Getting Up to Speed

Posted on Mon Dec 6th, 2010 @ 1:49pm by Commodore Samantha York & Colonel Damon Raine

1,199 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Peace, or Something Like It
Location: Sam's Quarters
Timeline: Current

ON

Sam walked into her quarters with a sigh of relief. It seemed like it had been weeks rather than hours. Her computer beeped that she had a message, but she left it for now. First, she had to get out of her clothes and get clean. Her skin itched and she didn't want to think about what might have been in that floor/ceiling.

She stripped off her clothes and tossed them into the trash. She didn't think they would ever come clean and wasn't sure she wanted to try. Then she walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. A hot shower with lots of soap water would do her a world of good right about now.

When she heard Damon in the other room she called out, "I'll be out in a minute." Or two.

"Take your time love." Damon called back with a large smile on his face. He couldn't help but be reminded of the first time the two of them were in her quarters like this after coming back from a bad away mission.

He set the plate he was carrying down on the table, her favourite meal, which was being kept warm under a lid. He figured the food she would have been served in captivity wouldn't be of the highest quality; that is if she was given food at all.

After caring for the table, Damon walked over to the couch and sat down heavily in it. There was a lot of information to go over with her; some of it wasn't good.

Sam walked out of the bathroom dressed in a fleece robe and sniffed appreciatively. "You are an angel," she grinned and gave Damon a quick kiss before heading to the table. She took the plate to the couch and sat down next to Damon. "Thank you, sweetheart." She took a bite of pasta and sighed in pleasure. It had been far too long since her last meal. Sam took another bite and sat back. "Okay, so what's been going on in the past day and where's Karma?"

"Seems a lot has happened since you've been gone." He ran his hand through his hair before continuing. "During the briefing for the planned assaults, Karma suddenly collapsed. He was rushed to sickbay. I haven't heard of the cause of the collapse yet, but the last I heard he has since slipped into a coma. The doctor may have more information now though." He shrugged due to his lack of further information on what had happened.

Sam set the plate on the coffee table and looked at Damon. "I'll talk to the doctor in a bit. Did you know we were two hours away from global war? The Grand Marshal had a device that kept him in constant contact with his people. If the contact is severed, the Coalition is instructed to launch a missile attack on the Alliance. Whatever field blocked my telepathy also blocked his communication as well. His people don't seem to be very happy with him at the moment, so I don't know how that will affect peace talks."

Damon nodded "From what I understand the Coalition Council tried taking over control with the Grand Marshall unaccounted for. It got pretty tense between the two separate groups for a while there. The Alliance leader, surprisingly, wasn't happy with that notion anymore than Teenan being in power. It might plunge both factions into a different kind of civil war with everyone vying for power."

Sam groaned and laid her head on Damon's shoulder. "I don't know if we've helped or made the situation worse. The Grand Marshal is not a fan of the Federation or the Alliance. From what you say, he's the best shot for peace we have."

"Sad to say, I think it might be." He gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head "And the sooner, the better. One of our away missions reported that the people are starting to act very oddly. I wouldn't be surprised if it's due to the added stress they are under lately." He stopped for a moment as he considered the mission report. "Although, that team did find a strange piece of technology down there that was emitting some very odd readings at the same time. They brought it back on-board and we have a team of engineers running over its data. May be a waste of time, but we didn't want to leave any stone un-turned."

"A machine on the surface? I'll have to see what that's all about. If it does have something to do with the odd behavior we might be able to use it to our advantage." She sighed heavily. "At this point, we need all the advantage we can get. This mess is getting deeper and deeper." She hugged arm and smiled. "It's good to be back with you. I missed you."

"Likewise." He said, understating his feelings dramatically. "Seems I wasn't the hero to rescue you this time. I'm not sure how to take this role shift." He smiled.

"You're always my hero," Sam assured Damon. "You may not have been there in person, but you were the one to send the rescuers. It's the same thing." She leaned up and kissed him slowly for several moments before picking up her plate of food. "I can't believe I have to find another XO." She took another bite of pasta and looked at Damon speculatively. "You know, there is one person on the ship I trust more than anyone else."

Damon laughed. "If I'm catching your meaning, then no. I'm a Marine Sam, not the kind of person Starfleet would want to be running a starship. It would take a lot of high-ranking officers to sign off on it and I don't think I have that many friends in the Corps. Besides, being a Marine is all I've ever known."

"I know. You are a wonderful Marine. But I can always hope," she chuckled cheerfully. She finished her pasta and set the plate back on the table. "I do still need to find a replacement for Karma. I'm going to take my time and find the right person." She gave Damon another hopeful smile before settling back on the couch next to him. "So, what else did I miss?"

Damon and Sam spent the next while discussing the events of the past few days and the possible ramifications. So many things had gone wrong and so many things were nothing like they'd expected. What Sam thought would be a simple mission to oversee peace talks had turned into a quagmire.

"My head hurts," she finally said. "I need to let all this stew for a bit and see if anything becomes clearer." She hugged Damon tightly, still a little shaken after the ordeal, but not ready to let him see it.

"I think right now I could really use some dessert." She gave Damon an impish grin as she took him by the hand and led him into the other room.

OFF

Commander Samantha York
Commanding Officer
USS Calypso

Major Damon Raine
Marine CO/Acting XO
USS Calypso

 

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