Guard Duty
Episode Name: Guard Duty Written By: Starfleet, Ghorev, and Dakin Cast: Dakin, Edwards, Ghorev and Starfleet. Produced By: Starfleet Directed By: Starfleet Aired On: Tue Feb 12 01:21:37 2002 Stardate: 52181.6
Time: Thu Feb 07 20:01:43 2002
Stardate: 52177.4
Another night spent with the artifact. A portable cot has been set up in one corner of the room, much to Tyler's disapproval, but it's not too difficult to get her to acquiesce to just about anything. She claimed it would interfere, but so far the arrangement has gone on for two weeks and nothing out of the ordinary has been reported. The young temporal physicist has given up complaining about the cot. The artifact hums, pulsing with a soft, blue glow that sometimes makes sleep hard. Dakin has just started his third shift, and as usual, the place is deserted and quiet except for the hum of the ship and the artifact.
Dakin paces around the room, looking the artifact up and down. He scratches the side of his nose-ridges with his index finger. "I guess this thing doesn't yield for a good night's sleep?"
The artifact, naturally, makes no reply, only continues to hum and glow.
Dakin sighs. "Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm on a raktajino buzz." He continues to pace around the thing, finally deciding to at least just sit on the cot.
In a wash of sudden, white light, a young Dakin Rann is standing on the promenade of Terok Nor. A chain-link type fence cuts the Bajoran half from the Cardassian half of the station, and exhausted workers slump against it as they wait for sleep to take them before the Cardassians do. Most are smudged with the dirt of the ore-processing plants. Cardassians walk the upper level with their phasers, watching for trouble. "Rann! Rann! Look what I found!" It is Rya's voice behind him.
Dakin blinks. Okay, this is new. He looks around the place a bit, before finally answering bewilderedly... "R-Rya..?"
Rya, about six years old, slides up beside her brother and shows him a shiny brick. "It's mineminemine, and the Prophets didn't give you any!" It looks like a small bar of chocolate wrapped in silver foil. She is wearing her favorite dress, nothing more than dirty rags. Dakin is washed with a feeling of deja'vu as he is rewitnessing a moment from his childhood. Initially, Rya had told him she found the chocolate but later admitted having got it from Gul Dukat himself.
Dakin blinks and starts to remember. Figuring it's the artifact's work, he just decides to play along. For now. "Um, okay, well, hope you enjoy it, little sister. It's not often we get nice stuff like that."
Rya smiles up to him and nods. "I know." She sits down beside him. "Do you want some?" she asks as she tears the foil off of it. "It's from a place called Earth."
Dakin nods and smiles. "Just a little. It was given to you, you should get the most." He stifles the urge to tell her he KNOWS where she got it. "Earth, huh? Let me guess. Better place than this?"
"I don't know. I've never heard of it before now." She breaks off a piece and hands it to him. Nowhere on the foil or on the bar itself does it say anything about Earth. "And I told you I found it," she says without looking at him.
Dakin smiles and almost reluctantly takes a bite. Damned Dukat, he thinks. "Whatever you say, Rya. Just make sure Mother and Father don't find out... they won't be too happy you're working on spoiling your appetite for dinner."
One of the nearby Bajorans hmphs. "What dinner?" he complains. Rya, though, smiles up to him. "It can be our secret."
Dakin glares at the other Bajoran with the shut-up face he learned since graduating from the Academy. Guess it doesn't work all that well as a nine-year-old. Back to Rya, "Okay, you got a deal."
The Bajoran just goes back to napping against the fence. Rya stuffs more of the chocolate into her face. "I can probably find more..." she says as she chews. "Hey, kid," says one of the bedraggled adult male Bajorans against the fence. "C'mere." He indicates Dakin to come closer to him.
Dakin cranes his head over towards the Bajoran and stares at him for a quick second before replying, "What do you want?"
"A spoonhead gave that to her. You should make her spit it out and explain to her that anything the spoonheads give you is poison... Or didn't your father teach you that, boy?" the grubby man says quietly.
Dakin now begins to remember this, and fakes a bit of contained outrage. "Rya? Is that true? One of the Cardassians gave you this?" He holds the candy up to her face.
Rya shakes her head, but a wash of shame crosses her features. "No... I found it," she says softly.
Dakin looks his sister dead in the eyes. He knows she's lying, but he's figuring now would be the best time to exercise some of that temporal control. But just some. "Rya, look at me. Swear to me before the Prophets that's the truth. Swear to me some Cardassian didn't give this to you."
She starts to cry. "I.." She knows better than to swear on the Prophets, lest they forsake her. "Gul Dukat gave it to me," she admits, the tears leaving glossy streaks down her smooth cheeks.
Dakin sighs and nods. "Thank you for being honest with me, Rya... now please throw that away. We can't accept anything from them... least of all Dukat."
"He gave it to me because I was good!" she protests, though the tears still flow.
Dakin carefully grasps his sister by the shoulders. "Rya, look at me. And listen. As much as the Cardassians seem nice, they're not. They've plundered our planet, made us work for them against our will... Mother and Father have told us this a thousand times, little sister... they can't be trusted."
Rya sniffles and runs her arm across her eyes. She finally looks up to him, then. "But I was good..." she says, trailing off. The white light washes over him again and he is sitting in the Computer Core again, staring at the artifact.
Dakin blinks and shakes his head, trying to get the cobwebs out. "Prophets... that was almost like an Orb vision..." He sighs and sits on the cot still, looking down to check to see if he's once again in Starfleet attire and his "current" age. "Whoo..."
Time: Mon Feb 11 20:58:59 2002
Stardate: 52181.5
This is Ghorev's fourth rotation sleeping the Computer Core. It has been quiet the previous four rotations. This one is starting up the same way. The work lights are dim, and the only available light comes from the blue-white glow of the artifact itself. It hums and pulses, breaking the silence with a quiet vibration. A cot is set out near the back, among various computer banks that offers a clear view of the artifact and the console that controls it. At first, Ensign Tyler protested the cot, but she's acquiesced to her superiors.
Ghorev sits on the cot, restless, his eyes roaming the tall room.
The artifact pulses brightly several times, then goes dim again. The hum increases in corresponding bursts.
Ghorev looks up, and rises. "You've got something to tell me, now?" He approaches to what he's been told would be the safest close distance.
There is no response to Ghorev's inquiry.
Ghorev says "I suppose," he looks around, "that there's nothing to lose by saying what's on my mind." He roams the core now, keeping a close eye on things. "You know there's a suspicion among the humans on Station 419 that you're /in love/ with Wendy Tyler." His snort shows how dubious he finds that. "I can't accept that. It's too human and romantic."
Something displays on the main console's data window and starts to blink.
Ghorev looks at the display.
'Mother', in blinking red.
Ghorev looks at that. Just ... looks at that. "I was close. I was going to accuse you of *being* Wendy Tyler. Is this the first time anyone's bothered asking?"
A wash of bright white light flares up around Ghorev, and suddenly he is standing in front of Admiral McGillicutty, who himself is standing at a podium. A crowd of people is behind the old Admiral, seated in an auditorium setting, and they are all clapping. A feeling of fluid deja'vu rolls across him like an ocean wave. "Mr. Ghorev, what do you have to say for yourself?" asks the old Admiral.
Ghorev straightens himself. "Sir, I can only say that I have never seen an instance in which I felt I could not, in all conscience, apply the Prime Directive. And I pray Borva daily that I never, in my career, shall."
McGillicutty turns to the audience. "Mr. Akeen Ghorev, for his service to the prime directive and the people of Sarinen, is hereby awarded the Palm Leaf of Axanar." The crowd begins to applaud again as McGillicutty lifts the ribbon from its place on the podium. He moves to Ghorev and pins it on, then steps back. He nods once to the Andorian and smiles. "Good work, Akeen," the Admiral states, and turns back to the audience. "We appreciate your attendance, there will be a reception for the honored officers immediately following in the ball room." McGillicutty turns to Ghorev and offers the man his hand.
Ghorev extends his own, warmly and adds, more quietly, "Thank you, Sir."
The Admiral leans in a bit. "We've arranged for a transfer to an outpost along the Neutral Zone," he says quietly, as the audience begins to get up. "A space station, should be a pretty quiet post. But one away from.. Them."
Ghorev nods, and for a moment there is a flicker of bitterness in his eyes. "I ... can't run from them forever, not and be the kind of officer I want to be. I'll just need ... a few quiet years. I suppose this will do."
The Andorian spots Admiral Sinclaire, standing from her spot among the first row of the crowd. McGillicutty smiles to Ghorev and nods. "I understand, Akeen. Just some time until things blow over. It won't be forever." He turns to address his aid, a Bolian Commander of the female sex, named Birala. "Briala, could you attend the reception in my stead, I believe I'm coming down with something of a headache. I'm going to drop by the Medical campus and see if any aspiring doctors can help me out."
Briala nods once. "Of course, Admiral. Please call me if you need further assistance."
Ghorev says "Be well, sir." He turns to the Bolian. "Commander, if you'll excuse me, there's someone else to whom I should pay respects."
Briala nods to Ghorev and turns toward the door, heading for the reception. Admiral McGillicutty pats Ghorev on the back and smiles. "You've done right by me, Akeen. If you'll excuse me, I've got to take care of this headache," he says, massaging his temple as he walks toward an exit. Sinclaire is moving toward another door with the rest of the attendees.
Ghorev moves briskly to try and catch up with Sinclaire.
The Andorian catches up with her as she is about to pass through the door.
Ghorev says "Admiral, I didn't expect to see you here."
Sinclaire looks toward him briefly and says, without skipping a beat, "Oh? Have we met, Lieutenant?"
Ghorev says "Not yet, but I think we will, if I understand things rightly." He then adds, more softly, "And then a few months later, I will marvel at your fashion sense, particularly in your use of all black uniforms. If you take my meaning."
The old woman's eyes express nothing. She merely hmmms as she walks. Ghorev has to keep moving to keep up with her. "Black uniforms are used for special operations, Lieutenant. I've not been involved with those since I was a Lieutenant myself," she says with a smile.
Ghorev does, in fact, keep moving, and talking quietly. He is, in fact, doing his best to keep the conversation quiet, not wanting to disrupt the vision with violence. "Admiral, with due respect, I will be on the mission in which an Ensign whose quantum signature is identical to yours is rescue from a ship practically identical to USS Aegis." A moment's pause, a quirky smile that can't quite hide how he feels about this. "You will order a man under my command to shut up, and I will tell you that's my prerogative."
The hallway that the two have walked down is pretty deserted as the others are making their way to the reception. She stops in the middle of the hall and regards him. "The USS Aegis is a Miranda class ship serving the border of the Neutral Zone. I really don't know what you are talking about, Lieutenant."
Ghorev sighs, and finally asks, "And Wendy Tyler?"
The Admiral nods once. "I was just on my way to visit with her. Congratulations on your commendation, Lieutenant." She turns and starts to walk down the hallway again.
Ghorev calls out, "Admiral ... It's not too late for you to find another way!"
She stops in mid step and turns. "Another way... For what, exactly, Mr. Ghorev?" she asks as she addresses him by name.
Ghorev, frustrated that he cannot find another way, decides to simply be blunt. "To stop the Lithians," he says, with a defeated sigh.
The Admiral turns and starts to take a step away from him again, but steps back, then turns and walks back toward him. "Come back to my ship and we will discuss it."
Ghorev says "Of course, Admiral. After you."
The woman looks Ghorev up and down and taps her badge. "Mr. Bela. Prepare two for transport." A familiar voice says, "Understood, Captain." As the transporter engages, Ghorev finds himself standing in front of the artifact again, the word 'Mother' has disappeared off of the console.
Ghorev reaches out to touch something, anything real. "I was right, wasn't I? It *was* you that sent Amazon into the future, wasn't it?"
The artifact is silent. And remains that way for the rest of Ghorev's rotation.
Time: Mon Feb 11 23:47:07 2002
Stardate: 52181.6
The Computer Core is quiet, and mostly dark. The only light casting long shadows across the floor is from the artifact itself. This isn't a particularly comfortable watch, the fifth one he's had, mostly because of what just happened in the future with him and his crew. The floor hums in time with each softly glowing pulse of the artifact. The cot is back against a wall, behind some computer banks, but offers a clear view of the artifact from it, and the console. Tyler had protested the installation, but she is, still, of weak character, and collapsed easily even though her authority in this room outweighs Edwards' in so many ways.
Sitting here in the dark, looking at the artifact like this - it appears that
the crystalline structure, coloring and size, is almost identical to that of the
Lithian in the cargo bay.
Edwards sits on the cot, which isn't terribly comfortable considering his
size. Nevertheless, it seems like the best place to be. His mind wanders
momentarily, until the artifact catches his eye. He watches it, a small frown on
his face, and ponders the broken Aegis that was in the future.
The artifact pulses and hums, grows bright, then dim again. Edwards' PADD
beeps, indicating a croniton event report from Ops.
Edwards picks up his PADD off of the cot and glances over it. As he does so
he, he stands up and stretches his legs a bit, before taking a look around the
room.
The room is silent and dark, except for the pulsing glow and hum of the
artifact.
Edwards mutters under his breath, "Pulse, pulse, pulse. Always the same
thing. Why did I volunteer for this?" He lowers himself back down onto the
cot and tosses the PADD aside. "Oh, right. I didn't."
There is a wave of white light and Edwards is standing in a crowded, smoky
bar. A slow blues melody is being played by a band. Edwards is dressed very
sharp, in period clothing. In fact, he recognizes the suit as the one he wore on
a date with Bela.
Edwards looks around swiftly after the flash and takes note of his clothes.
The usual disorientation causes him to hesitate before he puts two and two
together. "Why?" he questions simply. Not that there's anyone to
answer him...
There she is, wearing the red, high cut flapper's dress, looking magnificent.
She's talking to a waiter, and even though the bar is crowded, there is a
straight line toward Bela's table. How considerate of the patrons.
Edwards' mind just goes blank. That happens a lot when he's inexplicably
flung around time. He doesn't have a clue as to what he should do... which means
he ends up just standing there like an idiot.
Bela stops talking to the waiter and glances towards Edwards' direction. Her
red-painted lips part into a wide smile for her date for the evening. The music
continues to play, but the patrons are still avoiding the 'sight line' between
Edwards and the Orion woman.
Edwards stops with the standing there like an idiot and moves to approach
Bela. Exerting all of the self-control he can claim to have, he keeps a handle
on the myriad emotions he feels. "Bela..." he speaks.
Bela crosses one white-hosed leg over the other and watches Edwards.
"Hello," she says to him quietly. She looks at her purse for a moment,
then back up to to Michael.
Edwards feels the sudden urge to flee. This is something he doesn't want to
deal with. "Bye." Without skipping a beat, he moves to make his way
toward the exit. Quickly.
Bela blinks several times and jumps up from her chair. "Michael!
Wait!" she calls, leaving her purse behind. She stumbles in her high heels,
kicks them off with a little effort and starts to pad quickly after him.
Edwards doesn't show a lot of concern for anyone in front of him. They just
get shoved out of the way. Hey, they're holograms. "Computer, exit."
he demands.
The exit appears in a whorl of sound as a patron goes 'Oof!' and falls over
an older lady. The doors slide open as Bela catches up to him. "Michael,
please? What's wrong?"
Edwards swears under his breath. Shoving that fellow out of the way slowed
him down. Without looking directly at Bela, he states, "I have to go. I'm
sorry." He moves to step through the exit.
"This is just like you, Michael, you're always shutting me out! Maybe
one day I won't be there for you, have you thought of that, /Sir/?!" The
Orion is furious as she storms back into the holodeck. The patron that Edwards
pushed over has righted himself, and Bela takes the opportunity to push him down
again. "Computer, end program," she snaps testily as she gathers her
things. Another wash of light and Edwards is standing in the middle of the
Computer core again.
Edwards tries to turn around and ends up... looking around the core. "Damnit."
he growls. Reorientating himself, he looks to the artifact. "You're the
reason for all of this, you know. It's your fault." he rants. "If you
weren't picked up, I wouldn't have to deal with any of this nonsense!"
