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Star Trek Adventurer	By : Tcr Category: +S through Z > Star Trek: Online Views: 2690 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Star Trek is owned and copyrighted by Paramount Pictures and CBS. For full disclaimer, see Chapter 1.

Chapter List
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Chapter 20: ...Outweigh the Needs of the Many
“You scared the Hell out of me back there,” Tanis broke the awkward silence that had developed between them as she performed surgery on her patient. She glanced at Taka. “You had me thinking I was going to lose you, Takala.”
The use of her full name was the first indication of how the conversation was about to go. Taka knew that meant her girlfriend was angry, even though she tried to keep it under control and hidden beneath a calm facade. Taka nodded, admitting that it was true; she could have died, Tanis could easily have lost her if she had been seconds late diving to the ground, or if something else had been picked up on the wind and thrown into her.
“I had to try, Tanis,” she said. “Besides, I thought you’d be happy, isn’t this what you wanted?”
“I wanted you to talk to her, to settle your differences,” Tanis stated bluntly. “I didn’t want you to go rushing into certain death to rescue her!” Taka noticed Tanis’ hands shaking. “For whatever deity’s sake, you, Taka, you are the one I love. And what do you do? Try to get yourself killed.”
“I would have done the same for anyone,” Taka said. Her words were reassuring, but the glare from Tanis was ice cold. “We’re Starfleet officers, Tanis, we’re not just going to pack up at the first sign of trouble. Risk, that’s what we’re all about. Risk is part of the game.”
“Captain James T. Kirk, 2293, aboard the USS Enterprise-B,” Tanis stated, “though you cut off the last half of his statement.” She returned to running the dermal regenerator over Erra’s wounds. “You do remember what happened to him not five minutes after he said those words, right, Taka?”
She nodded. Of course she did. Everyone at Starfleet Academy did. It was one of those rare moments professors were capable of teaching something, especially to cocky, arrogant engineering students. But she knew that wasn’t how Tanis knew it.
“Kirk heroically sacrificed himself in order to save the Enterprise and El-Aurian refugees from the Lakul,” Taka said. “Because no one expected anything would happen on a quick trip around the solar system while the ship was undergoing her maiden voyage.”
“And what makes you think I want to lose you?” Tanis asked.
The question hung in the air between them. Taka knew the answer, knew her answer, but that didn’t make any difference, not to her. She needed to go back for Erra, she had to rescue a fellow Starfleet officer, it was part of her personal oath. Not to mention, Starfleet trained them to do just that, drilled it into them that leaving a fellow man or woman behind was simply unacceptable by any stretch of imagination with only a few situations.
“I’m not asking,” Tanis paused, “I guess I was asking, but I didn’t mean that you shouldn’t do what you did, I just meant, be careful when and how you do it, Taka.” She shook her head, frustration in her movements. “I…”
Taka cut her off. Her hands gently climbed Tanis’ back to her shoulders, fingers offering a gentle, relaxing massage that resulted in a pleased, hitched breath as her girlfriend turned to face her. Their lips connected. Taka pulled away.
“Perhaps this isn’t the best time,” she said, nodding at Erra lying on the table.
“Maybe not,” Tanis said, shaking her head.
“I’m heading forward.” She smiled at Tanis before turning around and embarrassingly started towards the Mississippi’s cockpit, her head slightly cocked to avoid Tanis seeing her darkening cheeks. How stupid are you, Taka? Apparently pretty stupid. She took a long, lingering glance back at Tanis. She needs to do her duty, Taka, not be distracted by you.
She moved around the divider and onto the cockpit.
“Ensign zh’An, good of you to finally come here,” Korolevna commented. “How is Netu? Is Lanul holding up okay?”
“They’re both good back there and Erra has the best medic in the fleet,” Taka stated bluntly, with pride in her voice at best medic in the fleet. It was probably an exaggeration - Hell, Taka admitted it was likely an exaggeration, with all the thousands of starships and men and women serving on them, but she was going to support Tanis, regardless.
Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do? she thought to herself.
“I’d sit down and brace, Ensign,” Palmer motioned out the window at the approaching wall of angry orange cloud lines. “This is about to get rough.”
“Tanis, brace yourself,” Taka called to the back. She slid into the chair behind Lieutenant Palmer.
The runabout jolted as another bolt of polaric lightning hammered its shields, jerking the women inside into their respective consoles. Another struck and they were forced into the stations again. An alarm blared from Palmer’s station, then the console Taka was at, drawing her eyes to it. Red dominated the screens, warnings flashing between all the console.
“Shields down to thirty-five percent, Captain,” Palmer reported. Though her voice carried with it a cool calm, Taka could pick up on the concern and worry in her motions as her hands darted across the console.
Despite the inertial dampeners, the runabout shuddered, shaking them in their seats. The shaking worsened as the nose of the Mississippi plunged into the furious clouds and Palmer’s fingers danced across the Helm in an elegant attempt to keep the ship intact. On the other side, opposite Taka, Ensign Hiland’s fingers mirrored Palmer’s, hurrying across the station.
“All available power rerouted to the shields, sir,” Hiland announced. “They’re back up to forty-three percent.”
“Not much of an increase,” Palmer muttered, “but it’s better than nothing.” The ship jerked violently right, then left. “Direct hit to the starboard nacelle. We’re not venting plasma, so that’s something.”
“How soon until we’re out of the atmosphere?” Korolevna asked, glancing beside her at the Adventurer’s Senior Helmswoman.
“Sixty seconds.”
The Captain tapped the console, opening a channel back to her ship. “Commander Watson, prep the Adventurer for slipstream on course for the USS Epimetheus and the rest of the fleet,” Korolevna ordered. “Engage as soon as we’re aboard.”
“Aye, sir.” Watson’s voice was still suffering from interference and distortions, but they were far less evident then when the away team had been on the planet. “Course laid in for system 62143. ETA two hours thirteen minutes.”
“Good.”
The minute seemed to pass in a blur. Jolts rattled the crew, shook the Mississippi, and Palmer expertly maneuvered the ship around in a fashion that made the tiny ship dance through it all. The black void of space was a welcome sight to those inside the runabout, though the sleek, beautiful figure of the USS Adventurer was an amazing sight; her elongated nacelles gleamed in the darkness, tiny windows on the ship glistening in the hull.
“Adventurer, open shuttlebay one, lower forcefields, and tractor us in,” Palmer stated.
Through the front windows of the Mississippi, the Adventurer twisted around to show its stern to the runabout, the bay opening. Palmer directed the shuttle into the shuttlebay, deftly landing on the deck and announcing the bay repressurized. Korolevna and Taka both spun out of their seats and to the door, impatiently waiting for it to open before dropping down.
“Mister Walker, engage,” Korolevna ordered.
“Yes, Captain.”
The two women hurried through the corridors of the Vesta-class starship, to the turbolift and in. Though Taka was unsure what the hurry was - they weren’t under attack, there was nothing desperately needing their attention that she was aware of - she stayed on the heels of her Captain. If Korolevna was rushing, then her chosen Acting First Officer should be right with her without any hesitation.
The ride to the Bridge was done in an awkward silence. After what they had just gone through, Taka could hardly blame the Captain for wanting the quiet, but it was still strange and unnerving to the Andorian. She wanted to say something; whether or not the Captain blamed herself for what happened down there, whether she thought it was her fault Erra had been injured or that, in some way, it was her decisions that led to the four being trapped on the surface, she wanted to reassure the Captain that it wasn’t.
But what could she say? She didn’t even know if it was what Korolevna was thinking. It could easily be something on the polar opposite of consciousness.
Hell, for all I know, she could be thinking of what she’s going to ask the replicator for right now, Taka thought to herself. She knew it was a ridiculous notion, but it was still just as plausible as the ones swirling in her head for what Korolevna was thinking. The turbolift opened.
“Commander, establish comms with the Admiral and have it sent to my ready room,” Korolevna ordered. She moved across the Bridge to the doors to her office as Taka stepped up to the executive officer’s chair and stared.
Taka wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do now, except sit and wait for Korolevna to return. She could only imagine what the Captain was discussing with Admiral Banacek, but she believed it was likely about the alien they’d found on the planet and the fact that there had been emitters falsifying biosigns. It had been a trap and Starfleet had fallen into it without hesitation. She hated thinking about what could have happened if the Dyson Spheres had been shifted earlier, if New Romulus had been formed twenty years ago, not long after the destruction of the Romulan homeworld. This could have ended differently.
The trap was sprung, albeit quite badly, as it was.
Her antennae drooped and twitched with suspicion.
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Star Trek Adventurer