From: Jamie LeBlanc (plainsimplegarak_at_yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Mar 26 2007 - 10:53:04 PDT
Viginettes III (Continued from "Angst")
~*~*~*~
Location: San Francisco, EARTH
Stardate: 2.60326.0120
Scene: Café outside of Starfleet Command
Time Index: After Kate’s and before Ronnie’s
deposition.
“Rennerman’s on a roll…” Cade muttered under his
breath before chewing a forkful of pasta salad.
“Is he always like that?” Lynette asked in a
voice barely above a whisper.
“Hell if I know.” Cade shrugged a bit. “At least
I know he can’t slap insubordination on me.
Retirement’s great that way.”
Lynette took a short sip of her drink and thought
about that. “I wonder if I can retire anytime soon.”
“Eh, you’re far too young and lovely for that.”
Cade chuckled slightly.
“Yeah, you have to be an old coot like him to
retire.” Daisy said playfully, taking a seat by the
two in the café.
Cade turned and shot her a nasty look. “What the
hell is a coot anyways?”
“It’s what men become when they’re too old to
have cooties.” Kate’s Scottish accent lilted lightly
from behind. Daisy chuckled, pleased that even after
the deposition the crew could relax some.
“I never had cooties, cheerleader.” The older
human muttered as the CSO and CMO sat down for lunch
beside everyone.
“Either that or you never got rid of them.” Daisy
countered with a smirk.
Cade looked from Daisy to Kate to Lynette and
back and gave a harrumph. “Great. I’m outnumbered
with only the blue Klingon to back me up.”
Aerdan looked calmly up from his Tarkalian Tea
and perked a snow-white brow. “I agree with the
ladies.”
Cade shot a glare back. “Traitor.”
The Andorian smirked while Daisy stuck her tongue
out at both of them. Lynette leaned back slightly.
“Who gets to face rennerman next?”
Aerdan frowned a bit and waved a finger at her.
“I’m after lunch and then later will be Ronnie.”
Lynette widened her eyes a little. “They can’t
actually be questioning her after everything she went
through…”
Daisy lowered her voice. “He’s trying to sniff
something out, waiting for anyone to make a mistake.
Ronnie knows what’s up; and I’m sure things will be
fine.”
Lynette nodded a bit and bit her lip as they ate
their lunches in silence for a time.
~*~*~*~
Scene: Starfleet Command
Rennerman cracked his knuckles, which made a most
unpleasant popping sound as he leaned back. Adjusting
the information layed out before him he took in a long
breath and stared down the bridge of his nose at the
newest person on the stand. “Ensign Jos.” He paused
slightly and then cleared his throat, “No, it’s
Lieutenant Jos now, isn’t it?”
“Yes sir.” The words were drier than the ice
deserts of his home planet.
Rennerman gave a sickly sweet smile and knitted
his fingers together. “Can you please tell the court
the reasons why you and Commander Aspinall created a
bioweapon and released it on ANDALUSIA VII?”
Aerdan paused for a second as both antenna
crooked forward in irritation. To the side Daisy
grimaced and leaned over to Lynette whispering “Well
that wasn’t a loaded question.”
The Andorian gave the slightest shake of his
head. “Commander Aspinall and I did not create a
bioweapon. We changed the internal programming of
Federation nannites in order to combat a destructive
force working its way through both our Starfleet crew
and the civilian population of ANDALUSIA.”
“That’s what you put in your report.” The older
commander snapped. “What I am asking is why did you
create this solution rather than deal with each drone
separately?”
Dr. Jos blinked calmly. “Taking out each drone
one at a time meant we could only save a small handful
of people after which the others would have been
destroyed by the Borg containment. We sought to find
a solution that would save the lives of as many people
as possible.”
Rennerman narrowed his eyes at the Andorian.
“And so you failed to consider the moral implications
of creating a cure that could be weaponized?”
To the side Cade watched his former assistant and
leaned over to Kate. “I bet you a round of drinks
that your boyfriend ends up biting Rennerman’s head
off within five minutes.”
Kate frowned a bit and shook her head, replying
in a harsh murmur. “That’s not funny, Foster. And
he’s not my boyfriend.”
“It’s just a bet you don’t want to make.” Cade
chuckled slightly, though inwardly he was hoping
Rennerman would get a taste of his own medicine again.
At the stand the chief science officer dipped his
antenna downwards calmly. “We considered every
implication important in preserving as many lives as
possible.”
“Which extended to making this ‘cure’ safe when
it came in contact with Borg citizens?” Rennerman
ended the question with a somewhat cruel smile.
“It was impossible to prepare for every
adaptation the nannites could go through in the very
slim time frame we were allowed. The original cure
was not made to attach itself to the Borg Federation
citizens but it adapted.” Aerdan stared back at him
unwaveringly.
“So you made a cure, a brilliant one at that; but
forgot about the fundamental nature of
nanotechnology?” the commander placed the palms of
both hands on the desk in front of him.
The Andorian blinked and swallowed his growing
anger. “We did everything possible within the
constraints we were placed under. Mistakes are
possible when a crew is working against time and in a
hostile environment; I will not deny that the process
was imperfect but it was the best solution we were
capable of.”
Rennerman cocked his head slightly to the side.
“A hostile environment? So you admit that the violent
situation played into your decision.”
To the side Daisy frowned. She was sick and
tired of watching this man bait and whittle at her
officers. Aerdan stared back at Rennerman, focused.
“It is hard to deny that a growing Borg presence does
not affect one’s work.”
“Then the measure you created was to combat the
growing Borg influence?” Rennerman asked pointedly.
“The other options were to either try to pull
aside the assimilated one by one and hope to get as
many out before the place was shut down to forget
everything and leave.” Dr. Jos replied sternly.
“And so you would rather create a weapon?” It
sounded like Rennerman was going to add more, but he
was cut off.
“I would rather not roll the cosmic dice,
Commander, and grope blindly hoping to save a life
when I have a chance to not only save the lives of
everyone affected but to preserve the homes and lives
of many more who lived on ANDALUSIA and were
evacuated.” Aerdan paused only to take a breath and
at the side Cade winked at Kate. “I don’t know how
you define God, Commander, but I assure you I’m not
him. I will not play God’s role and pick and choose
who lives and who dies simply by virtue of them being
my acquaintance or close enough to the small security
detail for us to apprehend and de-assimilate. What we
created was a cure; and if it becomes a weapon that is
the fault of those who now guard its secret, not those
who saved lives.”
Rennerman blinked, trying to get the word
‘insubordination’ out of his mouth and failing to do
so. When he collected himself for a moment he
grimaced and turned his baleful gaze back to the
Andorian. “All right; Fine. Then can you tell me
anything you know about the USS PROPHECY?”
At the side of it all Cade turned to Kate and
smirked. “I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m
fond of Sumerian Sunsets.”
~*~*~*~
Scene: Hotel Room
Arjan rolled his eyes and in one fluid movement
caught his brother’s arm and swung him around. “Don’t
be a fool.”
Aerdan stared back at him flatly. “I’m not being
a fool I’m being antisocial. There is a difference.”
“Let’s see… passing a chance to go out on a date
with someone who even though she’s human is quite
attractive and actually enjoy yourself for the chance
to sit in a room and stare at the wall. Let me
calculate this one.” His older brother tapped his
temple several times and then straightened, both
antennae springing up as if a light bulb had just gone
off. “Survey says… that’s foolish.”
The CSO sighed. “I’m stressed out and tense.”
“So? A drink will fix that.”
“And tired.”
“You won’t be when you see her dress.”
The younger brother snapped his head around.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Arjan shrugged a little. “I was sitting outside
when she brought it in. It would really be a shame if
you missed it.” Aerdan turned away, biting his lip,
unwilling to admit how curious he was at that. Arjan
tugged at his arm again. “Come on, let’s find you
something to wear. Besides I promised Ishe that her
uncle would take her to the aquarium to see the
sharks.”
“She wants to see sharks?” Aerdan asked.
“She wants to go to one where you can walk in an
underwater tunnel. And since she just stopped hiding
from me every time I come into a room I would really
like to get some time with her.” For a second or two
the elder Dr. Jos had a far off look of longing; he
had sacrificed his own dreams of a family to follow
his father’s career plans for him. Being around his
brother’s daughter reminded him how much he had always
wanted a family.
Very slowly Aerdan smiled. “All right, let me
take a shower and I’ll go meet them.”
~*~*~
Time Index: about a half hour later
“If you wear that I’ll call the opera house and
make them arrest you at the front gate.” The elder
Jos called from the lounge chair he had sat himself
in. Ishe looked up from her book on the bed and
giggled.
“What’s wrong with it?” Aerdan waggled his
antennae back at them.
“Um… where do I start? First of all it has a
reddish tinge and in case you have forgotten you’re
rather blue.” Arjan had a fond but faintly sardonic
grin plastered all over his face. “Add to that the
fact that it’s too fitted and you look uncomfortably
formal; and those shoulders make you look like some
sort of enraged Cardassian on crack and you pretty
much have a definition of what not to wear.” By the
time he was finished Aerdan had tinged a deep shade of
navy and Ishe was laughing so hard she was wiping
tears from her eyes.
“But it’s a formal outing…” he protested lightly.
“Yeah, a nice night out at the theatre, not an
appointment with the morgue.” Arjan stood and pointed
at the bed by Ishe. “Sit. Braid hair.”
Aerdan rolled his eyes. “Yes sir.” He replied
somewhat sarcastically as Ishe scooted over with her
brush in hand. As he started to brush her hair smooth
he murmured down to her, “do I really look funny?”
Ishe put her fist into her mouth and suppressed a
giggle. “It looks, um, silly Daddy.”
“Thanks.” He replied starting to plait her hair
into separate strands.
The sarcasm was lost on Ishe who simply picked up
her book and happily replied “You’re welcome, Daddy.”
Some time later Arjan wandered out of the closet
with an armful of things and started holding them up.
“The word of the day is ‘jacket’” He grinned widely
and started holding up a small variety of well cut
jackets and an assortment of shirts to go under them.
“Can we say jacket?” His blue eyes flickered with
impish amusement as he waved the clothing in front of
his brother’s face.
“No, but I can say Jack a—“ Aerdan caught himself
just before he swore, looking down at Ishe with an
apologetic look.
Arjan waved a finger at him. “Eh eh eh… naughty.
Now then, a fashion lesson for my aesthetically
impaired brother. You have white hair and blue skin,
and if you want to impress your lady friend you should
consider a white shirt and a neutral jacket that
doesn’t make you look like some sort of blue Klingon
wrestler.”
“It was late and I was tired. I can pick out my
own clothes.” The younger of the brothers protested.
“And I’m not a blue Klingon. You sound like Cade
Foster.” He dipped his antennae down slightly as he
groused.
“Cade Foster, hmm? I have heard quite a bit
about him lately.” Arjan grinned slightly. “I would
rather like to meet him.”
“Why do I think that would be a bad idea?” Aerdan
murmured, accepting the clothes thrust into his hands
as Ishe got up to stretch and admire her hair.
“If you think it’s a bad idea, then I must
certainly meet this man.” He grinned before shooing
his baby brother off to change. “You better hurry
before you miss the show.”
~*~*~
Location: Sydney, Austraila, EARTH
Scene: Outside the Sydney Opera House
The Andorian looked around as he materialized in
front of the opera house, taking in a slight breath.
The holopicture of the building didn’t do it justice.
Between the intriguing shape and the lights it was
breathtaking. Looking down he found that the
architecture wasn’t the only breathtaking thing to be
seen. He blinked watching Kathryn MacNeill walk over.
Arjan was right; it was a stunning dress.
“Wow, you look great.” He murmured, dipping his
antennae down slightly until they nearly nestled in
his hair.
Kate grinned slightly and gave him a nod of
appraisal. As irritating as Aerdan’s brother was, he
had an excellent eye for clothing; the deep
brown-green suit set off by a white shirt and slightly
darker pants was both well tailored and flattering.
She smiled. “You look pretty good yourself.”
She never knew quite why that caused him to tinge
slightly purple…
~*~*~
NRPG: Deep apologies for not posting sooner. I work
in a theatre and this production has had a very long
hard build. >.< So this is just some fun to add to R
& R. I hope to post again soon.
Thanks all!
~*~*~
Jamie LeBlanc
Lieutenant Aerdan Jos
Chief Science Officer
USS PROPHECY
-Either you're lost...or desperatly searching for a good tailor....
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