Station III - The Neolyte Station

Alternatives

by Michael G. Crawford

"Enter!" she sang out at the sound of the rap on the special panel designed just for that purpose.

At each new station, Jennie marvelled anew at the sound of the special panel. Some traditionalist Marine Corps commander had decided that the custom of a "rap-rap-rapping" on the Commandant's office door (or DI's door depending whether you were an officer or enlisted), should be taken into all corners of the Navy. The bigger surprise is that it wound up the tradition in all the services now. So when in space, where the materials weren't exactly condusive to the proper rapping sound, the Marines had, quite naturally invented the rapper, a 1 foot square panel that was placed on the outside of a Commander's Office, with a one inch roung peg going through the wall to an identical square. The two wood pieces resonated together via the peg, yielding a rather excellent reproduction of the old "Camp Pendelton" rapping sound.

In this case, a young female officer, a Lt. Commander, to be exact, made the square turn around the open door, marched to the center of the desk, made an excellent left turn on heel, snapped her heels, braced and saluted. "JAGUAR: Lt. Commander Winston, reporting, Sir!". With eyes straight ahead and somewhat above the Captain's head, Winston was obviously not taking any chances with the demeanor of her new superior.

"Welcome aboard, again Winston. At Ease. I mean it, take a load off."

"Yes Sir" replied Winston, moving into a more relaxed position, her legs no at shoulder width, her hands behind her back.

"I didn't say Parade's Rest, Commander, sit down"

"Sir" was the only answer.

Jennie resisted the temptation to shake her head. It never ceased to amaze her. Oh well. It was an honor to be sure, and besides, even if WSC was a bit less traditional than the services, it wasn't because discipline wasn't needed. If her junior officers began with some traditional discipline, perhaps they would fare better than the current crew of Station III.

"Lt. Commander Winston, a rather impressive code name they gave you...JAGUAR...were you aware that felines are the code names used for exceptionally skilled specilists in the service?"

"No Sir" replied the young officer with a puzzled expression.

From that expression, Jennie realized that the young woman was indeed unaware the someone in her chain of command thought rather highly of her.

"Well, it is either the random code name generator picked it or someone you've worked for. And looking at your file, I'd say it was latter. I am especially impressed to see that you are not versed in the marital arts. Nor do you impress me with any obvious physical prowisness. So how does a wimply looking specimen like yourself expect to be my Security Officer?"

"Oh Shit!", thought Sarah. This was not going well at all. She truly hadn't realized someone up above had fixed it so she would be flying in the face of her next superior officer. Shit and double shit. Now what? Well, seeing how she wasn't prepared to do anything else, she'd just have to tough it out. Anyway, maybe it was a test anyway. Well she could be tough if she had to. Wow, but start right in on this, moving from smile to challenge in seconds. This Presinden was a tough bitch!

"I don't expect to go around punching out the crew, Sir. My skills are in other areas."

"Yeah, really. Excuse me." She reached over and pressed the intercom switch. "Trang get in here".

The young Ensign came in through the door like a rocket and almost vibrated in the center of the room.

"Sir" he said a bit overly loud, betraying his nerves at being summoned so gruffly.

"Okay, Lt. Commander, arrest this man. And Ensign, don't let her!"

The two junior officers looked at each other, back at their Captain, then each other again. Shrugging, they obeyed without any further hesitation. Trang head back out the door, and Winston shouted "Halt." Trang ignored her and put his hand on the doorframe.

Zap!

Jennie turned to look back from where the sound had come, and paled to see the Lt. Commander had a stun gun in her hand. Looking back at Trang....well at least where Trang was supposed to be, she had to lean over her desk to see the young officer on the floor out cold.

Looking back at the Lt. Commander, she saw a look of concern on her face. The little stun gun had dissappeared back up her sleeve or in a pocket from wherever it came, and the young woman was already on her way over to check the condition of her victim.

"Wow!" was all Presinden could muster.

Trang took the cup of water without looking at the Captain and downed it in one gulp.

"Whew!" he said, not speaking to anyone in particular. Then he noticed the concerned faces of his Captain and THAT Lt. Commander. He kept is anger in check, however, knowing that this was a test that he had not failed, and quite obviously, the Lt. Commander had not failed either.

"Sorry Trang, this is not what I expected" said the Captain, her pale face starting to take on red hue Trang could see was embarassment spreading there.

"Uhh, pardon me, Sir, but what the Hell did you expect?"

The Captain was silent for a moment, and Trang guessed she was wrestling more with his words and tone of voice more than the answer. Then, thankfully, the Captain began to explain, something a junior officer like Trang knew was rare...a senior officer explaining an order.

"It was supposed to be test for both of you Trang. The Lt. is not hand-to-hand combat trained, and I know you are, well, shall we say rather adept. Your file says you have a degree in Martial Arts. That was too much of a thing to pass up. I was attempting to gauge the Lt. Commander's conviction and ability to do her job, and I thought an expert like yourself, knowing the exercise was just that, an exercise, would be able to prevent either of you from coming to harm. And well people..." she now took in both the junior officers with a unwavering glance, "I screwed up."

"Sorry Sir", said both the juniors, and then after a brief moment to realize they had spoken together, they grinned and then laughed a little nervously.

"Major Screw-UP Sir!" said Trang, already feeling better about the whole thing.

"Don't go too far" clipped the Captain, and as Trang began to lose his smile, she broke the stern expression, and let a shallow smile break her own features. "After all, we all know the Captain can make no mistakes."

"So, tell me, Trang, what made you go for the door, anyway? I kind of thought you might stand there and wait for Winston to take you on."

"Well, Sir. I was actually trained to take the least violent solution first, and then face violence only when I had no other choice. It has stood me pretty well, especially in the streets of Fresno where Vietnamese kids were not all that welcome."

"And you Lt. Commander? Why the stun gun?"

"As I said, Captain. I am not exactly hand to hand skilled. So why try. I learned a long time ago that I could fight pretty well, but not knowing the ability of my opponent, I opt for overkill, excuse the expression, Trang, and then we try for finese when I have the situation under control. "

"Well that is admirable, but it still leaves me with the question as to your safety if someone decides to take a punch at you."

"Well I admit that might be a problem, Sir. And I have no qualms about learning to defend myself better, however, I feel I am a better judge of character...or at least have a sixth sense when someone is going to be trouble. That is why I was vectored to Security in the first place. Besides, I am the Commander of Security, and I won't need to use force myself, that's what my people are for."

"Don't you suscribe to a Commander not ordering her subordinates to do anything they wouldn't do themselves?"

"Well Sir...if I may be candid?" At a nod from her Captain, she continued, "I believe that my job is to add value to the situations I am faced with. If I have a six foot bruiser standing next to me, then my value has to be in defusing the situation. If I fail, then the bruiser gets exercise, and I get scarce. Seems to have worked for me so far."

The Captain looked at her two people and swore to herself. The ignorance and false-confidence of youth. Both thought they knew it all, yet she had to depend upon them both. Oh well, it was the same old story, nothing much had changed in the challenges she faced since her own promotion to Full Commander. That seemed like ages ago.

"Well, both of you are a surprise. Okay, let's forget the everything after "hello" Commander, and Trang, go see the doc, just to make..."

"No really, Captain, I'm fine. It's not the first time I've been stunned. We got zapped at the Academy, more than once. I'm fine. I'll just go slink out into the outer office, and you two can continue. Next time, though, let's get one of the Commander's bruisers!"

They all smiled at that, and the Ensign left the two older officers alone.

"Well" said the Captain with a smile as the panel slid shut. "That WAS a major fuckup. Particularly bad since my real rank is Colonel." She grinned at her Security Officer, and the two began to discuss the problems of Station III.

"So, any ideas" asked the Captain as they kind of ran out of steam.

"Well Sir, I'd like to think on this a bit before answering. But I can say, that I don't buy the accidental explanation either. I'd really like to do a little poking around myself, and then maybe we can take that up again. As far as station policy goes, I have some ideas that I'd like to present to you...formally, in a memo I guess, so they go on the record."

"That's fine, let's just not get too wrapped up in the memo thing. I don't want to become a slave to my PDA. Let's get some basic stuff down, and then we'll cook from there. "

"Yes Sir. When are you going to want to make Security changes?"

"Well, some will happen immediately...obviously the ones we discussed. However I can wait for your ideas for day-to-day changes for a week or so. No hurry. And since you and I are the only two new crew members who are active replacements, I guess that means we start doing our job right away. Now that leaves another question I have to answer and damned quick. What do I do with all the "early trippers".

The Captain looked at the younger officer as she began to think about the problems they would be facing from a frisky, eager bunch of new crew members who were to slowly assimilate into the schedule of the station, but were not officially in "office" until 6 weeks from now. This could lead to some adjustment problems, as well as some friction in a few cases.

"Well, I have a thought", said Winston. "How about we have lunch bag seminars, and let the vets give us a brief on their particular area of expertise, and we let the Junior officers who are just joining the crew, speak on their goals. It sounds like a pretty lame exercise, but it will serve the purpose to get alot of tension out into the open, and might even provoke the Juniors to work with their replacees to sound intelligent about the subject. It will also point out where the communications aren't working well. "

"Sounds good. Well we'll discuss this further, and with the Exec...have you met him yet? No, okay, why don't you make that your first piece of business, then. Dismissed."

As the Commander left, Jennie sat back in her chair and wondered how the ernest officer was going to work out. She had certainly surprised her with the stun gun. She wondered what other little gifts she'd come up with over the next year. With a sigh, she pulled the dreaded paperwork back over to her, keyed the intercom, and asked Trang to send in Lt. Budder, the new chef.

Exiting the Captain's Office, Sarah glanced at Trang. But before she could apologize, the younger officer raised a hand.

"Don't let it bother you, Sir. In fact, I've already forgetten it."

"It's not that easy, Trang. I feel I owe you one. And we Security people hate to be in debt. I need to pay you off and soon. So how about dinner."

Trang's jaw dropped about a foot, and then he clamped his mouth shut with an audible click, forcing himself to neither stutter, or drool like the fool he felt.

"Uhhh, sure. "

"Good, meet you in the Officer's Galley about twenty minutes after shift ends."

"Yes, Sir."

Sarah smiled at the younger officer and stepped quickly out of his sight before her own nervousness got the best of her. Now why in the hell did she do that? Hormones? This was nuts.

He waited for the chime of the second tier adapter, before closing the cover on the relay junction. The fiber channel box fed the remaining core that was damaged by the small rev-fire. This was the final fix of the security taps the previous Security Chief had made in the system, and he wanted to get that all complete before the new chief came "online". He depended upon some of those taps, and he wasn't about to lose them if the new chief turned out to be a real prig. And knowing many female officers carried a chip on their shoulder...well that wasn't fair. Many female officers he knew did seem a little possessed with their careers and going by the book.

He had to admit though, he had met some other female officers with the guts to be a little more flexible. Besides, he also knew many female officers felt they had to perform at a higher level than their male peers, just so they could rise above the male-female bullshit. In fact, he needed to more than 'admit' to their being a difference. But he was expected to treat all the officers fairly, and the difference between female and male officers was not in the equation. He knew it should never have even been something he should have considered, but then, he was who he was. He could change however, and in the effort to be the best he could, he was determined to make it so.

In that respect, he forced himself to consider telling the new chief about his little dirty work here. But then right away he realized that regardless of whether the new chief was a male of female, riding the rule book would be a problem for him. So the problem was the image of a prig. This was a man or woman who stuck to the rule so fiercely, that there was no gray area to work with. No fun, horrible to work with.

He grimaced and finished putting the security seal on the panel. When he was finished, he crawled backwards out of the maintence shaft,dusted his knees and elbows off, then peeled the coveralls off, stuffing them into the gym bag.

Then without looking back, he set off to his quarters, just another crew member on his way "home" from the rec area.

Sarah flopped down on her bunk, with a sigh. Her hormones were obviously in high gear, and her shift was not even half over yet. Great. She popped a pill, and laid back, wondering how she was going to make it through the next few days. She sat back up and removed the little flip holster from the sleeve of her uniform tunic. She dropped the little stun gun into its charger, and retrieved its mate and reloaded the spring loaded holster. She had learned to depend on the little devils, as well as found out the hard way that sometimes it was needed more than once a day. So keeping a pair cooking at all times had become a habit.

She looked at her self in the mirror of the bathroom door and remarked to herself that it was a nice touch someone had made in the station design. She wondered if all officer's rooms had them or did they think only a female officer needed them. Maybe she'd find out tonight at Trang's. She giggled to herself a little and then said out loud, "boy what a slut".

She knew it wasn't fair to condemn herself so. It WAS just a matter of hormones, and she also knew her own reticence to getting involved at work would prevent anything from happening. She why was she setting out to tease the Ensign? It surely wasn't a good idea to fraternize with the junior officer. She was absolutely nuts. She giggled again.

The with a sigh, she straightened herself out and moved over to the com terminal, dialing up Tenson's number.

"Tenson" came the brusk sounding voice of the Exec.

"Lt. Commander Winston, Sir. The Captain asked me to look you up right away..."

"Fine, Commander. I am in the middle of getting the handover ceremony in hand. You wanna help?"

"Why, I uhh...guess so, sure."

"Great. Meet me on the Command Deck in five. Tenson out."

Well that was a pisser. Walked right into a new job without a howd-ya-do. Shit!

She figured she might as well start now. Maybe the asshole would be impressed with a eager young Junior who showed up early. Damn!

The Captain walked down the corrider to the Officer's Galley with an engrossed look on her face, with the express intention of scaring off any would be lookie loo's from stopping her to get a little extra time with the Captain. She had already got Trang trained to schedule her time carefully, but it hadn't done much good. She hadn't even taken command yet, and her sched was full for the next three days. Shit! That sucked. But it was all part of Command. Especially when that command was itself a little community. The Station Commander was also the mayor, judge, and in most cases jury. And as head cop, she also had to be a good facilitator, compassionate leader, and strict discplinarian, all differing attitudes at appropriate, but seemingly random, times of the day. Right now, she was a coffee hound, and no one better get in her damned way.

She turned into the narrow galley only to find two young ensigns with coffee cups touching each talking in a low whisper. Oh shit, that was the other problem she had forgotten to take up. The skyrocketing pregnancy rate, the new regs, and the mandatory birth control measures. Damn, and double damn. This was not her forte at all. She wondered, quite suddenly, if there was a psychiatrist over at the med unit. That might be a good start. Maybe it was just as much psychological as biological. She hadn't noticed any problems in her own physiology, but then since rising to the rank of Full Commander, she had just about blown that aspect out of her mind, especially when it came to crew. It made for some wild rec-times on leave, but then she usually went where no one from crew was bound to see her.

Mazetlan, Paris, or whatever romantic spot she could conjur up. She seemed to be able to exorcise her demons in fitful bursts of sexual energy then be just fine til the next leave cycle. Maybe that was why Senior officers got more leave opportunities...hmmm if she did find a shrink over at the med unit, she'd ask about that too. Maybe doubling up the leave cycles and a little counseling might help the budding youth control their station manners.

Tenson strode from the computer department with a scowl on his face. The core was running fine, but there had been some strange power glitches. The engineering chief, an inexperienced sod who had no idea of his limitations, had casually remarked that they

"...might have to replace the UPS."

Well, nice idea, idiot.

"The UPS for Station IIIs took up the whole bay of a Shuttle, Lt. Commander. I'm pretty sure that doesn't qualify as a 'matter-of-course' resupply item. You'll just have to figure out another way."

The frown on the technical weenie's face was enough to ruin the rest of Tenson's day. That particular young clod would find out it wasn't nice to mess with the Exec. Just not right now. Hopefully the dolt would figure out something now that the easy way was cut off and dumped out the airlock.

He blew out a quick breath, brought his emotions under control and made his way up and over to the red banded, low gravity area at the center of the stations spin. He stopped at the cover panel, selected a clean looking pair of hold'ems and slipped them on over his regulation station shoes. Stepping onto the red colored area, he proceeded to take the path which gradually slowed his spin down to nearly zero as he made his way into the command module.

This rather large area was unique in the station because it was like a giant aquarium, only you were the fish! It was all glass along one wall, at least down to just above waste level, and up over the "nose" of the station. Since it was shaped like a bubble out into space, it afforded a 180 degree view along the horizontal axis, and nearly that much in the vertical, especially with the high overhead glassed in area that allowed someone standing at the far edge to peer back up at the power station and Globular docking rings toward the "stern" of the construction. And since this was the Station's "bow", this was where the reaction controls, communications controls, and security station were all to be found, in little clusters off the main bubble.

Sitting at a jump seat behind one of the on-duty controllers, was a young Lt. Commander, her body facing about 45 degrees away from him, and her head turned to the controller. Her hands were folded in her lap, her bright orange jumpsuit making her look every bit the Security Officer. Tenson tried not to notice that she was also a rather striking redhead. Oh sheeze, and only minutes after he was admiring Julie Benson's figure. He was obviously as much a dinosaur as his uncle Bill. Oh well, the beast roams all the gangways on this ship. "Station! Station," he reminded himself.

"Winston?"

"Sir" she replied as she stood, not quite bracing, but certainly showing the Exec the respect she thought necessary. Good. Not too much Academy training left in her. She might do.

"Follow me, Lt. Commander" he said more for the benefit of the controller, who was watching the exchange a little too closely. He led the new Security Officer into the Security Module, and slid the door closed. This was one of the few really soundproofed areas of the ship. Well it really wasn't that hard. All but one wall had space on the other side, and that wall was especially designed to be hard to bug, and impossible to hear through with the door closed.

"I'm Elias Tenson, Commander"

"Sarah Winston. Nice to meet ya."

"Ditto. I'm sorry if I was a little brusk on the com link, but you caught me at a bad moment. Anyway, we've got some work to do. I also realize that you aren't quite up to speed on the station yet, and I didn't want you thinking I was gonna slap you with some stupid job, something an Ensign should be doing for example."

She smiled at that, recognizing the Exec was trying to put her at ease by including her in the ranks of the Seniors. Fine. She could live with that as long as he was sincere.

"I was a little worried. But thanks for the good news. What do you want me to do" besides take my cloths off, she thought as an aside, noticing the way he had looked her over back in the bubble.

"Pretty simple really. The handover will be at 09:30, and I have just about everything set up but refreshments", and at the Security Chiefs expression, he raised his hand, "...wait. I was going to say, I didn't think you'd mind doing that, but I have an excellent guy called the Chef who's going to get that job. I would however, like you to ask him to set it up, and then get to work on the security protocol for the incoming visitor ships. Since Station II went offline a month ago, we have been getting a shit load of lookie loo's coming up to see our little toy rattling around in space. And I am a little nervous at the intel analysis of the last chief's demise. You been briefed?' and at the nod, he continued. "...So what I want you to do is to think about some ways we can start checking..." and here he began to tick off items on his fingers. "...incoming cargo containers, personal cases, people, etc. for contraband."

"If you mean weapons, bombs, and other undesirable cargo, I can stop you right there, Sir. We already have explosive sensors in all the entry points. They will spot just about every type of explosive, from gun powder to Semetec. Therefore the cargo areas are the best bet if you want to find smuggled contraband. The people search is out, or unless someone has also repealed the Personal Rights Clause along with the right to reproduce up here."

"You sound a little irritated, Commander" he said with little humor, but also in a threatening way.

"No, just aware of the necessity. What I was saying is that we can't search people. I also don't think we can xray them either. So that leaves us with shipping up some little explosive poochies. Cuz we can't mount sensors close enough to the entryways onto the station to do any good."

"Well I might agree with you, Sarah, except I had this idea."

She cocked her head and began to listen with some interest. This sucker was devious. Neat!

Trang sipped his coffee and nodded to the Captain as she sat back in her chair. The office was spartan to say the least, but then again, it had not been designed for the Station Captain. That unit was to be embedded in the next major module to be connected, up near the command bubble, in about 4 weeks. The new change in manning schedules had not taken offices into account, only quarters. So while she had a comfortable temporary stateroom in the VIP wing added last week, the Captain's office was where the Pursor (imagine a pursor on a Space Station...sheez) was supposed to have his quarters. Of course that renowned figure would not arrive until after the new modules arrived and were added, so it was a choice of convience.

"So. Trang. Recovered from the SecChief's little demonstration, are we?"

"Yes Sir. Fully. Thanks for the opportunity to serve."

Jennie grinned at the young man's impudence, and realized they were melding into a pretty good team.

"No sweat, any time. So let's talk about what you're here to do. I don't just want a secretary, in fact, my regular is due in another two weeks. However, I do need an adjutant. So that is you, since bloody Command has neglected to add one to my manning tables. Let me tell you what I expect of a my adjutant. Its simple. You will keep me up to date with my secreatary, keep the Juniors at bay...don't look so worried. When we stick that rope on your shoulder..." and she gestured at his left shoulder where the aide's rope would hang, "...you will effectively assume the authority of a Full Commander. You will have rank senior to any Commander on this station, and only have to offer deference as though you were a Captain. So that means, Generals and Admirals will find you polite but firm if they are counter to the station rules. And on that subject, I want you to take a look at the current Station Policy 499, and let me know if it needs updating. "

As the young Ensign started to open his mouth to protest she gestured him to stay quiet. "Don't worry, you can grab anyone you want to help you get it done. You'll find that if you are polite and sincere in needing help, you will be surprised how the Senior Officers will want to help you."

Trang was surprised to hear this. His first assignment was to go kibitz with the Senior Officers. Shit this was going to be nerve racking. He wondered how he was going to live through it all.

"Next..."

"Next!" he thought, oh shit, as if the previous wasn't enough, we were going to have a next. Double Shit!

"...I want you to figure out a way to get me, until the secretary arrives, a laptop with a scheduler on it. And I want it tied into Station Net, so I don't have to bother with connecting it up everywhere I go. I need it to interface to my PDA automatically, and I need it yesterday. Any problems with that?"

"No sweat, Captain, that IS my vocation" he chided as much as he dared, but gladly only received a brief smile.

"I'm sorry, Wan. I know you didn't sign on for any of this. Would you really rather go back to the Comp Deck and bury yourself in a terminal. I am sure I can find another Martial Arts expert to protect my fine ass."

Trang grinned a little self conciously, recalling the two female officers faces looking down at him while he was lying on the floor. Good thing he had no machismo thing driving him along, or he'd be a basket case by now. And he kind of liked the Captain's kidding around behavior. It made the job that much easier. No he would stay.

"No Sir! I've already learned more than I ever imagined. And the chance to get back at Winston is just too inviting".

They both grinned, and the Captain used a shooing gesture to get him on his way out of her office.

He settled himself into his chair in the adjoining nook, wondering how a secretary could ever store their stuff in such a small area. He guessed that this was really why a highly efficient secretary was needed, they had to be real good to get all their crap organized in such a tiny space. Sighing, he used the Com terminal to contact Andy Benjamin on Comp Deck to ask him questions about the stations wireless LAN capabilities and soon was embroiled in the easy task given him.

In only a few minutes, he had the info he needed, and was about to call Comander Winston, when the terminal announced a message. Great. He had been on email for less than a minute and already he had a message. Signing on to email, he read the brief memo over. It was from the Exec, requesting he hold 15 minutes open for the Captain after the changeover ceremony. Trang noted the appointment in the hardcopy calendar he had scraped up, and called the Science Section Vice-Commander and explained that the Captain was sorry but she would have to cancel the appointment at 0900 hours, could she reschedule? After making the appropriate changes, he once again cheered the fact the secretary was on her way up. That would be a great change. Course, he'd still have to stay on top of the calendar, but it would be nice to have someone professional to deal with the management of it. Any help here would be appreciated.

He glanced at the chrono reading and decided he better remind the Captain it was time to go. Just as he was about to stand up, the Captain came blasting out of the office and headed to the head at the far end of the module. Knowing this probably meant only a brief interupption, he keyed the new personal radio link on his shoulder, and called to inform the Exec, that the Captain's ETA was probably three minutes from the next update...which would be pretty soon. Not too definite, but he already knew how helpful that could be to the Exec.

Tenson was tense. After the debacle when the Captain boarded, he knew he'd better get this simple routine right. He was confident though. Chef was already setting up a nice snack tray and beverages at the back of the rec room, and he had the Security Chief working the crowd helping people find their places. The Rope was giving him updates via radio on the Captain's ETA, and even Buddy was helping out with reports on the Cameras to let him know where the last of the officer's were in their hurry to get to the rec room.

Judging that he still needed another two minutes, and taking the report from Buddy that the Captain was rolling this way, he quietly spoke into his shoulder mic, "Rope, get me a two minute delay".

"Right" came the curt response from Trang, and Tenson relaxed. The kid was going to turn out alright.

Back in the long corridor, Trang coughed and spoke up, "Excuse me Captain, hold on a sec. You've got a big spot of lint right on your backside here. With a nod from his superior, he slapped downward brushing the clingy material of the Captains semi-formal tunic. He then worked on the surface of the shoulders a bit, and then like he had done it all before, turned her around in place dusting and grooming.

"There. That's better."

The Captain gave him a grimace, and shook her head.

"Just another minute Captain, I take it we are still waiting on a few stragglers."

"Right" she said. She hated all this overkill formality. It just wasn't her style. But she knew after her boarding, the Exec was bound to...no most certain to...go a bit overboard. He, after all, had something to prove.

"Okay" murmered Trang in his shoulder mic, and they were off again.

As they turned the corner putting them on the path to the rec area, Trang thought he heard a faint whistle. Now that was strange. He didn't recognize it. It wasn't like a bosun's whistle, it was too airy. He looked over to the Captain, and his hair stood on end. And so had hers. She was pale and sweat had suddenly popped out on her forehead. He noticed the whistle was behind him so he spun around again, only to see frost forming near the junction of the rec tube and the long corridor. He glanced back at the Captain, who pointed him down toward the frost as she backed toward the junction behind them. He lept the twelve feet in nearly a single bound and slapped the emergency lock down button, crashing his hand through the thin glass protecting it. Then a loud "BOOM" knocked him flying and darkness enveloped him.