Regrouping

Posted on 31 May 2017 @ 5:29am by Commander Marisa Wyatt

722 words; about a 4 minute read

ON

Marisa sat in her room staring at the computer screen. She generally loved time to catch up on her journals and a dozen archaeological digs around the Federation, but today she found it harder to keep her attention on any one thing.

Her family was on Vulcan, tending to her grandmother who was ill. Just her luck, the first time she'd been close to home in years, they were gone. At least she'd been able to leave a message reassuring them that she was alive and well. She could only tell them that she was sequestered while the rest of her crew and that of the Galileo were interviewed about their time marooned on a colony near where the ships had been destroyed. It wasn't much, but she didn't want to get herself or her family in trouble for telling them too much at this time.

"Computer, start personal log."

The computer beeped. Marisa just stared at it. What could she say? That she'd seen her friends impaled? Eviscerated? No. That she'd helped others with their problems but was still avoiding her own? No. She wasn't ready to put it in words just yet. The two brief logs she'd written during her ordeal were carefully destroyed. This was going to be read by someone--probably intelligence, or a counselor.

"Computer, cancel personal log."

The computer chimed again. Then it rang an incoming message. Who knew she was here? She tapped the answer button. "Yes?"

"Sandoval?"

The image on the screen took her a moment to recognize. "Pete? I mean, Doctor Helsing?" He was one of the professors she worked with a decade earlier on Petaro Prime. Twelve weeks of digging in the jungle and all they found for their trouble was an ancient garbage dump.

"Pete. You're not one of my interns. I hear you have some leave coming up. Care to help me out?"

She hesitated, not sure how to respond. "I'm not sure I can..."

"Nonsense. I still have friends in San Francisco. I don't know what is going on, but they assure me you will have a week to ten days leave after this little investigation of theirs. With travel time, you should have anywhere from three to six days free. Care to get a little dirty?"

A slow smile spread across her face. Time on a working dig, even if it was only a few days, was just what she needed. Maybe when she got back she'd stop mooning over people--well, one person--she would likely never see again. That thought was painful, but one she had to face, at least in her own mind. They were back on Earth. Once the investigation was over, they'd all be transferred and she'd never see Aren, or the friends she'd made, again. And she didn't want to spend her time moping around because of it. "Yes. Absolutely yes! Where is it? How do I get there?"

He held up a hand. "I'll send you the details. You'll need to get your own way here, though. There isn't another supply shuttle coming this way for several weeks. It's a good two days from where you are. Think you can manage it?"

Marisa knew one particular pilot who would jump at the chance, now that she had her wings back. "Yes. Mind if I bring a friend along? She's a crack pilot."

"Sure! We can always use her somewhere. Now, I won't keep you yapping. I'll see you in a couple of weeks. Just let me know when you're heading out."

"Will do. And thank you. You have no idea how much I need this right now." She had a sneaking suspicion he knew she needed to get away for a few days. It was scarcely worth his time or the others on the dig to have her come in for a few days. But to her, it was a godsend.

"So are you, Sandoval. I'll explain when I see you. Helsing out." The screen went dark and then went back to the list of journals she'd been staring at. She didn't care where it was. It was a reprieve. After everything she'd been through over the past few months, this was the one thing that juts might help her regain her equilibrium.

____
OFF

Lieutenant JG Marisa Sandoval
Counselor

Professor Pete Helsing
Archaeologist

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