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Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24, Chapter 25, Chapter 26, Chapter 27, Chapter 28, Chapter 29

Chapter 25

The two captains walk silently to the turbolift and stand rigidly inside until the doors close. Captain Gamble says, "I wasn't sure I would get through that. It took a lot of self-control that I wasn't aware I had to keep the tears back."

Captain Gastineau smiles and says, "I was very proud of you for keeping it together, but I can see the strain on your face. Keep it tight until we reach my ready room." She gives him a weak smile and then stares at the door.

The lift stops at the bridge and the two step out and begin walking towards his ready room. "Captain, the crew has returned to their stations and are awaiting orders," Commander Tajalle says.

"Very good, Commander, have we received orders from Fleet yet," he asks as they continue to walk.

"No sir, nothing yet," she responds.

"Good, then remain in orbit of Risa until we receive orders to do otherwise, we'll be in my ready room," he says and they step in and hear the door shut behind them.

He grabs Captain Gamble as she begins to sob and helps her to the chair in front of his desk. "I think that this needs something stronger than Earl Grey, Captain," he says as he goes to a drawer in the wall.

"I also received a bottle from the President when I took command, this is Andorian Whiskey, a somewhat more potent alcohol than the Aldebaran that you have," he says as he opens it and begins filling two glasses. He walks over to Captain Gamble and hands her a glass, as she looks at it he walks over and gets his glass and the bottle and returns to his chair behind his desk.

They both look at their glass and Captain Gamble manages a weak smile again, "You know I have a strong sense of Déjà vu', how about you?"

He laughs a little, "Yes, I seem to remember something like this once before, a different location and different circumstances but a wake indeed. That time we were lamenting what we thought would be the end of our careers, now we are lamenting the loss of a dear friend."

"To Jim, may his sacrifice keep the peace with the Nagilum for a very long time and may he always be remembered for his bravery and selfless act," she says and extends her glass towards Nathan's.

"Well said, to Jim," he says and they touch glasses and drink.

They gasp at the strength of the whiskey and then look at each other, "Yes, much stronger but doesn't make you cough like the other," Nathan observes bringing a smile to his friend across the desk.

"Hey, this isn't bad, kind of warms you up on the way down, but I like my room better," Juanita says in a teasing way.

Nathan sees the effect of the whiskey on his counterpart very quickly, he knows from experience, how quickly alcohol works on her when she is upset. They empty their glass and he pours another, they drink the second glass in silence and look at the bottle. He says, "You know, this got us in trouble the first time, I seem to remember a court-martial hearing and some days in the brig."

"We did learn how to appreciate different types of brigs," she says whimsically, "We found that the brigs on Earth were far more better, oh that sounded good."

They share another two glasses and begin to feel less like captains and more like drinking buddies in a bar. "Nathan, did you know that your ship looks like a giant arrow," she asks him.

"Well, at least it looks like something, yours is just there, not much of a shape at all," he says in retaliation.

"But mine goes faster than yours," she returns.

"Hah, they both go the same, they all stop at warp 9.99," he says as if he wrote the book on warp dynamics. Just as they are getting ready for another comparison, the chime on his door sounds, "What," he asks in an irritated voice.

D walks in and doesn't seem surprised to see the two obviously drunk captains in the ready room. "Commander Ison told me I would find you in this condition; we have received a communiqué from Fleet that Fleet Captain Boudjakdji will be contacting you in about 10 minutes. Do you think that you can keep some semblance of control while you speak to him or should I make an excuse and take the call myself," she says shortly.

Nathan looks at her strangely, "What are you talking about Commander? I am quite capable of taking a call from Captain Boudj, Boudjak, from Cherif."

"That's what I thought, I will speak to him," she says and begins to leave.

"D, I said that I will take it, pipe it in here when he is on the line," Nathan says with authority.

"Yes sir," she says without turning around and walks out.

"Well, that went well," Juanita observes.

"Oh, the nerve of these officers, yours calls over here and tells D that we are drunk and then D comes storming in here saying that she will talk to Cherif, because we are drunk. I can't believe the chances these two take with their position," Nathan says.

Juanita just laughs and leans back in the chair enjoying the feeling of the alcohol. His communicator beeps and he looks to the ceiling, "This is the captain."

D's voice comes across, "Captain, Fleet Captain Boudjakdji would like to speak with you and Captain Gamble."

"Put him through Commander," he says and straightens his shirt. His view screen on the wall glows and the image of Captain Boudjakdji appears.

"Captain Gastineau, Captain Gamble, very good work with the Nagilum, we have received a communiqué from them stating that they will no longer be of concern to us. Captain Gastineau, please accept my condolences for the loss of your officer, he will be missed in all of the fleet. Captain Gamble, thank you for taking the initiative and rescuing the crew of the Nathan Hale. Your ship has been a great help in this matter and all should be congratulated on a job well done." He pauses, and it becomes apparent to the two captains that he has noticed the bottle and glasses on the desk.

"Thank you Captain, we were only helping out our fellow members, ship people, friends, aah, our sister ship," Juanita stumbles trying to take his attention off of the bottle.

"Well, I see that I have interrupted a wake in progress, I just hope that the captains involved recall the last wake and its consequences," Cherif says looking at both captains and watching them cringe.

"Yes sir, we have, and are very aware of the possible consequences," Nathan states.

"Very good, then carry on. Wait, I almost forgot when I noticed the bottle. Both crews are being given 48 hours shore leave on Risa, to begin as soon as their captains are capable of sending in a report on the events that have just taken place. I can expect the reports by, oh, tomorrow at 1200 hours, correct," Cherif says.

"Yes sir," they both answer in unison.

"Excellent, then your crews begin shore leave at 1201 tomorrow, to return 48 hours later and report in. We will have your next assignments at that time. Have a nice time but remember the consequences of over-indulgence captains," Cherif says and his image is replaced by the IFT symbol.

"Well, that was productive, and to the point, don't you think," Nathan says.

"Yes, he is very subtle, 'you've had enough now go sleep it off', is what I heard under that comment," Juanita says.

"Very good advice I believe, Captain Gamble, I believe that we should take his advice and call it a night, we have a report to file in the morning," Nathan says.

"Good idea, I think I will just leave from here if you don't mind," Juanita says.

She taps her badge, "Captain to the Ulysses.”

The voice of Commander Ison comes across, "Ulysses here captain, did you receive the communiqué from Fleet Captain Boudjakdji?"

"Yes Commander, we did, please have me beamed to my quarters and you have the bridge until 0800 hours, standing by for transport," Juanita says and stands. "Until tomorrow Captain Gastineau," she says as she begins to dematerialize.

Chapter 27, Top of Page

Chapter 26

0800 aboard the Ulysses

Captain Gamble walks into her ready room and sits at her desk. She activates her screen and begins composing her report on the Ulysses’ part of the Risa situation.

Aboard the Nathan Hale

Captain Gastineau has been working on his report since 0730, looks at the time, and finds that he has been working on this for three hours. He stretches his neck, listens to the pops, and winces at the sharp pain. He stands up and orders some coffee and hears his door chime, “Come,” he snaps.

His first officer walks in, “Captain, are you planning on taking advantage of the shore leave?”

He sits down at his desk and sets his cup down, “D, I hadn’t even thought about it. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to spend some time on the surface instead of under it.”

D smiles and says, “Yes sir, spend some time under something more appealing, like a certain commander.”

“Thank you Commander, dismissed,” he says with mock irritation. He watches her leave and says, “Computer, open a private line to the Ulysses.”

Aboard the Ulysses

“Captain, there’s a message coming in from the Nathan Hale, marked private for Commander Ison,” Lt. Blair says.

All eyes turn to her, the captain says, “Commander, you can use my ready room.”

“Thank you sir,” she says and enters the captain’s room. She sits behind the captain’s desk and activates the view screen.

Nathan’s image appears, “Mandy, are you going to take shore leave on Risa?”

“I was thinking about it, I wanted to try one of those special rooms,” she says.

“Is that the room with the Jacuzzi in it and the Holo-suite,” he asks.

“Yes, that one, are you interested?” she asks him.

“I’ll meet you there at 12:02 pm,” he smiles and signs off.

Back to Chapter 25, Top of Page

Chapter 27

Captain Gamble finishes off her report and sends it to Cherif and President Haslage. She checks the time and sees that it is only 1100 hours and that she actually beat the deadline set by Cherif. As she steps onto the bridge, she decides that she would like to spend some time on the planet also.

“Commander Ison put me through the ship. This is the Captain, anyone that is eligible for shore leave, please make sure that you have coordinated your time with the quartermaster. Shore leave begins at 12:01 today and lasts 48 hours, please be at the beam-up point no later than 12:01 two days from now. That is all.”

Commander Ison walks up to the captain and says, “Captain, are you going to be taking shore leave?”

“Yes, I thought that I would take my husband down there. What about you Pam, are you going to take some leave,” the captain says.

“I’m not sure, but I’d like to speak to you in private please,” she says.

“Of course commander,” the captain says and walks to her ready room. When they walk in she says, “Have a seat Pam,” and walks over to her chair.

“Captain, this situation has shown me that we are in need of a ship’s counselor. I would like to request a transfer from first officer and move to ship’s counselor. I am sure that Mandy could fill the position of XO quite competently,” she says.

The captain leans back into her chair, and rubs her temple, “Pam, we’ve come a long way together, are you sure that this is what you want to do?”

Commander Gengo sits forward in her seat and says, “Yes sir, I feel that this is the place for me now. I have been thinking about this for some time.”

“Very well, commander, consider yourself relieved, you can take up your duties as ship’s counselor effective immediately,” the captain says in resignation.

The commander rises and says, “Thank you captain,” and walks out.

Captain Gamble stares at the door and after a time realizes that she has been staring for 15 minutes.

She taps her badge, “Commander Ison, report to my ready room immediately.”

“On my way,” comes across the overhead speaker.

The captain rubs her temples in pain and realizes that the commander is probably in her quarters packing for her shore leave. After a few minutes her door chime sounds. “Come,” she says and walks over to the replicator. “You had better sit down commander,” she says as she orders two glasses of champagne.

The captain takes the glasses off the platform and hands one to a very bewildered Lt. Commander. “Captain, I was getting ready to meet Nathan for shore leave, what is this all about,” she asks.

The captain raises her glass and says, “Here’s to the new first officer of the Ulysses, welcome to the right-hand seat.”

They touch glasses and start to drink as the toast sinks in to the commander. “What did you say?” she asks suspiciously.

“Congratulations, you’ve just been promoted and made the first officer of the Ulysses in one fell swoop,” the captain says.

Back to Chapter 25, Back to Chapter 26, Top of Page

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