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     Lt. SG Maiko D'rall |
It's not seeing a new civilization or experiencing the hypothetical - at best -, but the downtime you learn to treasure. Life actually seems to slow down, and you get not only the chance to dress your wounds and mourn the dead, but to also finally have the opportunity to be yourself. For that brief moment in time, you can let the universe pass you by. There are no enemies, no missions, no situations - just you, your crewmates, and the time to finally think about something other than your duty. - Excerpt from "For This I Get To Wear A Phaser?", Autobiography by Maiko D'rall --- The last year had been quite busy she decided, as she finished her own busywork and transmitted the crew reports to Commander Tal for review. Over a year, she reminded herself, fingering the pips on her collar unconsciously, allowing herself to finally relax slightly. Just over a year ago she had set foot on the ship, an idealistic refugee determined to have some part in helping liberate Reorsa... The approach had been difficult; she had exhausted the port thrusters while evading a damned Accursed ship in orbit, and the starboard ones were working itermitently at best as they had been scheduled for much needed maintenance. "Liberty Bell to Coronado - beginning final approach. Ah'm comin' in on damaged thrusters, so any help..." "Don't worry Liberty Bell - the deck officer will bring you in with the tractor beam. Just hang tight," rang the efficient yet friendly voice of then-Ensign Rachel Stackpole. The re-christening of the shuttle had been Morning Sunrise's idea. One of three Braids of the dozen or so people who had crammed into the overstressed shuttle, he had kept its occupants' minds on other matters than the dwindling fuel and rations by regaling them with his studies of history. One of his cords was old (as individual cords went) and had been a historian before joining his present Braid, studying the Churchill's history, and then when Coronado arrived, updating his knowledge with that supplied by Coronado. It was a little unusual hearing a Braid so versed in Terran history, and yet she was glad he was along. 'Liberty Bell' had been christened after an early Terran orbital vehicle, a part of Terra's earliest voyages into space. At the same time, it also suited their particular mission very well - all were eager to be free of the Pfhor occupation, and at the very least work to end it. They had ended it, though sadly too many hadn't seen it - including the Braids onboard. Morning Sunrise had disappeared when Coronado first encountered Xanadu along with the rest of the Braid onboard. What would it have said about the events that had happened since then? Or those to come? Xanadu still had a hand left to play, its secrets locked in skeletal remains and Alicia herself. The 'ghost' she had sworn she'd seen. Doubtless people were still trying to figure out the 'hows' of most of Xanadu's technology. The fourth chamber. One place she was determined not to risk going into again, she decided, the memory - no matter how 'unreal' it was now - of her crash coming to mind. She wondered how many of her crewmates would live to see the future. One for sure lay on his death bed in the sickbay, though from what little she knew of the Trill, apparently at least some part of the Admiral would live long - probably even longer than her. She would be there, she decided. Crash aside, she had no desire to die today - though apparently the Klingons, from what she had read, felt otherwise. Maybe she would finally meet one. Anything was possible when one was on Coronado apparently, and all because of a few words from her past in a system just barely 30-some-odd light years from where Xanadu was presently. The shuttle wobbled slightly as it entered the gravity field of the shuttlebay. Overloaded and underpowered, the craft simply couldn't hold its own, and despite best intentions, Maiko heard the port nacelle scrape along the deck with a horrible "SCREEEEEEE" before it mercifully stopped as the starboard nacelle met deck and the shuttle thudded gently to a stop. Unbuckling her harness she hit the door control only to be rewarded by the lights of the shuttle browning, then cutting out completely. Apparently the power drain by the life support systems had been worse than Walks Lightly had predicted. A little worried - and also eager to set foot on the historic ship - she slammed at the mushroom-shaped emergency release mechanism, actually managing to snap a piece off the switch, cutting her hand. Brief sparks and a small puff of smoke came from around the door as explosive bolts severed the hinges and locking mechanism, and a hefty push from Maiko sent the door tumbling to the deck below with a resounding crash. She looked around at the small knot of people near the shuttle, waving away medical support while looking for the highest ranking person she could find, irregardless of occupational specialty. Passing by those aiding the others out of the shuttle, she strode up to that person, stopped, and in a firm voice, asked to see the Captain at his earliest convenience. ((I'm looking for anyone interested in being that officer as well as having a little tete-a-tete with Captain Daren, circa 2401, preferably something that could be knocked out now that I could insert into later logs. Catch me on IRC if you're interested :D )) |