Chapter Ten

The report that the Shaandra was now only six hours from the star system known simply as L-112, brought a little more hope to Commander Gessi. What still worried him though, was that there hadn't been so much as a peep out of the Evergreen for the past day, and that didn't bode well. No matter how hard he hoped, the chances were that the crew was dead, and the Shaandra and the Cray-class ship, Overwatch-One, would either find those that destroyed them, or they would find an empty star system, with nothing but debris to show that the science vessel had ever been there.

He had been awake for about an hour, after spending most of the night sleeping in his chair in the admiral's office. There was an annoying pain in the lower left part of his back, caused by his extended time sitting down in the same place. He just hoped that the admiral was alive, and would come here and take his rightful place as the commander of the station. That was unlikely now however, as fate seemed to be moving against both the crew of the Evergreen, and him. If they weren't already dead.

It was strange to think back to when he'd first received his orders for reassignment. He had been at Starbase 1 as third officer. With a promotion from Lieutenant Commander to full Commander, he had shipped out on a trip that had taken a little under three months. It hadn't been till he had arrived that he had discovered that the station had no commanding officer, and wasn't even finished. Luckily there was a Commodore Butler, who had been unofficially in charge of looking after the final stretch of the construction of the starbase. Unfortunately, she had been called away rather abruptly, leaving him in charge.

Any enthusiasm he had previously felt for his new posting out here on the frontier, had taken a sharp nosedive into a black hole. He had thought that it would be a fun assignment, one that offered a good challenge. Instead, it was torture. Late nights and early mornings, with little time for rest or relaxation.

A buzzing at his door interrupted his sour thoughts, bringing him back into the equally unpleasant here and now. "Enter," he said aloud.

The doors slid open, and Yeoman Rialtan entered with an arm full of data padds. The Saurian looked a lot better than when he had last seen him, when he had been overworked and tired.

As he placed the data tablets onto the desk, Gessi mentally prepared himself for the long arduous task ahead. "Thank you Yeoman," he said politely. "Take a break for ten minutes."

"Yes, thank you sir," Rialtan said happily, as he quickly left the office.

Gessi picked up the first pad and began to look through it. It was an engineering report, full of things he didn't quite understand, either through his own ignorance on the subject or because of fatigue. He read it from beginning to end, trying to take in what it actually said. It was a struggle though, as his mind was still addled from all the long hours.

Hoping that he hadn't missed anything important, he picked up the stylus and signed it at the bottom. He put the padd to the side, picking up the next, and repeating until he had finished around ten minutes later. With that done, he leaned back in his chair.

Now that the environmental enclosure had been open for a full day, the amount of extra work he had to do had started to drop off. Requests from department heads were still quite severe though; all except medical, where they had all but stopped. The reason for that was either because they had everything they needed, or because Doctor Cramer had sought to help him out by not making demands of him. Either way, he was grateful.

Another thing he'd had to deal with was the civilian ship that had arrived covered in weapons damage. The ship was a cargo vessel called Periphery, owned by a couple called the Bartlett's. A brief look at their history showed that the couple had been part of the relief on Tarsus IV years ago, where the planetary governor, a rather unpleasant man by the name of Kodos, had executed half the population because of a food epidemic. They appeared to be good folks with a small crew, and had come out here to the new frontier to make a living for themselves. Only their first delivery had resulted in them being fired upon by pirates.

Looking at their delivery contract, it had showed that they were carrying a hold full of Dilithium and deuterium pods. A subsequent inspection of their ship had confirmed it. They were delivering them to the New Loknar colony for use in their orbital station's anti-matter reactor. While it was clear that they had to deliver it, he decided to hold them here till the matter regarding the Evergreen had been resolved.

A brief talk with the New Loknar governor, an Andorian man by the name of Laskill, had revealed that they really didn't need them for another month or so. They just wanted to be prepared just in case something went awry. Once the Shaandra was back, then he would send them with the cargo-vessel Periphery, to the New Loknar colony to deliver their cargo.

Right now, the cargo vessel was in the main space dock, which was usually reserved for Starfleet vessels only. He was having a maintenance crew repair it, so that when they did head back out, their ship was safe to do so. He had considered having the cargo transferred to the Shaandra, however after further thought, he realised that this was their livelihood, and it was them who had been contracted to deliver the goods, not a Starship. Still, having an escort would make sure any pirates were less likely to attack, probably not at all in fact. Unless of course they were idiots, or had a whole fleet with them, which would almost definitely not be the case.

A few things, had at first, raised some minor suspicions about the Periphery and the Bartlett's. But they had quickly been resolved. Firstly, the captain of the Periphery, Joshua Bartlett, had asked a security officer whether or not the U.S.S. London was in dock. The officer had told him that it wasn't, and when pressed on it, Mister Bartlett simply stated that he knew someone assigned to the ship, which seemed fair and reasonable.

Secondly was that the cargo-ship had a shield system, which appeared to be reconstituted off of a last-gen Starfleet escort. It wasn't uncommon for cargo-ships that had to deliver items on the frontier to have some defences, but it was for them to have Starfleet tech. A brief look into it revealed they had acquired them through legitimate channels, but still, such powerful shields must have cost them a heap of credits to acquire.

Gessi had considered sending the London back to the colony, with the cargo vessel, once they had returned with the Shaandra. However, the London was needed at Korvin, another new colony world. The reason was because some unknown vessels had landed near their capital city, for some unknown purpose. While he'd have liked it if they had been able to go to system L-112 to assist the Shaandra, he knew that they were needed at the colony more.

Korvin unfortunately, was around twelve light-years away, which meant the London wouldn't be going to the L-112 star system at all now. He just hoped that the damaged warp coils on the Shaandra wasn't some kind of omen, not that he believed in such things.

It wouldn't be long now though. Six hours in terms of space travel was a stones throw away. The star system would be on their sensors, and they would already be starting preliminary sensor sweeps.

The commander just hoped those sensor sweeps would show more than just debris, not that they would from so far away. It wouldn't be until the last half-hour from arrival that they would start to get an idea of what might be awaiting them. He just hoped it was the crew of the Evergreen.

The doors slid open, as Doctor Cramer stepped through into the ward. While she didn't usually deal with a trivial matter such as suspected broken hand, the person who had injured their hand was of some interest. After heading up to the reception desk, she was pointed in the direction of where Lieutenant Xern was sat. She quickly headed over to the Tellarite, who was keeping his left hand elevated, looking miserable, as though his life was all but over.

"I hope you are here to fix this!?" he said brashly, as he noticed her approach.

"I guess you've been given a painkiller?" Cramer asked him.

"Yes," Xern replied bluntly. "Now are you going to fix my hand or not!?"

"I'll take a scan," Cramer said stoically. "Then you'll probably have to have it in a cast for a few hours while we heal the bone, that is if it is broken. Doesn't look like it is from here."

"I assure you Doctor, that if it wasn't broken, I would not be here wasting my time!"

"If you say so."

"I do."

"Okay, then," the Doctor said to him, before gesturing for him to stand. "I'll take you through."

"Finally!" He followed her through into a large office, that adorned a single bed surrounded by medical equipment and a desk complete with computer.

"Sit on the edge of the bed, and I'll take some scans."

Xern did as he was told, but not without grunting with displeasure. Cramer ignored it as she began to take some readings. He then proceeded to grunt more, pursing his lips before tapping his other hand onto his leg. "Aren't you done yet!?"

Cramer ignored his impatience. "So, how did you do this?" she asked him curiously.

"None of your business," he said.

"Really?"

He grunted once again. "I bumped into something."

"Are you sure that's what happened?" she questioned, looking at what the readout was telling her.

Xern looked at her, his eyes narrowing. "Are you saying I'm lying!?" he demanded.

"Well, from these scans, I'd say you punched something."

"I did not punch anything!" he said, puffing out his chest.

"Keep your hand still," she told him. His excitement was causing him to move about, making it more difficult for her to get her reading. "And you did punch something. That, or something struck your fist really hard."

"Nothing of the sort!" he lied. "I bumped something and my hand broke."

"Not broken, you've only got fractures, and they are consistent with a closed fist striking something that was harder than their hand was."

He growled, not liking where the conversation was going. "Okay!" he said finally. "I punched the wall. Happy now!?"

She smiled at him. "Yes, actually. Since your hand isn't broken, I'll just use the regenerator on you. Then I'll put a bandage over it. and that should be it for today."

"Excellent," Xern said, clearly pleased with the outcome.

"If you return tomorrow for another session with the regenerator, then your hand should be fine," she added.

"I suppose that is adequate," he said, less enthused.

"Just don't go attacking walls. They're harder than you are." She went over to a cabinet to pull out the regenerator. The device was about twice the size of a communicator, but cylindrical in shape, with a triangular emitter at one end. "It won't hurt," she said, as she moved back over to where he was sitting.

"I was not worried about that, Doctor!" he barked.

"That's good," the doctor said, ignoring his tone, as she held the device over his hand. The emitter began to glow as she started to slowly heal the bone beneath.

"How long will this take?" Xern asked her.

"Half an hour."

"What!?" he said with astonishment. "Haven't you people figured out how to do it quickly yet!?"

"Pretty bad fractures," she explained. "Hairs breadth from breaking your hand."

"I hate hospitals," he muttered under his breath.

"You should try harder to not hurt yourself then," Cramer said to him, with a hint of sarcasm. "And if you must beat something out of anger, try something soft like a cushion. You can go all out on one of those things, and the worst you'd get off it is probably a fabric burn."

"If I want any suggestions from you, then I'll ask for them!"

The hostility he was showing, surprised Cramer. It was clear that he couldn't have always been this confrontational and down right hostile, as he never would have gotten through the academy. She wanted to probe into what made him so angry, but felt like she would need a security team in here if she attempted it, just in case he didn't react well to it.

"How much longer!?" Xern growled.

"About twenty-seven minutes," she told him calmly, unsure if she could withstand being at the brunt of his aggression for that long.

Xern snatched his hand away. "Too long!" he uttered. "It will heal on its own." He stood up, and moved past her, moving towards the door.

"Hold on Lieutenant," Cramer called after him. "You can't just leave."

"I can," he called back.

"I could order you back."

He stopped by the door and looked around at her, his expression full of anger. "I've been kicked off duty!" he bellowed. "Might as well hand in my resignation!" He turned back around and stepped out into the corridor beyond.

Cramer had just had about enough of this. "Get back here and sit down!" the doctor shouted, in the loudest, most piercing tone she could muster. "Or I will get security to make you!"

Xern halted just outside the door and turned back around to her, a look of astonishment on his face. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"Sit back down!" she said authoritatively, resting her hands on her hips. "I don't ask more than twice," she warned. "Get back in here or you'll wish you had never come here in the first place!"

Slowly, he made his way back to the bed where he sat on its edge, and held out his hand. "I am not happy about this," he told her.

"Tough," Cramer said back to him, continuing to heal the fractures in his hand. She looked up at him, forcing herself to soften her stern expression. "So, are you going to tell me what's been bothering you?"

"Nothing," he said, almost sounding as though he were about to break down into tears.

"Sure about that?"

"It is none of your business," he told her firmly.

Now the doctor found herself even more curious. "Perhaps it isn't my business, but talking about it might help."

"I do not see how. What has happened has happened."

"If you're sure?" she said, hoping to get whatever was bothering him, out into the open. It was better than him keeping it bottled up. So far, doing so hadn't done him much good.

"I am, and if you keep pestering me on this, I will leave," Xern warned.

It appeared she wouldn't find out what was bothering him, at least not now. "Okay, I won't."

"You'd better not."

Cramer decided that she probably wouldn't get any more out of him, and that it was probably best to leave it alone, at least for now.

After they were finished here, she would contact Commander Gessi and talk with him about it. She wanted to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.

When Doctor Cramer contacted him, Commander Gessi thought it would be more about him overworking with little rest. He was ready to tell her that the workload was not as bad as it had been, when she informed him that the call wasn't about him, it was about Lieutenant Xern instead.

"I think something's happened, and that's why he's so confrontational and angry," the doctor said over the intercom.

"You sure he's not just like that?" Gessi questioned, unconvinced by her claim. "His file did say he was a very belligerent, iron-fisted officer."

"That isn't the same as violent and hostile, you know that."

"Okay, I'll give you that," he said, conceding the point. "Let's just say you're right."

"I am." Cramer said, sounding sure of herself.

Gessi held back the urge to make a smart comment in response. "Do you have any idea what it might be that's causing it?" he asked, forcing himself to keep the conversation on course. "If we can get to the bottom of it, then I'll be one happy commander."

"As of this moment, no," she informed him. "I was hoping me and you could get together and just have a chat with him. Try and figure out what's wrong."

"I'm not sure that would work," the commander said, feeling that it would not only be a bad idea, but that it wouldn't accomplish anything either. Especially considering Xern's attitude towards him.

"Why not?" Cramer asked him.

"I don't think he likes me much."

"Something needs to be done. I actually think earlier, that he was ready to just quit the service."

"Oh, I should be so lucky," Gessi said sarcastically.

"Keep that up Commander, and I might start not liking you very much either."

"Point taken, doctor," Gessi replied, scolding himself for saying it out loud. "Okay, I think that maybe us meeting with him might be a good idea. Where do you think it should take place?"

"Not in your office. I think it should be somewhere private, but not someone's office, somewhere he'd feel comfortable."

"Invite him to mine, or your quarters perhaps?" Gessi suggested, not really wanting Xern anywhere near his quarters.

"He might be more comfortable in his own."

"Okay, I'll be free in another three hours," he said to her, glad that she had suggested the lieutenant's quarters instead. "I want to be finished with this by seven though, as that's around when the Shaandra should be arriving at L-112, to hopefully rescue the Evergreen."

"Of course," Cramer replied. "Do you have any more news?"

"No contact with the Evergreen," he said. "Hasn't been since yesterday."

"Not much hope for their survival then?"

"At this point, I doubt there's anything to find except debris."

"That's awful, I hope they do find them."

"So do I, but I'm not holding much hope I'm afraid." Gessi hated thinking about what the fate of the science vessel was. He hoped that they had survived somehow, but knew that they probably hadn't. It actually made him feel a little sick.

"Well, I should let you get back to work."

"See you later, Doctor. Gessi out." He didn't really want to talk to Xern. From the few times he had met him, he had developed a dislike for his offensive, and violent attitude. If there was a reason for it though, something that they could do to calm him down, then he had to at least try. He was short-staffed as it was, and couldn't afford to be losing officers because of personal problems.

Gessi called his yeoman, and had the meeting with the doctor and Xern put on his schedule, in the event he forget about it. With all the other work he had to deal with between now and then, he knew that it was probable he would.

He wasn't really expecting any talk or discussion with Xern to go particularly well, but he was the commanding officer right now. Like it or not, it was his duty to see to the well-being of those serving under him, no matter how much he didn't like the person in question.

Honestly, while he didn't want to do it, he knew that he could do with the distraction and also to get out of this office and off deck. That at least, was something he was looking forward to.

Updated 9/2014