Let's Just Go

Posted on Sat Dec 5, 2015 @ 12:48am by erie'Riov Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian

930 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Pangaea (Wrap up)
Location: Docking Bay, Diana's Arrow
Timeline: fifteen minutes after Focus

It hadn't taken Rianni long to get to Diana's Arrow after she left her quarters, she'd considered leaving Mittens with her sister, but knew that would arouse suspicion, ~Can't even tell Ashara.~ She thought bemusedly, ~Never thought I would reach this point. Just one more thing I can't tell her, I guess.~ She'd decided on the walk that nobody; not Papa, Dad, Mama, Ashara, Isha, none of them, could ever know what had happened that morning. If there was a way she could keep herself from knowing she would have, but it was there, burned into her brain as though done with a branding iron and there was no way to protect herself from it, ~Just like I couldn't protect myself from him.~ She stopped for a second as she reached the slip where Diana's Arrow set waiting for her, forcing the image of the morning's events out of her mind.

Gregori saw his granddaughter approaching and knew something was very wrong. He also knew from the expression on her face as she got closer that she wouldn't be willing to talk about it, so he resolved not to press her on the issue, not yet at least. He walked quickly to the airlock, opening it to greet her, "Rianni, so glad you're okay."

"Yeah." She nodded, "Glad you're okay, too. I'm betting it's been quite a day."

"To say the least." Gregori agreed, though he did wonder how she knew, "I plan on us being in open space in twenty minutes, Rianni. We'll travel at maximum warp for about a day and a half, then we'll drop out of warp to meet with an independent freighter captain of my acquaintance, he knows a bit about this Torm character."

Torm. The name chilled her blood, and she knew Papa hadn't told her everything he knew, he couldn't. The time was coming soon when she'd have to face him down, then there would still remain the problem of that bastard of a husband of hers, things weren't going to get any easier any time soon, ~Worry about it later, Rianni.~ She reminded herself, turning back to business, "So, were you able to get it?"

"Indeed I was, child." Gregori smiled, "You would be amazed what flashing a retired Commodore's ID can get you. Not to mention enough latinum. Officially she's been bought for the Monteros Museum in Athens...."

"What museum?" Rianni asked with a laugh, the old mongoose had apparently had to be pretty sneaky to obtain the item in question.

"Oh, it's under construction." Gregori shrugged, "Slated to open around summer of 2399. They were more than happy to let her go though, decommissioning the lot of them, you know?"

"Really?" Rianni shook her head, "That's a shame."

"And you say I'm too emotionally attached to the Arrow." Gregori laughed, leading Rianni to the shuttlebay where she was greeted by the sight of two familiar friends: her old Peregrine fighter, Midnight, and the man who kept them both flying for years, Master Sergeant Andy Micklin.

"Andy!" Rianni yelled, "How's my bird?"

"Makin' me wanna give some a' them idiots back at the ol' unit a different kinda bird." Came his gruff reply, "Gonna be some kinda damn miracle to get this bird spaceworthy, College Girl."

"Why I sent for you." Rianni quipped, then asked seriously, "So, how's retirement treating you?"

"Bored outta my damn mind." Micklin replied, puffing on his cigar, "Even thinkin' about takin' that job your mama keeps offerin' me. Some folks just ain't cut out for retirement." He turned away from her back to the fighter, "I'm gonna have to do a bypass on the weapons array, doesn't look like it's been maintained at all since the day you left the unit....."

"Well, hopefully I won't have to use the weapons much." Rianni stated her fervent hope. Sure, she'd done amazing things at the stick with Midnight, but the fact was her old girl was just that.... old. She walked over and began to inspect the Peregrine more closely, touching the ship that was, in most ways, her oldest and dearest friend for the first time in half a decade, "Mainly going to use her for aerial scouting, I don't want to go into this situation blind."

"So why don't you just have Spooky over there call some a' his buddies?" Micklin asked, indicating Gregori with his thumb. He didn't dislike the old man personally, quite the opposite in fact, but he'd never had much, if any, use for spies.

"Because we've got to do this under the radar, Andy." Rianni replied, "Just like our first strike against the Dominion on Betazed, when we took out that lab with strategic bombing."

"Yeah, College Girl, I remember." Micklin snarled, "I also remember that mission was a clusterfrack from beginning to end."

"True." Rianni conceded, then quickly adding, "But a very successful clusterfrack."

"Depends on your definition of success." Micklin said flatly, then added, "Anyway, if we're gonna get this damn thing flyin' again I got a lot of work to do, best get to it."

"Why, Andy Micklin, that is the nicest way you've ever told me to frack off before." Rianni giggled, drawing a nasty look from Micklin, one that, if verbalized, would've definitely not been safe for work, "Okay, going now."

Diana's Arrow with her small crew left Deep Space Five fifteen minutes later, with Rianni staring down at Pangea before it went to warp, thinking about what she had lost because of that planet and wondering if she would ever see it again.

-OFF

 

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