Back on the bike

Posted on 22 Jan 2025 @ 9:21pm by Lieutenant Commander Temerant Bast & Captain Bane Plase

2,409 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Shoreleave and Reassignment
Location: Starbase 375

The corridors of Starbase 375 were sleek and bright, with polished floors that reflected the light, giving them the appearance of being twice as tall. And not as crowded as Temerant would have expected, but no doubt the sheer size of the mushroom-shaped starbase had something to do with that, dispersing personnel all over the installation. On the way from the starbase's hospital to here, he had crossed maybe twenty people, possibly even less.

He had been cleared from the hospital less than three hours ago - not without significant protest from Thalla, but she had finally relented when he had promised to keep to quarter-shifts for the time being. And he intended to keep that promise... Eventually. First, he wanted to check up on the captain, and get fully up to speed on the current status of the ship and its remaining crew.

The new eye still required some getting used to. On occasion he could get spells of vertigo, but these tended to occur less often these days. Headaches were more frequent as a result both of the concussion and the adaptation to the new eye, but those would also fade away with time. There was also a stiffness in his left leg, requiring him to walk with a cane.

He made his way slowly through the VIP offices, and found the one that had been assigned to Captain Bane. He pressed the door chime, and waited.

Inside, Captain Bane was working on the transfer order for Lieutenant Lisald off the Cygnus when the chime rang. He looked at the chronometer, seeing he still had another hour before meeting with Captain Braf, the Senior Quartermaster for Personnel at Starbase 375. "Please, come in," he stated. He honestly had no idea who it could be.

The doors parted, and the Cygnus's First Officer walked in, relying heavily on the cane. All this walking was beginning to take its toll on his leg. It might be a while before he could run another half-marathon.

"Captain," he said as he approached. "Lieutenant Commander Bast, reporting for duty."

Bane shot out of his seat, both thrilled and alarmed to see his friend come through that door. "By the Prophets! Temerant! It is so good to see you," he exclaimed, circling around the desk and coming up alongside his First Officer. Taking him by the elbow, he sort of helped the Trill officer to the seat. "Here ya go, Mr. Bast." After he was seated, Bane asked. "How are you feeling? Can I get you anything to drink or eat?" Bane was so glad to see Bast, that all of this happened in under a minute.

"To be perfectly honest Sir, I've had better days," said Bast, resting his cane against the desk. "But I'm improving. Give me a couple of weeks, I'll be running circles around the saucer section. Once it's been rebuilt, I mean."

Plase chuckled. "If it were anyone else, I'd call them on their bluff, Commander. You? I believe you. He chuckled again, sitting down on the edge of the desk. The Captain wanted to ask how his friend was doing, but to ask would make it cheaper, somehow. Almost like it was expected, a social norm. So, Bane decided to address the proverbial Grantulan in the room. "The eye is new. Attempting to start a fashion statement?" The humor was apparent on his face and in his own eyes.

"I hear it's the latest big thing on Astoria Prime," quipped Temerant. "It'll take some getting used to. For now it's giving me a bit of a headache, but Thalla says that will subside with time as my brain gets used to it. Same with the stiffness in the leg, the muscles around the broken femur need to heal."

Plase nodded at all the right times during the brief update on Bast's health. "What about mentally and emotionally, Temerant? How are you doing?" It was a question Bane had asked himself more than a few times in the last few weeks.

He placed an ice screw, and slid his rope through the loop. He dug his left foot’s crampons in the ice, and prepared to shift his weight to the new anchor. The ice creaked under his gloves. The noise echoed off the ice cliffs, and startled a great white harfang. The majestic bird let out a scream, and flew out of its nest, hidden inside a concealed crevice in the ice less than two meters from Wilem’s right handhold. Caught by surprise, Wilem’s arms flailed, and he lost his grasp on the rope, and his foothold slipped as his weight shifted, and the ice, softened by the sunlight and the warmer than usual temperatures, chipped around his crampons.

He fell seven meters before the rope caught on the previous screw. The pendulum motion swung him hard against the ice, and his head hit the ice cliff at an odd angle, shattering his cervical vertebrae. His helmet split open, and fragments of it fell along with chunks of ice the rest of the hundred and fifty meters to the bottom of the glacier, where another group of climbers was preparing to ascend.

"I'd be lying, Sir," replied Temerant, "if I didn't admit to some similarities with Wilem's death. That can be a bit rattling. But I've died... twice now. Nothing a few sessions with the Counselor won't cure."

Plase frowned and blinked several times at his First Officer. "With all due respect to the Bast symbiont, neither of you have died twice. Bast," Bane said, directing his full attention to the symbiont inside the man sitting in front of him, "You have had two hosts die, but you yourself have not died. Temerant," he said, referring to the humanoid in front of him, never moving his eyes or changing his demeanor, "You have never died, though you came dangerously close." Bane waved his hand dismissively. "I know it is taboo to think of you two as two separate entities. I know you are one, but to say you have died is not accurate. And you are right; you will need to have multiple sessions with the counselor. What happened to you," Bane stated, "Was traumatic. It was traumatic to all of us. To all of us," he emphasized.

"Bast might not have died," conceded the Trill, "but I was with Wilem and Lamorra when they died. I lived and experienced what they went through. Not all symbionts can say the same. Most Hosts die of natural causes or old age, and can be removed shortly before the end. Lamorra died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism and Wilem fell in an ice climbing accident. I remember what they went through and what it feels like to die. I carry those experiences and those memories with me. I will be fine."

The Bajoran sat back. "Okay, I understand what you are saying. You have experienced the sensation of death. I did not fully understand what you were saying before, and I apologize for that, for my ignorance. For someone that can only die once, it is difficult to comprehend and put together that you can experience that without your life fully terminating. When I experience it, I will not be able to talk about it to anyone after the fact, except when I am in the Celestial Temple." Bane felt like a complete ass for getting his hackles raised. "I suppose it is equally as difficult for you to understand and put together that the experience of dying is a one and done for someone like me."

"Bast might be able to carry on in another host, but for Temerant, this is a one-shot opportunity. I get to have it both ways."

He winced as he stretched his leg, eager to move on to another subject. "How's the ship?" he asked.

The Captain sat back. "In a word: Bad. It will take several months for all the repairs to take place. The Admiralty wanted us to scrap it, offering me a new ship at some point down the line. I, admittedly, got a bit heated and stood my ground for this ship. She is old, but she still has a lot of life and a lot of character left in her, I think. Would you like specifics," he asked.

"Yes," said Bast. "As long as they get rid of that moldy old carpet I think I'll be happy. Although I wouldn't mind updated holointerfaces, and I'm sure Lieutenant Ahmad would like a new power grid. The one we had pre-dated the Dominion War."

The senior officer snorted. "Yeah, it has been on the replacement list for a while now. The power distribution grid was heavily damaged during the incident, so it is getting replaced. Here," the Captain stated after thumbing through a few PADD's and handing it to his First Officer. "This is a complete rundown of the damage done to the ship. The big ticket items are a new warp core, upgraded from our previous one, but not like top of the line brand new warp core. The power distribution network, like you just said, a new set of warp nacelles and new mission pod. The Bridge module will be replaced too." Plase went on to outline many new upgrades and features, along with the standard repairs that would be taking place over the next four months. "And finally, over the next few months, we will be getting replacement crew for those that didn't make it back."

"I know you have a soft spot for the old Nebula-class," said Bast, taking the casualty list from the Captain. "But the truth is, her antiquated systems also meant we'd be near the bottom of the list when it came to choosing the right ship for the more challenging exploratory missions. A complete overhaul should bring us closer to the top of that list."

He thumbed the data padd with the butcher's bill, and scrolled through the list in silence. It was a long list. Much longer than he'd expected. He would have time later on to commit those names to memory, but for now the number was still a bit overwhelming.

"So what's next?" he asked. "When does Commodore Xaeralan expect to begin working on the ship?"

Plase explained the meeting and conversation he had with the Commodore. "And that is where you come in. We are going to have to pitch in and help with this. I know the crew is on shoreleave, and a well-deserved one at that, but we will all have to pitch in and help. Anyone with even extension courses in Engineering will have to pull rotations with the shipyard." The Captain leaned back. "That means you, and me, too. The shipyard already has several projects going. The Cygnus will put those projects behind, which will have a profound impact downstream. We need to help mitigate that as much as possible. You and your team will have to come up with a rotation schedule for everyone, plus any newbs that are assigned between now and when we take her back out."

Bast nodded. "I'll have to take a closer look at the personnel files and determine the best time to rotate each crewmember in and out. You should know, though, that Medical wants me to take another ten days of leave, and then only start working half-shifts until they've cleared me for a complete return to duty. But I can work on the crew rotations before those ten days."

"Oh," Bane exclaimed, coming forward in his chair. "I apologize, Commander. I assumed you were back on light duty. Show's what one gets when you assume something, huh! No, I will take care of the duty roster, or have Commander Stovek do it in your stead. Yeah, let's be honest here, I will have Stovek do it," Plase laughed. "In the meantime, you should go visit Calisto. I keep hearing from members of the crews, from 375, the Goddard and from the Cygnus, that there is this eleven out of ten city down there called Elysia. Apparently it is achingly beautiful and the locals are kind and friendly. Maybe some time planet-side would do you good, too?"

"I'll get there eventually. I hear we've all been assigned individual housing, and it is a beauty, I've seen holos. But first, since Trill is just two days away, I was thinking of making a short trip there. Nothing like a visit home after a near-death experience."

The Captain nodded. "It was not lost on me how fortunate I was with us being home-based at DS9, and being able to go back to Bajor whenever we had layovers. I am delighted we are so close to Trill now and you get to go home when we are here."

"In small doses," conceded Bast. "You've met my father, he leads the Diplomatic delegation on DS9. But my mother... Quite a piece of work." He stretched his leg. "In small doses," he repeated.

"Thank goodness for those billets we've been assigned on Calisto then, huh," Bane laughed. "Look, I won't keep you. Enjoy being back on Trill and I will see you when you're back to duty. I tell you, I'm glad you're going to be ok. I don't know how I'd run our ship without you," the Captain said, standing, signaling he had another meeting to attend to.

"I'm sure you wouldn't have any trouble finding someone to replace me. But thankfully it hasn't come to that." Temerant got to his feet, and leaned on his cane. The time spent sitting had left his leg feeling numb. "I'll see you in ten days, Captain."

The Captain watched Bast leave, then sat back down to prepare for his next meeting. Before he started he looked back at the door which Bast had just gone through. "No, I dont think I could ever replace you, Temerant," he said to the empty room, and meant it with everything he was. Bane had some exceptional Executive Officers in his time, but there was something special about Temerant Bast that Bane couldn't quite quantify. Plase wouldn't be surprised if someday Bast was Commander-in-Chief of Starfleet, or maybe even a high-ranking Ambasador. Maybe even President.

-----

A post by

Captain Bane Please
Commanding Officer
USS Cygnus

And

Lt Cmdr Temerant Bast
First Officer
USS Cygnus

 

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