<USS Avalon> log-Falling Stars

Falling Stars

-A background log by Anilla Aguatequa

 

 

Anilla pushed her black hair out of her face and leaned back in her seat, 
passing an old fashioned paper note to a male cadet that she just so happened 
to fancy.

"Cadet Aguatequa!" Professor Hayden Spryer closed the ancient looking book he 
was reading, producing a ghostly puff of dust as he did. Professor Spryer 
taught Biological Genetics, as well as a few other subjects at Starfleet 
Academy. "If I catch you passing one more note to Cadet Rynon, I will 
resequence your DNA, so help me." He smiled, but there was a hint of steel 
glinting from eyes. "Now then," and he continued his lecture on seventeenth 
century procedures to reattach severed heads to various animals. Anilla once 
again tuned him out, homing in on the flashy white teeth of the gentleman she 
had just been chastised for hitting on.

A tiny red icon began to flash on her PADD, and she opened it. Text scrolled 
by. It read:

Nice one. Should've used safer means of contact. Meet me in the main cafeteria, 
twenty-two hundred hours.

-Rynon.

She smiled and looked at the handsome young man, nodding her head slightly 
before turning to face Professor Spryer's icy glare. He perked his right 
eyebrow and shook his head disapprovingly before dismissing the class for the 
day.

Anilla turned, looking for Cadet Rynon, but he had already left. She frowned, a 
distant feeling that she had other commitments momentarily washing over her. Ah 
well, she thought, and walked to her dorms.

___________________________________________________________________________

"So! So! Is he cute?! Tell me now!" Maria Lopez was practically shaking Anilla 
to death. "Anilla, darling, you haven't had a date in almost three years! Come 
on, tell me!"

Anilla only smiled, showing perfect white teeth. "I guess so."

Maria's face drooped as if she had just overdosed on Novocain. "I guess so?" 
She repeated. 

"Hey, at least I don't go through two or three guys a month!"

"I'm just surprised that I haven?t dated him yet. Oh well, I still have a 
chance to get at him before you do." She smiled in a way that normal people 
would have viewed as evil, but closer friends perceived as much more than that. 
It was almost satanic.

"Oh really? You have a date in the next two hours with him?"

"No, but you have a date in the next two hours with the Alpha Squad."

The color drained from Anilla's face. The Alpha Squad, the academy's own 
personal group of elite fliers was putting on a New Year's show, and she was 
piloting the second craft in the line of five. "Oh damn! Marissa's gonna kill 
me."

Marissa Jordan was the captain of the ten person team. Not given to flights of 
fancy, she was a hard nosed she-bitch with an attitude to match her right hook.

"Hmm, life...or love? That's a tough question." Maria's smile became more 
vicious, a feat that Anilla didn't think was possible.

"Look. I just have to tell Cadet Rynon that I can't make it. Simple as that."

"Oh yea, that's easy. And miss out on the only date you'll have for the rest of 
your life."

Anilla screwed up her face. Like it or not, Maria had been right when she had 
said 'life or love'. There was no doubt in her mind that Marissa would kill her 
if she backed out on the , but at the same time Cadet Rynon was really cute, 
dreamy, and he had a personality to die for.

Maria smiled one last time and left the dorm room, leaving Anilla alone with 
her thoughts. She leaned over and turned on her personal computer, cleared the 
LCARS screen, and accessed the intra-planetary communications system. 

A familiar face, beaming with pride popped up on the screen. Marissa had 
probably just run over a small child, judging by how happy she seemed. "Anilla! 
Ready for the big night?!"

Anilla swallowed. "Uh, yea, about that."

Marissa's smiled faded visibly, accompanied by a definite narrowing of the 
eyes. "Go on."

"I've got a date, and I?m not going to be able to make it to the show tonight."

Jaw muscles rippled violently followed by a slight but perceivable twitch of 
Marissa's left eye. "What?!"

"I'm sorry, it's just that--"

"You too! Are all of you just going to back out on me? Chris Ryans decided to 
just up and quit earlier today. Some team you are! How am I supposed to cover 
for you and Ryans? You're one of the best pilots I have."

"Let Chell pilot the ship. He's my co-pilot. I'm sure he'll be able to handle 
it."

"Chell?!" Marissa's voice reached disastrous tones that could be classified as 
Biblical. "Chell! The Bolian? He's completely useless in every way. He's a 
waste of air. The Borg wouldn't even assimilate him! Fly one of my ships? I 
think not!"

"Look, Marissa. There are things out there that are more important than flying. 
Things like love. I'm not going to be able to show up tonight, and I'm sorry, 
but I need to start thinking about my future. This is my fourth year and I've 
had like two boyfriends. I don't want to be the Ace of Spades."

Marissa glowered at her, then swallowed. "Fine. I'll fill your spot, and good 
riddance to you and your love! You're off the team. Good luck getting a pilot 
position now. Getting thrown off the team will probably guarantee you a spot as 
a pilot all right. A freighter pilot. Just remember that when I'm the pilot of 
a Galaxy-class starship and you're towing garbage across the sector when this 
'love' of yours dumps you on your ass."

The screen went abruptly dark, and Anilla began to regret her decision already. 
"Damn."

__________________________________________________________________________

Twenty-two hundred hours came sooner than she had expected, and she wasn't even 
out of the shower when the door panel emitted a beep. 

"Shit!" She swore, wrapping her hair up and throwing it over her shoulders so 
she could pull herself into some sort of evening gown.

"Anilla?" a voice came from the corridor. He must have come to the dorms once 
she hadn't shown up in the cafeteria. "Anilla? You're late. Are you coming out?"

The doors hissed open and Anilla stood just within her quarters, her hair, 
dress, and indeed her entire body flowing as one liquid symbol of sensuality. 

"Sorry I didn't make it, but I had to make myself...pretty."

Brak Rynon couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence. During the entire trip to 
the main courtyard, he conversed in monosyllabic words, but she didn't mind. 
Damn Marissa, damn the Alpha Squad, and damn Starfleet. She was in love.

___________________________________________________________________________

It was soon evident that she was not the only one. Several couples had gathered 
in the main courtyard to watch the Alpha Team do their thing. Brak and Anilla 
found a place on the grass and sat down. Brak produced two glasses and filled 
them with a bubbling chardonnay. 

"To life and love," He said, not knowing how ironic his toast was.

Anilla hesitated for a second, but then gave in and took a drink to life and 
love. "It really is a lovely night, isn't it?"


"Yes, but not nearly as nice as you." His eyes met hers and she looked away. 
Luckily, the Alpha Squad was just beginning their end of the year festivities, 
and she used that as an excuse. "Look!" She pointed up. "They're starting 
already."

The first shuttle flashed overhead, a stream of red sparks flaring from it's 
impulse engines. Four other ships appeared, all heading on a course to meet 
directly over the academy fountain. The fountain was lit up, shinning brightly 
in the night cold. Each shuttle had a different color of sparks trailing behind 
them. Green, yellow, blue, purple and red lines rocketed towards the fountain. 
Seconds before they would crash, each pulled up and the entire group fired a 
single burst of radon particles which glowed colorfully in the dark. Ooh's and 
ahh's issued from the crowd. 

The ships spiraled higher and higher, braiding in and out of each other. 
Colorful sparkles fell to the ground and vanished. Anilla watched in mild 
jealousy as the ship she would have been flying, the one with the yellow 
sparks, rose higher in the air. Chell was doing well, better than she would 
have thought he could. The group of ships was to weave out just a bit, then 
curve into a tight ball before releasing their payload, four kilograms of 
plasma coolant that would erupt into a multicolored blaze for a minute or so 
before dissipating harmlessly into the atmosphere.

But all was not well. The third ship exited too early, clipping the second and 
fourth ones. Chell fought to control, but at the high velocities that all the 
ships were traveling control was impossible. His ship veered sharply into 
Marissa's and both exploded. The plasma coolant on the fourth ship ignited 
prematurely, flaring it out of control and causing it to slam into the side of 
the fifth ship. Both ships tumbled down to the ground swiftly. 

Pandemonium reigned in the courtyard. People ran and screamed, trying to find 
cover from the rapidly descending flames and debris, not to mention the two 
entwined shuttles. Upon impact, the shuttle's dislodged and the fourth one 
exploded into multiple fragments. The fifth shuttle bounced twice, flying 
dangerously near the spot where Brak and Anilla stood petrified. When it landed 
the second time, the plasma coolant ignited. The highly corrosive liquid/solid 
gas sprayed out of the forward viewing port, dousing several people fatally. 
Their bodies, now contorted and sizzling, fell to the ground only to vanish 
seconds later. Anilla screamed and tugged on Brak's hand, but to her dismay, it 
fell away from him. The slowly melting stump still twitched eerily, and she 
dropped it like the severed limb it was. Her mouth opened, but no sound came 
out. Flashing red and yellow lights filled her field of vision which was 
quickly becoming blurred. Her mind raced, a single question spinning around
 faster and faster. What if I had stayed? Could I have stopped this? What if? 
What if? With one last gasp of shock, she collapsed on the dewy grass amid the 
chaos and confusion of the New Years Day celebration.

 

 

 

 



---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!

Other related posts: