<USS Avalon> "Distinguished"

“Distinguished”
by Commander Javan Sierra



A good solitary evening of complete solace down the drain. He would’ve been frothing at the mouth had it not been for his meticulous attention to professional detail. Javan had parted company with Ensign Redgrave from Forensic not two minutes earlier and already his mind was on the whole situation and the horrible feeling he had about being left out of the loop. Granted it couldn’t be avoided given the circumstances, but that didn’t relieve his angst any more.

Fortunately for Javan, he was one step ahead of the game. There was an element to the situation that no one had considered and rightfully so. He sequestered his internal rambling and focused on the task at hand. Savannah Eckstein, the beautiful Covert Operations specialist, had called him from his one night of relaxation because something called his attention.

“What the hell is going on?” Javan said to himself as he rounded a corner. He was met with a curious stare from a passing ensign. It was just what he needed though, someone else on the ship to think he was crazy. It wouldn’t be such a bad thing, Javan surmised as he entered the turbolift, it could work to his advantage in the long run.

The short ride to the security offices was uneventful. Strolling into the offices in his more than casual attire, Javan’s eyes searched for his assistant. Waving to him from the back of the lab, Savannah motioned him over. Cracking his neck and knuckles, Javan approached her.

“Sir, we had a problem with a Rydyn delegate.”

“How so?”

Savvy put her hands in her pockets and shifted her weight delicately, “Ensign Stevens and I were on a date when we noticed something amiss. Come to find out that our little friend over there somehow got out of his quarters - the jefferies tubes no doubt.”

“I thought we had erected forcefields around the quarters of the delegation to prevent that type of thing? Either way, it doesn’t matter now. Did he say what he was doing?” Javan leaned over and took a gander at the sullen man sitting in the brig. No doubt, from the emotions Javan was picking up, the man was definitely saddened by his actions. Or, as the case could’ve been, upset that he’d been caught.

“My thoughts too, sir, but it seems that he was able to hack into the solitary relay in the vicinity of his quarters and deactivated it. The only thing that he said to me was that we can’t keep them in the dark about the happenings on the ship,” Savannah took her own gaze of the prisoner and then looked back at Javan, “what is really going on, sir?”

He shook his head, “I can’t tell you that.” He couldn’t, in all honesty. The truth was too fragile, for anyone. The complexities of the situation were beyond comprehension given the struggle that Flubb and his species had fought through. “Suffice it to say, though, it’s big.”

Savvy nodded, understanding the need for secrecy, “understood, sir, I’ll let you talk to him and decide what is the best course of action. I’ll keep this out of my report until you’ve fully discussed it with Captain Flubb.”

Javan internally cringed and kept it easily hidden. An empath Savannah Eckstein was not, but if she had been it wouldn’t have mattered one way or the other. “Yes, thank you for that. You’re dismissed to finish your evening with Ensign Stevens.”

“Thank you.”

He waited until she was a mere meter away from the door to his office before calling out to her, “Lieutenant, did you do a security check on him?” A smile graced his face as he looked down into his PADD again trying to determine what to do with the renegade ambassador.

She stopped, turned, and gauged him up and down. Smirking herself, she put a hand on the doorjamb and then leaned over a bit towards him. “Of course,” she whispered before winking and rejoining his presence. Within moments the two were gone back to their evening of fun or whatever it was turning out to be.

“Kids,” Javan said to himself, shaking his head in almost disgust. Yes, he’d done some stupid things in his life, and intimacy was one of them. It had led him down the path to pain and suffering, career jeopardy, and even a couple of life-threatening situations. Acacia. He took her memory in, looked at for a millisecond, and then deposited into a mental pile of things to get rid of.

If it were only that easy.

Standing, Javan walked over to the brig. “Well, you seem to have made a lot of work for me. I don’t appreciate having to deal with this sort of thing on my days off.” He seated himself on a small bench that faced the bridge - it was intended for long interrogations. Javan, in contrary to the bench’s purpose, hoped the questioning would go fast. “Why were you out of your quarters?”

“You mean my cell?” The delegate squirmed almost uncomfortably in the brig. His eyes pierced through the invisible field that was separating the two men. “I managed to escape to figure out why we’ve been locked down in quarters.”

“And, we’ve told you...”

The man interrupted, “yes, yes I know. It’s a matter of ship security. Blah, blah, blah, whatever. We’re being locked up like animals. At this point, I’m surprised our elders even have a shred of reason to join your almighty Federation. As far as I’m concerned you can all go back to whatever barren rock you came from.”

“Barren?”

“Yes, you know, barren of morals, ethics, responsibility,” the man paused, thinking of the right word to describe Earth’s degrading cultures, “hell, you don’t have much humanity left, do you? If I hadn’t busted out, I’m sure one of my colleagues would have. It’s times like this when we fight back because we are getting the short end of the stick.”

“Your colleague would’ve been caught - just like you.”

“Maybe,” the man nodded in concession, “but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have succeeded. You people underestimate us and our abilities.”

He was tired of this, “OK, I’ve had enough of this. I want you to sit down, shut up, and listen to me.” He waited until the ambassador, with a face that should’ve been captured by a holo-imager, sat down on the brig’s padded cushion. “You know about as much as I’m going to tell you. I will talk with Captain Ketchum about further information that you require. Until then, however, I suggest you return to your quarters and wait there.”

The ambassador was about to protest, “I don’t think - ”

“That’s your problem, Ambassador, you don’t think. And, because of that, you’re not allowing us to clear up our problem any sooner. And, before you ask, no, there is no way for your or the delegation from your world to help us. If you could have we would’ve already consulted you.” Javan motioned for the guard to lower the force field. “Now, Ensign Hayes here will escort you back to your quarters.”

Javan watched as the young ensign hauled the obviously angry ambassador out of the brig. Rolling his eyes he moved back to his office and sat down at his desk. They needed to be at Earth. They needed to be at Earth very, very badly. He was running out of patience. And, when Javan Sierra runs out of patience, bad things happen.

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