Mission 4

[Amanda Rose]

Before O'Connor calls in Pendragon

O'Connor paced in her quarters. Again, America came out smelling like a rose. She just wondered how it could have been less battered. She also wondered what to do with the Commodore. While thinking about this, she realized that she had to do something hard for her. She called Wells. =/\= Lieutenant Laura Wells, this is the Captain. Please report to my quarters. =/\=

~Wells..on my way, Sir.~ _Great..now what did I do wrong?_ Laura groaned then turned engineering over to a younger officer before straightening her uniform, checking her hair then heading up.

O'Connor waited for Wells to appear. She started playing around with some mechanical contraption on her desk. When the chime rang, she simply called out, "Come in." O'Connor pounded on the table, her long red hair glying into her face as she did so.

The door shushed open and Wells walked in standing at attention. "Lt. Laura Wells reporting as ordered, Captain."

O'Connor did not look over at Wells. She started wiggling something on the contraption and growled at it. She called out, "At ease, Lieutenant. I did not call you here for, well, official business."

_Not official business?_ Wells relaxed and waited.

O'Connor slapped the contraption, which gave a metallic sounding noise for a response. "I called you here because I...I...." She straightened up to her full five feet and said, "I wanted to thank you."

Laura managed to keep herself official, she she was clearly surprised. "Ye..yes sir." she nodded. "Thank you, Sir."

"I also must admit that I was a bit surprised you stood beside me and not the Commodore back there on the bridge. I would have expect you to stay by the book. What was your thinking?"

"MY thinking was Ma'am, the Commodore was in the wrong given the current situation, and that I needed to support my Captain." Laura shifted slightly.

"Even though I had been hard on you?" O'Connor asked skeptically. "It is not like you had a lot of time to analyze the Commodore's situation. After all, it was a secret that he was not a commander."

"I just felt it's what I needed to do, Ma'am." Laura answered carefully."

"You're holding something back," O'Connor observed. "You can speak freely. As I said earlier, this was not meant to be an official conversation."

"Very well." Laura took a breath. "For some reason, I don;t think you like me, Captain. I never planned to be your CEO. I think you put me here because for some reason you didn't have anyone competent enough in a harrowing situation to save us all. But now that I am in the position, I'm going to do my best whether I always agree with you or not to keep the ship in one piece. It just makes sense to me."

O'Connor sighed and said, "You're right, Ms. Wells, I put you there because there was nobody else competent. I miss Ridika a great deal. I was going to look for someone else to fill the spot when we got back to Earth after this mission. Now, I'm not." She waited for Laura's response.

"Because I saved the ship?"

"That's part of it," O'Connor admitted. "But that's not all of it. People need special skills to command. I don't want someone around that just follows orders. They're too easy to sway. I thought you might be like that. You proved me wrong and that's not an easy thing to do, let alone get me to admit it." She gave a crooked smile at Laura.

"Oh.." Laura paused on that one thinking. _She likes me because I didn't have the luxury to be submissive?_ "I'll do my best to stay..more assertive, Captain. I was never in a position to do that before."

"No? I certainly tried to push you into that. You never bit. I'm not sorry that I got to see that you had what it takes."

"We were in a position I didn't really have a choice. Do or die, that sort of thing. I suppose if you want me to try to be more that way, I will. But, I wasn't raised that way. It's..going to take some getting used to." Laura answered.

O'Connor stood as tall as she could before Wells and said, "You don't get anywhere but lying down. You have to make your opinions known or you will get walked over. I did not get here by being soft spoken."

"That's more then obvious, Captain. But, being a little less..rude..to your crew is also a virtue." Laura ventured. Ifd they were going to be honest, might as well get it all out.

"Rude? Is that what you think I am?" O'Connor looked amused.

"I find your attitude towards your crew condescending and rude, yes Ma'am." Laura pushed forward. "I think if people knew you cared more, morale would be better and..some..people..might be willing to come forward out of their shell and show you talents you weren't aware they possessed."

"Is that a fact?" O'Connor seemed amused and did not back off. "You don't read the ticker tape much either, do you?"

"I treat the ticker tape like the taboloids on subspace news. Rumors that are unfounded that can cause hurt feelings and bring the crew into depression.

O'Connor offered another explanation, "Or allow people to blow off steam, feel more like a village or family than merely a working crew. Only I have the burden of always working, Laura."

Laura found herself laughing. "With all due respect Captain, I don't view the tickers as a way to blow off steam unless you want people pounding it out in the ship gym over insults and rumors that were planted."

O'Connor gave Laura a crooked smile. "Perhaps not. But, it does make for some interesting reading and often has some grains of truth."

"So, you're encouraging me to read tabloid ship mail?"

"No. I'm encouraging you to see another point of view." O'Connor sighed. "It is not easy being a Captain, you realize?"

"No, I suppose it isn't." Laura agreed. _Is she trying to understand me now or is this another get close to me so she can hurt me again later?_

"Well, I guess you can see my point. I just wanted to tell you, you know?" O'Connor seemed at a loss for words, as if saying "thank you" and apologizing were not in her nature.

"Yes..I appreciate that, Captain."

"Is there anything else that you want to talk about, Laura? Or is that all?"

Laura thought. She didn't really know the captain. In fact, she knew few of the crew outside of a staff meeting staying to herself and the few friends she did have. "Not..really sir."

O'Connor nodded. "If you need anything, let me know. After I straighten out this mess with Pendragon and the Huanni, we're heading back to Earth."

Laura smiled a little, surprised. "Thank you, Captain. I..it will be good to see my family again.

O'Connor asked, "You have family at home? I do too but I have other plans for my visit." She smiled mischievously.

"What can be more important then family?" Laura asked.

"Are you married?"

"No.." Laura shook her head. "I've always been too...alone for that sort of thing.

"I thought I was going to be married," O'Connor confided. "He disappeared." Her eyes became downcast.

"Why?" Laura relaxed more. "You weren't good enough for him?"

O'Connor laughed. "You honestly think that?" O'Connor shook her head. "No, I was his dream come true, Laura. I know how to please a man." She grinned wickedly. "No, he literally disappeared on an away mission. Nothing was found of him but his com badge and some of his cybernetic parts."

"Oh.." Laura looked sadder. "My.well..I'm sorry that happened, Ma'am."

O'Connor sighed. "Me, too. I was going to pound him soon, if he did not ask me to marry him. It had been how many years? Three? Four? We dated a long time. And then, I looked for him. He was gone. But, on Earth, for the first time in the year he has been gone, I found someone that intrigued me."

"So, you're going back to someone new?" Laura completely relaxed now. The Captain didn't seem threatening at all like she was.

"He doesn't know it yet. But he had better learn fast." She laughed.

"I wish I was that forceful sometimes." Laura whispered. "I wasn't brought up that way. Men always ask first. Men always take the lead."

"And superiors always know what's right? They should be followed regardless of orders? Seems like you already threw out that philosophy on the bridge, Laura." O'Connor giggled lightly.

"I did it when it needed to be." Laura admitted. "You're saying I should apply that to my personal life as well?"

"Would I give advice?" O'Connor failed to pull off the innocent look.

"Since you can't seem to deny it, I would say yes." Laura answered keeping a straight face.

"I'm afraid that I only bluff well when it is with business or men."

"Sorry...not a man." Laura grinned.

O'Connor cocked her head to the side and snickered. "That's alright. They're very simpleminded when it comes right down to it. It almost gets tiring to play with both of their heads."

Laura blushed a little.."I..suppose captain."

O'Connor looked at Laura disbelievingly. "Oh, don't tell me you're shy about sex, too!"

"I..." Laura turned away.

O'Connor gasped, "Oh, my God! Don't tell me you're a virgin, too!"

Laura glared then grumbled.

O'Connor's jaw dropped. At first she did not know what to say. Finally, she asked, "What are you waiting for, Laura? We're almost in the 24th century! It is not like you will get some horrible disease or pregnant from it, if you don't want to! It is an enjoyable experience."

"I'm waiting for someone special." Laura crossed the room.

O'Connor sighed. Then softly said, "Until I met Roger, I would have laughed at that and said they're all the same. Now, I know that it is most of them."

"Is it wrong to wait for someone special, Captain?"

O'Connor shrugged. "Who is wrong? Who is right? Does it even matter? Everyone has an agenda. I just know what I believe is right and try to do the best I can with that, even if I have to beat some folks over the head with it."

"So, I should do more beating..is that it?"

O'Connor laughed. "You do what you want, Laura. It takes all types in this strange universe. I think God must have had a sense of humor when he created the Huanni, though. Either that or he's a masochist."

"I find them..ridiculous." Laura giggled.

O'Connor rolled her eyes. "They are what they are. They might make a good pillow, though." She smiled lightly.

tag - Wells

[Amanda Rose]

Tegau looked at the D'Val head. "You see? My people are going to make things right for you. Please give me back Keth, and I'll send him
back to the ship. You won't need to see him again. And then we can return your fertile ground to you."

If the plants seemed cooperative, she would then discuss what they needed to make sure the nutrients they put into the soil would be a good match for these plants.

The Sinclair repeated itself, nodding, "When all's returned to fertility of our roots, then's we's shall let Huanni go."

Delaney opened her mouth to say something, when....

As if on cue, the base started disappearing from Lemmi's surface. Then, the Sinclair head said, "Now, you mays takes hims to but he
mays not return here."


"Thank you," Tegau answered patiently, and helped Keth away before he could shoot himself in the foot. With everyone clear, she tapped her badge to ask for transport for Keth and
D'Val to SickBay. She wanted to be sure they were both alright.

Tegau double checked the nutrients needed, passed on the information to the ship, and then asked Brian and T'Pal if they were ready to beam back to the ship.
"Thank you," Tegau answered patiently, and helped Keth away before he could shoot himself in the foot. With everyone clear, she tapped her badge to ask
for transport for Keth and D'Val to SickBay. She wanted to be sure they were both alright.

Tegau double checked the nutrients needed, passed on the information to the ship, and then asked Brian and T'Pruk if they were ready to beam back to the ship.

T'Pruk often wondered why it was that humans would ask a question that expected a specific response. _Why not just order it? It would be more efficient._ However, Delaney was the away team officer and logic dictated that she should not mention this to her. She merely responded,
"Yes, Lieutenant. I am prepared."

tag - Delaney

[Amanda Rose]

> "Thank you," Tegau answered patiently, and helped Keth away before he could shoot
himself in the foot. With everyone clear, she tapped her badge to ask for transport for Keth
and D'Val to SickBay. She wanted to be sure they were both alright.
>
> Tegau double checked the nutrients needed, passed on the information to the ship, and
then asked Brian and T'Pal if they were ready to beam back to the ship.
> "Thank you," Tegau answered patiently, and helped Keth away before he could shoot
himself in the foot. With everyone clear, she tapped her badge to ask
> for transport for Keth and D'Val to SickBay. She wanted to be sure they were both
alright.
>
> Tegau double checked the nutrients needed, passed on the information to the ship, and
then asked Brian and T'Pruk if they were ready to beam back to the ship.
>
> T'Pruk often wondered why it was that humans would ask a question that expected a
specific response. _Why not just order it? It would be more efficient._ However, Delaney
was the away team officer and logic dictated that she should not mention this to her. She
merely responded, "Yes, Lieutenant. I am prepared."

Getting assent from the other two, indicating they needed nothing else on the planet,
Tegau called for the ship to beam them back up. She gritted her teeth as the transporter
beam swept over them and they materialized safely aboard the America. The doctor drew
in a breath. The away mission was over, but there was still so much work to do.