The Adventure Begins

Posted on Sat Aug 29, 2015 @ 1:07am by Lieutenant JG Alistair Wood

1,165 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Fallout
Location: USS Magellan: Lounge

Alistair sat quietly in the lounge sipping his earl grey tea and reading his book in the forward lounge of the USS Magellan. Something about Galaxy-class ships was so comforting. Like being on a cruise as opposed to some sort of exploration expedition. Normally, he would have been reading up on the ancient Eigusians of Kandor II or the rise and fall of the American Empire of Earth, but today he was feeling a little more excited, so he chose a collection of short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle starring one of his favorite characters of all time. A detective with an uncanny knack for solving crimes with his mind. This particular story centered around a man with a peg leg and while Alistair already knew how it would end, he still enjoyed reading it again if only to figure out how it is that the detective was able to make deductions the way he did. It was a unique mindset, that was for certain.

The gentle buzz emanating from the rest of the patrons served as white noise in the background to him. They could go about with their meaningless conversations about whether putting ketchup on french fries ruined them or not. He didn't care. He had his story. At least that's what he told himself when a loud voice pierced through the room. A young man with blond hair kept right at the edge of regulation and not combed at all was standing regaling a small group of people with a tale of his piloting prowess.

“...and so just as we were like almost splat, I like totally came up with idea that if we put all of the power, and I mean all the power into the inertial dampeners we might be able to pull out of this spin. And like Jackson is sitting there freakin' out because he didn't want to lose life support and I was like if we burn we won't have any life support anyway, so what's the big wha? So he starts transferring power and I'm like whoa... hold on to your butt this is going to get a little rough and well, my hands are like flyin' all over the controls. I mean I looked like a friggin' blur I was moving so fast. Meanwhile the ground keeps getting closer and closer and I'm like thinkin' come on man you gotta pull out of this or how're you ever gonna go to that base jumping party next week and that's when it hit me. This wasn't any different than skydiving and I've done that like million times so what am I worried about. So I like focus my inner chi and stuff ya know and just like that we start coming out of it and suddenly pull up right before we hit the ground. I'm pretty sure we might have buzzed the grass we were so close, but it was like so awesome. I looked at Jackson and he was like all green and sick looking and I'm like 'Dude we just cheated reaper'. I mean I was so hopped up from it I flew an Immelmann just for the hell of it.”

The pilot's animated telling of his story intrigued Alistair. The man had done something extraordinary and Alistair felt the need to meet him if only to congratulate him on a job well done. Closing his book, he it gripped in both hands and walked over to the table assembled with other men and women in red shirts. The sudden silence and odd stares that followed his arrival made him wonder if maybe this was a mistake. Still he was resolute in his decision. Besides, he couldn't walk away now, he had already committed himself to this course of action. “That was an amazing tale,” he said with a childlike smile, “You must be extremely proud of yourself.” Yes that was the right way to proceed. Offer a compliment to break the ice. Get into their group and earn their trust.

“uhh..... thanks?” the pilot responded with a confused look.

Yes! A response. Things were looking up as far as Alistair was concerned. Maybe just maybe he might even be able to make friends with one or two of these voyeurs of the skies. “You know I once flew a shuttle to Jupiter Station and back. It was quite exciting,” he said with the assumption that if they had some common ground to talk about then they would become closer faster. Truth to tell, he didn't really fly the shuttle, he just helped the pilot and took over for a few minutes while the pilot was using the loo, but in his mind it still counted as experience. “Although piloting is merely a hobby. I'm actually an engineer. An Operations officer to be precise.” Yes, if he could dazzle them with his achievements they would surely invite him to join them.

“Uhh... yeah that's great...” one of the females replied with raised eyebrows.

Success! One of the ladies had spoken to him. It was a good sign. She might even be interested in him. Not that a lone wolf like himself was ready to be tied down, but it was the thought that counted. “Yes. It is,” he responded with a big smile, “I've just requested an assignment to take me to the edges of the Alpha Quadrant. Afterall, I can't expect to spend my entire career at Starfleet command can I? Who knows what mysteries I might discover out there. Perhaps I'll even mentioned in the same breath as men like Erickson, Sisko, Soval....”

“Uhh... yeah that's great dude, but you're kinda fadin' our shine,” the blond pilot who was telling his story earlier interrupted.

“I'm fading... shine..?” Alistair asked quietly as he tried to understand the meaning behind the statement.

“Go away!” the female explained rather rudely, “This is a private discussion. Sheesh!”

“Oh!” Alistair answered as the realization that he wasn't wanted hit him. His grip on his book tightened as he nodded to them, “Of course. Yes... a private discussion. Pardon me... I didn't mean to... Well, enjoy your drinks...” he trailed off as he turned dejected back to the table he was sitting at before. The cup of tea looking far more half empty than it did when he left it. Taking a seat he re-opened his book. Even if they didn't want his company, at least he had his stories. And that was enough for him.

Then again, there was this Klingon Bondage Mistress holo-program he had been hearing so much about lately...

“Hey look!” a female voice suddenly shouted as the eyes in the room all turned toward the windows as the sight of something large came into view. Alistair slowly walked over to get a better view as a chill of excitement shot through his spine. At last he was here. He was finally where he belonged. Where his real adventure would begin. Deep Space 5...

 

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