From: Shawn _ (alamo_nate_at_yahoo.com)
Date: Sun Aug 05 2007 - 00:31:43 PDT
=Jealousy Is Illogical=
(cont'd from "After Philosophy Class, We Have History")
LOCATION: GATEWAY Station, Engineering Module
SCENE: Main Engineering
STARDATE: [2.7]0804.2330
Crichton was enthralled.
An opportunity to examine the schematics of one of the most impressive bits of technology in the known galaxy was something that any engineer worth his salt would jump at, and Crichton was having way too much fun for someone sitting a terminal, pouring over technical specifications. He could do it all day- quite literally, in fact, because the schematics were easily the most complicated he’d ever seen in his career as an engineer.
Although he was enjoying himself, Crichton was also starting to accept the fact that building his own transwarp engine was pretty much out of the question, at least on the short term. Given enough time to examine the schematics, gather the components, and assemble them, Crichton was confident that he could *eventually* construct his own, but it would probably take him several years at the minimum. The Borg technology was incredibly sophisticated- it was not just a question of gathering the parts and wiring them up in the proper order, and the more Crichton looked at the specs, the more he was convinced that the Borg had deliberately left out some of the information he’d need to build his own.
The good news was that, if the Borg gave them an already-constructed transwarp drive unit, Crichton was certain he would be able to install it on the EIDOLON. Once it was up and running, the EIDOLON could certainly be used to return to the Alpha Quadrant.
But what then? Crichton was starting to wonder what the station’s leadership would do if a ride home suddenly became available. Transwarp technology used quite a bit of energy, and Crichton doubted if the Federation would want ships constantly transwarping back and forth between the Alpha and Gamma quadrants. And even if they did, there was still the problem of the Dominion’s alliance with ANDARA and their blockade of the station. Even with transwarp tech, it would be problematic for Starfleet to field any sort of force in the Gamma quadrant, at least not without giving the Dominion quite a bit of notice as to what they’re doing.
And even if the problem with the Dominion was solved, there was still the problem of the wormhole being closed. Without the shortcut between the Alpha and Gamma quadrants, GATEWAY station’s value as a center of commerce was much diminished. Crichton doubted if the Borg would want every merchant ship in the galaxy outfitted with one of their most valuable technologies, transwarping here and there at will.
As for himself, Crichton wasn’t sure what he would do. If a ride home suddenly became available, the smart thing to do was to leave while they had the chance. GATEWAY station was just too far away for Starfleet to properly protect, and if the Dominion pressed the issue, Crichton didn’t like the GATEWAY’s chances of standing up to a full-scale Dominion assault. But on the other hand, Crichton didn’t exactly like the idea of abandoning the most important space-station in the Federation to the Dominion either.
But in the end, those were questions for other people to answer. And for now, Crichton had other places to be- he’d promised Lt. Kor that he’d meet up with her and Lt. Yao later to try and come up with a way to scan for changelings infiltrating the station. *That* was a whole other set of problems…
“Where are you going, cadet?”
Crichton stopped and turned around, seeing a somewhat haggard-looking Lt. JG Salor staring at him, doing his best to maintain a mask of calm, emotionless tranquility, and doing a much better job at it than most people could.
“I’m on special assignment,” Crichton said. “Commander Gorman ordered me to take a look at these transwarp schematics, and Lt. Kor asked me to meet her later to work on a method to detect changelings attempting to infiltrate the station.”
“I was not consulted,” Salor said, a little more harshly than one would expect from a Vulcan. “I am the Chief Engineering Officer aboard this station… why was I not given these assignments?”
“Uhm… maybe they think you’re needed here, coordinating everything in engineering,” Crichton shrugged.
**Or maybe it’s because they think you’re starting to lose it,** Crichton thought. **If you feel even half as bad as you look…**
“Perhaps,” Salor said, but Crichton could tell the Vulcan was not satisfied. “You understand I will have to verify your assignment with Commander Gorman.”
Salor strode over to a console, tapped in a few commands. He visibly frowned at the screen, something that no Vulcan did lightly.
“It appears that you are correct, cadet Crichton,” Salor said, looking up at the cadet. His face had regained the emotionless, peaceful expression customary for Vulcans. But Crichton knew better. “You are dismissed.”
“Thank you, sir,” Crichton said. Salor nodded, and turned to leave. Crichton stood for a moment and watched him leave. The Vulcan was looking worse- his eyes so red that he always appeared to have just stopped crying. Salor had also apparently stopped shaving- his face was beginning to show the stubbly growth of a beard. His uniform was starting to look worn and wrinkled, as though the Vulcan had not changed in several days.
Crichton wondered how well Salor was holding up under the mounting pressures facing the station. It was rough all over, and most people seemed to be doing a fairly good job with keeping themselves calm, but Salor was starting to show visible signs of a breakdown.
On the other hand, Crichton barely knew the Vulcan CEO. Surely, he had friends on the station who would notice if the Vulcan’s behavior started to change. There was also a fully qualified staff of counselors aboard, who were more than capable of helping people through a rough emotional patch… even stuffy, repressed Vulcans.
As he turned to leave, Crichton thought, **Yeah… he’ll probably be fine.**
--------------------------------------
Of course, Lt. JG Salor had had friends aboard GATEWAY Station.
Specifically, he had three. Two other Vulcans and a human female, all merchants, whom Salor would meet with once a week to discuss and debate topics ranging from philosophy, mathematics, politics, to even the culinary arts. Salor did not make friends easily, but these three were very much like him, and he looked forward to their weekly meetings more than anything else.
Except that, now, they were all gone. They had all been out, on a routine run to the Alpha Quadrant, when the wormhole closed. Their ships had been inside the wormhole when it happened.
As much as he wanted to believe that they could all still be alive, safe in the Alpha Quadrant and missing him as much as he missed them, Salor knew that they were very probably dead.
And that he was alone.
Cut off from his family. Cut off from his only friends. All the remained for him aboard GATEWAY station was his work.
And now, Jacob Crichton was going to take that from him, too. Crichton, with his extensive training in Engineering and his natural talent for it, was a better engineer than Salor was. It was that simple. The only edge Salor possessed was experience, and Crichton was rapidly acquiring that.
When the command crew needed an engineer to accompany them to the Borg cube, they’d chosen Crichton. When they needed somehow to evaluate the technical specifications of Borg technology, they’d chosen Crichton. Salor hadn’t even known about the assignment- they hadn’t seen fit to tell him.
But they’d told Crichton.
**No,** Salor thought, as he watched the young cadet stroll out of Main Engineering, seemingly without a care in the world. **Not that. It isn’t logical.**
He couldn’t believe it. Everything he was rebelled against the thought. The very idea was insane and impossible. Vulcans were above such petty concerns, such base emotions.
But try as he might, he couldn’t deny the feeling welling up from the pit of his stomach, as he watched Jacob Crichton go.
Salor was jealous. And he was starting to despise Jacob Crichton.
NRPG: Little bit more with Salor… I figured, in the state he’s in, he might take it a little personally that the cadet he’s supposed to be training is getting all the choice assignments.
Shawn
a.k.a.
Jacob Crichton, Cadet
Assistant Chief of Engineering
GATEWAY Station, GS-2
“I was not put here to listen to meat.” – Master Shake
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