Musical Interlude(Part I) - Permanent Vacation
Posted on Sat Nov 23, 2019 @ 6:01pm by Lieutenant Jason Haines
1,482 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Doors of Perception
Location: USS Marseilles
Timeline: MD21 - 1330
I got a letter from a friend the other morning
He say it's hot down in Montego Bay
I got the point and now I think it's finally dawning
Yeah, yeah, I got to get away…
- Aerosmith Permanent Vacation
[ON]
Once Captain Daniels got the runabout underway, he tapped the comm. button.
“Daniels to Marseilles”, he said.
“Commander Billings here sir”, replied a feminine voice.
“I am returning. Once we are on board, please get us underway to our first objective”, Daniels ordered.
“Aye sir”, came the response and the channel went quiet.
“Captain, can I ask you something?”, Jason said.
“Go ahead”, Daniels replied with a smile.
“Why did you make such a big deal out of getting me to your ship?”, Jason asked. “In the grand scheme of the Starfleet hierarchy, I am a nobody.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit Ensign”, Daniels said. “Everybody is a somebody. Now, why did I want you? After the events of your recent issue, Temporal knew you were going to be in a rough spot. They also knew I was doing a mission for them, so they sent me your jacket. After I read it, I was pretty impressed, especially your Kobayashi Maru test performance. So, here you are.”
“So, what exactly is this mission?”, Jason asked.
“Glorified grave-robbing”, Daniels replied. “We are going back to investigate a number of sites we fought the Borg at.”
Jason nodded and asked, “What exactly are we supposed to be looking for?”
“Well, as I am sure you know, the Borg are leaps and bounds ahead of the Federation when it comes to temporal mechanics”, Daniels said. “When Voyager returned from the Delta quadrant with the disconnected borg drone, Seven of Nine, our understanding of temporal mechanics advanced a lot. We need to go back to sites to make sure to collect anything that can be damaging to the Federation, but also help it advance.”
“Ah, so yes, glorified grave-robbing”, Jason said as Daniels brought the runabout into the Marseilles shuttle bay.
Daniels tapped his commbadge and said, “Daniels to the bridge, all set, get us underway, warp six please. I am going to show Ensign Haines to his quarters.”
“Aye, Captain”, came the simple response.
As the runabout door opened, Jason said, “You don’t need to show me sir, I can find my way.”
“Nonsense”, was Daniels reply. “I haven’t gotten so prideful that I can’t show someone to their quarters. I haven’t forgotten where I came from. A lot of commanding officers could use a reminder of that.”
Jason smiled and then asked as they walked along, “It sounds like you knew my father. How so?”
Daniels chuckled and said, “Your father and your uncle. They were students of mine at Academy. Hellions, both of them.”
Jason snickered, “Definitely sounds like dad, I will have to ask my uncle though. He has never told me any stories.”
“In some ways, your uncle was worse than your father”, Daniels said.
They walked a little bit more in silence before Jason then asked, “One more question. I just got busted to Ensign and I know you said you were interested in my skills. I know for a fact there are a ton of other individuals in intel and temporal that could do the same stuff. Why take a chance?”
“Haines”, Daniels said. “I read Commander Soran’s report. Even though you did technically break rules you did the right thing. There was a saying an XO I was serving under once said that has kind of stuck with me all these years. ‘Those who don’t follow the rules are scum. Those who abandon a friend or comrade are worse than scum.’ And well, I think your Lieutenant Wells probably counts as a bit more than a friend from what I was hearing.”
Jason chuckled and blushed a bit and replied, “Just a little.”
“Well Ensign”, Daniels said. “You follow my rules as close as you can, but keep doing the right thing, and I’ve got your back.”
At that point they were met by a security guard who handed Daniels a padd.
“Thanks Jimmy”, Daniels said as he looked over the information. He turned to Jason.
“Mind if we take a quick swing through the security offices? There is something I need to check.”
“Not at all sir”, Jason said with a nod.
Daniels led him, and the man he called Jimmy a bit further until they hit security. He led them in and then they went down a corridor. Jason looked around a bit suspiciously as they had picked up an escort. At the end of the hall was a door that was unlabeled. The doors slid open revealing the brig.
Daniels extended his hand and said, “Welcome to your quarters Mister Haines.”
The two men behind him shoved him forward roughly.
“What the hell is going on?” Jason asked, wondering if he could escape the four.
“What’s going on is that I am going to kill you”, Daniels said. “but not quite yet, we have to get to the right place.”
“You are going to kill me?”, Jason asked not quite believing what he had just heard.
“Don’t be so dramatic about it”, Daniels replied. “Think of it as a permanent vacation. Some get away me time.”
“Why? What have I done to you?”, Jason asked, looking shocked.
“I’d say it’s nothing personal, but that’s not one hundred percent true”, Daniels replied. “See, about twenty-five years ago, me and my crew were relieving the passengers of a cruise liner of some of their valued goods and holding a couple people for ransom. Well, the negotiator’s show up and while they are getting us our latinum, your daddy and his team slip aboard and start doing what they are trained to do, free the hostages, stop the bad guys, et cetera. One of my crew was my wife. See one of your father’s phaser shots missed her and hit a panel behind her and it blew. She caught a piece of metal in her neck that hit her artery and she bled out. I swore I would get my revenge.”
“So, let me see if I get this straight. You and your wife were robbing people. Your wife got killed. That, somewhere in your twisted mind means that my dad’s the bad guy?” Jason asked.
“Well, your description simplifies it too much”, Daniels said. “Remember what you did after those Vulcans used your woman? Sort of along the same lines for me. But, back to the story. I found out some time later that your father surprised the hell out of the galaxy and got married. So, I started planning your mom’s death, but she had to go and get killed. Then your father sort of slips off the radar with you. So, nearly fifteen years later, temporal suggests they have someone they would like me to bring aboard. I didn’t think much about it until I saw the name on the file. Well, guess my plan is back in action.”
“So, why wait? Let’s get this over with”, Jason said.
“Oh no”, Daniels said. “In a few days we will be at the spot where my wife died. I wanted your father to remember things clearly.”
“So, all the borg technology stuff was just a line of crap to get me distracted?”, Jason asked.
“No, that’s all true”, Daniels said. “I just don’t give a rat’s ass about getting it back to temporal. If we do find anything, I have some buyers who will pay a pretty penny for it.”
“So, you are a pirate?” Jason replied.
“I see myself as more of a privateer, but pirate works as well”, Daniels replied. “See, all the core worlds of the Federation, they get to live in the utopia they do, due to trade. But trade costs money, even the Federation government knows this, which is why they do have latinum reserves to back it. There is however, only so much of the pie to go around. Us poor fools in Starfleet get our replicated clothes and food all for free, but the galaxy runs on latinum. I’m just making sure that I and by trickle down, my crew, get our share given all that we face out here. Now, take off your uniform and boots.”
“No”, Jason replied.
Daniels chuckled.
“A Haines through and through”, Daniels remarked. “Take them off now or Waylen there is going to shoot you and you will wake up in your cell without your uniform and with a headache.”
“Screw you”, Jason said defiantly and a moment later his world went dark.
To Be Continued…
[OFF]
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Ensign Jason Haines
Prisoner
USS Marseilles
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