[sb118-khitomer]Lieutenant Charles Matthews - Déjà Vu
Shakeel Hussein
((Holodeck One, Deck Five, USS Khitomer – enroute to the Lagoon Nebula))
The turbolift journey from the Conference Room down to the Holodeck was a relatively short one, but it also seemed to last for the perfect amount of time. It was long enough to let Charlie call down to the recently recruited Tactical Officers and instruct them to meet him and Ezra in Holodeck One, but not long enough for there to be awkward silences between him and Lieutenant Zerva. Now the pair of them made their way along the corridor of deck five, inching towards Holodeck One step by step; the Holodeck that Matthews didn’t really want to see again, not just yet anyway. The sensation of déjà vu was starting to creep into the back of his mind; the Lagoon Nebula, the Lattice Alliance, Holodeck One. The dreaded trifecta that he was really starting to despise. After his last visit though, he was hoping that the smell had gone by now at least.
As they shimmied past a few Officers going in the opposite direction, his Trill companion eventually broke the silence.
Zevra: I was thinking it was good we had those drinks on shore leave instead of now ::chuckles:: I’d hate to see how’d we perform on duty trying to lead our respective teams.
Charles: You’re probably right. ::smirks:: Besides, I threw up the last time I was in here, being alcohol-free will hopefully help me keep the contents of my stomach within my body.
oO In theory. Oo
Zevra: That’s a good thing. Oh and by the way, I still have that bottle of coffee brandy stashed away in security. Maybe we can celebrate after this is over. Assuming we make through in one piece, which I’m hoping we do.
He brow crinkled together for a split second as he pondered on Ezra’s words. What exactly would they be celebrating? Just being alive? Charles had died once before, so he could see how it was definitely something worth commemorating, but, in his humble opinion, that would depend on the outcome of the upcoming mission; just as much as it would depend on if the ship, and crew, made it through it all in one piece. Was it worth celebrating if the mission was a success but the ship had lost a nacelle? Or if another member of the crew lost another appendage? Reasons to celebrate were not always black and white, though Matthews understood the sentiment and did his best to placate his colleague.
Charles: We’ll be fine, Ezra.
The collective “we”, the ship would be fine, Starfleet would be fine. Could Charlie confidently say that the crew could get through it all unscathed? The evidence - his ever-growing collection of Purple Hearts, injured crew members on both ships he had served on - it said the answer to that question was a no. His hope mirrored Ezra’s; he hoped that it would all be fine, but hope was a fragile thing to try and rely on.
Zevra: I’ll leave it up to you to decide if we crack it open or not.
Charles: ::smiles weakly:: We’ll play it by ear.
Turning the direction of his gaze away from Lieutenant Zerva, the smile faded as the pair of them neared two neat lines of Officers waiting outside of the Holodeck. Charles didn’t recognise roughly half of the waiting crew, all gold shirts underneath the black and grey of their uniforms, but he did recognise the contingent that had recently joined the Khitomer as part of the Tactical department, adding some numbers to the desperately weakened division of the ship. Seeing a lot of their faces made his heart sink almost as much as when Lieutenant Zerva had said that they’d be going back to the Holodeck; they all looked so young, the lack of wrinkles on their fresh faces only matched by the lack of pips on the collars of their undershirts.
Pearl: Sir, all security teams ready and reporting for duty.
Zevra: ::short nod:: Very Good Petty Officer Pearl.
Matthews turned towards the group of Tactical Officers as Ezra addressed Petty Officer Pearl, and he glanced at them one by one. He’d gone over their records with fine-toothed comb, he knew all of their strengths and weaknesses, all of their names, medical records, favourite colours, everything. He even knew that the disinterested look on Hayden Tanner’s face was not only irritating but probably because the jay-gee thought that whatever he was there for was a complete waste of his time.
Looking at the trio of Cadets that made up the end of the Tactical collection, concerned at how the Human Cadet Cruz and the Orion Cadet Shaylla had looks of nervousness etched across their young faces, he quickly raised his left hand towards them, his palm flat as he gestured.
Charles: At ease, everyone.
oO Except you, Tanner. You don’t need to be anymore at ease(!) Oo
Zevra: Do you think we should include Lieutenant Torado and their contingent of Marines? She was pretty helpful on the last mission and we could use all the help we can get.
He lowered his hand and turned back to Ezra. The creeping sensation of déjà vu suddenly grew in surges until it fully smacked Matthews across the back of the head. The Lagoon Nebula; check. The Lattice Alliance; check. Sencha radiation; check. Holodeck One; check. Alene Torado; check. Even his breakfast had been the same earlier that morning. If the ships systems suddenly failed, Charles would be fairly certain that the ship had passed through some sort of temporal anomaly.
Charles: ::shrugs:: I mean, she was great at getting me to Sickbay and then to deck fifteen…
He sighed.
Charles: I’ll see if she is about.
Zerva: Response
Lieutenant Matthews tapped at the gold and silver combadge emblazoned on the left side of his chest.
Charles: ::puts on an exaggerated French accent:: =/\= Lieutenant Torado. Zis is Old Money, come in please. =/\=
Charles turned to Ezra, allowing his accent to return to normal.
Charles: Inside joke, sorry.
Zerva: Response
Torado: Response
Charles: =/\= You’ll never guess where we are… and where the ship is going. Again. =/\=
Torado: Response
Matthews rolled his eyes and was fairly certain that the short Marine would know that he was.
Charles: =/\= Hm-hmm. Are you free? Lieutenant Zerva and I are at Holodeck One. How about you join us, and we make some actual progress this time? =/\=
Torado / Zerva: Responses
TAGS/TBC
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Tactical Officer
USS Khitomer NCC-62400
A240012CM1