From: Jamie LeBlanc (plainsimplegarak_at_yahoo.com)
Date: Sat Feb 09 2008 - 22:21:05 PST
“Blue Klingon Calls the Cheerleader”
(Continued from GATEWAY “Secret Agent Man” and
STONEHENGE “Nutshell”)
~*~*~*~*~*~
Location: USS STONEHENGE
Stardate: 2.80204.1057
Scene: Sickbay
Time Index: This post comes BEFORE Kate MacNeill and
the Gateway crew leave GS2 for Andara and AFTER Aerdan
Jos’ counseling session on the holodeck
~*~*~*~*~*~
If looks could kill, Cade Foster would have been
strung up and fed to the carrion crows. In his
defense, despite the roller coaster his nights had
been: alternatively being completely disgusted and
completely attracted to his chats with Daisy on
subspace, he had given his favorite object of torment
an entire 24 hours respite. Even assured him that
sickbay would be fine without his blue presence,
suggesting he spend the time off with his daughter.
That and he didn’t want the older brother coming in
and shredding him to pieces.
But today was a different day and all bets were off.
“Hey, Dandelion head!” The older human doc gave a
sarcastic grin from across the room.
Aerdan looked up from the stack of medical reports
that had piled up and glared at Cade. “What did you
just call me?”
“Dandelion head! It’s what that sporting new haircut
of yours looks like!” Cade grinned with the assurance
of a man who was well outside normal striking range.
Dr. Jos watched his colleague pranced about the back
of the room, and pondered how hard it would be to hit
him in the head with a PADD. “And what the hell is a
dandelion?”
“It’s a flower….” The human replied, innocently.
“No it’s not… it’s a weed.” Copano Kagiso offered from
the hallway.
“Of course it is.” Aerdan muttered, rolling his eyes
at Cade. Despite his better judgment he punched the
name up in the botany databanks and blinked at
thepictures. Cade could have sworn that an angry
little growl escaped the CMO’s throat.
Dr. Foster offered a grin with only the faintest
sliver of sympathy in it. “Look on the bright side…no
one here really cares what you look like anyways. It’s
not like your cheerleader works here anymore!”
Aerdan rolled his eyes again, wondering if he could
just call security to have them take Cade away before
things dissolved into a fight. “Yes, Cade, I’m fully
aware of that.”
There was a pause, and the older doctor started to
smile like the Cheshire Cat. His voice had a singsong
quality to it. “I know where she does work…”
“So do I, Cade. She’s on Earth.”
“Wrong!” The retired officer sat on the desk, starting
to cackle.
That made the Andorian’s head snap up. “Then where
*is* she working?” he asked in a clipped tone.
Cade leaned forward, grinning. “Haven’t you seen the
FedCom reports?”
“No, Cade. I’m sorry, but they didn’t get a good
selection of channels down in the Pleo dungeon.”
Aerdan replied, dryly.
“Tsk tsk… temper, temper,” the older man chided. “You
should turn on the news feed, they are replaying the
story pretty regularly.”
Dr. Jos’ eyes went wide. “What story?”
Cade’s only response was to walk over and flick on the
communications viewscreen. He was right, they didn’t
even have to wait five minutes before a repeat
broadcast of Kierenna Trell’s ‘interview’ was
replayed. It left Cade chuckling softly to himself and
Aerdan staring shocked, at the viewscreen.
The Andorian blinked, sapphire eyes wide, his mouth
hanging open slightly. “I don’t… believe it.”
“Neither do I. The actually made Daisy a commanding
officer.” Cade chuckled.
“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Aerdan snapped
back, turning to head out of the mina room and back to
his office. He left Cade grinning in his wake.
The older doctor wiped a tiny tear from his eye and
sat back down. All in all, a job well done.
~*~
Aerdan entered his office without a plan, not even
with a conscious thought. Just a lot of pent up
emotions telling him to hit the communications button.
He was angry, not really at Kate, but at whoever
pushed her to speak – protective, worried, curious to
see what the outcome was. But in the time it took to
connect the initial rage and what he had seen had bled
away, and it left him quietly confused as to why he
had ever even opened the channel in the first place to
talk to a woman who had left him.
By the time the screen flickered to life he had lost
whatever words were hanging in his mind. She looked
distracted, pulled a million directions at once,
trying to straighten herself as if she expected some
formal communication from some nameless and faceless
official. He blinked a little. “Kate…”
--------------------
Location: GS-2
Scene: Ops officer’s office
When Ensign Braxx had informed her of an incoming
transmission, Kate groaned inwardly wondering if it
was an official from Starfleet Medical or Command. But
lo and behold, to the former doctor’s astonishment,
the screen flickered from the image of the Federation
insignia to that of a haggard looking Andorian man
with shaggy hair. The Scot’s heart began racing and
her breathing becoming rapid at the sight of the man
she loved and left without saying goodbye.
{{Kate…}}
MacNeil responded, twiddling her thumbs and a guilty
look evident in her purple eyes. “This is a surprise…”
She was lost for words at the sight of the blue man.
Prior to the incident with Trell, Kate had planned on
writing a letter to Aerdan, providing an explanation
of her departure from E4 without seeing him and to
also apologize.
{{I saw the news footage of you and that…reporter
Trell just now,}} the STONEHENGE CMO began, his lips
quivering slightly. His antennae wilted at the
distraught look on her face.
Kate rattled on. “I know what I did was a big mistake,
revealing confidential medical information like that.
I know my actions have made Daisy’s and her family’s
lives very difficult and embarrassing.”
Aerdan inquired, sounding angry. {{Did that reporter
harass you?}}
“Yes she did.” Kate slowly answered, feeling nervous
over the anger radiating from the Andorian physician’s
blue eyes. The Scot quickly explained how she
accidentally ran into Trell in the Gateway’s sickbay,
even mentioning how she got on the reporter’s radar to
how Kierenna stalked her all over the station,
eventually forcing her to blurt out Daisy’s
information.
Jos clenched his fists tightly, becoming angrier after
hearing the half-Nuimon recount her harrowing
experience with Trell. {{She badgered you Kate. It’s
her fault Daisy’s life has been turned upside down.}}
“It’s not how she or Starfleet Medical sees it.” Kate
shook her head, her voice quivering.
Aerdan leaned forward and for the first time during
the conversation, he noticed her uniform was tinged
with gold, instead of turquoise. {{What happened?}}
His antennae twitched, reflecting his anger.
The Scottish Ops officer gulped. “Daisy contacted
Starfleet Medical about the ethics breach violation
and they in turn suspended my medical license for six
months.” She paused for a moment to take a deep
breath. “Daisy has now assigned me to Chief Operations
officer position here on the station.” She could hear
the Andorian sigh heavily.
{{How are you coping with all this?}} The CMO asked a
minute later.
Kate shrugged. “I wouldn’t say it has been easy, but
I’m managing. Commander Kor, our ExO, has been
treating me well and even helped deal with a difficult
situation with one of my subordinates.” She then
proceeded to talk about the refreshers needed to take
in Engineering and Science in order to better function
as an Operations officer. “So how are you doing?”
His blue eyes flickered upwards, in an expression
of classic Aerdan evasion. {{Things are a little
chaotic here. We really didn’t find out that Daisy
had been reassigned until that FedCom newscast came
out. She had left a message that she was going on
vacation with Ben Kenta.}}
Kate put a hand over her mouth. “Oh, no. So
what happened?”
{{Exactly what you might expect to happen. Cade
freaked out, almost broke his hand, Makena insisted he
stay put while he ranted and raved, and my brother
sedated him with some Pthalentine. Then they finally
patched up his hand, and drug him to his quarters to
sleep it off.}} The Andorian has something of a smirk
crossing his features as he spoke.
The newly minted OPS officer winced. “That good,
huh?” and she paused a bit, “what did you think of the
news?”
Another evasive shrug. {{We were on the planet,
I didn’t find out about the broadcast until this
afternoon.}}
She paused slightly. “That’s right, you said you
just saw it.” Taking in a breath, Commander MacNeill
sighed a bit. “I suppose it came as a surprise?”
{{Very much so. I had no idea…}} He trailed off,
looking off to some spot on the wall rather than at
the view screen for a few moments.
“Commander Davidson’s promotion must have come as
a shock.” She started
He shook his blue head, antennae curling
protectively overly the closely shorn white fuzz of
hair. {{I knew something was up when they made me
second officer… I didn’t realize that Commander
Davidson would get her own command, but still, it was
a flag of changes.}} He paused briefly, enough to
catch a breath, but not enough to allow
congratulations. Lifting his face, he stared directly
through the viewscreen, making the OPS officer feel as
if he could somehow see her directly. {{I was more
surprised to catch your name. I thought you were on
Earth, Kate…}}
The half-Nuimon took in a deep breath before talking.
“Well I was working at Starfleet Medical HQ until I
was temporary assigned as CMO to the USS MERCY, a
vessel part of a small taskforce sent to take back the
GATEWAY.”
{{So, you were involved in the battle with the
Dominion?}} the Andorian deduced.
“Yes.” Kate nodded. “It was a very stressful time for
all of us, dealing with the number of dead resulting
from the attacks and a lot of wounded to treat. Plus,
not to mention having to evacuate the sick, when the
Jem’Hadar soldiers came near the medical are.”
Aerdan remarked with a heavy sigh. {{Seems as
though I was not the only one who had a hard time in
the last month or so.}}
MacNeil raised an eyebrow, peeked with a mix of
interest and worry. “What happened to you?”
{{There’s not much to tell.}} He said in the
voice he used to severely underplay issues.
Kate gave him a tight little grin. Even after
all this time apart, she could still read him in
little ways that the others on the STONEHENGE had
missed. “Alright, then how about what did you do to
your hair?”
His cheeks flushed purple. {{I cut it?}} The
question mark after the statement was clearly evident,
and it make Kate chuckle.
“That much is clearly apparent… but why? I
thought you hated haircuts.” She watched, the old
familiar go around. There was something that was both
frustrating and endearing watching his mind work. She
was reminded of the night after the Sydney Opera
House, for better and for worse, how he had paused
before speaking. He was always recalcitrant in saying
what he had really thought.
Though Kate didn’t know to what extent he had
closed off after she left.
Now, facing one another, even across subspace,
the words started out guarded. Soft little drops in a
puddle of conversation. {{You know Maddie left the
Stonehenge shortly after you did? She’s currently in
command of E4. Our new captain, Rharn Alcedo, is the
only member of hiser race in Starfleet.}} The more he
spoke the more they began to tumble out, as if he had
waited a long time to talk to her, so even his story
of what happened in between rushed out like a
waterfall. {{Hiser race was very interested in
bringing her back to NOCTURIA… at all costs.}} He
told her about the Has’Ruk mission and the dream state
they entered because of the drug, about the Robosanta,
About the Pleo and their attempts at racial cleansing,
and finally about Thal Pleo, Llandwyn’s death, his
captivity fight and even how he lost his hair. He
sighed as he finished. {{I suppose you could say we
have been busy.}}
“Sounds like you’ve all been through a lot,”
Kathryn commented a minute later, her eyes flickered
to a dark shade of blue.
He waved a hand in the air, dismissively. {{It
happens, I guess.}}
They were silent for a moment until Kate brought
up, head bent slightly downwards. “Aerdan…I’m sorry to
just leave you like that in E4 in a lurch and without
talking to you first.” Producing a huge sigh, the Scot
went on. “It was wrong on my part since you deserved
an explanation at least.”
Across the view screen he gave a small sigh.
{{I wondered many things. I figured in a way your
head was too full, or you just wanted to get away…}}
he trailed off, frowning.
Kate gulped before replying. “I don’t know. So
many things happened to me in the last year. The Borg
assimilation on ANDALUSIA VII and the enduring trauma
after I returned to myself. I just wasn’t very sure of
myself anymore…and it looks like I still am not.” Her
voice trailed in the last sentence.
There was a pause, a heavy silence on the line.
{{But we were sure of you, Kate. We needed you
then.}} He watched her, lingering on the logical
conclusion to that thought. With anyone else he would
have kept it silent, but he had already let his guard
down. {{I needed you…}}
MacNeil heaved out a huge sigh, not knowing how
to respond to the Andorian’s last statement. “I
appreciate how you believed in me,” she began slowly.
“And I feel awful over how I have let you down by
running away. The whole mess with the reporter only
shows my head is likely not in the right frame of mind
and probably hasn’t been for a while.”
His eyes flashed for a second or two, a tinge of
passion flaring in his voice. {{You know? Sometimes
I wonder if any of us are in our right minds. That we
come out here and struggle against things no one
should ever have to deal with… I don’t know why we do
it.}} He paused, momentarily, taking a breath. {{But
I do know is that going it alone can drive you crazy.
Running away, coming back, carrying on, in the end
none of it matters how we weave that path through the
universe, but that we didn’t walk it alone. And when
it comes down to it, I don’t really care about the
explanations, or the apologies or anything else… I
just want to know if you’re staying?}} His eyes were
bright and clear, watching her.
“Yes I am,” the half-Nuimon replied quickly,
producing a tiny smile. “I’ll be stationed at the
GATEWAY for a while. Unless you count that we’re
leaving soon for a mission.”
He gave her a slight smile through the screen.
{{Then I’ll expect to be able to look you up next time
we stop at GS2.}} He paused a bit. {{Good luck on
your mission.}}
She couldn’t help but grin. “Thanks. I might
need it.”
{{You’ll be brilliant. You always are.}}
The newly minted OPS officer shook her head a
bit. “Shush now, I need to go.” She gave a smile and
said her goodbyes, turning off the viewscreen before
he could tell how badly she was blushing. Standing,
she stretched and headed out for the mission briefing,
starting to think this day wasn’t so bad as she had
thought.
~*~*~*~*~*~
NRPG: Ok, so this is a hard post to get in,
timing-wise. So hopefully you can all mentally fit it
into the timeline where it’s supposed to go. Anyways,
subspace chatter! Yay!
~*~*~*~*~*~
A JP brought to you by:
Ranjani Sabarinathan
Speaking for...
[/\]o..
Lieutenant Commander Kathryn MacNeil, MD
Chief Operations Officer
GATEWAY STATION- 2
and
[/\]....
Captain Anaqueen Spankryz
Commanding Officer
USS COMMENDATION, NCC-10021 (Non RP ship)
AND
Jamie LeBlanc
Lieutenant Aerdan Jos
Chief Medical Officer
USS STONEHENGE
"Why do we fly? Because we have dreamt of it for so long that we must"
~Julian Beck
____________________________________________________________________________________
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