“Vulcan HO! – Part 2”
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“Lieutenant I can’t release a shuttle to you without authorization from the bridge or a ranking officer.”
Athalla shook his head. “Look. I don’t care about regulations. All I know is that the captain requested some items from Vulcan and the transporters are under repair. Orders were supposed to have been sent, but with half the computers aboard jacked up I don’t know what to tell you! I have explicit orders to round up these items for the captain. Are you really going to turn me down?”
“Again, I haven’t received any orders. I cannot…”
“Why don’t we just call the bridge and get the captain on the line. You can explain to her why you feel it necessary to hold me up from completing my assignment on account of some paperwork. I am quite sure she would be impressed with your strong commitment to duty. Let’s just get her on the comm. right now and she can…”
“No, wait. Fine. Take the damn shuttle. Just make sure you bring it back Athalla and in once piece! So help me if there’s more than a scratch on it you best ensure that chiseled ass of yours can accommodate my boot!”
“Oh? Kinky? Had no idea you rolled like that”, Athalla answered with a grin.
“GET OUT”, the deck officer shouted tossing the padd with the shuttle authorization at the pilot.
Athalla grinned as he stepped out of her office and waived the padd in triumph before a perplexed looking mercenary.
“A little smooth talking and that’s all that’s needed to get what you want from the ladies.”
“Really”, Aev asked as they headed toward the blackened hole that represented the Charon’s main shuttle bay. “From the sound of it I almost called for backup.”
“Cute. Come on. We have a shuttle to catch.”
======= Shuttlecraft – Main Shuttle Bay =======
Athalla grumbled as he manipulated the shuttle’s controls. “They haven’t done maintenance on this bird in two weeks. Starboard RCS thrusters aren’t calibrated. Impulse drive could stand some tuning. Look here. They didn’t even bother to purge the coolant system.”
“Then I suppose our unsanctioned trip to the surface under false pretenses and with bogus orders is off”, the mercenary replied from the co-pilot’s seat at the front of the shuttle.
“Nonesense”, Athalla replied. “If we had one engine, a fuel leak, a cracked canopy, and had ten minutes of life support I could still take off and land on Vulcan without a hitch…well, we’d be able to walk away. Strap yourself in I’m not waiting around for flight ops to grant clearance. Have enough to deal with as it is.”
“Well if it wasn’t for the individual who put a massive hole in the middle of the deck I suspect clearance would be easier to obtain.”
“With charm like that it’s no wonder the babes don’t dig you.”
“Who said they don’t”, Aev acerbically replied.
“The mercenary finally loosens up! Someone call the Federation president!”
With a hearty laugh, Athalla completed his preflight checks and slowly eased the shuttlecraft off the deck and backwards through the Charon’s hangar door whose backdrop was the dry desert planet of Vulcan.
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Lieutenant Leon Athalla
Fighter Pilot
Aev Keirianh
Mercenary
