Security Patrol

Posted on 09 Aug 2016 @ 1:33am by Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale & Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler

1,798 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Risky Business
Location: Shipwide
Timeline: MD 6 || 1300 Hours

Petty Officer Second Class D'Nostella walked side by side with Ensign Mitchell and paused by one of the windows on the port side of the ship. "I can't believe that we got stuck on patrol, Mitchell," he grunted for the third time that day. "Everyone else gets the exciting stuff and we get stuck on patrol. Where's the fairness of that?"

Ensign Shay Mitchell turned her attention outside of the window with her hand resting on her holstered phaser. After the day they'd had already, she wasn't taking any chances. Word had gotten out that they'd lost a couple of their personnel, but there wasn't any time to actually mourn for them yet. That time would come soon enough. "All things considered, I wouldn't say running patrol is boring," the Ensign said, turning her gaze to the man standing next to her. "In fact, it's probably one of the more important duties our department has. We've already been boarded once."

"I know," David "Diamond" D'Nostella said with a grunt. "It's really just footwork until something else comes along. We probably aren't even going to see this Romulan ship. The senior staff of the Chimera probably bolted in a shuttle to another ship and are long gone while we drift around in this soup looking for a ghost."

"Do you honestly believe that we're looking for a ghost?" Shay found herself asking. "I mean... look at what we're dealing with here. They're truly evil, and need to be wiped out before they can do lasting damage that Starfleet can't come back from."

David looked out the window and gestured at the nebula that surrounded the ship. "We can't see anything out there and we've already been ambushed by one ship in this galactic soup. You'd figure if they were going to attack us, it would have been when we were busy with the other two ships."

"Maybe they're waiting until we're caught with our proverbial pants down," the Ensign commented, turning her attention back to the nebula outside the window. "This is what we do, Dee. This is what we trained for. To kick the asses of those who need it before moving on to the next."

"We aren't kicking any asses at the moment," he said. "Look at that soup out this window. Look at the soup from another window. Hell, it's a Romulan ship. Those things have cloaks which means we could be looking right at it even now and we've never know until it was too late."

"We could stand here all day debating about it, but it doesn't change anything. Come on, let's keep going before the Chief finds out," she said, gesturing for him to follow just as she stepped away from the window.

David grumbled again and started for their next check point. "When I signed up, the recruiter told me that I'd see new worlds and meet new species from other civilizations. He didn't say I'd be gazing out windows waiting for something to kill me. I went down to Yolvanda II for some rest and relaxation and ended up in Sickbay thinking pink elephants were attacking me. Where's the fairness in that?"

"Recruiters will tell people exactly what they want to hear to get more bodies in the door. The life of a Starfleet officer, enlisted or otherwise, is not wine and roses, Dee. Hell... we're lucky if it's beer and pizza." She shook her head and they made their way toward their next checkpoint. Thankfully, she was one of the few who hadn't suffered from the virus that affected a great deal of the ship's crew, and for that she'd always be grateful. "This..." She gestured out of a window at the nebula when they passed another one. "is what we signed up for."

He sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I'd be happy with a beer and pizza right now," he said as he took his spot at the window and gazed out at the nebula gasses. "Why don't we just leave the nebula and make them come after us? Our sensors and shields would give us their location the second they came out and we have three ships to fight them with."

Shay had to admit it was a good question, but she had an even better answer for it. "Because... who's to say they'd actually come after us? There's got to be more than one way in... and out... of this thing. We could leave hoping they'll chase us down when in reality they'll use another way out and be on their way to Unity before we even realize it. If that were to happen, we've already lost the war. We're doing exactly what we need to do for the greater good. And, it's like you said. We have three ships. Granted, we don't have sensors and will have to fire manually, but so will they. Here... we're on an even playing field. Out there... we're not."

David thought about it for a moment but couldn't find a way to argue her logic. "And that is why you're an officer and I'm not," he said as he logged the time into the checkpoint and added his number into it.

Ensign Mitchell followed suit, adding her own time and number before giving him her attention again. "It isn't a matter of being an officer or not," she said. "It's a matter of knowing a good thing when you've got it. Yes, we all got one hell of a wake up call because of it, but think about it... if we met up with the Chimera and Cochrane in clear space, we wouldn't be having this discussion right now. We'd all be dead, and the evil bastards would be on their way to Unity. This... this is where we need to stay until there is no longer a threat to the Federation."

"What if they're already on the way to Unity while we sit here?" he asked, worried. "This nebula is half the size of the Sol System and they could be anywhere. The Chimera and Cochrane had a twelve hour lead on us before we even took off. They could have found it and left the ships behind to deal with us while they made a run for the starbase."

"While that is certainly a possibility, I highly doubt it. We're talking about a ship that's been sitting inside this nebula for years. It's going to take time for them to get the thing running, if they're even able to," Shay said, moving forward once again. "The Consortium are smart, but they're not that smart, Dee. They'll come after us. We took their ships."

"No, Shay, we took back our ships," David said. "They never had any to begin with or they would be after us." At least he hoped that was the case. "Who are these asshats, anyway? Where are they from? How do they turn our own against us?" He sighed as he headed for the next checkpoint beside of her.

"You're right... we did take back our ships, and it's rather impressive how that happened, too," she commented. "I only wish I had an answer to your questions, but I don't. I'm sure we'll know soon enough, though."

"They were mostly rhetorical, anyway," he said. "I'm sure the higher ups are working on that while we're out here. I just hope that we get some down time after this mission that doesn't involve a planetary virus or getting ambushed by our own ships or personnel turning against us when we least expect it. It's been one crazy thing after another since I came aboard this ship and I'm thinking it's cursed."

"If that's the case, then Starfleet as a whole is cursed. This is what we do, Dee. We go out and find trouble before trouble can find its way to the places it shouldn't be," Shay stated.

"Here I thought our goal was exploration," David said as they arrived at their next checkpoint and he dutifully looked out the window. "Oh Mister Romulan ship! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" He waited to see if it would respond just so the tension could be relieved before it ramped up again, but nothing happened. "Hmph. They probably heard that nutty Cadet is in command of the Chimera and think we're too nuts to deal with."

Shay couldn't help but laugh at that. "I seriously doubt it, but stranger things have happened. I personally think they're sitting right on top of us waiting for the perfect time to pounce."

"When would be the perfect time for a cloaked ship to attack?" He asked as he unconsciously looked up through the soupy nebula and shivered. "Maybe they found it and it was such a pile of junk that the crew of the Chimera abandoned them for sheer stupidity. The Cochrane came at us from behind, so odds are good they weren't the ones to find it because I heard we got their bridge officers."

"I heard the same thing," Mitchell said, turning her attention out the window.

David sighed again and entered the time and his number into the checkpoint. "This waiting...this is what I don't like," he said at last. "Why aren't they coming for us already? We're damaged and have two other ships under our command and we don't have the crew to man all three ships until we sort out who is working for who...we're sitting ducks."

"You know it means we could all die, don't you?" Shay asked, entering her information in after he did. "The waiting does suck, but since we're dealing with psycho, we have no choice but to wait. Not only that, but Captain Geisler has his reasons, and we don't question those."

"I'd rather not think about that," he said. "I'm trying to be positive. I think I am at any rate. I think this is going to my final ship before I retire. Eight years is enough for me."

"Come on... let's finish out rounds, then move on to the next deck. It's going to be an even longer day, and when it's over, we'll go to Talons to get a drink. You're buying, of course," she said with a grin.

"I'll get the drinks if you get the pizza," David said, returning the grin.

"Done," Shay said. It would be bittersweet as they remembered those who lost their lives during the day's chaos, but their memories would stay with them forever.

Ensign Shay Mitchell
Played by Joey

Petty Officer Second Class David "Diamond" D'Nostella
Played by Camila

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