<USS Banshee> "Questions Left Unanswered"

  • From: "Brad Ruder" <GroundZero@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: ussbanshee@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 13 Nov 2002 18:05:25 -0800

?Questions Left Unanswered?
by Lieutenant Joshua Asper



Sustenance.

The taste.

The aroma.

The feeling.

After his long hours of the bridge with nothing to eat but whatever he could grab between his short ours of rest, Josh was ready to sit down and indulge himself with the finest cuisine that a replicator could produce. He wanted nothing more than to blow a week?s worth of replicator rations on a single seven or eight course meal.

His problem, unfortunately, was that he couldn?t find out what he really wanted. Everything sounded good; at the same time, though, everything sounded horrible and completely disgusting. Some of the things, even those that were his favorite, seemed to lose flavor. His prized drinks were too alcoholic, or too flavored, for his taste buds to appreciate.

The lounge was long since deserted. He had gotten off his shift and it was late, even for him. There was no place else to go. There was no place that could contain him and offer him what he truly wanted. He had thought about going and seeing Heather, but she was no doubt in sickbay attending to the Captain as Sara?s aide. The holodeck wasn?t his perfect haven this time; it was actually a place that he was trying to avoid as of late.

Josh?s gaze turned to the door as he heard it swish open and then close again. Locking onto Ensign Pep. C. Col?a Josh smiled and returned to his drink of water. ?Late night, Ensign??

?Uh, yeah.? Josh heard the quiver and uncertainty in the voice of the self-conscious Ensign standing just feet behind him. ?Just doing the checks of security systems and weapons lockers.?

?Of course, don?t let me keep you.? Staring out into the stars, the presence of Col?a dissolved into a feeling of disturbed nothingness, but melted away all the same. Josh?s hand gripped the metallic cup in his hands tightly. He stood, hesitantly, and then proceeded to cross the lounge to the replicator.

Movement behind him drew his attention back to the Ensign, doing what he said he was to do, who searching through a weapons locker behind the counter. ?What are you having tonight, sir??

?I don?t know. What sounds good to you??

?Hamburger and French Fries.? Col?a raised his eyebrows and gazed to the ceiling as if imagining that he was consuming his food of choice through osmosis or some other form of fantasy. ?With a large chocolate milkshake on the side, just to top it off.?

Josh laughed to himself, ?You know, tests have proven that that sort of stuff will kill you.?

?Yeah, I?ve had a good run.? Having a sense of humor was a good thing, Josh thought, and Col?a possessed a good one.

?Sounds good, though, I?ll give you that.? Josh turned to the replicator and activated the voice command sub-processors and opened his mouth to speak. Nothing came out; he still hesitated about what truly sounded good. He turned to the Ensign, who was going about his duties, and then returned to his visual struggle with the piece of 24th century technology. ?What the hell, Computer, one hamburger with an order of French fries. And, to top it off, a vanilla milkshake.?

The computer beeped in acknowledgment as the mechanical components of the machine hummed to life. The molecules began to convert and swirl on the platform a light blue color and then dispersed into his order ? which now sat upon the surface. He took it in his hands and trudged back to his respective table that faced the window.

?Goodnight, Lieutenant.?

?Goodnight, Ensign, have a great shift.? Josh called out after the Ensign as he disappeared out of the lounge and left Josh alone with his food and his thoughts. The toils of the last couple of days had explained a lot. The whereabouts of their dear Captain Morrigan, and who had planted that wonderful virus that had nearly killed Sara and Josh ? not to mention the success of it killing off some of the crew onboard the USS Hindenberg.

Josh picked up the burger and opened his mouth to take a bite, but stopped in midair as the questions picked up and began itching and scratching him internally. There weren?t a lot of things that he wished to know, it was stuff that he needed to know. He was at the console when the analysis of the cube-like ship came into the Banshee?s database. There was something that had to do with Ferengi, Cardassians, and Jem?Hadar. Once more, the fact that Jem?Hadar resided on the ship meant that there must have been some Founders onboard as well.

When the Romulans joined the fight, as Josh thought that they would, it threw more chaos to the already shaken order. The story of lies, deception, and mistrust within the Cardassian government was clear. They had ties to these ?pirates? that had possession of the cube-like battleship. Many question stemmed from this turn of events. There were too many questions to be answered all at once.

Why were the ?pirates? involved with the Cardassian government?

Where did the Romulans fit in all of this?

Did the Romulan ship represent all of the Romulan people?

What profit did the Ferengi get from their participation?

What purpose did the Jem?Hadar and Founders have with the Cardassians?

Why wasn?t the Legit, from Cardassia, apart of this mysterious group?


Taking a sip of the milkshake that sat in front of him, Josh stood to his feet and moved towards the door. He had neglected to touch his food, except for the drink of the shake, and he wasn?t looking back. He stepped through the door and into the open and dimly lit hallway. His mind was no longer focused on his food, or getting any sleep, it was determined to figure out the answers to these questions.

Patience is a virtue ? one that Josh had to use in order to get the answers that he sought. Captain Morrigan knew the answers, and her alone would be the one that would explain them. He wouldn?t ask for it wasn?t his place. He simply wished to ask her a few questions, as long as they were when she was capable of answering them.

For now, at least, the answers to the questions that were shrouded in mystery would rely only on the Captain. They were hidden from his view for the time being, patience would be the key to revealing the answers and the secrets. This situation?s end had more than what met the eye, and the only eye that saw the truth was holding onto her life in sickbay.

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