=Captain's Quarters=
=U.S.S. Lancelot=
Captain Trent Rodgers sat in a dark corner of his quarters, playing his
guitar to an old earth song 'Paint it Black' from a classic band whose
music he preferred from that era. He was wearing one of that band's
t-shirts as he played.
When he heard the chime of the door, it caught Trent off guard.
'Who could that be this time at night?' he thought, knowing that it was
at least 0100 hours.
"Enter," he said, remaining focused on his music.
The door swished open and Rick entered.
"Why are you up so late?" Trent asked, looking down at his fingers
gliding over the strings.
The Lancelot was returning to the war zone after weeks of upgrades. Her
first mission back was to transfer replacement crew and needed supplies
to UNITY.
"Could say same to you," Rick replied, looking around the spartan room.
"I haven't slept well in years," Trent responded. "Now back to my original
question."
"No reason," Rick said, sitting on a sofa near where Trent was sitting.
"You certain of that?"
Rick nodded.
Trent looked at his younger brother before leaning the guitar against the
wall off to his side.
"OK, what's on your mind?" Trent asked.
"Nothing. Thought I stop by."
"At this time of night. I doubt that."
"Nothing on my mind. Not really."
"Nothing? Something's bothering you Ricky. Now, if you want to tell me,
then you have my undivided attention. If you don't, then you don't have
to say anything."
"I wish you not call me that," Rick said.
"Call you what?"
"Ricky. It sounds ...," Rick looked down at the deck.
"It sounds what?" Trent said.
There was a short pause.
"Childish," Rick finally said.
"Nonsense. I've been calling you Ricky since we were ... children."
"Exact ... exactly. It a child's name. I not child."
"I ... am ... not' a child," Rick slowly corrected himself.
"No one said you were," Trent said, leaning forward. "I call you Ricky
because that's all I've ever called you. And I don't think your a child. Annie
calls you Uncle Ricky all the time, and I'm sure she doesn't think you're a
child. Now, tell me what's really bothering you."
Rick just stared off at nothing in particular. Trent leaned back and stared at
him.
"Does it have anything to do with Commander Santos?" Trent asked,
referring to his CEO.
Rick looked at Trent. After a long pause, Rick nodded.
"I ask him if any help needed. He say no. I then find out five other engineers
on board being sent to UNITY. He give them something to do. Three of them
work on reactor. Other two work on EPS conduits on Deck 12. I not know why
Santos lie to me."
Trent smiled.
"And you think its because Santos doesn't trust you."
"No, its ... I not know."
"Santos approached me a few hours ago, just before Alpha shift went off duty,
and explained to me why he didn't give you anything to do. For whatever
reason, he felt he needed to clarify things with me. It's not that he doesn't
trust you. It's just that there really isn't anything for you to do. Santos has his
department in pretty good shape. Those other engineers were given mundane
jobs ... jobs that he didn't think someone of your experience and rank should
have to do."
"You believe him?" Rick asked.
"Yeah, I do. I trust him. He was worried that he had somehow upset you, which
I suppose he had every right to be. But he made it clear to me that was not his
intention. He respects you, probably a helluva lot more than he does me. And
that's saying a lot because I'm a great guy and even better captain."
"I just ... I just feel stupid sometimes," Rick shook his head.
"Well, you're not," Trent started to get serious. "And you need to get off this
self-pity kick you seem to be on. I know you've been through a lot. You've been
through hell. I understand you feel a little ... I don't know ... different. But,
you're a Starfleet officer. This is not how an officer acts. This is not how you act.
So, you better get your act together before we arrive at Starbase UNITY.
Understood."
Rick nodded.
"Good, because this is also not how the father of my future niece or nephew
acts," Trent smiled before standing. "Now, I'm going to try and get some sleep.
I suggest you do the same. We'll be arriving at UNITY around 1800 hours
tomorrow. Or is that today? Either way, it's going to be a busy day."
Rick stood as well.
"Thanks," Rick said.
"For what?"
Rick walked out of Trent's quarters without answering.
Commander Rick Rodgers
Engineering Officer
Starbase UNITY
and
Captain Trent Rodgers (npc by Rick)
Commanding Officer
U.S.S. Lancelot
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