owenlars1 - Tumblr blog

owenlars1 · 4 years

Text

Adventurer 002 - Hard Justice - Part 1

Adventurer hung motionless in the pitch black darkness of space above an enormous blue and green planet. A Starfleet team beamed down into an underground cavern a mile below its surface. The little team was made up of the away mission Commander, two armed crew members and Simon Tarses, the medical technician. "There's a lifeform just up ahead" the Commander said as he looked at his flashing tricorder. "This way" he motioned, and the team obediently followed him. "Here!" he indicated, just seconds later. He flashed the torch's bright beam in the direction of a dark corner of the cavern. A young man was laid back against the cave wall. He seemed to be holding his left arm. As the torch's light hit his face he appeared to be startled. Simon noticed he had something in his right hand. The young man panicked and threw the object at the strangers. Simon managed to see this in time and held his medkit bag up to his face in self defence. 'Thud' The object, a knife hit his bag and penetrated it slightly. "HEY, WE'RE ON YOUR SIDE!" the Commander shouted. The armed crew members brought out their phasers. "We're here to help you, please trust us!" The young man looked at them in disbelief. Then suddenly he fell onto his haunches holding his left arm tightly. "YOU'VE GOT WEAPONS!" he shouted back at the strangers through gritted teeth. "Just protection. In case you attack us again" the Commander replied. "Please believe us, we're here to help......you seem hurt. Will you let us help you?" The young man said nothing, but grimaced with the pain of his arm. The commander turned to Simon. "Are you alright?" he asked. Simon was looking at the knife still wedged in his bag. "I'm not hurt Sir" he replied. He removed the knife and one of the armed crew members took it. The commander addressed the young man again. "Your arm seems to be hurt. My friend here can help you." "I don't trust you" the young man replied. "Please, we're not your enemy. We realize the Tarmyn are attacking your people. We're from a world far away. Your people, the Gamelaians asked for help. We picked up the distress signal." The young man remained silent and held onto his arm. The commander signalled for his men to put their phasers away. "I'm Mark" he tried. "This is Theo, and Victor, and Simon" he said, pointing at his team members in turn. "What's your name?" Again, no reply. "Simon can help you with your arm. Maybe it's broken?" the commander continued. "Are you helping my people?" the young man called out all of a sudden. "Yes. We are...The Tarmyn have taken your capital city, but we're helping to take it back. It might take a long time, but we won't give up till your people are free." Still no reply but they could hear the young man groaning. "I'm coming over to you" the commander said. "No!" the young man replied. "I don't trust you" he muttered under his breath. "If you don't let us help you, you won't stand much of a chance if the Tarmyn finds you" the commander replied. "I DON'T TRUST YOU!" his resolute reply came again. The commander looked at his men. "We'll have to leave him. There are lots more who need our help. I'm picking up more lifesigns half a kilometre or so down this way." They turned to leave. "We can't leave him!" Simon protested. "He'll never survive!" "There's not much we can do if he won't let us help him." "Please Commander, let me try." The commander thought for a moment. "Ok. Victor, stay with Simon." "I think it's best if I'm by myself" Simon suggested. "No Simon. I'm not leaving you alone." "I'll be alright....just...keep a lock on me." "Ok. Venturer will keep a lock on you." He handed Simon a phaser. "I won't need that Sir" Simon replied assuredly. "Without it, you're not staying." The Commander was adamant. Simon took the phaser. "Ok" he agreed reluctantly. "As soon as you've finished here, return to the ship, with or without him. I'll request another medic to join us" the Commander informed him. "Be safe" he nodded and the team ran off down the narrow cavern passageway. Simon gave a nervous sigh and addressed the young man. "Hello...I'm Simon" he tried. "The others have gone...I have equipment here to help your arm. I want to help you. Please trust me." "You have a weapon" the young man replied. Simon put the phaser down on the ground. "I've put it down" he replied. He shone his torch so that the young man could see it on the floor. "Throw it away, further from you" the reply came. Simon did as he was told and threw it twenty or so metres away from the both of them. "Now, can I please come over and help you?" he tried again. There was a long pause. "Ok" came the faint reply. Simon gulped. Suddenly he felt like he was doing the exact wrong thing. What if the young man decided to attack him again? What he was doing was against every safety protocol he had learned at the academy. He plucked up courage and moved slowly towards the young man. "I'm approaching" Simon informed him. The last thing he wanted to do, was to startle him. A few metres away Simon saw that the young man had a rock in his hand. Simon stopped in his tracks. They gazed at each other intensely, trying to work out the next move the other one would take. "I..I..wont hurt you" Simon said nervously. "Please dont throw that at me." The young man remained motionless for a moment. "Can I trust you?" he asked, an air of desperation in his voice. Simon nodded. The young man slowly put the rock down on the ground next to him, but kept his hand on it. "Thank you" Simon said in relief. "In my bag I have equipment that will see what is wrong with your arm." Simon slowly edged his way nearer and went down onto his haunches next to the young man. "Thank you" he said again, looking the young man directly in the face. The young man only looked eighteen or nineteen. He had blood dripping down the side of his face from a cut on his forehead. Simon went to open his medkit bag and the young man tightened his grip on the rock. Simon stopped. He turned the bag around so the young man could see it properly. "You open it" Simon instructed. The young man tried but couldn't work out how to open the lock. "Like this" Simon showed him. He tried again and this time he opened it. Simon pointed to a piece of equipment. "That is a medical tricorder. It will tell me if your arm is broken or not. Could you pass it to me?" The young man gazed at it. He had never seen anything like it before. He looked up at Simon and back to the tricorder. Simon waited patiently. The young man slowly picked up the tricorder and hesitantly, he handed it to Simon. "Now it's going to flash lights" Simon informed him. "Don't be alarmed" Simon opened the tricorder and it came to life, beeping and flashing. Simon looked at the young man to see his reaction, but instead of being alarmed he seemed intrigued. "I'm going to put it near your arm now" Simon told him. The young man looked into Simon's eyes. Simon could tell the young man was taking a great leap of faith to allow this. He moved the tricorder slowly towards his arm. It's beeping suddenly changed pitch and the young man jerked a little. "It's ok" Simon reassured him. "That means your arm is broken. But we can fix it." "You can?" he asked in hope. Then added seriously "I want you to do it." Simon nodded. "Ok. I'll have to take you back to my ship though. I can fix your arm there." "No! My people are being slaughtered, I need to help them! Fix my arm here!" the young man exclaimed, his face contorted with anguish. "I can't fix it here" Simon said shaking his head. "Then leave me!" the young man exclaimed. "I won't leave my people." He tried to get up but the pain was too much for him and he fell back onto the rocks "You're in no fit state!" Simon protested. "Your arm is broken, you need help!" "My people need help! My arm is not important!" "Please!" Simon begged. "I want to help you....I want you to be ok." The young man stared at Simon, totally perplexed. "Why?" he asked. "I...like helping people. I like seeing people get well again. That's why I'm training to be a doctor" Simon replied fervently. The young man blinked in thought and seemed to relax a little. "So, will you trust me and let me fix your arm?" Simon asked. "It won't take very long." The young man said nothing but slowly nodded his head, wincing with the pain. "Thank you" Simon said relieved. "Toban" the young man spoke suddenly. "My name is Toban." Simon put his hand onto Toban's good shoulder. "You're going to be well, soon Toban" he said with a smile. "Commander, this is Medical Technician Simon Tarses. I'm with a civilian who's injured. Request permission to be beamed to main sickbay."

1 note · View note

owenlars1 · 4 years

Text

STAR TREK ADVENTURER - 001 - INITIATIONS

IF YOU HAVE CHANCE, PLEASE WATCH STAR TREK TNG SEASON 4 - EPISODE 21 - THE DRUMHEAD. THIS INTRODUCES US TO SIMON TARSES AND PROVIDES US WITH A PARTIAL BACKGROUND. I FOUND HIS CHARACTER INTERESTING AND HAVE MADE HIM A MAIN CHARACTER IN ANOTHER STAR TREK SERIES - ADVENTURER ALL COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED AND WELCOME

Adventurer - 001 - Initiations

The large vacuum doors hissed open and crewman Simon Tarses, newly appointed medical technician of the Galaxy-class starship Adventurer, stepped into Main sickbay, his hand tightly gripping the strap of his medkit shoulder bag. He was both excited and nervous as he walked through the oval room which buzzed with the noise of the medical staff, who were dispersed into small groups throughout it. He looked about him at the impressively sophisticated instrumentation. Adventurer boasted, along with other superiorities, the largest and most advanced sickbay of any starship ever built. This was one of the reasons why Simon had applied for the position. Yet he hadn't dreamed of actually attaining it, not after the incident on board the Enterprise which he feared would end his starfleet career. He approached a small group of staff who were engaged in an animated discussion. "Excuse me, please" he said politely. A young woman turned to face him. She had short light blonde hair and a very round pretty face. She said nothing but gave him a warm smile. Simon felt his cheeks burn as he blushed crimson red. "Um...I..I'm looking for Doctor Richards," he stammered. The young woman continued to smile at him, studying his neat symmetrical features, his little pointed ears and his perfectly groomed dark hair. "Yes, we're all waiting for his arrival" she said suddenly. "He wanted to address us altogether. Shouldn't be long now, " she reassured him. "Thank you" Simon replied and gave an awkward smile. "No problem" she said, returning his smile. She turned to face her friends and continued her conversation. Simon walked over to the sickbay's office where about half a dozen or so medical staff were patiently queued. At the desk sat a female medical officer who appeared to be part-human, part-ktarian. She was uploading duty rosters from the medical database into each of their PADDs. Simon decided to join the queue, and as he did so, the vacuum doors hissed open once more. All heads turned as Dr. Richards entered the room. "Sorry I'm late folks!" he apologized quite cheerfully, and made his way to the top end of the bay, where a work station was positioned just outside his office. The noise in the room died down as he turned to face his audience. Simon noticed that the middled aged doctor had a very friendly, yet careworn face, as if he had been hiding some great secret. "Thank you all for coming" he began, "and welcome to Adventurer's Main Medical bay. I'm Doctor Richards and this is Medical Officer Luvena Kryllus, " he said pointing to the woman who had been uploading the data, and now stood at the office entrance. She nodded in response but her expression remained guarded. "Please don't hesitate to come and see either of us at any time if you need help or advice" he said reassuringly. "Now," he continued "as you know, Adventurer is one of the finest Galaxy-class starships of our time. I assure you that you are a small percentage of the starfleet applicants, so well done to all of you for attaining your positions here." He gave a noticeably nervous gulp. "Now, the doctors who will serve as heads of the auxiliary medical bays are Doctor Dakus Tolan of bay two, Doctor Oben Brax of bay three and Doctor Ursula Hunter of bay four." The Betazoid, Bolian and Terran born doctors all nodded as they were announced. "Now as you know" he continued, " Main Medical Bay is on deck two, whereas bays two, three and four are situated on decks eight, fourteen and twenty-one respectively. Only Main Medical bay will be operational twenty four hours. The auxiliary bays will normally be operational for around six hours a day, but they will all be manned in the event of a crisis. Now does anyone have any questions?" A young man from a boisterous group of crewmen put his hand up. "If we're just a small percentage of the applicants" he said, "how did Maxwell Prince get his position?" The room broke out into vivacious laughter. "Thanks very much!" retorted crewman Prince as he folded his arms. Maxwell Prince had been a notorious joker back at Starfleet Academy, and not many took him seriously. No one guessed that he would pass the training, let alone obtain a position on a starship. "I'm sure he must have done something right" Doctor Richards replied light-heartedly. "Now, does anyone have any sensible questions?" A murmur of laughter circled the room once more. The young woman who had spoken to Simon put up her hand. "Dr Richards" she asked, "is it true Adventurer is going to be exploring the Enigma Zone?" The room quietened to a complete hush. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to dicuss that.." he said hesitantly "...but I believe you will be informed when the Captain briefs you this afternoon at 14.00hrs." An atmosphere of apprehension subdued the room. No one had any more questions. "Ok, well thank you for coming" Dr Richards continued. "If you have not yet obtained your duty roster from Miss Kryllus then please do so...and if you can, please be at your posts at least fifteen minutes before your first shift. I look forward to getting to know all of you soon." With that he moved from the workstation, mopping his brow and sought to catch up with the three head doctors. The queue for data uploading resumed and a moment later, Simon stood in front of Miss Kryllus. He handed her his PADD and she began to upload it. Monitoring the upload she caught sight of the name on the screen. Impulsively she glanced up at Simon, clearly disturbed. "Tarses" she said, almost under her breath but loud enough for Simon to hear. Aware of his attention she raced her eyes back to the screen, and quickly pulled herself together. A few seconds later the upload was complete and she handed over the portable device. "Here you are Mr Tarses", she said as aloof as possible, but keeping her eyes cast down. "Your duties begin at 09.00 hours tomorrow morning." Simon moved from the queue and looked at his PADD.

REPORT TO DOCTOR RICHARDS: MAIN MEDICAL BAY - 09.00 HRS it read.

Simon was a medical technician. At least that was what his position on board the Enterprise had been. He was not sure exactly what his position was to be on Adventurer. His letter of acceptance had been non too specific. Still, he had been glad to have been accepted at all. He turned to leave but a hand on his shoulder halted him and he sensed someone peering over at his PADD. "Hey, what time does your duty start?" a voice asked. It was Maxwell Prince. Simon did not know him - Max was fresh from the academy. "Um, 0900hrs" Simon replied. "0900!" Max exclaimed. "How did you manage that? I start at 0500! I hate early mornings!" Simon went red and felt a little awkward. "I..." he began. "Hey, it's not your fault" Max interupted. "Anyway, I suppose it doesn't matter. It's dark in space, whatever time you get up!" Max smiled warmly, amused by his own joke and held out his hand. "I'm Max" he said, "but I guess you know that already" he added, suddenly looking a little embarrassed. "Simon" Simon responded nervously, shaking Max's hand. "Simon Tarses." "Nice to meet you Simon Tarses" Max said cheerily. "Say, do you fancy meeting up later in the mess hall for a drink? Say..18.00hrs?" Simon gulped. "Um...well, I..." he began. "Don't worry if you can't..." Max shrugged. "I..I'll catch up with you again." His broad smile diminished a little - he was used to being refused - and he walked off, backing into Miss Kryllus' work station as he did so. Simon watched him leave through the vacuum doors and gave a sigh. He had always found it difficult meeting new people - he feared he would be rejected before the other person really got to know him. His fear stemmed from his Romulan heritage, given away by his little pointed ears. They had been the source of much ridicule throughout his young life back on Mars colony, and since the incident on board the Enterprise, fear of his reputation preceding him had only compounded his anxiety. Before he arrived on Adventurer he had decided that it would be best to keep to himself as much as possible. The less people he knew the less he would have to confess. He felt a little guilty now though because Max had been friendly and despite his smile he had sensed Max's disappointment. There was something about Max that was very open and sincere, and he now wished he had been brave enough to accept his offer. As he thought, his eyes fell upon Doctor Hunter, the female Head Doctor of medical bay four. She appeared to have been crying and Doctor Richards was handing her a handkerchief. Doctor Richards put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her and said something, but Simon couldn't make out what it was. She wiped her eyes, smiled bravely and after a few more words from him, she headed to the doors and exited. Dr. Richards turned around in Simons direction, worry written all over his face. Their eyes met and Simon quickly looked down with embarrassment, feeling as if he had been spying on the two of them. He decided he had better go, and turned to exit. He was halted in his tracks though by Dr. Richards. "Mr Tarses?" Dr Richards inquired. "Yes, Sir" Simon replied. "Good to finally meet you Simon." They shook hands. "Me, Sir?" Simon asked quizzically. "I should explain" Dr Richards continued, "I wanted to meet with you as soon as I could." He looked around him. "Perhaps we should go into my office." He pointed to Simon to lead the way. Simon was suddenly overcome by an overwhelming feeling of apprehension. He imagined he was going to get a dressing down. They entered the office. It was quiet inside, the noise of the medical bay kept out by the plexi-glass walls. Dr. Richards noted the look on Simon's face. "I don't mean to alarm you, Simon" Dr Richards said. "I just wanted to say that I have been informed of your past history on the Enterprise and as far as I'm concerned, that's where it belongs. I've spoken to Captain Picard and Dr Crusher and both of them couldn't recommend you highly enough. But I also wanted to add that I know how people can be and to let you know that if you have any problem in regard to this, any at all, that I will unswervingly support you. I will not tolerate injustice or prejudice. I view all of my staff with the highest regard, some of them I even consider as family. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know, so that you felt you could always approach me, at anytime for any reason." It was a heartwarming speech and Simon felt a lump in his throat. Only his parents had ever given him support like this and it was a great relief to know that someone was on his side. "Thank you" he replied. "I appreciate that, most sincerely. And I assure you, Sir, that I will never give less than my best. I won't let you down." Dr. Richards smiled warmly. "I know you won't Simon" he said softly. "So, when is your first shift?" "0900 hrs tomorrow morning, Sir" "I look forward to working with you, Mr Tarses." "Likewise Sir." "Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I have so many people to see." They exited the office, Dr Richards striding off towards more medical personel. Simon exited medical bay with a smile on his face. He hadn't felt so good in a long time, not since he had first heard of his acceptance. Having picked up his belongings from the cargo bay holds, he headed for his quarters on deck twelve. As the door opened he had to pause with surprise. Were these his quarters? He checked his PADD. Yes, the PADD confirmed it. He entered the room, looking about him, still in disbelief. Surely these were the quarters of an officer or even the Captain? They were certainly much larger than his quarters on board the Enterprise had been. He put his bags down and walked over to the large plexi-glass window which afforded a captivating view of the planet Jupiter below. The immense orange globe hung majestically in the pitch black of space; its huge red spot glowing with activity. Simon pulled a chair up to face the window and reclined. "Computer." It beeped in readiness. "Dim lights...and play Albinoni's adagio." It was Simon's favourite piece of music. The lights dimmed and the noble melody began to play, adding to the ethereal beauty of Jupiter's backdrop. I can hardly believe its fourteen and a half thousand miles away he mused to himself. It just doesn't seem real. In his own little world he soon lost track of the time, and as Shostakovich's second movement of Piano concerto No.2 ended, he peacefully nodded his head and fell fast asleep. He was awoken by a familiar voice and it took him a few seconds to realize that the voice wasn't coming from someone in his room. It was coming over the loudspeakers and it was Captain Isaacs voice! "Oh no!" Simon said to himself, realizing he should have met in cargo bay three with all of the other staff. As he hurried out of his room and towards the turbo lift he managed to catch bits of Captain Isaac's speech over the tanoid - congratulations on selection, the names of the senior staff, something about turbo lift 4 being out of operation? He now stood outside cargo bay three, and as the doors hissed open, over 400 crewmen turned their heads to see who had arrived late. Simon felt like he had been stabbed by hundreds of pairs of eyes and his cheeks began to burn with embarrassment. He instantly wanted to walk back out again but quickly decided to slip in at the back of the assembly. Slowly, all eyes began to face forward again - except one pair to his immediate right. He turned his head slightly- it was the girl whom he had spoken to in medical bay, and she was grinning at him again. As they both looked forward, Captain Isaac's rambling suddenly became more interesting. "Now, I can confirm the rumours of a mission to Sector 28404, more commonly known as the Enigma Zone as being true. Some of you may have heard of the peculiar cases of the crew onboard the Strider, when it traversed the zone, almost forty years ago. No starfleet vessel has been near that sector ever since. Adventurer's first mission will be to explore this sector and to locate any sources of these effects. Of course, we are much better protected than the Strider, and to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Nevertheless extreme caution will need to be demonstrated at all times. Adventurer will leave space dock shortly at 1500hrs and E.T.A. at Sector 28404 will be in four days and 6 hours time. In that time, our main priority will be for all sections to prepare as much as possible; all sections will be given further instruction by their heads before duty shifts. Adventurer is scheduled to stay in Sector 28404 continuously for three months, unless circumstances dictate otherwise. In two weeks, we are to be joined by Adventurer's sister ship, Explorer. I have full confidence in this crew, and that Adventurer will return with every success. Thank you." As crewmen began to file out of the cargo bay, Simon could feel eyes on him again. "So, did you fall asleep?" the girl to his right asked, half joking, half concerned. Simon blushed and felt foolish. "Yes" he grinned with embarrassment. She smiled at Simon, a little curious and already fond of this shy crewman. "I'm Lori" she said, holding out her hand. "Simon" Simon replied, a little awkward with his handshake. "So, which bay will you be working in?" she asked. "Bay 1" "Ah, with Doctor Richards. I'm jealous" she added with a smile, observing his reaction. A friend of hers approached. "Are you coming Lori?" she asked. "Well, bye Simon. See you around" Lori said, as they walked off together.

After a delicious meal of roast chicken and vegetables, courtesy of the replicator, Simon sat in his chair by the window in his quarters and reflected on his day. Adventurer had overwhelmed him. He couldn't wait for the adventure to begin and to start travelling the stars. He wondered what it was going to be like to work for Dr Richards. He had seemed friendly, and caring too - almost a father figure, Simon decided. Look how he had helped Dr Hunter when she had been crying. Why though had Dr Hunter been crying? What could have possibly upset her? Perhaps he would never know. And then there was the enigmatic Miss Kryllus who never seemed to smile. Why had she seemed so flustered when she read his name? Did she know about him, about his past, his mistake? But how could she? Then there was Lori. She seemed nice but he couldn't quite work out if she was being friendly or just enjoyed teasing him. She smiled a lot though. He was certainly glad she had been there in the cargo bay after his highly embarrassing entrance. Lastly, there was Max. Simon remembered how everyone had laughed at him, and yet, he didn't seem to be that bad a person. Max had been quick to jump to the conclusion that Simon hadn't wanted to join him. Perhaps Max needed a friend? He looked at the time, it was 18.30 hrs. "Computer" he prompted, "State the whereabouts of Ensign Max..um...Maxwell Prince." "Ensign Maxwell Prince is in the mess hall" it replied, in its monotone voice. Simon wasn't quite sure what to do. Maybe Max had gone with some other friends, and Simon was a little apprehensive of meeting lots of people. Perhaps he could go and sit somewhere quiet in the mess hall first, just to assess the situation? What if Max though called him over to meet everyone?..... He almost decided not to go, but somehow he felt it was right to make the effort. He didn't have to stay long...it had been a long day after all. The mess hall doors hissed open and Simon entered the large crescent-shaped room. It was quiet and the main lights were subdued. The blue light of the bar bathed most of the room and cast its ambient glow onto the few who sat at the tables. They were mostly in twos and threes, but at the front of the room, near one of the large windows sat a lonely figure.....it was Max. Simon walked up to the bar and ordered a drink. He sat on the edge of a bar stool and looked over to the slumped figure, wondering what he was going to say. Max's figure didn't move much. Maybe he shouldn't disturb him? But then again Max had asked him to come. The barman served Simon his drink. He took a sip of it, and then suddenly decided to take the bull by the horns. He walked over to the lonely figure a little nervous. "May I join you?" he enquired, approaching Max from the side. Max looked up quickly and almost knocked his own drink over. He hadn't heard Simon approach. "Simon Tarses!" he declared, startled. Simon stood politely, waiting to be invited. "Please, join me" Max said earnestly. Simon sat down to Max's right, he felt a little awkward. Although Max smiled, sadness was evident in his eyes. "Are...are you ok?" Simon asked him worriedly. Max looked down, contemplative, then back up at Simon. "I'm ok" he said, not very concincingly. Then he added "I'm really glad you came." Simon gave an awkward smile. "I wanted to come, when you asked me" he explained. "It's just that...I'm not very good at..well, making friends and socializing." Max pointed at the empty chairs around him. "Apparently, me neither" he said. "I asked about twenty people, you know. So I really am grateful you came." "I guess everyone was tired" Simon tried. "You know, they wanted to be ready for their first shift maybe?" Max nodded. "Yeh, that must be it!" he said with a wry smile, knowing it wasn't. "So, Simon Tarses" he continued, "I don't remember you from the academy. Have you already served in the federation?" Simon gulped and his stomach churned. He knew he would eventually have to explain his past, but he wasn't ready for it so soon. He gave a nod and winced, unable to hide his feelings. He took a deep breath. "It's a long story..." he said. "I..I made a bad mistake." Max's eyebrows shot up."What did you do?" he asked, intrigued as to what this perfectly quiet crewman could have done to look so worried. Simon didn't want to tell, and yet he felt he could trust Max somehow. "I...lied on my application to Starfleet" he confessed. "I said I was a quarter Vulcan...when I'm a quarter Romulan." He paused, reliving the dreadful moment on board the Enterprise when he had been exposed. "I can understand why you said that" Max replied thoughtfully. "People can be very quick to judge....I can vouch for that." "You...you don't mind...that I carry Romulan blood I mean?" Simon asked, his face contorted with concern. Max put his hand onto Simon's shoulder. "Why should I?...all I know, is that you were the only one who came tonight. That puts you pretty high up in my estimation." Simon's apprehension melted. It impressed him how Max didn't seem to have any prejudice at all, which was quite rare, even in this enlightened generation. "When I first joined you...you looked unhappy" Simon tried cautiously. He wouldn't normally ask something like this of anyone, but he felt Max had already proved himself a friend. If Max had a problem, then he wanted to help him. Max looked down. "It's my father" Max answered presently. "Nothing I do seems to please him. I... received a message from him, not long ago. You'd think he'd be proud but..." he couldn't finish the sentence, disappointment written all over his face. "I'm sorry" Simon offered. "He should be proud, that you were assigned here I mean." Max looked down. It was just too painful at the moment to even think about. He wanted to change the subject. "Look at us, Simon!" Max declared out of the blue . "Our first day on board the finest starship in the business, adventure just around the corner, and here we are feeling sorry for ourselves! We should be celebrating!" Simon was surprised by Max's sudden change. "I am excited about being on board" he smiled. "It's an amazing ship!" "Yeh, we're really lucky to be here!...I was surprised though, to be chosen I mean." "Me too" Simon agreed. "After what I did, I'm really grateful." Max smirked. "Well, like Doctor Richards said, I suppose we must have done something right!"

4 notes · View notes