Star Trek
Infinity
"Captain's log stardate 60874.22: We've been ordered to Romulan space to pick up representative Dakel and his aid Seki, and escort them to Federation HQ for a special deliberation concerning the Delta Quadrant."
Commander Travis Riker, got off the turbolift, and walked towards the captain's quarters. He pressed the call button, waited a couple seconds for a response, then pressed it again. "Computer, locate captain Jackson."
"Captain Jackson is in nine forward." Riker slumped his head a bit, and walked back to the turbolift. Riker still couldn't believe that Jackson was made captain at the age of eighteen, and commanding the Excalibur for three years. As soon as he entered the lounge, he saw Jackson drinking.
"Sir, you are on duty. Do you think its wise to meet with the Romulan representative drunk?" Jackson turned his head to him.
"Its synthehol, and I'm sober to pilot my ship deep into the Delta quadrant, and take on anyone there." Jackson drunk the rest of his drink, and sat it down. "Sit, Riker. Have a couple belts of sythehol, and don't get so worked up." Riker held his right hand up at the bartender, and shook his head.
"Sir, I believe this isn't how a captain should act, especially in front of the people he's commanding." Jackson turned around, and saw a few crew members just enjoying themselves.
"You've been my number one for what, one or two years now? Have you learned anything from me?" Jackson went back to face the wall behind the bar.
"I've learned you have no equal when it comes to combat." Jackson gave Riker the 'really' look. "You care more about your crew, than you do yourself." Riker finally sat on the stool next to Jackson. "Do you have a death wish, sir?" Jackson shook his head.
"Please, I'm not that self destructive, nor have I adopted the Klingon's good day to die motto." Jackson raised his left hand slightly, wanting another hit. "I was born with an abnormally high I.Q., graduated high school at the age of thirteen, spent three years in Starfleet academy taking every course imaginable and a few that no one knows about. First commission on board the Calinus as an Ensign at sixteen, commander at seventeen and on the Apollo. By eighteen, captain and got the Excalibur." Riker was shocked to hear Jackson's brief life story.
"Enhanced?" Riker had to ask him.
"Natural. Believe me, I got tested multiple times for being genetically altered. And no, I don't have a positronic brain." Jackson downed his drink. "Take a look, and I mean take a GOOD look at the people you and I look after. Each and everyone of them, have a potential to be great, a potential to change everything if given the opportunity. Yes, I do take matters into my own hands, but only if the situation is severe, that lives might be lost."
"Might, sir?" Jackson cracked his neck.
"Might can turn into definately at any moment. People who used to be under my command, still send me messages thanking me for what I did. I still get wedding invites to this day." Jackson turned his glass down. "Better get going. We still got a couple days before we're at the Romulan border." Jackson got up, and fixed his uniform. "By the way, I know the representative, good man. Dakel is very philosophical, and a great converstionalist." Riker remained seated, trying to wrap his head around what he heard.
Captain's log, suplimental: The Excalibur made a detour to a nearby planet, which sensors indicated high deposits of Deuterium. After sending a message to Starfleet, I have been ordered to secure the planet, until a team of miners get there.
Jackson and Riker was sitting at the bridge, with Jackson's arms crossed and eyes closed. Riker was hunched forward, tapping his left heel on the floor. "Sir, I've recieved another message from Starfleet. The mining team is ahead of scheduled, and will be here within three hours." Riker just nodded his head.
"That's good to hear, Leutenant." Jackson responded. "Keep the sensors at max. If it looks like trouble, switch to yellow alert. If it becomes hostile, go to red."
"Aye, sir." Riker couldn't believe that Jackson did all that, without opening his eyes. After the first hour passed, nothing out of the ordinary happened. By the second hour, stray meteors brushed against the planet's atmosphere. Jackson made sure to record the event for everyone on the ship to see at their leisure. Halfway towards the third hour, a Ferengi ship appeared, trying to sell their wares.
"Three bars of gold pressed latinum, for this gel pack conduit, straight from Voyager itself." Jackson wasn't amused, nor was he buying into their 'acquisition' story.
"Tell you what, we'll take all the gel packs you have for free, and we won't take you in for grand theft, and possibly incarceration." The Ferengi's face got angry, then tried to barter again.
"Two bars, and three strips of gold pressed latinum?" Jackson wasn't amused. "Two bars?"
"Lock and transport the gel packs they have onto our ship, then disable their ship." The lieutenant did as she was told, which caused the transmission to be lost. "Transport our Ferengi to the brig, and alert Starfleet what had transpired.
"Aye, sir." Jackson sat back at his chair, with Riker holding back being impressed.
"Pick up your jaw, Riker. Every captain was ordered to find the culprit, or culprits who raided Voyager, and bring him or them to justice." Riker's eyes went wide. "Why find, when they can find you." Riker leaned back, shocked beyond belief. By the third hour, the mining team arrived.
"Captain Jackson, I don't know how you did it, but when Starfeet hears what you did, you might get a medal or an admiral promotion." Jackson chuckled.
"Me behind a desk? I'd go crazy within the first hour." Both captains laughed. "But seriously, There's a lot of Deuterium on that planet, sure that small ship of yours can hold all that?" The other captain ran her fingers through her hair.
"Don't you worry about that. I've been in this business longer than you have been in Starfleet." Jackson held his hands up in defeat.
"When my mission is over, we should get a couple drinks. I know this great bar in Baton Rouge." The mining captain laughed, and nodded in agreement. After she ended the transmission, the crew of the Excalibur resumed their trip to the Romulan border. Halfway to the border, Jackson was sitting in his ready room when his Lieutenant called him over his combadge.
"Sir, priority message from admiral Hideki." Jackson put down the glass-like tablet, and turned to the left.
"I'll take it here." After situating himself, and a quick groan, he hit the recieve button on his computer. "Admiral Hideki, sir, is there a problem?" He saw the admiral shake his head.
"I'm calling with the true nature of your mission to the Romulan border, this is a class alpha mission. Although you were sent to pick up representative Dakel and his aid Seki, there have been reports of the entity Vampyre within the area. You are not to disclose that thing to anyone in your crew, until the Federationcan gets accurate readings and ways to deal with it." Jackson scratched his head, trying to be confused.
"Sir, with all due respect, its not right to withhold that type of information with the rest of the crew, more specifically, my crew." The admiral held both his hands up in surrender.
"I understant, Dash, I fought tooth and nail to allow you to tell your crew everything sbout it. But the counsel nearly voted unanimously against you. I'm sorry Dash." Jackson hung his head down, with his hands holding the back of his head.
"Sir, I don't blame you, I just hate where this is going." After raising his head, Jackson took a deep breath, then fixed himself while sitting. "Anything else I should know about, sir?" He was trying not having an angry tone.
"Just stay alert. You never know what you might expect." The admiral ended the transmission, leaving Jackson to his thoughts. Until they got to the border, Jackson let Riker command the bridge.
The captain waited paitently in transporter room 1, with his first officer shortly, after arriving at the border. "Why the sudden urge for the high counsel, captain?"
"Aside from the chaotic nature of the Delta Quadrant, which is constant. I'm in the dark with this one, and I'm just as trusted as the legendary Jean-Luc Picard. Your great grandfather served with him on the Enterprise."
"Please don't remind me, sir. Its tiresome that everyone wants me to live up to Admrial William Riker." It was at that moment, Dakel and Seki teleported in.
"Welcome to the Excalibur. I hope your trip up wasn't unsettling?" Seki quickly got close to the captain, and pointed a disruptor gun under his chin. "Feisty, aren't you? I like feisty."
"You will address him, as representative Dakel. Nothing more, nothing less. You will personally escort representative Dakel, to the best room on this ship. Do you understand?" The transporter guy pulled out his phaser, and pointed it at Seki. Riker quickly held his hand out and yelled hold your fire. "Seems like your crew cares deeply for your safety." Seki put her gun away. "You got guts. I respect that." The transporter guy slowly did the same, Dakel stepped off the transporter pad and smiled slightly.
"Seki is ambitious, but she means well when it comes to my safety. Shall you show me to my quarters?"
"Right this way." The captain raised his right hand, all four of them left the room. "Number one, head to the bridge, and set course for Earth, warp 7."
"Aye, captain." Riker left them, and headed towards the turbolift. Both Dakel and the captain made small talk as the three of them headed towards one of the ambassador's quarters. After entering the room, Seki intensely inspected every inch, randomly breaking an item or two.
"Seki, you don't need to check for sabotage. Captain Dash Jackson is a respected human, even amongst the Romulan Empire." Seki looked at Jackson, and scowled at him. Dakel turned his attention back at Jackson. "Doesn't it seemed a bit strange that the Federation wants to debate the Delta Quadrant?" Jackson walked towards the window, with his hands behind his back.
"At first, I thought that with the combined forces of everyone capable in the Alpha Quadrant, the chaos that is the Delta, a bit of order is neccessary."
"But." Dakel asked. Jackson turned around, and crossed his arms in front of him.
"But I can't shake te feeling, that its not the whole truth. Also, something feels wrong. Like almost the entire crew of my ship, is tensing up." Jackson turned back around and noticed that they dropped out of warp.
"Bridge to the captain." Jackson tapped his combadge.
"Jackson here. Why have we dropped out of warp?"
"Sir, we've picked up an anomaly on our sensors." Jackson raised an eyebrow.
"I'm on my way. Go to yellow alert, and have shields raised." He looks at Dakel. "As an added precaution, I'm going to lock you both in here, just in case if this hides an ulterior motive. Dakel nodded.
"Take Seki with you. She can learn first hand how you operate." Jackson looked at Seki, and saw her standing at attention not looking at him. Jackson got up, gestured Seki to accompany him. After they both left, Jackson activated a level 4 lock on Dakel's quarters.
On the bridge, Riker was scratching his chin. "Origin of the anomaly?" The Ferengi looked at his console.
"Unknown. Commander, I've been scanning this with everything imaginable, and a couple not sanctioned. All come back the same thing." Riker stood up, and had an intense stare at it.
"Launch a class 3 probe. Maybe a scan from within can reveal what it is."
"Aye, sir." The Ferengi fired the probe, and eeryone watched as it entered the anomaly. "Sir?" The Ferengi was more confused than before. "The probe, its...gone." Riker turned and looked a bit angry.
"Say that again, lieutenant." The Ferengi resisted the urge to look at him.
"The probe, sir, is not showing or transmitting any data." Riker quickly looked back at the anomaly. It was a few minutes later, that Jackson entered the bridge, with Seki behind him.
"What kind of..." Jackson's face went pale. "Helm, adjust course to 418 mark 330, maximum warp engage now! Jackson to engineering."
"Levesque here, captain."
"Divert whatever power you can give me to the warp engines, and make it quick."
"Sir?"
"This is priority one right now, give me speed."
"Affirmative, sir." Levesque went to work. On the bridge everyone was silent, Jackson was in his seat, hunched forward with his hands clasped together and over his mouth. Riker crossed his arms and was tapping his left heel on the floor. "Engineering to bridge."
"Go ahead, Levesque."
"Sir, we've tapped everything we can into the warp field. Any more and we risk structural integrity." Jackson leaned back, and placed his right hand over his face. It wasn't long after, that he got a flash of brilliance.
"Helm, maintain course and speed. Engineering, I don't care how, divert whatever is left to structural integrity and the warp cells. Seki, please accompany me to docking bay two. Number one, you have the bridge." Jackson grabbed Seki by her hand, and rushed to the turbolift. "Docking bay two, and put a rush on it computer." Shortly as the door closed, they headed towards their destination.
"Don't ever touch me again, Federation." Seki was angry with Jackson.
"Apologies. But I need to let you know, that anomaly isn't an anomaly. Its an energy draining lifeform." The turbolift slowed down as it got closer to the docking bay. When it opened, Jackson rushed out. "Computer, upload probe gathering data to shuttle craft Epsilon, and purge everything except the auto-pilot, thruster maneuverability, and warp capabilities."
"Affirmative" Jackson got in, and started to program coordinates.
"Jackson to transporter room one."
"Transporter room one." Jackson continued to press console commands.
"Lock on to my bio signature, and transport me on my command."
"Aye, sir." Seki walked in, and watched.
"What are you doing?"
"Creating a diversion. Jackson to bridge, as soon as I'm back on board the Excalibur, shut everything down, but leave life support at a bare minimum and keep a visual lock on the anomaly."
"Understood." Seki was more confused than ever.
"That thing, is classified for a few Federation captains, and admirals. Its name, is Vampyre, and its not something to encounter in anyone's lifetime. This is my second encounter, which is rare. I wanted to tell you that because I felt Romulans deserve more than speculations and rumors. And Starfleet still has the habit of not sharing secrets freely when requested." Seki left, and returned to the bridge. Jackson took off in the shuttle craft, and made in the direction of the programmed coordinates. "Computer, activate the probe program, then wait until i leave to engage the warp field to maximum."
"Confirmed." Jackson cracked his neck.
"Jackson to transporter room one, transport me to the bridge. Energize." The second he was beamed out, the shuttle craft warped out. At the same time, Jackson was on the bridge, and the Excalibur shut down. Everyone was silent, and watch on the viewer, Vampyre chasing the shuttle craft. They waited until it was beyond their sensor range before re-engaging primary power. "Starfleet will have a field day when I send them a report. Helm, resume course to Earth, maximum warp. Commander, you have the bridge, I'll be with our Romulan friends."
Two days after arriving to Earth...
Riker, Levesque, and his chief of security was sitting at one of the lounge tables, sipping their drinks. "Commander, what will happen with the captain?" Riker had his head down, sulking at his mistake.
"All I know, is that letting a foreign representative die under the captain's watch during a crisis, its not that good. At best, a court martial is what he'll get." The chief of security rubbed the back of her left hand, like she was nervous about something.
"Worse case, they execute him." Levesque chimed in. "Most likely, he'll get a court martial, and possibly prison time." The lieutenant rubbed her hand faster.
"Whatever happens, we back up the captain, no matter what. If he leaves, we leave. He goes to prison, we admit that we took part, and get the same punishment." The lieutenant slowed her rubbing a bit, and quietly nodded.
"I got a husband and three kids to look out for. I don't think they want to visit their other father in jail." Riker put his left hand on Levesque's right shoulder.
"John, I'm not making this an order, its strictly volunteering. I want to support our captain, who risks his life for us everyday. I know no amout of us saving him, could ever repay the massive debt we owe him." Riker gulped down the rest of his drink. "I for one, will follow him no matter where he goes." Levesque and the lieutenant kept their heads sulking. Riker got up, grabbed all three glasses, and went to the bar to get refills.
Meanwhile, captain Jackson was in the middle of his hearing, whether or not he could be court martialed. He was assessing the situation, and determing the proper response.
"Captain, you claim that you saved your ship and crew, along with the two Romulans, from the Vampyre. This is the second time you've encountered it, correct?" The admiral said as he sat at the tallest podium.
"Yes, sir. And for the record, meeting it the third time is out of the question." Jackson said.
"Indeed." The other admiral said. "This court martial hearing, is the assassination of the Romulan representative under your command."
"Only explination I can think of, is during the power down, someone forced his/her way in Dakel's quarters, and assinated him. I activated the room's E.M.H., pulled out the emergency medial kit, and helped the program try and revive him. When that failed, I ordered an immediate transporter for Dakel's body to go to sick bay, for Dr. Yamada for a better attempt. Seki, his bodyguard, was watching close by. When Dr. Yamada couldn't resusitate, he was pronounced dead. I will admit, I got angry, but all I did was knock over a few instruments, and headed to my quarters." The admirals silently debated amongst each other. Jackson could read lips even from a distance, and got mad. "You know what, this is a total sham!" One of the admials grabbed the gavel, and hit the table with it.
"Captain, I suggest that you..."
"Be slent!? I refuse to be silent to this sham of a court martial!" Jackson took off his com badge, and threw it towards the admirals. "Consider that, my resignation from the Federation." Jackson stormed out. What he hadn't realized yet, was that he started a series of events, that changes the course of history for the entire Alpha Quadrant, and possibly the entire milky way galaxy.
As Jackson left Starfleet headquarters, he stooped at the bottom step, looked back and mentally kicked himself for not realizing what serving in the Federation meant. Before he could walk away, Riker and the lieutenant caught up with him in a hurry. "Captain!" Jackson shook his head, and scratched the back of his head.
"Not a captain anymore. Just call me Jackson from now on. Besides, I feel liberated, and I'm ok with that." Jackson turned around, closed his eyes, inhaled deeply as he stretched his arms as wide as he could. "Good luck, Riker. Lieutenant Coli, try and keep him on the straight and narrow. And try to lose that habit of rubbing your hand when you're anxious, I named you my chief of security to help you get over it." As Jackson started to walk away, Riker chased after him.
"Where are you going?"Jckson stopped, looked back, and grinned.
"First, I'm going home. Then, whatever I feel like doing." Jackson walked away again, raised his right hand and waved goodbye. For the first time, Riker felt angered, and betrayed.
"Sir." Riker didn't hear Coli walking up to him. "Sir?" He finally snapped out of his trance.
"Sorry lieutenant. What is it?" Riker held himself from going off on Coli.
"Admirals Hideki and T'path wants to see us in her office, right away." Riker nodded, then fixed his hair as both of them headed back to headquarters.
20 years later
On a planet deep in the Beta Quadrant, a town resembling an Earth western town. A tavern with various alien species are either drinking at the bar, or playing poker. "So Tellarite, you going to bet, or fold?" Jackson's face didn't show any emotion. An Andorian had folded after Jackson placed his bet, as did the Cardassian next to him. The Tellarite smiled.
"I figured you out, Human. Let's see how you deal when I bet two bars of gold pressed latinum." The Kingon and Betazoid folded. Jackson did a half smiled at the Tellarite.
"Color me impressed, two whole bars of latinum. Must got something good." Jackson put his cards to look like its he has just one card. "Tell you what, I'll see your two bars, and raise you five more bars." Jackson didn't see Seki walking up behind him. "And your phase modulating shield generator."
"Squandering our finances again?" Jackson didn't turn his head.
"Please, I got him on the ropes. You need to trust me." The Tellarite got a bit mad.
"Call." The Tellarite revealed his hand. "Three of a kind. Guess I get to keep my shield and all the latinum." A knife barely missed the Tellerite's hand.
"As you can see, you grabbed prematurely." Jackson revealed his hand. "Straight flush." Jackson smiled, and grabbed the pot and the knife afterwards. "Please deliver my new shield modulator to the coordinates provided by my Romulan here. Gentlemen, thank you for the game. Let's do this next time I'm in the area, maybe win your fortune back." Jackson left, and didn't see Seki intimidate the Tellarite and give him the coordinates.
Meanwhile, on the Andorian ship...
"Seki seems more irritated than usual."The Cardassian said, while installing an old Federation E.M.H. console in sick bay.
"She's always irritated, mostly towards the boss." The Trill said, checking on his medical supplies, and stealing glances at the Cardassian woman. "In any case, most of our runs, she does without the boss' knowledge." The Cardassian finished installing the console, and hit a few commands. The holo-doctor appeared next to the Trill.
"Please state the nature of the medical emergency." She looked around, and saw two aliens, not wearing Starfleet uniforms. "Did the Federation fell? Or did they issue new uniforms?" The Cardassian laughed.
"You are a de-comissioned E.M.H. program our boss aquired from a destroyed Federation vessel about what, a month go. Give or take." The Trill said, after placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I see. I take it you are the chief medial officer on this starship?" She looked at the Trill.
"I'm THE best doctor in the entire four quadrants. She's the engineer who keeps this ship from falling apart." The Cardassian just shrugged her shoulders.
"Don't mind Vojia Vanum. He always gloats when no one knows who he is. I'm Gine Drod, and I'm just a humble engineer." The holo-doctor tried not looking scared, and walked around sick bay.
"Is this still a Starfleet ship? Or am I a barganing chip?" The holo-doctor asked, Vojia laughed.
"You're no longer a Starfleet item. You, my dear, are now the property of this ship and crew. Also to make sure he doesn't go insane from total silence." Gine pointed at first, then pulled out a holo-emiter from the console, and showed it to her. "This is programmed with your data, in case the Trill there, can't leave the medical room." Vojia crossed the room, and did the 'can't be helped' gesture with his arms and shoulders.
Elsewhere, a Klingon, a Betazoid and a Saurian was in the middle of repairing the bridge. "She ever going to admit her desire towards the boss?" The Saurian asked while trying to fuze some wires together.
"Romulans." The Klingon growled while saying Seki's race. "Tthey have no honor, and fight using underhanded methods."
"Eazy, Jox. You still have to work with her." The Betazoid chimed in.
"I've made my peace with working with Seki. I just hate that she's not returning the affection back." Jox's console sparked hard. "VA!" The Saurian looked up.
"I for one, don't care. If the boss knew half of the missions Seki has us take, he would have her head." The Saurian finished repairing her console. "Personally, I don't want to be at the recieving end of the boss' wrath." Jox and the Betazoid looked at each other, and nodded in unison. All throughout the ship, various races, who were brought on from friends of friends, who was recruited by Jackson's bridge crew, gossiped and made repairs as the day went on.
It was nearly nightfall on the planet, when Jackson and Seki headed towards their ship in the Delta Flyer they 'procured' a decade ago. "Still not talking to me?" Seki stayed silent. "You know I've been eyeballing a phase modulating shield generator for a while now, and the Tellarite had the perfect, working one. At least congratulate me on getting one." Seki looked at Jackson with distain.
"You nearly costed our entire savings on a poker game." Jackson shrugged playfully. "Can't you take this seriously!?" Jackson turned his head, and winked at her. Seki faced forward, and adjusted some settings.
"You want me to act like I was still in the Federation, don't you?" Seki said nothing. "Look, after leaving the Federation, I felt a weight lifting off my shoulders. And as for the responsibilities, I was losing sleep just over the amount of reports I had to file." Seki stayed silent. "You know, when I do get serious, its for the right reasons."Jackson then faced forward, adjusted course, and resumed their trajectory back to the ship. "By the way, I got serious when I said that." Jackson didn't see Seki smile.
Minutes later, after Jackson landed the flyer, Seki was the first one off. She was greeted by Jox and Voija. "Welcome back, commander." Voija said. Jox just nodded. Seki walked passed them, and headed to the turbolift. "Definately mad." Jox nodded again. Jackson then exited the flyer, and pointed towards the ceiling with both pointers.
"Your boss has returned with a surprise!" Everyone who was in the docking bay, looked at him. "Jox, my favorite Klingon, grab a few people and get this phase modulating shield generator, and help Gine install it." Jox snapped his fingers, and another Klingon went to the console, and transported the device to engineering. "Vojia, my favorite doctor, how's the E.M.H. working out?" Vojia placed a hand on Jackson's shoulder, and gave a thumbs up with his other hand. "Seki and I not only picked up that shield generator, but we also took this Tellarite's entire latinum collection. We're sitting easy for awhile." Vojia ran into the flyer, and admired the pile. Jackson looked around, and just nodded at how well they're working together. Jackson left, and headed towards his quarters.
Seki arrived on the bridge, and took the captain's seat. "We have a job. Once Gine got the phase shield running, head towards the Oberon cluster at warp 8."
"Does the boss know about the job we are taking?" The Saurian asked, as she turned her body to face Seki.
"Dash doesn't know, and he'll never find out, Erizu. I want to keep it that way." Seki had her legs crossed, hand over hand on her lap.
"Engineering to bridge." Seki pressed a button on the arm rest.
"What is it, Gine."
"Where's the boss? You know what, nevermind. The phase modulating shield generator is working with 100% efficiancy. We can test run it during flight." Seki pressed the button again.
"Erizu, send us away from this horrid planet." The ship slowly left the orbit, then warped out.
Jackson was violently woken up from a shock of his ship being hit hard. "Jackson to bridge, what the hell is going on?"
"Nothing you should concern yourself with." Jackson got up from his bed and left his quarters, wearing just his pants, and took the turbolift to the bridge.
"Jox." He used the communications section in the turbolift.
"Sir, we are under attack by a Jem Hadar ship." Jackson was halfway to the bridge, rubbing his eyes. When he got to the bridge, Seki got up and went to her station, he sat in the chair.
"Shields?"
"Still at full strength." Jackson quickly turned to Jox.
"Really?" Jox nodded. Jackson then turned back to the screen. "Arm two quantum torpedoes, maximum yield, and target just below their engine exhaust." He waited a few seconds. "Fire." They watched as the torpedoes hit the Jem Hadar ship, and its explosion. He leaned on the left arm rest, left finger and thumb on his eyes, lightly rubbing them. "This had the marks...of a job...that I was not made aware of. Who took it, and what is it?" The bridge was silent, except for the normal sounds.
"I did." Jackson turned to Seki. "I had planned to have it done before you woke up. Both our cargo holds are filled with crates of plasma infused light swords." Jackson went back to rubbing his eyes. "Our destination is the sixth planet in the Haggon solar system." Jackson faced forward again, still rubbing his eyes.
"Resume course and speed, Erizu." The ship went into warp, and headed towards the Haggon solar system. After a week in warp, they arrived at the sixth planet. "Since Seki took this job, she and Jox will finish it. I'll be in my quarters." Jackson left the bridge. Seki waited a few minutes before her and Jox headed to the transporter room, and down to the planet surface.
"You got the goods?" A medium sized half boar, half snake being, glided out from behind a few trees.
"Payment first. Your...colleague...gave us her word." The boar-snake nodded, pulled out a hand device and pressed a few commands. Moments later, several metal crates appeared between them. After inspecting all of them thoroughly, she nodded in agreement. "Where do you want your goods?" The boar-snake pointed at the large metal landing just barely half a mile away. "Seki to transporter. Send our cargo to the specified location, and energize." All three watched the entire contents from both cargo holds onto the landing pad. The boar-snake bowed a bit, and glided away from them. Seki and Jox transported back on the ship, and warped away.
Later that day, Jackson was reading a novel from a pad he took just before he left Starfleet. The door to his quarters rang. "Enter." As the door opened, Seki walked in with her hands behind her back.
"Dash." Jackson got up with a smile on his face.
"Came here to spend the night? You are more than welcome to stay with me in my quarters indefinately." Seki shoved a hilt in Jackson's chest.
"This is the reason why I took the job. You are a leader of this ship, and I felt that a symbol is needed." Jackson smiled lovingly. "Goodnight, Dash." Seki left. Jackson held the hilt, and squeezed the trigger under the tip of the grip. The 'blade', was a dark purple color, and had a faint-like glow. After lightly swinging it a couple times, Jackson released the trigger, the blade dissolved, then he placed the hilt by his bed. He crawled in, put both hands behind his head, and smiled like he never did before.
As Jackson slept, he replayed the events of the vampyre incident in his dream. He would change tactics a bit, always ending with him being transported to Dakel's room. Jackson would wake up abruptly in the middle of the night, and stare into the ceiling, hoping that he would go back to sleep. Jackson would put on just some pants, and headed to the turbolift, towards the holo-deck.
The Andorian ship traveled in warp, through the sea stars, with no set destination. The crew, was either relaxing, making the ship more efficient, or sleeping in their quarters. Unaware at what adventures awaits them.