<USS Avalon> Question of Duty

Question of Duty

by Junior Lieutenant James Monroe

Monroe paced the length of his table as the monitor blinked with the word, 
"transferring." He had contacted Intel, using an indirect line that Captain 
Holden had showed him in case of anything that may prove serious. For Monroe it 
was serious enough, and waiting for the last thirty minutes went to further 
this belief. The screen went blank again and then replaced by his mentor. The 
Captain looked a little surprised but he sat back.

"Monroe, this must be serious if you?re using this particular link," Holden 
said as he placed a PADD down.

Monroe looked back, the pacing had gotten most of his attention. And what he 
wanted to state was also more to the point. He quickly took a seat, "you?re 
going to be pissed once I tell you why I contacted you."

"Do I want to know?"

Monroe looked at him, a serious face showing, "yeah. It?s here. On this ship. 
Captain, I have nothing to do here. I mean, I run regular duties which are 
fairly simple enough. And half my shift is pretty much a double check on all 
weapons. I have free time. I?ve never had free time since I joined Intel. This, 
this is... too much."

"What are saying Monroe?"

"I?m saying, is there any other place I can go? A planet wold be good right 
now..."

Holden smiled, "that?s exactly what you?re supposed to be avoiding. Planet 
hopping. And orders are orders."

"Yeah, I get that. But sitting about and doing nothing is not my idea of a 
day?s work. I don?t know Captain, being transferred for a set amount of time, 
and I can?t wait to get out of this place."

"Don?t speak so soon. You?ve only been gone for about a week or two. It?s not 
as bad as you think it is."

"Bad enough."

"No. Just because you?re not in the middle of things doesn?t mean you come 
running back."

"I didn?t say that," Monroe glared at him.

Holden nodded, "which is why I said it for you."

Monroe gave a sound somewhere between a chuckle and a sigh, "how goes the 
Dorvan mission?"

Holden looked at him, "we weren?t talking about Dorvan."

"I?m changing subjects."

"I know, why?"

"I need something better than whining about boredom to come back to Intel."

It was Holden?s turn to smile, "yeah, but you?re not returning. Trust me, they 
want you out there. As for the mission, as far as the last update came about, 
it?s running as smooth as it could be. Considering that Dorvan is one of the 
more devastated colonies of the Cardassian Union, I?m a little by the smooth 
pace."

"Bite your tongue, Capt, things never turn out as Intel or anybody would like. 
Especially with that kind of attitude."

"Speaking of attitudes..."

"We weren?t..."

"I?m changing subjects."

"Alright."

"Look, Monroe, stay awhile. I already told you that us Intel don?t go on long 
durations of space flight. Most of us got the basic requirements and then 
settled somewhere behind the desk or began planet hopping. Since your 
requirement for space flight was met, Intel extended it a little longer so that 
the requirement was caught up. But I?m asking you to stay. If you really 
believe that you?re at the wrong place, I?ll have you transferred."

"Back to Intel."

Holden shook his head, "no kid, another ship. One way or the other lest you 
resign, you?re going to have to complete this."

Monroe shook his head, but then Holden spoke up, "something?s up. I?ve got to 
go. Remember what I said, Monroe. Stay." 

The screen went black as Monroe could only see his dark outlines. Well, I 
certainly made my point across, he thought. It wasn?t the ship. It was him. A 
planet hopper like Monroe had no clue what to do at times like these. Intel 
always had something for him to do, and if there was spare time, a planet was 
more than adequate to immerse yourself in. But one a ship, he felt as if the 
world had shrunk, and his choices cut to almost nothing. Not to mention, the 
only one he knew of was Lissi, and even she was busy enough to keep herself 
occupied.

He looked out the window and sighed. He would stay, and that was that.


                
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