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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
- 5
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Chapter 6: Who Threw The First Punch?
“To the finest class of Cadets to have ever graduated the Academy!” Taka said, holding her glass up in a toast. The teal coloured Andorian Ale rippled as the rest of them clicked theirs against it. She brought it to her lips and the content disappeared like magic.
“All but one,” Erra muttered under her breath as she finished her Scotch. Her purple hair shone in the light, the stubble on the right showing her natural brown, as she leaned back in the chair. Her brown eyes glared at Taka. “The vast majority, definitely.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tanis nearly demanded from beside Taka.
“She’s just lucky Io didn’t kill anyone,” Erra answered. It was a little too curt when talking to Tanis, but she could hardly take it back now. “It only came too damned close to it.” As if to punctuate her words, her scar seemed to glow under the lights.
A pang of guilt rushed through Taka as her eyes focused on Erra. She could hear the screams of pain from that day as they echoed in her ears and the image of Erra’s bloody suit visor stuck in her sight. She’d never forget that. Her antennae mirrored her eyes as they both dropped in sadness.
“Were you not the one who defended Takala against Admiral Banacek?” Straala asked with an inquisitive eyebrow.
“Of course I was!” Erra snapped. “Do you honestly think I wouldn’t?” She scoffed. “Why wouldn’t I want her to fail badly?” She shook her head. “I thought you were supposed to be smart, Taka.”
“Lay off!” Tanis snapped.
Erra glanced at M’Akl, who bared her teeth in the typical warning. She shook her head again. “Why should I?” She rose from her seat, angrily pulling her glove from her right hand, exposing the scarred tissue, melted from what happened at Io, and threw it on the table. The burns glistened in the light, as though they were wet. “I’m not going to forget!”
Straala started, “Dermal regenerators-”
“Have been tried and failed!” Erra cut the Vulcan woman off.
Straala cocked an eyebrow. “Intriguing.”
“Finest in Starfleet Academy?” Erra sneered. “You,” she pointed at Taka, “screwed up badly enough to injure a fellow Cadet and Squad member. You make Midshipman Watters and those aboard the Valiant look like a bunch of geniuses.”
She eyed the rest of the table. “And the rest of you, you wouldn’t have survived the first thirty seconds in the Kobayashi Maru scenario against mine! Klingons, ha! Easiest bastards in the entire program!” Her left hand ran through her hair. “The Borg I had to face would have slaughtered you all! That so-called tactic of yours, ramming the ship, would have been useless against a damned cube!”
The guilt at the pain she’d caused disappeared and Taka felt her hands shake. Her antennae leaned forward, pointing at Erra with knife like anger that threatened to boil over and erupt volcanically. A hand slid over hers and she glanced down, the anger dissipated and her hands stopped shaking as Tanis put hers into Taka’s. She smiled at her girlfriend.
“You and I, Erra, we have to get along with each other for the next six months,” Taka turned her attention back to Erra. “We need to let it go and be professional as the Adventurer Senior Staff.”
Erra glared at Taka as she pulled the glove back on. “You think just because Captain Korolevna choose you as her exec that makes us even remotely even?”
“As a matter of position, her being executive officer technically outranks-”
“I was being rhetorical, Straala!” Erra snapped.
Straala opened her mouth as though to correct Erra on the very idea of what rhetorical was, but then closed it again without a word. Even in Tanis’ calming grip, Taka felt her hand begin to shake again. She knew she was in the wrong when it came to Io; she had admitted it at her hearing, had accepted it when they had stripped her of her Cadet Captain position, even when they had stripped her six months of courses.
If she had been able to, she would have gladly and willingly traded positions with Erra in a heartbeat.
But she couldn’t.
“What do you want, Erra?” Taka growled. “You want me to say I was wrong doing what I did? Fine, I was wrong! I messed up badly on Io! I ruined a lot of things, things I can’t ever repair! But I’m not even going to begin to accept this sehlat shit you’re throwing around at everyone else. You want a piece of me, then step up, throw that punch! Come on!” Taka rose from her seat, slamming her hands down on the table, people’s heads turning to stare at her. Her antennae angrily whirled on her head. “Come on, you can have the first one!” Taka unconsciously brushed Tanis’ hand from hers and moved around the table.
“You think me stupid, Taka?”
“Takala, I would recommend-”
Taka’s glare stopped anything else Straala was about to say. “You want me to make this official, then?” She stared at the few heads turned her way, “Even ground, no one’s superior here!” Taka turned back to Erra just before the Bajoran’s fist slammed into her cheek. Taka twisted with the force before she dropped to her knee.
Taka spit out a wad of blue blood before she sneered at Erra. She lept to her feet, her own fist in motion. Erra countered in before Taka’s other hand lashed out in a quick thrust that drilled into the other woman’s side. Thanks to her Andorian heritage, her thrust was enough to cause the other woman to double over in pain.
“Had enough?” Taka snarled.
The only answer she received was Erra’s frame launching itself at her and taking her off her feet. They crashed down on the table behind them, several of the glasses shattering under their weight and everyone but Straala reacting with a cry. They rolled off the table, dropping to the ground with grunts, as Erra’s knees drummed into Taka’s side and Taka’s elbows hammered Erra’s ribs. Erra grabbed Taka’s head and brought it down, slamming her forehead against the ridged blue one.
In retaliation, Taka’s right elbow crashed down on Erra’s ribs, a resounding crack erupting from the Bajoran’s body. Erra wheezed out a breath before grabbing at Taka’s antennae. The Andorian screamed as Erra’s grip tightened around it, pain circulating through her with each ounce of pressure. Instinctively, Taka pulled back, trying to alleviate the pain, but it only added to it and the shriek only escalated before she fought through it and rammed her head down against Erra’s.
Red dots exploded in her vision as Erra’s hands released the antennae. The Bajoran woman stared into nothingness, her eyes looking directly at the roof as Taka felt a hand on her shoulder. She started to turn, thinking it was Tanis, before blackness blanketed her world.
*****
“You were both supposed to be the shining achievements of this voyage, of your midshipman cruise,” Korolevna paced angrily in front of them, each word sounding like a curse from her. She stopped and directed her glance at Taka. “This was supposed to be your chance to redeem yourself and prove, not only to everyone else, but yourself, that you were command material and deserved to be out there, exploring the galaxy.” She turned to Erra. “And you, this was supposed to be your chance to show you could work with someone you had consistently stated you hated.” She returned to pacing. “Instead, now I have to explain to Admirals Banacek, Riker, and Quinn why two Red Squad graduates were involved in a bar fight on Spacedock. Admiral Banacek’s already questioning my decision to put you,” she glared at Taka, “as my exec on this cruise. This isn’t helping anyone!”
Taka’s head swirled with colours she hadn’t thought possible. And pain. Lots of pain.
The light of the Adventurer’s briefing room seemed to glare and pierce her soul and the head-splitting after effects of the fight did nothing to quell that. Instead, they only added to it. And reminded her of what an idiot she had been.
“Permission to speak freely, Captain?” Erra asked from beside Taka.
“Denied!” Korolevna snapped. “If you two want to be idiots out there in C-47, you both can deal with the consequences of it. Including the lights being up too bright.” Those words only cemented Taka’s thoughts that the lights had been turned up brighter specifically because of what had transpired.
“You are both members of my Senior Staff on this ship, you should both be acting like it, not like a bunch of drunken monkeys on DS9! All that aside, you are Starfleet officers! You are supposed to act like Starfleet officers, not a bunch of thugs you find in the middle of Klingon space!” Korolevna continued pacing. She stopped in front of Taka. “Who threw the first punch?” Taka stared at her without a word before Korolevna stepped in front of Erra. “Was it you, Midshipman Netu?”
“No, sir, it was me,” Taka snapped to attention. “I threw the first punch.”
“Actually, Captain, I threw the first punch,” Erra announced.
Taka sharply glanced at Erra before snapping back to attention. “With respect to Midshipman Netu, I think she’s forgetting events.”
“I believe Midshipman zh’An is forgetting events, sir,” Erra said. “I threw the first punch.”
“You both don’t remember who threw the first punch?” Korolevna scoffed incredulously. “And if I threatened you both with confinement to quarters when not on duty?”
“Sir, I’m telling you, I threw the first punch, it’s on me,” Taka said firmly.
“With respect to the Cadet XO, but I threw it and I’ll take responsibility,” Erra said. She glared at Taka, hoping the other woman would get the hint and give up.
“Well, it seems you both have found your camaraderie again,” Korolevna stated. “Confined to quarters for seven days unless on duty.”
Taka and Erra snapped to attention. “Yes, sir!”
“Dismissed,” Korolevna said and the two Midshipman stepped from the room.
As the door closed behind them, Erra turned to Taka. She stopped and pulled the other to a standstill as well. “What was that?” Her eyes burned with anger. “I took responsibility, then you… Do you always have to be better?”
“A Captain’s responsible for the actions of their crew,” Taka replied.
“You're not a Captain! You're not even Cadet Captain anymore!” Erra angrily snapped.
Erra pushed Taka out of her way and stormed past.
“She's right,” Korolevna’s Russian accent came from behind her.
Taka pivoted and snapped to attention. “Sir?”
“You're not a Captain, Midshipman.” Korolevna nodded and motioned forward. Taka joined her walk. “A good Captain knows when to take responsibility for her crew, but a great Captain, they allow their crew to learn from their mistakes. Just a thought, Midshipman.” They stepped into a turbolift. “Bridge.”
- 5
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- 7
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Star Trek Adventurer