Ensign Gates and Commander Yilaan were seated together in Deck Nine, Port, along with Doctor Giovanni; Gates was engaging in the familiar Starfleet tradition of the feast before the transfer.
"So how did you arrive at your decision to transfer, Ensign?" Giovanni asked.
Gates shrugged. "Well the talk I had with Commander Yilaan a few days ago helped. I also think recent events with Lieutenant Reiv did too."
"Reiv? How so?" Yilaan inquired.
"Just a reminder that life is short and opportunities can be few. Passing up on this might be more comfortable in the short term, but I might come to regret it later on," Gates replied between mouthfuls of food.
The three engaged in further small talk, recalling various adventures they'd shared over the course of the past year on board the Bristol. As the meal wound down, an intercom signal interrupted. "Ensign Gates, this is Captain Freeman. We have contacted the Enterprise. They're ready for you to beam over at your convenience."
Gates nodded, "Acknowledged sir." She wiped her mouth slowly with a cloth napkin and began to leave. "Thank you both," she said simply to Yilaan and Giovanni.
"Take care Ensign," Yilaan said, shaking Gates' hand.
Giovanni was more emotional, as she gave Gates a big hug. "Good luck to you," she said. "You'll be missed."
The three parted, and Gates soon found herself gathering her things together in her quarters. As she was finishing packing, her door chimed. "Come in," she said. Lieutenant Reiv entered the room. "Lieutenant Reiv? I'm glad you stopped by."
He smiled, "I wouldn't have missed it. It's been an honor working with you. You're an excellent officer. The Enterprise is a lucky ship."
She made a face, "Thank you Reiv. You sound like a captain talking like that, you know."
"One day perhaps," he said, patting her on the back. "Can I help you with your bags?"
"Yes you can, thank you," she said as the two took her bags and began to leave her quarters. Gates turned and took one last look, then proceeded down the corridor with Reiv towards a turbolift to take them to Transporter Room One. "It's good to hear you thinking positively again. I was worried." Reiv merely smiled and nodded her way.
Upon arrival in the Transporter Room, Reiv lay her bags on the transporter platform while Gates walked up to Captain Freeman, who was present to see her off. "Permission to disembark sir," Gates requested formally.
"Permission granted," Freeman replied in a similar fashion, then smiled. "Good luck to you Ensign. It's been very good having you aboard."
The two shook hands as Gates replied, "It's been an honor to serve in your crew sir. Take care." Gates then stepped up onto the transporter platform.
"Signal the Enterprise we are ready to begin crew transfer," Freeman ordered Chief McClellan, the transporter chief on duty.
She pressed a few buttons on the transporter panel before replying, "Enterprise signals ready sir."
"Energize, Chief," Freeman ordered, turning back to face Gates as she was transported off the ship. Freeman and Reiv then stayed to welcome the crew replacements from the Enterprise until the exchange was completed. The two then departed the Transporter Room for the Bridge. They walked in silence until boarding the turbolift. "You know Reiv, I must confess, I'd expected further trouble out of you," the captain said candidly.
"Pardon sir?"
"Regarding recent events. With Falinn, you know," Freeman continued, trying to edge around the subject. "Main Bridge," he instructed the lift, and it proceeded as ordered. "Especially after you struck me."
"I'm sorry about that sir," Reiv apologized. "Thank you for not court martialing me. I know most other captains would have."
"Yes well, patience is one of my virtues, but don't let it happen again," Freeman replied. "After the incident with the Romulans, many of us, including you and I, felt very angry in a very deep and personal way," he continued. "We all surely might have been tempted to take matters into our own hands. I'd imagined to you this recent situation would've felt the same, or worse, and that you might have been tempted to do something about it."
Reiv merely shrugged as the lift reached the Bridge and the doors opened. His eyes locked with Freeman's as he smiled thinly. "I'm a Starfleet officer Captain." Both officers took their posts, and the subject was never spoken of again.
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