Epilogue: Part II

Posted on Fri Sep 21, 2018 @ 11:30pm by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson

1,035 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Divide et Impera ~ Chapter 2: Heralding the Chase
Location: USS Castelnaudary

[Captain Edward’s Ready Room]

Tiffany sat down behind her desk and let out a sigh. She couldn’t get sore or tired per se, but the emotional fatigue she was feeling from her dealings with the Victory would have floored her, had she been human.

A moment later, the chime to her office door sounded and she rubbed her eyes. “Enter,” she said.

The doors opened and a tall, older man filled the doorway. Despite the even lighting in the room, he seemed to be standing in the shadows of the bridge lighting, the only glint from him coming from his borg implants.

“Admiral,” Tiffany said, smiling, “please come in.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Admiral Markus said, stepping inside the ready room and making way for another crewman. “Lieutenant Hunter was giving me the dollar tour on the way up. Impressive little ship you have here.”

“Thank you, Sir,” Tiffany said, beaming. “We’re very proud of her.”

“As well you should be,” Markus said, sitting in the room’s only other chair.

“Captain,” Lt. Hunter said, stepping forward, “my analysis of our security risks from this mission.” He held out a padd.

Tiffany took it and thumbed through the highlights. “Not a pretty picture, is it, John?” she said.

“No, Ma’am,” he said. “Exposing ourselves to Captain Kennit might have been a miscalculation, in my opinion.”

“Well, let’s look on the bright side,” Tiffany said looking back and forth between them. “None of us shit ourselves as threatened.”

Markus chuckled and nodded. “That would be a definite bonus. But he’s right. You are on her radar now, and she’s going to be a dog with a bone.”

“I know,” Tiffany said. “Between that and burning a perfectly good safe house, this was costly. I’m hoping what Amber lifted off of MacKenzie will be worth that tradeoff.”

“Our people are decimating his empire in Alpha as we speak,” Alan said. “And thanks to your sharing it with Captain Kennit, we’ll have an ally in Delta.”

“I hope she appreciates it,” Tiffany sighed. “Right now, playing nice is the best salve for the wound we’ve poured so much salt into.” She glanced at Hunter who, taking the signal, nodded goodbye to both of them and left her ready room.

“Did we go too far?” Tiffany said, once the doors were shut.

“Perhaps,” Alan said, nodding gently. “You played a risky game and took a few gambles. Only way to know if it’ll bite you on the ass is when you feel the first pinch.”

“Grand,” Tiffany said, dryly. She set the pad down and sighed. “So, how are the kids?”

“Currently raising hell in the mess hall now that they’re no longer confined to quarters. I’ll let them run around the holosuite for a bit to cure their cabin fever before we get back to my ship.”

“Then you’ll be taking off?” Tiffany said.

“No, I think I’ll be staying near,” Alan said. “Blackhawk is in an unusually vulnerable position. He’ll lie low and fortify that position. So, I’ll be doing the same. As it so happens, Station DQ8 has just had a vacancy for a commanding officer open up.”

“How fortuitous,” Tiffany said.

“Isn’t it?” Alan said, smiling.

[Riley/Jones Quarters]

Amber walked into her quarters, padd in hand, making notes at a furious pace. As the doors to her quarters opened, she stopped in the doorway as the scent of something savory hit her nostrils. She walked in and saw the table already set for two with a covered dish in the center. She picked up the lid and inhaled the rich aroma of beef stew.

The door to the small bathroom she and her fiance shared opened and he came walking out, towel wrapped around him. “Heya, dollface!” he said, grinning wide. “Glad you’re back safe.”

“What’s all this?” Amber said.

“Well, the boss said you might not be back quite on time tonight, so I thought I’d taken an extra turn at dinner,” Tommy said, smiling proudly. “It’s just beef stew, but I--” his sentence got cut off as Amber threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him so tightly that he couldn’t breathe, and kissing him so hard he wouldn’t have had any breath in him anyway.

She finally relaxed her grip and held him close, resting her head on his shoulder and stroking the back of his head. He kept his arms around her and kissed her ear. “Hey, take it easy baby doll, it’s fine. I’m fine, you’re fine, we’re all okay.”

“I know how I can be sometimes,” Amber said after a moment, “but I need you to know just how much I love you.”

“Hey, don’t worry baby doll, I know you do,” Tommy said, holding her tight. “Don’t worry about it.” He held her for a minute longer then pulled back and kissed her again. “Trip was a rough one?”

“Very,” Amber said. “The only saving grace was we got what we came for.”

“You got it??” Tommy shouted, looking like Christmas came early.

Amber held up the padd she’d brought in and smiled a bit. “Everything we need to blend in.”

Tommy grabbed the padd and thumbed through it quickly, then put it down and kissed Amber again. “Damn, you’re good.”

“Thanks,” Amber said, her knees suddenly weak. She grabbed his arm and he quickly helped her to the small loveseat off to the side of the room. “I’m all right,” she said. “We found the spy. Nicole took her down as I was beginning to read through her. It was...disturbing.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Tommy said, sitting next to her and putting his arms around her.

“I gazed a bit further into the abyss than I’d planned,” Amber said, shivering and resting her head on his shoulder. “Recovering from that is going to take awhile.”

“Well you’re home, and you’re safe, that’s what matters,” Tommy said.

“Yeah…” Amber sighed, the memories of two others swirling in her head, “...safe.”

 

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