Chapter Four: Stardate 47326.9 (30 April, 2370)
It has been six days since the discovery of the Pegasus in the Devolin System and the start of the salvage operation to retrieve the components onboard. Although it was going slow, it has also been very successful. The senior staff was once again seated in the observation lounge.
"Status reports on the Pegasus salvage." Riker started the brief. "How are we doing people? Geordi let's start with you. How are you doing down in Engineering?"
"Well, sir." Said Geordi. "Things are going very well. As you know it took us a few hours to calibrate the phase-cloak with the Enterprise's system. However, with the current state of the ship's computers, it has taken us nearly the entire week to successfully run all the tests and simulations to see whether the cloak would actually work."
"Will it?" he asked
"Yes, we believe it will. But, we had to route the impulse engines through the plasma conduits, and we're going to have to watch the inter-coolant levels. If they get too high, we'll blow the entire relay system." Geordi explained
"Maybe that's what happened to the Pegasus twelve years ago." Said Shelby
"I agree. The cloak must've blown out the plasma relays after we left in the escape pods. The plasma ignited in space, and it looked as if the ship had been destroyed." Said Riker
"The ship then drifted into this system still in a phased state, and when it passed through this asteroid the cloak failed." Said Data
"And half of the ship rematerialized inside solid rock." Concluded Riker
"It would seem so, sir." Said Geordi
"What are the odds of the same thing happening to us?" he asked
"As long as we keep the inter-coolant levels at optimum performance and not allow it to get too high, we should be fine." Said Geordi
"That's good to hear. Doctor Ogawa, what about you? How are we doing in sickbay?" he asked her.
"Well, I don't like to say this but, we were getting pretty desperate down there before we came into this system. It was so bad in fact that I was actually trying to recall the procedures of how to amputate limbs without the use of anesthetics and antibiotics." She said
"Were we really getting that desperate?" asked Shelby
"Yes we were… We've ran out of practically everything by the time we entered this asteroid field." Said Ogawa
"And now?" asked Riker
"Well, I'm glad to say that we're doing much better. We've recovered everything we could from the Pegasus's sickbay. Even though half the sickbay was inside the rock face of the asteroid, we were able to bring our medical inventory back up to nearly 50 percent of our original stockpile. Luckily for us, the pharmacy did not materialize inside the asteroid." Said Ogawa
"If that is true, then why are we only at 50 percent?" asked Worf
"The Pegasus is a much smaller ship than the Enterprise with a much smaller crew. In truth, I'm surprised we were able to recover so much. Standard medical inventory of an Oberth class ship should be far less than what we salvaged, but for some reason the Pegasus had nearly twice as much as it should have." She explained
"I can only guess that the reason it had so much was because of the nature of the mission. There were bound to be accidents in testing out the new experimental systems onboard. Also it may also have had so much because the sickbay itself was also a new design, that later became standard on all Starfleet ships." Said Riker
"Either way, I'm grateful." Said Ogawa
"We all are." Riker stated "Miles, how about you?"
"Well sir, the dilithium that was brought back was in nearly perfect condition with less than one percent of crystalline degradation. With that much dilithium still intact, along with the replacement parts for the main reactor and warp plasma conduit manifolds, we should be able to get old girl back up and running at about warp 8.95. Maybe even warp 9.3 if we push it." Said O'Brien.
"8.95! We haven't been able to go that fast in almost two years." Said Shelby
"Also, we have been able to recover a little over 70 percent of the Pegasus's industrial replicator from its main cargo bay. As soon as we're able to repair our own industrial replicator in our main cargo bay, we'll be able to replicate any spare part we need, and we'll also be able to get the rest of the replicator systems back online and working again." Said O'Brien
"How long will that take?" Riker asked eagerly, knowing full well what it meant to have the replicators back up running again. It would mean food, water, clothes, hygiene supplies, and almost anything else that they will need in the future. Ever since they lost the replicators, the crew had been on a constant decline, both in health and morale. Keiko O'Brien had done her best over the last few years to grow food in the hydroponics bay, and her efforts have kept the crew alive. In fact, that very morning Riker had a small bowl of carrot and potato soup, with that being said, the human body simply needed a lot more than what was being provided. Since the loss of the replicators the state of repair of the ship had also begun to fail. But if they were able to get them back up, then that will all change for the better.
"At the current pace of work…" O'Brien thought briefly. "Five, maybe six days."
"Excellent. I think I speak on behalf of the entire crew when I say that getting the replicators back online will be a great relief for everyone." Said Riker, "Worf, your turn. What do you got?"
"My team and I were able to recover 29 photon torpedoes from the ship's torpedo bay, sir, and they are in perfect condition. My team is modifying them now to operate at random frequency modulations when fired, the same as the rest of our torpedoes. We've also managed to salvage three shield generators and two, mark-nine, fusion reactors as well." Stated Worf
"That's great. The extra shields will help, and the fusion reactors as well. We need all of the power we can get." Said Riker
"I agree, sir. It should only take a couple of days to modify the shield generators and to get them in sync with our own systems." Said Worf. "There is one other thing, sir."
"What would that be?" asked Riker
"The ship's two phaser arrays, both of them have survived intact but it'll be weeks before we are able to salvage them form the Pegasus and install them onto the Enterprise." Said Worf
"I understand, by the rate we're moving, we are going to be here for quite some time salvaging everything we can from the ship. Do what you can." Said Riker
"Aye, sir." Said Worf
"The Oberth class science vessels were only armed with Type Four phasers. I'm assuming that because the Pegasus was a prototype that these phasers are more advanced." Said Shelby
"That's right; the Pegasus was armed with the very first Type Ten phaser arrays. The test firings were successful, but the emitter arrays were running a little too hot when doing so." Said Riker. "We need to remember to keep an eye on that when we get around to installing them on the ship."
"Yes, sir." Said Worf
"I suggest we install them on the dorsal hull of the warp nacelles. It'll give us more firing coverage in that area of the ship." Said Shelby
"I agree, the added firepower from the two nacelles will be of great benefit." Said Worf
"So do I, when it's time to install the phasers get with Geordi and his team for help." Said Riker
"Yes, sir." Worf replied
"Data, what do you have to report?" asked Riker
"Unfortunately, we were unable to retrieve any of the ship's shuttle pods, sir. The entire Shuttle bay was materialized inside the asteroid. However, we have been able to begin retrieval operations on the ships internal power replays, plasma conduits, isolinear circuitry systems, gravitational deck platings, energy induction manifolds, and transporter systems." Said Data
"That's good news, because we can certainly use them right now; especially in the lower decks. We need to get the science labs back up and running again so Wesley and Reg can continue with their research." Said Riker
"I agree. Their study in the Borg's technology is crucial to our defense against them." Said Data
"The science labs haven't been operational in over eight months, before they went out of commission, Wes and Reg both said that they really were on to something." Said La Forge
"Hopefully we can get the labs up and running again so they can finish what they started." Riker said. "Shelby, you're the last one. What do you have for me?" he asked her
"We've been able to dismantle the computer consoles on the main bridge and salvage the parts, everything from the main view screen to the overhead lighting. Once the final installations are complete on our own bridge, Wesley and his team will be ready to move on to Deck Two." Said Shelby
"Excellent, it's going to be good to be able look at a clear view screen again." Riker stated
"Yes, sir." She said
"How are everyone's teams doing? I know that most of them are young and inexperienced. How are they holding up?" Asked Riker
"Well that is true, sir. But despite their age and inexperience, at least speaking for those on my team, they are very eager and motivated to learn. I believe it makes them feel important to know that they all have some very important jobs to do. Especially right now, knowing what this salvage means to the entire ship." Said O'Brien
"It is the same with mine as well. Though the younger members are lacking in knowledge and experience. Their attention and diligence to their duties are commendable. Had the Federation not fallen, I believe that they all would have made honorable Starfleet officers one day." Stated Worf
"The Federation… And Starfleet for that matter… As a living entity and as an organization may have fallen to the Borg. But it still exists here on the Enterprise, and as long as we live, it will always exist. In our minds, our hearts, and in our deeds. The legacy of the Federation and everything it stood for lives on, within us. We must survive no matter the odds against us. Because if we don't then none of this, nothing that we've ever accomplished will have ever mattered. It'll all have been for nothing… We can't let that happen. Not just for ourselves, but for our children and our children's children…" Riker said as he looked around the table at people who were not only his senior staff, but were also people who he considered to be his closest and dearest friends. "We must survive, and continue to live on for the next generation. Because the only other alternative… Is extinction."
As the doors slid open, Wesley entered the dark serenity of his quarters and collapsed on his bed like a ton of bricks, completely and utterly exhausted. He had just completed a 19 hour shift on the main bridge repairing and installing all the components and equipment that they had retrieved from the Pegasus' bridge. Replacing burned out and damaged components with other components that were practically brand new. He wanted to shower so bad he could feel it in his half-conscious state. But the showers weren't working yet… Yet… That was the key word. Because pretty soon they will be. It was all just a matter of time now. The discovery of the Pegasus had been a blessing. It'll take them weeks, maybe even months before they could strip her clean. But in the end it'll be more than worth it.
Forcing himself awake from falling asleep, he groaned as he sat up and slowly stripped off his red uniform shirt. Bone white scars revealed themselves on his back in the dim light. Scars that were gathered after four years constant struggle and suffering; being on the run and fighting against the Borg. Ugly scars on the body meant nothing. Physical scars can heal with time… It was the scars that you couldn't see; the scars on the inside were the ones that would never go away. The psychological and spiritual scars left behind by the pain brought upon everyone by the wretched, foul, scourge of the galaxy. Over the last four years Wesley had lost count of how many people he considered a friend, and the worst loss of all… His mother.
It was because of the Borg that his mother had burned to death. The worst part is, she didn't die instantly. It took her nine hours to do that, and she was conscious almost the entire time. Her pain was so great that her body wouldn't even let her pass out. She would slip into unconsciousness for only a few seconds, only to awake again screaming. He could still remember her blood curdling screams of agony as if it was yesterday and it haunted his dreams. She no longer resembled the ginger haired, blue eyed woman that was his mother. But instead she resembled some sort of atrocious abomination from his deepest nightmares. Her arms and legs had been burned down to stumps and half of her face was gone, revealing the bones underneath. Her body was entirely charred black and covered in giant blood filled blisters. Her eyes had even boiled grey, and the wretched stench of burned flesh and hair permeated the entire sickbay. But for some ungodly reason, she had not died. That would have been a mercy if she did. The wretched stench of burned flesh and hair permeated the entire sickbay. Staying alive for nine hours after she was burned was nothing more than cruelty beyond words could describe. He remembered running to sickbay from the bridge when he got the news of what happened and seeing his mother on the bio-bed… The first thing he did was vomit.
He doesn't remember much after that. The others told him that it took Worf and two others from his security team to drag out of sickbay. His own screaming howls of agony were too much and they needed to forcefully remove from sickbay so that Ogawa could do what she needed to do. In fact, he was told that his struggle was so violent that he actually dislocated one of the security team member's shoulders out of its socket. He apologized afterwards when he was able to pull himself together, but to this day he doesn't remember any of it. Ogawa tried everything that she could, but it was all in vain. None of the pain relievers had worked, nor did any of the sedatives in order to put her to sleep. The pain his mother's body was going through was entirely too much for anything to work. He didn't blame or hate Ogawa for not being able to help his mother, it wasn't her fault and she tried her best with what she had. In fact, he was grateful that she tried everything in her power to save her.
Slowly making it over to the non-functioning replicator on the other side of his quarters, he activated two, walnut sized, octagon shaped, holographic projectors and the images of his mother and father flickered to life. No bigger than the size of his hands, the two images of his parents smiled at him, as if they really were his parents. His small memorial to the two most important people in his life… Two people who were no longer with him… But here they were, forever preserved in holographic images. His father, not much older than Wesley at the time the image was taken, standing proud and strong in his red Starfleet uniform; and his mother, the image of grace and elegance taken only a few years before the Borg came.
"Mom, Dad… It's been a while since the last we talked." Wesley said, knowing full well that the 'conversations' were always one-sided. "It's been a good day, believe it or not. It's been a very long day, but a good one. You see, we found something. A starship actually, inside the asteroid, the Pegasus… We took the Enterprise inside the asteroid and have been salvaging it for a week now. It's been good to focus on something else, besides running away from the Borg and just surviving… We've just finished installing all the new parts from the Pegasus's bridge onto the Enterprise, and I have to say that it's pretty good to look at a clear view screen again." Wes smiled, and continued. "I miss you both… Sometimes I wish that you were both still here, but when I think about it more rationally… I'm glad you're not… I wouldn't want you two to suffer any more than what you already had. I wouldn't want to be so afraid of losing you again. Anyway… I just wanted to tell you guys that before going to bed." He said as he looked at their images one last time, before switching off the holographic projectors. "Goodnight."
The shuttlecraft Curry was a type-6 shuttlecraft that had just recently been refitted with the cannibalized parts from the only other remaining shuttlecraft on board the Enterprise, also a type-6. Before entering the Devolin System, the Enterprise had two shuttlecraft remaining, and although they were both flyable, both were in a great need of repair and hence unreliable. However, the shuttlecraft Lewis, being the less reliable of the two, was chosen for demolition and recycling. Every spare part that was able to be refurbished and reused in the repair of the shuttlecraft Curry was done so. Everything that wasn't, was recycled for its material. When it came right down to it, they needed a working and reliable shuttlecraft, and that was the simple truth of the matter. After the repairs were completed, the shuttlecraft Curry was immediately put to good use.
For the last 24 hours, Reg and Sonya were using the shuttlecraft to deliver four, Class-2 sensor probes at four strategically located asteroids in a radius of nearly 1,000 kilometers from Gamma 601. Placing them at these four locations would give them the maximum needed scanning range of the system. However, they had to be extremely careful in not attracting any attention from the Borg, just in case they happened to be in that region of space, by using their impulse engines. So they had been very careful and were only using the ships thrusters to maneuver themselves, and using the gravity fields of the larger asteroids like slings shots to move them to their desired positions, while the probes were being carried inside the shuttlecraft. The reasoning behind depositing the probes on the asteroids was simple. The Enterprise was still in a very vulnerable position inside the asteroid Gamma 601, and in order to minimize the chances of Borg detection, the ship was only performing passive scans. But they still needed more detailed scans of the system, without inviting any unwanted attention. So they decided to use the probes to relay more detailed sensor scans from the surrounding system.
However, the plasma wake from the probes' micro-fusion propulsion engines would be easily detectable by the Borg, should any happened to pass near the system. So it was decided that the shuttlecraft would ferry the probes to the desired locations, and anchor them to the asteroids surface. The notion being that, if the Borg did happen to pass by and detect one of the probes subspace signals, that it would only be the probe's signal the Borg would intercept. And should the Borg decide to enter the asteroid field and locate the probe, it would give the Enterprise enough time to gather their people from the Pegasus, engage the phase-cloak and escape.
Asteroid Tango 395 was the last asteroid to have a class-2 sensor probe delivered to its surface. Once completed, Reg and Sonya will return to the Enterprise for a much needed and deserved rest. "We're at 400 meters from the asteroid." Sonya stated. They were both in their EVA suits, and had been for the last half hour. Minus the gloves and the helmets. They weren't exactly designed for comfort, and both of them were getting irritated with putting them on and off every handful of hours or so. But they had a job to do which could make the difference between their survival, or their imminent demise, and they meant to do it to their utmost abilities. No matter how uncomfortable it may be.
"Good, take us in nice and slow." Said Reg
"I know Reg, we've been doing this all day." Huffed Sonya
"I know, there's no reason to get snippy." Reg said
"I'm sorry… I'm tired. I just want to get this over with so I can go back to the Enterprise and get some sleep." Said Sonya
"I know, so do I. But this is the last one, once it's done we can go back and sleep for as long as we want." Said Reg
"I wish, when we get back we'll probably get put on salvage detail on one of the engineering teams again right away." Said Sonya
"Well, even if that's true, it'll still take time to reach the Enterprise from here. We can take shifts and get some rest on the way back." Reg suggested
"Actually, that's a good idea." Said Sonya. "We are now 100 meters from the asteroid, slowing our approach." Sonya stated as she punched in the commands on the shuttle's control console. Thrusters fired, angling the shuttlecraft so that its rear hatch was pointed at the asteroid and fired again to bring the shuttle to a complete stop at only 50 meters from the asteroid's surface. "All stop." She said
"Alright, this is the last one, so let's do this and go home." Said Reg
"Got it." She replied
Reg walked back to the rear of the shuttle where the last of the probes remained. He then attached a magnetic tether to the probes outer hull casing and to his EVA suit's utility belt, while Sonya was releasing the straps that held the probe down to the shuttle's deck.
"Well that's done, now let's put on our gloves and helmets, and disengage the gravity." Said Reg
They both put on their gloves and helped each other with their helmets, and once they were sealed, Sonya made her way back to the command chair of the shuttle and strapped herself in. "Okay, here we go..." She said over the helmet's communicator. "Venting atmosphere." She stated and punched in the commands. A loud hiss could be heard as the air was flushed out into space, and then silence. "Atmosphere has been vented, disengaging artificial gravity." Reg and the probe suddenly began to float inside the shuttlecraft while Sonya remained firmly strapped in her seat. "Opening rear hatch." And as the rear hatch of the shuttle craft began to open, the rock face of Asteroid Tango 395 filled his vision. "Okay Reg, you be careful out there." Said Sonya
"Aren't I always?" he smiled back and slowly made his way out of the shuttle craft.
Using the thrusters on his EVA suit, he gently maneuvered himself out of the shuttle towards the asteroid's surface. The tether grew long and tight as Reg propelled himself forward, dragging the probe behind him. As he closed in to within 20 meters of the asteroid's surface, the angled himself around and fired his thrusters to slow his descent. Grabbing onto the probe, as its momentum kept moving it forward, he fired his thrusters again to slow both of them down. His feet hit the asteroid's rocky exterior but the probe's momentum pushed him down to his knees before he was able to halt its movement. It was a good thing that the asteroid had very little gravity of its own, because had this been performed on Earth, Reg would have been crushed by the probe's massive weight.
"I'm down." He relayed to Sonya. "I'm anchoring the probe to the surface now."
"I'll be waiting for you when you're done." She replied
Reg slowly pulled the probe down to his feet, and removed the magnetic tether from the probe's outer hull casing. After doing so, he slowly removed three flexible, duranium meshed cables from his utility belt, and placed one at the front of the probe, one in the middle and the last one at the rear. Once this was done, he took out a small fusion torch. Securing one end of the duranium cable to the asteroid's surface, he ignited the fusion torch at the end of the cable. The cabled melted and fused with the rock face of the asteroid, making it one with the asteroid itself. Reg walked around slowly to each cable until each end was fused the same way. As the last cable was completed, Reg returned the fusion torch to his utility belt and opened a side panel on the probe. Entering the activation code into a small keypad, which was no small feat on its own, considering the bulkiness of the EVA suit's gloves, the probe suddenly came to life and began relaying the sensor information back to the Enterprise.
"The probe is working, the Enterprise is receiving the data." Said Sonya
"Good, let's get out of here. I hate heights." Reg responded as he activated his thrusters and headed back towards the shuttle craft.
"Did you just say you hate heights? But you joined Starfleet, how can you hate heights and deliberately join an organization that travels in space?" Sonya asked
"Long story…" said Reg
"Well, we have the time." Said Sonya
"I'll tell you on our way back." He replied as he floated into the shuttle craft.
"You better." Sonya smiled, and closed the shuttle's rear hatch
Stardate 47343.09 (06 May, 2370)
Shelby awoke to the sound of her bedside alarm, the most annoying thing in the entire galaxy. "It is now, 0530... It is now, 0530… It is now, 0530…" It kept repeating until she smacked it of the nightstand. "Of all the things on this ship that's never failed, why does it have to be the damn alarm?" She asked herself.
She slowly sat up on the edge of her bed, groaning as she did so. Even with being able to actually get eight hours of real sleep during the last week, since entering the asteroid field, it still never felt like it was enough. Brushing her long, wavy blonde hair aside with her hand, she slowly stood up with great effort and noticed that something was different. She couldn't place her hand on it, but something was definitely different in her quarters. Nothing was missing or out of place, and there was nothing that was actually wrong with her quarters, but something just didn't seem right. She started to go for her phaser and was about to call for security when she saw it. The small, insignificant thing that had made her nervous, for absolutely no reason. In fact, after she realized what it was it instantly had the opposite effect. It made her excited, hopeful in fact. It was a small, orange indicator light on the replicator control panel. A light that hasn't been operational in almost three years.
Like in a dream, she made her way closer to the replicator panel, eyes wide and her heart full of hope of the glowing light could mean. The distance from her bedside to the panel on the far wall seemed to stretch farther then she remember, and the closer she got the further away it was. But finally, after an agonizing handful of seconds that it took her to cross the room, she made it to the replicator. She closed her eyes shut tightly, and then after counting to ten, she opened them again… The light was still there… That beautiful glowing orange light… Her hand was trembling as she slowly raised it to the orange light, and touched it.
Suddenly the entire panel lit up like fireworks, filled with blue, green, yellow, and orange touch sensitive buttons. She gasped and quickly covered her mouth with her hands; tears began streaming down her face. Not because of fear, or pain; but with joy. Absolute and unfathomable joy. The replicators were online… The replicators were finally online… She fell to her knees and sobbed openly, unashamed for her emotional outburst. She remained there, on the floor of her quarters, crying into her hands for several minutes until she was finally able to compose herself and rose back up to her feet.
"You did! Miles you beautiful Irishman you actually did it!" She said aloud to herself. "I'd swear if you weren't already a married man I'd ride you like a stallion all day and night until you begged for mercy and passed out into a coma. But then again, Keiko is probably already doing that right now, isn't she?" She laughed. She tapped a button on the replicator panel again and spoke. "Computer, breakfast." Suddenly, the screen on the panel scrolled a menu of the most popular breakfast items. "I can't believe this… It's really working." She again said to herself, and tapped on breakfast menu item number three. Instantly, sparkling silver light filled the replicator with a gorgeous, shimmering luminance, and for approximately three seconds, it was the most beautiful thing that Shelby could remember. When the light faded away, in its place was her breakfast order.
Breakfast menu item number three, a tray that held large plate with a two-egg vegetarian omelet containing tomatoes, mushrooms, green onions, spinach and peppers, a side of lightly-golden hash browns, two country-style biscuits, a small bowl of strawberries, and a large of fresh orange juice to wash it all down with. The aroma was damn near overpowering as the fragrance of her favorite morning meal overwhelmed her senses. Her mouth was literally drooling as she lifted the tray and walked over to the dining table in the corner of her quarters. She couldn't remember the last time she actually used her table for a good meal. Balancing the tray in one arm, she used her other arm to sweep off the random assortment of old, dirty clothes and equipment to the floor, and lightly placed the tray of food in front of her. Pulling out the chair, she sat down to the best meal she'd had in years, and savored every moment of it.
After finishing her breakfast and feeling very satiated, she walked, or to state more accurately, skipped over to the bathroom like a little girl. Turning on the light, she caught her reflection in the mirror… She was smiling… She couldn't remember the last time she actually smiled… It was a good feeling. Just then, a strange thought came to mind. She looked over to her shower and wondered.
"If the replicators are working, then what about the showers?" She asked herself.
They were deactivated after the loss of the replicators in order to conserve what precious little water they had on hand. They had managed to increase their water preserves after traveling to worlds which held fresh water, but every time they did so, they were putting themselves at great risk of being discovered by the Borg.
"Now that the replicators are working, we can replicate as much water as we need to fill our reserves to full." She told herself, and walked over to the shower. Sliding back the frosted glass door, she peered into the shower and beamed like a shining light. There, on the inner wall of the shower stall just above the shower controls, a small, green light slowly pulsated. Indicating that the shower was active. "It can't be… This is just too good to be true."
She was about to jump into the shower right then and there when she realized that she needed some hygiene supplies, like soap and shampoo. She also took one more look into the mirror and cringed. Her long hair was down to nearly midway to her thighs and she hated it. She's had long hair since she was a teenager, but never like this. It was dirty and tangled in knots, and she had to wear it in a ponytail so it would get in her face, which didn't always work. But now was the time that she could rectify the matter. Running at a dash to the replicator she tapped in a couple of commands into the control panel and that same beautiful silver, sparkling light shimmered into existence and faded away again; leaving behind in the replicator slot, a bottle of shampoo, a bottle of body wash with a luffa, lotion, shaving razors with shaving gel, perfume, a hair brush and a pair of scissors.
She took the items into the bathroom like a giddy school girl, set them down on the sink counter and grabbed the scissors. She looked at herself one more time in the mirror, and the scissors to her with a vengeance. Like a scythe cutting through a wheat field, she cut large clumps of blonde hair onto the floor. As the pile of wavy hair grew at her feet, she dropped the scissors onto the counter when she was finished. She gazed at the image of the new person staring back at her from the mirror. Almost a meter of hair had been chopped off and she smiled with delight. She could actually feel the amount of weight she lost from it and really felt lighter. She had cut it above her shoulders, just under her ears and marveled at how much of a difference it made.
"I must've been 12, or 13 the last time I had hair this short." She giggled to herself, completely overjoyed with the currents events of the morning.
She slipped off her dirty, old night gown onto the pile of hair and gently stepped into the shower. The rain of hot running water cascading over her naked body was almost euphoric. She could feel her muscles relax and the shower's flowing caress. It was as if all of the universe's worries, tensions and anxieties were being washed away with the grime, sweat, and dirt. The hot steam
from the thundering shower created a misty veil as if to conceal some great and mysterious secret that was Elizabeth Shelby. Letting her head be drenched from the falling water, flattening her hair to her skin. As she ran her hands through her hair she could feel the water pouring down and flowing over every centimeter, and hugging every curve of her body… It was wonderful.
She didn't know how long she was in the shower before she finally turned it off, but when she did she realized that something was missing, a clean towel. Smiling to herself, she stepped out of the shower into the cold, frigid air. She shivered from the rapid change in air temperature, and quickly got goose bumps all over her skin. Folding her arms together over her breasts, she rubbed her shoulders to warm them up as she hastily walked over to the replicator; all the while leaving a trail of wet footsteps, and water droplets behind her.
The tapped the control panel to the replicator and said, "Towel," and once again the replicator shimmered a silvery sparkling light and a towel appeared in the replicator slot. As she picked up the towel and wrapped it around herself, she noticed the time on the control panel.
"Oh no, that can't be the right time!" she exclaimed. "Computer, verify the time!"
"The time is now 0735." The computer replied
"Shit! I'm over a half-hour late!" she yelled. Needless to say, she dried herself off in a hurry. Replicating some fresh new undergarments and a new uniform to wear, she was out the door and making her way to the bridge in six minutes; her hair was still not completely dry and it dripped water unto her shoulders.
As the turbo-lift doors opened to the main bridge, she stepped through attempting to explain her tardiness. "I'm sorry sir; I know I'm late but…" She stopped in mid-sentence, only to stare upon the faces of the night shift personnel… Still at their posts.
Timothy turned from the helm, "Good morning ma'am. It looks like you're the first one from the day shift to make it this morning." He said half-jokingly, earning a few stifled chuckles from the other members of the night shift.
"Good morning Commander, how was your shower? I take it that it was pleasant." Data said as he rose from the command chair.
"How did you know I had a shower?" asked Shelby, not expecting the question, and genuinely forgetting that actually did have one earlier that morning.
"You cut your hair, and it's dripping water on your shoulders." Data replied, unconsciously earning a few laughs of his own.
"Oh… Yes well…" Shelby said slightly embarrassed.
"I take it Chief O'Brien's repairs to the replicators and hygiene systems last night were successful?" asked Data
"Yes, yes they were." Shelby stated while looking around the bridge. "I'm guessing everyone else on the bridge crew discovered the repairs this morning also?"
"Apparently so, ma'am." Data replied just as the turbo-lift doors open only to have Captain Riker burst through, his hair neatly cut short, his beard trimmed, and also wearing a new clean uniform.
"Good morning, sir." Shelby smiled, "Running a little late are we?" she teased
Author's Note: I hope you liked this chapter of the story. Let me know what you thought about it.