Failure to Launch - Part 1

Posted on 16 Aug 2016 @ 10:14pm by Ensign Miraj Derani & Commander Luke Wyatt

2,058 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 11 - Divinum Mundi
Location: Bridge/Hanger Bay
Timeline: MD 30 1700

[ON]

Luke strolled through the corridors of the Galileo, having finally cleaned himself up from the previous away mission giving himself a few days to settle back and allow his wounds to heal and. The thoughts of his daughter no longer pained him and instead lead him to remember all the good times they and shared and at first that's just what this walk was all about but half an hour in he found himself bored and craving company. Changing direction he had found himself standing on the bridge.

Parked as the Galileo was, most of the flight staff were on taxi duty, shuttling colonists and scientists around the colony planet or to survey parts of the system. But he medical team had grounded Miraj for a few days, insisting she rest, and she had emerged from her reassuring cocoon in the crawlspace behind her quarters long enough to write up her report on the incident a few days before. She could have done it in her quarters, but she much preferred sitting at the helm.

Hearing the turbo lift doors hiss, she looked up, and saw Luke standing there.“Sir,” she stood. On the bridge was only herself, and an ops technician monitoring the comms and sensors, the only part of the ship besides the power generators that were still active. She smiled, pleased to see him. Since getting back, and being sent to sick bay and all that came with it, she’d managed to go several days without seeing him

Luke gave Miraj a smile and nodded towards the Ops officer who had also turned around to see who had come into the bridge. “I haven't see you for a while, how have you been? I hope they didn't keep you too long in sickbay” he motioned for her to walk toward the row of seats so they could sit down.

"They kept me there for 24 hours. There was a slight hiccup." She unconsciously rubbed her throat. "That Orion that choked me managed to do some serious damage."

“That damn barbarian” he growled earning himself a side wards glance from the other officer on the bridge “Nothing they couldn't fix though right?” He voice laced with concern as he sat down waiting for her to follow suit.

She nodded happily. “There was a weird moment when i could feel them wiggling their fingers in there. But I couldn’t feel any pain. And there’s not even a scar now. Medicine is so cool.” Then she realised that with the ship parked, and the crew building a colony rather than waging a battle, he didn’t have a reason to be on the bridge. “Can I help you with anything? I mean, the bridge is pretty boring when the ship’s asleep. I only come here because I feel better sitting at the helm, but, i can’t think there much reason for anyone else to come up here.”

Luke cleared his throat “I actually came here for more than a conversation, I was wondering if you would like to do something together some time?” He asked a frown of worry sketched across his forehead.

She looked at his face and did a hurried inventory of various skills and qualifications she was supposed to keep up to date. Nothing. She’d bdone all her requalifications before graduating the academy. She was safe from that for another three months at least. Maybe he meant something he had to update. But requalification on runabouts and shuttles was a formality that anyone could pass with their eyes closed. She doubted it was that. Must be something else. “Sure.” she beamed, “I’d love to. Did you have anything in mind”

Luke shrugged “Nothing really in particular” taking the moment to think of something he smiled and looked over the bridge “Maybe I can help with you fighting techniques? I noticed on the planet that you wasn't exactly combat savvy, and your aim with the nail gun” he teased. “Or we could just go for a meal?”

She looked a little guilty when he mentioned the nail gun. She'd been aiming at an opponent. She'd missed by a good foot and put two three inch nails into his leg. “I guess my aim could use some work.” she admitted. “And it would be nice to not be so useless in a fight.”

“You weren't that useless” Luke said reassuringly, with a smile. “When is best for you?” He added happy that she was willing to spend time with him after seeing what he was capable of doing to another person.

She looked at her report. She was coming to the part where the leader was about to torture Luke and she wasn't ready to think about that yet. “Now.” she said. “Now is good. Perfect even.”

Luke was taken back a little “right now? I mean I haven't got anything prepared but I guess if you're free?” He smirked standing up feeling a weird fluttering sensation in his core.

“I’m free. Totally Free. the Doctors signed me off. I’ve got at least 72 more hours of being free. Please, I don’t care what as long as i don’t have to write reports, or wait for the holodeck, Make me not free for as long as you like.” It was putting of the inevitable, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want to think about those horrible hours where she’d been surrounded by hostile aliens.

“No writing reports and no waiting for holodecks, but what would you like to do? I don't want to rush your training so soon and 72 hours isn't enough so we will start in a week's time and we'll start with basic stuff but until then” Luke felt the warmth creep across his face the same warmth he got when he used to talk to scarlet. “I'd like to get to know you a bit better”

“Er,,,” Miraj had honestly not been expecting that, and the tops of her cheek went a pink to match her hair. “There’s not a lot to tell to be honest. I love to fly. And as you sure, its about all I do. Believe me, if i was allowed to fly right now, I’d be flying. I’d be in nd doing loops and rolls around the atmosphere. If your desperate to be bored rigid on the handling difference between Danube and Yellowstone and Irtysh class runabouts, i’m your girl.”

Luke put up his hands noticing the burn in her cheeks “I'm pretty certain I'll be the one doing the boring talk, just meet met in hangar deck thirty minutes from now and we can discuss all the fascinating thing about our runabouts and how quickly I can strip and assemble a phaser rifle” he gave a tentative smile.

“Thirty minutes?” she’d be there in three if it got her out of finishing up the report. “Okay. looking forward to it.” She wondered what he had in mind. “Do i need to bring anything?”

“Just your pretty self” Like said backing into the turbolift making up some kind of plan in his head and only having 30 minutes to do it in “remember 30 minutes no sooner or later!” He orders the lift doors and was off.

Pretty? Miraj's pulse doubled in speed as she watched the turbolift doors whisk closed. Her stomach fluttered, and she grabbed the connection to steady the sudden giddy feeling. He thinks I'm pretty. She grinned.

The next 29 minutes were torture, staring at the clock, and then she practically ran through the ship to get to the main hangar for exactly 30 minutes.

The door whisked open and Miraj stepped in. “Hello?”

Luke had spent the last thirty minutes begging and borrowing with people aboard the ship to change duty shifts and also prepare one of the ships runabouts as a cosy break room, he had strung up an improvised fairy lights which consisted of light packs and maintenance bulbs he found lying around. He had also laid out a soft material which was laid in the back a small plate and some drinks were set up.


Miraj looked around and saw the hangar, looking much as it usually did. Then she saw Luke and the plate. “Ooh, nibbles.” She smiled at him, “Did you do this for me?”
"Oh sorry" Luke said as he entered the flight deck holding some glasses and two plates "I hope this isn't over the top or anything but you said you loved being around runabouts and this seemed like the best way to spend time together and get to know about one another without being near the brink of death and running for our lives, not that i didn't enjoy it”

Her stomach flip-flopped at the thought he had put in for her. “No, its not over the top at all. So much better than last time. Not that I minded last time i was in a runabout. Well , not the bit right at the end at any rate. The bit before take off did kind of suck. Mostly. I’d jump off a waterfall again. You can keep the rest.”

Hearing the words leave her lips he relaxed “Good, I was worried i’d come of weird or something” he walked slowly past her and put his arm out for Miraj to take, the plates and glasses still in his hands. “I quite enjoyed the whole jumping of a waterfall too, you should have seen your face”

She took his arm at the elbow, careful not to unbalance him and dump the food and drink on the floor. “I’m glad i didn’t, I must have looked like a landed fish. I think my mouth was open all the way down.”

He laughed, a real laugh not one of those fake ones most people do but already he could feel himself relax further into her company. “I think it looked a bit like this” he said pulling an exaggerated version of what she had. As they reached the runabout he placed the plates and drink down where the rest of the food was before offering to help her in.

“No!” she she gasped in mock horror, blue eyes bright with amusement. “It couldn’t have been that bad. I would have had drowned when I hit the water.” she paused for a comedic beat. “Oh, wait. I kinda did.”

“Yeah you did” he teased once again smiling as started her way into the runabout his makeshift dinner and restaurant laid out in front of her to see.

She stepped into the runabout, letting him help her in, even though she could get into a volga class blindfolded after ten tequila shots. His hand felt warm, and large, and reassuringly strong. She knew what those hands were capable off, and she paused for a fraction of a second, but she was glad those hands had been between her and the men they’d found on Celes IV.

“Are you ok?” Luke asked stepping in behind her and taking a seat on the floor his back leaning on some stacked plush pillows. “Just tell me if this is to much, I just couldn't think of any other way to speak to you” he thought for a moment “actually that's a lie there was alot of thinking and a lot of ways but in thirty minutes you kind of go with the first idea” he rambled.

Miraj looked around the cosy and intimate interior of the runabout. The last time she’d been in here it had not been as much fun. Now it felt relaxed. And it was a lot of effort for thirty minutes. Her jaw dropped and she felt a little giddy. “its great!” she squeaked. “it's just...i mean...no one's ever,” she stopped suddenly. he said he wanted to get to know her. In her experience that was what academy instructors said just before she got a lecture on lousy grades or some girl, or boy, would say just before they hit on her brother Mal. “is this a date?”


TBC...


Ensign Miraj Derani
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Luke Wyatt
Chief Strategic Operations Officer
USS Galileo

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