A/N: As a reminder, this weird version of Star Trek is based on my life, so there's no telling what will happen because life is unpredictable.
Ode to A Starship by Lina Shay
Chapter Twenty Three: Will of the Prophets
It was nice when Sisma and B'Liz came back. We got really into these Vegan holo-novels. Our favorite was called Enirely Tritanium Alert. Sisma had just bought the program and we all had to play it. Each of us was totally head over heals for the same character, Sousuke. We talked and sighed about him even when we weren't playing the holo-novel.
"Guess what?" Called Lt. Bryce of security as I was walking down the hall.
"What?" I asked.
"The Wasatch has been chosen out of all the ships in the area to negotiate with the Ring-Bearers," he told me excitedly.
"The Ring-Bearers?" I repeated in surprise, stopping in my tracks. "That's kind of dangerous, isn't it?"
"It's about time we got some excitement around here," Bryce winked.
"When are we leaving Alpha-Centauri?" I queried.
"Tomorrow, probably, if we want to be in Ring-Bearer space by the end of the week," Bryce told me, still smiling.
Bryce was a handsome human with dark hair and eyes, but I wondered sometimes what went through his mind. How could facing the enemy be exciting? It was more likely that the Ring-Bearers would destroy our ship rather than listen to us. It put me on edge.
"So, did you met some young stud on Alpha-Centauri while we've been here?" Bryce asked. "You had better say goodbye soon."
"Actually," I began, looking down, "I haven't even taken the opportunity to see Alpha-Centari yet."
"Oh, come on!" Bryce exclaimed. "You have to see it before we leave. Take an hour just to walk about. It will do you good."
He reminded me of Hitchcock sometimes. He was right, though. I really did need to take a moment to beam down. I decided it would be better done sooner than later.
It was a warm day on Alpha-Centauri. The vegitation was all green and lush. It had been a while since I had felt the sun on my skin. I almost wanted to just sit there and bake to a crisp. I took off my boots and curled my toes into the grass.
Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. To my immense surprise, Joel stood before me. I stood awe-struck for a moment.
"I thought that was you," he smiled.
"I didn't know you were in the area," I told him.
"We just got here," he shrugged. "I thought I should see Alpha-Centauri first thing. Besides, there's an Engineering conference here which I'm almost late for."
All I wanted was to tell him to wait. I wanted to walk him to the conference. I wanted to say so much. All I ended up doing was waving stupidly.
"See you around, Lina," he said and then went off toward the outpost.
I stared after him, sighing.
We left for Ring-Bearer space the net day. It was devastating that I would not have the time to see Joel. I hadn't even told him that I was leaving. I hadn't said anything. I was so stupid.
In astrometrics, I looked over the navigation logs with little enthusiasm. I was thinking about Joel. I didn't know what was up with me. I barely knew him. I wanted to know him, though. I wanted so much to know every little thing about him. If only I could get the time to be with him. I wondered if he thought of me at all.
Andrannon stopped by a console near mine and asked the occupant to report.
"Several Ring-Bearer cruisers are cirling us," the officer said.
"Cirling?" Andrannon muttered. "I hope Captain Paris is aware of this."
Suddenly, red alert sounded. I gasped.
"Aparently, she is," Andrannon added, returning to her post.
The entire ship shook and I was knocked to the floor. I climbed to my feet and readjusted my consol to monitor what was happening. Three of the enemy ships were firing on us. I held onto my consol as another blast shook the ship.
"Intruder alert," the computer announced.
I gasped again. The astrometrics door swooshed open and two Ring-Bearers in helmets came in holding phaser-rifles.
"Security to Astrometrics," Andrannon shouted.
One of the Ring-Bearers shot at Andrannon. She was able to dodge it. I ducked behind my consol, holding my knees into my chest. I couldn't believe this was happening. Silently, I prayed to the prophets for the guidence and safety of the crew.
The shooting stopped and I glanced over my consol at the intruders. Some security officers had come in. One of the Ring-Bearer had Lt. Bryce in an arm-lock. Bryce was struggling feircly. The Ring-Bearer jerked Bryce's arm up and broke it. Bryce fell to his knees and stared up at the Ring-Bearer, pain in his face. The Ring-Bearer took Bryce's face in both its gloved hands and cracked Bryce's forehead against its helmet. Bryce collapsed on the floor, his head bleeding.
Just then, two other security officers had incapacitated the other Ring-Bearer and went after the one that hurt Bryce. They took it down. I ran over to Bryce and knelt near him. He was staring at the ceiling, his pupils had turned to nothing but specs in his irises.
"Bryce, can you hear me?" I shouted at him, my eyes tearing.
"The light," he muttered. "It's amazing."
He smiled for a moment, and then his body went limp and his eyes became empty. Bryce was dead.