(Author’s note:
This story is a continuation (of sorts!) to “A Man of Destiny” but not it’s
necessary to read it first. It is partially inspired by the “Captain’s
Table”-books.
This story is also
a crossover between the two storylines (Ironheart and Independence). As usual,
Paramount owns all things related to Star Trek. The Characters are owned by
their respective players. I only own the story…
Fletch was standing in
front of the holodeck controls, trying to decide on where to spend the evening.
The bridge of the HMS
Bounty? No, he’d gone there yesterday.
The officer’s café on
Rigellia prime? No, to noisy.
But…ahh, wait. His own
recreation of the bar he’d been in on his last visit to Earth. “The Universal
Joint”, the place where he had finally found the answers to his relationship
with Shirzina.
“Computer, activate
program Fletch 329. Populate with random characters.”
“Program complete.
Enter, when ready.”
Fletch went through
the door, and found himself in the cosy, red light of the Universal Joint. As
expected, the bartender was not Mike. He had tried to recreate the real
bartender several times, but apparently that was outside the limits of the
computer. The result was never satisfying, so he had decided not to use Mike as
the model for the bartender.
Fletch had suspected
that Mike had been some sort of an alien, but he would never know for sure. For
all he knew, this bar might have been only in his mind, and not exist at all.
He had been unable to find it after his experience.
He went to the bar,
and gestured for the bartender. The man, a rather heavyset man with curly red
hair, came over to him.
“What can I get you?”
“A beer, please. A
large one.”
The bartender began
filling a glass with golden liquid.
“You look tired,
mister. Something you want to talk about?”
“No. No offence, but,
you’re not the person for it. I think, I’ll just sit for a while, drink my beer
and think.”
“Sure thing. If you
ever need me – just call out. Why don’t you sit over there – in the corner?”
The bartender pointed
to a wooden table in a small booth. It was private as well as cosy, and Fletch
nodded in agreement.
“Thanks.”
He went to the table
and sat down, sipped his beer and looked around the room.
When he had been in
the real bar, it had been empty except for himself and Mike, the bartender.
That had seemed a little spooky to him, so now he populated it with characters
from everywhere in the computers memory. He had also set up some safeguards to
prevent the holographic Councelor from popping up unannounced. He went here for
privacy, not psychoanalysis.
At the table near the
window sat two humans, gazing into each other’s eyes and looking very much in
love.
At a pool table in the
back, a Bolian was having it out with a knight in medieval armour. Apparently,
the knight was winning – hard to believe, but that was the effect of asking the
computer to randomise.
Along the bar sat
assorted people, most of them humans. He saw one in an old style admiral
uniform and sailor’s cap, one in clothes best suited for a Shakespearean play
and one in Starfleet diplomatic core uniform. A mixed crowd for sure, Fletch
thought and sipped his beer again. He usually didn’t care much for synthehol –
it never got the taste quite right – but in this bar, it seemed more real,
somehow.
He closed his eyes,
listening to the sounds in the bar. He could not help overhearing a
conversation coming from the other side of the booth’s wall:
“Mima, I think, we
need to talk about…”
“Why don’t you just
say out loud, what’s on your mind, Mac? I can tell you’re hiding something.
“I should know better
than try to keep secrets from a Betazoid.”
“Well, actually I
could tell from you calling me Mima. You only do that, when you’re very nervous
or when we’re in bed.”
“Chandra, please…”
“That’s more like it.”
“Look…this is very
hard for me to say. You know, I’m kind of a private person, and how I’ve always
tried to keep my feelings away from my crew?”
“I know. And before
you say anything, let me say something to you.”
“What?”
“That I don’t want you
to feel any pressure. Sure, we’ve had some great times, and it was fun while it
lasted. If you want to move on, fine with me. It’s not like I’d be sleeping
alone for long. There are plenty of others to take over for you….”
“Plenty…what? But
Chandra, let me finish…”
“…and I think, if you
want to end this, then you don’t have to say anything. I know how a good bye
sounds, and I actually don’t like hearing it from you.”
“But…but…”
“Bye, Mac. See you on
the bridge – captain!”
Fletch opened his eyes
in time to see a very young woman, about 18, standing up on the other side of
the wall. She walked through the room, and out the door. He did not have time
to study her long, but she looked very beautiful, and obviously Betazoid. As
the door shut behind her, he could hear a loud sigh from the man left behind.
Fletch got to his
feet, and moved around the wall.
At the table sat a
young man in a Starfleet uniform. He had put his head in his hands, and leaned
on the table, as for support.
“Hey, kid”, Fletch
said softly.
The young man looked
up at him. Fletch felt a sudden wave of astonishment – the kid’s eyes were a
dark purple, and he had a scar stretching from his temple to his chin. It
looked like something, a dermal regenerator could take care of in 5 minutes,
but apparently, the kid had left it to grow together.
“What?”
Fletch cleared his
throat. He found, that he had just been staring at the kid for about 20
seconds.
“I…I heard your
discussion with that girl. Your girlfriend?”
“Well, I’d hoped so.
Unfortunately, she never let me finish. I WAS trying to ask her to move in with
me in my quarters – but she’s quite careful. She doesn’t like to get hurt –
better to cut your losses while you can.”
“May I sit down?”,
Fletch asked, feeling a little strange. After all, the kid was just a hologram.
“Sure. Pull up a
chair.”
Fletch sat down across
from the kid. Now, he saw something that startled him even more: The boy was
wearing captain’s pips on his uniform. And it was not a cadet’s uniform, with
the simulated rank used for training purposes – it was the normal duty uniform.
“This must be one of
those random reactions again. Just like the knight and the Bolian in the
corner. Just relax, and ignore it”, he thought to himself.
“What’s your name,
young man?”
“You couldn’t
pronounce it. Just call me Mac. Most people do.”
“All right, Mac.
What’s the problem with that girl of yours?”
“Well, as I said,
she’s not much into getting hurt. We’ve known each other for years, and I’ve
always been sweet on her – she knew that. If nothing else, she’s a Betazoid, so
she must have seen it in my mind plenty of times.”
“Betazoids are not
usually in the habit of prying into other peoples thoughts without permission,
you know.”
“Yeah, well…then, some
time ago, we held a talent night on the ship. I had ordered everyone to
participate, and of course, that meant me as well. I found a nice, romantic
song, and played it on a piano, while I looked at her. I guess that worked.”
“So you
started…dating, or what?”
“Well…more like
“taking our friendship to the next level”. We had dinner a few times on the
holodeck or in my quarters, one night we had a little to drink – I had bought a
bottle of wine from my first officer – and we got a little…affected. We wound up in bed together, and it seemed
the right thing to do. My problem is, I’m really private – I don’t talk about
my feelings to others. Unfortunately, that made Chandra feel as if I did not
love her.”
“You never told her?”
“No, I didn’t. As I
said, I’m a very private person!”
“All right, kid. Don’t
get exited.”
“I’m not a kid. I’m
actually, your superior officer, commander! “
Fletch shook his head
and drank from his glass. Sometimes, these holograms were just a little over
the top. But he would play this through.
“All right…Sir. Why
don’t you go tell Chandra, that you love her?”
“How should I?
She just left me! She thought, I would
break up with her, and left me first. And all I wanted, was to bring her
closer!”
“Listen, Mac. Women
are complicated that way. They need to feel loved and desired – but at the same
time to feel independent and strong. It’s a tight rope walk, but it’s well
worth the risk.”
“You think?”
“I’ve been dating my
captain for a year now. I know, what I’m talking about.”
Mac got up from his
chair.
“I’ll go find her
right away. Thanks, commander…?”
“Kevin Christian.
Fletch, to my friends, Mr Christian to the people who don’t like me.”
“Thanks, Fletch. I
don’t really know how to ask this, but…you come in here often?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well…can I come in
here and talk to you again? I’d like that.”
“Well…this is my
program, so...of course, Mac. Anytime.”
“Thanks, Fletch. See
you later.”
Mac turned on his
heel, and ran out of the front door. Fletch finished his beer, and got up.
“Computer, exit!”
The archway appeared,
and Fletch went out of the holodeck.
“End program!”, he
said, and the computer beeped. The bar vanished.
“Save the character of
Mac. I might want him back there some other time.”
“Acknowledged.”
Fletch stretched his
back, and headed for the turbolift.
Even though it was
just a hologram, it felt good giving advice for once in stead of taking it. He
looked forward to seeing Mac again.
Mackenzie Calhoun
exited the holodeck, and did not pause to end the program. He touched his
badge.
“Indy, locate
Chandra.”
“Chandra is in her
quarters. I don’t think, she wants to talk to you, Mac.”
“She’ll talk to me,
alright.”
He walked briskly to
the door to Chandra’s quarters. He rang the bell, and got no response. Then, he
touched his badge.
“Calhoun to Chandra.”
“Go away, Mac.”
“Chandra, I need to
talk to you. Can I come in, please?”
A moment passed. Then,
the door slid open. The room behind it was dark.
Calhoun entered, and
looked around. He could faintly see Chandra, sitting on he couch by the window.
“You’ve got 20
seconds. What did you want to say?”
“I wanted to say, “I
love you”. I wanted to ask you to move in with me in my quarters. Will that be
enough to buy me more time?”
Chandra was silent for
a moment. Calhoun felt sweat begin to run down his back.
This was a do-or-die
moment, if he had ever faced one, and he was more nervous than he had ever been
in battle. His eyes tried to look through the darkness, to interpret Chandra’s
facial expressions, but it was impossible. She was just a silhouette against
the darkness of space.
Then, faintly, he
heard her voice:
“Say that again.”
“What?”
“Say it again. I want
to make sure, you said what I thought you said.”
“Chandra, I love you.
I’ve loved you for years, but I never knew how much. Not until a few weeks ago,
that is. I cannot imagine a life on this ship, or anywhere else, without you.”
“That’s what I
thought, you said. Now, come over here.”
Slowly, Calhoun moved
across the room to the couch. Chandra stood up, so their eyes were level. Their
noses pressed against each other, and they felt the warmth of the other’s body,
as they wrapped around each other.
“I feel like such a
fool”, Chandra whispered.
“Don’t feel that way.
I was a fool not to tell you this a lot sooner.”
”How come you suddenly
decided to tell me? It’s not your usual style, when a girl runs out on you. In
fact, I don’t recall a girl ever running out on you before.”
“True. I talked to
this hologram in the bar, after you left. That’s some program, you made.”
“I didn’t make it.”
“What?”
“I didn’t make it. It
was active, when I got there.”
“Really? Maybe I
should check up on that. It seemed so real – even the drinks tasted
differently, and if you could…..”
“Mac?”
“Yes.”
“Shut up and kiss me.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
On the holodeck, which
still looked like “The Universal Joint”, a young red-haired girl materialised out
of thin air next to the bar.
Behind it, a tall man
with curly blond hair was drying a glass with a cloth.
He looked up, as she
appeared.
“Hello, young lady.
What can I get you?
“I don’t know. I’ve
not had that many experiences with drinking. I’m a hologram.”
“Really? In that case,
let me get you some of our holographic apple cider. You’ll love it.”
The girl sat down on a
barstool, and took the glass handed to her.
“Thank you.”
“What’s your name,
young lady?”
“Indy. Well, actually,
it’s independence, but Indy is a lot shorter.”
“Hello Indy, I’m Mike.
And you are a hologram, you say. That’s funny, I was expecting another hologram
today. Maybe he’s late.”
“Another hologram?
But…”
Indy had hardly spoken
the words, before a man in a black suit appeared next to her. He looked a
little tired – if it was possible for a hologram to be tired.
“I’ll have a double,
Mike.”
“A double of what?”
“Anything, as long as
it’s a double. I’ve just had to listen to ensign Schultz complain about her
lack of self-esteem, and problems with her husband for two bloody hours. In
five minutes, I’ve got an appointment with Jerry Summers, where I’ll sit and
listen to his ridicules crush on the captain. Even a hologram can get fed up,
you know.”
“Don’t I know it. Sit
down, George. I’d like you to meet this young lady.”
George looked at Indy
with interest.
“Are you a new
crewmember? I don’t think, we’ve met.”
“I’m not a crewmember.
I’m a hologram. My name is Indy”
“Oh, I see. That
explains it. Well, nice to meet you, Indy. Most people call me HoloGeorge, but
you can call me George. Hologram to hologram, so to speak.”
“So, how’s the
business for you, George?” Mike asked, putting a drink in front of him.
“Oh, you know…we’re
stuck in Earth orbit for the moment, and the crew is reacting to the boredom.
They’ve been asked to stay aboard, and those with families are somewhat miffed
that they can’t visit them. I’m just trying to keep the spirits up as best I
can.”
“Maybe you should
begin doing some more social activities on the ship. I remember you told me
about your talent night.”
“Talent night?” Indy
said, astonished, “we’ve had one of those as well. Our chief of security won.
He made a very beautiful Bat’leth dance with lots of lights and sounds. It was
fantastic.”
“Really?”, George
said, cocking his head, “What ship would that be?”
“Why, the
Independence, of course.”
“Independence….there’s
no such ship in service, as far as my database is concerned.”
“Must be a glitch in
the holodeck”, Mike suggested.
“Must be”, George
agreed.
Indy shook her head.
“It’s no glitch. We’re
lost, and…”
George finished his
drink, and put the glass on the bar.
“Well, I’m off, Mike.
I have a session in a minute or so, and I don’t want to be late. Otherwise,
Jerry is going to think, I’m letting him down.”
“Wouldn’t want that.”
“Nope. Indy…I’ll see
you around?”
“Um…sure…George.”
George vanished, and
Indy got up.
“I should get back to
my duties as well. I will be back some other time.”
“You’re always
welcome. I’m here almost all of the time, if you need a sympathetic ear.”
“I’ll remember that.”
Indy smiled and
vanished.
Mike wiped the glass
clean, and put it on the shelf.
“That went well!”, he
said, almost to himself, and snapped his fingers.
And it was all gone.
Around the Earth, the
Ironheart continued its orbit.
And in the Gamma
Quadrant, a few years into the future, the Independence continued on a course
for home.
And nowhere, in some
other part of the universe, a bartender smiled.
This was only the
beginning.