The Call
Posted on Sat Jan 10th, 2015 @ 7:59am by Lieutenant Augustus Deakin
Mission:
Sins of Lives Past
Location: Deakin's Quarters
Augustus Deakin arrived at his quarters and went straight for the replicator. He unzipped his tunic and loosened his collar as he ordered, “Scotch and dry. Don’t forget the ice.”
The glass materialised in the receptacle and he grabbed it out, feeling it cool in his hand. He took a sip and sucked in a breath. It wasn't real alcohol, but it was a close enough facsimile. He took the glass over to his sofa and plonked down, sinking into the soft cushion.
It had been a long, long day. He was overseeing an endless army of new personnel into his department and funneling them off to the boatswain and other subordinates for assignment. All that was happening at the same time that he was authorising requisition orders for major assembly components as part of the repair and, of course, the almost daily heated exchange with the chief engineer.
He took another sip of his drink and glanced up at the chronometer above the shelf, thinking to himself, and I get to do it all again tomorrow. He held up his glass in salute to the clock, which was an awful drinking partner, and said, “Cheers to that.”
He downed the rest of the drink just as the terminal on the desk started beeping insistently. “Oh, now what?” he cursed as he put the glass down on the coffee table and heaved himself off the sofa. He rounded the desk and sat down in front of the terminal, tapping the control and seeing the screen activate to reveal an ominous blinking red text:
PRIORITY ONE TRANSMISSION
STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE
A second later the text and the rotating Federation symbol faded away and he was face to face with an almost distressed looking red-collared Trill commander.
“Zee,” Gus nodded at the screen. “To what do I …”
Commander Azan Pytaan jumped in, interrupting the pleasantries, “Telan is there.”
"What?" Gus asked, legitimately not understanding what his old friend was telling him.
"Oleran Telan arrived at Starbase 332 a few hours ago."
A cold, heavy dread swallowed Gus as he heard the words. A bitter taste formed in his mouth and he felt his shoulders tense. How could this be possible? he thought, a thousand scenarios running through his mind, none of them pleasant.
On the screen, Pytaan was saying something but Gus’s ears seemed not to be working properly, or he couldn’t hear anything over the surging waves of panic he felt between his ears. He shook his head and said, “Sorry, what were you saying?”
The intelligence officer sighed, “I was saying that he somehow survived Hesperia and has it in his head that you’re to blame for his downfall. Someone gave him your location and now he’s there to get back at you. It’s not safe for you there anymore. You need to get out.”
“No, hang on a minute,” Gus said, anger now starting to overtake his initial disbelief. “You told me I’d be safe here. You said … you told me the past would stay there.”
Pytaan shook his head and looked off screen, averting his eyes from his friend. “I am sorry, Gus,” he said at last. “I shouldn't have promised that. We had no confirmation that Telan was dead. I had my people go looking for him and found him alive on New Sydney. We’ve infiltrated his gang, but we haven’t …”
“Wait!” Gus interrupted, holding his hand up in front of the screen. “You’ve infiltrated his gang? How long have you known he was alive and why are you only telling me this now?”
“It wasn't relevant,” Pytaan replied in the way that only spooks seemed able.
“Well it seems pretty damned relevant now, doesn’t it?” Gus shot back loudly, contempt creasing his face.
The intelligence officer gritted his teeth and looked off screen again. “So it would seem,” he said without looking at Gus.
Gus leaned forward, rubbing his hands up and down his face as he thought about the situation. He didn't want to leave again; he had already left everything behind twice in his life and he didn't want to make it a third.
A sudden calm came over him as he reflected on his place in the universe since he got off Hesperia. He had done plenty of bad things in his life, but fate had given him another chance. While fate could give a man a second chance, it couldn't make his past completely disappear. No, his dark past was always stalking him and it was bound to catch up eventually. He could struggle and rage against it, but unless he dealt with it, that past would take him under. He had to confront it, break free from it or die trying.
He realised in that moment of clarity that he didn't have to confront it alone. He had friends at Starbase 332 and, though they weren't the closest he had ever had, they might be one day. “I have friends here …” he muttered, barely audibly and obscured by the hands lingering on his face.
“What?” Pytaan asked.
He lowered his hands and looked at his old friend. The Trill had a curious mix of confusion and concern on his face and was leaning towards his monitor. “I have friends here,” Gus repeated, coming to a sudden decision. “I’m not going anywhere. This is a Starfleet Starbase and I’m a member of its crew. We will take care of Telan and his thugs.”
Pytaan was about to say something, but Gus cut him off.
“No, Zee! I appreciate you getting me out of trouble back on Hesperia, but I’ll get myself out of this trouble.” Gus calmed a little and his expression softened. “Thank you for everything, old friend. I’ll take it from here.”
The Trill didn’t look happy, but resigned himself to it quickly. “Don’t get yourself killed, you hear me?”
Gus smiled and cocked his head, “Never part of the plan, mate.”
Lieutenant Augustus Deakin
Chief Operations Officer
Starbase 332
Commander Azan Pytaan (NPC: Deakin)
Intelligence Officer
Starfleet Intelligence
