Lt Commander Samantha Palmer Temporal Physicist, Ph.D. Starfleet Special Forces - Civilian V’lek Sameron = Runabout Pythagoras Samantha and V’lek were halfway on their way to Starbase Bragg, the runabout totally dependent on its calculations as it sped onwards through the black endlessness of space. And, frankly, after the elation and trepidation of leaving the USS Archer left the two, boredom was rapidly taking over. V’lek, deciding that he would give in to his human-taught weakness, ordered coffee from the runabout’s replicator and, after taking a few tentative sips (no two replicators could be counted upon to deliver an identical result), turned around and spoke to Samantha, “would you like some as well?” “Yes, please,” Samantha replied, turning around in the navigator’s seat and looking at V’lek who was at the back of the craft. “It might help to keep me awake. I keep wanting to fall asleep.” “I rather hope you won’t”, V’lek joked, “as my flight skills are rather … erratic. Still, I suppose that this thing can fly itself for the most part.” “Yes, not to worry. The autopilot is fully capable of taking us to Bragg and docking the ship without us having to do a single thing. Of course, if we run into some errant Klingons we might have a problem,” she replied with a smile. “Mmm … with all due respect, Ma’am … you may choose not to quit your day job in order to become a motivational speaker,” V’lek said, feigning an innocent expression. He handed the LtCmdr her coffee. “Straight off the replicator … get it while it’s hot.” “Thank you, V’lek,” she said, taking the coffee from him. She took out the clip which fastened her carefully coiffed hair and let it tumble down to her shoulders. “And please, call me Samantha. We have a long trip ahead of us.” “Samantha,” V’lek said, rolling her name around in his mouth and mind. “So, if I may ask, and if it’s not classified, what’re your plans when reaching the starbase. Because, even though I know I made the right decision when leaving the Archer, I’m still at a loss concerning my own future.” He looked at Samantha with an open-eyed curiosity. “Well ...” she began. = a few hours later ... … and that’s how I ended up in Starfleet”, Samantha sniffed. V’lek, knowing that Samantha was an emotionally strong woman, tried to disguise the pity he was feeling after hearing the tragic story of her and Daniel. “It must be tough, not knowing exactly what did happen to him,” he said, trying to sound as factual as possible. “He is officially classified as MIA,” Samantha nodded, drying her eyes with a tissue. “I had to accept that he was gone in order to move on with my life.” “It’s difficult to think which is harder: on the one hand you had time to know and love each other, which I never had with my father but, on the other hand, that must’ve made it harder for you to lose Daniel,” V’lek said, sipping on his now ice-cold coffee. “Tell me more about your father,” Samantha said, making herself comfortable on the bench/bunk bed she was sitting on. She was genuinely interested in the young man’s story, but had a feeling it was going to be a long one. = another few hours later... = ... so, even though my story doesn’t have nearly as many twists and turns as yours, I too face a crossroads: I don’t really know what to do with my life. Do I continue searching for him ... or should I say his memory ... or should I write him off and start anew?” Using his emphatic skills, V’lek could see Samantha gather her thoughts on that subject, and he took the opportunity to refill their cups with coffee. As he handed Samantha her coffee, he mused that he must really quit his coffee-drinking habit ... well, one of these days. As he sat down, the runabout started to shake slightly and he spilled coffee over himself as Samantha sat back down into the navigator’s seat. “Nothing to worry about, V’lek,” she assured him, “nothing but a bit of sub-space turbulence ... the inertial dampening fields should handle it, no problem.” Even as she spoke, V’lek’s rucksack fell out of one of the overhead compartments and with a resounding clang, the Ferengi statue landed on the floor, almost looking offended at its undignified position. After a moment’s silence, Samantha said drily, “well, that certainly isn’t mine. My culinary skills are probably even more questionable than your flying abilities.” Carefully picking up the Ferengi, which was giving to him as an award by the other culinary students at the university, its spoon earrings jangling fiercely from its large earlobes, V’lek gave a sheepish smile and said, “one of the few possessions I treasure, though certainly not for its high art value.” A soft beeping sound from the navigation console caught Samantha’s attention and she turned to look what it was. The runabout’s proximity alert indicated that they should drop out of subspace, as they were nearing Starbase Bragg. “We’ve made good time, V’lek,” Samantha announced. “We’re nearing Bragg and should be docking there in an hour.” Even though V’lek was excited at the notion of leaving the tiny runabout, realising that part of his raised emotions was because of all the coffee he consumed, he was somewhat wishing that he and Samantha could’ve spent some more time chatting to each other: it has been ages since he had a confidant and, even though he knew that they had a long way to go before thinking of each other as friends, he felt that they made a solid start on the runabout. = --------------------------------- Discover Yahoo! Get on-the-go sports scores, stock quotes, news & more. Check it out!