you."
When the transporter room was empty, she looked around at the sparkling clean room and shuddered. "I'm really going to hate this."
After a few minutes a crewman, one from engineering, poked his head through the door. "Are you lost, ma'am?" he asked.
"No, but I will need my uniform modified. It's been a while since I've worn it. Any suggestions on who can take care of that for me?"
"If you'll need it for the first shift this afternoon, I can have my wife look into it for you. She's an excellent seamstress."
Yungchen thought angrily to herself; fighting the desire to swear, very VERY loudly.
The engineer held out his hand. "The name's Wilkins. Harry Wilkins. Sergeant Harry Wilkins."
Yungchen nodded and returned the handshake. "Commander Taponstang."
Just as it had done on the station, the sergeant's friendly expression collapsed. "The new XO?"
Yungchen gave him a grimacing smile and nodded condescendingly.
Taking on a more official position, he quickly said, "Ma'am, if you'll be good enough to follow me, I'm sure we can have your uniform fitting like a glove in no time." - he glanced across at her and added hesitantly - "And.if you don't mind my saying, you may wish to take a quick shower as well."
Yungchen looked down at herself. It was hardly her fault she was filthy. This time yesterday she and a handful of her best operatives were crawling through a sewer outlet on Kepstan to lay siege to a stronghold of Breen resistance fighters, and this morning she's on the first transport back here. She barely had enough time to fill in her replacement on the current objectives before being dragged away by a pair of anxious pilots who didn't want to be caught this far behind Breen lines. And she would've put up a much bigger fight too, if she knew what they had in store for her.
"Hmmmm," she said, gesturing for the sergeant to take the lead before following him out.
Captain Jones sat in his ready room, reading the latest reports on the Warp Core upgrade when the door chime sounded. "Enter!" he called. The door opened and a figure walked in. Not taking his eyes off the screen he was reading, he held up a finger to signal he would be with them in a moment.
Yungchen waited for her new C.O. to finish what he was reading and took the opportunity to evaluate him. Considering what the Wilkin’s woman told her about him, he was much younger looking than what she thought he would be. The Captain had a full head of short cut, black hair. The only sign of age was a little bit of silver grey along the temples. If she had to guess his age only on the position he held, she would have to say he was in his early to late forties, but based on his looks, she figured him to be in his late twenties or early thirties.
Jones finished what he was reading and stood up. He walked around the desk as said, "Ah...Commander Taponstang, nice to finally meet you. Captain John Paul Jones." He said as he offered her his hand. Yungchen took it and approved of his grip. The Captain had a firm but not crushing grip. He had the kind of hand shake that said he was confident in himself and did not have to prove anything to any one. At least that was one piece of good news for the day. The way the rest of her day was shaping up, she fully expected to be confronted by a wet behind the ears whelp who thought his collar made him something all by itself.
"Commander Yungchen Taponstang. Pleasure to meet you, Sir." The Captain was at least a head taller than Yungchen. She took in his broad shoulders, trim torso and figured that he regularly worked out. She could just see a hint of the muscle on his biceps that the Star Fleet uniform could not hide. She looked up at his face and was mildly surprised that for some one of his age, he did not have any of the lines associated with ageing. Then she looked into his eyes.
Taponstang suddenly felt like she was falling into a vast well of time. A sudden flash of images ran through her head. Men on horse back, knights in battle, cannons firing from an old fashion ships sides, men in camouflage fatigues running through rice paddies.. the images went as fast as they
came. Yungchen wavered for a moment.
"Are you alright Commander?" Jones asked, as she paused and blinked to clear her head. It had been a long time since that particular ability had surfaced. Years in fact. "Yes…Sir. I'm fine."
"Splendid. Please sit." He offered her a seat on the sofa. As she went to sit down, a large painting of an old fashion sailing ship caught her eye. "That's the Providence. First ship to bear the name. I...my ancestor sailed that ship during the American Revolutionary War."
Catching the slip, Yungchen kept her face expressionless. "Very nice ship Sir." she said, hearing the pride in his voice.
"Yes. Well..." Jones sat on the opposite side of yhe sofa, pulled a leg up under himself so he could get a better look at Yungchen and continued. "I'm..."
“Permission to speak candidly, Sir?” Yungchen asked, hearing an ‘I’m sure we’ll all be the best of friends’ speech coming and deciding she might as well be damned for what she is, then damned for something she wasn’t.
"When in private conversation I expect it Number One." he said.
The terminology pulled her away from her grievances, however temporarily. "What did you call me?"
"Number One, an old Navy term for First Officers. Some of us old timers
still use it. Does it bother you?" he asked.
Names were the last thing she gave a damn about. "No, Sir. Your ship, call me what you want." "Good. Now..you were about to say?"
"Yes. Captain, there has to have been some kind of mistake. The only time Starfleet has me ship-side is when they’ve wanted to transport me to a planet that’s overrun with hostiles. I have taken the courses at the Academy of course, but unless I’m mistaken, Starfleet goes a long way out of its way to keep civilians off of war bound vessels. And even if we were heading into another war, to be First Officer on a ship like this, well, it's not my style."
"I'm glad you've brought that up,"he said.
Yungchen felt her somber mood lighten. "So there has been a mistake?”
"Oh no. No. No mistake. You're right where I want you to be."
That last sentence sent all alarm bells ringing within Yungchen’s mind. "Sir?"
"Commander, I requested you be assigned to the Providence. I even had to call in a favor or two to get you. Trust me, your being here is no mistake."
"Why me?" she asked, not completely confident she was going to like his answer.
"Your record states that your whole career has been on the ground. While ground duty is a part of Star Fleet, no officer should spend their entire tour of duty on a planet. It's about time you've seen the stars."
“I’ve seen them,” she said, perhaps a little too sarcastically.
Staring almost through her, the captain returned with, “Then perhaps it’s time you saw them up close, Commander.”
Yungchen met his gaze, refusing to be the one to back down. “Do I still have your permission to speak candidly, sir?” she asked, realising they would both be glaring at each other all day if it were up to pride.
“Yes.”
“Ever since I left Kepstan I have been told nothing about this new assignment, except ‘I need a shower’; ‘Being out of uniform isn’t within regulations’; ‘The wrong command insignias were on my old uniform’ once I finally did get it on,‘My hair doesn’t make the ‘Fleet standards’,” she ticked the list off with her fingers as she spoke. “Putting it bluntly, I have had it up to here,” she stabbed her flattened fingers at her temple “With being shipside already, Sir…!”
"Deal with it, Commander!" he shot back. "Star Fleet is not here to cater to your whims or fancies. You swore an oath to obey orders and your orders are clear. You are to serve this ship as First Officer. You WILL serve to the best of your ability. Understood?"
Well, he didn’t pull any punches either. "Yes Sir!"
"Good. Now that we understand each other, I have a list of duties you will preform as First Officer." Jones got up and retrieved a padd off his desk. "Here." He handed it to Taponstang. "Read it and memorize it. Your office will be on deck two. I expect you to keep discipline on this ship. I will
not tolerate dereliction of duty from any member of my crew.”
Yungchen glanced at the list. Lack of discipline was definitely NOT something she could ever be accused of. “Further more, I expect you, with the help of the ships consoler, to act as liaison between Star Fleet and the civilian population on board."
That was another thing entirely. “You want me to act as mediator between Starfleet and civilians?” she asked, for usually it was Starfleet that had to exert it’s influence over the civilians where her actions were concerned, not the other way round.
“Is that a problem?” Yungchen sat back in her seat and steepled her fingers thoughtfully. “Depends on how important they are to the mission.” Jones heard the ominous tone in her voice and immediately landed all over her. “You will NOT harm the civilians!” he commanded, stabbing a finger at her to emphasise the command. “That’s an order!”
“I am not a verbal negotiator, captain…”
“You are now!”
Knowing she wasn’t going to win this one, (too many high-ups in the Federation sharing the captain’s view of the importance of civilian lives) Yungchen ground her teeth, released a long breath of frustration and looked away. It was times like this she wished she was Romulan. There at least, the military had the control.
"What was that? Speak up. I expect you to air any concerns you have to me, whether they be personnel or professional," he said, like he didn’t know what the problem was.
"Why the civilian population?" she asked.
"We are going to explore deep space. This will be a five year mission…”
“What?!”
“No one told you?”
“No one’s told me anything…!…” –realising she was upstanding and shouting at the captain, and seeing in his eyes what he thought of it, Yungchen pulled herself back and said in a slightly calmer voice, “I was ripped off Kepstan without a word as to what, or how, or who. I didn’t even know I was coming shipside until my transporter passed the Providence and the pilot made a passing remark about my luck changing for the better...” , she added silently to herself.
“Then we had better rectify that. It’s all in that briefing padd, but to sum it up, we have been given the job of mapping out the Echo quadrant. It’s a five year assignment and in the past Star Fleet has found that productivity of its crew is maximized when crew men do not have to be away from their families for that long a time."
I wonder who came up with that little gem of
information? Yungchen thought to herself.
“I saw from your record that long missions away from Earth don’t bother you. They don’t bother me either. That’s why we’ve been given the job.” Jones walked to the window behind his desk. "Come here."
Taponstang moved to the captain’s side. "Look out there." he said as he pointed to the stars. "Worlds await us to explore them. To discover their secrets. The universe is full of beauty and wonder, just waiting for us to see it. Listen. Can you hear it? It's beckoning to us. Challenging us…”
she thought sarcastically to herself, wondering just how long she would have to stand there before the divine inspiration he spoke of would be revealed to her.
“Are you up to the challenge, commander?”
Now there was a question she could answer honestly. “Yes,” she said.
"Then come. Let me take you for a tour of your new home." He glanced at the clock
on the wall. It's 13:00. We have a visitor coming on board at 15:00."
"Who might that be?"
"Administrator Pratt. He will be in charge of the E1 colony project. Our first objective of this mission is to get Mr.Pratt and his colonists to their destination. Planet E1 is located on the Gamma/Echo border, and slatted to become a Star Base for the sector."
she thought, deciding today had to be without a doubt the worst day of her life. ‘Oh, this just keeps getting better and better.’ "I see." she responded, somewhat despondently.
"This way." Youngchen followed him out the door.
Mr.Pratt
by Cpt. Jones
The shimmering beam of energy dissipated leaving a man in his early fifties,
dressed in a light green jump suite with Federation patches on the front right pocket, standing in the transporter chamber.
"Welcome aboard the Providence, Mr. Pratt." Jones called out. "Thank you." came the response. "I'm Captain John Paul Jones, and this is my First Officer, Commander Yungchen Taponstang." he said.
"Benjamin Pratt, E1 Colony Administrator." Pratt said, in a dry voice. "I demand to know why my request to bring my people aboard has been denied."
Jones gave Taponstang a "here we go" look, then said, "Mr. Pratt, the Providence will not be ready for travel until the end of the week. We still
have some very sensitive tests to run on the ships systems. Those tests will be completed by tomorrow evening, when your colonists will be allowed to board."
"Not good enough Captain. I want my people to have enough time to get used to this ship before we travel," Pratt said in a self important tone of voice.
"Understand this Mr. Platt, I am Captain of this ship. You do not make demands of me." the look in his eye and the tone voice used made Platt stop and rethink what he was about to say.
"Of course, Captain Jones, how rude of me to demand. Is there no way to bring my people on board this evening?" "Sorry, but No." Jones said.
"I do have friends in Star Fleet Command you know." Platt said.
"As do I. In fact, I have already talked with Command. That is how we reached the compromise of allowing your people to board tomorrow."
"I see. Very well, then tomorrow will have to do."
I'm glad you see it my way. Now, you stated you would like a tour of the Providence. Commander Taponstang will give you that tour.
She will also be the liaison between Star Fleet and the colony project on board this ship. Our Ships
Counsellor will be assisting the Commander. The Commander will point out which decks will be off limits to your colonists. I suggest you make note of
them and see that your people are informed." "Number One, see to it that Mr. Pratt gets the complete tour."
"Yes Sir. This way." Taponstang said, gesturing towards the door. "Oh, and Mr. Pratt..." Jones said as if just remembering something, "Main Engineering will be off limits to your people. I will have any colonist
found on that deck thrown in the brig. Is that understood?"
"Yes Captain. Tell me, does Star Fleet know how you treat guests of the Federation on your ship?" Platt asked. Of course. I make it a practice to treat others with the same amount of respect they give me. Enjoy your tour. Good day." with that Jones left the
transporter room.
Welcome Aboard, Mr.Pratt
by Comdr. Taponstang
"I do have friends in Star Fleet Command you know," Pratt said.
‘Pratt by name, prat by nature,’ Yungchen thought, taking an immediate dislike to the little man.
The captain wasn’t intimidated by the least. "As do I,” he said. “In fact, I have already talked with Command. That is how we reached the compromise of allowing your people to board tomorrow."
"I see. Very well, then tomorrow will have to do."
‘Yes it will,’ Yungchen thought, cheering herself up only by imagining what she would have done to this self-absorbed…individual had she been fortunate enough to have come across him on Kepstar yesterday.
"I'm glad you see it my way. Now, you stated you would like a tour of the Providence. Commander Taponstang will give you that tour.”
‘What?!’ Yungchen kept her features unmoved, but surely the captain wasn’t serious. She glanced across at him and knew from the tensing of his shoulders that he was very serious. Dammit!
“Yes, sir,” she replied, when all she wanted to do was scream at the top of her lungs: “Are you out of your bleedin’ mind?!”
Jones appeared amused by her internal struggle. Without missing a beat, he went on with, “She will also be the liaison between Star Fleet and the colony project on board this ship. Our Ship’s Counsellor will be assisting the Commander. The Commander will point out which decks will be off limits to your colonists. I suggest you make note of them and see that your people are informed.” He turned to face her and added, “Number One, see to it that Mr. Pratt gets the complete tour."
Biting on a thousand things she longed to say, Taponstang nodded, stepped to the side and waved towards the door. “This way, Mr Pratt."
“Oh, and Mr. Pratt..." Jones said as it only just dawned on him - something Yungchen knew (even though she had only met him for the first time a short few hours ago) was never the case. "Main Engineering will be off limits to your people. I will have any colonist found on that deck thrown in the brig. Is that understood?"
“Yes, quite understood. Tell me, does Star Fleet know how you treat guests of the Federation on your ship?" he asked.
Yungchen forced herself to remain calm. He wasn’t being singled out – yet. Only when they take sample scrapings from the centre of the warp coils and register it as human will they be able to say he had been singled out.
The captain was by far the better diplomat between them. He even managed to smile as he said, “Of course. I make it a practice to treat others with the same amount of respect they give me. Enjoy your tour. Good day." Right before dumping the bureaucratic pain in Yungchen’s lap.
“Well, I still think that captain of yours was rather rude,” Mr Pratt said, at the closed door. “And I shall put in a formal complaint about his behaviour.”
‘Oh, will you just,’ Yungchen thought, believing Jones’ behaviour to be far more civilized than what hers would have been had Pratt tried to throw his weight around with her. “The captain calls it as he sees it,” she said, deciding there and then which of the two had her support.
With all the charm of a seasoned bureaucrat, and not knowing the kind of officer he was dealing with, Pratt turned to her and gave her a lovely, yet disarming smile. “So, m’dear. Do you really support everything the good captain says?”
Yungchen never hesitated. “Yes.”
“Even privately?”
Yungchen glared at Pratt again. “What I think privately is none of your business.”
“So you do disagree with him?”
“Actually, yes. There are times.”
“Such as when my people are permitted to come aboard?” he pounced, coming to stand in front of her, his eyes alight with the prospect of a weak link he could exploit.
“No,” she answered sharply. “Such as being forbidden to see how long annoying individuals such as yourself can hold your breath in space.” She gave him a dangerously filthy look and curled her lip to show him she was not bluffing as she added, “And next time you try to undermine either one of us either to our faces or behind our backs, I may just disregard that order anyway.”
“Is that a threat?!” Pratt demanded, thrusting his hands upon his hips and glaring up at her.
‘You can’t kill him. You can’t even hurt him,’ she ordered herself, although her fist clenched with a will of its own. Gnashing her teeth, she forced a thin smile upon her unwilling lips and said very levelly, “Nothing of the sort, Mister Pratt. Consider it a heartfelt promise.” Her smile was gone in an instant as she waved towards the doors and said, “This way, Mister Pratt.”
“You may address me as ‘sir’, you know.”
‘Not in your lifetime, pipsqueak,’ she thought, but wisely kept that comment to herself. “I’ll keep that in mind, Mister Pratt,” she said, instead. “As the captain said, the engineering levels are completely out of bounds.”
As they left the transporter, Yungchen prayed for a little divine assistance, for this so called guided tour was the very same one she herself had only undertaken once a few hours earlier – and every corridor looked the same! How did anyone find anything in this place?
After only a few minutes of bluffing her way around the corridors, she thought, ‘Enough of this wandering round in circles rot!’ and then thought as loudly as she could, ‘ANYONE WHO’S A TELEPATH ON DECK SIX AND KNOWS THEIR WAY AROUND THIS SHIP, FIND COMMANDER TAPONSTANG NOW!’
- End Transmission -
Esperenz
by Lt.Cmdr. Esperenz, CMO
"Welcome aboard, Ma'am," a woman dressed in a sea green medical uniform said, with her hand outstretched, both for Amelia's things as well as in greeting.
"It's nice to be onboard, ensign," She replied, stepping down off the teleporter. "Is everything under control in sickbay?"
The young ensign smiled. "You mean, is it all about to blow up without you, ma'am?"
Amelia grinned, though it had been a long trip. "Something like that." She noticed the fine row of bone ridges down the ensign's pale blue face and said, "Ensign Jurmin, correct?"
The Bolian smiled and nodded. "You have been doing your homework, doctor."
"Not as much of it as I would like," she said wearily. "There is a very big gap in the medical records of the ship's two most senior officers."
Jurmin nodded sympathetically. "I'm afraid the captain's never been overly fond of doctors, and word has it the new XO just doesn't like people in general."
"That is no excuse for insufficient medical data on either of them. As soon as I put my bags in my room, I want to meet with both of them."
The Bolian held up a finger to speak, then paused, as if thinking better of it.
"You were going to say something?" Amelia asked.
"I was...just going to recommend starting with the captain. The XO's only been on board a few hours and from what I hear, when I say she's not friendly, I mean she's really not friendly." She looked around, as if expecting the XO to appear from the shadows. "Rumour has it she spent too
long on the front. Way, way too long, if you know my meaning..."
Amelia didn't seem phased in the least. "All the more reason to have a psychological evaluation done on her at the very least as soon as possible. If she's unfit for duty, I'll certainly have no problems signing the order."
Jurmin titched, but said, "It's your funeral, ma'am. I just thought I'd warn you."
Amelia chuckled and gestured for Jurmin to lead the way. "It will be a very cold day in hell before I worry about what a solid might and might not feel inclined to do to me." She looked at the hallway before her and thought, 'If I had a slip of latinum for every person that felt that way about Odo and I since the beginning of the Dominion War, I'd be richer then the Ferengi Grand Nagas.'
Once Jurmin showed her to her quarters, Amelia made her way to the bridge. "Lieutenant Commander Amelia Esperenz reporting for duty, sir," she said, giving the old captain a formal salute.
The captain twisted around in his chair, and for a moment she almost caught a look of distrust on his face, before it was hidden behind a mask of indifference. He rose to his feet saying, "My ready-room, Doctor."
Amelia had a feeling it was going to come to this. Ever since her file was no longer deemed classified (barring a few certain sections) and the knowledge of her being a Founder became common knowledge, she had been confronted by waves of suspicion and distrust from every crew she had worked with.
With a small sigh of regret, Amelia followed him into his ready room.
"Please, sit down." Jones gestured to the seat across from his desk, while he sat down behind the desk. "I'll be short and to the point, Dr. Esperenz,"
Amelia tensed slightly, knowing what he was going to say.
"I chose you for this assignment because you are a changeling. I know there is still a lot of prejudice towards your kind. I must admit,in inviting you to be on my Command Staff has stretched my own point view." Jones stepled his fingers, thinking of how he was going to phrase his next words. "Members of the crew may take sometime getting used to the idea of a Founder on board, therefore rumours may circulate that you've been changing into people and objects in order to eavesdrop
where you are not welcome. To be frank, it is exactly this ability, and genuinely wanting to help your carear that I chose you."
Amelia sat back in her chair surprised, she wasn't ready for someone to be to accepting of her this soon after the war. "However," Jones continued, "If I find that you have been evesdroping with out my consent, I'll dump you on the nearest uninhabitable asteroid I can find and leave you there. Is that
understood?"
"Clearly, sir. Now, may I be equally as blunt?"
The captain nodded.
"How do you expect me to be able to keep an accurate medical file on a crew that is already in possession of the knowledge that there are gaps in your medical files, and that the one for Commander Taponstang is eight years out of date?" She tilted her head to one side and raised an eyebrow, waiting to see if the great John Paul Jones had an answer for that one.
John's lips tightened. It was clear he didn't like being stabbed at like that, but he had given her permission to speak freely. "Commander Taponstang has been unavailable for nearly eight years. But you are correct, you should have at least something a little more current on her."
"And what about you, sir? I can deal with Taponstang in my own way, and in my own time. But things would go so much more smoothly if I had your co-operation to use as an argument for any smoke she may throw up."
"That is true. After we get the Commander looked after, and I get this moving, I'll make it a priority to get down to Sick Bay, when I find time," he said.
"There's no time like the present."
"I'll inform you when I'm ready."
"But, Sir..."
Jones started to get a little agitated. "I have stated my intentions, Doctor. Dissmissed."
Amelia sat looking at him for a moment, trying to figure out if he didn't like examinations or if he was trying to hide something.
"Anything else?" he asked.
"No Sir. I'll be in Sick Bay if you need me."
She got up and left the ready room, returning to her sickbay.
Jurmin was there to greet her. "How did it go, ma'am?"
"We got Taponstang." Amelia knew it was a hollow victory, and the muffled chuckle from the ensign only confirmed that view. "Don't worry ensign. As someone once said a long time ago, "I haven't even begun to fight."
Conflicts
by Cpt.Jones & Cmdr.Taponstang
++I understand Sir. Now, if you could so me a favour. Have someone in the Colonial Projects Commission speak to Pratt about HIS manners, or I will lodge a formal complaint.++ Jones stared at the image of Admiral Lowe, waiting for a reply.
++I can do that for you John. One way or another we'll solve this personality conflict before you ship out.++ Lowe said.
++You know, Ron, the more I'm around the man, the more I like Commander Taponstang's idea.++
++Captain!++ Lowe retorted.
++Just kidding.++ Jones said, holding his hands palm upwards as if to ward of the Admiral's mild rebuke.
++Anything else Sir?++ Jones asked.
++No, that's all for now. I'll be talking to you before you leave. Lowe out.++
Jones switched off his desks terminal. "Computer, where is Commander Taponstang?" he asked. The metallic, female voice of the ships computer answered him, "Commander Taponstang is in her office."
Jones pushed himself away from his desk and headed out the ready room's door. He went to the turbolift and gave the computer the instruction to bring him to deck two.
Yungchen stared at the assortment of different pads in front of her and felt as if she was going to scream! She hated studying! She was never the most academic student to begin with – preferring almost any kind of combat to this! A dozen broken bones were less painful! And then there was Pratt! That beefed up, sonuva…
The door chime broke Yungchen away from her frustration. “Come in!” she snarled. ‘And may what ever divine entity you worship have mercy on your soul.’
Her rage was immediately curtailed as she saw the Captain wander across the room towards her with a slightly amused smile. “Sir,” she said, starting to rise to her feet
Jones waved her down. “As you were, Commander.” He glanced at all the various pads and added, “Getting the better of you, Yungchen?”
Yungchen looked at the pads herself and said, “It’s a combined effort, sir. But right about now I’d trade the whole Dominion War again for this paperwork.”
Considering the billions of casualties in the war, Taponstang’s words were not appreciated. “I’ll pretend you don’t mean that.”
“That’s your entitlement, sir,” she said, before she could stop herself. Before he could tear into her, she added, “I just never was one for paperwork, Captain.” When she realised she still hadn’t invited him in, she gestured to the chair on the other side of the desk. "Please, have a seat."
Jones pulled the seat back and sat down.
"What brings you here?" she asked.
"I had a conversation this morning with Admiral Lowe. It seems he's had a complaint given to him by Mr. Pratt about a conversation you both had yesterday."
"Really…?…" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm and her eyebrows arching up ever so slightly.
"Yes. Did you threaten to throw Mr. Pratt out an air lock?"
"No Sir, I most definitely did not." she replied, way too quickly.
"Then why did he say you did?" Jones asked.
"I do not believe the word ‘airlock’ was used at all.”Jones wasn’t amused. “Stick to your job, Commander, and leave the word games to the bureaucrats.”
Yungchen titched and released her breath. It had been a long night. “Very well. I told him if I had my way I’d like to see how long he could hold his breath in space, sir.” Titling her head as if to remember the conversation exactly, she went on. “Then, I think I said, ‘it wasn’t a threat, but a heartfelt promise.’”
Jones narrowed his eyes for a moment, then said, "I see. And what brought this 'heartfelt-promise' on?"
"Sir, the little…” Pulling back on what she wanted to call Mr Pratt, Yungchen substituted, “…Weasel was trying to play us against each other to get his people on board yesterday. I know we've only just met, but you are the C.O. and my loyalty is to you unless you give me sufficient reason to lose that loyalty."
"I can see why you said what you said. We will approach the matter this way, we will not give any more 'promises' to Mr. Pratt. Admiral Lowe is looking into the problem. If he can not give me a satisfactory reply, I will lodge my own complaint with Pratt's superiors. One way or another, he be put in his place." Jones said.
"Isn't an air lock easier?" Taponstang asked, arching her eyebrow again.
"No, Commander. Besides, you'd have a body floating around. Now a plasma conduit leaves no traces.."
Yungchen chuckled at his attempt to humour her. “It still leaves a DNA trace that can be found if someone’s looking for it,” she said, telling him that she had also entertained that possibility at some stage since yesterday.
Jones matched her grin. "But it’s only a pipe dream, Commander. Neither one of us is permitted to kill him." he said.
Taponstang nodded her head, but her curiosity about Jones’ had been tweaked. She never thought HE would say something like that.
"Now, what is all this on your desk?" he said, pointing to the pile of padds.
Having come full circle with her troubles, Taponstang gave a frustrated snort and said, "I'm trying to catch up on Star Ship systems. It has been a while since I've needed to use them and I refuse to be the only XO in existence who doesn’t know the bow end of the ship from the stern," she said.
"Good to see you hitting the books. Did I mention that before we leave you will have to pass the Bridge Officers Test again?"
"What?!" she said, for studying for her own benefit was one thing – resitting actual exams were another.
"Well, just because I wanted you here, doesn't mean that you don't have to know what you're doing. The test will be held three days from now on Holo Deck Three. I have cleared my schedule for two hours a day for the next three days to help you prepare. The first class will begin today at 20:00hrs. Meet me in the holo deck then."
’Vundeba,’ she thought, forcing herself not to roll her eyes with great difficulty. Will this ship never stop throwing doozies at her?! ‘That’s just peachy.’ Seeing from his stance that he was awaiting her reply, she said, "Yes, Sir."
"Good. Now, did you receive the crew manifest?"
"Yes. I have it right...here." she said as she shuffled some padds around until she found the correct one. "All crew coming aboard from Earth will be on board by noon tomorrow. we will take on additional crew when we rendezvous with the Enterprise three weeks from launch. Then we have another ship to ship transfer with the Cargo Ship, The Christopher’s Flight, and the last of our crew will be picked up on our one day layover at DS9, where we also pick up the last of the colony supplies."
"Very good." he said as he got up to leave, "I'm glad to see you're getting into your duties right away."
"What choice do I have, sir?” she asked, then added heatedly through pursed lips, “None, if my memory of our conversation yesterday serves me correctly."
The moment the words passed her lips, Taponstang knew she was going to regret them. She could snap and snarl at any other crewman and get away with it – except this one. But it had been years since she had answered to anyone, and at that time her old C.O. was used to her brashness, and curt replies. Commander Hashan was a C.O. that was equally as brash and curt in a combat setting.
This being shipside without impending combat was a whole new world to her with a C.O. she did not know and more importantly, did not know how far she could push him. She was about to find out.
Jones looked at her with a fire in his eyes. He leaned over her desk and said in a cool, even tone, "Commander, I know I said you could be candid with me in private, however, that does not mean that we're mates. Save the sarcasm for officers of suitable rank, not to me. Understood?" he said.
Remembering only too clearly what would happen if she looked into his eyes, it was all she could do to look away with his face only inches from hers. She knew it was a sign of weakness, not to match his gaze, but anything was better than the psionic flashes that came from meeting his eyes.
"Yes, sir." she said, hoping he wouldn’t push the issue. "Understood."
He straightened up. "Good. I'm glad we've come to an understanding on this. I'll see you at 20:00 hrs."
With that he left the room.
Where do loyalties lie?
Sick Bay:
Amelia sat in her office, staring at the open screen before her. When she had first been notified of her posting to the Providence, she was excited to get away from all the negativity of the Dominion War. But Robert had warned her that it wasn’t going to be an easy job – and the way he’d said it, she knew he knew something that he didn’t feel particularly inclined to bestow on her. As she went from one medical log to the next, she felt she was beginning to see what he meant. Out of a crew and civilian contingent of over three and a half thousand, barely a handful had up to date medicals. And those that did only did so because they were dragged off the line and forced into having them. That made her very worried.
Of course, the war could be blamed. She knew better than most that medical profession had their hands full just trying to keep the casualties alive, without worrying about housekeeping. But that housekeeping would have certainly made her job a lot easier now.
She skipped back to the beginning of the list of insufficient medicals and shook her head as Jones’ name scrolled across her screen. How in the world was she going to coherse anyone else into taking their mandatory medicals if the Captain himself won’t?
Her hand moved hesitantly towards one of five medical pads she had on the table before her. She tilted it up just enough to identify it as the right one, before pulling it out and placing it on top of the others. That had to be a last resort. She had to try every other avenue first – before resorting to legalities. Things were going to be tricky enough being the only Founder onboard a Federation ship, without taking the vicious step of removing the staff from active duty one at a time until their medicals were up to date.
The others she could get enroute to Deep Space Nine and pick up whatever surplus medical equipment they needed there – but she really needed the Captain’s before they left Earth. She would be in dereliction of her own duty if she let this ship leave without first proving the medical condition of her Captain. She tilted her head and rested it on her thumb and forefinger. Decisions, decisions. If she were to pull him in by force, it would serve as an example to the rest of the crew, but would chronically damage their working relationship, and they were stuck together for five years.
But he had agreed to come in on his own in a day or two, and they were in port for a week. Amelia knew a fob story when she heard it, but for the sake of their ability to work together, she really hoped he would stand by his word. She would not allow this ship to leave port with a Captain that had failed to report for a medical, on the grounds that he might be trying to hide a condition which may effect his ability to command.
Amelia closed her eyes. Why is it always the Captains that become the biggest babies?! She thought, angrily. It wasn’t her fault he was being difficult. She had tried to show him how important it was that he lead by example, and his reply had been to offer his second in command like a sacrificial lamb.
Amelia tapped a button, and the name of the second ‘head’ on her list appeared. Yungchen Taponstang. Unlike Jones, who at least had some data on him from his medical three years ago, Taponstang hadn’t been brought in off the field on over eight years. Amelia ran her index finger around the Commander’s face, trying to imagine what it must have been like for a solid to see that much combat and still maintain their ability to fight. Her psychological profile would make very interesting reading indeed.
A tap at the door’s architrave broke her train of thought. “Ahh – Lieutenant Sheree, isn’t it?” she asked with a smile, waving the Caitian in. “Come in, come in.”
The Caitian smiled a toothy smile and wandered over to stand beside the desk. However, the moment she made eye contact with the file Amelia was working on, all signs of happiness deserted her and she grimaced and shuddered.
“Worked with the good Commander before, Lieutenant?” Amelia asked.
Kalyps Sheree shook her head. “Not directly, no. Not yet. I’ve been too busy picking up the pieces of her whirlwind attitude with Administrator Pratt.” She shook her head again. “It really takes a lot to get me going, but Mister Pratt has been complaining to me ever since he came onboard about the lack of sensitivity of our good XO.”
Amelia snorted and tapped the side of her monitor. “And if he ever saw her record, he would know why. Sensitivity doesn’t get you far on the front line.” She turned to the Ship’s Counsellor and asked, “So, when do you plan on hitting her for a psychological evaluation?”
Sheree shook her head. “One headache at a time, Doctor. The fact that she survived this long means she’s able to adapt.”
“Adaptation doesn’t make her a good XO.”
“No, but the bridge exams she’s about to resit will.”
“Oh,” Amelia said, suddenly understanding the counsellor’s desire to avoid the Commander, at least for the time being. “Does she know about this?”
“I don’t know – but I certainly don’t intend to be the one to tell her. If even half of what Mr Pratt has been telling me is true, that is one woman I do not want to get in the path of when she’s angry.” Sheree shook her head. “I’ve warned Mr Pratt to stay out of Taponstang’s way for the next day or two, and for any enquiries he has to come to me. If she was in a good mood when she threatened to space him, I think she is one Commander who is very capable of fulfilling that threat should the mood take her.”
“How did Mr Pratt take that?”
Sheree shrugged. “Considering how the Captain made a point of saying the First Officer was going to be at his beck and call, not overly well. I only hope common sense over rides his pride – or we may both be seeing a lot more of Mr Pratt and Commander Taponstang.” Sheree rubbed a feline paw across her jaw. “Do you think I should make it an order?”
“It would certainly make life a lot easier for both of us, but I don’t think the Captain will appreciate it if he made such an issue of it. Maybe this is his way of seeing just what Taponstang is capable of.”
“I could tell him what Taponstang is capable of, right now.”
“In a civilian role, my dear, Caitian. In a civilian role.”
“Counsellor Sheree! Are you…Oh, there you are!” Mr Pratt said, barging through the length of the medical bay and into the CMO’s private office. “I need you to talk to the Captain! The cargo space he has allotted us on Deck thirty two is inexcusable! We need power conduits in order to keep the hydroponics running, and that cargobay has none! And we need access to relays in engineering to verify that out equipment is running at peak efficiency when we arrive. When the Captain said we weren’t allowed in engineering, surely he didn’t mean the relay stations as well! How does he expect us to achieve anything if we arrive with faulty gear due to his incompetence?”
“If the equipment is faulty, doesn’t that imply the fault is with the colonists who run them, rather than the ship’s Captain that is transporting them?” Amelia asked, unable to stop herself from defending the Providence.
Mr Pratt glared at her, then waved his hand with an impatient “Bah!” at her before continuing his conversation with Sheree, as if Amelia wasn’t even in the room.
Sheree sent the CMO a quick ‘Save me’ look before taking the irate administrator by the arm and leading him, gently but forcefully from the room. “I’m certain the Captain didn’t intend for you to be disadvantaged, Mr Pratt,” she said, choosing her words carefully as they left the sickbay.
“I wouldn’t bet anything you value on that, Kalyps,” Amelia said, grinning at the closed door. But, a quick glance at her own problems and her smile evaporated. She went back to the head of her list and said to the image, “Please, Captain. Don’t force me to make a scene over this. Especially not in front of Mr Pratt.”
"What Is The Point in Life?"
by Cmdr. Taponstang
Yungchen stared at the pads for a few minutes after he was gone, but she couldn’t get her mind around the information anymore. She had been at it most of the night anyway, trying to vindicate the desire to murder a certain bureaucrat. She glanced at the clock. Nearly thirteen hundred. She had five hours before her first ‘class’.
She closed her eyes and dropped her head into one outstretched hand. She should have stayed on Kepstar. No. She should have let herself get killed on Kepstar. Any thing would have been better than this. Bureaucrats….bureaucratic captains… children…
Why did Jones have to discover her file? She was more than happy where she was – where the deaths of the enemies ahead of her was her only objective and no one gave a damn how she went about achieving it. Diplomatic liaison. Jones was insane! Her idea of diplomacy was to hold whoever the individual was that’s disagreeing with her under water until they stopped struggling. Now, on top of having to stomach Pratt and his ridiculous demands, she has to go back over a course she thought was long gone.
She lifted her head and looked at the clock again. She needed to clear her head.
Rising to her feet, she moved to the area closest the window and knelt down. There had been a lounge there the night before, but it was now stuffed up one end of the office behind a dividing screen with all the other non-essentials. ‘I can see why you turned your back on it all, mother,’ she thought, positioning herself in the yogis lotus position.
She rested her forearms on her knees and clasped her hands loosely in her lap. She almost closed her eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it in a long stream before beginning the slow, rhythmic breaths that cleared her mind. She then allowed the ancient koan to enter her thoughts. “Keichu made a cart whose wheels had a hundred spokes. Take both front and rear wheels away and remove the axels: then what will it be?”
For five and a half hours she meditated, allowing her thoughts to wander over the ancient question, like a Skip in a storm, never trying to guide but allowing her mind to wander where it will. Just as it had always done, the question remained unanswered, but her thoughts had become her own again.
She opened her eyes and stared out the window for a moment before getting to her feet. She needed something to eat, but didn’t particularly want another confrontation with Pratt so soon after the last. She had been fortunate in latching on to Ensign Kolner – a betazoid engineer who had heard her demand and made herself available to guide the two through the ship from the shadows. Taponstang would think of where they wanted to go, and Kolner would provide the directions, and Pratt was none the wiser.
Was she afraid of Pratt? Taponstang snorted and shook her head. Hardly. What she was frightened of is what she herself would do if the insect kept pushing her buttons. Jones made it very clear that they weren’t to kill him, but she knew more than most about how to cause someone a lot of pain, but keep them alive for information. Striking certain nerve clusters did wonders for loosening the tongues of her enemies – even the Breen had them.
But then Pratt would go running to the captain as soon as he had recovered, and then the captain would come gunning for her. But how was she going to keep her hands off the little toad?
Suddenly, her mother’s words of many years ago flashed through her mind. “If he has nothing worthy to contribute then his life is abstainable. By treating him any dif-ferently, you are contributing to your own insignificance.”
Ignore him. Pretend he doesn’t exist, until he is able to prove that he does. If he has demands that require seeing to, see to them. If he doesn’t, let him make a fool of himself. To argue over nothing is to make yourself just as big a fool.
Having decided on the safest course of action, Yungchen quickly had a shower and made her way to Ten Forward. She ordered a meal of fish, dry bread and a glass of water and made her way to a table that had only recently been cleared.
As she was eating, she heard someone approach her. “Mind if I sit here?” a young male voice asked. Yungchen shrugged and waved him towards a vacant seat. She didn’t need the whole table. He was young – fresh out of the academy by the look of him. His eyes showed his lack of combat experience. “I’m Michael Baskins,” he said, holding his hand out to her.
“Commander Taponstang,” she said, taking the ensign’s hand.
“Is it true you were behind Breen lines up until yesterday?”
“The day before, actually.”
“That must have been intense.”
Yungchen thought about it for a moment, and a rarely used smile crossed her lips. “That’s certainly one way to put it.”
“Do you mind if I ask what it was like?”
“It was…probably like nothing you have ever experienced, lad. Unlike those on the line, we weren’t just soldiers. To succeed, we had to become hardened killers.”
“There is always death in war.”
Yungchen took a mouthful of fish. “True. But there doesn’t always have to be war in death.”
“So…what did you do?”
She took a bite of her bread, then swished it down with a mouthful of water. “The Breen need a specific quality of water to survive. Let’s just say, once we found where they were getting their water from, they no longer received that quality.”
“You poisoned them?”
Yungchen nodded. “We couldn’t make it an outright killing poison either. Their equipment would have picked up on it. So it had to be subtle, and unfortunately, quite nasty.”
“But…once they drank it and were poisoned, you would have moved in and quickly killed them, right?”
Yungchen thought about the inconvenience which that particular pocket of Breen had caused her people and knew nothing would have made her put them out of their misery – purely on the principle of it. But the boy didn’t need to hear that. “If I had the time I might have considered it. But we had to take the Kindeman Range before the reinforcements arrived. Those Breen on the outpost died slowly and horribly.”
“But there’s no glory in that!”
“There is no glory in war period, ensign!” she barked back at him. “Anyone who tells you otherwise has made no other contribution to the universe and is just trying to justify themselves in your eyes.”
One thing she had to give the lad. He didn’t run off trying to tell everyone what a liar she was. He just sat there, looking in his drink, for the answers.
“But there has to be glory in battle – or else the Klingons wouldn’t devote their entire existence to it.”
Yungchen took a swig of her drink to avoid smiling. He at least gave things a lot of thought. It was more than most did at his age. “The Klingons are but one people, and they raise toasts to their greatest warriors. But what happens when there isn’t a war? It’s easy to be a hero in a fight with an enemy, where you know what needs to be done, but how do you achieve the same level of herodom during peace time? They create wars to keep the momentum going, and as such, they are a dying race.
They will willingly sacrifice hundreds of thousands of lives to create a hero, not thinking for an instant how those hundreds of thousands will be replaced. It is not the winner who writes the eternal history, but the survivor. And a billion years after the Klingon Empire is no more, how do you think the universe will describe the Klingons and their eternal desire for heroes that ultimately led to their downfall?”
“The Klingons are not the only race of warriors.”
“True – but you were asking about the glory of war, and only fools believe in such a thing.” She took a mouthful of bread and added in afterthought, “And children who know no better.”
Michael frowned and chewed on his bottom lip, and she could see he wanted to say something but didn’t dare. It was his loss. Had he the nerve to keep the conversation going, she might just have pointed out what things in the universe are worth striving for.
After Michael rose and left, Yungchen continued eating, although she was already aware of yet another man, this time an engineer, making his way towards her. “You didn’t have to cut him down like that, ma’am. He was only asking...”
Yungchen finished the last of her fish and sat back to look at the man towering over her. Unlike the boy, this one had seen combat – and a lot of it. “Was I wrong?” she asked, knowing very well that she wasn’t and he knew it too.
Tarris ground his teeth. “No, but there are ways to tell people things without making them appear foolish.”
“I do no have time to pamper the young.”
“You aren’t on battlefield now, commander. You had all the time in the world.”
True. But she was still getting used to that and there was no way she was going to let the Trillian Lieutenant know that. She took another sip of her drink and gestured for him to take Baskins’ vacant seat. Once he had, she said, “He is now in possession of information he did not have before, and is able to implement it immediately. Isn’t that more efficient than implementing it sometime in the future once the message had finally been revealed to him?”
“If all of life’s lessons could be revealed so easily, what is the point in life?”
Noticing the time, and knowing she was due in the holodeck in a few minutes, Yungchen ate the last of her bread, swallowed the remaining water and rose to her feet. “What indeed, Lieutenant Korr?” she asked with an intriguing smile as she turned to leave. “What indeed?”
Medical Records
by Cpt. Jones
Captains Log Stardate 2384.4
Captain John Paul Jones reporting.
The Providence has four more days in port before she embarks on
her five year mission. All personnel coming aboard from Earth and Star Fleet Command are present and accounted for. Administrator Pratt's colonist's are adjusting to life on a star ship. There have been some complaints about the off limits decks, but none worthy of notation.
I have just beamed back to the ship after taking some shore leave before we go. While visiting Star Fleet Command, I took the liberty of having a physical exam, the results of which my ship's Chief Medical Officer may put in her data bank.
Commander Taponstang will be taking the first of her preliminary Bridge Officer's Test today. I feel confident that she knows and understands the ships systems. Yesterday we spent six hours in holo deck two going over said systems. The Commander has a remarkably photographic memory.
Today we put that memory to the test and see if she can manipulate the systems she's learned to her advantage in a crisis situation. She will be taking two preliminary tests, then the final test the day before we leave. I'm counting on her passing that test. Having seen a small part of her personality, I have a feeling the Commander would not like her alternate assignment if she failed to qualify for this post.
End Log.
Jones stood up from his desk and picked up the padd that held his medical records from Star Fleet Medical. He turned it over in his hands and smiled to himself.'The good doctor is going to love this' he thought. After just over 3,000 years of changing identities, Jones had found ways to circumnavigate the new technology he was witness to.
Evan though hard currency did not have a place in the economy of the United Federation of Planets in the 24th century, the adage "every one has a price" still worked. Jones had an acquaintance at Medical that was a collector of rear books. The right book could get you a clean bill of health without ever having a medical tricorder come near you. Many crew men during the war looked for doctor's that would bend the rules a little so they would not be pulled from combat duty. If one looked hard enough, one could find a sympathetic doctor, and Jones had done just that.
All it cost him was a signed copy of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne. Jones remembered the nights he discussed the book with Verne while he was writing it, and how Jones shared his vast knowledge of ships and the sea with the author. When the book was finally published, Jones bought ten copies, and had Verne sign them for him. At the time Verne thought Jones a bit eccentric, but Jones knew given time, these books would be a collectors item. All he would have to do is waite.
And waite he did. In the 20th century when money was used, he sold a copy for $800,000. Not bad for a book he bought a century earlier for .75 cents. Now the book was once again proving it's worth to him. Not only did he secure the one medical transcript, but an update program as well. All he would have to do is access the file, and the next physical would appearer as it should be-that of man ageing normally, instead of the reduced rate that occurred when he was away from the Earth's influence.
---Sick Bay---
Jones strolled into Sick Bay and was met by a young Med. Tech.
"May I help you Sir?" she said.
"I'm looking for Dr. Esperenz." he replied.
"Oh, right this way." The Tech. led Jones to the Doctor's office.
Jones thanked the Tech., then lightly rapped his knuckles on one of the four windows that made up the office walls.
Esperenz looked up from the display screen she had been staring at and had a glint of surprise in her eyes as she saw Jones standing at her door way.
"Captain, what a surprise. Come down for that exam?" she asked.
"Yes and No." he replied.
A look of puzzlement now replaced her surprised look.
"What does that mean?"
"I took some shore leave today, and had to stop by Star Fleet Command. While there, I was cornered into having a physical preformed." he said.
Now, a look of indignation crossed her face.
"That is not right! I am your Chief Medical Officer, your health is MY responsibility! What do they think down there, that I can't preform my duties or something?!" she said, anger in her voice.
"Calm down Doctor. It is not due to your abilities that they cornered me. It is more my fault than any one else's. You see, since my last CMO was transferred when we docked here a year ago, Star Fleet Medical had the job of keeping us in shape. Suffice it to say, your not the only doctor I've dodged." he said.
"Really. And why do you "dodge" us?" she asked.
"There's an old saying. 'If it's not broke, don't fix it.' I figure, if I'm not sick, I don't need a doctor."
"A philosophy like that will end up getting you sick." she said.
"Well, then I'd come and see you, wouldn't I?" he smiled as he said this. "Any way, I thought you'd like to have the results of the exam for your file." he offered her his transcript, which she took.
"I'll be reviewing these." she said.
"By all means, do. Now, have you had a look at Commander Taponstang?"
"Not yet. I was waiting until after she took her Bridge exam."
"Hmm. Good thinking. Speaking of which, I do have somethings to take care of before her first exam today." he said.
Esperenz nodded her head.
"Doctor," Jones began, "This is going to be a long mission. I do hope you give us a chance to become friends."
"I hope we have the chance too Sir."
"Very Well, have a good day." he said, and left the room.
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