Musical Interlude (Part II) - The Waiting
Posted on Sun Nov 24, 2019 @ 12:29am by Lieutenant Jason Haines
1,398 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Doors of Perception
Location: USS Marsielles - Brig
Timeline: MD 23, 1800 Hours
“The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part”
The Waiting – Tom Petty and The Heart Breakers
[ON]
Previously…
“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 fair share. 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.
…Now, The Continuation
Jason let out a groan as his eyes opened. He put his arm up over his face to shield his eyes from the bright light. Slowly, he sat up and looked around.
He hadn’t been dreaming, he was in the brig. He shook his head. The second time in two weeks; maybe this was some sort of record. He then noticed that he was in his boxers and tank top and had no footwear.
‘Terrific”, he thought shaking his head.
“Hey”, he said to the crewman monitoring the security cameras. “How about some food and water?”
The guard looked up and said, “The Captain isn’t wasting any food on you. After all, you’ll be dead in a few days. You’ll get water three times a day with the little in cell replicator that will open. Can’t have you dying too soon. Drink it up and put the cup back or you won’t get more until the cup is broken down. Enjoy your stay.”
“Five stars this is not”, Jason said. “Now, I am giving you an order, let me out of here crewman.”
“Hmmm”, the crewman said, pretending to ponder. “Follow a nobody Ensign’s orders or follow my Captain’s. Tough choice.”
The crewman made a rude gesture towards Jason.
‘Worth a try’, Jason thought shaking his head.
The next two days were quite trying for Jason, he basically had three things he could do in the cell, sleep, exercise, or think. He could only sleep and exercise so much, but his brain was constantly thinking. He tried to stay focused on ways to get out of the current situation, as dying didn’t appeal to him all that much at the moment. He would eventually run out of ways in his mind to think of escape and then he would think of Alanna. Given that the memories of the Vulcan mission were still fresh, that would get him thinking about Commander Soran and that made him mad, very mad.
No matter what Alanna said, Jason believed with every fiber of his being that the fiasco was almost one hundred percent on her. They never in a million years should have been there, especially after the two parties started fighting on the station. A first-year cadet could have seen that. Yet, he was the one demoted for breaking ranks and going to Alanna when he had to. If he had waited for the rest of the team to patch up, it would have been too late.
What would the Commander face for breaking the Prime Directive? She had armed the rebels. What would she face for creating a hostage situation? Holding Sovok back until the escort team had come back, which holding someone hostage was definitely a crime. She had sent an armed team through to another world and universe, escorting individuals who were criminals based on the laws there. The Vulcans could have mowed them all down and there would be no legal recourse. She technically had invaded and tried to circumvent the Vulcans' legal system, such as it was. A definite violation of the Directive and Starfleet regulations. What would she face for that? He doubted anything of consequence.
She would say she had been doing it because it was the right thing to do. He had done what he did because it was the right thing to do as well. The only difference was that he had actually saved someone. She had only managed to get people injured, killed, and raped.
So, for two days the cycle repeated and there wasn’t anything Jason could do to stop it. On the evening shift change of that second day Jason’s luck changed when a human female came into the brig.
She glanced over at Jason briefly as he was doing push-ups and then looked back at the man who had been manning the station.
“Any problems Chief?”, she asked.
“No, Lieutenant”, he replied. “Just waiting for Angolar to get here.”
“That’s why I am here”, she said. “She’s running a little behind. I’ll cover until she gets here.”
“Thanks Lieutenant”, the Chief said.
“Just remember that when you want to curse me for putting you on late patrol duties”, she said with a smile.
“Aye, ma’am”, the Chief replied and left.
“You do know, I am sure Starfleet won’t mind if you skip calisthenics given the situation”, the Lieutenant said to Jason.
He stopped and got to his feet. He looked at her a bit curiously. She had been the only one so far who had been willing to speak with him.
“Got to stay in shape so I look good at my funeral”, Jason said with a smile.
The Lieutenant smirked and replied, “Good attitude.”
She pressed a button on a console and then continued, “So, I need to be quick, so shut-up and listen. I think we can help each other out. You definitely want out of there and off this ship. There are some of us who want off this ship as well. We’d leave, but Daniels is into some shady stuff and doesn’t like witnesses, so if we did manage to actually get away, our families would be in danger. Daniels isn’t an immensely violent man, but anyone who betrays him tends not to wake up in the morning after learning about the death of loved ones.”
She paused briefly before continuing, “We didn’t know what we were getting into and we are willing to testify against Daniels, once our families are safe.”
“You do realize you will most likely go to prison of some sort, right?” Jason asked.
“We don’t care”, the Lieutenant replied. “So, are you in?”
Jason didn’t have much choice, so he said, “As long as you tell me your name.”
“Tanya”, the woman said. “Now, here is how this will play out. In two days, same time, I will spring you. When I come in, you play sick. Given how much you haven’t eaten, you should look pale enough. I will get you the information you will need to help our families and how to follow up. You will have to get from here to the shuttle bay to get away by yourself though. That’s three decks down.”
“Good thing I have been keeping in shape”, Jason quipped.
At that moment they were interrupted by another guard coming in who said, “Thanks for covering for me Lieutenant.”
Tanya turned to the guard and said, “No problem crewman. Make sure it doesn’t happen again. And don’t listen to him. He’ll try to get in your head.”
Jason smiled at the crewman and waved.
“Aye, Lieutenant”, the crewman replied.
“Carry on”, Tanya said and left the brig.
Jason sat back down on the uncomfortable bunk to ponder the new developments. Although he still had his back to the wall, Jason was glad that he had followed his gut on this one.
To Be Continued…
[OFF]
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Ensign Jason Haines
Prisoner
USS Marseilles
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