[JP] Lt. Commanders Marshall, Reynolds & Adea - Bait and Switch (Part II)
Quinn Reynolds
((Main Shuttlebay, USS Gorkon))
The Type-9 shuttle touched down on the deck, and the tractor beam guiding it in snapped off. Transporters would have been quicker, but the question hadn’t even come up; Erin and Jo knew their friend well enough to arrange the shuttle, and the conversation flowed easily enough that the ride passed in no time at all. Genkos was touched by their thoughtfulness, although he had been improving with his distrust of transporters, he still preferred the relative predictability of the shuttlecraft.
Sat in the pilot’s seat, Erin powered down the small craft, the thrum of the EPS fading into silence. She tapped the controls and while she spun in her chair to face Jo and ’Kos, the hatch ramp lowered with a smooth, low whine. Jo was already on her feet, leaning over the operations console, looking out of the small viewscreen at the other shuttlecraft in the ‘bay.
E. Reynolds: Well, here we are.
Genkos beamed a smile that he didn’t quite feel; there was quite a lot of emotional baggage between himself and the ship they were now boarding. He’d run away from it, metaphorical tail between his legs, and it had become the boogeyman of many of his nightmares. There had been a faint bubbling of nerves in his stomach that had grown into a witch’s cauldron of simmering evil, which was coupled with the return of the deep headache. Perhaps the sixth glass of sapphire wine had not been the best idea...
Adea: Well… here we are...
Marshall: Lena’s shuttlepod is still here. Black Viper is not.
Said through chewed lips as Jo looked to Erin, blonde eyebrow lifting with the meaning of it. But that wasn’t for her to be worrying about, Bear had made that much clear. Pulling on the strings of her good mood, she thwapped Genkos’ shoulder with the back of her hand as she headed out the back of the shuttlecraft and down the ramp.
Marshall: Come on, ‘Kos. You can’t keep your tribe waiting. ::Reaching for the back of her neck, she shot a bemused look to Erin as the two followed out.:: Did we forget something? I keep feeling like we forgot something.
E. Reynolds: I don’t think so? ::She stood up, patting the pocket where she had safely stowed her PADD and a and shook her head.:: We cleared our schedule for ‘Kos, and I don’t think we left anything behind.
Genkos clapped his hands together, his head instantly regretting the noise that it made.
Adea: So where first, Sto’Vo’Kor?
E. Reynolds: How about the Brew Continuum? Post-lunch coffee or tea sounds perfect right about now.
Finishing up the shutdown of the ramp and handover of the shuttlecraft, Jo fell into step beside Erin. Not usually given to public displays of affection, Jo brushed the back of her partner’s hand with her own, a fleeting hooking of fingers, glad of the time spent together more or less camping out on the nature decks and the rare chance to simply be.
Marshall: This will come as a great shock to you both, but I could go for some coffee.
Genkos raised an almost perfectly curated eyebrow - Jo… drink coffee? What was next? Corliss wearing wigs? Tali expressing a fondness for disembowelment? He shook his head in mock disbelief, also making a mental note to ask Addison if they could install a small Brew Continuum on the Resolution. Perhaps just a hatch. Or maybe he could speak to the planning head of DS224, the Res’ local station. That might be more realistic. Especially as, he now noted, one could possibly fit the entire Resolution in this shuttle bay.
Adea: ::Dryly:: That’s a new one.
Marshall: Unpredictabili-tea is one of my best traits. ::She flicked eyebrow with a wide grin, poking Erin in the liver where the punny t-shirt harboured the design.:: Now we have a fern grasp of the obvious, let’s shake like a tree and leaf.
Genkos couldn’t quite tell whether the pain he felt in his skull right then was just the headache making its vengeful return, or simply an adverse reaction to the seriously awful pun-ishment Jo was lashing them with.
Adea: Thank the four hells that your bark is worse than your bite, Jo.
Erin grinned, beaming away happily at her partner and her friend. She shook her head in despair, and yet was unable to stop herself from joining in.
E. Reynolds: We’re all guiltree of making some terrible puns here.
Genkos rolled his eyes so hard he almost blacked out before grinning like an absolute fool. It had been too long. No matter on how many ships he served, it seemed his heart would always be coming back to the Gorkon, even whilst his brain screamed bloody murder.
Adea: Please let’s stop; before we end up having too much fun.
Marshall: We’ve got thyme. There’s a walk to the Brew Continuum on here, not like the single step you have to make on the Resolution.
E. Reynolds: It’s too late, ‘Kos. You’ll just have to hope she drinks herself into a caffeine coma.
Marshall: After that sandwich, think again. Rooted firmly in consciousness, here.
Genkos rubbed his forehead in mock exasperation that was also a subtle way to check whether pressure on the front of his skull made the headache any worse. That was often a sign he was having a tension headache, normally caused by stress. This didn’t seem to be one of those, and he shot Erin a grin.
Adea: How you put up with her, I mean… the Commander, I don’t know.
Erin grinned at him as the double doors for the shuttlebay opened up, allowing the trio to leave and a flurry of engineering technicians to come pouring in, most recognising the familiar face of the former Chief Medical Officer and taking a moment to say hello before they moved on. Heading through the doors, the green carpeted corridor on the other side awaited them, lush with verdurous pile, like a garden path flanked on either side by the familiar bulkheads of the Gorkon’s colour scheme.
Genkos took a deep ocular inhale, taking in that familiar luscious green. It had been a while since he’d seen it, and in some ways he missed it. In others, he had hoped he’d never see it again. Not that he would ever admit it.
Marshall: There’s no one in your office yet, in case you fancied taking it over again. Staging a coup. Walk in there and declare Adea Law.
Adea: Really? Am I that ::he preened mockingly for a moment:: irreplaceable?
E. Reynolds: That, ::she shot him a sly grin,:: or they can’t figure out how to switch on the EMH.
Marshall: Precluding the possibility Tali has reprogramed the EMH to her likeness. Their personalities are similar enough no one would question it.
Genkos laughed; that was precisely the sort of thing she might do. In fact, it would be a good way of getting out of shifts; she could leave it on and nobody would be able to tell the difference.
Adea: I have to admit, I would have thought Tali and Lox would have made good on their threat to turn it into a ball pit.
E. Reynolds: I wouldn’t rule it out. Probably an official Sickbay Secret.
Marshall: At the press of a button, thousands of polymer balls drop from the ceiling hatch and flood the office, like plastic tribbles. ::Her hands slipped into her pockets as she considered it with a grin.:: I could see it happening.
Genkos pursed his lips at the mention of tribbles; he was far from their biggest fan. But then he grinned and took it in the spirit that it was meant.
Adea: Better than changing all my tea replicator patterns to that awful coffee stuff you drink, Jo.
The Brew Continuum was on the same deck, and only a short walk down the corridor — short being a relative term for those used to serving on board a Sovereign where corridors could stretch the full length of the saucer section, and many used the looping corridors for exercise rather than running stationary in the gym or taking up power in the holodeck.
Just thinking about coffee was making Genkos’ headache come back with a vengeance, and there was now a slow pulsating feeling behind his eyes; he was now at the “just replicate yourself a painkiller, damn you” stage of agony. Which, for a doctor, was a surprisingly high level.
E. Reynolds: ‘Kos... ::she peered at him, worry flickering in her eyes,:: are you OK?
The trio slowed to a stop in the middle of the corridor, moving out of the way of Peek wandering by, lost in his own world, though for a split second, Jo could’ve sworn he was wearing dungarees with a streak of grease across his cheek.
Genkos frowned very deeply for a moment as he stared, eyes unfocused, in Erin’s general direction.
Adea: ::Dazedly,:: I’m sure I’ll be fine, I just need to rest my eyes…
And with a sudden bolt of pain right through his brain, he fell to the floor like a marionette whose strings had just been cut. Jo was swift enough to slip her hand under his head before he hit the deck, Erin’s hand already moving to the combadge under her jacket.
E. Reynolds: Genkos!
Marshall: We’ll get you to Sickbay! Hopefully, this is—
TBC
--
Lt. Commander Jo Marshall
First Officer
USS Gorkon, NCC-82293
G239304JM0
&
Lt. Commander Erin Reynolds
Chief Engineer
USS Gorkon
T238401QR0
&
Lieutenant Commander Genkos Adea MD
Second Officer & Chief Medical Officer
USS Resolution
G239502GS0