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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 24: New Life and New Civilizations (And They’re Trying To Kill Us)
The chime to Korolevna’s ready room chimed and Taka looked up from where she had kneeled on the floor. Benedict put his paw on her knee, as though to tell her to stay, but she gently put it back on the ground and continued petting him. The door chimed again and Taka sighed. It wasn’t as though they didn’t know where to find her, she knew.
“Come in.”
The door opened and M’Akl stepped in, glancing at Benedict, then inquisitively at Taka. M’Akl’s tail fluffed out, though Taka was hardly surprised; the Caitian had made her lack of love for canines clear enough at the beginning of their friendship. Her ears folded against her head and lips pulled back, but there was nothing otherwise that indicated the Caitian was about to attack.
“Repairs to the warp drive are completed, the slipstream should be completed within the next few hours, Taka,” M’Akl stated. “Shield emitters are fully operational and our weapons systems are as best they can right now without the assistance of the Jenolan Sphere.” She stopped. “We can head back to the Beta Quadrant whenever you want.”
Taka rose, leaving Benedict on the ground, and turned to face the stars through the ready room window. She shook her head. “I never thought that we’d be out here, in the Delta Quadrant, searching for life and new cultures. We’ve found it and they’re brutal and hostile, worse than most peoples we left back in the Beta Quadrant.”
M’Akl stepped up beside her, placing a paw on her shoulder. Taka glanced over at her friend, trying to give a smile, though it fell short. M’Akl nodded, understanding full well what she was trying to do.
“I heard, Taka,” M’Akl said. “With everyone we lost, I can’t believe Tanis didn’t make it.”
Taka could see the bristling fur along M’Akl’s forehead. The engineer was uncomfortable, largely because she didn’t know what to say about it; that much Taka could understand. What did one say to someone who had just lost someone so utterly important to them? It wasn’t M’Akl’s fault; Taka doubted there was anyone out there that could have said anything that would have felt genuine, even if it was sincere.
Taka reached up with her hand and patted M’Akl’s paw on her shoulder. “I know. She should’ve been one to survive.” She turned away as her eyes dropped sadly. She should’ve survived. Would’ve survived if she’d stayed in Sickbay! Her left hand turned to a fist. She felt soft fur against her hand and she thought M’Akl had moved. She looked to find Benedict rubbing against her skin. She smiled as her fist relaxed.
A tear rolled down her cheek before she wiped it away.
“Tanis wouldn’t want this to end our cruise, nor would she want me to sulk,” Taka stated. “Mourning her, yes, sulking, no.” She turned to look at M’Akl.
“I wouldn’t say you were sulking, not from what I’ve seen.”
“Thanks,” Taka said, “but I think I was and that’s enough for me.”
“If that’s-”
“Taka, come to the Bridge, please,” Hiland’s voice stated.
The two women exchanged glances before Taka stepped towards the door, hearing a soft whine from Benedict. She turned back to face the German Shepherd. “Don’t worry, your owner will be back soon.” It didn’t seem to do anything to ease the dog’s worried whine, but he moved around and slunk behind the desk. If only… She cut herself off of the thought before she could finish it. Not the time to think about that right now.
She stepped onto the Bridge and looked at Jena. “What is it, Jena?” She placed her hand on the science officer’s chair and leaned into the console as M’Akl stepped over to the Engineering station.
“I’m getting a faint comm signal, Federation standard,” Jena said, looking to Taka. “I’ve got it as clear as I can. I can put it on the screen if you want.”
“Do it,” Taka nodded, turning to face the viewscreen, which promptly switched to an extremely snowy image of a Bridge of a starship, consoles sparking as personnel seemed to be desperately fighting against their own ship and something else.
A Bolian woman, the blue blood running down her forehead from a gash across her ridge, stated, “Captain Hania of the Starship Callisto to any Alliance vessel, we’re under attack and need immediate assistance. Repeat, we’re under attack and need immediate assistance.”
Taka stepped down to the Helm. “Straala, do you have co-ordinates of the Callisto?”
“Yes.”
“Send them to any ship within range.”
“We’re the only ship in range right now, all others have been recalled to the Sphere,” Jena interjected.
Taka glanced in Jena’s direction, then shook her head.
“We can’t last much longer!” Hania pleaded. “Any vessels, please-” The screen froze on the begging features of the Callisto’s Captain, staring directly at Taka, before disappearing into blackness.
“Your orders?” Straala asked, glancing up at Taka.
Taka remained silent as she turned and stepped back towards the command chair. She couldn’t say anything. Everything was weighing down on her like some sort of bizarre recreation of the Human myth of Atlas. As a Starfleet officer, she should order the Adventurer to the Callisto’s position and help out as best they could. But she wasn’t the Captain and the Adventurer wasn’t in any condition to do anything.
Besides, they had only just survived an attack from the alien race, she couldn’t ask them to knowingly throw their lives away for nothing if it was the same alien race.
“Taka?” M’Akl asked, turning to face her.
She knew they waited. Would they blame her if she ordered them to the Callisto? Would they blame her if she ordered them away from Starfleet officers requesting assistance? What would that say about her when it came time to graduate? What would the Admiralty think if she willingly and knowingly abandoned men and women to their deaths without even trying to help them?
What would she think about herself?
“Your orders, Taka?” the question came from Jena.
Taka glanced at the science officer. They were all still young, with so much life left to live, just like Tanis. And the Adventurer was all but falling apart in the aftermath of the battle. It was risking suicide to launch themselves into combat again.
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. Her words came back to her unbidden. She nodded from her chair.
“What would be the ETA to the Callisto?” Taka asked.
“Twenty-two minutes, thirty-five seconds,” Straala answered.
“M’Akl, you have twenty minutes to get the weapons fully operational,” Taka said firmly. “Straala, set course and engage, maximum warp.” Taka opened the channel to Sickbay. “Doctor T’Pril, is it at all possible to have Ensign Netu back to her station in twenty minutes?”
“It is possible that we will all sprout wings and fly through space, but not likely,” T’Pril replied stoically. Taka was about to call her on being sarcastic, but thought against it. “I can make no guarantees about Ensign Netu’s condition in twenty minutes.”
“Understood,” Taka said. She pursed her lips as she closed the channel. M’Akl hurried away from her console and to the turbolift, disappearing as the doors closed, Straala entering commands into her console. “Shval tis shrohma ru.” Fate protects the fools.
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Star Trek Adventurer