Part 2
NCC-19846 USS Insurgence
Sector 045
On station – The Neutral Zone
'Captain's log. Star date 46676.6
We are now three hours into our covert surveillance and there is still another hour and twenty minutes until the class one probe is scheduled to return to our side of the Neutral Zone. I doubt that the readings will show anything out of the ordinary, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Especially when dealing with the Romulans...
I have allowed Lieutenant Prior to conduct a level five diagnostic of the antimatter injector assembly. Though it means we shall be unable to restart the warp drives until they have been installed - a worry that was clearly stated by Commander Akerman - I see it as a worth-while precaution as they have been giving us a bit of problems over the last few months. When we dock at star base twenty five, I'm going to request a full overhaul of the system, or at least a replacement.
Meanwhile, I have the crew on routine duties. It should help the time pass a little faster.
...
Power thrummed through the injector assembly as it sat in the centre of a work bench in one of the side rooms of the engineering section, cables and wires plugged into it from all sides, tricorders and data pads glowing as they tracked every inch of it, and the screens around it flickering with numbers and codes. The pitch rose and fell as it surged through the wiring and into the metallic regulator, simulating the stresses it would go through at high warp.
It began to shudder, and one of the tricorders began to beep nervously.
'The right side power coupling is beginning to degrade,' an engineer said calmly, reading the data off the screen in front of him, looking up from the device to the face of the chief engineer who stood opposite him.
Lieutenant Arthur 'RT' Prior, chief engineer, barely took his eyes off the injector as his fingers deftly floated across the controls of the monitor in front of him.
'Decreasing flow to the left side coupling to compensate,' he said patiently, sliding the sensitive controls down but hearing the hum continue to grow.
More power was surging through it, seemingly unaffected by his alterations. His brow crease and he chewed on the inside of his cheek as he grunted disapprovingly. It was not doing what it was supposed to.
He tapped a few more controls, accessing the power regulators and trying to syphon off the power through a secondary valve system that was built into the device. Power drained out through the release valve, but the injector just seemed to draw even more power into itself.
'No effect,' the young engineer opposite him stated, looking up with a mildly fearful look in his eyes. Prior did not even notice the look, his eyes were still locked on the injector as it lay quivering on the workbench.
'Report, Lieutenant,' a sharp voice barked from the doorway into the main engineering section. Prior huffed out a grunt of irritation as he continued to glare down at the devise and his fingers moved rapidly across the controls. He knew who's voice it was, but he didn't have time to play her games at that moment, even if she was the first officer.
'Kinda busy right now, sir,' he hissed through gritted teeth, somehow able to make the word "sir" sound like an insult. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her tense up at being spoken to in such a way. But he had more important things to worry about at that moment.
'Right side power coupling is losing cohesion,' the engineer continued to report, watching the screen in front of him slowly turning red with warning lights.
Prior rushed around the table, nudging past the first officer a bit more forcibly than he probably intended to, and feeling the glare from her eyes burning into the back of his head as he stopped beside the other engineer, accessing the terminal in front of him and entering commands as fast as he could.
'I just need a few more seconds,' he hissed, ignoring everyone around him now.
'I asked for your report, Lieutenant,' Akerman growled.
The whining of the power surging through the device grew deafeningly loud now, and the vibrating was so violent that the injector was juddering across the surface of the workstation.
'Not now!' Prior barked back.
Akerman seemed about to yell back, but her eyes suddenly seemed to notice the device and the painful whirring sound emanating from the workbench.
'Power levels at critical,' the young engineer said hopelessly.
'Nearly got it,' Prior wispered.
'Too late.'
'Down...'
The device ruptured, a blinding ball of light engulfing the table, and sharp, jagged shards flew in all directions. Akerman threw herself onto the floor, covering her head with her arms, waiting for the inevitable shower of hot metal and electronic sparks. But it never came.
'Breach,' the soft computer voice said casually. 'Simulation ends.'
'Damn it,' Prior huffed angrily, slapping his palms down hard on the workstation. 'I nearly had it. Okay, computer. Set up for another run. Same parameters. And this time, Lomas, I want you to...' as he turned to look at the young engineer who had been stood beside him, he noticed that the first officer was still lying on the deck, her eyes looking up at him widely as though she was surprised to see him still alive. Realisation began to dawn upon her and her comical expression changed from confusion, to irritation, and then to all out anger at being humiliated in such a way.
Prior wished that he had been able to capture that look on her face in a hologram that he could keep forever. It took all his effort not to let himself grin.
She scrambled to her feet and brushed herself down as fast as she could, either hoping or pretending that no one else had seen that. Striding purposefully over towards him, she stopped only inches away from him and glared down into his eyes. They were almost the same height, and as she struggled to contain her anger, her nostril flared.
'Can I have a word with you,' he growled, her jaw clenched so tight that Prior was certain that she would shatter her teeth. 'In private,,' she added, her eyes flicking viciously towards Lomas.
'Lomas, give us the room,' Prior said tactfully, his voice gentle and calm. He never broke eye contact with Akerman, but he watched as the young engineer skirted the edge of the room and left through the open doorway. The doors closed behind him, Lomas obviously certain that the rest of the crew did not need to hear what was about to be said.
Prior continued to glare up into Akerman's eyes, waiting a painful few seconds too long, watching her seethe before a wide grin crossed his face and he shook his head.
'You have to admit, that was funny,' he whispered. Her eyes flared a fraction of a second before she reached out and grabbed him by the collar. She dragged him so close that their noses were on the verge of touching.
'Don't you EVER do that to me again,' she growled.
'Okay,' Prior said, a shocked expression crossing his face. She clenched her fists tighter.
'Okay, what?'
'Okay, sir.'
'That's better,' she said softly, the growl in her voice suddenly absent. She pulled him even closer and forcibly pressed her lips against his. Prior knew it had been coming, and he always loved winding her up. It seemed to fire her passion. Her grip on his collar relaxed and her kiss became more tender as her arms slipped around the back of his neck, his slipped around her waist, pulling her closer against his body.
They savoured the moment together. It was becoming more and more difficult to hide their relationship from the rest of the crew. There was only so much insubordination he could fake before people would start to wonder why he had not been transferred, or even court marshalled.
He felt the softness of her lips against his, the gentle touch of her hands against the nape of his neck. The almost silent sigh she would make as their breaths intertwined, it always melted his heart. From that very first moment he had seen her all those years ago, he knew he had fallen in love, and on that fateful day when she had transferred to the "Insurgence" and he had seen her on the bridge, he knew it had been fate.
Slowly, she pulled away, letting her hands caress his chest one last time before she took a step away and straightened out her uniform. He looked back at her and smiled.
'Don't do that,' she said, her cheeks flushing. It always surprised him to see her acting shy.
'What?' he said playfully.
'That smile,' she retorted with reddening cheeks. 'You know what it does to me.'
'I'm sorry,' he replied, not even meaning it. It was that smile that had made her fall for him. He would wear it for her every day until he was buried in the ground if it made her happy and kept her by his side.
'Anyway,' she said finally, brushing the last creases out of her uniform and her voice reverting to its angry growl. 'I should get back to the bridge. Make sure you get that diagnostic done as soon as you can.'
'Will do,' Prior said with a sad smile. Akerman turned and was almost at the door when he called out to her. 'Jean?'
'Yes?'
'I love you.' She turned to look at him and smiled before pressing the controls and stepping out through the door.
Prior sighed.
'One day,' he whispered to himself. 'One day, she'll say it back to me.'
...
The turbo lift doors opened onto the bridge, the silent, darkened room made a little more inviting by the dull orange glow of the lights. As she stepped out onto the bridge, Akerman cast a quick eye across all of the other monitors that were scattered around the rear walls, taking in all the status displays. Slowly, she walked around the back of the bridge.
The helm officer – an Orion female - turned to look back at her over her shoulder, the soft, wavy brown hair swaying as she turned. Akerman gave her a nod of acknowledgement, noting that she had recognised a superior on the bridge, and giving her a silent signal to return to her duties. The helm officer smiled a tight-lipped smile, and returned her attention to the console in front of her.
Lieutenant Commander Trace G'rahm stood up, rising from the captains chair, and came to attention, his hands clasped behind his back. She noted this, and could feel him watching her as she passed the last few monitors, but she did not hurry. She finished taking in the data on the screens, happy that everything was within normal tolerances, and then turned and walked towards the command seat at the centre of the bridge.
'I have the bridge, Mr G'rahm,' she said crisply. The Andorian saluted in return and stepped away from the chair.
'Yes, sir,' he said smartly. She respected him, he was a good and competent officer, and he always followed protocol. That was very important to her. She had always been a stickler for the rules, never even considering breaking them, even when she was a child. But then growing up as the daughter of a Starfleet security officer was bound to leave its mark.
She had never been able to understand people who could ignore regulations with such ease, to simply cast them aside as though they were something trivial that couldn't possibly relate to them. Regulations were there for a reason. They were there to maintain order, and to protect the crews of the ships of Starfleet.
Nodding her head in acknowledgement, she stepped in front of the seat and sat down, feeling in her bones that one day she was destined to occupy this spot on a more permanent basis, not just as first officer. It wasn't that she didn't think Captain Colbert was a bad commanding officer, far from it. She had watched him and studied him, and she had seen how confident and how sure of himself that he was while running the ship, maintaining an air of distance from the crew that was only right for a person in his position, but also managing to feel like he was approachable by many of them in times of need.
She struggled with that last quality. She had never been a people person. As she settled into the seat, the room around her seemed to grow a little more with each passing thought, as though reminding her that though the chair fitted her, she still had a long way to go before she was ready.
Putting the thoughts aside, she turned to the small monitor on the arm of the seat and entered her access code. Without looking up at him, she began speaking to Lieutenant Commander G'rahm.
'Anything to report, Mister G'rahm?' she asked, almost conversationally.
'Nothing of note, sir,' he replied, still maintaining his solid, upright posture. 'There has been no change in the routine of the Romulan patrols on the far side of the Neutral Zone. Lieutenant Hitchens informs me that there has been no alterations to the radiological anomalies we have been tracking, though we are still unable to ascertain their origins, and the probe will not be returning for another one hour and twenty three minutes until it it programmed to return. Once we have the data, we shall have a better idea of what we are dealing with.
'Security on board ship remains on standby, as per silent running regulations. I have the weapons systems on standby for rapid activation, and the sensor station is sweeping the area directly port and starboard for any incoming ships.' Akerman paused half way through reading one of the hourly reports from the medical team about a sprained wrist and turned to look up at the blue skinned security officer.
'Expecting trouble?' she asked, raising an eyebrow. He gave her a dry smile.
'Not expecting,' he said simply. 'Just cautious. The asteroid forms a blind spot directly aft, and if anything does try to sneak up on us, I'd like to be as prepared as we possibly can.' Akerman absorbed the information for a moment before she returned his smile.
'Hope for the best...,' she began.
'...Prepare for the worst,' he finished with a knowing grin.
'Very good, Lieutenant Commander,' she said happily. He was about to turn and walk away when he seemed to hesitate for a moment. Akerman saw this. 'Is there something else, Mister G'rham?' He paused, seemingly uncertain whether to speak or not. His lips tightened and his brow creased into a frown as he turned back to face her.
'When the systems switched to back up power, the sensor screen flickered and I'm certain I saw other contacts appear,' he said quietly. 'When the switch over was completed, the readings had returned to normal and the computer showed no record of there ever having been any contacts there.' Akerman lowered her head to look at the floor, resting her chin on her fist as her elbow leaned on the arm of the seat. She chewed her bottom lip as she thought about what he had just said.
At the academy, she had studied sensor equipment as part of her dissertation, and knew they were prone to sensor ghosts when an unstable power source was connected. But she also knew that they could also pick up something that was otherwise hidden when power surged through them at a higher rate than normal, and that could happen when they were switching from one power source to the other. Weighing up the evidence, she came to a compromise.
'Given the circumstances, it is highly likely they were nothing more than sensor ghosts. But as you said, "prepare for the worst". Isolate the area the signals were detected and dedicate one of the monitors to its constant surveillance.'
'Aye, sir,' he said confidently. Bowing his head in appreciation, he walked around the rear of the captains seat, and resumed monitoring his own station, programming one of the monitors to do a constant sweep of the area he had seen the signals.
Akerman returned her attention to the hourly reports that were slowly scrolling across the small screen mounted on the arms of the chair. In the darkened bridge, it was easy to lose herself in her work, and as she read through each report, the minutes tapered away around her.
