Clothes Make the Man

Tortok sat at his station on the bridge, examining the requisition list that he had made and comparing it to the supplies that were expected to come aboard.  Something he could have done in his lab.  He had spent much time there, picking up the pieces and focusing on work.  He was still recovering, as was much of the crew.   His wounds had healed thanks to the talents of the medical staff.  The emotional scars remained.

He was grateful for his Vulcan half.  If he had not had some of the specialized training from his mother, then he figured that he would have curled up in a ball in the science lab to be forgotten.  The emotions were still eating away at him, wearing down his armor.  As the docking procedure fully began he turned away from the screen and just watched the bridge.  He could have gone over the lists in his lab, but this was the real reason he was here.

The procedure was a marvel of logic, form, and maneuvering.  Every statement, every movement had a purpose.  It was as graceful as a ballet and as well timed as an old fashioned watch.  It was a spectacle to watch and it gave him piece every time.  After docking, liberty was granted. The order then came that all senior staff make were to convene on the station later, Tortok included himself in that number, he was the only science officer on board this ship.
When he cleared the bridge he made his way to his quarters.  He was off duty when he was on the bridge, but being the own science officer on a “heavy escort” ship meant he pretty much made his own schedule.

As he entered his quarters he noticed his bunk-mate was on duty, relieved a the solitude he made his way to the mirror.  What he saw he didn’t like.  He looked older, leaner.  The last two months had sharpened his edges.  His hair which he tried to control the best he did was starting to cause an emotional reaction in him.  He took out the trimmer and started to trim it into the standard Vulcan bowl cut.

He stared at it and what looked back wasn’t him, not anymore.  At that moment he wanted to experiment.  Being in constant control was wearing on him, and meditation wasn’t effective.  He felt he needed to let loose.  That is when he decided to shave his head, bald.  When he was done, he stared at his pointed ears, sticking out of his head and started to laugh.  A chuckle to himself at first, then building to an outburst a laughter, then dissolved into the giggles that hurt his diaphragm.

He felt good, better than he had in a long time.  If Vulcans admitted being embarrassed, he should have felt it, but he didn’t care.  He looked at his wardrobe, he had a view civilian clothes, all in Vulcan fashion, some were meditation robes.  None of it suited him.  Tortok walked over to the replicator.

“Computer, civilian attire.”

“Specify”

“Collard shirt, white, button down.  Silk vest, green, and blue denim pants.”

After a quick scan for his measurements the garments appeared neatly folded on the replicator pad.  He put them on, remembering old earth sayings about clothes and men, and walked back to the mirror.  He barely recognized himself.  His posture was different, more relaxed.  A smile crept onto his lips.

He left his quarters and made his way to the gang plank.  He wanted to hit the promenade, find a beverage to share at dinner, and re-introduce himself to his crew-mates.  The lessons of control that his mother taught him burned in the back of his mind.  But he needed to experiment.  He needed to find out about this side he had shut away for so long.

A Solution

The patrol had been long and uneventful so far.  They had flown a defensive pattern between the Washington and the Klingon task force.  Salkonna had been quiet, working on her assignment.  Flying in tight formation on autopilot while working the calculations with the Washington.  Ash hoped she would have something soon.

Just as the next turn back towards the Washington, Chief Sterling chimed in “Sir, we are getting a communication from the Washington, secure channel.  sounds like Ensign Celes.”

He shifted in his chair, and tussled his hair.  “Put her through chief.”

“Aye”

The image popped in the corner, Ash turned to face her.  “whats up Dianna?”

“We just got back from the Klingon ship, be careful out there okay?” She said, obviously scared.

Ash grinned and gave her a look. “Hey, its me!”

“That's why I’m scared Ash, its the Na’Kuhl involved this time.”

“The who?”

“The Na’Kuhl, they were involved in manipulating time...I don’t know much else yet.”

Ash was suddenly very concerned, “So what are you saying?

“I’m saying that every time they show up, trouble is to follow.”

“Alright, remeber, I have 5 other pilots that will watch my back, and I’ll watch mine.  We’ll all come home together alright?” Celes nodded. “So why is this the first time we’ve talked since we left the star base Dianna?”  He didn’t know why he asked the question, he just needed to know.

“Its complicated Ash.  I can’t talk now.  After this we’ll talk, okay?”

Ashram sighed, “Alright.”  Ashram sighed again, and stared at the blank monitor for a minute.  Salkonna popped on, startling him.  

“We’ve worked something out sir.  The simulations give us a success rate of 38% on neutralizing the weapon.”

“I hope thats the bad news Ensign.”

“The bad news sir, in half of the simulations we lose one or two fighters.

Ash bit his lip.  “Let me see it, and send the data to Commander Scantillla.”

The simulation appeared on the screen where Salkonna’s face was.  Three large ships. were shown.  The Washington and the Negh’var were the logical targets.  The third ship was the ship they faced earlier with the isokinetic weapon.  Directly opposite to the line of the two target ships were two groups of three fighters each.  Ash started the simulation.  Just before the enemy ship fired, both groups of fighters went to warp directly at the target ships.  When the ship fired toward one of the ship the fighter group would surround the shell and destroy it before it reached the target vessel.  After the destruction of the shell the three ships would perform a Yeager loop and reform on the opposite side again to intercept the next shell.


Ash checked the time indicator, each shot would take less than two seconds to complete.  “So there is no margin for error then,” he said to himself, not realizing his channel was open.

“Aye sir.” Salkonna answered.

Startled, he quickly composed himself “Lets practice this then, we need to get it right.”

“One more thing sir.”

There was always one more thing he thought, annoyed “Yes?”

“The way this works, as you saw, we have to commit before the shot is fired, and once we commit there is no way to disengage until we are almost on the target.”

“An extremely vulnerable place to be, I’m liking this plan less and less.”

“It’s the best we have sir.”

“Great.”  Ashram sighed, and watched the simulation again, this time at full speed. “Lets get started.”

Loss and Recovery

Tortok lay in sick bay when the word came down. Two months. It didn’t seem right, in a way it felt much longer, but when he thought about it two months did make some sense. He looked up at the display, he was stable and his vitals were looking normal. His back was still in pain, but he used his focus to keep it away.

The bandage was hard and soaked in his blood. He looked forward to some true medical care. He looked around the sickbay and saw the others, the ones that were in better condition than him, and the ones that died. He saw the Andorian that had fallen to his death early on. But his wounds didn’t look like a fall. He would see how he died once a nurse was able to tend to him.

One eventually did come, and he was sedated. When he woke up his bandage was laying on the table, his back was healed.

“Go ahead, stand up,” Said the voice behind him.


He took the first few wobbly steps, and then composed himself.

“Good, your cleared for light duty Lieutenant, come back in a day or so for a checkup.”

“Thank you doctor, about the Andorian, Tok. How did he die?”

“He took a bullet, saving the Admiral”

Tortok nodded adjusted his uniform, and headed to the exit. Before he left he turned “Thank you.”
She smiled and nodded, and headed toward the next patient. Tortok started walking to his lab. He didn’t want to be in his quarters. His emotions were starting to surface. If he headed toward his quarters he might have an outburst. He needed to immerse himself in his work.

When he opened the door he saw how much work he indeed had to do. He had just set up the lab to his liking, and here it was, completely destroyed. He sighed and started picking up the pieces.

The Hedge Knight

We marched most of the day, along the river road. We had been following the river for days now, each day stopping outside a town or village or settlement named after the river and some other defining feature. Based on the hills I would assume this town is Riverbluff or Riverhill. They all ran together now.

The Centurions had set us up outside of town near the river. The knights stayed in the village. The lords in stayed at the inn. They would begin the round up now. All boys and men between 16 and 30 were rounded up and conscripted. That’s what happened to me and all of my fellow footmen, all of us were from different parts of the land. We hadn’t chosen to join the war. But the idea of getting a hand or foot chopped off so that you couldn’t join the next army that rolled through was enough encouragement for us to join.

At least they promised us meals, and glory, and a night track of land after the war. Only problem was we had to be on the winning side. If we lost we might as well have died losing that war.

We set up camp. As usual I hung around the Step-son Company. It was a name 4 of us had given ourselves. Our fathers or mothers had found new mates. We were treated as harshly as new step children had been in the stories that our original mothers had told us at their breast. Darrin had already started the fire and was about to fall asleep. The man could sleep anywhere and anytime. I think I’ve caught him sleeping while marching. Vance was pulling out our rations of salt beef and what they told us was coffee. In truth it could have just been burnt corn as good as it tasted. With the water boiling and the “coffee”
I didn’t feel like spending my evening by a fire again. We had told the same stories over and over again. I already knew which women of the village Andrew wanted to get to know better. We had been marching for a good fifteen miles in the rusty mail they had given us, lugging my pike on my shoulder, helmet weighing down on my head, and the pack of supplies on my back. It was my turn yesterday. Vance was due tomorrow.

The Centurions told us to wear the mail and helmets as a show of force. To show the enemy that we were a strong force to be reckoned with. All we had shown was the trees and bushes and the fish in the river how strong we were as a unit. It had been extremely hot and had been a very long march. The only relief was the brief rain shower in the morning that hung as a blanket of humidity the rest of the day.

“I’m going to take a dip in the river, leave me some food this time Darrin.” I told the company as I left my helmet and mail hanging on the pike that I had pushed into the damp ground.

“Getting all fresh for the wenches? Too bad it’ll go to waste tomorrow.” Andrew grinned, poking the fire.

“If you bathed once in a while you'd be able to woo a wife” I turned and walked to the river, walking through the camp. I grinned as he threw a wool rag at me. Other solders had had the same idea as I did. When I reached the bank I stripped down and jumped in the freezing water. The rush was enough to make me feel completely different, It stripped the aches and pains away, washed away all the sweat and dirt. I allowed myself to be carried off downstream a bit near the edge, deep enough that I could completely submerge myself. I dunked my head under the water for a minute, allowing the water to clean me off completely.

I heard the arrow penetrate the surface of the water, and then a large splash as another man on the bank fell in the river. I stayed underneath, not sure what was happening, and not wanting to volunteer my head as another target. When my lungs started screaming for oxygen came up and only exposed my head enough. Darkness had come quicker than I had thought was natural. The sun had completely disappeared when it only should have been low on the horizon. Something wasn’t right.

I allowed myself to drift down the river some more. But I knew that I had to get out sooner or later. The enemy surely would have had people down river to catch the bodies that fell into the river and strip them of anything valuable. I climbed out of the river, naked as the day I was born. I had drifted less than a quarter mile from camp. I scrambled to a nearby grove of bushes and small tries to hide myself. The entire village was in flames. There was chaos as the footmen in the camp were scattered and disorganized. The centurions were calling conflicting orders to the men that they had left. It looks like most of the dead had come from the first rain of arrows. The rain continued toward the camp and the village, burning rain that would kill if the drops fell on you.
I decided to stay quiet, and not to join the fray. Things were lost. I would be marked as a deserter, but as things appeared there would be no body left to punish me for that. I moved from my hiding spot and started back towards the river. I saw a corpse not far from my grove. When I got closer I saw that it was one of the knights. I could smell the piss and the booze on his corpse. He was wearing his mail and had his sword and shield with him. I decided to strip him of everything as he wasn’t going to need it anymore. I ran to the river and washed out as much blood and shit as I could. I would reek until I could steal other clothes, but at least I wasn’t naked anymore. I grabbed his sword and shield. It was a sigil that I didn’t recognize, a green blob. I couldn’t see well in this light despite the fire.

I changed my mind and decided to head back down the road and north the bluff. I stayed along the brush and trees, careful not to make any noise and not to draw attention. When started moving up I could see the rows of archers across the river and the two large armies converging on the village. We had marched right into a trap. I reached the edge of the road and a clearing. When I heard footsteps I froze. There was a small company of troups in fresh plate armor, gleaming against the fire. A man that looked lordly perched on top of a horse and two women chanting.

Wind seemed to blow around the women, they were locked hand in hand, staring into the sky chanting a dark melody over and over again. I couldn’t understand the words. I heard the crack behind me and swong the sword at the figure. The sword was easly deflected out of my hand and another sword was quickly at my neck.

“Well look what we found here.” Said a voice, “A hedge knight!”

The sound of laughter of the two other men filled my ears. I was caught, and most likely dead.

A Crazy Idea

Before leaving the bridge Lieutenant Estelo shot a quick glance at the Ops station. He hadn’t really talked to Celes since the night in port. He was disturbed not seeing her at her station; he had no clue where she was. He entered the turbolift and headed back down to the flight deck. He ran his fingers through his hair, still damp from the sweat. He was tired, but he had to head back out there.
Ashram played out the last sortie in his mind, and the quick briefing with Commander Scintilla had given him something to think about. He needed to find away to negate the power of that cannon. He had one crazy idea, he just wanted to run it by Sakonna first, see if it was even possible. He steped onto the flight deck, three of the fighters had already headed out, his wing was waiting for him, all the fighters were prepped and ready for launch. Talas and Syldra were waiting for him.
“Let’s go, we need to meet up with Sakonna and the rest.”
“Aye sir” They both saw the tension; they knew that the situation was as serious as they thought.
The three fighters launched in formation and met up with the existing wing in a defensive posture near the Washington. “Estelo to Sakonna, I have a question for you”
“Sir” she said coldly
“Switch to single comm., I need to ask you something privately”
“Aye Sir, ready”
“Is there a way we detonate a round from a kinetic cannon?”
“….Sir?” If he didn’t know better, he heard a bit of hesitation in that response.
“I need to know if it is possible.”
“Yes, but..”
He cut her off, “Yeah It’ll be dangerous, I know, but if we can’t nullify that cannon, then I doubt that we or anyone else will survive another sortie.”
“Understood, I’ll need to get into contact with tactical on the Washington.’
“Let me know, I’ll need to contact these Klingons…introduce myself..”
“Aye sir” She
“Negh’Var tactical this is Lieutenant Estelo of the Washington; we’ve come to render support.”
After a few moments a gruff looking (aren’t they all?) Klingon appeared on the screen. “Your gall is impressive human, but what do we need with little gnats like you?”
“The more we bite, eventually we will sting, distracting your enemy…allowing you and your brothers more glory.” Ashram said with as much confidence as he could.
The Klingon laughed a good sign. “Perhaps it is a good day to die, we welcome you, but do not sting too hard, Klingons are known to exterminate pests.”
“Aye I’ve heard about the great victory against the tribbles, I hope songs will be sung about this battle one day…Qapla!”
“Qapla!”
The transmission closed, “Team, we need to set up in a defensive posture between us and the Klingon Fleet…Sakonna, let me know when you’ve worked out something.”

Tarlin: Judge of the One God

Beams of light pushed through the wood. Columns freckled the base of the Deerwood where Tarlin and his companion walked. He never took the road. Not for the fact that he wanted to avoid anyone else, but there was never any adventure on the road. There was no adventure, no excitement. His companion stopped, instinctively Tarlin crouched down and squatted ever time this happened. His dog always could tell when someone was nearby. He unclasped his scabbard and put his hand on the rough leather hilt.

The familiar grip melded to the palm of his hand perfectly, it became part of his hand. Tarlin searched the wood, for what caused his dog to pause. He heard them before they saw him. Three men ringing in mail like a thousand tiny bells, the hooves of their mounts thumping against the floor of forest. The dog found a spot and hid, Tarlin found a tree, and wrapped his cloak around him, doing the same. He was a rock, leaning against the tree.

The three men stopped in the clearing near where the rock leaned. He could hear them dismount, the sounds of a struggling girl, her mouth muffled.

“Er’es a good a place as any, common bitch, let’s see what ya have to offer” said a deep voice.

“Aye I carrie ‘er, I get the first go at it” said the next one

“No ya do, I get the first one…I’s the one whole stole her”

He could hear the girl whimpering and crying, He didn’t need to let this happen in his wood. He smirked at his father’s words. Well, I did ask for some adventure. He pulled out two light daggers, and held them in his right hand. He slowly stood up, he didn’t need to be too stealthy, as he knew the men had other things on their minds than to see who was hiding in the woods.

He whispered a quick prayer and let one dagger fly. It struck the neck of the Man who already had his britches down and was starting to climb over the girl. He fell down to his knees and sat there, and he died as he turned toward the throw. He let loose the next dagger as soon as the men turned. It struck the farthest man in the left eye, he fell like an upended bucket of water. The girl screamed as best she could, her eyes wide as the two men died. The last man turned but Dog was already on him. He had knocked the rapist down on his belly.

Before the man had a chance to get up Tarlin stood on his back, pinning him down. “Get off me!” the man protested. Tarlin unsheathed his bastard sword and pressed it into the man’s back.

“You are in no position to make demands rapist, what garrison are you from.” Tarlin asked.

“To the hells with you highwayman!”

“I’ve already been there,” He pressed the sword harder against the man’s back. The man screamed as the blade pierced the mail and the skin on the man’s back. “Tell me or this will be the tip of the pain”

“The Rose, Up at Deerton. We just were for a little fun, we didn’ know..”

Tarlin finished the blow, piercing the man’s heart. “May the God forgive me for my judgement” he whispered as he pulled the sword from the dead man. He turned to the girl. She was crying and full of fear. “Don’t be afraid, you are safe now.” He said to her as he pulled her up. He undid her gag and cut her ropes. The girl was barley fifteen years old, skinny, with large green eyes and long auburn hair. If it wasn’t for the cuts and bruises, she would have been strikingly beautiful. He gathered his knives from the bodies of the men, and searched their bodies for anything of value. He gathered a half dozen silvers and twenty coppers, and cut the sigils from the men’s chests. The men had told them the truth, he was of the Rose, and they were near Deerton. The three horses were tied to a tree. One had broken his neck from rearing from the blood, the other two seemed not to notice, or were so dulled from war that it didn’t matter.

“You will come with me.” Tarlin said. “I’ll give you to the sisters of Caperton, they will take care of you.”

“Who are you?” She asked, her voice was still shaking as much as she was.
“Tarlin Eddrus Stonecloak, Judge of the one God” He stated. He hated the title, but the maid had asked. “But you can call me Tarlin, no one we meet will need to know who I am. And who are you?”

Ashram:Eat Drink and Be Merry

The forward lounge was full of the sounds of laughter and conversation. The tone was quite different from hours before. It was the sound of the ship releasing the tension as it passed back into Federation space and towards the starbase. A party sat at one of the longer tables. At the head was newly minted Lieutenant Ashram Estelo, still wearing the dress uniform from the ceremony earlier. To his right was Ensign Celes. The two were holding hands under the table, giving each other quick squeezes and glances at each other throughout the celebration.

Ashram looked down the table and saw his flight team. They had performed excellent, finally getting a chance to showcase their skills. Ensign Salkonna sat at the foot of the table, back in her uniform grays. Chief Sterling was to her right. Both watched the rest of the team enjoy the dinner and drinks. Joran had already lifted many a toast to the team, to the Lieutenant, to Chief Sterling, to Salkonna. When he was about to lift another glass for a toast Talas grabbed his arm to sit him back down.

Syldra lead most of the conversation, as she usually did. Mostly with gossip of course. When the question of the Chief staying aboard. She seemed to avoid the question. Ashram hoped that she would stay. She offset Salkonna's coldness nicely, and if his new rank kept him away from the flight deck too often, then the chief would stay in her role of Executive Officer.

He didn't want to dwell too much on personnel moves tonight. Tonight was a celebration, tonight was about a job well done. Ashram thought back to the old saying, “Eat, drink, and be merry. For tomorrow we may die.” When the thought crossed him mind he felt the pressure on his hand from Celes' hand. They hadn't had a chance to talk about the kiss in the corridor, the bridge wasn't the best setting for that conversation.

The night wound down, as did the drinks. Joran had his fill and was starting to pass out. Salkonna and Talas carried him off to his bunk to have him sleep it off. Chief Sterling looked like she was about to fall asleep as well. Syldra continued going, Ashram had no idea where her energy came from. Ashram stood and stretched, the rest followed his lead. Ashram walked over to the Chief and shook her hand.

“Thank you,” said Ash
“For, sir?” she replied
“It's still Ash, for Keeping them together, doing what you did. I want you to stay with us, we could use you.”
The Chief nodded and smiled, and glanced at Celes behind him. “Have a good night sir, see you in the morning.”

Ash and Celes left the lounge and started walking. They were quiet, their hands intertwined as they walked down the corridor. They reached the turbolift and after the door closed, he couldn't wait anymore. He looked over to Celes, and she looked back. They kissed long and hard. When they stopped, they noticed the door was open, and they were on their deck. They had no clue how long they were there.

They composed themselves as best they could. They went to his quarters, and as soon as the door closed behind them they resumed the kiss from the turbolift. The two thew themselves into the passion and to the moment. There were no words, there were no need for words.