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The following story takes place after "Home Again
Forms of Life
Written by Chris Stephenson
1
Prologue
"And as you can see, we are very up to date, and prepared to deal with whatever is thrown at us, out here, in the great unknown."
Skrit walked in front of the camera crew, moving backwards, yet thankfully he was aware enough of his surroundings not to bump into anyone. That would be embarrassing, especially since his every movement, action, and word would be transmitted throughout the quadrant. He was pleased that he had been asked to lead the video tour of the Maximillian, which originally had been a onetime thing, started by Admiral Blobbin who believed that the Federation needed another face to Starfleet, other than the usual exploits of the Enterprise. The Maximillian was an obvious choice, not just because it was Admiral T'Kill's flagship, but also because it was an upgraded version of the Sovereign class Starship, and thus it could easily be called the most powerful ship in the fleet.
In addition to this, was the eclectic mix of cultures and crew members that served aboard the Max. Between the Androids, and the Vulcans, and a Betazoid that had recently joined the ship, coming aboard at Deep Space Nine but forgotten during the difficulties that had went on there, it put most ships to shame, since the Federation, though it had thinned out a bit in recent times, was still mostly human. Skrit was no exception, being a strange mix of energy lifeform and hologram, rendering him among the more valuable crewmembers on the Max. His unique abilities with energy made him a popular figure on the initial broadcast of "Starship Life: The U.S.S. Maximillian", which was split between him, Commander Tamak, the first officer of the ship, and LCDR Meowran, A Kaitian who headed up Stellar Cartography. After the response came in, it ended up with Skrit leading the camera crew around the ship on regular intervals, provided the Max was not on a mission that involved danger or secrecy. Since right now they were merely scanning a nebula, routine work only being done because they were so close to it after leaving Deep Space Nine, it seemed the perfect time to get the camera crew out to do an episode.
So it was that Skrit found himself, on the rare occasion where he wasn't assembling the Rapid Response force or filling a shift on the bridge, leading the crew through the bowels of the ship, telling them about the sights and adventures they had seen, and basically having the time of his life doing it.
He marched purposefully, happily through the decks, occasionally waving a hand through a bulkhead to demonstrate for his obviously captivated audience that his abilities were like almost no other, and even the famous doctor of the starship Voyager had fallen out of the public eye, working on his novels in relative peace. As he moved, Skrit described how his abilities functioned, and also alluded to how he came to be, without going into too much detail. He wanted to keep his audience hanging, just to assure that he would still have a place in their heads until the next episode, and the next, until finally he would reveal all, probably in some kind of special extended episode, or something like that.
He wasn't trying to get an ego about the situation, but he couldn't help it. He had been buttered up and talked about for several weeks now, everyone trying to get him in some kind of deal, or to sign some kind of contract. He had found, however, that he could be far more without signing contracts, without pigeonholing himself into a deal that he wouldn't be able to get out of no matter what he tried, and he wasn't interested in owing some shady Ferengi storeowner that wanted him to push his products on the show. He still had his principles, and his morals, and they would be enough to carry him through. They certainly had gotten him this far. He smiled as he spoke personally to the camera, as though he was talking directly to every person that was watching. He, of course, had no idea exactly how many people were tuning in at this moment, but he did know that the potential viewership of the show was in the tens of billions, all over the Galaxy. And he knew he was one of the more popular shows, so he felt knowing the numbers wasn't as important as knowing his role: The star.
Oh sure, other people could be the Captains and First officers, the Kelvoks and Picards of this time, and there were plenty more where they came from. But there was only one Skrit, one energy being held
together by emitters and complicated electronic equipment, one man that had fought the evils of the universe, saved his friends, and had and would be a part of the greatest ship in the fleet, no matter what the latest opinion polls showed. (The Enterprise, as usual running on their name alone, led in just the last weeks poll by a 67% margin. The Maximillian, as usual, out of the limelight, sat at around 5% most of the time, mainly voted on the list in the first place by former crew members and crew family.)
"Now my role here goes far beyond merely being the Maximillian's sole security chief. Not only are my abilities vital..." Skrit paused for effect as he passed a hand through a nearby wall, to the great surprise of the crewman taking the shower on the other side. "...but they are also very useful in a pinch. Why, earlier, Lieutenant Commander Jaydin was attacked, and nearly killed! Thankfully I, among others, was there to..." Skrit stopped, confused, when he realized that the camera had stopped following him, trailing off and back where Skrit had come from. "Um...guys..." They didn't answer, as he realized they had stopped filming him, in favor of following another crew member, a recent promotion to the vacated position of Chief of Engineering. A valued officer on the Maximillian, and possibly the only being on the Maximillian more unique than Skrit.
A human-sized squirrel.
The cameras followed Lieutenant Squirrelly as he walked, oblivious to their attention, engrossed as he was in a padd that he was working on to improve the warp drive efficiency by around 3%. He walked on until he heard the whirring of the cameras and the soft hum of the small jets that kept them floating in the air, improving the efficiency of the cameramen who controlled them with padds of their own. He stopped, and turned around, as the leader of the small group approached him.
"Excuse me, sir..."
"Oh...hi. Give me a few moments, ok? Kind of in the middle of something here..."
"Sure...do you mind if we get some shots?"
"Sure, go right ahead." Squirrelly walked along, his tail swishing along behind him, and the camera crew moved along with him, capturing every movement that he made as they began the short trip to Engineering.
Skrit looked perplexed, and began to follow them, by now far behind. "Hey, guys? Guys? ....Hey?"
