The Waiting is the Hardest Part
Posted on Tue Dec 8th, 2015 @ 12:05am by Captain Liarra Von
Mission:
By Dawn's Early Light
Location: Commanding Officer's Office
Liarra hated waiting. But waiting was all she could do. Whether it was waiting for progress reports, waiting for the Sojourners to arrive, or just waiting talk to fleet command, she was running out of patience. And yet here she sat, staring at a blank terminal screen, and thinking about what she was going to say.
What could she say? There was so much that she wanted, so much that she needed, Von wasn’t sure where to start. Usually her meetings with Admiral Quinn involved the admiral looking for information, and Liarra would happily supply it. She didn’t like having to ask for favors, even if it was what she was expected to do in this case.
She eyed the mug of coffee sitting on her desk. How long had it been sitting there? she wondered silently. She distinctively remembered ordering it from the replicator sometime after returning from her meeting with the marines, but was it before she met with Commander Ballard to discuss the most recent readiness report. She couldn’t remember, but elected to take the gamble. Like removing a bandage she decided to go for it quickly, taking a sip before she could have second thoughts. Liarra wished she hadn’t. The sip very nearly ended up on the terminal screen before Von was able to get the cold liquid down. So much for that thought, she considered before pushing the lukewarm mug just out of arm’s reach. If she hadn’t, another attempt was likely, and the Captain sincerely doubted that it would be any warmer at that point.
Von struggled with the thought of leaving her desk for a fresh cup, but she knew that as soon as she did, the very busy chief of the Eleventh Fleet would naturally connect on the other end of the channel. It turned out to be best that Liarra was patience, as a moment later the screen lit up with Quinn’s face. Originally an engineer in a past life, Admiral Emily Quinn had aged visibly since taking over fleet command on Cestus III. Her eyes longed to spend time in a lab, developing new ships and technology. But it was not to be. Despite the extra stress, she still found her new role to be a rewarding one. “Captain Von, apologies for making you wait.”
“Don’t mention it, Admiral. I hardly noticed,” Liarra answered with a white lie. Whether the Admiral believed her or not was irrelevant. What was important was that she at least acted like it wasn’t a problem.
“I heard about the report from the Stormarrow. Any idea when the Sojourners will arrive?”
“We’re estimating about half a day, at best, Admiral. We’ve already begun shoring up the defenses.”
“Excellent. Our reports suggest that the Sojourners are going to be throwing just about everything they have at you. At least everything we think they have. They might be leaving a few kitchen sinks lying around.”
“I’d just assume they left a few ships to defend those kitchens sinks, but I don’t suppose we could talk Vaishaa into turning back. In my experience with her, she didn’t like to back down from a fight.” In both of their previous encounters, Vaishaa brought her teeth. Even during the diplomatic negotiations with the Myaz, the leader of the Sojourners had already prepared her invasion force. The diplomacy was just a show. Liarra doubted Vaishaa would bring her entire fleet for a simple social call.
“I’m sure you would, Liarra, but I don’t think we’re going to get that lucky. We’ve been assembling a fleet here as Cestus III to intercept in case the Sojourners tried again for Mira. But I wouldn’t have dreamed that they would be so bold as to attack a Starfleet starbase and a member of the Federation.”
“Vaishaa is nothing if not bold, sir,” Liarra replied bluntly.
“No argument there, Captain.” Admiral Quinn took a deep breath. She knew what Von was going to ask before she could even say it, and preempted the trill. “We can be ready to leave within the hour, Liarra. But the fleet isn’t going to get there in time. They have too much of a head start.”
Liarra’s heart sank in her chest. The status of reinforcements had been the biggest thing on her mind ever since she heard about the Sojourner’s movements. It had taken her this long just to get through to Quinn. After all that waiting, she had hoped that the Admiral would have had better news. “How long?”
Quinn frowned. She didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but it sometimes came with the territory. “You’ll have to hold out for a few hours, at least. We can only move as fast as our slowest ship, and our fastest ship won’t be of much help if she’s all alone.”
Von rubbed at her eyes. A few hours could be a lot worse. A more prolonged siege would be much more taxing on their resources. At least knowing that reinforcements were on the way could give her crew hope. “I understand, Admiral. It was worth a shot.”
“I know what you’re feeling right now, Liarra. Believe me, I want to stop that Sojourner fleet as much as you do.”
I can’t imagine anyone wanting to see them stopped more than me, Liarra thought to herself.
Quinn shook her head. “But this is the best that I can do with that much notice.” Quinn’s eyes shifted to her desk as she scanned over a PADD. “Well, it’s not all I can do. I have rerouted a former officer of yours back to Three-Three-Two. Lieutenant Colonel Maxwell left recently on a special assignment. I’m sending him back to serve as a consultant to assist with the defense of the station. I know it’s not much, but until I can get this fleet underway, that’s the best we’ve got. He should be there in about an hour.”
It was better nothing, though Liarra would have preferred more firepower. Still, it was nice to have Maxwell back. “Thank you, Admiral. I look forward to his return. Hopefully he can think of something to turn things into our favor.”
“I hope so, too, Captain. I hope so too. Be sure to save me some victory champagne. I’m looking forward to sharing a toast with you when I get to the station.”
I just hope there is a station left when you arrive, Von mused. “Sounds great, Admiral. See you on the other side.”
“Good luck, Three-Three-Two. Cestus Out.”
The terminal screen went blank once again. Von had tried to hold back any sign of emotion during her call with Quinn, but with the channel closed, a sense of dread washed over her face. Not only did she have to wait for the Admiral to pick up the line, but now she was going to have to wait for the fleet to arrive to bail them out. It is always darkest just before the dawn, but that clock was ticking ever closer to midnight.
Captain Liarra Von
Commanding Officer
Starbase 332
Admiral Emily Quinn
Commanding Officer
Eleventh Fleet, “Pegasus”
