Surefoot 13: Vectors

USS Surefoot, Deck 3, Airlock 1:

Commander T'Varik did not personally greet any of the other crewmembers who had returned via Starbase 154 from their extended leave - but then none of them were her commanding officer. "Welcome back, Captain Hrelle, Counselor Hrelle, Squad Leader Hrelle, and Cadet Rrori."

Hrelle indicated the Caitian male bringing up the rear. "He's actually Cadet Hrelle now, we adopted him, it sounds better. And how have you been, Commander? I trust you have ignored medical advice and common sense and continued working throughout what should have been your leave as well?"

"Correct as always, sir. I trust your own leave was relaxing and fruitful?"

"Relaxing, yes - and very fruitful," He smiled and pulled Kami close to him. "We're expecting!"

T'Varik straightened up, looking between the couple. "My congratulations to you both. It is customary to make enquiries at this time regarding age, gender, overall health and expectations."

Kami smiled. "Six weeks now, a male, healthy... and if my time carrying my firstborn is any indication, my expectations are to be getting up to pee frequently through the night over the next six months."

"I am certain you will bear your nocturia well." She looked to Sasha. "Is there a problem, Squad Leader? You do not appear pleased by the news."

The young human shook back her blond hair from her rounded face. "I'm very pleased... for Kami, and she knows it. I'm less pleased having spent the last four days on the cruise having to listen to my Dad boasting to everyone in earshot about the power of his sperm."

"But they're AMAZING!" he declared loudly. "My intrepid little warriors found their target and conquered it!"

"You see?" Sasha indicated.

"I understand completely," the Vulcan admitted. "Squad Leader, Cadet Rrori, the rest of Alpha Squad are currently in their quarters, off-duty until 0800 Hours tomorrow. You will find they have some anecdotes to impart regarding their own leave."

"Thank you, Commander. Um, is Mr Arrington back from his leave yet?"

"He returned yesterday." T'Varik took .89 seconds to note the ambiguous reaction from Sasha over the answer regarding her paramour, before adding, "Dismissed."

Sasha and Rrori looked to each other curiously, before nodding, picking up their luggage and departed. T'Varik witnessed their exit, waiting until the section door slid shut before turning back to Hrelle. "Captain, we need to speak immediately. An important matter arose during your absence."

Hrelle tensed. "Is it a member of the crew? The cadets?"

"Neither, Sir. It is literally the ship itself."

*

Deck 2, Captain's/Counselor's Quarters:

Hrelle's attention was fixed on the wallscreen behind his desk - more specifically, to the image of a swarm of strange-looking single-celling organisms moving over a surface, stopping occasionally and leaving pockmarks in their wake. "What am I looking at?"

"A rare form of metallophagic subatomic bacteria," T'Varik explained. "I believe Mr Ostrow can provide us with some background on this organism. Cadet?"

Beside Hrelle, Cadet Jonas Ostrow cleared his throat; despite his distraction at this unexpected news, he noted how professional and mature the young man presented himself these days, compared to his more emotionally fragile demeanour only a few months ago. "Yes, Commander. The silicon-based lifeform has an alphanumeric listing in the Federation Lifeform Database, but the salvage community refers to it Shiprot - which is actually one of its less profane names. It has an affinity for duranium and tritanium, and possesses trace elements of kelbonite, which interferes with normal scans and transporter beams.

It's these two attributes which has made Shiprot the bane of salvagers, as it's not easily detected, and over the course of just a few months can weaken the spaceframe of a vessel; a lot of credits have been lost over the years from purchasing a wreck that was infested with this. Starfleet has developed a means of detecting and removing Shiprot using tunnelling neutrino beams, and incorporates this into the annual inspections for all Starfleet vessels."

"So presumably the engineering team on Starbase 154 detected this while we've been docked here?" Kami guessed, sitting beside Hrelle.

"Yes, Counselor. The infestation was considerable, encompassing most of the decks in the secondary hull, the connecting support pylons, part of the struts leading to the port warp nacelle, and part of the shuttlebay in the primary hull."

"That's a hell of a lot of my ship!" Hrelle exclaimed with a gasp. "How fast does this stuff spread?"

Jonas paled. "Chief Grev and I ran some tests before the Starbase crew purged the spaceframe of the organism; it's been ongoing for the last 12 months at least."

"Twelve months?" Hrelle frowned; that was just before he had taken command and had it renamed the Surefoot. "Why wasn't it discovered at the ship's last annual inspection?"

"I investigated the records," T'Varik informed him. "When the Surefoot was under another command and named the USS Martin Fettman, its previous inspection was conducted at Deep Space Station K-7 by a private company, Mudd Dynamics, a company whose founder and manager has recently been indicted for corporate fraud - and failure to operate proper spaceframe inspections."

"Well, at least it's been found and dealt with, right?" Kami concluded - though her tone suggested she knew better.

Hrelle's expression and his own tone confirmed it. "Let's hear the bad news, Commander."

T'Varik folded her hands behind her and looked to Jonas. "You are dismissed, Mr Ostrow. I need not remind you of my earlier orders to keep everything about this matter confidential."

"No, Ma'am." He nodded to the Captain and Counselor before departing.

With the three senior officers alone, T'Varik continued. "As you may have gathered, Captain, while the bacteria have been purged, the damage left in their wake remains. And the damage is too extensive and pervasive for standard repair protocols. The entire Secondary Hull, the support struts and parts of the shuttlebay in the Primary Hull no longer pass muster.

The Surefoot has had its spaceflight certification revoked, and the Inspection Team has recommended it be decommissioned. Starfleet Command has already been notified, and the USS Grappler has been reassigned to our previous assignment in the Leonis Sector."

"I don't have a ship anymore," Hrelle declared blankly, staring at nothing - and then focusing on T'Varik, his expression tightening. "And you didn't think it worthwhile to contact me about this?"

The Vulcan looked to the Counselor, who admitted, "You were on medical leave, Esek, and under my orders you were not to be contacted unless it was an invasion or a galactic disaster or something like that."

He stared hard at Kami in sheer disbelief. "How in the Seven Hells could you do that? I was only on vacation!"

She matched him glare for glare. "You were recovering from nearly being beaten to death by a mob of Ferasans! Not to mention having killed and maimed more than a dozen of them yourself by tooth and claw! You needed a break from everything!"

"Captain," T'Varik interjected softly, "Your presence or knowledge of these events would not have altered their outcome in any way. The Surefoot would still be permanently grounded."

He growled, reached out and petulantly knocked an empty coffee mug off the side of the table, but otherwise said nothing.

Leaving Kami to translate. "He says he fully understands and supports the decision to help him recover from his trauma by not adding to his stress, and is sorry if his initial impression might have suggested otherwise, that it was brought on by the shock at the unexpected news."

He shot his wife a dirty look and told her exactly what he thought she was.

Kami remained insouciant. "That probably doesn't need translating."

T'Varik raised an eyebrow. "Agreed."

Hrelle leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes wearily. "Can I assume you haven't been spending your time since you learned about this merely planning a decommissioning party for the ship and crew?"

"You assume correctly, Sir." She lifted up several PADDS from her end of the table and set them down before him. "I have identified three vessels and missions which would meet the standards required by the Academy for our cadets to continue their final year of education via the Advanced Work Experience Program. However, there is a relatively brief window of opportunity for you to choose, without causing undue delay or disruption to the cadets' schedule."

Hrelle stared at the PADDS for a moment without touching them, before replying. "And what makes you think I want to limit myself to just these three?"

T'Varik seemed almost visibly confused. "Sir? As stated, these meets the health and safety requirements for the cadets-"

"Oh, I have no doubt, Commander." Now he looked up at her. "But what makes you assume I want to continue captaining a boatload of cubs?"

Now both women stared at him, Kami the first to ask, "And where's this coming from?"

"It comes from the acknowledgement that I originally took command of this old junk heap because I wanted to make up for lost time with Sasha; and I've since done so. It comes from the realisation that I could have nearly any command I want - a scout, a surveyor, a frigate, a heavy cruiser - you know, some ship that's not held together with gaffer tape and good wishes. I could have a mission that matters."

T'Varik shifted slightly in place. "Forgive me, Sir, but I have always considered training the future members of Starfleet to be a mission that 'matters'."

"Yes," Kami agreed, setting a hand on her husband's forearm. "And so do you. And you're being extraordinarily rude to T'Varik. You haven't even bothered to look at the opportunities she's presenting."

He shook her hand off him, leaned forward, reached out and lifted up the first PADD. "Well, then, let's see what's on offer." He activated the display. "Mmm, USS Raydeen, Sydney-class passenger transport on the Deneva Run. Nice."

He tossed the PADD back to the table, letting it slide away as he picked up the second. "USS Sanford, Appalachian-class tanker tug. Classy." He sent the second PADD to join the first, as he reached for the final one. "USS Ulix, Fredericks-class buoy seeder/repair ship. Wow."

He sent the third sliding, managing to knock the first two off the edge of the table like it was a miniature game of curling. "All simply exciting choices, Commander. My compliments to you."

T'Varik somehow straightened up even further. "'The majority of Starfleet personnel will never explore strange new worlds, will never seek out new life and new civilisations. They will most likely boldly go where others have already gone before. But they will still make a difference'. Those were your own words to us when we first boarded the Surefoot almost a year ago.

I believed you when you spoke them. So did my cadets. And so we put our faith in you.

But if you no longer subscribe to this, if you crave a ship and an assignment more adrenaline-pumping and ego-boosting, please inform me expeditiously, so that I may find your replacement and my cadets are not overly disrupted by your decision."

Kami rose to her feet now. "No, T'Varik. I apologise on behalf of him; don't make any decisions until I've knocked some sense into him, Would you excuse us please?"

The Vulcan nodded to her, and then to him, before leaving.

She was barely out the door before Kami smacked the side of his head. "What in Mother's name is wrong with you? I've never seen you so rude to her before! It was uncalled for!"

He shook his head, his pointed ears twitching. "First of all: that was sore! Second of all: mind your own damn business! It's nothing to do with you!"

"Nothing to do with me? Who do you think you're talking to, Esek?"

"Right now, a crewmember!"

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really! I command the Furyk, I decide how to act, not you!"

She blinked. "The Furyk? Don't you mean the Surefoot?"

He started; what was she talking about? "Why would you bring up my old ship?"

"I didn't; you did."

He tensed, before shaking his head. "I don't have time for your games. I have to go decide on my future."

"Yours? I thought it was ours? Or does my input not matter in this marriage?"

But he stormed out, unable and unwilling to talk any further.

*

Deck 3, Alpha Squad Quarters:

Sasha and Rrori entered, Sasha looking at their friends and crewmates, smiling and teasing, "Don't you shavetails know to stand when a superior enters the room?"

Eydiir, Neraxis and Kit had been sitting at the table playing cards, but now rose and greeted the returning crew, Eydiir responding in her crisp Capellan accent, "Your absence has been keenly felt, both of you."

"Most understandable," Rrori agreed, setting down his bag and letting the effusive Kit hug him. "I trust you have kept yourselves suitably distracted until my return?"

"Indeed, Friend Rrori!" the Qarari Kit replied, his reptilian turning an olive-green. "I got drunk and head-butted a Nazi!"

The Caitian chuckled. "I have no idea what that means, but I look forward to hearing all about it."

Neraxis slapped Sasha on the shoulder, her bald Bolian head turning a brighter-than-usual shade of blue. "Welcome back, Fearless Leader! What did you guys bring us?"

"I brought back some more wine from my clan's vineyards," Rrori offered.

"I brought back vivids and images from Cait," Sasha added, smirking at Neraxis' disappointed face. "I'm naked in some of them, if that helps."

"No thanks, I've seen you naked, I'm not impressed. But save them for Scrappy, he's less discriminating."

"Thanks. Where is Jonas, by the way? Still with Soo?"

"On some sort of special assignment for Commander T'Varik," Eydiir informed her, adding with a slight smile. "Giles is back as well, by the way. Beta Squad was on the Morning Shift, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind you disturbing his sleep, however."

"Yes," Sasha agreed, albeit less enthusiastically than she would have liked - and knowing it didn't go unnoticed by the other women. She breathed in and asked, "Rrori, why don't you take Kit down to the Mess Hall so you boys can catch up over a coffee?"

The Caitian blinked. "But I was going to unpack and talk about all the praise I received from my clan-"

Then Sasha spoke in Old Caitian, knowing the Universal Translator wouldn't pick it up but that he would understand both the words and the context. "Female Gathering."

He started, but to his credit merely nodded and put an arm around Kit's shoulder. "Come, my friend, we males must rebond in the face of all this oestrogen!"

Alone, Neraxis asked, "What's going on?"

Sasha swallowed, feeling her embarrassment rise like steam from a boiling pot. "Computer: Squad Leader Priority - Lock Door." She focused herself to remain calm. "Eydiir, please tell me you still keep a medikit under your bunk."

"You know I do. Why?"

Sasha swallowed. "Just get it." As Eydiir complied, she glanced at Neraxis. "And you: no laughing."

The Bolian shrugged. "Sure, promise."

But she didn't quite keep her promise, though as Sasha stood facing away from them, her trousers and shorts down around her ankles while Eydiir knelt behind her with an autosuture, repairing all the bite marks and scratches she found, Neraxis at least kept it to just chuckles and titters. Still, it prompted Sasha to snap, "Don't you have somewhere to go?"

The Bolian shook her head, grinning. "I like the view from here. So, what lie have you come up with to explain this?"

The backs of Sasha's legs and buttocks were tingling from the work of the autosuture, like she had pins and needles. "I had sex with a Caitian female."

"That's your lie?" Neraxis guffawed. "The truth must be really embarrassing."

"I suspect it's the truth," Eydiir opined. "Given the nature and location of these marks. Speaking of which, there are a couple of remaining ones that require a bit more intimacy than you're normally accustomed to from me."

Sasha blushed, adjusting herself. "Just do it."

As she proceeded, Eydiir asked, "So, do we get to learn more about this paramour of yours?"

As she felt the tingle from the medical device in places best left undisturbed now, Sasha couldn't help but recall her remaining time on Cait. "Her name was C'Rash. She's a Lieutenant in Starfleet Security, posted to the USS Vigilant."

Neraxis grinned again. "Was she hot?"

Despite herself, Sasha blushed with the memory: the older black-furred female was shapely, sweet-smelling, with delicious ear tips and a rough tongue and the softest fur on the underside of her tail... "She was Nova."

"There," Eydiir concluded, rising to her feet and running the steriliser sequence on her autosuture. "Your infidelity will now stay hidden."

Sasha frowned at the turn of phrase as she pulled up her shorts and trousers. "It's not- It's not infidelity."

"Yes, it is."

"No it's not! Neraxis exclaimed. "It doesn't count if it's with another woman!"

"Yes it does," Eydiir insisted simply, forcefully, focusing on Sasha again. "You have professed your love for Giles. There is an implicit responsibility to remain exclusive to him."

"Bullshit!" Neraxis passed her beer bottle to Sasha. "I love a good Klingon curry, but I'm not being unfaithful to it if I want some chocolate mint ice cream, because each of them gives me something that the other couldn't."

"We are not speaking of your gastronomic excesses. Giles is a person." She looked at Sasha with open criticism. "A good man. He doesn't deserve to be treated this way."

"I didn't set out to do this!" Sasha insisted, tightening her hold on the bottle. "I didn't go to Cait on a Bumper call! It just happened!"

"Of course it did!" Neraxis agreed, retrieving the bottle. "It happens! I mean, not to me, but-"

"This isn't about you," Eydiir chided. "Giles is our friend."

"Sure he's our friend! But he's not married to Sash! I can't see why she can't have a little one-off Bump on the side to get it out of her system!" But then she looked at Sasha. "It was just a one-off, right? Or are the rest of us in trouble?"

Sasha wasn't sure how to answer. When she had finally succumbed to temptation, she wallowed in it, satisfying a curiosity that had been growing in her for years. Would she sleep with a woman again? Maybe, with the right woman.

But as she was on her way back to Starbase 154, the guilt regarding Giles grew, and all the justifications she had for doing what she did withered.

And her talk with Kami along the way didn't help. "I told you before, I'm not your morality coach. You had to decide for yourself what was more important: satisfying your urges or maintaining fidelity to Giles. Whichever you decided, there would be consequences of some sort."

"But you- you thought I should do it, didn't you?"

Kami smiled sympathetically. "Caitians your age are NEVER exclusive to just one other; they use this time to explore their sexuality, with both genders. But you're human.

As for what I thought: I thought that no one, including your father or myself, could blame you one bit for wanting to sleep with C'Rash; my niece is both attractive and experienced, and you two had good chemistry together. And I thought that if it were really that important to you, then Giles would have been more on your mind from the start, and that any thoughts of loyalty on your part are more out of a sense of old-fashioned human propriety than actual guilt."