<USS Avalon> "The Einin Purchase"

The Einin  Purchase
 
 
 
        She had to admit, putting on the uniform  again felt good. It 
felt...right. When she had finished dressing and smoothed it  all out, she 
smiled. 
Only when she looked in the mirror to see how it looked on  her did that smile 
falter, the corners of her mouth falling a fraction at the  sight of the single 
pip on her collar. She could have been a lieutenant  commander by now, had it 
not been for her father. 
        Laney shook her head. She was not  going to let thoughts of him ruin 
her day. This was a day for her to be  happy---she was getting out of prison. 
And she had a second chance at her  career, a chance she was not going to 
waste or screw up if she could help it. 
        Picking up a brush, she ran it through her  hair. While it was true 
she could shape-shift into inanimate objects, could even  simulate clothing, 
she hadn't yet mastered the trick of her hair. In Human form,  it still had the 
same silky texture it'd always had, and brushing it still made  her scalp feel 
good. But spending 22 hours a day in her cell had given her a lot  of free 
time, so she'd been trying to teach herself to mold her hair into any  style 
she 
wanted. Certainly the Changelings could do it. But she still hadn't  quite 
gotten the hang of the more complex hairdos female Fleet officers always  
seemed 
to have a yen for. The only thing she'd mastered were plain  ponytails.
        Finished with her brushing, she gathered her  hair and pulled it up 
into a bun, securing it with an elastic band. She then  tossed her brush on top 
of the open duffel bag and closed it. She was  ready to go, and had no sooner 
finished when a corrections officer showed up at  her cell.
        "I'm here to escort you to the registration  desk to sign out, 
Ensign," he told her.
        Laney picked up the duffel and slung it over  her shoulder. "Believe 
you me, Officer, I'm ready to sign out."
        The officer reached over and tapped a command  into the control panel 
on the wall next to her cell. The forcefield that kept  her trapped inside 
blinked out of existence, and she stepped out of the cell for  the last time. 
As 
the two walked down the tier, other female inmates looked up  or stood at the 
entrance of their cells, watching her go. Some, she knew, would  be jealous 
of her, either because she was free or because she'd returned to  
Starfleet---or both. Others would probably think she was foolish for going back 
 to 
Starfleet, since it was they who had put her in Leavenworth in the first  
place. 
Laney ignored the stares.
        When they had exited the cell block, Laney  and the officer started 
down an empty corridor. Neither had spoken since her  cell, so she was 
surprised when he asked, "Are you sure this is what you want to  do?"
        She turned her head sharply to look at him,  and her sudden suspicion 
was rewarded with a nod. She didn't need to ask aloud  to know that, though 
he had a different face and a different build, this  was the same Changeling 
whom she had talked with in the mess hall.  
        "It is," she answered. "Please, when you go  back, tell everyone that 
I really appreciate that you all wanted me to join  the Link. I'm honored 
even, despite everything that's happened between the  Founders and the 
Federation. But my life is here, and it's with Starfleet. It  always has been."
        Her escort nodded. "Very well. We'll see you  again, Delaney Scott. 
One day, the Great Link will be your home. Know that you  will always be 
welcome there."
        Laney nodded as they approached the  registration desk. Admiral 
Ul'tali was there. 
        "Congratulations, Ensign. I'm glad to see you  leaving this 
place---try not to do anything that will bring you back," he told  her
        Laney laughed as she placed her thumb  against the ID screen on the 
padd the officer behind the desk handed to  her. "Don't worry, Admiral. I've no 
desire to see this place ever  again."
        "There's a shuttle waiting outside the main  gate to take you to San 
Francisco," Ul'tali added. "Good luck, Ensign  Scott."
        She nodded and shook his hand, then started  for the door. Glancing 
back over her shoulder, she looked one last time at  Ul'tali, and the 
Changeling who had come to offer her a home. She smiled once  more at the 
latter, then 
disappeared out the door. She was still curious how he  had gotten in 
undetected, but figured since he'd found that so easy, he'd have  no trouble 
getting 
out again. 
        Outside, Laney's breath began to catch in her  chest, and it wasn't 
until she had been buzzed through the main gate that was at  last able to 
breathe, taking her first deep breath of free air in more than six  years. 
Tilting 
her face up toward the sun, she let it warm her skin for a  moment, then 
turned and headed for the shuttle.
 
        San Francisco would probably never cease  being an amazing sight from 
the air, Laney had thought as the pilot circled  over the city's downtown and 
outlying areas, then he took them toward the  Fleet Yards. She was to be 
dropped at Shuttle Hangar 16 to pick up the  Einin, and she could hardly wait. 
Her 
hands had been itching to get a  hold of a Delta-class shuttle ever since 
she'd read about it, and  the pictures she'd seen were incredible. It was quite 
possibly the most  aerodynamically designed ship in the fleet, enabling it to 
go faster than other  ships of the same size even when traveling at the same 
speed. It was also quite  stunning to look at.
        And she would have it all to herself for an  entire week.
        The door to the immense hangar was open when  she arrived. She knew 
that Hangar 16 was large enough to house up to ten  shuttles, and when she 
stepped inside, she immediately saw the  Einin---it was the only Delta-class in 
the building. Laney's  eager grin became a full-blown smile as she walked over 
to it.
        As she looked it over, she was approached by  a petty officer wearing 
coveralls. There was grease on the front, suggesting he  had been working on 
another of the shuttles only moments ago.
        "Can I help you, Ensign?" he  asked.
        "I just need to sign this baby out," she  said, hooking a thumb 
toward the Einin. "I'm here to take her to  the Avalon at Izar." 
        He narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure you got  the right ship? Cuz this 
one's private property."
        Laney's eyebrows rose. "I beg your pardon?  That can't be 
right---see, this ship is Starfleet property. My former  CO assigned me to take 
it to the 
Avalon this afternoon." She wasn't  entirely lying to the guy. After all, 
Ul'tali had been in charge of her  until 1500.
        The officer scoffed. "Sorry to tell you this,  Ensign, but somebody 
screwed up. This beauty was supposed to go to the  Sandusky next week, but she 
became private property yesterday, sometime  around 1130 hours. I should know, 
I handled the registration transfer." He  looked at it. "I'll be sorry to see 
her go. I kinda got to liking her  myself."
        Seeing that Laney was still confused, he led  her around to the front 
end of the shuttle. "Look here," he said, pointing at  the space inside the 
stripes along the side which ended with the  familiar Starfleet delta. "I guess 
they kept the USS prefix because Starfleet  built it. Otherwise, when I 
painted on the new registration, I'd have  had to take off the U."
        Laney looked where he indicated, and sure  enough there was the 
proof. In two-inch tall letters between  red stripes were the name of the ship 
and 
it's registration number, written  in civilian format: USS Einin FR 7808-12 
DS. The FR, she knew, stood for  Federation Registry, a starship listing that 
included all ships  privately owned but built by Starfleet or other Federation 
facilities. The  numbers, she suddenly knew, had been personally chosen by the 
purchaser,  something she knew was commonly done among civilian owners. They  
represented something significant to whoever had bought the Einin, as  did the 
DS at the end, for it was also common in the private sector for the  owner of 
the vessel to have his or her initials added to the  registration.
        7808-12, commuted to Standard calendar  dating, was Stardate 7808.12, 
or August 12, 2354---the very day that her parents  had married, and she had 
officially been given the name Delaney Scott. The  initials DS were her own.
        This was her ship. She was as  certain of that as she was of being a 
hybrid. 
        It had been sold by Starfleet yesterday, the  mechanic had said, 
sometime around 1130 hours. Her mother had arrived at the  prison at 0900 that 
morning, and their visit had ended in the allotted  thirty minutes. That left a 
time-span of about two hours, save the time it had  taken her mother to return 
home.
        That could only mean one thing.
        "Do you have a communications terminal in the  office?" she asked 
suddenly.
        "Of course," the mechanic said. "Follow  me."
        He showed her into the office, leaving her  alone to make her call. 
Engaging the terminal, she keyed in her parents' home  unit. Thankfully, her 
mother answered. 
        "Laney! Two surprises in two  days---"
        "Stop, Mom," Laney said sharply. "Why did he  do it?"
        Marsha Scott's smile fell. "I see you've  found out about the Einin," 
she said. "I told your dad that Admiral  Ul'tali's ruse wouldn't last 
long---they're friends, you know. If it makes you  feel any better, I chose the 
name, 
but your father insisted on the  registration. Do you want to talk to him?"
        "That's a stupid question, Mom! God, does he  think he can buy back 
my affection? Does he think this is going to make  everything all better?"
        "Laney, he doesn't want your affection. He  wants your love," Marsha 
replied quietly.
        Laney shook her head. "He has my love,  Mother. He always will. I 
just don't like him anymore. And buying me an entire  shuttlecraft, even one as 
admittedly bloody awesome as a Delta-class,  isn't going to magically change 
how I feel about him."
        Her curiosity got the best of her then. "Just  how the hell did he do 
it? Why, for that matter?"
        Marsha sighed. "When I got home yesterday, I  told your dad the news 
about your release. He was ecstatic, of course. I told  you he loves you, 
honey, despite this thing between you. But we weren't sure  where you were 
going 
to end up after you got out. Even I knew that you wouldn't  want to come here 
if you were discharged, and we weren't sure you'd want  to stay in Starfleet if 
they decided you could. Your father wanted to  provide for his daughter, a 
place for you to live and a means to travel  wherever you wanted to go."
        "That doesn't explain how," Laney said,  ignoring the emotional flash 
she felt in her heart. "I'm fairly certain  Delta-class shuttles don't come 
cheap. Where would Daddy get that kind  of credit?"
        "Your father was a Starfleet captain, Laney.  He made a lot of 
friends, and impressed more than a few members of the admiralty  with his 
record of 
service. He called in every favor that was owed to him  and pulled every 
string he possibly could."
        "I'll bet he emptied your credit account,  too."
        Marsha smiled. "And then some. But don't you  worry about us, Laney. 
We'll be fine."
        "It really is too much, Mom. Besides, how  much use do you think I'll 
get out of it as a Deck Officer?" Laney  countered.
        "I'm sure your new commander will welcome  having such a 
technologically advanced shuttle onboard," Marsha replied. "He may  well want 
to make use 
of it regularly." 
        Laney had to grin. "I'll bet. Listen, Mom---I  have to go. I'm 
running late, and now I have to go convince the grease  monkey in the hangar 
bay 
that I'm the one the Einin's supposed to go  to."
        The two signed off, and Laney rose. Out in  the hangar, she saw the 
mechanic over by a Type-11 and went over to him. 
        "Petty Officer, I need to talk to you about  the Einin," she said.
        "What about?" he said, putting down his  tools.
        She grinned sheepishly. "It would seem I got  the runaround from my 
former CO," she told him. "Apparently the Einin  was purchased for me. I guess 
they wanted it to be a surprise, and boy was  it."
        "Oh, you mean you're Delaney Scott?"  When she nodded, he said, 
"Hell, Ensign, I was expecting a guy, to be perfectly  honest with you! Come 
on, 
we'll get you squared away."
        He led her back into the office, saying over  his shoulder, "Damn, 
are you lucky, ma'am. I don't know who you know that can  afford to buy one of 
these Deltas, but I'd sure like to. Maybe you can put in a  good word for me, 
eh?"
        Laney laughed with him but didn't answer. How  could she put in a 
good word if she wasn't speaking to the guy who bought her  the ship? She 
didn't 
see how, no matter how many favors owed or strings pulled,  nor how much 
credit had been in her parents' account, that her father could have  afforded 
the 
purchase price of a Delta-class shuttle---or any ship, for  that matter.
        Once she had thumbed all the necessary forms,  the mechanic walked 
with Laney back out into the hangar. She keyed open the  door, glancing at him 
and sharing his grin.
        "First time she's been opened since she got  here. I wish I could go 
with you, at least to take her for a spin," he  said.
        "I would actually take you for a twirl, Petty  Officer, if I wasn't 
already running late. Maybe next time I'm on Earth, I'll  look you up." 
        The mechanic laughed. "Have a safe trip,  Ensign."
        Closing the hatch, Laney walked into the  cockpit and sat down at the 
flight controls. The seat felt like it had been made  for her, she mused, as 
she looked over her immediate surroundings. The central  window, instead of 
being sectioned as it had in the original design, was a  single uninterrupted 
sheet of dura-glass. She saw that whoever hadn't  fancied the window design had 
taking a liking to the centuries-old  controls inspired by a holodeck program, 
because most of them were still in  place. 
        Now she just had to get  her going.

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