by Neal Jones
Jeff thought for a moment. "Don't think so. Name isn't familiar. Is it DrayH'M?"
"Nope. Murdohn. From the Kothta Dynasty. He was one of the playwrights in Torm's court. Read Ves Ath-tto Norr and then we'll talk."
"You're serious?"
"Do you want a date with me or not?"
"All right, all right. How long is this play?"
Frakes smiled as he stood and shut off his pad. "You'll have to download it and see for yourself. Have a good night, lieutenant."
Ritano dipped his spoon in his tomato soup and took a hesitant sip. "Mmmm. Better. Needs a little salt though." He grabbed a spare compad from the computer station and looked up Lial. He skimmed the short of list of titles beneath the name, and then his face fell as he looked at the page number next to Ves Ath-tto Norr. "Who the hell writes a play that's 987 pages long??" Then he realized he was talking to an empty room. "This had better be good," he muttered.
He salted his soup, ladled up a spoonful, and started reading.
Chapter 9
____________________
( 1 )
"ALL RIGHT, FOLKS, LET'S GET this meeting started." Lieutenant Commander Navarr rapped on her desk to silence the dozen officers who had gathered in her office. "I just want to cover the basics one last time before Miss N'Lyn and her entourage get here tomorrow. I've gone over all your reports, and everything looks good. The main areas we're going to have to worry about are the promenade, the quarterdeck and the observation dome. Lieutenant Dynyl, did you get an answer from Commander Garrett about section fourteen?"
The Chrisarii nodded. "He's rescheduled his repair teams and closed off that area for now."
"Excellent. I just received an updated itinerary from Colonel Major Sorint, and it looks like Aliira and her mother will be staying aboard the Lorzach. Since this visit is only for two days, they think that this will be safer for everyone involved, and I agree. Have you all briefed your teams on the new schedules?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Double check with everyone tonight at the end of your shifts just to make sure. The last thing I want is a security station understaffed because somebody forgot they were on the schedule. Any questions?" There were none. "Good. Meeting adjourned."
Lieutenant Scarvo remained seated while the others filed out. Navarr shook her head and smiled as she switched on her terminal screen.
"What can I do for you, Dana?"
"Oh, don't act so innocent. You've been holding out on me."
"There's nothing to tell."
"It's been more than a week since your first date. Ensign Romano said she saw you talking to Eppler yesterday morning. You two had another round of racquetball?"
"Actually, we've been meeting two or three mornings a week. He's really helped me up my game."
Scarvo laughed. "One date. Regular racquetball matches. Is this turning into something serious?"
"See, this is the talk I wanted to avoid."
"Oh, don't be such a guy. You're dying to tell me all the gory details, and we both know it, so spill it already. Do you like him or not? Has he asked you out on a second date?"
Chris sighed. "Dana, there's nothing going on between us. Sam and I went on one date, and no, he hasn't asked me out for a second one."
"But you didn't answer my first question. Do you like him?"
Navarr suddenly felt flushed, and she tried to focus on the readout on her terminal screen, but she could feel her best friend's gaze boring into her like a pulser beam. She sighed. "Oh, all right. Yes, I like him. He's cute, he's charming, he says all the right things at all the right times, and right now we're just happy meeting at the rec deck every other morning."
"I knew it!" Dana scooted her chair closer to the desk. "So what was the first date like? Dinner? Movie?"
"Yes to both. It was a typical first date. We just talked and got to know each other. That's it."
Scarvo shook her head. "You're really lousy at this girl talk."
"I told you that when we first met. You didn't believe me."
"Uh-huh. Well, you better be more forthcoming with the second date details. And yes, there better be a second date. Especially since it's been almost two weeks since the first one."
"I told you that we're taking things slow. My last serious relationship wasn't that great."
"Ah yes, the infamous Jeff Ritano. It's been almost ten years, Chris. You're not still beating yourself up over that are you?"
"No, of course not. You're five minutes late. Lieutenant Jessup is waiting for you to relieve him."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going. But you're not getting off the hook this easy. We'll talk later."
"Uh-huh." Navarr waved dismissively and smiled to herself as she returned to work.
( 2 )
Doctor Rosenberg scowled as he reviewed the patient's chart. "Let's increase his dose to twenty CCs, and then do another full bioscan. Page me in half an hour with the results."
"Yes, doctor."
Rosenberg put his thumbprint at the bottom of the chart and handed the compad back to the nurse. The ER was particularly busy this morning, and he checked the chrono display on his commlink. Five minutes after ten. His stomach rumbled. He'd only had a piece of toast and coffee for breakfast because that was all he'd had time for. Jen had a substitute teacher's meeting so Ben had been responsible for getting Emalie ready and off to preschool. The doctor stopped by the admit desk to see if any new patients had arrived. Things were quiet and under control for the moment, so he headed for the lounge. Doctor Si'Kora glanced up as Rosenberg entered.
"Commodore Gabriel was looking for you."
"When? Just now?"
"Yeah. I told him you'd probably be back here any minute."
Ben poured a large mug of coffee and plopped onto the couch. "What are you doing down in the ER?"
"Hiding out. I needed to get caught up on my chart reviews." Si'Kora cast him a sideways glance as she continued typing notes into her compad. "I thought you weren't scheduled to cover the ER until next month."
"I'm not. But I switched with Rayburne. Things are too damn slow up in the infirmary right now."
"How's Jennifer?"
Ben shrugged. "Same as always. We're still on speaking terms, but...I don't know."
Si'Kora nodded.
The door opened, and Gabriel entered. "Doctor." Rosenberg started to rise. "No, no, it's all right. I just wanted to know if there'd been an update from Doctor McMullen yet."
"Not since yesterday morning. OFCIR appears to be handling everything like they said they would, and Ilkara should be back here by early next week."
"Good. CMC has been pestering me for updates on the hypergate, and Doctor Sysko keeps telling me the same thing. No significant progress to report."
"How is Doctor Sysko?" Ben hoped his tone was casual enough, but he could see in Gabriel's expression that the commodore was still not ready to discuss his personal feelings about Laura with any of his staff.
"She seems fine to me. Why do you ask?"
"No reason."
"Let me know if you hear anything further from Doctor McMullen."
"Of course."
After Gabriel left, Rosenberg glanced at Si'Kora. "I've never seen a man play his cards so close to his chest."
"What is his relationship with Doctor Sysko exactly?"
"They were engaged back when Gabriel was at the academy. Beyond that, I don't know. Mariah and I think that she was the one who suddenly ended it, and then left for Mars. But according to the rumor mill, it was Marc who broke off the relationship right before graduation. Either way, there was a child that came out of it. Her name is Jeanette, and she's here with her mother. That's what's got everyone talking. Apparently, Marc knew nothing about her until she showed up three weeks ago with Laura."
Si'Kora nodded. "Yeah, I heard about her." She shook her head. "That's a lot of complicated history. I can see why he might not want to talk about it."
Rosenberg nodded, but he was thinking of his own relationship, and how two people can
know each other so well that some wounds never completely heal, no matter how much time has passed.
His commlink beeped, and he tapped it. "Rosenberg."
"Doctor, you're needed in trauma bay four. New admit."
"On my way." Rosenberg took a long gulp of his coffee and then set it on the counter before rushing out the door. When he arrived at bay four, he found Nurse Varela at the bedside of a young girl. "Report."
"Patient arrived unconscious. Was found on the promenade. Temp: one-oh-two-point-nine. BP: one-ten-over-seventy. Bioscan results say human, age is unknown. Probably ten or twelve. Paramedics said that a shopkeeper sent the emergency alert after she passed out in front of his kiosk. No parents or relatives with her. Security's on their way."
While the nurse talked, Rosenberg took a closer look at the bioscan results. "She's suffering from encephalitis. Brain wave activity indicates a coma. Get me twenty mgs of kadrazine, and then start a level three neuroscan!"
"Yes, doctor!"
Varela left and appeared seconds later with a hypo. While the doctor administered the dose, she typed the command into the bio-monitor to initiate a deeper scan of the patient's brain. Rosenberg stood back and watched the screen as the results came up. They wouldn't necessarily indicate the cause of the swelling of brain tissue, but he wanted to make sure that there were no other abnormalities such as tumors. And there wasn't.
"We need to do a spinal tap. And order a complete tox screen and a type four blood workup. What treatment bays are open?"
"Four, seven and nine, I think."
"Move her to four."
"Yes, doctor."
Rosenberg typed his orders into the chart, placed his thumbprint at the bottom, and then handed the compad to the nurse. "Have Doctor Merrick do the spinal tap." His stomach growled again, reminding him that he had forgotten to get a snack when he was in the lounge earlier. As he headed in that direction he saw an EarthCorps officer in security colors enter the ER. The lieutenant saw Rosenberg and started towards him.
"Doctor. I'm Lieutenant Mackerson. You have a Jane Doe that was brought in a few minutes ago?"
"Yeah. Treatment bay four. Nurse Varela will tell you what you need to know."
"Thanks."
The lounge was empty and blissfully quiet. The doctor ordered a steak sandwich, fries, and a Pepsi from the food dispenser, but just as he sat at the table his commlink beeped.
"Doctor, we have a quadruple trauma coming in! Conduit explosion in main engineering!"
"It figures," the CMO muttered. He tapped his link. "Notify the burn unit, and page Doctor Simpson." He snagged a couple fries and a swig of his Pepsi before running out the door.
( 3 )
Most of the lunch crowd was gone by the time Gabriel arrived at Grax's. It was almost fifteen hundred hours and the place was relatively quiet. The commodore was grateful to see that the bar was empty, and he slid onto the first stool. Grax glanced up and smiled.
"Commodore! Taking a late lunch today?"
"Something like that. What's your special?"
"Nemom. It's one of the new Chrisarii pasta dishes. I'm trying to expand that part of my menu."
"No, I'm not in the mood for pasta. How about a BLT, extra bacon, extra mayo. On rye. And a mug of whatever you have on tap."
"You got it!"
Grax walked to the end of the bar to place the order in his terminal, and then he grabbed a fresh stein from a shelf above the bar. When he set the frothy brew in front of Gabriel, he took a moment to observe the commodore.
"You look like someone who's been through a very long year."
Gabriel laughed and took a swig of his drink. "It feels like a year."
"Things are never dull around here, are they?"
"Are you married, Grax?"
"Call me Thalor. And no, I'm not. Came close a couple of times, but I just couldn’t see the point."
"Hhhmmm," Gabriel nodded. He sat quiet for a minute or two, and Grax pretended to rearrange the shot glasses on a shelf just below the counter. It was the oldest scene in the cosmos. Those that were burdened, weary, and heavy-laden always found their way sooner or later to the closest bar and the man behind the long counter whose ear could be bent for the price of a cheap draft.
"So what stopped you?"
"Pardon?"
"What stopped you from getting married?"
"Oh, well, it depends on how much time you have. One story is short, the other is long."
"Let's start with the short one."
"I come from a very wealthy family, and I was betrothed to a girl whose family wasn't quite as well off. I met her once, at my 6th birthday. Didn't see her again until I was nineteen. That's the age of adulthood for most Orethians and the youngest age at which we can legally marry. Two weeks before the wedding I took my share of the inheritance and left homeworld. I disappeared. Didn't have any contact with my family until several years later when both of my parents died." He thought for a minute. "Actually, I haven't seen Syrani since that one day thirty-three years ago."
"And now the long story?"
Grax set Gabriel's sandwich in front of him. "After I left homeworld, I traveled around for awhile before settling on one of the Balanite colonies. I enrolled in a university there and used my inheritance to pay for my schooling. I met another Orethian named Tilura Shrane. We both had a passion for history and archeology, and after graduation we traveled for a few years to various dig sites on some of the Federation's older worlds." He paused to refill Gabriel's beer.
"And?"
"Things got complicated. Tilura was more willing than I to bend the rules. There's several archeological digs that are closed to unauthorized participants for one reason or another, mainly the non-aligned worlds outside the Federation. Tilura was more interested in those, especially the ones that held the possibility of uncovering rare artifacts and priceless treasure. Those can fetch a very nice price on the black market, mostly in the Rykon League. Now I don't call myself a saint, but I wasn't willing to take a lot of the risks that she was in order to get into those dig sites, and we decided to go our separate ways." He paused. "Hhhmm. I guess that wasn't as long a story as I thought."
"Well you did leave out a lot of the details. Sounds like you and Tilura had a few complications in your relationship."
Grax nodded. "And I hear that you know a little something about complicated relationships."
Marc smiled ruefully. "A little, yes."
"Doctor Sysko seems like a formidable woman."
"Yes, yes she is. That's a very good word. Formidable. Stubborn would also apply. Proud too. Hated owning up to her mistakes." He sipped his beer and then chewed thoughtfully on a piece of bacon. "That's what drove me crazy the most. She could never just admit she was wrong and apologize. She always had to have the last word, or pick a fight and then make me think it was my fault and apologize first. Then she'd say she was sorry for whatever it was she did in the first place."
Grax chuckled. "I think I know the type."
"And yet..." Gabriel took a bite of his sandwich and shook his head. "She was smarter than me. You'd think that would be embarrassing, but it wasn't. Maybe that's what helped us hit it off so well in the beginning. She was different from the typical crowd that hung out at Dunken's. That's where we met. Most of the girls there were just attracted to the uniform, but not Laura. She had this...attitude about her, like she knew what all us cadets were really about, and she could see right through our act and wasn't buying any of it. I should have been intimidated by that but I wasn't."
"You both seem very formidable."
Marc laughed. "Yeah, that's true." He took another swig of his beer and sighed. "Laura's easy. It's Jeanette that makes all of this so much more complicated. I just don't know what to do."
Grax looked sympathetic, but he didn't know what to say. So instead he wiped the counter and pretended to do some more arranging of the shot glasses beneath it. He could make a good guess about the next question that Gabriel was goi
ng to put to him.
"Are you a father, Thalor?"
"No. Never had any desire for children."
"Neither did I. When I first asked Laura to marry me, we were both of the same mind about children. Neither of us wanted a family. We were too career driven. I was going to use my academy education to get a corporate civilian job, and she was going to transfer to the FCE field headquarters on Mars. Children would have just got in the way." He cocked his head, thinking for a minute, looking like a man whose just stumbled onto an answer to a particularly difficult puzzle. "Maybe that's why she never told me. She must have really hated me when she found out she was pregnant." He took another bite of his sandwich and chewed in silence.
"Jeanette is an adult now, isn't she?"
Gabriel nodded and swallowed.
"Maybe she just wants a friendship," Thalor suggested. "You've missed a lot of her life, but it would be much harder for both of you if she were still a child."
"That's just it," the commodore replied, and then took another gulp of his drink. "I could relate to her if she was still a child. I guess I don't understand what the point is of her wanting to meet me now."
"Have you asked her?"
Marc sighed. "No. Our one and only meeting ended kind of abruptly." He downed the last of his beer and motioned for Grax to refill it. "See, here's the thing. I was too embarrassed to say this to Laura, but the night that Jeanette and I had dinner, the night that we met for the first time, it...well, it felt like a...like a date."
Grax frowned as he handed back the stein. "What do you mean?"
"You know how it is when you're on a first date, especially a blind one, and both of you are nervous and awkward, and the conversation comes in fits and spurts, and dinner lasts for two hours. And then you go for a walk afterwards, and, if dinner has gone well and you have enough common ground to keep the conversation flowing, then it keeps flowing until the end of the evening when you take her back to her place to say goodnight. Well, that's exactly what my evening with Jeanette felt like, except there was this extra layer of tension and awkwardness between us because of the fact that she's my daughter, and by the time we got the observation dome I just couldn't take it anymore. So I left. I was polite but abrupt, and I didn't know what else to do." He took a long pull of his beer – his third one now – and then another bite of his sandwich. "Does that sound crazy?"
