New Station and Old Friends

Posted on Wed Jan 21, 2015 @ 5:29pm by Commander Caleb Ryan & Civilian Aleczandra Naqiis-Ryan

1,181 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Eye of the Beholder
Location: DS5/Deck 581
Timeline: MD -1/2227

This was not the way Caleb had wanted to arrive at his new posting. He paused to lean against the wall of the docking ramp that connected the USS Nemesis to the station as pain flared through his leg, the old injury from two years ago flaring up. It did this occasionally. Caleb usually just rode it out, took a seat and put his mind on something else. But he couldn’t just sit here in a docking ramp.

“You okay, Dad?” Aleczandra asked with a frown as she came up behind him, hefting her carryall onto her shoulder and pushing the rainbow fall of hair from her blue eyes.

“Leg’s just actin’ up, Bear,” Caleb grunted, rubbing his thigh.

“Need a hypo?” the teenager asked.

“Nah, Ah’ll just ride it out, Zandy.” Caleb reached up and took off the black Stetson he wore, wiping at the pain sweat that stood out on his brow beneath his black hair. The pain was starting to settle into an aching throb, more manageable. It was always the first few moments that were the worst. But Caleb couldn’t just remain here. He dug in his bag and pulled out his cane, depressing the button to pop it out to full length before he leaned on it and headed back down the ramp.

“Fine,” Zandra sighed, shaking her head and putting her earbuds into her ears, scrolling through the music selections on the holoscreen of her Social.

Caleb sighed. He knew his daughter wasn’t happy with him at the moment. Just when she had started to set down roots on Leto Colony he had uprooted her again, torn her away from new friends. Such was the life of a Starfleet brat.

“It’ll be good here, Zandy-Bear,” Caleb said to her indifferent back as she walked ahead of him.

“Is it just me, or did the temperature just drop a couple degrees?” came a female voice with a hint of Australian accent.

Caleb turned to watch an attractive, petite young Human woman walking down the ramp toward them. Or Human looking, Caleb knew. She was Human, but…more. She wore black combat boots and pants and a black tank top over her very nice figure, but nothing that marked her as Starfleet. Even the comm badge pinned to her breast was of civilian make.

“Eve!” Aleczandra exclaimed with a grin, pouncing on the woman, giving her a hug.

“Lieutenant Commander,” Caleb nodded in greeting.

“Hey, Zandra,” Eve said, carefully returning the hug. “Keeping up your training?”

“Trying to,” Aleczandra smiled. How could she explain the strange talents she now possessed because of the lives of her past hosts?

“Sorry I missed your return to the ship. The Peacemaker just got back.”

“Any problems?” Caleb asked.

Eve gave him a look and Caleb sighed. “Right. Not my ship anymore, not my classified intelligence.”

“Sorry,” Eve shrugged, sounding less than sincere. But then that was Eve. Her social graces were only about a centimeter deep. “I thought you were going to get that leg fixed?” she said accusingly.

Caleb saw the slight expression of disgust the Augment clone held for any kind of weakness. He didn’t fault her for it. It was bred into her genes and personality. He knew it was an heroic effort just keeping it to a brief expression.

“Haven’t had the time,” Caleb lied, catching a look from Aleczandra. They wouldn’t understand how the pain was his penance for not saving his wife, for illegally Joining his daughter. “It’s not usually a problem. It’s already fading.” He put more weight on his leg and hid the wince.

“So what brought ya out ta send us off?” Caleb asked to change the subject. He started down the ramp again, leaning a bit on the cane.

“Wanted to say hi to Zandra,” Eve said as they breached the airlock and stepped out onto the station itself. There was a bit of a bustle from other disembarking passengers from other ships, though no one from the Nemesis was getting off just yet. If the Peacemaker had returned, most of the crew would be dealing with that. “And to warn you.”

Caleb frowned. “Warn me?” he asked, looking down at the shorter woman.

Eve looked at Zandra.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” the teen grumbled, plugging her ear buds back in, turning up her music, and stepping away several paces.

“The station commander here is a Romulan,” Eve said.

“Ah read that in my assignment dossier,” Caleb nodded.

“Romulan. Heading a Federation outpost,” Eve said pointedly.

Caleb gave a wry smile. “And ya’ll want me ta keep an eye on her?” he guessed.

Eve smiled. “Well, you aren’t so dumb, are you, Tex?”

“Ah have mah moments,” Caleb said dryly.

“Look, I don’t have anything solid,” Eve said. “Just…well, she’s Romulan.”

“Prejudice, Commander?” Caleb chuckled. “A lot of people feel the same way about you,” he pointed out.

“No, they don’t, because they don’t know what I am,” Eve countered. “Not prejudice. Let’s just call it…caution.”

Caleb nodded. “Look, we’ve both dealt with plenty of Romulans before,” he agreed. “And Ah know for you it’s…personal. What Enrily Graeca did to Danrisa was…atrocious. But not all Romulans are like that. Mah Chief Engineer at Leto was—“

“A tame Romulan,” Eve interrupted. “Raised in the Federation.”

Caleb gave a wry smile. “Not so tame as ya think, Commander,” he said. “But fair enough. If ya think it warrants it, Ah’ll keep an eye on her.”

Eve gave a curt nod and let out a breath. “Sorry to put you in this position,” Eve said, and Caleb was actually a bit surprised to hear the sincerity in her tone.

“Hey.” Caleb put his hand on the younger woman’s shoulder. “Some of mah best years were on the Nemesis. Ya’ll’re like family.”

Eve gave a surprisingly shy smile before she cleared her throat and grew more serious. “Nemesis is going to be staging out of DS5 for the foreseeable future,” she told Caleb, “so you should be seeing more of us, between border runs.”

Caleb smiled. “Ah’ll try not ta get sick of ya’ll,” he said, truly pleased.

“So let me take your bag, gimp,” Eve said dismissively, yanking the heavy duffel from his shoulder and easily slinging it with her superior strength. “Least I can do is walk you to your quarters. Senior officers are on Deck 24, right?”

Caleb looked a bit surprised. “How did you—“

“Memorized station schematics,” Eve shrugged. “Not difficult.”

“Not difficult…” Caleb chuckled and rolled his eyes. “For one with superior intelligence maybe.”

Eve grinned. “Glad you finally acknowledge it.” She put her arm around Aleczandra and they headed off toward the turbolift.

Caleb limped along behind. “Hey, Ah never claimed Ah was smart!”

FIN

Lt. Cmdr. Caleb Ryan
Chief of Security

Aleczandra Naqiis-Ryan
His daughter

Lt. Cmdr. Eve Three
Chief Tactical Officer/USS Nemesis
Commanding Officer/USS Peacemaker

 

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