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John Randall

Meeting In Transit

OFFICIAL LOG

LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL

USS CHALLENGER

 

(Personal Log Stardate 11604.28)

 

Admiral Leonard McCoy's personal space yacht sped toward Earth and the Utopia Planetia shipyards, where John's ship, the USS Challenger, was being repaired after a prototypical cloaking device exploded aboard her. The ship had been badly damaged, and had required massive repairs inside and outside the vessel. But the repairs were nearing completion, and Starfleet wanted the Challenger back on active duty.

 

The first officer of the Challenger, Commander Erica Rinax, had already sent out a communication to all ship personnel to board the Challenger for its next mission. John had been caught in the outskirts of the explosion, and had suffered burns mainly on the left side of his body, as well as a hairline fracture of his skull when he was thrown against a corridor wall.

 

Randall had been transported to Starbase 179 for treatment, but then, at the insistence of his family, had been sent to the university hospital of New Athens on his homeworld Centaurus. He recovered rapidly with the advanced tools of the hospital under the care of Dr. Joanna McCoy, who was Admiral McCoy's daughter.

 

Leonard McCoy and admiral Jason Baldwin had traveled to Centaurus to speak to John about the incident, but due to constricting time schedules for the Challenger, the admirals told Randall they would talk with him en route to Earth.

 

The three men sat in the passenger area of the yacht, McCoy's personal pilot at the controls. After some initial small talk, the admirals got down to business with the chief engineer of the Challenger. McCoy wanted to hear John's personal account of the story, but Randall was reluctant, citing Starfleet classification issues of ship missions. McCoy waved that aside and told John he had talked to the chief operating officer of Starfleet, Fleet Admiral Heihachiro Nogura himself, and had received clearance from the Oriental admiral for John to tell his story.

 

Randall's eyes widened at that information, then he told his story to McCoy. Baldwin also listened raptly, having been chosen by McCoy to accompany him as Baldwin was the acting chief of Starfleet Intelligence. When John finished, McCoy sat staring off into the distance as his mind assimilated what the chief engineer had told him. Baldwin, on the other hand, jumped right in with a question.

 

"John, you stated that you heard a strange noise come from the cloaking device just before it exploded," he said, and Randall nodded. "Can you describe it in more detail?" The chief engineer thought for a few seconds, then slowly shook his head. "I'm not sure, sir," he replied. "It was running fairly smoothly, then there was this..sort of...growl," he finished helplessly, and shrugged. "That's not really it, but I don't know how else to say it, sir."

 

"But it definitely made a sound before it exploded," said Baldwin, and John nodded. "After I heard the first sound, I immediately ordered the area cleared. My crew all made it out of the generator room, where the device was, and I was the last one out. Just before it exploded, there was a shrill, whistle-like noise, then I don't remember anything after that, when was which I assume I was blown into the corridor and bounced off the wall."

 

Baldwin nodded and glanced at McCoy, who had been listening to the exchange. "John, I have to ask this in my capacity as head of SI, so don't get angry with me," he said, and Randall nodded. "Is there any possibility at all that someone could have tampered with the cloaking device, and you wouldn't have had any knowledge of it?"

 

John started to retort angrily, but remembered what the admiral had said, and gave the question a few seconds of thought. He then reluctantly answered, "As much as I hate to admit it, sir, yes, there is a possibility that what you asked could have happened. But I also think it is an extremely small one. I know most of the crew aboard the ship, and I know every member of the engineering crew. I assure you it couldn't have been any of them, unless someone is a damn good actor or actress.

 

"So I guess what I'm saying is, if you go by the old saying that anything is possible, no matter how improbable it might be, I have to answer your question in the affirmative. Otherwise, no, sir." Baldwin nodded. "I thought that was how you would answer, Lieutenant, but I had to ask." John nodded. "I know, sir," he smiled. "It's not like I'm a stranger to your methods."

 

Baldwin grinned. "That's for sure," he agreed, then he turned to McCoy. "What is your impression, sir?" he asked, and the grizzled Starfleet veteran stared at both of them. "Frankly, I haven't the foggiest," he replied curtly. "From what all I've read and been hearing, it seems to be shaping up as a bona fide accident, and I think that bothers me more than if it had been an attempt at terrorism aboard a Starfleet vessel. Lieutenant, you're sure you and your department examined every nook and cranny about that infernal device?"

 

John nodded. "I didn't actually see it installed, sir, but we checked everything there was to check. That I am sure of," he finished, and McCoy nodded. "Then it sounds to me like there was a logistical error made somewhere," he stated, "and that could have only come from the bridge. Lieutenant, now that you've had time to think about it, what could have made the device explode like that?"

 

John had given that very thing serious consideration while he had been in the hospital, and was ready with an answer. "As you know, Admiral, the cloaking device projects a field outside the ship's hull to conceal it from the naked eye or any ship's sensors," he said. "The warp engines also project a field outside the ship to make it possible for a vessel to travel faster than light. It is entirely possible that those fields converged for a brief instant, and sent a sort of transtator feedback through the field generated by the cloaking device. That would have run all the way into the device itself, and very likely could have caused it to explode. The warp engines were damaged as well, and that's why I think the fields converged."

 

McCoy was staring at John, and the chief engineer was sure the former doctor's eyes were glistening somewhat. "Are you all right, sir?" Randall asked gently, and the admiral shook his head, then nodded. "When you gave that explanation, it brought back memories, my boy," he said. "I used to have to listen to that all the time from someone I pretended I never got along with, but in reality, was one of my closest friends," he finished, and both Baldwin and Randall knew who McCoy was talking about. The legends were still around about the good-natured, but sometimes all too real, arguments between ship's surgeon Leonard McCoy and the first officer of the Enterprise, the Vulcan Spock, now an ambassador to the Romulan Empire.

 

McCoy grinned. "Thank you for your insight, Lieutenant. I now have some material to work with when I report to Nogura. I think this cloaking device nonsense is gonna be put on the back burner for a while, but I'm not sure about that. Anyhow, thank you, Lieutenant, it's been a pleasure to meet you, and I see we're coming near Earth. There it is, actually," and all three men looked out the port side window at the blue-green planet.

 

McCoy ordered the pilot to take the ship to the shipyard, and a few moments later, the admiral's yacht eased into a dock. John looked out the window, and saw the Challenger in a nearby dock. The ship looked brand new again, and he silently commended the shipyard crew on the apparently fine job they had done on the Starfleet vessel. McCoy told John to go aft and get on the transporter dais, and he would be beamed to the Challenger. The admiral also informed him they were actually fifteen minutes ahead of Rinax's deadline, and grinned as John rolled his eyes.

 

John ascended the dais and awaited the beamover to Challenger. He was having mixed feelings about reboarding her, somewhat to his surprise. Then he shrugged and told himself he had a job to do. Baldwin was at the transporter console, and after communicating with the Challenger, nodded at John, and the chief engineer braced himself for the beamover. Seconds later, he shimmered out of existence.

 

END LOG

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