In The Hours Before Dawn

Posted on Oct 14, 2014 @ 12:56pm by Lieutenant Commander Aerdan Jos
Edited on on Oct 14, 2014 @ 12:57pm

Mission: Absolute Power

"In the Hours Before Dawn" (continued from "The Last good Fight")
~*~

Location: USS PHOENIX
Stardate: 2.141014.0025
Scene: Sickbay

Time Index: This entire post takes place before Kane arrives at the starbase, before Xana Bonviva comes onboard.

~*~
“Cardassian, Cardassian, Cardassian… Cardassian. No fucking way.”

He very nearly spat coffee across the whole of his medical screen.

“I don’t fucking believe it.” He blinked, rather enjoying this merry little medical chase, no matter how much profanity was coming out of his mouth. It kept his mind off of the patient laying in the biobed across from him. The one whose body was struggling to accept an artificial heart, the one he could do jack and shit for until the organ took hold. And it would either take or it wouldn’t. So medical mysteries it was.

Perhaps he didn’t fucking believe it because the woman had said it so candidly. By now he expected most people were lying to him at all times. Particularly women. Especially women.

Cade wondered, in that moment, how his relationship with women had gotten so fucked up in the first place. Possibly it was a reaction to his own less-than-stellar attitude. He seemed to attract women who were just as crass, complicated and frustrating as he was. He had never really let a counselor delve into this early childhood issues, his relationship with his parents. Though he knew full well his relationship with his parents came down to one simple word: non-existent. They were career minded busybodies who saw him as an afterthought rather than a member of their family. He was pretty sure his parents didn’t even like one another; they had simply married one another as a career move. His mother had expressed fondness for him as a very young child, but after his toddler years Cade was packed up and shipped back to earth to be tended by nannies, and occasionally his grandparents.

And his grandparents were a messed up lot as well.

His grandmother Madeline was an ex-Starfleet Captain. She had retired years ago after a long and loveless marriage to Admiral Kendall Hughes, and she consistently carried a guilty air about her, as if she was silently apologizing for being the matriarch of such a cold, career minded family. Grandfather Kendall was a senile dickbag, who radiated a cold hostility towards Cade. This might be due to the fact that Grandfather Kendall was, in fact, not related to him at all. He was Grandma Madeline’s second husband, and looking back on things, adult Cade was pretty sure Admiral Hughes was impotent.

On his father’s side, his grandmother had been dead for decades before he was born, and his grandfather, Karl Grentham was serving a life imprisonment term for treason to the Federation. Ironically enough he had been a high ranking member of the Optimum movement, which was the foundation of the first Essentialist movement. Commander Grentham was exposed by his wife, and was captured after her murder, along with his brother and several dozen associates including his father’s eldest brother. His father, being the youngest quietly divorced his family name and denied any relation to the whole affair.

So that left Grandfather Charles. Who was, in fact, his favorite family member, hands down. Charles Foster was his mother’s father and Madeline’s first husband. He was a crass, snarky old doctor who was the first person in Cade’s life who decided that a child his age should get out, have fun and get into trouble. Cade loved every moment of it. In fact, he attributed both his medical career and his well honed sense of sarcasm to Grandpa Charles. He probably had more in common with the misanthropic yet slyly humorous old man than he ever cared to admit.

He passed away two weeks after Cade was promoted to Lieutenant for the first time, and he had never mourned more.

Still, most of his adages still stuck with Cade. Not trusting women was one of them. So finding out that a woman – a counselor no less – had not lied, well…

Hey, vote in this Eve lady’s favor. As much favor as he could give an unknown counselor in such circumstances.

Cade sighed and started to delve into the quite intriguing medical records.

~*~
Scene: XO's Ready Room

Aerdan could feel a headache coming on. A big, pounding, nagging one.

The doorchime on the XO’s ready room rang and he jumped, despite knowing exactly who was coming. There wasn’t much guesswork on a mostly empty ship where only one person had been called to the bridge. “Enter.”

The slender young woman strode in with an air of confidence that followed her like a billowing cloak. Curiosity and concern hung about her features as she took in the man across the room.

Aerdan Jos was, in short, a mess. His snowy hair was mussed and he had only had enough time to wash the large offending mud and blood stains from his hands and uniform before he worked to prepare the ship for the oncoming crew. He looked like a man who had just spent an entire night conducting surgery – or murder.

Knowing the man’s history as a CMO, she was betting on the former. Eve hadn’t finished psych evals on the crew, but she had most certainly (and wisely) started from the top down. This crew was, in short, a mess. Something that was keenly supported by the scene she witnessed in sickbay. It was notable that the entire senior staff had been involved in one of the large, public inquiries of the past month. The ARMSTRONG attack was overshadowed by the CENTURY’s appearance over Pairs, but no less curious. Still, she took in the Andorian’s form clinically noting the little details.

He was short, several inches shorter than she was unless you counted the antennae. Which she might, because he carried his head and posture like a man a good deal taller, emphasized by the upright antenna. There was a grim focus in his eyes, a commitment to duty that penetrated the exhaustion. She started to seriously wonder what Secretary Martine was getting her into.

“Commander Jos? Lieutenant Dalziel reporting for duty.”

“At ease, Lieutenant.” His voice was soft, lisping. Like a whisper on the wind. “I hope your travel here was smooth?”

She perked a brow at that. It seemed to be an unusually loaded question. “I had no difficulties, though I am used to traveling quickly and lightly.”

“I understand you are dual trained in Counseling and Intel.”

It wasn’t a question, and it was unusually frank. Eve paused, warily gauging the man before her. On one hand he seemed blisteringly honest – which was appreciated even if it was not sophisticated. On the other hand the question took her off balance. She was not sure much much Martine had divulged about her posting, and he seemed to hold more cards than she did at the moment.

“Yes.” She started.

“You were in sickbay?”

“Yes.” Another confirmation. This was becoming a slightly tedious exchange.

Aerdan waffled between finding a way to couch this in a polite manner and simply laying facts on the table. He was leaning towards facts, through the exhaustion played a large role in that decision. “The woman on the biobed was – is – our previous counselor. She, too is dual trained in intel and counseling.” He took in a deep breath.

“Should I even ask what happened?” the counselor ventured carefully.

He gazed at her with an unusually piercing sapphire stare. For a moment she wondered if he was a mind reader. “She was acting on some information concerning an individual with dangerous intentions towards the members of this crew. Unfortunately the information led her into an ambush.”

“This entire ship is populated by people on a hit list.” It was a guess, but one that eve was feeling pretty damned sure about.

Aerdan nodded very slowly. “There are elements inside the Federation…”

“So that’s why.” She cut him off, her mind burning back towards her conversation with Secretary Martine.

“Why…?” he queried, canting his head to one side, antennae arcing forward.

She waved a hand. “Sorry. Thinking back to my orders.” She paused and returned her attention to the executive officer. “Speaking of, what are my orders here?”

Drawing in a breath, Commander Jos watched her shift her stance to something vaguely more relaxed. “We need to be ready to move as soon as we get word from Captain Kane. The crew will need to integrate together quickly and understand the dangers of our upcoming mission.”

“What is that mission?” She queried.

Aerdan gave an honest sigh. “I don’t quite know. My orders are to bring the PHOENIX to complete readiness as soon as possible and be ready to move.”

“Hurry up and wait?”

He offered a small nod of assent. “I suggest you start with crew records and psych evaluations.”

“Yes, I am working through them.” Eve murmured. “Am I to assume duties immediately?”

“Yes.” He tipped his antennae forward in a nod.

She offered a canny smirk back. “Then , officially, Sir, my first recommendation is to you.” She waited until she had his full attention. “Get some sleep.”

Aerdan winced at this. “Two more hours. I have senior staff to check in and clearances to give.”

“Don’t make me come hunt you down with a sedative.” She offered without much punch to the threat. She was starting to understand a portion of the hornet’s nest she had just been dropped in.

“I wouldn’t put up much of a chase if you did.” He admitted. The thought of sleep was all too enticing, prevented only by duty and the vicious promises of nightmares replaying tonight’s horrific theatre.

“I’ll remember that, Commander.”

~*~

Scene: Docking Bay

“Er.” The man extended a hand “I'm Lieutenant Commander Thomas Varn.
And this is Lt. Sylvia Warren.”


“Uh. Captain Kassandra Thytos. Marine Captain, not ship Captain.” She
took the proffered hand, and shook firmly.


“How did you...” Sylvia started from behind him and then trailed off.


“Sensor nets. I'm blind.” Kassandra sighed. Now they were going to
have to have a conversation about how she could see through their
clothes. Never mind that she could see through their skin too. She
really hoped more people would come before it got awkward. More
awkward.

~*~

“You have sensor nets?” Sylvia Warren’s eyes boggled just a little. “And you can see through his coat…”

Kassandra let her mouth fall into a thin hard line. “Just like a tricorder.”

Thomas shifted uncomfortably. “How—how does it work?”

“Just like a tricorder.” Kass repeated, enunciating each word clearly.

“Can you see through all clothing?” Sylvia’s voice was soft and curious in the way someone asks when they don’t really want to know.

Captain Thytos was just about to snip that she could not, in fact, see anything at all wondering what part of ‘I’m blind’ these officers failed to understand when a new sound entered her perception. Footsteps. Someone else. Oh thank God.

“Do I want to know?” Commander Jos asked towards Sylvia’s last comment in a tone that clearly noted he did not, in fact, want to know.

“Commander!” Lieutenant Warren’s eyes snapped up to the slender Andorian. “I, uhm, nevermind. We were discussing sensor nets.”

“Sensor readings and voyeurism are two very different things, Lieutenant.” Aerdan sighed. “Have you settled all your affairs on Earth?”

“You could say that.” Thomas replied in a dark tone, his mind casting back to the way they had run out.

“We had an… interesting trip here.” Sylvia added, trailing off.

“Haven’t we all?” Kass muttered. “Is that blood on your uniform?” she gestured lightly towards the executive officer.

“Yes.” Was all he replied.

“Yours?” Kass queried. It was cobalt, so a possibility, though the copper tinge made it unlikely.

“No.”

“Hope you were on the winning end of the fight…” she added, casting a glance up at him.

“Not really.” His voice was low and flat. “But still alive.”

Kass frowned, the words were loaded and difficult to read without context. The lovebirds seemed equally confused.

“Come. Unpack and report to the bridge so I can get your clearances through. We’re waiting on Captain Kane for this ship to fly, and my orders are to have everything at the ready for when that arrival comes.” Commander Jos was short and to the point.

“We don’t have anything to unpack.” Thomas murmured.

“Then that simplifies things.” Aerdan offered a sympathetic gaze to his colleague before ushering them all onboard.

~*~
NRPG: Filling in some gaps, adding in some interaction.

~*~

Jamie LeBlanc
(Lt. Commander) Aerdan Jos
Executive Officer
USS PHOENIX