The Whole Ball of Wax

Posted on Mon Feb 15th, 2010 @ 9:58pm by Commodore Samantha York & Colonel Damon Raine & Commander John Sheridan

1,276 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: A New Home
Location: Starbase Typhon
Timeline: Current

ON

The two shuttles gently touched down in a secured shuttle bay and the engines shut down, but no one left their seats.

Then, a medical team came and took away the bodies of those who died on Tiberius X and the body of the k'naar Sam brought back. A routine autopsy would be performed and the families notified. Only when the medics were gone did the crew gather their belongings and leave the shuttle.

Damon and Sam emerged from decontamination and walked into the main observation area to find Commodore James and Lieutenant Commander Sheridan waiting for them.

Rebecka stood there a bit concerned, "I am Commodore James, Task Group commander I was hoping to find someone who could fill us in on what happened here exactly."

Sam walked up to the Commodore and shook her hand. "I'm Samantha York. This was a combined science trip and Marine training. We found that Tiberius X was not as uninhabited as we thought. There are some geothermal vents deep in the caves where the former inhabitants died out. While we were exploring, we found some large rodents. The former inhabitants called them k'naar. They are poisonous. We lost three people before we got out of the caves. I'll be writing up a full report." She nodded to Sheridan to let him know that he would be getting one as well.

"Good I will be waiting to hear the details. That way Captain Fannin and I can decide if warning beacons should be put up to keep people away from the planet as extra precaution." Becka said. "Is everyone else alright physically at least?" She asked.

"Now that we've gone through decontamination, we're fine," Raven replied wryly. "There's also some sort of spore in the ice. When it melts it can make you hallucinate. I guess if people know about the rodents in the caves and the fungus in the ice they should be fine. They'll just need to take precautions." She shrugged. "Unfortunately the archaeological findings, although interesting, were unremarkable."

"Once we have read the reports we will decide if the dangers out way the benefits." Becka said.

"At least for general visitations. I think it should be open to some scientific research, even if it's closely monitored," Sam replied. As far as she was concerned, there was enough worth exploring on the planet to make it accessible to research teams.

Damon piped up from behind the ladies "Ma'am, there is something interesting about the amount of ice on the planet that should be considered as well. Once the fungus is filtered out, that planet could easily represent nearly immeasurable quantities of fresh water. The oceans ice goes down at least a hundred metres and it’s been purified of salt content. It would certainly be something to investigate." He was no scientist, but he could see an opportunity to take something positive away from their sojourn.

Rebecka nodded, "Make sure that information gets into the report to help us make a decision." She said.

Sam smiled at Damon, then looked at Rebecka. "Yes, ma'am. I will get Lieutenant Raine's input for my report. Is there anything else you need?"

"You need to know that your captain has been recalled to Earth for some extra training. Before he left he recommended that you take over as temporary Commanding Officer and asked me to present you with this." Rebecka said and presented a hollow pip.

Sam took the pip, stunned. She looked at Sheridan, then at James. "Why me? I mean, thank you, but I'm the science officer..."

"You were the one he recommended for the position so we honored his request. He felt you were best suited for the job at this time." Rebecka answered.

Damon was smiling widely at the news. "Congratulations Samantha. Well deserved."

Sam grinned at Damon. "And this coming from the man who won't let me go into caves..."

Then she grew more serious and looked at Sheridan. "How do you feel about this?"

"I was sorry to see the Captain depart, I haven't known him long but we did have the beginnings of a good working relationship.

"That's not what I asked," Sam said, folding her arms. "I asked how you feel about me being made CO instead of you."

"Really dosent matter to me at all, I serve the Fleet. Rank or the somewhat overstuffed promotion system has never bothered me."

"Overstuffed? That's one way of looking at it," Sam replied with a chuckle. She hoped he really was okay with him.

Sam looked back to Commodore James "So, what do I do now? Just go back to the ship and say, 'Hi, everyone, I'm now in charge'?'"

"I would suggest a memo of some kind or an announcement yes." Rebecka said, "Or if you prefer I can send the crew a message." She added.

"If you would, I'd appreciate it. That way they won't think I did away with the Captain and took over the ship," Sam replied. Most of the crew would take her word for it, but it would still be nice if the message came from the TGCO.

"I will get the message written as soon as I get back to my office." Becka said. "Do you need anything else?"

Sam ran a hand through her hair as she thought for a moment. "Not that I can think of..."

Sheridan leaned forward and whispered something to Sam, causing her to grin.

Sam took something from the XO and turned to Damon. "There is one more piece of business Captain Montgomery left undone." Her grin grew broader. "And I am honored that it falls to me. Lieutenant Raine, for your excellent work on the Orion and on the away missions, you have been promoted to the office of Marine Captain." She stepped forward, opened the box, and added a silver bar to his collar. "Congratulations, Captain."

It was Damon's turn to be stunned, though it was expressed in the form of a frown. "Huh." He said after a moment, "Uh, thank you." He forced a smile and saluted the Commander, as was the tradition.

Sam frowned back. "You can at least pretend to be happy about it." She wasn't really angry with him. Surprised by his reaction, but then, she probably shouldn't be. "As far as I'm concerned, the promotion is long overdue." If Montgomery hadn't set the wheels in motion for the promotion, that would have been her first order of business as CO.

Samantha's expression left him feeling bad for not being more enthusiastic about the promotion. His guard dropped. "I'm sorry Sam, it's just..." He looked around and was reminded that others were listening in "Another time." He smiled and his guard went up again as he stood in a ridged military fashion.

"Yes. That is a discussion for later." It wasn't the right place to talk about this, either. Sam turned to the Commodore, "Is there anything you would like me to do?"

"I think that covers everything that I had for you at this time." Rebecka answered.

"Thank you, ma'am," Sam said politely. "If you'll excuse us, I would love to clean up and get some food. It's been a long day."

"I would suggest all of you get some rest for now to get ready for your next mission."

Sam nodded and she and Damon bid farewell to James and Sheridan before continuing down the corridor.

OFF

Commodore Rebecka James
TGCO Phoenix Task Group
Commanding Officer
USS Alabama

Commander Samantha York
Commanding Officer
USS Orion

Marine Captain Damon Raine
Marine CO
USS Orion

Lieutenant Commander John Sheridan
Executive Officer
USS Orion

 

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