The Ensign stopped in front of a door and knocked.
From beyond the door came a surprisingly feminine voice, "Enter."
The Ensign opened the door and took a few steps in. "Lieutenant Mejelle is here to see you Ma'am."
"Ah, yes. Show her in would you?"
The Ensign snapped a salute, about-faced and waved her in as he left the room.
"Thankyou Ensign," Gwyn murmured to him as he passed her.
"Uh... You're welcome Ma'am," he blushed and replied uncertainly.
Gwyn entered the room and closed the door firmly. "Lieutenant Gwynneth Mejelle reporting for duty, Ma'am," she said after she saluted.
"Please, have a seat, did you want a drink?" Commodore Townsend asked as she walked to a sidetable.
"Umm... Thankyou," Gwyn smiled and shook her head at the response of the Ensign as she sat down.
The Commodore walked back to her desk, two drinks in hand, and passed one to Gwyn. "You shouldn't lead him on, really."
Gwyn's eyes widened in surprise, "But I wasn't leading him on. Merely thanking him for guiding me here. Plus if I ever work with him, it's more likely that he'll willingly work with me now." She sipped at her drink and stared back at the Commodore.
"True," Commodore Townsend conceded. "But what makes you think that you may have to work with him?"
"Well," Gwyn began, "presumably since I've been transferred to Galactic Affairs, I'll be here for quite some time, and the Ensign won't be transferred for at least six months, because Ensigns always spend at least a year at their first posting."
The Commodore nodded, "Fair enough. And with that in mind, I assume you want to know what you've been transferred to Galactic Affairs to do."
Gwyn nodded her agreement as she took another sip of her drink.
"Well, what you've been transferred here for is a rather complicated issue, and command wanted someone of low rank," Commodore Townsend frowned, "they said they wanted someone expendable, in case the mission was compromised or failed."
Gwyn raised an eyebrow at the Commodore's frankness, "So am I-" she paused briefly as she was overcome by a wave of lethargy, "... How could the mission be compromised?" Gwyn frowned. That wasn't the question she was going to ask, but she couldn't remember the question she was going to ask.
Commodore Townsend stared at her carefully, "Are you feeling okay?"
"Umm... I think-" Gwyn tried to stand up and fell back with an "Oof!" She peered at the Commodore in the dimming light, "Wha- What's happening? What about the mission?"
Commodore Townsend came around her desk and patted her on the shoulder, "It's okay, you'll find out later." She continued on to the door as Gwyn sank into unconsciousness.
*****
Gwyn groaned wordlessly as she regained consciousness, opened her eyes and stared at the dome of ice close above her face. She blinked a few times, then rubbed her eyes with her hands. The dome was still there. Looking around a bit she spied a touchpad. She poked at it with her finger and the ice cracked and began to recede, letting in the cold air from outside the chamber.
She sat up and looked around the sparse chamber. Looks kind of like any other medical facility, she thought to herself as she swung her legs out of the hibernation cocoon and slipped to the floor. Gwyn gasped. The floors were colder than those of the usual medical facility were she amended. Some clothes would definitely be nice if the rest of the place was as cold as this room, and... She pondered what she was missing as she rubbed her face. Her glasses! Gwyn looked around frantically and spotted them placed above where her head had been in the hibernation cocoon. She snatched them up and hastily jammed them on. Gwyn looked around again and sighed with relief, no one to see her.
She straightened her glasses and started opening the assorted drawers and doors in the room. Nothing, nothing, nothing, aha! In a cupboard she found her uniform, all neatly folded with the jacket hung up. Strangely, her pistol was there also, yet she hadn't had it when she had blacked out in the Commodore's office. Gwyn frowned at this as she took off the hybersuit and began pulling on her uniform. It wasn't doing much to stop the cold, but it felt better to be wearing her own clothes again. She slipped her pistol into its holster and exited the room.
Gwyn stood in the corridor and looked in both directions. Well, she thought to herself, which way now? Both directions looked equally unappealing, so it was back to random choice. She turned right and walked along the corridor.
"Hello?" Gwyn noticed a tightness in her throat as she called out. Something to ease the soreness would be useful, she thought to herself.
There was no indication that anyone had heard her, "Is anyone around?"
She continued walking along the corridor until she reached an intersection. Nothing, nothing, noth- wait! Gwyn peered down the left corridor, there was someone walking away from her.
"Hello? Can I talk to you?" she called down the corridor to the figure. The person turned, looked towards her and started walking back. The echo of the heels of her shoes on the metal floor became louder as Gwyn started jogging towards the person so as to close the gap faster.
Gwyn stopped suddenly when she saw the man reach to his side for what appeared to be a weapon, and reached for her own pistol, "I don't think we should be pulling weapons on each other. How about we keep our hands nice and far away from our guns or put them on the ground or something?"
"Sounds fine to me," he replied, slowly placing his weapon on the floor.
She followed suit and slowly pulled her pistol from its holster, placed it on the ground and resumed advancing towards the man. Her eyes widened in surprise as she suddenly recognised who she had found.
"Ohmigawd... Major Clay Allison?"
"That would be me, and you are?"
Gwyn saluted, "Lieutenant Gwynneth Mejelle, Int- Err... Assigned to Galactic Affairs, sir."
Her brain was racing. Oh wow. Talking to Clay Allison, hero of the Collective. Victor of the Last Battle. Oh wow. All attempts to remain professional failed her. She raced up to him and shook his hand.
"Oh, Major Allison! I've read all about you, I was assigned to the section that made sure nothing classified was leaked when you sold off the movie rights to the Last Battle. Some of that classified stuff, wow! The movie was rather disappointing because it lacked that stuff. But, wow! I never thought I'd meet you. I heard you were going offworld. Can I have your autograph?" Gwyn panted for breath after her outburst, then blushed as reason prevailed over fangirlish excitement.
"Uh... Sorry sir, what're your orders?"
|