Enroute

Posted on Fri Oct 17th, 2014 @ 2:28am by Major Koer

1,108 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Are You Touched?
Location: Starfleet Runabout USS Jackson
Timeline: 241410.12

=/\= Star Fleet Runabout USS Jackson enroute to USS Vindicator =/\=

Personal Log:
Stardate: 241410.16
The passenger compartment of the Runabout was cramped, especially for someone as large as Koer. He had picked a spot on the back row and had spent the last hours going through technical schematics of the Vindicator and personnel records of the marines that he would be supervising. The first thing that struck him was how large the Vindicator was. He had served on space stations smaller than this ship.

As for the marines stationed on the ship, he had found that all had stellar service records and that the platoon itself had received several commendations. That was a relief and one less thing to be concerned with. Although he enjoyed the challenge of retraining of group of underperforming troops, he had enough on his plate as it was.

Promoted back to Officer status, being re-assigned to a starship, and being the highest ranking Marine officer assigned to a detachment… His mind still hadn't quite processed the rapid changes to his life over the past 2 days.

There hadn't been time for a proper goodbye to his unit. The best he'd had time for was a quick walkthrough of the barracks on his way to clean out his room. A few handshakes and slaps on the back had served as his formal farewell.

Koer set the PADD down in his lap and stretched his arms out, flexing his shoulders. He had been sitting for too long. Getting up from his seat, he moved back towards the cargo bay. He had noticed a human female medical officer glancing his way while he was reading and now she was getting up to follow him.

As he entered the cargo bay, Koer again stretched out his tall muscular form and started the ritual of loosening up his muscles, working his shoulders and hips to increase the blood flow to his extremities.

The cargo bay opened and the medical officer stepped in. She was tall for a human, with long curly blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and the bodily curves that most found attractive.

“Ensign Bree’lanna Drake”, she stated with a smile as she held out her hand.

Koer accepted the handshake, trying not to squeeze too hard, “Major Koer. May I help you, Ensign?”

“Just wondering, are you a Hirogen?”

Koer grunted (the closest thing he had to a laugh), “Yes, I am… At least that’s what they keep telling me during my yearly medical evals…”

Drake laughed, “I didn't know Starfleet had any Hirogens. Are you assigned to the Vindicator?” She moved closer to Koer, which made the giant Hirogen very uncomfortable.

Taking a step back, Koer stopped his stretching and looked down at the female, the hint of a grimace on his face, “I believe I may be the only one in Starfleet currently. Your typical Hirogen would never join such an organization... And, Yes, I have just been assigned to the Marine detachment on the USS Vindicator.”

Sensing, Koer’s mood change, Drake also took a step back, “Sorry if I intruded into your personal space, I have a bad habit of doing that… I was just curious… I'm assigned to the Vindicator medical staff and will probably be the one performing your medical evals while you're assigned to the ship. I guess I need to brush up on my Hirogen anatomy.”

Sitting down on a crate, Koer rubbed his knobby head and tried to look less intimidating, “No apology necessary, Ensign. My ‘personal space’ is probably very different than most. I've been with Starfleet for over 50 years and I still have problems dealing with human customs.”

The look of shock that crossed Drakes face was almost laughable, “50 years? How old are you?”

“In all honesty, I don't know. Hirogens don't really keep track of age like most races. Our lives are fast paced and violent, typically we die during our hunting expeditions… I have never met an ‘old’ Hirogen before.”

Moving to another crate across from Koer, Drake jumped up on to it, “If you don't mind me asking, how did you end up in Starfleet?”

“It’s a long story… Many years ago, I was the Beta of my pack. We were not the largest pack of Hirogens in the Delta quadrant, but we were well known for our trophies and kills. We were enroute to a planet known for its large dangerous species when we crossed paths with the Borg. We attempted to fight them, but soon realized it was futile. Three of the ships in our pack had already been boarded and my Alpha gave us the order to break off and flee. In our attempted escape, we inadvertently entered an unstable wormhole. That’s how my ship ended up in the Alpha quadrant. The transition through the wormhole devastated our ship. I alone survived, half frozen and on the edge of death for days, before a Starfleet research vessel found me…”

He didn't normally talk about his past to others. ‘Living in the past’, as humans put it, was irrelevant and unproductive, but Koer had realized long time ago that humans had a need to understand things. He had never made many friends. Between his gruff appearance and attitude, and his violent past, not many enjoyed his company. Koer had decided that things would be different this time around. He would not play the part of the sullen loner. He needed to be part of a ‘Pack’ again. This human female would be the start of his new path.

She was still sitting on the crate, looking at him intently to keep telling his story. Not that he found her attractive, his idea of a mate being different than a human, but Ensign Drake did give off an aura of one who you could talk to. He imagined it was part of the ‘bedside manner’ that most medical officers possessed.

He was about to continue when the pilot’s voice came across the ship comm system, “Dropping out of warp. ETA to the Vindicator is 10 minutes… Should be docked with her in 15…”

Drake smiled, “Guess we'll have to finish this conversation at another time.”

Dropping down off the crate, she held out her hand, which Koer shook. Unsure of what to say, he merely nodded and then watched Drake exit the cargo bay. A few minutes later, Koer was sitting in his seat and looking out the viewport as the massive profile of the USS Vindicator came into view. She was truly a massive ship…



End Log



Major Koer
Platoon Commander
Starfleet Marines

&

Ensign Bree’lanna Drake
Medical Officer
NPC

 

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