"Echoes from the past" === Captains quarters=== ::in a dream:: Keylor sat patiently piloting the transport. Now in his 21st year of life he piloted the transport his father operated. His father and he had just finished their latest run to the badlands where Eeto ( Keylor's father) had completed a trade with some rather unsavory characters. The head of that pack was a Man named Owens, a bajoran. Keylor's father had been dealing with Owens for a long time, 4 years. And Each time his father had to 'Deliver' a shipment, Eeto was always on edge. But, once the transaction had been completed, Eeto seemed to lighten up and become his usual self. But on this trip, Eeto seemed to be unusually quiet, Keylor figured that Eeto had finally decided to stop dealing with Owens, and from what little Keylor had seen of Owens, it was not going to be a peaceful confrontation. Owens was a forceful fellow, firm in his decisions and comfortable in the fact that everyone did what he ordered, always. Once, He saw Owens kill a Cardassian settler he had caught surveying one of the planets in the demilitarized zone between Cardassian and the federation. But owens did not simply end the Cardassians life, he slowly drew the Cardassian life from the man, slicing at the cardassian slowly causing great pain, and apparently Owens enjoyed it. Since that experience, Keylor had chosen to deal with Owens as little as possible. But that was all behind them now and they were almost home. For the last 12 hours, Keylor had been at the helm and his father, sleeping in the small bunk just off of the cockpit. As Bajor slowly slipped in to sight, Keylor brought the ship to =BC impulse. Though his father let him do much of the piloting, he always seemed to want to bring the ship in the final few parsec's. Keylor rose from the pilots chair to summon his father and walked the short distance to the cot. His father lie on the cot, facing the bulkhead.. "Father! We are home." Eeto did not stir. "Father. Wake up. WE are almost to DS 9. You always take the helm from here? " Still no reaction. Keylor reached down and shook his fathers shoulder, hoping to wake him. Eeto rolled over on to his back, his skin a bluish hue. Keylor quickly cried out "FATHER!" and reached down to feel his pulse, there was none. :::Keylor wakes up:: Keylor's eyes opened quickly. Covered in a light sweat , he stared at the ceiling.{Why in the world did I dream that?} he thought to himself. He remained in bed thinking about that day. He thought about how the doctors said his Eeto had dies of a heart attack, caused by some unidentified toxin. The doctors had found three small puncture wounds around Eeto's right wrist, the area inflamed and puffy. They had speculated that some unknown insect had bitten him and the poison slowly caused the fatal result. Jaxa, his sister never seemed to accept the fact, she always claimed their father was murdered, though she would never explain to Keylor why. Keylor wiped his brow and rolled out of bed. HE walked in to the bathroom to freshen up and prepare for the day ahead. {That was the day my life changed. If He had not died, We would probably still be running the junk rounts between bajor and the outer colonies.} he thought. {But with his death, I was able to join the federation. Who would have thought that after all this time, I would be a general.} he shook his head. After a shower and a fresh change of cloths, Keylor sat down at his desk and started reviewing the latest reports and messages from fleet. The hospital ship from starfleet had finally arrived and all of the chimera's extra guests had finally been sent on their way. Now the Chimera was at the task of cleaning up after the events at Kinsi, Replenishing any materials needed and waiting for their new orders. After an hour or reading through reports, Keylor received a subspace message, It was his brother in-law, Demar. "Demar?" he said a bit surprised. "How did you get a channel through. These communicatiosn are suppose to be secure." He asked barely waitig for Demar to answer. Demar did not look happy. He wore a worried look on his face. "Keylor," he said with a quiver his his voice. "Jaxa is not well." Keylor thought for a moment {Well that makes sense, Jaxa, my only surviving relative is ill and SSF command patches a communication through. } His face turned form surprise to concern. "Jaxa? What happened? IS she. dead?" he asked. Demar shook his head a little. "No not dead, but the doctors cant say if she will live much longer." He said choking on each word. "What happened Deamr?" Keylor asked. "Was it an accident? Tell me man, what happened. Start at the beginning." He said trying to gain his full attention. "No not an accident, I guess. " Demar paused for a moment. "Jaxa was off on a scouting mission in the demilitarized zone. She was investigating reports of attacks on Cardassian settlements by Bajorans. " When she returned she fell ill suddenly. The doctors think it was some sort of insect." Keylor sat back in his chair and thought for a moment. {Insect bite? Demilitarized zone? Attacks by bajorans? Could the prophets be telling me something?} he leaned back in. "Did Jaxa tell you anything else? Was she perhaps looking for some one in particular?" Demar thought for a moment. "Well she did not mention any thing before leaving. But since we had been married, she had told me several time that if she ever had te chance to go out to the Demilitarized zone she would try to find her fathers killer." He leaned in a bit , "But I thought that was just one of her conspiracy stories. I have seen the medical report of your father, It was ruled an insect bite. She went looking for a killer and became a victium of the same insect that your father did." Keylor's eyes raised, "the same? A bit with three marks?" he asked now interested. Demar nodded, "Why? You don't seriously believe this was not a chance crossing with a bug?" he asked. Keylor had never took Jaxa's theory of their father being murdered. But for many years before she married Demar, She could never find any insect that produced the toxin that killed their father. He straightened up in his seat. "Oh of course not." He said some what un-convincing. {But may be she was on to something.} he thought. "Look Demar, I have some time off coming to me. I can be in bajor in." he looked down at his console and tapped away for a moment, calculating the time it would take to get him home. Keylor looked back up, "23 hours. You tell my sister that she finally found a way to drag me home. " He said pasting a smile on his face trying to lighten the mood. Demar cracked a slight grin, "Aye I will Keylor. I am sure the thought of you coming home will give her added strength. After all she will need all of her energy to yell at you once you get here." Keylor nodded, "Aye I am sure she will not go to the celistial temple until I have had a good talking to. " he smiled and paused. "I will see you soon, give my love to Jaxa." He said. "I will, hurry . " Demar said. Keylor closed the channel and taped on his console. "Bretam to Foster." He called out. "Foster here sir." Cam the reply. "Lieutenant. Have the delta flyer class shuttle prepared for departure in 1 hour. I will be piloting it alone. Also have Commander Guzman meet me in the shuttle bay when the shuttle is ready." He commanded. "Aye sir" came Fosters reply. Keylor stood up from his desk and started making his preparations. ===1 hour later === Keylor walked in to the shuttle bay dressed in his civilian cloths. In his left hand he held a suitcase, in his right hand a pad. Standing there before him was Commander Guzman at the access hatch of the delta flyer class shuttle. Keylor had spent the last hour gathering his things and putting in his emergency request for leave. Once he reached Shane, he threw the suitcase in to the shuttle and then looked Shane in the eyes. "Thank you for joining me here Commander." he said. Shane was quite surprised about the 'call' from Mr. Foster and his request to join the general in the shuttle bay. For a short moment he thought about a pie .. but dismissed the thought fastly. Standing now in front on the General he was really surprised about the civilian clothing Keylor wore. Noticing the open hatch of the Captain's yacht and the way Keylor was acting he was sure that there was something not 'according church law'. "General" he replied not sure what to say next. "You are taking the yacht for a little cruise?" he asked. Keylor shook his head no, "No Commander Not for a little cruise. I am leaving the ship for a while." He said plainly. He stretched out his hand and gave Shane the pad. "On that you will see my emergency leave request. It has not been cleared with command yet, but with as much leave that I have saved, I don't think they will argue." He watched as Shane glanced at the pad. "You will also see that I have place you in temporary command of the ship." To Shane's shame as trained SSF officer, his surprise was very clearly seen. He stared at Bretam for a second or two before managing to say: "Excuse me sir, I am not sure if I have understood you rightly." Shane blinked and continued: "You are about to leave the ship? Leaving me in command?" Keylor nodded. "Yes commander, you heard me correctly. I am leaving and you are in charge. You are the acting captain until my return." He sad starting to inch his way towards the hatch of the shuttle. Shane knew that as executive officer he was supposed to take command in the General's absence, and he was in charge more then once for a longer time, but it was always with the general being nearby ... on an away team mostly. But Keylor's words sounded so different now: "You can't leave your ship alone" escaped from his mouth. "Ermm ... I am sorry sir" he said when he realized that his thought were transferred to words without his mind knowing it. Keylor looked twice at Shane's words. "A Little nervous commander? Surely after all of this time, you playing second fiddle to me , you are not eager to test your metal as the captain of a ship." He asked with a stern look. Shane looked at Keylor like guessing his intentions and the replied: "To be honest yes, I am. I would lie if I would say I have never imagined that ... but not like this." He stopped to a moment and looked at his boots before looking back at Keylor: "Chimera is your ship general, the crew is loyal to you, both marines and naval personnel ... I cant and I am sure noone can imagine someone besides you in charge of this ship. AT least for a longer time". Keylor grinned at Shane's remark. "They are not my crew commander, they are OUR crew. You have been their XO since this ship was re-commissioned." He placed a hand on Shane's Shoulder. " You are a good officer, you know your job and you know the crew. Trust in them and they will trust in you. You will be fine with out me." Shane smiled feebly at the CO: "Thank you for the praise sir. Please don't think that I am backing off of my responsibilities, but this comes unexpected. I .. I" he could not find proper words, so he changed the them: "Can I ask you sir if there is something we can you help with?" he asked pointing to the unrevealed reason of the general's leave. Keylor drew his hand back and shook his head, "No commander there is nothing you can do. The reasons I must leave are of a personal matter. Nothing that should bother the likes of a ship of the fleet." he said lowering his eyes a bit." Any way command should be sending new orders soon. And with the way we have been moving, the Chimera is most likely destined for a place in the opposite direction that I need to go." Shane looked at Keylor with an 'asking' facial expression. Keylor's words revealed only very little of the reasons he was about to leave the ship. Sure, Keylor and Shane were not close friends, but somehow Shane expected a more accurate answer. After a short time he nodded: "Of course sir. But I would like you to know that the crew is always ready to help in any way." He looked at the shuttle and back at Keylor: "Sir, do you know closer details about our next mission?" he asked. Keylor nodded, "This is good to know Commander. " he paused and then answered his question. "No commander I don't, but ever since we left bajor we have moved further and further away from federation controlled space. My best guess is that they will send you ever further out." Keylor then started in to the shuttle. "Now if you don't mind commander I need to depart." He stopped and looked back, "Don't worry you will do fine. " he smiles at Shane. Shane looked at the general still not convinced about the move but nodded like a soldier is learned to do. Following orders is the motto ... and even is Shane was less then happy to do that sometimes, he learned his way. "Of course sir. Just two more questions" he said, "how long do you plan to be away and what shell I tell the crew?" Keylor looked in to nothing for a second, "I don't know who long I will be away. Good thing I have some one I trust to take care of the ship while I am away. As for the crew, just tell them I had a family matter to attend to." he said. If the situation would be such a serious one, Shane would grin. Keylor was known as a man who only rarely replies a clear 'yes or no' ... and this proved it again. 'I don't know and nothing' were what he said. But Keylor was a hard nut to crack ... so Shane only nodded: "I understand sir." he offered his hand to Keylor and said: "So all I can do now is to wish you much luck and a good flight I suppose, isn't it?" Keylor shook Shane's hand, "Thank you commander. I appreciate that." He looked around the shuttle bay for one last look. "Well she is in far better shape when we first got her. Take care of her and the crew while I am gone." He smiled Looking at the back of the Captain's yacht, Shane replied quietly: "Aye, aye sir. I surely will. Much luck to you general and be back soon". Keylor closed the door and started his preparations for departure. ===end log === BGen Bretam Keylor Captain & Cmdr Shane Guzman Executive Officer and Acting Captain