<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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