Chapter 2

Command Deck, Deep Space Delta
January 12 2380. 17:32

Commander Eagan looked at the time display again. 17:32. Only another twenty-eight minutes of duty time left and then she would be relieved for the rest of the day. She rubbed her temples, she had been fostering a headache for some time now, and it was only getting worse. She sighed as the beeping of consoles and the quiet but constant chatter of the rest of the crewmen on the shift. She walked across the deck to the Medical Monitoring station, which was at the back of the command deck.
"You have any aspirin?" she asked. Even talking made pain flare from her temples. She winced slightly. The officer, Eagan recognised her as Ensign Carolina Smith, looked up at her.
"Yes ma'am, just a moment." Smith said, no expression in her voice. Kind of like a computer, Eagan thought. That made her slightly nervous. Smith looked back down at her console and continued working. Eagan stood in front of the console for about a minute, drumming her fingers off the console. She snapped after about a minute and a half.
"Ensign!?" she said, a bit more forceful than she had intended. Smith looked up at her and blinked.
"I am sorry Commander." Smith said. "One moment." This time Smith bent over in her chair and opened a small cabinet under her console. She pulled out a container with the Starfleet medical symbol on it. She closed the small cabinet, opened the container and rummaged through it.
"Aha." She sounded, triumphantly. She produced a small hypo tube and handed it over to Eagan. She then opened a small container on the side of her console and pulled out one of maybe half a dozen hyposprays she had neatly stacked in there. She handed it over to the Commander.
"There you are ma'am." She said, in that perfect, computer like tone. Eagan took the hypo-tube and the hypospray from her.
"Thank you." She replied. She turned and slowly ambled back to the command console. She opened up the bottom of the hypospray and loaded the hypo. She brought it to her neck and injected herself with it. At that moment the large doors at the back of the command deck opened.
"Caught you!" Major Velora Lewell proclaimed. "What kind of drug is it this time?" Eagan lowered the hypo and turned to face him. "Don't try and hide it! I saw it!" he said. He laughed and descended the deckplate towards her.
"Hello Major." She said.
"Hello Commander." He replied. He stopped next to her as she turned back to the console and started her work. "I hear Harvey...I'm sorry. Captain Nasar was looking for me. What did I miss?" He pushed his hair out of his eyes and round his ears.
"Nothing spectacular." She replied. Not looking up from her console. "The Discovery arrived, the captain took it out..."
"Without me!" he said, shocked. "Damn! If I hadda known he wanted me to pilot the Discovery I woulda left those recruits with Trev!"
"Well you didn't." she moved across the console and forced Lewell to voce behind her. He moved along so that he was beside her again. She turned to look at him, slightly annoyed.
"Don't you have something to do?" she demanded. Her console beeped and she pressed the button that was flashing. An ensign from the Ops console looked up.
"Commander. We're receiving a distress call." He said. "Audio only."
"On speakers." She ordered. The sound on the speakers was crackled and filled with shouting and explosions.
"This is Ferengi commerce vessel Liarn." The Ferengi captains voice now filled the disembodied transmission. "We are under attack. I repeat we..." the transmission cut off abruptly.
"We've lost the transmission sir." The ensign shouted. Eagan turned to look at him.
"I am not a sir!" she shouted. "Do I look like a sir? Look, see these!? Breasts. Indicating woman! Which means, no sir!"
"Sorry sir." The ensign said. Instantly realising his mistake he blushed slightly. At Eagan's side, Lewell chuckled, feeling sorry for the poor kid. It was a natural reaction for a new recruit out of the Academy. Eagan, however, was not impressed.
"What did I just say?" the ensign merely looked down at his console and continued working. "Now. Get me that commerce ship back."
"Aye." Was the ensign's only response. Eagan turned back to her station. Lewell leaned in closer to her.
"Now I have something to do." Lewell said, cheerily. He turned and walked away from her and towards the exit of the command deck. "I'll take Alpha Wing out to their co-ordinates." Eagan turned around to look at him.
"I don't have to tell you to be careful, right?" she said. The doors at the back of the command deck slid open and Lewell stopped in between them. He turned to face Eagan.
"Hey it's me!" he smiled, cockily.
"I know." She replied, concern creeping into her voice.
"I'll be careful Commander." He turned and walked out of the command deck.