"The Final Inspection."

[FredM 0]

"The Final Inspection."

U.S.S. Reaent | NCC-3345-G

Captain's Personal Log

 

The walk had taken him longer than he had expected. The fact that the pain in his back and shoulder had resulted in the temporary utilization of a rather old fashioned cane was likely the culprit. Yet, the fact that this was something he was not looking forward to might also have slowed his pace just a little. Fred Michaels could remember when he had been promoted from the engine room to a ship's bridge. In a blink, the realm of what his job required...both spoken and unspoken...had been changed so fast that a Saurian would have missed it. Now the commander of a starship, one of these...responsibilities...had once again demanded his time.

 

Walking and feeling like someone forty years older, they finally arrived at their destination. Captain Contan Gavebea paused in her tracks and waited several seconds for Michaels to catch up. They both nodded ever so slightly to the two security officers dressed in their dress whites and standing at a permanent attention. Neither moved, though both offered a military salute. Both flag officers looked ahead and Gavebea allowed the Reaent's commander to enter first.

 

In years later, he would remember only the silence. The hum that was faintly being generated in the room was expected, but oddly enough Michaels didn't hear it. He approached the first row and looked down at the metal plate. "I vaguely remember when she came aboard, had some business about striking a civilian who was blocking access to a storage unit," he said softly, learning a bit more on the cane than he had originally intended. Together, they stepped forward to the next. Here, Contan spoke up. The woman of sixty, with graying hair, sighed at what she saw. "He won the Starfleet Olympics a few years back didn't he?," she asked softly. Fred nodded, "Non-reptilian swimming I believe." After a few moments of silence, they again moved forward. Then again, and again, and again.

 

Two hours later, both Captain's stood where they had been upon entering. The U.S.S. Potemkin would be taking over half of Fred Michaels' crew home. For some, it would be a long journey. For others, it would be their last journey.

 

And his inquiries still went unanswered...